BLYTHEWOOD – Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society President Kathy Faulk, left; Alice Nixon holding Lily; Kate Williams, director of CAB; and Christy Rew, member of Hoof and Paw, make a donation to CAB for dog and cat food to aid senior citizens in caring for their pets.
“It is because of our supporters that this program is possible,” Faulk said. “Thanks to a very special matching donor, all donations to Hoof and Paw this year will be matched up to $50,000.”
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Two individuals were killed in an ATV accident on Saturday, Feb.12, at Carolina Adventure World in Fairfield County, according to Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.
Robert Bell, IV, age 32, from Little River, SC was driving an ATV with passenger John Breeden, III, age 46, from Longs, SC. Mr. Bell lost control of the ATV causing the ATV to go through a gate and down an approximately 30-foot embankment.
The ATV rolled over numerous times, according to Hill, ejecting both the driver and passenger. Both were pronounced deceased on scene.
The case remains under investigation by Fairfield County Coroner’s Office.
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood planning commissioners recommended approving one commercial zoning request and postponed another during Monday’s monthly meeting.
The commission unanimously voted to recommend rezoning 4.1 acres at Wilson Boulevard and Farrow Road from Rural District to Community Commercial District/Architectural Overall District.
Blythewood Town Council will have the final say.
Shannon Burnett, an outside attorney for the Town, represented property owners Cheryl and Carlos Bullock. She said they want to build possibly a nice sit-down restaurant at the site.
Burnett told the commissioners that the landowners’ business plans would “offer something of value” to the town.
“When we look at things that Blythewood wants, one thing we hear is possibly a nicer restaurant or something that would be a good gathering place,” she said. “It’s a good hook in that area that could be beneficial for our town.”
Burnett noted her clients have lived in the town for decades and have only the best intentions in mind.
“They have no desire to use this in a way to diminish the value of anybody’s property or bring any ill-repute to the town,” Burnett said. “It could be a good entryway into our town and it could be well-used.”
Commissioner Edward Kessler voiced concerns about traffic congestion. He suggested a professional office building might be a better alternative.
“It’s a busy intersection. It’s a heavily trafficked area,” he said. “Another restaurant or facility going in could pose some traffic concerns or issues.”
Burnett said an office building is “definitely on the table,” but added her clients are primarily interested in building a restaurant.
“I’ve had so many people over the years say it would be nice to have a sit-down restaurant that’s not a chain,” Burnett said, adding that the proposed restaurant would have two entrances to alleviate congestion.
Town Administrator Carroll Williamson said the town’s comprehensive plan future land use map classifies the area as commercial neighborhood retail. He added the requested zoning is listed as a compatible zoning district.
“It does meet the requirements of the comprehensive plan and future land use map,” Williamson said, adding the town’s board of architectural review would also have to sign off on the proposed building.
In other business, the commission postponed a similar request that would rezone 7.08 acres in the 11000 block of Wilson Boulevard. Commissioners said the applicant wants to build a self-storage facility on the property.
Rhett Kelley, an agent for the contractor, said his client couldn’t attend the meeting due to illness.
Kelley couldn’t provide many details about the proposed land use, prompting commissioners to postpone voting. He did stand in support of his client’s proposal.
“The best use, in my opinion, is a commercial use,” Kelley said.
The property to the north of the site is zoned Rural, to the east is Neighborhood Commercial, to the south is Community Commercial and to the west is Development District.
Williamson said the town’s comprehensive plan doesn’t list the Community Commercial zoning as a compatible zoning district, but he also noted the plan’s land use map lists some nearby properties as commercial.
“It’s just a concern to be looked at,” Williamson said.
The Community Commercial zone does allow self-storage facilities.
Blythewood resident Robert McLean, who said he has purchased land adjoining the proposed self-storage site, spoke in opposition to the request.
While McLean said he thinks the town needs self-storage facilities, he didn’t think the proposed Wilson Boulevard site is proper.
“I would implore the planning commission to take into consideration the existing rural nature of that particular part of Blythewood,” McLean said. “Let’s look at retaining the rural charm that we have. I honestly can’t think of anything that is more of an antithesis of what Blythewood represents in terms of development than a possible storage unit or use of space such as that.”
Commission chairman Malcolm Gordge said the panel would likely revisit the self-storage development in March.
RIDGEWAY – With Ridgeway Town elections coming up in April and filing closing at noon last Friday, The Voice called Ridgeway Town Clerk Vivian Case on Friday afternoon to find out who had signed up to run for office.
Case told The Voice that she could not provide that information.
“I’m no longer allowed to talk to the media,” Case told The Voice. “All media questions must now go to the mayor,” she said.
The Voice called Ridgeway Mayor Heath Cookendorfer.
“She’s ridiculous,” he said. “She can tell you. I don’t know why she’s saying she can’t tell you that.”
Less than an hour later, however, Cookendorfer called back to say that Case was correct, that all questions from the media, including questions asking for the names of candidates filling for election, would need to go to the mayor.
Unraveling Town Policy
After initially saying that it was ‘ridiculous’ for Case to say she could not answer questions from the media, Cookendorfer said he would run it by council.
“Let me confer with council. I don’t want to say anything without council saying yes or no. So, I’ll bring it up at the next council meeting, that if the press asks a question as general as ‘who’s running for election,’ is that something we (council) need to have her contact council prior to speaking to the media?”
Asked by The Voice to define a ‘general,’ question, Cookendorfer said he would have council define it.
While the next council meeting was not scheduled until Thursday, Feb. 10, Cookendorfer called The Voice back after only a few minutes with clarification.
“I talked to one of the council members,” Cookendorfer said, “and we talked about something they brought back to light.” He clarified: “For any questions about the Town of Ridgeway, [the media] has to call the mayor,” he said.
“For any question?” The Voice reporter asked.
“Anything!” Cookendorfer answered, contradicting his earlier statement that she (Case) could answer questions from the media concerning who is signed up to run in the upcoming Town election.
“Basically, it says that, ‘All media relations and public statements regarding the Town of Ridgeway should come from the mayor,’” Cookendorfer said.
“Where does it say that,” The Voice reporter asked.
“In a document that we have,” Cookendorfer answered, not specifying whether it was Town policy, Town statute or something else.
“Can I get a copy of it?” the reporter asked. Cookendorfer changed the subject.
“So, if the media has any questions concerning the Town of Ridgway or about how things are going, like who’s running for election, you would have to go to the mayor for an answer,” Cookendorfer said. He added that the press would also have to give him at least 24 hours to answer the question.
“I’m going to [need that time] to ask council and then maybe speak with her (Case) to get the answer,” Cookendorfer said. “Some things may require a little bit more tact and understanding of the answer.”
A Late Agenda
When asked why the agenda for the Town Council’s Jan. 20 meeting was late, Cookendorfer placed the blame on Case, saying he had approved the agenda and did not know why Case had not sent it out on time.
The agenda was emailed to The Voice at 11:49 a.m. on the day of the meeting, barely 6-1/2 hours before the meeting was scheduled to begin.
According to Sec. 30-4-80 of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, ‘An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least twenty-four hours prior to such meetings. All public bodies must post on such bulletin board or website, if any, public notice for any called, special, or rescheduled meetings. Such notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than twenty-four hours before the meeting.’
Councilman Rufus Jones told The Voice on Tuesday that when he had not received the agenda on the morning of the meeting, that he called Cookendorfer and learned that Cookendorfer had not yet approved the agenda. That approval, Jones said, was received via email at town hall around 11 a.m. less that the 24 hours required by law for the agenda to be posted.
The next scheduled meeting for the Ridgeway Town Council is Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Century House in Ridgeway.
WINNSBORO – There is a connection between James E. Webb, for whom the newly launched NASA space telescope is named, and Winnsboro.
Dr. William E. Aiken, a Winnsboro physician in the mid-1800’s, raised a large family. His daughter Augusta married Charles Douglas. Charles and Augusta built the house that sits at 101 Evans Street, now occupied by the John McLeod family.
Charles and Augusta lived there a short time until Charles, a lawyer, decided to move to Washington, D.C., where they lived for many years with their three children – Margaret, Talley and Patsy.
Patsy married James E. Webb who was later appointed Chief Administrator of NASA, a post he filled from 1961 – 1968, with distinction.
A portrait of Augusta hangs in the living room of the Fairfield Museum.
Other children of Dr. William E. Aiken and sisters of Augusta, were Annie Davis, the grandmother of John D. McLeod and Annie McLeod Jenkins and Carrie A. Elliott, the ancestor of Tom Sprott and Laurens “Bootsie” Livings.
WINNSBORO – The Winnsboro Lions Club hosted their annual pancake supper fundraiser on Monday at Barn Express. Pictured above, James Stephenson works the grill. Pictured below left, Linda Haslett serves coffee. Bottom right, Jimmy Stephenson and MaryGail Douglas.
BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood boys basketball team’s 49-40 victory over Dreher Friday night may not have looked pretty, but the Redhawks defense showed out and closed out the team’s third-straight Region 4-4A victory on Senior Night at the Castle.
“It was a great win for us on Senior night to send out our six seniors with a win,” Head coach John Combs said. “Any time you can get two wins over a region team, and two wins over Dreher, that’s a good thing.”
Seniors Bryson Felder, Jaylin McDuffie, Taukedrick King, Colin Evans, Amarion Evans, and Khalil Donald; Westwood girls player Thamia Davis; and senior cheerleaders were honored at midcourt between the girls and boys game.
Bryson Felder scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Westwood. Jaylin McDuffie had 13 points and six rebounds, and Arden Conyers had 10 points.
Just 15 shots fell for Westwood (10-13, 5-4), but seven of them were 3-pointers. Felder, McDuffie and Conyers made two apiece and T.J. Bell made one. The Redhawks shot 15-for-37, or 40.5 percent.
Those numbers don’t sound like much, but compared to Dreher’s 17-for-56, or 30.3 percent shooting, Westwood scored all that it needed to seal the win over the Blue Devils (9-9, 3-5).
“It certainly was a difficult game because Dreher plays all zone,” Combs said. “Give them credit, they adjusted their zone.”
Combs noted that when Westwood beat the Blue Devils 60-40 Jan. 14, they played mostly a 2-3 zone, but Friday night they reversed the look, going 3-2 and frustrating the Redhawks’ looks to the basket around the 3-point line.
“We had to make some adjustments to some things that we did, and we were fortunate to make some shots and get enough defensive stops,” Combs said. “Anytime you go and hold a team to 11 points in the first half, your defense is pretty good.”
Westwood even held the Blue Devils to just four points in the first quarter. The Redhawks got on the scoreboard when Felder made a basket and followed up with a 3-pointer. He then got a putback and McDuffie added a basket to close out the quarter.
Those nine points were all the Redhawks needed to begin pinning down Dreher. They outscored the Blue Devils 11-7 in the second quarter for a 20-11 halftime lead.
The Redhwaks never relinquished the lead, keeping Dreher at least six points behind throughout the second half. Westwood outrebounded the Blue Devils 33-26, which isn’t a great margin except that Dreher got just seven boards—five defensive and two offensive—in the second half.
“Rebounding was something that we preached to our team that we had to get better at,” Combs said. “We are better now than we were at the beginning of the year and that’s what we shoot for, we continue to grow as a team and continue to get better.”
Westwood fell 74-66 at Irmo Tuesday night. The Redhawks trailed the Yellow Jackets just 30-27 at halftime, but Irmo (20-4, 7-1) outscored them 22-10 in the third and took a 52-37 lead into the third quarter. Even though the Redhawks scored 29 points in the final stanza, Irmo scored just enough to seal the win.
Westwood concludes region play at Richland Northeast Friday. A win over the Cavaliers (9-9, 4-5) can secure third place for the Redhawks, behind Irmo an A.C. Flora.
In the girls game, Westwood (17-6, 9-0) outscored Dreher (4-6, 4-3) 34-16 in the first half and cruised to a 59-36 victory to claim the team’s fifth straight region championship.
“I thought we executed well. We knew they were tough, physical, and well-coached and we knew that they weren’t going away regardless of what’s on the scoreboard,” Westwood head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “I thought we held our own, did a lot of good things. We had some internal miscues, but that comes with the game.”
Jessica Woods scored a game-high 19 points, and Raven Johnson and Korletta Daniels put up 17 points apiece. The only other Westwood scorer was Makiah Thompson, who had six points.
Westwood defeated Irmo 66-38 Tuesday. Jessica Woods led all scorers with 22 points. Raven Johnson added 12 points.
The Westwood girls travel to Richland Northeast Friday.
Boys
Dreher – 4-7-16-13 — 40
Westwood – 9-11-16-13 — 49
Dreher
Mekhi Smith-Brown 17, Elliott 6, Hires 6, Lominack 5, Miller 3, Adams 2.
Westwood
Bryson Felder 18, Jaylin McDuffie 13, Arden Conyers 10, Bell 5, Donald 2, King 1.
Girls
Dreher – 9-7-8-12 — 36
Westwood – 12-22-13-7 — 59
Dreher
Imani Williams 16, Yonni Jacobs 10, Hollis 6, Robinson 4.
Westwood
Jessica Woods 19, Raven Johnson 17, Korletta Daniels 17, Thompson 6.
WINNSBORO – There was little rest for Richard Winn’s basketball players, coaches, and fans in the regular season homestretch. The Eagle teams, competing in four region contests since Feb. 2, have only one big contest remaining on Wed., Feb. 9, before region tourney contests begin.
The Lady Eagles succumbed to three of their last four opponents, but picked up a big region home win against the visiting Cambridge Cougars on Senior Night, Feb. 4. On the other hand, RW’s varsity boys captured three wins and suffered just one loss to be neck and neck with King for the regular season region title. That title will be determined on Richard Winn’s home court on Wednesday, following the press deadline.
Laurens
Richard Winn hosted the Laurens Academy Lady Crusaders on Feb. 2. While the Lady Eagles matched the visitors point for pint in the second half, the Laurens opponents were able to hang onto their 12 point first half lead to capture the road region victory, 40-28.
Mikaela Miller led the Lady Eagles scoring with 13 points. Teammates also posting points included Abby Lewis – 5, Delaney Young – 5, Brinson Baker – 2, Meagan Brigman – 2, and Emma Steed – 1.
Wardlaw
RWA got back on the court the next night after making the road trip to Johnston on Feb. 3 to rematch against a strong squad of Lady Patriots. The Lady Eagles kept the game close in the first half, trailing the Wardlaw team by only 3 points at the half, 16-19. Wardlaw increased their lead by 7 in the third quarter. That lead proved to be the difference as both teams matched up evenly with 18 points in the final quarter, leaving the visiting Winnsboro team with a 7 point deficit and another region loss, 40-47.
Young, one of the team’s four sophomores, topped the Lady Eagles’ scoring stats with 15 points. Miller followed with 12 points, all scored from the free throw line while shooting 75% at the charity stripe. Lewis – 6, Baker – 3, Steed – 2, and Brigman – 2.
Cambridge
The Richard Winn teams returned to the home nest on Feb. 4 to rematch against the Cambridge Cougars. After a deadlocked 4-4 first quarter, the Lady Eagles outscored their opponents by 3 in the second quarter to take a 12-9 lead into the locker room at halftime.
When play resumed, the Lady Cougars successfully employed a full court press throughout the third quarter and forced the Lady Eagles to make numerous turnovers. With Miller benched with foul trouble for the entire third quarter and part of the fourth, Richard Winn was still able to stay in the mix and keep Cambridge at bay by two. The Lady Eagles went into the final period with a narrow lead, 20-18.
Both teams battled hard to the nail-biting end, and just when it seemed as if the game could swing in either team’s favor, Lewis swished a 3-point basket and made a free throw late in the game. Midway through the last quarter, Miller got back into the game and hit 4-for-4 clutch free throws in the last minute to help seal the 32-29 victory and avenge the earlier loss to Cambridge.
Newberry
On Feb. 7 Richard Winn traveled to Newberry for their second regular season matchup against the NA Eagles. The Newberry Academy girls’ squad again proved themselves the superior Eagles with a decisive 57-32 victory. Coach Emily McElveen’s Richard Winn girls played a strong 16 point third quarter, but the 19 point halftime deficit (8-27) was too great to overcome.
This time it was RWA 8th grader Abby Lewis who carried the Lady Eagles offensively. Lewis was scoreless in the first half but came on strong to nail four 3-pointers in the third period and end the game with 16 total points. Young – 7, Miller – 6, Brigman – 3.
The Lady Eagles go into the final regular season region contest against King hoping to improve on their 2-8 region record and 6-9 overall record.
Richard Winn Boys v. Laurens
Coach Nick Chaisson’s boys’ team countered the girls’ record over these last four games and earned three victories while going down in defeat to Laurens by one point, 34-35.
The Eagles had previously beaten the Crusaders in Laurens, but the visitors arrived at the Eagles Nest more determined and with a better game plan. Lawson Wade, averaging just over 15 points per game, was held in check to 5 total points. Teammate Landon Caulder stepped up his game to lead the Eagles in rebounds and steals and tied Miller Stuck as the Eagle’s leading scorers with 9 each. Jacob Chaisson – 8, Drew Spires – 3, and Rob Wilson lead the assist category with 4.The team had 5 players to record blocked shots – Wade, Wilson, Caulder, Stuck, and Ethan Steward.
Wardlaw
The Eagles bounced back big the next day as they faced the Wardlaw Patriots in Johnston. Still feeling the bitter sting of the night before’s narrow loss, the Eagles jumped out ahead to lead 21-6 in the first quarter and then added 31 more points in the second to lead 52-11 at the half. Ten Eagle players posted points in the scorebook as the team cruised to a lopsided 70-29 victory.
Wade lit up the scoreboard with 22 points and collected 5 rebounds and had 2 blocks. Spires followed Wade with 9 points. Stuck and Wilson tied with 4 assists and joined Kitt Nicholson and Ethan Steward to record 6 points each. Caulder and Travis Bonds tallied 5 apiece, and Chaisson and Charlie Bonds added 3 and 2 points respectively.
Cambridge
The Eagles got back-to-back night victories; the next one was played at home against Cambridge, 57-33. Prior to the varsity boys’ game, lone Lady Eagle senior Mikaela Miller and solo Eagle senior Edward Clement were recognized during a Senior Night ceremony. The two players were escorted onto the court by their parents.
Eagle fans were treated to two particular crowd-igniting events during the Senior Night contest. The first occurred when Wade slam dunked in the first half, and then, with seconds left on the clock in the final period, Clement nailed a 3-pointer from the far right corner. Both baskets brought the crowd to their feet cheering.
Stuck had the hot hand for the Eagles with 19 points and led the steals (3) and blocks (1) stats. Wade recorded 15 points and team high 12 rebounds. Spires had 5 assists and 6 points. Caulder – 10, Clement – 5, and Chaisson – 2.
Newberry
The road trip to Newberry on Monday brought more good results for Chaisson’s Eagle team with a 41-21 victory. This time Caulder led the scoring with 13 points and rebounds with 6. Wade followed with 12 points and 5 blocks. Spires added 9 points and led with 4 assists. Stuck – 4, Steward – 2, and Chaisson -1. Wilson had 4 steals.
The three game win streak boosts the Eagles’ region record to 10-2 and overall to 16-5. Wednesday night’s results against King will determine who will be seeded #1 going into the region tournament this weekend. The Eagles only two region losses to King and Laurens were by narrow 1 point margins.
WINNSBORO – After a second theft of catalytic converters from transit buses in the Fairfield County transit system/maintenance shop in less than four months, Transit Director Diana White said the county is looking into purchasing better security for the bus lot.
On Sept. 28, 2021, catalytic converters were reported stolen from two of the buses in the lot. White told officers then that one of her employees reported the theft at about 5 o’clock that morning. Both buses had been parked at the rear left side of the maintenance area, according to the incident report.
The two converters were valued at $2,164, with $500 in damage to the two buses.
White told The Voice that the bus lot was equipped with security cameras, but that they were not working.
Thieves struck a second time on Jan. 21, 2022, taking catalytic converters from eight buses.
White reported the thefts were discovered about 4:45 that morning. According to the incident report, a large hole had been cut out of the fence directly behind where the buss were parked. Tire tracks were also reported on the left hand side of the shop behind the fence as well.
The eight stolen catalytic converters were valued at $1,200.
Again, deputies report that the security cameras at the facility were not working.
“After the first incident in September, we were talking about repairing or replacing the cameras,” White said. “Then, after the second theft last month, we began gathering estimates for a new security system for the transit parking and maintenance area. As soon as we get all the estimates, we’ll know if we need to bid out the purchase of a new security system for the lot,” White said. “Any price over $10,000 will have to be bid out.”
Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery asked that anyone with information about the two thefts to call 803-625-4141.