Blythewood Road during construction pause. | Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County’s Penny Tax funded road construction along Blythewood Road has been paused for some time to allow AT&T time to move phone pedestals (4” x 4” grey or green metal posts) sticking up along the roadside to locations beyond the planned wider pavement, according to Michael Maloney, interim director for the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax project. He says construction is set to resume in another couple of weeks.
In a phone conversation with The Voice on Tuesday, Maloney
said that while the big equipment part of construction has been paused, work
has still been going on.
“But you’re only going to see a man or maybe a pickup truck
out there,” he said, “not big equipment.”
He explained that all AT&T’s fiber optic cable along the
road has to be disconnected from the old pedestals, which are being removed and
re-connected to new ones.
“They’re splitting fiber optic cable and each cable has 385
fibers. Each and every one of these needs splitting,” he said. “That takes
time.”
He said AT&T should finish up this week.
“Cherokee Construction will then mobilize and be back on the
road work,” Maloney said.
WINNSBORO – A high-speed chase that started in Fairfield
County ended in Blythewood where the driver was eventually arrested.
While conducting routine patrol in Fairfield County, a
Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputy reported observing a silver Honda Civic that
matched the description of a silver Honda Civic that had been reported as
stolen.
As the deputy followed the Honda, driving onto I-77 south at
the 34-mile marker, it began making multiple lane changes and driving on the
right shoulder as it overtook multiple vehicles, according to the incident
report. The deputy activated his blue lights and pursued the Honda south on
I-77 towards Blythewood.
The deputy reported the Honda was speeding in excess of 90
miles per hour as it entered Blythewood in Richland County.
The Honda was then reported to stop on the shoulder of I-77
south at mile marker 27, in the vicinity of Exit 77.
A black male was reported to exit the driver’s side of the
vehicle and flee on foot into the wood line.
A female was sitting in the vehicle, so the deputy remained
there until an officer arrived and asked the female to exit and step to the
rear of the vehicle, where she was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car.
The report said that, at this point, the female gave false
information about the driver of the Honda, who, deputies learned was the father
of the female passenger’s children.
With both Richland County and Fairfield County K-9 tracker
dogs on the ground, the driver of the silver Honda Civic, identified as
Christopher Vernard Martin, was found walking along I-77 a couple of miles from
where he left the Honda.
Martin was arrested on charges of Failure to Stop for Blue
Lights, 2nd Offense; Possession of a Stolen south Carolina license plate: and
Reckless Driving.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – In two closely watched local campaigns in the Fairfield County Democratic primary, Sheriff Will Montgomery was re-elected to a fourth term as Fairfield County Sheriff, and Dorothy Boyd Belton was elected Fairfield County Clerk of Court. Neither Montgomery nor Belton have opponents in the November election.
On the state level, Chester Attorney Everett Stubbs handily
won the Republican Primary, taking 3 out of 4 counties to become the Republican
nominee for the run for the State Senate, Dist. 17 seat in November.
Montgomery
Sheriff Will Montgomery was re-elected with 1,821 votes
(55.02 percent) over Rick Gibson who had 1,358 votes (41.03 percent). Wallace
Coleman received 131 votes (3.96 percent).
Montgomery said he is grateful for the win.
“I want to thank my family and friends and all those in
Fairfield County who came out to support me in this election,” Montgomery said
following the vote count. “I appreciate your votes and your support very much.”
Montgomery is a third-generation sheriff for the county
following his father and grandfather who also held the office. Montgomery was
first elected in 2014 to complete the last two years of the term vacated by
former Sheriff Herman Young when he retired for health reasons.
Belton
Dorothy Boyd Belton captured the Fairfield County Clerk of
Court seat with 1,907 votes (57.80 percent) over Christon Gaddy who received
1,387 votes (42.11 percent).
Contacted by The Voice, Belton said she would make a
statement at a later time. Her campaign literature states that she has “20
years managing law office operations and cash flow”, and was a “contract
paralegal with Midlands Virtual Paralegal Outsourcing Services.”
Fairfield County had a 25.77 percent turnout of its 15,771
registered voters.
Senate Race
In a three-way race in the Republican primary for the Dist.
17 Senate seat, Attorney Everett Stubbs was victorious with 3,917 votes (58.1
percent) over a four-county area. Tripp McCoy received 1,712 votes (25.42
percent), and Tibi Czentye received 1,105 votes (16.41 percent).
Breaking the vote down by counties, Stubbs won Fairfield
County with 41.17 percent of the vote, Chester with 73.94 percent, and York
with 54.68 percent. McCoy took his home county Lancaster with 43 percent of the
vote.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen by the people of Senate
Dist. 17 to be the Republican nominee for the general election this fall,”
Stubbs said about his victory. “I owe a special thanks to my family and friends
for their love and support in helping us to be successful in this race. I also
want to congratulate Tibi and Tripp on running great campaigns. I believe both
are good men who were seeking this nomination for honorable reasons. We look
forward to taking a couple of weeks off, then getting back to work for the
general election in November.”
Stubbs will be challenging Democratic Senator Mike Fanning for the Dist. 17 seat in November.
Joel Joseph Martin graduated from Fairfield Central High School on June 1, 2024. | Photo: Fairfield Central High School
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – A swim party held at Lake Monticello on Saturday, June 8, to celebrate two individuals planning to leave soon for the U. S. Navy ended in tragedy when one of the individuals drowned.
Joel Joseph Martin, age 18, of Blair, SC, was swimming at Lake Monticello with other individuals when he went under water and did not resurface, according to Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.
Emergency crews, the Department of Natural Resources, and dive teams were called to the area. After a little over two hours, Martin’s body was found and brought out of the water by the Fairfield Rescue Squad, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office.
Martin graduated from Fairfield Central High School just one week earlier, on June 1, 2024.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of a 2024 Griffin Graduate, Mr. Joel Martin,” Fairfield Central posted on social media on Monday afternoon. “Please keep his family and friends as well as his Griffin Family in your thoughts & prayers! May we ALWAYS remember and cherish his personality that would light up any room!”
“My heart is heavy,” Fairfield Central principal Dr. Tracie Swilley tweeted on Monday, “but I will definitely cherish our memories and ALL the pranks/jokes he tried on me!”
“Joel will be remembered fondly,” Fairfield County School District’s Facebook page shared, “and his impact on those around him will be cherished forever.”
An autopsy has been scheduled and the incident remains under investigation by the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office and the SC Department of Natural Resources.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Discrepancies in two political candidates’ ethics and/or campaign filings are raising questions about campaign compliance in the race for Fairfield County Sheriff.
Gibson
Prior to being contacted by The Voice on Thursday, May 30, Rick E. Gibson, one of two challengers in the sheriff’s race, had irregularities in his ethics report filings, according to the S.C. Ethics Commission’s online database.
Gibson incorrectly recorded loan data displayed on the Ethics Commission’s online database. He said that was due to a typo.
As of Thursday, May 30, Gibson’s filings reported a personal loan of $361,889 to his campaign. This had raised concerns in the community, with The Voice being contacted regarding the large amount. State law requires candidates to disclose the source of loans originating from a business or lending institution. Gibson’s loan was a personal loan.
After being contacted by The Voice on Thursday, Gibson said the reported $361,889 loan on March 19, 2024, was a typo and should have been recorded as a $3,618.89 loan from himself to cover his filing fee of $3,618.89, which was also made on March 19, 2024.
Gibson filed an amendment on Friday, May 31, 2024, to his Ethics Commission online data that removed the $361,889 loan, adjusting his report to reflect the $3,618.89 personal loan and another personal loan in the amount of $3,000.
According to Section 8-13-1360, candidates must report “the total amount of all loans received during the reporting period and total amount of loans for the year to date.”
In a separate filing, a $5,000 contribution was reported from the church Gibson pastors on Aug. 23, 2023. That contribution is recorded as being returned to the church on Sept. 1, 2023. Gibson said he was notified by the Commission that the amount was over the $1,000 limit for contributions under South Carolina law. According to the IRS website, charities, educational institutions and religious organizations, including churches, are among those tax-exempt organizations restricted from making political contributions.
SCCJA: Coleman Not Qualified
It was made public last month that candidate Wallace Coleman is not qualified to run for the office of Sheriff in Fairfield County, according to a spokesperson with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, as reported in the May 30 issue of The Voice. Nevertheless, Coleman will still be on the ballot in the June 11 primary.
According to South Carolina law, Sec. 23-11-110 (A)(5)(a), a
candidate for sheriff must be a Class 1 law enforcement officer. Coleman is not.
Coleman, 56, filed an affidavit with the Democratic Party stating that he has 14 years of experience as a Class 1 law enforcement officer, certified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council.
Maj. Florence McCants with the South Carolina Criminal
Justice Academy told The Voice on Tuesday, May 27, 2024, that Coleman is not
now and has never been a certified Class 1 law enforcement officer.
She said that Class 1 law enforcement candidates must go
through 12 weeks of basic law enforcement training taught by the Criminal
Justice Academy.
“He has never attended the Academy or received any Class 1
certification training,” McCants said.
Coleman was a state constable, not a sheriff’s deputy, according to Renée Wunderlich, Director of Public Information for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). That agency regulates constables. They are sworn peace officers who assist law enforcement agencies. Constables receive only 94.5 hours of basic training, which can be completed at a S.C. technical college.
To file to run for sheriff in South Carolina, state law Sec. 23-11-110 (B)(1)(A) states that, “A person offering his candidacy for the office of sheriff, shall file a sworn affidavit, no later than the close of filing, with the county executive committee of the person’s political party. The county executive committee of any political party with whom a person has filed his affidavit must file a copy of the affidavit with the appropriate county election commission…”
The state political party must approve (certify) sworn affidavits filed by candidates in their jurisdiction for the office of Sheriff.
“Certification of the candidates was received in our office on April 5, 2024, from the Democratic Party,” Director of the Fairfield County Election Commission Jackie Beaver stated in an email to The Voice.
A copy of Coleman’s affidavit is date-stamped that it was received by the Fairfield County Election Commission on April 11, 2024.
According to a story reported by Cynthia Beasley for WIS-TV, Jay Parmley, the executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said, “We did approve Mr. Coleman for the ballot based on his affidavit. If the affidavit is not correct, the party can’t do anything about it now.”
Coleman’s name will still be on the ballot, and any votes for Coleman will still count during this election, according to Beaver.
On Friday, May 31, Coleman returned The Voice’s phone calls and sent a text message stating, in part, “…I am confident that I possess the integrity, leadership qualities, and understanding required to serve as an exemplary Sheriff …”
Gibson and Coleman are running against Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery who is seeking a fourth term. Montgomery has served Fairfield County as Sheriff since 2014 when he was elected to fill the last two years of former Sheriff Herman Young’s term following his retirement.
This story was updated on June 4, 2024, to clarify information regarding candidate filings.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – According to a report from the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department, William “Will” C. Dinkins, 33, was arrested by the following a drug search warrant conducted at a residence on Wood Duck Road in the Centerville area of Fairfield County on Wednesday, May 29.
Dinkins
The search warrant yielded over 10 grams of methamphetamine along with a quantity of Clonazepam pills, which is a schedule IV narcotic. A handgun was also seized at the scene, according to the report.
Dinkins was charged with Trafficking Methamphetamine,
Possession of Controlled Substance, and Possession of a Weapon During a Violent
Crime. He was transported to the Fairfield County Detention Center where he was
awaiting a bond hearing.
“Drugs and drug abuse lead to so many other crimes such as
thefts and assaults,” said Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery. “These
types of investigations are so vital to reducing those types of crimes as well.”
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s office encourages the
community to contact the Narcotics Unit at 803-635-6245 with any information
regarding illegal narcotic sales in Fairfield County. Tips may remain anonymous.
WINNSBORO – Wallace Coleman, a candidate for Fairfield County Sheriff, is not qualified to run for the office, according to a spokesperson for the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Nevertheless, Coleman will still be on the ballot in the June 11 primary.
According to South Carolina law, Sec. 23-11-110 (A)(5)(a), a
candidate for sheriff must be a Class 1 law enforcement officer. Coleman is not.
Coleman, 56, filed an affidavit with the Democratic Party stating that he has 14 years of experience as a Class 1 law enforcement officer, certified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council.
Maj. Florence McCants with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy told The Voice that Coleman is not now and has never been a certified Class 1 law enforcement officer.
She said that Class 1 law enforcement candidates must go
through 12 weeks of basic law enforcement training taught by the Criminal
Justice Academy.
“He has never attended the Academy or received any Class 1
certification training,” McCants said.
Coleman was a state constable, not a sheriff’s deputy, according to Renée Wunderlich, Director of Public Information for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). That agency regulates constables. They are sworn peace officers who assist law enforcement agencies. Constables receive only 94.5 hours of basic training which can be completed at a S.C. technical college.
To file to run for sheriff in South Carolina, state law Sec.
23-11-110 (B)(1)(A) says that a state political party must approve sworn
affidavits filed by candidates for the office of Sheriff.
According to a story reported by Cynthia Beasley for WIS-TV, Jay Parmley, the executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said, “We did approve Mr. Coleman for the ballot based on his affidavit. If the affidavit is not correct the party can’t do anything about it now.”
Coleman’s name will still be on the ballot, and any votes for Coleman will still count during this election, according to Jackie Beaver, Director of Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections.
While The Voice was unable to reach Coleman prior to going to press on May 29, Coleman had this to say in a story published earlier by WIS-TV, “You carried a weapon, handcuffs, so you’re certified to carry the baton and the pepper spray. You’re certified to carry all that,” Coleman said. “You do the same thing the regular deputies and officers do. There’s no difference in it.”
“Mr. Coleman became a Constable in 1996, but has not renewed his license since 2007 and has not documented any training since 2013, thus he is out of compliance and is not considered a Constable in South Carolina,” Wunderlich said.
In addition to Coleman and Gibson, Sheriff Will Montgomery is also on the Democratic ballot for the June 11 primary. Montgomery is running for re-election to a fourth term as Fairfield County Sheriff. Gibson previously worked for the S.C. Department of Public Safety and the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.
This story was updated June 4 to clarify source attributions.
An arial view of the Village of Winnsboro (formerly referred to as the Teacher’s Village) that sits behind the District Office on the bypass. The technology center being constructed by TruVista will be the centerpiece of the project. | Contributed
WINNSBORO – TruVista Communications is helping create teacher housing in Fairfield County. The company has announced that it will fund the construction of a central collaboration space that’s considered a key component of the project.
“We were so thrilled to be able to contribute to the village
as a meaningful part of the effort to attract new teachers and to retain good
teachers,” says TruVista President and CEO Carla French.
She says that in addition to building the TruVista
Technology Center, the company has committed to equip the newly constructed
building with technology and is also putting together a curriculum for the
upcoming school year to help middle school students learn how to stay safe
online.
While the amount of the “significant investment” that
TruVista is making in the project has not been disclosed, the funding adds to
the $4.15 million that’s already been committed to the village: $2.2 million
from the county’s settlement with Dominion Energy, $600,000 from United Way of
the Midlands, $50,000 from the Central Carolina Community Foundation, and $1.3
million borrowed by the Fairfield County School District Education Foundation.
Sue Rex, chair of the education foundation, says the technology center will be a place where teachers can collaborate, not just for mentoring and continuing education, but also in forming the kind of social bonds that can help support new teachers learning the profession.
“This center which is being paid for by TruVista is really
going to be the centerpiece of our development because it’s where we get back
to our mission,” Rex says, noting an intent for it to serve as a place for
mentoring of new teachers by experienced ones. “Our mission is to provide
support to teachers.”
In addition to the proposed construction of a technology center by TruVista, construction has also begun on the residential units, shown above. | Sue Rex
She says the other funding garnered to date will fund
construction of homes with affordable rent for teachers. But, she says, the
site is prepared for 26 homes – and the funding garnered so far will only cover
the construction of 15 homes for teachers and one that will be rented by the
University of South Carolina for use by students interning with the district.
Rex says there’s a waiting list of teachers who hope to move
to the village when homes become available.
Rex says she hopes other businesses operating in the
Fairfield County area will join in and invest in a project that she believes
could become a model for rural communities looking to build their opportunities
through education.
“I’d like to ask corporations, businesses, and other
foundations to join our effort to have a model where we’re addressing
recruitment and retention of teachers to rural parts of America,” Rex says.
Her hope, she says, is that the village will not only have a
direct impact on training and retaining teachers in Fairfield County, but also
that this impact will help to drive a number of other positive outcomes in the
community, from improved education to the recruitment of business and industry.
French says that, for TruVista, it’s about investing in
local communities.
“Our mantra is that we measure our success by the success of
the communities that we serve,” she says, “and having a groundbreaking
residential village like this inside Fairfield County, and to be part of that
by providing technology for these teachers and access to the technology is
really a remarkable opportunity for us to make a difference in Fairfield
County.”
She encourages other businesses – large and small – to
commit to being part of the project over the next 15 years, as TruVista has,
whether they have the money to invest in a big project like a house or
something much smaller, like donating computers or other technology tools.
“We want good things for the students. We want a place to
allow students, when they’re adults, to be able to come back to,” she says.
“Congratulations to all that have been able to make this
happen, and it starts with the foundation,” French says, “and the fire in the
belly that they have for the children of Fairfield County.”
WINNSBORO – Following an executive session on May 21, the Winnsboro Town Council members voted unanimously to name the Town’s assistant manager, Chris Clauson, as interim town manager. Clauson accepted the position almost a month after former Town Manager Jason Taylor announced he would be leaving the Town of Winnsboro to take the position of City Manager with the Town of Newberry.
Clauson
Taylor will officially be leaving at the end of June, and
will continue to work with the Town until then.
Clauson, who has 10 years of experience in local government
administration, has served as the assistant town manager of Winnsboro since
July, 2021. Prior to that, he served Fairfield County as the community
development director for just over three-and-a-half years under Taylor’s
administration.
“The Town will be in good hands under Chris as interim,”
Taylor said. “During the six years I’ve worked with Chris – three years at the
county and three years here in the Town – I have found him to be an honest,
intelligent, and capable manager. His institutional knowledge of the county and
the town will be invaluable. It’s just been a pleasure to work with him.”
Taylor talked about Clauson’s contributions to the town over
the last three years.
“Chris facilitated the annexation of more than 140
properties into the Town limits, and worked with Town Council to secure more
than $15 million in grant funding for public infrastructure projects for the
town,” Taylor said. “He also initiated, in coordination with the Town and
County Councils, removal of a number of blighted structures in the community,
more removals than have occurred in the last twenty years.”
Clauson also facilitated leadership transition of four Town
departments after long term directors retired. Earlier in his tenure, he aided
the implementation of the Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) to satisfy
Council’s desire to streamline the utility metering process.
On Tuesday night, Clauson was sworn in as a member of the
Fairfield Joint Water and Sewer System Commission, where he will take Taylor’s
place on the commission.
While employed with Fairfield County, Clauson also served as
the chairman of Fairfield Forward. Prior to coming to Fairfield, Clauson worked
for the Town of Chapin as town administrator and before that was with the
Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments (the Sumter-based regional
planning agency.)
Clauson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty
University, a Professional Master of Business Administration degree from the
University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business, and the Master of
City and Regional Planning degree from Clemson University.
Prior to his college career, Clauson spent six years in the
United States Air Force where he served in North Carolina, Afghanistan and
South Korea.
Clauson and his wife Carla are the parents of three
children.
WINNSBORO – A Winnsboro man, Eric Mayben, 23, was found shot
to death on the morning of May 24, after Fairfield County Deputies were called
in reference to a shooting on Comet Drive in the Jackson Creek Road area.
En route to the address, deputies learned that a female was
in the home hiding in a closet, according to the incident report.
Upon arrival, deputies reported finding the glass in the
front door to the home shattered, but when a deputy called out, there was no
response from the home. When deputies tried to enter the home, it was reported
a body was against the front door, blocking them from entering.
After forcing entry at a side door, a deputy called out and
a female appeared at the entry of another room with her hands in the air.
After escorting the woman from the home, deputies reported
observing a man’s body, unresponsive and covered in blood, lying next to the
front door.
The man was identified by the Fairfield County Coroner Chris
Hill as Mayben. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, to determine the
extent of injuries.
This is an ongoing investigation by the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Sheriff Will Montgomery is asking that anyone with any information call 803-635-4141.
This story was updated on May 30, 2024 at 7:57 a.m.
