Wild Kingdom?

COYOTE SPOTTED IN TOWN -  The Town of Saluda posted on its Facebook page this photo of a coyote roaming on North Rudoph Street Fri., Feb. 21, and urged citizens to take caution. The animals are obviously getting bolder.

Tigers To Play
In Segra Park

  The Columbia Fireflies have offered to host a baseball game between Saluda High School & Gray Collegiate Academy on Thursday, March 19th, with the 1st pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.    Tickets will be available at the gate for $6 each, and the Saluda baseball program will receive the gate on that evening.  This means that the more people who show up in Columbia that evening for the game, the more money raised for Saluda Tiger baseball. 
  What a tremendous opportunity the community  to support othe baseball Tigers at a world-class facility for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of  the student athletes.
  Segra Park is the home of the Columbia Fireflies, the Class A minor league affiliate of the New York Mets. Segra Park is a four-year old ballpark, and was recently chosen the single A “Ballpark Of The Decade” by Baseball Digest. Segra Park was built for $37 million, and it sits as the hub of Columbia, South Carolina’s Bull Street District revitalization project.
  Now, for SHS to have been given this opportunity, the Saluda baseball program has been given the responsibility to sell 100 tickets to the Columbia Fireflies home baseball game on Sunday, May 24th, against the Asheville Tourists.  The Tourists are the minor league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. 
  May 24th will be dubbed “Saluda Tiger Day” at Segra Park, with our baseball team being acknowledged and celebrated on the field during pre-game festivities.  The tickets we are selling for 5/24 are $10 each and will include reserved seats in Segra Park’s infield bowl.  The game also happens to coincide with the three-day weekend for Memorial Day, and it will be a Sunday “Splash Day,” where fans will have the chance to cool off in the Fireflies’ Splash Zone, getting hosed down by the Fireflies’ own fire truck.  It certainly shapes up for what could be a tremendous day for the Saluda Tiger family.
  If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the 3/19 game, simply show up to the ballpark.
  If you are interested in purchasing tickets for Saluda Tiger Day on 5/24, please come visit Dr. Bryan Vacchio in the guidance office.  He will be assisting Coach Horton with ticket distribution for that game.

Lady Tigers
Advance

  The Saluda High girls basketball team advanced to the third round of the state playoffs with two  wins last week.
  The Lady Tigers defeated Southside Christian, 59-28 on Tues., and St, Joseph’s, 53-18 on Friday.
  With that win, the 20-1 Tigers travelled to Kershaw to take on Andrew Jackson Monday, and won 50-34
  The Lady Tigers advanced to the Upperstate Championship game Sat., Feb. 29, 11 a.m., at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville.
  The State Championship game will be played Sat., Mar. 6, 3:30, at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

Feb. 2020 County Council Meeting

RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE - Bruce Horne, second from left, was recognized by County Council for his over 35-years of service to the county. Horne retired Jan. 31 as a County Magistrate. Pictured with him are, L to R, Councilman Justin Anderson, Vice-Chairman Frank Daniel and Councilman Wayne Grice. (Standard-Sentinel photo)

Council To Replace Outdated Software

Old technology and equipment were the biggest expenditures during the County Council meeting  on Mon., Feb. 10.
  Captain Loraine Kelly of the Detention Center and I.T. Specialist Mitchell Kneece explained the Livescan systems used to record and share fingerprints is running on Windows 7, which is about to lose support from Microsoft.
  Replacing the old system with a Windows 10 program will cost $19,435. Kneece said this needed to be done as soon as possible.
  The “end of life” on hardware is June 2021. Replacing this will cost $17,515. Kneece and Kelly recommended both projects be done now at a total cost of $36,950, which will be funded from contingency.
  Councilman Justin Anderson asked of the upgrades would work at a new jail, if one is built. He was told they would.
  Council voted 3-0 to fund the upgrades.
At the beginning of the meeting Bruce Horne was presented a resolution recognizing his  over 35-years of service to the county. Horne, who retired on Jan. 31, served three years as County Coroner from 1984-86, and then was appointed Magistrate by Gov. Carroll Campbell in 1987. He has served in that capacity since.
  Later in the meeting, Council passed a resolution recognizing Margaret M. Davis on her retirement. Mrs. Davis worked over 25-years for the county, since 1995 as Deputy Circuit Court Clerk.
  Council took as information a proposal by Nancy McCorkle to make Saluda County a Second Amendment Sanctuary, because “other states and counties are adopting laws that take away private citizens’ gun rights. As a lifetime hunter, I want my rights protected.”
    Second reading was given to an ordinance that will raise the length of term of Airport Commissioners from three to five years. Commissioners must have aviation knowledge, and the number of qualified board members is limited in the county.
  First reading was given to an ordinance, that will change the requirement that the Fire Board to meet once a month. The ordinance will change the wording to “hold regularly scheduled meetings.” Additional meetings may be called by the chair or the Fire Service Coordinator.
  Council approve Emergency Management Director Josh Morton’s suggestion to publish a request for quote on generator maintenance services.
  Morton’s request for permission to attend the IAEM-USA Region 4 Conference was granted. The trip will be paid by a grant, and at no cost to the county. Morton is president-elect of the organization.

NEW INVESTIGATOR - Mayor Amelia Herlong recently conducted the swearing in ceremony for the Saluda Police Departments new investigator, Josh Price.

PalmettoPride
Invests $400K

  Columbia, SC (February 13, 2020) – PalmettoPride announces the grant recipients for 2020 totaling $400,214.00.
  Then SC Dept. of Natural Resources  in Saluda County received    $3,738.00.
  PalmettoPride offers competitive grants for litter prevention programs and program support for law enforcements agencies, state and local governments, and Keep SC Beautiful affiliates across the state. This year was even more competitive with requests totaling more than $700,000.
   The Litter Prevention Grant awarded $199,296.00 to 43 law enforcement agencies, governmental departments and non-profit organizations in 33 counties totaling for their litter prevention projects, programs and equipment.
  PalmettoPride awarded $200,918.00 to 25 Keep South Carolina Beautiful affiliates to help create and maintain litter reduction and beautification programs and projects.

2020 Young Farmer Award

Reggie Padgett, right,  is pictured with Maxy Frye, Region III VP and award sponsor with Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Young Farmer Wins To State Award

  Myrtle Beach, SC…..The Saluda County Young Farmer and Agribusiness Chapter was well represented at the 72nd annual convention held January 31-February 2 at the DoubleTree Resort.
  During this event, Reggie Padgett was presented the Farmer & Agribusiness Award for Region II and the State.  This is one of the highest awards available to a state member.  Reggie manages the processing plant at Hickory Hill Milk.
The Saluda Chapter was also presented the Outstanding Chapter Award for Region II.
  Officers of the Saluda Young Farmer Chapter for 2020 include President Russell Miller, Vice President Marion Black, Secretary Marlene Bushey, Treasurer Candice Miller, and  Agricultural Education Instructor at Saluda High School Amanda N. Crouch, who serves as the advisor. 
  Membership is open to anyone with an interest in agriculture, 18 years of age or older.  Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month.  See www.saluday oungfarmer.org for more information.

Ben Forrest, a direct Grigsby descendant, applies preservative to the Bonham House.

Family Irony In Bonham House Donation

  Several years ago a retired foreign service officer and his wife were sitting in their home in Connecticut browsing You Tube when they discovered the Bonham House.
  The Bonham House, also known as Flat Grove, is the only standing original birthplace in the United States of any of the Alamo defenders. The foreign service officer’s late mother-in-law was a native Texan and an obsessed genealogist.
  He had been a patient enabler of her passion as she traced her Grigsby roots on journeys that took her to England, Ireland and beyond. She had known that the brother, Enoch Grigsby, as one of her direct ancestors that eventually ended up in Texas had come to the Old Edgefield District in the mid 1700s.  He settled in the Mt. Willing area which is now a part of Saluda County.
   Enoch and his family had come down the Great Wagon Road from Virginia and were accompanied by the Bonhams and the “Cloud Creek Massacre” Butlers all of whom were related either by blood or marriage.
  The foreign service officer and his wife, who despite her worldwide travels, still had her heart in Texas, decided to make a contribution to the Saluda County Historical Society for the Bonham House and in memory of the mother-in-law. Along with their generous donation came a copy of the mother-in-law’s extensive research on her Grigsby clan.
  What followed was a “truth is stranger than fiction” story. Neither the foreign service officer or his wife knew that a direct descendant of Enoch Grisby and a very distant cousin of the wife, Colette Forrest Dragoo, had saved the Bohham House from collapsing and had been in charge of the restopration since it was given to the Historical Society. After the shock wore off for all, there was a feeling that fate had played a part.
  The couple continued their generous support of the Bonham House, and their contributions enabled the society to complete a large portion of the rail fence, purchase some items for the house, to recently have the house pressure washed and preservative applied to the siding and a future project to construct an appropriate walk and help with other items.
  Sadly the husband passed away a couple of years ago, but his wife has continued to support the project and has donated money for a live oak to be planted at Flat Grove in memory of her husband. Hopefully she will be able to visit the area in the not too distant future and see where many of her very distant Grigsby cousins still reside. As she said, “My mother must be dancing in heaven!”

FLOODING ON LONG ROAD - Pictured above is a flooded pasture on Long Road, following the torrential rains that began Thurs., Feb. 6. According to county Emergency Management Director Josh Morton, “We did have a number of county and state roads flooded and closed during the storm.  Luckily we were spared from the most significant winds and tornados.  Many of our neighboring counties were not as fortunate.  We have not had any reports of damage to any homes as of this time.”