BLYTHEWOOD – In a short, exclusive interview with Mayor J. Michael Ross after the Monday evening Town Council meeting, The Voice inquired about the details of the appointment of an interim Town Administrator and a subsequent full time Administrator following the recent resignation of John Perry.
Ross said Council will appoint an interim Administrator during a special called meeting on Jan. 6, at which time it will be announced that a seven- to eight-member search committee will be formed to find a permanent replacement for Perry. Asked if the Town Attorney, Jim Meggs, who has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and who is reported to have an interest in working in public administration for the Town, was being considered for the interim position, Ross said that, indeed, Meggs is a candidate. Asked if Meggs might later be considered as a permanent replacement for Perry, whose settlement agreement was prepared for Council by Meggs’ law firm, Ross said that would be up to the search committee as to whether Meggs is a candidate for that position. Meggs’ law firm has also been called in to consult during executive sessions on the contract for the Doko restaurant. The Mayor said it may not be until around June that the Town settles on a permanent Town Administrator.
Riverbanks Zoo: They’ll leave the light on for you.
Head south 36 miles to Columbia and look for dazzling lights, snow clouds and illuminated animals, trees and more. Visit Riverbanks Zoo and Garden up until Dec. 30 and witness Columbia’s longest-running holiday tradition, “The Lights Before Christmas.” It’s a holiday spectacle you don’t want to miss. Plan a late start for this daytrip for the zoo’s one million twinkling lights come on between 5 and 9 p.m.
This year marks the 26th annual Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. Each evening the zoo delights children and adults when twinkling lights and countless animated images come alive. The images represent some of Riverbanks’ more popular animals. More than 350 sparkling silhouettes of giraffes and other animals burst with color. Palmetto trees dazzle the eye and everywhere you look lights shower zoo grounds with color. It’s a nighttime spectacle not to be missed. In fact even the most Scrooge-like adults will enjoy the effects of a million twinkling lights, music and electric wildlife.
There’s plenty to do. Roast marshmallows at the jingle bell bonfire. Pay a visit to Santa and take in the sounds of the Music in Motion lights spectacular. Want to see snow at Christmas? At Riverbanks Zoo and Garden it snows every night! And if the weather turns seasonal and a chill bites the air, warm up with hot chocolate, marshmallows and seasonal foods.
As for the zoo’s residents, the various animals, you probably won’t see many. They’ll be asleep; but don’t let that discourage from going this holiday season. The light show will mesmerize you and again your best chance to see a “white Christmas” is at the zoo. Many people make the Lights Before Christmas a seasonal tradition. For them going to the zoo ranks right up there with mistletoe, caroling, eggnog and decking the halls!
Note: The zoo will be closed Dec. 24 and 25. All Riverbanks members are eligible to receive one free visit when they show their membership card and picture ID at the gate; guest passes are not accepted. If you want to avoid waiting in a long line, go to the zoo’s website and pre-order tickets.
The show has a limited run, so make plans now to put some nighttime joy in your world. Be smart and pre-order tickets so you best spend time enjoying the lights and not be stuck in line.
If You Go …
• 500 Wildlife Parkway, just off I-126 at Greystone Blvd., Columbia, S.C.
• Monday – Saturday,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• $10 Adults, $8 Children 3-12, $3 Students, Children under 3 free
BLYTHEWOOD – Visitors and guests entered the Blythewood High School atrium for the Richland 2 School Board meeting on Dec. 10 to the laughing of 127 foster children and their families in the throes of a celebration complete with dinner, gifts and crafts. Like all five high schools in Richland 2, Blythewood students participate in a large winter community service project. Stuffing stockings for children suffering from sickle cell anemia, collecting children’s books, donating canned goods and hosting foster children to a winter party are the four events that encompass Blythewood’s Holiday Wishes campaign.
The Naming of Parts
Students from Lake Carolina Elementary and their PTO President all endorsed the adjusted name change to Lake Carolina Elementary Lower for their school, which is slated to house kindergarten through second grade next year. The adjacent new school #19, housing third- through fifth-graders, will be called Lake Carolina Elementary Upper. The naming committee, with enormous input from current students, felt the names unified the Lake Carolina neighborhood and clarified the relationship to the schools within a five minute walk on one another.
Data Snapshot
Director of Accountability and Assessment Jeff Potts presented a snapshot of District data. Current enrollment is just under 27,000 students with 47 percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the commonly used indicator of poverty. When studying PASS testing results from five years ago, third-graders across the District improved their scores in reading, math, science and social studies with a slight dip in writing. Eighth-graders dropped in all five subjects. Board member James Manning said he is troubled by the continuing underperformance of the district’s eighth-graders and asked what is currently been done to address this. Chief Academic Officer Sue Mellette said that a middle school math specialist has been hired who is observing every math class with emphasis on the algebra classes and that two courses in algebra are being offered for teachers to improved their content in this area. She concludes that a full report is planned for February.
The proposed development is bordered by Blythewood High School, the IGA Shopping Center, Highway 21 and I-77.
WINNSBORO – Developers of a proposed multi-use development called Doko Village planned for downtown Blythewood came before the Winnsboro Town Council Tuesday evening asking for water capacity of 80,000 to 100,000 gallons per day for the development.
Representing LongCreek Associates, LLC of Greenville, engineer John Thomas of Sustainable Design Consultants, Inc., said the development would include 200 apartments, retail commercial, restaurants and doctor’s offices and is planned for an area bordered by Blythewood High School, the IGA Shopping Center, Highway 21 and Interstate 77. It would have entrances off Creech Road and Blythewood Road. Thomas said the developers have interest from a hotelier and he said there is space for several restaurants including three out parcels that might instead become space for doctor’s offices.
Thomas said it’s a long-term project that is two to two and a half years away from completion.
“We’ll have more information as we get the uses pinned down and start pulling this together,” Thomas said. “It will be a year and a half before everything is permitted and approved, then we can start construction. Water users would come in two to three years. We just wanted to give you a heads up before we come back for approval.”
Following executive session, Council authorized the Town of Winnsboro to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Fairfield County for modification to the Town’s existing water infrastructure from North Fire Tower Road in Richland County to the Rite-Aid water tank on Highway 23.
Council also authorized the Town of Winnsboro to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Fairfield County for expanded sewer service to Walter Brown Industrial Park.
HOPKINS – A Ridgeway man was killed Monday night when the 2007 Toyota pickup truck he was driving crashed off Old Leesburg Road.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said John V. Cross, 33, of Blink Bonnie Road in Ridgeway, died from trauma inflicted by the crash. The wreck happened just after 8 p.m. Monday in the 6100 block of Old Leesburg Road near Annelinda Lane, south of Fort Jackson.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Cross was driving the pickup truck west on Old Leesburg Road when he ran off the left side of the road, struck several mailboxes and hit an embankment. Cross was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and was pronounced dead at the scene, the Highway Patrol said. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday morning.
The accident remains under investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol.
WINNSBORO – Milton Pope, interim County Administrator, reviewed and answered at Monday night’s County Council meeting a list of questions submitted to Council during the public comments portion of recent Council meetings.
Q: What are the specific goals of the I-77 Alliance?
MP: The I-77 Alliance is an alliance that the County agreed to participate in some time ago. It is a legal entity established with the goal to market the I-77 corridor, and to incentivize and promote economic development in Fairfield County, as well as in partnering counties.
Q: What are the costs associated with the I-77 Alliance?
MP: The County has invested $25,000 in the I-77 Alliance. There will be an annual contribution for membership in the Alliance.
Q: What processes are in place to prevent part-time associates from “creeping up to 30 hours per week” and manifesting an unplanned full-time status with full benefits like insurance?
MP: The Fairfield County HR (Human Resources) Department and the Finance Department monitor and track the cost of part-time and temporary employees to ensure costs are within budgeted guidelines. This will be formally revisited during our upcoming budget preparations. Our requirement for part-time folks is actually 25 hours. If there is a reason for them to work over that, we approve that on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Will expenses including staff and maintenance related to the Drawdy Park football field come out of that district’s recreational bond allocation?
MP: No. Personnel expenses cannot be attributed to the bond. Only the construction and the associated implementation of projects can be attributed to the bond.
Q: When will the rest of the financial statements be placed on line?
MP: Financial information is presently on the County’s website, including a link to the S.C. Comptroller’s website. We have linked that information to the Comptroller’s website. Fairfield County’s audit will be completed by year’s end and the audit will be presented in January.
Q:What follow-through plans and actions have been created in response to the 2010 Fairfield County Economic Development Survey?
MP: The Economic Development Plan calls for various stakeholders, some within the County’s purview and others are not, to take actions to increase economic development opportunities in Fairfield County. One (recommendation of the Plan) was to create a public-private partnership – Fairfield County is a member of the Central Carolina Regional Alliance. The County is also partnering with the I-77 Alliance. Another recommendation was to create a marketing plan for the County, as well as recommendations to promote sub-regional alliances – that’s one of the things we’re doing through these associations and these investment dollars the County is putting out there each year, to bring folks into our county and now we have a product to show folks for industrial and manufacturing investment. Another thing was to establish a long-term suitable office for Economic Development. The last thing I’ll mention is to develop a county wide water/sewer master plan. In 2010, the County partnered with the Town of Winnsboro to engage the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a water study, knowing a county wide water distribution and sewer plant would be necessary. In early 2013, the County hired a firm to complete a county wide water and sewer master plan.
WINNSBORO – An ordinance to offer an incentive package to an unnamed company with designs on moving into one of Fairfield County’s industrial parks along the I-77 corridor cleared first reading at Monday night’s County Council meeting. The ordinance (621) offers Project Compact a fee in lieu of taxes agreement, as well as the transfer of property from Fairfield County to Project Compact. The property, the ordinance reads, is located in the “I-77 Corridor Regional Industrial Park.” The ordinance passed first reading on a 6-0 vote (Mikel Trapp [District 3] was absent).
Council also passed a resolution identifying the project and allowing “investment expenditures incurred by Project Compact to qualify as economic development property.”
Members of the public, however, speaking before Council during the night’s first public comments portion, said they would like to know more about Project Compact before giving away tax dollars. But Milton Pope, interim Administrator, said a “title-only” first reading was common practice when dealing with economic development agreements.
“All of the information has not yet been negotiated nor vetted at this particular point,” Pope said. “On second reading, the full ordinances will be in the document. There will be more information in there that we can respond to at that time. The Council has not even decided to finalize everything on this economic development deal.”
Chairman David Ferguson (District 5) added that this was how economic development projects were handled all over the state, not just in Fairfield County, and a certain amount of secrecy is to be expected.
“There has to be a beginning point where the company does not want their name mentioned,” Ferguson said. “At that point, if you do (mention the company’s name), projects have actually pulled away from locations. We have to sign (an agreement) that we’re not going to divulge any information until those companies actually announce, before the third reading, what they are and who they are.”
Council also amended Monday night’s agenda after the meeting had convened, which the S.C. State Appellate Court more than a year ago ruled is a violation of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. Council added a vote to approve the placement of an ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna on top of the water tower on Cook Road to enhance the County’s emergency response capabilities. Pope said the matter was added at the last minute because it was time sensitive and dealt with a public safety issue. The water tank is owned by the Town of Winnsboro, whose Town Council discussed the matter in executive session last week but took no vote. Pope said the agreement to utilize the Town’s water tower had been worked out and was ready to be signed.
Pope said the total cost to erect the antenna was $71,739.69, but the County had been awarded grant funds of $42,642.82 for the project, leaving the County to cover $29,906.87.
WINNSBORO – When the Fairfield Central High School Griffins took the field Friday night for what was undoubtedly their most important game of the season, the Class 2A/Division 1 State Championship, they were one coach shy of a full load. Just hours before the opening kickoff, Griffins’ defensive coordinator David Nathaniel Toney was jailed on marijuana charges, leaving the Griffins shorthanded in their contest with Dillon High School at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP), Toney, 36, was pulled over on Highway 34 near I-77 at 6:15 p.m. Friday after a trooper clocked Toney’s 2008 Chrysler Aspen going 67 in a 55 MPH zone. The trooper approached the vehicle and asked Toney for his license and registration. At that time, a report from the SCHP states, the trooper noticed a “strong odor of marijuana” coming from inside the car. The trooper asked Toney if there was any marijuana in the vehicle, to which Toney replied that he “hoped not,” the report states.
When the trooper asked a second time about the marijuana, Toney reportedly said that he had “a little bag,” and retrieved a clear plastic bag of marijuana from the center console of the vehicle and handed it over to the patrolman.
Toney was then asked to exit the car, was placed in handcuffs and secured inside the patrol car. The trooper then searched Toney’s car and reportedly found a marijuana cigarette from inside a cup that was sitting in the center console. The trooper also discovered “numerous burnt marijuana cigarettes inside the same cup,” the report states. Toney was arrested for possession of marijuana and taken to the Fairfield County Detention Center, where he spent the rest of the night, missing Fairfield Central’s 41-3 loss to Dillon. The report listed the total weight of marijuana found in Toney’s car at 7.9 grams.
Terrell Roach, Athletic Director at Fairfield Central, said the team obviously missed Toney’s energy and enthusiasm on the sidelines Friday night, but Demetrius Davis, the Griffins’ head coach, said his staff should have been able to compensate for the absence.
“I don’t know if that affected us or not,” Davis said. “He was not here, but offensively, we just didn’t help us. We had some guys who were capable of running the defense, and I think they did a pretty decent job. Any time you’re missing a coach you’re going to have those problems.”
J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, said Friday that he was “very disappointed” at the news of Toney’s arrest.
“I expected him to be on the team bus, quite frankly,” Green said. “I wonder why he wasn’t on the team bus.”
Davis said later that it is not uncommon for at least some of his coaches to drive their personal vehicles to games.
“Normally, a couple of our coaches drive because we have extra equipment,” Davis said. “We have at least two coaches on the bus, but we’ve got 15 coaches, so a lot of times they do drive.”
Toney was released Saturday on a $620 bond, and on Monday Green said Toney had been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation.
“We’re going to look at all the facts and give him an opportunity to give an account of the events,” Green said. “Then we’ll go from there.”
Toney has been with the Griffins for the last three seasons. He is also a math teacher at Fairfield Middle School, where he was the 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year.
Cold weather, early dark and stressful holidays are the perfect time for a winter getaway where your tension will melt away. Just 32 miles south lies a place in the city that’s nothing like the city. In the heart of the South Carolina Midlands sprawls a state forest with a deep and rich history. Bordered on one side by the Broad River, Harbison State Forest is one of the largest public greenspaces inside a city’s limits in the eastern United States. Hard to believe Columbia is just 8 miles away.
Here’s a place where you can beat the winter blues. Hike or bike its 31 miles of roads and trails and enjoy some winter daylight and get something more: history itself, for here’s where Catawba and Cherokee tribes found sustenance in woods and waters of the Broad River. When European settlers arrived, an oft-used Broad River ford in the forest came to be known as Deutsche volk. Today we know the area as Dutch Fork. Now, as then, you can walk these woods as Native Americans and European settlers did. See landscapes free of leaves. Get close to the Broad River and see the Broad River rapids where a rocky ridge extends across the river, visible evidence of why we call this region the Falls Line.
The Harbison Environmental Education Forest proper has 18 miles of trails where you can cycle, hike, jog or walk. Be alert to deer, bird species and the common grey squirrel. You’ll find ample trails sure to meet your level of adventure. Trail difficulties range from easy to moderate to moderately difficult and difficult.
The Harbison Environmental Education Center, a 5,000-square-foot log building, serves as a classroom that teaches visitors about the forest. Encircling the Education Center, the Learning Trail hosts four outdoor classrooms where you can learn about the complexity of forest ecosystems (The forest consists of approximately 67 species of trees).
You’ll find plenty of reasons to take a break. A short walk down the Discovery Trail you’ll find a pine Gazebo in a meadow. Here and there are smaller picnic areas. Strike out north about 1/3 mile up the trail across from the Gazebo Field and you’ll come to the Eagle Shelter, a great setting where traffic lights, honking horns and the crush of city life seem far, far away.
A winter hike offers a time when you can see farther, be free of pesky insects and not work up a sweat. Keep in mind some basic rules. Whatever you carry in, pack out (You’ll find drinking water and restrooms at the picnic area). Bicycles are allowed only on designated trails. Wear approved helmets when cycling. You can canoe here too, but save that for warmer weather.
Now’s a good time to beat the winter blues and holiday stress with a short daytrip to a beautiful, bountiful green space. Head to Harbison State Forest and leave your winter worries behind.
If You Go …
• Parking passes required of all visitors. Get them at fee boxes, online, and the Education Center.
• Harbison State Forest
5500 Broad River Road
Columbia, S.C. 29221
• 803-896-8890
• www.state.sc.us/forest/refharb.htm
Learn more about Tom Poland, a Southern writer, and his work at www.tompoland.net. Email day-trip ideas to him at tompol@earthlink.net.
The Pine Tree Playhouse is offering a unique gift this holiday season, a special version of the Christmas classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” The play continues this weekend, Dec. 13, 14 and 15 with performances at 8 p.m. on Friday, and Saturday and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
The story of how “typical American dreamer” George Bailey learns how much he really means to those around him when he glimpses what life would be like without him was famously told in the Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart, and this production captures all those familiar elements of the movie; Zuzu’s petals, Clarence the bumbling and lovable Guardian Angel Second Class and the little town of Bedford Falls.
The version that the Pine Tree Playhouse has chosen to present, with a script by Joe Landry, is very special, says director Brian Garner.
“This is a live radio play of the familiar story, told in a setting of a 1940s radio station. I received an early Christmas gift when I got a talented cast and crew to tell the story in this special way,” he said.
A cast of five actors play all the parts in the story, from George Bailey as a youngster to Clarence the Angel and the villain of the piece, the grasping windbag Henry Potter. Audience members will see the actors at the old-fashioned microphones as they put on different voices for each of the different characters.
Adding to the atmosphere of a live radio play circa 1946, a live on-stage Foley artist, or sound effects technician, creates almost all of the sound effects with a variety of objects. For example, cornflakes on a sheet pan crushed by a bottle give the sound of someone walking through snow and bamboo broken over a knee stands in for ice breaking in a river. The audience will see not only the actors as they perform the various roles, but also the sound effects being performed that enhance the story.
“This story has a happy ending, like all good holiday tales, and I guarantee you’ll leave the theater after you, like George Bailey, remember that it really is a wonderful life,” promises Garner.
Tickets for “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” are $10 for adults, $8 for students and $8 for senior citizens for the Sunday matinee. Please call the Pine Tree Playhouse at 803-635-6847 to make reservations.
