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  • Judge, others issue complaints against chief

    RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway Police Chief Christopher Culp has repeatedly shown “a lack of manners, professionalism, and respect” for the town’s traffic court and Municipal Judge Adrian Wilkes, according to public records obtained by The Voice through a Freedom of Information request.

    Wilkes recently penned a scathing letter directed at the chief, who according to Wilkes, at one point made a veiled threat against him and disputed the judge’s sentencing.

    “He openly attempted to tell me how I should sentence individuals and insinuated that previous judges had been relieved of their duties for not issuing sentences the way he thought they ought to be issued,” the letter states.

    Culp couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

    Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said the letter was one of a number of complaints the Town Council addressed in executive session Thursday.

    “It didn’t paint a good picture of our police chief,” Cookendorfer said on Tuesday. “All in all I’m not happy with any of it.”

    A motion to immediately terminate Culp failed due to a lack of a second. Instead, Cookendorfer said after Thursday’s meeting that the town plans to address performance issues with Culp.

    “We do have some underlying issues with the police department, some complaints, and we’re going to correct those issues,” the mayor said. “Addressed to Cookendorfer, Wilkes’ letter was dated June 13, the day before Ridgeway Town Council considered firing Culp.

    Wilkes’ letter says the chief consistently speaks over the judge and others in the courtroom.

    Culp also “repeatedly continues to argue” after rulings, questions court rulings and decisions, and challenges courtroom procedures, the letter continues.

    Of direct impact to town operations, Culp called in sick 10 minutes before a June court session was supposed to begin, the letter continued.

    “I told him that would cause a major problem and asked him for a doctor’s excuse,” the judge wrote. “He got very defensive and rude with me. He told me he would not be going to the doctor or providing any type of paperwork to explain his absence.”

    As a result of the chief missing court, everyone on the docket that day received “not guilty” verdicts, the letter states.

    “It is my belief that if a person is sick enough to miss court, he is sick enough to go to the doctor,” Wilkes wrote.

    Wilkes added that Culp told him that he informed his “supervisor” of his plans to call in sick, according to the letter.

    When Wilkes asked to whom Culp was referring, the chief replied that it was Ridgeway Councilman Donald Prioleau.

    Prioleau and Cookendorfer confirmed that Prioleau is considered Culp’s supervisor. They said a hierarchy was established in recent weeks to increase communication and to keep closer tabs on Culp’s whereabouts.

    Prioleau said the procedure calls for the chief to notify Prioleau if he expects to miss court, and for Prioleau to relay the message to the clerk of court.

    “That’s the instructions from the mayor,” the councilman said.

    Prioleau contends that personality conflicts are to blame for issues between Wilkes and Culp. Prioleau said he hoped to address them in a meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday with the Fairfield County chief magistrate.

    “The chief has 18 years of experience,” Prioleau said, defending Culp. “With a judge with no experience and a chief with lots of experience, I have recommended we bring in the chief magistrate of Fairfield County to develop proper procedures.”

    Cookendorfer said he has a meeting scheduled with Prioleau on Wednesday to discuss the town’s police department, but that he is not aware that the Fairfield County chief magistrate had been contacted in regard to issues with the police chief.

    Judge Adrian Wilkes’s letter of complaint to Mayor Heath Cookendorfer concerning Ridgeway Police Chief Christopher Culp.

    Related: Chief survives move to fire him

  • Chief survives move to fire him

    NAACP, School officials called to defend Culp

    RIDGEWAY – Christopher Culp still has his job.

    Ridgeway’s police chief was not present when town council members killed an effort to fire him immediately.

    Councilman Rufus Jones made a motion to immediately fire Culp, but the motion died when nobody seconded it.

    Culp’s brush with potential termination comes amid a number of complaints, including doubling as a school resource officer at the expense of policing the town and openly disrespecting the town judge, according to public records obtained by The Voice. (See ‘Judge, others issue complaints against chief’.)

    Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said Monday that Culp isn’t certified to serve as an SRO, nor has the town appointed him to that role.

    “His primary job/responsibility is to perform the duties of a police officer,” the mayor said.

    In a letter obtained by The Voice, Municipal Judge Adrian Wilkes said Culp frequently challenges his authority in and out of the courtroom.

    “Chief Culp has shown a lack of manners, professionalism, and respect for the Court,” the letter states. “He has consistently attempted to speak over and interrupt myself and others within the courtroom.”

    In spite of these complaints and others, council members adjourned Thursday’s three-hour meeting without further discussion.

    Jones declined to comment after the meeting.

    In making his motion, Jones alluded to complaints about the chief doubling as a de facto school resource officer at Geiger Elementary School. But he said other complaints drove his desire to fire Culp.

    “I want to make a motion – this has nothing to do with the school – this motion is for the complaints we’ve had about Mr. Culp,” Jones said. “I would like to terminate him at once.”

    Cookendorfer told The Voice that Culp’s time spent at Geiger Elementary wasn’t an underlying issue, but acknowledged there have been discussions about the chief’s school visits.

    Additional complaints drove the discussion, but Cookendorfer declined to specify the nature of those complaints.

    “We had some complaints, and we addressed those complaints tonight,” the mayor said Thursday. “We talked about the times that he has been going there (the school), but we have to find a happy medium there. He’s not a school resource officer. He’s the chief of police.”

    State Law and SROs

    In his monthly report, Culp said he performed 22 security checks in May at Geiger Elementary. He also responded to five accidents there, council documents state.

    Culp further stated that 20 citations and 11 warnings were issued in the town. There were no arrests.

    State law defines school resource officers, or SROs, as sworn law enforcement officers who have “completed the basic course of instruction for School Resource Officers.”

    The course must be provided or recognized by the National Association of School Resource Officers or the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, the law states.

    State law further states SROs “have as a primary duty the responsibility to act as a law enforcement officer, advisor, and teacher for that school district.”

    Maj. Florence McCants, spokeswoman for the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, said Culp meets the primary qualification of being a Class 1 officer, which basically means he has full arrest powers and has completed the academy’s 12-week Basic Law Enforcement Training Program.

    But the chief has not completed any SRO certification courses recognized by the Justice Academy.

    McCants couldn’t say whether Culp met the second requirement, which says an SRO’s primary duty is to work as a law enforcement officer for the school district.

    William Frick, chairman of the Fairfield County School Board, said all SROs are currently contracted through the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office. The arrangement applies to schools both within and outside municipal limits, he said.

    Asked if there have been any communications between the Town of Ridgeway and school district about SROs at Geiger Elementary, Frick said he didn’t think so and deferred further comment to Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green.

    “Any contract negotiations would initiate with the district office,” Frick said.

    Green couldn’t be reached as of press time.

    In the meantime, Cookendorfer said the town plans to address performance issues with Culp.

    “It’s a heated situation, none of us run [for public office] to be popular. We have hard decisions to make,” he said. “We do have some underlying issues with the police department, and we’re going to correct those issues.”

    Supporters back Culp

    During both public input sessions, residents overwhelmingly spoke in favor of Culp. Among them were representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

    Brenda Murphy, president of the state NAACP and Ridgeway native, called Culp a role model.

    “You have a policeman who’s on the cutting edge,” Murphy said. “He’s there with our young people. He’s teaching them to not be afraid of the police. You are on the cutting edge because of this policeman.”

    Tiffany Allison said that as a relatively new resident and expecting mom that she believes in Culp’s ability to protect the town. She raised concerns about the town prohibiting Culp from performing well checks at Geiger Elementary School.

    “I was advised that you had banned Officer Culp from visiting the school for any reason other than to issue a citation,” Allison said.

    “You have removed the only protection our children have at this time during their school day for reasons that have yet to be justified,” she continued.

    Myra Bramlett, principal at Geiger Elementary, pleaded with council members to allow Culp to continue visiting the school.

    “If you are indeed thinking of taking away the local officer, I want you to think about how the kids have built a relationship [with Culp]. They know him and they support him,” Bramlett said. “The officers in law enforcement are our friends.”

    Related: Judge, others issue complaints against chief

  • BW man indicted in interstate drug ring

    BLYTHEWOOD – A Blythewood man has pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges following a roundup of 14 suspects from South Carolina to California.

    Cravelyn Squilla Davis, 25, of Blythewood, entered the plea Thursday in U.S. District Court in Rock Hill. U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.

    Davis was arrested in the Columbia area, and he remains in federal custody.

    At least two other co-defendants have entered not guilty pleas as of press time.

    The other 13 defendants have listed addresses in Rock Hill; Charlotte, N.C. and California.

    U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon issued the following prepared statement regarding the arrests.

    “Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from several agencies across multiple states worked in lockstep today to not only secure arrests in this long term investigation but to also continue their daily collective mission to secure our communities,” the statement said.

    The suspects have been charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine, cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana, and also conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the indictment.

    If convicted, each defendant faces life in prison and a $20 million fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

    Offenses listed in the indictment occurred between Nov. 1, 2016 and the time of their arrests last week.

    Three Rock Hill homes as well as 18 vehicles, including Porches, Chevy Tahoes and other expensive and luxury vehicles, are subject to forfeiture, according to federal court records.

    Davis, specifically, is charged with possessing 500 grams or more of “a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine,” documents state.
    Davis previously was previously charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol in April 2017.

    In August 2017, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days, according to Chester County court records.

  • Jenkinsville subpoenas Voice reporter

    JENKINSVILLE – Jenkinsville’s effort to challenge the results of a recent annexation vote (see related story on page 6) included subpoenaing a journalist with The Voice.

    An attorney for the Town of Jenkinsville issued the subpoena, which sought to compel testimony from reporter Michael Smith at an election protest hearing Monday in Winnsboro.

    The subpoena never specified what sort of testimony the town was seeking.

    Smith, though, was never called to testify Monday, and the Fairfield County Election Commission voted 5-0 to toss the election protest.

    The Voice stood ready to challenge the subpoena, however.

    Jay Bender, an attorney representing the newspaper, was present for Monday’s hearing and had planned to file a motion to quash the subpoena. That step became unnecessary when Smith wasn’t called to testify.

    Smith was the author of several stories in The Voice about Jenkinsville’s failed effort to annex 143 properties.

    If successful, the annexation would have virtually quadrupled the town’s geographical boundaries and increase its tax base by a factor of five.

  • Retiring the Flag

    RIDGEWAY – Eddie Baughman, a member of Lake Wateree VFW Post 8346, participates in the Post’s annual flag retirement ceremony on June 14. The Post retired over 160 flags during the ceremony.

  • McEachern, Garvin in runoff

    McEachern

    BLYTHEWOOD – It was a tight House District 77 race Tuesday night for incumbent Joe McEachern, who, with 2019 votes (36.51%), squeaked past newcomer Kambrell Garvin with 2012 votes (36.38%) for a 7-vote majority. But with that slim majority and neither candidate garnering the 50 percent plus 1 votes for a win, the two candidates are now headed for a runoff set for June 26.

    Deyaska Spencer finished behind Garvin with 1,302 votes (23.54%), and John McCleric took 197 votes (3.56%).

    Garvin

    Garvin easily took Blythewood precincts 2, 3 and LongCreek where he shook hands all morning on Tuesday. Deyaska Spencer, an attorney and resident of LongCreek Plantation and also a political newcomer, took the Sandlapper precinct, and McEachern handily took the rest of the precincts in his District including Blythewood 1 and Roundtop where his numbers were strong.

    “We’re ready,” McEachern said of the upcoming runoff. “I’m looking forward to visiting with the folks out there in Blythewood and Fairlawn. I appreciate all those who supported and voted for me. And I hope those who missed voting in the primary know they can still come out and vote in the runoff. Working together, I’m confident we’ll get there.” Garvin could not be reached for comment.

     

     

  • Switzer to hand over financials

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council again addressed the growing issue of the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center financials at the May 26 Town Council meeting. And, again, Council asked Mike Switzer, Executive Director of both the Chamber and Visitor Center, to produce the complete financial records for both organizations. The Town and The Voice have requested the financials several times over the past month without results.

    Switzer said the Chamber’s treasurer, Dennis Drozbak, would submit the information to the Town on or before June 12. At the meeting, Switzer explained again why the financials had not been presented to Council.

    “We’ve been creating all these sub-categories with much more magnification. We don’t have these categories filled in so we have to go back and reclassify every single thing,” Switzer said.

    “We need those before we can approve the numbers for the next budget year,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said.

    “I thought you only wanted the budget,” Switzer said. “We haven’t finished the budget.”

    “We want the financials, everything. Anything that’s been written in the paper or questioned,” Ross said. “We want you to present this Council with something we can look at and we are either going to say the paper wasn’t right or, if it is right, then we’ve got a problem.”

    While former Town Councilman Tom Utroska has on several occasions called for an audit of the Chamber’s funds, the Council as a whole has never asked for an audit and, until recently, rarely questioned how the Chamber spent money it receives from the general fund or how the Visitor Center spends the money Council awards it from the accommodation tax funds.  The Town has given Switzer more than a month to work on the Chamber and Visitor Center financials in order for them to be reviewed by Council.

    Switzer insisted, however, that he has been open about the Chamber’s finances with the Town.

    “We actually give monthly P & L statements to the town’s representative on the Chamber board,” Switzer said.

    “We’re not just talking about profit and loss,” Ross said. “We’re talking about financials that we can look at. More detail on salaries and everything. Let us look at everything so we can make a determination.”

    Ross notified The Voice last weekend that he, Councilman Brian Franklin and the Town’s representative on the Chamber board, Ed Parler, met with Drozbak on Wednesday, June 6 to discuss the Chamber and Visitor Center financials.

    “Mr. Drozbak brought no documents with him. We told him we want to look at all the Chamber and Visitor Center financials,” Ross said.

    Ross, town attorney Jim Meggs, another  Councilman and Town Administrator Brian Cook were to meet on Wednesday, June 13 with Switzer and Drozbak, who agreed to hand over the requested documents. That meeting was scheduled shortly after The Voice went to press.

    The Chamber has never responded with financial documentation requested by The Voice through a S.C. Freedom of Information request submitted on April 4. Detrimental to that request, the S.C. Supreme Court issued a ruling on May 23, in a case brought against the Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce that strips the media and citizens of their ability to use the S.C. Freedom of Information Act to find out how Chambers of Commerce in the state spend taxpayer money awarded them by governments. With the ruling, the government that awards the money is now the only entity that has recourse to find out how a chamber spends that money.

  • Former FCHS honor grad murdered

    Crocker

    CAMDEN – A Kershaw County man was charged last week with murder in the June 2 shooting death of his girlfriend, a former Fairfield Central High School honors graduate, Kershaw County Chief Deputy Jack Rushing said in a news release issued June 4.

    Katelin Jordyn Crocker, 19, was shot in the head by Alexander Francis Harmon, 28, of Camden, the crime report stated.  Kershaw County 911 received a call early Saturday, June 2, from Harmon’s father, a resident of New York, Rushing said.

    Harmon

    Rushing said Harmon’s father said his son had called to tell him he had shot and killed Crocker who lived with Harmon from time to time, the sheriff’s office said.

    When deputies went to the home, they arrested Harmon and found Crocker dead inside the home from a gunshot wound to the head.

    Sheriff’s deputies found a .12-gauge shotgun and an empty shell casing in the home located on Cleveland School Road, Rushing said.

    Crocker, who graduated from FCHS in 2017, was a licensed cosmetologist and was employed at Ulta in Sandhills.

    Harmon, arrested June 2, remains in the Kershaw County Detention Center.

     

     

     

  • McDaniel wins House Dist. 41 primary

    Annie McDaniel

    WIINNSBORO – The South Carolina House District 41 seat turned over in Tuesday’s election with School Board Trustee Annie McDaniel taking the win over incumbent MaryGail Douglas in Fairfield, Chester and Richland Counties.

    With 2,483 votes (56.66%) to Douglas’s 1,899 votes (43.34%), McDaniel handily took western Fairfield County, both precincts (Kelly Mill and Lake Carolina) in Richland County and all but three in Chester County. Douglas took Chester precincts Baldwin Mill and Eureka Mill and split Chester Ward 4 for a 50-50 tie with McDaniel. In Fairfield, Douglas easily took Lebanon, most of Winnsboro and most of the upper Northeast part of the county and Lake Wateree.

    Fairfield County had a 27.39 percent voter turnout, higher than either Chester or Richland Counties. In the race for District 41, 4,382 votes were cast.

    Neither Douglas nor McDaniels could be reached for comment before press time.

  • AG + Art brings back Farm-to-Table dinner

    The Pearl of Monticello will play host for this year’s farm-to-table dinner.

    JENKINSVILLE – The third annual Fairfield County Ag + Art farm-to-table dinner will be held Thursday, June 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Pearl of Monticello, formerly known as the Robinson House, a majestic two-story, circa 1810 federal style home designed by Robert Mills and situated on a rise overlooking Lake Monticello.

    A previous farm-to-table dinner table was set under the Town Clock, above.

    It’s the kick-off event for the annual Ag + Art Farm Tour that will take place the following weekend, and promises to be memorable, not only for the glamorous setting but for the six-course meal served Tapas style (one plate per course – six plates!) on the lawn adjacent to the mansion. And every course will be homegrown or otherwise produced in Fairfield County.

    Guests will arrive along a drive shaded by majestic live oak and pecan trees, to an evening of musical entertainment and a sumptuous meal of meats and fresh fruits and vegetables, all produced by local farmers and prepared by caterer Steelhorse Smokehouse. And the glorious sunset on the lake will not disappoint.

    The menu includes: cobb salad, deviled eggs, pulled pork sliders, open face with coleslaw, smoked meatballs braised in sauce and served over yellow stone-ground grits, chicken and dumplings, ham and pineapple skewers and decadent desserts.

    Entertainment will begin at 6 p.m. with 16-year-old Sofia Lynch, an accomplished singer/songwriter who plays guitar, piano, ukulele and bass guitar.  She recently released her new single, ‘Curiosity.’

    Special guest Luke Moore will be playing country music.

    The Pearl of Monticello is located at 5264 State Highway 215 S, Jenkinsville, SC 29065.  To order tickets go to www.eventbrite.com.

    The Pearl at Monticello will also be one of the 8 farms and locations on the self-guided Ag + Art Farm Tour weekend in Fairfield County on Saturday, June 16 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. Each farm location will also feature local artisans and artists.