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Category: News

  • Old Town Hall, Brand New Ownership

    The Old Town Hall Restaurant’s staff includes co-owner and server Angelina Surina, Chef Mike Culley and Deb Phelps who, along with her husband Mike Phelps, are also co-owners. (Photo/Barbara Ball)

    RIDGEWAY – The Town of Ridgeway is anchored once again by a full service restaurant that features steak, lava shrimp, salads, wings, pizza and several absolutely fabulous desserts.

    The new owners, locals Deb and Mike Phelps and Angelina Surina, formerly of Russia, offer upscale casual dining, a full bar with both draft beers and a rotating array of craft beers such as Sweet Josie Brown. The walls of the newly redecorated restaurant are hung with artwork on consignment by Charleston artist Emily Stein. And the front dining area offers a great conversation starter, a clear view of the old Ruff Hardware Store across the street.

    The crown jewel of the eatery, Deb Phelps said, is Chef Mike Culley, formerly with 82 Queen in Charleston and other fine dining establishments. Going on for a while about Culley’s expertise in the kitchen, Phelps said he’s full of culinary surprises, like the chipotle pimiento cheese dip and his ‘cheesecake of the moment,’ which changes flavors and toppings frequently.

    “But whatever the flavor or topping,” Phelps said with delight, “the basic cheesecake melts in your mouth. It’s really wonderful, light and full of flavor.”

    Other dessert offerings include crème brulee and chocolate mousse.

    Phelps said she and her partners wanted to keep the restaurant’s traditional name, “because we used to come here when it was owned by Lisa Caplan several years ago, and we just had so much fun here.” And the fun continues since the Phelpses and Surina opened during Pig on the Ridge two weeks ago.

    “We’ve had great community support,” Phelps told The Voice. “We’ve had so many favorable comments on the food, the décor and the service. Our goal is to create a dining atmosphere that compliments the town and keeps the town’s tradition in focus.”

    The restaurant is located at 140 S. Palmer St. in the center of town and is open Tuesday – Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. –midnight (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.).

    A Sunday brunch featuring eggs Benedict and the chef’s specialty, French toast that’s crusty on the outside and soft inside, is served from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Reservations on Sundays are recommended.

    For more information, go to info@oldetownhall.com.

  • Quarry Foes Prep Council for Meeting

    DHEC Public Hearing Nov. 20

    WINNSBORO – Opponents of and citizens likely to be affected by a proposed rock quarry planned for 185 acres on a 923-acre tract of land off Rockton Thruway in Winnsboro will get another chance next week to air their concerns to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) as the state agency’s Division of Mining and Solid Waste Management will meet with the public on Nov. 20.

    The meeting will be held in the Fairfield Central High School auditorium, with a question-and-answer session slated to begin at 6 p.m., followed by the formal hearing at 7:30.

    Leading up to next week’s meeting, residents of the Rockton Thruway community presented some of their concerns to County Council Monday night during the second public comment portion of Council’s regularly scheduled meeting.

    While Council has, since news of the proposed mine became public last spring, made it clear that approval of the Winnsboro Crushed Stone, LLC operation was in the hands of the state and beyond the reach of the County, one resident Monday night suggested there may yet be action that the County could take. Lisa Brandenburg, who along with her daughter Dorothy has helped spearhead community resistance to the proposed quarry, told Council that according to documents available on DHEC’s website, the S.C. Mining Act does not supersede local land ordinances.

    “Consequently, mining operations will need to conform to local zoning or land use conditions,” Brandenburg said. “We request that County Council send a letter to DHEC stating that County land ordinances are being violated by Winnsboro Crushed Stone, LLC and its application as submitted.”

    Winnsboro Crushed Stone’s application includes additional impact areas and the company is seeking approval for both current operations and planned reserve operations. Brandenburg said the future impact areas should be removed from the application and should require a separate application process when and if the company decides to expand.

    Brandenburg also said the County’s 1,500-foot blasting radius, as defined in the County’s land use ordinance, should be enforced. DHEC regulations, meanwhile, prohibit blasting within 1,000 feet of area homes. Representatives from Winnsboro Crushed Stone have said previously that the closest home to the proposed Winnsboro pit is 3,000 feet away. DHEC last summer estimated that distance at between 2,400 and 2,500 feet.

    Access to the mine remains a sticking point as well, and Brandenburg told Council that, according to the County’s mining ordinance, access is to be restricted to major streets or roads. And, according to the County’s own definition, Rockton Thruway is a minor street.

    Brandenburg also asked that public water access be brought to Rockton Thruway under the railroad prior to construction beginning on the quarry.

    The public had an informal sit-down with DHEC back on June 26 at the County Administration Building. Brandenburg said Monday night that she asked DHEC then that the entrance and exit to the quarry to Highway 34 be clearly marked on the map and a list of the equipment and its location within the quarry be marked on a map.

    “This information has not been provided in the application to DHEC,” Brandenburg reported to Council Monday.

    Barbara Morris, another resident of the community, also voiced her opposition to the quarry Monday and asked for Council’s help.

    “We do not need another sort of contamination in Fairfield County,” Morris said, and asked Council to consider the “expense of the increased insurance rates and lower property values, repairs to our homes, cars and hospital bills for long-term illnesses for now and future generations due to dust containing toxins in the air and water.”

    William Rice, who also lives on Rockton Thruway, said the quarry and its truck traffic would have a negative impact on the day care center he operates out of his home. Rockton Thruway, a gravel road, is already dusty enough, he pointed out.

    “When the rock quarry comes in, that’s not an investment,” Rice said. “The only people who are going to gain from this are people who have ties to the rock quarry. Would you want a rock quarry in your back yard? We do not want one.”

    Milton Pope, Fairfield County Administrator, said Monday that anyone with specific questions that they feel need to be addressed by DHEC should forward those questions to his office. The Administrator’s office can be reached by calling 803-712-6501 or by e-mailing Milton.pope@fairfield.sc.gov.

  • District 3 Race Sparks Protest

    Commission Certifies Results

    Challenger Questions Ballots

    WINNSBORO – Friday’s recount in the race for the District 3 County Council seat unearthed one additional vote for challenger Walter Larry Stewart’s bid to unseat incumbent Mikel Trapp. The absentee ballot raised Stewart’s total to 485 votes – still 4 votes shy of Trapp’s 489 total from election night.

    But members of Stewart’s campaign, combing over absentee envelopes at the Fairfield County Voter Registration office Friday, found enough discrepancies to prompt further research. The Stewart camp obtained through the S.C. Freedom of Information Act a laundry lists of information from the elections office, including a complete list of voters, precinct breakdowns and copies of the write-in votes and the optical scans. After reviewing material virtually non-stop Monday and Tuesday, Debra Matthews, a Winnsboro attorney representing the Stewart campaign, announced Tuesday evening that Stewart planned to file an official protest of the results with the Fairfield County Election Commission.

    The deadline to file such a protest was Wednesday at noon. A date for hearing the protest had not been confirmed at press time.

    “We have some absentee ballots that do not conform to the state statute,” Matthews said Tuesday night, “and we found three voters who were given the wrong ballot style at their polling place, so they did not have the opportunity to vote for their County Council member.”

    A pair of eyewitness accounts were reported to The Voice newspaper on election day of voters also being given the wrong ballot style at their polling places in districts 2 and 5.

    The Fairfield County Election Commission certified the Nov. 4 results following the recount last Friday afternoon, but an examination of the envelopes containing the absentee ballots by the Commission did not occur. State law requires voters to sign and date an oath, printed on the outside of the envelope containing the absentee ballot. The oath must also bear the signature and address of a witness.

    Of the 12 absentee ballots recounted by the Commission Friday, three envelopes contained questionable information. One oath was not dated, while two others had missing or incomplete addresses for the witnesses.

    Matthews said the Stewart camp plans also to examine the list of voters to cross-check names with a list of convicted felons as well as the recently deceased.

  • Vintage Yard Art

    Your Yard Looks Tired –
    Classic Southern yard art comes in many forms and puts old items to new use. (Photo/Tom Poland)

    Remember these lines from an old Chuck Berry song? “Cruisin’ and playin’ the radio/With no particular place to go.” Well, the next time you have no particular place to go I have a suggestion. Drive into the countryside and see what “vintage Southern yard art” you can find. Take a camera. Look for tree trunks painted white. Look for swings suspended from big oak limbs. See if you can find purple martin gourds, and give yourself extra points if you can find a row of tires half buried in the ground and painted white. You may have to drive many a mile, because vintage yard art is rarer than ever.

    Anyone who’s bought new tires knows they have to pay a tire disposal fee. No problem back in the day. Just turn it into yard art. Growing up, it was nothing to see truck tires made into flowerpots. Painted white and featuring scalloped edges, the pots held red geraniums. Around the curve, rows of white-painted trees flanked a driveway, and up by a big, old clapboard home, a homemade swing hung from a big oak. I’d see tires made into swings too. A tire swing is pure Americana, a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

    Giving junk a second life was alive and well back in the day, though it wasn’t thought of as recycling. A nail-ruined tire could be turned into a flowerpot or swing. People found new uses for things before the era of plastic this and that arrived. And some practicality backed some customs. Painting orchard trees white was considered a safeguard against fungi, disease and insects. The white paint deflected sunlight too. I don’t believe the painted trees I saw were being protected. No, I believe the folks who painted pine trunks white were simply trying to achieve a pleasing appearance.

    When I see a pole dangling gourds for purple martins I know I am deep into the country. Putting up gourds for cavity-nesting birds is something you see rarely, if at all, in the city. How many people even grow gourds in the city?

    No doubt you’ll spot bottle trees, but they have seen a bit of a revival of late. Once the domain of the Lowcountry you see bottle trees most anywhere. People in the Congo hung bottles from trees to ward off evil spirits, and slaves brought the practice here. Now they please the eye more so than capturing evil spirits as designed. Other oddities include miniature windmills and carved ducks with “windmill” arms that spin with the wind.

    For me, though, the true yard art of yesteryear is a row of half-buried tires edging a driveway. It steered you straight and most likely made finding the driveway at night a whole lot easier. Hit the backroads and see what you can find as yard art from yesteryear goes. Take some good photos because you’ll not see the likes of it again. For sure, your grandkids won’t.

    If You Go …

    Take the lesser-traveled roads, roads like the ones in the 200s and 30s. Highways 34 and 39 come to mind. Should you find an old tar-and-gravel, or even better a dirt road, take those and go exploring.

    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.

  • Winnsboro Mayor: Blythewood Waterworks Not for Sale

    BLYTHEWOOD/WINNSBORO – The biggest news to emerge from Winnsboro Town Council’s brief, business-like meeting on Nov. 5 wasn’t the $26,500 Council OK’d for a new chipper truck for the Electric Department, or the Town’s recent evaluation that it had no fewer than 14 unsafe trees within town limits that required removal and 13 more that need trim work. The major revelation instead came after the meeting when Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy, while fielding questions regarding the state of negotiations with the Town of Blythewood over a disputed water franchise agreement, said with absolute finality that Winnsboro had no interest whatsoever in selling off its water infrastructure in and around Blythewood to the City of Columbia.

    “And you can go ahead and print that if you want,” Gaddy told The Voice.

    That the Capital City was interested in buying the miles of water infrastructure and the approximately 750 taps came to light last summer. In an Aug. 5 letter from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin to Mayor Gaddy and Council members, referencing a meeting between Winnsboro and Columbia, Benjamin said Columbia was ready to begin discussions concerning the acquisition of the Blythewood water infrastructure, as well as the water customers who come along with it. But the Town of Winnsboro said then that any discussions regarding such a sale were contingent upon the arbitration of the water franchise agreement between the towns of Winnsboro and Blythewood.

    Last April, Blythewood passed a resolution to terminate the agreement that transferred annually approximately $13,000 from Winnsboro to Blythewood for use of Blythewood right-of-ways necessary for Winnsboro to access, service and maintain water infrastructure. While Blythewood reads the contract as effective until 2016, Winnsboro maintains that the agreement is binding until 2020.

    In July, Winnsboro voted to hire Robert Bachman to arbitrate the dispute on their behalf. Blythewood, meanwhile, has avoided arbitration like the plague.

    “We don’t like to go to arbitration,” Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross told The Voice last summer. “It costs us money.”

    Indeed, Ross reiterated that sentiment in a letter to Gaddy in September, and Blythewood has not, to date, hired anyone to represent them in arbitration.

    While both sides appeared to have come to a let bygones be bygones agreement last month, Gaddy said after last week’s Council meeting that the matter had not been formally reconciled. Both sides, meanwhile, agree that the existing franchise agreement may need some tweaking moving forward.

    “The existing Franchise Agreement is flawed in a number of respects and in no event would we wish to renew on the same terms and conditions,” Ross wrote in his September letter to Gaddy, and last week Gaddy agreed that some adjustments would be necessary.

    The news that Winnsboro had no desire to sell off its Blythewood infrastructure regardless of the outcome of the franchise agreement dispute came as a surprise to Ross this week.

    “Everything has a price,” Ross said. “It would be hard for me or any of my Council members to say that at no price would we sell something.”

    In early September, Winnsboro unveiled plans to draw as much as 10 million gallons of water a day from the Broad River. The plan, which would cost as much as $13 million and would require Winnsboro to lay approximately 9 miles of lines from the river to the reservoir, and which would not be completed before 2017, would, Gaddy said, solve everyone’s problems. But to get it done, Winnsboro is going to have to issue a revenue bond. And to get the bond, Gaddy said last week, Winnsboro needs the customers – present and future – serviced by the Blythewood taps.

    While Winnsboro has shared its plans with Ross and Blythewood Town Council, Ross said the entire issue was still up in the air.

    “We understand perfectly that getting water from the Broad River will solve everyone’s problems,” Ross said, “but it would have been nice if they could have started on this two years ago.”

    Ross said the time table on the project was a concern, and said there were a lot of variables that had to fall directly into place just to get the water flowing by 2017.

    “There are a number of things that could put it off anywhere from 90 days to six months,” Ross said.

    Meanwhile, Ross said, Blythewood was still holding out for an offer that could not be refused.

    “The last talks we had – two, two and a half weeks ago – with Mayor Benjamin, everything was still open,” Ross said. “I believe Columbia is still going to make an offer and that’s what we’ve asked for. (Winnsboro) has asked us to keep an open mind, and I hope that they will, too.”

  • Winnsboro Man Jailed After Union County Chase

    Joshua Kevin Burbage

    SLED Investigates Officer-Involved Shooting

    UNION – The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating an officer-involved shooting and has charged a Winnsboro man with assaulting a police officer after a high-speed chase through Union County Friday afternoon.

    Joshua Kevin Burbage, 28, formerly of Winnsboro and whose most recent address was reported as 3300 Sweet Springs Drive, Lexington, was arrested Friday and charged by the Union County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO) with failure to stop for a blue light, third offense; driving under suspension, fourth offense; and violation of the Habitual Traffic Offender Act. A spokesperson for SLED said Monday that SLED is also charging Burbage with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature on a police officer.

    According to the UCSO, the incident began when Union Public Safety officers responded to a report of shoplifting in progress at the Walmart on the N. Duncan Bypass. As officers arrived, they spotted the suspected shoplifter, identified as Burbage, fleeing the parking lot in a Ford F-250 pickup truck. Officers gave chase, but soon lost sight of the vehicle. UCSO deputies picked up the chase on Industrial Park Road near the Union Post Office and followed as Burbage headed south on S. Duncan Bypass, crossing Whitmire Highway and onto Beltline Road.

    Just past the Hawkins Road junction on Beltline Road, Burbage stopped in the middle of the road, threw the F-250 in reverse and backed over the hood of the Union County deputy’s patrol car. The impact spun the squad car around 45 degrees, exposing its passenger side to the F-250. Burbage rammed the patrol car a second time, bashing the tailgate into the passenger side of the car. The deputy then stepped out of the cruiser, drew his service weapon and fired at the F-250. Burbage sped away, but backup units made contact with him on S.C. 215 near Lablaw Road.

    With speeds reaching up to 100 miles an hour, the chase entered the town of Carlisle where Burbage made a hard right onto S.C. 72, crossing into oncoming traffic and heading toward Newberry. The F-250, meanwhile, was losing air in its left front tire and the chase began to slow. Near the intersection of Tuckertown Road, Burbage came to a stop and was apprehended by deputies.

    As they were handcuffing him, deputies noticed Burbage had been shot through the thumb on his right hand. Burbage was transported to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released into custody. Burbage was, at press time, still being held in the Union County Detention Center.

    According to SLED records, Burbage has a list of prior arrests dating back to March 8, 2004 when he was picked up for grand larceny by the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO). Burbage was also charged with shoplifting in December of 2005 by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, petty larceny in August of 2008 by the FCSO, grand larceny in July of 2009 by the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety (WDPS), burglary and unlawful neglect of a child in December of 2009 by the FCSO, and shoplifting charges in July of 2011 and September of this year by the WDPS and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, respectively. In between, he has no fewer than six driving under suspension charges.

  • Council OK’s Ordinances, COG Deal

    WINNSBORO – Before the train completely left the rails of the Oct. 27 meeting, County Council did conduct some actual business. Council held first reading of an ordinance to purchase and develop 3.36 acres of property at the intersection of Shoemaker and Center Creek roads for a County mini park. Council also passed second reading of an ordinance to rezone from B-2 (General Business District) to RD-1 (Rural Residential District) .46 acres at 2183 Dave Cole Road in Blair.

    The COG

    Council gave approval to an agreement with the Central Midlands Council of Governments (COG) to develop a county wide strategic plan for the use of future revenues from the two new reactors under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville. Milton Pope, interim County Administrator, told Council that the COG had developed a “conceptual framework for the plan,” which includes a community master plan, an economic development plan and a financial plan.

    “One of the COG’s primary responsibilities as project manager will be to develop requests for proposals (RFP) to procure consultant services to assist with the development of the plan,” Pope said.

    Pope said the COG will work with the County to establish a Project Advisory Committee “to help guide the planning process.” The committee will include a “wide cross-section of stakeholders,” Pope said, “who can provide guidance on specific community needs, issues and opportunities.”

    Once the consultant contract is in place, Pope said, the COG will work with the County to develop a community outreach program to engage the community in the planning process. The plan will provide a comprehensive, prioritized project list and implementation time line, Pope said, that will be analyzed in the context of existing and future revenue streams.

  • Committee OK’s Fees, Repairs

    WINNSBORO – County Council’s Administration and Finance Committee approved a slate of items Oct. 27 to send to the full Council for their final approval. Chaired by Council’s Vice Chairman Dwayne Perry (District 1), the Committee also includes Councilwoman Carolyn Robinson (District 2) and Councilman Mikel Trapp (District 3).

    The Committee forwarded to Council an $184,000 fee to Meade & Hunt to outfit the HON Building for temporary use as the County Courthouse while the Courthouse undergoes a massive makeover. While Mead & Hunt is ready to begin work as soon as Council gives the final OK, the work is expected to take as long as a year to complete, according to Milton Pope, interim County Administrator. Funds for the project will come from last year’s $24.06 million bond issue, Pope said.

    Additional repairs to the Administration Building, specifically the Sheriff’s Office’s evidence room located in the basement, also got approval by the Committee. The $87,844 for the work will also come from the 2013 bond.

    Up to $40,000 for aerial photography of Fairfield County properties in order to update the Assessor’s Office’s database received unanimous approval as well, as did the purchase of 2.3 acres of property on Overlook Drive in Blackstock for $7,000. The property, valued by the Assessor’s Office at just $5,000, will be developed for one of the County’s new mini parks as part of the overall recreation plan.

    Runway safety improvements at the County’s airport was also forwarded to Council for final approval. Total cost for the project, Pope said, is $1,792,754.50, much of which is covered by federal grants. The County’s portion, Pope said, is $89,637.73, with the S.C. Aeronautics Commission contributing the same amount.

    An amendment to the contract with Ken Simmons & Associates, the County’s recreation consultants, to include the construction of a fire station in Ridgeway and a fire/EMS station in Jenkinsville, was moved out of Committee, but not sent to the full Council, as Pope said staff still had some questions about the design costs of the projects. Perry asked Pope to bring the final document back to the Committee before Council put it to a vote. The other items will be taken up by Council during their Nov. 10 meeting.

  • Town Preps for Black History Month

    BLYTHEWOOD – As part of the Town’s Cultural Arts program, residents of the Blythewood community are invited to attend a Black History Committee planning meeting Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Blythewood Town Hall.

    The purpose of the meeting is to gather input from the community for a special Black History Month celebration in February.

    “Celebrating Blythewood African Americans through Honor and the Arts” will include a number of events throughout the month including a theater production of a play written by a local African American, a ceremony honoring African-American residents who have demonstrated leadership in the community and excellence in their respective career fields, as well as a gospel concert featuring the Blythewood Community Choir and a Worship Dance Team.

    The Town will be partnering with community organizations and churches to sponsor the month-long series of events.

    Nominations are also being accepted for honorees for the Blythewood 2015 African American Awards of Excellence until Dec. 3.

    For more information about nominations, please contact Booth Chilcutt by email at chilcuttb@townofblythewoodsc.gov.

  • Subdivision Gets Pass

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Planning Commission quickly dispensed with the only two items on its agenda Monday evening with unanimous votes to approve both matters.

    The first, an issue brought by the family of the Jennie G. Martin estate, was in regard to the court-ordered subdivision of about 60 acres of land on Pine View Church Road that Martin had willed to her surviving family members. Because the subdivision of the land into four parcels had been court-ordered, the family, represented by Ridgeway attorney Robert Hartman III, assumed the subdivision would be exempt from the Town’s subdivision requirements. After looking into the matter, Hartman wanted to be sure that the Town would agree to an exemption since the division of the property did not appear to meet any of the exemptions under the Town’s code.

    “So we looked at other provisions in the code,” Town Administrator Gary Parker said, “that stated a subdivision fronting on existing main roads where no utilities, drainage or other improvements are required, shall be accepted in final plat form and therefore sketch plans and preliminary plats are not required.”

    This allowed the family to bypass the Town’s usual processes of subdivision approval. The Commission approved the final plat, conditionally, until the family brings a surveyed, stamped plat to the Town for approval, at which time the condition will be removed.

    In other business, the Commission unanimously approved the bonded plat for the Holly Bluff’s subdivision near the intersection of Fulmer and Blythewood roads.

    The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 1.