Town of Winnsboro files lawsuit against County over solid waste fee

WINNSBORO – Winnsboro is taking Fairfield County to court. On March 30, the Town of Winnsboro formally filed suit against the county, claiming in court papers that the county’s solid waste fee shouldn’t apply to Winnsboro town residents. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the $63 per ton fee is “invalid and illegal”, according […]

Richland County PC defers controversial mass rezoning

COLUMBIA – Richland County Council chambers were packed Monday afternoon with residents from throughout the county. They were there to express their concerns, fears and objections to Richland County’s proposal to rezone all 375,000 acres of unincorporated land in the county. Unincorporated land is all land that is not within the town limits of a […]

Ridgeway elects mayor and two council members

RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway voters had their say during the town’s mayoral/council election on Tuesday. Incumbent Heath Cookendorfer was re-elected to a second term with a 10-vote margin. Cookendorfer received 53 votes over former Ridgeway councilman and mayor Rufus Jones who garnered 43 votes. Jones has served the last four years on council. His term expired […]

BHS teacher files for State Superintendent seat

COLUMBIA – Blythewood High School teacher Lisa Ellis has announced her candidacy to run for State Superintendent of Education on the Democratic ticket. Ellis is the founder of SC for Ed and led the state’s teachers in the fight last year for higher teacher salaries. Ellis has 21 years of experience in education, working as […]

Ridgeway election set for Tuesday, April 5

RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, April 5 to cast their votes for two seats on Ridgeway Town Council and the office of mayor. Three candidates are running for two council seats and two candidates are running for mayor. Former council member Robert Hartman, current council member Dan Martin and […]

Whitaker falsely accuses Taylor of adding fee for solid waste to budget

WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Administrator Malik Whitaker falsely blamed his predecessor for an ongoing dispute over solid waste fees. On Monday night, Whitaker called out Jason Taylor, now town manager for Winnsboro, for creating the fee and including it in the county’s 2021-2022 budget. “It should be noted that former County Administrator [Jason] Taylor suggested, […]

Bell: Proposed dept needs are $10M over budget

WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Council approved a lease agreement to operate a recreation site despite a majority of members not knowing the full cost or addressing low demand for recreation. On Monday night, the council voted 5-2 for the lease agreement with Dominion Energy. Council members Doug Pauley and Clarence Gilbert opposed. Pauley said the […]

Candidates file for state, county positions

WINNSBORO – Seven people have filed to run for five state and county offices in Fairfield County. Brad Caulder has filed to run for Probate Court Judge, an office Judge Pam Renwick is stepping down from after 32 years in office. Annie McDaniel and Jennifer Brecheisen have filed for S.C. House Representative which is currently […]

BW council okays rezoning for Oakhurst

BLYTHEWOOD – After a brief pushback from Councilman Rich McKenrick, the Blythewood Town Council approved a request Tuesday evening to initiate a zoning amendment for the Oakhurst neighborhood, a 54-lot subdivision off Boney Road that was created roughly two decades go. The request was for a change from the current R-8 zoning district, which has […]

Bell blames employees for late audit

WINNSBORO – Moses Bell doesn’t think the public should have been informed about why Fairfield County failed to properly submit a financial audit or how it spends taxpayer money. “This was a personnel issue and I felt that it shouldn’t be in the public,” Bell, the council chairman, said. Those remarks came in response to […]

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