RIDGEWAY—Police Chief Christopher Culp has been the subject of at least 15 formal complaints from Ridgeway residents and businesses in the past 12 months, according to documents obtained by The Voice. Dating back to July 2017, the complaints that nearly cost Culp his job provide a more detailed look into what drove Ridgeway Town Council […]
County inches closer to hospital property purchase
June 28, 2018 By
WINNSBORO—As Fairfield Memorial Hospital prepares to close its doors, Fairfield County is moving forward with plans to acquire some of the hospital property. On Monday night, council members voted unanimously to present a memorandum of understanding to Fairfield Memorial to purchase “some or all” of the property. No dollar amounts were mentioned, though the motion […]
Fairfield settling Pauley lawsuit
June 28, 2018 By
WINNSBORO—Fairfield County plans to settle a lawsuit its former recreation director filed earlier this year. Lori Schaeffer, the county’s former recreation director, filed suit against the county and Councilman Douglas Pauley in February 2018, saying in court documents that Pauley improperly inserted himself into recreation operations. Schaeffer was later terminated. Fairfield County initially sought to […]
Jenkinsville will not appeal annexation vote
June 28, 2018 By
JENKINSVILLE – Jenkinsville will remain the same size for now. The Fairfield County town had until noon Monday to appeal results from the June 5 referendum to the state, but an appeal was never filed, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the S.C. Election Commission. “The SEC has not received any appeals related to Fairfield/Jenkinsville annexation […]
Judge, others issue complaints against chief
June 25, 2018 By
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, […]
Chief survives move to fire him
June 25, 2018 By
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 […]
Councilwoman storms out of executive session…again
June 25, 2018 By
RIDGEWAY – About 20 minutes into the executive session, of the Thursday night Ridgeway Town Council meeting called to discuss the police department, Councilwoman Angela Harrison emerged alone, visibly distraught. Harrison said she left executive session because she was bothered by what council members were saying about the chief. It was the second time she […]
Election commission blocks JV annexation protest
June 25, 2018 By
JENKINSVILLE – Fairfield County election officials upheld the result of the Jenkinsville annexation vote by a more decisive margin than the original referendum itself. In a unanimous vote Monday, the Fairfield County Election Commission voted to uphold the results of the June 5 special election that saw the annexation measure fail 19-15. Commissioners agreed one […]
Jenkinsville subpoenas Voice reporter
June 25, 2018 By
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 […]
Bond refinancing savings changes
June 14, 2018 By
BLYTHEWOOD – After voting on April 5 to refinance the 2010 $5 million Blythewood Facilities Corporation (BFC) bonds, Council closed on the refinancing with BB&T bank on June 5. Emily Luther, an attorney with Parker Poe of Columbia who handled the initial 2010 bond issuance, updated Town Council on the refinancing at its May 26 […]
