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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 31, 2022 By
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
March 17, 2022 By
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 […]
Bell touts his achievements at Ridgeway town hall meeting
March 17, 2022 By
RIDGEWAY – During a town hall meeting held by County Council Chairman Moses Bell Saturday at the Ridgeway Fire Station, a digital recorder being used by The Voice to record the meeting suddenly disappeared from a chair next to the reporter. As the meeting ended and the audience began standing up to leave, the reporter […]
Bell notified in November of critical audit timeline
March 10, 2022 By
WINNSBORO – County officials appeared to be surprised to learn on Feb. 1, 2022, that the county’s FY2021 audit had not been submitted to the state on Jan. 1, 2022, as required by law. But documents obtained by The Voice show that the S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom sent County Council Chairman Bell a letter […]
