Lamar’s mayor questioned on police and pollen
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
An overflow crowd at Lamar Town Council’s March 11 meeting forced a relocation to the Fire Department truck bay.
Several of the citizens in attendance voiced concerns over three topics: Lamar’s lack of local police protection, the ongoing troubles with the town’s water and sewer system, and the mayor’s claim that her vehicle was vandalized in a possible hate crime.
Mayor Darnell Byrd McPherson reported to police that on the night of Feb. 6, someone spray-painted her car and her husband’s car while they were parked in their yard. An incident report by the Lamar Police Department characterized the yellowish and powdery substance found on the vehicles as similar to pollen, and the case was turned over to SLED for investigation.
The social media firestorm that followed (trackable under the hashtag “Lamar Pollen Challenge”) was, in McPherson’s words, “hell in a handbasket.” She apologized for any distress the incident has caused the community.
A citizen asked McPherson why she didn’t make a public statement to allay concerns once the powder was determined to be pollen, and McPherson replied that the jury is still out on what the substance actually was.
“The problem was, he (the responding police officer) did not take a sample,” said McPherson. “But it was not pollen… what it was and how it got there, I do not know.”
Other questions centered around how the town suddenly found itself without a police force. The previous week, Lamar’s last two officers left the department and joined the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. While there was no explanation offered for why this happened, McPherson thanked Sheriff Tony Chavis for increasing deputy patrols in Lamar until new officers can be hired.
Mayor Pro Tem Lang Howell said he has interviewed several good candidates for the police department, and Council planned to discuss their hiring plans in the executive session which followed this meeting.
Citizen volunteer Janie Howell updated the audience about the town’s efforts to establish record keeping procedures and complete paperwork required by SC DHEC. Lamar has been under a consent order which demanded organized records of testing and operation for the town’s drinking water.
Although the actual water is provided by Darlington County Water and Sewer Authority, Lamar is still responsible for the distribution system and all attendant record keeping.
Howell said that she and Town Council member Inez Lee worked with retired Council member Mike Lloyd to meet DHEC’s demands, and they turned in their report the previous week. Howell said DHEC reps were pleased with their progress and “it appears that the DHEC consent order is now behind us.”
A citizen asked about the fines levied by DHEC during the time Lamar was in non-compliance, and McPherson said the fines totaled about $16,000. She said the town plans to work with DHEC to establish a payment program and settle the fines.
Howell said she and Lee and Howell have also worked to address DHEC’s concerns about the town’s wastewater system. Howell planned to drive to Columbia and turn in their wastewater action plan to DHEC the following day by 5 p.m.
She noted that these actions represent positive forward motion, but Lamar still needs to hire a water system operator “who will follow DHEC guidelines to make sure that everything is in order.”
