BLYTHEWOOD – Bill Stangler, the Congaree Riverkeeper, will speak at the 15th annual free Community Garden Event sponsored by the Blythewood Garden Club. Stangler has been “The Riverkeeper” for the last 15 years under the auspices of The Congaree River Alliance. He is charged with monitoring and keeping 90 miles of river healthy and the […]
Auditor issues county clean opinion and material weakness
March 14, 2024 By
Audit Presented Late for Third Consecutive Year WINNSBORO – Fairfield County failed to follow “certain accounting, reporting, and reconciling procedures,” resulting in incomplete and inaccurate financial reporting, according to the 2023 audit. Mauldin & Jenkins, the Columbia financial firm that conducted the audit, issued a “material weakness” in the audit. The material weakness stems from […]
County hires auditor to appeal $1.4M IRS debt
March 14, 2024 By
WINNSBORO – Following an update given by the county’s Interim Administrator Clay Killian concerning the county’s $1.4 million in IRS fines and penalties, council members voted unanimously to appropriate $40,000 to enlist the county’s auditing firm, Mauldin & Jenkins, to assist the county in erasing some of those tax penalties and interest owed to the […]
Town purchases more property
March 14, 2024 By
BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council members have purchased another parcel of land. During an executive session at a special called meeting Thursday evening, March 7, council members received legal advice regarding contractual terms associated with the potential acquisition of real property. When they returned to the open meeting, they voted unanimously to authorize Town Administrator Carroll […]
Sheriff’s Office adds K-9 unit
March 14, 2024 By
AIRFIELD COUNTY – The arrival of a longtime expert at working with law enforcement’s dogs has led to the launch of a new K-9 program at the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office, with two dog handlers and their K-9 partners now operational and assisting with a variety of tasks. “It’s kind of unusual because we started […]
WDPS Chief Kevin Lawrence resigns
March 7, 2024 By
WINNSBORO – Winnsboro Town Administrator Jason Taylor announced Thursday afternoon, March 7, that Winnsboro Department of Public Safety Chief Kevin Lawrence had resigned his post effective March 6. Taylor gave no details as to why Lawrence resigned. Lawrence was hired as Interim chief in September of 2022, after the Town’s former Chief John Seibles retired. […]
Killian begins whittling down County’s $1.4M IRS penalties
March 7, 2024 By
WINNSBORO – Clay Killian is a strong, patient man who sees the big picture, according to one of his closest former colleagues. Aiken County Chairman Gary Bunker, who worked with Killian for over a decade, says Fairfield County’s new interim administrator brings a plethora of experience and is adept at seeing the big picture. “There […]
Guest Editorial: Review of Fairfield County Council Workshop
March 7, 2024 By
County Council’s annual workshop was held Feb. 28 at the Midlands Tech Campus in Northeast Columbia. Here are our general perspectives on the meeting. The Good The meeting was held without the interference of a high-priced outside moderator. Interim Administrator Killian proved to be a well-spring of quality experience and reason, including a comment that […]
Get your green on for St. Paddy’s Day in Ridgeway
March 7, 2024 By
RIDGEWAY – The Town of Ridgeway will host its first St. Paddy’s Day celebration on from 6 – 9 on Friday, March 15. The town is expected to be awash in Irish music, good food and Irish beer. “We’re going to have a lot of fun things,” said Tina Johnson, a member of the town’s […]
Ribfest set for March 9 in Blythewood
March 7, 2024 By
BLYTHEWOOD – The 5th annual Blythewood Doko Ribfest will be back Saturday, March 9 at Doko Meadows Park in Blythewood from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Professional, amateur, and veteran cook teams from both South and North Carolina and Georgia will be offering up about 10,000 pounds of ribs in their quest to win $10,000 […]
