WINNSBORO – The Town of Winnsboro has signed an agreement
with Pets, Inc, to provide low cost spay and neuter surgeries for dogs at a
facility in Winnsboro.
“The former Fairfield County Animal Shelter Director Bob
Innis now works for Pets, Inc. and is familiar with the needs of animals in
Fairfield County. He contacted us about this arrangement last month,” Winnsboro
Town Manager Chris Clauson told The Voice on Monday. “They want to have a place
in town where they can provide some veterinary services at greatly reduced
prices, specifically spay and neuter surgeries at first.”
The services will be available to Fairfield County residents
certain days each week. The specific days and services will be announced later.
“The Town is leasing a building on South Vanderhorst Street
to Pets, Inc. for $10 per month and I think they hope to be in it sometime in
January,” Clauson said.
The Voice was unable to reach a spokesperson for Pets, Inc.
before press time. More information will be available at a later date.
WINNSBORO – Less than 24 hours before Dr. Tracie Swilley boarded a plane Wednesday for Washington, D.C. where she will be presented as one of three nominees vying for National Principal of the Year on Friday night, she received another feather in her cap.
Swilley
Under Swilley’s administration, Fairfield Central High School
received a ‘Good’ rating on the S.C. State School Report Card for the first
time in the school’s history.
Besides achieving an overall ‘Good’ rating, the school’s
scores in math (60.8%) bested the state average (47.8%.) FCHS’ career readiness
score (75.9%) also measured up well against the state’s average of 69.6%.
While the school’s English Language Arts (ELA) score of 58%
fell short of the state’s average score of 66.4%, and there was a wide gap in
FCHS’ college readiness score (16.2%) and the state average (32.5%.), the
school’s on-time graduation rate (85.3%) was just shy of the state average
(85.4%.)
“It’s been a long climb,” Swilley said, “and we’re still
climbing.”
Fairfield School Superintendent Tony Hemingway praised
Swilley.
“We’re really proud of the work that Dr. Swilley has done,”
he said. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with her, just listening to the
things she’s done with her instructional leadership, working with her staff,
all of them helping to move the school forward. That hard work has paid off,
and we are super proud of her.”
Swilley, in turn, heaped praise on her students and her
staff for their overall ‘Good’ score as well as other areas where they have
made improvement.
“I attribute this success to our staff, their belief in our
students, and our students believing in what it takes to get it done and
following through,” Swilley said.
“I also want to recognize what our parents, our school
board, and the entire community have done to help make this happen,” she said.
“It really does take a village.”
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – A Saturday night crash on U.S. Hwy. 21
near Old 21 Road has left one person dead and three others injured, according
to Corporal Nic Pye with the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Tony Lee Canty, 56, of Ridgeway died in the crash, according
to Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.
The crash occurred about 7:15 p.m. when a 2013 Chevrolet SUV
and a 2003 Ford van were both traveling north on U. S. Hwy. 21 and collided,
according to the Highway Patrol report.
A driver and two passengers occupied the Chevrolet SUV. The
driver and front seat passenger were injured and transported to a local
hospital. The back seat passenger, Mr. Canty, was unrestrained and pronounced
dead on the scene from injuries he sustained in the crash, according to the
coroner’s report. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death.
The driver was the sole occupant of the Ford van. That
person was injured and also transported to a local hospital.
The accident remains under investigation by Fairfield County
Coroner’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol.
WINNSBORO – Due to severe weather predictions and then
severe damage caused by Hurricane Helene, the county council candidate forum
initially scheduled for Sept. 26 was first postponed to Oct. 3, then to
Thursday, Oct. 24.
The forum will feature candidates running for seats on
Fairfield County Council and will take place at Christ Central Community
Center, in downtown Winnsboro.
The doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the candidates will
take their seats on stage at 7 p.m. to answer questions submitted by members of
the audience. Cards and pens will be available on tables in the foyer for
submitting questions.
The Voice provided free space on the front page of the Sept.
19 edition of the newspaper for candidates to make their case and talk about
their candidacies. Each candidate will be introduced, and will have two minutes
to answer each question. Time keeper is former Fairfield County Chamber of
Commerce official Susan Yenner. Each candidate will be given two minutes for a
closing statement at the end of the forum.
Door Prizes, Refreshments
When attendees enter the auditorium, each will receive a
free ticket for a door prize drawing that will be held at the end of the forum.
The following Fairfield County businesses have each donated $50 gift
certificates or a door prize valued at $50 or more: Sharpe’s Shoppes (fuel),
Porter Gas (door prize), Bella & Blue boutique (gift certificate), Old Town
Hall restaurant (gift certificate), and Over the Top boutique (gift
certificate), and Laura’s Tea Room (gift certificate).
Refreshments will be served at the end of the program.
For more information about the forum, call 803-767-5711.
Student volunteers who loaded the truck (l-r): Bowen Crager, Jes Sharpe, Josh Tyndall, Dylan Wood, Bennett Nicholson, Aaron Geddens, Hoffman Sharpe, Justin Autry, Monty Sharpe, Alexis Coley. Front center: Tucker Beam and Lilly Grace Beam | Jerrica Beam
WINNSBORO – When members of the Richard Winn Academy PTO and Booster Club heard about the hurricane-related devastation in the mountains of North Carolina, they sprang into action.
Helping to organize the efforts are PTO President Grace
Cameron and members Jerrica Beam and Anne Bass. Beam and Bass are also Richard
Winn alumni.
Anne Bass and Jerrica Beam
“Hurricane Helene was a real catastrophe for so many in western North Carolina,” Beam says, “and once we realized how horrific the destruction is, we decided we had to do something.”
Members of the PTO and the school’s booster club met to
organize a donation drive, sending out the request for help through e-mail and
social media.
“We knew the magnitude of what the Richard Winn Academy
family is capable of doing when it comes to helping one’s neighbor,” Beam says.
“With a North Carolina contact who was closely involved with the effort to
bring relief to several communities in North Carolina, we found a perfect fit
for the initiative.”
Within two days, the school and hallways were flooded with
donated goods that had been requested by those on the ground in the disaster
zone: baby diapers, wipes, and formula; dry dog food; and basic hygiene
products.
In an interview Friday, Beam said the individual in North
Carolina provided a list of needs, and people with trucks and trailers to
transport the donations to devastated areas. The first shipment left on
Saturday to be delivered to churches and individuals in hard hit areas.
A second wave of donation deliveries was scheduled for
Tuesday, Oct. 8.
“Phone calls are still coming in from both the school
community and the broader community from those wanting to help,” Beam says.
She says donations are still being accepted – and many are
praying continuously for healing in the North Carolina mountains and
surrounding states feeling the heartbreaking loss and impact of the storm.
“I hope it gives them hope for tomorrow, for the next day,
peace that things will be OK, knowing that they have a community – our
community and many others – supporting and praying for them,” Beam said of the
delivery of supplies from caring people in South Carolina.
“I hope that they can all be reached by somebody who loves
and cares for them and is just there for them,” she said. “And we hope these
donations will help.”
For more information about donating, call Jerrica Beam at
803-374-2192 or drop supplies at Richard Winn Academy (1796 Old Chester Road)
during school hours.
WINNSBORO – A woman was recently indicted on 41 counts of
animal abuse charges including abandonment, ill treatment, and torture.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in December 2023, when a WDPS (Winnsboro Department of Public Safety) officer was dispatched to the 100 block of Sixth Street in Winnsboro because animals were running loose. The officer reported that he found numerous dogs running loose near a home where they were housed.
Chambers
The front door to the house was open. As more animals were
found inside the home, more officers as well as animal control were called to
the home.
Officers reached the home’s owner, Jinger Coffey Chambers,
on the phone and she gave permission for the officers and animal control to
enter the home, according to the incident report. After conducting a property
check, animal control officers deemed the animals kept at the home were not
being taken care of.
The animals within the residence were deemed neglected and
treated inhumanely. A search warrant was obtained to enter the residence and
obtain evidence of how the animals were being cared for.
Chambers told officers that she ran an animal rescue shelter
named Farm Rescue and Sanctuary under a federal license 501(c)3.
When animal control asked for the paperwork for all the
animals on the property, Chambers could not provide it in reference to
vaccination and immunization records, according to the report.
When animal control advised that it could seize all the
animals, Chambers voluntarily released 38 dogs, two cats, and one chicken from
the residence to animal control.
The Voice has left messages with Sixth Circuit Solicitor
Randy Newman’s office at least three times over the last two weeks, to ask
about the specifics of the charges and when the case is scheduled for trial,
but has had no response.
The female pit bull mix was near death when found. | Photos: Contributed
WINNSBORO – A reward has been offered in conjunction with a Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office investigation of an animal cruelty case regarding a female Pit Bull mix that was found on the edge of Drawdy Park Sunday morning by a citizen who was driving by.
The dog, which was barely breathing and severely emaciated
according to the incident report, was found partially stuffed inside a dog food
bag and lying on the side of Eighth Street at the corner of Drawdy Park across
from the cemetery.
According to the citizen who found her and rushed her to a veterinary emergency clinic in Columbia, a deep bloody wound circled her neck where it appeared that an embedded collar or rope had been ripped out of her skin before she was dumped. The citizen also reported that when the dog was found, she couldn’t raise her head off the ground.
The dog did not survive the day.
While whoever abandoned the dying dog had left the scene, they
also left evidence – two latex gloves – on the ground next to the dog that
Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery says may possibly aid in the
investigation.
“We’re having the gloves tested for DNA,” Montgomery told
The Voice. “Hopefully, it will give us a lead to who did this, who left this
dog to die. We’re also checking cameras in the area that might provide
information useful for the investigation.”
A $1,500 reward is being offered for information leading to
the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the abandonment and
subsequent death of the dog, according to a Sheriff’s report. Three
organizations (Hoof and Paw, Final Victory, and Because of Roscoe) contributed
to the reward.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone with knowledge about this incident contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at 803-635-4141.
COLUMBIA – South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are working around the clock to restore power after Hurricane Helene tore a path of destruction through the Palmetto State Friday morning.
As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, approximately 276,000 co-op members remain without power, down from a peak of 425,000 on Friday morning. Most of the remaining outages are concentrated in the western half of the state, and particularly the Upstate, where Helene’s destruction of critical electric infrastructure has surpassed that of even Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
Cooperative members in
western South Carolina should prepare for outages of at least a week, if not
longer, as crews repair and replace a mangled power grid.
“This is not a simple
restoration job,” said Mike Couick, CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South
Carolina. “For many areas, particularly in the Upstate and along the western
border of South Carolina, co-ops are essentially rebuilding our electric system
from the ground up.”
A few stats that illustrate
the extent of the damage:
At least 1,400 cooperative power poles – and counting
– were snapped by the storm and require replacement. For context, it takes
about one to four hours, on average, for a crew of four to replace a single
pole.
Just under half of the cooperative system’s
substations across the state – about 80 in total – remain offline due to
transmission outages.
The cooperatives’ materials supplier, CEEUS, is
shipping out 15 tractor trailer loads of equipment and supplies a day – about
the same volume of materials as were required in the aftermath of Hugo.
Cooperatives are requesting about 10 times as much material as usual for a
typical storm restoration effort. The required materials include wood
crossarms, overhead transformers, fuses, hot line clamps, and other equipment
typically seen on a power pole.
Crews from every South
Carolina electric cooperative are working in the field, including some who have
completed restoration work for their co-ops on the coast and now are helping
Upstate co-ops restore power.
About 140 out-of-state line
workers are expected to help with that effort, including crews from Alabama, Florida,
Ohio and Virginia. The cooperatives also are working with their transmission
providers, Santee Cooper and Duke Energy, to restore power as quickly as
possible.
“Our co-ops understand the
significant inconvenience of extended power outages,” Couick said. “We need
your help as we navigate this challenge. Please stay safe and continue to be
patient as we work to restore power to South Carolina.”
For the latest updates on
power restoration efforts, please visit ecsc.org or follow us @SCcooperatives.
BLYTHEWOOD/FAIRFIELD COUNTY – At least 25 people have been
reported killed in South Carolina as the result of Hurricane Helene’s
destruction in the state.
The deaths of two of those people directly impacted
Blythewood and Fairfield County families. Volunteer firefighters Landon Bodie,
18, and George (Chad) Satcher, 53, were killed Friday morning when a tree fell
on the cab of their fire truck as they were answering a service call in Saluda
County in connection with Hurricane Helene.
Bodie, who played football at Blythewood High School and
graduated last May, had recently become a volunteer firefighter for the Circle
Fire Station in Saluda.
Blythewood High School Principal Matt Sherman remembered
Landon Bodie as a servant leader.
“He was always quick
to offer help,” Sherman said. “He always brought a kind word to the
conversation and definitely raised the bar of character for anyone nearby. He
always went above and beyond to help others. I can see him as a volunteer
fireman, ready to assist and help in the storm.
“While his death is a tragedy, I’m comforted to know that he
died doing what he loved,” Sherman added, “helping others.
“As an officer in the FFA, Landon was one of our Bengal
Ambassadors,” Sherman said. “He represented not only Blythewood High School but
the Blythewood community when he went out to local or state FFA events. I
remember him as being very proud to wear his FFA jacket.”
In an email to the BHS staff, Sherman wrote:
“If you had a chance to meet or teach Landon… you are one of
the lucky ones. Landon lived a life of high morals and a call to serve. Such an
amazing kiddo with an old soul.”
George (Chad) Satcher, 53, and a resident of
Batesville-Leesburg, was a longtime volunteer firefighter for the Circle Fire
Station of the Saluda County Fire Department, where he served as Chief.
Satcher is a first cousin of former Winnsboro Town Manager
Jason Taylor.
“Chad and I grew up together and were very close,” Taylor
said. “He was the kind of person who was committed to his community. His loss
was a blow to our family, of course. But he lost his life doing something he
was very committed to and very proud to do. He very much enjoyed serving his
community as a firefighter.
“A lot of us define ourselves as far as the job we do,”
Taylor said, “but Chad largely defined himself as a father, a husband, and a
firefighter.”
In a Facebook post, the Saluda County Fire Service said the
funeral for Satcher will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the
Batesburg-Leesville High School Fine Arts Center, with internment to follow in
Ridge Crest Memorial Park. The family will receive family and friends from 4 to
6 p.m., Friday, October 4 at the Milton Shealy Funeral Home of Batesburg.
Funeral service information for Bodie was still pending as
of Tuesday.
