Newly elected town councilman Sloan Griffin, III, left, is congratulated by opponent former councilman Malcolm Gordge, right, and Mayor Bryan Franklin. | Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood voters gave the nod to Sloan
Griffin, III in Tuesday night’s special election to fill the two remaining
years on the town council seat vacated by Bryan Franklin in November when he
was elected mayor.
With only a 7.06 percent turnout, possibly the lowest in the
town’s history, Griffin, with 118 votes squeaked past former town councilman
Malcolm Gordge with 103 votes.
Only 222 of the town’s 3,100 registered voters turned out on
an unseasonably warm day. There were 9 absentee votes and one write-in.
Griffin told The Voice that he is excited to become the
voice of the people.
“People can come to me for anything,” Griffin said. “I just
want to serve the people.”
Griffin said he wanted to commend Gordge on his campaign and
said he would welcome Gordge’s advice.
Gordge served four years on Council and was previously
appointed to the town planning commission where he later was elected Chairman.
Gordge’s council term was up in November when he decided to run for mayor
instead of running for another term on council. Gordge lost to Franklin in the
mayoral race.
Here’s how the precincts voted:
Blythewood 1 (Cobblestone area) – Griffin, 53 and Gordge, 25
BLYTHEWOOD – The annual town council retreat held Saturday
at The Manor focused on annexation, zoning, the farmers market, security for
council meetings, the budget and more, including a presentation by Jay Bender,
media attorney who represents the S. C. Press Association. Bender discussed
ways governments can be more open and achieve transparency by complying with
the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.
Zoning and Land Use
S.C. media attorney Jay Bender discussed the state’s Freedom of Information Act. | Barbara Ball
Town administrator Brian Cook opened saying the planning
commission will soon begin review the town’s comprehensive land use plan as
well as the master plan. He specifically discussed zoning categories – the
number of the town’s commercial zoning categories (six) and the number of
zoning categories in general which he feels may be excessive for a town
Blythewood’s size.
“While larger municipalities have a need for more zoning categories,
I’m not sure a small town like Blythewood needs as many as we have,” Cook told
The Voice.
He said much of the comprehensive plan is outdated and that
the planning commission needs to be looking it over as they prepare to work
with the Midlands Council of Government or another organization to develop a
new comp plan next year for Blythewood.
“The comp plan is a guide for future zoning,” Cook reminded
council members. “We need to know how we want to grow and where we want to grow
or not grow. We can be wide open for development; we can be a little more
cautious with development or we can put the brakes on development altogether,”
Cook said.
Cook also suggested that the town’s master plan, which was
created in March, 2019, be reviewed.
“It’s a fluid document and we need to update our priorities
on a regular basis,” he said.
Annexation
Annexation was high on Mayor Bryan Franklin’s campaign list
when he ran for office last fall. His goal, he said at a recent town council
workshop, is to annex the entire 29016 Blythewood zip code.
To that end, town attorney Jim Meggs explained to council
the three kinds of annexation methods available to the town besides volunteer
agreements to annex into the town.
“Freeholders (any person owning at least 1/10th interest in
a parcel) can voluntarily sign a petition to annex into a town,” Meggs said. “A
town can aggregate several tracts if those freeholders sign the petition. This
can, however, leave holes of unannexed parcels circled by the town.”
Meggs said legislation is in committee now to allow towns to
annex those holes by force if they are less than 25 acres and have been circled
by the town for more than five years. This is referred to as the enclave method
of annexation.
“Before annexation of any property can take place, it must
be contiguous with the town and it cannot be part of another town,” Meggs said.
Water Covenant Annexation
“If the town cannot convince freeholders to annex
voluntarily, the town can, if it offers water, use water covenants to bind the
freeholder to sign an annexation petition, if present, when that property
becomes contiguous with the town,” Meggs said. “That’s not to say, however,
that the utility wouldn’t cut your water off [if you didn’t comply],” he added.
Meggs said Fort Mill once used that tactic successfully to force annexation of
a large swath of properties.
75 Percent Annexation
A second annexation method is the 75 percent petition
method. If the town wants to annex an area, it must get signatures of
freeholders who own at least 75 percent of the total assessed value of the
subject properties the town is seeking to annex. With this method, the town is required
to specify what services the town will provide the properties when they are
annexed. The 75 percent can force the unwilling 25 percent of the properties in
the subject area to annex.
25 Percent Annexation
If 25 percent of registered electors [not property owners]
in a subject area outside of town sign an annexation petition and get
certified, there would be an election conducted on the question of whether to
be annexed or not, Meggs said. But if a majority of the electors vote in favor
of annexing into the town, then the town can annex the territory.
Under this method, owners of large parcels over 25 acres can
opt out. This method was used unsuccessfully last year by the Fairfield County
town of Jenkinsville.
A technical feature of the 25 percent annexation method is
that if the election is successful, then 5 percent of the electors of the town
can present a petition denying or confirming the annexation.
Security
Councilman Donald Brock raised the question of whether council
should have security present at all council meetings. He suggested that while
there is not a hostile environment at council, he said it was the consensus of
those attending a recent municipal institute session that government meetings
should hire security to be present during all town meetings. It was suggested
that security cover planning commission, board of zoning appeals meetings as
well as other meetings.
“So the question I propose is, does the Town of Blythewood
need security at town meetings?” Brock said. “No one would have thought years
ago that someone would walk into an elementary school and do what they did. But
I’m not trying to instill any sort of fear or angst or nervousness.”
“I don’t want it to look intimidatng. I don’t want it to
look like a Richland County meeting where you try to speak and the police come
and get you. That’s not what we do in Blythewood,” Franklin said.
Franklin said council would further discuss the issue at the
next meeting.
Other issues
Council also discussed the following:
whether to build a farmer’s market building in the park to accommodate not only the market but other events, such as the artist guild’s spring and winter events that required indoor settings.
whether to incorporate the use of filming/video, streaming and uploading council meetings to various online platforms,
what parameters should be set for determining who should receive A-tax and H-tax funds and how those awarded the funds should handle profits.
These subjects will be discussed in more detail at future
council meetings.
WINNSBORO – The County Administration and Finance Committee recommended to council the allocation of $130,000 Monday evening for two capital building projects intended to contribute to the overall health of Fairfield County residents – a fitness center and the Farmer’s Market building.
The the recommended funds come from the existing $500,000 capital building projects budget.
“We’re using $30,000 of that money to renovate part of the
old Everett School building [located in Drawdy Park behind the county
administration building] for use as a recreation center facility,” County
Administrator Jason Taylor said. “About a third of the $30,000 will be spent on
the fitness area, a third on the office area and a third on storage.”
“The remaining $100,000 will be used toward the farmer’s
market building, to take it from just a farmer’s market to an event facility
that will bring in revenue,” Taylor explained. About $20,000 will be used to
finish out the restrooms, $10,000 to bring a water line to the building,
$30,000 for sprinklers and $40,000 for kitchen equipment.
The county is receiving additional funding from grants from
Parks and Recreation Development (PARD) , Dominion Energy and from a Healthy
People Healthy Carolinas (HPHC) grant awarded through a 3-year, $450,000 Duke
Endowment grant that was awarded in 2016 to Fairfield Forward (previously
Fairfield Community Coordinating Council), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that is
dedicated to identifying and addressing the health needs of Fairfield County
residents.
“This grant money is to be spent for evidence-based
interventions,” the county’s Community Development Director Chris Clausen told
the committee, “on ways to make people healthier, giving them better
opportunities to eat better or to have a more active lifestyle. So these two
projects, in particular, were of interest to Fairfield Forward. They were
already looking to do something for the farmers’ market. However, given the
other constraints that we currently have, we have to complete the building,
essentially, prior to July 1,” Clausen said. “With this funding Fairfield
Forward is trying to spend, the Drawdy Park project also came up so they wanted
to help with that as well.”
Since the first cycle of the $450,000 ($150,000/year for
three years) from the Duke Endowment is almost over and the remaining funds
need to be spent prior to July 1, the Fairfield Forward board voted to spend
$75,000 on the fitness area equipment and $10,000 for temporary market manager
positions at the farmer’s market to assist with processing SNAP payments.
“The board wanted to expend some funding on the purchase of
kitchen equipment at the farmers’ market,” Taylor said, “but given the
timelines with the grant, they opted to revisit this in the next funding cycle.
A $60,000 PARD grant will go toward a new HVAC system for
the fitness area and office space. With the $75,000 being donated by Fairfield
Forward and $60,000 from PARD, the fitness center project comes in at $165,000.
The request for the $130 funding from the county’s existing
capital building project funds will next go before full council for
consideration.
WINNSBORO – Three suspects wanted for two armed robberies in
Fairfield County have been arrested, Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery
said.
Nycholas D Price, 27, of the Mitford area, has been charged
with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon
during a violent crime, for twice robbing the Grand Central Truck Stop, located
at the intersection of SC 200 and Interstate 77. The truck stop was robbed on
Aug. 31, 2019 and again on Sept. 9, 2019.
Since Price’s arrest, investigators have also arrested two
other suspects in the robberies. Marquavius R Williams, 27, of Shirley Road in
Fort Lawn has been charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during
a violent crime. Breanna N. McCurray,
26, of Frances Avenue in Great Falls has been charged with two counts of
conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
During the August incident, two masked individuals entered
the store armed with a hammer and machete. They stole money and fled, according
to sheriff’s reports. During the September incident, officials say one masked
individual entered the store armed with a machete, stole money and fled the
scene.
Celebrating their combined efforts to pass an ordinance to outlaw tethering dogs in Fairfield County are, from left, kneeling: Fairfield County Animal Control Director Bob Innes and his staff, Leah Oswald, Nikki Jones and Samira Yaghi; Hoof & Paw board members Kathy Faulk, Paula Spinale, Minge Wiseman and Linda Moore. Back row, from left: County Administrator Jason Taylor, H & P member Mary Lynn Kinley, county council members Moses Bell, Clarence Gilbert, Mikel Trapp, Bertha Goins, Douglas Pauley, Jimmy Ray Douglas and Hoof & Paw president Deborah Richelle who is holding a photo of one of the group’s longtime leaders, the late Shirley Locklair. | Barbara Ball
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County voted unanimously Monday night
to unleash a ban on animal tethering, an important protection animal advocates
say will help reduce animal injuries and abuse cases. Members of the Hoof and
Paw Benevolent Society as well as staff from the county animal shelter were on
hand to celebrate the ordinance.
“It’s been a longtime coming,” Hoof and Paw board member
Kathy Faulk, a Fairfield County resident, said. “It’s a positive move forward
for our county.”
The ordinance also includes provisions curtailing animal
hoarding. The vote followed a workshop a week earlier where the county sought
input from the community about the proposed law.
A key component of the Fairfield ordinance is a set of
guidelines for replacing tethering with a trolley system, which resembles a zip
line. With a trolley, leashes are attached to an overhead cable that gives dogs
greater freedom.
Trolley lines must measure at least 20 feet between
endpoints, and dogs attached to trolleys must wear a harness. The ordinance
prohibits attaching the trolley leash to a collar. Harnesses are considered
safer because they wrap around a dog’s chest instead of having a collar around
a dog’s neck.
Councilman Moses Bell asked whether the county animal
shelter might keep in stock a selection of harnesses in various sizes for
residents to purchase. County Administrator Jason Taylor said that would be a
good idea and he would look into the possibility.
The ordinance also calls for dogs to have access to adequate
food, water and shelter.
An earlier version of the ordinance allowed limited
tethering for short durations, but the final ordinance bans tethering
altogether.
“[This ordinance] takes the tethering concept away,” said
Tommy Morgan, the county’s attorney.
“This [revision] is needed on so many levels,” Faulk said.
At an earlier meeting, she thanked council for their promotion of animal
welfare in Fairfield County and also called for an end to overbreeding and
hoarding in the county.
Chain, Collar Injuries
To illustrate the problem of animal abuse caused by tether ing,
Faulk distributed to council members a stack of graphic photos of dogs with
deep neck wounds that resulted from tethering.
“We were mortified, very sad and angry as we looked at these
photographs,” Faulk said.
“We seem to be picking up more and more animals that are
injured by chains and collars,” Bob Innes, the director of the county’s animal
control and adoption center, added.
While the ordinance also cracks down on animal hoarding,
Morgan said the ordinance isn’t directed at legally operated kennels or
livestock.
In regard to multiple animals living in a home, Taylor said
owners of multiple indoor animals must first have a license, and it must be
determined that the location is suitable for this type of operation.
“More rules will need to be put in place to state what will
qualify as a kennel,” Taylor said. “The state rules for a kennel are that you
must have a concrete floor with a drain to be able to be washed out each day
and have a place for the drain water to go,” Taylor said.
“Once the ordinance is in effect, will there be a window
with proper notification before citizens are held accountable to the new rules,
such as the new trolley/harness system?” Council Douglas Pauley asked.
“It should be up to the officers who respond to the calls to
let the citizens know of the new rules and that should take care of a large
part of this concern,” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said.
“Once the ordinance is in place, it would be hard to swing
the pendulum to the other side immediately and think everyone will immediately
know the new rules and be on board,” Taylor said. “There will be an education
period, which will include working with the Sheriff’s Department. In extreme
cases, the new ordinance will be followed. However, within reason, we will work
with the citizens,” Taylor said at the earlier workshop.
Bob Innes, Director of the Fairfield County Animal Shelter
said the ordinance was desperately needed, and suggested it should be phased
in, possibly beginning with the new fiscal year.
Animals Trapped in Vehicles
The ordinance also addresses animals left in vehicles.
“Any regular citizen can break a window if the owner of an
animal [trapped in a vehicle] cannot be found,” Innes said.
At the workshop, Ridgeway resident Randy Bright called all
kinds of animal abuse a “stain on our entire county.”
Bright repeated his previous calls for the solicitor’s
office to more aggressively prosecute animal abuse and neglect cases. He also
noted some cases could be prosecuted under the new federal animal cruelty law,
which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison for the most serious
offenses.
“How can we leverage that? Federal laws have the highest
penalties it seems,” he said.
This is Fairfield County’s second revision in as many years
to its animal control ordinance.
In 2018, council revised the ordinance to include a $500
civil fine for violations. The updated law also includes more detailed
definitions of nuisance animals and requires all pets to be fed once a day and
provided potable water. It also requires mandatory reporting of pets struck by
a vehicle.
The Fairfield County’s anti-tethering ordinance mirrors a
similar ordinance that Aiken County adopted in 2017. Aiken County Administrator
Clay Killian told The Voice that the ordinance has not faced any legal
challenges.
Taxpayers Pay for Abuse
Innes said all types of animal abuse cases, including over
breeding and hoarding, burden taxpayers in the long run.
“There’s a lot of people in this county that are just
chaining a dog and just breeding it and breeding it,” Innes said. “They dump
puppies on animal control, which means taxpayers are picking up the bill.”
The newly approved animal cruelty ordinance is available on the county’s website: fairfieldsc.com.
WINNSBORO – A suspect wanted for two armed robberies in
Fairfield County has been arrested, Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery
has announced.
Nycholas
D Price, 27, of the Mitford area, has been charged with two counts of armed
robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime on Jan.
31, 2020, for twice robbing the Grand Central Truck Stop, located at the
intersection of SC 200 and Interstate 77. The truck stop was robbed on
Aug. 31, 2019 and again on Sept. 9, 2019.
During the August incident, two masked individuals entered
the store armed with a hammer and machete and before stealing money and
fleeing. During the September incident, one masked individual entered the store
armed with a machete, stole money and fled the scene.
Since these incidents occurred, investigators have been
following leads and were able to develop Nycholas Price as a suspect in both
incidents.
Surveillance Video
Investigators have also identified two other suspects in
this case and are asking for assistance from the public in locating them.
Marquavius R Williams, 27, of Shirley Rd in Fort Lawn, is wanted for armed
robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime for his role in the
Aug. 31, 2019 incident. Breanna N McCurray, 26, of Frances Avenue in Great
Falls, is also wanted for two counts of armed robbery.
If anyone has information regarding this incident or the
location of either of these two individuals, they are asked to contact the
Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 635-4141 or Crime Stoppers at
1-888-CRIMESC (888-274-6372) or visit www.midlandscrimestoppers.com to email a
tip. The caller’s identity will be kept anonymous and, if your tip leads to an
arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.
WINNSBORO – After 20 years, a new water agreement is being
finalized between the towns of Winnsboro and Blythewood.
The Winnsboro town council voted Tuesday evening to pass
first reading on a new water service agreement with Blythewood. The second and
final vote and public hearing on the agreement will be held at the Feb. 18
meeting.
Blythewood council will take the first of its two votes on
the agreement Feb. 24.
The initial agreement between the two towns, finalized July
31, 2000, was set to expire July 31, 2020. The continuation of the agreement is
an affirmation of a longstanding relationship between the two towns. It was
primarily Winnsboro’s water that jumpstarted economic development in Blythewood.
Until 2000, Blythewood had no public water service. It was
that year that the Ballow administration sought to bring economic development
to Blythewood with a hotel – the Comfort Inn. To do that, the town needed
water. Lots of water. Ballew turned to Columbia but was unable to negotiate an
agreement for the city to supply water to Blythewood.
Winnsboro was the only water supplier at the time who would
agree to extend service to Blythewood. With cooperation from Fairfield Electric
Cooperative in building a water tower, Winnsboro water made possible the
eventual construction of three hotels that currently contribute between
$400,000 and $500,000 in hospitality tax revenue annually to the town’s
coffers.
But during 2014, the Blythewood town government soured on
Winnsboro water and abruptly gave Winnsboro notice of termination [of the water
agreement].
“Something different
is going to have to be developed between now and July of 2020. A new plan for
how we relate to Winnsboro or Columbia with regard to potable water supply and
storage is important and emerging – like
tomorrow. It’s an issue for the town and council, Blythewood town attorney Jim
Meggs said.
Then-Mayor J. Michael Ross said at a town council retreat
that he recommended, “that our next agreement [with Winnsboro] not last for 20
years.”
Blythewood council signed that notice of termination in
April of 2014, effective July of 2016, but the termination never came to
fruition since the agreement didn’t actually end until 2020.
The issue in 2014 was two-fold. A severe state-wide drought
two years earlier had drained Winnsboro’s reservoirs until there was not enough
water to meet Blythewood’s needs. As a result, Winnsboro Town Manager Don Wood
signed an agreement with the City of Columbia to temporarily supplement the
Blythewood area’s water supply.
In addition, Ross said at that time that Blythewood had
gotten wind that a private company had offered to purchase the Blythewood arm
of the water system from Winnsboro. Winnsboro council members said they never
entertained such an offer.
The resolution was a shock to Winnsboro council members who
said it came with no warning.
Ross told The Voice shortly afterwards that council feared
that they could potentially be at the mercy of private industry and its water
rates.
Termination of the agreement, however, automatically
triggers the sale of the system at fair market value, and it was at
Blythewood’s behest that Columbia made a $1.4 million offer on Nov. 19, 2014 to
purchase Blythewood’s system from Winnsboro.
But the water contract also mandates arbitration in the
event of a dispute between the two parties. While Winnsboro hired a mediator to
make their case, Blythewood did not, and the deadline to do so passed.
Winnsboro, meanwhile, initiated steps in September, 2014 to
construct a $12 million pipeline that would allow the town to draw as much as
10 million gallons of water per day from the Broad River. Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy said the Broad
River project would make all of Blythewood’s concerns disappear, rendering
Blythewood’s move to wriggle out of the agreement moot.
“Those pumps are now permitted to provide 10 million gallons
per day,” Gas, Water and Sewer Director Trip Peake said. Much of that water is
earmarked for Fairfield county’s future industrial development.
“Right now reservoirs are full and over flowing. And if the
reservoirs drop in the summer, if there’s no rain, we will still have plenty of
water” Peake said.
In the end, there were few changes to the new contract
provided by Winnsboro last month, Blythewood Mayor Bryan Franklin gave the
document his blessing.
“I am confident it will be adopted [by council] on my
recommendation,” Franklin wrote to Winnsboro Town Manager Don Wood on Jan. 3.
The new water contract, agreed to by both Winnsboro and
Blythewood, is again a 20-year contract with extensions provided in five year
increments.
The main changes to the agreement are that Winnsboro will
pay a higher franchise fee to Blythewood (up from three percent to five
percent), Blythewood (in-town and out-of-town) will receive more favorable
rates that are in line with Winnsboro’s in-town and out-of town rates, and if the
franchise is ended, the Town of Winnsboro is to be paid fair market value.
Other features of the contract call for Blythewood to pay for water hydrants
that it orders, Winnsboro to pay for hyrants it orders and developers to pay
for hydrants they order.
BLYTHEWOOD – What promised to be an informative though less than riveting review Monday evening of the purposes, responsibilities and processes of the town’s boards and commissions by Town Administrator Brian Cook, ended with a disgruntled former coffee vendor verbally holding the council and planning commission hostage for close to half an hour.
The evening began with boxed meals brought in for
councilmen, commissioners and town hall staff prior to a 6 p.m. joint meeting
of council members and planning commissioners.
Beyer
It was not until the public comment segment at the end of
the public meeting that the fireworks began. That’s when Matt Beyer, owner of
Grace Coffee, a former coffee vendor in the town, stepped up to the podium.
While assuring the panel right off that what he was about to
say was not a threat, some at the dias and in the audience, said afterward it
appeared to be so.
“As my dad often said, we can do this the easy way or the
hard way – and this is not a threat – but there’s a short version and a long
version. I’m prepared to do both,” Beyer told council firmly.
In an almost 25-minute soliloquy, Beyer tried to convince
the panel to reinstate his coffee trailer’s previous grandfathered status in
the town. He explained that he is leaving his Lexington location, and the new
owners of the former Bits and Pieces business at 208 Main Street would like to
have Grace Coffee come back to that location. The owners, according to Town
Hall, are Theresa McKenrick and her husband Rich McKenrick who is also a member
of the town’s planning commission.
Beyer initially launched into what he described as the short version of his request, detailing his side of a complex story that was reported in The Voice off and on over two and a half years. The last story printed in February, 2019 after Beyer moved from the grandfathered location in the parking lot of Bits and Pieces at 208 Main Street to a new location on Wilson Blvd. (See Grace Coffee FB post stirs up community and Grace Coffee opens outside town from Nov. 2018. )
In telling his version of the story, Beyer quoted the town
administrator, the Voice, the former and current mayors, planning
commissioners, town council members and others to make his case that while he
left his grandfathered location, he should be allowed by the town to return to
it and continue doing business there.
But, according to Town Hall, Beyer’s move from the location
nullified the grandfather clause. Beyer, however, said his status still stands
and he only needs confirmation of that from council.
“I’m not here today to debate what has already been debated
for two years. I’m here seeking affirmation of what has already been determined
by the planning commission, the board of architectural review and the former
mayor himself,” Beyer said. “I’ve got written documentation of this that I am
willing to share if we need to, but for the sake of time – again, easy way,
hard way – if council would like to make a motion, a simple memo or a motion to
affirm the decision already made to allow us to operate as we once did for two
years, we can move on, get home much earlier tonight.”
Jumping in at one point as Beyer caught his breath, Mayor
Brian Franklin tried unsuccessfully to end Beyer’s presentation.
“You make a good point, but we cannot take action tonight.
It’s not on the agenda,” Franklin said. “But we heard what you said.”
Beyer was undaunted in his quest and continued.
“Okay, well if there’s no action, then I’m just going to
continue,” Beyer said as he proceeded.
“Uh, you’re pretty much…” Franklin broke in. “We get the
point. Is there anything…” Beyer interrupted and forged on.
“Yes, yes, absolutely, absolutely, and I’ll be brief,” Beyer
said as he continued for another 15 minutes to recount events from two years
ago as well as his multiple unsuccessful attempts to convince town hall to
confirm his side of the issue.
Eighteen minutes into his speech, Beyer insisted that he was
not trying to be difficult.
“I’ve chosen to keep this issue private for a week, ‘cause I
don’t want to do this.” He added after he got no response, “If you want to go
to town council we can do this and then all of a sudden, the whole community
will know. So I’m here tonight to try to resolve this one last time before it
goes public. And I’m just saying there’s a lot of people around here that love
our coffee.”
Asked by The Voice if he is considering a lawsuit against
the town on the issue, Beyer said, “no comment.”
After more than 24 minutes, Beyers ended his plea with, “I’m
asking one time that you just affirm. I just need a memo.”
Four students from Ridge View High School are facing charges for their involvement in two separate assaults.
One incident happened after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Three students, two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old, held the victim down on the floor while a fourth student (15-years-old) committed a criminal sexual act against a 15-year-old male victim, according to a Richland County Sheriff’s incident report.
The 15-year-old who committed the assault is charged with criminal sexual conduct 1st degree. He was transported to the juvenile wing of Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
The two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old are each charged with assault & battery by a mob.
During the investigation, a similar incident was brought to the attention of investigators that had not previously been reported. That incident occurred after school on Monday, Jan. 27.
In that incident, two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old assaulted a 14-year-old student. The student facing the criminal sexual conduct charge is also facing assault & battery 2nd degree for the Monday incident; the other two are each charged with one count of assault & battery by a mob.
District and school administrators have been cooperative throughout investigation, deputies say.
WINNSBORO – The issue of the county’s proposed wastewater
treatment plant was not on Monday night’s agenda, but it was a topic of
conversation during the second public comment session and again during council
time
Gary Coats, who lives near Cedar Creek in Richland County,
and Ruchelle Gee, a resident of the Center Creek Community, in Fairfield County
addressed council, both opposing the plant and the discharge into Cedar Creek.
Gee said 1,550 names had been signed on a petition opposing the plant.
While County Administrator Jason Taylor said the county was
continuing to look at alternative sites for the wastewater treatment plant, he
said the effluent would still have to be discharged into Cedar Creek, no matter
the site, unless the county could come up with the money to take it to the
Broad River.
Chairman Neil Robinson noted that negative publicity about
the Syrup Mill site and the proposed discharge into Cedar Creek that Creek that
resulted from comments made during the Jan. 13 council meeting may have caused
the landowner of a desirable alternative site to raise the price of that
location the next day, putting it out of reach of the county’s purse.
“That happened the day after that meeting,” Robinson said.
In addition, Taylor said the county is looking at space the
county already owns in the Commerce Center on Peach Road, but engineers will
not have results of its suitability until the end of February, Taylor said. He
said the county is also weighing the pros and cons of other sites.
“But some of those sites have other issues associated with
getting easements and/or purchasing additional properties for us to get a line
to Cedar Creek,” Taylor said. “And, again, Cedar Creek is the option DHEC
[Department of Health & Environmental Control] has given us that we can
afford. With some of the other properties we’d have to purchase a much larger
piece of property that would cost more.”
Coucilman Mikel Trapp warned Center Creek residents from the
dias, however, that the county is not looking for other sites.
“That’s not going to happen,” Trapp said. “That’s just a
stall tactic. No one’s looking for other property. They’re just going to tell
you that to try to wait you out. But it’s not going to happen. And I sympathize
with you. When council says they are looking at alternative properties, that’s
a bunch of crap. I apologize for council,” he said.
Councilman Bell weighed in on the side of the Cedar Creek
citizens, portraying them as lacking resources that are available to the more
affluent communities to fight the battle.
“People with a lot of resources get a lot of attention,” Bell
said.
County Administrator Jason Taylor said the county is also
looking at grant sources.
“We’ve gone to Washington and talked to Congressman Norman,
specifically, about this,” Taylor said. “There’s a large grant bill [$1.7
trillion] coming up, for infrastructure, but with everything that’s going on
right now, it will be a long time coming. Even to do what we’re doing, the
state is giving us a huge infusion of money,” he said.
“As much as we’d love the state to cover the $80 million [to
take the discharge to the Broad River], getting $30 million is a stretch. COG
[the Central Midlands Council of Governments]
and the S.C. Department of
Commerce are working with us to make it viable at all,” Taylor said.
