August 2019 Council Meeting

County Council Holds
Long Executive Session

  Saluda County Council’s August meeting featured almost as much  action coming out of executive session as was in the regular meeting.
  The meeting was the last for District 2 Councilman D.J. Miller, who had to resign when he moved to a residence in the county outside of District 2. The newly elected District 2 councilman will be seated for the next meeting. Miller thanked the citizens of District 2 for their support
  A public hearing was held at the beginning of the meeting and final reading approval was given to an ordinance to renew the contract for Saluda Sky Aviation, LLC, as the fixed base operator at the Saluda County Airport.
  Emergency Management Director Josh Morton recommended the interior and exterior security cameras be replaced at the Courthouse at a total cost of $11,325.  This was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Justin Anderson voting against.
  Fire Board Chairman Chuck Adams asked for Council’s approval in allowing the Fire Departments to fill swimming pools.
  The Fire Board unanimously approved the proposal, saying with would allow the trucks to be operated on a more regular basis, members of the fire departments to interact with the community more, and the fees would be used as a fundraiser.
  Adams said the departments would pay for the cost of the water and the fuel used.
  Council approved the request, as long as homeowners sign a waiver releasing the fire departments from any liability in the event of damage to their property by the tankers.
  Judge Joyce Shults asked permission to fill a vacancy in her office. The criminal clerk position is included in the current budget, she said. Council approved her request by a 3-2 vote. Voting against were Miller and Anderson.
  Morton asked permission to attend the International Association of Emergency Managers - USA Council Conference in Savannah. Morton said he had attended the conference since 2013, and had learned much through the work sessions and had made many contacts. He said his trip would be paid by a grant and would not involve county funds. The motion to allow Morton to attend the conference died for the lack of a second.
  Council approved the nomination of Tim Taylor as an alternate on the fire board, representing the Saluda Department.
  Council then went into executive session, and the following came out of the session:
   1. Council approved first reading by title only on Ordinance No. 06-19, “an ordinance to establish a uniform service charge for public safety in Saluda County, South Carolina.”
  2. Council approved first reading by title only on Ordinance No. 07-19, “an ordinance to establish a uniform service charge for motorized vehicle users of the county roads of Saluda County, South Carolina.”
  3. Council approved to close the part-time heavy equipment operator position in the Roads and Bridges Department.
  4. Council approved to open a Mechanic position in the Roads and Bridges department and additional funds needed to be funded from contingency, and to advertise according to county policy.
  5. On July 8, 2019, County Council approved for a temporary vacant SRO position in the Sheriff’s office due to the deployment of the full-time SRO. Council approved to amend that vote to a temporary deputy position to be placed at the school for the same purpose.
  6. Council approved an addendum to the SRO agreement to allow a deputy to the assigned school district until the return of the deployed SRO.

Allie Trotter winner the
SC 4-H Presidential Tray

  During this year’s State 4-H Congress, Allie Trotter was named the SC 4-H Presidential Tray Winner.  Along with the announcement, Allie received a $2000 scholarship from the South Carolina State Fair. 
  In 2007, Allie Trotter joined the Lucky Charms 4-H Club, and has been involved in 4-H ever since.  In just her second year as a 4-H member, she decided to enroll in the poultry project to learn more about raising chickens. She admits those tiny baby chicks were so cute she couldn’t leave them alone. Taking care of the chicks taught her about responsibility and commitment at a young age as she realized she had to do her part to keep the pullets healthy.
  The next project she became involved in was the Healthy Lifestyles competition. Her team won at the regional level twice and at the state level in 2017, advancing them to the 2018 Great American Seafood Cook-off 4-H edition in New Orleans. Where they were named National Winners. 
  As winners of the state Healthy Lifestyles contest, her team was also asked to represent South Carolina at the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living at the National 4-H Center in the Washington, D.C. area.
  Recently, Allie expanded her interests into new project areas such as dairy and Livestock judging and the barrow project. 
 At her first dairy judging competition, she and her team received several awards including second place individual overall and first place team overall. The team then represented South Carolina 4-H at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Kentucky where they placed in the top 20. The team will now compete in Wisconsin at the World Dairy Expo in October, 2019
  In the barrow project, she learned about raising market hogs and training them for show. In her first year, she was presented with a first-place prize in showmanship.
  Allie leadership skills have been put to task through experiences as a Healthy Lifestyles ambassador and a regional representative on State Teen Council. This spring she made a presentation on agricultural challenges to USDA’s National Institute on Food and Agriculture while a delegate at National 4-H Conference. She also attended National 4-H Congress in Atlanta where she was exposed to projects and skills she hopes to bring back to her community.
  This inspirational young woman is confident that 4-H has already prepared her more than she can imagine to take the next steps in her life.  Her plans are to study pre-vet at a land grant university.

SPECIAL ELECTION
AUGUST 27

  The special election for the County Council District 2 seat will be held Tuesday, August 27.
  Wayne Grice won the Republican Primary in June, and even though he has no Democratic op-positon, the election must still be held.
  Any voter in District 2 can vote in the election.

Drug Charges Dropped

Statement Regarding The Dismissal
Of Criminal Charges  As It Relates
To Shai Werts In Saluda County

  Yafari Shairkir (Shai) Werts was arrested on July 31, 2019, in Saluda County for Possession of Cocaine following a traffic stop.   The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office was made aware of the arrest on Friday, August 2, 2019. The Saluda County Sheriff’s Office provided Deputy Solicitor Al Eargle with copies of the incident report, police vehicle dash camera footage, and the body camera footage on Wednesday, August 7, 2019.
  Upon a thorough review of the report, the dash camera, and the body camera, Deputy Solicitor Al Eargle and I made the decision that the charge should be appropriately dismissed. The charge lacks prosecutorial merit and the evidence is insufficient for the State to proceed.  The charge was officially dismissed Thursday, August 8, 2019.
  The decision to dismiss this charge was made prior to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) completing their drug analysis of the substance collected. On August 8, 2019, SLED received the substance and completed the drug analysis. The forensic scientist determined that no controlled substance was detected.
  The Solicitor’s Office has begun the expungement process to have this charge removed from the system to ensure that this arrest and charge does not create a criminal history for Werts.
RICK HUBBARD

NOTE: Werts was suspended from the Georgia Southern football team following his arrest, but was reinstated when he passed a drug test. He is expected to state at quarterback when the Eagles open against LSU on Aug. 31.

Pastor Initiates Gun Buy-back
Program In Saluda County

SALUDA – While the nation mourns the victims of the latest mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton – and as suicide rates rise in South Carolina – a United Methodist pastor is launching a gun buy-back program for the Saluda area.
  As a teen, the Rev. Hillary Taylor experienced episodic depression and suicidal thoughts. Today, as a pastor, she acts out of compassion for a region with lots of guns and limited access to mental health services.
  “I’m a hunter and a gun owner myself,” says Rev. Taylor, pastor of Bethany UMC and Zoar UMC in Saluda. “I support the Second Amendment, but I also know that guns and mental health problems are not a good mix. Self-harm becomes too easy – and too easily fatal.
  “Not everyone who has a gun wants one around, or knows how to use one safely. Even guns that no longer work can be dangerous to have around, and a lot of people don’t know there are ways to get rid of them.”
  Rev. Taylor, who is coordinating the effort with the support of other local churches, is planning the buy-back event for 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, when gun owners will receive Walmart gift cards worth $50-$150, depending on the model and make of the gun. A location for the event is still to be determined.
  In the meantime, anyone who wants to support the effort can donate Walmart gift cards. To do that, please mail checks or Walmart gift cards (in increments of $50) to the following address: Bethany United Methodist Church, 1146 Hickory Grove Road, Saluda, SC 29138. Please make checks out to “Bethany United Methodist Church,” with “Buy-Back” in the memo line.

  Following most gun buy-back events, the purchased weapons are destroyed. In this effort, however, Rev. Taylor wants to disable the guns and repurpose them in the Saluda community as gardening tools or artwork – almost literally playing out Isaiah 2:4: “...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
  Nationwide, approximately 34,000 people complete suicide each year, and nearly half of suicides involve firearms.1 Suicides also make up three out of every five gun-related deaths in the United States (more than homicide, mass shootings, accidents, etc.).2
  In South Carolina, more than 90 percent of suicides are gun-related,3 and the state ranks 50th in the nation when it comes to the availability of mental health care.4


  1 “Fact Sheets: Suicide,” National Alliance on Mental Illness, accessed August 5, 2019.
  2 “America’s Gun Culture in 10 Charts,” BBC News, accessed August 5, 2019. .
  3 “Suicide Rate Increases Nationally, Soars in South Carolina,” Greenville News, accessed August 5, 2019.
  4 “The State of Mental Health In America 2018,” Mental Health America, accessed August 5, 2019.

Need a GED or a High School Diploma?

  Come to Saluda County Adult Education.
  2019- 2020 Open Enrollment begins August 19!!
  LET US HELP YOU!
  *GED preparation
  *High School Diploma classes
  *WIN preparation and testing
  *ESL/ English as a Second Language classes
  Call Jimmy Crawford or Andrea Minick at 864-445-3346, or stop by our office at 401 N. Calhoun St. in Saluda
 for more information. Office opens at 8:00 a.m.

Quarterback arrested

SHAI WERTS

Georgia Southern Quarterback
Arrested In Saluda County

  The starting quarterback on the Georgia Southern University football team was arrested in Saluda County last week on traffic and drug charges.
  According to this week’s Detention Center Report, Yafari Shairkir Werts (Shai) of Newberry was arrested July 31 on speeding and possession of cocaine 1st charges.
  The incident report stated Werts was clocked doing 80 mph on the Chappells Hwy. heading toward Saluda, and did not immediately stop when the arresting officer turned on his blue lights. Werts called 911 and said it he was not pulling over until he got into the Town of Saluda at a well-lit spot, as a safety precaution.
  Saluda police assisted in getting the car to stop in town.
  Werts was arrested in the speeding charge, and asked about the white powder looking substance on the Dodge Charger’s hood. Werts said it was “bird poop.”
  The substance was field tested with a kit, and the test revealed it was cocaine. More samples were collected and sent to SLED for verification.
  Werts bonded out the next day, and returned to the Georgia Southern campus, where he was due to start fall football practice. However, GSU head football coach Chad Lunsford announced that Werts, and another player who had been arrested in Florida were suspended indefinitely.
  Werts started at quarterback the last two seasons. In 2018, he was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team and was MVP on the Raycom Camilla Bowl. He played 759 of 774 offensive snaps, setting a pair of school records with his passing and was the only FBS starting QB to not throw an interception.
  He was a star at Newberry High School, where accumulated more than 6,000 total yards and accounted for 73 touchdowns.

Webb Sings ‘National Anthem’
At L.A. Dodgers Game

Some Saluda County history was made when country music artist Cody Webb of Ridge Spring sang the “National Anthem” before 56,000 fans at Dodger Stadium prior to the Dodgers-San Diego Padres game  Sat., Aug. 3.

Saluda BiLo Grocery Store to Donate to Historical Society

  Saluda BiLo has selected the Saluda County His-torical Society to be a participant in their Com-munity Bag Program. 
  This is a program in which BiLo contributes funds to local non-profit organiza-tions by donating one dollar for every reusable grocery bag they sell during a month.  In the society’s case, this August is the target month. 
  Please keep this in mind as you purchase your groceries at the Saluda BiLo during August.  Not only will these contributions benefit the Historical Society, but using these grocery bags will also help the environment by reducing the number of plastic bags that wind up in landfills and unfortunatel