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Tag: cambio

  • Sheriff updates Greenbrier on Cambio

    Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery updated neighbors of the Cambio Academy last week on what his department is doing to keep residents safe from Cambio runaways who, Montgomery said, roam Greenbrier day and night causing damage, leaving residents fearful for their safety.

    GREENBRIER- After making more than a hundred calls to Cambio Academy in the Greenbrier community since May and hearing from many residents about runaways from Cambio breaking and entering and causing property damage and harrassing Greenbrier residents, Sheriff Will Montgomery held a community meeting last week at Greenbrier United Methodist Church.

    While Montgomery didn’t have a lot of answers, the Greenbrier neighbors had a lot of questions:

    “What kind of in-house security does Cambio have?”

    “What are you (the Sheriff) doing about this?

    “What structure does Cambio have in place to keep these kids busy?”

    The Sheriff’s answers:

    “None.”

    “I’m working on it.”

    “Breaking and entering,” someone in the audience joked

    There were numerous testimonials about property damage and runaway teens roaming the neighborhood day and night.

    “How long is it going to be until something serious happens? That what worries me,” a woman from the audience said.

    Another asked, “When one of these kids goes missing, why aren’t we notified?”

    Montgomery suggested residents could sign up for the County’s reverse 911 service that will notify them of emergencies and that he will consider using the service for the Cambio issue.

    Cambio Academy is located in Greenbrier.

    Montgomery said that after talking with the Academy’s Director, Pamela Woods, he is trying to work out some type of security for the facility such as fencing or an alarm system that will alert management when a teen is leaving the facility.

    Resident Laura Thomas suggested residents call the governor’s office to complain about the community chaos created by Cambio.

    Asked how the facility got approval to operate in the County, Administrator Jason Taylor said Cambio representatives did not have to come before the County to ask for rezoning of the property.

    “It was already zoned for that use,” Taylor said.

    County Council Chairman Billy Smith addressed the process for getting the state to close the facility.

    “Part of the process of trying to get them closed is to basically identify to them what problems they are causing, give them a period of time to fix those problems and then if they don’t, we can petition the court to grant an injunction to close it,” Smith said. “So it is very important that we have everything documented, anything that you are aware of, be sure to make those phone calls to the County or the Sheriff’s department. That will be the information we have to have to present to a judge.”

    Another community meeting is set for Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. at Greenbrier Methodist Church to discuss the issue.

  • Cambio break-ins burdening County

    WINNSBORO – Cambio Academy in Greenbrier has been the source of numerous complaints from neighbors and, earlier this month, four juveniles from Cambio were arrested for breaking into Greenbrier United Methodist Church. During the Nov. 13 Council meeting, County Administrator Jason Taylor updated citizens on the County’s recent meeting with Cambio Academy Director Pamela Wood concerning the Academy’s mounting problems.

    According to Taylor, Wood said several female teens had been inappropriately placed at Cambio. Wood identified 8-10 juveniles that she said would be better suited for a facility with a more intense level of care.

    “DSS has a need to place some of these difficult clients and that’s what happened,” Taylor said. “They’re inappropriately placed at Cambio as a path of least resistance, and they probably should have been placed somewhere else.”

    Currently, Taylor said he was told the doors at Cambio Academy are not kept locked. He said County officials and Wood explored ways to make the facility more secure. They looked at fencing, but according to Taylor, they were not comfortable with the placement of a barbed wire fence.

    The County’s new interim fire marshal, Greg Gerber, is slated to visit Cambio to find out if a lock system or an alarm system could be the answer for the security issues. Council has a follow up meeting with Wood later this week.

    “We will follow up with Mrs. Wood with a list of these things,” Taylor said. “And, hopefully, attach a time frame as to when we can hope to see improvements.”

    Council Chairman Billy Smith issued a stern warning.

    “I’ll just say I hope the concerns and the things that are going on now can be curtailed and corrected,” Smith said. “Because otherwise I just don’t see where we can allow that facility, without trying to do anything, to keep operating in that community in the way that it is right now.”

    Cambio has not only been a source of ire for citizens, but it has created a massive workload for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Deputies have responded to over 100 incidents at Cambio in its five-month existence, something that Councilman Douglas Pauley addressed in an editorial in the Oct.26 issue of The Voice.

    “Another concern is how time consuming it has become for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s department to respond to these calls. It diverts them from other matters within the County that need their attention as well,” Pauley wrote. He said he understood that the Academy, which opened in May, 2017, was supposed to be a private residential treatment and rehabilitation center for troubled female teens ranging in age from 13 to 18.

    Sheriff Will Montgomery told The Voice last week that his deputies have answered more than 100 calls related to Cambio in the last five months.

  • Four Cambio juveniles arrested

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Four juveniles from Cambio Academy on Greenbrier-Mossydale Road were arrested last week for burglary/breaking and entering and for destruction/damage/vandalism.

    Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Greenbrier United Methodist Church the morning of Nov. 4 in reference to a break-in.

    The incident report states that while the person who called the deputies said nothing appeared to be missing, a downstairs window was broken and an outside door with a small blood smear was open. Several cushions on the floor were laid out to form what appeared to be a bed.

    Due to experience with juveniles in the area and a call the previous day from nearby Cambio Academy concerning four juveniles who had run away on Nov. 3 and returned Nov. 4, deputies went to Cambio to speak with the four juveniles, the report stated.

    All four juveniles told deputies that, during the night they ran away from Cambio, subject No. 3 broke the window to the church and all four of them slept inside the church, according to the incident report.

    All subjects admitted to taking water and lighters they found, the report stated.

    It was also reported that subject No. 3 appeared to have several scratches on her hands and legs and allegedly told deputies that she sustained these injuries while climbing into the window. The report states that after she climbed through the window, she opened the back door to let the other subjects in. All four juveniles said they left the church and returned to Cambio in the morning, the report stated.

    Sheriff Will Montgomery told The Voice that this is not the first call his deputies have made to the Academy which houses troubled female teens. In an editorial in the Oct. 26 issue of The Voice, Councilman Douglas Pauley expressed concern about how time consuming Cambio has become for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department.

    “My deputies have made well over 100 calls to Cambio during the five months since it opened,” Montgomery said.

    “We’ve had meetings with Cambio’s management, the County, Senator Fanning and others about this,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got to find a solution.”

    A hearing for the juveniles was held in Family Court on Tuesday.