Blythewood Online 691

Category: News

  • County Reviews Road-Paving Ordinance

    FAIRFIELD – With the ordinance governing the priority of paving roads in the county due for its three-year makeover, Bill Coleman, Chairman of the County Transportation Committee, presented County Council with a new formula for determining which roads will get the tar in years to come during Council’s April 6 work session.

    “I, myself, have driven these roads and wondered how (priority) points were allotted,” Coleman said. “Our current formula has faults.”

    Under the proposed formula, roads will be issued priority points based on the number of residences per road (2 points each), the number of churches per road (2 points each), whether or not a road is considered a thruway (5 points) and on density (residences per mile).

    A residence is defined as a permanent dwelling-house or a fixed mobile home, Coleman said. Travel trailers and RV’s, which had been included in the current formula, are no longer considered residences. Houses used as vacation homes or part-time, seasonal residences would be considered, Coleman said.

    Determining density is a little more complicated, but Coleman said it begins by converting miles into feet (1 mile = 5,280 feet). For example, Coleman said, if a road is 1,000-feet long and has five residences, first divide 1,000 (length of road) by 5,280 (feet in a mile) to get .189 (length of the road in miles – in other words, a road 1,000-feet long is .189 miles long). Then, divide the number of residences (5) by the length of the road in miles (.189) to get the points for density (24.46).

    An actual example cited by Coleman is Palmetto Road, which is 620-feet long and has seven residences (14 points), no churches (0 points) and is not a thruway (0 points). Its density is 620 feet divided by 5,280 (feet in a mile) to get .117 miles. Seven residences divided by .117 = 59.82 points. Add that to the 14 points Palmetto Road gets for its total residences, and it is assigned 73.82 priority points.

    Should Council adopt the formula, it will be used to determine the order in which all unpaved county roads will see work crews over the next three years. David Ferguson, Council Chairman, said Council would take up the revised ordinance at their next regular meeting, May 13.

  • Ridgeway Men Arrested in Drug Raid

    RIDGEWAY – A pair of Ridgeway men were arrested last week after narcotics investigators with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office raided a home on Qualls Road, seizing drugs, weapons and cash.

    Almonzo Lamar Belton, 32, and Marcus Jermaine Mobley, 29, were arrested May 9 at Belton’s home on 1979 Qualls Road. Belton was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of two controlled substances – hydrocodone and oxycodone. Mobley, of Weldon Lane, was charged with possession of marijuana. He was also wanted for an outstanding Fairfield County Magistrate’s Court bench warrant.

    Sheriff Herman Young said the investigation began at the grass-roots level, with complaints from the community triggering action.

    “This is a fine example of law enforcement and the community working together to target illegal drugs,” Young said.

    Although the amount of drugs seized from the home were relatively small – 6 grams of cocaine, worth approximately $450; 1 gram of crack cocaine, worth approximately $60; marijuana worth an estimated $50; and $100 in prescription medications – Capt. Brad Douglas said it’s not always the size that matters.

    “These were not drug kingpins,” Douglas said, “but if it’s in your neighborhood, it’s a major problem.”

    Douglas said the investigation was launched over a month ago and involved undercover agents making controlled buys from Belton inside the home. Investigators also recovered a shotgun, a handgun and $450 in cash from the home during the raid.

  • FCSO Offers Glimpse Inside Department

    FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is planning its second Citizens’ Academy, which will begin May 21 and run through June 25, and citizens who participated in the pilot program are buzzing about the original six sessions, held at the Sheriff’s Office’s training facility.

    “It was the greatest class I’ve ever participated in,” said Sonya “Cookie” Kennedy, of Winnsboro. “It was more than I thought it was going to be. Each week got more interesting.”

    Kennedy said she took home some valuable information, like keeping one’s car keys on the night stand when going to bed. A quick pressing of the “Panic” button on a standard set of modern car keys, setting off the car alarm, can generate enough noise to scare off a potential home intruder, alert neighbors to a dangerous situation and buy one time to dial 9-1-1.

    “I’ve always had a respect for law enforcement, but now I have an even greater respect,” Kennedy said. “Every citizen in Fairfield County should take the time to attend these classes.”

    Chief Deputy Keith Lewis said the Academy is designed to introduce citizens to the Sheriff’s Office and to give them a realistic perspective of law enforcement.

    “A lot of people don’t know what all the Sheriff’s Office does,” Lewis said. “So many people are used to television crime dramas, they don’t understand that collecting and analyzing DNA samples takes as long as it takes, that it’s harder to find finger prints than you think it is.”

    The classes will run from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday at the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office Training Center, 5509 Old Airport Road in Winnsboro, and will cover everything from an overview of how the FCSO is structured to the anatomy of an actual criminal investigation. Participants must be 21 years of age and citizens of Fairfield County with no, or limited, criminal history and commit to attending at least five out of six sessions. Class size is being limited to 25 participants, so interested parties should sign up now by calling the Sheriff’s Office at 635-4141.

    “It was the best investment of my time that I’ve spent in a while,” said Terry Vickers, President of the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce. “I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to attend. It was wonderful. I learned a lot about the training and cross-training in the department. There are a lot of things you don’t think a small-county agency is prepared for, but they are.”

    Jeff Schaffer, of the Lake Monticello community, said the Academy gave him a whole new appreciation of what it means to be in law enforcement.

    “One thing that impressed me the most was how patient you have to be to be a cop,” Schaffer said. “Obviously, I couldn’t do it.”

    The Sheriff’s Office also learned from the pilot program and will use those lessons to enhance future classes.

    “We wanted some constructive criticism from this first group, good or bad. We wanted to use them for a sounding board for future classes,” Capt. Brad Douglas said. “I learned we’re more appreciated than we think we are.”

  • State to Examine Man Charged with Double Murder

    WINNSBORO – A Sixth Circuit Court judge granted a motion by the defense Monday afternoon to require a psychological evaluation by the State Department of Mental Health for Matthew Richard Mahorsky, the 40-year-old Blair man charged with the April 7 murder of his parents. The evaluation will determine if Mahorsky will be deemed competent to stand trial.

    “Mr. Mahorsky has an extensive mental health history,” Mike Lifsey, the public defender representing Mahorsky, told Judge Brooks P. Goldsmith. “It is my understanding he is also on several medications, including ziprasidone, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, along with a couple other anti-psychotic medications. I will also tell you that there were statements made at the time of his arrest that give issue there as to his competency to stand trial.”

    Ziprasidone is an anti-psychotic medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the U.S. in 2001. It is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and acute mania, as well as symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. It is also used for mood disorders, anxiety, aggression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses.

    Goldsmith granted the motion with no objection from the prosecution. Lifsey said results from the evaluation would not be complete for at least a month or more. If Mahorsky is deemed competent to stand trial, the evaluation will also determine if Mahorsky has the right to an insanity defense.

    Mahorsky was officially charged with two counts of murder and one count of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime on April 9, a day after he had surrendered without incident to investigators at his Blair home on Highway 215 S. and one day after the bodies of his parents, Ruth Marion Mahorsky, 70, and Richard F. Mahorsky, 71, were found shot to death outside the home.

    The bodies were discovered on the morning of April 8 in the driveway of the home during a security check after Marion Mahorsky failed to show up for work at Provident Bank in Winnsboro. Both victims had been shot through the head with a high-powered rifle, the Sheriff’s Office said. Several weapons, including a high-powered rifle, were recovered from the home.

    The Sheriff’s Office had been on the scene only a short time before Matthew Mahorsky exited the home through the garage and surrendered. He was held for questioning as a person of interest for approximately 24 hours before being charged. Chief Deputy Keith Lewis said Matthew Mahorsky made several comments during questioning that led to the charges, including telling investigators where they could find the suspected murder weapon, a Remington model 700 .308.

    Matthew Mahorsky was previously arrested on a pointing and presenting a firearm charge following an altercation with his father in 2004. During that incident, Lewis said, Mahorsky pointed a handgun at his father’s head and threatened to kill him before his mother managed to calm him down. When deputies responded to that incident, Lewis said, they were told then that Matthew had a history of mental illness. He received a one-year suspended sentence with three years’ probation in the 2004 incident.

    Lewis said there was no evidence that Matthew Mahorsky was using alcohol at the time of the shooting, but a bottle of prescription medication, used to treat schizophrenia and bearing Matthew Mahorsky’s name, was recovered from the home.

  • Judge Shaves Sentence for Rogue Cop

    WINNSBORO – The former Winnsboro Public Safety officer who pled guilty to a reduced charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and received a 17-year sentence last month for his 2012 attempt on his wife’s life had his sentence reduced Monday afternoon by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Brooks P. Goldsmith.

    Goldsmith, who handed down the original sentence against Michael Bernard Roseboro on April 11, shaved five years off the term following an emotional appeal by the shooting victim, Keisha Roseboro.

    “The only thing that really has changed (since April 11) is the statement made in this court by Mrs. Roseboro,” Goldsmith said, following her appeal, “which I find to be one of the most compelling statements I’ve ever seen made on behalf of a defendant.”

    Michael Roseboro was originally charged with attempted murder and faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.

    Roseboro was on duty with the Department of Public Safety when, at around 9:15 p.m. Oct. 28, he drove his patrol car to the home of his estranged wife, Keisha Roseboro, at 148 8th Street and shot her one time with his service weapon. Roseboro fled the scene in his squad car, prompting a search that lasted four days. Roseboro was surrounded by agents from the State Law Enforcement Division at Camp Welfare on Nov. 1 and, in the middle of negotiating his surrender with Fairfield County Chief Deputy Keith Lewis, shot himself one time in the chest as officers closed in.

    Monday afternoon, Keisha Roseboro told the court she never expected her husband to get so much jail time, and that she was concerned mainly for their children, at least one of whom witnessed the October shooting.

    “When you gave him 17 years, I thought that was a very long time,” Keisha Roseboro said. “I understand the seriousness of this case. This happened to me. Did my heart break? Yes. I never hated him before this. I love him. His little boy will be 22 when he gets out.

    “I’m so tired of seeing the kids cry,” she said. “I don’t want to go home and tell them there’s been no change. We have to go home with this every day. We have to read it in the paper. Some people might not understand why I’m doing this. I was the victim, but I’m truly sorry.”

    The prosecution, headed by Assistant Solicitor Riley Maxwell, told the court it felt like Michael Roseboro had already been given an adequate sentence.

    “There were several prior incidents of violent domestic disturbances,” Maxwell said. “This did happen while he was on duty. He went over there without any provocation, in his patrol car, shot her at close range without any type of argument leading up to it. He pointed the gun and pulled the trigger and his intention was to kill her. He didn’t shoot at her legs or her feet; he shot like someone who shoots who is trying to kill somebody. There’s not any justification at this time for another bite of the apple, so to speak. ‘We don’t like the sentence, so give us another shot at it,’ is not a strong basis for reconsideration.

    “The state did not reduce the charge from attempted murder to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature because of any deficiency in facts or lack of evidence,” Maxwell said. “We did so to get a plea done and still get a satisfactory judgment, and that is what the state believes Mr. Roseboro received last month.”

    Goldsmith reduced Roseboro’s sentence from 17 to 12 years.

    Roseboro had been with the Department of Public Safety for three months at the time of the shooting and had also served with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office from 2001 to 2010, first as a deputy and finally as an investigator. He was fired for lying to County officials about the sale of a fire department pumper truck.

    Keisha Roseboro has since filed a civil lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety on behalf of herself and her two children who witnesses the shooting.

    The suit, filed Feb. 26, claims that the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety was negligent in hiring and retaining Michael Roseboro, knowing that “prior to October of 2012, multiple parties have filed claims and made allegations indicating that (Michael) Roseboro had a history of using excessive force and/or engaging in other conduct that indicated he was mentally unstable and or had a tendency to engage in violent behavior,” the complaint states.

    According to the complaint, The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety “knew, or should have known, that the continued employment of (Michael) Roseboro would create an unreasonable risk of harm to others.”

  • Simple Pleasures, Natural Treasures

    Sixty miles due east you’ll find a town where simple pleasures are the best . . . A taste of artesian water — a crisp 50 degrees — bubbling up from an ancient aquifer . . . A native azalea, its bewitching fragrance sweeter than honeysuckle . . . spring flowers’ shimmering black-water reflections. Hartsville, South Carolina simplicity. Revel in it.

    This beautiful Pee Dee town, a bed-and-breakfast haven stitched to the South Carolina Cotton Trail, resurrects yesteryear’s charm. Faulkner may as well have had Hartsville in mind when he wrote, “The past is not dead. In fact, it’s not even past.” For Hartsville is about simple pleasures of the past. No wonder its homes, history and floral wealth lure wayfarers.

    Hartsville covers 5 square miles, within which man transformed 491 acres of virgin pines into downtown Hartsville. Old Sol rains celestial riches here — 115 clear days a year — and all that energy feeds gorgeous greenery. People are fond of saying that Hartsville is a garden with a town in it. Kalmia Gardens is Hartsville’s pride and joy. May Roper Coker built the garden in the 1930s. With some hard-working men, a mule and enough sweat to float a steamship, “Miss May” sculpted Kalmia Gardens from “laurel land,” embellishing its trails with azaleas, camellias and tea-olives. This arboretum sustains a microcosm of plants extending from the Blue Ridge to the Coastal Plain.

    Descend the boardwalk (435 feet, total) down a bluff through Kalmia Gardens across Black Creek, where tannins steep the water dark as tea. See profusions of mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, blizzard the bluff white come May. Journey across the creek where Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve displays copious sub-tropical vegetation.

    Climb the bluff to the Thomas Hart house, (1820, National Register of Historic Places). See the museum — a restored post office building also on the NRH. Learn Sonoco’s history and see silver from the Eastern Carolina Silver Company. Yes, silver (Rumors hint that more millionaires live here per capita than any place in the United States.)

    “There’s this notion millionaires live in mansions and drive big cars,” said Kathy Dunlap, Hartsville Museum’s executive director. “They can also live in 20-year-old homes and drive old cars.”

    Kathy should know. South Carolina’s oldest car, the steam-powered Locomobile, sits in the museum. Just outside, native Lawrence Anthony’s “The Performance,” a steel sculpture sporting a coppery patina, celebrates the music, dance and drama flourishing in Hartsville’s Center Theater.

    The good life. That’s Hartsville. Nature, history, gardens and art. Home to Coker College and Sonoco. Far from ordinary, but close to your wayfaring heart.

    　

    Learn more about Tom Poland, a southern writer at www.tompoland.net. Email day-trip ideas to tompol@earthlink.net.

  • Town Seeks New Zoning Class for 1,200-acre Tract

    BLYTHEWOOD – Although listed toward the bottom of the agenda, two discussion items were the most important items on the Planning Commission’s agenda Monday night. Those were: ‘Update on amending D-1 Zoning district’ and ‘Prioritization of pending code reform tasks.’

    The first discussion item referred to a large tract of land between I-77 and the Ashley Oaks subdivision. About 900 acres of the parcel had been zoned Light Industrial Research Park (LIRP) by the Ballew administration in 2003 and was rezoned D-1 by the incoming Amoth administration in 2004. Town Administrator John Perry explained to the Commission that a subcommittee he serves on is working on a plan to modify about 1,200 acres of that particular D-1 to another zoning classification that would emulate D-1 but include both an Advanced Manufacturing district and a Light Industrial Research Park (LIRP) district.”

    Perry said the tract in question includes primarily Barnett, McElveen and Swigert family land on the west side of I-77 and some on the east side. There are other D-1 zoned properties in the town, but Perry said he would not include all the town’s D-1 zoned property in this modified zoning district — only this particular tract. He did not say what the new zoning term would be for the proposed modified district.

    The North Point Industrial Park, which is in the County, lies to the south of the D-1 property.

    “We want to get more compatible with the County and sort of stay with LIRP and Advanced Manufacturing [zoning], moving north from the Industrial Park,” Perry said. “As we move closer to the town, the zoning will step down from Advanced Manufacturing in the southern portion of what is now the large D-1 parcel to LIRP zoning to the Town District commercial zoning.”

    Perry said the subcommittee working to modify the D-1 zoned tract would meet again in late June or early July. Although both Perry and Planning Commissioner Mike Switzer repeatedly referred to the subcommittee that was working on the modifications, when asked by The Voice to identify the members of the subcommittee, Perry said the subcommittee was not an appointed subcommittee but was made up of several members of the County and Town staffs.

    The creation of a zoning district that would include Advanced Manufacturing and LIRP zoning is one of seven proposals for code reform in the town that Perry said are being worked on by another subcommittee. Perry said he was bringing the seven proposed code reforms before the Planning Commission for prioritization.

    Perry said much subcommittee work had already been done to reform three of the Town’s codes: Landscape and Tree Ordinance, D-1 zoning (to include Advanced Manufacturing and LIRP zoning) and Auto Repair businesses in the Town Center district.

    The Planning Commission prioritized the seven proposals for code reform in the following order:

    1. Landscape and Tree Ordinance.

    2. Advanced Manufacturing.

    3. Auto Repair Businesses. Perry explained that auto repair businesses located in the Town Center, such as Pope Tire Company, are currently designated as non-conforming. “If a calamity were to destroy a [specified] portion of Pope Tire,” Perry said, “under the current code, that business would not be allowed to continue to operate or build back.” He said that, with modifications to the code, these businesses could conform by making certain architectural changes to their buildings and continue operating in the Town Center.

    4. Vehicular signs. Perry said he would propose that signs on vehicles, such as on the side of a tractor trailer, not be allowed to park in the Town. He said the sign on the truck is, in effect, a non-conforming sign.

    5. Subdivision Construction Signs. Perry said he would like to see a provision for on-site signs to, among other things, have an effective date of removal. Off-site signs are currently not allowed under the Town’s billboard ordinance.

    6. Outdoor lighting. Modification of this ordinance would provide for stricter enforcement. It could also allow residential neighborhoods a ‘dark sky’ option.

    7. Home Occupations. Currently, under most of the Town’s residential zoning districts, home occupations must obtain a special exception from the Town’s Board of Zoning Appeals before the owners can obtain a business license from Town Hall. Perry would like to see most home business classifications be allowed to buy a business license without applying to the BZA for a special exception. This would have the effect of increasing the number of business license purchased from the Town and eliminate the $100 cost to apply for a special exception to the BZA, Perry said. Exceptions might apply to businesses with heavy traffic from outside employees or UPS trucks making and picking up deliveries. Those businesses might still have to apply to the BZA for special exceptions.

    Rezoning annexed properties

    In other business, the Commission voted to recommend final zoning for two parcels of land on Sandfield Road — a 1-acre parcel (TMS # 17900-04-31) owned by Doug and U-Yong Skroback and used as a Tae Kwon Do studio and an adjoining 6.4-acre parcel (TMS # 17900-04-06) owned by Richard Allen – that were annexed in 2009, but were never given final zoning by the Town.

    “Shortly after the annexation of the two properties,” Perry explained, “the Town Clerk left the Town’s employment, and the zoning of the properties was overlooked by staff.” When the annexation came to the County for recording, the County colored it, identifying it with the County’s R-12 zoning color. Perry said it came to the Town’s attention that the property was never properly zoned when the Skrobacks recently had the property appraised. When annexed in 2009, the Skrobacks had asked for Neighborhood Commercial zoning and Allen had asked for Rural zoning. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend those respective zonings.

    D. R. Horton lots in Cobblestone

    The Commission voted unanimously to allow D. R. Horton builders to reduce by 2 feet the minimum side building set-backs for up to 115 lots in The Farm section of Cobblestone Park. The builder asked for the additional setback to allow a larger footprint to accommodate ranch style homes designed with senior accessibility.

    The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for June 10 at 6 p.m., when it will hold a public hearing on the budget and review the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) as well as all funds in the Town’s proposed budget.

  • Southern Capital Attorneys Pack Bags

    BLYTHEWOOD – The attorneys for the plaintiff in the South Capital Group, Inc.’s lawsuit against the Town of Blythewood and Councilman Ed Garrison have sought and been granted the right to withdraw their services from the plaintiff.

    In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court in Columbia, on April 5, attorneys Daryl G. Hawkins, Charles E. Usry and the Law Office of Daryl G. Hawkins, LLC asked the court to issue an order relieving them as counsel for South Capital Group, Inc. In their motion, the attorneys referenced the portion of Local Civil Rule 1.16(b)(5) that provides that a lawyer may withdraw from representation when: “the client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the lawyer regarding the lawyer’s services, or payment therefor and has been given reasonable warning that the lawyer will withdraw unless the obligation is fulfilled.”

    On April 29, Chief Judge Terry L. Wooten signed an order relieving the attorneys as counsel for the Plaintiff South Capital Group, Inc. The order stated that South Capital Group, Inc. principals David H. Hilburn and George Delk had 45 days from entry of the order to both obtain replacement counsel and provide notice of the identity of replacement counsel to the court. It stated that failure to do so would result in dismissal of the case.

  • Can Fairfield County’s Leadership Work Together?

    WINNSBORO – The tone was set early at Monday night’s intergovernmental meeting, where representatives from the School District, County Council, the State Legislature and the towns of Winnsboro and Ridgeway* broke bread at the District Office, and the message was clear: Work together, or nothing will work at all.

    It was the theme of the opening statement by the group’s newest member, District 41 Representative MaryGail Douglas, elected to the State House last November and now three months into her first term. In order for Fairfield County to move forward, she said, the county’s major political players had to shuck their reputation for contentiousness and find some common ground.

    “Fairfield County in known in Columbia for a lack of collaboration,” Douglas said. “I’m not real proud of that. It’s not going to get us anywhere. There are people who are standing at the steps, waiting, because they know what a diamond we have in this county. It is up to us, individually and collectively, to make things right. To make relationships right among our people. To make organizations work together among our people. I just plead with everybody here to get past that, so that we can see some really good things come down the pike.”

    Dwayne Perry, Vice Chairman of County Council, agreed.

    “It all goes back to communication,” Perry said. “We had one of our best discussions with the Town of Winnsboro (April 17). The Town of Winnsboro is really trying to work with us to get water to that industrial park. That’s what teamwork is all about. The County can sit over here and do our thing, the School Board can do your thing, but if we don’t start working together as a team it’s going to be very difficult to move this county forward.”

    David Ferguson, Chairman of Fairfield County Council, said collaborative efforts between the County and the Town of Winnsboro have been thus far unsuccessful in securing a deal with the City of Columbia to bring water to the County’s new industrial parks.

    “We’ve kind of hit a roadblock on that, right now,” Ferguson said. “Between their (the Town of Winnsboro’s) efforts and our efforts, we’re trying to get around that so we can get the parks where they should be.”

    Ferguson said several companies have looked at the new spec building at the park, and one major company has looked at property in the park.

    “We’ve got to get some water and sewer down there,” he said. “We’re still in negotiations with Columbia on water that will take us four or five years until we can get the overall problem taken care of. That’s a moving target, but it’s one the County is going to have to deal with in order to put people to work in this county. We all have to work together to make that happen. Like MaryGail said, it’s not a one-man show by any means.”

    Ferguson also warned the gathering that a bill to amend the state’s solid waste management plan, known as the “Business Freedom to Choose Act,” (S.203) would soon be coming up for a vote in the State Senate. Douglas, he said, had voted against the House version (H.3290), and encouraged everyone to contact District 17 Senator Creighton Coleman to push him for a similar vote. This bill, Ferguson said, would take away a county’s ability to determine where landfills are located and what kind of waste landfills can accept. Perry added that the bill would take home rule away from the County.

    A reading of the current version of the bill, however (available at www.scstatehouse.gov), contains no such language. The bill does, on the other hand, prohibit counties from mandating which landfills private companies choose to dispose of waste.

    The next intergovernmental meeting will be hosted by the County on June 17.

    *Editor’s Note: The Town of Jenkinsville, although invited, was not represented at Monday night’s meeting.

  • Lawsuit Booted for Second Time

    FAIRFIELD – The former head of Animal Control, who lost his year-long lawsuit against the County and its administrators last month, had his motion for reconsideration tossed by Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Brooks P. Goldsmith last week.

    Goldsmith ruled that there was “no basis for granting the motion” brought by David Michael Hollis, former Director of Fairfield County Animal Control, following Goldsmith’s dismissal of the original case on March 18.

    Hollis was terminated by the County in January 2012 after questions arose about how he had handled an incident earlier that month in which one dog attacked another in Fairfield County. The victim in the attack eventually had one hind leg amputated by a Fairfield County veterinarian, while the attacking dog was later euthanized. Hollis’s suit alleged defamation and civil conspiracy and sought $2 million in damages. Goldsmith tossed the suit after agreeing with the County that Hollis was barred from his defamation claim under the S.C. Tort Claims Act, and that his status as a public official and an at-will employee barred him from making a claim of civil conspiracy.

    County administrators said this week that the County has shelled out approximately $24,000 in legal fees defending the case.