Southeast Darlington caps revitalization project
Pictured here at the sign installation are (left to right) Wanda Wallace-Selph of Lathan Consulting, Mary Gregg of SDRC, homeowners Chester and Letha Martin, Jannie Lathan of Lathan Consulting, Bernetha Wilds-Bess of SDRC, Darlington city manager Howard Garland, John Segars of Darlington City Council, SDRC vice president Cleveland Jordan, and Darlington Police Chief Danny Watson.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
The City of Darlington celebrated a milestone last week with the installation of a new Neighborhood Watch sign near Cain Elementary School. This sign was the last of seven installed as part of the Southeast Darlington Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which included improvements for sidewalks, drainage, lighting improvements, exterior housing rehabilitation, and crime watch signage.
Eight single family, owner-occupied homes were slated for receive exterior repairs of up to $10,000 per unit, with work including roof replacement, painting or siding. Drainage improvements called for the installation of 3,455 linear feet of drainage pipe and 24 catch basins.
In total, the project benefitted a total of 276 Southeast Darlington residents, of whom 215 (78 percent) are low and moderate income.
The South Carolina Department of Commerce Grants Administration (GA) awarded this Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the City of Darlington on November 12, 2014 in the amount of $500,000. The City of Darlington provided a local match for housing rehabilitation, engineering, and grant administration conducted by Lathan Consulting.
Project goals were informed and helped along by members of the Southeast Darlington Revitalization Committee (SDRC), a dedicated group of volunteers who’ve been working alongside city officials and administrators every step of the way.
“We’ve been at this for a while. We’re glad to see it progress to the point where it is now, and we’re looking forward to doing more work in the future for the Southeast Darlington community to get the streets and the drainage system corrected,” said SDRC vice chair Cleveland Jordan, who spoke for the group in the absence of committee chair Henrietta Nelson.
“We would like to say thank you and we love you to everybody that participated,” said Mrs. Letha Martin, a homeowner who participated in the exterior housing rehabilitation program. Mrs. Martin gave special thanks to Blakely Construction, the SDRC, Lathan Consulting, Darlington Police Chief Danny Watson, and Darlington city manager Howard Garland for all their help and support during the home rehab process.
Southeast Darlington Revitalization Committee (SDRC) members include Darlington Mayor Pro-Tem Coleman Cannon, Chairwoman Henrietta Pauley-Nelson, Vice-Chairman Cleveland Jordan, Secretary Mary R. Gregg, member Betty Jackson, and member Sheila Baccus.
Participation and support also came from Mr. Thomas Bland with Duke Energy, Mr. Larry Stegner, Darlington School District, Cain Elementary School Principle Carla Watford, American Legion Post # 210, owners Mr. Cadmor P. Wingate and Mr. Robert Jones, Jr., attorney Albert James, Jr., Lowe’s Home Centers of Florence, Wallace Farms of Little Rock, SC, Darlington Hardware, along with many other local businesses, churches, and neighborhood residents including Letha and Chester Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Broadus Baccus, Ms. Sheila Baccus, Ms. Rosa Sansberry, Ms. Doris Price, Ms. Lenora Burgess, Ms. Theressa Bess, and Ms. Dorothy Jacobs.