Duck River Rescue Earns Columbia Resident Prestigious Carnegie Medal

Issue #813

September 10, 2026

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

🌤️ Columbia’s Friday Weather - Partly cloudy, isolated thunderstorms in evening w/ high of 88, low of 71

📰 Duck River Rescue Earns Columbia Resident Prestigious Carnegie Medal

🏎️ Victory Box to Close at The Factory This Weekend, But There’s Still Time for One Last Race

🗓 List of Upcoming Events - Just Updated!

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

✨ Read This Week’s Local Spotlight 👉 Columbia's Best Kept Networking Secret Meets Every Tuesday at 9 A.M.

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

Duck River Rescue Earns Columbia Resident Prestigious Carnegie Medal

Mayor Chaz Molder presented the Carnegie Medal to resident Samuel Hardin Adcock at a ceremony this evening, at Columbia City Hall.

Adcock, an auto assembly plant tool coordinator, was awarded the Medal in March after he helped rescued a man from drowning on May 23, 2025.

At a boat ramp in Chickasaw Trace Park in Columbia Colin McNary, 25, who was severely autistic, ran into the Duck River and was swept downstream by the current. On the south side of the boat ramp, Samuel Hardin Adcock, 26, and James Alan Garner, 41, both from Columbia, were with Garner’s family when they saw McNary get carried downstream. Adcock immediately waded out to the channel and began swimming freestyle downstream to try to reach McNary. Garner then entered the water and swam downstream to catch up to McNary and Adcock.

About 1,000 feet downstream, McNary was swept into a calmer area of the river, where Adcock caught up with him and grabbed him. McNary struggled to stay afloat and submerged Adcock, who pushed McNary away to get air. Adcock stood on an underwater tree limb and grabbed McNary before he pushed him toward the riverbank. Garner had then arrived and positioned himself behind McNary. The two men pushed and pulled McNary to a large tree root on the riverbank, where they waited for first responders. The riverbank had a steep, rocky ledge that prevented them from climbing up into the woods.

Garner swam upstream about 120 feet to find an alternative route to climb out of the river but was unable to locate one and swam back to the others. Garner kept McNary calm until a rescue boat could take him back to the boat ramp, where his parents waited. An ambulance took him to a hospital. The boat then returned to pick up Adcock and Garner. McNary, Adcock, and Garner were tired and cold but not injured. Adcock and Garner were still wet when they later visited the hospital to check on McNary.

Adcock was the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund’s 10,561st hero. The Hero Fund, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1904, has awarded the Carnegie Medal to 10,581 individuals in recognition of their heroism, defined by the Commission as acts of lifesaving done at extraordinary risk to the rescuer. Grants totaling more than $45 million have been given to the recipients or their survivors and include scholarship aid, continuing assistance, and death benefits.

You can watch tonight’s presentation here.

Victory Box to Close at The Factory This Weekend, But There’s Still Time for One Last Race

If you’ve been meaning to check out Victory Box at The Factory in Columbia, this weekend is the time to do it.

Owner Dave Shutts announced this week that Sunday, September 13, will be the final day of operation for Victory Box in its current location. He said they’ll decide in 2027 whether to reopen at another spot.

For those who may not have experienced it, Victory Box was a pretty unique addition to Columbia. The space featured digital slot car racing along with a classic game room, giving kids a place to race, play, celebrate birthdays and hang out with friends. And it wasn’t just for kids. Plenty of adults discovered that racing miniature cars around a track can still be a lot of fun.

It was the kind of place that was different from the usual options, and that’s exactly why it will be missed.

But there’s still one more weekend to get in some laps. Victory Box will be open Friday from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Inside The Factory at Columbia (101 N. James Campbell Blvd).

It would be great to see Victory Box go out with a full house this weekend.

This was a small business that gave Columbia something we don’t have a lot of: a place where kids could simply have fun, race each other, celebrate birthdays and make memories, while their parents could have just as much fun as they did.

So if you’ve enjoyed Victory Box, head over this weekend and get in one last race. If you’ve never been, now’s the time to see what you’ve been missing.

Let’s show Dave and his family that Columbia appreciates what they brought to our community. And let’s hope this is only a temporary pit stop, not the finish line.

VidAngel’s Labor Day Sale, use code: Deeper

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Friday, September 11th

Saturday, September 12th

Sunday, September 13th

👇 Click the Links to Learn About our Local Business Sponsors! 👇

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Thursday, September 10
Todd Ciprian - Tito's, 6-9 PM
Rett’s Writers Round - Twisted Copper Brewing Co., 6:30-8 PM
Gwynne Alden - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM

Friday, September 11
TBA - The Spot: Burgers & Beer, 5-8 PM
Tommy Wheatley - Buck & Board, 6-9 PM
Shannon McCue & Dennis Lasater - Southern Bayou Kitchen - 7 PM
Sweet Niece - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM
Grasstime - Puckett's, 7:30-9 PM
Escape - Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Saturday, September 12
No Capes Music Festival - Marco's Pizza, 1-10 PM
The Vineyard Sessions - Natchez Hills Vineyard, 2-5 PM
Grasskickers - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM
Beatles 4 Sale - McCreary's Irish Pub & Eatery, 7-9 PM
Kit Bulla - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM
Curated Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
The Bandana Brothers - Puckett's, 7:30-9 PM
Downsouth Band - Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM
Chief Smiley Ricks - Twisted Copper Brewing Co., 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 13
The Sins - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 1-5 PM
A Night of Worship - The Mulehouse, 6:30 PM

Want to get your business in What’s Up Columbia? Let’s talk