Blythewood Online 691

Author: admin

  • Update: Detainee found dead at Fairfield County Detention Center

    WINNSBORO – A detainee at the Fairfield County Detention Center was found deceased in his cell on Sunday from an apparent suicide, Deputy County Administrator Davis Anderson reported.

    The detainee, 28-year-old Brent Ray Croxton of Great Falls, was found at 11:30 a.m., according to Anderson.

    FCDC is conducting an internal investigation. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has also launched an investigation into the matter. As these investigations are completed more information will be provided with a full report.

  • Update: FC Sheriff seeks suspects in convenience store crimes

    Suspect identity sought in Lebanon Mart burglary.

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – The Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on a burglary and an armed robbery at convenience stores in Fairfield County last week.

    Burglary at Lebanon Mart

    Three suspects used a pry bar to force entry into Lebanon Mart convenience store, located at 6058 Newberry Road, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s department. The break-in occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

    Upon gaining entry, the suspects used a chain attached to their vehicle to remove the ATM that was bolted to the floor. They also stole a safe containing two cash register drawers, money, and miscellaneous documents, along with approximately 200 packs of Newport cigarettes.

    The suspects were of medium build and had their faces and hands covered according to the report. They were using a dark colored 2002-2006 Chevrolet Suburban. This burglary may also be associated with a burglary that occurred in Union County on the same date, Sheriff Will Montgomery said.

    Armed Robbery at Grand Central Station

    Surveillance video of suspect in Grand Central Station armed robbery on Jan. 24.

    In a separate incident at about 2:16 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, a black male entered Grand Central Station, a convenience store located at exit 48 off of I-77 in Fairfield County. He presented a silver semi-automatic handgun covered in a thin black sock, and demanded money from two clerks. The suspect stated repeatedly, “Give me the money,”  “I’m not playing” and “Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,” according to the report.

    After stealing approximately $600, the suspect left in a silver or grey Acura with tinted windows, driven by a second suspect.  The suspect had short black hair and was wearing grey sweat pants, a black shirt, a dark grey wool type coat, and a black ski-type mask, the report stated.

    To provide information about either crime anonymously through Midlands Crime Stoppers, call 1-888-CRIME-SC or visit www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and click Submit a Tip. Information can also be provided directly to Investigator Karen Castles with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at 803-718-4102 of 803-635-4141 if anonymity and a reward is not desired.

  • State Senator and Richland Two School Board member involved in melee

    COLUMBIA – An altercation involving a state senator, the spouse of the Richland Two school board chair and a person who sources have told The Voice is a Richland Two School Board member, erupted following Tuesday night’s Richland Two school board meeting, according to police records obtained by The Voice.

    The skirmish ended with two separate police reports being filed against the subject (the reported school board member).

    The incident type is listed as “simple assault” in one report and “all other offenses” in the other. One report states the subject “was threatening to kill” board chair Amelia McKie’s husband.

    Names of elected officials and two relatives are redacted in the report, though Sen. Mia McLeod’s name is unredacted in the narrative. McKie, the school board chair, is also identified in the report by her elected post.

    In one of the reports, McLeod and her sister are identified as saying they wish to prosecute.

    Jay Bender, an attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, said there’s no legitimate reason to redact the names of elected officials in any incident report, especially if they’re involved in an altercation following a school board meeting.

    “Taking the names out doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Bender said. “The law is very clear, when you’re involved in a matter of public interest and at a public meeting getting into a fracas, there is no right of privacy.”

    Things turned chippy shortly after Tuesday night’s meeting in which the board discussed proposed changes in board policy that would allow for the removal of the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary with cause.

    The policy change comes in response to investigative reports by The Voice into board member ethics violations.

    In June 2018, the S.C. Ethics Commission fined McKie $41,000 for failing to file several ethics reports. The fine jumped to $51,750 on Dec. 31 when she failed to pay the first $21,000 in fines.

    Five other board members have had missing ethics forms as well, according to the ethics commission.

    According to the incident report from Tuesday night, McLeod and her sister were leaving Tuesday night’s board meeting after the subject had an altercation with McKie’s spouse.

    The subject, the report said, aggressively approached one of the sisters whose name is redacted, while the other (also redacted) moved between them, the report continues.

    The subject then pushed one of the sisters and cursed at McLeod and others according to the incident report. There were no injuries, but McLeod said she was in fear for her safety, and security had to restrain the subject, the report stated.

    A second report filed by a man who sources say is McKie’s spouse stated that the subject called him several “offensive words” and threatened to kill him. He said in the report that the subject also punched another person.

    The altercation continued into the parking lot. When the subject approached McKie’s spouse a second time, she had to be restrained, the report continued.

    “[Complainant/Victim] is concerned about the subject possibly approaching him again in a volatile and confrontational manner,” the report states.

    The subject couldn’t be reached for comment Friday evening.

    In the parking lot after the meeting, The Voice observed two board members waiting near a car, with two security guards standing close by. Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis was present too, though he is not named in any of the police reports obtained by The Voice.

    This story will be updated as more information is available.

  • Input sought for McNulty St. upgrade

    BLYTHEWOOD – Improvements along McNulty Street in downtown Blythewood are on the horizon according to a statement issued by John Thompson, Director of the Richland County Department of Transportation.

    Those improvements, funded by the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax program, will be the subject of a public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 24, to review conceptual plans for the street.

    During the meeting, residents, property owners and project stakeholders will be given an opportunity to learn about the proposed project and provide input.

    The format for the meeting will be a drop-in for interested parties to attend at their convenience between 5 and 7 p.m., to view maps and drawings of the proposed improvements and to discuss the project with project managers and the design team.

    “Richland County values your suggestions and concerns, and carefully considers all feedback before any final project decisions are made,” Thompson wrote in the invitation to the drop-in.

    Anyone unable to attend the meeting or has further questions, may contact Ben Lewis at 803-726-3614 or by email at blewis@richlandpenny.com.

    The meeting will be held from 5 – 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24, at Doko Manor, located at 100 Alvina Hagood Circle across Doko Park from Town Hall.

  • Winnsboro man dies in hit and run

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – A Winnsboro man died when he was struck by a vehicle in the 9400 block of Monticello Road Wednesday morning.

    Roderick D’Wayne Anderson, 24, was struck at approximately 4 a.m., Wednesday, by a vehicle while he was walking along the roadway. Anderson died at the scene. The cause of death was due to blunt trauma of the head and torso, according to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.

    The Richland County Coroner’s Office and the SC Highway Patrol are investigating the incident.

    The vehicle that struck Anderson left the scene.  Anyone with information regarding this incident, is asked to notify the S.C. Highway Patrol or call Crimestoppers at 888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372).

  • R3 zoning sought for Teacher Village

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County education leaders have amended a rezoning request for the proposed “Teacher Village” from PD-R, Planned Development-Residential to strictly residential.

    The change in zoning plans was presented last week to the Winnsboro Planning Commission, a week after a previously scheduled meeting was canceled to give the Fairfield County School District more time to assemble the required planning documents.

    Now the district is requesting an R3 zone, which permits three homes per acre and would allow for cluster housing on 22 acres behind the district office off U.S. 321 Bypass.

    The planning commission took no action on the Teacher Village at a meeting last week, but did vote to accept the district’s application package.

    Speaking in public comment, Winnsboro resident Shirley Green, a member of the Fairfield County Education Foundation, said the rezoning should be approved.

    “This rezoning is a large step for the Fairfield County School District Education Foundation, and a giant step for the Town of Winnsboro to infuse our community with housing to attract teachers, first responders and their families,” Green said.

    The R3 zone is a strictly residential zone, allowing only residential uses, whereas the PD-R allows a limited amount of non-residential structures as secondary uses, according to town planning documents.

    A preliminary site plan for the development does not subdivide the Teacher Village into individual lots. Rather, the entire development consists of one lot, planning documents show.

    R3 also has less strict design standards than other residential zones, allowing for reduced spacing between buildings – 25 feet, front to front; 20 feet, front to side; and four feet, side to side – than R1 or R2 zones.

    It also only requires only 20 percent of open space, as opposed to 35 percent for R1 and 25 percent for R2.

    Yard sizes are also significantly less, planning documents state.

    Required rights of way in an R3 zone are 6,000 square feet for the first home and 2,500 square feet for each additional dwelling unit. An R1 zone requires 6,000 square feet for all units. In an R3 zone, the minimum square footage is 10,000.

    Fairfield County educated leaders have touted the Teacher Village as vital in recruiting and retaining teachers.

    Billy Castles, Director of the Town of Winnsboro Building and Zoning Department, has set a workshop for the Planning Commissioners to discuss the preliminary site plan at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Old Armory, 307 Park Street, Winnsboro.

  • Hayley King fiddles her way to college

    Hayley King took fiddling seriously and it’s now taking her places. | Amanda Coco

    BLYTHEWOOD – At 16, Hayley King is focused on more important things than driving, fashions and boys.

    As the reigning South Carolina state champion of fiddlers, age 16 and under, Hayley’s passion lies with Ole Time fiddling – a focus that has earned her many accolades, rekindled an ancestral fire for fiddling and, more importantly, secured a full ride to Morehead State University in Kentucky, one of only two U.S. schools that have a fiddling program.

    “It’s amazing and exciting, and I can’t help but smile every time I think about it,” Hayley told The Voice. “I am truly just so thrilled about it.”

    The eldest of six children – all homeschooled by parents Shelley and Drew King – Hayley lives with her family in a rural area that almost straddles the county line between Blythewood and Fairfield.

    The Kings say they knew their daughter had a special musical talent from a young age. At four years old, she was enamored with a violin performance.

    “From that day forward,” her mother said, “Hayley was hooked. She just fell in love with the violin that day and, for years, she begged for one. Finally, we decided to give her a chance with it,” Shelley King recalls.

    At seven years old, Hayley began taking classical violin lessons and for the next three years she continued to train classically. Through those lessons, Hayley would eventually find her way to the instrument she says she was truly meant to play – the fiddle.

    “My teacher began to notice that I liked to speed up the songs, so she introduced me to the fiddle at the end of my classical lessons sort of as a musical outlet for me. I learned a very short simple song called ‘Cripple Creek,’ and I absolutely loved it. That’s really how it all began,” she stated.

    From there, Hayley began to learn the different dialects of fiddle music, and soon embraced the Ole Time style – a genre derived from American Folk music and one that she learned had long been embraced by her ancestors. With both sides of her family tracing their roots to the mountains near Hendersonville, NC, Shelly King said her daughter is carrying on a family tradition.

    “It seemed like [fiddling] was starting to fade away in our family’s more recent generations. I think if Haley had not come along, it might have been lost forever to our families,” Shelley King stated.

    Haley went on to study fiddling under Cedar Creek bluegrass fiddler Jim Graddick who was recently nominated for Fiddler of the Year and Musician of the Year by the Carolina Country Music Association. Hayley has also honed her Ole Time skills under the instruction of South Carolina fiddling champion Kristen Harris. Both teachers, her mother said, allowed Haley to really learn where her heart is in fiddling.

    “She’s always danced to the tune of her own fiddle, I think you could say,” she stated. “Hayley has learned from some greats and this just furthered her ability to learn exactly where she wants to be.”

    On Feb. 15, Haley will perform at Morehead for placement in the university’s orchestra. Her performance will determine her current skill level, such as beginner, intermediate or advanced, and will secure her scholarship. She has already secured an academic scholarship at the school, thanks partly to her high ACT and SAT test scores.

    In December, Hayley was also awarded the Bill Wells Memorial Scholarship, which funds her participation in area fiddle camps.

    All of her accomplishments, however, pale in comparison to the joy of being able to carry on her family’s fiddling legacy, Hayley said.

    “It’s really an indescribable feeling, when I play. I think it’s important to continue this because it’s part of my heritage, plus there’s a connection that I feel when I play this music. It’s like I feel it in my soul; it just feels right when I play.”

  • Public puts pressure on R2 chair

    Board Opens Door for Removal of Members from Office

    COLUMBIA – Calls for the resignation of Richland Two school board chair Amelia McKie grew Tuesday night, with a fellow board member joining in those calls.

    Meantime, two other board members are suggesting publicity of missing school board ethics forms has been “racially motivated.”

    During the Board and Superintendent Comments portion of Tuesday’s board meeting, board member Lindsay Agostini publicly called for McKie to step down as chair.

    Agostini said McKie has been evasive and dishonest in addressing unfiled ethics reports and subsequent fines from the state.

    “After being informed by media of missing documents which took over a month for the chair to complete, she has taken no ownership of any wrongdoing,” Agostini said. “As you try to straighten things up for you and your family, I at a minimum ask that you step down as chair. A premier district deserves a premier board.”

    In prepared remarks, McKie apologized later in the meeting for not filing her ethics forms. She said her forms are now current, and that she’s working with legal counsel to address nearly $52,000 in fines she owes the S.C. Ethics Commission.

    “I am responsible and I am not running from those problems,” she said in prepared remarks.

    McKie went on to state she’s faced numerous personal attacks since her ethics problems came to light.

    “I have a problem that my character is maligned. Everything that I have said has been accurate at the time. My filings are accurate with the commission,” she added. “Not necessarily everything you have read or seen is accurate. I will not have my character maligned when there are two sides to a story.”

    McKie’s statement didn’t address whether or not she planned to resign.

    After the meeting, she declined to comment, deferring The Voice to her prepared statement.

    Board members float race issues

    At the Jan. 8 meeting, Board member Teresa Holmes thanked The Voice for its news coverage of missing ethics forms, including her own.

    “I’m brand new to this, I had no idea,” Holmes said. “I’m glad that you actually did the story. Nobody tells you these things when you’re running.”

    But at the Tuesday night meeting, Holmes did an about face, questioning the accuracy of the news reports about ethics issues, hinting race factored into it.

    “All of the stuff you saw in the paper wasn’t necessarily factual,” Holmes said. “Some of it was racially motivated, I really do believe that.”

    When asked after the meeting what specifically was reported incorrectly, Holmes would not comment.

    Board member Monica Elkins-Johnson challenged the accuracy of news reports as well, but also could not say what was incorrect.

    “I hope that we will not judge people on their skin tone, on mistakes, on their actions,” Elkins-Johnson said. “Give people an opportunity to prove themselves. People don’t know what’s going on in your household. Sometimes the media doesn’t always report things accurately.”

    Stephen Gilchrist, a board member with the Richland Two Black Parents Association, said following state ethics laws is not about race.

    “It’s not a racial issue from our perspective,” Gilchrist said. “This is about ethics issues Ms. McKie is dealing with, and of course the board in Richland 2.”

    Similar messaging appears on the association’s website and Facebook page.

    “Ethics is not synonymous with race! Let’s not draw that association,” the group’s Facebook page states. “When an issue is about personal ethics, let’s not attempt to draw parallels to our turbulent socio-politically, charged racial climate. Wrong is wrong and right is simply right!”

    Jay Bender, an attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, noted that in 2012 about 250 Republican candidates for state office were booted off the ballot for not properly filing ethics forms.

    Most of the candidates were white, Bender said.

    “Ethics problems in South Carolina appear to be as neutral as anything,” he said. “The threshold is are you a public official, not whether you are white or black.”

    The Ethics Commission’s debtor list, a running public list of individuals with unpaid ethics fines, also consists of a clear mix of black and white candidates and lobbyists.

    More resignation calls

    Richland Two parent Rhonda Meisner once again asked McKie to resign during public comments. She also asked McKie to return any public money she’s received as a board member.

    “I know that is not a very nice message, but that is a message that needs to be addressed in my opinion,” Meisner said.

    Columbia resident Gus Philpott called for McKie’s resignation as well.

    “In view of the $52,000 amount of her fines from the ethics commission, I request that she immediately and voluntarily step down from the board,” Philpott said. “If she fails to step down, I believe that the board must remove her.

    “Matters of ethics are definitely not a distraction,” Philpott added. “This is an ethical issue, please address it now.”

    Calling McKie a “doer,” Innocent Ntiasagwe spoke in support of the board chair.

    “It’s good for us to pay attention to look at the good in the work that we do, not just some innuendos that may arise every now and then,” Ntiasagwe said. “Some people only look back and see what is wrong and don’t offer solutions.”

    In June 2018, the ethics commission fined McKie $41,000 in connection with multiple violations of not filing campaign disclosure reports.

    McKie was ordered to pay $21,000 by Dec. 31, 2018. When she didn’t, the fine jumped to $51,750, agency records state.

    Board proposes policy change

    Almost unnoticed, the district unveiled proposed revisions to a board policy relating to the election of officers, such as chairperson, vice-chair and secretary.

    According to the proposed change, a supermajority can vote to remove a Board officer from his or her office, which would require five votes.

    “In such a case, or in any case where there is a vacancy in a board office, the board may as soon as practical elect a member to fill the vacated office for the remainder of the term,” the revision states.

    If enacted, the board under the policy could strip a board member of their office position, but not their board seat.

    “I’m saddened that we had to revise this policy, but I’m grateful for those who’ve worked expeditiously to get this to us tonight,” Agostini said.

    Board member James Manning said the purpose of the policy is to address edge cases. He cautioned against using it for political purposes.

    “It gives us an opportunity should the need arise for us to address potential issues,” Manning said. “It really has to be a high bar for cause.”

    No votes were taken on the policy Tuesday night. That would likely occur at the next meeting scheduled for Feb. 12.

    The policy proposal comes in response to an investigation by The Voice into McKie and other board members with previously unfiled ethics forms. Six of seven board members either filed late or failed to file.

    Manning, previously believed to have filed his forms, told The Voice on Tuesday that he was recently fined $200 for two late filings. That information, Manning told The Voice, was only released by the Commission last week.

    He said the ethics commission reviewed all board members’ ethics filings after The Voice’s reports, and that he has since paid the fine.

    Other board members filed missing forms in December and January following reports in The Voice, public records show.

  • Ridgeway plans new downtown restrooms

    RIDGEWAY – The town of Ridgeway began advertising for bids this week for the construction of four public restrooms downtown behind the old town hall building, putting into motion a plan that has been two years in the making.

    The plans approved Thursday night during a special called meeting will allow for two restrooms each for men and women, with one of each designated for handicap access.

    At the Jan. 10 meeting, Councilman Rufus Jones said the plans could be reduced, if budgeting required, to allow for just two restrooms – one each for men and women. Both restrooms would also be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    During preliminary discussions on the project last year, the county council had made conditional offerings to the Ridgeway council to assist with the construction of the restrooms if the town purchased the plans and materials. Councilwoman Angela Harrison brought up those offerings during the restroom discussions, questioning why it was still going out for bid. Cookendorfer said the town would still need to move forward with a bid process before it could consider any offers.

    “We don’t even know that this is something that is, first of all, feasible for the town to afford. I think we need to figure out what this is going to cost us and then we can go back to the county and ask what they can offer us – be it labor, additional funding or whatever,” Cookendorfer stated.

    Jones said that it would be a typical offer from the county to allow the town use of inmates from the local detention center for construction work. Cookendorfer said that would be information Jones could take back in his conversations with the project’s contractor for a discussion on the final cost to the town.

    The bids will be opened publicly at a future town council meeting.

    Water Tank Project Overruns

    The council also discussed Jones’ concerns over the water tank project located at the Geiger Elementary School that Cookendorfer said will be further fodder for the need of a town attorney.

    Jones said he found many things wrong with a contract pertaining to the work on the water tank project, and requested the panel enter into executive session to further discuss the matter. That request was denied, however, because the item was not designated on the meeting’s agenda as an executive session item.

    “All I know is the amount of money that we allocated for the tank project, and the things that I’ve seen, were overrun, are incorrect and were done improperly without going through the town,” Jones stated.

    He described one of the discrepancies as a change order in the amount of $16,400 that he said was never brought before the town council for approval before moving forward.

    Jones alleged that change order was the result of the engineer making incorrect measurements for the amount of pipe needed for the project, and he said that was something the town should not be legally responsible for.

    “The engineer misread the amount of pipe, the contractor put it in, and we never should have signed it. The change order is not correct, and the engineer owes it for missing it (the measurement),” Jones stated.

    The item was ultimately tabled by council at the recommendation of Cookendorfer to allow for further information to be brought forward at council’s regular meeting next month.

  • Feaster picked for Disney event

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield Central High School senior Jeffery Feaster, Jr. has been selected as one of 100 youths from across the nation to participate in the 2019 Disney Dreamers Academy featuring Steve Harvey and ESSENCE Magazine.

    Feaster

    Feaster will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World to participate in an immersive, four-day experience from March 21-24.

    According to the program, now in its twelfth year, it is billed as part of Disney’s commitment to helping the next generation of young people at a critical time in their development.

    “These students are in for a life-changing experience,” said Tracey D. Powell, Walt Disney World Resort vice president and Disney Dreamers Academy executive champion. “Our goal is to help them see the unlimited possibilities and to inspire them to achieve their full purpose- to become the heroes of their own stories.”

    Feaster and the other 100 “Disney Dreamers,” will embark on a journey that takes them throughout the Disney theme parks and behind the scenes of this 40-square-mile vacation destination were they will discover new career opportunities, pursue their dreams and interact with Harvey and other celebrities and motivational speakers.

    Additionally, students will participate in immersive career-oriented workshops ranging from animation to zoology.

    For more information, visit DisneyDreamersAcademy.com