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  • Public Says ‘No’ to Rec Site; Council Seeks County Input

    RIDGEWAY – Just days after holding a special meeting to discuss the potential of relocating a County recreation center, proposed for a plot of land next to a recycling center on Highway 21 outside of town, into the heart of downtown, Town Council voted during their regular meeting on Jan. 8 to present that option to the County. And while only one member of the community spoke out against bringing the center to the corner of Church and Means streets during the Jan. 5 special meeting, four more voiced their opposition on Jan. 8.

    “I don’t want it to be an eyesore,” Jim Moss told Council. “You’ve got a half a million bucks to work with, and I know (you’re) talking about a metal building. That really is not very attractive and a half million bucks I don’t think builds a whole lot, once you throw in permits, architects and engineering fees.”

    Moss’s wife, Vickie Moss, asked Council why they would want to lease over to the County a landmark site that was already a park-like setting. She said she was not in favor of the aesthetic of a metal building or the congestion and traffic it would bring. William Mattox, who lives directly behind the existing softball field at the 5-acre site, said he was also concerned with the potential of additional traffic in the area, while Angela Harrison said one of the things that make Ridgeway special is that it has remained largely unchanged over the years.

    “People come to Ridgeway because it has remained the same,” Harrison said. “It’s quaint. It’s maintained that charm for other people. They won’t come here because we have a rec center; they come because we are what we are.”

    Harrison also said she was under the impression the area was going to be part of an overall beautification project and remain green space.

    Councilman Russ Brown, who has spearheaded the push to ask the County to consider relocating the center from the proposed site on Highway 21 across from Smallwood Road, said before the vote that there was plenty of room on the Church and Means streets site for the facility.

    “We’ve got 5 acres over there and you’re talking about a 4,400-square-foot building,” Brown said. “An acre is 43,560 square feet. With 5 acres, we can maintain the arch, which everybody wants to do. The ball fields will stay there. You have the walking trail, so maybe having something over there will be an incentive for people to use that facility more often.”

    Brown also said that the town has an architectural review board in place that could ensure the facility fits in with the town’s aesthetic and isn’t an “eyesore.”

    Councilman Donald Prioleau said the idea was to put the facility in the corner of the lot, where the former Town Hall was once located. That would also help alleviate the traffic congestion on the other end of the property, he said.

    “I feel sure the space is there,” Prioleau said. “Let’s try to give our citizens, especially our youth, something to do in our community.”

    Mayor Charlene Herring reminded Council that the facility was intended to serve all of District 1, and not just the town of Ridgeway. And while Council had heard from Ridgeway citizens, they had not received input from residents of the district at-large. Councilman Heath Cookendorfer also told the audience that Council was, at this point, only on a fact-finding mission. No final decision had yet been made on relocating the facility, he said.

    “I did not know there was going to be a rec center here until I saw the sign go up (on Highway 21),” Cookendorfer said. “We may find out it doesn’t fit our needs (in town), that we don’t have the space for it. All we’re going to do now is finding out more information. We’re not making any decision.”

    Cotton Yard Lease

    Council also passed on a 3-1 vote first reading of an ordinance to lease property in the center of town, known as the Cotton Yard, from Norfolk-Southern Railway for $300 a year. Mayor Herring and councilmen Brown and Doug Porter voted in favor, while Prioleau voted against. Cookendorfer did not register an audible vote.

    Herring said the Town is also reviewing liability insurance policies for the property, one for approximately $700 and another for $2,000. Council made no decision on the policies at the Jan. 8 meeting.

  • Chappell, Epics Enter Hall of Fame

    Blythewood’s Jim Chappell and the Sensational Epics were inducted recently into the Carolina Beach Music H.O.F.

    MYRTLE BEACH – Jim Chappell of Blythewood, and the other members of the 1960s beach music band The Sensational Epics, were inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame recently along with another great beach music band, The Coasters. The two groups join Ray Charles, The Drifters, The Platters and more.

    Back in the ‘60s, the group, which also included Gregg Pierce, now a Richland County Councilman, was the hottest beach band in the Southeast playing on stage with Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Tams, the Drifters, Curtis Mayfield, the Impressions and other top recording artists of the era. They recorded several national hits including “I’ve Been Hurt” and “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” for Cameo, Warner Brothers, Capitol and other record labels.

    It all started in Chappell’s parents’ living room in 1963 when he and four buddies organized themselves into one of the umpteen jillion high school bands that were sprouting up in garages across the country. But this one proved to be different. They quickly went from performing at high school assembly programs to touring the university circuit throughout the South to performing in the biggest beach music venue in the country at that time, The Beach Club in Myrtle Beach.

    The Epics eventually evolved into a nine-piece show and party band, featuring five horns and a talented rhythm section. As college graduation, marriage and the raging Vietnam War entered the picture, the band dissolved. Then, in 2000, they were asked to reunite at the fountain in Five Points for a charity performance and they were a hit all over again. They now have a solid schedule of venues booked months in advance performing classic hits from the 1960s and ‘70s.

    Chappell no longer performs with the band, except for a cameo appearance when the band plays Blythewood’s Beach Bash each spring.

    “The idea of tearing down a band stage at 1:30 in the morning doesn’t appeal to me anymore,” Chappell said with a laugh. “But it was a good time.”

    And now he’s got the trophy to prove it.

  • Tapping into I-77

    Alliance Pushes Economic Potential

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Chamber of Commerce was brought up to date on the new I-77 Alliance on Tuesday by Rich Fletcher, President and CEO of the Alliance, at the Chamber’s monthly breakfast meeting.

    The presentation followed close on the heels of a pitch by Richland County’s Director of Development, Lindsay Nelson, at last week’s Planning Commission meeting for the Town to designate a new industrial zoning district for 663 acres in Blythewood. A number of guests attended the Chamber meeting, including Fairfield County’s three newly elected County Councilmen: Marion Robinson, Dan Ruff and Billy Smith.

    Separate from the Central SC Alliance for economic development that represents 11 counties, the I-77 Alliance represents only four counties – Fairfield, Richland, Chester and York – all of which border I-77. Initiated in 2013, the I-77 Alliance is a public/private non-profit economic development group devoted primarily to marketing and branding, serving as a front runner for economic development in the four counties.

    The fledgling Alliance is currently undertaking three key initiatives that Fletcher said will help jump start the organization’s marketing and branding initiatives: strategic planning, website development and fundraising. Fletcher said the Alliance will go public in February with a new logo with the tag line: “Driving Growth from Columbia to Charlotte.” He said the Alliance’s main focus is to develop leads for economic development in the four member counties. Fletcher also clarified that, “we do not just represent and market the area closely bordering I-77. We market the entirety of the four counties represented. But what we really see is a growth corridor. I-77 is an untapped potential.”

    Fletcher most recently handled SCANA Corp’s economic development and local government activities.

    “I will be working to enhance the regional business climate for these four counties,” he said. But he said the jobs for an industry in a particular county might go to workers in any or all of the member counties, not necessarily the county that lands the industry.

    Fletcher said there are eight economic development alliances in S.C. and all but the I-77 Alliance are dominated by private sector board members.

    “We use more public sector board members because it’s about being responsive to the needs of the local community,” Fletcher said.

    The four public sector members are determined by their positions: County Council Chairman, another County Councilman, the County Director of Economic Development and the County Administrator.

    Fairfield County’s private sector board members include: Doug Payne, Fairfield Electric Cooperative; Bill McMaster, Winnsboro Oil and John Smalls, Carolina Event Center. Richland County’s public sector board members are Norman Jackson, Paul Livingston, Kelvin Washington, Tony McDonald and Nelson Lindsay. The private sector members are John Cadena, SCANA; Ray Jones, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and a third spot yet to be filled.

    Fletcher touted recent success enjoyed by the four counties including the expansion of two industries in Richland County in the last 12 months and three new industries that moved into Fairfield County in the last 18 months.

    “Yet,” he said, “we need to bring in more economic opportunity.”

    Fletcher said the I-77 Alliance does three things:

    1. Brings companies, both domestic and international, that have a market need in the Southeast.

    2. Talks directly to site location consultants. He said that over half the projects announced in S.C. are led by paid professional consultants whose job it is to do nothing but represent their clients and find the best sites for them in the U.S.

    3. Markets directly to Department of Commerce and other allies and informs them of the assets that exist in the region.

    Fletcher said the Alliance’s biggest challenge is that “we need more infrastructure – water and sewer. That is a limiting factor to all of us based along I-77. We don’t have water and sewer infrastructure from the Ridgeway exit (exit 34) all the way up to Rock Hill exit. If we can develop water and sewer on that stretch of the corridor, we are poised for growth,” he said.

    Besides fundraising and matching state grants, the group is supported by the following investors:

    Platinum ($50,000 over a three-year period): York Electric Cooperative, Springland, Inc., SCANA Corp. Duke Energy, Truvista, Winnsboro Petroleum, Piedmont Medical Center, Comer Distributing and Piedmont Medical Center.

    Gold ($25,000 over a three-year period): The South Carolina Power Team, Comporium, York County Natural Gas Authority and York Technical College.

    Silver ($15,000): Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and L&C Railroad,

    .

  • Two Arrested in Calhoun Street Shooting

    Kendrews Jomonda Stover

     

    Brandon Lamont Perry

    WINNSBORO – Two men were in custody Friday evening after a 35-year-old man was shot and gravely injured inside his Calhoun Street home early Thursday morning.

    Freddie Lorick, Chief of Public Safety, said Frederick Alexander Cason was inside his home at 115 Calhoun Street when he heard a knock at his door at approximately 6:41 a.m. Thursday. Lorick said Cason approached the door, but before answering it peered through the blinds of the adjacent window and asked who it was. At that time, Lorick said, an unknown assailant fired several shots through the walls, one of which struck Cason in the stomach.

    Cason was rushed to Palmetto Richland Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. After regaining consciousness, Cason identified the shooter as Brandon Lamont Perry, 29, whose last known address is 318 C. Frazier St., Lorick said.

    Investigators from the Department of Public Safety, as well as the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) launched a manhunt for Perry, who was located Friday afternoon in a motel in the Charlotte area, Lorick said. Perry was being held at the Mecklenburg County jail at press time, where he is awaiting extradition on charges of attempted murder.

    A second suspect in the shooting, Kendrews Jomonda Stover, 28, of 3253 Flint Hill Road in Ridgeway, was also arrested Friday. Lorick said Stover admitted to being the wheel man in the shooting, delivering Perry to the Calhoun Street home on the morning of the shooting. Stover also faces attempted murder charges, Lorick said.

    Cason, meanwhile, was in critical condition after surgery Friday, but Lorick said Monday that condition has been upgraded to stable.

  • Greenbrier Man Killed in Home Invasion

    GREENBRIER – A 34-year-old Greenbrier man was shot and killed inside his home early Thursday morning and the Fairfield County Sheriff’s is on the hunt for three suspects in the grisly home invasion.

    Sheriff Will Montgomery said Latonia Workman died at the scene at his home at 75 Spinnaker Drive. Workman had returned home just after 12:30 a.m. Thursday to find his mother being held face-down on the floor by three men, at least two of which were armed – one with a handgun and another with a long gun. Montgomery said the men had only just forced their way into the home when Workman arrived, and when Workman entered they seized upon him as well. One of the suspects was wearing a hockey mask, Montgomery said, and another had his face covered with a bandana. It was not known at press time if the third suspect was also wearing a mask.

    The gunmen then forced Workman to produce and open a lock-box from inside the home. Montgomery said it was not known what, if anything, was inside the lock-box, but deputies found it empty when they arrived at the home a short time later.

    One of the suspects then shot Workman before all three fled the scene. Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey said results of an autopsy, completed Friday morning, revealed that Workman died from blood loss from a single gunshot to the left leg, just above the knee. Ramsey said the wound was caused by either a .44 or a .45 caliber handgun. A ballistics analysis had not been completed at press time.

    The suspects left the home in Workman’s car, a 2003 Buick LeSabre, which investigators later located abandoned on Cowhorn Road, approximately a quarter of a mile from 75 Spinnaker Drive.

  • Still True to Their School

    Standing in front of the Fairfield High School main building are Jean McCrory, Class of ’64 and member of the alumni historical restoration committee, and Robert Davis, Class of 66 and vice president of the alumni association. (Photo/Barbara Ball)

    Alumni Association Restoring Historically Black School

    WINNSBORO – The red brick school located at 403 Fairfield St. in Winnsboro was built in 1924 and initially accommodated grades 1-9. During the ensuing years, the school added secondary grades, but it was not referred to as a high school. In those days, African-American high schools were generally called ‘training schools,’ with the idea of training students for certain jobs rather than offering a true academic curriculum.

    But the students and teachers at the Fairfield Training School rose above that distinction and the negative implication of its name. In 1963, they changed the name to Fairfield High School, and today the Fairfield High School Alumni Association owns the school’s main building and is in the process of restoring it to its glory days when it was the center of their world.

    The school compound, which consisted of a main building, a gymnasium and two other buildings, closed in 1970 when Fairfield County schools were integrated. FHS students were transferred to Winnsboro High School, which was located across the bypass from where the Winnsboro Wal-Mart is today. Owned by the Fairfield County School District, the school’s stately main building sat empty for years and would have simply deteriorated with age, if not for the efforts of its devoted graduates.

    By the late 1980s, several former FHS students began exploring the possibility of saving their old school building. The idea gained momentum, and they were soon planning an alumni reunion for the fall of 1989. It was a roaring success with almost 800 people coming together for a weekend of socializing, celebrating and planning the restoration in earnest.

    According to Donald Prioleau, Class of ’62 and president of the alumni group since 1995, they were determined to save their beloved alma mater from desolation.

    “This building has the kind of quality you don’t see much of anymore,” said Jean McCrory, the representative for the Class of ‘64 and a member of the alumni group’s Historical Committee. “It’s very well constructed, with high ceilings, thick walls and the hardwood floors are in great condition. Our goal is to preserve the original character as much as possible.”

    On April 22, 2010, the association acquired the building for $5 and a promise to complete a laundry list of improvements within the first 10 years. Prioleau said they’ve kept those promises and more. So far, the group has volunteered untold hours of labor and raised funds to hire out other projects such as installing a new roof, gutters and windows and painting the exterior trim. Prioleau said future projects include restoring the restrooms to working order, painting the interior walls and refinishing the hardwood floors.

    “The main building housed the principal’s office, several classrooms and the home economics room. The teachers’ lounge and the old cafeteria were in the basement,” McCrory said. “We’re hoping to restore all of that to its original state. But it’s going to take a lot more money and a lot more work.”

    McCrory said the finished building will ideally be used for a variety of recreational and community educational endeavors, such as a meeting place for scout troops and tutoring services.

    Paging through the school’s yearbooks, it is evident there was a sweet bond between the teachers and the students and the teachers are still cherished in their former students’ comments. Several, in fact, are still active in the alumni group.

    “Each class stayed with the same home room teacher for all three years of high school,” McCrory recalled fondly, “from ninth grade to 11th grade, which back then was when you graduated. I’m still in touch with my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bernice J. Brown, all the time! She lives across the street from the school, where she’s lived since she started teaching. When new teachers came to the school, they always boarded with Mrs. Brown until they got settled somewhere. And two other teachers, Miss Margaret Roseborough and Mrs. Maude Ross, are both in their 90’s and very much part of our group.”

    The devotion the former students have for the school is alive and well. As McCrory and Alumni Association Vice President Robert Davis (Class of ’66) paused for their photo in front of the school recently, an unidentified woman driving past the school rolled down her window and called out proudly: “Class of ‘52!”

    McCrory and Davis smiled and waved.

    Alumni meetings are held at 7:30 on the third Tuesday evening of every month at the school, and individual graduating classes hold their reunions at various times throughout the year. Lively reunions for the entire 650 registered alumni are planned every two or three years, with the next one scheduled for 2016. They’re always held on Thanksgiving weekend and begin with a Friday evening banquet.

    “Then, on Saturday, we have a parade through downtown Winnsboro,” McCrory added, eager to go on about the weekend of fun, “and each class is represented on a beautiful float – we have about 20 floats. After that, we have a big tailgate party on the football field at Garden Street behind the school. On Sunday, we end our weekend with a church service. It’s always a wonderful event. At our last reunion, in 2013, we had over 400 people.”

    “But we’re getting older and we’re dying off,” Prioleau, 70, laughed. “The class of ’55 is about our oldest class to actively participate. But the school will go on through our kids and grandkids. We’ve passed down the importance of it and many of them now volunteer their time and donations to further the project.” Prioleau said the next fund raiser is a Chinese auction planned for April or May.

    “The combined work of so many people has kept the spirit of the restoration alive,” McCrory said fondly. “This project is very dear to our hearts. That school produced some very good people.”

    For more information or to donate to the Fairfield High School historical restoration, contact Donald Prioleau at 803-337-2105, or mail donations to the Fairfield High School Alumni Committee, P.O. Box 1182, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180.

  • Quarry Pitches Water Deal

    WCS Would Help Run Line to Thruway

    WINNSBORO – Winnsboro Crushed Stone (WCS), the granite mining company with designs on breaking ground on a 900+acre tract of land off Rockton Thruway, made a pitch Tuesday night to Town Council to partner with the Town of Winnsboro to bring a water line to the proposed quarry while offering service to residents along the way.

    Dan Creed, of Heritage Engineering in Blythewood, also requested on behalf of WCS 500,000 gallons of water a month for the quarry. Creed said that once the retaining ponds fill up at the site, shortly after startup, usage would decrease by at least half.

    “Winnsboro Crushed Stone is also willing, in an effort to improve and provide potable city water to residents on Rockton Thruway, to donate materials for an extension of the line northwesterly of Rockton Thruway if the Town would be willing to participate in construction,” Creed said. “Winnsboro Crushed Stone would donate the materials to serve those residents.”

    Creed told Council that the company would be responsible for boring underneath Highway 34 from the existing 16-inch water main, as well as underneath the railroad, in order to run the line down Rockton Thruway. WCS would also be responsible for the necessary permitting, Creed said.

    Mayor Roger Gaddy, while commending WCS for working to provide water to Rockton Thruway residents, said there would also be tap fees to consider, as well as an accompanying survey to determine how many residents along the mostly gravel road would be willing to pay those connection fees.

    Dorothy Brandenburg, a spokesperson for Rockton Thruway residents opposed to the mine, later told The Voice she thought it was risky for the town to free up a half million gallons.

    “To clear 500,000 (gallons) when they’re already discussing other means of getting water into the county seems slightly irresponsible,” Brandenburg said, “especially given that they cannot state how much after the development of the quarry they would be using. Ballpark 50-60 percent – well if they don’t find the water they’ll be needing are they going to keep using that or will they be using less?”

    Brandenburg said she would like to see WCS provide additional information, and Council made no decision on the request Tuesday night. Gaddy told Creed Council would discuss the request at their next meeting, on Jan. 20.

    Taps

    True to his word when he told Blythewood Town Council last week that Winnsboro would mete out as many taps as possible to help developers in northeastern Richland County phase projects in, Gaddy and Council gave the OK Tuesday to 100 taps over the next two years to Red Gate Development’s project at Blythewood Road and Syrup Mill and Muller roads.

    “I assured Blythewood we would try to do everything we can to accommodate as many developers as we can,” Gaddy told Council Tuesday.

    Gaddy suggested that Council set a time limit for Red Gate to put those taps to use, which John Fantry, Winnsboro’s attorney for water and utility issues, said should be covered under Red Gate’s development agreement. At Fantry’s suggestion, Council approved the willingness to serve resolution contingent upon the development agreement.

    Council gave the same consideration to Fowler Realty’s request for 30 taps for a development on Langford Road.

  • Source: Trapp May Keep Seat

    Mikel Trapp

    New Council Sworn in Monday

    WINNSBORO – With three new County Council members waiting in the wings to be sworn into office at an official public ceremony on Monday evening, a fourth Council member in the yet to be decided race for District 3 will apparently be allowed to keep that seat until the March 3 special election.

    Councilmen-elect Dan Ruff (District 1), Marion Robinson (District 5) and Billy Smith (District 7), who rode a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment into office in last November’s elections, will take their oaths Monday in Council chambers at 5:15 p.m. A reception will follow at 5:30, after which Council will get straight to work with the election of officers at 5:55 before convening their 6 p.m. meeting.

    Councilman Mikel Trapp will, in all likelihood, remain in his District 3 seat to start the new year, sources wishing not to be identified indicated Tuesday. Trapp faces a special election on March 3 against Walter Larry Stewart and Tangee Brice Jacobs. Stewart successfully challenged Trapp’s four-vote margin of victory in the November election and last month Gov. Nikki Haley officially ordered a new election. While only Stewart protested the November results, just this week The Voice learned that Jacobs’s name would also be on the March 3 ballot.

    At the time of Gov. Haley’s order, her office said it was considering the appointment of an interim to serve in Trapp’s stead between Jan. 1 and the March 3 do-over. However, sources said, the governor’s authority to appoint such an interim does not extend to cases where a special election is pending and an incumbent is still in place. Incumbents are legally authorized to continue serving until the special election, sources said.

    The public is invited to attend Monday’s ceremony.

  • Council Pursues New Rec Center Site

    RIDGEWAY – With only two members of the public speaking for the record on the pros and cons of locating a proposed County recreation facility in the heart of Ridgeway, Town Council forged ahead at a special called meeting Monday night on the prospect of bringing the facility into the town limits.

    Although Ridgeway resident Cal Harrison did not emphatically declare his support for locating the facility in town, he was clear on his feelings about the initially proposed site on Highway 21 S., across from Smallwood Road, where the County has recently posted a sign announcing its intentions to build.

    “When I first saw the sign go up right next to the recycling center, to me it didn’t seem like the appropriate place,” Harrison told Council. “To me it doesn’t send the right message about recreation or the community at that location.”

    Councilman Russ Brown originally brought the issue before Council at their Dec. 11 meeting, not long after he said he had seen the sign go up on Highway 21 S. At that same meeting, Brown also said he had learned from outgoing District 1 County Councilman Dwayne Perry that the County had initially inquired about constructing the facility at the corner of Church and Means streets, where Ridgeway already has a baseball/softball field, but that Mayor Charlene Herring had rejected the idea without consulting Council.

    The property at Church and Means streets, Harrison said Monday, “could be used for something really special for the town that would draw people into the town,” even, he added, if the property were left as green space.

    Herring said on Dec. 11 that the Town’s strategic plan had other designs for the Church and Means streets site, but Council pressed the issue and agreed last month to revisit the proposal in a meeting with County representatives. Monday night, only Dan Ruff, who was then still a week away from being sworn in as the new District 1 County Councilman, made an appearance on behalf of the County. Perry, Herring said Monday night, was ill, and Brown said County Administrator Milton Pope had suggested to him that the best way to proceed would be for Ridgeway to put together an alternative proposal and bring it directly to the County.

    Brown began advocating for the Church and Means street site last month, and Monday night was no different. But Ridgeway resident Cecil Dupree said Monday that the ball field already in use at that location has created a traffic problem as it is, a problem he said that would only be exacerbated by the addition of a recreation facility.

    “I’ve got a little bit of concern about adding anything at that junction down on that end,” Dupree said. “During ball season there’s quite a bit of traffic up there. Children are playing in the street. It’s not safe, really, for that.”

    Dupree also said the walking trail, which Brown has touted as an attraction that, along with the ball field and sidewalks, would make a perfect match for a full-blown recreation facility, was under-used and not well maintained. And while Brown has asserted that an in-town facility would be convenient for people to walk to, Dupree disagreed.

    “The walking trail,” Dupree said, “I doubt there are very many in this room that have used it. No one walks to that facility now. Everybody drives. That’s what has created the problems. Nobody is going to walk down there. We don’t have that many young children in Ridgeway. So it’s not a place for children. It might be a place for a few individual adults that live in the area.”

    When Dupree asked who would maintain the facility, Brown, referring to the County’s plan, said that the County had budgeted $17,000 a year for maintenance and $28,000 a year for staffing. Brown offered a copy of the plan to those in attendance, and while Harrison accepted a copy, Dupree politely declined.

    “I grew up in Fairfield County,” Brown said, advocating for the change in location. “A lot of people I grew up with moved away and didn’t come back. I think one thing a lot of people say is there’s not a whole lot for young people to do here. If you give them something and offer them something it may, in the long run, help change that stigma that some people have about the county and the different areas of the county.”

    “I just don’t see it,” Dupree said. “There’s not that many people, even the ones that use the walking trail, that walk to the trail. They drive down there. So if they drive here or drive out there to (Highway) 21, it doesn’t make a lot of difference, except for the people that live there.”

    Herring said the facility was intended to serve all of District 1, not only the town of Ridgeway. Having the facility in the middle of town may or may not be the most central location to serve the entire district, she said. Councilman Donald Prioleau, however, said a Ridgeway location was ideal.

    “I know this facility would work better in downtown Ridgeway,” he said. “Why? Where do we vote at? Downtown Ridgeway. Where do we bank at? Downtown Ridgeway. Where do we shop at? Downtown Ridgeway.”

    Brown also suggested building the facility on the end of the property where Town Hall was once located, which Prioleau said would alleviate traffic problems at the ball field.

    Herring said during the Dec. 11 meeting that the Town has considered adding a maintenance shed on the property, and Monday night she emphasized the Town’s need for additional storage. But Prioleau said the best place for storage would be at the Town’s wastewater plant, which Councilman Doug Porter agreed was a possibility.

    Porter said having the facility in town “would be a real asset for the community. If we can work it in.”

    Councilman Heath Cookendorfer also came out in favor of locating the facility downtown, creating a solid bloc on Council for the site at Church and Means streets.

    “I would love to see it downtown,” Cookendorfer said. “I think it could become a beacon that can enhance Ridgeway.”

    Ruff suggested that Council should present their alternative plan in writing to Pope and include their various options, such as exchanging a basketball court for a playground. Cookendorfer placed a motion on the floor to do so at Council’s Jan. 8 meeting (after The Voice went to press), hopefully in time to have it placed on County Council’s Jan. 12 agenda, he said. Prioleau offered a second and the motion passed without dissent.

  • Planning Commission Delays Zoning Vote

    Commission Questions Approved Industries

    BLYTHEWOOD – Appearing before the Planning Commission Monday night, Nelson Lindsay, Director of Economic Development for Richland County, proposed a new Limited Industrial (LI(2)) zoning category for the Town that he said would make sure there are sites suitable for companies to locate in Richland County.

    “That primarily means industrial sites, industrial parks and industrial buildings. Those are the types of projects we typically work with,” Lindsay said.

    The agenda listed as an action item the adoption of the proposed zoning. Touting the LI(2) zoning classification as bridging the gap between the Town’s current Limited Industrial Zoning District and the heavier Basic Industrial Zoning District, Lindsay said the goal of the LI(2) is to make it specific to this community and what would be acceptable to it. He said the LI(2) would be more restrictive than the zoning in Northpoint Industrial Park, for example, and handed out a listing of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes that indicated the industries that would be allowed in the LI(2) zoning district.

    But after Commissioner Mike Switzer questioned whether some of the listed industries, such as tire manufacturing and textile mills, might be considered heavy rather than limited manufacturing, the Commissioners voted to postpone a vote on any recommendation to Town Council until they had further considered the industries that would be allowed in the town limits under the new zoning classification. Three of the seven members were not present and those present said they had not previously seen the list of manufacturing that would be included in the LI(2) zoning.

    The specific focus of the proposed LI(2) zoning is 633 acres west of I-77, most of which was previously included in a 900-acre tract that was for a short time, in 2003, zoned as a Light Industrial Research Park. That tract was subsequently re-zoned to Development (D-1) which, Town Planner Michael Criss said, is more closely aligned with Rural zoning. A site map showed the 633 acres bounded by I-77, Ashley Oaks subdivision, Locklear Road and the area around Westwood High School just off Highway 21. Lindsay said the tract is under a 5-year option by Richland County.

    “When companies come looking,” Lindsay said, “they have such an accelerated time schedule that we have to be prepared. If they (industrial buildings and parks) aren’t built before they come looking, it’s too late. Due diligence means having all the infrastructure in place – water, sewer and power already at the site. And, of course, we have to have the zoning in place and that’s why I’m here. These companies can’t wait for the zoning to be passed when they start looking. I’m here tonight to eliminate that risk. We don’t want to spend money to build buildings until the zoning is in place.”

    Lindsay said the new zoning classification would also enhance the marketability of the closer industrial sites in the County that are already in place, including Northpoint and Carolina Research Park.

    Mayor J. Michael Ross attended the meeting but did not speak. Former Councilman Ed Garrison and the Town’s Economic Development consultant, Ed Parler, both spoke in support of the LI(2) zoning.

    The next regular Planning Commission is scheduled for Feb. 2, when the proposed zoning is expected to be further discussed.

    Categories of Manufacturing Allowed

    in Proposed LI(2) Zoning District

    • Textile Mills • Fabric Mills • Leather & Allied Product Manufacturing • Wood Product Manufacturing • Paperboard Manufacturing • Commercial Printing • Pharmaceutical & Medicine Manufacturing • Plastics & Rubber Products Manufacturing • Tire & Rubber Hose Manufacturing • Steel Product Manufacturing • Forging & Stamping • Structural Metals Manufacturing • Boiler, Tank & Shipping Container Manufacturing • Machine Shops, Screw, Nut & Bolt Manufacturing • Industrial Machinery Manufacturing • Engine, Turbine, Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing • Computer & Electronic Product Manufacturing • Semiconductor & Other Electronic Component Manufacturing • Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing • Household Appliance Manufacturing • Electrical Equipment Manufacturing • Battery Manufacturing • Automobile & Truck Manufacturing • Aerospace Product & Parts Manufacturing • Office Furniture Manufacturing • Mattress Manufacturing • Motion Picture & Sound Recording Industries • Business Support Services• Restaurants • Data Processing • Other Businesses & Services