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  • Community Center Sale Approved

    BLYTHEWOOD – In a special called 5 p.m. meeting at Town Hall Tuesday, Blythewood Town Council gave the second and final vote to authorize the mayor to execute a contract, dated Dec. 31, 2012, to sell the 5-acre Blythewood Community Center property to Sharpe Properties, LLC for $1.5 million. The 24-hour notice for the meeting was posted at Town Hall and at the post office. The notice was not submitted in time to publish in the newspaper.

    The sales contract gives Larry Sharpe, owner of Sharpe Properties, until Jan. 21, 2013, to back out of the contract if he finds the zoning restrictions on the property would make it unsuitable for him to develop. This is the second time in a little over a year that Sharpe entered into a contract with the Town to purchase the property. He let the first contract, for $265 million, expire on Oct. 27 due to concerns he had about certain zoning issues and plans the Town might have in regard to the property that he felt might adversely impact his investment.

    The sale comes after 13 years of controversy over the town government’s desire to sell the property and use the proceeds to build a multi-million dollar town park. Tom Utroska, a resident of Cobblestone Park, For years the Community Center property was the hub of the town’s social activity, and many residents have spoken out at Council meetings calling for the Town to renovate the Center and use some of the property for a visitor’s center. Two members of the community addressed Council about the sale Monday.

    Tom Utroska, a resident of Cobblestone Park, chastised Council for dropping the price from $2.65 million (the amount of Sharpe’s first contract) to $1.5 million after only 14 months.

    “Why wasn’t the property re-marketed to seek additional suitors?” Utroska asked.

    In a memorandum dated July 29, 2004 and initiated by John Hicks, the Town’s administrator at the time, the town’s attorney, Deborah Hottel, advised that the S.C. Code of Laws does not require the Council to have in place a specific process for selling property, and the Councils over the years have chosen not to initiate one. The memorandum further notes that state law does not require the Town to hold a public hearing for the sale of property owned by the Town unless a public hearing is requested. If no one requests a public hearing to sell land owned by the Town, then none is required.

    “Once the sale [to Sharpe] closes, that will be a good time to address this issue with the public,” Councilman Paul Moscati responded to Utroska.

    Mayor J. Michael Ross, in defense of the Council’s move to sell the property at a reduced price, said the previous contract had included certain incentives to reduce the sale price [by up to $500,000] if Sharpe had chosen to meet certain criteria specified by the Town. But there was no requirement that he take advantage of those incentives.

    Michael Watts, a lifelong member of the Blythewood community, said that while he had no issue with the purchaser, and understood why a good businessman would buy the property, he added that he wasn’t thrilled with getting an explanation of the sale after the fact.

    Watts also expressed his objection to selling the Center for several reasons.

    “The Council has taken on marking historical places in the town, but, with the exception of a few churches and the old school (now Blythewood Academy), there is no place in this town that holds as many memories for many of the town’s people as the Community Center property,” Watts said. “No other place in town holds that kind of history.”

    Watts said that families who historically rented the Community Center for $200 for an event might not be able to afford $700-$1,000 for an event at the Doko Manor. He also said the Community Center property, sitting off I-77, was the perfect place for a visitor’s center.

    “You wouldn’t be having to market it to tell everyone where to come,” Watts said.

    “For as many people as have your viewpoint, I think there are just as many who would disagree,” Mayor Ross countered. “It [Doko Manor] may cost $700 – $800 to rent, but you’ll get something worth $1,500 – $2,000. It’s something they’ll be proud of.”

    “It is set now where we’ve moved forward and we now have a new location,” Councilman Jeff Branham said. “I think people would rather have a nice restaurant there. The decision has been made to move forward. I don’t want anyone to think I’m betraying what I said in the past, but I feel we should move forward with it.”

    Branham said that selling the Community Center would provide money to build more things in the park.

    Councilman Roger Hovis made the motion to call for the vote and Council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to sell the Center.

  • Burglary Ends in Car Chase

    BLYTHEWOOD – Two men were arrested Tuesday morning after stealing two rolls of copper worth $8,000 from Fairfield Electric and leading Richland County Sheriff’s deputies on a car chase of just under 2 miles.

    According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, 18-year-old Dajon Whitaker, of 1607 Stahl St., Cayce, and 24-year-old Lyndon Douglas, of 1632 Malcolm Drive, Columbia, activated an alarm when they jumped a fence and broke into Fairfield Electric at 701 Blythewood Road just after 3 a.m. Responding to the alarm, deputies arrived in time to spot a 2001 Pontiac fleeing from the lot. Deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the Pontiac hit the accelerator and raced down Blythewood Road. The Pontiac made it as far as the intersection of Blythewood Road and Wilson Blvd. before leaving the roadway and crashing. Whitaker emerged from the wreckage and surrendered to deputies. Douglas, meanwhile, fled on foot, setting off a search that ended a short time later when the Sheriff’s Department received a call of a suspicious person walking through a neighborhood near the 100 block of Elton Walker Lane, just off Sandfield Road. Douglas was apprehended there, a little more than 1 mile from the scene of the crash.

    The copper rolls were recovered from inside the trunk of the wrecked Pontiac. Both Douglas and Whitaker are charged with burglary and were transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia.

  • Museum Plans for Busy 2013

    Pelham Lyles, Director of the Fairfield County Museum (left) and museum assistant Shelbia Trotter (right) assist Sylvia Collins of Chester Highway in researching her family history in the second floor archives of the museum.

    WINNSBORO — Following on the heels of last month’s successful Christmas Open House, the Fairfield County Museum has some intriguing events lined up for early 2013.

    First up in 2013 is a second appearance and historical presentation on Native American History by Val Green at 11 a.m. on Jan. 24 in the Christ Central Community Center at 235 S. Congress St., next door to the museum. In February, Kadena Woodard, an African-American researcher and author of an expansive publication on Fairfield County Black cemeteries and funeral records, will be at the museum to assist with African-American research. In March, researcher James Green will present a program on utilizing DNA studies in your family research.

    The Museum is Fairfield County’s gateway to family histories. The family research room of the museum is staffed by enthusiastic volunteers, there to help folks use the resources collected through the years. There are small charges for copies and research by mail, but admission and available files are free. Anyone wanting to take advantage of these resources should call the museum at 803-635-9811 to be sure someone will be present to assist you. An informative quarterly newsletter, stocked with genealogical information and historical articles, can be seen on the website at http://www.scgen.org/. The museum and the Fairfield County Historical Society are collaborating with architectural historian Wade Fairley to produce a searchable online project featuring the old homes of upcountry South Carolina. This is presently under construction for Fairfield County.

    As always, the collection assembled by the local Daughters of the American Revolution is on display at the Museum. This collection includes furniture, clothing and intricate jewelry woven out of strands of hair. Also on display in the Museum’s back lot is a 1780s log barn, as well as a period log cabin.

    The Museum is truly a beautiful resource for Fairfield County and is managed with pride by Director Pelham Lyles. Lyles has been with the Museum since 1997 and is a piece of walking history herself. She is the ninth generation descendant of the first European child born in Fairfield County. She has studied the items and area, traced her roots and can talk on most any subject with authority. While a student of history, however, Lyles is also focused on the future, particularly the future of the Museum and its place in Fairfield County.

    “The museum is an ongoing project that needs resources,” she said. “Pride in our ancestors and pride in ourselves will lead to pride in our community.”

    Museum Calendar

    Jan 24 – Val Green: Part 2 of Searching for your Native American Ancestors.

    Feb. 21 – African-American Records found in the Fairfield Genealogical Reference Room.

    March 21 – James Green: Family Information found in your DNA report.

    April 18 – Beginning the search for your ancestors.

    Meetings to be held at 11 a.m. in the Christ Central Theater next door to the Fairfield Museum located at 231 Congress St., Winnsboro.

    For more information, call Frances Lee O’Neal at 803-635-3027.

  • JWC Reviews Financial Report Behind Closed Doors

    JENKINSVILLE – Monday night the Jenkinsville Water Company (JWC) met for their monthly board meeting. The meeting began with President Gregrey Ginyard fielding question from customers and visitors. Ginyard answered questions about the capacity in which the company’s certified public accountant serves. Ginyard said that the CPA handles all financial records. Ginyard fielded a follow-up question about how much grant money is received by the Jenkinsville Water Company and what purpose those monies serve.

    “The Jenkinsville Water Company is self supporting and does receive grants for day-to-day operations,” Ginyard said.

    After public comments the board then reviewed the monthly operator report. Well four produced 812,300 gallons, well five produced 181,300 gallons, well nine produced 166,300 gallons, the County Road well produced 1,679,600 gallons, well 11 produced 301,080 gallons and well 13 produced 908,900 gallons for a total well production of 4,049,480 gallons.

    Mid-County sold 62,000 gallons to the JWC and the total demand was 4,211,480 gallons.

    The board then voted to move into executive session to discuss their yearly financial report, an item not listed as exempt from public discussion by the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

    The Jenkinsville Water Company held their annual meeting and election of officers Wednesday night. For details of that meeting, see the Jan. 18 edition of The Voice.

  • District Works Toward Safer Schools

    FAIRFIELD – The shocking and horrifying events in Newtown, Conn., last month, when Adam Lanza mercilessly and senselessly gunned down 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, left an empty void in the heart of the nation. It also left parents everywhere wondering if it could “happen here,” wherever “here” may be.

    Fairfield County is no exception to those fears; and while no amount of preparation can prevent every tragedy, administrators and the school board have actually been at work for some time – long before the Newtown tragedy – to ensure the safety of Fairfield County schools.

    “We didn’t wait for a tragedy to happen before we started acting,” said Board member Bobby Cunningham. “We started acting in 2010.”

    Cunningham has made school safety a priority since his first day on the Board, back in November 2010. He chaired the now-defunct Safety Committee, which spearheaded vast improvements in school security, including an upgrade of the security camera system, a new key system and an agreement with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office for Student Resource Officers (SROs).

    “The cameras that were broken have been fixed,” Cunningham said. “Some have been relocated to more strategic places and we’ve added cameras to some sensitive areas.”

    The District’s key system, installed last year, can track who comes and goes in and out of every building in the District, and anyone attempting to enter a school must be admitted by a monitor from the inside.

    “Even I have to ring the bell to get in,” said J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools. “The system we have is very good at keeping the normal intruder out of the building.”

    But, as Green points out, Adam Lanza was no “normal intruder.” Instead, Lanza reportedly blasted his way into an elementary school that had a similar system in place. Installing bullet-proof glass at every school is probably not feasible, Green said, but additional SROs and advanced training for teachers and administrators is.

    Right now, the District has two SROs at Fairfield Central High School and one at Fairfield Middle School full-time. When the agreement with the Sheriff’s Office was put in place a year and a half ago, these were considered to be the areas of most concern, Green said. Newtown has changed all that.

    Green said that the District is looking at placing an SRO at every elementary school in the district, over the long-term. In the immediate future, he said, the District will consider staffing schools with off-duty deputies or retired officers. Green also said that the Sheriff’s Office plans to include teachers and staff in next month’s scheduled “Active Shooter Training.”

    Beth Reid, Chairwoman of the Fairfield County School Board, said the subject of security will be on the agenda at the Board’s upcoming retreat, which will be held at the District Office Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m.

    “We want to be proactive,” Reid said. “We’re going to talk about what we can do to make people feel confident that schools are the safest place they can send their children.”

    The District has accomplished a lot since 2010, Cunningham said – new and improved cameras, an upgraded key system, better lighting and landscaping, and schools that can be placed on lockdown at a moment’s notice. The results have been tangible, he said. Since 2010, Cunningham estimated that drug, alcohol and weapons violations are down more than 90 percent. But more can be done and should be done, he added.

    While the District works to enhance security measures, Green said he feels no hesitation in sending his children off to school each day.

    “As sad as the Newtown tragedy is, schools are, statistically speaking, very safe,” Green said. “I don’t want people to lose sight of that. As a parent, I feel very confident that my children are safer at school than they are at the mall.”

  • FMS Opens Doors to Parents, Rising Students

    Orientation and Registration Session

    Fairfield Middle School’s 2013-2014 Parent Orientation and Registration Information Session for rising seventh- and eighth-grade parents will take place on Monday, Jan. 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the FMS Gymnasium. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with the administrative team and learn more about student expectations for the upcoming school year. A brief make-up session is scheduled at 6 p.m. in the Media Center for parents unable to attend the morning session.

    Rising Seventh Graders Tour

    Sixth-grade students from Fairfield Magnet, McCrorey Liston and Kelly Miller elementary schools will visit and tour Fairfield Middle School on Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 8:45 a.m. Students will have the opportunity to meet the administrative team, tour the school and learn about the great things taking place at Fairfield Middle School. Students from Fairfield Elementary and Geiger Elementary schools will visit and tour the school on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8:45 a.m. For more information, contact Yolande Montgomery, 635-4270 Extension 20210.

  • NRC Fields Questions on Shaw Delay

    A bird’s eye view of construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, Courtesy of High Flyer.

    JENKINSVILLE – Members of the Jenkinsville community gathered at McCrorey-Liston Elementary School Tuesday night to hear an update from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on how the agency oversees safety standards at the reactor construction at the nearby V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. From the outset, Tom Kozak, Senior Operation Engineer, and Jim Luehman, Director of Inspection Headquarters, told the audience that the meeting was only a review of the fledgling Construction Reactor Oversight Process (cROP), and that specifics of reactor construction would not be address. Nevertheless, both found themselves addressing just that; particularly the most recent delay at the site.

    Last month, The Shaw Group, which is constructing the two new reactors at V.C. Summer for S.C. Electric & Gas (SCE&G), laid off 140 workers after the NRC found that rebar construction preliminary to the pouring of concrete for the basemat structure (the concrete platform on which the reactors, the steam generators, pumps and other nuclear materials will rest), deviated from the original NRC-approved design. Tom Clements, a Columbia-based environmental activist who works with Nuclear Watch South, a member group of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, questioned Kozak about the rebar, as did The Voice.

    Kozak said the original issue with the rebar was spotted by NRC inspectors at Shaw’s sister project, a similar construction job at the Alvin W. Vogtle Plant near Waynesboro, Ga., and the detection and correction of the matter was an example of how the new oversight process works.

    “We conducted an inspection at Vogtle, and they identified rebar that was put together that did not meet the way it was described in the design,” Kozak said. “They had made a change to the design that they thought was in accordance with the design change process that they’re allowed to do. We determined that it was not.”

    The same design deviation was later detected at V.C. Summer, Kozak said, and while the deviation represented a “very low” safety concern, the matter still had to be corrected.

    “So they either make a change in their design in accordance with our design control process, or they need to take apart and reassemble the rebar so it meets the approved the design,” Kozak said. “The licensee here (Shaw) became aware of that issue at Vogtle and entered it into their corrective action program before we came in and inspected it here, and that’s what we encourage licensees to do.”

    Rhonda O’Banion, Public Relations Director for SCANA (of which SCE&G is a subsidiary), said after the meeting that replacement of the rebar had not yet been completed. Kozak said that by reconfiguring the rebar to adhere to the original design, SCE&G will not require a license amendment request, something that may have been a time-consuming option had they chosen to press forward with the present construction.

    “They decided to bring the rebar into conformance with the design,” Kozak said.

    Detailed information and updates on construction of the new reactors at V.C. Summer can be found at the NRC’s Web site, www.nrc.gov.

  • ‘Consent Agenda’ Neglected Public

    RICHLAND — The Tuesday night meeting of the Richland 2 School Board was led by newly elected officers: Bill Fleming, Chairman; Susan Brill remained Vice-Chairman; and Melinda Anderson, Secretary.

    The board adopted a new voting procedure they called ‘Consent Agenda,’ whereby agenda items are grouped together and voted on by title only. Multiple items can be approved by a single vote. But transparency is key for this to remain an honest piece of work. When agenda items are voted on by title only and the content as to what the item is about has not been made available to the public, no one knows what has been voted on. When this was mentioned to Brill after the meeting, she said she would bring this up at the next meeting.

    Three years ago, Superintendent Katie Brochu commissioned a $150,000 study, called The Evergreen Study, on the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the District. The study was released several months later amid considerable controversy. An update of the Study was to be presented at the meeting by Sue Melette, Director of Academics. The update turned out to be verbal with no written report. As the verbal presentation progressed, Board member James Manning questioned why there was no documentation for Board members. After some discussion between Manning and Brochu, Flemming asked that the presentation be tabled until supporting documents could be made available.

    Jack Carter, Director of Operations, reported that within days of the Sandy Hook, Conn. school shooting, every school in the district had reviewed established emergency procedures. Carter said this is the only school district in the state that employs an internal security staff of 20 officers.

    It was proposed to fund several projects with the District’s Reserve (savings) account. These include the new Center For Knowledge magnet program for elementary students at Muller Road Middle School, the STEMS magnet for middle schoolers at Summit Parkway and athletic renovations at RNE and Ridge View high schools. Approval of these projects is expected at the next Board meeting. However, the two magnet programs have already been advertised to parents and are part of the current magnet application process due to be completed at the end of the month.

    The next Board meeting will be Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. at E. L. Wright Middle School. To request an agenda, call 787-1910.

  • Blythewood Man Killed in Accident Near Farrow Road

    RICHLAND – A Blythewood man was killed Monday night in a single-car accident on Highway 21 near Farrow Road.

    According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, the unidentified vehicle was traveling south on Highway 21 near Farrow Road when it ran off the right side of the roadway at 11:58 p.m. Monday. The driver, 49-year-old Ronald Justice, who lived in the 10000 block of Wilson Blvd. in Blythewood, was pronounced dead at the scene from multi-trauma, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said. Justice was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, Watts said.

    A passenger in the front seat of the vehicle was transported to Palmetto Richland Memorial by EMS for treatment. The passenger was wearing a seatbelt, Watts said.

    The accident remained under investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol at press time.

  • Planning Commission Considers Laundry List of Projects

    BLYTHEWOOD – Monday night, the Blythewood Planning Commissioners mostly listened as Town Administrator John Perry explained his suggestions for the items on the agenda.

    In regard to creating new roads in the downtown Town Center District, Perry suggested the Planning Commissioners call for the preservation of eight areas of right of way that are designated on the Master Plan map but that have not been preserved. Perry said in order to initiate a grid of roads in the Town Center, these right of ways must be preserved and that the Town must then be prepared to purchase the preserved right of way properties immediately so that the owners will not decide to build there and adversely impact the grid of roads planned in the downtown area as specified in the Master Plan. Perry suggested that a subcommittee of Commissioners be formed to initiate surveying these areas of right of way so that they can be purchased and preserved for the Town’s future use.

    Commissioners Randy Humphries and Buddy Price volunteered for the committee and Planning Commission Chairman Mike Switzer volunteered to chair the committee. Perry asked the three to come back to their next meeting with a recommendation for surveying and preservation.

    Mobile sign ban proposed

    Perry asked the Commissioners to revisit the Town’s sign ordinance and find ways to ban mobile signs. Perry said he wanted the Town to prohibit trucks from parking trailers around town for long periods of time while displaying advertisements or signs on the sides of their trailers. If they are parked in an area not for parking or on private property then, Perry said, “We need to be able to remove them.”

    Switzer said he had seen a sod truck parked around town. Price asked if the signs caused any harm. Perry said, “We need to make it clear these are signs.”

    Municipal Improvement District

    Perry told Commissioners that he had received some data from the consultant the Town Council hired to study the feasibility of a Municipal Improvement District (MID) in the downtown area of Blythewood. Perry asked that the MID subcommittee reconvene to consider that data. While the costs of the MID would be paid for primarily by the businesses in the district, Perry said some money has been allocated to the project from Richland County’s Penny Tax fund.

    In his administrator’s report, Perry said work will begin on the landscaping/beautification of Exit 27 within the next 60 days. He said water wells have been drilled for irrigation of the plants in the project and the Town has been given permission to paint the sides of the bridge over I-77. Perry said attractive street signs for Blythewood Road would be attached to the traffic lights at the exits and entrances to the interstate. He also reported that the Planning Commission Retreat is planned for March 9 at the Doko Manor in the Town’s park, beginning at about 9 a.m. The public is invited.