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  • Winnsboro man drowns in kayaking incident

    RICHLAND COUNTY – Richland County Coroner Gary Watts has released the name of a man who died on Saturday after being involved in a kayaking incident on the Saluda River.

    Watts said the incident happened on the river above Riverbanks Zoo around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

    Gregory Hinson, Jr. 27, of Winnsboro was transported from the scene by Richland County EMS and taken to Prisma Health Richland Memorial Hospital where he died at 7:20 p.m. on Saturday.

    An autopsy indicated that the cause of death was due to asphyxiation due to drowning.

    The Coroner’s Office and the Columbia Police Department are investigation the incident.

  • Winnsboro restaurant suspension upheld

    WINNSBORO – A Winnsboro restaurant that was shut down last month over concerns it was doubling as a nightclub will remain closed until further notice.

    Meantime, a representative of Winnsboro Bar & Grill thinks the town’s decision to suspend her business license was overkill, saying her establishment is simply a restaurant that also serves drinks.

    Beverly Williams, owner of the business, thinks the town should have issued a warning instead of shutting her restaurant down completely.

    “If they had a problem, they could’ve come to us,” Williams said. “We’ve been locked out of our building. We haven’t been able to access any of our things. We’ve lost so much revenue.”

    On April 16, Winnsboro Town Council voted unanimously to uphold the suspension of Winnsboro Bar & Grill’s business license.

    Last Tuesday’s vote followed a public hearing in which Williams stated she never knowingly intended to violate any town rules.

    “We’re just a family business. We offer a full restaurant-bar, but we’re not a bar. We’ve never advertised as a bar. We’re just a family restaurant that has full bar service, that’s just who we are,” Williams said. “We’ve never had any problems in the community. We’ve always served the community, I’ve served many of the people who are in here now.”

    Town police, however, tell a different story.

    Police Chief John Seibles said officers were alerted to the business after discovering social media and radio ads promoting a large party. He said the town lacks resources to police a large party.

    “We have three officers on the street,” Seibles said. “We didn’t think that area of Winnsboro was conducive to this kind of bar, this kind of club.”

    Investigator Michael Carroll with the town’s police department said fliers began circulating that advertised a “new nightlife party spot for Winnsboro.”

    Carroll told council members that a relative of Williams subleased the property to James Randolph, the former owner of Kandyland, a Columbia area strip club the Richland County Sheriff’s Department recently shut down.

    Richland County deputies responded to a shooting death at Kandyland in December 2018, according to media reports. It remains one of four unsolved murders reported last year.

    “We can’t handle a nightlife party spot on Main Street,” Carroll said. “We just don’t have the officers or manpower to handle something Mr. James Randolph has done in the past.”

    Williams countered that Randolph was advertising a private party. She said her business is not a nightclub.

    “We’ve done everything according to what we thought was policy until we were otherwise informed it wasn’t,” she said. “We had no reason to think we were doing anything wrong.”

    In a telephone interview with The Voice, Williams said when she originally obtained her business license in July, the business wasn’t serving alcohol.

    Williams said the restaurant later obtained its liquor license from the S.C. Department of Revenue. She said the town’s decision to suspend her business license was over a mere technicality, one she’s happy to resolve.

    “If we reapply for a business license, it means we’ll have to reapply for all of our other licenses as well,” Williams said. “We can’t just open right back up. We’re trying to figure out how we’ll proceed from here.”

    According to a March 28 police report, Williams stated on her business license application that no alcohol would be sold, and that there wouldn’t be any coin-operated machines on the property.

    Officers, however, observed bottles of liquor inside, as well as a coin operated pool table, the report said.

    “Did you not think there was anything wrong if there was alcohol in the building, coin operated machines, and the business license said there wasn’t supposed to be anything like that in there?” Mayor Roger Gaddy asked during the hearing.

    Williams said the business has communicated with town officials via social media about the coin-operated machines since February, but didn’t address the alcohol bottles.

    “My main concern is the alcohol. Certainly it’s a clear violation of what your business is supposed to have,” Gaddy said. “I think the suspension is appropriate.”

    Gaddy said he’s not opposed to a business that sells alcohol or has a coin-operated machine in its business. He said Winnsboro Bar & Grill is welcome to reapply for a new business license.

    “This does not preclude you applying for other business licenses with the appropriate boxes checked,” Gaddy said. “Unfortunately in this situation, and I’m sorry you’re having to go through that, but clearly there’s a discrepancy.”

  • School district proposes $45.3M budget

    WINNSBORO – No tax increase is anticipated in next year’s school district budget, though property owners still may wind up paying higher school taxes.

    At last week’s school board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Robinson said the proposed $45.3 million budget includes about $4 million in additional revenue, with $2.9 million attributed to increased tax collections.

    Robinson attributed the revenue increase to increases in property values.

    “The bulk of it is really due to increases in the property tax value, particularly with business property tax values,” Robinson said.

    The Board of Trustees voted 6-1 to approve first reading of the budget, with Paula Hartman casting the lone opposing vote. Two more readings are required before the budget takes effect.

    Hartman said she preferred using the windfall to lower debt service millage.

    “We made reference that, if down the road we had extra money, we would reduce the millage,” she said. “That’s what I suggest the board think about doing.”

    As proposed, the budget contains several moving parts, though most address teacher and employee salaries.

    The draft spending plan calls for appropriating $2.8 million for retention bonuses and associated fringe benefits. One million of that amount will come from the fund balance as a transfer to the general fund, with the rest coming from increased tax collections, Robinson said.

    In January, Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green announced a plan to offer every certified employee a $5,000 bonus to attract and retain teachers. Non-certified employees would receive $3,000.

    At $49,288, Fairfield County’s average annual teacher salary ranks 37th out of 82 districts in South Carolina, according to state report card data.

    Fairfield’s budget also reflects state mandated teacher raises recently approved by the S.C. General Assembly, which approved increasing teacher pay by 4%.

    However, the state is only funding a portion of the 4% (about $700,000) with Fairfield funding the rest, according to budget estimates.

    Board trustee Henry Miller expressed frustration over what he called an unfunded mandate.

    “They do it all the time,” Miller said. “In Washington, D.C., they just send it down and call it an unfunded mandate. That’s what the state just did to us.”

    The budget also shows an increase of $38,141 in student transfer payments to the Chester County School District, traditionally a major rub of the Fairfield school board.

    In 2012, a judge ruled that the Fairfield school district must subsidize students transferring into Chester County. The ruling impacts mainly students living in the Mitford area.

    Ironically, the Chester transfer payment is rising because the district there anticipates increasing revenues, Robinson said.

    “Let’s say, hypothetically, a giant tire manufacturer appears in Chester and has a huge economic impact, and it increases their tax rolls,” board chairman William Frick said. “Because they’re now receiving more taxes, we’ve got to pay them more money?”

    Robinson said that’s correct because while Chester County receives state per pupil funds for Mitford students, it doesn’t receive local support.

    “We’re paying the portion of local taxes that would be attributable to [transfer] students if they were in Chester, which means we’re basing the payment on Chester’s local tax revenue,” he said. “If their local tax revenue goes up, that means the amount we’re paying per student will go up.”

    “So if their economy does better and they get more taxes, we have to pay Chester more money?” Frick asked, drawing chuckles from the board.

    “Unless we have a dramatic decrease in the number of students,” who transfer to Chester, Robinson replied.

  • Retreat focused on changing image

    LAKE WATEREE – During Fairfield County Council’s first retreat in more than four years, County Administrator Jason Taylor led the meeting with a staff review of 39 or so projects the county initiated or mostly wrapped up over the last couple of years – Mt. Zion, Fairfield Memorial Hospital, Providence ER facility, the mega site, the animal ordinance, SCE&G lawsuit and website redesign, to name a few.

    Next, Taylor and his staff – Community Planner Chris Clausen, Economic Development Director Ty Davenport and Deputy Administrator Davis Anderson – guided council through what Taylor called “thoughts, ideas and discussion of where we want to take the county and how we want to work to improve it.”

    The focus leaned heavily on projects to change the county’s image.

    The following is a summary of the four hour meeting.

    Make a greater use of grants

    “We have a list of grants we want to throw out to you all, and we need projects to apply for those grants,” Taylor told council members. “We have not pursued grants in the past like we should have. We should always have a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) going, whether it’s for a library or an infrastructure project. We’re going to restructure how we pursue grants now. There are $500,000 CDBG’s for community enrichment and $750,000 CDBG’s for infrastructure. We can also do blight removal with CDBG grants. The money’s out there but we have to have a project to qualify. We need you all to tell us what you want to see done, because we’re going to aggressively go after grants,” Taylor said.

    Build and improve on a grander scale

    “When we build new stuff, it can be a calling card. We don’t necessarily want the lowest cost and least impressive option,” Taylor said. “We might need to spend a little more money. When we build a permanent library in Ridgeway, we need to build something that makes a statement. Libraries are not just about books anymore. They are also about programs.”

    Water and Sewer Authority

    “The Water and sewer authority is one of the biggest projects on the list,” Taylor said. “For a long time, the county and town realized that neither of us could do it alone – to provide infrastructure throughout this county, maintain it or put it at the level it needs to be as far as distribution lines and capacity to support future growth. One of the first things we’re doing, now, is going out there and just finding out what’s in the ground. Once we know what’s out there we can strategically figure out where we need to fill in the gaps. I think we’ll first have to focus on the I-77 corridor since that’s where we’ll get the most return, initially, on our money. That area [especially the I-77 exits] is a gold mine for the county, and it’s never been developed because we have almost no lines out there. A developer is a lot more likely to come if we have a piece of property with infrastructure permitted and ready to go,” Taylor said.

    Community Development Director Chris Clausen added that there are some CDBG grants available for low-income rural residents who cannot afford to have water lines brought to their homes.

    Project Money from COG

    Taylor said the administration is bringing pressure on the COG to bring projects to Fairfield County.

    “The [COG’s] project grants all flow to Richland and Lexington counties,” Taylor said, “and none to the Fairfield community. The larger metropolitan communities get the money assigned to them for projects. We have to compete for it and put together a competitive grant package which is more difficult.”

    Taylor said he has broached the issue with COG leadership and the Council Chair now sits on the executive board which he thinks will help move money toward the county’s projects.

    “But to [get the grants], we also always need to have projects that fit the grant requirements,” Taylor said.

    Getting rid of blight

    “The biggest owner of blight in Fairfield County is Fairfield County,” Taylor said. “We have 120 – 150 properties in forfeited land trust – properties that land owners haven’t paid taxes on in years, so they come into the county’s ownership. We own about 25 houses in Winnsboro that are falling in.

    “The easiest way for us to start to clean up blight is to start with those properties,” Taylor said. “As we get the titles cleared up, we want to start knocking these houses down. And once they’re knocked down, the lots still have water, sewer and are ready to go for prospective home owners to build on. We might have a chance to bundle all the lots and sell them to a developer for basically nothing with the stipulation that they build x, y and z on the lots…and then we would have tax dollars coming in on those lots and have new housing stock in the middle of town which helps the town.”

    “CDBG does have a grant to help us with blight, but we have to have a neighborhood revitalization plan to pursue that grant,” Clausen said. “We’re looking at that for an area reaching from the former FMH hospital site to the library up to Fortune springs and over to First Baptist Church on Hwy 321. We’re going to have that whole area master planned to look at what can be done to help it be revitalized – everything from a demo plan to what businesses need to be enhanced and what buildings to be repurposed such as some of the school district properties in that area. Once that’s in place, we can pursue the funding through CDBG for blight removal.” Clausen said he has received a quote from the COG for the master plan, but has not had a chance to discuss it with administration.

    New Animal Control Facility

    “Our intake and adoption facilities are separate and we need to combine them,” Taylor said, “maybe where the existing intake facility is. We have more property there.”
    Anderson said it might be patterned after Aiken’s facility where there are inside and outside runs, a ventilation system and water is controlled by the animals.

    “Without asking County to budget it, we are going to try to work with Hoof and Paw and other animal associations within the county and raise money to build these,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be a community effort. Hoof and Paw has done a tremendous job helping us financially with spay and neuters, so we’re going to go to them to help us raise this money.”

    The current adoption center next to Midlands Tech could be turned in to a veterinary clinic for spay and neuter. To that end, Taylor said the county is floating the idea of working with Midlands to offer a vet tech program where students could gain experience at the clinic next door.

    DNR Trails

    Taylor also talked about ways to help the western side of the county grow.

    “We have a great asset along the Broad River – a rail trestle that runs over by Peak. It’s a hidden gem in the state. But it’s a small area. With a DNR grant, we could put something there where you could actually access the Broad River and put a canoe or kayak in, and it fits in with what DNR over all is trying to do. They have greenway paths and trails all the way to Richland. It would help us tie in to that. It will help the western side of the county grow to have an attraction over there. We could put $45,000 – $60,000 in to it and pull another $150,000 into it with a DNR grant and that will generate traffic out there,” Taylor said.

    “That’s for recreation,” Clausen said, “but if we could include fishing in the project as well, we might could pull in up to a $200,000 grant.”

    The remainder of the projects discussed at the retreat will appear in next week’s edition of The Voice.

  • Chamber financials still in disarray

    BLYTHEWOOD – Almost a year after the Blythewood Chamber Commerce was not able to produce a credible set of books to Town Hall for the previous budget year, the Chamber’s Board Chairman Phil Fry told Council Monday evening that it still does not have a working budget, or even a draft budget, to present to Council.

    The occasion was an aborted attempt by the Chamber’s Executive Director Mike Switzer (as listed in the agenda) to request $20,500 from the Town’s FY 19/20 budget – $17,000 for an economic development work subsidy (previously called a grant by town officials) and $3,500 for an ‘elite partner’ annual membership for the Town at the Premier Level.

    Standing in for Switzer, the Chamber’s Chairman-elect Phil Frye asked council to withdraw a funding request that appeared on the agenda.

    “The chamber is making its internal budget cycle (inaudible)…we’re in the process of (inaudible),” Frye said. “We feel it is premature to make any further request of council at this time. Therefore, I respectfully request discussion be deferred to a later date, for the chamber to present any and all requests for discussion during the council’s budget workshops on May 9 and May 23.”

    Mayor J. Michael Ross, who is co-landlord of the McNulty Plaza offices rented by the Chamber, did not participate in the Chamber discussions. Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Baughman conducted the discussion.

    “Do you have a working budget at this time?” Baughman asked, then answered, “You said you do not. You do not have even a draft of your budget? We want to see a hard copy of your budget and how the funds requested by the chamber are spent,” Baughman said. ”We’ve asked for financials [in the past] and haven’t gotten them. We would like to see some monthly financials from the Chamber.”

    Baughman also asked about a business [The Guilded Iris] that the Chamber is now subletting a portion of its offices to.

    “Now that you have a business operating in your Chamber space, how is that going to affect your budget and your request as you’ll be receiving rental income from the business operating inside the Chamber,” Baughman asked. “And will you be expanding the business’ space and decreasing the space used by the Chamber?” Baughman asked.

    “You should be transparent,” Baughman continued. “I think the public has a right to know how public money is being spent. I don’t know how much rent you pay or the percent [of your rent] that the Guilded Iris pays you for rent. How will that affect your upcoming budget request and your year-to-year budget?”

    “When we come back for the budget [work sessions], these are some of the things I’d like to see,” Baughman told Frye. “The Town’s budget is transparent. We share our financials with the public monthly, and we expect to hear from you [Chamber] monthly.”

    In May 2018, after an investigation by The Voice of the Chamber’s financials, Council called for the chamber to turn over its complete financial records by June 12. Copies of those documents were subsequently provided to The Voice by two different town officials. After reviewing the documents, CPA and former Town Councilman Bob Massa concluded the submitted financials were “confusing, lacking in detail and sometimes impossible to follow and understand.”

    On June 25, 2018, with no further submission by the Chamber of credible financials, council voted to stop funding the visitor center after Dec. 31. However, that vote also continued full funding ($9,250 for six months) of the visitor center through Dec. 31.

    During that meeting there was no specific criticism of the chamber’s financial records by council and council did not set forth any clear expectations for how the chamber was to spend the $9,250.

    There was no mention of the chamber’s announcement that it would be increasing the amount it was charging the visitor center for the chamber’s operating costs. Even though the visitor center was fully funded for the first half of the budget year, Switzer announced in a letter to members in September that the visitor center hours were being cut back.

    In voting to continue to fund the Chamber through Dec. 31, Councilman Eddie Baughman said he “wanted to be fair to the chamber,” and not pull the rug out from under them. There was a suggestion, as in the past, that no more funding would be provided unless the Chamber provided council with complete financial records of how the funding was used.

    When the question of the Chamber’s finances came up during Council’s retreat last month, Councilman Bryan Franklin defended the Chamber saying its books were being audited by the same auditor the town uses – Love Bailey.

    “As soon as that audit is completed, they are going to present it to the board based on the conversation we had before when we found out there were some issues with their internal auditing,” Franklin told Council. “So they have agreed to do an audit with our town auditor.”

    When asked about the audit, Ed Parler, Council’s liaison with the Chamber, however, told Council there was no audit, but that Love Bailey had ‘reviewed’ the chamber’s books.

    Neither Parler nor Town Hall have been able to provide The Voice with any of the Chamber’s monthly financial statements since June 2018.

    At Monday night’s meeting, Frye told The Voice that while no financial statements have been produced by the Chamber since last June, the chamber is working with a CPA to prepare them.

  • Hometown Oscar winner to headline Doko Film Fest April 26-27

    Doko Film Fest organizers Andrew Smith and his father Raymond Smith, owners of Modus Media.

    BLYTHEWOOD – Two-time Oscar winner Michelle Eisenreich will be returning home to Blythewood this weekend as a judge, presenter and patron of the inaugural Doko Film Fest on April 26 and 27.

    Michelle Eisenrich with her latest Oscar.

    The festival, produced by local film maker Raymond Smith and his son Andrew, is the first of its kind in South Carolina and is dedicated to developing the skills, knowledge and confidence of young filmmakers in the state and beyond.

    Eisenreich, the visual effects producer for film company Double Negative in Vancouver, and her team won their second Oscar in February for their work on the film, ‘First Man.’ Her team also won an Oscar last year for ‘Blade Runner 2049.’

    As a result of her success on ‘First Man,’ Eisenreich has been asked to pull together and oversee a new TV division for her company.

    “We just finished work on Star Trek Discovery for CBS, which is in its second season, and we’re currently working on a couple of projects for Netflix and Amazon,” Eisenreicht said.

    “I would have loved to be involved with something like the Film Fest when I was growing up,” she said.

    Eisenreich will be honored with a reception at Doko Manor on Friday, April 26 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. There will also be a silent auction featuring a knife signed by James Jude Courtney aka Michael Myers of Halloween as well as live jazz music, drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

    Screenings of selected films made entirely by high schoolers will be held all day Saturday, April 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Westwood High School.

    Throughout the day, there will be master classes held by Eisenreich and other video professionals on tips and tricks needed to produce winning and engaging films. There will also be representatives from the University of South Carolina and Savannah College of Art and Design speaking about their media arts and film courses. At the end of the day, awards will be announced in their respective categories as well as best in show.

    Venues

    The Friday night reception will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Doko Manor, 100 Alvina Hagood Circle, Blythewood.

    The film festival screenings and master classes will be held on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Westwood High School, 180 Turkey Farm Road, Blythewood.

    Tickets range from $5 – $20 and can be purchased at www.dokofilmfest.com.

  • E-Capital pulls rezoning request

    COLUMBIA – More than a hundred residents of Crickentree breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday night at a Richland County Council public hearing after the Texas investment firm, E-Capital, withdrew its application for the rezoning of the former Golf Course of South Carolina.

    The withdrawal was announced by County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson at the beginning the hearing on the rezoning. Dickerson represents much of the Blythewood area, including Crickentree.

    E-Capital’s proposal to rezone the golf course from Traditional Recreational Open Spaces (TROS) to medium density residential (RS-MD) would allow  up to 600 homes to be developed on the 183-acre property. TROS is a zoning category designed to protect golf courses, ensuring that they remain open green space.

    Residents fear smaller lots and hundreds of additional homes will lower their large-lot home values and further congest already unmanageable traffic in the area.

    Robert Fuller, attorney for E-Capital, spoke with The Voice after the meeting. He was asked if E-Capital plans to come back to council and request a different zoning classification for the property.

    “I don’t know,” Fuller said. “I can’t say what they will do. Nothing has been decided.”

    In attendance at the meeting and signed in to speak in support of the residents, Mayor J. Michael Ross has been forthcoming in public meetings about his desire for the county to purchase the golf course property and turn it into recreational opportunities for the northern Richland County area.

    A story on the front page of The State Monday morning laid bare Dickerson’s irritation with Ross over that proposal.

    “If he wants a park, he can put it in there,” Dickerson was quoted in The State. According to the newspaper, Dickerson was miffed that Ross had “approached the Richland County Recreation Commission before the rezoning request was filed.”

    The story quoted Dickerson as saying that “caused some ill will when the mayor skirted County Council and pitched a plan for land not in the Blythewood city limits.”

    Later in the day on Monday, Ross emailed County Council members.

    “I wanted to reach out before tomorrow night’s meeting and express to you my concerns about the rezoning of the Crickentree property. Even though it was pointed out in The State newspaper today that the property being discussed is not in our town, it sure is close!!! If you don’t think another development of 200, 400 or 600 homes right down Langford Road doesn’t affect our town and its citizens, well I know you do! I encourage all of you to do what you and I were elected to do and hear the people’s wishes and vote in favor of preserving this wonderful green space in northern Richland County.  If this is rezoned and the TROS classification is lost, it will only be the first in this area to go.  The Windermere Golf club property will be right behind it.   I hope you, like me, would like to see a pause or hold on all the home development in northern Richland County especially when it devours ‘green space!’”

    The email ended with Ross’ trademark lightheartedness.

    “Thanks for all you do and, Mrs. Dickerson, I still know we are the best of friends no matter what!”

  • Winnsboro man arrested in shooting

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a shooting incident in the Birch Street area of Winnsboro at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

    Wright

    Upon arrival, deputies located a victim with a wound to the neck. The victim was transported by EMS to the hospital.

    Witnesses identified Steve A. Wright, 54, as the suspect in the shooting. Wright was seen shooting a gun into a crowd where the victim was struck, and then returning to his house at 210 Birch St.

    Responding deputies attempted to contact Wright at his residence. After receiving no response, deputies entered Wright’s home and took him into custody, according to Major Brad Douglas.

    Wright, who is being held at the Fairfield County Detention Center, has been charged with Attempted Murder and Possession of a Deadly Weapon during a Violent Crime.

    According to Sheriff Will Montgomery, there were no other injuries in the shooting, and the victim is expected to fully recover.

    “I want to thank the residents in that area for their cooperation with our deputies and their patience while we dealt with this incident,” Sheriff Montgomery said. “I commend the professionalism of our deputies and their quick response to bring this situation to an end without any more injuries.”

    The Voice will update this story as more information is made available.

  • Element celebrates 5th anniversary

    The Fairfield Central cheerleaders and band welcome Governor McMaster and Congressman Norman to Element.
    Gov. McMaster, Congressman Norman Praise Company’s Success

    WINNSBORO – “Last summer we were wondering how we were going to stay open. This year we’re wondering how we’re going to produce all the orders that are coming in like a tsunami,” Michael O’Shaughnessy, CEO and owner of Element, said during a barbecue luncheon at the facility in Winnsboro on Friday.

    Gov. Henry McMaster addresses the lunch crowd at Element on Friday. Element owner and CEO Michael O’Shaughnessy and Congressman Ralph Norman, seated, also spoke, honoring Element’s fifth anniversary. | Barbara Ball

    The event, which featured Gov. Henry McMaster and U. S. Representative Ralph Norman as speakers, was a triple celebration of the company’s survival of last summer’s tariff crisis, it’s now booming business and the fifth anniversary of the opening of Element.

    In referring to what he called the trade war last year that threatened to raise the tariff on televisions assembled by Element, O’Shaughnessy said, “while it [trade war] is a good thing in the long term, Element found itself in a unique situation in which the tariffs could have materially hurt us or put us out of business.

    “But we all went to work to solve the crisis,” he said, crediting McMaster, Norman, county and company officials. “We have now solved the tariff issue that has been holding us back,” O’Shaughnessy said.

    Introducing McMaster and praising him for his support of the company in its darkest hour, O’Shaughnessy said there is not a better advocate for South Carolina than Gov. McMaster.

    “It was because of Gov. Haley that Element came to South Carolina,” O’Shaughnessy said. “But it’s because of Gov. McMaster that we stayed in South Carolina. He went to bat for us and he never stopped.”

    The luncheon was also an opportunity for Carl Kennedy, Vice President of Human Resources, to announce that the company has hired 100 new employees since the first of the year. He also acknowledged the 99 employees who have been with the company since it opened.

    Those employees were joined by McMaster and Norman as well as county, Town of Winnsboro and school officials under two large white tents in front of the building on Highway 321 Bypass.

    Speaking to Element’s success, McMaster said the people, “like the people here,” he said, gesturing to those sitting before him, have contributed to that success.

    “You’ve got to have the people, you’ve got to have the businesses and you’ve got to have the education – the three legs of the stool. If you have two of these and not the third, it won’t work,” McMaster said, addressing the state’s success in bringing in new companies.

    “New businesses are coming to South Carolina and we’re going straight to the top,” he said. “The best is yet to come.”

    Quoting Winston Churchill, Norman said, “’There’ll be a time when doing your best is not good enough, when we must do what’s required,’ You have done what’s required,” Norman said, praising the company, its employees, county and state officials for pulling Element through last summer’s crisis.

  • Improvements slated for Blythewood intersections

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood area residents got a look last week at a new plan to improve traffic flow around and through the increasingly congested downtown streets as well as outlying busy intersections as far out as Blythewood Road and Hwy 321.

    The occasion was a public information and comment meeting hosted by the town government and the Central Midlands Council of Governments (CMCOG) at Doko Manor to review renderings of proposed traffic flow improvements.

    Those improvements are the result of a study done by AECOM, a firm contracted by Central Midlands COG, that began last August and included collecting traffic data and input from local businesspeople, developers and insurance companies.

    “The purpose of the study is to assess the current traffic volumes for the Blythewood area and predict future ones expected over the next 20 years or so,” Town Council member Malcolm Gordge said. “AECOM is examining the areas that are most congested and/or accident prone and recommending improvements such as additional turn lanes, traffic signals, junction realignment and traffic circles.”

    The dozen-plus projects are divided into short-term, mid-term and long-term recommendations. They range from adding turning lanes and signal lights at the U.S. 321-Blythewood Road and Langford Road-Trading Post Road intersections, to rerouting a portion of Langford Road to connect directly to Blythewood Road and creating a roundabout at McNulty Road and Blythewood Road, just beyond the I-77 signal light.

    Gordge said there is no plan of implementation yet. He said that will follow after the study is completed, comments are assessed and a funding program investigated and developed.

    The traffic study is a key element of the town’s comprehensive plan for future development.

    “Blythewood has experienced unprecedented growth in population since the early 2000s and this has brought about a considerable increase in traffic through the town, particularly during morning and evening rush-hour,” Gordge said. “The rate of growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”

    Two of the biggest generators of traffic in Blythewood are Blythewood High School and the grocery stores, according to Roland Bart, Chief Transportation Planner with Central Midlands Council of Governments.

    Gordge said the full traffic plan has not yet been costed out, and discussion on funding sources has not yet taken place.

    While traffic problems increase by the day, Roland Bart, Chief Transportation Planner with Central Midlands Council of Governments, said the improvements are not just around the corner.

    “We went for 30 years with no increase in the gas tax and now we have an increase of two cents.  People will have to be patient as we use this increase to deal with the maintenance issues,” Bart said.

    While the AECOM worked closely with the Richland Penny sales tax committee in determining the necessary intersection improvements, the projects planned by the Penny Tax committee and AECOM are separate.

    “Projects that can be addressed through the Richland Penny Tax are the main priority for Blythewood,” Gordge said. “But each of these is important to the town to reduce congestion, improve safety and facilitate growth.

    “The input and feedback from area residents is welcomed, Transportation Director, Reginald Simmons said. “The things people tell us that are relevant to their needs we can share with the engineers and make the proper adjustments in the planning stage.”

    Send suggestions concerning planned improvements by April 23. 2019, to AECOM – Attn: Patrick Tyndall, 101 Research Drive, Columbia, SC 29203-9389.