Blythewood Online 691

Tag: blythewood

  • County seeks input at Sept. 2 BW meeting

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood 29016 residents will have the opportunity to have input into recently updated county land development rules with county staff on Thursday, Sept. 2 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Palmetto Citizens Amphitheater in Doko Meadows Park, 100 Alvina Hagood Circle in Blythewood.

    The meeting, hosted by Richland County Council member Derek Pugh (District 2 Blythewood), will focus on the revamped Land Development Code (LDC).

    The LDC is a set of regulations governing land use and development in unincorporated Richland County. The code covers standards for zoning districts and dwelling units allowed per acre, along with building location, permitted uses, signage, landscaping and other rules.

    County officials say the updating is a process to develop regulations that implement a vision for where and how the county grows in the 21st century.

    The updated LDC will be viewed in two separate sessions – one for viewing the text portion of the revision and a later session for viewing the map portion of the revision.

    The updating began in 2017 and was touted as offering the residents an opportunity to have input. The public sessions, however, were poorly advertised and were not widely attended,” Pugh said.

    Shortly after the first of the year, the planning staff asked council members to pass the updated version of the LDC. Council, the majority of whom had recently been elected to office, pushed back saying they needed more time to look at the revisions.

    “We couldn’t just pass it without familiarizing ourselves with the new code,” Pugh said.  “We also wanted to be sure our constituents were familiar with the rewrite and were happy with it. We didn’t want to just push it through. After all, it effects people’s properties.”

    A series of drop-ins was scheduled earlier this spring and summer, but with little publicity about the drop-ins, few people showed up for the meetings.

    The Voice received no notification about the meeting from the county. It was sent to the chamber for distribution to its approximately 146 members.

    Pugh asked county to reschedule the meeting for Thursday, Sept. 2.

    The public can view the draft of the revamped LDC at weplantogether.org. Find out more at www.richlandcounty sc.gov and navigate to the Planning Department page.

  • It takes a community to rescue a cat

    BLYTHEWOOD – After a group of animal advocates from Blythewood and Ridgeway rescued a Jacksonville, Florida cat last week that had gone missing in Blythewood last September in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the rescuers and the cat’s owner, Chris Miller, were treated to breakfast Sunday morning by the staff at Blythewood’s Lizard’s Thicket.

    Lux’s rescuers were treated to breakfast by Lizard’s Thicket management. Rescuers, from left: Cilla Phillips, Amy Kennedy, Wendy and Rob Schisler, Mark Cruise, Robert Calahan, Kelly Cruise, Donna Browning, Cam Chappell and Chris Miller, Lux’s owner.

    The occasion was the reuniting of Miller with her cat, Lux (pronounced Lukes), who went missing after Miller and her husband stopped in Blythewood to have lunch at Lizard’s Thicket on Sept. 14. The couple and their two dogs and Lux, a 15-pound black cat with yellow eyes, were returning home to Jacksonville after evacuating during Hurricane Irma.

    Before going into the restaurant, the Millers cracked the car windows and left the sunroof partially open for the animals’ comfort. After lunch, the Millers got back into their car and a ways before stopping for fuel.

    “We drove a little further,” Miller said, “before we discovered that Lux was missing. We searched the car and couldn’t find him.”

    “We drove back to Blythewood where we searched into the night around Lizard’s Thicket, then we checked in to a motel in town and began our search again the next morning in the Cobblestone Park area.”

    That’s when they met Cobblestone Park resident Mark Cruise who offered to enter their missing cat information on the NextDoor app for Cobblestone Park and Eagles Glenn.

    During the ensuing months many in the community kept a vigil for the cat. There were occasional reports of sightings, but no solid leads. The managers of a cat colony in the area were also keeping on the lookout for the missing cat.

    Cam Chappell, left, and Cilla Phillips, two Blythewood women who help manage cat communities, say good-bye to Lux before his ride back to Jacksonville. | Photos/Barbara Ball

    Cam Chappell set out trail cameras. Cilla Phillips thought a couple of times that she’d seen Lux, but couldn’t be sure. After a couple of sightings that turned out not to be Lux, Cam Chappell thought she spotted him Sunday morning.

    “We had two black cats in the cat colony,” Chappell said. “So when a third one showed up on Thursday, I was sure it was Lux.”

    A humane trap was set and a couple of hours later, Lux walked into it. Miller was contacted and made plans to pick him up in Blythewood Sunday morning.

    The breakfast reunion of Miller with her cat and the folks who helped rescue him was joyous. Many with other cat, dog and pig rescue stories with happy endings were related.

    “We appreciate all you did for us and Lux,” Miller told her new friends. “We are grateful. What a wonderful community.”

    After taking selfies all around, Miller and Lux said good-bye and set off for the long drive home.

  • Blythewood’s DMV releases information about REAL IDs

    BLYTHEWOOD – While testing continues on the state’s new secure driver’s licenses and identification cards, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) has released the images of the new REAL ID and non-compliant cards residents will begin seeing in the first quarter of 2018.

    Compliant Card

    The state’s new REAL ID driver’s licenses and identification cards will be compliant with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. These cards may be used as identification to pass security at airports nationwide, enter secure federal buildings and visit military installations.

    Instead of a REAL ID license or ID, a valid US Passport or other federally accepted identification may be used for the above activities in the future and is still required for international travel.

    Non-compliant Card

    The state’s new non-compliant licenses and IDs will say “Not for Federal Identification” across the top. Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, non-compliant and current SC licenses and IDs, will not pass security at airports nationwide, secure federal buildings or military installations. Individuals with this card or the state’s current card must present a different form of federally accepted identification, such as a valid US Passport or military ID, for the above activities.

    Changing your current card and purchasing a REAL ID is voluntary, but you must have a REAL ID or other federally approved identification in the future for the federal activities above. People who will not be passing airport security or visiting federal facilities do not need to take any action besides renewing their current card as normal when it expires.

    The cost is the same for a REAL ID or a non-compliant card.

    The new cards will be available to the public in 2018. To get a REAL ID, you can begin the process now of changing your current driver’s license. For a REAL ID, the SCDMV must have all of the following documents on file:

    Proof of identity (government-issued birth certificate or valid US passport)

    Proof of Social Security number

    Two proofs of current, physical SC address

    Proof of all legal name changes

    You may bring these documents to the SCDMV now. If you have a Class D, E, F, G, M, or any have a Class D, E, F, G, M, or any combination of those license and are a US citizen, you may be able to buy your new REAL ID license online in 2018 with a valid credit card. Your driving privileges must be in good standing for you to be eligible for online ordering and your last renewal cannot have been by mail.

    All unexpired SC driver’s licenses and identification cards will be valid to pass airport security, enter secure federal facilities and visit military installations until Oct. 1, 2020. For more information, visit www.scdmvonline.com. For questions about REAL ID, please email REALID@scdmv.net or call 803-896-5000.

  • BZA chooses Littlejohn to lead board

    Littlejohn

    BLYTHEWOOD – After more than a year, the Blythewood Board of Zoning Appeals held a meeting on Monday evening to elect a new board chair after the death last February of longtime board member and chair Sabra Mazyck.

    Veteran board member and vice chair Pat Littlejohn of Cobblestone Park was elected chair. Derrick Pugh of Abney Hills neighborhood, who was appointed to the board two months ago, was elected vice chair. It was also announced that board member Joseph Richardson has moved out of the town and has resigned his position on the board. Other board members are Ray Fantone and Sharron Pickle, both of Lake Ashley.

     

    The board, which is a quasi-judicial board, conducted no other business during the meeting.

    Following the election of officers, the town’s planning consultant Michael Criss conducted a 90-minute class as part of the requirements for certification for members.

  • Council Rethinks Poe Hire

    Hospital Negotiations Land in County’s Lap

    WINNSBORO (Sept. 15, 2016) – During Monday’s County Council meeting, County Administrator Jason Taylor called members’ attention to a request for action to engage the services of Parker Poe Consulting, LLC for assistance with legal matters relating to Fairfield Memorial Hospital. The issue had been sent forward to Council by the Administration and Finance Committee on Sept. 7.

    At that meeting, attended by Parker Poe attorney Ray Jones and Milton Pope who is on retainer to the County, Taylor reviewed with Committee members Marion Robinson and Carolyn Robinson (Mary Lynn Kinley was not present) the situation – that the hospital is looking to partner with someone who would come in and take over Fairfield Memorial’s services.

    “It appears that the hospital is leaning on us to work up and develop a contract with this third party partner,” Taylor said. “Initially, we had the concept that they were going to take the lead on this, but they asked us where we were in the process. In order for us to move forward, and even if we continue to work with the hospital, which obviously we have to do, I think we need to know what we expect for the millions of dollars the County may contribute toward this new plan.”

    Taylor said that since Council members are not health care experts, they might need to make sure they get this right, legally. He suggested that Council probably does need to hire someone to assist in the legal process.

    “There are things we think we know, but there are probably a lot of questions that we aren’t going to know to ask because, again, we are not experts in health care,” Taylor said.

    Turning to the County Association for guidance, Taylor said they advised looking at how this same kind of thing has unfolded in other areas – Barnwell being an example.

    “I talked to Pickens Williams in Barnwell about their situation,” Taylor said, “and I talked to several legal firms besides Parker Poe.”

    Marion Robinson (District 5) had questions.

    “I guess I’m a little confused. Why, all of a sudden, is this a County contract deal instead of a hospital contract deal,” Robinson asked.

    “I don’t know,” Carolyn Robinson (District 2) said. “It is just the perception of what came down and the information that was passed to us last week when we met. Regardless of what they’re (hospital) doing, we still have to be totally responsible for protecting the interest of the citizens and protecting their funds and going forward and doing the best we can.”

    The committee voted 2-0 to send the issue forward to Council for discussion.

    But a sticking point with some Council members is the fact that Parker Poe’s legal and consultation services will come to more than $25,000, above what is allowed to be approved by the Administrator. According to the County’s Procurement Code, any amount above $25,000 must be subject to sealed bid.

    When the item came up for discussion on Council’s agenda Monday evening, Taylor said new information had come to light. He suggested that before taking action to engage the services of Parker Poe, that Council discuss it further in executive session.

    While Council did not take a vote on the issue following executive session, Councilman Billy Smith (District 7) said after the meeting he was glad Council held off and discussed the issue further.

    “I do think we need to procure legal services in regard to the hospital and continuing to provide health care in Fairfield County,” Smith said. “And we need to go through proper procurement procedures in doing that.”

     

  • The Big Grab Map

    big-grab-double-truck-sept-8

    Check out the map to see where all of your favorite businesses will be located for the big event!

  • Big Grab Gets Bigger

    Bargain Hunting Begins Friday

    BLYTHEWOOD/FAIRFIELD (Sept. 8, 2016) – With a name like “The Big Grab,” one would have to imagine the event has considerable scope. After all, the word “Big” is right there in the name of the event.

    But this weekend’s curbside crawl of yard sales might have been better dubbed “The Bigger Grab.”

    Shoppers at last year's Big Grab search for deals.
    Shoppers at last year’s Big Grab search for deals.

    The event that links Blythewood, Ridgeway and Winnsboro in a network of yard sales has grown and expanded this year to include more of Richland County and will run all the way to Newberry.

    “It started out at 25 miles as a way to bring people into our communities and to enjoy small towns again, as well as a way to help our citizens put a little money in their pockets,” Terry Vickers, President of the Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce, said. “Now we’re in our fifth year and it is up to 85 miles.”

    Vendors will be out trolling the roadsides from sunrise to sunset this Friday and Saturday along a route that beings at Exit 71 on I-20 and travels up Highway 21 into Blythewood and on to Ridgeway. From Ridgeway, shoppers can follow Highway 34 to Winnsboro, where sales will stretch along Highway 321 Business and the 321 Bypass, looping back to Highway 34 and running all the way to Exit 74 at I-26 near Newberry.

    The event was the brainchild of Ridgeway merchant Denise Jones, Vickers said, who saw the success of Ridgeway’s semi-annual sidewalk sales and envisioned a chain of similar sales running for miles along the open road. Since its inception, The Big Grab has not only drawn shoppers into local businesses, it has also drawn vendors from as far away as New Jersey, Vickers said.

    The event has also been a boon to local churches, who have capitalized on The Big Grab as a major annual fundraiser – not only selling their own wares, but also renting out prime selling space to vendors who otherwise would not have had a spot along the route. First United Methodist Church in Winnsboro has set the bar for other churches, raising approximately $5,000 last year.

    Vendors will begin trickling into the area soon, Vickers said, setting up Thursday evening so they will be ready for the first light of dawn on Friday. Shoppers will just have to stand by and wait until day breaks.

    “It’s exciting,” Vickers said. “My phone has been ringing off the hook!”

     

  • Fighting for Green Space

    Cobblestone Residents Look to P.C. for Help

    BLYTHEWOOD (Sept. 8, 2016) – After discovering in July that Cobblestone Park developer D.R. Horton is planning to build six new roads and 74 more homes in what residents thought would remain green space around their homes in the Primrose section of Cobblestone, Lenora Zedosky and about 30 of her Primrose neighbors appeared before the Town’s Planning Commission to protest the development, saying, “We were told (by the developer) that the green space would always be there.”

    Zedosky and her neighbors appeared again at Tuesday evening’s Planning Commission meeting to report that four days after their July protest, D.R. Horton upped the ante, displaying in the Cobblestone Clubhouse an entirely different road/housing plan for the Primrose section that included two more roads and 10 more new homes.

    “In this new plan, the backs of homes would face Primrose, which is the primary entrance into our neighborhood,” Zedosky said. “To our knowledge, the new plan has not been presented to Council, but is already being marketed. That’s a great concern to us. It’s an entirely different plan than was approved by you in October 2014.

    “We are not trying to stop all development,” Zedosky continued. “We just want a buffer and no clear cutting, which has been the habit we’ve seen so far.”

    Commission Chairman Buddy Price asked Town Administrator Gary Parker to confirm that the developer cannot move forward with the proposed construction until it comes before the Planning Commission for approval.

    Parker agreed.

    “We had a meeting with the developer about a week ago and saw the new proposal, but there’s a ways to go,” Parker reassured Zedosky.

    Following the meeting, Michael Criss, the Town’s Planning Consultant, reviewed for The Voice the steps the developer will need to complete in order to progress to the construction and sales stages of the project.

    “After the developer brings a sketch plan to the Town Administrator, he will then send it to the Planning Commission for a preliminary plat approval,” Criss said.

    “That’s a full civil engineering plan – roads, street drainage, water, sewer, as well as other infrastructure,” Criss said. “At that point, if the plan is approved by the Commission, work can begin on the infrastructure (grading, pipes in the ground, sidewalks, paving, etc.) When this work is finished, the developer will bring a final plat to the Commission for approval. When that’s approved, they can start selling.”

    Asked if the Commission had the authority to outright turn down the plan because of the residents’ objections, Criss said any approval or disapproval must follow zoning regulations spelled out in Chapter 153 of the Town’s zoning ordinances.

    “The developer has already been given the authority to build so many homes, so the Commission can make some suggestions for the plan, but there is just so much land available to build on. We have to be fair with how the houses and streets are arranged to accommodate what has been approved,” Parker said.

    Franklin Elected Chairman

    In other business, the Commission members unanimously elected Commissioner Bryan Franklin as Chairman. Buddy Price said he was stepping down from the Planning Commission after six years to give someone else an opportunity to serve.

     

  • Blythewood Reads Honors Vets

    ‘Eli the Good’ Featured at Sept. 22 Event

    BLYTHEWOOD (Sept. 1, 2016) – Last May, the Blythewood community came together in solidarity to remember fallen service members by hosting the Wall that Heals, a memorial honoring those who died during the Vietnam War. Fiona Smith, Library Associate at the Blythewood Library, watched as the community embraced one another and shared memories of their past.

    In an effort to keep the camaraderie alive, she has challenged Blythewood to read “Eli the Good,” a book that tells the story of the aftermath of Vietnam on a small Southern town. She hopes the public will join her for the Blythewood Reads event at the Langford-Nord House on Sept. 22 to discuss the book and share their own wartime stories.

    “The book is about a Vietnam vet who has returned to a community like Blythewood. He comes back – it’s 1975 – and his sister moves in with the family. She’d been a protester,” Smith said. “We decided [the book] would be good because a lot of people reminisced about that era. They liked hearing about the ’70s and remembered things that had happened to them. We also thought it might inform younger people about the conflicts that went on.”

    The event is shaping up to be larger than expected, Smith said. “Eli the Good” has been checked out roughly 45 times and five different book clubs have expressed interest in attending. Volunteers are bringing cookies and tray bakes, and the library is serving water and sweet tea to attendees.

    “The house itself has several spaces where we can have groups, but there are also picnic tables outside so we can spread out. We’re going to have small groups with facilitators so people aren’t intimidated. We’ve got five facilitators so far, and we’ll look out for another one or two just in case,” Smith said.

    She is hoping the high schools get involved come November and use the book for their lessons on the Vietnam War. The goal is to keep people engaged by learning about the past and to strengthen the bond within the Blythewood community. Smith hopes to continue Blythewood Reads in the future and to find a new book to engross Blythewood’s bookworms.

    Blythewood Reads will be hosted at the Langford-Nord House on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.