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  • Documents detail complaints vs RW chief

    RIDGEWAY—Police Chief Christopher Culp has been the subject of at least 15 formal complaints from Ridgeway residents and businesses in the past 12 months, according to documents obtained by The Voice.

    Dating back to July 2017, the complaints that nearly cost Culp his job provide a more detailed look into what drove Ridgeway Town Council to consider terminating him.

    A motion to immediately terminate Culp failed at the June 14 council meeting when a motion to fire him never received a second.

    Instead, the council opted to work with Culp in addressing the complaints following a 90-minute discussion about them in executive session June 14.

    “We do have some underlying issues with the police department, and we’re going to correct those issues,” Ridgeway Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said following the vote.

    Obtained through the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, the documents paint a picture of absenteeism, indifference and other breaches of protocol by the chief.

    Documents dispute SRO claim

    At a packed council meeting June 14, some residents claimed council members targeted the chief because they thought he spent too much time at Geiger Elementary School, which doesn’t have a school resource officer.

    Council documents included with the June 14 meeting agenda stated that during the month of May, Culp performed 22 security checks at Geiger Elementary, or about once every 1.4 days.

    Culp’s supporters said they didn’t mind the chief doubling as a de facto SRO, even though he’s not technically certified to act as one, according to the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.

    “You’ve done everything except for what you are elected to do,” said Tiffany Allison, chairwoman of the Geiger Elementary School Improvement Council, to Council. “You have put children in danger because of your actions. You should restore the trust that has been broken.”

    Betty Branham, however, told The Voice that Culp spends too much time at the school.

    “If he wants to help school children, he needs to get busy on Coleman St. A child is going to get hurt the way the traffic races up and down this road. I live on the corner of Coleman and Third, and it’s amazing what’s being ignored out here. I only see the police car parked down at the station down from the school. Mr. Culp is never in it. Where does he go all day long, do tell?”

    Complaints obtained by The Voice, however, list a litany of other complaints unrelated to the SRO issue.

    One complaint filed Jan. 8 said a traffic ticket was unlawfully issued long after the offense occurred.

    “Culp came to residence, honking horn, to issue ticket of parking wrong side,” the document states.

    A similar report stated that Culp showed up in an unmarked car in an attempt to issue a parking ticket.

    “He came to my house to issue a ticket and beat excessively on the door to the extent of scaring my mother in law,” the report said.

    Another complaint filed Jan. 11 asked why a theft that occurred Nov. 27, 2017 hadn’t been investigated. The complaint noted that security cameras in the area no longer showed the date of the incident.

    An undated complaint included in town documents said Culp never issued any tickets when a resident reported dogs running loose in the street.

    “He asked if I was afraid of the dog at town hall? Then I shouldn’t worry about my neighbor,” the form states. “I tried to explain that the dog at town hall was well behaved and behind a locked door and my neighbors [sic] dogs were running loose.”

    Suspicious person overlooked

    “I find his attitude lackadaisical, unprofessional, and not very caring about protecting the town,” one complaint stated.

    Those remarks appeared in a July 2017 letter signed by Carol Allen, owner of Laura’s Tea Room.

    In her complaint, Allen said Culp failed to investigate a suspicious person who “camped out” in front of her business, using an electrical outlet to charge his cellphone.

    According to the complaint, Culp stated he was too busy to investigate the man.

    Allen eventually asked the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office about the suspicious person. Deputies were familiar with the man and when they tried to speak with him, he took off running, the complaint stated.

    Deputies caught the man and took him into custody. He had multiple outstanding warrants for breaking and entering, and also had several pill bottles in other people’s names on his person, according to the complaint.

    “I feel we pay Officer Culp to serve and protect, and I understand he is just one officer, but I really feel he did not handle this correctly,” Allen stated in the complaint.

    Hard to find

    A complaint filed May 1 stated Fairfield County investigators were unable to contact Culp to review tapes at the police department.

    One week later, a complaint was filed that said Culp canceled a Feb. 7 meeting due to a family emergency, and couldn’t reschedule for two days later. Culp, however, clocked in from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 8-10, the complaint states.

    “Tried numerous times and when did reach Culp [he] said he didn’t have time and would call when convenient for him,” the complaint said. “It’s been 3 months and monitoring visit must be done.”

    Other complaints the town received were critical of Culp’s apparent lack of responsiveness.

    A complaint filed Jan. 28 states a person ticketed for an unknown violation appeared for court on Oct. 2, 2017, but Culp was absent. The document states Culp didn’t turn in the ticket until Oct. 11.

    According to the complaint, the person stopped by court on Nov. 29, 2017 so Culp could rewrite the ticket, but the chief wasn’t working. The person also tried unsuccessfully to call Culp on Jan. 28, 2018, the document stated.

    “[Three] visits no results,” the form said. “Requested jury trial.”

    The court complaint is in addition to one that Municipal Judge Adrian Wilkes filed June 14, the day before Ridgeway Town Council considered a motion to fire the chief.

    Wilkes stated in his complaint that Culp frequently and openly questions the judge in open court.

    “Chief Culp has shown a lack of manners, professionalism, and respect for the Court,” Wilkes wrote. “He has consistently attempted to speak over and interrupt myself and others within the court room.”

    Culp also called in sick for court with only 10 minutes of notice, resulting in a slew of not guilty pleas, the complaint stated.

    Related:  Judge, others issue complaints against chief,  Chief survives move to fire him

  • Councilwoman storms out of executive session…again

    RIDGEWAY – About 20 minutes into the executive session, of the Thursday night Ridgeway Town Council meeting called to discuss the police department, Councilwoman Angela Harrison emerged alone, visibly distraught. Harrison said she left executive session because she was bothered by what council members were saying about the chief. It was the second time she has burst out of an executive session since the new government was seated in April.

    “I’m not going to let them talk about our chief that way. I cannot defeat the lies,” Harrison said. “They’re just trying to fry him. This is evil.”

    She spent about five minutes criticizing council and receiving hugs from supporters of the town’s police chief, Christopher Culp, before returning to the session.

    Related: Chief survives move to fire him,  Judge, others issue complaints against chief

  • Ridgeway Council proceeds with Cotton Yard purchase

    RIDGEWAY – Mayor Heath Cookendorfer called a special council meeting Monday evening to put the Cotton Yard purchase to bed – to either move forward to purchase it or to back out of the purchase.

    Cookendorfer said he wanted both residents and Council members to have the chance to speak their minds in public about the pending purchase from Norfolk Southern. Two members of the audience, Tina Johnson and Vicki Maass, spoke in favor of the purchase. Council members then had their turns.

    “The Cotton Yard is the center of our town and is an asset,” Councilman Dan Martin said. “Nobody likes the price, but my feeling is that if we pull out now, we’re going to lose $15,000 up front,” Martin said. “It would be good to have control of it. That’s my thinking.”

    “No doubt we need to buy it,” Councilman Rufus Jones agreed, but with a caveat. “I hate to be forced to buy it and that’s what we have to do because of the last administration. We used it for years for free, and they kept messing with the railroad till they got ticked off and I don’t think we have a choice but to buy it. The amount is ridiculous, but I don’t see where we have a choice,” Jones said.

    “I voted against it in the previous administration, and I vote against it now,” Councilman Don Prioleau said. “I felt $73,000 plus all the other fees was too much. As Councilman Jones said, we always used this property at no cost. I voted against it, and today I vote against it.”

    Councilwoman Angela Harrison passed on speaking, and Cookendorfer took his turn.

    “As part of the previous administration, I thought the first price was a fair, economical decision,” Cookendorfer said. “Then we got the second one and I was against that. But I’ve also been one to say I hate losing money. At this point, we’ve spent $15,000 on the earnest money, the survey, legal fees and phase one of the environmental study.  The Cotton Yard is a big part of our downtown, so I agree that we need to move forward with the purchase.”

    Jones said he would like to see the fire station and police station on the property renovated for use as spaces for merchants.

    “Maybe we could get a grant to help pay for it,” Jones said.

    “So am I to understand that there have been discussions about what to do with the buildings in the Cotton Yard that I’ve not been privy to?” Harrison asked.

    “I’ve mentioned in open session that I would like to see something go there as rental space,” Cookendorfer said. “I’ve been more than forthcoming that that is something I would like to see.”

    “In the past we did discuss buying the property under the buildings. Just a discussion. We talked about taking the space next to the (old) post office and making that into public restrooms…” Prioleau said before Harrison interrupted.

    “Well that’s not what’s up for discussion tonight and it wasn’t on the agenda for discussion…”

    “We’re just discussing buying the property and what we’ll do with it if we buy it…,” Prioleau said.

    After further discussion about boundaries of the Cotton Yard and the railroad’s 65-foot right of way,
    Cookendorfer closed in on the purchase.

    “It sounds like Council would like to move forward except for Councilman Prioleau,” Cookendorfer said. Council agreed that the mayor would contact the Town’s attorney for the contract and move forward with the closing on June 22.

    Following the meeting, Cookendorfer said he would like to see the former Just Around the Corner consignment shop (behind Olde Town Hall Restaurant) renovated for use as public restrooms.

    “I think that would be helpful to the merchants and a good use for the building,” Cookendorfer said. “It’s all about funding. That’s where we stand now.”

    The property inside the red line is the .65 acres the Ridgeway Town Council is purchasing from Norfolk Southern Railroad.

  • Rules for behavior on Ridgeway agenda

    RIDGEWAY – In an effort to return what he termed respect and order to Ridgeway Town Council meetings, newly elected Mayor Heath Cookendorfer rolled out new rules for behavior for council members at the last meeting.

    “When someone has the floor and someone else has something to add, if that person will raise their hand, they will be called upon and be given the floor next,” Cookendorfer said. “That way, we won’t have interruptions in the meetings or be talking over each other. This will allow respect for each other and an orderly meeting.”

    And that’s what happened. There were no interruptions and the meeting was orderly.

    In one of the first items of business, Cookendorfer sought to clear the air in public session about the status of the Town’s contract with Norfolk about the status of the Town’s contract with Norfolk Southern Railroad to purchase the cotton yard. He called on attorney Kathleen McDaniels, who was hired by former Mayor Charlene Herring’s administration to negotiate the purchase of .6 acres of property (cotton yard) for which the Town agreed to pay Norfolk Southern $73,000 plus about $20,000 in additional expenses to include surveying, legal fees, an environmental soil study, etc.

    Although the contract was signed by the previous council on March 22, 2018, and can now be discussed in public session, McDaniels suggested she update council behind closed doors regarding the contract.

    Cookendorfer, however, repeated that he would like to have the update in open (public) session, and McDaniels proceeded to the podium.

    “The Norfolk Southern closing on the property is set for June 20, 2018,” McDaniels said. “During that period of due diligence, lots of things have to happen – an environmental study of the soil, a survey, a legal description, title commitment, etc.,” McDaniels said.

    “Can the Town still get out of the contract?” Cookendorfer asked. “Do we have the option of renegotiating the contract?

    “There is certainly the possibility to do that,” McDaniels said. “But the likelihood that Norfolk Southern is going to renegotiate the contract is pretty slim. The earnest money of $5,000 has been paid to Norfolk Southern, so if you terminate the contract, you’ll lose the earnest money and the costs that you have already incurred for surveying, the environmental study, legal and other costs,” McDaniels said.

    Cookendorfer thanked McDaniels for her presentation.

    Other Business

    Luke Law was unanimously appointed as the Town’s new zoning administrator to replace Rick Johnson who resigned April 6.

    Council passed, 4-1, first reading of the fiscal year 2018-19 budget in the amount of $774,840. Councilwoman Harrison voted against first reading, saying she did not have enough information to vote. Council will hold a public hearing and second reading on June 14.

    Council voted unanimously to select the paint color ‘aqua sky’ for the new water tower.

    A discussion of water rate increases proposed by the Town of Winnsboro was tabled until next meeting.

    Council voted 5-0 to terminate Southern Resource Advisors previous arrangement to find overlooked income for the town government. The company said it has found approximately $900 of annual income for the town, 50 percent of which will go to the Town of Ridgeway and 50 percent to Southern Resource Advisors for their efforts. Cookendorfer said the company advised, however, that there is little more they can do for the town in that regard and suggested not going forward with the agreement.

    FOIA Reminder

    Cookendorfer said he had sent out a letter to all town government committee heads reminding them that they are subject to the provisions of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for public bodies.

    “Meetings must be open to the general public,” Cookendorfer said, “and must be properly posted 24 hours in advance.” Cookendorfer said that anyone wishing to be notified of these meetings can have their name placed on a list at Town Hall to receive emails of the agendas.

    Executive Session

    Two agenda items were discussed in executive session – an employee matter related to the police department and another related to the town’s municipal court. Following executive session, Rufus Jones made a motion to consider former municipal judge Gen Palmer as a backup for the town’s current municipal Judge, Adrian Wilkes. The motion passed 5-0. No motion was made concerning the police department item.

    The next regularly scheduled meeting of Council will be Thursday, June 14.

  • Mayor and councilmen sworn in

    RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway’s newly elected mayor and town council members were sworn into office Friday evening at the Century House by Ridgeway Municipal Judge Adrian Wilkes. From left are Councilman Dan Martin with Robbie Martin holding the Bible; Mayor Heath Cookendorfer with Patti Cookendorfer holding the Bible and Councilman Rufus Jones with Gloria Keeffe holding the Bible. The mayor and the two council members will each serve four-year terms. The next meeting of the Ridgeway Town Council will be Thursday evening at 6:30 at the Century House.

  • Cookendorfer elected RW Mayor

    RIDGEWAY – In a deeply divided race for mayor and two council seats, three candidates who ran as a block won as a block, tipping the balance of power in the Ridgeway town government.

    Councilman Heath Cookendorfer, with 71 votes (54.20 percent), bested Councilwoman Angela Harrison, with 59 votes (45.04 percent) to capture the mayor’s seat.

    Newcomer Dan Martin, with 77 votes (30.43 percent), and former mayor and councilman Rufus Jones, with 66 votes (26.09 percent), won the two vacant council seats over Rick Johnson, 59 votes (23.32 percent), and Roger Herring, 51 votes (20.15 percent).

    There was one write-in vote for Rufus Jones for mayor. Of the town’s 229 registered voters, 131 (57.21 percent) turned out to cast their ballots.

    Among the issues at stake in the race were the future of the current four members of the Pig on the Ridge steering committee and Bella the dog whose tenure at Town Hall had been on the block for more than a year.

    “It feels good to be in a position to get Ridgeway back on track,” Cookendorfer told The Voice following the election. “I’m thankful for those who voted for me and for those who supported me. I want to thank my running mates, Dan Martin and Rufus Jones, and I’m proud of how they ran their campaigns. We’re going to work together and with the council. We need cohesiveness so we can move Ridgeway forward. Go Ridgeway!”

    Martin echoed Cookendorfer’s desire to bring the town together after a campaign that divided much of the town.

    “What Ridgeway needs most right now is unity between residents and council,” Martin said. “It was clearly a divided race, and we have some people who are hurting. This is Ridgeway, and I hope we can all come together now, heal and move forward. We will do our best, I promise, to help make that happen.”

    Rufus Jones, mayor from 2000-2004, made a political comeback that, he said, made him feel really fortunate.

    “Our goal, all three of us, is now to help our town come together,” Jones said. “I appreciate, more than you know, everyone who supported us and everyone who came out to vote. My goal is to do a good job for Ridgeway. And if I don’t, tell me.”

    Debby Stidham, Director of Voter Registration said the canvas and certification of the votes will take place at the voter registration office at 10 a.m. Friday.

  • Fact checking the Ridgeway Candidate Forum

    Angela Harrison, mayoral candidate, and Roger Herring, council candidate | Photos from Angela Harrison’s Facebook Live

    RIDGEWAY – Of the six candidates in the upcoming Ridgeway election, three of them, Angela Harrison, Roger Herring and Rick Johnson, participated in a candidate forum held last Thursday evening at the Century House and sponsored by the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce. The other three candidates, Heath Cookendorfer, Rufus Jones and Dan Martin, held a community barbeque on Saturday, March 24, where they talked with voters informally about their candidacies.

    Rick Johnson, council candidate

    Attorney Mike Kelly, a member of the Chamber, served as moderator for the forum, first asking general questions posed by the Chamber and then taking questions submitted from the audience. The forum can be viewed on Angela Harrison’s Facebook page.

    Since The Voice does not publish again prior to the election on April 3, the following FACT CHECK of some of the answers given by candidates to audience questions at the forum are published here.

    Question: Historically, the majority of the recording and classification of town procedures and disbursements have been handled by one person [in town hall]. The likelihood of honest mistakes is real. If elected, would you continue with the current one-person solution or would you implement a more current, transparent solution?

    Answers:

    Angela Harrison (mayoral candidate): “From reading the audits from 2006 to the present, it has been recommended in every single audit that we not have a one person system. So I would like to see that change.”

    Roger Herring (council candidate): “We need more than one person…our audit recommends that this [having only one person] be changed. It hasn’t been.”

    FACT CHECK:

    The Town audit makes no statement or recommendation about how many employees the town should have or, specifically, that the Town should not have a one-person system. Instead, the audit states, “during our audit we did not identify any deficiencies in internal control that we consider to be material weaknesses.”

    The town actually has three employees in town hall, not just one, according to Town Councilman Don Prioleau, in order to provide internal control over the Town’s financial reporting (receiving, recording, depositing, and disbursing money) – a full time clerk, a part time assistant clerk who works at least 40 hours per month and a part time interim administrator who works at least one day per week and sometimes more. According to Prioleau, internal controls over financial reporting in the Town Hall are handled in the following manner:

    • Town Clerk takes in money.
    • Assistant Clerk makes the deposits.
    • Administrator opens bank statements.
    • Town Clerk reconciles bank statements.
    • Assistant Clerk verifies bank statements with the financial report.
    • Town Council Member (usually the Mayor) and one employee sign all checks.

    Question: Would you implement procedures [for the Town government] to allow more public access [to Town government information]?

    Answers:

    Angela Harrison: I definitely think we need more public access. You don’t have to file an FOIA [Freedom of Information Request] with me. Just ask me. I will hand it to you…When you have a question, just call me, email me, Facebook me. I’ll always give you any document that I have.

    FACT CHECK: On Friday, March 30, the day after the forum where Ms. Harrison made this statement, The Voice emailed Ms. Harrison to ask for a copy of the Town’s 2017 audit. Ms. Harrison answered via email that her copy was missing two pages. The Voice emailed back that was fine, and asked for the audit without those two pages. Ms. Harrison did not respond. The Voice made two more requests and four days later, at publishing time, Ms. Harrison has neither responded further to the request nor handed over the document.

    Rick Johnson (council candidate): “Yes. You as a citizen ought to be able to come in here and ask how much money does Ridgeway have in the bank, and somebody ought to be able to tell you that. I don’t understand why that’s a real problem.”

    FACT CHECK: Contacted by The Voice as to whether he had experienced this problem, Mr. Johnson said, “There is no problem that I know of. I have no specifics on this. I haven’t been involved in Ridgeway government so it’s hard for me to know this stuff.”

    Question: How would you implement any changes in the way festivals are run in Ridgeway?

    Answers:

    Rick Johnson: “I know the [POR] steering committee has always managed it and they do a really great job making it a successful event. However, I think there needs to be oversight by council because the revenue raised by this festival…the oversight needs to come from this council. There’s a difference between a steering committee and this council’s responsibility as lordship over funds and making sure funds are disbursed properly, that things are purchased properly. There’s a fuzzy line there. It has created a problem…”

    FACT CHECK: When asked by The Voice, specifically, what problems have been created by the Pig on the Ridge steering committee, Mr. Johnson said, “I don’t know of any specific issue or problem…I’m not saying anyone has done anything wrong or that there’s even a problem. I don’t know of a problem. I have no clue who has oversight over the Pig on the Ridge festival. I don’t know enough about Pig on the Ridge and how it operates to answer the question.”

    Roger Herring: “There are too many holes in the festivals that have gone wrong. There should be more accountability for all of them. I think those in charge of the committees who put them on think it’s their festival and they can do whatever they want. But it’s not. So many things of accountability that have gone past, unnoticed and undone. We need new people involved.”

    FACT CHECK: When The Voice contacted Mr. Herring to ask him to identify, specifically, what has ‘gone past, unnoticed and undone,’ by the POR steering committee, Mr. Herring declined to comment.

    According to Town Hall, Councilmen Prioleau and Heath Cookendorfer and all four members of the steering committee, Town Hall receives all revenue for the POR festival, makes all deposits, keeps all records, writes all checks and Council approves all purchases, expenses and donations. Town Hall (the mayor, specifically) has taken out, kept records for, signed for and cashed all CD’s purchased with revenue from the POR festival. Town Hall creates and issues annual reports and monthly summaries on the festival’s finances for council, the auditor and the media. Those reports are available in Town Hall.

    Question: (Addressed to Ms. Harrison) All Pig on the Ridge funds are in the Town government’s control…Why, then, do you say it is the Pig on the Ridge steering committee’s responsibility to report on the Pig on the Ridge festival funds?

    Answer:

    Angela Harrison: “If it were the town’s responsibility [to report on the POR festival financials], then the town council would have known about the false information filed [by the POR steering committee] with the Secretary of State.”

    Response:

    Mr. Tom Connor, one of the four members of the POR steering committee, stated (from the audience with permission from the moderator) that Ms. Harrison’s use of the term ‘false information’ inferred that the Pig on the Ridge steering committee had intentionally filed incorrect information with the Secretary of State.

    Response:

    “I never said that,” Ms. Harrison responded.

    FACT CHECK – Mr. Connor gets the point here. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the term false information means to “deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.”

  • Council proposes restrictions on POR $

    RIDGEWAY – At its March meeting, Town Council continued chipping away at the Pig on the Ridge (POR) festival steering committee’s longstanding level of involvement with the festival by introducing an ordinance that Interim administrator David Hudspeth said would establish financial procedures for the administration of POR funds.

    While the steering committee – Tom Connor, Councilman Don Prioleau, Rufus Jones and Henry Dixon – has provided general oversight and management of the festival since its inception in 1999, Connor said the Town government has always collected, accounted for, deposited and written the checks for all POR moneys, and that POR expenditures always required Council approval, which was rarely if ever withheld. Council, not POR, had authority to sign POR checks and purchase and cash POR CDs, Connor said.

    In turn, Connor said the steering committee enjoyed autonomy in making decisions regarding how the festival’s money was spent, how charitable donations were distributed, etc.

    “It operated on a gentleman’s agreement between the committee and Town Hall,” Jones said. “There were no problems. Everything ran smoothly. There were no complaints that we mishandled money and no problems from yearly audits. Everything was reported properly and it added up,” Jones said. “We never touched POR cash. It went directly to town hall.”

    Hudspeth’s proposed ordinance would impose strict procedures for all POR expenses and revenues, some of which, Prioleau said, will not work for POR.

    Among those are the requirement that the committee seek Council approval before purchasing a big ticket item such as a town clock which the committee has contemplated purchasing. The committee must also procure goods and services for the operation of the festival in accordance with the Town’s purchasing policies. Prioleau said that won’t work.

    “U.S. Foods works with us. The meat market is up and down, and we don’t lock in on a price ‘till two weeks out,” Prioleau said. “They deliver meat and donate $1,000 to POR. They provide us with quality meat. We can’t just take the lowest bid.”

    “POR has been a community effort and brought the community together. We’ve brought love and commitment and we’ve been doing it for 19 years, so we must have been doing something right,” Prioleau said. “I beg you to review this. We need a better ordinance.”

    After Prioleau’s emotional plea, Councilman Heath Cookendorfer made a motion to table the ordinance until the administrator and POR committee could agree.

    Unlike recent rancorous meetings, there were no interruptions, and Council voted unanimously, 5-0 in favor of Cookendorf’s motion.

    “We’re glad you all are coming to the table,” Mayor Charlene Herring said to Prioleau. “We just want to make sure that we’re all clear and clean. I wouldn’t want anything to stop any of our festivals.”

  • Harrison has plans for Pig on the Ridge’s revenue

    RIDGEWAY– After Ridgeway Town Administrator David Hudspeth cashed in 10 Pig on the Ridge CDs in January, prior to their maturity, and deposited that cash into the Town’s General Fund, Town Councilwoman Angela Harrison made a motion at the Feb. 26 meeting that could eventually strip the Pig on the Ridge steering committee of its ability to determine to which charities the festival’s proceeds are given in the future.

    In addition, an item on the March 8 agenda would, if passed, establish financial procedures for the administration of the POR and other festivals.

    The motion came out of an agenda item Harrison asked to have placed on the docket: “Consideration of education grant opportunities for Ridgeway students in District No. 1, Ridgeway.”

    These grant opportunities could be funded, Harrison announced, with profits from Pig on the Ridge and other Ridgeway festivals.

    “Let’s have a charitable purpose of how we can use it [POR profits.] I’ve looked into what we can do…I’m looking at scholarships and ways to give back to our kids. I think it is really important that we use some of our festival revenues…and put it into an educational grant,” Harrison said.

    Before making her motion, “To meet with community and school leaders and partners to develop a budget for an education grant for the whole community,” Harrison unleashed 20 minutes of rapid-fire criticism of the popular barbecue festival that was created 19 years ago by four Ridgeway men: Town Councilman Don Prioleau, former Ridgeway Mayor Rufus Jones, Tom Connor and local Pit Master J. W. Joye. Some years before his death, Joye stepped down and was replaced by Henry Dixon. Prioleau, Jones, Connor and Dixon comprise the POR steering committee and oversee the planning, marketing and management of the festival, the largest barbecue festival in the state for 15 years.  The event is manned by a volunteer army comprised primarily of residents from the community.

    Talking rapidly as she handed out multiple rounds of documents to Council members in dramatic fashion, Harrison took the POR organizers to the woodshed before zeroing in on the agenda item that could eventually transfer control of the POR funds from the steering committee to the community/school committee overseeing education grant opportunities.

    Harrison first lambasted the POR for its out-of-date filing status with the Secretary of State’s office, saying that POR should be in a category for charitable organizations that take in more than $20,000 in sponsor and vendor fees, which the POR does. In that category, the POR would be required to list revenues, expenses and a statement of its charitable purpose with the Secretary of State, not just the Town government. Instead, the festival’s status remains as it was originally filed with the Secretary of State…as an ‘exempt’ charity that brings in less than $7,500 annually.

    “So, the information at the Secretary of State’s office is not correct and we need to have it fixed,” Harrison said.

    Harrison presented no proof, however, that the POR steering committee had made any missteps in reporting revenues and expenses to the Town’s auditor or to Town Hall, which, Prioleau said, has always handled the POR funds. Nor was any proof presented that the POR steering committee had mishandled any of the POR funds in any way.

    Following the Council meeting, Prioleau told The Voice that the failure to update the Secretary of State filing was an unintentional oversight. According to the Secretary of State’s office, that correction can be made by Town Hall in May when the filing is due to be renewed.

    “All this show tonight wasn’t necessary to get a new form filled out,” Prioleau said.

    Next, Harrison said she had “recently sat down and traced the expenditures and revenues from the POR festival and realized that it’s not really giving back to our community as much as it could.”

    She was critical that some of the profits from each POR festival were held in a CD for use as seed money for the next POR festival. Prioleau said the CDs were also used to make large purchases for the town that would exceed the profits from a single year, such as a town clock.

    When Prioleau tried to speak, explaining how ex-Ridgeway Mayor Gene Wilson had helped the POR get organized during its first year and how decisions were made early on to set aside seed money for each successive year’s POR festival, Harrison interrupted him.

    “I’m trying to give you the whole picture,” Prioleau explained to Harrison.

    “I know the whole picture,” Harrison shot back, with a laugh.

    “I listened to you, now…,” Prioleau said before he was again interrupted.

    “Ok, the whole picture,” Harrison said.

    “After the last POR festival, I passed out checks for $300 each to 21 or 22 churches and Geiger Elementary. We’ve donated a lot of money to the community over the years – over $10,000 to renovate the Century House, over $10,000 for a special piece of fire department equipment that we had to save a couple of years for, money to Hurricane victims and to flood victims through the Red Cross, and more,” Prioleau said. “The money in the CDs is just to be sure we have money for the next festival. Now, if you have questions,” Prioleau said, “you need to come to the table and sit down and see what we need to do, but if we’re going to have the festival year after year, either the Town will have to fund it or…”

    “The Town is funding it!” Harrison interrupted again.

    As Prioleau tried to talk, Harrison continued to talk over him.

    “The Town has been funding it,” Harrison said. “You can’t say the Town has not been funding it. It’s been funded by the Town!”

    Prioleau again asked Harrison to let him finish.

    “Pig on the Ridge has never been in the red, not even the first year…” Prioleau said before being interrupted again.

    “I’m not saying you were,” she said.

    “You’re saying the Town is funding Pig on the Ridge,” Cookendorfer interjected and was joined by Prioleau as they emphasized in unison, “but that’s money raised by Pig on the Ridge that the Town is paying out.”

    “I totally understand that,” Harrison said, before changing the subject and repeating, again, that the POR was not filed properly with the Secretary of State.

    “If you’re saying Pig on the Ridge money is not spent properly…,” Prioleau said.

    “You didn’t file it properly, Donald, is all I’m saying,” Harrison said, all the while filming Prioleau and Cookendorfer on Facebook Live with her phone throughout the meeting.

    Cookendorfer told Harrison that she was painting only half the picture.

    “Really?” Harrison asked with a smile and began talking over Cookendorfer again.

    “I am asking to be able to talk without being interrupted,” Cookendorfer said.

    “It’s all right here,” Harrison continued, ignoring Cookendorfer’s plea.

    “Can you stop interrupting?” Cookendorfer asked.

    Mayor Charlene Herring, who had been hesitant to gavel Harrison’s repeated interruptions, instructed Cookendorfer to go ahead and vote on the motion and ask his questions later.

    Cookendorfer insisted he should be allowed to ask questions about the paperwork Harrison handed out since she had not shared it prior to the meeting.

    Asked later by The Voice if she had spoken to Cookendorfer, Prioleau or the other members of the POR steering committee about the Secretary of State information prior to the meeting, Harrison said she had not.

    At Councilman Doug Porter’s suggestion, Herring allowed Cookendorfer to finish asking questions.

    Finally, Harrison segued into a several-minute soliloquy, elaborating on her stated motion and her plans for the education grant committee.

    The vote on the motion passed 3-2 with Herring, Harrison and Porter voting for and Prioleau and Cookendorfer voting against.

    Story updated 3/8/18 at 10:00 to correct Town Council’s meeting date, which is March 8. 

  • Six candidates file for RW election

    RIDGEWAY – With the filing deadline ending on Feb. 2, four candidates have declared for the two open seats on Ridgeway Town Council and two have declared to run for mayor.

    These candidates will be on the April 3 ballot: Council – Roger Herring, Rick Johnson, former mayor Rufus Jones and Dan Martin; Mayor – Councilman Heath Cookendorfer and Councilwoman Angela Harrison. Terms are ending for Cookendorfer and Doug Porter.

    Both the council seats and the mayor’s seat are for four year terms. The election is nonpartisan, and no party affiliation will be placed on the ballot.

    The election will be held on Tuesday, April 3, at the Ridgeway Fire Department, 170 S. Palmer Street. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. that day.

    Those desiring to vote in the upcoming election must be registered by March 5, 2018, at the Fairfield County Board of Voter Registration, 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro.

    For more information, call 803-337-2213.