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  • Council hires new county admin

    WINNSBORO – After six months and six unsuccessful tries to fill the vacancy left by former Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor, council voted to hire Columbia native Malik Whitaker during a special called meeting last week. Whitaker will assume his new duties with the county on Dec. 2.

    Whitaker

    The vote was unanimous to offer Whitaker a $135K, one-year contract. The motion to hire Whitaker was made by Councilman Mikel Trapp who did not attend any of the applicant’s interview sessions, according to council members who were present at the meetings.

    Councilman Doug Pauley thanked Brad Caulder, the county’s director of human resources for serving as interim county administrator since June, 2021.

    “After many failed attempts [to hire an administrator], we hired Mr. Caulder,” Pauley said. “I want to thank Mr. Caulder for his time of being the interim administrator.

    Pauley said the Mercer Group, the firm hired by the county to solicit applicants, brought several candidates, but he said it was not a large pool to choose from.

    “I asked about bringing in more candidates,” Pauley said, “but we were told we would be looking at another six months. I think the candidate we have before us does not have all the qualifications we are looking for, but we are in need of a county administrator and I’m willing to work with him and give him a chance.

    “I think we owe it to the citizens of Fairfield County to work together and move this county forward,” Pauley said.

    Whitaker is currently Director of Education and Resiliency at the United Way of the Midlands where he has been employed since last July. He previously served for a year as the Operations & Management Consultant Manager for the Florida Department of Children and Families in Tallahassee, FL

    Whitaker spent the previous eight years with the S.C. Department of Social Services.  He also worked as project leader for Communities in Schools, Director of Families, Individuals and Children for United Way of the Midlands and was a research associate at Benedict College.

    While Whitaker’s resume does not include experience as a county administrator. He was assistant zoning administrator for Richland County from 1997 to 2003. There he was responsible for supervision of 12 members of the code enforcement staff. His duties also included budget preparation for the department, employee supervision, implementation and monitoring of all unit functions. He also assisted the zoning administrator in management of all aspects of county zoning, including permitting, inspections and administration.

    Asked to describe his management style and philosophy, Whitaker wrote in his application: “I’m a pragmatic problem solver and I practice servant leadership. I put serving others – including staff, community, and clients – as the number one priority. I hold myself accountable for increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community, and sharing power in decision making. Great leaders inspire others to a higher purpose and excellent management is about maximizing the potential of others to accomplish collective goals. I believe that administrative leaders harness the collective competencies of others to accomplish strategic goals, so putting the needs of my team first is paramount.”

    Whitaker told The Voice that he has not yet made a decision as to whether the current assistant to the interim administrator, Ed Driggers, will continue in his role with the county after he (Whitaker) takes over as administrator.  The county currently pays Driggers $200 per hour for approximately 20 hours per week. The county also pays an assistant to Driggers $60 per hour for approximately 20 hours per week.

    Whitaker holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Carolina and is a graduate of the USC School of Law.

    Whitaker and his wife Stacey, a school administrator in Richland School District 1, are the parents of a daughter who is enrolled at Clemson and a son who attends Richland Northeast High School. The family lives in Northeast Columbia.

  • No charges to be filed against Richland Two school administrator accused of sexual misconduct

    Parent of Richland 2 student addresses the incident at the R2 board meeting on Tuesday.

    COLUMBIA – Sheriff Leon Lott announced on Friday, Nov. 19, that no charges will be filed against a Richland Two school administrator who was accused of sexual misconduct during a live-streamed school board meeting last week.

    “After an intense investigation which included interviewing multiple witnesses and the individuals involved, as well as reviewing surveillance video from school cameras, investigators determined that the incident did not occur as described by the child and that the administrator did not do anything improper,” a Richland County Sheriff’s Department reported in a press release.

    The Richland County Sheriff’s Department began investigating on Monday, Nov. 15, after the parent of a Richland Two elementary student raised concerns about an incident involving an administrator.

    On Tuesday night, that parent spoke about the allegations during the public participation portion of the school board meeting.

    “As parents, we want to believe that our kids are always truthful with us, but sometimes it turns out that’s not the case,” Sheriff Lott said. “However, we have a duty to make sure that any allegations are fully and completely investigated so that appropriate action can be taken when warranted.”

    Richland Two and the elementary school involved cooperated fully throughout the investigation and have been notified of the findings.

    The Voice has not been able to contact the father, but WIS reporter Lauren Adams spoke with him following the investigation and WIS anchor Judi Gatson had this to say in an update posted on her Facebook page:

    “Our reporter, Lauren Adams, just talked to the dad. He told her he has apologized to the administrator.

    “He thanked the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and said he feels it best to relocate his daughter to another school.

    “He also said he’s going to put his daughter in counseling and seek counseling as parents.

    “The father told Lauren he plans to conduct his own investigation into why his daughter knows those words/actions and to see if she was sexually assaulted.

    “To be clear, the Richland County Sheriff’s investigators say their thorough and exhaustive investigation exploring all possibilities revealed no signs or evidence of any abuse.”

    The following press release was issued by the Richland County Sheriff’s office this morning:

    Sheriff Leon Lott announces that no charges will be filed against the Richland Two school administrator who was accused of sexual misconduct.

    After an intense investigation which included interviewing multiple witnesses and the individuals involved, as well as reviewing surveillance video from school cameras, investigators determined that the incident did not occur as described by the child and that the administrator did not do anything improper.

    The Richland County Sheriff’s Department began investigating on Monday, after the parent of a Richland Two elementary student raised concerns about an incident involving an administrator.

    On Tuesday night, that parent spoke about the allegations during the public participation portion of the school board meeting.

    “As parents, we want to believe that our kids are always truthful with us, but sometimes it turns out that’s not the case,” Sheriff Lott said. “However, we have a duty to make sure that any allegations are fully and completely investigated so that appropriate action can be when warranted.”

    Richland Two and the elementary school involved cooperated fully throughout the investigation and have been notified of the findings.

    BLYTHEWOOD – A Richland 2 administrator has been put on leave after being accused of strip-searching an elementary school student, school officials have reported.

    The alleged incident occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 11 according to the father who addressed the Richland 2 School Board Tuesday night, Nov. 16, saying his first-grade daughter had been the victim of a strip-search at her school.

    District officials say they became aware of the allegations against the administrator after an email from the child’s father was received by school officials on Monday, Nov. 15.

    The allegations became public during a Tuesday school board meeting when the father described the particulars of the incident during the public comment period.

    The district issued a statement Wednesday, saying the Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis said, “Richland Two does not tolerate any type of misconduct involving students and always fully investigates any reports of possible violations of laws, policies and procedures.”

    Davis was quoted as saying, “I want to reassure the entire Richland Two family that providing safe, nurturing and caring environments that support quality teaching and learning at all of our schools remains our top priority,” he said.

    The child’s father, who can be seen addressing the board in the video, told The Voice on Wednesday, Nov. 17 that the family had not yet been contacted by Davis.

    The Voice was also told on Wednesday that at least some school board members had not been made aware of the alleged incident before it came up during the public comment period.

    “I was not aware of the incident at all until I heard about it during the [father’s] public presentation,” School Board Member LaShonda McFadden told The Voice. “I don’t believe any of the board members were aware of it prior to the presentation.”

    The livestream video of that meeting is no longer available on Richland 2’s website.

    The video of the meeting is password-protected and is accompanied by a note. “Based on the advice of the district’s Director of Safety and Security, the availability of the livestream video from the meeting is currently restricted to protect the identity of a minor involved in an investigation. The district is exercising as much caution as possible during this ongoing investigation.”

    In the prepared statement, the district said the allegations were “disturbing to hear just as they were disturbing to read about in the email.”

    The district is required by law to protect “all individuals involved in the investigations,” Davis said in the statement. The district has not revealed at which school the incident allegedly happened.

    The child’s father told The Voice that he filed a report about the incident with the Richland County Sheriff’s office on Monday, Nov. 15.

    The Richland County Sheriff’s office confirmed to The Voice on Wednesday, Nov. 17, that it is investigating the incident.

    The Voice will update this story as information becomes available.

    This story was updated on Nov. 23 at 8:30 p.m.

  • Winnsboro annexes 10 more properties

    McMeekin: Bringing More People In Will Lower Utility Rates

    WINNSBORO – Winnsboro Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve 10 properties for annexation into the town, bringing the total annexations to 16 since Oct. 5. Three more were on the agenda Monday night for first reading, and as many as 30 are waiting in the wings, according to Asst. Town Manager Chris Clausen

    With the elimination of the $500 fee for annexation into the town, Winnsboro is seeing a surge in interest from property owners, says Town Manager Jason Taylor.

    “In the past [the town was charging $500 for an annexation petition request. We’re not doing that anymore,” Taylor says. “There are no fees associated with an annexation petition, and we are accepting them without any cost to the applicant.”

    Plus, because of Taylor’s experience with annexation in a previous job, he is able to handle these requests in-house without the kind of expensive legal review that used to be required.

    After a story on the front page of the Oct. 14 edition of The Voice about the elimination of the $500 annexation fee, Taylor said he received about 50 inquiries about how citizens could annex into the town. Some of those, he said, were not contiguous with the town’s border, therefore were not eligible to annex.

    As word has begun to get out about the benefits of annexing into the town, people have begun filing petitions to join the town so they can access trash pickup and lower utility rates. Ultimately, Taylor says, this will also make it easier for the town to deliver services.

    “I think it makes sense from a service delivery perspective to have rational territories,” he says. “Right now our town’s border… it’s very erratic. You can really go down a street and this house is in, the next house is out, the next house is in, the next house is out, so you can imagine, for providing trash collection services… it would just make a lot more sense if we had consolidated communities.”

    Another reason annexation is sometimes sought by landowners, Taylor says, is so they can develop their property more densely than is allowed by county zoning rules.

    Mayor John McMeekin says opening up the door to annexation is aimed at promoting local business, scaling up services, and ultimately creating a better-run town.

    He says those who are annexed into the town will not be charged property tax; the town’s small tax rate is more than offset by local sales tax collected by the state on Winnsboro’s behalf.

    “There’s no city tax at this time,” McMeekin says, “and I don’t expect for there to be any.”

    Winnsboro is uniquely situated as one of just a handful of towns in the state that provide all of the utility services for its residents; in that regard, the town runs a revenue-generating business that puts it in a unique position.

    While Taylor says the town is gearing up to do some “strategic annexations” by reaching out to the owners of parcels with growth potential, the way state annexation law is written in South Carolina makes it challenging for a town to initiate the process – a fact that often leads to these irregular boundaries.

    While the town is just accepting petitions for annexation right now, Taylor says, town leaders will soon be looking at the map and reaching out to landowners based on neighbors who want to be annexed and utility maps that show unclaimed electric power territories and good areas for water and sewer service expansion.

    “If we can bring more people in, we can spread the cost across more customers and potentially provide services at a cheaper rate,” Taylor says.

    “We would just welcome people. If they want to consider annexing into the town, we would be glad to consider their annexation petition.”

    For information call (803) 635-4041.

  • Fairfield teens charged in shooting

    WINNSBORO – Two Fairfield teenagers involved in a shooting at an intersection adjacent to The Strawberry Patch convenience store on Columbia Road are under arrest and charged with aggravated assault.

    Just before 4 p.m., on Thursday, Nov. 11, Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of 9th Street and Columbia Road after two cars of teenagers were reported to be shooting at each other.  When deputies arrived on scene, however, the shooters had left the location.

    After several witnesses provided names of the two cars’ occupants, deputies contacted five teens and arrested two of them, a 16-year-old male who was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice on Broad River Road and a 17-year-old male, who was charged as an adult, was transported to the Fairfield County Detention Center, the incident report stated.

    Two other 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old, who were drivers or passengers in the two cars were not taken into custody, according to Lt. Bill Dove, Director of Investigations for the Sheriff’s Office.

    A witness stated that a black Mustang pulled up next to him at the stop sign at 9th Street and Columbia Road and that a male passenger in the Mustang began shooting over his (witness’) car at another car, a silver Ford Crown Victoria, according to the incident report. The witness stated that he did not think he was the target but was caught in the crossfire.

    Through the investigation, officers learned that a 16-year-old who was hanging out the back driver’ side window of the Crown Victoria and a 17-year-old passenger in the Mustang, were shooting at each other.

    Both teens who were arrested admitted to being the shooters, but both claimed the other shot first, according to the report.

    The incident was captured on the convenient store’s surveillance cameras.

  • Fairfield man sought for attempted murder

    WINNSBORO – A warrant has been issued for a Fairfield man, Delano Malachi White, 44, for attempted murder.

    White is a suspect in a stabbing that occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, in Winnsboro at the corner of West College and Manigault Streets. The suspect is a black male, about 6 feet tall and 210 pounds.

    Winnsboro Department of Public Safety officers were called to a residence in the 500 block of Sprng Street  about 12:13 a.m., where, according to the incident report,  they  found a man bleeding profusely from several stab wounds and an evisceration across his abdomen.

    A witness stated that he saw the victim walking, asking for help, and assisted the victim to the porch of a nearby residence. The victim was subsequently transferred by EMS to a Prisma Health hospital in Richland County.

    Upon investigation, officers followed a trail of blood from the porch to a pool of blood in front of a building at the corner of West College Street and Manigault Street where it is believed the victim was stabbed.

    WDPS officers are continuing to search for White as the incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information as to White’s whereabouts, is asked to call 803-635-4511.

  • Sheriff seeks leads in theft of tractor

    • Suspect preparing to load the Kubota tractor onto the trailer.

    RIDGEWAY – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department is seeking information on a theft in the Ridgeway community of Fairfield County on Oct. 23.

    In the early morning hours of October 23, 2021 two unknown subjects entered the property of the Farm at Ridgeway, which is located at 3248 US Highway 21 South, and removed a Kubota Model M7040 farm tractor, valued at #28,500, with an 8 ft. commercial bush hog attached.

    The subjects drove the tractor through the property’s surrounding fence, shattering the glass door on the driver’s side of the tractor. They then drove the tractor to a church across the road, and loaded it onto a white Ford F-250 pulling a large gooseneck trailer.

     The truck was last seen travelling south on US Highway 21 South towards Blythewood.

    Contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office or call Crime stoppers at 1-800-crimesc with any information concerning this incident.

  • Fox in Cobblestone tests positive for rabies, three dogs exposed

    BLYTHEWOOD – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) confirmed that a fox found near Brunner Circle and High Pointe Drive in the Cobblestone Park neighborhood in Blythewood has tested positive for rabies.

    One person was potentially exposed and has been referred to their healthcare provider. Three dogs were exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.

    The fox was submitted to DHEC’s laboratory for testing on Nov. 1.  Test results were reported positive on Nov. 2.

    Two other rabid foxes found in Winnsboro caused exposures in July and again in September.

    “To reduce the risk of getting rabies, always give wild and stray animals plenty of space,” said Terri McCollister, Rabies Program Team Leader with DHEC. “If you see an animal in need, avoid touching it and contact someone trained in handling animals, such as your local animal control officer, wildlife control operator, or wildlife rehabilitator.”

    An exposure is defined as direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal. If your pet is found with wounds of unknown origin, consider that your pet may have been exposed to rabies.

    If you believe that you, someone you know, or your pets have come in contact with this fox, or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call DHEC’s Environmental Affairs Columbia office at (803) 896-0620 between 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, or after hours and on holidays at (888) 847-0902 (Select Option 2).

    Keep pets up-to-date on their rabies vaccination. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect against the disease. This fox is the tenth animal in Richland County to test positive for rabies in 2021.

    For more information on rabies, visit www.scdhec.gov/rabies or www.cdc.gov/rabies.

  • Bell claims council members are county employees, eligible for ARP

    Video Differs with Media Report on Bell’s Brush-Up with 1st Responders

    Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill displays some of the protective gear first responders must wear while speaking at the council meeting.

    WINNSBORO – In a confrontation with Fairfield County first responders following last week’s county council meeting, a video showed Council Chairman Moses Bell, when asked whether he thought he was a county employee, responding, “Yes, I am.”

    During a council meeting earlier that evening, Bell and council members Shirley Greene, Michael Trapp and Tim Roseborough voted to pass first reading of an ordinance that would make all full time employees, including each council member, eligible to receive $1,200 from the first $2.2 million installment of the county’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. A second $2.2 million installment will be received in 2022. The vote also gives $600 to all part-time employees and $200 to all temporary employees, including poll workers, for a total payout to employees of $460,000.

    But according to ARP guidelines, council members are likely not eligible for the funds.

    While council members receive salaries, insurance, retirement and workers compensation paid for by the county, a state official, in answer to an inquiry by The Voice, said council members are considered employees for tax purposes only, that they are not employees of the town subject to town personnel policies or eligible for additional payments to employees.

    Council members not eligible

    The U. S. Treasury’s final interim rule on ARP funding only designates premium pay for essential workers, and it is unlikely that council members can qualify as essential workers.

    According to the state statue, when council votes to increase pay to its members, that increase cannot be implemented until after council’s next general election.

    In a July 8, 2013 ruling, the S.C. Attorney General stated, “The General Assembly shall never grant extra compensation, fee or allowance to any public officer…

    “Although the language of this provision expressly prohibits only the General Assembly from taking any such action, we have repeatedly advised that it also serves to limit political subdivisions, such as counties and municipalities, at least in the powers delegated to them by the General Assembly. Ops. S.C. Att’y Gen., 2012 WL 6218333 (Dec. 4, 2012); 2002 WL 1340428 (May 9, 2002).

    “Our Supreme Court has defined ‘extra compensation’ for purposes of Article III, § 30 as “any compensation over and above that fixed by law or contract at the time the service was rendered.” State ex rel. McLeod v. McLeod, 270 S.C. 557, 559, 243 S.E.2d 446, 447-48 (1978).

    Councilmembers Clarence Gilbert, Douglas Pauley and Neil Robinson, who said they were not included in creating the ordinance, voted against it, saying that essential workers in hazardous jobs like first responders should get the bulk of the ARP disbursements for employees.

    First responders push back

    It is that issue that brought 40 or so Fairfield County first responders to last week’s council meeting to protest what they felt was the majority 4’s inequitable distribution of the ARP premium payments. Prior to the meeting, four speakers – Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill, Jennifer Fitch of EMS and citizens Randy Bright and Jeff Schaffer – supported the first responders’ viewpoint. 

    While another media stated that public comment speaker Jeff Schaeffer was ejected from the meeting, a video of the meeting confirms that while Bell called for Schaffer to be ejected, he was not.

    That media also reported that first responders “left in a huff” and “wait[ed] outside until council adjourned,” and “engaged in a heated discussion with Council Chairman Moses Bell until a concerned citizen encouraged Bell to ‘leave for his own safety.’

    Video shows no danger

    But a video of the scene outside the county building more accurately shows that Bell was never in any danger from the first responders, and that it was a South Carolina Law Enforcement (SLED) agent, in attendance on a separate issue, who placed his hand on Bell’s shoulder as Bell was shouting at first responders. The agent then guided Bell to his truck and suggested that he get in his truck and go home. Bell complied, but rolled down his window and shouted accusations at the first responders as he drove off.

    While the video of the encounter shows the situation becoming boisterous, it also shows Bell thrusting himself into that escalation time after time, unlike Trapp, Green and Roseborough who exited the building, acknowledged the first responders, then got into their cars and left without confrontation.

    The video shows Bell readily participating in a shouting match with first responders. Three times he started to get in his pickup truck to leave, each time turning back to the first responders, most of whom were across the street from him.

    “You all didn’t say a word when they didn’t give you a dime,” Bell shouted several times, referencing comments he’d made earlier that evening in chamber that blamed members of a previous council for refusing to give CARES Act money to first responders a year earlier.

     “Last year, [former Councilwoman] Bertha Goins suggested that we give the essential workers – to include EMS and the sheriff’s department – a bonus pay,” Bell said. “Members from Saving Fairfield got involved and it didn’t even get to the agenda.”

    That didn’t happen

    Councilman Neil Robinson said that is incorrect.

    According to Robinson, the proposal to give CARES Act funds to first responders last year was made by Goins and himself, but that it was Bell who balked at giving the CARES money to the first responders, Robinson said. “He wouldn’t cooperate in funding the first responders unless all the county employees got the same money, just like he’s doing now. He caused such a ruckus that the proposal never went anywhere, never even got to council for a vote,” Robinson said. “It was not Saving Fairfield’s or other council members. Sometimes Mr. Bell gets very creative in how he remembers things.”

    Another sticking point with first responders, Gilbert, Pauley and Robinson was the ordinance’s allocation of $500,000 for recreation in Trapp’s district – $350,000 for a park in Blair and $150,000 for park upgrades at Willie Robinson Park – instead of to first responders.

    “Is that $500,000 for recreation a bonus, too?” one first responder called out to Bell, mocking Bell’s insistence that the ARP payouts to employees was an employee bonus since they had not received a raise last year.

    The ordinance allocated payouts for the following:

    • $350,000 for a mini park on Overlook Road in Blair, Trapp’s district
    • $150,000 for upgrades to Willie Robinson Park, also in Trapp’s district
    • $8,000 for a Community in Schools program
    • $500,000 to repair a DHHS building roof
    • $75,000 for a project manager position in Economic Development
    • $30,000 to repair a fire truck engine

    “We don’t know yet which of these are actually allowed by the U.S. Treasury’s interim rule for payout,” Pauley told The Voice. “We have a lot to look into before paying out this money.

    The third and final vote on the ordinance is set for 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8, in council chambers.

    CORRECTION: The story originally said that Willie Robinson Park is in Councilman Bell’s district. That was an error. It is in Councilman Trapp’s district.

  • Pig on the Ridge set for Nov. 5-6

    More than 50 cookers will be lining the tracks at this year’s Pig on the Ridge. | Barbara Ball

    RIDGEWAY – The first weekend in November means one thing in Ridgeway: the Pig is back. Friday night’s “No Pigs allowed” runs from 6 – 10:30 p.m. with activities for kids, craft sales, a street party with DJ Doug Pauley, and delicious and different non-pork cuisine for sale.

    Saturday kicks off with the BBQ judging contest at 9 a.m. and the fun lasts until 1 p.m. There will be more of Friday plus a Classic/Antique Car Display, hog-calling contest and a cruise-by with Town Councilman Don Prioleau entertaining as he introduces and comments on the vehicles.

    With sunny skies and a slight fall chill, it should be the perfect weekend for shopping at vendor booths or at the stocked-for-Christmas shops along Palmer Street.

    The Pig on the Ridge is manned by Ridgeway volunteers who give hours of their time throughout the year to make the festival enjoyable for the thousands barbecue lovers and shoppers who attend every year.

    “We’ll have a new, younger steering committee running the festival this year,” Rufus Jones one of the original four steering committee members said. “We’ll be here to help,” he said of the members of the former steering committee, but they are all experienced and with pit master Tony Crout heading up the barbecue cookers, it’s going to be lots of fun with plenty of good food and shopping,” Jones said.

    Every year the steering committee holds a dinner prior to the festival for the volunteers. This year it was held at Purity Lodge and guests were catered by Doko Smoke barbecue.

    POTR Volunteer Dinner

    Larry Weldon

    RIDGEWAY – About 50 volunteers who make the Pig on the Ridge happen gathered at the Purity Lodge in Ridgeway for dinner, visiting and getting ready for the big weekend starting Friday Nov. 5, and lasting through about 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6.

    From left are the new steering committee: Deb Truesdale, Mack Miles, Belva Bush Belton, Tony Crout and Tony Jones; and the outgoing POTR steering committee, from left: Henry Dixon, Don Prioleau, Rufus Jones and Gloria Keeffe.

    Below, the buffet barbecue dinner catered by Doko Smoke. At right, Larry Weldon, the train man who delivers the barbecue dinners to the train engineer during the festival when the train rolls through town.

  • Seven earthquakes strike Jenkinsville area

    JENKIINSVILLE – Seven earthquakes have stuck in and around the Jenkinsville area over a seven day period with the first on Monday, Oct. 25 and the last on Monday, Nov. 1

    All of the week’s earthquakes have been under 2.5 magnitude, and none were strong enough to be felt by humans.

    “We were at our cabin in that area over the weekend when they were occurring,” Judy Bonds told The Voice, “and we didn’t feel anything.” Others in the area also reported not feeling any effects from the tremor.

    Jenkinsville is located in the southwest corner of the county, near Lake Monticello and the V.C. Summer nuclear site. The minor tremors have all been located around the Monticello reservoir near Jenkinsville.

    The latest tremor occurred at 10:59 a.m. Monday, underwater at the reservoir, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was a 2.0 magnitude and occurred at a depth of just under 0.86 miles beneath the ground surface.

    While it’s not unusual to see quakes at this location in Fairfield County, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division, it is unusual for there to be so many in a short amount of time. However, the SCEMD said seismologists believe these are normal background activity and are not indicators of larger earthquakes to come.