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  • Let Hoof & Paw spotlight your pet

    Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society members Minge Wiseman of Blythewood, left, and Kathy Faulk, right, of Fairfield County, discuss with Blythewood philanthropist Joyce Hill the Society’s newest fundraiser project, a coffee table book titled Friends of Hoof & Paw that puts the spotlight on pets in the community. Hill is underwriting the cost of the book and members of Hoof & Paw are selling pages to pet owners in the community who would like to showcase the animals in their lives. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society, with members in Blythewood and Fairfield County, is launching its newest and most ambitious fundraiser to date – a high-end coffee table book, titled Friends of Hoof & Paw, which will put community animals in the spotlight.

    The cost of printing the book is being underwritten by Joyce Hill, a longtime Blythewood resident and philanthropist and owner of Farewell Farm. Profits from the book will come from the purchase of pages by those who want to showcase their pets.

    “The photos will feature the pets or the pets and their owners and will be taken by professional photographers that Hoof & Paw will provide,” Minge Wiseman said. “The book will showcase the animals that touch our lives.

    Page costs range from $200 to $1,000 and are tax deductible. Multiple-page packages are also available. The page purchase includes a copy of the book at no extra charge. Additional photos can be purchased from the photographer.

    “Another coffee table book like this has been published by a Texas animal advocacy group and it is an absolute treasure, just beautiful,” Wiseman said, thumbing through the glossy pages of the book. “We’ve already received a number of commitments for pages. Every photo page, whether color or black & white will be very nice – something the pet owner will be proud of and cherish.”

    Wiseman said pet owners can submit their own photos if they are of good reproduction quality, and photos can also be submitted in remembrance of pets who have passed on.

    “And we are having a special contest to determine whose pet will grace the cover of the book,” Wiseman said. “We are requesting cover submissions. We want to see your horse, dog, cat, bird, cow, etc., in all his/her glory. The image chosen will then be reproduced into a painting by a professional artist and will be on the cover of this year’s book. And the best part is that the owner gets to keep the painting, free!” Wiseman said.

    To purchase a page or to submit a photo for consideration for the cover, simply go to www.hoofandpawsc.org and click on the link under the events tab. The cost to submit a photo for the cover is $25 per submission. May 1, 2018 is the deadline to submit photos for the cover contest.

    Proceeds from the page sales help promote The Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society’s vision – to protect, comfort and improve the lives of abused, homeless and abandoned animals and to increase awareness and support adoptions of shelter-bound animals. The organization also encourages spay and neuter and provides education to the general public for the humane treatment of all animals. The Society also provides spay and neuter funding to the Fairfield Animal Shelter and Pets, Inc. in Columbia.

  • Hensley, Mozie promoted

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County administration recently promoted two of its employees – Guerry Hensley and Beverly Mozie.

    Effective Feb. 26, Hensley began his new role as the Fairfield County Assessor. Hensley was promoted after serving in the Assessor’s office since 2009.

    Hensley

    A lifelong resident of Winnsboro, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina.

    “With Guerry’s wealth of knowledge and experience in our property assessment office, we feel he will be a tremendous asset to the County and will continue to move the department forward,” Deputy County Administrator Davis Anderson said.

    Community Development Director Chris Clauson has appointed Mozie to the position of the Fairfield County Grant Coordinator, replacing Stephen Gaither.

    “Mozie has over 15 years of progressive service in various areas of governmental accounting and finance and has been a certified government finance officer for over 10 years, and I’m looking forward to the job I know she can do for us and this department,” Clauson said.

    A lifelong resident of Winnsboro, Mozie graduated from Winthrop with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

  • County OKs increased pay for EMS

    WINNSBORO – After asking his fellow councilmen to defer a vote on salary increases for the County’s Emergency Services employees last month, Councilman Neil Robinson was quick to reverse course when the item came up on Monday night’s Council agenda.

    As Emergency Services Director Mike Tanner began a repeat of his appeal last month for salary increases, Robinson interrupted him.

    “Mr. Tanner, I think due diligence has already been done, and I would like to make a motion to go ahead and approve EMS for the raises you are asking for,” Robinson said.

    “Second,” Councilman Jim Ray Doulas jumped in.

    With no discussion other than Councilwoman Bertha Goins’ praise for the EMS’s service to the County and a clarification requested by Councilman Douglas Pauley regarding overtime pay, Council voted 7-0 for the salary increase request.

    Tanner had requested the increase in salaries after Richland County offered a 10 percent pay raise for its EMT’s and paramedics, immediately opened eight new positions and budgeted for 48 new positions next budget year with a $2.5 million budget increase for equipment and supplies. Tanner said the potential draw of that offering on Fairfield County emergency services employees is putting the county at risk.

    “Starting pay for Richland’s new paramedics is 19 percent higher than Fairfield’s,” Tanner said, “even with last year’s increase. Our employees work 14 hours a week more and make $19 a week less than those in Richland and Lexington Counties.”

    County Administrator Jason Taylor said the overall increase would cost the county $357,000 annually.

  • Town breaks ground for Broad River Project

    WINNSBORO – HPG engineer Ken Parnell, Danny Stuck with DS Utilities, Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross, Ridgeway Mayor Charlene Herring, Winnsboro Town Councilmen Clyde Sanders, Jackie Wilkes (former), John McMeekin, Town Manager Don Wood, Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy, attorney John Fantry, Fairfield County Councilwoman Bertha Goins and Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor broke ground for the Broad River Water Project on Wednesday.

  • Sion Presbyterian welcomes new pastor

    WINNSBORO – Rebekah Carpenter will be installed as the new pastor of Sion Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro on Sunday, March 11 at 4 p.m. Before coming to Winnsboro, Carpenter worked with corporations, colleges, schools, churches and non-profits for over twenty years as a leadership and organizational development specialist.

    Carpenter earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mars Hill College, where she majored in music and theatre. Rebekah holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Organizational Development from the University of West GA in Carrollton GA. She graduated in May of 2017 with a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, and was ordained on Feb. 18, 2018 at Carrollton Presbyterian Church in Carrollton, GA.

  • SC forage organization wins national award

    Blythewood resident and SC Forage and Grasslands Council President Kenneth Mullis, center, accepts the 2017 President’s Award from the American Forage and Grasslands Council.

    LOUISVILLE, KY – The S.C. Forage and Grazing Lands Coalition received the 2017 President’s Award from the American Forage and Grasslands Council (AFGC) at the annual AFGC conference in January.

    The award, which recognizes outstanding service to the forage community, cited the group’s work through field days, outreach and membership growth.

    “It was an honor to receive this award from a national organization like AFGC,” Blythewood resident Kenneth Mullis, S.C. coalition president, said, “especially since the SCFGLC has only been functioning for 2 years.”

    The coalition promotes the health and sustainability of South Carolina grazing lands. Workshops and events cover areas such as soil health for grazing management practices on pastureland, forestland and cropland; prescribed grazing; silvopasture; and wildlife management.

    For more information or to join the coalition, visit the website at scforage.com or facebook.com/SCGrazingLands.

  • First UMC hosts active shooter training

    WINNSBORO – The Safety Team at First United Methodist Church in Winnsboro is bringing Precision Tactics for an active shooter training session to be held in the church’s fellowship hall on Thursday, Mar. 8 at 6 p.m.

    Percision Tactics was featured last week on WIS-TV and has been endorsed by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott for their work in active shooter training.  The company is a partner with the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association and provides this type of training to churches, businesses and law enforcement agencies.

    The session is being held to familiarize law enforcement officers with the church’s team and procedures.  The company specializes in church security and will be bringing in the simulation equipment prepared to work with the church’s safety team using inert pistols.  After the training, the church’s safety team will actively work during worship services and any other time as deemed necessary.

  • Expansion of The Point II postponed

    BLYTHEWOOD – Mayor J. Michael Ross was notified today that the developer of a proposed expansion of The Point II has decided to delay the development of The Point Phase II, and will not be coming before Council tonight seeking a letter of approval of the expansion. Should it be decided to go forward at a later date, the developer said he would contact the town at that time.

    Related Story:  The Pointe apartments ask for expansion, 2/22/18

  • FMH asking Council for almost $4 million tonight

    WINNSBORO – Tonight, the Fairfield Memorial Hospital (FMH) CEO is expected to appear before Fairfield County Council to request almost $4 million to cover the hospital’s operating expenses through Dec. 31, 2018, sources have told The Voice.

    That request includes a little more than $2.7 million for operating expenses for the hospital and another $1+ million, which is the amount the County already gives the hospital each year.

    In addition, Council is expected to discuss, in executive session, a possible acquisition of the hospital property by the County. The executive session agenda includes,” the discussion of the potential purchase of real property identified as Fairfield County TMS 126-03-01-001″ (the hospital property).

    The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. tonight at the Fairfield County government complex council chambers, second floor, 350 Columbia Road in Winnsboro.

  • The Pointe apartments ask for expansion

    BLYTHEWOOD – A request for an expansion of The Pointe at Blythewood, a low income apartment complex that opened last year on Main Street, across from Blythewood Consignment, will be heard by Town Council Monday evening during its regular monthly meeting. Council will also hear from a developer who is proposing a second senior living facility in the Town on acreage behind the Food Lion Shopping Center next to Cobblestone Park.

    “We received a letter from Prestwick Developers asking Council to approve a letter that would allow 32 additional apartments to be built on two acres behind the current Pointe complex,” Mayor J. Michael Ross told The Voice on Wednesday. “We’ll just have to see what Council wants to do after they make their presentation,” Ross said.

    The senior center proposal will be presented by the developer’s representative, Mark Richardson, a Cobblestone resident.

    “What they’re proposing is different from the senior center proposed next to the IGA,” Ross said. “This one is more of a town house style.”

    Council will be voting on approval letters for both the expansion for The Pointe and the senior living center.