The power of persistence: Teen celebrates road-paving victory
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Anyone who says you can’t fight City Hall clearly hasn’t met Cameron Graham.
In May 2017, he appeared before Darlington County Council and asked for help getting a flood-prone section of Flatnose Road paved so his school bus could safely pick him up.
Despite the usual array of delays and hurdles, Cameron persisted until the red tape transformed into a red ribbon, which he cut last week to celebrate the paving completion.
Cameron Graham with mom Dionne Graham
“This all got started when I was in eighth grade,” Cameron explains. “It was a very rainy day and the bus driver called my mother (who is visually impaired) and said that she was going to have to come pick me up or I would have to walk home. She was scared to get bogged down on the road. So I took the initiative to get the road paved.”
His first step was visiting County Council, where he was the first teen ever to appear and plead his case before this group of elected officials. He asked for help and, when it seemed to him that little action was taken, he appeared before them again a couple of months later.
“For a while it seemed like it was the county versus the family. … We had been told for years that this was a private road and nothing could be done for it, but we came to find out that it’s a public road,” says Cameron.
Cameron Graham
County Council members referred Cameron to the Darlington County Transportation Committee, the legislator-appointed group that dictates which roads will receive state-allocated paving funds.
Cameron visited CTC meetings and explained his plight to them.
“They said, ‘Okay, we’ll get it done.’ Then I received an email from SCDOT and they told me the road would be getting paved by the end of December last year. But due to Hurricane Florence, the road got messed up and the date was pushed back. So on Jan. 17, 2019, they put the finishing touches on the road and now it’s actually paved,” says Cameron.
He says his family wanted to host a ribbon cutting ceremony and buffet luncheon at their Dovesville home to say thank you to all the people who helped during his campaign.
Cameron hailed family members, County Council member Joyce Wingate Thomas, DCSD school board member Connell Delaine and Darlington County Sheriff Tony Chavis for providing advice and support, and for offering to give him rides to school on rainy days.
With his first civic venture completed, Cameron says he hopes his success might help other young people to set aside their fears about public forums and government meetings so they can tackle troublesome issues and get real results.
“If they have a problem, the first step is to address it with the appropriate people, and make it known that you expect something to be done. Then you have to follow up. Always, always follow up. I have called, I’ve emailed, I’ve texted, I’ve even popped up at houses to ask questions,” he says.
With this kind of persistence, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Cameron his sights set on a career in public service, perhaps culminating in elected office.
“His dream is to become the governor of South Carolina,” says proud mom Dionne Graham, noting that some family members are already planning for that eventuality.
“My dad has told Cameron he wants a bedroom in the Governor’s Mansion that’s right beside the kitchen, preferably with a private entrance.”
