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Category: News

  • Softball league could put squeeze on facilities

    The first pitch for the new Blythewood girls’ softball league is still two months from being thrown out, but already the question hovering over the local athletic community is: Will there be enough to go around?

    Enough playing fields, that is; and that is the issue Blythewood Mayor Michael J. Ross has asked Bob Mangone to help alleviate before the league begins play Sept. 1. Ross recently tapped Mangone to chair a committee with the goal of formulating a plan to secure more playing fields.

    “The Blythewood Baseball League has three fields here (at Blythewood Park), but we need more,” Mangone said. “If we had more, we could run tournaments and still have fields for the local kids. I understand we had to turn kids away last year because we didn’t have enough facilities, and this year fewer kids applied.”

    Baseball is big in Blythewood, and Mangone said summer play runs into July and picks up again in August – right into a potential conflict with the Recreation Center’s proposed softball league.

    “I’m pushing for a softball league and I know it’s going to be a problem,” Jeff Brown, manager of Blythewood Park, said. “I don’t want to mess with the baseball program, but at the same time, we can’t discriminate.”

    Brown pointed out last week that it was the anniversary of the passage of Title IX, which mandates equal athletic opportunities for boys and girls.

    “We’re going to have a field for the girls,” Brown said. “It is a baseball/softball complex. Softball is a park-run program, and park-run programs have priority.”

    Looking to stave off any potential baseball-softball showdown, Mangone said the first plan would be to access a plot of land adjacent to the Blythewood Park offices. Three vacant mobile homes and a storage building currently sit on the property, which Mangone said could be considered an “eye-sore.” Still, he said, it would be preferable to acquire the land without a government “taking” of the property and his committee is working through the details of how best to do so.

    Meanwhile, the field behind Bethel Hanberry Elementary School could be upgraded and put into use by either the softball or the baseball league, something Brown agreed would be a relatively quick fix. Brown also said a field exists behind the Community Center that, with a little work, could also be brought back to life.

    “Basically, we have enough fields now to have tournaments,” Brown said, “but we could always use more.

    “There are enough fields. We’ve done it before,” Brown continued, referencing the championship softball banners that hang in the Recreation Center. “Title IX demands it, and there is a demand for it. We’re going to work something out so everybody is happy.”

    Mangone said his committee plans to hold a public forum on the issue in early August to seek input from the community.

    In the long-term, Ross said, fields could be included in Phase 2 of the Doko Meadows Park, but, he added, that would not come in time to accommodate the upcoming softball league.

    “It’s a tough situation,” Ross said. “We want more fields so that everyone can play, and not have to be there until 10 o’clock at night on a school night. That’s not fair to do that to the kids. If the people decide they would like ball fields in Phase 2 at Doko Meadows, we could do that. Right now, we’re working with the Richland County Recreation Commission to secure more fields.”

    Calls to Bill Trapp, president of the Blythewood Baseball League, were not returned at press time.

  • Blythewood Town Council adopts $1.279M budget

    The Blythewood Town Council has adopted a $1,279,000 balanced budget for FY 2012-13 that reflects a $75,000 decrease in staff salaries and benefits, an increase of $20,000 in professional services, a projected overall $98,000 in total operating costs and an increase of $26,000 for economic development.

    The Town will take $45,000 from local Accommodation Taxes and $40,000 from Hospitality Taxes for unidentified special promotions.

    Under the heading of Public Works in the Town Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), the administration will take $110,000 from the General Fund to cover some expenses for the Town Park: $50,000 to furnish the Doko Manor, $30,000 to clean up the area along the railroad next to the town park and $30,000 for playground facilities. Nothing was set aside for Community Development (sidewalks, street trees, wayfinding signs, etc.) in the 2012-13 budget.

    The budget projects a $72,000 increase in expenditures for office lease and CAM and an increase of $20,000 in utilities.

    The Town’s rental income, which was $5,000 (from the Community Center) in the FY 2010-11 budget and projected to be $19,000 in the current budget, is projected to increase to $29,000 in the 2012-13 budget.

    The Town is projected to spend $142,000 during FY 2012-13 to help pay back its $5.5 million bond for the Town Park.

    Addressing Council during the Public Hearing portion of the meeting, Cobblestone resident Tom Utroska called on members of Council to reveal their revenue source for almost $2 million of future public services expenses for a fire station, town maintenance facility and Sheriff’s substation.

    “If such expenditures are included in the budget,” Utroska said, “then the proposed revenue sources – taxes, I assume – should also be reflected in the budget so that the general public fully understands your plans.

    “In the past,” Utroska continued, “when I have questioned you about expenditures that I hadn’t been aware that you planned, I was all too often told, ‘well, it was on a spreadsheet or a proposed budget years ago.’

    “Because of that,” he said, “I object to these items being listed in the Town’s budget. Just because something is on a spreadsheet doesn’t mean we’ve been told about it up front.”

    Utroska scolded Council for not posting proposed budget information on the Town’s website prior to the final vote by Council.

    Council also heard a report from the ad hoc baseball committee. Ken Branham, standing in for baseball committee chairman Bob Mangone, said Mangone had met with James Brown, chairman of the Richland County Recreation Commission, and County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson about Blythewood’s immediate and long-term needs for baseball fields. He also said the committee had established communication with the media.

    “We immediately estimate the need for one additional baseball field,” Branham said. “But according to a 2009 report, that will not be adequate to meet our needs.”

    Asked by Councilman Ed Garrison if the number of fields are adequate for the number of kids wanting to play, Councilman Jeff Branham, a member of the committee, said, “A couple of kids were turned away this past season, but there might have been more if the league had properly advertised the registration.”

    Jeff Branham added that the numbers this season were about the same as in 2009.

    Ken Branham said Mangone had visited the schools and other facilities around the town and had a couple of possibilities for new fields. He said it might be possible to build four on property behind Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School. He also suggested property adjacent to the current fields might be acquired for a field.

    The property “is currently an eyesore,” Ken Branham said. “There are some mobile homes in disarray. We’re pursuing what it would take to get that property.”

    Ken Branham also suggested the possibility of using property behind the former Ace Hardware store.

    Ken Branham asked about getting money for the fields listed in the next budget.

    Mayor J. Michael Ross said the Town should not have to fund ball fields.

    “They should be funded by the Richland County Recreation Commission,” Ross said. “All the money that’s been spent on all these other County facilities and Blythewood to still be where it is – something is wrong. That’s where I want us to go to get the money.”

    In other business, Council voted to sign a franchise agreement with Wildwood utilities for sewer services. It also passed a resolution to close Scott Ridge Road and divide the road property between the property owners on either side of the road.

    Council postponed an executive session to discuss ‘the receipt of legal advice relating to a pending, threatened or potential claim.’

    The next regular Town Council meeting will be Monday, July 30. Town Administrator John Perry told Council members that he might call a special meeting early in July to wrap up some contracts.

    Mayor Ross and all members of the Town Council will be attending the annual five-day meeting of the Municipal Association of South Carolina on Hilton Head Island, Wednesday, June 27 – Sunday, July 1.

  • Blythewood Man Killed in Crash

    A Blythewood man was killed and two others injured Saturday in a single-vehicle crash in Fairfield County.

    Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey said Ryan Aaron Fleming, 24, of Friendly Woods Road in Blythewood, was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday after the 1997 Ford pickup truck he was driving ran off the right side of Durham Place Road around 7:35 p.m., overturning and striking a tree. Fleming was traveling southbound, approximately 7 miles north of Ridgeway, when the truck left the roadway. Fleming was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

    Two passengers in the truck, Joshua Robinson, 22, and Dana Merit, 26, both also from Blythewood, were injured in the accident and were not wearing seat belts, the Highway Patrol said. Both were transported by ambulance to Palmetto Richland and later released.

    Ramsey said alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash, but added that a toxicology report is pending in the case. The accident remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.

  • Unofficial Results: Young, Douglas win primary runoff

    Although the results will not become official until Friday, preliminary tallies indicate that MaryGail Douglas will represent the Democratic Party in the November general election for the District 41 seat in the S.C. State House of Representatives.

    Douglas beat out District 4 School Board Trustee Annie E. McDaniel with 2,732 votes in Fairfield County (57.86 percent) to McDaniel’s 1,990 (42.14 percent). Douglas also picked up an additional 52 votes from District 41 voters in Richland County and Chester County in the race. McDaniel added 208 to her total with out-of-county votes.

    Douglas will face William Gray, a Ridgeway Republican, in the November race for the House.

    Meanwhile, in a nail-biter, Herman Young appears to have earned another term as Fairfield County Sheriff. Young edged out challenger Will Montgomery by just 176 votes – 2,480 to 2,304. Young won 51.84 percent of the vote while Montgomery garnered 48.16 percent. It was not clear at press time if a recount would be necessary. Young will face no opposition in November.

    Young performed best in Blair, taking 87.5 percent of the vote in that precinct. Montgomery’s best numbers came from Centerville, where he brought in 75 percent of the vote. The narrowest margin came out of Hickory Ridge, where Young won 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent. Young also held the edge in absentee ballots with 53.03 percent to Montgomery’s 46.97 percent.

    In the House race, Douglas saw her best numbers come out of Gladden Grove where she won 90.91 percent of the vote. McDaniel got her best returns from Jenkinsville, her home turf, where she took 86.24 percent of the vote. Douglas also won 70.2 percent of the absentee ballots, 415 of which were cast prior to Tuesday’s vote.

  • Fairfield Behavioral Health Begins Anti-Tobacco Campaign

    Fairfield Behavioral Health Services, in partnership with Fairfield Community Health Partners and the Healthy South Carolina Initiative, is sponsoring a Faith Based Tobacco Education Training session, July 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Christ Central Community Center, 35 S. Congress St., Winnsboro. Pastors, ministers, directors, deacons, secretaries or designated persons who will lead tobacco prevention efforts should attend this free training session.

    The session will provide the latest information on tobacco and the impact it has on health. Training will also enhance the faith-based community’s abilities to educate congregations, families and the community, as well as implement strategies to improve health.

    Registration deadline is June 29 at noon, and is limited to 40 participants (two per faith-based organization). For more information on how to register, contact Cheryl Y. Goodwin, Special Service Coordinator, at cgoodwin@fairfieldbhs.org, or 803-635-2335, ext. 33.

    Fairfield Community Health Partners is one of 33 organizations in the state to have been awarded a grant by the Healthy South Carolina Initiative (HSCI) to fight obesity and tobacco use in Fairfield County. Fairfield Community Health Partners has adopted the theme: “All Aboard For a Healthy Fairfield” with specific focus areas to include tobacco-free living and healthy eating/active living. The grant funds will directly support work in Fairfield County communities. Community partners will work together on environmental and policy strategies to increase healthy opportunities in their communities.

    Executive Director, Vernon L. Kennedy Sr. with Fairfield Behavioral Health Services and Mac Russell, Registered Dietitian and Chair of Eat Smart Move More Fairfield County(ESMMFC), are two Fairfield Community Health Partners who will implement faith based tobacco free prevention activities, healthy eating and active living activities and youth empowerment strategies in Fairfield County. Specifically, Fairfield Behavioral Health Services along with support from Fairfield Community Health Partners will coordinate with members of the Fairfield Ministerial Association, the Blair Coalition of Churches and other faith based organizations to provide tobacco education with the goal to adopt and implement a model tobacco-free policy, smoke-free environments including vehicles and homes. Fairfield Behavioral Health Services will also coordinate the youth empowerment strategies.

    ESMMFC will continue their partnership with the Fairfield County School District to build a healthier school environment by expanding the Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) program to include all preschools. Preschool staff will be trained in CATCH Early Childhood, (a nutrition and physical activity program for children ages 3 to 5), and existing school gardens will be used to enhance the program. In addition, the school district, along with ESMMFC and Fairfield Behavioral Health Services will work with youth groups on a project to increase physical activity, good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

  • To Look Good is to Feel Good on National Beautician’s Day

    Local cosmetologist Sandra Dee Christmus at work.

    Some of you may not know that June 26 is National Beautician’s Day. It is not known just how this day came about, who suggested it or how it got national attention, but it seems like a good idea. It is not any sillier than some of the days that we have, celebratory days for certain foods, animals and people. This day gives us a chance to show our appreciation to those who help make us look beautiful and feel better about ourselves. This not only means the gal or guy who does your hair, but also includes manicurists, make-up artists, masseurs and those who wax eyebrows. For the men it is the one who does the haircut, often a manicure, trimming the bushy eyebrows and plucking nose and ear hairs.

    Hair salons can be found in every town in our country and in countries all over the world. There are 1,300 Fantastic Sam’s alone, not counting all the privately owned salons. Many of the salons feature the ‘locks of love’ program where clients donate their hair to help hundreds of children and adults who suffer from long-term medical hair loss. This hair is made into custom-fitted hair prosthetics. A beautician’s training and talents transform the everyday you into the lovely woman you always knew was inside you. They make you glow and feel happy. Ask any woman and she will tell you ‘when your hair looks good, you feel good all over.’ Thus the term ‘having a bad hair day’ means your whole day is in the dumps.

    There is a difference between a salon and a beauty shop. Beauty shop is an old-school term that refers to a ladies-only shop, whereas a salon is unisex and takes care of men and women. A barber shop is mostly a men’s shop, but there are master stylists in some of these shops, many of them women. I have been going to the same stylist/colorist for the past 18 years. Even when I lived at Lake Wateree I drove to her Blythewood salon every week, just as many of the Lake Wateree ladies still do. As she changed from one Blythewood location to another, I too made the change. When you find one you like and trust, who knows your hair and does it to satisfy you, why make a change? I like to feature a person-of-interest from time to time and have decided to feature this young woman this month in recognition of National Beautician’s Day.

    Her name is Sandra Dee Christmus, wife to John and mother to three children. Christmus was born in Blythewood to parents Doug and Wanda Broom. Her mother is deceased. She is a twin to Cindy and the youngest born of a family of four girls and one boy. Her other sisters are Faye and Renee and her brother is named Dusty. Christmus attended Palmetto Baptist Academy in Columbia and graduated from Bob Jones University in Greenville in 1989 where she was in the cosmetology program. She continued her work in this field at the J.C. Penney hair salon before going to work at Special Effects in Blythewood for 11 years. In December of 2000 she opened her own shop, Cuttin’ Loose. She has been working on hair for the past 23 years, specializing in coloring.

    When she was just 5 years old, her parents picked up a little boy from another neighborhood to give him a ride to school each day. Little did they both know that they would one day become husband and wife. They began dating in 1987 and married at Palmetto Baptist Temple on June 24, 1989. John has been a firefighter in Columbia for the past 19 years. The couple’s three children are Haleigh, age 21; John Luke, 19; and Cullen, age 15. They are members of the Sandy Level Baptist Church where Sandra Dee sang in the choir for many years. Sandra Dee is an avid sports person who enjoys power walks, is proficient in racquetball and for the last eight years has been scuba diving, at least two dives a year in different parts of the world. Being compelled to attend continuing education classes for her license, she also attends additional classes to keep up with the latest techniques and newest and best products.

    It is fair and fitting that you show your appreciation to your beautician on this day, if not with a small gift, at least a word of thanks. Thank you Sandra Dee Christmus and others in the field of beauty on this ‘National Beautician’s Day.’

  • Winnsboro Town Council OKs Budget, Tables Municipal Court Contract

    Winnsboro Town Council voted 5-0 to adopt their 2012-2013 budget Tuesday night and put on hold an ordinance that would put County magistrate judges into municipal courtrooms.

    The Council voted on a first reading of the ordinance, which would allow the Town to enter into a contract with Fairfield County for County magistrate judges to preside over hearings and dispose of municipal court cases, during their June 5 meting. According to the ordinance agreement, Fairfield County has agreed to provide Magistrate Judge William F. Pope to the Town of Winnsboro for a contracted sum of $6,000 plus FICA and retirement annually for each of six judges that will be contracted to the Town of Winnsboro.

    Town Council also voted June 5 to accept a contract to purchase one acre of land at the corner of Highway 321 Business and State Road 200 from William Spencer McMaster for the Town’s eventual entryway sign. The cost was $5 with the understanding that, should the Town cease to use the property in the future, it would revert back to McMaster.

    In other Town news, Fortune Springs Park swimming pool is now open for the summer. Hours are 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Town Council had previously discussed not opening the pool this summer due to the mandatory water restrictions, but because the Town was under contract with the company who operates the pool facility, the decision was made to use the pool.

    Town Manager Don Wood said the Winnsboro Town Hall Annex renovations will be complete in six weeks. The Town’s Finance office will then be relocated to the facility located at the junction of Moultrie and W. Washington streets.

    Town Electric Department Director William Medlin explained the reason and procedure that SCE&G is changing out the poles for transmission lines, many of which can be seen along Highway 34, between Winnsboro and Interstate 77.

    “Due to the pending increase in capacity at the V.C. Summer nuclear facility, SCE&G is running a transmission line from Jenkinsville to Killian Road,” Medlin said. “Putting in more power lines requires new poles. Right now they are working from the substation at the (Fairfield Country Club) golf course to Highway 34, then on to Cook Road and then to Blythewood. It will be a 12 month process.”

  • School Board Green-Lights Budget, Contract Negotiations

    The Fairfield County School Board gave the final OK for their 2012-2013 budget of $32,898,265 on a 7-0 vote Tuesday night. The Board avoided a millage increase by taking $109,125 from the fund balance to cover additional expenses for the coming fiscal year.

    An amended version of the motion, which would have required another public hearing after a budgetary review by a new superintendent, failed to garner more than two votes. The motion, put forth by Board member Annie McDaniel, drew only her vote and that of Marchella Pauling, who seconded the motion, in support.

    “This is only so we don’t tie the hands of the new superintendent,” McDaniel said during the discussion, “so he can change what needs to be changed and take the District where he wants it to go.”

    McDaniel repeatedly stressed that she felt there were problems with the new salary scale, which the Board approved as part of the budget last week. She said she also felt the public had not had adequate time to review the budget prior to Tuesday night’s public hearing, something also expressed by Thomas Armstrong, a parent and member of the public in attendance.

    “I would like to ask that the Board table the public hearing until the public can have time to review the budget and ask intelligent questions,” Armstrong said during the hearing. Armstrong said he has requested a copy of the budget for weeks but only received a copy just prior to the hearing.

    The Board did not honor his request to table the hearing, noting that the deadline for the District to present their budget to the County had already, in fact, passed on June 15.

    A new superintendent for the District, meanwhile, remains undecided. After nearly two hours in executive session Tuesday night, the Board voted 6-1 to authorize the District’s attorneys to begin contract negotiations with “one or more of the candidates as discussed in executive session,” Board member Beth Reid stated in her motion.

    Andrea Harrison, Board Chairwoman, voted against the motion.

    Harrison later told The Voice that the discussion had been to negotiate with candidate number one, then move on to number two should those negotiations not come to fruition.

    “I was opposed to candidate number one,” Harrison said. “My decision was my decision.”

  • After Injection of County Cash, Hospital Turns Corner

    Fairfield County Council received an update Monday night on their $1.2 million investment into Fairfield Memorial Hospital in a meeting on the Midland’s Tech campus with the hospital’s Board of Directors.

    “The good news is that it’s good news,” Tim Mitchell, the hospital’s Chief Financial Officer, said.

    Mitchell reported that the hospital, for the first time this fiscal year, turned a profit in May, with revenue exceeding expenses by $40,255, according to his report. While the hospital’s operating numbers were more than $39,000 in the red, non-operating income came in at $79,293. Year-to-date expenses are also down for the hospital by more than $474,000 over last year.

    Mitchell also reported that the hospital was now current on its payments into the State Retirement System, as well as the employee insurance program. The hospital has also met its obligations to the Town of Winnsboro for utility payments, Mitchell said, and all outstanding taxes have been paid and all liens satisfied.

    Patient days and admissions were up in May, something Mike Williams, the hospital’s Director, accredited to the hospital’s partnership with Palmetto Health.

    “Over the last two and a half, three months, we’ve worked very closely with Palmetto Health getting a collaboration with them,” Williams said. “They have staff members that come to Fairfield, and we have staff members that go there.”

    Mitchell said the Senior Connections program, launched in April, also contributed to the May turnaround.

    “But I would caution you that we are entering a very slow period,” Mitchell warned. “The summer months are not typically a high-volume period.”

    Williams said patients coming in from clinics are actually down in recent months, and County Council Chairman David Ferguson said he had expected the Eau Claire clinic to have had more of an impact on the hospital’s numbers by now.

    “I have been a little bit disappointed in the coming out of Eau Claire,” Ferguson said. “They really haven’t hit the community like I feel like they’re going to have to if they’re going to be an interested part of the community, and they haven’t done that yet.”

    Ferguson said the County was in the process of setting up a meeting with Eau Claire to determine what role they could play in the future of the hospital.

    Another potential future for the hospital is a new home closer to I-77.

    “We’re thinking long-term,” Williams said. “We’ve got to look at the stability of the hospital and where a hospital can survive. I-77 can help support the hospital. It is very, very difficult to survive in Winnsboro. It’s something we’ve got to look at if you want to have a hospital in the county.”

    Ferguson said that once the first of the new reactors comes online at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, and that tax money begins to flow into the County, the hospital and the County should give consideration to the idea of relocating the hospital.

  • County Considers Future of Water Supply

    Though the agenda was light, the Fairfield County Council had plenty to talk about during their June 11 evening meeting after County Administrator Phil Hinely mentioned a meeting held on June 8 with SCE&G, Winnsboro and Fairfield County representatives to discuss the possibility of using water from Lake Monticello in western Fairfield County. Water from Lake Monticello may help alleviate long-term water shortages that are facing the area. Lake Monticello is owned and managed by the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company and covers about 7,000 acres.

    “The distance from the lake to the Town’s reservoir is 12 miles,” Council Chairman David Ferguson said. “It is about the same distance as from the Broad River, but because of elevation, a lot more in pumping equipment would be needed for getting water from the Broad River. SCE&G said they could provide a million gallons a day, but the Town will have to buy the water from them. It sounds to me like it could be worked out, but it will cost $12 million.”

    Water is provided to Fairfield County residents by five water companies within Fairfield County: Winnsboro, Mitford, Ridgeway, Jenkinsville and Mid-County Water. Winnsboro also provides water to the Blythewood area of Richland County.

    “Someone needs to man up and call all the water entities to the table,” said Council member Carolyn Robinson. “If the Town is not going to do it, I think we should. We need a game plan and we need to bring every water provider to the table.”

    “Does the Town have a plan for the future of their water system?” asked Council member Mary Lynn Kinley.

    “The County has helped out with providing money for a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Ferguson said. “If all five water purveyors came together, it would help for grant and loan purposes.”

    “The Town doesn’t have the finances to upkeep the water system or expand their lines,” said Council member David Brown. “We need to try to get all five water companies together with us to come together to come up with short- and long-term solutions. In the past, the USDA would help out with paying for infrastructure. At some point, the whole country will have this problem with aging water systems.”

    “I envision everyone coming together to provide the county’s water through one central water authority,” Robinson said. “Until we sit down at the table as a group, we will be sitting here again discussing this a year from now.”

    “The Mayor (Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy) told me Mitford was doing fine and didn’t want to be a part of a water authority,” Ferguson said. “Jenkinsville didn’t want to participate either.”

    “Even though the County isn’t in the water business, it’s obvious that having five companies in one county is not optimal,” County Administrator Phil Hinely said. “But sometimes a crisis can help make a decision.”

    Ferguson said he will contact Mayor Gaddy to see what the Town’s future water plans are.