County officials share ideas at municipal supper
Tony Chavis, Darlington County Sheriff Elect.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
At the October 31 quarterly meeting of municipal councils, the Board of Education, and the legislative delegation, Darlington County officials shared a meal and exchanged ideas about what’s going right and what needs improvement across the county. The meeting was hosted by the Darlington County School District at their Smith Avenue offices in Darlington and catered by Hunt Bonz’ Deli.
Darlington city manager Howard Garland said he was proud that the local jails are not full and the crime rate is low. He lauded Hartsville for achieving All America City status and energizing their downtown, Society Hill for plans to add a riverwalk and a museum, and he praised Darlington city workers for their tireless efforts in response to last year’s October flood and this year’s October surprise, Hurricane Matthew.
Garland added that a community foundation is needed to support and build civic programs for Lamar, Society Hill, and Darlington.
“There’s a Byerly Foundation for Hartsville, a Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation for Florence, but there’s no foundation for these other communities. So when we have an idea, a lot of times because we don’t have a foundation to act as a go-between and a mediator between the different factions in our towns, a lot of times the idea just dies,” said Garland, noting that a community foundation could work for the common benefit of the underserved in Darlington County.
Darlington County Council chair Bobby Hudson said that after eleven years of lobbying, Time Warner Cable is finally bringing cable TV and high-speed Internet services to Lamar. Hudson said that services should be available sometime during the first quarter of 2017.
Wanda Hassler of the Darlington County School Board pointed out that much work lies ahead for our communities dealing with quality of life issues, passing ordinances to help with noise, dilapidated and abandoned houses, and improve the physical state of the Darlington County Courthouse.
Hassler also noted that the school district has questions to address as well, ranging from maintaining aging school buildings to better preparing students for the future.
“What are we graduating our students to?” asked Hassler. “Where are our kids going? Do they need four-year degrees, two-year degrees, technology (education) and that type of thing?”
Hassler said that better communication and long-range planning could help with everyone’s goals and problems.
Darlington City Council member Carolyn Bruce said that embracing change and encouraging more collaboration between various entities could benefit all.
“The cities and county must find a way to work together so we can get these things done,” agreed fellow Darlington City Council member Elaine Reed.
Jamie Morphis of the Darlington County School Board said that understanding each other’s needs and funding sources could lead to better communication and teaming up rather than working at cross purposes.
“In everything that we do, we’ve got to communicate, we’ve got to work together well in advance,” said Morphis, suggesting that the successful shared use of facilities like gyms, running tracks, and tennis courts is a good model for how resources can be utilized by the whole community.