WINNSBORO – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
announced last Friday it will purchase Fairfield’s Providence free standing
emergency room along with three Midlands-area hospitals and other hospitals in
the state.
The purchase, approved by Medical University Hospital
Authority Board of Trustees during June’s regular board meeting, will also
include Providence Health hospitals, KershawHealth, which are currently owned
by LifePoint Health, as well as affiliated physician practice locations serving
communities in the Midlands.
Terms of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.
Fairfield County Interim Administrator Brad Caulder told The
Voice that the county has not yet received any confirmation about the sale of
the ER.
On April 9, 2021, PRISMA announced the termination of its
own planned purchase of the ER.
Fairfield County has a significant investment in the
Providence-Fairfield ER. The county has agreed to pay $10 million to Providence
over 10 years to be used for operation of the ER as well as $4 million the
county had been required to escrow as assurance those ten $1 million payments
would be made.
“The county’s agreement with Providence includes negotiated
terms of providing care to the citizens, keeping the ER open, indigent care
issues and other things,” then-County Attorney Tommy Morgan said last year.
WINNSBORO – A Winnsboro man facing domestic violence charges
was arrested on Friday night after a three-hour standoff at his home near The
Strawberry Patch convenience store with Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies.
Truesdale
Jeffrey Truesdale, 55, was charged with Domestic Violence of a High and Aggravated Nature following an incident that occurred on June 18, according to authorities.
According to an incident report, the sheriff’s office
received a phone call from an anonymous caller that there was a man allegedly
beating a woman in the parking lot of the behavioral health center in
Winnsboro.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, the caller reported
that the man left the parking lot with the woman in a white Chevy Silverado and
was heading southbound on US highway 321.
The dispatcher, according to the incident report, was able
to identify the suspect as possibly being Truesdale, who deputies were already
familiar with. The responding deputy reportedly drove to Truesdale’s last known
residence where he observed a vehicle matching the caller’s description backing
into the driveway of a home on Oak Street Extension and a female laying on the
ground near the truck.
The deputy identified the victim as Truesdale’s wife and
reported that she initially stated that she was alright, and that she had not
meant to fall out of the truck. As other deputies arrived however, the deputy
was able to separate the couple at which point the woman told the deputy that
Jeffrey Truesdale had run her over with the truck.
The woman was then transported to a local hospital where she
received treatment for her injuries.
On Friday, an arrest warrant was obtained for Jeffrey
Truesdale in regards to the incident. According to Fairfield County
authorities, it was in the attempt to serve the arrest warrant that Truesdale
barricaded himself in his garage.
“We called SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) to
assist us. Another person was in the home and let us know that Truesdale was in
the garage,” Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery told The Voice.
The standoff began at 5 p.m., and according to Montgomery,
at 8 p.m. deputies were able to enter the home through an unlocked door and
arrested Truesdale without incident.
Fairfield County first responders were able to dig a way out for the trapped woman. | William Ladd
WINNSBORO – When the Fairfield County Rescue Squad and Fire Service was dispatched to 141 State Highway 213 about 4:20 p.m., Saturday, June 20 they found an overturned vehicle and a 21-year-old Winnsboro woman trapped underneath it, three to four feet beneath the roadway.
The woman was not restrained and had been ejected from the
2007 Nissan sedan, according to a Highway Patrol report. Rescuers said she had
been trapped under the vehicle for several hours.
After extricating the woman from underneath the vehicle, she
was transported to the Providence/Fairfield Emergency Room on the Hwy 321 Bypass, about ½ mile away.
There is no information about the woman’s injuries or the
cause of the accident.
The incident was investigated by the S.C. Highway Patrol.
JENKINSVILLE – Two separate incidents at Lake Monticello
last week resulted in the deaths of six-year-old Julian Thomas-Smith of
Columbia and 19-year-old Jimmy Montufor of Charlotte.
Around 9 p.m. on Monday, June 14, Fairfield County Sheriff’s
deputies responded to a report that a child had drowned at the Monticello Ball
Park and bystanders were performing CPR.
According to the incident report from the sheriff’s office,
Thomas-Smith regained a pulse. He was
transported by EMS to Providence Fairfield Emergency Room and then to Prisma
Health Richland, where he succumbed to his injuries on June 16.
On Saturday, June 19, the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources (SCDNR) responded to a request for assistance from the
Fairfield County Fire Services at approximately 5 p.m. Witnesses reported that
a male paddling on a kayak-style inflatable raft a short distance outside of
the marked swimming area at the recreation area had fallen into the water,
began struggling and disappeared.
SCDRN and Fire Service divers searched until dark Saturday
evening and resumed searching Sunday morning when they located the body of
Montufor around 10 a.m.
RIDGEWAY – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is
continuing its investigation into multiple robberies and the vandalism of a
church in Ridgeway that occurred earlier last week.
According to Fairfield County officials, authorities were first called to the St. Mark Baptist Church, located on Highway 34 between Ridgeway and Winnsboro, on June 9 when a member of the church noticed that two air conditioner units were missing from the church property, and that the catalytic converter had been removed from the church’s activity bus.
According to an incident report, church member Curtis
Simpson reported to deputies that he noticed the missing items after
investigating tire tracks that he had observed going through the church’s
graveyard.
Simpson said he found two gravestones had been destroyed by
the vehicle as it was driven through the property.
Following the robbery, one man, believed to have returned to
retrieve the catalytic converter, was caught on the church’s security camera
without a mask, and authorities are hoping that individual may be identified by
the public.
Anyone with information on the suspect in the photo is asked
to contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, 803-635-4141
Caulder to Receive Annual Salary of $125K for up to 6 months
WINNSBORO – The majority 4 on Fairfield County Council voted Thursday, June 3, to hire Brad Caulder, their sixth choice, for interim administrator. The vote came following a five minute executive session during a special called meeting. Caulder is the county’s director of Human Resources. He did not attend the meeting.
Caulder
The Voice obtained a copy of Caulder’s contract with the county through a Freedom of Information request. The contract, which takes effect June 7, calls for Caulder to serve as interim administrator on a month to month basis, up to six months, and receive a base annual salary of $125,000.
Caulder said in an interview with The Voice, that he would
continue to work in his office in the Human Resources department during his
time as interim admin and would not be moving into Former County Administrator
Jason Taylor’s office.
A stand for Johnson
Before the vote for Caulder, Councilman Neil Robinson made a
motion to hire Fairfield’s assistant county administrator Laura Johnson as the
interim administrator.
“I think we’re at a stage right now…I believe she’s the one
to carry the torch forward,” Robinson said. Following the meeting, Robinson
cited Johnson’s years of experience with the county and her overall role and
expertise in assisting Taylor run the county for the last two years.
Johnson, a CPA and former finance director of the county,
retired Friday, June 4, the last full day Taylor said he would be in the county
offices before moving into the town manager’s job at the Town of Winnsboro.
Johnson and Taylor are two of several top county officials
who were pushed out by the majority 4 since January.
Council voted 3-4 against hiring Johnson, with the majority
4 – Moses Bell, Mikel Trapp, Tim Roseborough and Shirley Greene – voting
against. Council members Robinson, Douglas Pauley and Clarence Gilbert voted
for Johnson.
After Trapp made the motion to hire Caulder, Pauley proposed
an amendment to the motion.
That amendment called for Caulder’s appointment to be for no
more than a three-month period and for Caulder to be allowed to transfer back
into the role of Human Resources Director following the three months.
Pauley said following the meeting that he, Gilbert and
Robinson hoped such an amendment would protect Caulder’s job until he gets back
to it.
Alluding to the majority 4’s penchant for government
secrecy, Pauley also stipulated in his motion that, during the period Fairfield
County has an interim administrator, any communications initiated to the
interim administrator by a member of Council, including the Chair and Vice
Chair, be in email format, and that all other Council members be copied on the
email.
“While I am hesitant
to hire someone for the position of interim administrator who does not have
extensive local government organization leadership experience,” Pauley said,
“we need to do what is best for Fairfield County right now and we need to have
an interim administrator by tomorrow according to state law. I think the best
we can do tonight, considering the circumstances, is to hire a person we know
to be intelligent and ethical. I believe Mr. Caulder to be both,” Pauley said.
Pauley said the focus must now be shifted to hiring an
eminently qualified permanent administrator.
“We have no time to waste in doing that. I think three
months is a reasonable timeline,” Pauley said. He called for stability and for
no individual council members to attempt to micro-manage the interim
administrator.
“If this amendment passes, I will vote to appoint Mr.
Caulder as the interim administrator. If the amendment fails, I will not be
able to vote in favor of the appointment,” Pauley said.
The amendment failed 3-4 with Pauley, Robinson and Gilbert
voting for the amendment. Bell, Trapp, Roseborough and Greene voted against.
Council authorized Bell and the county attorney, Charles
Boykin, to negotiate a contract with Caulder.
Bell said Caulder has experience in human resources and
public works.
“What we’re doing tonight is a very innovative approach,”
Bell said. “We believe this move will allow us to gain more depth in our
organization, and it creates a significant alternative long term.”
No one will be hired to carry out Caulder’s duties in human
resources while he serves as interim administrator.
Following the meeting, Caulder said in a phone interview
with The Voice, “We will work as a team to continue to provide services for the
citizens.”
Squirewell retreats
Michael Squirewell, a candidate interviewed on June 1 at the
same meeting Caulder was interviewed for the Fairfield County’s interim
administrator’s job, notified Council Chairman Moses Bell in an email on June 2
that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the position.
Squirewell spoke with The Voice to confirm that he is no
longer a candidate for the job.
“Upon arrival for the interview [Tuesday evening], I was
informed by a council member that you had decided who you were going to hire
before the interview began,” Squirewell wrote in the email to Bell.
In an interview with The Voice, Squirewell said that while
he appreciated that council was going to continue to interview him tonight, he
would have appreciated it more had he received prior notice that he was out of
the running.
Squirewell told The Voice that he was under the impression
that he was seriously being considered and did not know that council had
interviewed another candidate after he (Squirewell) left the interview.
Caulder was interviewed in executive session separate from
Squirewell on Tuesday night, according to sources and was subsequently hired on
June 3. Bell was reached for comment, but said he couldn’t talk at the time,
but would call back. At press time, he had not returned the call.
WINNSBORO – The majority 4 on Fairfield County Council voted
to hire their sixth choice for interim administrator, Brad Caulder, during a
special called meeting Thursday night, June 3, following a five-minute
executive session. Caulder is the county’s director of Human Resources. He did
not attend the meeting.
Caulder
Before the vote for Caulder, Councilman Neil Robinson made a motion to hire Fairfield’s assistant county administrator Laura Johnson as the interim administrator.
“I think we’re at a stage right now…I believe she’s the one
to carry the torch forward,” Robinson said. Following the meeting, Robinson
cited Johnson’s years of experience with the county and her overall role and
expertise in assisting Taylor run the county for the last two year.
Johnson, a CPA and former finance director of the county, will
retire Friday, June 4, the last full day that Taylor said he will be in the
county offices before moving into the town manager’s job at the Town of
Winnsboro.
Johnson and Taylor are two of several top county officials
who were pushed out by the majority 4 since January.
Council voted 3-4 against hiring Johnson, with the majority
4, Moses Bell, Mikel Trapp, Tim Roseborough and Shirley Greene voting against. Council
members Robinson, Douglas Pauley and Clarence Gilbert voted for.
After Trapp made the motion to hire Caulder, Pauley proposed
an amendment to the motion.
That amendment called for Caulder’s appointment to be for no
more than a three-month period and for Caulder to be allowed to transfer back
into the role of Human Resources Director following the three months.
Pauley said following the meeting that he, Gilbert and
Robinson hoped such an amendment would protect Caulder’s job until he gets back
to it.
Alluding to the majority 4’s penchant for government
secrecy, Pauley also stipulated in his motion that, during the period Fairfield
County has an interim administrator, any communications initiated to the
interim administrator by a member of Council, including the Chair and Vice
Chair, be in email format, and that all other Council members be copied on the
email.
“While I am hesitant
to hire someone for the position of interim administrator who does not have
extensive local government organization leadership experience,” Pauley said, “we
need to do what is best for Fairfield County right now and we need to have an interim
administrator by tomorrow according to state law. I think the best we can do
tonight, considering the circumstances, is to hire a person we know to be
intelligent and ethical. I believe Mr. Caulder to be both,” Pauley said.
Pauley said the focus must now be shifted to hiring an imminently
qualified permanent administrator.
“We have no time to waste in doing that. I think three months
is a reasonable timeline,” Pauley said. He called for stability and for no
individual council members to attempt to micro-manage the interim administrator.
“If this amendment passes, I will vote to appoint Mr.
Caulder as the interim administrator. If the amendment fails, I will not be
able to vote in favor of the appointment,” Pauley said.
The amendment failed 3-4 with Pauley, Robinson and Gilbert
voting for the amendment. Bell, Trapp, Roseborough and Greene voted against.
Council authorized Bell and the county attorney, Charles
Boykin, to negotiate a contract with Caulder.
Bell said Caulder has experience in human resources and
public works.
“What we’re doing tonight is a very innovative approach,”
Bell said. “We believe this move will allow us to gain more depth in our
organization, and it creates a significant alternative long term.”
There was no mention of who would be over Human Resources
during Caulder’s absence.
Following the meeting, Caulder said in a phone interview
with The Voice, “We will work as a team to continue to provide services for the
citizens.”
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Michael Squirewell, a candidate for the Fairfield County’s interim administrator’s job, notified Council Chairman Moses Bell in an email this morning that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for the position.
Squirewell spoke with The Voice earlier today as well to
confirm that he is no longer a candidate for the job.
Squirewell
“Upon arrival for the interview [Tuesday evening], I was informed by a council member that you had decided who you were going to hire before the interview began,” Squirewell wrote in the email to Bell.
In an interview with The Voice, Squirewell said that while
he appreciated that council was going to continue to interview him tonight, he
would have appreciated it more had he received prior notice that he was out of
the running.
Squirewell told The Voice that he was under the impression
that he was seriously being considered and did not know that council had interviewed
another candidate after he (Squirewell) left the interview.
Brad Caulder, the county’s director of Human Resources, was
interviewed in executive session separate from Squirewell on Tuesday night,
according to sources. The Voice reached out to Caulder but had not yet spoken
with him before this story was posted. Bell also could not be reached for
comment.
A special called council meeting is scheduled for tonight
(Thursday, June 3) at 6 p.m., in council chambers at the Fairfield County
government building.
Caulder is expected to be the only candidate interviewed,
according to Councilman Neil Robinson, but The Voice was not able to confirm
that information with Bell.
Town Councilman Sloan Griffin & Town Administrator Carroll Williamson
BLYTHEWOOD – Residents had the opportunity to get an up close look at some of the proposals for changes to roads in downtown Blythewood that were on display at The Manor.
As part of the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax
program, the town is in line to have Creech Road extended from Blythewood Road
down to Main Street (Highway 21/Wilson Boulevard) as well as the construction
of a four-way stop at the intersection of McNulty Street and Boney Road.
Before plans are drawn up for the two projects, Richland
County officials wanted to hear from the residents of Blythewood regarding
their preferences for the extension and the roundabout.
Of the four Blythewood projects that will be completed with Penny Tax funds, the first will be to widen and improve the Creech Road Extension down to Main Street. Second priority is to widen and improve McNulty Street from Main Street to Blythewood Road. The third priority is to widen and improve Blythewood Road from I-77 to Main Street. And the fourth priority is to widen and improve Blythewood Road from Syrup Mill Road to Fulmer Road.
WINNSBORO – Time’s almost up for Fairfield County to designate an interim or permanent administrator before running afoul of state law.
In spite of four failed attempts in as many weeks to seat an
interim administrator, the county’s top elected official asserted Tuesday night
that one would be confirmed by Thursday evening, June 3.
At the special meeting called on Tuesday night, council was
set to discuss the fourth candidate. Council Chair Moses Bell emailed council
members Tuesday morning that the candidate would be David L. Rawlinson, an
upstate educator for more than thirty years. There was no mention in the email
that Rawlinson had government experience.
By mid-afternoon the same day, The Voice learned that
Rawlinson had declined the job offer, citing turmoil on council, and that Bell
had put forth two other names for consideration at the evening meeting –
Michael Squirewell, a home builder who lives in Ridgeway, and Brad Caulder, the
county’s human resources director.
Both men were interviewed in executive session for more than
an hour, but council took no action on selecting either of them.
Bell told The Voice following the meeting that he
anticipated interviews will resume during a special meeting tentatively planned
for Thursday, June 3, at 5:30 p.m.
Asked if council would continue the selection process with
Squirewell and Caulder or interview another candidate, Bell said he didn’t
think a new candidate would be considered at this point.
Rawlinson’s candidacy for the interim position was preceded
by three other failed considerations for the job. The first candidate, a former
Richland County government official, didn’t make it to the vote before he was
dropped from consideration because of reports linking him to sexual harassment
in the workplace at Richland County. The second candidate, educator Jim Rex,
dropped out the day after council voted to approve him for the position, citing
turmoil on council. The third candidate, former Richland County administrator
Gerald Seals, said his offer for the position was withdrawn by Bell the day
following the vote. It was formally withdrawn by council four days later.
Fairfield County has until the end of business Friday, June
4 to appoint an interim administrator to comply with state law.
It was only three weeks ago that Bell issued an RFP for a
search firm to advertise and bring candidates to the county for the
administrator job. After securing a firm to search for qualified candidates,
Jason Taylor, the current county administrator, said it could take as much as
six months to fill the position.
Section 4-9-620 of state law states the following: “The
council shall employ an administrator who shall be the administrative head of
the county government and shall be responsible for the administration of all
the departments of the county government which the council has the authority to
control.”
Taylor and Laura Johnson, the county’s assistant county
administrator, are both leaving their posts June 4.
Tim Winslow, executive director of the S.C. Association of
Counties, said the county could merely designate an interim administrator by
council vote while continuing to search for a full-time administrator, noting
that’s how Pickens County proceeded with a recent vacancy.
Numerous top-level employees have departed Fairfield County
in the wake of the November general elections, which saw a dramatic shift in
the council’s balance of power. The council now routinely votes 4-3 on most
issues of consequence, including votes on appointing an interim administrator.
In light of the fact that the county will have neither a
county administrator nor an assistant administrator after Taylor and Johnson
depart the county offices on Friday, council members voted 5-0 to give Anne
Bass, the county’s finance director, signature authority for county checks.
Council members Doug Pauley and Mikel Trapp were absent for the vote.
The vote is contingent on the county confirming the legality
of giving Bass that authority.
