🌱 43rd Veterans Day Parade + Signing Bonuses For School Staff

Happy Friday, Columbia! Here's everything you need to know going on today.

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First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 73 Low: 42.

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Here are the top stories in Columbia today:

1. The 43rd annual Columbia Veteran's Day parade marched through downtown yesterday to honor America's past and present service members. The parade ran down Sumter Street from morning until the early afternoon. Military personnel from all branches, veterans, ROTC members, high school marching bands, and more joined the salute to service. (Abccolumbia.com)
2. Columbia's Richland County School District One has begun offering signing bonuses for qualified teachers, staff, and bus drivers to help fill vacancies and retain its current employees. Bonuses start at $1,000 for teachers with valid South Carolina teaching certificates and $1,500 for bus drivers. Additionally, any district staff member who refers someone who is hired as a bus driver and becomes CDL-qualified receives a $300 bonus. (WLTX.com)
3. The Columbia Fire Department put out a house fire on Cedar Lake Road Thursday afternoon that displaced three local residents. All occupants made it out of the home, and no one was injured, say authorities. (Abccolumbia.com)
4. Three Columbia schools have made a list of South Carolina's top 10 high schools, including Spring Hill High School, Hammond School, and Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. (The State)
5. Columbia mayoral candidates Tameika Isaac Devine and Daniel Rickenmann faced off in another debate on WIS this week ahead of Tuesday's special runoff election. (WIS10)

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Today's Columbia Daily is brought to you by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Columbia!

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Today in Columbia:

• Launch of USC grads board game, Gambit of Kings on Kickstarter! (8:50 AM)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update. If you're into these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to read along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Sean Peek

About me: Sean Peek is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in English Literature from Weber State University. Over the years, he has worked as a copywriter, editor, SEO specialist, and marketing director for various digital media companies. He currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.