Growin' Up Gregory

Let me be very honest and candid about this - when I first read about the proposed airplane tax cut, I was not happy (just say it, I was mad!).  I thought that it was ludicrous to consider cutting tax revenue while counties are already struggling due to decreased sales and collections of local taxes.   However, unlike many people in today's culture, I didn't take to social media to start talking about how stupid the idea was and how much I disagreed with.  Instead, I started doing some research.  I looked up some information, asked some questions, had some conversations, and I learned some things. This was important for me to understand because I own a boat (I consider planes and boats luxury items) and pay Union County property taxes.  However, that boat hasn't been in Union for years.  It's housed and operated in a neighboring county.  There's not even anywhere that I can safely and legally operate my boat on public property in Union, yet I stil...

This topic has been in my studies and on my mind for several weeks now.  I talked about it on Mother's Day at church with a friend who was party to some of the stories I could tell (don't worry I won't call you out here lol), had the pleasure of teaching it in Sunday School and even sharing with our older crowd at a Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting. It's a story that many of us have lived, admittedly or not, proudly or not, but nevertheless we have lived it.  It's a story of transformation and renewal.  If you ask people who know me about the 2018 John Gregory, they will likely tell you many good things.  I have a successful career, a happy family, well educated, kind, polite, and serve in various roles in an effort to give back to my community. But that wasn't always me.  Yes, I was one of the "good" kids in high school, college, and even shortly thereafter to some extent.  I never committed any major crimes and stayed out of trouble for the ...

A zoning ordinance that would allow a bar or tavern to open on Main Street has been in the news for Union recently.  There has been a significant amount of both strong support and strong opposition to this considered amendment.  I am still attempting myself to figure out and comprehend ALL of the facts but here is what I have come to so far. 1.  It my current understand that the present ordinance ALLOWS a restaurant to open on Main Street and serve alcohol.  This misconception is being passed around that alcohol sales are not permitted at all in the City of Union.  You may open a restaurant (key part first) that is focused on food yet serves alcohol.  You may not open a bar or tavern whose primary purpose is the sale and consumption of alcohol.  I have not read all 80 pages of the City's zoning ordinance book online but based on conversations I have had with people that is what I currently understand to be the law.  If I am wrong in that, severa...

If you listen to some news stations and read certain newspapers, studies, and online articles, you may believe that Union County is one of the poorest, most uneducated, drug ridden towns in South Carolina.  They even will often share statistics that support their claims.  I'm not saying that any of these people are lying when they share this info.  But I will state that being a numbers guy who has spent a ton of time doing calculations for many organizations, that numbers don't lie, but they can be calculated and presented in such a way that benefits one party more than another. Numbers don't always paint the whole picture.  No, Union's test scores may not be the highest.  But some places manipulate (that's such an ugly word) their SAT scores by only allowing their smartest students to take it.  Union County Schools prepared me to score the necessary SAT score by my senior year to earn a hefty scholarship by allowing me to take it in the 7th grade for the...