Blythewood Online 691

Category: Government

  • Voters reshuffle R2 school board

    Garvin elected to replace McEachern

    COLUMBIA – Voters in the Richland Two school board race returned three of the four incumbent candidates to office on Tuesday and seated a political newcomer who received more votes than two of the incumbents, ousting one in the process.

    In the at-large race, the top four vote getters are seated. Those are Amelia McKie, James Manning, Teresa Holmes and Cheryl Caution-Parker.

    Current board chair Amelia McKie took the lion’s share of the vote with 22,427 votes (20 percent) to win a second term. McKie, a Richland Two parent, was elected chair of the board during her first term, campaigning on her many years of supporting the district through service on numerous parent/teacher/student organizations and School Improvement Councils.

    James Manning, also a Richland Two parent, was elected to a third term on the board with 18,768 votes (17 percent).

    In an upset, newcomer Teresa Holmes came in third with 17,528 votes (16 percent), over Blythewood incumbents Cheryl Caution-Parker with 16,570 votes (15 percent) and Craig Plank with 15,049 votes (14 percent). Those numbers left Plank, who was first elected in 2014, out of the mix.

    $476M bonds approved

    Voters in Richland School District Two approved two separate questions for bond referendums totaling $476 million for school projects. The first question asked for approval of $381.9 million for upgrades to security, technology and other improvements. That money would also go toward building new facilities for district schools including Bethel-Hanberry Elementary.

    The second question provided funds for upgrading athletics facilities at several schools including separate stadiums for Ridge View High and Richland Northeast High schools and creating a district performing arts center.

    House race

    In a statehouse race affecting Blythewood residents, Richland County voters sent newcomer Kambrell Garvin (D) to the House (Dist. 77) with 12,390 votes (84 percent) over opponent Justin Bishop who took 2,284 votes (16 percent). Voters in Blythewood favored Garvin over longtime incumbent Joe McEachern in the Democratic Primary.

    Richland showed a notably higher voter turnout in 2018 compared to previous election years. The 51.22 percent in 2018 for the county was five percent higher than 2014.

  • Grace Coffee FB post stirs up community

    BLYTHEWOOD – “The Town Government is shutting us down,” Matt Beyer, the owner of Grace Coffee posted on Facebook Thursday, Oct. 25. “Give the Mayor a call and let him know how the people of Blythewood feel about Grace Coffee,” Beyer posted along with Mayor J. Michael Ross’ personal cell phone number.

    “My cell phone immediately blew up with calls from angry people,” Ross said. “I was shocked that someone would post my cell on the internet without my permission, and then post that the Town had shut his business down. We didn’t even know he had moved until an electrician came to Town Hall to get a permit to install an electric pole on the Community Center property for Grace Coffee,” Ross said.

    “It is my understanding that Mr. Beyer left his current location in the parking lot of Bits and Pieces Consignment store after he chose not to sign a lease and start paying rent to the new owners,” Ross said. “That’s not the same thing as the Town shutting down his business. The move was between him and the property or store owners. We had nothing to do with it.”

    Beyer posted a video on Saturday backing off his initial post that the Town had shut him down.

    “The Town did not tell us to move off the Main Street property,” Beyer confirmed in the video. He said, however, that his comment about the Town shutting Grace Coffee down, was in reference to the Town not approving a permit for a new power pole at the Community Center property the day after he moved from Bits and Pieces.

    “The other way they shut us down is they are clinging to the ordinance that we are a temporary vendor but they treated us for the last two years as a permanent business that is non-conforming,” Beyer said.

    “Before he moved on Wednesday, Oct. 24, I think it was, we explained to him that if he moved, he would no longer be protected by the grandfather clause that Grace Coffee had enjoyed for the last two years,” Town Administrator Brian Cook told The Voice.

    “It’s as simple as that,” Ross said. “He is welcome to set up in town just like the peanut man and all the other vendors, but he will now have to move every night and live by the same rules the other temporary vendors live by,” Ross said. “Those vendors can’t have permanent gas, water and electrical hookups.”

    In an interview on Tuesday, Oct. 30, Beyer told the Voice that the Town has never told him that he was grandfathered in on that property and that he would no longer be grandfathered in if he moved. He said the town hall has never provided him documentation with that information.

    According to Kristen Benini, the current owner of Bits and Pieces Consignment, Beyer operated in the store’s parking lot rent free for the last two years, with free storage and utilities, paying electricity only when it spiked, and then only for the spike.

    “I don’t think it’s too much to ask for him to pay rent and utilities like every other business in town,” Benini said.

    “I wish Matt all the luck in the world, but I wish he had thought of the consequences of his actions before he pulled his coffee wagon off the lot where he was protected by a grandfather clause,” Ross said. “He has turned himself into a temporary vendor that has to operate under the regular vendor rules.”

    “We did not want to move,” Beyer posted on Facebook, “but there are new owners of Bits and Pieces Consignment, and they are not allowing us to be there anymore.”

    In an interview with The Voice, Beyer said Annette Wilson, the new owner, did push him off the property.

    Beyer said he received a rental agreement from the new owners Tuesday, Oct. 16.

    “But before I even got a chance to talk to them, Friday morning I got a text saying they wanted to retract it, that they didn’t want us there, so we needed to be out by Oct. 31,” Beyer said.

    Emails and texts obtained by The Voice from Wilson appear to contradict those claims.

    Wilson, who took ownership of Bits and Pieces on Nov. 1, said she met with the owners, renters and Beyer in late July to discuss the transition of ownership and that Beyer was told by the property owner at that time that he would be expected to begin paying rent under the new ownership.

    “Mr. Beyer and I discussed the contract for several weeks in phone conversations before we drew it up,” Wilson said. “I scheduled a meeting with Mr. Beyer on Oct. 4 to go over the rental agreement, but he cancelled the day before, saying he was too busy to meet.”

    After that, from Oct. 7 until Oct. 16, both parties say they exchanged emails and talked on the phone about the contract.

    “On Oct. 17, I emailed the contract to Mr. Beyer. He texted me that he received it and he asked me to remove the landscape clause. I told him I would. I then texted all involved (property owners, current renters and Beyer) to schedule a time for us all to meet and to finalize my lease agreement with Mr. Beyer,” Wilson said.

    “The earliest I can meet is Friday,” Beyer emailed back. “I will know my schedule better after tomorrow (Thursday). I will be back in touch.”

    “But we never heard anything else from him,” Wilson said.  “By Friday, when we hadn’t heard from him, and it was the second meeting he had missed to discuss or sign the lease agreement, I had to assume that he was not that interested. After all our communications, I felt he just kept putting us off. It was getting close to Nov. 1, and I didn’t have a signed agreement. So I emailed him what I thought was apparent, that this was not a good fit for either of us and I withdrew the lease,” Wilson said.

    “After our initial meeting in late July, I never was able to meet with him again,” Wilson said. “We never said to him that we did not want him there. We tried. We changed the lease to his specifications, everything. He could have stayed there. All he had to do was sign the lease. Even without signing it, he could have stayed until Oct. 31.”

    Beyer pulled up stakes on Wednesday, Oct. 24 according to Benini. He got permission from Larry Sharpe to set up on the Community Center, which Sharpe owns, that same day. But because his grandfathered status did not extend to that property, Beyer could not obtain a permit for an electrical pole because he was, at that point, a temporary vendor and no longer grandfathered as a permanent structure.

    On Wednesday, Oct. 31, Sharpe told The Voice that Beyer had informed him that he (Beyer) would be moving the coffee trailer that day.

    Beyer told The Voice on Oct. 30 that he did not know where he would set up next.

    “I’m not going to debate the town government, but I am going to allow the community to speak up and if they want us, the government has an opportunity to step in and ask, ‘How can we make this happen?’” Beyer said.

    History of Grandfathering

    When Grace Coffee rolled into town in December 2016, it was considered a mobile vendor. Beyer initially removed the trailer every night as he had agreed to do when he was allowed to set up shop. But as the business became successful, Beyer refused to remove the trailer at night.

    Next, Beyer wanted a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) which is only given to brick and mortar buildings.

    The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) met on April 17, 2017 to consider Grace Coffee’s request for a COA for its location in the parking lot of 208 Main Street.

    Under what one board member described to The Voice as ‘pressure’ from Town Hall, the BAR reluctantly granted Grace Coffee a temporary COA for a period of one year. According to the Town’s former administrator, Gary Parker, the Town had no ordinance in place to address the vending stand, but the Town’s Planning Consultant (at that time) Michael Criss, who, during government meetings championed street vendors, interpreted it to be a structure.

    The temporary COA was intended to allow the Town time to review and create regulations to address vending stands.

    On April 24, an ordinance that superseded the temporary COA issued by the BAR a week earlier, made Grace Coffee a non-conforming use, Town Administrator Brian Cook wrote in a memo to the BAR. This also gave Grace Coffee the same zoning protections of brick and mortar buildings, something none of the other vendors enjoyed. But the non-conforming status was only applicable at the 208 Main Street address.

    “I really have a struggle with the fairness of this,” Jim McLean, Co-Chair of the BAR said at the time.  “Are the brick & mortar stores being undercut?  They have made a hard investment in the town and are abiding by the regulations and restrictions.  The caveat of unfair competition needs to be addressed.”

  • Candidates speak out

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield voters had an opportunity to find out what candidates had to say earlier this week during two candidate forums sponsored by the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce.

    Candidates for County Council Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 answered questions on Monday evening, and candidates for the School Board of Trustees Districts 1 and 7 answered questions on Tuesday evening. Both forums were held at the Woman’s Club in Winnsboro.

    The forums can be viewed on The Voice’s Facebook page: The Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield County.

     

  • Candidate forums set for Oct. 29, 30

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County political candidates for the Nov. 6 election, will be given the opportunity to have their say during two candidate forums sponsored by the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce. Both forums will be held at the Woman’s Club in downtown Winnsboro.

    The forum for County Council candidates will be held on Monday, Oct. 29, from 6 – 8 p.m. Moderator will be Winnsboro attorney Mike Kelly.

    Council candidates are: District 1 – Dan Ruff (incumbent) and Moses Bell; District 3 – Mikel Trapp, Sr. (incumbent) and Peggy Swearingen; District 5 – Douglas Pauley (incumbent) and Matthew Seibles; District 7 – Lisa Brandenburg, Jana Childers and Clarence Gilbert.

    Another forum will be held the next evening, Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 6 – 8 p.m. for candidates for the Fairfield County School Board of Trustees and the House of Representatives (Dist. 41).  Moderator for the Board of Trustees candidates and House candidates will be Neil Robinson.

    School Board candidates include: District 1 – Sylvia Harrison (incumbent) and Elliot Qualls; District 7 – Darreyl Davis (incumbent) and Herb Rentz.

    House of Representatives, District 41 includes Fred Kennedy and Annie McDaniel.

    The Woman’s Club is located at 102 S. Vanderhorst Street in Winnsboro.

  • Town highlights its merchants

    Splash Omnimedia was on scene in Winnsboro last week filming inside some of the town’s stores, interviewing customers and merchants. Town Council hired the marking firm to promote the merchants and the downtown area. | Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – With the intent of showing off its downtown merchants, the Winnsboro Town Council recently hired a marketing firm to produce a video to promote the various shops and restaurants on the town’s website, Town Clerk Lorraine Abel said in an interview with The Voice.

    Splash Omnimedia, a Lexington marketing firm, spent several days last week in the downtown area getting to know the merchants and their customers and what they love about the town.

    Abel, who organized the event, said she was extremely happy with how it all went, including a buffet luncheon the town government provided for the marketing crew during the filming on Thursday.

    In Oldies and Goodies, a vintage/consignment shop on South Congress Street, the film crew interviewed Wilson Chevrolet sales manager Lon Jackson who was browsing the store with his wife, Disa, and their two children Zoe and Lane.

    Moving up the street, the crew stopped in at The Donut Guy and spent some time in Petal Pushers Uptown flower and gift shop visiting with shop owner Christine Richardson and her daughter Paisley. They then proceeded to the Cornwallis House of Tea, Sunshine & Serenity, Song Bird Manor bed and breakfast, the Railroad Museum and the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce.

    The three-minute video, some of which was filmed with a drone, will also feature some of Winnsboro’s parks and historic homes.

    Abel said the Town Council spent about $3,800 for the video which will appear on the website in late November or early December.

  • Council taps new board members

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council approved three new appointees and re-appointed two others to the town’s boards and commissions on Monday night.

    Cruise

    Mark Cruise, a resident of Cobblestone Park, was appointed to the Planning Commission. Cruise is a three-year resident of the town and is the owner of Governance4Good, a consulting firm for nonprofit organizations.

    Cruise is an officer on the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is a member of the Blythewood Rotary Club.

    Because of a previous commitment in November, Cruise will not begin his term until Dec. 1.

     

    Griffin

    Sloan Griffin III, also a resident of Cobblestone Park, was appointed to the Planning Commission. He said he moved to Blythewood a little over a year ago from the Greenville/Spartanburg area where his career was in fire service and emergency management.

     

    Griffin is employed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control in emergency preparedness covering the PeeDee area.

    “I thought I would jump in and help the town as much as I can with my knowledge and expertise,” Griffin said.

    Coleman

    Alisha Coleman, a resident of Lake Ashley for the last four years, was appointed to the Board of Architectural Review. An architect, Coleman holds a master’s degree in architecture from Clemson University.

    “Ms. Coleman has already done some work for the town,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said. “She created some conceptual drawings of our vision for the farmer’s market in Doko Park.”

    McLean

    Jim McLean, a resident on Sandfield Road, was re-appointed for another term on the Board of Architectural Review. A lifelong resident of the town, McLean has served on the Planning Commission and is a previous Council member. McLean serves as vice-chairman of the BAR.

    Ray Fantone, a resident of Lake Ashley, was also re-appointed for a second term on the Board of Zoning Appeals.

    Coleman, Griffin, Cruise, McLean and Fantone will take office Nov. 1. All appointments are for three year terms.

  • County water authority explained

    WINNSBORO – An otherwise procedural vote to revise Fairfield County Council bylaws flowed into deeper discussion about how a proposed water and sewer authority will function.

    At its Oct. 8 meeting, the council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution to revise the bylaws addressing how authority board members are appointed.

    The county and town would each appoint three members to the seven-member authority.

    Both bodies would jointly approve the seventh member.

    In its early stages, the proposed authority is primarily a joint venture between Fairfield County and the Town of Winnsboro. The Mitford Rural Water District has expressed interest in participating, but nothing has been finalized.

    At the Oct. 8 meeting, Councilman Mikel Trapp asked several questions about the size of the proposed authority, how it would be constituted and who else is participating.

    “So is any other water company involved besides the Town of Winnsboro?” Trapp asked.

    “Initially we’re working with the town of Winnsboro. We do anticipate in the future to reach out to others,” County Administrator Jason Taylor replied. “But to form it initially, we’re working with Winnsboro because they’re the major provider of water and sewer in the county.”

    “So [there] is not going to be a board member coming from another water company,” Trapp asked.

    “We’re in discussions right now to look at one other water company,” Taylor said, identifying Mitford. Taylor said Mitford reached out to the county.

    Trapp later expressed concerns other water companies were being excluded.

    “I wasn’t making a statement that someone was trying to take over,” Trapp said. “I was concerned if we asked another member from another water company. It seemed like we’re picking one over the others.”

    Earlier this month, the Jenkinsville Water Company’s leader expressed concerns about the authority in an interview with The Voice.

    “They said they wanted ‘X’ amount of dollars for you to join a water authority, but they [haven’t said] what it’s going do for you, how it’s going to help, what it’s going to do or anything else,” said JWC president Greg Ginyard.

    Taylor said the proposed authority boils down to economic development and industrial recruitment.

    Aside from preliminary talks with Mitford, the proposed authority is primarily a Fairfield County and Winnsboro venture. Participation is not compulsory, Taylor said.

    “The genesis of this is primarily because our economic development sites, our industrial sites, are served by the Town of Winnsboro,” Taylor said. “We need to make sure those industrial sites are more than just land, but they have the water and sewer so they can attract the industry.”

    Later, during a different discussion, county officials said functioning water and sewer services are vital in economic development efforts.

    “We’ve got to get our act together. We need to get water in the ground. We need to get sewer in the ground in order to grow,” Ty Davenport, the county’s director of economic development, said. “Our capacity is 34,000 gallons a day. We should have a minimum of 800,000 gallons a day, probably a million gallons. At the [Fairfield County] mega site, we’ve got to have a million gallons. We’ve got a ways to go there.”

    Council Chairman Billy Smith said he’d like to see additional water providers join, noting it could shave costs for customers.

    “I’d love to see it so we could have everybody in the agreement if we possibly can and take advantage of economies of scale,” Smith said. “They [water providers] sell water back and forth back to one another. If we could get everybody under one roof,  that would be a good thing for the citizens of the county and help lower their rates over time.”

  • Palmetto Citizens CU sends final check to town

    BLYTHEWOOD – Former Council member Paul Moscati, representing the Park Foundation, presented a check for $40,000 to town council Monday evening. It was the final payment from Palmetto Citizens Credit Union for naming rights for the amphitheater in Doko Meadows.

    The foundation has raised a total of $280,000.

    “We are now pricing through some documents for the farmers market facility,” Moscati said.

    “We have a contractor working on that right now to give us an estimate. We’re also pricing through the auxiliary buildings for the amphitheater – concession stands, additional restrooms and storage,” Moscati said.

    “We’re just trying to see how much these will cost.

  • Rent cost, no contract muddle ‘village’

    WINNSBORO – Taxpayer money, not previously mentioned by the Fairfield County School District Foundation, will help subsidize a ‘teacher village,’ a proposed residential development intended to attract and retain teachers in the District, should the plan move forward.

    Under questioning by Council members, Foundation and District officials also confirmed that they do not yet have a contract, executed or proposed, with the village investor. That did not sit well with some Council members who are being asked to approve a multi-county park agreement as well as a seven-year tax refund benefiting the investor.

    In multiple public and private pitches, Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green and Fairfield School District Education Foundation Chairman Sue Rex have said first priority for the housing would go to teachers, who would pay between $600 – $900 a month to rent the homes, which are between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet.

    District office staff, followed by first responders, could also be allowed to live in the community. After that, others in the community could be accepted as renters.

    During County Council questioning on Monday night, however, it was learned that actual rental fees would range from $900 – $1,300, not $600 – $900 a month.

    “I’m interested in how you plan to rent these houses for no more than $600 to $900 a month. It seems low for what the tenants would be getting based on the square footage,” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said.

    “How will the houses be rented for rates this low?” Douglas asked. “Is it possible the school district will be subsidizing the rental fees?”

    Green answered in the affirmative. He said a proviso in the state budget includes funds that school districts can use to recruit teachers. The district would have the ability, Green said, to subsidize each home up to $300 per month, for a total of $108,000 of District subsidies each year.

    “We plan to utilize our funding to help reduce the rental rates,” Green said. “We will be supplementing those rates with that retention and recruitment funding. They are looking for a school district to do some innovative things with those funds.”

    State lawmakers inserted the proviso that Green referenced into the 2016 state budget, with funding going to the S.C. Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention & Advancement, or CERRA, legislative records show.

    CERRA received $1.5 million in 2016. Since then, the appropriation has zoomed to $9.5 million in 2017 and 2018, according to CERRA’s 2017-2018 annual report.

    Per the proviso, CERRA’s job is to help districts with teacher turnover of 11 percent or more over the past 5 years to boost teacher recruitment and retention. Fairfield County is among those districts.

    In 2017-2018, CERRA spent $12.97 million on its teacher recruitment program, accounting for a majority of its $18.95 million in total expenditures, its annual report states. Fairfield County School District received the third highest allotment, totaling close to $738,000, of all districts drawing from the fund.

    Council Chairman Billy Smith asked Green if the proviso money is permanent or if it might not be continued in the future, citing the State Legislature’s budgeting discretion. Green suggested the proviso could be built into the state budget after, perhaps, three or four years, but that is no guarantee.

    Council member response to the teacher village varied during Monday night’s meeting.

    Councilman Douglas Pauley asked several questions, including whether teachers living elsewhere in the county would receive the $300 rent subsidy as well. Green said they would not.

    Pauley also asked about whether the district has looked at other builders or financiers.

    Green said they had not. He also said Gorelick is willing to cover the $3.6 million in construction costs, and had the ability to choose the builder on their own.

    Green went on to repeat a district talking point that, in addition to recruiting teachers, the village would spur economic development.

    Green said Fairfield was the first District to be implementing this kind of teacher housing project and he wanted to have it ready to go by the start of the 2019 school year. He said other districts are beginning to look into doing something similar.

    While council members generally praised the District for thinking creatively about ways to recruit and retain teachers, Smith stated that Council would need more documentation and specifics about the project before taking any votes.

    As proposed, the Fairfield County “teacher village” would be built on 11 acres of land the district owns behind the district office off U.S. 321 Bypass in Winnsboro. There are tentative plans for a second phase on the other 11 acres.

    Rex, the foundation’s director, emphasized that the multi-county business park must be approved by the County to move the project forward.

    “We want to put together a template that works so beautifully that the school district, foundation, the county council, the private investors can work together to put this project into place and make it successful,” Rex said.

    Before moving forward, the district also must seek approval from the Town of Winnsboro to rezone the teacher village property, a process that could take up to six weeks.

    Councilman Dan Ruff said he’s encouraged by the teacher village’s possibilities.

    “I want to commend you and the foundation for your creative thinking in this process,” Ruff said. “I think it is fantastic and I hope it works out.”

  • School Board, House candidates speak out

    WINNSBORO  – As the Nov. 6 elections approach, School Board candidates Henry Miller (Dist. 3) and Rev. Carl E. Jackson, Jr. (Dist. 5), both incumbents, are not worried about the outcome of their races since they are running unopposed. However, four school board and two House candidates, however, are on the stump.

    School District Board of Trustees

    District 1

    Harrison

    Incumbent Sylvia Harrison, 51, is seeking re-election to the school board after serving a partial first term following the death of longtime board member Andrea Harrison. 

    I have faithfully served this community as a change agent for more than 30 years, and honorably served District 1 for the past two years on the school board.

    I have served as the Fairfield Central High School PTO president for several years, on the school improvement council as a parent and community member and the First Step board. She is a member of the NAACP.

    I continue to serve as a mentor to our children through Sylvia’s Foundation that awards scholarships to our Fairfield County students.

    I have owned a hair salon in Winnsboro for the past 29 years and I am the mother of three adult daughters, all of whom graduated at the top of their classes and earned college degrees.

    I love the children of Fairfield County and all those I’m entrusted with representing. I’m thankful for the love and support from all the parents, schools, and especially my Geiger family.

    I am seeking re-election to the school board and I pray that I did everything thus far pleasing in God’s eyesight. I pray that I have been the voice for ALL children and that I have represented the Ridgeway area well.

    Qualls

    Elliott Qualls is throwing his hat in the political ring for the first time, and here’s why.

    I am a lifelong resident of Ridgeway and I want to represent the people of Ridgeway and the county. I have been working with children through the recreation center since 1970, from baseball to football. I am well known and respected as having coached many kids in the district over the years.

    And I am a man you can trust on council.

    I am married to Clair, who has worked for Fairfield County school District for 33 years. We have four children, three of whom attended school in Fairfield County along with our grandkids.

    I am the man for District 1, I promise you.

    District 7

    Davis

    Incumbent Darreyl Davis was elected in January to finish the term for a board member who passed away. He is seeking re-election to a full term.

    I am a native of Fairfield County and a member of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church. I am a graduate of Fairfield Central High School and am currently employed at Isola USA of Ridgeway as an Environmental Health and Safety Specialist.

    My wife, Tamika, and I are the proud parents of six children, two of which are enrolled at Fairfield Elementary School.

    I am passionate about serving the students, teachers, support staff, parents and administrators of the Fairfield County School District.

    The district is making great strides towards excellence, and I am honored to be a part of the approval of: the construction of a new athletic field house, renovations to three schools (Kelly Miller, Fairfield Middle, and Fairfield Central), the expansion of the SRO program to all elementary schools, the renaming of McCrorey-Liston Elementary school cafeteria.

    I want to help our school system to continue to grow and I want to serve the people of this county.

    Rentz

    Herbert Rentz is making his second run for a seat on the school board this year. That seat was previously held by his late wife, Beth Reid.

    Crucial to the successful operation of our education system is accountability. Our results have to correlate appropriately to our expenditures. Our superintendent, as our primary employee, successfully prioritizes our goals and objectives and is responsible for matching our resources so that we achieve maximum efficiency.  Policies established by the board are designed to insure that this process continues.

    School districts across the United States are experiencing a major teacher shortage. This is especially evident in rural school districts. The opportunity to attract talented teachers to our county should have a direct and positive effect on student performance.

    Poverty is a community challenge. Every agency and civic group must work tirelessly to elevate the living standards of our neighborhoods. The school district has been, and will continue to be, an integral part in this process.

    I believe in open government. The school board should be a forum for seeking answers to rational and reasonable questions.

    I hold a Bachelor’s degree from the Citadel and a graduate degree from Winthrop University. I am a U. S. Army veteran, retired with the rank of LTC and I have taught and coached at Great Falls High School. I am manager at Mid County Water Co.

    House of Representatives

    District 41

    Kennedy

    Fred Kennedy, 65, of Winnsboro has filed to run for the House of Representatives, District 41, the seat currently held by MaryGail Douglas. His opponent is Anne McDaniel who won the Democratic primary in June over Douglas.

    I am a member of the United Citizens Party, and my platform for the office of House Representative for Fairfield County is aimed at building up the Fairfield community, to improve housing and help people get jobs. That is also my goal in my work through my church, Man Up Ministries.

    One of the problems is there is not a father leader in many of our families here in Fairfield. I believe if we can get to the man of the house, we can save the family.

    There are some crucial issues that must be addressed in this community, and you have to be a part of the community to really know what people need, if you are going to help them. I grew up in this community. I live here, and I believe I can help my fellow community members.

    I am a retired truck driver, and I work for a construction company under the South Carolina Housing Authority. I want to give the people of Fairfield County a helping hand. I want to see the county and its people prosper.

    Kennedy is the father of two adult children. His daughter Chrishonda Baker is a computer science teacher at Fairfield Central High School. His son, Kenard, is a truck driver.

    McDaniel

    Annie McDaniel won the Democratic primary in June for the House seat currently held by MaryGail Douglas.

    A longtime school district trustee, McDaniel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina and is a member of the SC School Boards Association Board of Directors. She is a Leadership SC graduate and her campaign literature states that she has experience in county government, health care and private sector finance.

    McDaniel states that she wants to ensure accountability and equality in public school funding and provide more support for classroom teachers and support staff. She wants more accessible healthcare options for all South Carolinians, to create economic development opportunities and support for small businesses and to enhance the quality of life and opportunities for senior citizens.