Blythewood Online 691

Category: News

  • Board Mulls Career Center Change

    WINNSBORO – While the Fairfield County School District officially cut the ribbon Wednesday on their new Career and Technology Center (CTC), when the state of the art facility opens for students later this month, those making the trek from the adjacent Middle School will have to do so in the elements.

    Fairfield Central High School students attending the CTC will be able to reach the facility under the shelter of a covered walkway, approximately 8- to 10-feet in height. But between the CTC and the Middle School lies a major access road for buses and other large vehicles, such as service trucks and emergency vehicles.

    As Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent, pointed out at the School Board’s June 9 meeting, the original design for the CTC did not include a covered walkway to the Middle School and the addition of one would constitute a change order that would add to the cost of the project.

    “That really should not be a change order,” Board member Annie McDaniel (District 4) said during the June 9 meeting. “They (Brownstone Design, LLC and MBAJ Architecture) should have to eat that. That should have been part of what we bid out. If they failed to bid it out, that should be their problem and not ours.”

    Green told McDaniel that the guaranteed maximum price of $17,710,982, approved by the Board on a 4-2 vote (McDaniel and District 2 member Paula Hartman voted against) during their May 20, 2014 meeting, was based on drawings that did not include a covered Middle School walkway. Green would, he said, ask M.B. Kahn, the project’s construction manager, to explore such an addition.

    During the Board’s July 21 meeting, from which McDaniel was absent, Green reported an initial quote of $115,057 for the addition from Ventilated Awnings Corp.

    Green said the quote was significantly higher than he had expected, but added that the estimated height – at least 17 feet – necessary to accommodate large vehicle traffic made the addition an expensive proposition. Furthermore, he said, with the walkway reaching that high into the air it may be money wasted.

    “Unless you’re getting rain coming straight down,” Green said, “it really provides very little benefit.”

    While Board member Carl Jackson (District 5) echoed McDaniel’s June 9 sentiments, calling the absence in the original design of a walkway “short-sighted,” Green said even had one been planned from the beginning, it still would have had to reach a height great enough to accommodate bus traffic.

    “It really is a consequence of where (the CTC) is located,” Green said.

    The Board held off on a final decision on the walkway, asking Green to explore additional quotes.

    Last week, Green shared with The Voice a list of four quotes for the canopy, including a revised quote of $105,400 from Ventilated Awnings.

    Peachtree Construction offered the next lowest quote, at $118,500; followed by Creative Protective Covers, at $135,500; and Mapes Construction, at $186,815.

    Future Former Career Center

    The Board did take action on renovations to what will soon be the former Career Center, unanimously approving a $1,669,500 bid by Weber Construction Co. Weber’s bid was the lowest of five offers that included Pyramid Contracting ($1,770,500), FBI Construction ($1,790,000), Metcon Commercial Construction ($1,838,250), and Southern Builders of York County ($1,847,000).

    Weber’s bid includes $32,500 for the replacement of the electrical system and $92,000 for the replacement of the lighting system for the entire facility.

    Once renovated, the facility will house the District’s alternative school, Gordon Odyssey Academy, as well as the Transportation and Maintenance departments.

     

  • Master Plan Moves Forward

    WINNSBORO – County Council Monday night unanimously gave administration the green light to broker a $303,163 deal with T.Y. Lin International to develop the Strategic Community and Economic Development Master Plan – a framework for how to put to use the tens of millions of dollars in revenues expected from two new reactors under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville.

    Interim County Administrator Milton Pope said the plan would entail the revitalization of Winnsboro, Ridgeway and Jenkinsville, and would include an investment in infrastructure.

    “That means roads and other infrastructure,” Pope said. “That means water and sewer.”

    Speaking during the meeting’s first public comment session, prior to the presentation and vote on the plan, Ridgeway resident Randy Bright said each of the County’s previous strategic plans had included a call for the development of water and sewer infrastructure, but that those elements had never been implemented. It was time, he said, to not only have a good plan, but to follow through with it.

    “The County of Fairfield is not the official provider of water and sewer in this county,” Pope answered in a preamble to his presentation of the Plan. “The Town of Winnsboro does control water and sewer.”

    A larger, countywide water strategy, Pope said, could not be implemented by the County unilaterally, but instead had to be done in conjunction with Winnsboro and the county’s other smaller water providers.

    The four phases of the Master Plan, Pope said, would include a project set-up, a County assessment of existing plans, a community development action plan and an economic development action plan. The latter, he said, was already under way through the I-77 Alliance.

    “After we became a member of the I-77 Alliance, there was a regional economic development plan that was procured and has already been adopted by the I-77 Board,” Pope said. “All four members of the I-77 Alliance are updating their individual economic development plan, so we’re doing that on a parallel track. That will be folded into this process by the end of it.”

    Addressing the use of elements of the County’s existing plans, David Gjertson of T.Y. Lin said finding out what is still useful in those plans will be the trick.

    “A lot of these plans you mentioned, they’re gathering a little bit of dust,” Gjertson said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything in them that isn’t meaningful. All of those documents will be included. The idea is to take that information and create a combined plan, a master plan.”

    Pope said the plan will include “extensive public involvement” through community meetings and workshops, as well as through meetings with the county’s other local governing entities.

    The process could take as long as a year to complete, Pope said; although Council could extend that with additional meetings, if necessary.

    “Just make sure that you don’t forget other population centers – Mitford, and we have the 321 corridor that includes White Oak and Blackstock,” Councilman Walter Larry Stewart (District 3) said, “and Jenkinsville. Make sure they’re included in the data collection process.”

    Stewart also asked that the plan be “implementable.”

    “Not something that’s going to be put on the shelf and get lost, that we can’t implement and we have to hire another $100,000 consultant to come in and interpret it for us,” he said.

    “Unlike some of the other studies you might have done, the public involvement process is very comprehensive,” Gjertson said. “We want to cover the whole county. Ultimately the goal of this master plan is not just to provide a master plan, but to provide an implementation program that is meaningful.”

    With the approval, Pope said staff would now work with the County’s attorney to produce a contract, which would be brought back to Council on Aug. 24 for a final OK and an official start date.

     

  • ‘Project USA’ Incentives Clear Second Reading

    WINNSBORO – With the matter breezing through its public hearing without any member of the public signing up to speak, Ordinance 652 unanimously cleared second reading during County Council’s Monday night meeting.

    The ordinance, pending a final reading on Aug. 24, puts into place a Fee-in-Lieu-of-Taxes agreement (FILOT) for the economic development project code named “Project USA,” which Interim County Administrator Milton Pope said at Council’s July 27 meeting would require the company to invest $125 million in the project over five years and create 75 new jobs.

    The company would be taxed at a 6 percent assessment ratio, Pope said last month, 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 to rezone 180 acres of the proposed project site, Pope said.

    Council also gave the third and final OK to an ordinance to rezone 0.75 acres of land at 67 Rocky 1 Road in Winnsboro from Rural Residential District (RD-1) to Rural Commercial District (RC).

    Councilman Billy Smith, whose district (7) includes the property, said the rezoning will allow the residents there to continue to operate their home daycare business in the face of new regulations from the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

    Also approved by Council was an expenditure of $35,261 for the purchase of a replacement patrol car for the Sheriff’s Office. The expenditure was recommended to Council by the Administration and Finance Committee on July 27. The 2014 Chevrolet Caprice replaces a car that was totaled last month after striking and killing two cows while responding to an emergency call.

    “At least it wasn’t a horse,” District 3 Councilman Walter Larry Stewart quipped.

    Regarding the mare and colt who died last June after spending a month in the custody of the County’s Animal Control services, only one citizen made comment Monday night.

    Beth Jenkins (District 2) suggested Council enact a moratorium on large animals until regulations governing their care could be tightened.

    “I realize that an ordinance or some sort of laws need to be done, and that takes time,” Jenkins said during Monday’s second public comment session. “I think immediately (Animal Control) should not be allowed to take in large animals and that Hoof and Paw should be called in immediately, so no more animals are treated the way that they were and the horrific deaths that they went through.”

    Reviews on how Chairwoman Carolyn Robinson (District 2) handled a third and final outburst of applause during the July 27 meeting (see the July 31 edition of The Voice) were mixed Monday night.

    While Rockton Thruway resident David Brandenburg called the incident, in which Robinson cleared the chambers, a “fiasco of epic proportion,” he also said he thought the Chairwoman was set up to look bad.

    “It was a ruse, all planned,” Brandenburg said. “You (Robinson) got a lot of Facebook playtime on that. I’m sad to say, I think you fell for it hook, line and sinker.”

    Darlene Johnson of Greenbrier, meanwhile, said she was “outraged” by Robinson’s decision to clear the chambers.

    “I am certain that Roberts Rules of Order does not foster the interjection of personal privilege as was done during the Council meeting of July 27,” she said. “Too long has personal privileged been imposed on every citizen of Fairfield County.”

    While Dawkins resident Jeff Schaffer said he missed the July 27 meeting, he said he hoped Council could improve its relationship with the citizens.

    “Leaders don’t intimidate young children,” Schaffer said. “Leaders don’t act like dictators. Leaders don’t spew racial innuendoes. Leaders don’t incite the general public.”

    Schaffer went on to criticize Council’s senior leadership, telling them, among other things, “It’s obvious to all of us you don’t know what you’re doing, why you’re up there. And sadly, you’ve been elevated beyond your authority to function.”

    Responding during County Council time, District 4 Councilman Kamau Marcharia, who represents the Dawkins community, asked for specific, constructive suggestions.

    “I’ve heard a lot of grandiose ideas about how we’ve failed and what we did do and what we don’t do,” Marcharia said. “I would like for these folks to give me a structural analysis of what they mean by moving forward, attach a budget to it and bring it to us and we’ll take a look at it and maybe we can move forward.”

     

  • Booze, Guns, Car Theft Mar Teen Party

    WINNSBORO – A back to school party in Winnsboro spiraled out of control early Sunday morning, ending with one man transported to the emergency room and a Sheriff’s deputy in pursuit of his stolen patrol car.

    Deputies responded just after 1 a.m. Sunday to a gunshot call at a home in the 3800 block of Highway 321 N. to find a raging party in full swing. According to the incident report, the hostess, 18-year-old Patricia Hemlepp, told deputies she had only invited a few people, but more than 100 had shown up. Everyone was drinking, she said, and most were under age.

    As deputies searched the scene for the reported gunshot victim, they were told by several witnesses that the victim, later identified as 25-year-old Richard Allen Thomas II, of Haygood Road in Blythewood, had been transported to the hospital by one of the partygoers. Deputies later confirmed that Thomas had been taken to Providence Northeast with a single gunshot wound to his foot.

    While the search for the victim was under way, meanwhile, a Sheriff’s Lieutenant walked back to the front of the home where he had left his Chevrolet Tahoe parked, only to find it missing.

    A second deputy on the scene reported seeing the Tahoe leave the driveway five minutes earlier, heading south on Highway 321 toward Winnsboro. Witnesses told the Lieutenant they had seen a young female suspect climb into the Tahoe and drive away, and the second deputy then left the party to give chase.

    The Tahoe was quickly located less than half a mile away, parked just off of Highway 321 on Adger Road with the blue lights still flashing. The driver, however, was long gone.

    A bloodhound unit was called to the scene to sniff out the suspect, and a short time later deputies located 17-year-old Frances Daley of Oakwood Drive, Columbia, standing near the stop sign at the intersection of Highway 321 and Coby Road. Video from the Tahoe’s dash camera later showed Daley entering the Tahoe and driving away from the Hemlepp party. Daley was transported to the Fairfield County Detention Center.

    Tuesday, Hemlepp was also arrested. She was taken to the Detention Center and faces two charges of underage alcohol possession.

    The Sheriff’s Office said the shooting incident was still under investigation at press time.

     

  • Absences Delay Comp Plan

    BLYTHEWOOD – Without a quorum, the Planning Commission on Aug. 3 was restricted to discussing items on the agenda without taking any votes. Four of the seven members of the Commission, Robert Cappadona, Marcus Taylor, Mike Switzer and Ernestine Middleton, did not attend the meeting.

    With the final draft of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan on the table, it was expected the Commission would forward it on to Town Council with a recommendation for approval. Instead, Commission Chairman Malcolm Gordge reviewed the finalized updates to the Plan that were made by Greg Sprouse of Central Midlands Council of Governments.

    The major change in the Plan made economic development a top priority for the Town, Gordge said.

    “This was the principal thinking that came out of the Council’s retreat last March,” Gordge said. “Another focus, I think, is that we have essentially eliminated duplication of the previous plan, mostly concerning the environment. Environmental concerns took up a large portion of the Plan. So we cleaned this up to achieve clarity.”

    Sprouse also included a map of the town’s water and sewer lines in the proposed plan and updated several text issues and demographic numbers. Gordge concluded that the changes will make the plan more readable now.

    The purpose of the Plan is to provide guidance for planning and zoning. It is required by state law to be updated every 10 years and can be updated as frequently as every 5 years. It was last updated in 2010. The Plan is expected to be recommended to Council by the Planning Commission at its Sept. 6 meeting and then be discussed by Council at its September workshop.

     

  • Medical Office Seeks Final OK

    BLYTHEWOOD – A medical office designed to be shared by two private medical practices in downtown Blythewood is expected to seek final approval from the Town’s Board of Architecture Review (BAR) Monday night. The project received partial approval from the BAR in June. Architect Matt Davis represents the project and is also the Town’s architectural consultant.

    The 7,000-square-foot, two-story building, to be located on Blythewood Road across from Companion Animal Hospital, will house the offices of Dr. Jim Ellis, an optometrist, and Dr. Frank Dorn, a pediatrician.

    The request for a certificate of approval met with several obstacles when it came before the Board in June. Because the Town Center zoning ordinance requires all new commercial buildings to have multiple stories and meet a height requirement of 24 feet, the BAR voted to give the applicants a variance for the two one-story wings, allowing them to be limited to a height of 16 feet. And because the Department of Motor Vehicles requires that driveways (entrances/exits) align with driveways across the street, the BAR also voted to allow a shift of the building toward the east lot line to allow for that driveway match up.

    Additional architectural details (materials, colors, etc.) and the final site plan with landscaping, lighting and signage are expected to be submitted on Monday evening for the balance of the approval. The meeting will be held in The Manor at 7 p.m.

     

  • Hunting Island

    Another postcard sunset at Hunting Island State Park. (Photo/James Denton)
    Another postcard sunset at Hunting Island State Park. (Photo/James Denton)

    How does a wild island, stunning beach, emerald marsh and a lookout tower sound? Does that bring out the pirate in you? If so, drive 185 miles south, a little over three hours, and the road ends at South Carolina’s most popular state park.

    Hunting Island State Park, located on St. Helena Island, 16 miles east of Beaufort, has 5,000-acres that delight over one million visitors each year. Five miles of photogenic beach, rippling salt marshes and a picturesque lighthouse add to the park’s splendor.

    The beach here is free of man’s clutter. A maritime forest, fallen trees and expanses of windswept shore give you the feeling that you’re on a stretch of African coast. Walk the beach and look for shark’s teeth. The island takes its name from the fact that it was a hunting preserve for 19th century planters. It’s rich with wildlife still and the island’s cinematic character has provided settings for movies.

    In “Forrest Gump,” Vietcong ambush U.S. soldiers, and simple-fellow Gump earns the Medal of Honor carrying Lieutenant Dan to safety. We never see the VC, but Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” transports us back to 1967. It’s Vietnam all over again, only it’s not Vietnam. It’s Hunting Island.

    Fishing, boating and camping here attract people with a love for scenic sweeps and grand vistas. Hiking and nature trails provide excellent ways to see the island’s wildlife up close. Don’t miss the marsh boardwalk. It’s a great place to watch a coastal sunset. If you swim in the Atlantic you do so at your own risk.

    The lighthouse forms the island’s centerpiece. The original lighthouse, built in 1859, fell victim to the Civil War. Rebuilt in 1875, it has survived hurricanes. The historic Hunting Island lighthouse, the only lighthouse in our state you can climb, provides panoramic views. The lighthouse closes at times for inclement weather and repairs with no notice of closing, but when it’s open you can climb the 167 steps to the observation deck for a fee of $2. Typically, the tower is open for climbing March through October, beginning at 10 a.m. daily. The last admission is accepted at 4:45 p.m. each day. November through February the tower is open for climbing beginning at 10 a.m. daily with the last admission accepted at 3:45 p.m. each day. Children must be at least 44 inches tall to climb the tower.

    People like to camp here. Hunting Island has primitive campgrounds close to the beach and spaces for RVs. It has campsites with electricity too. A 1,120-foot fishing pier reaches into Fripp Inlet. At the pier’s entrance, you’ll find a nature center with exhibits about local wildlife.

    Nature is at her majestic best here. The beaches are some of South Carolina’s more photographed beaches. Since Beaufort is on your route, be sure to spend time in this beautiful town, perhaps South Carolina’s best-kept secret. You’ll see classic homes and find great restaurants to choose from.

    If You Go …

    From I-95: Take Hwy. 21 E. toward Beaufort. Drive 42 miles. Hwy. 21 ends at the park.

    2555 Sea Island Parkway, Hunting Island, S.C. 29920. 843-838-2011. huntingisland@scprt.com

    Latitude: 32.3585481

    Longitude: -80.4521216

    Learn more about Tom Poland, a Southern writer, and his work at www.tompoland.net. Email day-trip ideas to him at tompol@earthlink.net.

     

  • 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.