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  • County Taps COG for Long-Term Plan

    WINNSBORO – County Council voted 7-0 Tuesday night to authorize the County Administrator to craft a deal to allow the Central Midlands Council of Governments (COG) to take the point on the County’s long-term strategic planning process.

    The motion was put on the floor by Councilman David Brown (District 7), who after the meeting said the COG-led plan would help prepare the County for the massive influx of cash expected to start rolling in in the next five years from the two new nuclear reactors under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville.

    “And if anyone else wants to get involved (in the planning process), this would be a way for them to do so,” Brown said.

    In his motion, Brown said the COG was created specifically to assist counties like Fairfield, and that the COG has a staff approximately 40 professional planners.

    “They plan everything from highways to running the railroad tracks from Charlotte to Columbia,” Brown said.

    Brown’s motion included incorporating existing Fairfield County plans, including the strategic plan that was completed in 2010, as well as the County’s existing economic data from Fairfield’s partnership in the I-77 Alliance. The proposal will also allow the COG to contract out for additional resources as necessary. Councilwoman Mary Lynn Kinley (District 6) provided Brown with a second.

    “Planning is something that’s very complicated and very long-term and you’ve got to know what you’re doing,” Brown said. “And we don’t need to hire a department of long-term planners. We’ve already got one with the COG.”

    Chairman David Ferguson (District 5) said an additional benefit from letting the COG lead the way is that it prevents potentially good ideas from getting crushed by egos.

    “It takes personalities out of it,” Ferguson said. “It’s an independent set of eyes.”

    The cost of the partnership was not determined with Council’s vote. Ferguson said later that the cost would not be available until after the contract was prepared. The proposed plan would likely project 20 years into the future, Ferguson said.

    Ridgeway Interchange

    Brown reported to Council that options for truck traffic, as well as for widening Peach Road and a proposed four-way interchange at the south end of Ridgeway, were on hold pending traffic studies. Brown said the COG’s Rural Transportation Committee, on which he sits, met last week to discuss Ridgeway traffic issues. A recent proposal to install a four-way stop near Highway 21 and the Highway 21 Connector has also been put on hold after the project met with strong local opposition.

    “The DOT (Department of Transportation) came up and 77 people were not in favor of putting an interchange in there and 22 people were in favor,” Brown said.

    Brown said the COG approved a study for diverting truck traffic around Ridgeway, but added that such a detour faces its own problems.

    “We had opposition to going down the bypass (Highway 21 Connector/S. Coleman Street) with heavy truck traffic because you’ve got an elementary school (Geiger) at the end of the bypass,” Brown said. “The DOT and COG are studying all three things. Right now everything is on hold in Ridgeway until we have studies done on all three items.”

  • School Board Bickers Over Budget

    WINNSBORO – Although discussions at the May 20 School Board meeting revealed that some confusion existed regarding the difference between the District’s general fund budget and debt service millage, the Board voted 4-2 to approve second reading of the 2014-2015 budget. Board members Annie McDaniel (District 4) and Paula Hartman (District 2) voted against the measure. Board member Andrea Harrison (District 1) was absent.

    Kevin Robinson, Finance Director, said there had been no changes to the $35,548,651 budget since first reading, and that the budget included a millage rate of 203.1 mills, which reflected no change from last year’s millage rate. When questioned by Hartman about the District’s debt service millage, Robinson said the final figures were not yet available. However, he added, he expects the debt service millage to be the same, or close to, last year’s rate of 32 mills.

    McDaniel said she was “concerned” that the Board was going into second reading of the budget without knowing the debt service figure, but J.R. Green, Superintendent, said that debt service millage doesn’t have any impact on the operational budget. Until County Council sets the value of the mill, Green said, the District would not know for sure what the debt service millage will be.

    “We anticipated (last year) that the debt service millage would have been 35 mills,” Green said, “but because the set value (of a mill) was higher than we anticipated, it was actually 32 mills. So we can’t necessarily tell you the millage because we don’t necessarily know what those assessed values are.”

    McDaniel said the County Auditor should have given the District a figure for the District to use in calculating its budget, but Robinson said the debt service value of a mill is different from the operational values.

    “We don’t issue millage on residential property,” Robinson said, “so there are two different numbers that we’re dealing with.”

    McDaniel asked Robinson what the deadline was for the District to present its budget to County Council for approval. Robinson said the date for Council to receive the operational budget was June 15, but added that there was no set date for the debt service.

    “You’re telling me they operate on different dates, for debt service and operational?” McDaniel, a Board member since 2000, asked.

    “That’s correct,” Robinson said. “We’ve always in the past historically given the County a number for debt millage around August, early September. We’ve never given them a debt millage number in June. The number they have to have in June is for operational.”

    “So we’ve been giving them a figure for debt service and the Board has not been approving it?” McDaniel asked.

    “The Board has always approved it,” Robinson said. “I’m just saying it’s never been given to them in June.”

    When Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) noted that the discussion had strayed from the general fund budget and into debt service, which was not on the agenda, she called for the vote.

    “When are we as a board going to finish discussing the budget?” McDaniel asked. “We just had second reading and we had no work session.”

    Reid said the Board held a work session on April 22, but McDaniel indicated that additional sessions may be necessary.

    “We don’t need more,” Reid said. “We don’t need it. Nothing has changed. There’s nothing else to talk about.”

    McDaniel said that Board members with additional questions should be allowed to ask those questions, and Reid asked McDaniel if she had submitted any questions via email to the Chairwoman.

    “Have you requested that I send you those questions?” McDaniel asked Reid.

    “I did,” Reid answered. “The last time, I said anything needs to come through me in an email. I haven’t gotten any emails.”

  • Takiya Rocks the Runway

    Holding up her trophy, Takiya acknowledges her adoring fans.

    Magnet School Student Named ‘Top Model’

    WINNSBORO — Takiya Willingham won the Rockin’ the Runway award for ‘best model’ at the Runaway Runway Show on April 5 at the Township Auditorium – but she isn’t just your average toast-of-Columbia supermodel. For one thing, she designs her own runway couture.

    And she’s just 12 years old.

    Willingham is a sixth-grader at the Fairfield County Magnet School for Math and Science and a student in Kimi Daly’s art class. Daly, who was recently named the school’s Teacher of the Year, recognized Willingham’s interest in designing a project for the show and encouraged her. She said that Willingham’s meteoric rise to fashion fame came only after months of toiling away on a dress that started out as, well, a pile of trash.

    Runaway Runway is an elaborate annual fashion show produced by the Columbia Design League, a member group of the Columbia Museum of Art. Up to 60 designers from around the state are featured, and the outfits must be created from used materials that would otherwise be headed to the landfill.

    “It’s a show that combines fashion, fun, creativity and environmental awareness,” Daly said.

    Willingham learned about the potential of recycled fashion when Daly showed the class two recycled dresses that were modeled in the 2013 and 2014 Runaway Runway competitions by her daughter, Tagan, who attends high school in Chapin. The students in Daly’s class were inspired and wanted to make their own recycled outfits, but Daly explained that it would take a lot of work, and would have to be a side project. Willingham was up for the challenge, and her creative vision was soon sparked while helping her grandmother clean out her house. There, Willingham discovered a bunch of old VHS tapes and magazines destined for the trash heap.

    “I thought they would make nice materials,” she said, “so I brought them to the art room at school. I broke open the videos, pulled all the tapes out and tore out my favorite pages from the magazines.”

    “I looked around at this big mess,” Daly recalled with a laugh, “and I said, Takiya, what are you planning to do with all this!? And she said, ‘I’m going to make a skirt.’”

    Willingham’s first hurdle was figuring out how to layer the strips of videotape. First she tried taping them together, a tedious process that took two months of after-school time. But when she put the skirt on and wore it down the hall, it fell apart.

    “Then she tried hot glue and duct tape,” Daly said. “It was an ordeal!”

    So it was a stroke of luck when Lois Robinson, a classmate’s grandmother, stopped by the art room one afternoon and noticed Willingham’s frustration.

    “Lois said, ‘let me show you how to sew, honey,’” Daly said, “and she taught Takiya some stitches.”

    “Sewing was easy,” Willingham said, “except for when I pricked my fingers!”

    After sewing the skirt, she wove together contrasting strips of magazine pages to form a bodice. Then she combined both parts to completely cover a $5 Goodwill dress that functioned as the underlying structure – a design option allowed in the competition.

    Normally quite shy, Willingham said she started getting nervous as the date of the competition grew near. A practice runway walk was organized during a school assembly, but Daly said Willingham had some difficulty getting the hang of the runway style of walking and turning.

    “She tripped a few times,” Daly said, “and she was so shy as she walked – just pressed her arms against her body. But she still wanted to do the competition.”

    Soon it was time to zip up the garment bag and head to Columbia.

    “I was very nervous,” recalled Willingham. “But everyone at the show was nice and really helpful. I loved being in the dressing room with the models and makeup mirrors and other artists.”

    “Her mother, Pamela Mobley, was there with her,” Daly said, “and all the older models were fussing over Takiya and just loved her! She had her makeup and hair done, and really got into the whole experience.”

    “But we were still worried about how to get her around that runway!” Daly said with a nervous laugh. Eventually, the team came up with a plan – while Willingham hadn’t mastered smooth catwalk turns, she did like to dance. So that’s what she would do.

    Just before curtain call, Willingham caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror.

    “I couldn’t stop smiling,” she said. “I was so excited. But then I walked out on stage, and I was shocked to see all those people in the audience looking at me!”

    Daly said that despite Willingham’s initial stage fright, she blossomed in the limelight.

    “Takiya began, literally, dancing her way around the runway and had a great time,” Daly said. “And the crowd just went bananas for her. They knew she wasn’t just the model, but had also designed and made her own dress, and she was adorable. She took three turns around the runway – and by her third time around, she was rockin’!”

    Willingham said that when she heard her name announced as winner of the modeling award, she could hardly believe it.

    “I looked around,” she said, “and asked, ‘are they talking about me?’”

    The event was televised, and the evening was filled with camera flashes, paparazzi and interviews.

    “She was truly the star!” Daly said. “Winning one of the competition’s five awards was a huge honor for her. And the confidence she’s gained has helped her in her other classes at school, too, to persevere and work hard.”

    Does she plan to do more modeling and designing in the future?

    “Definitely!” Willingham declared with a big grin and am eye to the trash can. “I love it.”

  • Board Spars Over New Career Center

    WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County School Board agreed, albeit with some dissention, on a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and a construction firm for the new Career and Technology Center during their May 20 meeting. On a 4-2 vote, the Board approved a GMP of $17,710,982, awarding the contract to M.B. Kahn. Board members Annie McDaniel (District 4) and Paula Hartman (District 2) voted against. Board member Andrea Harrison (District 1) was absent.

    McDaniel noted the $940,425 architectural fee in the contract, and asked if that price was also firm.

    “That’s assuming we don’t come back and make significant changes to the scope of the project,” J.R. Green, Superintendent, said. “If we get into making a bunch of changes, then that will change.”

    Hartman said that the Board had not yet been provided with a final list of classes and programs to be included in the new facility. Once that list has been finalized, she asked if it might require a change in the final price. Green said that it would not, and told the Board that the new facility had been designed with a certain amount of flexible space that could be used to accommodate different types of programs.

    “So we’re being asked to approve a contract, approve a guaranteed maximum price . . . but we don’t know what’s going to be in the Career Center?” McDaniel said “There are some classes that if they weren’t part of the design they would cause infrastructure changes.”

    Green reiterated that no classes would be added that would require any infrastructure changes, but Hartman continued, asking about the placement of electrical outlets in classrooms. McDaniel, addressing her question to Robert P. Roof, the District’s Project Manager for the construction of the Career Center, asked if not knowing what the classes were at this point presented any specific challenges.

    “The original program for this project was followed by Brownstone, the architect, to program space into the facility,” Roof said. “They allotted certain areas that are required by code, by educational standards to cover all the programs that they have. This facility has, as Mr. Green said, flex-space in it to take care of any other programs that may be added. That flexibility has been built into this design due to the excellent work of the architect to take care of any changes like that.”

    When McDaniel pressed Green for a final list of classes, Green said he could have provided a partial list to the Board already, but chose not to do so. A final, comprehensive list, he said, would be better.

    “My big concern, Mr. Green, is I have talked to people who are experts in this field,” McDaniel said, “and they think it is ludicrous that at this point we are breaking ground on June 2 and we voted on maximum price and this Board has not been told what is going to be in that Career Center.”

    Board member Bobby Cunningham (District 5) had apparently heard enough and asked Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) to bring the matter to a vote.

    “From day one, everybody on the Board has been told that these things would be flexible, that some classes could be changed,” Cunningham said. “From day one. It has been out here from day one, and we’re going to beat this poor dern horse to death with the same thing every time. I call for the question, Madam Chair.”

  • County Lowers Millage Rate

    WINNSBORO – County Council unanimously gave the OK to a resolution Tuesday night establishing the millage rate for the 2014-2015 budget, reducing the County’s millage rate by 4.8 mills.

    “What that means for a $100,00 home that’s an owner-occupied home, that’s going to be a reduction of nearly $19.20,” Milton Pope, Interim County Administrator said. “We’ve been able to fund those major items needed in our County operations and I think we are adjusting and right-sizing our operations to make sure we are efficient and effective.”

    Pope said his staff was planning to recommend to Council for the next budget year setting millage rates in September instead of setting those rates during the normal budget preparation period.

    “You do have better numbers after a lot of the tax numbers and a lot of the numbers from the Department of Revenue come in late at the end of the fiscal year,” Pope said.

    After the meeting, Pope added that the next budget would be prepared using an estimate for the millage rate, which he said presented no specific challenges. The millage rates would be locked in well before the first tax bills go out in October of 2015.

    Ordinances

    An ordinance to restore the District 5 voting lines cleared public hearing and second reading Tuesday night, with the final reading set for a June 5 special Council meeting. The District 5 lines budged slightly with the 2011 redistricting process, shifting two School Board members into District 6 and leaving District 5 without representation. A bill passed by the General Assembly in February corrected the shift, but only for the School District. That left a School Board member serving in District 5 while residing in a District 6 County Council district. After the bill was passed, it was determined that only County Council could correct County Council voting lines. The State Budget and Control Board accepted responsibility for the muddled lines last month and recommended that Council make the necessary corrections.

    An ordinance to rezone less than an acre of land at 785 Peays Ferry Road from R-1 (Single Family Residential) to R-2 (Inclusive Residential) passed third and final reading without dissent. The property is owned by Thomas and Paula Gaston.

    Council also held first reading on a pair of ordinances to expand the County’s I-77 Corridor Regional Industrial Park agreement to include property owned by University Residences Columbia LLC and property owned by PTI Plastics & Rubber, Inc.

    “Fairfield County participates in a multi-county park agreement with Richland County and when we have potential industrial investment we partner in, there is a percentage of proceeds that go to Richland County,” Pope said, “but Fairfield County is a major recipient also with our relationship with Richland County where industries are located in Richland County.”

    Pope said that details of the amendments would be included in the second reading of the ordinances.

  • Council Votes Violate FOIA Laws

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council broke new ground at its regular meeting on Tuesday evening by abandoning parliamentary procedure and flagrantly disregarding the state’s open government laws as they voted on as many items that were not on the agenda as were. Two each. And they voted on a resolution before it came up on the agenda.

    The first illegal vote came when Buzzy Myers, president of the Blythewood/Softball Youth League, announced to Council that the League would be hosting a Coaches Pitch All Star Baseball Tournament June 6 – 10 and asked Council for $1,000 to help cover expenses. With no questions asked, Council voted 4-0 (Council Bob Massa was absent) to donate the money from the Town’s Hospitality Fund. It was not explained why the League was not required, as other organizations are, to apply for the funds.

    Myers told Council that while this was a Midlands area tournament, it would not put heads in beds, but it would bring a lot of families to the Town’s restaurants.

    “Most of these 7-8 year olds are accompanied by several people who spend time and money in the town,” Myers said. “This will bring lots of people here. It will be good for the town.”

    A few minutes later, after discussing whether to host a leadership meeting for 40-50 elected officials from Blythewood, Fairfield County and the towns of Winnsboro and Ridgeway, Mayor J. Michael Ross asked the Town Attorney/interim Town Administrator Jim Meggs if Council could vote on the issue. Meggs gave his verbal blessing to the illegal vote, which was a unanimous 4-0 approval. Like the baseball tournament, the item was on the agenda as a ‘presentation’ item only, not an action item to be voted on.

    Ross told Council members that the leadership meeting was proposed by the Central Midlands Council of Governments (COG) who would also provide the program for the meeting.

    “We provide the place and the meal,” Ross said. “It’s got to be of some value, and it would get us all together.”

    Councilman Bob Mangone added, “We might be able to lobby some things, but they seem to be fairly set in their ways. I hope we can get some camaraderie with Fairfield County. It can’t hurt.”

    Council voted 4-0 to pass first reading on the FY 2014-15 budget without any discussion. A final budget workshop is planned for Tuesday, June 17, from 8 a.m. – noon.

    Penny Tax Road Improvements

    Council also voted, albeit out of the order from the agenda, to pass a resolution to reset priorities in the Town’s recommendations to the Richland County Transportation Committee (TPAC) for roads to be improved and widened with the penny tax funds. Malcolm Gordge, chairman of the Blythewood Penny Tax Committee, listed the following as the new priorities:

    Blythewood Road from Syrup Mill Road to I-77

    Blythewood Road from 1-77 to Main Street

    McNulty Road from Main Street to Blythewood Road

    Creech Road extension to Main Street

    Blythewood Road from Fulmer to Syrup Mill

    Traffic Circle at Blythewood Road and Creech Road

    Traffic Circle at Blythewood Road and Cobblestone

    I-77 Landscape Maintenance

    Meggs reported that the Town of Winnsboro is installing a pressure pump station near the intersection of Dawson’s Creek Road and Highway 21, just south of Blythewood High School, to improve water pressure for residents in Cobblestone.

    “There’s going to be a capital expense there, and considering where we’re going with water,” Meggs said, “that sort of raises other issues.”

    Meggs also addressed complaints the Town has had from residents recently about the lack of landscaping maintenance for the new plantings at the I-77 interchange at Blythewood Road.

    “There have been some irrigation problems,” Meggs said, explaining that the Town is manually supplementing the irrigation with a 300-gallon water tank trucked to the site. He said that would continue as the irrigation problem is being diagnosed. He also said DOT mowers will be cutting grass along I-77 and should complete the stretch of road along Blythewood this week.

    Search for Town Administrator

    During public comment time, former Councilman Ed Garrison quizzed Council as to the status of the search for a new Town Administrator. He also chastised them for not having properly vetted the candidates.

    “Two of the finalists had legal issues and the other two are economic developers,” Garrison said. “I thought we were hiring a Town Administrator. I’d like to see us go back and do it right.”

    Mangone challenged Garrison’s accusation that the candidates were not properly vetted.

    “My expectation of you as head of that committee is that you would have vetted those people,” Garrison said.

    “They were vetted,” Mangone shot back.

    “Well if they were vetted,” Garrison said, “obviously my standards and yours are not the same.”

    Council voted to go into executive session to discuss an employee situation, negotiations incident to proposed contractual arrangements and the receipt of legal advice about ‘matters covered by the attorney-client privilege.’ No vote was taken.

    The next work session will be June 17, 8 a.m. – noon. The next regular Town Council meeting will be Tuesday, June 30, at 7 p.m. at the Manor.

  • Artists’ Guild Cuts Ribbon

    The Blythewood Artists’ Guild officially celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting on Friday evening. Holding the ribbon are the shop’s manager, Jean Bell, left, and her niece, Claudia Watson.

  • Blythewood Hosts All Star Tournament

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Baseball/Softball League will host a coaches pitch All Star Tournament June 6 – 10 at the Blythewood Baseball fields behind the Library. Buzzy Myers, president of the league, said there will be eight teams with 12 kids on each team.

    “Richland County has painted the dugouts and is greening up the fields this week,” Myers said. “We have a lot of volunteers who have put in lots of work to make this happen.”

    Myers said this is the first time in years that the League has hosted a tournament and he said he hopes there are more.

    “We’ve had lots of support from the businesses in town and from the Dixie Youth people from District 4 who are thrilled we’re doing the tournament. I just think it’s a great thing for the town,” Myers said.

    For more information about the league or the tournament, go to blythewoodsports@gmail.com.

  • Riding the Rails with FOMZI

    Bill Eccles narrated the tour to Rion and back, imparting the history of the former granite mining town which now consists of a zero population and a post office.
    When the train pulled out of the yard at the Railroad Museum, these folks opted for the open-air car and the full scenic view of the rail route to Rion.

    WINNSBORO — When the Friends of Mt. Zion Institute (FOMZI) took on the task of restoring their beloved former school in the heart of Winnsboro to its glory days, they were the first to admit their task was daunting on many levels. The building was in major disrepair after years of neglect, and the cost to restore it was somewhere in the prohibitive range. After convincing the Town Council of Winnsboro (the building’s owner) to give them the last chance to save the building, the next step was to raise funds to carry out their monumental plan.

    Besides applying for grants and seeking donations, the group has planned a series of benefits, the first of which took place on Sunday – a two-hour rail tour from the Fairfield County Railroad Museum on Highway 34 to Rion via the Fairfield countryside with a stop for refreshments at the beautifully restored Ruff home and grounds.

    With the “all-aboard!” at 4 p.m., the train pulled out. The more adventurous passangers opted for seating in the open-air car. Others traveled inside. Narrator Bill Eccles announced points of interest along the way, including a charming hunting lodge, the world’s smallest depot (according to Eccles), disarmingly beautiful scenery and a former granite quarry that once gave Rion life and 300 residents. Today, Rion has zero population and a post office. The quarry is an eerie graveyard of train relics, including a rusting engine and a string of cars now grown over with vines.

    On the return trip, the train stopped at the historic Ruff home, now owned by Chandler and Toddy McNair who hosted a sandwich, desert and wine reception in a magnificent old barn. After a tour of the property’s gardens, general store replica and other outbuildings, passengers bid farewell to the McNairs and reboarded the train.

    Future benefits planned for the restoration project include a barbecue event, an oyster roast and home garden tour. For information about how to become a member of FOMZI or the next benefit, call 803-960-8160 or 803-315-7653 or go to www.mtzioninstitute.com

  • No Rezoning Required for Proposed Quarry

    WINNSBORO – Contrary to what was understood by Rockton Thruway residents speaking to County Council at last week’s regular meeting, property along the Thruway will not require any rezoning ordinance in order to accommodate a proposed granite quarry.

    The Voice learned just hours after going to press with the May 16 edition that the majority of the property is zoned RD-1 – Rural Residential District, which allows for conditional mining, according to the County’s ordinances. A small portion of the property – a little more than 7 acres – is zoned B-2, or General Business District, which also allows for conditional mining.

    The conditions outlined in the County’s ordinances comprise a list of three stipulations, the first being that a reclamation and reuse plan for the property after mining has ceased accompany the County’s permit application. The County also requires that blasting activities are restricted to a minimum distance of 1,500 feet from any structure not owned by the mining company. Finally, the County requires a location map and assurances that access will be restricted to a major street or road, and not allowed on minor streets.

    David Ferguson, Chairman of County Council, said County staff is currently working to update and strengthen its land use ordinances.

    “DHEC has the final say-so on everything but the zoning,” Ferguson said, but added that rezoning the property to retroactively prohibit mining could not be done without the County facing a long and expensive train of legal challenges.

    Winnsboro Crushed Stone, LLC submitted its application for a mine operating permit to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) on March 13 (http://www.scdhec.gov/PublicNotices/Land/) for approximately 923 acres off Rockton Thruway. While the DHEC website still lists the end date of the application as June 2. A DHEC spokesperson said Tuesday that a public hearing has been requested and will be held no later than the end of July.

    The application states that 184.6 acres will be affected by mining and bonded; 185.6 acres will be affected by mining with bonding deferred; 147.4 acres for future reserves or future impact; and 405.6 acres for undisturbed buffer.

    Members of the Rockton community met at the Brandenburg family home last week to express their concerns over the location of the mining operation, which will manufacture gravel at the site. Provided the company passes muster with DHEC, as many as 100 trucks a day could be hauling gravel in and out of the quarry within the next year. A railroad spur will also be necessary, as the company has plans to transport much of the stone by rail. Questions to a spokesperson for Winnsboro Crushed Stone regarding how these details would affect the community were not answered at press time.

    Blasting at the proposed mine was also a major concern with Rockton residents, and a DHEC spokesperson said the company’s mining application contained “no specifics on frequency of blasting at the quarry or materials used” in blasting operations.

    “However, consistent with other similar operations around the state, blasting typically occurs two to four times a month,” the spokesperson said. “The facility will be required to use qualified individuals to conduct the blasting work. Most quarries hire a contractor to come in and do the blasting work as needed. The contractor brings the necessary explosive materials with them for each blasting event. Large quantities of explosives are not stored at the site. Blasting is typically not allowed within 1,000 feet of a residence and the maximum allowable ground vibration is limited by regulation.”

    Cyanide will not be used at the proposed quarry, the DHEC spokesperson added.