Blythewood Online 691

Category: Government

  • A.G. Reviews County Probe

    Solicitor Hands Off S2/Procurement Case

    WINNSBORO – An investigation, launched more than a year ago, of the Fairfield County government, its procurement practices and one of its vendors, is now in the hands of the state’s top prosecutor, sources told The Voice last week.

    A spokesperson for the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said his agency had recently concluded their investigation and had sent the file to the Sixth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Lancaster for a determination on whether or not the County’s practices merited a criminal prosecution.

    Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman, however, said last week that his office had kicked the matter upstairs.

    “I turned that over to the Attorney General’s Office based on a conflict of interest,” Newman said. “The case involves a lot of County officials and I sometimes make budget requests from the County.”

    A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that they had indeed received the case and at press time it remained under their review.

    SLED opened the investigation in February of 2014 and sources inside the County said then that agents had interviewed County employees and reviewed checks and invoices in the County’s Procurement Department. Shortly after news of the probe leaked out, former County Council Chairman David Ferguson said SLED was focusing on the County’s relationship with S2 Engineering, a firm with which the County spent more than $8.76 million between December 2009 and September 2013.

    Documents obtained by The Voice last year indicated that S2 projects over that time period ranged from improvements to the HON Building, to construction of the new Voter Registration offices, work at the County Courthouse and much more. Work also included the football field at Drawdy Park and its retaining wall, a portion of which collapsed in January 2014.

    Records indicate that the S2 projects were not put out for bid. Instead, S2 was selected for the projects from a pre-approved list of firms maintained by former County Administrator Phil Hinely. At the time the investigation first came to light, Ferguson said that while those procurement practices may have been unusual, he did not think they were illegal.

    After Hinely’s resignation in the summer of 2013, and with the arrival of Milton Pope as Interim Administrator shortly thereafter, the County has maintained that a more conventional procurement practice has been observed.

    A contract awarded by Council just last March, however, appeared to have contradicted that alleged observation.

    As reported in the April 10 edition of The Voice, Council on March 23 unanimously awarded to Goodwin Mills & Cawood (GMC) a contract for up to $35,000 to perform a damage assessment on the Detention Center roof. The project was not, in accordance with the County’s procurement manual, put out for a competitive sealed bid. Instead, between Jan. 2 and 16, administration made contact via phone or email with three firms from the County’s pre-approved list of bidders.

    Under the header “Bidder Information” on page 28 of the County’s procurement manual, “All procurements in excess of $10,000 shall be publicized in a newspaper of general circulation, or County website (www.fairfieldsc.com).” Although the lowest bid for the project came in at more than $7,000 over this amount, Pope confirmed last April that the project had not been advertised.

    While the procurement manual does state that the County may compile and maintain a list of vendors interested in competing for County contracts, GMC was not on that list as of last March.

    Pope said the County reached out to GMC because the County was “looking to involve and get some new people.”

    At the time the contract was awarded, GMC had recently completed for the County a review of S2 Engineering projects, including a report on the causes of the Drawdy Park wall failure and the supervision of the reconstruction of the wall.

     

  • Uncertainty Remains Over Horse Meds

    WINNSBORO – As Fairfield County works to strengthen its policies and ordinances in the wake of the death of a pair of horses shortly after their release from County custody, questions linger about the treatment the animals received while under the care of Animal Control.

    After spending nearly a month in a small pen at the Fairfield County animal shelter, the 7-year-old mare and her 4-month-old colt were transported to Big Oaks Rescue Farm in Greenwood on June 16. Speaking with The Voice a week after the mare’s June 18 death, Big Oaks founder Joe Mann said the mare arrived in a state of starvation, caused largely by the fact that the mare was riddled with “the worst case of tapeworms” he had ever seen, he said.

    The tapeworms, Mann said, negated any benefit the mare might have otherwise received from the County’s feeding schedule, which Mann said was also substandard (see the July 10 edition of The Voice).

    “As soon as a starving horse is stable, you have to kill the tapeworms, and at that stage a vet needs to be involved,” Mann said last month. “The mare was full of some of the largest tapeworms we had ever seen. I don’t know what (Dr. Robert Chappell, the vet used by the County) de-wormed her with. “

    As part of a June 26 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, The Voice asked the County for, among other things, all records associated with the rescue, surgery and feeding of the horses. Included in the County’s response, dated July 6, was a May 1 receipt for three different medications from Tractor Supply Co. on Killian Road in Columbia.

    Those medications were: Ivomec Plus, Prolate Lintox QT and Wazine 17 percent – none of which are for tapeworms and none of which are for horses.

    Prolate Lintox QT is for the treatment of ticks, flies and mange in cattle and swine. Wazine is a de-wormer used in chickens, turkeys and swine, but is not effective against tapeworms.

    “Ivomec Plus is an injectable liquid not labeled for tapeworms and not labeled for use in horses or companion pets,” said Dr. Elizabeth Laminack, a veterinarian with Ivomec’s manufacturer, Merial Limited in Duluth, Ga.

    Ivomec is labeled for use in cattle, and Laminack said the 50 ML bottle purchased by the County on May 1 would be enough to treat 10 cows weighing 550 pound each “for some kinds of worms, but not tape worms,” she said. “Ivomec Plus will not kill tape worms.”

    It remains unclear then, since the purchase predates the rescue of the horses by more than two weeks, and since the County said last week that none of those medications were actually administered to the mare, why proof of their purchase was included in the County’s FOIA response.

    Wormer and bacterial infection products that are kept on hand by Animal Control, the County said last week, are Albon, Panacur and Strongid.

    Albon, while it may be prescribed for other species, is primarily used for dogs and cats and is an antibiotic, not a de-wormer. Panacur, for use in dogs and some zoo animals, treats roundworm, hookworm and whipworm. It is also used for the treatment of what is commonly known as “Rabbit Tapeworms,” found in rabbits, rodents and certain carnivores such as dogs. But not horses.

    Strongid, which does come in a version suitable for horses, also does not treat tapeworms.

    Dr. Chappell, the small animal vet called in by the County to attend to the horses, told The Voice last month that he had de-wormed the mare when the animals were removed from a Blair pasture on May 19. He did not say what specific medication he administered.

    While the County referred all questions related to specific medications to Dr. Chappell, a follow-up phone call to the vet was not returned at press time.

     

  • District Debuts ‘Showpiece’ Facility

    From last summer’s ceremonial groundbreaking where the state of the art new Career and Technology Center now stands are School Board Chairwoman Beth Reid, Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green, District 4 Board member Annie McDaniel, District 2 Board member Paula Hartman, State Sen. Creighton Coleman (rear), District 3 Board member Henry Miller, former District 5 Board member Bobby Cunningham and District 6 Board member William Frick.
    From last summer’s ceremonial groundbreaking where the state of the art new Career and Technology Center now stands are School Board Chairwoman Beth Reid, Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green, District 4 Board member Annie McDaniel, District 2 Board member Paula Hartman, State Sen. Creighton Coleman (rear), District 3 Board member Henry Miller, former District 5 Board member Bobby Cunningham and District 6 Board member William Frick.

    Ribbon Cutting, Tours at New Career Center Wednesday

    WINNSBORO – A little more than a year after the ceremonial first shovels of dirt were pitched out of the ground on the Highway 321 Bypass on a sliver of land nestled between Fairfield Central High School and Fairfield Middle School, the District’s new showpiece is undergoing its final finishing touches. And on Wednesday, the District will officially cut the ribbon and welcome the public in to see for themselves Fairfield County’s new Career and Technology Center.

    “We’re super excited,” Chris Dinkins, Director of the facility, said. “It’s hard to believe we’re here at this point. I’ve only been here a couple of years, but I know there are a lot of people who have really been pushing for this for a long time.”

    Indeed, Dinkins, who took over the reins at the aging facility on Highway 321 Business in 2012, came on board at just the right time – at just about the same time that then interim Superintendent David Eubanks slowly but surely convinced the School Board that they should and could build a new career center.

    The outgoing facility, built in the 1960s, has certainly outlived its usefulness as career center in the rapidly changing technological world of the 21st century. With the new facility, the District aims to prepare students for careers of the future, while still arming them with the kind of practical skills that never go out of style.

    “It’s hard to quantify what this means for the District’s progress, since for the last several years we have been making do with what we had,” Dinkins said. “Now, we have all the technology available and we’re going to have to think beyond where we have been thinking. Now we can really prepare students to compete in the workforce right out of school, or if they are going to continue their education at a two-year or four-year college, we can have them ready for that as well.”

    Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent, said the perception of career centers has changed over the years, and the new facility allows the Fairfield County School District to change along with it.

    “Traditionally, career centers have been for students not on track for four-year colleges,” Green said. “Now, there will be opportunities for all students.”

    Two of those first such opportunities offered at the new facility include the heady subjects of Project Lead the Way Biomedical Science and Engineering.

    “Engineering is a tough field,” Dinkins said. “These are people who design the next space shuttle or redesign car engines to make them smaller and more efficient. We want to get students engaged, get them thinking creatively so they can be prepared.”

    The new facility was designed for its space to be flexible, so as technology evolves, so can the courses. Dinkins said he hopes to add more Project Lead the Way courses in the coming years, while courses in clean energy may also be on the horizon.

    The traditional programs will also be there, Dinkins and Green said, including masonry, welding, construction, electricity and horticulture, among others.

    “Those programs aren’t going away,” Dinkins said, “because those jobs aren’t going away.”

    The final price for the building came in at approximately $14.9 million, Green said, with the equipment and fixtures taking that up to around $17.5 million. And it was money well spent, he said.

    “This is a very impressive facility,” Green said. “State of the art. Brownstone and MBAJ did a great job designing it, and MB Kahn did an excellent job of meeting their construction deadlines. This is a cutting-edge facility.”

    The public can come see it for themselves Wednesday. The official ribbon cutting ceremony is at 4 p.m., with tours of the facility from 4:30 – 7 p.m.

     

  • Road Works in Penny Tax Plan

    BLYTHEWOOD – Road improvements scheduled for Blythewood under the Transportation Penny Tax program are now formally incorporated into the program and are under way, Richland County Transportation Director Rob Perry told Town officials last month.

    Perry met informally with Town Administrator Gary Parker, Michael Criss and Planning Commission Chairman Malcolm Gordge in early July to give the Town an update on the road improvements for Blythewood proposed under the Penny Tax program.

    Gordge passed that information along at the Planning Commission meeting on Monday evening.

    “Now, we are interested in how this process will roll out,” Gordge told the Commissioners. “Rob explained to us that bonding is now in progress and that the acquisition of the necessary rights-of-way will commence in 2018 or 2019.”

    Completion of the improvements is estimated between 2021 and 2022.

    Gordge said that while the County roads project will be funded by the Penny Tax, that revenue will be coming in more slowly than the work is completed. He said the County is issuing a series of bonds to fund the various projects, such as dirt roads, up front and at the same time they are borrowing, they will be paying off the debt with the revenue from the Penny Tax.

    “The bonds are guaranteed by the revenue stream from the Penny Tax over the years,” Gordge said.

    Ed Parler, the Town’s Economic Development consultant, who was sitting in the audience, spoke up to suggest that the Town might want to push forward the road improvements scheduled for Blythewood.

    “What would be good,” Parler told the Commission, “would be if the Town had some kind of alternate financing to push ours forward in anticipation of the money coming back in the future and retiring that debt.”

    Of the proposed Blythewood projects, the top priority is widening Blythewood Road from I-77 to Fulmer Road. The Town’s remaining projects are all located in the Town Center District – widening Blythewood Road from Main Street to I-77, improving McNulty Road, completing the Creech Road Connector, adding a traffic circle at the intersection of Creech and Blythewood roads and another one at the main entrance to Cobblestone on Blythewood Road.

    Further information about the process of obtaining rights of way can be found on the richlandpenny.com web site.

     

  • Filing Now Open for Nov. 3 Election

    BLYTHEWOOD – Candidates who want to run in the upcoming Blythewood general election may file from now through Sept. 2. Voters will be electing a mayor and three council members.

    Those wishing to be on the ballot for the Nov. 3 nonpartisan election must file a Statement of Candidacy with the Blythewood Town Clerk during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., before the filing period ends at 5 p.m. on Sept. 2.

    Filing fees are $10 for mayoral candidates and $5 for town council candidates. The next term for the mayor’s seat, currently held by J. Michael Ross, ends in 2019. The next terms for the two council seats currently held by Bob Mangone and Eddie Baughman, also end in 2019. The unexpired term for the council seat recently held by Bob Massa, who resigned in June, expires in 2017.

    Only residents of the Town who are registered by Oct. 3 are eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 election. To register, contact the Richland County Board of Voter Registration at 803-576-2240 or go to www.richlandonline.com.

    Voting will be held at Blythewood Park, 126 Boney Road, from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. For more information, call Town Clerk Melissa Coward at Town Hall, 765-0501.

     

  • Superintendent: AP Scores Show Promise

    WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County School District received mixed results earlier this month with the release of Advanced Placement (AP) test scores, but those results, according to Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent, came with some very encouraging numbers.

    The highlight of the exams, administered at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, came from the AP Calculus numbers. AP exams are scored on a scale of 1-4, with scores of 3 and 4 receiving college credit. Of the nine students taking the AP Calculus exam, Green said two students scored a 3, while one student earned a 4. Four students received a score of 2.

    “Historically, these are the best results I have been able to uncover,” Green said.  “I could see this year the cultural shift where students were invested in preparing for the exam. We had kids coming in before school started to prepare and we had kids coming in on Saturdays to prepare. When proper instruction meets a commitment from students, success happens.”

    Green said AP Biology scores were also improved. Of the 22 students taking the exam, Green said, five earned a score of 3 while 14 earned a score of 2.

    Although scores of 2 do not earn college credit, Green said those students still benefit from the experience. They typically find their first year of college, where they see the same material again, a much easier experience, he said.

    The District’s numbers in AP English (broken out into two exams – AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition) and the newly added AP U.S. History indicate more work needs to be done.

    Of the 12 students taking the exam in AP Language and Composition, only one earned a 3; six earned a score of 2 and five eked out a 1. Of the 17 students taking the exam in AP Literature and Composition, no college credit was achieved. Eight students earned a score of 2 and nine earned a 1.

    Of the 11 taking the AP U.S. History exam, only one earned a 2 while 10 earned a 1.

    “I am optimistic these results will improve,” Green said. “Regardless, it is beneficial to expose students to the rigor of AP courses.”

    Green said many students who could potentially score well on AP exams have in recent years opted instead to take dual credit courses in association with Midlands Technical College. Those students have experienced considerable success, Green said, with all 10 students taking English 101 last year earning college credit. Five of those students, he said, earned A’s. All eight taking English 102 also received college credit, with another five A’s in that class.

    Next year, Green said, the District will offer Math 110 for dual credit, with plans to offer Math 111 in the future. Green said the District may allow students completing and receiving credits in both dual credit classes to sit for the AP exams in their respective subjects.

    Green said the District has been rebuilding its AP program since it was, for the 2011-2012 school year, discontinued under Superintendent Dr. Patrice Robinson.

    “We are reestablishing our AP culture,” Green said, “and I can see we are heading in the right direction.”

     

  • Town Asks for Voluntary Water Rationing

    WINNSBORO – Town Council at their July 21 meeting called for the voluntary reduction of water use by Winnsboro Water customers following the declaration by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of moderate drought conditions in Fairfield and Richland counties.

    Reading from the proclamation, Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy said the goal was to reduce water use by 20 percent among residential customers and 15 percent by commercial customers. To that end, residential customers are asked to limit water use to 65 gallons per day, per person, with a maximum household use of 200 gallons per day.

    Other voluntary restrictions include:

    • Eliminating the washing down of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard-surfaced areas;

    • Eliminating the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection;

    • Eliminating the flushing of gutters;

    • Eliminating the domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars, etc.;

    • Eliminating the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection pools and decorative bodies of water for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;

    • Reducing watering of lawns, plants, trees, gardens, shrubbery and flowers on private or public property to the minimum necessary; and

    • Reducing the amount of water obtained from fire hydrants for construction purposes, fire drills or for any purpose other than firefighting or flushing necessary to maintain water quality.

    The voluntary restrictions will remain in effect until the DNR Drought Committee determines drought conditions have ended.

     

  • Council Slips FILOT Details into Agenda

    WINNSBORO – County Council amended its agenda Monday night to allow Interim Administrator Milton Pope to present a resolution detailing elements of a potential fee-in-lieu-of-taxes (FILOT) agreement.

    Councilman Billy Smith (District 7) voted against the agenda change, citing a recent amendment by the State Legislature to the S.C. Freedom of Information Act making the addition of action items to an agenda without at least 24 hours’ notice illegal, barring emergency circumstances. Smith, who also voted against approval of the agenda, was the only Council member to do so.

    According to the new wording of Section 30-4-80 of the FOIA, if a vote is to be taken on an item and it is the final vote on the item, adding it to the agenda with less than 24 hours’ notice requires a 2/3 vote of members present and finding of emergency or exigent circumstances.

    When the item came up for discussion, Pope told Council that he requested its late inclusion because he wanted details of the agreement made public before the scheduled Aug. 10 second reading and public hearing on the FILOT.

    Pope said the proposed FILOT for the economic development project code named “Project USA” would require the company to invest $125 million in the project over five years and create 75 new jobs. They would be taxed at a 6 percent assessment ratio, he said, with real property not subject to reassessment.

    Pope also said the County would be partnering with the Town of Winnsboro to extend a natural gas line to the undisclosed project site at no cost to the company. The company would also be seeking rezoning of 180 acres of the proposed project site, Pope said.

    Council unanimously approved the resolution.

    Rocky 1 Road Rezoning

    Council also gave unanimous approval to the rezoning of 0.75 acres at 67 Rocky 1 Road from RD-1 (Rural Residential) to RC (Rural Community).

    Councilman Kamau Marcharia said there were close to 100 different types of businesses and industries allowed in RC that were not allowed in RD-1 and that the public might want to know what those were. Smith, however, said he didn’t find anything allowed under RC that wouldn’t fit in with the area.

    “There are 42 different things allowed in RC that are not allowed in RD-1,” Smith said. “Horses, hardware stores, paint stores … I wouldn’t think there is anything that would not fit. This is in my district, I know where it is, and I don’t think there would be any objection over there. I have not heard any objection to this.”

    Heating and Air

    Council gave the OK to a total of $27,809 to replace a 5-ton heating and air conditioning unit at the Magistrate’s Court ($7,000) as well as a 10-ton unit ($12,809) and a 5-ton unit ($8,000) at the Department of Social Services (DSS) building. The Magistrate’s Court unit and the 10-ton DSS unit were both recommended by the Administration and Finance Committee two weeks ago. The additional 5-ton DSS unit was added to the list Monday night, Pope said, as that unit just went down last week. All units are being purchased from and installed by Cudd Heating and Air of Chester.

    Compensation Study

    Council also unanimously approved $24,386 to hire The Archer Company of Rock Hill to conduct the County’s salary and compensation study.

    Board Appointments

    Council filled the following vacancies Monday night on boards and commissions: Board of Assessments, Gordon Doty (representing District 6); Construction Board of Appeals, David Brandenburg (District 7); Hospital Board, Clarence Gilbert (District 6); Library Commission, Jean McCrory (District 2) and Paul Dove (District 5, reappointment); and Planning Commission, Tommy Wright (District 6, reappointment).

     

  • FMH Names New CEO

    Suzanne Doscher
    Suzanne Doscher

    WINNSBORO – Members of the Fairfield Memorial Hospital Board of Directors confirmed last week the selection of Suzanne Doscher, 54, as their next Chief Executive Officer. Doscher replaces Mike Williams on Sept. 1. Williams, who has served as CEO for the last seven and a half years, announced his retirement late last May.

    Board member Boyd Brown, who served on the search committee, said Doscher was selected from a list of four finalists culled from nine initial candidates.

    “I think we made a great hire,” Brown said. “She’s an experienced administrator from Georgetown Hospital who understands administration, who understands policies and who has a relationship with healthcare professionals across the state. She came to us highly recommended by the S.C. Hospital Association.”

    Doscher has served the Georgetown Hospital System since 2001, rising from Assistant Administrator to Vice President of Operations. During her tenure there, she has been responsible for $330 million in revenue and 175 full-time employees. She also established a Research Affiliation Agreement between the hospital and the Medical University of S.C. (MUSC).

    Doscher was selected over three other finalists, each of whom had current or former ties to Fairfield Memorial Hospital (FMH). Those three were: Dr. Shane Mull, head of the Emergency Room at FMH; Karen Reynolds, Health Information Manager at FMH; and Brent Lammers, CEO at Alleghany Memorial Hospital in Sparta, N.C. since January 2014, but a former administrator at FMH in the 1990s.

    Brown said Doscher’s lack of Fairfield ties made her an attractive candidate.

    “She comes into her role without any connections to Fairfield County, which I think is good,” Brown said. “It’s a new set of eyeballs. She knows nothing about county politics or any of the local cliques. She is going to be strictly healthcare oriented.”

    Born in Virginia but raised in Missouri, Doscher came to S.C. after graduating high school in 1979 to attend the College of Charleston and has remained in the state ever since. She earned her BA in chemistry from the C of C in 1983 and a BS in medical technology from MUSC in Charleston in 1985. In 1996, she earned her Master’s in healthcare administration, also from MUSC.

    Doscher began her work in the healthcare field as a Medical Technologist at Charleston Memorial Hospital in 1985 and over the ensuing 10 years worked her way up the ladder at an assortment of Charleston area hospitals. In 1996, she took the position of Administrative Resident at Newberry County Memorial Hospital, eventually rising to Vice President for Support Services in 1999.

    Doscher said she was attracted to the position by Fairfield Memorial’s size and the surrounding small-town atmosphere.

    “I’m a ‘small-hospital girl’,” Doscher said. “I was at Newberry County for five years and I like the smaller hospitals. I like the small towns where you know everybody and everybody knows you.”

    Doscher will take the reins of a hospital that has struggled financially in recent years, obtaining emergency loans from the County just to meet payroll and falling behind on its contributions to the state Retirement System. Over the last year and a half, FMH has been in partnership negotiations with a Richland County hospital, a process Doscher said she thinks she can move forward.

    Doscher will receive a salary of $130,000.

    Phone calls to John McGraw, Chairman of the Board of Directors, were not returned at press time.

     

  • Committee Takes Up Animal Cruelty Ordinance

    WINNSBORO – Prompted by the death of two horses shortly after their release from County custody (see the July 10 & 17 editions of The Voice), County Council during their July 14 meeting voted to send an animal cruelty ordinance to committee.

    The ordinance was one of four recommendations made to Council by Interim County Administrator Milton Pope, and on Monday evening the Public Affairs and Policy Committee took the matter up for the first time. The committee, chaired by Mary Lynn Kinley (District 6) and filled out by Billy Smith (District 7) and Walter Larry Stewart (District 3), said a comparison of the County’s existing animal control ordinance to state law found only enforcement issues left to address.

    “We already have a state law, and we shouldn’t be in here to write this long epistle,” Stewart said. “The only thing that we may need to do in coordination with the Sheriff and Animal Control is to supplement certain sections that would give them the authority to do their jobs.”

    Kinley said she was “appalled” that the horses in question had been allowed by their owner to deteriorate into such poor condition without the owners facing consequences. During Council’s July 14 meeting, Pope said it had been the County’s practice in the past to not press charges against owners who willingly surrendered their animals to the County. The now deceased horses, however, were in the County’s custody for nearly a month before they were officially released by the owner, according to documents obtained by The Voice through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

    Monday evening, Kinley asked Sheriff Will Montgomery what his department’s policy was regarding the deferral of charges for owners who turn over neglected or abused animals to the County.

    “We don’t have anything in our policies, as far as that goes,” Montgomery said.

    “There’s no policy?” Smith asked again.

    “Nothing that’s in writing,” Montgomery answered.

    Furthermore, Montgomery said, his office was not even made aware of the rescued horses at the time they were taken in by Animal Control.

    Smith then asked Montgomery if there would be any hesitancy on the part of his deputies to pursue charges in a similar case, if they were made aware of it. Montgomery said there would be none at all; and if for any reason his office could not pursue the case, he said, he would ask the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to do so.

    “If we were contacted, we would definitely do a report on it,” Montgomery said, “and if needed, we would do whatever we needed to do to press charges.”

    Kinley then asked David Brown, the County’s senior Animal Control officer in charge of the shelter, how his department typically handles animal cruelty cases.

    “We make the recommendation (to the Sheriff’s Office),” Brown said. “We go out and see if we need to make a recommendation. If we feel we need (the Sheriff), we make a recommendation to him.”

    After the meeting, The Voice asked Kinley why no such recommendation had been made last May when the mare and her colt were first taken from the pasture in Blair.

    “I asked the same question,” Kinley said. “The Sheriff’s Office, in the past, their policy was to, if they turned it over to the County, the animals, then there would be no charges. (Montgomery) said there is not such policy.”

    “The problem was there wasn’t a process that we did every time,” District 5 Councilman Marion Robinson, who attended the meeting as an observer, interjected.

    An automatic recommendation to the Sheriff’s Office by Animal Control for prosecution on potential cruelty cases, Robinson said, was not required. The revised animal control ordinance may include such a requirement, he said.

    Pope, on July 14, also recommended to Council that the County initiate an education program for horse owners. Monday, he said that might best be accomplished through a partnership with Clemson University. Pope also on July 14 recommended keeping an equine vet on retainer, and on Monday he said that had already been implemented. The mare and her colt were tended by Dr. Robert Chappell, a small animal vet used almost exclusively by the County.

    Finally, Pope suggested that the County should identify additional rescue groups who could take custody of abused or neglected horses and provide them with care.

    Services from one such local group, The Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society, are already available to the County. In the case of the mare and colt, however, Hoof & Paw was not made aware of the horses until after they had spent nearly a month in County custody.

    Addressing County Council during their regular meeting Monday night, Minge Wiseman, vice president of Hoof & Paw, said she had recently been asked by the County to develop an equine rescue plan.

    “Putting a plan on paper is not very difficult,” Wiseman said during the second public comment session of the meeting. “Implementing that plan can be. An effective plan cannot be executed without adequate funding and manpower. The expenses involved in providing care for a healthy horse costs between $150 and $250 per month. Caring for an emaciated horse, those expenses can double because of additional medical costs.

    “Without providing the necessary funds, why even talk about a plan?” Wiseman continued, “Where that money comes from, I don’t know. But this I do believe: while it will be costly, it is the right thing to do. These animals deserve as much attention and consideration as a neglected dog on a chain in a yard with no shelter and no food.”

    Regarding dogs on chains, Kinley also suggested the revised ordinance address dogs left tied up all day in yards on short chains. She also said the definition of adequate shelter for animals may need to be strengthened or clarified, and added that a limit may need to be set on the number of dogs allowed per home in densely populated areas.

    A draft of the revised ordinance is expected to be available for review within two weeks.