Blythewood Online 691

Blog

  • Chamber Board meets secretly; votes to become ‘inactive’

    WINNSBORO – The elephant in the room was not mentioned during the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly breakfast on Wednesday. That elephant was the surprise announcement on Monday that the Chamber Board voted for the Chamber to become ‘inactive’ as of June 30, 2018.

    While Facebook pages lit up with the news, neither the Chamber’s Board Chairman, nor any of the Board members mentioned the issue at the breakfast.

    Following the breakfast, when two Board members were asked by The Voice when and where the Board had met to vote for the ‘inactive’ status, neither would divulge the information. Board member Lou Ann Coleman accused The Voice of harassment for asking the question. In an email later that day, Coleman did respond that the vote was held during a meeting at the Chamber offices on April 19. However, no meeting had been posted for a Chamber Board meeting on that date.

    The S. C. Freedom of Information Act, Sec. 30-4-60 states, “Every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the public unless closed pursuant to Sec. 30-4-70 of this chapter. In Sec. 30-4-80, it further states that notice must be given of meetings of all public bodies.

    “The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act requires not just governmental entities, but ‘any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds,’ to abide the Act’s transparency requirements,” S.C. Press Association attorney Taylor Smith said. “The Act provides that such organization must have meetings open to the public and that the public be notified of the time, location and agenda for the meeting. The failure to notify the public of an upcoming meeting of an organization is a violation of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act,” Smith said.

    “After carefully evaluating its feasibility, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to take this action,” the Board’s press release stated. “The primary factors that led to this decision included limited financial support, reduced participation during the traditional Chamber structured events, as well as limited volunteers,” the release stated.

    Asked to clarify whether the Board planned to disband the chamber on June 30, 2018, a source on the Board who asked not to be identified said the chamber will still file with the Secretary of State as an organization, but that it will become inactive as of June 30. Until that time, activities will go on as normal, the source said.

    The source also said all Chamber employees will be let go as of June 30, but that the Chamber will remain in an inactive state after June 30, the end of the Chamber’s fiscal year.

    Asked by The Voice to clarify ‘inactive,’ Shull answered in an email, “Inactive means not in operation.”

    In the email, Shull also stated that the newly hired Interim Director of the Chamber, Chris Timmers, who was hired March 1, would not be employed through June 30. On that same day, in a Facebook post, Board member Lou Ann Coleman posted that Timmers “is no longer employed by the Chamber. Ms. (Susan) Yenner is.”

    Asked to clarify Mr. Timmers’ employment status further, whether he would continue receiving a salary until June 30 even though he is no long employed, or if he received a separation package, Shull has not, at press time, responded.

    The Chamber is funded primarily by the County, at $87,500 annually, and by the Town of Winnsboro for Town sponsored events at $35,000 annually. In reference to the Chamber’s reported ‘limited financial support,’ County Council Chairman Billy Smith said he was surprised to hear that was a factor in the Board’s decision to go inactive.

    “No, the County has not cut the Chamber’s funding,” Smith said. “We have contemplated the idea of reducing it, but only because their representatives couldn’t answer basic questions Council members had about their plans for the future during our second budget work-session.

    “In a letter from Council that was delivered to the Board on April 17, Council offered the Chamber every opportunity to keep their County funding the same as it has been in the past. I offered assistance on planning. Now, I really don’t understand the suggestion of ‘limited financial support,’” Smith said.

    “Between County funding, the money the Town of Winnsboro gave the Chamber for the first time this year, and the proceeds from their golf tournament (which they said they aren’t going to do anymore),” Smith said, “ I’d think the Chamber had more financial support now than at any time before, at least in recent history.”

    Asked if he had seen a decrease in attendance at Chamber sponsored events, Chief John Seibles with the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety, which oversees safety of the festivals in the Town, including Rock Around the Clock and the Pumpkin Festival, said the crowd at last year’s Rock Around the Clock was large and orderly.

    “It [Rock Around the Clock] was larger than in past years and it ran smoothly as I recall,” Seibles said.

    Board Chairman Harper Shull has not returned phone calls from The Voice at press time.

    County Council Chairman Billy Smith sent the following letter to Chamber Board Chairman Harper Shull following Chamber Interim Director Chris Timmers’ presentation to Council during a budget workshop on April 17.

    Related: FC Chamber Board votes to become inactive, Council gives Chamber notice

  • JWC lawsuit delayed until Dec. 3

    WINNSBORO – It’ll be at least another seven months before a lawsuit filed against the Jenkinsville Water Company is tried.

    A trial date certain of Dec. 3 has been scheduled in a lawsuit Broad River Campground LLC filed against the JWC in 2014. The trial had been scheduled to get underway May 7.

    According to the suit, the campground states the water company improperly calculated water rates. The suit also states the JWC inflated water usage rates in making its calculations.

    The JWC has denied those assertions. It claims water is a finite resource that must be regulated.

    “JWC’s actions did not harm the public interests, as the Company acted prudently to ensure that the water would be conserved properly and would be available to other customers and potential customers,” the JWC stated in a legal memo.

    Also, multiple motions previously scheduled to be heard last week have been put on hold. A scheduling order signed by Circuit Judge Brian Gibbons said the motions have been continued until the next term of non-jury court.

    One motion sought to merge two similarly worded lawsuits – one filed in 2014 and the other in 2016 – both targeting the JWC.

    The campground sought to amend its original complaint. The JWC has also filed a motion for summary judgment to have the case dismissed.

  • County Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy says no to lacrosse

    COLUMBIA – Alex Oakes has two kids who attend Blythewood schools and play in Richland County’s youth lacrosse league. Sean King has another.

    Their children are among the 31 county youths who compete weekly in a sport where the only thing faster than action on the field is lacrosse’s growth in popularity. The league is doing well with both teams undefeated.

    But it’s action off the field that’s threatening to turn the league into a spectator sport.

    In the latest faceoff involving Richland County recreation, a dispute over lacrosse matches at Meadowlake Park has some Blythewood parents crying foul over a county councilwoman’s effort to stop the games.

    “There are a lot of kids who are getting scholarships from this sport,” Oakes, a resident of Ashley Oaks, said. “A lot of schools are adding this sport to their program.”

    Things reached a boiling point on April 22.

    About 45 minutes into Saturday’s competition, Richland County Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy arrived, saying she had received complaints from some Meadowlake residents about the lacrosse competition.

    Kennedy said players and parents weren’t authorized to be there.

    League organizers said they told Kennedy they sought and received formal permission to use the field from the Richland County Recreation Commission, which for the time being remains under state control.

    That’s when, parents say, Kennedy pledged to lobby for an end to lacrosse once recreation commission control returns to Richland County.

    “Everyone was kind of stunned,” King said. “People asked if we got it on video, but we were just in shock. We didn’t think to document her behavior.”

    Kennedy acknowledges she supports the county taking over recreation, but denies voicing any political motivations in the lacrosse dispute aside from addressing constituent concerns. She said the lacrosse games were interfering with their ability to enjoy the park.

    “Nobody contacted them (homeowners) that it might interrupt activities. Nobody knew what was going on,” Kennedy, who represents part of Blythewood, told The Voice. “There were 20 cars out there and nobody knew what was going on.

    “Furthermore, there was nobody there from the [Meadowlake] area playing on the teams,” she continued. “Why were they here from Lexington in Meadowlake Park, taking up space where the kids are playing football?”

    King said there were players from Lexington and Irmo-Chapin present because they’re among three teams that compete in doubleheaders. Richland County is the other. He also said Meadowlake Park is a public park, not a private facility only open to certain people.

    King also disputes the assertion that lacrosse hindered park access. He noted at the time, three baseball fields were completely empty, and there were people walking around the track that circles the lacrosse field.

    “How can kids using facilities run through the county and sanctioned by the recreation commission be a negative thing?” King said. “We had 31 kids playing who are all residents of Richland County. Four live in Ms. Kennedy’s district.”

    While the outburst seems like an isolated incident, concerned parents fear it’s indicative of larger problems they say still loom large over Richland County recreation.

    James Brown III, the commission’s former executive director, was indicted in October 2016 on charges of misconduct in office and intimidation of a state’s witness.

    The case is still pending, according to the Richland County Public Index.

    A month later, former Gov. Nikki Haley issued an executive order authorizing the ejection of five of seven recreation commission members amid complaints of nepotism and neglect of duty.

    The state later set up a committee to review applications for the board, a process that’s still in place.

    Several bipartisan bills calling for the state to devolve oversight of the commission to Richland County Council have been filed in the General Assembly. But they all remained stalled in committee as of press time.

    Since the state takeover, parents say the commission has been functioning with professionalism. Some contend Kennedy’s outburst was more about politics and reflective of her personal agenda to take control of the commission.

    “I think it’s about nepotism, I think it’s about trying to put their pursuits, friends, families in the forefront of their own agenda,” Oakes said. “I think her (Kennedy’s) agenda is that she wants to be in control. She doesn’t like the fact she has constituents in Meadowlake that call and complain, and she can’t do anything about it.”

    Kennedy acknowledges she’s eager for the commission to fall under county control, but she denies charges of nepotism and politics.

    “Certainly if we’re going to pay that much money for the parks, sure I’m in favor of controlling it (the commission),” Kennedy said. “It’s the manner in which it (lacrosse) was done. It was not inclusive.”

    According to King, however, on Feb 9, an email announcing the league was sent to previous participants in the Richland County Rec sanctioned league or program.
    “We reached out through social media, school districts, and RCRC email blasts to get kids involved. This is how every league/program for RCRC is communicated. There were no tryouts. Everyone was welcome to participate,” King said.

  • Crime spree rattles Blythewood

    Morton’s Auto Sales was one of the five Blythewood businesses hit by the thieves recently when two cars were stolen from this lot.

    BLYTHEWOOD – A month-long crime spree in downtown Blythewood, with crimes ranging from stealing bubble gum to auto theft and armed robbery, rattled the sense of safety for many in the community.

    Five Blythewood businesses and the Richland County Recreation Center were targeted between March 28 and April 26. With the help of GPS tracking information and information provided by security surveillance videos in the town park, Sheriff’s deputies made arrests in connection with at least four of the crimes. A spokesperson with the Richland County Sheriff’s department said at least one suspect is still being sought. While juveniles were arrested in four of the incidents and released into the custody of family members, burglaries at Hardee’s and San Jose’s Mexican Restaurant were not tied to the other four.

    Hardee’s

    The first of the crimes occurred at Hardee’s restaurant on Creech Road at about 5:40 a.m. on March 28, when a black male  entered the restaurant  through a side entrance and walked up to the counter and ordered a sausage biscuit, a store employee stated. When the employee opened the cash register, the suspect handed the employee a plastic bag and, with his right hand, pulled out a black handgun and ordered the employee to hand over money from the register.

    Instead of handing over the money, the employee closed the register, which locks when it’s closed, and held his hands in the air. The suspect then fled the scene emptyhanded and is still being sought.

    San Jose’s Mexican Restaurant

    On Monday, April 2, a robber used a large rock to force entry through the glass front door of San Jose’s Mexican Restaurant, next door to Hardee’s. According to a Sheriff’s report, multiple suspects entered the business and stole money from a register along with several bottles of liquor. The suspects used a crowbar to make entry into the main office where the bottles were stored, then exited through the rear door, the report stated. Surveillance cameras captured the incident which was viewed on scene, revealing two suspects who appeared to be males, the report stated. The heist netted the robbers five bottles of liquor valued at $400 and $100 in cash.  The suspects have not been arrested at press time. A Sheriff’s report states that one of the suspects was killed in a vehicle collision last week.

    Morton’s Auto Sales

    Two cars were stolen from Morton’s Auto Sales at the corner of Main Street and McLean Road sometime between Saturday evening, April 21 and Monday morning, April 23.

    Stolen Toyota Avalon

    The business’ owner, Damien Morton, discovered the crime on April 25 and reported a 2006 gray Toyota Avalon valued at $4,500 and a 2004 gray Mercedes E320 valued at $6,500 had been taken from the car lot. The incident report states that a window was broken on the side of the building where it appeared the robbers entered and rummaged through the office, taking the keys to the missing vehicles.

    Within a short time of discovering the incident, a tracking devise on the 2004 Mercedes led Sheriff’s deputies to Boney Road where the abandoned vehicle was located on a powerline access road between Boney Road and I-77, the Sheriff’s report states. At press time, the Toyota had not been recovered.

    Three juveniles were arrested and charged with burglary and motor vehicle theft. They were also charged with robberies at the Blythewood Recreation Park Concession Stand, Trinity Auto Sales and Doko Smoke BBQ.

    Park Concession Stand

    At the Blythewood Park Recreation Center’s ball field, Concession Stand Director Jeannie Sharpe, reported the stand was apparently robbed multiple times without being detected during the week of April 21. Sharpe said she noticed M&M candies and bubble gum began missing the first of the week. By Thursday, she said, “everything was gone.”

    “They took everything, even my screw driver, tea bags, cheese and hot dogs,” Sharpe said. “They just cleaned us out, easily $1,000 worth of products.   It is just awful that somebody would stoop so low as to steal from a kids’ baseball league.”

    In order to recoup the concession stand losses, Sharpe is encouraging folks to come by the ball park and purchase food items from the concession which is open 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday to Friday and Saturday from 10 a. m. until 1 p. m.

     

    Chrystal Glover, owner of Trinity Car Sales, stands next to a busted out car window after thieves vandalized her car lot. | Photos: Callie Sims

    Trinity Car Sales

     

    Across McLean Road from Morton Auto Sales, Crystal Glover, owner of Trinity Car Sales and U-Haul Trailor rentals, told The Voice that records show her security alarm went off on Monday night, April 22, but no entry was made at her business. Then on April 25, Glover reported vandalism to vehicles on her lot that she said occurred sometime between April 22 and Wednesday evening, April 25. Glover said vandals slashed the tires on one car and two U-Haul trucks on her lot, smashed the driver’s side window of a Volvo and stole two tires and rims off a U-Haul truck.

    “My alarm system must have scared them away on Monday evening,” Glover said. “Then the tires were slashed and other damage done on the lot Wednesday night. But they did not break into the office.”

    Glover estimated damage at about $2,000 and the stolen tires were valued at $500.

    Doko Smoke BBQ

    Doko Barbecue, another business on Main Street, was entered through an unsecure door, robbed and vandalized the same evening according to Tony Crout, owner of the restaurant. Crout reported the thieves ransacked the restaurant, spraying interior walls and furnishings with a fire extinguisher before leaving with an Apple iPad and cash register stand an Apple iPad mini, two jars of BBQ sauce, a jar of BBQ rub, a tip jar and an unknown number of assorted chips and drinks.

    “It was a mess in here,” Crout said. “But when we put it out on social media, a lot of our friends and customers showed up to help us clean up. We were only closed one day. It was amazing.”

    Crout estimated damage to his business at more than $8,000.

    Shortly after discovering the robbery, Crout electronically located his iPad and gave the location of his IPad to Sheriff’s Deputies. Crout said the juveniles were arrested that same morning.

  • Blythewood man dies in motorcycle accident

    COLUMBIA – Blythewood resident Christopher P. Dawkins died in a two-vehicle collision on April 28 at the intersection of Two Notch and Polo Roads in Columbia.

    Dawkins was the driver of a motorcycle that collided with a vehicle that pulled out onto Two Notch Road.

    Dawkins, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, died at the scene. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force injuries to the head.

    The SC Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the incident.

  • Haslett lawsuit referee on hold

    WINNSBORO – Ordinarily the appointment of a special referee is a relatively routine matter in judicial proceedings. But in Winnsboro, it’s become a complicated process in a lawsuit William Haslett filed against 20 downtown property owners last summer.

    Haslett’s lawsuit asserts that property lines along Congress Street in downtown Winnsboro, where Haslett also owns property, have shifted through the years. His suit names property owners who own property either adjacent or near the property he owns. The lawsuit attributes the property changes to recording errors.

    Objections have arisen over the appointment of the special referee, partly because of his connection to Haslett’s attorney and because of requests from some property owners for a jury trial.

    There’s also a disagreement among some property owners about the next step moving forward. One  defense attorney told The Voice that efforts are underway to identify a new special referee.

    Michael Griffin, a Charlotte, North Carolina attorney representing Winnsboro property owners L. Hubert and Bonnie Brice, said discussions relative to securing a new special referee began shortly after a court hearing in March.

    “We’ve exchanged some names back and forth to see if there are any names we can agree on,” Griffin said.

    Winnsboro Attorney Ross Burton, however, is among four other co-defendants who’ve demanded a jury trial. He still wants one, and doesn’t support appointing a special referee.

    “I didn’t compromise on anything,” Burton said.

    Burton said the issue is mainly one of cost.

    “Most of us are just innocent bystanders in this. If you appoint a special referee, the parties have to pay the special referee,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to pay any fee at all. I want a jury trial.”

    The special referee issue arose following an effort to appoint Ridgeway attorney Robert Hartman to preside over the case. It’s an issue, in part, because Hartman has litigated at least one case with Glenn Bowens, a Winnsboro attorney representing Haslett.

    Hartman and Bowens were co-counsels in a lawsuit they jointly filed in 2016 against Fairfield County and developers of a mega-industrial site proposed off I-77 and S.C. 34, according to court records obtained by The Voice. The case was settled a year later.

    Bowens couldn’t be reached for comment.

    In Haslett’s original lawsuit that was filed in August 2017, Bowens requested appointing Hartman as the special referee to try “this entire action by taking testimony, ruling on any motions, issuing any interlocutory or other orders he deems prudent.”

    The special referee would also receive evidence and issue a judgment. Any rulings would be appealable only to either the S.C. Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court, according to the suit.

    In January 2018, Bowens filed a formal motion seeking Hartman’s appointment as a special referee.

    Griffin, the Charlotte attorney, acknowledged some property owners raised conflict of issues at a hearing last month over the possible appointment of Hartman. But, he said, the primary reason for seeking a new special referee was because it was seen as a possible compromise since several property owners had asked for a jury trial.

    According to court documents Griffin filed, state law requires a jury trial to be held when one is requested.

    In those circumstances, “upon the filing of a jury demand, the matter shall be returned to the circuit court,” Griffin’s motion states.

    The motion further says four co-defendants – Ross Burton, Jeanette Starnes, George Kemp and Lee Kemp – all demanded jury trials for at least one cause of action in their respective answers to the lawsuit.

    Circuit Court Judge Roger Henderson, however, approved the request to refer the case to Hartman, though Griffin said discussions about appointing a different special referee began shortly after the hearing.

    “He [the judge] granted the motion, but I don’t believe Mr. Hartman is going to be appointed,” Griffin said.

    Judge Henderson directed Bowens to draft an order about the special referee issue, which had not been filed as of press time.

    Burton said he’s not worried about any potential conflict of interest issues, noting he considers Hartman a friend. But Burton did signal he might file a motion for reconsideration depending on what’s said in the order Bowens is drafting.

    “It’s not a good idea to have someone closely related in business as a special referee, but Hartman is a friend of mine and I think he’ll be fair,” Burton said.

  • Smith signs contract with Texans

     

    Smith finished his Limestone career as the school’s leader in receiving yards. | Photo: GoLimestoneSaints.com
    Smith

    HOUSTON – Former Westwood and Limestone College big-play receiver Vyncint Smith signed a free agent deal Saturday with the Houston Texans. Smith, who was born in Germany, played varsity for the Blythewood Bengals during his sophomore season and then played two seasons with the Redhawks.

    Smith earned an All-Region honor during his senior campaign at Westwood with 31 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns. He continued his momentum by finishing second on the team in receiving yards as a true freshman at Limestone.

    Smith posted career highs in catches and receiving yards in his senior season and was an All-South Atlantic Conference choice.

    Smith finished his stellar career at Limestone as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards and second in total receptions. He also became the first player in program history to sign a professional contract.

  • Historic Cedar Creek church to close May 6

     

    Cedar Creek Methodist Church to be closed after May 6 service. | Darlene Embleton

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – After 274 years, the doors of the historic Cedar Creek Methodist Church on Cedar Creek Road will close on Sunday during a special ceremony. In attendance will be the few remaining and some former members including Margaret Gardner, her sister Julianne Hendricks and Sandra Jones. The three women who grew up attending the church together with their families – the Eargles, the DuBards and the Howells as well as many friends of the church.

    Gardner, 96, who attended the church until a few years ago, said her mother played the piano there every Sunday.

    “That’s where she taught me to play,” Gardner said, recalling the joys and telling the stories of growing up with family and friends in the tight knit church.

    Located in the Cedar Creek community in the edge of Fairfield County, the church is on the historic registry and is rich with various versions of its founding. One version is that it was originally founded on the banks of the Saluda River and later moved to the Cedar Creek area where, in 1762, land for a second building was purchased from two Indians. There, under the pastorate of Rev. John Nicholas Martin, a long building was erected about 16 by 30 feet, with a dirt floor.

    Another version is that it was moved to the current location on land granted by the King of England to Pastor William Dubbart. It was said at one time to have Presbyterian leanings. But Ben Hornsby, a historian and pianist for the church’s sister church, Bethel Methodist Church in Fairfield County, says he finds no documentation of a Presbyterian affiliation in the church’s DNA.

    For years, life for the Eargles, Dubards, Fridys, Levers, Howells and other Cedar Creek families centered around the charming, white country church. But by the mid-1900s, many families with children were moving their memberships from quaint one-room country churches, to more modern United Methodist Church facilities featuring worship bands, organized youth events and social centers with basketball courts.  By 2011, the church’s membership had dwindled to a handful as most of the members had died or moved away.

    “It was about then that we became aware that our church and the property it sat on was not ours, but belonged to the S. C. United Methodist Conference,” Jones said. Still, the few remaining members, including Margaret Gardner, then in her 90s, fought to keep the doors open, paying the apportionments and maintaining the building and cemetery as best they could.

    “My father, Joseph DuBard, always looked after the church and even left a sum of money in his will for the church’s upkeep after he was gone,” Jones said. “While that money was part of close to $100,000 the church eventually turned over to the Conference, the effort to maintain the church was carried on by those who didn’t want it declared closed.”

    On June 12, 2015, Jones wrote to The Voice, asking for help in fighting for the preservation of the historic church.

    “Time is of the essence,” she wrote, “as members with ties to the church are dying out.”

    While Bill DuBard and his wife Margaret moved their membership years ago, they still live in Cedar Creek and support the maintenance of the Cedar Creek church.

    “It’s a shame,” Bill DuBard said, “that the church has just dried up. There isn’t any indoor plumbing and the air conditioning unit was vandalized for its copper piping years ago.”

    In June of 2017, the Conference dealt the final blow, voting to close the church for good. While the last members, as well as their descendants, are not comfortable with the closing, they accept it. Their worry now is what will become of it? Who will pay for the upkeep? Will the Conference sell the property? The questions are many, Jones said.

    Both DuBards hope it can be maintained as a benefit to the community. Margaret DuBard said the boards of the Blythewood and Upper Fairfield County Historical Societies are supportive of preserving the church as well as the cemetery.

    “I would love to see it used as a wedding venue or for gospel music events,” Margaret DuBard said.

    Rev. Cathy Jamison, a former pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Blythewood and the current Columbia District Superintendent and Secretary to the Cabinet of the S.C. United Methodist Conference, confirmed that the fate of the church and property are not known at this time. But she said the funds handed over to the Conference are earmarked for the upkeep of the cemetery and cannot be used for anything else.

    She also said the resolution affirmed by the Annual Conference in June 2017 includes a clause recommending the property be preserved because of its historical significance.

    “So it’s up to the Conference trustees, who have the responsibility for all Conference properties in South Carolina, to decide the fate of the property,” Jamison said. “While I really can’t comment on things I don’t have power over, I can make recommendations. Unfortunately there’s not a stockpile of money for the preservation of the building so that would have to be a community fundraising effort. The plan for the future of the property is evolving,” Jamison said.

    The ceremony for the closing of the church will be held at the church at 1209 Cedar Creek Road on Sunday, May 6, at 4 p.m. Leading the service in the community landmark will be the current pastor of the Fairfield Circuit, Rev. Alice Deal.

    Those interested in the preservation of the church property can call Bill DuBard at 754-0710.

    Barbara Ball contributed to this story.

  • I-77 bridge under construction

    BLYTHEWOOD – A 24/7 project to repair the Blythewood Road bridge spanning I-77 has begun in earnest after a one month delay. A spokesperson for the S. C. Department of Transportation said the project is supposed to be complete by the end of next month, but it could take longer.

    The traffic pattern will not be detoured for the project since the bridge is wide enough to stage the construction so that the lanes can shift and be moved, the spokesperson said. However, there will still be one lane open in each direction throughout the project except when two turning lanes will have to be removed on separate weeks. There will also be some temporary daytime lane closures when the staging is being set or shifted.

    Interstate I-77 below the bridge will experience night time lane closures during painting, jacking and bearing repair of the bridge.

    Once the work commences, it will continue 7 days a week until the repairs are complete.

  • Feaster appointed Fairfield Magistrate

    Feaster

    WINNSBORO – Blair resident Russell Feaster was appointed Fairfield County Magistrate Judge by Senator Mike Fanning on April 18. The magistrate seat became available when former magistrate, Russell Price, was named Director of the Fairfield County Recreation Department.

    Feaster, a Blair native, holds a degree in Business Administration from Voorhees College and served 19 years with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), retiring as an inspector in 2009. Feaster retired from the South Carolina Army National Guard in 2012 with the rank of Colonel after more than 31 years of service. He received numerous military awards and honors, and was the first African American inducted into the Palmetto Military Academy Hall of Fame in 2006.  Feaster is currently employed by Savant Learning Systems as Captain of South Carolina Field Operations.

    Feaster is a member of St. John AME Church, where his wife, Reverend Yvonne B. Feaster, is the pastor. The Feasters are the parents of four children.

    Feaster recently formed The Feaster Foundation, a non-profit, 501c (3), organization whose mission is to uplift, inspire and encourage youth to realize their full potential through education, spiritual growth and personal development.

    Additional magistrate seats will be up for appointment next year, Fanning said.