Come to downtown Winnsboro June 16 for dinner in the open, featuring food straight from the farm to your table.
WINNSBORO (June 2, 2016) – You’ve heard of ‘dinner on the ground’ after church services, well, get ready for ‘dinner in the street’ to kick off Fairfield County’s Ag + Art Tour, which is part of the nation’s largest free, self-guided farm tour to be held June 18-19.
The farm-to-table dinner will be held Thursday, June 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the Town Clock Promenade in Winnsboro. Food supplies will be provided by local farm sites and prepared by the best chef’s in the County. Tickets can be purchased for $30 per person online at www.eventbrite.com/e/ag-art-farm-to-table-dinner-tickets-25585083674.
“It’s going to be a wonderful event,” Fairfield County Chamber president Terry Vickers said. “We will have long dining tables set up down the middle of the street and the meal will be sumptuous. It’s going to be the don’t-miss event of the year in our county.”
The tour itself will follow that weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19. Tour hours on Saturday will be 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 – 5 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to see first-hand where their food comes from, watch artists in action, purchase something special, and learn more about rural life.
The tour farms include Gypsy Wind Farm; Triple J Farm; Forevermore Farm; The She Garden at Painted Picket; Fairfield Farmers Market and the Barclay School at Magnolia Farm. Most of the sites will have refreshments. Fairfield will also have five ancillary sites including Royal Greens, Palmer Street Market, Fairfield, Ridgeway Historic Museum, Historic Museum, Cotton Hill Fresh Market, as well as a reminder of local restaurants and shops. All sites and directions will be published in the Ag + Art brochure.
BLYTHEWOOD (May 26, 2016) – The Wall that Heals convoy arrived in Blythewood under a giant American flag on Wednesday afternoon with a motorcycle escort after making its way through downtown Winnsboro and Ridgeway earlier in the day.
Blythewood town officials will host an opening ceremony on Thursday, May 26, at 1 p.m. As part of the ceremony, the Columbia chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America will lay a wreath at the Wall exhibit.
Also on Thursday, the Blythewood Historical Society will host an educational program featuring a video tribute to local veterans, a Quilt of Valor presentation to area veterans and a display of four restored Vietnam-era military vehicles. The program will be presented at The Manor at Doko Meadows, starting at 6:30 p.m. Some seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Throughout the weekend, the Blythewood Historical Society together with the Town of Blythewood will be honoring and remembering those who served in the Vietnam War during the town’s second annual Memorial Day observance. Events include a public exhibition of The Wall That Heals that runs May 26-30, and a historical education program about the Vietnam conflict on May 26.
The weekend’s observances center on a public exhibition of The Wall, which is open for around-the-clock public viewing from 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 26 through 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day).
The Wall That Heals, a 250-foot portable replica of the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., features the names of more than 58,000 men and women who lost their lives in the Vietnam conflict.
The exhibit, an outreach program of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, also includes an education center where visitors can learn more about the Americans who served in the Vietnam War.
All events are free and open to the public. Doko Meadows Park and The Manor are located at 171 Langford Road near the corner of Langford Road and US Highway 21 in Blythewood.
Community volunteers will be on hand around the clock to assist visitors in locating the names of friends and loved ones inscribed on The Wall That Heals. For more information, Call Hazel Kelly at Blythewood Town Hall, 754-0501.
Newly hired Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor signs his contract with the County Monday evening following a County Council executive session. Council voted unanimously to extend to Taylor a three-year contract. (Photo/Fairfield County)
WINNSBORO (May 26, 2016) – Fairfield County Council opened its May 23 meeting with a statement of apology for failing to vote in accordance with the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when it approved a new county administrator’s contract during a special called May 12 meeting without giving the public prior notification that they were going to vote.
The apology also stated that Council members was not aware that an FOIA request had been sent by The Voice to County Administration on April 1 requesting the release of the names and resumes of the final candidates for the administrator’s position.
Interim County Administration Milton Pope did not forward the FOIA request to County Council and also did not respond to The Voice’s FOIA until after the Council’s May 12 vote to offer a contract to the new administrator.
Council Chairwoman Carolyn Robinson (District 2) told The Voice that, upon learning about the FOIA request on May 19, she asked the Administration to release the names to The Voice the next day. Other Council members reached by The Voice said they did not receive the written request and were not aware that it had been sent to the Administration until after their May 12 vote.
According to Jay Bender, First Amendment attorney with the SC Press Association, in an article posted on the Press Association’s website, “there is no requirement that a public body (Council) announce its ‘finalists.’ What the law does require is that upon a written request, the public body must make available for inspection and copying all material gathered in a search to fill a position for those persons in the group from which the final selection is made. That group may not be fewer than three applicants.”
Also at issue is that, during the May 12 meeting, Council came out of executive session and voted to approve a contract with Jason Taylor to be the new County Administrator. Contrary to a new ruling of the S.C. Supreme Court, there was no mention on the agenda that Council would take action, i.e., vote, on the matter discussed in executive session.
Bender told The Voice that the vote was illegal as there was nothing on the agenda indicating an action (vote) would be taken.
Bill Rogers, Executive Director of the S.C. Press Association, told The Voice that: “Not listing the selection on the agenda is clearly illegal and is a slap in the face to the public who might want to be there for the vote. It also casts a legal pall over the whole selection.”
When asked in an email on Monday why The Voice’s FOIA request for the information was not passed on to Council members, Pope responded that he would have to research it and get back to The Voice as to why that happened.
After learning of the FOIA request last Friday, Councilman William “Billy” Smith Jr. (District 7) told The Voice: “After looking at the statute (SC 30-4-40(A-13) and some interpretation material I found online about this subject, I think I understand the law’s intentions; and if anything was indeed handled improperly by the County, I sincerely apologize. I can tell you that, throughout the selection process, Council made a genuine effort to find and hire a good administrator for Fairfield County, which I believe we have done; and I hope nothing clouds that truth.”
The May 12 vote was a mistake, Smith said. “It’s our mistake.”
County Council completed the do-over after it came out of executive session Monday and publicly voted to enter into a “contract of employment agreement with Jason Taylor for the position of County Administrator, beginning June 6, 2016.”
Taylor’s contract is for $120,000 each year for a three-year term.
To rectify what turned out to be an illegal vote by Council on May 12, Councilwoman Mary Lynn Kinley (District 6) read the following statement at Monday’s meetng:
The May 12 meeting was the first meeting we had after this instruction from the court and after we had added the provision to our bylaws, and the language was not on the May 12 agenda. That said, we sincerely apologize for these errors, any errors; we can honestly say they were unintentional. On Saturday, one day after this was brought to our attention, we released the names and resumes of the candidates to The Voice newspaper, and after our executive session this evening we will vote to approve acceptance of the contract with Mr. Taylor. It is always our goal to be as transparent as possible and to follow the letter of the law in all situations. I would like to make a statement on behalf of various other members of Council and myself regarding the executive session item on tonight’s agenda about the county administrator’s contract. This is something that needs to be addressed immediately. We as a council made a couple of errors in the process of hiring a new county administrator. We have learned that an FOIA request for the names and resumes of the finalists in the candidate pool for our next administrator was made by The Voice newspaper to county staff in early April. We were never served this FOIA request; no members of council received that. Nor were we advised as to what information needed to be released.
At our May 9 meeting, we amended our bylaws in accordance with the State Supreme Court ruling that instructed public bodies to add the following language to their agendas when executive session items exist, and quote ‘Subsequent to executive session, council may take action on matters discussed in executive session.’
Again, we apologize for these errors and are now doing what we can to correct them as quickly as possible.
Thank you.
BLYTHEWOOD (May 5, 2016) – After Town Administrator Gary Parker gave administrative approval to Essex Homes earlier this month for a proposed sketch plan for Phase 2 of the Abney Hill Estates subdivision, the Town’s Planning Commission on Monday evening voted unanimously to delegate authority to Parker to issue a preliminary approval letter for the plat, but with conditions.
The vote to approve also included a variance from the Town’s land development regulations that will allow Essex to disturb (grade) more than a third of the 90,000 square feet of designated buffered land along a stream that runs through the property. The average width of the buffer zone is 50 feet. The variance specifies, however, that the land disturbance must not intrude upon the 20 feet of land next to the stream, Parker wrote in a memo to Essex Home’s management.
While Town Planner Michael Criss said the developer would be required to revegetate (according to submitted plans) the land area disturbed by the grading, Parker said it would take the Town’s employees time and resources to inspect and monitor the revegetated stream buffer area for erosion control now and over time.
Town Planner Michael Criss told the Commission that while the variance will not set legal precedent for buffer land disturbance, it will set design precedent for other developers.
“Why can you not leave the buffer undisturbed?” Commissioner Marcus Taylor asked John Champoux, Vice President of Sustainable Design Consultants, representing the developer.
“We would lose a variable amount of land and (housing) units,” Champoux answered.
In referencing Essex’s storm water management for the development, Criss pointed out that the 25-acre development will be the first low-impact development in the Town and could be a pilot for future developments.
The following conditions were imposed by the Commission on the plat approval:
Ownership of the property being developed must be resolved to the Town’s satisfaction (presentation of a deed).
The plat must be reviewed by the Town’s consulting engineer and by Richland County Public Works.
Parker must be allowed to review the response from the S.C. Department of Transportation (DOT) to a traffic impact memo issued by the developer’s engineering firm that indicates certain intersections near the Phase 2 development (Fulmer Road at Blythewood Road, Abney Estates Drive at Fulmer Road and Mt. Valley Road at Fulmer Road) will not be significantly impacted by increased traffic from the development. Further, any improvements mandated by the DOT would be incorporated into the subsequent bond plat or final plat and not hold up construction.
The Town must receive the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The disturbed stream buffer area must be revegetated.
The developer must submit confirmation of the calculations for the minimum required replacement of trees.
Champoux told the Commissioners that the project is on schedule to begin construction in 2017.
BLYTHEWOOD (April 21, 2016) – A bridge on Fulmer Road in Blythewood is scheduled to be taken out and replaced beginning Monday, May 2, according to a letter of notification to Blythewood Town Hall from Robert Dickinson, Acting District Engineering Administrator with the S.C. Department of Transportation.
Replacement of the bridge, which extends over Beasley Creek, is necessary because of structural deficiencies, Dickenson said. It will be replaced with a 110-foot pre-stressed concrete bridge.
The bridge is expected to be closed for 11 weeks. Detours will be set up on adjacent roads, including Turkey Farm Road and Wilson Boulevard, during construction.
“Pending any delays due to weather conditions and fabricator problems, the new bridge should be reopened to traffic by July 15,” Dickinson said.
“Because of the relatively low traffic volumes, and in order to minimize the construction time, cost and impact to property owners in the area, the road will be closed and traffic detoured during construction,” Dickenson said. “The current plan is for the detour to use roads U.S. 21 (Wilson Boulevard) and Turkey Farm Road.”
Dickenson said no major businesses will be impacted by the road closing. For more information about the road closing, Dickinson can be contacted at 803-737-6660.
Instructor Kitty Rabb of Winnsboro instructs Sharon Swofford of Ridgeway in watercolor technique. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
RIDGEWAY (April 17, 2016) – St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Ridgeway began hosting a watercolor class last year with six students. Today, five of those students plus six more are still taking the class and have become accomplished artists.
While art instructor Kitty Rabb said the students had little or no art background when they began taking the classes, several of them will be offering their work for sale at next month’s annual Arts on the Ridge Festival.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, soft music wafts through the room as the women work on their projects under Rabb’s one-on-one guidance. Rabb said that while the atmosphere is relaxed, the work is intense and during each class the participants each complete a painting.
While Rabb instructs most of the classes, concentrating on technique, guest artists like Esther Melton instruct special classes. Melton recently demonstrated how to paint on glass and silver.
Rabb said newcomers are always welcome. The church is located at 307 Longtown Road in Ridgeway. For information about the classes, call 315-8006.
Blythewood High School graduate and NFL Pro-Bowl defensive back Justin Bethel presented a check for $100,000 to the Blythewood High School Education Foundation on Friday. Shown with Bethel are Dr. Sharon Buddin, Chairwoman of the BHS Education Foundation; Gabriel Bethel (brother); Brenda Bethel (mother); Dr. Keith Price, Richland School District 2 Assistant Superintendent, BHS Principal Brenda Hafner and BHS Athletic Director Vince Lowry. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
BLYTHEWOOD (April 14, 2016) – A string of three consecutive NFL Pro Bowl selections and a contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals may have changed Justin Bethel’s life, but they haven’t changed his character.
“I’m a giver. I love to give back,” Bethel said last Friday after presenting his Alma mater, Blythewood High School, with a check for $100,000. “I feel like, the position I’m in, I make enough money to take care of myself and take care of the people who helped me get to where I’m at.”
Bethel’s donation will go toward Blythewood High School’s culinary arts program and athletic program, both of which Bethel was a part during his tenure as a Bengal.
In 2006, Bethel’s junior year, he was part of the Bengal’s Class 3A state championship team. Bethel went on to play four seasons of football at Presbyterian College and was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft.
He has been selected to the Pro Bowl on special teams for the last three seasons.
“Blythewood will always be special to me, not only because I was lucky enough to be a part of the state championship team, but also because a lot of the coaches I know are still there and it’s always good to see them when I am home,” Bethel told The Voice just before his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2014. “It means a lot to me. I have some great memories there.”
Bethel presented the check during a school-wide ceremony on April 8, during which Blythewood High also bestowed upon Bethel its first Order of The Bengal, which honors distinguished alumni. The recognition, while humbling, was not entirely necessary.
“If it had been up to me, none of this would be happening,” Bethel said modestly. “I would have just given them the money and no one would have been the wiser.”
Bethel was on crutches for the ceremony, recovering from postseason surgery, but said he would be ready for training camp this summer. He racked up 46 tackles, a pair of interceptions and had a touchdown to his credit this season as the Cardinals battled their way to a division title. Arizona made it as far as the NFC championship game where they were ultimately bumped off by the Carolina Panthers.
Bethel said he plans to organize a 7-on-7 football camp for Midlands schools this June, but also stressed the importance of education in pursuing one’s athletic goals.
“If you have that dream, still get your education,” Bethel said. “At the end of the day, the NFL lasts for only so long. You have to have something to fall back on.”
Players and cheerleaders from the ‘58 and ‘59 championship teams gather on the steps of Mission Ridge after a reception in their honor. First row: Jerome Mincey, cheerleaders Joette Spires Spivey and Jean Bass Harwell, Sonny Sanders, Jackie Wilkes, John Johnson. Second row: Buddy Gunter, David Frier, Bucky Ellison, Ronnie Collins, Bill Calkins, Tommy Stevenson. Third Row: Gene Mincey, Wade Hall, Jim Hudson, Don Lewis, Rusty Price. Fourth Row: Billy Carter, Grady Cotton, Theron Wilson, Bobby Ficklin, Coach Jack Herndon, Oliver Johnson. (Photo/Barbara Ball)The 1958 Mt. Zion Institute Wildcats.
WINNSBORO (April 8, 2016) — “The headline on The State newspaper read: ‘Winnsboro winless, scoreless, looses again,’ and it was more than we could take,” said Wade Hall, former right tackle on the 1958 State Champion Mt. Zion football team, in remarks to those attending the dedication of a monument on Saturday honoring that football team and the 1959 football team who were state champions the following year.
“We got together that summer and said that was going to end,” said Hall. Indeed, according to the ‘58-’59 Tusitala yearbook, the Mt. Zion Wildcats’ were a potent squad that fall, routing Saluda 35-0 in the season opener. Similar scores followed: 6-0, 13-0, 2-0, 7-0, 18-3, 3-0 with only one loss and that was by only 1 point.
“I was a senior that year,” Jackie Wilkes, now a Winnsboro Town Councilman, recalls. “We’d worn the same jerseys since I was in 10th grade. Because it looked like we might get to the state championship, the school decided late in the season to buy us new jerseys. I think they must have found a good buy on some, because the lowest number on the ‘new’ jerseys was 59,” Wilkes said, laughing. “Our quarterback’s number was in the 60s.”
There were other obstacles for the team that year and funny remembrances as well.
“That grassy area out front of Mt. Zion was our playing field and our practice field,” Wilkes said. “So it didn’t have much grass on it. It was always either muddy or dusty. Sometimes the referee would have to call time just for the dust to settle.”
Nevertheless, by the time the Wildcats finished the year with a 26-0 state championship victory over Batesburg-Leesville, they had shut out 9 teams and allowed only 26 points the entire season.
The next year was a remarkable repeat with the ‘59 Wildcats not only going undefeated, but never scoring less than 19 points in a game.
Following the dedication at Mt. Zion, the former teammates, cheerleaders were honored by their families and friends with a reception at Mission Ridge.
“Those were a couple of great years,” said Ronnie Collins (‘59), recalling the teams’ glory days. “And we were two great teams.”
State Sen. Creighton Coleman outside the future home of the IGA grocery store in Winnsboro. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
WINNSBORO (April 8, 2016) – When Walmart closed up shop at the end of January, it took with it more than just Fairfield County’s largest retail outlet. It also left Bi-Lo as the only grocery game in town.
That monopoly is now over.
This week, State Sen. Creighton Coleman (D-17) announced that IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance) will soon be moving into the site once occupied by Food Lion in Fairfield Square, 133 Highway 321 Bypass S. The Food Lion closed its doors in 2012, leaving shoppers with only Walmart and Bi-Lo to choose from for their grocery needs.
“Negotiations have been going on for some time with IGA,” Coleman said, “but I didn’t think it was proper to say anything until the contract was signed. It’s signed. They’re coming.”
The effort to bring a second grocery chain into Fairfield County was a joint one, Coleman said. State Rep. MaryGail Douglas (D-41) joined forces with Coleman to help lure the IGA, and Coleman said the County government and the Town of Winnsboro worked together to get the deal done.
“After Walmart left, MaryGail and I started looking around and IGA was the logical choice,” Coleman said. “They came about two weeks ago and we met with them and the realtor at the store and looked at the site. And we contacted the Town and the County and asked them to look at incentives, and both were willing to sweeten the deal until IGA could get their feet under them. Everyone worked together.”
Once Coleman and Douglas had established the contacts, Coleman said, the legislators stepped aside and allowed the realtor, the County and the Town work through the details.
“We’re just elated they’ve decided to come,” Douglas said. “They’re coming at a really good time.”
Milton Pope, Interim County Administrator, said IGA was capitalizing on an incentives deal the County had floated after Walmart’s exodus. In an effort to attract new retailers, the County shortly after the Walmart closing committed up to $100,000 in marketing and incentives to bring in business. IGA, Pope said, was offered $50,000, paid out in two annual installments of $25,000 each.
“I also asked Council if they would direct me to reach out to the Town to get them to offer things,” Pope said. “There was a very positive response from the Town.”
Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy said Tuesday night that the Town offered some concession to IGA on building permits and inspection fees to aid in the grocer’s transition.
It was not known at press time when IGA planned to open for business, and efforts to reach the company and the realtor involved in the deal were unsuccessful at press time. But Coleman said he didn’t think Fairfield would have to wait too long.
And IGA may not be the last storefront to make a new home in Winnsboro. Coleman and Pope both said this week that several businesses were looking at the former Goody’s store, also in Fairfield Square; however, neither would disclose who was doing the looking.
Richard Winn Academy officially dedicated its baseball field in honor of the late Billy Ladd, who passed away Feb. 26. Ladd was a fixture for many years of RWA athletics, particularly Eagles baseball. In a ceremony before last Friday’s game with Fairfield Central, members of the Ladd family gather around home plate for the dedication. From left are: James Sims, Callie Ladd Sims holding Anne Lightcap, Jamie Lightcap, Simon Lightcap, Frances Ladd Lightcap, Lucy Lightcap, Bella Lightcap, Martha Ladd, Meg Ladd holding Sophie Lightcap and William Ladd. (Photo/DeAnna Robinson)
WINNSBORO (March 25, 2016) – Prior to the beginning of the Richard Winn versus Fairfield Central crosstown rivalry game Friday, both teams gathered on the diamond to celebrate the dedication of Richard Winn’s baseball field to Billy Ladd.
Ladd, who lost his battle with cancer in February, was a mainstay not only in the Richard Winn community, but in the Winnsboro baseball community as a whole. Griffins head coach Scotty Dean shared his own memories of Ladd.
“I sit and I type up my line-up card, about three or four, and I cut them out, and if anything is wrong with this or that, or the order that you bat in, Billy Ladd was on top of it.
“Great baseball guy,” Dean added. “I have a lot of respect for him, and what he meant to the kids over here is unbelievable. When we had our preseason tournament, and his funeral was on that Monday, I got all the teams up and prayed, and I’m just thankful that I had a chance to share this arena with them.”
Ladd’s ties with Richard Winn ran very deep. He began his own school baseball career in 1971 as a pitcher, catcher and shortstop in the Eagles’ inaugural baseball season.
He was the first captain in Richard Winn’s celebrated baseball history. Once high school was over, Ladd converted his love of baseball to the coaching side of things in what would become a 40-year passion.
“After high school, Billy continued to feed his passion for the sport of baseball. He volunteered on many youth teams including Drawdy Park, and the American Legion team,” Richard Winn Athletic Director Joe Pitt said during the dedication.
Ladd coached his son William Jr.’s 10 and under team to the very first Drawdy park State Championship. Ladd was a part of the Eagles’ coaching staff during the team’s 2007 SCISA state championship run, a team that his son also played for.
“How rewarding it must have been to have this championship experience with your son at two different levels,” Pitt said.
The Eagle family fought alongside Ladd throughout his entire battle with cancer. At the tail-end of the basketball season the ‘Ballin for Billy’ fundraising campaign was launched, and helped raise thousands of dollars to ease the family’s medical expenses.
Additionally, before Ladd passed away he was enshrined in the Richard Winn Hall of Fame. Following Friday’s ceremony, two large “Billy Ladd Field” plaques were placed on both the home and away dugouts.
To cap off the dedication, William Ladd Jr., who was by his dad’s side for two championships, threw out the first pitch.
“It was a special night,” Eagles head coach Al Berry said. “The important thing tonight was to honor coach Ladd, and his family, and to really use that for an inspiration as to how we play the game.”
*Editor’s Note: We would be remiss here as we honor the memory of Billy Ladd if we did not offer a special word of thanks for all he did to help The Voice newspaper in its coverage of RWA sports, particularly baseball. A small newspaper simply does not have the manpower to be everywhere at once, and because of the nature of the SCISA scheduling, the Eagles were often playing baseball on deadline nights in places very far from home. But no matter what the hour, Billy Ladd was only a phone call away, ready, willing and eager to go through the book, recounting every detail of a dramatic RWA win or a heartbreaking RWA loss. Without fail. There can be no doubt that without Billy Ladd, our coverage of RWA baseball on many nights would have been far less than it was.
Thank you, Billy. You were One of a Kind, and you shall be missed.
