Although the public hearing for Fairfield County’s 2013-2014 budget was held three weeks ago, Monday night Council chambers were abuzz with more static than an offshore pirate radio station as citizens from both ends of the county pounded the microphone and bent Council’s collective ear. While an impressive turnout petitioned Council for more recreational opportunities, […]

The truth can be a hard thing to take, particularly if it is unpleasant. And especially if it is true. The truth is that it is easier to get a bad reputation than it is to get rid of one. And right now, Fairfield County seems to have one, and in the worst places. As […]

Time heals all wounds. Unless your wound is a leaking roof or exposed wiring. Time does not heal those things. It makes them worse. Much worse. For historic architecture, stemming the tide of time requires constant maintenance and upkeep. Occupancy also seems to help; something there is about a building that wants people in it. […]

The Town of Winnsboro’s long, arid nightmare, apparently, is over. After a year of living with the fear that FEMA tankers and National Guard airlifts may, at any minute, be their only source of potable water, Town Council lifted mandatory water restrictions Tuesday night. A rainy winter and the relief of Winnsboro’s Blythewood responsibilities by […]

In the world of Fairfield County government, apparently, there are bonds and then there are bonds. There are the quiet, unassuming bonds, from which taxpayers perceive no pain and that coast right through channels without so much as a bug on their windshield, and then there are the bonds that appear to hit every bumper […]

For the candidates who long ago threw their hats into the ring for the Town of Winnsboro’s municipal elections, April 2 is looming rather large in their respective windshields right now; and for voters in this year’s critical cycle, some serious and difficult choices are going to have to be made. It is no secret […]

Before soliciting contributions, it is the modicum of courtesy to at least offer perspective donors a bite to eat, perhaps a few cocktails and maybe some light entertainment before passing the collection plate. Indeed, the amount of the contribution may be directly proportional to the number of cocktails, and most of your more lucrative charities […]

Laws with catchy monikers arouse a natural sense of suspicion. It is unlikely that the Patriot Act would have curried much favor with the American patriots of the 1770s, for example; and who can tell how many children have been left behind by the No Child Left Behind law. Thus, when the Business Freedom to […]

Reputations aren’t made in a fortnight, nor are they reformed in a matter of mere months; but the Fairfield County School Board has done about as much as is humanly possible to mend their public perception in a relatively short amount of time. Under the leadership of a new Board Chairwoman, Fairfield’s Gang of Seven […]

It is absolutely, unequivocally, 100 percent true that one cannot make absolutely everyone, unequivocally, 100 percent happy 100 percent of the time. Still, it is surprising what some people will say ‘No’ to; as if No is in their nature always a better option than Yes, or even Maybe. Take our governor’s stand against accepting […]