Blythewood Online 691

Blog

  • County Council budget fails; Trapp claims racial bias

    Negotiations were intense as Councilman Bell sought support from Bertha Goins for the recreation center he wants in Ridgeway. | Photos: Michael Smith

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County doesn’t have a budget.

    In a 3-3 vote Tuesday night, the proposed $45.2 million budget failed to garner enough support to pass third reading, with one council member claiming the budget was racially biased against African-Americans.

    Council members supporting the budget were Bertha Goins, Clarence Gilbert and Chairman Neil Robinson.

    Trapp

    Douglas Pauley, Moses Bell and Mikel Trapp opposed. Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas was absent, setting up the tie vote.

    That vote followed a motion to amend the budget to include $900,000 in additional recreation spending – $800,000 for a recreation center in Bell’s district and $100,000 for two mini-parks in Trapp’s district.

    That motion failed 4-2, with Bell and Trapp the only council members supporting it.

    Moments later, Trapp walked out while the meeting was still in progress. He didn’t return.

    Council members took a 15-minute recess before voting, but ultimately weren’t able to muster enough votes to pass the budget.

    County Administrator Jason Taylor said another budget workshop would be scheduled to hash out differences before a re-vote is taken. The county has until June 30 to adopt the budget.

    Judging by comments from council members, reaching a consensus won’t be easy.

    Pauley opposed the budget over concerns about ballooning budget costs.

    “I cannot vote for this budget because it’s up 12 percent,” Pauley said. “There has been an average of 5.5 percent in annual increases for the past four years.

    Councilman Pauley voted against the budget, saying it was too expensive.

    “Another reason I oppose the budget is because it brings us back to across the board salary increases as opposed to the merit-based system that the last council worked for three years to have put in place,” Pauley continued.

    Bell and Trapp opposed the budget because they wanted to spend more.

    Bell offered to drop his request to $400,000, but the idea never gained traction.

    “I support recreation in local communities,” he said. “Those who write and want to make me a villain, I will proudly wear that as a badge of honor.”

    Trapp claimed the county budget was racially driven. He said it excludes African-Americans while subsidizing a fire station and farmer’s market that he claimed benefit white people primarily.

    “In this budget we don’t have anything for the black community in the county,” Trapp said. “Every time someone asks for something for the black community, it’s always said that taxes are going up.”

    Goins pushed back on claims of racism.

    She said she plans to return a recent award because it recognizes her for being the first African-American elected to Fairfield County Council. She’s returning it because she said she doesn’t believe in labels.

    “When I hear the comments that are made and all the negativity, I have to do what my heart says and what my spirit says, and what I know is true,” Goins said.

    “We all came into this world with our breath, we all will leave this world with our breath,” Goins continued. “We talk about racism all the time, but many times those who talk about it are the racists. Those who talk about it are the dividers.”

    In trying to fund recreation centers, Bell suggested dipping into the fund balance. Although there’s technically about $24 million in reserve, roughly half is already dedicated to the old hospital, the airport and other projects, leaving about $12.7 million in unencumbered funds.

    The county also plans to spend about $8 million over the next several years repurposing the old Mt. Zion building into a new county administration building.

    Bell also proposed spending money left over from the 2013 $24M bond, which he said could help subsidze Ridgeway recreation. Of the $4M left from the bond, about $400,000 to $450,000 in funds are not encumbered, Taylor said.

    Pauley noted that the county budget has benefited Bell’s district greatly. In recent years, Ridgeway has received $150,000 for a park, $100,000 for an EMS station and a $1 million fire station, he said. He said the county has also helped with the water tower and sidewalks.

    “For it to be said that nothing was spent in Ridgeway is absolutely not true,” Pauley said. “A lot of things in Ridgeway might not have been done when Councilman Bell was on council, but a previous councilman got things done in his area.”

  • Fanning: ‘Good Ole Boys’ over

    Some Committee Members Closely Connected to Fairfield

    WINNSBORO – S.C. Senator Mike Fanning advertised last February for applicants to fill positions for four part-time Fairfield County magistrates and one full-time chief magistrate, all of whom would be up for reappointment in May. At the same time he advertised for applicants to fill positions for four part-time Chester County magistrates.

    To emphasize the fairness of his application process, Fanning posted the following on his Facebook page.

    “’The Good ‘Ole Boy System is Over!’ Now, an unbiased committee of out-of-county experts (who do not have established ‘connections’ to folks in our community) will review applications & interview finalists…making recommendations for appointment to this critically important judicial position(s).”

    In another notice, Fanning said the selection committee would be comprised of current and former magistrates from outside the county.

    Contrary to Fanning’s post, some of those committee members appear to have decidedly ‘established connections’ to Fairfield County and to Fanning, and not all of them were current or former magistrates, according to applicants interviewed by The Voice.

    Two applicants for the Fairfield positions said they met with different selection committees and that each committee consisted of three to four members.

    Applicant Mattie Stewart Smith, a retired attorney with 36 years of experience, told The Voice that she and at least two other applicants were interviewed on April 5 by four committee members: Chester County Chief Magistrate Angel Underwood, Underwood’s husband (then-Chester County Sheriff) Alex Underwood, a man with the last name of Gore and Fanning.

    Other members on selection committees were reported to include employees of the Chester County Sheriff’s office.

    Angel Underwood grew up in Fairfield County and graduated from Fairfield Central High School, records show.

    Underwood, who was suspended from her duties as Chief Magistrate in May 2015, handled more than 100 cases in which she should have told parties involved that she was married to the county’s sheriff, according to court records. After serving a year’s suspension, Underwood was issued a public reprimand by the S.C. Supreme Court but allowed to return to the bench.

    Underwood’s husband, Alex Underwood, another member of a selection committee for Fairfield magistrate applicants, served as Sheriff in Chester County from 2011 until he and two of his deputies were indicted in early May on charges ranging from conspiracy to falsifying evidence, records state.

    WBTV in Charlotte reported on Fanning’s appointment of the four new magistrates in Chester County after several viewers had brought up the issue of Fanning’s close ties to the Underwoods. Angel Underwood was the only Chester magistrate reappointed.

    On the day the FBI raided the Sheriff’s office in April, Fanning posted on Facebook, urging the community to stand by Alex Underwood. The station pointed out that Fanning posts photos of him and the Underwoods together socially, including at a dinner the weekend before the new magistrates in both Fairfield and Chester were named.

  • Ridgeway accepts bid for restroom

    RIDGEWAY – Before voting to raise water rates, accept a bid for new restrooms and clarify the cost of living increase for town employees at its May 9 meeting, the Ridgeway Town Council first voted to pass first reading of the Town’s FY 2019-20 budget of $751,959 with only Councilwoman Angela Harrison dissenting. Harrison said she wanted to see the audit for the previous fiscal year before voting on the budget.

    Council also clarified that the annual cost of living increase for Town employees will be set at three percent instead of the previously listed two-to-three percent.

    Water Bills Up

    The town’s water customers will see slightly higher water rates beginning with the July water bills if a second reading of the ordinance passes in June. The increase in wholesale water rates is a pass through from Winnsboro water service which supplies water to Ridgeway. Those rates will increase by $.18 per 1,000 gallons which amounts to a 3.5 percent increase for all customers.

    “We have no choice,” Councilman Rufus Jones said. “Council is not voting for any increase from the Town of Ridgeway by choice. Our water comes from Winnsboro and we are just having to pass along the same rate increase that we received from them.”

    Restrooms for Downtown

    Restrooms in downtown Ridgeway may finally become a reality. After a second sealed bid process was offered by the Town last month, a bid of $43,000 from W. T. Murphy’s Construction of West Columbia was the low and winning bid for two new public restrooms to be constructed in a building behind the Olde Town Hall Restaurant in downtown Ridgeway. The other bids opened at the council meeting were Taylor Made for $197,000 and Southern Renovations for $46,770.75.

    Council accepted Murphy’s Construction’s bid contingent on the outcome of a special called meeting at the construction site to discuss licensing, insurance and other details including a start and end date for construction. That meeting was held on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m., just after The Voice went to press.

    The first set of bids submitted in March, ranging from $51,849 to $215,150, were rejected by Council.

    Farmers Market $ Request

    In other business, Council considered a request from Brad Hoffman of the Fairfield County Farmers Market for $1,500 to help fund the 2019 Ag + Art event.

    “What are they doing with the $1,500?” Councilwoman Angela Harrison asked. Councilmen Dan Martin and Rufus Jones also questioned how the money would be spent.

    “They had a booth at Arts on the Ridge and they sure weren’t full of customers,” Jones said. “So I think $1,500 is way out of line just for Ridgeway to be mentioned in the overall Fairfield County advertising. I suggest we give them $200 as we have in the past.”

    A motion by Harrison to reject the $1,500 offer failed for lack of a second. Council voted, instead, for Councilman Don Prioleau’s motion to meet with the Farmer’s Market people at the May 29 special called meeting to further discuss the matter.

    Council did approve a proposal for the Fairfield County Farmers Market to set up for two Thursdays each month in the Cotton Yard when available during the next six months at no cost.

    Historic RW Signs Tabled

    An agenda item put forth by Councilwoman Harrison to install “Historic Ridgeway” signage in partnership with funding grants was tabled for reconsideration in six months.

    Delivery Parking on Palmer

    Parking on Palmer Street, an agenda item regarding temporary blocking out of spaces on Palmer Street to allow access for 18-wheel tractor trailers to make the turn into the Ruff Hardware store for deliveries, was tabled until the next meeting to allow research from the DOT to be investigated.

    Family Night

    Council expressed strong support for the upcoming Family Night on the Ridge celebration on Saturday, June 8, from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Ridgeway Park. Proceeds from the event will go to support Ridgeway’s Barclay School.

  • Mayor questions how A-Tax and H-Tax awards are spent

    BLYTHEWOOD – The focus of Town Council’s third and final budget workshop on Thursday, May 23, centered on expenditures from the accommodations and hospitality tax funds.

    In recent months, Mayor J. Michael Ross has warned event organizers that he expects those who are awarded funds from the Town to spend those awards on advertising that will actually bring out crowds of people.

    “I feel like a broken record,” he said at Thursday night’s meeting. “We want these events to be successful.”

    He was addressing the organizers of the Bravo Blythewood Spring Market which organizer Sue Pence said brought in about 400 visitors over three days. The town awarded Bravo $4,000 for the event.

    Of that $4,000, Pence said, the group spent $1,250 on digital billboards in Columbia and $400 in The County Chronicle and none in The Voice.

    “Spending $1,200 of your advertising dollars on billboards in Columbia was a chance. If I see that on the next request for funding, I’m not going to approve it. I’m going to turn you down. If you had $1,250 to spend on billboards, you had money to advertise in the local papers,” Ross said.

    “We sit here and talk about we want to support our local businesses, want to shop local and that’s what we promote here in our town,” Councilman Eddie Baughman said. “To shop local, we need to advertise local. We see time and time again where the money is spent elsewhere. I think our event organizers should spend their money locally also.”

    Ross suggested advertising to the local community and then using Facebook to share outside the community.

    Ross said on Thursday evening that an arts immersion class that Bravo Blythewood is requesting funds for in the fall does not qualify for accommodation tax funds. However, on Monday, May 28, Council voted unanimously to fund the class for $1,500 of the $2,500 Bravo requested.

    Bravo organizers also sought $4,000 for their annual Holiday Market, but said it will no longer be held in the town of Blythewood but at the Columbia Country Club.

    “We’ve already contracted with Columbia Country Club and had to put down a $500 deposit,” a representative of Bravo said from the audience.

    Criticizing the town’s signage restrictions, the representative said the location outside of town would make advertising the location much easier.

    But Ross balked at funding an event outside the town limits, saying it would not bring business into the town, which is the intended use of the accommodation and hospitality tax revenues.

    “You take a tremendous risk doing that when you don’t already have the funds approved [from the Town],” Ross said. “It’s a hard sell when you take [the event] out of the town of Blythewood.”

  • Fortune Springs pool to open June 11

    WINNSBORO – Fortune Springs Park pool, now under the management of the Fairfield County Recreation Department, will open June 11.

    Fairfield County lifelong resident Carolyn Walters, a former physical education teacher, will be the pool manager.

    The pool will be open to the public Tuesdays – Fridays from 3 – 5 p.m.; on Saturdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

    The pool will be limited to senior swimmers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 12 noon.

    Public swimming fees will be required: $3 per person daily fee, $40 per person/$85 family of 5 for a mid-season pass, $75 per person for individual season pass, $75 family of 5 weekly pass and $150 family of 5 season pass.

    Children 16 years and under must be accompanied by an adult and children five years and under must be accompanied in the water by an adult.  Children under 48 inches tall who cannot swim will be required to wear a life jacket and swim in a designated area.

    Swim lessons will be provided for ages five and older Monday through Thursday from 7 to 7:45 p.m. at a cost of $40 per individual on the following dates: June 17-June 27, July 8-July 18 and July 22-Aug 1.  Free lessons will be provided for rising third graders on those same dates from 6 – 6:45 p.m.

    Register for swim lessons at the Winnsboro Recreation Center Monday – Friday from 9 a. m. to 5 p.m. or at the pool beginning June 11.  Session times may be combined depending upon participation.

    Fortune Springs Park pool is located at 451 Fortune Springs Drive in Winnsboro.

    For more information please call 803-635-9114.

  • A Poet Proclamation

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood’s newly named Poet Laureate, Sara Elizabeth Corn, 11, a student at the Center for Knowledge North at Muller Road Middle, was honored by Town Council with a Proclamation. She also read a poem that she wrote – Moms Trail. The poem is about riding her horse along her mother’s favorite trail.

  • Teen girl missing from Cambio Academy

    GREENBRIER – A 16-year-old female with black hair and brown eyes is missing from the Cambio Academy, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office. Officers say the teen ran away from the Academy and was last seen wearing blue jeans and Timberland boots. She is about 5’6” and weighs about 120 lbs.

    Call the Sheriff’s office at 365-4141 if you see her or have information about her whereabouts.

  • Two Fairfield students killed in ATV accident

    Simmons

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Two Fairfield County students have died from injuries suffered in an ATV accident on Monday, May 27.

    Christopher (CJ) Simmons, 17, a junior at Fairfield Central High School was driving a Honda four-wheeler when it hit the right side of a 2014 Hyundai that was turning left from West Peach Road onto Orchard Drive, according to Trooper Joe Hovis with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

    Simmons was transported by EMS to Prisma Health Richland Hospital where he was pronounced dead due to injuries sustained in the collision, according to Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.

    Scarborough

    A passenger, 10-year-old Jermiia Scarborough – a fourth grader at Fairfield Elementary School – was also ejected from the ATV and taken to Prisma Health Richland Hospital where she died this morning (Tuesday) due to injuries sustained in the collision.

    The crash happened at 5:55 p.m., about four miles south of Winnsboro according to the report.

    Neither Simmons nor Scarborough were wearing helmets, Hovis said.

    The driver of the Hyundai, a 22-year-old woman, was not injured, Hovis said.

    The accident is being investigated by the S.C Highway Patrol. The Voice will post more information as it becomes available.

  • Reception to honor Judge Robinson

    BLYTHEWOOD – The community is invited to a farewell reception prior to the May 28 Town Council meeting to honor Blythewood’s magistrate, Judge Josef Robinson, and his staff.

    Robinson, who was serving his second term after being appointed to the bench by Sen. Joel Lourie in 2014, said he was notified by Sen. Mia McLeod last month that he would not be reappointed. McLeod was elected to serve after Lourie decided not to run for re-election.

    “We are going to truly miss Judge Robinson,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said. “We couldn’t have had a better judge to serve as Blythewood’s first magistrate. He did a great job in the Courtroom and I think most everyone regarded him as fair and compassionate, a fine example of a public servant and our community benefited greatly from his service.”

    Robinson will be returning to law enforcement as a deputy sheriff, serving as a public information officer under Sheriff Leon Lott.

    The reception for Judge Robinson and his staff will at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 28 at the Doko Manor in Blythewood. Town Council will convene for a budget workshop at 7 p.m.

  • Historic school to be marked

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Historical Society (BHS) and Museum will place a historical marker on the site of the original Blythewood School at 501 Main Street. The placement is set for Friday, May 24. The building now houses Blythewood Academy.

    “We are inviting the community to join us for the placing of the marker,” BHS member Jim McLean said. Others who will participate in the marker placement include Nancy Stone-Collum from the Richland County Conservation Commission, Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross, Richland County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson and graduates of the original school.