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  • Purchasing Changes Clear First Reading

    WINNSBORO – Proposed changes to the Fairfield County School District’s Procurement Code cleared first reading by the School Board Tuesday night on a 6-0 vote with no discussion. Board member Annie McDaniel (District 4) made the motion to accept first reading of the changes to the District’s purchasing policy, adding that a more detailed discussion should be held before second reading and after Board members had had time to digest the new policy.

    The amended code ups the threshold for bidding procedures from $25,000 to $50,000 and shortens the amount of time in which contracts are to be awarded from 30 to 14 days. Under the proposed changes, purchases not over $2,500 may be secured without a bid, up from $1,500 under the previous wording of the code.

    J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, said the revised code will give the District more flexibility in dealing with local and minority owned businesses when making purchases and awarding contracts, and language defining “minority” and “socially disadvantaged” persons has been removed from the proposed code and replaced with language indicating that the District will adhere to the certifications of the S.C. Small and Minority Business Assistance Office when making those considerations.

    “This will give us some latitude on doing some business with some of our local vendors,” Green said. “This gives us the opportunity to solicit quotes from some of our local vendors. It is very difficult for some of our local vendors to compete with some of the larger businesses.”

    Green notified the Board that a great deal of surplus kitchen equipment, which the District has been sitting on for more than 18 months, has been sold through auction. The sale of the 53 pieces of kitchen equipment netted the District $18,343.91, Green reported, which will go into the food service account.

    McDaniel pointed out that the replacement equipment, which cost the District nearly $1 million under former Superintendent Patrice Robinson, was purchased with money from the general fund and asked Green if proceeds from the sale of the old equipment could go back into that account. Green said it was a matter he would have to investigate.

    The Board also gave the OK to a list of student fees, including a $20 lab fee, $13 for membership into the Future Business Leaders of America, $20 for membership into SkillsUSA (a student leadership organization for Career and Technology School students) and $25 for membership in the National Honors Society. The membership fees are all elective, Dr. Claudia Edwards noted, but McDaniel questioned why students in Fairfield County Schools were ever put upon to pay any fees whatsoever.

    “With all the money we have in this District and all the money that we have coming in from V.C. Summer (Nuclear Station),” McDaniel said, “if there is any way possible, our students shouldn’t have to be paying these fees. Or there should be a very, very reduced amount of fees. We have money going back into the general fund, yet we are taxing our students again on top of the taxes they already pay.”

    Green said he agreed, but added that he has largely left pre-existing fees in place since he began his tenure in Fairfield. He would, he said, explore the possibility of reducing or eliminating fees in the future.

  • Set Your Clocks to ‘Rock’

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County’s biggest single entertainment festival, Rock Around the Clock, is just two weeks away and the star of the weekend, the Town Clock, newly renovated and freshly painted is, indeed, ready to rock.

    The two-day event will kick off with the traditional Rocking Chair Parade at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, followed by the introduction of the Miss Rock Around the Clock pageant winners. The Flashback Party Band will play from 8-11 p.m. with time out at 9:30 for a short Shag Dance Contest in the street.

    The food court is always a busy place during the festival. “We won’t sell food tickets this year as we did last year,” said Terry Vickers, President of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce. “Folks will just pay each vendor for their food purchases.”

    Saturday’s events will begin with Mayor Roger Gaddy welcoming festival goers and then it will be on with the show. Entertaining from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. will be various music groups including Fairfield County Schools’ choruses, Susan Taylor, The Blues Dolphins, The Texan Michael O’Connor and the D. B. Bryant Band.

    Fitz McGill will serve as master of ceremony for the day’s events which will include a car show with several categories of awards. After the parade the cars will be on display throughout the day.

    “It’s a wonderful way to begin the fall season and we hope the neighboring communities will join in the fun,” Vickers said. “We hope everyone will mark their calendars for Oct. 4-5. It will be two days of fun.”

  • Your Pets Will Thank You

    Veterinarian Robert G. Chappell and Vet Tech Tiffany Walley check on ChiChi following her surgery performed at the Fairfield County Adoption Center in Winnsboro. Dr. Chappell and Walley, of Carolina Place Animal Hospital in Fort Mill, are performing low cost spay/neuter surgeries at the Center on Wednesdays for a limited time.

    Everyone adores kittens and puppies, but adult strays are generally an unwanted, unloved lot. You see them all the time – darting from a fast-food dumpster, hungry, thirsty, scared, lonely and frequently in pain from injuries and disease. Since they aren’t someone’s pet, they become unwanted nuisances.

    But what can you do? They aren’t yours.

    No, but their mom or dad might be yours if you didn’t have your cat or dog spayed or neutered.

    For a limited time, the Fairfield County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center in Winnsboro is offering pet owners in Fairfield County, Blythewood and beyond very low cost spaying and neutering for their cats and dogs. On Wednesdays, veterinarian Robert Chappell and his assistant, Tiffany Walley, travel from Fort Mill to the Center where they perform the surgeries, by appointment, for only $30 for cats and $55 for dogs.

    “Anyone can take advantage of these services at these prices,” said Chappell. “It’s not just for low-income families. Our goal is to cut down on pet over-population and animal suffering.”

    “The over-population of strays, especially cats, is a very big, costly problem in Fairfield County,” said Janice Emerson, adoption coordinator with the Fairfield County Adoption Center. “Every day, we get calls to put humane traps out for cats that people don’t want roaming their neighborhoods, and people are always bringing litters of kittens to the shelter because they don’t want them. While we would much rather they bring them here than leave them in a cardboard box somewhere along the road, the solution to unwanted strays is to have pets neutered.”

    Emerson said most people don’t realize how many cats one cat can produce. An average litter is three to four kittens. And, surprisingly, cats can begin having kittens at an early age, as young as 6- to 7-months of age.

    “Every cat the shelter can get neutered,” Emerson said, “is one less cat contributing to the cat over-population problem in the county.”

    “This time of the year, the stray kittens that were born last spring are about ready to begin producing more kittens,” Dr. Chappell said on a recent Wednesday morning as he checked on his patients as they snoozed in the recovery room of the Center following their surgeries. “If we can make a dent in the number of female cats by getting them neutered, that drastically reduces the chances of over-population. And we want to help put that dent not only in Fairfield County but in the surrounding areas.”

    Dr. Chappell said the neuter procedure is like outpatient surgery in human medicine. After making an appointment, the pet owner drops off the pet between 9-10 a.m. at the Center. Pick-up is between 3-5 p.m. that same day. Dr. Chappell generally performs 8-15 procedures at the clinic each Wednesday.

    To schedule an appointment, call Janice Emerson at the Fairfield County Animal Adoption Center at 803-815-0805.

  • Sewage Spills at Nuclear Plant

    JENKINSVILLE – A pump failure at a sewer lift station at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant caused the spillage of between 500 and 1,000 gallons of raw sewage Monday morning, according to an event notification report posted on the Web site of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/en.html).

    The overflow was detected at approximately 7 a.m. Monday in the yard outside the plant, spilling into a nearby storm drain. The storm drain discharges into Outfall 13, a designated spill drain that empties into the Broad River via Mayo Creek, on-site inspectors with the NRC said Tuesday. A spokesperson with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) could not confirm at press time whether or not the sewage actually reached Mayo Creek or if DHEC planned an inspection of the site.

    Crews on site stopped the leak shortly after its discovery and began repairs and clean-up, according to the NRC. The spill was reported to DHEC at 10:45 a.m.

  • Council Defers Rent Payments on Restaurant

    RIDGEWAY – After a marathon executive session, Town Council capped off a 3-hour meeting on Sept. 12 by voting 3-1 to defer the first rent payments from Vesha Sanders, owner of the new Town Hall Restaurant, until Nov. 1. Councilman Russ Brown cast the lone dissenting vote.

    “I just think that’s a long time,” Brown said.

    Sanders opened the restaurant last week.

    Prior to executive session, Council passed first reading on three updated ordinances. An ordinance banning stock and cattle from roaming at large in the town limits was updated to include a prohibition against the ownership of goats and horses within town limits and increases the fine to a $100 minimum, a $500 maximum or 10-30 days in jail.

    An ordinance prohibiting prostitution was updated on first reading to increase fines to a maximum of $500 or not more than 30 days in jail. Fines for disorderly conduct were also increased to $500 maximum or not more than 30 days in jail.

    As Council continues to revise the Town’s ordinances, Mayor Charlene Herring said she had researched state law regarding the operation of golf carts and has found that drivers of such vehicles must be at least 16 years old, possess a driver’s license and have insurance. That information has been passed along to the Town’s Police Department, Herring said. Last month, Herring suggested Council consider enacting an ordinance governing the operation of golf carts within the town limits, but the idea was tabled until it could be determined what superseding laws might already be in place.

  • Grievances, Strategies Come Out at Meeting

    WINNSBORO – Approximately 86 people gathered in the Fairfield Central High School auditorium Monday night for a town hall meeting, hosted by State Sen. Creighton Coleman (D-17) and State Rep. MaryGail Douglas (D-41). The meeting served as a forum for residents who have been taking their concerns to Fairfield County Council in recent months and covered the hot-button issues of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds, recreation funding, monthly allowances for County Council members and a push for reimbursement of payments made to Council members in lieu of supplemental health insurance. The meeting also touched briefly on efforts to open details of County spending practices to the public via a page on the County’s Web site.

    LOST

    Updating the group on where the County stood on accounting for seven years’ of LOST funds, Douglas said Winnsboro attorney Jonathan Goode and Fairfield County resident Maggie Holmes – who began questioning the County’s handling of the funds last March – told her they were expecting to have detailed information from the County next week.

    “Pending the correspondence they get back, they are positioning themselves for further legal action,” Douglas said.

    Milton Pope, the County’s interim Administrator, was in attendance Monday night and said Council has scheduled a meeting on the LOST funds for Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is tentatively slated to be held in the high school auditorium. The meeting will include a dialogue, Pope said, between Council and the public.

    Questions raised by Goode and Holmes over the LOST funds triggered a massive internal examination over whether or not appropriate credit has been applied to property tax bills since 2007. A local citizens action group, Saving Fairfield, has since hired The Hobbs Group, a Columbia CPA firm, to conduct their own investigation. Evidence has mounted indicating a mishandling of those funds, and Monday night some in the audience questioned why none of the County’s internal financial mechanisms caught the error. Douglas placed the blame squarely on former County Administrator Phil Hinely.

    “Mr. Hinely’s comments to folks whenever they questioned anything was ‘You’re either on the team or you aren’t’,” Douglas said. “So jobs were on the line. That was said to me more than one time. That’s why we are where we are.”

    Douglas added that Council should also be held responsible for how the LOST money was handled.

    “We do not need to let our Council members go without some of the blame,” she said. “They are the stewards of our money, ultimately.”

    “We all know what happened,” Coleman agreed. “There were a certain three or four of them that were controlling everything and the other ones didn’t know exactly what was going on.”

    Recreation

    Earlier this year, County Council passed a $24 million bond issue, with $3.5 million of that money devoted to recreation. From nearly the moment the bond issue passed, Council has been mired in gridlock over how to spend those recreation funds, which Council divvied up into $500,000 allotments for each of the seven districts.

    “I just have a lot of heartburn over that $3.5 million, and I don’t mind standing up here and telling you that I can just envision all kinds of things, if we’re going to spend recreation money in this county, how it could best be used,” Douglas said. “I cannot believe that we’re going to sit by and for $3.5 million watch mini-parks go up, mini-parks that have no lasting value, that sit idle oftentimes.”

    Douglas has previously suggested the County reach out to the YMCA for a facility, but has gotten no positive feedback from County Council. Coleman, meanwhile, pointed out that Council has not even adopted a recreation plan, nor has there been any coordination between Council members to determine how to best serve the most people.

    “To me, that’s just preposterous,” Coleman said.

    One suggestion to come from the public Monday night was that, while the bond money that has been earmarked for recreation must be spent on recreation, how it is to be spent — $500,000 per district – might be able to be revised by a vote of Council.

    Reimbursement

    Douglas said the County has until Sept. 25 to answer a letter sent by Coleman requesting that Council members David Ferguson (District 5), Mary Lynn Kinley (District 6) and Mikel Trapp (District 3) repay the approximately $22,800 each they had received since 2009 in lieu of supplemental health insurance. Last week, both Trapp and Kinley said discussions were under way with attorneys on whether or not those funds would be repaid. Ferguson denied any such discussions. Trapp also received an additional $26,806 for tuition assistance. While he said last week that he has begun paying that money back, his reimbursement rate of $100 a month drew some harsh comments at Monday’s meeting.

    “If my math is right, it will take him 27 years to pay that money back,” Clyde Wade said. “A hundred dollars a month is a slap in the face to the taxpayers of this county.”

    Transparency

    Betty Scott Frazier asked Council at their Sept. 9 meeting if they would consider posting their expenditures to the County Web site. Monday night, Frazier said the postings would be not only on the County’s site, but on the State Comptroller’s Web site as well. Frazier said she had received a positive response from Deputy County Administrator Davis Anderson, and plans are to have the information posted within the next 30 to 60 days.

    Monthly Allowances

    In addition to their base salary of $15,000 a year (plus an additional $4,800 a year for the Chairmanship and $3,000 a year for the Vice Chairmanship), County Council members receive $795 a month for mileage, office supplies and Blackberry expenses, without turning in receipts. Douglas said Monday night she hoped Council would do away with that practice. Douglas also questioned if Council members had paid taxes on those allowances. Coleman said the accountant with the Hobbs Group was checking with the Department of Revenue to see if taxes had been paid on that income.

    Now What?

    Several members of the public Monday night took a reflective view of the group in attendance, noting that the audience represented only a small percentage of Fairfield County voters. How to energize and educate the remaining 98 percent, and how to truly effect change in Fairfield County, was a lingering question.

    Tell eight people, Douglas said, and make sure they tell eight more. And Coleman encouraged the group to remain active.

    “Exactly what County Council wants to happen is that the taxpayers peter out and not continue to stay on them,” Coleman said. “They’re waiting on that. If that happens, you only have one person to blame. You can look in the mirror and that’s who’s to blame. Me included. I think it’s absolutely incumbent that we all stay involved, go to these meetings and make our positions known. This is our one chance, our chance to do something about it, and that’s going to be at the ballot box next November.”

  • White Oak Man Killed in Crash on 24th Birthday

    WINNSBORO – A White Oak man was killed Wednesday (Sept. 18) when his 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed on Pumphouse Road. Quincey Ashford, of 24 Ibis Lane in White Oak, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey. It was Ashford’s 24th birthday.

    Ramsey said two passengers in the Jeep were transported to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital following the accident and were in stable condition.

    According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Ashford was driving south on Pumphouse Road, less than half a mile from the Winnsboro town limits, when he ran off the right side of the road, over-corrected and ran off the left side of the road at 5:40 p.m. The Jeep overturned, Ramsey said, and Ashford was ejected. Ashford was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, the Highway Patrol said.

    Ramsey said the toxicology report is pending, and may take as long as 30 days to complete; but, he said alcohol and Ashford’s rate of speed are suspected as contributing factors in the accident.

  • Local Talent’s Star on the Rise

    Blythewood’s Emma Imholz, 12, has landed her biggest role yet.

    Blythewood’s own ‘triple threat,’ 12-year-old Emma Imholz, is moving up and out this year as a professional stage actress. She’s just landed her biggest part yet – two lead roles in the glossy Dollywood production of “A Christmas Carol,” which opens in November at the Tennessee theme park. She’ll portray the characters of Fan Scrooge (Ebenezer’s flashback little sister) and Linda Cratchit.

    Emma will receive a salary, relocation package and housing stipend. She and her mother Julie are moving to Pigeon Forge in October, and will move back to Blythewood in January. Emma’s dad Mark and older sister Jessica plan to visit during the holidays.

    Up against nearly 100 kids at the audition, Emma learned and performed a dance routine for the first round of cuts. For the next round, she sang the aptly chosen “Born to Entertain” from the Broadway musical “Ruthless.” And for the final round, she had to show some acting chops.

    “She read from the script of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and rocked her best British accent,” Julie recalled with a laugh. “It was a great audition and I felt confident for her. The only thing that worried me a little was that many of the girls sang country and wore cowboy boots. I didn’t know if that’s what they would want.”

    It wasn’t.

    Julie said that after the audition, the producer, Justin Bradley, told her that Emma’s singing voice had just blown him away.

    “He said the production folks offered her the biggest child role they had,” Julie said. “Our heads are spinning! We’re so proud of her.”

    Daily rehearsals begin in mid-October, and the show runs from Nov. 7 to Jan. 4.

    “Thank goodness we’d already decided to homeschool this year,” Julie said. “It’s working out great. There are no carpool lines, buses or early mornings. We start school in our jams. It’s such a blessing with her hectic schedule.”

    “A Christmas Carol” is the park’s most popular holiday show and draws large crowds, so Dolly Parton herself often works closely with the actors. She’s also written some new songs for this year’s show.

    “Emma is thrilled by the scale of everything,” Julie said. “But honestly, her favorite part is that she can visit the park any time and ride all the rides she wants – for free. That really excited her. And of course,” she added, “meeting Dolly is an awesome perk!”

  • Old Town Hall Restaurant Opens Doors

    Old Town Hall owner and chef Vesha Sanders (right) will be assisted by Chef William Webb.

    RIDGEWAY — A casual dining restaurant once again anchors Ridgeway’s downtown shopping area. Vesha Sanders opened The Old Town Hall Restaurant on Friday. Sanders, a hands-on restaurateur who loves to cook, will be serving up a selection of traditional southern dishes to include shrimp and grits, steak, burgers, chicken, pasta and salads as well as a variety of desserts. Sanders has operated restaurants in New Orleans, Arizona and Orangeburg. At her new location, Sanders said the menu would also include some Cajun entrees such as shrimp etufe, and beignets. “I think everyone these days is a little bit into New Orleans cuisine – it’s very popular right now.”

    A special feature in the restaurant, and new to Ridgeway, will be an old fashioned soda fountain with ice cream and soda treats that were available in small town drug store soda fountains in the 1950s. “We’ll offer banana splits, real old fashioned sodas, malts, coke floats – all of it,” Sanders said.

    Later in the fall, the restaurant will house a separate carryout station located beneath the rear of the restaurant. The space used to be occupied by the town jail. The entrance is located just a few feet from the entrance to Just Around the Corner consignment shop.

    The carry out station will offer pizza, hot dogs and other take-out meals as well as bottled soft drinks from a self-service cooler. “It will be a quick lunch or snack to take home or back to the shop on busy days,” Sanders said.

    The restaurant is located at 140 S. Palmer St., across from Ruff Hardware store. It’s open for lunch Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and for dinner Fridays from 5 – 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. For information, call 803-337-0241.

  • Final Park Budget Revealed

    BLYTHEWOOD – After numerous delays over the past year, Town Councilman Paul Moscati delivered to the Town Park Committee on Tuesday evening the long-awaited final accounting of how the Town’s $5.5 million park bond has been spent on Doko Meadows. The various park projects, costs and credits were projected on a screen for the committee to follow, but no copies of the presentation were available for the committee or the press. Moscati said he would email those to the committee at a later time.

    Before the meeting began, Tom Utroska resigned his position as Chairman of the Park Committee until after the November Town election citing his candidacy for a Town Council seat. Utroska nominated committee member Jim McLean for Chairman, and he was elected unanimously. Four of the six board members are candidates for Council.

    In Phase I of the park expenditures, Moscati reviewed both Condor Construction Co.’s and Monroe Construction Co.’s change orders, contract status and an overall budget recap.

    Moscati said the largest cost override of between $300,000 and $400,000 came from bad soil and sludge that had to be dug out and replaced with good soil. He said that was balanced with a number of credits for replacing some costly construction items with less costly ones and the addition of the proceeds from the sale of the Community Center.

    Some work still needs to be completed under the original contracts, such as mulching, additional landscaping, installation of fencing and completion of the punch list. That work, which Moscati said should be finished by the end of the year, is included in the cost of the original contracts.

    Moscati said that, going forward, there is also a wish list for the park that is not funded. A Park Endowment Foundation has been appointed to help raise money for those additional projects to complete the park. Committee members include: Buddy Price, Ken Baldwin, David Thames, Beverly Frost and Neal McLean.

    Overall Budget Recap

    Original Bond Revenue $5,500,000

    Proceeds from sale of Community Center   +1,500,000

    Condor final contract amount for horizontal work (grading, curbing, pond, underground infrastructure, etc.) -2,941,514.04

    Monroe final contract amount for vertical work (the Manor) -2,270,231

    Professional Fees -525,000

    Bond Service Fees -500,000

    Wetlands mitigation costs for walking trail -375,000

    Remaining Funds Available $388,254.96

    Option A for the remaining funds available (estimates)

    Restrooms (priority) $-240,000

    Clock Tower Base (priority) -40,000

    Sod Athletic Fields -28,117

    Irrigation revisions to Athletic Field -2,550

    2 Dumpster Enclosures  -26,250

    3 Driveway Gates w/Columns  -48,000

    Remaining Funds Available   $3,337.96

     (Moscati said he will provide Option B at a later date)

    The Wish List

    Playground Equipment:     CIP Project

    Grass Amphitheater $19,732

    Open-Air Pavilion      810,000

    Amphitheater 1,500,000

    Adventure Lodge 1,107,000

    Skate Park 702,000

    Total Funds Needed for Wish List: $4,138,732