WINNSBORO – Affordable vet services for pets in Fairfield
County will be available soon – as soon, in fact, as the ribbon is cut on the
town’s newly refurbished vet clinic on Friday, March 28.
It’s long been the dream of former Director of the Fairfield
Animal Shelter, Bob Innes – now associated with PETSInc. – to see all Fairfield
dogs and cats living their best life.
With the county shelter overrun with mostly
un-spayed/un-neutered, stray, abandoned, neglected, and abused bully breeds, and
with regular veterinary services no longer available in the town, an
affordable vet service was not just a dream, but a necessity.
Last fall, Innes approached first the county government,
unsuccessfully, then the Town of Winnsboro Town Manager Chris Clauson, about
forming a partnership with Pets Inc. and veterinarian Robbie Chappell to
provide a facility where affordable – really affordable – vet care would be
provided for the county’s dogs and cats.
Clauson liked the idea and leased one of the town’s unused
buildings for $10 a month to the group.
With the partnership formed, volunteers were quickly
assembled to begin cleaning, scraping, painting, and repairing the building.
Innes and the volunteers raised more than $25,000 to pay the costs.
The 1,600 square foot facility includes an ample waiting
room, two small intake/examination rooms, a surgery room that will accommodate
two surgeons, a large recovery room, and a large restroom. With an attractive
entry area, new laminate in the rear rooms, freshly painted pastel walls, and
lots of windows across the front, Innes said the facility now looks like an
animal clinic.
“The clinic was so desperately needed here in Fairfield,” Innes
said. “So many strays, and good vet care is expensive,” he said. “Our aim is to
offer good care – specifically spay and neuter surgeries at first – at prices that
people in Fairfield can afford.”
“The clinic will be open at least two days a month to begin
with, then more frequently as business increases,” Innes said. “The specific days
and services will be announced later.”
The new clinic is located at 325 S. Vanderhorst Street in
Winnsboro.
To donate or volunteer, email Innes at binnes@petsinc.org .
A house fire in western Fairfield County. | Photos: Fairfield County Fire Service
WINNSBORO – Long an advocate for full staffing of Fairfield County’s fire stations, County Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen has said more than once: “If you live in western Fairfield County and your house catches on fire, it’s going to burn down.”
Webb
While he doesn’t agree with Swearingen’s assessment, Fairfield County Fire Chief Jamie Webb says the county is in desperate need of volunteer firefighters to supplement the six full-time and one part-time paid firefighters.
“We have fewer than 90 volunteer firefighters right now,”
Webb said. “We need at least twice that many to adequately man the county’s 15
fire stations.”
Webb says there are only six full-time firefighters and one part-time. Of the 15 stations only six – Community, Greenbrier, Mitford, Jenkinsville, Ridgeway, and Dutchman Creek – have an assigned paid firefighter, and that’s only from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An additional station – Lebanon – is manned by a paid firefighter from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., but for only two or three days of the week.
Unmanned Stations
That leaves eight stations unmanned.
“The advantage of having a paid firefighter at a station,”
Webb says, “is that when a call comes in, that firefighter can immediately
drive the firetruck to the call where it is joined by the volunteer
firefighters assigned to that station. That saves a lot of time.”
The eight stations that have no one manning them on any day
of the week, depend on volunteers assigned to that station. When a call comes
in to one of the unmanned stations, a volunteer assigned to that station has to
first travel to the station and then drive the truck to the call.
It gets worse. Four of the 15 stations are actually
substations that have neither paid nor volunteer firefighters assigned to them.
Those substations depend on volunteers assigned to other stations to answer
their calls, Webb says.
“We clearly have a great need for paid and volunteer
firefighters and would appreciate any help we can get to protect our
community,” says Webb, who’s been part of the fire service for 21 years.
“Back when I started volunteering, the county had over 150
volunteer firefighters,” he recalls. “Now it has fewer than 90.”
Nationwide Problem
“It’s not just a Fairfield problem,” he says. “There’s a
lack of volunteer firefighters statewide and nationwide. One reason is that
people no longer work close enough to home or are not able to leave work to go
on calls like in the old days,” he says. “Also, now, there’s training and other
time requirements. The number of people volunteering is just steadily
decreasing.
“And the volunteers we’ve had for a long time are getting
older and can’t do what they used to do,” Webb says.
He says there’s also been a shift in who’s signing up to
volunteer, with a noticeable lack of young people in their late teens, 20s, and
30s – the age group that has historically volunteered for the fire service
Benefits of Volunteering
Volunteer Sallie Williams
Webb wants to get the word out that the county provides a
great opportunity for anyone who wants to become a volunteer firefighter.
“The training – equipment, classes, required books and
learning materials – is provided free of charge,” Webb says.
Webb points out that volunteer firefighters also receive an
annual stipend (anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars), based
on how many points they’ve earned by responding to calls and attending
training. Volunteer firefighters can also qualify for a tax deduction.
“Being a firefighter – paid or volunteer – is one of the most
rewarding jobs you can have,” he says, “just knowing that you’re helping
somebody on what could be the worst day of their life.”
Webb says there’s also a junior firefighter program that
enables young people to complete their training beginning at age 16 and become
full-fledged firefighters by the age of 18.
Teens, Women Included
“We’re open to anybody willing to volunteer,” he says, and
I’m not talking about just men. We have 19 female volunteers, 1 female fulltime
firefighter and they’re some of the best.”
For anyone interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter,
Webb says the first step is to fill out a form that enables a background check
to be run.
After passing the background check, a physical is required
that’s paid for by the fire service and includes things like an exercise stress
test and blood work to ensure that the prospective volunteer is healthy and
physically able to do the job.
Volunteers train with a controlled fire.
Training
After completing the initial training, volunteer
firefighters must attend a certain number of additional trainings and call
responses each year.
Not all calls are fire calls. In 2023, based on call data,
the fire service received 1,395 total calls, but just 168 of those (12 percent)
were for fires: 23 were building fires and the remainder were cooking fires,
vehicle fires, woods and brush fires.
A larger number (43 percent) of the calls were medical
calls, and 242 (18 percent) were service calls to install smoke alarms that are
provided free for homeowners through a county program.
“Firefighters do a lot of jobs and wear many hats,” Webb
says. “And volunteers can specialize – they can choose to go just on medical
calls, drive and operate a fire truck, or direct traffic at the scene. We have
plenty of very important functions that do not involve fighting a fire.”
Webb emphasizes, however, that the county does desperately
need people who can show up to fight a fire.
Anyone with questions can reach out to the Fairfield County’s fire service’s main office, located at 880 West Moultrie Street in Winnsboro, on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or call (803) 712-1070. Applications can be filled out electronically or in person, and more information can be found online at https://www.fairfieldsc.com/departments/fire-service/.
RIDGEWAY – Faith Fighters Cancer Support Group hosted a GLOW (God Lights Our Way) walk in Ridgeway on Saturday, Oct. 14 to raise awareness for breast cancer.
The group partnered with Renada Richardson of Rich Beauty Fitness and Sheila Chappell, a Mary Kay Consultant, to put on the event. The two-mile walk began at Ridgway Town Hall and looped down Dogwood Street, past Geiger Elementary School, then onto Hwy 21 before returning to Town Hall.
BLYTHEWOOD – A public meeting is set for Sept. 19 for
members of the pubic to ask questions and learn more about the progress of the
Scout Motors project in the Blythewood Industrial Park.
A number of state and county agencies and other
organizations with connections to the Scout Motors project will be on hand to
seek feedback and provide information to the public.
Hosted by TeamSC, the meeting will include the South
Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History,
the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the South Carolina
Department of Transportation.
The meeting will be held from 4 – 7 p.m., at Doko Manor
located at 100 Alvina Hagood Circle in Blythewood.
The purpose of this meeting is to seek feedback and provide
information to the public on the Scout Motors development site, and the
proposed I-77 Exit 26 Interchange and connecting roads. The public will have an
opportunity to review materials and individually discuss the project with
representatives from various agencies.
BLYTHEWOOD – A proposed $2 billion automobile manufacturing
facility would potentially negatively impact over 111 acres of wetlands,
according to a recently published public notice by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.
The proposed 1,600-acre facility that Scout Motors wants to build near I-77 and Exit 27 would impact 73.6 acres of wetlands, 38 acres of ponds and 38 thousand linear feet of tributaries, the notice states.
Those details and more are part of the document filed in
support of a permit Scout is seeking to discharge fill material in the vicinity
of Beasley Creek. The creek is located on nearly 2,600 acres south and east of
Blythewood Road.
Comments are being accepted for 30 days from June 1, the
date the notice was issued.
“Written statements regarding the proposed work will be
received … from those interested in the activity and whose interests may be
affected by the proposed work,” according to the notice.
The Army Corps of Engineers will issue a decision based on
public comments, evaluating potential impacts, and compliance with federal and
state guidelines.
“All factors which may be relevant to the project will be
considered, including the cumulative effects thereof,” the notice states.
“Among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental
concerns, wetlands … and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people.”
A subsidiary of Volkswagen, Scout wants to start
construction next year and complete the facility sometime in 2026. Advocates of
the new facility tout the 4,000-plus jobs Scout has promised to create, as well
as road improvements Scout has pledged to complete in the Blythewood area.
To compensate for the affected wetlands, Scout has proposed
buying stream mitigation credits from several locations, including from the
Mill Creek in southern Richland County.
The Environmental Protection Agency defines a mitigation
bank as “a wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that has been restored,
established, enhanced, or (in certain circumstances) preserved for the purpose
of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources
permitted under [federal law] or a similar state or local wetland regulation.”
Essentially, developers can buy mitigation credits elsewhere
to replenish credits expended when damaging or destroying wetlands.
Mitigation maps place Scout’s proposed Mill Creek mitigation
site about 10 miles southeast of downtown Columbia.
In addition, Scout says it plans to take the following
actions to minimize environmental impacts:
Use appropriate erosion and sedimentation controls
Take steps to prevent oil, tar, trash, debris and other pollutants
Complete construction in an “expeditious manner”
Follow proper procedural and seasonal protocols when clearing wetlands
Properly place pipes to avoid/minimize scour and permit upstream passage of aquatic life
Use clean fill materials
Build multiple storm water detention ponds to minimize effect of impervious surfaces.
The Army Corps’ public notice did not rule out impacts to
endangered wildlife.
A review of Scout’s plans said there would be zero impact on
the Canby’s dropwort and rough-leaved loosestrife, two herbs found in the
county.
However, the project “is not likely to affect” the
red-cockaded woodpecker or smooth coneflower, the notice states.
The woodpecker remains endangered, however the coneflower
was recently down-listed from endangered to threatened, according to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
Public comments can be submitted via email to
Jeremy.M.Kinney@usace.army.mil or snail mail to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Attn: Regulatory Division, 69A Hagood Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina
29403-5107. Correspondence should include the following notice/file number:
SAC-2023-00690.
Blythewood’s 10U Minor All Stars are now South Carolina’s team and will represent SC at the DYB World Series starting Aug. 6.
BLYTHEWOOD – The final leg of their road to a Dixie Youth World Series title starts on Saturday, Aug. 6 in Lumberton, North Carolina. The community is invited to officially send off the Blythewood turned South Carolina All Stars on Thursday, Aug. 4 at 5:45 p.m. at Blythewood Town Hall.
In an interview with The Voice on July 27, head coach Marshall Dinkins talked about how special the team’s support from the community has been.
“We’ve had a huge outpouring of love and support. It means so much to all of us,” he said. “That’s what’s so special about this team – all of these kids are homegrown.”
The 10U team of Lucas Baker, Walker Blackwelder, Ryan Bottar, Skyler Cruz, Cooper Dinkins, Camron Lloyd, Carter McCune, Pierce O’Donnell, Tyler Vincent, Greyson Von Plinsky, Jacob Waters and Dayton Wilburn will have their final practice in Blythewood following the send-off. They will head to Lumberton on Friday morning.
Town Hall is located at 121 Langford Rd., Blythewood.
The team is coached by Marshall Dinkins. Dinkins is assisted by Justin Blackwelder, and Matt O’Donnell.
The team is fund raising to offset costs for the trip. Donations are accepted through Go Fund Me, or you can contact Savannah Wilburn (915-345-6619) to donate with cash or check.
Follow the team’s journey on Facebook (Blythewood Youth Baseball Softball League) or watch a livestream on Gamechanger (Blythewood Minors All Stars). The tournament runs Aug. 6 – 11.
WINNSBORO – Because of severe overcrowding and weeks of unrelenting
heat, the heretofore no-kill Fairfield County Animal Shelter may have to start
euthanizing animals, says Bob Innes, the shelter’s director.
The overcrowding has reached an intolerable point in the
last six weeks due to a sudden drop in the number of pets being adopted and
fostered, an increase in pet surrenders, and the large number of pets picked up
off the streets.
In light of the overcrowding, which currently has the
shelter at more than double its 44-pet capacity, Innes has issued an urgent plea
for help from anyone in the county or surrounding counties who is able to
foster or adopt animals.
“We’ve never euthanized for space since I came here, which
was in October, 2016, but I’m afraid we’re going to be left with no choice if
we don’t get some relief soon,” Innes says.
In a recent post on the Friends of Fairfield County Animal
Shelter Facebook page, shelter volunteer Samira Yaghi made a passionate plea
for help from the public.
“Folks, I honestly don’t know what tomorrow or the weeks to
come hold for our dogs at the shelter. Their fate is unknown as we continue to
struggle for space,” she wrote.
“We are at a loss and complete standstill. I [don’t know]
what is going to happen, but we are all faced with extremely challenging times
and decisions. And this is true of every shelter, coordinator and
director/manager I have chatted with,” Yaghi wrote.
“Our shelter has zero dogs leaving this week. None. And only
three cats leaving. We only had one transfer last week, a dog,” she wrote
Yaghi said that as the shelter continues to add to the
surrender list waiting to come in, it is still picking up strays in need.
“We have very little staff to care for these animals,” she
wrote. “To have to continue to sardine
animals into a shelter that is not set up for this influx is extremely
disheartening.”
It’s hot outside the shelter and hot inside the shelter,
making overcrowding even more uncomfortable for those animals confined to
crates.
Innes says a major contributing factor in Fairfield is that
too many people are still not being responsible toward their animals, and he
says it’s a problem that’s getting worse rather than better.
Overbreeding Pit Bulls
Another ongoing contribution to the shelter’s overcrowding
is backyard breeders, Innes said.
“They just breed pit pulls after pit bulls, and then when
the mamas have had so many litters, they disregard them, and a big percentage
of these pups that are sold off to a lot of different people end up running in
the streets, and we [animal control] end up picking them up,” he said.
Ninety percent of the pets in the shelter, he says, are
consistently pit bulls. The other 10 percent are other (mostly mixed) dog
breeds and cats.
Innes says even animal rescues up north, where many of the
South’s excess shelter animals are sent for adoption, have stopped accepting
animals because adoptions are down there, too.
In the last six weeks, he says, such adoptions have all but
stopped.
“I’m not only talking about local rescues; I’m talking about
all rescues,” Innes says. “Where we would move 10 dogs a week, we’re likely to
only move one. Rescues are just not taking animals.”
He says many factors play into this trend.
Right now is a difficult time of year for animal fostering
and adoption because people are on vacation and may put off plans to take in a
pet until they return,” he says.
Also, many people are returning to work after the Covid-19
pandemic, which means some people may no longer have the time available to
foster or adopt pets in need.
While there has been recent positive news at the shelter,
mainly the award of $35,000 in grant funding from Petco on behalf of Yaghi’s
extraordinary, nationally recognized volunteer efforts at the shelter, the
situation with overcrowding is dire and extremely stressful on both the animals
and the staff.
Innes says the county has made a $10,000 commitment to pay
for plans to be drawn up at some point for a new shelter facility with space
for 80 dogs and a veterinary clinic, but such a facility is still years away.
The overcrowding problem, by contrast, is immediate – and
Innes is hopeful that people will foster or adopt pets from the shelter so they
don’t have to be euthanized.
“Anyone interested in fostering a dog or cat or adopting and
looking after it properly, please call us at (803) 815-0805,” Innes said.
“Every animal deserves a chance.”
The shelter is locate at 1678 U.S. Highway 321 Business N.
in Winnsboro.
Gregory Brown of Greenleaf Farms sold his garden fresh produce at Doko Farm on Cedar Creek Road. | Photos: Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Three Blythewood farms offering their own produce and featuring a number of artisans participated in an 11-county Ag + Art Tour last weekend, opening their front gates to hundreds of visitors Saturday and Sunday.
Visitors loaded up their cars with farm produced eggs, fresh
flowers and vegetables, artwork and took fun photos of their children posing
with barnyard animals. Musicians performed at some of the farms on back-to-back
sunny days.
Many told the farm owners they would be back, using the tour
as a year-long guide to find locally grown food and handmade artisan treasures.
The Purple Tuteur Farm on Langford Road, which grows and
sells a wide variety of garden flowers to local florists as well as to the
public, featured not only its blooming gardens, but several vendors – May
Vokaty’s Molly Creek Soaps; Sculptor Ellen Emerson Yaghjian’s hammered copper
artwork, and others.
Doko Farm on Cedar Creek Road offered a virtual petting zoo
as well as a vendor from Elgin selling shabby-chic cottage furnishings, a
gardener selling his potatoes, flowers, and round green squash and graphic de signer Caroline McKay’s note cards, some of which
were designed from the farm setting, and a specially designed Father’s Day
card.
Fabel Farm on Hinnants Store Road featured not only the
farm’s own vegetables but several vendors including Kevin Cullis’ demonstration
of turning a block of cedar into a charming potpourri pot topped with an
intricately carved silver lid.
For those families who toured Blythewood’s Ag + Art farms, it was a weekend in the country they will remember.
Master Gardner Linda Bradley, owner of Purple Tuteur Farm, conducts a garden tour on Sunday.
Pam Rodrigus of Moxie Creations sold her shabby chic creations.
Paula Green, left, and her pup, Sebastian Wolfington, shop May Vokaty’s Molly Creek soaps at the Purple Tuteur Farm on Langford Road.
Karen Bickley and Linda Martin sold fresh cut bouquets at Purple Tuteur Farm
Sculptor Ellen Yaghjian displays her copper creations.
A quarter in the slot provided a handful of chicken scratch.
A variety of fresh, homegrown onions were on sale at Fable Farm.
Craftsman Kevin J. Cullis created exquisite potpourri potsfrom cedar blocks at Fabel Farm on Hinnants Store Road.
Craftsman Kevin J. Cullis created exquisite potpourri pots from cedar blocks at Fabel Farm on Hinnants Store Road.
Mark Johnston puts out signs to alert neighbors to the development. | Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – When longtime Blythewood resident Mark Johnston
noticed surveyors in his wooded neighborhood near the intersection of Swygert
and Mt. Valley Roads about a month ago, he said his heart sank.
“We’ve lived out here
in the country for more than 20 years,” he said, “and those surveyor stakes
don’t look good to me.”
While the land has been surveyed and staked, Mungo has not
yet purchased it.
Bill Dixon, vice president of land development for Mungo,
confirmed that Mungo has a contract on the property and is looking at
developing 262 acres along Mt. Valley Road on each side of Swygert Road.
“We’re still in the due diligence phase so we’re not certain
just how many homes will be built, but 400 is probably a ballpark number,”
Dixon said. “There’ll be a lot of green space. We’ll know more in another month
or so,” Dixon said, “but right now we’re studying and learning everything we
need to know about the property.”
Johnston said he
understands that the plan is to break ground in six to eight months.
“So, sometime in the fall I guess,” he said.
Dixon said that’s probably about right based on how long it
takes to do the study.
“The homes will be served by Columbia water and either
Columbia or Palmetto sewer,” he said.
“This is a rural area
out here,” Johnston said. “It’s a beautiful area and we don’t want to see a big
housing development go up out here in the countryside. I don’t think anyone out
here is going to want this.”
If the development becomes a reality, rezoning of the
property will take about three months or maybe longer. Any rezoning will first
go before the Richland County Planning Commission for a recommendation to
Richland County Council. It will then go before Council for three readings. The
public will be allowed to speak to any request for rezoning at the Planning
Commission meeting and again at the public hearing that will be held during one
of the three County Council meetings.
On Saturday, Johnston
and his wife Pam were seen putting out signs at the intersection of Swygert and
Mt. Valley roads. Down the road a ways, pink ribbons tied to survey stakes were
blowing in the wind. Johnston’s signs displayed the acreage of the proposed
development, the number of homes that could be built as well as Dixon’s name
and phone number for residents to call if they are concerned or have questions.
Johnston said that while he still doesn’t know a lot of the
details of Mungo’s planned development, he said he is trying to alert his
neighbors so they can have their say before it’s too late.
A lineman working to restore power in Blythewood. | Contributed
Blythewood
BLYTHEWOOD – After Sunday’s icy winter storm knocked out
power to about 12,000 Fairfield Electric Coop customers, linemen had restored
power to all but a few off them by 11 p.m., Monday night.
“The outages were widespread over our entire territory,”
Vice President of Member Services Doug Payne told The Voice Wednesday morning.
“Altogether, we probably had about 12,000 of our members without power at some
point. Some of those were on major circuits where we could restore power pretty
quickly.”
All but a very few had power restored by Monday night. Those few needed repairs on their individual services Payne said, and were pretty well taken care of by Tuesday.
Tree damage to horse fencing on a farm in Blythewood. | Contributed
“With wires down everywhere and broken poles, it took time
to work through the territory,” he said.
“The key to getting service restored so quickly was not only
the hard work and dedication of our linemen, but also the assistance we
received from partner cooperatives,” Payne said. “Several crews from the Akin
and York cooperatives as well as contractors and right-of-way contractors came
in to help us.”
With more icy weather forecast for this weekend, Payne said
these partners are on standby if Fairfield needs them again.
Payne said he posted updates on Facebook in an effort to
keep members informed of where the cooperative was in getting repairs made.
Many members also turned to Facebook to thank the linemen
for their work.
Our members were out of power and cold, but they were
patient with us, and that helped a lot,” Payne said. “Our linemen were working
as quickly and as safely as they possibly could to get power restored, and we
appreciated our members’ patience.”
Payne said he’s monitoring the upcoming weekend forecast.
“We’re hoping it’s not as bad as last weekend, but we’re going to be ready for whatever comes our way,” he said.
Picking up one of the broken power poles and getting the lines that had fallen into the reservoir out of the water late Monday afternoon. | Contributed
Fairfield County
WINNSBORO – During Tuesday night’s regular town council
meeting, William Medlin, Director of Electrical Utilities for the Town of
Winnsboro, gave an update on the effects of the severe weather conditions the
Town experienced on Sunday and Monday.
“At some point we lost all 3,400 customers,” Medlin said.
A tree down on Mobley Road in White Oak. | Addie Walker
He said that after his linemen spent two 20-hour days
repairing lines and power poles, only about 30-35 customers were still without
power.
Medlin posted on his Facebook page in the early morning
hours on Monday: “Our linemen worked late last night, some until 2 a.m. this
morning to get power back on for the town’s residents. They were up early again this morning and
will be out there late again tonight. We expect everyone to have power very
soon,”
Mayor John McMeekin praised the town’s crews.
“I can’t say enough about the dedication of our crews. I
can’t tell you how much we appreciate their hard work,” he said. “They deserve
all the accolades possible.”
Medlin and Town Manager Jason Taylor said there were delays
in getting the power turned back on due to damage to the generators at the
reservoir caused by the storm.
McMeekin told The Voice earlier Tuesday that trees downed by
the ice storm fell into the reservoir and knocked out the generator.
“When the reservoir went down, we had to concentrate heavily
on that, getting that caught back up so it wouldn’t cascade and then all of the
water go down,” Taylor said. “That delayed us getting power back on because we
had to drop everything to concentrate on the water to keep it from going down.
“
During that time, water pressure dropped in some areas and
others lost water altogether for a short time. A contractor was brought in from
North Carolina.
Taylor said town officials tried to regularly get
information out to the public on the status of power and water.
“We had public safety answering the phone,” Taylor said. “We
had people phone banking, trying to take all the calls we could. We posted on
Facebook, trying to get information out that way. We wanted residents to at
least know what areas we were working on, what our priorities were and that we
were doing everything we could to address the outages.”
Taylor said most of the Town’s Facebook posts were reaching
1,500 – 2,000 people.
Residents also took to Facebook to praise the town’s crews
who were working into the night Monday and Tuesday to restore power and water.
On Tuesday Jamie Brown commented: “Let’s keep all the
linemen and tree crews in our thoughts and give them a big thanks for all the
work they have done today in this weather. I know from experience how rough it
is doing that work on a normal day. Days like this are tougher.”
Donnie Richard Blackmon Laird commented, “We have no water.
Do you know when it will be back on?”
Taylor answered, “We don’t either, but it should be back up
in about 2 hours. We are having to pump several millions gallons [of water]
back into the system where it drained down when we were without power.”
Taylor said the storm exposed some weaknesses in the town’s
water system, specifically the lack of a backup generator for the reservoir.
“We do need backup generators. We need redundancy so when a
generator goes out, we can get going again,” he said.
