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  • Teachers Honored

    WINNSBORO – Above, are the Fairfield County School District teachers who are participating in the first year of the District’s two-year program that provides support for teachers interested in pursuing national certification with minimal financial investment. The two year program helps them to achieve their goal of applying for and being awarded national certification, according to presenter Patti Scofield. From left: Jalisa Wright, Michael Lindsay, Emily Johnson, Craig Jones and Robin Gaither.

    Below, School Board Chair William Frick stands with those Fairfield School District teachers who currently hold national certification Back row, from left: Yolanda Singletary, Lori Yarborough, Patti Scofield, Deborah Cooper, Vera Harrison, Teresa Canzater and Tara Blocker. Front row, from left: Jean Masdonati, Marsha Huff and Sheila Beaver. Scofield said this is the first time the District’s nationally certified teachers have been publicly recognized and she thanked the board for the opportunity for allowing that recognition.

  • BAR approves COA for electrical substation

    BLYTHEWOOD – With the blessing of the town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR), a new electrical substation will soon be going up on Community Road, across from Midlands Storage.

    While the property at 861 Community Road is in the Town Center District and requires a special exception for an electrical substation, Thomas Black, Vice President of Engineering for Fairfield Electric Cooperative, made the case for the need for a new substation before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) earlier this month and again Tuesday evening before the BAR.

    “We currently have a substation at Blythewood Road and 321 and at Hardscrabble and on Langford Road, and they are all coming to capacity,” Black told the board.  He said projects, both industrial and residential, slated for the area will further increase the need.

    The Board of Zoning Appeals met last week to approve a special exception to the TCD zoning for the substation property contingent on the town’s planning staff and BAR’s approval of a landscaping plan for the site.

    While the Town Center District zoning calls for a 10-foot perimeter landscaping buffer zone and other specific landscaping requirements, Black said his company has other plans.

    “We are planning an 8 to 10-foot stone buffer along the outside of the fence and possibly adding some small bushes. We want to be good neighbors,” Black said.

    The stones would create a patio effect around the substation, however, rather than privacy screening.

    In addition, Black said it would be necessary to cut all of the trees on the site to protect the substation.

    “This may happen,” Cook said, “but is yet to be determined until we receive a plan from a civil engineer. We will work to keep any that we can.

    Fairfield Electric’s other plans for security include surrounding the entire 1.93 acre property with an 8-foot-high, heavy gage, black steel louvered fence that is bulletproof and not climbable.

    “With today’s terrorism and kids going by and shooting transformers, protecting our assets is very important,” Black said. “It (the fence) is another source of security and acts as a shield.”

    Without requiring the 10-foot landscaping buffer zone and other landscaping requirements of the Town Center District, the BAR approved a Certificate of Occupancy unanimously, saying the Town’s administration would work with Fairfield Electric on a landscaping plan at a later time.

    In other business, officers for the board are scheduled to be elected at the next scheduled meeting.

  • Duke Energy to spend millions on Wateree

    LAKE WATEREE – Enhanced recreation options are on the way to Lake Wateree by the end of 2019.

    As part of Duke Energy’s recreation management plan filed with federal regulators, three sites are slated for upgrades. They include the Colonels Creek, Taylors Creek and Molly Creek access areas, all on the western boundary of Lake Wateree.

    Duke submitted the management plan in 2016. Following some revisions, most not directly impacting Lake Wateree, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, signed off on the document in December 2017.

    “Specifically, the plan includes provisions to maintain existing project recreation sites and construct the required enhancements at both existing project recreation sites and new recreation sites,” the plan states. “All construction is to be completed in 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year intervals, with the majority of the recreation facilities and sites completed within five years.”

    Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor likened the Lake Wateree possibilities to similar amenities found at the Lake Monticello Park off S.C. 215, near Jenkinsville.

    County leaders are confident the park facilities will become a major draw locally and regionally.

    “It’s going to [mean] millions of dollars,” for Fairfield County, County Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said. “You’ll get a lot of people from Winnsboro. This is really a big project.”

    Taxpayers shouldn’t incur any extra expense for the recreation upgrades. Douglas said Duke plans to handle the bulk of upkeep itself, and was also hopeful the state would lend some assistance.

    “It won’t cost the county a penny. They (Duke) are going to do all the work themselves,” he said.

    The Lake Wateree upgrades and others are spelled out in the management plan that Duke submitted. The vast majority of recreation enhancements are along the Catawba and Wateree rivers.

    New or upgraded sites are planned in Fairfield, Lancaster, Kershaw, York and Chester counties in South Carolina, as well as numerous counties in North Carolina, according to the 39-page document.

    “Further, the plan provides for enhancements at existing recreation sites and development of new recreation sites, and reserves sites for future use as needed,” the plan states. “The plan will meet foreseeable recreation demand, includes monitoring provisions over the term of the license, and is supported by the consulted entities.”

    In Fairfield County, the sites lie along the western boundaries of Lake Wateree. Here’s a list of proposed amenities by site, according to public records.

    • Molly Creek Access Area – Approximately 100-acre site with a swimming area, paved parking, restrooms, trails, bank and pier fishing; picnic facilities, and trailered boat access.;
    • Colonels Creek Access Area – Courtesy dock; swimming area; restrooms; picnic shelter; additional paved parking.
    • Wateree Creek Access Area – Fishing pier, picnic facility, restroom, and 10 gravel parking spaces;

    Additional expansion at Taylors Creek is possible, as is an RV campground and boathouse at Molly Creek, documents state.

  • County fire service calling for volunteers

    “It isn’t a crisis for Fairfield County…yet, but if the trend continues it will be,” said Jason Pope, the Director for Fire Services for Fairfield County.

    According to statistics cited by a Dec 6, 2018 info gram from the U.S. Fire Administration, 70% of the nation’s firefighters are volunteers.  Over half of the volunteers in the country are over 40 years old. And replacements are not keeping up with demand.

    Pope

    “There is a generational decline in volunteerism and the reasons are multi-faceted,” said Pope. “Fairfield County is a transient community with so many of our residents leaving our area for work every day that we have fewer people at home and available during the day.  Back in the mill town days supervisors would often let employees off from work to fight local fires.

    “Young people have lost a sense of community.  We typically have two-income households now with more debt and multiple jobs with less time available to volunteer.”

    Pope says the problem is compounded with the different kinds of fires that occur now.

    “Today’s homes are burning faster and hotter,” Pope explained. “In Fairfield County, the firefighters are like soldiers going into battle on the front lines. We were called out on over 1000 calls in 2018, and we have only 4 full time firefighters and around 120 active volunteers. Our volunteers are some of the most dedicated people you’ll fine.  It’s tough work, but also rewarding and exciting work.”

    It is also a big commitment of time for the training. Twenty or thirty years ago, the basic volunteer firefighter training was 40 hours.  Today volunteers have to undergo 140 hours of training.  And a basic fire Emergency Vehicle Driver Training class is necessary just to drive the fire vehicles.

    “The training at the State Fire Academy is free,” Pope said, “But it’s challenging. You do have to really want to do it,” Pope said.

    “While volunteers don’t get paid,” Pope said, “they do get a small stipend of $18 for every meeting/training session and fire call they make. But that’s certainly not pay.

    “Being a volunteer firefighter is about people wanting to help their neighbors. Wanting to give back to their community.  Wanting to be part of something good.  ‘Service Above Self’ is displayed on our logo patch,” Pope said with pride. “And that’s what it is.”

    At its current pace, the nation, like Fairfield County, is not keeping up with the need for volunteer firefighters.

    “If national trends hold true, counties and municipalities like ours will soon be having to hire 40 full time people,” said Pope.

    To find out more about becoming a volunteer, visit Fairfield County Fire Service on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter at Fairfield Co Fire or call Pope at 803-712-1070 or drop by the station at 315 S Congress St, Winnsboro.

  • Here’s how to make government work

    BLYTHEWOOD – Want to learn more about services that are available to residents who live in the unincorporated areas of Richland County and gain a better understanding of the roles of different County departments?

    You can start by attending a workshop called ‘Making Government Work for You,’ from 6 – 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Decker Center, Sheriff’s Annex, 2500 Decker Blvd.

    The session is part of Engage Richland, a series of events to encourage public input and to improve communication between the public and the county.

    To learn more, visit richlandcountysc.gov and click on the Engage Richland link.

  • Sailesh honored for academic papers

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School junior Abhimanhu Sailesh was honored by the Richland Two School Board recently for having presented two academic papers at the prestigious peer-reviewed 2018 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence that was held in Las Vegas, Dec. 13 – 15.

    Abhimanhu Sailesh with Blythewood High School Principal Matt Sherman

    The papers will be published in the fall of 2019 in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) journal, which describes itself as the most reputed world-wide academic publication in the fields of computer science, electrical and electronic engineering.

    Sailesh’s first paper, in which he is the first author, is titled “Comparison of two image enhancement techniques:  Histogram Equalization and Gamma Method” and was written in collaboration with Dr. Naima Naheed, an associate professor at Benedict College.  The second paper, titled “High Frequency Emphasis Filter Instead of Homomorphic Filter,” is also written in collaboration with Dr. Naheed and two other undergraduate senior students.

    Sailesh has won numerous academic competitions and honors at BHS, and finished as runner-up in the 2017 South Carolina State Spelling Bee as well as the spelling bee Bowl Championships at North Greenville University last year. Sailesh accomplished these fetes as a one-member team competing against four-member teams.

  • Town OKs first vote on Teacher Village

    FCSD Board Chair William Frick discusses a zoning map with FCSD Education Foundation president Dr. Sue Rex and fellow board member Henry Miller following Town Council meeting Tuesday night. | Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – After the Teacher Village property request for R3 zoning flew through the Winnsboro Planning Commission faster than a speeding bullet, the feat was duplicated at the Town Council meeting Tuesday evening.

    There was no discussion at either meeting, only a motion in favor and a unanimous vote to approve.

    “This will be the first residential teacher village in the state,” Sue Rex, president of the Fairfield County Education Foundation said, addressing Council. “We are asking you to rezone this 22 acres from C-2, commercial, to R3, residential zoning. [The project] will cost $3.6 million, and the developer is putting all that money into it. The developer will then own the land and rent out the homes but only to teachers in the district,” Rex said.

    “If there are several homes not rented to teachers, they will be available to help recruit law enforcement and first responders. This will contribute to the economic stimulus of the Winnsboro community,” Rex told council members.

    To make the project a reality, however, the school district wants a multi-county business park agreement in place and a seven-year, $600,000 property tax abatement for the developer. Both require County Council approval.

    At a special meeting in November between county and school district officials, there seemed to be little common ground. Citing a litany of potential legal issues, county attorney Tommy Morgan called attention to a 2010 attorney general opinion that raised doubts as to whether the county would be protected if litigation were filed over the Teacher Village.

    “It does give some cause for concern in my mind whether the special source revenue credit agreement would be the best way to accomplish what I understand the school district is wanting to do,” Morgan said.

    Dr. J. R. Green, district superintendent, brushed off concerns about potential litigation.

    But procedural and zoning issues represent added concerns for the county.

    Former Council Chairman Billy Smith said the county hasn’t received any formal requests from the developer, only from the Fairfield County Schools’ Education Foundation, a proxy of the school district.

    Smith suggested a list of conditions he’d like met regarding the Teacher Village:

    • An agreement with the developer to indemnify Fairfield County in the Teacher Village project.
    • An agreement to cover Fairfield’s legal expenses incurred in association with the Teacher Village.
    • A legal description of the Teacher Village property.
    • The Town of Winnsboro agreeing to place the property into the multicounty park since it’s in the town.

    Town Council will have a public hearing and final vote on the rezoning of the property on March 5.

  • Council retreat set for Mar. 16

    Mayor Invites Community for Lunch and Input

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Town Council is throwing its annual retreat on March 16 and inviting the community for lunch.

    “We always invite the community to all of our meetings, but I especially like them to come to our annual retreat. That’s when we plan for the next year and I think everyone in the community should have input into that planning,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said.

    To that end, Ross is hoping to entice them with a lunch buffet. The retreat, set for March 16 at Doko Manor, will include the mayor, town council and administrative staff.

    There will be a community lunch open to the public from 12 – 1 p.m.

    “So even if someone can’t stay all day, we hope they will at least stop by for lunch and talk to us about what they would like to see done in the town,” Ross said. “We call it the Taste of Blythewood.”

    Restaurants are invited to contribute food items for the luncheon. Those wanting to participate should bring food items to Doko Manor for set-up by 11 a.m.

    “This is a great opportunity for the public to have a say in our government and become familiar with various tasty cuisines in our town…all at the same time,” Ross said.

    Restaurants or food vendors who wish to participate, can call Hazel Kelly at Town Hall  (754-0501) or email kellyh@townofblythewoodsc.gov.

  • Ridgeway designer Sergio Hudson’s brand gets a boost from Beyonce

    Hudson

    RIDGEWAY – When Beyonce Knowles posted a photo of herself on Instagram last week wearing one of Ridgeway fashion designer Sergio Hudson’s jaw-dropping high end designs, Hudson said in a Facebook post that was the most excited he’s ever been for a placement.

    Beyonce wearing Sergio Hudson’s design

    The ‘placement’ happened when a friend in Los Angeles, who is also Beyonce’s stylist, presented several of Hudson’s designs for Beyonce’s consideration. Hudson said she ordered several items from his collection. Last week, Beyonce posted several photos of herself wearing Hudson’s hand-beaded Swarovski Crystal two-piece jacket and mini skirt, which is expected to be available for pre-order from Hudson’s collection.

    But dressing the stars is not new for Hudson who, as a struggling designer in 2013, was the first winner of Styled to Rock, a TV show that featured the work of aspiring designers. For his win, the show’s producer, Rihanna, presented Hudson with a $100,000 check and a path upward for his luxury women’s ready-to-wear designs.

  • Blythewood Visitor Center moved to Town Hall

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Visitor Center has a new home – in the lobby of Blythewood Town Hall.

    “Since funding for the Visitor Center is no longer provided to the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce after Dec. 31, we have moved the source of our information for visitors from the Chamber to the Town Hall,” Mayor J. Michael Ross told the Voice on Tuesday.

    “We have all sorts of information about Blythewood and our surrounding area for people who stop in and are looking for something,” Ross said. “We have information about our hotels, our businesses, our local events, and we always have someone here to help visitors find what they’re looking for.”

    Ross said the town government no longer recognizes or funds another physical location as a Visitors’ Center. To that end, Council voted last June to defund the Blythewood Visitor Center as of Jan. 1, 2019.

    The vote to defund came after a six-month investigation by The Voice that called into question how the Chamber spent the $18,500 accommodation award provided by Council each year to fund the Visitor’s Center.

    After the Chamber failed to produce satisfactory accounting documentation for how the funds were spent, citizens increasingly called on Council to order an audit of the Chamber’s books. Council stopped short of a full investigation/audit of the Chamber’s funds, choosing instead to no longer fund the Chamber to operate the Visitors Center.

    “Since we have brought the Center in house,” Ross said, “we probably have more visitors than the Chamber had and we’re not spending $18,000. So many come here to sign up for their water service and other reasons. So it’s a great opportunity for us to let them know other things about the town,” he said.

    “The park is a big draw over here, plus our website certainly directs visitors here and to the park,” Ross said. “And the signage at the bridge over I-77 still points this way,” he said, laughing. “I think it’s all working out very well for us and for the town’s visitors.”

    Town Hall is located at 171 Langford Road. For more information about the Visitor’s Center, call 803-754-0501.