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  • 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.

     

  • Brothers Dedicate 40 Years to Coaching Youth

    Brothers Chuck and Steve Raley will be honored on Sept. 22 for their 40 years of coaching youth at Drawdy Park.
    Brothers Chuck and Steve Raley will be honored on Sept. 22 for their 40 years of coaching youth at Drawdy Park.

    WINNSBORO (Aug. 25, 2016) – Coaching is the kind of thing that gets into your blood. Not unlike the ministry, one is ‘called’ to do it.

    Forty years ago, brothers Chuck and Steve Raley answered that call, and the two have been coaching football, baseball and basketball at Drawdy Park ever since.

    Next month, Fairfield County’s local legislative delegation – Sen. Creighton Coleman and Rep. MaryGail Douglas – will recognize the Raley brothers for their service at a ceremony at Drawdy Park on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.

    “I’m honored,” Chuck Raley said recently. “But I don’t coach for the recognition. When you coach kids, you bond with kids, and I’ve bonded with so many kids over the years. I’ve had some really special kids.”

    Chuck Raley ticked off a few names that came through Drawdy Park on their way to the NFL; names like Orlando Ruff (Seattle Seahawks), Mike Anderson (Rookie of the Year in 1984 for the Denver Broncos) and Tyler Thigpen (Miami Dolphins, et. al.).

    And then there are the ones the Raleys coached who are now coaching themselves – Reggie Shaw (head football coach at A.C. Flora), Jonathan Burroughs (head baseball coach at Westwood) and Demetrius Davis (head football coach at Fairfield Central).

    Davis said that during his Drawdy Park days, he played football, baseball and basketball for the Raleys, and from them he learned what it meant to be dependable.

    “They never missed a practice,” Davis said. “They are both good guys. For them to continue their service for 40 years is a testament to what kind of guys they are. They’ve had a big fingerprint on sports in Fairfield County.”

    A youth coach, Davis said, is a key component to any high school’s feeder program, and a youth coach must strike a delicate balance – coaching kids just enough to develop their talents, but not so much that a kid gets turned off on the sport and never plays again. The Raley brothers, Davis said, have been able to strike that balance.

    “They’re one of the reasons why football has been so successful in Fairfield County for so long,” Davis said.

    Remembering that the game is supposed to be fun, Steve Raley, 58, said, is part of striking that balance.

    “You’ve got to make it fun for them,” Steve said. “If you try to over-coach them, it goes over their heads. You don’t want it to get too complicated or too competitive.”

    Chuck, 61, said his kids may not know it, but he has them running some rather advanced plays on the football field.

    “I run college plays,” he said. “They don’t know it, but they run them. I simplify them a little, but the kids today are very smart. I love watching kids learn and seeing their talent level grow. I love it when they see themselves make plays they couldn’t make when they started.”

    Steve said coaching is like therapy for him, and he hopes to keep doing it for years to come.

    “I enjoy being around the kids. They’re real special,” Steve said. “It’s been my pleasure to be with these kids. They pick me up a little bit. I love seeing the progress they make and watching them grow.”

    The Raleys have seen a lot of changes over their 40 years as coaches, and one change, they said, is concerning.

    “It seems like a number of kids nowadays are more interested in video games,” he said. “They didn’t have video games when I started coaching. Now, kids are not in as good of shape as in the past because of video games. They don’t come out and play sports like they used to.”

    “I guess they’d rather do it with their fingers now,” Steve agreed.

    But one thing, Chuck said, has not changed.

    “The quality of talent is still there,” Chuck said. “We’ve still got a lot of good athletes in Fairfield County.”

    The Sept. 22 event is free and current and former players, as well as family and friends, are invited.