WINNSBORO – Senior Grier Hensley, left, was crowned Miss RWA in Richard Winn Academy’s pageant last Thursday. Hensley was also awarded Best All Around. Also crowned were Lacey Peake, center, Jr. Miss RWA and Jr. Miss Congeniality, and Haley Autry, right, Little Miss RWA
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R2 ethics debate smolders
Residents: Some R2 Members Could Face Charges
COLUMBIA – Calls for the resignation of Richland Two board members once again punctuated an otherwise mundane agenda filled with student appeals, a diploma petition and votes on policy revisions.
And this time, one resident says some board members could face criminal charges for failing to comply with state ethics laws.
Gus Philpott, a frequent critic of the Richland Two board, said during Tuesday night’s board of trustee’s meeting that board chair Amelia McKie and board member Teresa Holmes should step down immediately.
Speaking during public participation, Philpott said both McKie and Holmes are serving illegally.
Philpott said neither McKie nor Holmes filed Statements of Economic Interest, or SEI, forms until after they were sworn in, and pledged to keep publicizing their ethics woes until they step down.
“It’s going to continue to come up until the problem is resolved. I believe that there are two board members not legally entitled to sit on the board,” he said. “I believe you must leave your seats immediately. I hope the attorney for the school district is here to advise you now.”
State law says it’s illegal for public officials to be sworn in if they’ve not filed their SEI forms. McKie and Holmes filed their SEI forms on Dec. 4, 2018, nearly a month after the November election.
Citing another section of state law, Philpott said violating the ethics law is a misdemeanor crime.
“The proper action is for Ms. McKie and Ms. Holmes to stand up now and step away from the board immediately,” Philpott said. “Ms. McKie is not legally a board member and cannot be chair of this board.
“If she does not immediately leave the board, then all of you become complicit in the illegal functioning of this board,” Philpott added.
Section 8-13-1520 of the state law says violations of the ethics chapter are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.
McKie didn’t comment on Philpott’s demand.
Holmes said she’s taken responsibility for not filing her SEI forms on time, and repeated prior explanations that nobody informed her of the requirement.
“No one comes to even tell you that you have to file a Statement of Economic [Interest form] by a certain amount of time or anything like that,” Holmes said. “I had no clue, no clue at all.”
Meghan Walker, the ethics commission’s director, has previously said the onus of complying with the state’s SEI form mandate falls to the candidate.
“It is the duty of every candidate to understand the law when filing,” Walker told The Voice.
Holmes went on to say she thinks board member ethics issues have become sensationalized.
“What bothers me is that I’m not going to be one of those board members that sits by idly and accepts when things are done for personal reasons, or things are being done to be sensationalized,” she said. “I don’t like being used for personal reasons of other people.”
Ethical and legal issues have haunted Richland Two board members and the district’s superintendent since early December.
Six of seven board members were late filing either SEI forms or quarterly campaign disclosure reports.
Dr. Baron Davis, district superintendent, reported last month that he also was late with an SEI form. He has since paid the fine.
McKie, however, has garnered the most attention.
She owes nearly $52,000 in ethics fines stemming from multiple violations of failing to file campaign disclosure reports.
She had been fined $41,000 previously, but the fine increased to $51,750 after she missed a December deadline to make a partial payment, according to public records.
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Ridgeway Girl Scout donates cookies to homeless
Haley Autry’s cat, Willow, assists as Haley shows off the growing stack of Girl Scout cookies that she plans to donate to Oliver Gospel Mission residents. | Barbara Ball RIDGEWAY – If a Ridgeway Girl Scout named Haley Autry, 9, knocks on your front door selling Girl Scout cookies, you might want to order a couple of extra boxes. She has plans for them – great plans.
A fourth grader at Richard Winn Academy, Haley was busy selling cookies door to door recently when a neighbor and friend of Haley’s family decided that, instead of purchasing cookies to eat, she would buy some from Haley and donate them to the residents of Oliver Gospel Mission in downtown Columbia.
Later that day Haley asked her mom, Jennifer, if she, too, could organize a cookie donation for the mission.
“Since homeless people probably can’t afford to buy the cookies,” Haley told her mom, “I want to make sure they get them.” She settled on Oliver Gospel Mission as her charity of choice.
As Haley busied about selling Girl Scout cookies, she asked each of her customers if they would like to purchase a box for the homeless. She set a goal of 100 donations and even made a video with a sales pitch and posted it on Facebook.
Her sales pitch was apparently hard to turn down.
She passed her goal in no time and continued collecting cookie donations until she had 200 boxes.
Her friend offered to deliver the cookies to Oliver Gospel Mission for Haley sometime next month.
“She is so excited for them to be delivered,” Jennifer Autry said of her daughter’s cookie philanthropy.
But Haley isn’t finished doing good. Now she’s collecting boxes of cookies for first responders.
“I’ve collected 30 so far,” she said.
“It’s amazing what she’s been able to do,” Autry said of her daughter. “And we are very proud of her.”
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Two county employees promoted
WINNSBORO – Deputy County Administrator Davis Anderson recently announced the promotion of two county employees. Jennifer Leaphart has been named Fairfield County Human Resources Coordinator. Leaphart’s former position as the county’s WIOA Program Director, was filled with the promotion of Diana Robinson.
Leaphart holds a master’s degree in Psychology from American Military University in Charles Town, West VA, and will receive another master’s degree in Public Administration/Management later this year.
Robinson previously served as WIOA Lead Youth Case Manager. She holds a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Bellevue University and has obtained several other degrees and certifications.
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Downtown readies for St. Pat
WINNSBORO – The merchants of downtown Winnsboro will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. with a Candy Crawl.
Stores and restaurants will be open for shopping and dining. Stores displaying green shamrocks in windows will supply candy coins to fill up customers’ pots of gold.
The pots can be picked up at any participating merchant. Complete a game, puzzle or craft in the store to receive chocolate gold coins. Wear green for more gold coins. Solve a riddle or find hidden objects for more gold coins.
For more information about the merchants’ Candy Crawl, call 803-635-4242.
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Auditor: County managed well
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County did well managing its finances following the nuclear plant and hospital closings, but faced challenges over rising retirement costs, the county’s annual audit states.
“In our opinion we think the county is in good financial position as of June 30, 2018,” said Brian D’Amico, an auditor with Elliott Davis, at Monday night’s Fairfield County Council meeting.
The 2018 audit found no material weaknesses, though it did list a “significant deficiency,” a less severe rating.
Specifically, the audit said the Fairfield County Family Court and Treasurer’s Office didn’t “perform timely preparation and review of the reconciliation of bank accounts held by the County.”
Fairfield County outsources the preparation of bank account reconciliations to a third party service for some accounts, according to the audit.
But there aren’t any policies to ensure reconciliations are handled in a timely manner, the audit states.
As a result, the county exposes itself to increased “risk of not identifying potential fraud or material errors in a timely manner,” the report continues.
The audit recommends that the county establish a formal policy to review bank statements in a timely manner, and also that it reviews third party services.
“This issue has been discussed with the third party service provider. If improvement is not made, the Clerk of Court will consider changing providers,” the auditor stated.
“Moving forward, the Treasurer’s Office will implement policies and procedures to timely receive and review all bank reconciliations,” the audit continued.
Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas expressed frustration that copies of the audit hadn’t been circulated sooner to council members.
“I would suggest we get this information before he [the auditor] comes up to speak,” Douglas said. “We haven’t had a chance to look at this information. I would’ve liked to look at it first before he made his talk.”
Council members didn’t discuss the significant deficiency designation during the meeting. Councilman Moses Bell, though, asked D’Amico what the county was doing right and wrong.
D’Amico responded that the county did a great job managing finances after construction ended on nuclear reactors at the VC Summer nuclear plant. He also commended officials for how they handled the closure of Fairfield Memorial Hospital.
Last summer, the county purchased several parcels of the former hospital property for $1.3 million, with an option to acquire the rehabilitation center for an additional $285,000.
The intent was to preserve the properties long enough to find a private buyer willing to purchase them.
On Monday night, council members voted unanimously to approve a sales listing agreement for the properties. County attorney Tommy Morgan said it’s too soon to say when the county would formally list the properties.
In addition to the significant deficiency rating, the county weathered some increased costs and decreased revenues, largely due to escalating retirement costs.
D’Amico said changes in accounting standards in how Other Post Employment Benefits are calculated caused OPEB liabilities to climb from $2 million to nearly $4.9 million.
In addition, net pension liabilities rose from $23.1 million to $25.2 million.
“That number is out of your control,” D’Amico said of the net pension liability. “That number is dictated based on South Carolina retirement system and police officer retirement system, and that is controlled by the legislation of the state.”
Fairfield’s general fund balance also shed $400,000 as of June 30, 2018, falling to $21.5 million. About $13.2 million of that amount is designated as “unassigned,” according to the audit.
“That money can be spent in any way council sees fit,” D’Amico said.
Fairfield currently has enough in reserve to cover about 5 ½ months of expenses. Last year at this time, the county had seven months in reserve funds available, D’Amico said.
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BHS teacher finalist for SC’s top teacher
Blythewood High School principal Matt Sherman, left, State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman and Richland Two Superintendent Barron Davis, right, congratulate Sue Weems, center right, for being named a finalist for SC Teacher of the Year. | Barbara Ball BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School English teacher Sue Weems got a big surprise Tuesday morning when State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman made an unexpected stop at the high school to announce that Weems has being named one of five finalists for the South Carolina Teacher of the Year award.
Richland Two School Superintendent Barron Davis presented Weems with flowers and Blythewood High School Principal Matt Sherman presented her with a bouquet of balloons.
Weems was also presented a $10,000 check as she faced a bank of television and newspaper cameras. She will now go on to the next stage of competition that will culminate in the crowning of the South Carolina Teacher of the Year at a Gala on May 8 in Columbia.
“Sue has spent her career meeting the needs of each individual student and challenging them to be their very best,” Spearman said. “Her experience in both K-12 and higher education is an invaluable tool that helps her identify with her students and show them what is possible.”
Spearman also noted that Weem’s husband, who is in the military, is deployed in San Diego. Libby Roof, Richland Two’s Chief Communications Officer, tried to make phone contact with Weem’s husband so Weems could give him the good news, however, he could not be reached.
Weems, a tenth and eleventh grade English teacher, and a Blythewood resident, is the published author of fifty original short stories for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
“Mrs. Weems possesses an innate ability to inspire students’ success,” said Richland Two superintendent Dr. Baron Davis. “Her own experiences including being the child of educators, mother of four and a military spouse who has lived in many locales, has shaped her approach and teaching philosophy. Her students benefit from her abilities to tailor her teaching style to meet the individual needs of each learner and to make connections with all of her students. Richland Two is extremely proud of Mrs. Weems,” Davis said.
Weems said she considers her most profound legacy to be that she deeply understands her students and individualizes instruction to meet their needs. She said her teaching mantra is “care, connect and challenge.”
The teacher selected for the State Teacher of the Year will receive a total of $25,000 and will be provided with a brand new BMW to use while serving for one year as a roving ambassador providing mentoring, attending speaking engagements, working with teacher cadets and teaching fellows, leading the State Teacher Forum and serving as the state spokesperson for over 50,000 educators.
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FCHS teacher finalist for SC’S Top Teacher
WINNSBORO – Fairfield Central High School teacher Chanda Jefferson was surprised at her school today when State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman arrived unexpectedly in Jefferson’s room to announce that she has been selected as one of five finalists for the South Carolina Teacher of the Year award.
Jefferson was then presented with a bouquet of flowers, another bouquet of balloons and a check for $10,000.
“Chanda is an exceptional educator who has not only worked to ensure her own students are successful but has also given of her time and energy so that students across our state have high quality Biology opportunities,” Spearman said. “Chanda’s commitment to increasing the rigor in both her classroom and classrooms across South Carolina should be commended.”
A ninth through twelfth grade Biology teacher at Fairfield Central, Chanda has worked on both the local and state levels to increase student performance of the South Carolina Biology I End-of-Course exam. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Biology Teacher for South Carolina Award presented by the National Association of Biology Teachers. She was one of twenty teachers to receive the Princeton University Fellowship for Teachers and one of three teachers to receive the Amazon Educator Academy Scholarship. Harvard University invited Jefferson to be a guest speaker for the 74th Annual Society of Developmental Biology Conference.
Outside of the classroom, Jefferson has served as an Education Network Partner for the National Human Genome Research Institute, helping to plan a National DNA Day Celebration in South Carolina.
Spearman praised Jefferson for catering to each student’s individual learning style and using hands on activities; incorporating social media, scientific modeling, inquiry, and STEM techniques in her lessons.
Jefferson will next compete for South Carolina Teacher of the Year at the annual Gala, to be held on May 8 in Columbia where the overall winner will be crowned.