This map of the Town of Blythewood depicts the areas that have been or are currently being zoned for industry. The Planning Commission has recommended that height requirements in these districts be allowed up to 100 feet.
BLYTHEWOOD – The Planning Commission voted to give Blythewood’s economic development consultant, Ed Parler, what he asked for and more on Monday evening – a recommendation to Town Council for an extension on the height of industrial facilities, from 35 feet to 100 feet, in the town’s newly proposed Limited Industrial (LI-2) zoning district. Another 10 feet can be tacked on by the Board of Zoning Appeals upon request.
And while they were at it, the commissioners, at Chairman Malcolm Gordge’s suggestion, voted to make the 100-foot height extension applicable to all the town’s industrial zoning districts which, in addition to the proposed LI-2 district, include: Light Industrial Research Park (LIRP), Limited Industrial (LI) and Basic Industrial (BI).
The height recommendation will now be tacked on to the second reading (vote) of the proposed LI-2 industrial zoning ordinance. Council passed first reading on that ordinance last week, but only approved Parler’s height request up to 50 feet, so Parler took his request back to the Planning Commission for recommendation. At their April 28 meeting Council members will decide whether to act on the Planning Commission’s recommendation for the additional height on the LI-2 zoning district only. Adding additional height to the ordinances governing the other three industrial zoning districts would have to be brought up separately.
When Commissioner Marcus Taylor questioned how the 100 feet of height would impact neighboring residents, Parler said the nearest resident would be more than 3,000 feet from the industrial facility and that, when in proximity to residential areas, the lot line setback for the building would be 6 feet for every foot above 40 feet.
The proposed LI-2 zoning ordinance is a text ordinance only. The zoning map will have to then be amended before such zoning can be applied to a particular parcel of land. Parler has told Council that a 600-acre parcel is the target of the LI-2 zoning proposal and will accommodate a specific industry that Richland County has recruited and wants to locate in Blythewood. The parcel is roughly bordered by I-77, Northpoint Industrial Park, the Ashley Oaks neighborhood and Locklear Road. The proposed parcel as well as the other three industrial parcels in the town can be seen on the zoning map.
Philadelphia attorney Leslie Miller greets Charly, adopted from the Fairfield County Adoption Center. Miller flew into the Fairfield County Airport in her private jet Sunday, seen in the background with the plane’s co-pilot, to fetch the Australian Shepherd and take her home.
WINNSBORO – ‘Break a leg’ is a common saying in theater meant to wish a performer good luck. Well, it apparently works for dogs, too. It certainly did for Charly.
The black Australian Shepard puppy, at about 5 months old, was found with a severely injured back left leg last summer and taken to the Fairfield County Animal Shelter. There, with the help of shelter and adoption center staff and volunteers, Charly’s story had a fairy tale ending. She was adopted by a Philadelphia lawyer (really!) who flew in to the Fairfield County Airport Sunday in a private jet and whisked Charly away to her new home on the Main Line in Philadelphia, an area of sprawling country estates, old money and some of the wealthiest communities in the country. But more than that, to a family who loves her to pieces.
The story unfolded last August when Sylvia Parris of Winnsboro spotted the pup hobbling along Highway 321 on three legs, her back left leg held up tight against her body. While she didn’t appear to be in pain, she could not walk on the leg. Parris put the dog in her car and took her to the Fairfield County Animal Shelter which, it turned out, was full at the time. No room for the pup.
“So I took her home with me,” said Janice Emerson, manager of the County Adoption Center across the road from the shelter, “and she stayed with me until November when a kennel at the shelter opened up.”
By December, there had been no improvement in the dog’s condition so Emerson decided to have the leg assessed. After the veterinarian who examined Charly suggested the leg should be amputated, Emerson heeded the advice and took to Facebook to seek donations to cover the expense of the surgery and aftercare. A woman in Charleston saw the post and called a friend in Philadelphia, attorney Leslie Miller, who had recently lost her aged, much loved black Australian Shepard. Miller was interested in the young look-alike and wanted to know more about the injury and if the shelter in Fairfield would consider seeking a second opinion as to whether the dog’s leg could be saved.
“The woman said she would pick up the dog’s expenses, so we got a second opinion and had a second set of x-rays taken under sedation,” Emerson said. This time the findings were good. “We were told the injury was not in the leg but the hip. The ball had been knocked out of the hip socket, had healed incorrectly, but could be repaired through a rather specialized surgery,” Emerson explained.
The dog, who the veterinarian said had probably sustained the injury as a result of being hit by a vehicle, had by then been named Charly. While the veterinarian said Charly might continue to limp after the repair, she would otherwise be able to lead a normal life on four legs.
By late January, Charly had been placed in foster care in Blythewood in the home of Pamela Garnica. But it wasn’t long before Miller contacted Emerson to say she wanted to adopt the dog and would have the surgery performed by a veterinarian affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. But Miller couldn’t pick Charly up until late March. Another volunteer at the Adoption Center, Robyn Owens, also of Blythewood, acted as liaison between Miller and Garnica to make transition arrangements during the ensuing two months.
“When I first spoke with Leslie (Miller),” Owens recalled, “she said she and her husband, Richard, would be traveling to Florida on vacation in late March and could stop and pick Charly up on their way home to Philadelphia. I explained that Fairfield County would be quite a bit out of their way,” Owens recalled. “But Leslie said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be in the jet.’
“I thought, ‘O my goodness!’” Owens said.
Emerson, Owens and Owens’ three daughters arrived early and were waiting eagerly on the tarmac with Charly when the Cessna Citation touched down at the Fairfield County Airport a little after 1 p.m. on Sunday. As the plane taxied in, both Emerson and Owens realized the moment and took turns hugging and kissing Charly good-bye. And Charly responded in kind. She had spent more than half her life with the Fairfield County Adoption Center staff and volunteers. They were her family. While the good-byes were poignant, this is what the two women and others had been working toward for months. As the plane taxied to a stop, they all walked briskly toward it.
First out the door was Leslie Miller, her arms outstretched as she rushed across the tarmac and knelt to hug Charly. Her husband followed. Then true joy erupted as everyone hugged and began introducing themselves. Charly took it all in stride and, after a few seconds of shyness followed by 20 minutes of visiting all around, was ready to board the jet with her new, doting family.
After Miller lifted Charlie into the plane and showed her to her accommodations for the trip – a comfy couch, no kennels here – the two returned to the open door to bid a last farewell to the folks on the ground who had made it all possible and to pose for pictures for the newspaper.
As the plane lifted off into the clear, sunny sky, the women and Owens’ daughters waved until the plane carrying Charly was out of sight. Then they walked back to the terminal, occasionally dabbing their eyes with tissues and turning every few steps to look back at the empty sky, but smiling, clearly happy with their mission accomplished and for Charly’s unbelievably good fortune.
Sorry, señor: Pedro says the Hat is closed. But everything else is wide open at South of the Border.
DILLON — When the concept of the summer vacation stormed America in the late 1940s, it fired up the imagination of people stuck on the road to “there.” Dreamers created roadside attractions to snare all that loose change rolling right past them. That other change, however, caught up with them. All these years later, all across the United States in the middle of nowhere, you’ll see aging spectacles that gave highways character, rest stops that kids refused to let their parents pass. Visit these relics of the road and you can hear rust crackling. Cars roll on by and maintenance funds ride with them. Roadside attractions, welcome to the end of the road.
Two hours to the east you can see a most unique roadside attraction, South of the Border. Recently I drove to Apex, N.C. My daughter, Becky, and her two children went with me to visit my other daughter. Becky left Atlanta earlier at 7 a.m. By 3 p.m., the children had been in a car for over seven hours. To say they were restless is an understatement.
As soon as we left I-20 for I-95 crazy billboards appeared, hyping a pseudo-Mexican character, “Pedro.” Fluorescent orange, green, red and yellow text, suggestive of the tropics, covered the billboards and campy word play added a corn pone element. One billboard held a huge link sausage, reading: “You never sausage a place. (You’re always a wiener at Pedro’s.)”
The star of South of the Border is the 165-foot high Sombrero Tower. The kids had never seen South of the Border. As we approached North Carolina, the Sombrero Tower rose into the Pee Dee sky. “Y’all want to climb the tower?” I asked. I don’t have to tell you the answer.
Pulling in I felt we were driving back into the 1950s. We parked and went into the building over which the Sombrero Tower reaches skyward. I asked the attendant if we could climb the tower. “It’s closed,” she said. “Probably always will be.”
Perhaps maintenance funds had dried up. Disappointment set in. I had taken my daughters up the tower when they were children and I wanted to repeat this bit of family history. Plus it would have done the kids good to burn some energy. After throwing some money in one of those “grab a stuffed toy with a claw” games, we left.
South of the Border is the first thing southbound Northerners see of South Carolina. Their first impression of the state, known for Charleston, mountains and its haunted lowcountry, is that of a campy Mexican village. Despite the kitsch, I like the place and am glad the politically correct crowd leaves it alone. Maybe they think it will become a ghost town from Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.”
The old magic persists. When my grandkids saw the place they thought they had landed in Disney World. I suggest you visit this one-time oasis that sprang from beer, fireworks, reptiles and more. See roadside Americana in the making.
If You Go …
Make it to I-20, then I-95 north, and look for the signs. If you cross the N.C. state line, amazingly you somehow missed SOB.
www.thesouthoftheborder.com
Learn more about Tom Poland, a Southern writer, and his work at www.tompoland.net. Email day-trip ideas to him at tompol@earthlink.net.
The owners of properties on opposite ends of Rimer Pond Road are asking Richland County for commercial zoning that, if granted, would allow the first commercial zoning on the rural road.
Property Owners Seek Commercial Zoning
Yellow signs posted to notify residents on Rimer Pond Road of proposed commercial zoning on the road.
BLYTHEWOOD – The owners of two separate properties on Rimer Pond Road will come before the Richland County Planning Commission Monday at 1 p.m. to request the zoning on their properties be changed from Rural (RU) to Rural Commercial (RC). One is a 2.76 acre parcel (tax map number R15100-06-26) owned by John Warren of Chapin and located about 700 feet from Highway 21. The other is a 5.23 acre tract that is part of a larger 31.23 acre parcel (tax map number R20500-04-27) owned by Pat Palmer of Sycamore Development LLC and located at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road across from the Blythewood Middle School.
The Richland County planning staff has recommended (to the Planning Commission) against commercial rezoning of the Warren parcel near Highway 21 but recommended in favor of Rural Commercial zoning of the 5.76 acre parcel located at Longtown Road and Rimer Pond Road.
There is no other commercial zoning on the entire length of the road and the staff report acknowledges that the area is surrounded by wooded areas and large acre properties. According to Suzie Haynes, Boards & Committees Coordinator for Richland County, RC zoning allows many kinds of businesses including liquor stores, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores with gas pumps, pawn shops, motor vehicle sales and more.
The Planning Commission is a recommending body to County Council and has no zoning authority. Council makes all final decisions regarding zoning. The Commission is also not obligated to adhere to staff recommendations.
Historically, residents of the road have turned out in large numbers at hearings in the County to protest commercial zoning proposed along the road. But Trey Hair, a resident of the road who works in Columbia, said holding the hearing in the middle of a work day always prohibits many residents from attending.
“These meetings should be held in the evenings so everyone who wants to can attend and speak out,” Hair said.
Mary Lee, whose family has owned a farm on the road for almost 40 years, has spoken out against commercialization of the road at a number of Planning Commission and County Council meetings. And she plans to be there again on Monday.
“We are a rural area with mostly farms, churches, schools, large-acre residential properties and some neighborhoods,” Lee said. “Once commercial starts, it will move down the road.”
When contacted by The Voice about the 5.23 acre property further up the road, Palmer of Sycamore Development, LLC, who both owns the property and is Chairman of the Richland County Planning Commission that will be hearing and voting on the rezoning request, would not comment, saying he did not want to answer any questions regarding the rezoning.
It was previously reported in The Voice that the owner of the other property, Warren, wrote a letter to Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross on Feb. 17 seeking the mayor’s support for the commercial zoning request. Warren wrote in the letter, “Though I would hate to do this to the community, if we can’t get it rezoned, we plan to divide the property and locate mobile homes on (it),” which Warren said he would rent out.
The mayor told The Voice he asked the Town’s Planning Commission Chairman, Malcolm Gordge, who is appointed to the Commission and has no jurisdiction over the zoning, to reply to Warren. The Voice obtained from Gordge a copy of a letter dated Feb. 24, in which Gordge wrote to Warren, “The Mayor and I have discussed your desire to amend the zoning of the property in question . . . to Commercial and we would like to help you if at all possible.”
Gordge went on to offer the assistance of the Town Hall staff to help Warren achieve his goal of commercial zoning for the property.
When a number of Rimer Pond residents opposing the commercial zoning attended a Blythewood Planning Commission meeting on March 2 where the letter from Warren was on the agenda to be discussed, Gordge did not reveal that he had corresponded with Warren offering his help.
During public comment time at the meeting, Hair, speaking for other residents in attendance, told the Commission, “While we are not residents of the Town, we are in the community. We shop here, attend Blythewood churches and schools and participate in the community’s activities. We would ask that you support us, the majority who do not want the commercialization of Rimer Pond Road rather than support (Warren) who has never lived here, will never live here and simply bought the piece of property to rezone it and sell for a profit. Once it (Warren’s property) becomes commercial, that commercial will domino right down the road.
“We live here,” Hair said. “We don’t have a sign like Cobblestone, but it is our community and I just want to go on record against commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road. I ask for your support in our objections to commercial zoning on our road.”
Gordge told Hair, “We have some sympathy with your views, but that area has been earmarked (by the Master Plan) for some type of commercial zoning.”
But Town Councilman Bob Massa, who was a member of the Town’s Planning Commission when the area was designated in the Master Plan for commercial zoning, told The Voice that the Town government (previously) agreed to the residents’ requests and did not further pursue commercial zoning on the road. However, the Master Plan still reflects the commercial ‘node.’
Gordge told Hair that commercial zoning might not be as bad as the residents envision.
“It’s easy for you to say it’s not going to be as bad as I feel it will be,” Hair said, “but once the commercialization begins, we won’t be able to stop it. It will domino.”
The hearing for the rezoning of both properties will be held at the Richland County Building at the corner of Harden and Hampton streets in Columbia. Residents who would like to speak at the hearing must sign up to speak prior to the beginning of the meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. April 6.
For information about the hearing or to receive an agenda and packet of information about the two properties, call Haynes at 576-2176. Residents can also contact Hair at thair@coastalscience.com.
BLYTHEWOOD – The S.C. Diamond Invitational, Blythewood High School’s 10-team, five-day baseball tournament, kicked off with four games Tuesday and is in full swing heading down the weekend stretch.
In its fifth year, the Invitational continues to draw some of the top teams in the state at the Class 3A and Class 4A level. This year’s tourney features 4A’s top-ranked Summerville High School, along with Belton-Honea Path High School, tops in 3A. Other ranked teams include Greenville Senior High Academy (fourth in 4A), Wren High School (fifth in 3A), River Bluff High School (eighth in 4A) and the hometown Bengals (seventh in 4A).
Also joining the competition this year are Wren, Lexington, Socastee and Mauldin high schools, all out of the 4A ranks.
As in years past, this year’s tourney features a plethora of baseball talent destined to play at the collegiate level. Players bound for the University of S.C., Clemson, The Citadel, the College of Charleston, Furman University, USC-Lancaster, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Newberry College and Spartanburg Methodist College all grace the field at this year’s Diamond Invitational.
The Invitational opened with a pair of games Tuesday, featuring Blythewood and Lexington in the nightcap, followed by four games Wednesday. Thursday (April 2), action gets rolling at 9:30 a.m. with Summerville and Belton-Honea Path opening a day of five games. Blythewood will once again hold down the final slot of the day, facing Greenville at approximately 7:30. Friday will also see five games as the final standings begin to shake out. The evening will also feature a home run derby and base-running competition at 6:30. Games begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, leading up to the tournament championship game at 6 p.m. A full schedule of games is below.
All games will be played at Blythewood High School. Fans can get a tournament pass for $25, while individual day tickets are $7.
Joanna Weitzel, Executive Director of Camp Discovery, explains to a nature class how suet is smeared on a tree to feed birds in the winter.
BLYTHEWOOD – After 30 years of offering a traditional camp experience combined with academic, social and emotional enrichment opportunities, Camp Discovery has broadened its horizons, offering experiences in nature that provide enrichment opportunities far beyond anything done at the camp in the past – unique nature-based experiences for all ages, said Joanna Weitzel, Executive Director of the camp.
One of those unique experiences happened last weekend when the camp hosted, in partnership with the S.C. Wildlife Federation, one of 12 classes required for certification as a Midlands Master Naturalist. Instructed by Naturalist Austin Jenkins, the day for the 20 enrollees began in the camp’s classroom with hands-on activities that focused on the history of South Carolina’s woodlands. They then moved into the woods for field training. Each of the 12 sessions focuses on a different topic relevant to the geographic region (Midlands). Three of the classes for this group will be held at Camp Discovery.
Weitzel explained the program and its importance to the camp.
“The S.C. Master Naturalist Program,” she said, “is coordinated by Clemson University, and is a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities. When Austin arrived and saw the camp, he was amazed at the opportunities it offers.”
Two other classes are scheduled at Camp Discovery this spring and summer. The program also offers a Junior Naturalist program. The next Junior Naturalist class, water ecology, designed for ages 8-12, is being offered at the camp on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. – noon, and space is still available, Weitzel said.
Below are other programs being offered at the camp throughout the year. Some can be signed up for now:
GNAT (Giving Nature a Try): This nature-based program gives preschool children and adults an opportunity to learn together in a safe, nurturing environment, opening the door to self-discovery, kindness and a respect for other living things. Two more classes are available for spring with new classes resuming in August. Sign up for individual programs or the season.
Earth Keepers Camp: Register now for this summer program that combines the best of science, nature, animals and outdoor exploration to bring out the “wild” in every child! Kids ages 6-12 comb the diverse habitats of Camp Discovery to learn about life, big and small, and why it calls Camp Discovery home. Four different weeks are available.
Discovery Days: The Camp’s most popular program will be getting a new look this fall. Discovery Days will be incorporating extensive, hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) based activities, focusing on the real-world application of the STEM disciplines for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Programs delve deeply into science, technology, engineering and math using experiential, hands-on activities in nature within a fun and discovery-based curriculum.
Learners to Leaders (L2L): What better way to grow than through experience? That’s what L2L is all about. Youth and young adults are provided meaningful service learning opportunities to support academic achievement, enhance outdoor learning and better communities. Students address a need, identify solutions and implement plans of action while gaining a better understanding of themselves. They explore and develop ways to apply classroom knowledge in a practical setting while contributing to their communities.
Tools for Life: Using hands-on and brain stimulating activities, participants are challenged think differently, communicate clearly, explore their individual strengths and learn how to work with others – all while having laughs and unexpected fun. By combining supportive recreation activities with structured experiential activities in a safe, emotional setting, the focus is placed on enhancing skills such as trust, team work, communication and positive self-concepts benefitting youth and adults.
Camp Discovery’s April 11 Open House will be held rain or shine and no reservations are required. Registrations are currently being accepted for GNAT’S, Earth Keepers Camp and for spring and fall school programs. For more information about the programs, visit www.campdiscoverysc.org.
Developers of a 64-unit retirement community, proposed for Main Street, got the green light for water last week from the Town of Winnsboro.
BLYTHEWOOD – After being granted a willingness to serve letter from the Town of Winnsboro last January for up to 20,000 gallons of water per day for a proposed multi-family retirement community to be located on Creech Road in downtown Blythewood, Darren Rhodes of Fowler Realty and Land Services in Columbia asked Winnsboro’s Council last week to amend that arrangement.
While the amount of water will remain at 20,000 gallons per day, Council said the developer has moved the location of the project and now plans to build the 64 two-bedroom, two-bath units on approximately 4 acres on Main Street across from Blythewood Consignment. Each unit is expected to require 300 gallons of water per day.
Council agreed to the change. The agreement came with what is becoming a standard contingency, John Fantry, Winnsboro’s attorney for water and utilities, told The Voice last January.
“It would be contingent upon the developer entering into a development agreement, as we’ve done in the past, then we would commit the water, in this particular project, in 2016,” Fantry told Council. At that time no developer had made a bid on the property, Fantry said. The property is owned by R & S Wilson Properties LLC of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Blythewood Town Administrator Gary Parker told The Voice that he had had conversation with Rhodes about the proposed development but that, so far, no one has brought any plans for the project to the Town Hall.
“It’s my understanding that the developer may still be looking at other areas,” Parker said. “I don’t know whether the site has actually been finalized.”
While Rhodes could not be reached for comment before press time, he told the Winnsboro Town Council in January that construction is not planned to begin before January of 2016, but that it is expected to be completed in one phase.
Conceived and sold to the public as a profit-making venture, Doko Manor has created a drain on Town finances.
BLYTHEWOOD – Despite The Manor’s now successful weekend rentals, the facility’s continuing financial quagmire was still the hot topic at Town Council’s annual retreat, held at The Langford-Nord House in Blythewood on Saturday. The bottom line was the urgent need to “stop the bleeding” and generate revenue.
After hearing a presentation from a local woman about how she would market the facility, Council members discussed options that included hiring professional marketers, introducing a website exclusively for The Manor and utilizing various social media and video presentations.
“We keep going in the hole every month and we’re just trying to get to a place where we can break even,” said Councilman Tom Utroska. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of forethought, in my opinion, when The Manor was built. You can’t hold more than one meeting at a time (in the large reception room) on weekends because of sound proofing, even though the room is dividable into four parts. We’re going to have to zero in on rentals during the week.”
Councilman Bob Mangone agreed, saying, “Weekday meetings are where we have to get our revenue.”
“We talk about this every day at Town Hall,” Mayor J. Michael Ross told the group. “We’ve looked at having a website for the Manor. We’ve met with the Gannet people (USA Today), WLTX and a videographer. We’re looking at the next step. We’ve got to get somebody to promote it.”
“Whatever we do,” Mangone said, “we have to have an end point that says this is how much incremental income we’ll bring in for the money we spend. If we’re going to spend a chunk of change advertising The Manor, we need to bring in significant income and not go further and further in the hole.”
“Every month we have a $4,000-$5,000 deficit,” Ross said. “We don’t have anything else in the town that’s drawing that kind of deficit. We’ve got to do something.”
Town Administrator Gary Parker made a number of suggestions, including issuing a Request for Quotes (RFQ) for a website to promote the facility, but he expressed his own consternation at the dilemma the Town faces as expenses for The Manor accumulate.
“This is a unique animal in my experience,” Parker said. “I have never had a situation where I was managing a municipality and had such an aspect of operation as this one (The Manor).”
As frustration made its way around the table, Councilman Tom Utroska vented.
“We keep talking about it and do nothing,” Utroska said. “We need to stop the bleeding. We’ve tried various and sundry approaches, but we’re basically in the same place we were a year ago. We’re still hemorrhaging.”
“A compelling event creates a decision,” Mangone told the group. “Our compelling event (The Manor) is becoming chronic. It needs money to win the battle. You must line everything up to see if you can win the battle. We have a community center that, by design, was to be a revenue source. Now we’re in the event planning business. I’m not sure the Town should be in the restaurant or event planning business. We need to fish or cut bait.”
Councilman Bob Massa disagreed with Parker about putting out an RFQ as a first step.
“The RFQ takes time,” Massa said. “We need to get a website up right away.”
“You’re looking at well over $5,000,” Parker said, “and normally when I’m seeking a company to spend that kind of money with, I’m going to do an RFQ.”
An RFQ, he said, would take six to eight weeks.
Town Attorney Jim Meggs confirmed that such a purchase would require a competitive bid process. The Council directed Parker to draft an RFQ to send out as soon as possible.
“I’m going to work on that this week and begin the process of recruiting a marketing person who would work on filling weekday vacancies,” Parker told The Voice.
WINNSBORO – In November, a recount cut his deficit to a mere 4 votes. Tuesday night, Walter Larry Stewart needed no such recount, nor an official protest to stake his claim to the District 3 County Council seat.
In a stunning reversal of November’s results, which gave incumbent Mikel Trapp the narrow win, Stewart overthrew Trapp, 429 votes to 380.
The turnout was considerably lower than on Nov. 4, when Trapp pulled in 489 votes, Stewart 484 (485 after the ensuing mandatory recount) and Tangee Brice Jacobs, the third candidate on the ballot, 147.
Jacobs managed just 34 votes in Tuesday night’s do-over.
While the weather, the odd timing and the unprecedented nature of the special new election may have stunted turnout, the results, Stewart said, turned on campaign styles.
“We ran a good, clean, honest campaign,” Stewart said after the results became final. “My opponent slipped into all kinds of dirty tricks and falsehoods. My opponent played too many tricks, and it backfired on him. You can only play so many tricks and people will eventually see through what you’re doing.”
Nowhere was that more true, Stewart said, than in the Mitford precinct where Trapp mustered only 3 votes to Stewart’s 111. Stewart also fared well in Gladden Grove (Stewart 28, Trapp 4), Hickory Ridge (Stewart 45, Trapp 0, Jacobs 6) and White Oak (Stewart 58, Trapp 34, Jacobs 1), while holding a slight edge in Feasterville (Stewart 52, Trapp 46, Jacobs 13) and Horeb-Glenn (Stewart 21, Trapp 18, Jacobs 2).
Trapp’s largest support came in his back yard at the Blair precinct where he took in 134 votes to Stewart’s 34 and Jacobs’s 9.
With the election frenzy behind him, Stewart said it was time to begin focusing on the future of Fairfield County.
“Now it is time for healing,” Stewart said. “It is time for us to get past all the negativity we have heard over the last nine months. It is time to come together and work together to make Fairfield County a better place for our families.”
Stewart said his first mission will be to improve the quality of life for the county’s senior citizens, many of whom, he said, lack fresh water and live in substandard housing.
“We’ve got plenty of money in this county,” Stewart said. “We’ve got to start spending our money on the right things.”
Gov. Nikki Haley ordered the new election last December after the State Election Commission upheld a ruling by the Fairfield County Commission that at least five voters in the Nov. 4 election in District 3 had been given the incorrect ballot style. With the margin of victory at only 4 votes, the five incorrect ballots were enough to trigger a new election.
Election results will be certified Friday morning.
Information on when Stewart would take office was not available at press time. Phone calls to Trapp were also not returned at press time.
Jessie Stidham watches her shot fall Thursday against Dorchester. (Photo/Robert Buchanan)
SUMTER – Before the 2015 season began, the Richard Winn Academy Lady Eagles set a goal to return to the SCISA Class A state championship game. Thursday night, the Dorchester Academy Lady Raiders were the last team in their way.
Richard Winn’s great team play led them to a 53-27 victory over the Lady Raiders to advance to the 2015 SCISA Class A state title game. The Lady Eagles started the game on a 6-0 run as they used their full-court pressure to generate points. Dorchester Academy used their length to slow down the output of RWA’s potent scorer Jaycie Johnson, who poured in 40 points in a dominant performance against Curtis Baptist in the quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders made an effort to make sure to contain Johnson on the offensive end. But Richard Winn’s team play helped lead the Lady Eagles to a 17-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Turnovers plagued the Lady Raiders early in the second frame, fueling a 6-0 RWA run to open the quarter. Dorchester Academy continued to fight, however, as they cut the lead to single digits near the end of the half. Jessie Stidham then stepped up and destroyed the Lady Raiders’ momentum, burying a jumper at the buzzer to give the Lady Eagles a 29-16 halftime lead.
The Lady Eagles kicked the third quarter off with a 7-0 run as they began to run away with the game, benefiting from a suffocating defense that stifled Dorchester Academy’s offensive production. While the Lady Raiders kept Johnson under wraps, they could not stop Richard Winn’s overall ball movement on offense. The Lady Eagles used a 12-4 scoring run to end the third with a 41-20 lead as their goal to return to the title game became 8 minutes from reality.
Dorchester Academy scratched and clawed, but could not match the Lady Eagles’ all-around team chemistry as Richard Winn ended the final frame on a 12-7 run to advance to the championship game.
“I could not be more proud than my team right now,” REWA head coach Jason Haltiwanger said. “We stated at the beginning of the year we wanted to hoist that trophy up for our fans and for our school. Now we are a game away from making that a reality.”
The Richard Winn Lady Eagles will face Holly Hill Academy for the Class A SCISA state title Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Sumter Civic Center at 11 a.m. RWA: 17-12-12-12 – 53 Dorchester: 6-10-4-7 – 27 RWA: Jessie Stidham 17, Jaycie Johnson 4, Bailey Taylor 4, Cassidy Branham 6, Alyssa Atkerson 17, Emily Brigman 5. Dorchester: Julianna McAlbany 13, Julia Smoak 12, Kindal Gray 2.
