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Tag: Doko Manor

  • Blythewood Council closes Manor, park, playground indefinitely

    PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Blythewood town council held an emergency council meeting at 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 18, at Town Hall and voted to:  1) close all town government facilities to the public indefinitely, 2)- lock the doors on town hall to the public (staff may work in office or telework, but will return phone calls and emails),  3)cancel all public government meetings indefinitely

    These changes were to take effect immediately.

    The story below appears in this week’s paper and is a review of the two special called meetings March 12 and March 16 that were held prior to the final emergency meeting on March 18 meeting.

    The Voice will follow up online and in print with more information as it becomes available.

    BLYTHEWOOD – A special town council meeting was called on March 12, to discuss how the town government should move forward with regard to public events in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Council members voted unanimously to go ahead with two events scheduled over the next two days that they said were on course to draw thousands of visitors to Doko Park, pointing out that the two Fests’ attendance numbers could swell over estimates after many other events in the area had been cancelled.

    Four days later, on March 16, after an estimated 2,000 people attended the Doko Rib Fest and Doko Film Fest, Council held a second special called meeting at the Manor and voted to close all town facilities with the exception of town hall until March 31. The park, playground and Manor (that had several scheduled weddings in March) would be closed. Town hall would be open, continuing to provide services. Walk-ins, however, would be discouraged in favor of phone calls and emails. Town hall employees would be allowed to work from home at the discretion of Town Administrator Brian Cook.

    That vote also required all town hall facilities, including the playground, to be professionally cleaned and sanitized after the closing. The playground would be cleaned and sanitized again prior to being reopened to the public.

    There was also some consideration during the March 16 meeting about the possibility of closing town meetings to the public in the future if the COVID-19 crisis worsened and providing live stream video with an option for the public to call or email/text questions to council during the meeting.

    At the prior March 12 meeting, Mayor Brian Franklin said he had some concerns about allowing the Rib Fest and Film Fest to go on in the park. Council had awarded a total of about $20,000 to both events.

    “So we thought it prudent to come together with precautionary measures, learn a little bit about this virus and how it may or may not affect Blythewood and area citizens, but more importantly to alleviate any fears we may have about gatherings,” Franklin said. He said he was following the Governor’s lead in calling on citizens to not cancel their events.

    “I agree that I don’t see the need to have a knee jerk reaction and immediately cancel events,” Councilman Donald Brock said. “I’m the least concerned with the outdoor events. It seems like common sense should prevail. If you’re sick, stay home. Let everyone make their own decisions.”

    Councilman Eddie Baughman agreed. “If you’re sick, stay at home. We’re asking people to just take care of yourself. That’s about all we can do,” Baughman said. “We’re grown adults. We know we can either go or stay at home.”

    Councilman Larry Griffin said he leaned toward erring on the side of caution – to shut the events down.

    “In the beginning I was willing to roll with it, but now I’m torn. Do we want to put ourselves in position to have a rash of COVID-19?”

    Newly elected Councilman Sloan Griffin, Emergency Manager with the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), was given the lead by Franklin in presenting the health and safety ramifications of leaving open or shutting down the festivals.  Franklin pointed out that, as part of (Sloan) Griffin’s work, he meets with the Governor regularly for COVID-19 updates.

    “We need to follow the heartbeats of the folks around us,” (Sloan) Griffin said. Besides bringing council up to speed on the virus and the constantly changing effect it’s having on the Midlands, (Sloan) Griffin explained DHEC’s strategy in preventing the spread of the virus and encouraged council to follow suit, noting that the Governor, at that time, had encouraged communities to not cancel events.

    At the second special called meeting on March 16, however, council members leaned more quickly toward closing the town’s facilities to all gatherings, including weddings at the Manor.

    “We may turn some brides into bride-zillas,” (Sloan) Griffin said, “but I think we need to close things down for at least two weeks. We need to provide for town hall staff to work at home and take care of their families while we continue to provide their pay and benefits.”

    Council will not meet for its regular monthly meeting on March 23. There will be no town government meetings until further notice.

  • Doko film festival seeking volunteers

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood filmmaker Ray Smith is conducting an informational meeting at the Blythewood Library for those interested in the upcoming Doko Film Festival. Smith will talk about the festival and volunteer opportunities. The meeting is set for March 14, 2019 at 6:00 pm.

    The Festival is set for April 26 and 27 and is dedicated to developing the skills, knowledge and confidence of young filmmakers in South Carolina and beyond. Tickets range from $5 – $20 and can be purchased at www.dokofilmfest.com.

    The first night of the festival will be held at Doko Manor on April 26, from 7 – 9:30 p.m., featuring a reception for Blythewood native and Oscar winner Michelle Eisenreich, who will also help judge the film submissions. A silent auction will include a knife signed by James Jude Courtney aka Michael Myers of Halloween, along with jazz music, drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

    The second full day of the festival will be held at Westwood High School from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., featuring screenings of selected films made entirely by high schoolers. Throughout the day, there will be master classes held by Eisenreich and other video professionals on tips and tricks needed to produce a winning and engaging film.

    There will also be representatives from the University of South Carolina and Savannah College of Art and Design discussing the two schools’ media arts and film courses.

    Awards in various categories will be presented at the end of the day as well as Best in Show.

    From 6 – 9 p.m., that evening, there will be a concert in the park behind Doko Manor.

    Tickets range from $5 – $20 and can be purchased at www.dokofilmfest.com.

  • Doko Manor wins Wedding Wire award

    Steve Hasterok, Director of Conference Center and Events, and Johnna Sutton, Assistant Manager of Doko Manor, display plaques designating The Manor as the winner of Wedding Wires Couple’s Choice award for the second year in a row. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – The staff of Doko Manor has won the Wedding Wire 2019 Couples’ Choice Award for the second year in a row, said Steve Hasterok, Director of the Conference Center and Events at Doko Manor.

    “Wedding Wire is probably the biggest wedding platform on Google,” Hasterok said. “When planning weddings, couples search the site for all things wedding – planners, venues, dresses, flowers, etc. They review the various vendors and locations. The venues with the best reviews win the award.”

    “Couples from New York, Washington, D.C., Alaska and other distant places find us on Wedding Wire. Many tell us they choose The Manor because we offer a beautiful facility with all the trimmings, and weddings here are usually much less expensive than in places like the northeast,” Hasterok said.

    To book a wedding or other event at The Manor, call 803-724-6038.

  • Lions Clubs sight event set for Sunday

    Roy Hoshall, Bobbie Dove and Kerry England make their choices early during the 2016 silent auction.

    BLYTHEWOOD – Four Lions Clubs will host their annual Night for Sight and Hearing on Sunday, Aug 19. at Doko Manor in Blythewood.  The event includes an afternoon of Gospel music by three acts: God’s Tool Box, Free By Grace and Doug Hudson.

    Clubs from Blythewood, Winnsboro, Columbia Northeast and Greater Irmo are hosting the event as their annual fundraiser for sight and hearing services in their respective communities.  Tickets are $6 per person and can be purchased from club members or at the door during the event which starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. There will be a silent auction as well as a snack kitchen with foods and desserts for purchase.  For more information, call Barbara Pemberton at 803-315-9346.

  • Free dementia care training offered Aug. 7

    BLYTHEWOOD – A free community training event for caregivers who provide care to family members or others with dementia or related dementia disorders will be conducted at Doko Manor on Tuesday, Aug. 7, from 8:30 a.m.  – 1:30 p.m. The course has the support of the Town of Blythewood and Mayor J. Michael Ross.

    The course, titled ‘Dementia Speaks,’ is based on the dementia training program offered by the  University of South Carolina’s Office for the Study of Aging and will be conducted by USC gerontologist and licensed social worker, Dr. Macie Smith, who specializes in providing one-on-one family dementia training.

    Smith’s specific focus is coordinating quality care within aging and underserved communities.

    Attendees will receive free materials from the Office of Aging, The Alzheimer’s Association, Leeza’s Care Connection and others.

    To register, contact Doris Kelly Coleman at 404-444-6960 or email MIDORA@bellsouth.net.

  • J. Gordon Coogler Poetry Contest

    BLYTHEWOOD – Winners of the J. Gordon Coogler Poetry contest were honored with an award reception at The Manor on Monday. Adult winners, in photo above, are Mary Nesbitt Garrison, Kelley Lannigan and Mike Sears (not shown). Martha Jones, right, is president of Bravo Blythewood, sponsor of the poetry contest.

    In the photo below, youth winners show off their awards. There were 55 entries.

  • Council retreat set for March; Mayor invites community

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council’s annual day-long working retreat may be a little larger than usual this year, and a little different. Mayor J. Michael Ross said on Monday that he and Council are making an all-out effort to include resident participation in this year’s event.

    “The public has always been invited to our retreats,” Ross said. “But not many of them ever attend. This year, we want them to attend. Even if they cannot come for the whole day, maybe they can set some time off in that day to stop by and let their voices be heard. We can’t do what the people want if we don’t hear from them and know what they want,” he said.

    The retreat will be held on Saturday, March 10 at Doko Manor. The day will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until approximately 4 p.m. or until all items on agenda have been addressed.  This year will be somewhat different as an emphasis will also be on citizen involvement.

    That involvement will be an item on the Jan. 24 agenda, Ross said.

    “We’re going to look at including a citizen comment section after each discussion item during the retreat. And, as always,” Ross said, “there will be ample time during the meeting for open citizen comment, so whether a citizen comes for morning session or afternoon session they will be encouraged to engage with council.”

    As further accommodation for citizen involvement, Council is arranging a community lunch from 12 noon – 1 p.m.

    “We’re asking our local restaurants to help us out with a ‘taste of Blythewood,’ luncheon that day,” Ross said. “We want to sit and eat together and talk about the next year and five, even 10 years of ideas for the future of Blythewood.”

    While residents are encouraged to contact Town Hall with any subjects they would like to be discussed by Council at the retreat, Council has already sketched out a preliminary list of topics.

    “We’re going to talk about the plan of Columbia and Richland County to form a consolidated government and what that will mean for us,” Ross said. “It might be beneficial to our 29016 Blythewood neighbors to annex into the Town so they can vote and to pre-empt Columbia and Richland County’s plan that could possibly force the annexation of those neighbors into Columbia,” Ross said.

    He also wants to talk about creating a new baseball/softball complex in the Town to host tournaments.

    “Blythewood has some of the best players and coaches in the country, as evidenced by our recent State Championships and World Series successes,” Ross added. “The fact that they are training/playing on fields built in 1979-1980 should embarrass us all.”

    “The Planning Commission will soon be updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for our community,” Ross said. “This could include any insights we have from the Central Midlands Council of Governments regarding the realignment of Blythewood Road and Langford Road and maybe some renderings of what McNulty Road could look like after the Penny widening projects are completed.”

    Ross said the list also includes discussing a multi-use trail plan and a vending stand ordinance.

    “Another thing may be pre-budget development for some proposed budget items/projects that some members of the community would like to see come to fruition,” Ross said.

    Another topic that Ross suggested might be on the table for discussion is an economic development report on potential development of businesses on Blythewood Road vacant lots.

    “We just want folks in the community to make plans to join us. Let us know you’re coming so we’ll know how to plan. But please attend,” Ross said. “We’ll be shaping the next year and years to come.”

    Members of the community can email their ideas for discussion topics to townofblythewoodsc.gov or call Town Hall at 803-754-0501 and ask to speak to Julie Emory.

  • Council OK’s Funding for Secret Project

    BLYTHEWOOD – Last week’s Town Council meeting was moved from its regularly scheduled meeting time on the last Monday night of the month to Wednesday night to coordinate with the mayor’s schedule. The main action item on the agenda was a second resolution aimed at “securing funding for certain projects in the Town,” dubbed Project Booster, a code name the Town Council uses for a building it proposes to construct in the Town Hall park. The resolution would “authorize Town Administrator John Perry to work in concert with Fairfield Electric Company, legal counsel and such other professionals as the Town Administrator shall deem appropriate to secure funding under the Rural Development Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program.”

    Perry told The Voice last month that the Town plans to use the REDLG funds, provided through the Fairfield Electric Cooperative, to landscape the grounds around the “Projects.” A previous resolution passed by Council last August regarding constructing the depot “Projects” in the Town Hall park, referred to the park as a Business Park (“Park”) and said the Town would like to expand the boundaries of that Business Park to include the Doko Depot “Projects.”

    While the Resolution repeatedly refers to the building as a depot, Mayor J. Michael Ross told The Voice last week that the term depot is used for convenience, and that the Town is not building a depot but a “Project.” When he asked Perry to clarify that point at the Council meeting on Wednesday evening, Perry confirmed that the Town was not building a depot, but he said the building that is proposed for the park has a spacial relationship to the depot that was once planned for the park. That depot proposal was later scrapped when there was not enough funding to complete the park as originally planned.

    A source who asked not to be identified told The Voice last year that Project Booster is the Town’s plan to build in the park a restaurant that will have an exclusive contract with the Town to cater events held at the as yet unfinished Doko Manor.

    Council voted unanimously to pass the resolution.

    In other business, Council voted unanimously to pass second reading on two ordinances: one to rezone a 2-acre parcel on Farrow Road near Highway 21 from Limited Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC) District, the other to accommodate a utility easement on Town Hall property.

    During the Town Administrator’s report, Perry told Council that the I-77 beautification project would be completed within a couple of weeks.

    The Mayor announced that, “This will be the last meeting of the Blythewood Town Council at the Blythewood Community Center.” The April meeting will be held at Westwood High School.