LAKE WATEREE – Five men have been arrested in conjunction with a grand larceny investigation regarding thefts of multiple items from a commercial storage facility in the Lake Wateree area, according to Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery.
During the course of this investigation, it was determined
that these five individuals, Richard Adams (50), William Baker, Jr (35) Herman
Gear (40), Gregory Javins (26), and John Shirle, III (35), entered the
commercial storage facility between Jan. 30-31, and stole two camper trailers and
an enclosed trailer containing two ATVs
(All-Terrain Vehicles), two generators, and various camping equipment items.
As of Feb. 27, deputies have recovered the majority of these
items that were stolen, according to Montgomery, and Investigators are
continuing to work to locate the remaining stolen property, including the two
generators and one ATV.
All five individuals were charged with three counts, each,
of grand larceny, greater than $10,000, as well as criminal conspiracy, one
count each.
They are booked into the Fairfield County Detention Center.
RIDGEWAY – Waffle House in Ridgeway was the latest victim of gun-related crime in Fairfield County, when two male suspects robbed the store at gunpoint, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 1:49 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, Fairfield County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to Waffle House on 34 Contractor’s Way in Ridgeway in reference to an armed robbery. While en route, deputies were told that two male suspects had departed the store on foot and were headed towards The Sharpe Shoppe, the gas station next to Waffle House, the incident report stated.
According to the report, a female employee told deputies upon their arrival at 1:58 a.m. that she was in the dish pit area when two unknown subjects entered the establishment and raised a firearm to rob her register. As she pulled the money from the register, one of the suspects grabbed the money from her and made his way towards the hallway by the restrooms to access the side door.
The suspect in the rear of the store appeared to have a
weapon malfunction while attempting to shoot the lock off of the office door,
and requested assistance from the suspect in the front of the store, according
to the report.
The female employee reported that she heard four gunshots,
and within a minute the two subjects left the store on foot.
A male employee, a cook, told deputies that, while taking a
break outside the front of Waffle House, two individuals with black hoods over
their heads approached him from the back side of the building. The male employee
told deputies that one of the subjects, who stood about 5’10”, told him to go
back inside the building and that the second male followed them inside,
according to the report.
Once inside, one of the male subjects held them at gunpoint while the other subject retrieved money from the register, the report stated. The subject with the handgun walked to the back of the restaurant where the safe is located, and then he heard four gunshots. A few moments later, both suspects left the restaurant, the report said.
According to the report, deputies discovered a hole in the
outer part of the metal door leading to the safe, upon examination.
The incident report stated that $2,000 was stolen and
estimated damages to the building at $500.
The female employee told officers that the two suspects ran
out of the back door of the restaurant, towards the Exxon gas station, and that
she did not see a vehicle, the report said.
Witnesses told deputies both individuals were wearing blue
jeans, black tennis shoes, black hoodies, and masks covering their faces.
No suspects have been identified as of March 1. The incident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
WINNSBORO – An environmental investigation by the SC Department of Health & Environmental Control is being conducted on West Palmer Street near the town’s streets and sanitation department.
The investigation began Thursday, Feb. 23 and officials said Friday afternoon that it is not yet known how long workers will remain on site.
On Feb. 8, 2023 The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety was notified by the SCDHEC Office of Law Enforcement in reference to a tip received through Crimestoppers of the Midlands in reference to illegal dumping, according to Winnsboro Department of Public Safety Police Chief Kevin Lawrence.
The SCDHEC Office of
Law Enforcement along with The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety followed
up on the tip and are jointly following up on the allegation.
The areas of Palmer and Garden Streets in the Town of Winnsboro is the focus of the illegal dumping and residents are being asked to avoid the area. At this time there is no current threat to the community and its residents, Lawrence said.
A spokesperson for DHEC provided the following statement to The Voice at the dig site Friday afternoon.
“DHEC and its contractor are performing an investigation at a site on West Palmer Street in Winnsboro. This investigation is based on information brought to DHEC’s attention that unknown materials were buried at this site. Several areas will be assessed and excavated as part of our investigation.
If containers are found, DHEC’s contractor will remove, sample and secure the contents. Additional assessment of other media, including soil and groundwater, will be performed if there are indications of any releases of hazardous substances. This investigation is being handled by DHEC’s Environmental Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement. This is an ongoing investigation. Additional information will be available after our investigation concludes.
The South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Act requires hazardous materials to be properly disposed of in order to protect people’s health, as well as the environment.”
Town manager Jason Taylor said he is unable to comment on the situation at this time, but that the town is fully cooperating with the investigation.
More information will be posted when it becomes available.
Historic interior of Sandy Level Church | Jim McLean
BLYTHEWOOD – Sandy Level Baptist Church member and attorney Jamie Walters appeared before the Town’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) for the third time last week to request a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) that would allow the church to replace the existing aging vinyl siding and windows with similar vinyl siding and windows on both the historic sanctuary and the newer classroom addition.
Sandy Level Church circa 1856 | Hudnalle McLean Sr.
The almost 170 year old sanctuary of the church has a
historical designation in the town, and the BAR had twice previously deferred
the request as they tried to convince Walters to bring the sanctuary back to
its original state by painting it instead of replacing the vinyl siding which
was not original to the sanctuary.
Walters argued that if the sanctuary is painted, it would
have to be repainted about ever six or seven years, something he says the
church cannot afford.
On Monday night after almost three hours of back and forth
discussion between Walters and the board, with an expert opinion from former
head of Preservation South Carolina, Mike Bedenbaugh, the board granted a
complex COA approval under the financial hardship section of the Town’s
historic preservation ordinance.
While the BAR voted to allow the church to replace the windows and siding with materials that do not meet the historic ordinance’s standards, board members worked with Walters to come up with specifications whereby the building would retain, as nearly as possible, its historical look.
“We’re happy to be
able to move forward and get this project behind us in a way that will help
preserve the building and that we can afford,” Walters said.
“Our responsibility is to enforce the ordinance,” BAR member
Jim McLean said. “We tried to meet the church half way, but we wanted to
maintain the church’s historical value. Sandy Level and the town hall are the
original buildings in Blythewood and were built in the same year, 1865,
probably by the same builder. They are of extreme significance to the town as
well as to the county and even the state.”
McLean said Sandy Level predates Abraham Lincoln and is
almost exactly as it was when it was built.
“It’s an essential part of the town’s history,” he said.
“The struggle in approving this particular COA was the
conflict between the board trying to preserve the historical features of the
church versus the congregation’s desire to protect themselves from a financial
burden,” McLean said. “Unfortunately, I also believe the church had cost
numbers that were not accurate…but in the end that became a difficult argument.
“The building is almost 170 years old,” he said. “It’s a
historical gem that we want to protect.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the COA with special conditions.
BLYTHEWOOD – Two
Richland County council members have invited members of the Blythewood
community to attend a town hall meeting with developers and county planning
staff to discuss the rezoning of 90 acres of land for housing.
The acreage is located at 1000 Kelly Mill Road, just north
of Blythewood.
Developers seek to rezone the property from Rural (RU) to a
residential single-family estate district (RS-E).
Councilman Derek Pugh (Dist. 2) and Jessica Mackey (Dist. 9) will be there to discuss the proposed rezoning with citizens.
“This rezoning is going to have a tremendous effect on our community,” Councilman Derrek Pugh said.
“Our traffic, schools and public safety will feel the
impact, so it’s very important to make your voices heard,” Pugh said.
The meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb., 21, 6 p.m., at Killian Park, 1424 Marthan Road, Columbia.
WINNSBORO – Fairfield leaders are clamping down on the
county council’s travel reimbursement policy for individual council members.
On Monday night, the council voted 4-3 on the policy revisions,
which set controls on expenses eligible for reimbursement.
Council members Shirley Greene, Tim Roseborough, and Neil
Robinson voted against the revisions.
Greene complained the new policy was too vague.
“When we have something that’s nebulous, and this document
is nebulous in terms of specificity, we can do better in stating what’s
comprehensive,” Greene said.
In 2021, in addition to travel costs, five of the seven
council members – Bell, Greene, Trapp, Roseborough and Robinson – received a
total of $14,714.40 in miscellaneous reimbursements, according to an
investigation by The Voice.
Greene spent the most, invoicing the county $4,119.16 in
expenses. Council Chairman Bell billed the county $3,338.57.
Roseborough ($2,682.68), Trapp ($2,373.61), and Robinson
($2,200.38) rounded out the top five.
Council members Pauley and Gilbert didn’t seek or accept
reimbursements, according to documents obtained by The Voice.
Some council members bookended extra hotel room nights
outside listed conference dates, while others sought reimbursement for routine
travel to council meetings, county records show.
On Monday night, the current council majority voiced support
for the new policy.
“I feel like it’s something we need to do,” said Councilman
Clarence Gilbert, who has heavily criticized council reimbursements in the
past.
Councilman Dan Ruff also supports the new policy, and
introduced an amendment that would deny reimbursements to council members who
are late in submitting requests. The amendment passed 4-3. He said late
reimbursements put an extra strain on staff.
“I never in my previous time [on council], and won’t this
time, ask for or receive expense reimbursements for anything,” Ruff said.
Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen said council members shouldn’t
need reimbursements since they’re already paid to serve. Council members make
$15,000 a year, according to budget records. The Chair makes an additional
$4,800, the vice chair an additional $3,000 over what the other council members
receive,
“Take your salary and go on home. You knew what the salary
was. We don’t need all this other stuff. Take your salary and be done with it,”
Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen said.
In May 2022, an investigation by The Voice found several
instances of wasteful spending in council member reimbursement requests.
In 2021, Greene and Roseborough zigzagged across the state
to attend various economic development conferences in North Augusta, Beaufort,
Hartsville, and Orangeburg. Together they spent a combined $3,726.80.
They also billed Fairfield council members for local travel.
Records show Greene sought reimbursement for 44-mile
roundtrips to pick up her agenda packets from the county administration
building, even though they could have been emailed like they were to
others.
Roseborough also drove 52.5 miles to attend a Fairfield
County chamber function, and 30 miles for a Midlands Technical College meet and
greet, neither of which were required functions for them as council members to
attend, records show.
The policy revisions approved Monday night specifically
address local travel.
Council members must submit monthly mileage logs when
traveling on county business.
Limits are also set on which events council members can
attend. Travel reimbursements to and from the county administration building,
which were charged last year by council members Bell, Green, Trapp and
Robinson, are expressly prohibited under the new revised policy.
“Mileage will be reimbursed only for those educational,
training and lobbying opportunities that are essential to being on County
Council,” the policy states. “In-county mileage will not be reimbursed.”
Council members must submit mileage logs when seeking
reimbursement. Reimbursement requests must be submitted within 30 days of the
month’s end.
The policy also states the county will now provide cell
phones and Surface Pros to council members instead of reimbursing them for
those items. The cell phones and laptops were issued to each council member
earlier this month. Each council member has been assigned an email address so
they can receive agenda packets electronically.
According to Interim Administrator Laura Johnson,
reimbursing council members for computer and phone expenses cost the county
$19,020 annually. Issuing the council members county owned phones and laptops
will only cost the county $4,000 annually, saving as much as $15,000 annually.
Greene worried about how council members would get wifi for
the Surface Pros, and was told that council members could use their home wifi
to connect to the internet.
In other business, Johnson told council that the audit,
which is now almost two months late, is still on track to be presented to
council on March 13.
Winnsboro utility customers share stories of high bills to a TV station. | Photos: Barbara Ball
WINNSBORO — Prior to the Winnsboro Town Council meeting Monday night, the camera was rolling as 20 or so Winnsboro water customers expressed to WLTX-TV their frustration over longtime utility billing issues.
A few minutes later, they moved indoors where they addressed council about their gas, water, and electricity bills – some as high as $1,300 – and erratic billing cycles and billing delays.
“I can’t control my finances if the billing is here, there
and everywhere,” James Lawhorn told council. “I have health issues that are
taking a toll on me. I can’t pay the bills because the billing cycle is so out
of control. Put me on a 30-day cycle so I know what’s going on,” he said.
Winnsboro customer James Lawhorn
Betty Crouch said she received a bill for 15 days of service
that was about the same as the previous bill she received for almost three
months of service.
“We are fed up with high bills,” Gail Floyd said, holding up
her bill.
“We’ve been in a situation that’s not been efficient or accurate,” Town Manager Jason Taylor said. “And it has not been timely. That hurts our customers and our Town’s finances. When we read every two months, that costs the Town anywhere from $40 to $80 dollars more per meter than if we read them every month.”
Taylor said the Town has been facing the real world
consequences of labor shortages and supply obstructions the last couple of
years.
“We only have one reader and should have six,” he said.
“We’ve interviewed six people now and we’ve raised the meter reader’s salary to
$22 per hour for entry level. Even then, they have to have a driver’s license
and we have to hire people we can trust. We can’t send people into backyards
who have criminal records or drug problems.”
Taylor says the ultimate solution is the new AMI smart
meters that the Town ordered almost two years ago at a cost of $4 million for
all the utilities – gas, water (sewer), and electric. The meters have been
delayed by supply chain interruptions, he said.
“Now that we have just received all the water and gas meters
for Winnsboro customers, installation is set to begin within the next couple of
weeks,” Taylor said. “Once we get started, it should go rather quickly.”
He said once the meters are installed, that will put everyone
on the same 30-31 day schedule every month.
The Town still has to bridge the gap to get meters read
until the installations are complete.
To do that, Taylor said he has met with a company that
contracts meter readers for Dominion, who also faced extreme labor shortages.
“We’re waiting for a proposal from them to help us to
transition from manual readings to the automatic, efficient AMI meters,” Taylor
said.
“With the new smart system, customers will have options such
as being able to check usage on the internet by the hour, even by the minute,”
he said. “It’s that accurate. We’re planning to add that feature to our new
system.”
Sign-up sheets were available at the meeting for customers
to ask for help for their particular situations.
“We’ll schedule a time for you to come in, and we’ll work
with you, go out and re-read your meter and look at the history of your
readings, set up a payment plan if you want,” Taylor said. “We’ll also do an
equalization plan to help you catch up. We’ll look at any options and do what
we can to help you.”
Taylor has told residents that if they believe their bills
have been overestimated, they can pay on the bill until they get an accurate
reading. He said there will be no disconnections of service during this time,
and that, when the new AMI system is installed, any overages from past bills
will be credited to their accounts.
Mayor John McMeekin said the new AMI meters will take the
Town out of the Stone Age into the modern world.
“We are going to try to restore your confidence which we
have lost.” McMeekin said. “That’s the direction we’re moving in. We’re going
to try to move heaven and earth to get this done. We didn’t get here
overnight.”
McMeekin, addressing the gravity of the situation for some
customers during the transition to the AMI meters, encouraged them to call town
hall.
“Everyone’s situation is different,” he said, “but we’ll
address it and try to come up with an appropriate solution.”
Mariam Trezevant addresses Town Council about her high utility bills.
JENKINSVILLE – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is
investigating a double-homicide that occurred at a residence on Marsh Lane,
located in the Hwy 215 South area of Jenkinsville.
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, deputies responded
to shots fired at the residence and found 2 deceased individuals.
Theron Byrd, 23, of Winnsboro and Malik Butler, 22, of
Jenkinsville, were the two deceased individuals located inside the residence,
according to the Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Crime
Scene Unit was requested to assist with this investigation.
“As we are in the very early stages of this investigation,
it is still very fluid and we are very limited on what information we can
provide at this time,” Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 803-635-4141.
This story was updated at 5:25 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2023.
Taylor Says Town is Looking at Meter Reading Contractor
WINNSBORO – The Town of Winnsboro water department has
received some of the new electronic water meters it ordered for Winnsboro
customers while others are still delayed with supply chain issues.
But hundreds of the Town’s utility customers have become
impatient with the wait as they continue to receive three and four-figure
bills. Many have taken to Facebook to express their dissatisfaction with the
Town’s broken billing system.
Customer Laura Thomas shamed the Town for letting it get to
this point. She wrote: “Do we have any hope the Town will ever get our bills
right again?”
Amanda Helt Smith wrote: “My bill for November was for $111.
For December, it was $785. Tell me how? And we are down to one child because
she left for college.”
Gail Floyd wrote: “I was out of town for a month…no one at
my home…my utility bill was $142.00 the next month I was at home running
everything the bill was 99.00 that month so I’ve been wondering as well!!”
Hundreds more posted similar messages. The bills are high,
low, and sporadic.
Town Manager Jason Taylor said the Town has been stymied by
a lack of meter readers, partly due to the fact that when the electronic meters
are installed, their jobs would likely only be temporary.
“We have 11,000 meters to be read with only two to three
people trying to keep up,” Taylor said. “It’s an impossible situation.”
As a result, customers frequently receive bills for two or
more months at a time.
“I talked to Dominion to get advice from them about our lack
of meter readers and see what direction they went,” Taylor said. “They, too, say it’s almost impossible to
keep meter readers staffed. As a result, they have contracted their meter
reading out, and I anticipate we will do the same until our new smart meters
arrive. I’m meeting tomorrow with a company that contracts meter reading to get
that going.
“I hate what’s
happening for our customers and for the Town. We have invested about $4 million
in the smart meters to get this corrected and give our customers the service
they deserve as quickly as possible,” Taylor said. “But the new meters are held
up in the supply chain problem across the nation.”
As they await the arrival – and then the installation – of
the new meters, town officials are mulling a stop-gap solution to the erratic
billing problems that have long plagued its utility customers.
“It’s going to take about two months to work out the
contract meter work and get the readers trained. We really have no choice but
to estimate the bills for the next two months,” Taylor said.
The town’s Finance Director Kathy Belton presented to
council a plan to estimate bills for a targeted amount of 1400 KWH for
electricity, 150 therms for gas and 3,000 gallons of water.
“This will spread payments out,” Belton said. “We have never done this before but this is
an emergency situation. Plus, we can have a payment plan so customers can get
caught up,” she said.
Taylor said the Town will do all it can to assist the
customers during that time. He said he will be sending out a new clarification
letter above and beyond what the Town just recently sent customers.
“It will tell customers that they are welcome to estimate
their own bills each month if they wish, and just send what they can until we
get our contract workers in place,” Taylor said. “We aren’t going to cut anyone
off. If you get a high bill, pay what you think is reasonable at this point. We
will catch up and true things up.”
“We welcome our customers to call us with any issue. We will
work with them. This is a bad situation for our customers and we understand
that,” Taylor said.
“I tell people to keep paying what you have been paying,” Councilman
Demetrius Chatman said during last week’s council meeting. “Do what you
normally do.”
Councilman Danny Miller and Mayor John McMeekin both agreed customers need to be contacted with an apology and explanation.
BLYTHEWOOD – It was sometime around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, when The Voice received a call from Blythewood resident Byron Dinkins asking if a reporter could meet him at his property on Blythewood Road.
Asked what was up, Dinkins replied, “When the Town allowed Dominion to set up a giant natural gas tank in a dumpster at the corner of Syrup Mill Road and Blythewood Road, I complained to town hall, since it would be out of character for the area, pretty ugly, maybe even dangerous, and right next to my property,” he said.
“Usually when something like that wants to set up shop in the town, there is a posting by the town government to let the neighbors know what’s going in next to them so they have a chance to have a say,” Dinkins continued. “But this just popped up. No warning. No posting. No nothing. No concern whatsoever on town hall’s part for what this could do to the neighbors’ property values.”
Dinkins said he contacted Mayor Bryan Franklin to express his concern.
“Mayor Franklin said he was shocked, that he knew nothing about it,” Dinkins said. “Yet, the property was already being graded off. I was surprised that the Town Administrator would approve something like that without the mayor knowing. The mayor even told me that putting a natural gas tank there would ‘open up a can of worms for the town.’ ”
“Well,” Dinkins said to The Voice, “I want you to come out here and take a picture of that can of worms the natural gas tank site opened up.”
The Voice arrived at the property a few minutes later and saw several vehicles and a boat lined up along Blythewood Road near the property where the natural gas tank had recently been constructed. The words “Town Center” were scrawled across the back of the boat in bright orange spray paint. Other orange messages on the vehicles included “Welcome to Blythewood,” “Bias Politics,” “Who is your mayor?” “Shame on the Town,” and “What’s good for the goose…”
Traffic along Blythewood Road slowed as some passing drivers honked, laughed and waved at Dinkins. Others pulled over to ask what was going on, others made suggestions for adding other pranks to the scene.
While What’s Happening Blythewood’s Facebook page lit up with almost 200 mostly witty, curious comments with photos about the vehicles – “If that’s a 2009-2014 Maxima, I am on the prowl for a passenger headlight,” Angela Rowe commented – a seering rant by Franklin broke up the light banter. Franklin attacked his fellow councilmen and The Voice on What’s Happening Blythewood for an unrelated issue that the Town is being sued for after Franklin failed to turn in his response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request as required by law.
“Hi, this is Mayor Bryan Franklin. I have no idea what this person is protesting,” Franklin wrote. “The only political issue is two councilmen never turned over their electronic devices (personal phones, laptops, etc.) while I did immediately and so did two other councilmen,” he said.
“We are in a court case now which involves possible collusion from one or two councilmen, but we can’t comment now,” he commented. “These facts are public so far, but you wouldn’t know it because one local paper is trying to get at least one of these councilmen re-elected.
“It is an election year and the press can be biased – shocker!” Franklin wrote. “If you have any questions about anything you have read, I can clarify. Call me,” he wrote and posted his phone number.
While Dinkins said his stunt has nothing to do with Franklin’s issues with his fellow councilmen, a lawsuit or the newspaper, he (Dinkins) said the vehicles and spray-painted messages are a citizen’s protest against how Franklin’s government allowed the natural gas tank to go next to his (Dinkins’) property without any public notice to citizens or neighbors of the property.
When land at the natural gas tank site began to be disturbed during the first week of December of 2022, The Voice received several inquiries about it from the community.
A town hall official verified in a phone conversation on Dec. 6 that the property is in the Town Center zoning district, and that town hall knew about the project, and that it was a “temporary natural gas stabilization site.”
Later that day, Town Administrator Carroll Williamson sent an email to The Voice stating that was not the case, that the newspaper reporter had misunderstood.
But a citizen had already provided The Voice with an email from a town official dated Dec. 5, with quotes from Dominion Energy confirming the project was “a compressed natural gas regulator station.”
“Basically it’s here for the winter to provide natural gas. Once winter is over, the property will be returned to its original site,” the email stated.
Finding out who approved/permitted the project was more difficult.
After The Voice and Byron Dinkins, the neighboring property owner, quizzed Williamson on the issue, he posted a stop-work order later on Tuesday, and called a meeting with Dominion for the next afternoon, Wednesday, Dec. 7, for about 1:30. After the meeting, work at the tank site resumed.
The property where the project is located is owned by Blythewood businessman Larry Sharpe, who told The Voice he has a contract with Dominion to lease the land, and that Dominion had handled all the permitting. Sharpe said he had not been involved with any applications for approval by the Town or county governments.
During a special called town council meeting [on a separate issue] on Friday, Dec. 8, Williamson was asked by Councilman Brock for an update on the gas tank site issue.
Williamson said that when he pulled up to the site [Dec. 6.] he knew nothing about what was going on (even though a town official had earlier confirmed that the Town was aware of the situation) and was presented with an approved plan for the work.
“Richland County approves all land disturbance/storm water permits,” Williamson said. “Richland County thought the Town was aware of the project, but they are not necessarily obligated to notify us. So they approved it.
“While the project was land disturbance, it also changed the use of the land,” Williams added. “So I talked with Dominion. In our ordinance is a temporary non-conforming use that the town administrator can authorize as long as it meets some benefit or upgrades the non-conforming use.
“So I wrote a non-conforming permit that says on May 31, 2022, this is over and has to be cleaned up,” Williamson said.
Sharpe, however, told The Voice that his contract with Dominion is for a year.
“It was a miscommunication on a type of project we don’t often see,” Williamson told council members. “Dominion was very apologetic.”
The project, according to Todd Feaster, a realtor with Utility Land Service, is intended to provide extra natural gas capacity for Cobblestone residents until a permanent pipeline can be constructed.
“There have been so many new homes built in the area in a short time that the demand for natural gas has increased to the point that there is not enough capacity for them all,” Feaster said.
“An on-site tractor trailer on wheels will house a 50-foot-long tank of natural gas that will be hooked into Cobblestone’s natural gas system to provide additional capacity through this winter. When the tank runs empty, another one will be brought in,” he said.
“The tractor trailers will leave as soon as winter is over,” Feaster said. “Options in the lease, however, allow the property to be used for two more winters if necessary.”
A member of the Cobblestone Park HOA board-elect told The Voice that the temporary tanks were originally to be situated on a lot in Cobblestone for Cobblestone’s use, but were, for some reason, moved to Blythewood Road. He said he didn’t know why, but that he didn’t believe Cobblestone residents had anything to do with the relocation of the tank site to Blythewood Road next to Dinkins’ property.
“It may be an eyesore for a while,” the Cobblestone resident said, “but it’s for the good of the community.”
