Blythewood- The Blythewood Historical Society and Museum will host a Veterans Day Celebration at the Langford-Nord House, 100 McNulty Street on Friday, Nov. 10, starting at 7 p.m.
The celebration will include a guest speaker, Rev. Clyde Scott, retired Army Chaplain and current Pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church; former Mayor, LTC Keith Bailey; Mayor J. Michael Ross; Westwood High School JROTC, a flag retirement with town council member Eddie Baughman and Jim McLean’s unveiling of a proposed Military Memorial to be built on site. The flag retirement includes an opportunity for guests to pay tribute to a family member who served or is presently serving in the military.
Light refreshments will be served and an open house to view Bob Redfern’s vintage military vehicles, Hud McLean’s Vintage military jeep, and Michael Child’s Miniature Military Scenes. The community is invited to the free event. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
BLYTHEWOOD – This year’s Town Council debate was more entertaining than those in the past – a little fun, a little banter. The five questions presented by the Chamber were long and convoluted. Question 3 was 73 words long.
Candidates for Town Council, from left, Bryan Franklin, Michelle Kiedrowski, Larry Griffin and Donald Brock, listen to the first question from moderator Mike Switzer, Executive Director of the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce. | Photo: Barbara Ball
A priority for the Chamber, which has received $63,000 from the Town in the last year and a half, was what priority the candidates would give to a close relationship between the town government and the Chamber.
The short question: What is your current opinion of the relationship between the town government and the business community which is the town’s primary source of revenue?
Michelle Kiedrowski said more priority must be given to bringing in more hospitality and accommodation taxes as a financial resource, and the Town should market itself to the kind of business the town needs.
Larry Griffin suggested the town needs to bring in the right businesses that will generate income for the town.
Donald Brock said the nu
mber one goal of the Chamber should be to help the businesses that are here survive. He suggested creating sources of revenue other than business-generated revenue – like a recreation department and sports complex.
Bryan Franklin agreed that a sports complex would be a good revenue source, but Franklin said the town must first look at what it needs to spend money on and then ask how to generate that income.
The short question: Are you open to a tax millage and/or a bond referendum for the purpose of accelerating the pace of street improvements?
All the candidates pretty much skipped the street improvements part of the question and got right down to the tax millage/bond referendum issue.
Larry Griffin said he is not opposed to a millage, but it has to be done with caution. If a tax would be beneficial and help us eliminate our traffic problems, I’m for it.
Donald Brock: Millage is a bad thing when it is wasted. He might like to see bonds or a property tax used to create a recreation center or to diversify events and attractions in Blythewood. The town has to give serious thought to establishing a stable revenue stream. I’m not opposed to a property tax, but I would use caution.
Bryan Franklin: I would be open to a referendum of the people. If the majority of the people want to impose a millage, I would not be opposed to it.
Michelle Kiedrowski: I agree. A millage needs to be considered only when the town is ready. There are benefits, but the citizens have to be involved.
The short question: How do you feel about Council’s decision to reduce design restrictions for businesses locating on Blythewood Road between 1-77 and Main Street, making it easier for more fast-food restaurants to locate there?
As Planning Commissioners, Brock, Franklin and Kiedrowski did not recommend easing the design restrictions. They remained united in their opposition during the debate, noting that they felt it was important to follow the master plan to improve the town. Brock said businesses coming in must not be allowed to hold the purse over our head and say, we’ll move into the town, but we are going to operate by our rules, not yours.
Griffin, on the other hand, voted for the easing of the restrictions. Griffin said the master plan should be changed when needed to meet the needs of growth.
The short question: How do you feel about mobile/itinerant vendors doing business in Blythewood?
Michelle Kiedrowski: When itinerate merchants come in and stay, they take business away from our local businesses. I’m not against vendors; vendors effect how Blythewood looks. I’m not a fan of them sitting overnight.
Larry Griffin: Some merchants like it and some don’t, so we need to have an ordinance to abide by. If we change the ordinance we have to be fair. What we do for one, we have to do for all.
Donald Brock: Itinerant merchants don’t have the same overhead and responsibility as a brick and mortar business. Perfect example is Grace Coffee and Bloomin’ Bean Coffee Shop. I’m sure the monthly expenses for Bloomin’ Bean exceed those of Grace Coffee. Food Trucks should come for events and then leave. That’s the nature of an itinerant merchant. They must not interfere with the businesses that are here. We need to hear from and fight for the local businesses, the ones in the trenches who provide the town’s revenue.
Bryan Franklin: Fairness is the word, but it has to be fair for the businesses that are already here.
WINNSBORO – Don Prioleau has been saying to many people lately, “You’re going to be surprised what you see inside.” He was talking about the extensive restoration of Fairfield High School by some of its alumni, still true to their school.
Fannie Ford, Easter Samuels and Dorothy Smith, members of the class of ’71, admire the walls of Fairfield High memorabilia, including their class picture. | Photos/Barbara Ball
And on Sunday, everyone found out that he was right.
It was a day to behold as about 300 former students, local dignitaries and friends entered the building to relive the students’ glory days through not only the restoration, but through the memorabilia displayed for each class.
Following opening ceremonies Alumni President Don Prioleau and Vice President Robert Davis introduced town, school, county and state dignitaries. An entertaining welcome speech by Eva Armstrong brought the house down. Fannie Ford introduced alumni officers and Janie Davis gave a brief history of the school.
After a ribbon cutting and tour of the facility, refreshments were served in the cafeteria. For those who had attended the school, the day was one of catching up with former classmates and savoring the days when they were young.
Senator Mike Fanning cut the ribbon held by a collection of members from County Council, Town Council, School Board and Alumni Officers. (Look for more photos in next week’s Voice.)
The red brick school located at 403 Fairfield St. in Winnsboro was built in 1924 and initially accommodated grades 1-9. During the ensuing years, the school added secondary grades, but it was not referred to as a high school. In those days, African-American high schools were generally called ‘training schools,’ with the idea of training students for certain jobs rather than offering a true academic curriculum.
But the students and teachers at the Fairfield Training School rose above that distinction and the negative implication of its name. In 1963, they changed the name to Fairfield High School, and today the Fairfield High School Alumni Association owns the school’s main building and restored it to the days when it was the center of their world.
The school compound, which consisted of a main building, a gymnasium and two other buildings, closed in 1970 when Fairfield County schools were integrated. FHS students were transferred to Winnsboro High School, which was located across the bypass from where the Winnsboro Wal-Mart building stands today. Owned by the Fairfield County School District, the school’s stately main building sat empty for years and would have simply deteriorated with age, if not for the efforts of its devoted graduates.
Mrs. Eva Armstrong, class of ‘47, welcomed the crowd to the Open House. (See her entertaining speech on our Facebook page – The Independent Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County)
By the late 1980s, several former FHS students began exploring the possibility of saving their old school building. The idea gained momentum, and they were soon planning an alumni reunion for the fall of 1989. It was a roaring success with almost 800 people coming together for a weekend of socializing, celebrating and planning the restoration in earnest.
According to Donald Prioleau, Class of ’62 and president of the alumni group since 1995, they were determined to save their beloved alma mater from desolation.
“This building has the kind of quality you don’t see much of anymore,” said Jean McCrory, the representative for the Class of ‘64 and a member of the alumni group’s Historical Committee. “It’s very well constructed, with high ceilings, thick walls and the hardwood floors are in great condition. Our goal is to preserve the original character as much as possible.”
On April 22, 2010, the association acquired the building for $5 and a promise to complete a laundry list of improvements within the first 10 years. Prioleau said they’ve kept those promises and more. So far, the group has volunteered untold hours of labor and raised funds to hire out other projects such as installing a new roof, gutters and windows and painting the exterior trim. Prioleau said they restored the restrooms to working order, painted the interior walls and refinished the hardwood floors.
Alumni Vice President Robert Davis (‘66) and President Donald Prioleau (‘62)
“The main building housed the principal’s office, several classrooms and the home economics room. The teachers’ lounge and the old cafeteria were in the basement,” McCrory said. “Our goal was to restore all of that to its original state. We did. But it took a lot more money and a lot more work.”
McCrory said the finished building will now ideally be used for a variety of recreational and community educational endeavors, such as a meeting place for scout troops and tutoring services.
Paging through the school’s yearbooks Sunday afternoon, it is evident there was a sweet bond between the teachers, and the students and the teachers are still cherished in their former students’ comments. Several, in fact, are still active in the alumni group.
“Each class stayed with the same home room teacher for all three years of high school,” McCrory recalled fondly, “from ninth grade to 11th grade, which back then was when you graduated. I’m still in touch with my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bernice J. Brown, all the time! She lives across the street from the school, where she’s lived since she started teaching. When new teachers came to the school, they always boarded with Mrs. Brown until they got settled somewhere. And two other teachers, Miss Margaret Roseborough and Mrs. Maude Ross, are both in their 90s and very much part of our group.”
Gladys Allen, class of ‘64, shows the photo of her ninth grade class with a wall of memorabilia in a renovated classroom.
The devotion the former students have for the school is alive and well. As McCrory and Alumni Association Vice President Robert Davis (Class of ’66) paused for their photo in front of the school recently, an unidentified woman driving past the school rolled down her window and called out proudly: “Class of ‘52!”
McCrory and Davis smiled and waved.
Alumni meetings are held at 7:30 on the third Tuesday evening of every month at the school, and individual graduating classes hold their reunions at various times throughout the year. Lively reunions for the entire 650 registered alumni are planned every two or three years. They’re always held on Thanksgiving weekend and begin with a Friday evening banquet.
“Then, on Saturday, we have a parade through downtown Winnsboro,” McCrory added, eager to go on about the weekend of fun, “and each class is represented on a beautiful float – we have about 20 floats. After that, we have a big tailgate party on the football field at Garden Street behind the school. On Sunday, we end our weekend with a church service. It’s always a wonderful event. At our reunion, in 2013, we had over 400 people.”
Almost 300 attended the open house and toured the school.
“But we’re getting older and we’re dying off,” Prioleau, 73, laughed. “The class of ’55 is about our oldest class to actively participate. But the school will go on through our kids and grandkids. We’ve passed down the importance of it and many of them now volunteer their time and donate to further the project.”
“The combined work of so many people has kept the spirit of the restoration alive,” McCrory said. “This project is very dear to our hearts. That school produced some very good people.”
For more information or to donate to the Fairfield High School historical restoration, contact Donald Prioleau at 803-337-2105, or mail donations to the Fairfield High School Alumni Committee, P.O. Box 1182, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180.
Richard Johnson grabbed a like-new couch at the First Unitd Methodist Church sale for his daughter who recently finished graduate school and moved into new digs.
WINNSBORO – “This was truly a great weekend for Winnsboro,” Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Director Terry Vickers said of this year’s 85-mile Big Grab yard sale.
“The fourth year was the charm for us, I think. We more than doubled the vendors that participated last year,” Vickers said. “And many of them made big bucks, especially some of the churches and youth groups.”
One of the biggest money makers every year is the First United Methodist Church which, this year, brought in over $9000. Church volunteers worked hard, hawking their wares from the corner of Washington and Congress Streets, volunteering to take purchases to the customers’ cars.
This happy mom found just what she was looking for – a camouflage style lamp for her son to study by.
Rev. Craig Bailey, pastor of First Baptist Church on Highway 34 said he received more than money from the shoppers at his booth. He reported being able to talk with many shoppers, some of whom were evacuees, who were in need of comfort and prayer. While he said his intention was to donate proceeds from his booth to the church’s youth group, he said the event turned out to be an outreach mission for him.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital employees joined the vendor crowd on Saturday as did many residents in homes around the city center.
These two decided on a find gold crooked neck lamp outside a residence on Washington Street.
“Highway 21 has always been a hotspot on the Big Grab route,” Vickers said, “but this year even more so. Purity Lodge must have had a hundred vendors at the entrance to Ridgeway.”
Heading south on Highway 321, shoppers found another bunch of vendors that were not there last year.
“Beulah Methodist Church was at first one of the few vendors on 321,” Vickers said. “This year there were vendors all along Blythewood Road into Winnsboro.”
Vickers said she was glad to see the event grow. “It not only allows some of our merchants and residents to make a little extra money, but it brings people to town who might not otherwise have make the trip,” Vickers said.
“It was great weather and we had a great time. Now,” she said, “it’s almost time to start planning for next year.”
BLYTHEWOOD – Thousands of sellers and grabbers returned to the roost last weekend when they converged on Blythewood, Ridgeway and Winnsboro for the annual 85-mile yard sale.
“What a weekend for Blythewood,” Organizer Mike Switzer, Executive Director of the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce said.
Shoppers came from all over South Carolina, the east coast and as far away as New Hampshire. While everyone from Florida to South Carolina was playing the waiting game with Hurricane Irma, the weather was perfect during the weekend and vendors say the sales were brisk.
We had evacuees from Florida telling us they were staying in our hotels and were looking for something to do,” Switzer said.
While vendors were set up in the towns, a growing number set up shop on Highway 21 between Blythewood and Ridgeway and along Highway 321 between Blythewood and Winnsboro. There was a large contingent of tents at the old Blythewood Community Center grounds as well.
Lis Humphries, owner of Blythewood Consignment said that with more vendors setting up in the park, there was less traffic and less sales in the shops along Main Street and McNulty Road.
And at the end of the weekend, many vendors donated the things they had left to Habitat for Humanity who’s truck drove away full.
“I still get a lot of calls about the traffic at the Big Grab,” Mayor J. Michael Ross told The Voice, “But it’s only two days out of the year. And it was great having all these visitors to our town.”
BLYTHEWOOD – With hurricane season around the corner, the Blythewood Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has organized a seminar to help members of the community know better how to cope with emergencies such as the flooding the Blythewood area experienced two years ago and that Houston and Louisiana are experiencing this week.
The 90-minute seminar is being hosted by Transfiguration Catholic Church on Thursday, Aug. 31, beginning at 6:45 p.m.
“But those attending don’t really have to spend 90 minutes at the seminar,” Paul Richter, one of the organizers, said. “There will be displays that folks can view at their own pace and we have a 30-minute presentation beginning at 7 p.m. with a general overview of what it takes to be prepared for an emergency and to see that emergency through in the best way possible.”
Richter said the displays will address topics relevant to enduring 72 hours without public services such as electricity and water.
Topics of discussion will include water purification, food storage, communication, how to secure valuables when leaving the home, pet care, light and first aid.
“It’s something everyone, adults and young people alike, need to know to survive an emergency,” Richter said.
Richter said there will be handouts and door prizes.
The church is located at 9720 Wilson Boulevard in Blythewood.
BLYTHEWOOD – The brand new Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union Amphitheater in Doko Meadows Park is one step closer to its slated Thursday, Oct.26 grand opening.
On Monday night, Council voted unanimously to allocate up to $30,000 from the Town’s Accommodation and Hospitality Tax funds to cover the costs of the event. The Grand Opening Committee, of which Councilmen Malcolm Gordge, Larry Griffin and Town Administrator Gary Parker are members, have been working in conjunction with MusicFarm of Columbia to secure musical acts for the opening event.
“We’ve got a pretty good guesstimate budget of $30,000,” Gordge said. “We do have an item by item listing but that’s still very much an estimate and depends very much on more detail, research and planning.”
MusicFarm will handle the lion’s share of the responsibility in setting up the performances and providing security services, while the Town of Blythewood would be responsible for additional man power to keep everything organized, Gordge said. Based on current estimates, Parker said MusicFarm will receive a $5,000 fee out of the $30,000.
The Root Doctors are the current front-runners for the big-name band on opening night, and the Committee’s hope is that they will be joined by two to three locals bands, Committee Chairman Buddy Price said. The mayor and some council members mentioned bigger musical acts such as Jimmy Buffett and ZZ Top, but costs proved to be too much of a factor.
“The headliner would be the root doctors, and we’re looking at bringing in some local folks to give kind of a local flavor to it,” Price said. “We did look at some of the big names, in fact we went after a couple you referenced, but they’re talking $150,000. It’s crazy amounts of money.”
Ross said Bravo Blythewood, which Price is a member of, was originally working with MusicFarm for an Eclipse event with a budget of $34,000, but Council asked that they switch their attentions to the grand opening ceremony. Price said MusicFarm had already presented Bravo Blythewood a budget, and based on MusicFarm’s experience with these type of events, the grand opening committee decided to retain them for the grand opening event rather than put the event management out for bid, Price said.
“Did we talk to anybody besides MusicFarm, and how did we come up with them,” Councilman Tom Utroska asked.
“As we stated before, based on interactions we already had, and they were already probably going to do the Bravo thing on eclipse night,” Councilman Larry Griffin said. “We just switched over because they were already there, they were already in house.”
During the park foundation’s last meeting, the thought was that the opening would be held on Friday, Oct. 20, Price said. But due to the Root Doctor’s availability or lack thereof, the committee was forced to move the event back six days. Parker said the Committee also shied away from Fridays and Saturdays, in fear of coinciding with the high school and college football games.
“That’s the only thing that bothers me. I know you got to do it with the band,” Ross said. “We looked at different nights with high school football that would interfere on the 20th, but it seems like this big of a thing would be on a Friday.”
The final motion allocated only up to $30,000 for the amphitheater’s grand opening ceremonies, but the particular band or organizer is not set in stone. The committee is still free to replace both the Root Doctors and MusicFarm if they wish to do so, Ross said, and encouraged them to look into other bands and management.
“Think outside the box if there’s still a chance,” Ross said. “I like the Root Doctors, but I think about what we spent for the DB Bryant band that just opened for Hank Williams JR, in Charleston, and it’s incredibly lower than what we would be paying for the Root Doctors.”
BLYTHEWOOD – After the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Switzer received $1,750 in A-Tax funds to cover the costs of organizing a ‘Moondoggle’ Battle of the Bands in Doko Park Aug. 21 to celebrate the eclipse, Switzer was back Monday night asking Council for an additional $7,000 that he said the Chamber will use to fund a three-night Total Eclipse of the Park event on Aug. 18, 19, and 20 that the Chamber will charge an entry fee for.
The three events will happen the weekend prior to the eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21.
Switzer told Council the weekend would include the Blythewood Jazz Orchestra on Friday evening, eclipse-related movies and food vendors on Saturday evening and more movies and the Lion’s Club Night for Sight on Sunday evening. He said the Moondoggle Battle of the Bands, which is free to the public, will wrap things up Monday.
“Our idea is to present the whole weekend as a Total Eclipse of the Park,” Switzer said. “We’re only asking for enough from the Town to cover the costs, to get the bands, to get the screens, the projectors, the movie rights, and some promotional activities and that’s it,” Switzer said.
Bravo Blythewood was originally slated for an event in the park on Friday Aug. 18, but Mayor J. Michael Ross told Council that Bravo Blythewood ditched those plans after he asked them to assist the town with the amphitheater grand opening.
“We just feel like with this facility available, up and running, and we have the event of a lifetime,” Switzer said. Normally, these matters would be presented to the A-Tax Committee before coming to Council, but due to the short time frame for organizing the events it was decided that Council would skip that phase of approval.
“We like it to go through our A-Tax committee for every event, but this one coming up we told them to go ahead and put this on our agenda and let us deal directly with it,” Ross said.
Switzer said the Chamber has also decided to charge for the three weekend events, charging maybe a couple of dollars per person for entry to the park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. He said the Chamber would then donate all the proceeds to a different organization each night. He said proceeds will be disbursed to the Park Foundation for Friday Night’s event, The Farmer’s Market for Saturday night and the Lion’s Club for Sunday night.
Switzer said the Chamber will spend $1,900 of the $7,000 on social media advertising, banners, flyers and other marketing items to draw in what the Chamber estimates to be 3,000 potential attendees.
Councilman Tom Utroska questioned the effectiveness of the money the Chamber says it is spending on advertising.
“I spoke to two of the hotels today and identified myself and asked them how their bookings looked for the weekend of the eclipse. They were unaware that the town was hosting the Moondoggle event. That’s not very good advertising. We approved $1,750 a month ago out of the A-Tax fund for that and it eludes me as to how as small a town as this is, both of the major hotels don’t know enough to tell people this,” he said.
“If we can’t get it out to local people I don’t know how we’re going to get 3,000 other folks to come in for three days,” Utroska said.
Aside from the advertising costs, Switzer said the fees for movie projector, screen and sound would run $2,800. The rights to broadcast the films would cost the town another $800.
Those numbers did not set well with Utroska either.
“In talking to the people up in Winnsboro, they pay $800 a night for their movie nights, unless it’s a premium movie, then they pay $1,000 and they use Swank Movie Productions or Funflix out of Cacey,” Utroska said,“ Theirs is up to $2,000 for two nights and yours is $2800 plus $800 for rights.”
Ross said the Chamber is looking into getting sponsorships from AT&T and Chick-Fil-A, and that if those come to fruition, the Chamber would refund to the Town whatever portion of the $7,000 that the sponsorships were to cover. ‘If the sponsorships would come through and they would give you a thousand, then you would refund what you had asked for that you thought would be an expense for y’all,” Ross said.
Council will withhold 20 percent of the funds until a final even report is submitted by the Chamber and reviewed by the Town.
Council voted 4-1 to award $7,000 to the Chamber with Utroska voting against.
COLUMBIA – The much-anticipated ex parte briefing by SCANA to the Public Service Commission scheduled for Friday, July 28, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
The meeting will be the first time SCANA has updated the commission and the public since April on its findings regarding whether to continue to build the two nuclear reactors currently under construction at the VC Summer Nuclear Facility in Jenkinsville, finish just one and abandon the other or abandon them both.
-Ron Aiken
QuorumColumbia.com
Sources tell Quorum a reason for the move could be that rather than give an update, SCANA is prepared to announce its final decision on the project’s future and needs the extra time to finalize its data.
BLYTHEWOOD – Another year and another Blythewood Dixie Youth team will be representing the town in The Dixie Youth World Series. This time it will be The Machine Pitch All-Stars headed to Cleveland, Mississippi for the World Series from July 28 through Aug.1. This tops off their first ever state title in a close 5-3 contest against Lexington.
Last year, the Blythewood Dixie Youth Minor’s team not only won the district tournament, which was held in Blythewood, but claimed the State Championship and brought home a third-place finish in the Dixie Youth World Series.
The All-Stars dismantled the competition enroute to their World Series appearance. They began by routing Summerville, 11-1, and followed that victory with a dominant 9-2 win over Central.
The team solidified their streak of blowout wins by downing Delmar, 17-5, Gaffney, 12-0, and Bluttfon,15-6. The team will get their first taste of action on July 28 when they take on Alabama at 2:30 p.m., and their second game will be against Cleveland at 5:30 p.m.
