Category: News

Two Winnsboro men were arrested Sept. 30 when their robbery plans were foiled by an alert passer-by.

According to the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety, at 12:14 p.m. on Sept. 30, dispatch received a call from a citizen who had spotted two masked men coming around the back of the Jet-Co station at 420 S. Congress St. When officers arrived at 12:15 p.m., they saw two men walking away from the store. Both were directed by officers to come to the squad car. The first subject, 19-year-old Steven Lamar Armstrong of Cherry Road, did so, but his partner, 18-year-old Brenton Seibles of Winnsboro Arms Apartments, took off on foot.

Officers gave chase and pursued Seibles down Palmer Street, where they observed Seibles as he removed a handgun from the pocket of his pants and toss it into some nearby bushes. Seibles then darted behind a house on Palmer Street, this time pursued also by Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies. Seibles emerged behind the Coroner’s Office, jumped a fence and crossed over to Freddy Wilson’s car dealership. Officers found Seibles hiding between two cars on the lot, where he was handcuffed and arrested.

Armstrong, meanwhile, had been detained by officers and had informed police of the pair’s intentions to rob the Jet-Co, police said. Once in custody, Seibles led officers to where he had tossed the handgun. Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. Seibles was also charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and flight to avoid prosecution.

Police said Seibles had no prior convictions on his record, although Armstrong has several convictions as a juvenile, including burglary and petty larceny.

“We were fortunate, in this case, to have been alerted by law-abiding citizens,” Freddie Lorick, Chief of Public Safety said. “This could have been a very dangerous situation.”

It was good news and bad news from Fairfield County Fire Marshal Tony Hill Monday night at Fairfield County Council’s regular meeting, and the bad news wasn’t really all that bad, according to Hill.

First, the good news: The addition of the $65,000 substation to the Dutchman Creek Fire Department has brought 175 homes under its umbrella of coverage, allowing their home owner’s insurance premiums to drop significantly. With the new substation, Hill said, the ISO ratings for these homes has dropped from a 10 to a 6, saving homeowners more than $600 annually on premiums.

Everyone else in the coverage area of Dutchman Creek, however, will see their ISO ratings rise from a 5 to a 6, and that’s the not-so-bad news.

“When we extended the boundary lines from the substation out 5 miles, we took in a lot of area that did not have the water lines,” Hill told Council. “That stretched our water further down from where we had water, so we would have to shuttle water down there, instead of having hydrants. The part we took in only had two hydrants.”

In 2008, when the ISO ratings were evaluated, the fire department was received a rating of 5, but the water system received a rating of 6. That was fine for 2008, Hill said, because the ISO team allowed them to round that rating down to a 5. But, Hill added, it was a one-time deal. Any subsequent evaluation would result in a 6 if the water system had not been upgraded, and in 2012 it had not. Therefore, Hill said, the end result was a 6 ISO rating.

“Overall, it’s not bad,” Hill said. “If we had gone to a 7, I would have some concerns.”

ISO is a New York-based advisory organization that serves the property and casualty insurance industry by providing inspection services, insurance coverage form development and statistical services. ISO ratings reflect what a home owner can expect to pay an insurance company in annual premiums.

But a 6 is not such bad news, Hill said, adding that average home owners would see an increase of about $32, or 7 percent, in their insurance premiums for wood-frame homes. Owners of masonry homes would see an increase of only 6 percent.

Hill said the possibility of getting the ISO rating back down to 5 could be a reality in the next year.

“You’ve got to get 50 points to get back to a 5 and we’re at 43 now,” Hill said. “We’ve got to get 7 more points, and it could cost $5,000 or it could cost $100,000.”

ISO is in the process of changing their scheduling, which will be complete next summer. Hill said the ISO representatives advised him to wait until the new scheduling came out before working on those last 7 points.

“What do you think it would take to get (the water) from a 6 to a 5?” Council Chairman David Ferguson asked.

Hill said that would involve running water lines to where there weren’t a lot of water customers.

There will be music in Blythewood air this weekend as 26 high school bands from across the state perform music all day and all evening on Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Blythewood High School stadium.

The occasion is the annual Tournament of Bands, a big fundraiser for Blythewood and Ridge View High School’s band programs.

The gates open about 11 am and competitions begin at 1:15 in the afternoon as the bands move onto the field in colorful uniforms.

Both the Blythewood and Ridge View bands will perform exhibition shows. Awards will be presented to the winners at approximately 9:30 in the evening.

Tickets for the performances are $8 for adults and $6 for students between the ages of 6 and 18. Children five and under will be admitted free. For more information log on to mjinnett@ed.sc.gov.

In honor of October as Physical Therapy Month, Abundant Life Physical Therapy in Lake Carolina will sponsor a fun-filled day Oct. 20., from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., that will benefit children with special needs. It will include a 1-mile fun loop for kids, vendors, food, a silent auction, pumpkin festival, games and more. Proceeds will go to support Abundant Life’s Life Equipment Lending Library in Lake Carolina.

The race will begin at Abundant Life Physical Therapy. To register for the children’s bike race ($10 fee), go to www.onestoprace.com. For details, call 803-720-5240.

If fear of missing the USC-LSU kickoff is stopping you from making plans to attend the big BBQ, Bluegrass & Bluejeans party at The Farm at Ridgeway on Saturday night, don’t worry. Organizers of the benefit are working tirelessly with Truvista to arrange for a TV hookup at The Farm for the evening.

The event promises an evening of great fun, food and friends to benefit a worthy cause, the rehabilitation services at Fairfield Memorial Hospital in Winnsboro.

The Farm at Ridgeway, located on Highway 21, just outside of Blythewood on the way to Ridgeway, will offer the finest BBQ in South Carolina cooked by George King, pit master of Can’t Quit Smoking, and great live music by Knox Station and Country Buddies of Blackstock.

Both silent and live auctions will keep you bidding on bargains throughout the evening – a $400 Fitness Center gift card, a $100 gift card to Dianne’s on Divine, a golf package from Cobblestone Park and fantabulus gifts from all the great Ridgeway stores. The Cornwallis Tea Room and Petal Pushers in Winnsboro will also bring along treats and treasures.

So get dressed up in your diamonds, denim and Gamecock gear and come on out to The Farm at Ridgeway for an unforgettable evening of fun with friends from Blythewood, Winnsboro and Ridgeway.

For more information call 803-608-5510 or visit fairfieldmemorial.com. Ticket and other information can be found in the Ad for the event on page 3.

Columbia Baroque Soloists, featuring Blythewood’s Jerry Curry, harpsichordist and distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, will present “Fairest Isle” in the Concert Hall of Spears Fine Arts Center at Columbia College, 1301 Columbia College Drive in Columbia, on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Curry is one of South Carolina’s leading early music specialists, as are the other members of the group: Jean Hein, Baroque recorders; Brittnee Siemon, mezzo soprano; Timothy Hein, Baroque recorders and Gail Ann Schroeder, viola da gamba. The ensemble performs on instruments of the period at authentic low pitch and temperament. Special guest for the performance will be Celtic Harpist Leah Trent.

A pre-concert lecture, “Concert Conversations,” will focus on the Scottish folk music on the program and will include a demonstration of the Celtic harp.

The program features a freely intermingling program of Baroque classics and Celtic fold music from Scotland and England including works by Handel, Purcell, Hume and Matteis, plus lovely Scottish melodies such as “Sleepy Body,” “The Lass of Peaty’s Mill” and “Polwart on the Green.”

“Concert Conversations” begins at 4 p.m. with the Concert at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 in advance and may be purchased by visiting www.columbiabaroque.com. They will be available at the door for $15.

The town’s Accommodations Tax Committee met Oct. 2 to vote on funding for the upcoming Band Tournament to be held at Blythewood High School, the town’s Christmas Parade and to review the town’s tourism expenditures for fiscal year 2012.

The Blythewood Chamber of Commerce requested $7,500 funding for the town’s Christmas Parade, but Town Administrator John Perry said Mayor J. Michael Ross had suggested the Committee keep a closer eye on the parade funding this year.

“There seems to be a 1-on-1 correlation between the funds the town provides from the A-tax fund to put on the parade,” Perry said, “and the amount of the scholarships the Chamber awards from the parade proceeds each year.”

Proposed parade revenues for 2012 submitted to the Committee reflected a $7,500 donation from A-tax, and expenses to include $7,500 for the Chamber to give in scholarships.

Perry said the town wanted to help fund the parade but was not in the business of funding the scholarships. He suggested the Committee give $5,000, with 80 percent up front and the other 20 percent if expenses warranted.

The Band Boosters Club asked the Committee for $10,000 for the tournament, but A-tax Committee chairman Davis Garren questioned Perry about the tournament’s proposed revenue and expenses. Garren said it didn’t make sense that the organizers were expecting 6,000 to attend, but planned to sell 8,000 tickets. The paper proposal also reflected $10,000 total revenue from concessions with concession expenses of $13,000.

Perry laughed off the difference as bad math by the organizers. But Garren and Committee member Ken Shettles, who owns Chuggers bar on McNulty Road, told Perry they would agree to give 80 percent of the $10,000 this year, but in the future, would insist on seeing the historical data on the tournament’s actual expenses, what they actually brought in and the true end balance of the event.

After the Richland County Planning Commission’s Oct. 1 unanimous vote to deny an appeal by LongCreek Plantation residents over the County’s controversial application of its Green Code to a proposed development in the appellants’ neighborhood, attorneys for the County have refused to allow The Voice to listen to or copy the electronic minutes of that meeting.

Sam Brick, a LongCreek resident and retired attorney who unsuccessfully argued the appeal to the Planning Commission last week, is expected to take his argument to Circuit Court.

While Geonard Price, Deputy Director/Zoning Administrator, initially approved The Voice’s request to listen to the recording, as has been permitted in the past, the County’s attorneys intervened, denying The Voice access to the recording.

County Attorney Amelia Linder said the attorneys concluded, after three consultations during a 45-minute period, that the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) defined meeting minutes only as written records, not as digital recordings.

Linder said the minutes of the meeting were not being released because they had not been transcribed into written form. She said transcription could take about two-and-a-half to three weeks.

“Meeting minutes are not minutes until they have been transcribed and written down,” Linder said.

Bill Rogers, Executive Director of the SC Press Association, took issue with Linder’s assessment of the statue.

“Minutes are minutes as soon as they are recorded in whatever form and should be released to the public as stipulated by the statute,” Rogers told The Voice.

According to the ‘plain language’ version of Sec. 30-4-(d) (l) of the SC FOIA booklet, “the public and press are entitled to copies of minutes and they should be available soon after the meeting. Minutes of meetings for the preceding six months are to be made available for inspection without a written request being made.”

At press time, the minutes had not been released to The Voice in any form.

At issue in the meeting in question, according to Brick, is that the County is misapplying its Green Code to a proposed development inside the boundaries of the LongCreek Plantation neighborhood. He said the County is, in essence, rezoning that property with its misapplication of the Green Code.

The Green Code was enacted by the County in June of 2008 with the intent of enticing developers to preserve the environment by offering ‘set asides.’ By preserving more undeveloped land in a housing development, the developer might be allowed more density or other development perks.

Critics of the Code say such arrangements are not required to come before the Planning Commission or be subjected to objections from nearby property owners as would be required when requesting re-zoning.

According to Councilwoman Val Hutchinson who represents most of the LongCreek Plantation neighborhood, the only development in the County that the Green Code has heretofore been applied to is a neighborhood called The View.

When the County’s Development Review Team (DRT) recently approved a sketch plan submitted by LongCreek Associates for the proposed LongCreek development, it adopted the subdivision ‘village’ as a residential green code community.

Brick and other residents of LongCreek say the ‘village’ sketch plan fails to meet green code standards as set forth in Section 26-186(a) of the statue. He and Monika Iskersky, who joined him in the appeal, listed seven specific ways the development did not meet Green Code standards, including incorrect application of zero lot line, unenforced minimum lot widths, unspecified parking requirements and unenforced density standards.

According to a source who asked not to be identified, the intent of those who created the green code was that it be used for new development, not in established neighborhoods like LongCreek Plantation where zoning is in place.

“However,” the source told The Voice, “the Green Code regulations do not come right out and state that, so it’s not enforceable.”

Hutchinson agreed. “I don’t think anyone realized the potency of this Code,” Hutchinson said. “It actually trumps zoning and lacks guarantees of quality.”

Although the Planning Commission voted unanimously against Brick’s appeal, there was disagreement among Commission members as to the worthiness of the Code.

Commissioner Heather Cairns said, “Maybe we need to look at the land development code and see how it fits in.”

The Planning Commission has gone so far as to recommended that County Council dismantle its Green Code and start over.

Hutchinson thinks Council will follow the Commission’s advice.

“But,” she lamented, “that’s only going to help in the future. It won’t offer much help to the LongCreek residents in their current situation.”

After the Planning Commission approves the minutes of the Oct. 1 meeting, which is expected to happen at its Nov. 5 meeting, Brick will have 30 days in which to file an appeal.

If you are anything like me, you have passed what looks like an equestrian property on Highway 21 between Ridgeway and Blythewood many times, perhaps wondering about it. Maybe admiring the fencing, the rolling green hills, the lovely brick entrance with the roses and the large stable set back off the road. This is The Farm at Ridgeway, and it is owned by Larry Sharpe, owner of Blythewood Oil Company and The Sharpe Shoppes.

This recreational property is available for weddings, parties and as a meeting place. The stable features a large, fully equipped kitchen and gathering area, a restroom with walk-in shower and at least four meeting rooms. This lovely acreage and facility will be the site of the upcoming ‘Barbeque, Bluegrass & Bluejeans Benefit’ to be held on Oct. 13 from 6 until 9 p.m.

The event benefits the Fairfield Memorial Hospital Foundation and replaces the Christmas Gala that has served this purpose in the past. The Farm setting will provide a more relaxed, casual, fun affair for the whole family as it brings public awareness to the needs of the Foundation. There will be something of interest for both adults and children. Local talent will be featured from Fairfield, Chester and Richland Counties.

Food will be coordinated by Norma Branham and Judi Montgomery of Winnsboro, and that food is expected to be exceptional. Barbecue will be prepared by George King and Gary Freeman, pit master and team member of ‘Can’t Quit Smoking,’ the South Carolina BBQ champion. Music will be provided by Knox Station and Country Buddies of Blackstock.

Silent and live auctions will be conducted by auctioneer Mack Hughes, a retired radiologist from Fairfield Memorial Hospital. Some of the many items being offered for auction include: a 55-gallon barbecue drum donated by Freddie Watkins, a patio-size gas grill and barbeque cooking class donated by George King, a golf package from Cobblestone Park, a fragrance basket from Belk, a $100 restaurant gift certificate to Dianne’s on Devine, a $400 Fitness Center gift card donated by Jewish Community Center and a $50 memorial brick for the courtyard at the hospital. Donations from the Ridgeway merchants include: baskets from Over the Top, a gift certificate from The Cotton Yard Market and a South Carolina basket from Laura’s Tearoom. From Winnsboro there is a tea basket from Cornwallis Tearoom and plants from Petal Pushers.

Tickets for the event are available at The Cotton Yard Market in Ridgeway, Price’s Drugstore in Winnsboro, the visitors’ center in Blythewood and Fairfield Memorial Hospital. Ticket prices are $30 per person or $50 per couple. Children under 10 pay $10 and children under 6 are admitted free. The proceeds will be used to purchase equipment for rehabilitation services at FMH such as exercise equipment, a treadmill and replacing the antiquated nurse call system. The hospital foundation’s board of directors consists of community representatives and hospital staff. They are responsible for operation and management of the funds. They are Mike Quinn, President; Mack Hughes, retired radiologist at FMH; Nelson Lacy, Chairman of hospital board; Randy Kelly of Wateree Keys at Lake Wateree; Norma Branham, Fairfield County Treasurer; Phyllis Gutierrez, event chairwoman; Dawn Catalano, Executive Director of FMH; Larry Sharpe, owner of The Farm at Ridgeway; Virginia Lacy, Vice President of FMH foundation and Judi Montgomery.

Donations in the past have enabled the foundation to purchase two cholestech portable machines for checking cholesterol. Quinn said that, in the future, he hopes proceeds from the benefit will fund scholarships for students with the stipulation that they come to work at Fairfield Memorial Hospital upon completion of their studies.

A cake baking contest for hospital employees and volunteers will be held prior to the barbecue. Deadline for entries is Monday, Oct. 8, and multiple entries are encouraged. Ribbons and gift certificates will be awarded for the first two places, and the ‘Best of Show’ winner will receive a trophy and a check for $50. The winners will be announced at the Saturday benefit,  and the winning cakes will be auctioned off at that time. Cakes must be dropped off at the hospital, Friday, Oct. 12 between 7 a.m. and noon. The judges for this contest are Mike Ross, Mayor of Blythewood; Charlene Herring, Mayor of Ridgeway and Terry Vickers, President of the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce.

Hope to see you at this exciting event on October 13. If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, please send your check (made payable to Fairfield Memorial Hospital Foundation) to P.O. Box 1156, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180. Your donations are tax deductible.

Join the fun, and support a great cause that benefits our community.