BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood business owners can still save 5 percent on their 2013 business license fees if they pay the fees before 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8. Deadline to pay business license fees without a penalty is Monday, April 15.
Sixty-four businesses in Blythewood paid their fees before Feb. 8, and received a 10 percent discount. The fees are calculated based on the 2012 gross revenue of a business. Fees must be paid at Town Hall, 171 Langford Road. For information, call 754-0501.
RICHLAND – A Blythewood man was killed Sunday night after crashing his 1999 Honda SUV on Fairfield Road (Highway 321). Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Lewis E. McCright Jr., 56, of Holly Grove Road, Blythewood, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred in the 8400 block of Fairfield Road.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, McCright was driving the SUV north on Fairfield Road at 11:40 p.m. when the vehicle ran off the right side of the road. McCright over-corrected, sending the vehicle off the left side of the road where it struck a tree. McCright was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, the Highway Patrol said.
Watts said an autopsy conducted Monday showed that McCright died from trauma associated with the crash.
The accident remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.
In a game in which they never trailed, the Richard Winn Academy Lady Eagles varsity basketball squad wrapped up their 2012-2013 season by bringing home the SCISA Class 2A state title Saturday with a 46-31 victory over the Marlboro Academy Lady Dragons at the Civic Center in Sumter.
Junior Carson Justice led the Lady Eagles to the Promised Land with 25 points. Jaycie Johnson, Jessie Stidham and Alyssa Atkerson added six points each, while Emily Brigman put up three.
Richard Winn head coach Jason Haltiwanger, reflecting on his first SCISA title, credited a higher power for his team’s success.
“We serve a good God, and that’s our motto,” Haltiwanger said. “We play unto the Lord, and these girls understand that. He went all out for us, so we go all out for Him. They understand that and play for that.”
After dropping last year’s title game, 46-42 to Heyward Academy, and losing all-star center Alex Maass, 2012-2013 was expected to be a rebuilding season for the Lady Eagles. But in spite of starting two juniors, a sophomore, a freshman and an eighth-grader, and with two sophomores, two freshmen and an eighth-grader coming off the bench, Richard Winn put doubters to rest with a 29-1 record and a convincing championship win.
“We had good leadership from our past,” Haltiwanger said. “We had Alex (Maass) last year, an unbelievable leader, and they followed that example. The guards stepped up and led for us, we had good coaching and good genes – a lot of these parents were state champions over here and their daughters play for us.”
Both teams got out of the gate slowly Saturday, with the game scoreless into the 5:37 mark when Atkerson finally broke the ice with a 2-point bucket on an in-bounds play. A steal and layup by Justice on the ensuing in-bounds play gave the Lady Eagles an early 4-0 lead. Atkerson scored the final points of the quarter with a layup at the buzzer, giving Richard Winn a 10-7 edge after one.
It was a slightly different look for the Lady Eagles’ defense Saturday, as Haltiwanger eschewed their standard full-court pressure for a more traditional look.
“They were used to their bigs, their post players, to bring it up, which causes a problem,” Haltiwanger explained. “If their guards bring it up, we can put a lot of pressure, but they knew that so they brought their post players up to handle the ball and that made it tough for us to put a lot of pressure on them like that.”
With 6 minutes to go in the second, Justice nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, opening up the flood gates for the Lady Eagles, who out-scored Marlboro 14-9 in the period. Up 24-16 at the half, the Lady Eagles built a 10-point lead early in the third quarter. But with 5:16 to go, Marlboro Academy’s McKalyn Pruitt slipped through the half-court trap and laid in a 2-pointer. It was the first points for the Lady Dragons since the 2:36 point in the second quarter and began a run that cut the Lady Eagles’ lead to 26-22 by the 4:07 mark. Justice ended the Eagles’ drought with a 3-pointer with 3:45 to play in the period, but the Lady Dragons were on a tear. With 2:11 to play in the third, Marlboro’s Megan Quick sank a 3-pointer, cutting the lead to 29-28, but Justice answered on the other end with a long ball of her own to make it 32-28 Richard Winn.
“We got frustrated,” Haltiwanger said of the third quarter drag. “We missed four layups there to start the half, so that was 6 to 8 points there that made it closer, and we got messed up on a few assignments on who was guarding who and left #11 (Quick) wide open and she drained a 3 on us. But we stayed resilient, showed a lot of resolve and kept battling.”
Although out-scored 12-10 in the third, the Lady Eagles held a 34-28 lead to start the final period, and by then the wind had gone out of the Lady Dragons’ sails. Richard Winn slowed the pace of the game, draining the clock while working the perimeter on offense. The tactic opened up another 3 for Justice with 6:21 to play, upping the ante to 37-28. The Lady Dragons inched closer, 37-31, as Pruitt hit one of two from the foul line with 3:07 to play, but the charity stripe would ultimately prove to be the downfall of Marlboro Academy and the deal-closer for the Lady Eagles down the stretch. The Lady Eagles hit 14 of 22 from the foul line on the night, with Justice a perfect 4-for-4 and Emily Brigman 1-for-2 in the final quarter. The Lady Dragons, meanwhile, made only six of 25 attempts from the stripe all game long.
With a title under their belts, and with their entire lineup returning, the Lady Eagles present a formidable challenge to the rest of SCISA Class 2A for years to come. Still, Haltiwanger is reluctant to start tossing around the term “Dynasty.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Whatever happens happens, but I hope so.”
RWA—Carson Justice: 25, Jaycie Johnson: 6, Jessie Stidham: 6, Alyssa Atkerson: 6, Emily Brigman: 3.
MA—Megan Bolger: 4, Megan Quick: 9, Katie McClaren: 6, McKalyn Pruitt: 7, Katherine Holmes: 5.
Richard Winn Academy’s Lady Eagles topped Bible Baptist 56-47 Thursday night to advance to the SCISA Class 2A state title game, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Sumter Civic Center vs. the Marlboro Lady Dragons.
Fairfield County Sheriff
29015
Brooks Drive, 200 block, between 8 p.m. Jan. 30 and 12:52 p.m. Jan 31. Someone vandalized a car parked outside a home causing $600 in damage.
29016
Twisted Lane, 200 block, between 10:27 and 10:42 a.m. Jan. 27. Someone vandalized a car parked outside a home causing $2,000 in damage.
29055
Highway 200, 13800 block, between 12:11 p.m. Jan. 19 and 4:49 p.m. Jan. 21. Someone broke into a business and stole alcohol worth $4,092.
Miles Road, 600 block, between 4:22 and 4:39 p.m. Jan. 22. Someone stole firearms worth $705 from a home.
29130
Highway 34 E., 7100 block, between 7:25 and 7:38 a.m. Jan. 25. Someone vandalized a truck parked outside a home causing $500 in damage.
29180
Maple Street, 100 block, between 4:18 and 4:33 p.m. Jan. 11. Someone slashed the tires on a car parked outside a business causing $500 in damage.
Victory Lane, 100 block, between 5:14 and 6:03 p.m. Jan. 11. A man was arrested after someone broke into a home and stole a television and other items worth $260.
Highway 321 S., 900 block, between 9:40 and 10 a.m. Jan. 13. Someone broke out the glass on the front door of a business causing $100 in damage.
Ridge Road, 200 block, between 10 p.m. Jan. 20 and 11:27 a.m. Jan. 21. Someone vandalized a car parked outside a home causing $800 in damage.
Hungry Hollow Road, 500 block, between 11:55 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Jan. 27. Someone stole a Honda four-wheeler worth $2,700 from outside a home.
Pine Street, 400 block, between 12:30 and 1 p.m. Jan. 28. Someone stole appliances worth $650 from a home.
Winnsboro Public Safety
Fairview Road, 100 block, between 2 p.m. Dec. 15 and 11 a.m. Jan. 11. Someone stole a refrigerator worth $499 from a vacant home.
S. Vanderhorst Street, 400 block, between 5 p.m. Dec. 16 and 8:23 a.m. Dec. 17. Someone broke into a municipal building and stole tools and other items worth $3,450.
Hudson Street, 700 block, between 8 p.m. Dec. 17 and 8 a.m. Dec. 18. Someone stole an iPad and other items worth $1,500 from a home.
Frazier Street, 400 block, between 9:56 and 10:30 a.m. Dec. 22. Someone vandalized a car parked outside a home causing $300 in damage.
Highway 321 Bypass, 500 block, between 12:01 and 3:25 a.m. Dec. 23. Someone broke out a window on a business causing $800 in damage.
Columbia Road, 300 block, between 3 and 4 a.m. Dec. 27. Someone broke into a home and stole video game equipment and other items worth $755.
Park Street, 300 block, between 6 a.m. Dec. 28 and 11 a.m. Jan. 1. Someone stole a handgun worth $600 from a truck parked outside a home.
Ridgeland Drive, 100 block, between 5:12 and 5:25 p.m. Dec. 30. Someone broke into a home and stole a television worth $350.
Moultrie Street, 300 block, between 10:20 and 10:25 a.m. Jan. 7. Someone stole tools worth $200 from a shed outside a home.
W. College Street, 400 block, between 5:40 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Jan. 17. Someone stole a television and other items worth $1,000 from a home.
Fairview Road, 100 block, between 9:56 and 10:55 a.m. Jan. 12. Someone vandalized an air conditioning unit outside a church causing $10,000 in damage and stole copper elements of undetermined value.
Frazier Street, 100 block, between 2 and 2:45 p.m. Jan. 12. Someone vandalized a car parked outside a home causing $520 in damage.
Columbia Road, 200 block, between 10 a.m. Jan. 1 and 10 a.m. Jan. 21. Someone broke out a window on a home causing an undetermined amount of damage.
Castlewood II Drive, 200 block, between 8:55 and 9:15 a.m. Jan. 22. Someone vandalized a home causing $600 in damage.
WINNSBORO – State Senator Creighton Coleman told Winnsboro Town Council Tuesday night that $23,798.35 in state Parks and Recreation Departments (PARD) funds are available to the Town, which must be spent and invoiced by May 31. The PARD funds come from the budgeted years of 2011 and 2012. Winnsboro’s Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator, Billy Castle, recommended that the funds be spent to renovate Fortune Springs Park. Some of the projects in the renovation include addressing handicap accessibility, a new parking pad and installing curbing and sidewalks. In addition, Castle said there will be enough money left over to bring the pool into compliance and believes these renovations will help Winnsboro down the road.
“The additions will benefit the Town in receiving funds in the future,” Castle said. “This is all leading to phase work and basic future improvements for the park.”
Council members unanimously voted to approve the motion to begin using the PARD funds to renovate Fortune Springs Park.
The next order of business for council was the announcement of a grant that was awarded from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). On behalf of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, $240,100 was approved to purchase new fire fighting turnout gear, breathing apparatuses and to provide training for firefighters. The town of Winnsboro is only required to match 5 percent of the total cost ($12,005). Winnsboro’s share will be paid for out of the general fun and investment account. Mayor Roger Gaddy was pleased with announcement and gave all the credit to grant administrator Connie Schackelford.
“It’s a fantastic return on our investment,” Gaddy said. “A big thanks to Connie for writing grant application. It’s certainly one of the highest grants we’ve received in quite a while.”
Council began their meeting with the first reading of ordinance number 031913, which adjusts the Town of Winnsboro’s business license fees. The new rates bring the town up to date with surrounding municipalities, Council said; however, most rates will stay the same, while some will even decrease. The second reading along with a public hearing will be held at the next Town Council meeting on March 4.
Jesse Douglas, Director of the Gas, Water and Sewer Department, filed a request to fill vacancies in the department. At the present time the department is operating on a shortage of five employees and Douglas has requested to fill three of them, including a Water Plant Operator and two work crew technicians. Council approved the motion to fill those vacancies.
FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield County School District is one step closer to a new career center, with the Board voting Tuesday night to approve a $20 million bond to pay for the facility, as well as the contract with the architectural firm to begin work on the project.
The Board unanimously approved the $20 million bond, which will bump millage rates up to 34 mils for two years on all taxable property, according to Mike Gallagher, a financial advisor to the District on the bond issue. The millage rate will then come down to 24 mills afterwards, Gallagher said. J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, said that tax revenues from the two new reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station could help alleviate the District’s debt ahead of schedule when those reactors come on line. Brent Jeffcoat, the District’s bond attorney, agreed, adding that no matter what happened regarding the future of the reactors, the $20 million bond was well within the District’s debt limit.
The estimated cost for the new career center is $15.6 million. The remaining $4.4 million will be used to finance other facility and equipment needs within the District.
The Board also unanimously accepted the contract with Brownstone Design, LLC, of Columbia, and MBAJ Architecture, of Lexington, to construct the facility. Board Chairwoman Beth Reid said the District would officially sign the contract Wednesday (Feb. 20), and that construction would begin March 1, 2014. The move-in date for the District is July 31, 2015, Reid said.
The District is considering three locations for the career center, all of which lie between Fairfield Middle School and Fairfield Central High School. Reid said the facility will not be a comprehensive high school/career center, but will be a stand-alone facility overseen by its own director.
“This is a big day for Fairfield,” Reid said, “and for the future of the career and technology center.”
The Board also voted 7-0 to approve a pay increase for Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies working in the District. Green said deputies working directly under Sheriff Herman Young had received a raise last November and that this increase would bring deputies working in the District up to that same pay level. The salary increase, of $960 per deputy, was made retroactive to Jan. 20, and brings the cost to the District for the three deputies and one supervisor to $128,996 annually. Kevin Robinson, Finance Director for the District, said the District’s budget could absorb the salary increases.
After officially accepting the resignation of Tiwana Meggett, Director of Human Resources for the District, the Board voted to approve a contract with a consultant to carry out her duties until the end of the school year. The Board voted 7-0 to contract with Dillon and Associates, Human Resources Services, LLC, of Newberry at a cost of $525 per day for three days each week, or $1,575 per week, with the expense coming from the District’s general fund.
RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway Town Council is standing behind their recent hire of a former S.C. Highway Patrolman who was arrested last October on assault and battery charges and has released a comprehensive list of applicants for the position.
Council voted unanimously to hire Greg Miller as a part-time police officer Jan. 10. Miller had been with the Highway Patrol since 2007, but was terminated Oct. 5 following his arrest in a Sept. 17 incident on Sandpine Road in Columbia where Miller allegedly assaulted a former girlfriend at her home.
Donald Prioleau, who headed up the search for a part-time officer, said that to the best of Council’s knowledge, Miller was never charged in the alleged incident. Furthermore, Prioleau added, Miller was the most qualified applicant for the job.
“I can sleep comfortably at night knowing I made the right decision,” Prioleau said. “I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”
A spokesperson for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, however, confirmed that Miller was indeed charged on Oct. 15. The charges were later dropped, the Sheriff’s Department said, upon request of the victim.
Between the time of his arrest and the time of his formal charge, Miller was “dismissed” by the S.C. Highway Patrol, according to a spokesperson for that agency, on Oct. 5. Miller’s application for the Ridgeway position, however, states that he retired from the Highway Patrol.
According to the Town of Ridgeway’s application form, “falsified statements on this application shall be considered sufficient cause for termination.”
“I didn’t know about the firing part,” Prioleau said. “But if they fired him, how could he retire? He’s listed as being retired from the Highway Patrol.”
Miller beat out six other candidates for the job, including Donald Johnson, of Winnsboro; Damian Antonio White, of Columbia; and Richard L. Von Drasek, of Wisconsin.
Johnson served with the Chester Police Department from April 2011 to August 2012, the S.C. Department of Mental Health Police from May 2007 to March 2011 and with the Elgin Police Department from February 2004 to April 2007.
White served with the Columbia Police Department from September 2002 to November 2011. Von Drasek served with the Wisconsin State Fair Police Department from 1997 to 2001, the U.S. Marshalls Service from 1997-2002 and with the Thiensville (Wisc.) Police Department from 1998 to 2005. Von Drasek was under the impression that the Ridgeway vacancy was a full-time position, Prioleau said, at the time of his application.
Also applying for the job were George Dallas Pipkin Jr., of Lugoff; Joseph F. Robinson, of Fort Meade, MD; and Wayne D. Yates, of Winnsboro. Robinson and Pipkin had no discernible police experience in their applications, while Yates served as Chief of Public Safety for the Town of Winnsboro from 2000 to 2009.
FAIRFIELD – After no small showing of protest during the public hearing portion of Monday night’s special called County Council meeting, Council passed unanimously second reading of an ordinance to rezone 3.76 acres on Highway 215 in Jenkinsville to make way for a new health care facility to serve Western Fairfield County.
While the rezoning effort drew the support of Jenkinsville Mayor Gregrey Ginyard and Angela Sparks, a spokesperson for the property’s current owner, the Trustees for Praise and Deliverance Temple, as well as Dr. Stuart Hamilton, who applied for the rezoning in an effort to establish the clinic there, several members of the Blair and Dawkins communities spoke against the change.
“We were granted 8.12 acres on Meadowlake Drive to have a doctor’s office put there,” Bruce Wadsworth of the Dawkins Community Association said. “The land is already cleaned off, it’s already paid for. Jenkinsville is a very small area. The Blair community is very large, and that facility is greatly needed there (in Blair).”
Jeff Schaffer, a long-standing public critic of Jenkinsville’s local government, said Jenkinsville was indeed too small to warrant such a facility.
“Thirty-eight people in Jenkinsville – 30 adults, eight children – don’t require a healthcare facility,” Schaffer said. “There’s no need for this to be moved and built there.”
Marshal Windham, also a resident of the area, agreed.
“I don’t understand the motivation for moving a health facility from a more densely populated area to a more sparsely populated area,” he said. “There are more people in the Blair area than in Jenkinsville.”
But Dr. Hamilton said the current facility on Meadowlake Road is in poor shape. The building leaks and has other structural problems. And, he said, it was never meant to be anything other than a temporary location. The new facility, he said, will be paid for and equipped by federal grant money.
“The Eau Claire Cooperative Health Center is a federally qualified health center dealing with primary health care for all incomes,” Hamilton said, “we have a sliding fee scale for people who can’t afford services, and no one is turned away because of inability to pay for services.
“We have competed nationally for a grant to replace that facility and we were one of 27 winners to have the replacement facility totally paid for,” Hamilton added. “The facility will be totally equipped by another grant. This is a completely amazing gift to the community in Western Fairfield County, to have no mortgage and no payments of any kind and will be run as a not-for-profit for all the residents in the service area. I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. You may or may not agree, but it will help many people who now have some difficulty accessing the facility on Meadowlake.”
Hamilton said his group offered to purchase the property on Meadowlake, but they were able to get the property for the new facility, just south of 8991 Highway 215, for four times less.
David Ferguson, County Council Chairman, said the current facility is actually owned by Fairfield Memorial Hospital and sits on leased property. A second group had purchased 5 acres in Western Fairfield, Ferguson said, but went out of business before a new facility could be built.
“When that entity went out of business, they went out owing a contracting firm, which had a lien on that piece of property,” Ferguson said. “The County could not satisfy that lien, so therefore we abandoned that property. We could not afford to pay what the lien was on that piece of property. At which time we went back to Dr. Hamilton’s group and told him we were going to have to abandon that idea. Some time later, Dr. Hamilton called and told us he had talked to (Praise and Deliverance Temple) about purchasing their piece of property a little further down on Highway 215.
“At this time, the County has no funds involved in this endeavor,” Ferguson said. “I think it’s a good thing that folks on that side of the county will have a permanent health care facility for some time to come.”
Council also passed with no objection an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 177 and 179 Meadowlake Road, Blair, from B-2 (General Business) to RD-1 (Rural Residential), as well as an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 394 Hungry Hollow Road, Winnsboro, from B-2 to RD-1.
Council will hold a final reading on all three ordinances during their Feb. 25 meeting.
BLYTHEWOOD – Since 2008, feral cats have had a safe haven in Blythewood as part of Homeward Bound Pet Rescue’s cat colony near Blythewood Road, but the recent fate of one unfortunate feline has the program’s director concerned about community perception.
“Having a managed cat colony is actually a good thing,” said Cam Chappell, who runs the animal rescue and adoption program. “These cats have been spayed or neutered and have had one round of shots. They help keep un-managed cats out of the area, keeping the population of stray animals down.”
Earlier this month, one of Chappell’s cats was trapped in Cobblestone by Richland County and taken to the City of Columbia’s animal shelter. Although a city ordinance mandates that animals be kept for five days before being euthanized, Chappell’s stray was put down in less than 24 hours.
Marli Drum, Animal Services Superintendent for the City of Columbia, said that while the ordinance does require a five-day holding period, animals can be put down sooner than that if they are injured, dangerous or if space is needed.
“Unfortunately, we had a handful of cats that came in that day (Feb. 4) and we didn’t have enough space,” Drum said. “This is a very unfortunate incident. It is heart-sickening to have euthanized one that we could have gotten out alive.”
Drum also said her staff did not notice the tell-tale ear tip, which managed feral cats bear. Chappell explained that cats in managed facilities like hers have the tip of one of their ears – usually the left ear – cropped off when they are spayed or neutered and have their shots as a sign to prevent just such unnecessary euthanizations as occurred Feb. 5. But Drum said that even if her staff had noticed the tip, it is rare that anyone comes and picks up ear-tipped cats.
“Sadly, this is one that someone wanted back,” Drum said.
Chappell said the cat was trapped by a new property manager at Cobblestone who she said was enforcing company policy. She has since spoken with Cobblestone management and said she hopes to be able to keep the colony at its current location.
Chappell said she has also received assurances from Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, that the five-day hold policy will be observed in the future. Drum also added that it was their goal to become a no-kill shelter within the next five years.
“Citizens need to get behind it,” Drum said, “and become a no-kill community. Spay and neuter your pets, and instead of buying pets from a pet store or a breeder, adopt from the shelter.”