More than 400 educators gathered at Laurens District 55 High School on August 17 for the district’s annual opening assembly. During her address to the group of educators, Cassie Power, 2015 District Teacher of the Year, noted, “Teaching is a calling. It is our responsibility to love our students and to teach them to show the world their awesomeness.” Power shared that as educators, it is important to help students realize that failure isn’t always a bad thing; rather it is often an opportunity to learn from what went wrong and use it to move toward success. “As teachers, we must be there for students to help them work through bad days.”

Addressing the group, District 55 Superintendent Billy Strickland noted, “Caring about your work, surrounding yourself with good people, and showing that you care about others is important in any profession.” Strickland referred to District 55’s staff as hard-working, committed, and supportive, and credited the district’s 15% graduation rate improvement to the efforts of everyone in the district. “Our graduation rate is not a high school issue. It takes everyone working together from the first day of kindergarten to produce student success.”

Molly Spearman, South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, was the featured guest speaker for the event. Spearman shared the statewide vision that every graduate should be prepared for success in society. “Thank you for choosing education as your profession,” remarked Spearman. “Educating a student is so much more than teaching content. We must incorporate team work, integrity, and perseverance into our efforts so that South Carolina schools are producing students who can be successful in society.”

City of Clinton Rate Response Plan – Presented 8/17/15

Short Term (0-6 Months)

Improve Communication – new web site to answer questions and inform progress

Assistance Agencies – help customers find avenues of assistance

Reduce Penalties/Fees –

• No late fees for June bill
• Reduce late fee for July bill to 5% (can be waived if you ask prior to your due date
• $25 fee for disconnection eliminated permanently
• Determine true cost of reconnect fee and charge accordingly

Hiring Freeze for all non critical positions

Capital expenditure freeze

Improve access to city’s management team

Purchase Power Cost Reduction

Energy Reviews – assist customers in finding ways to save energy costs

Budget Billing – year round average billing to eliminate surprises

Mid Term (6-18 Months)

Independent Cost of Service Study and adjust rates accordingly

2.3% rate reduction for customers on Demand Side Management. (allows city to temporarily suspend power to A/C compressor and pool pump during high usage.

Implement Financial Assistance Program

Transfer Policy – study use of utilities to supplement other services

Long Term (18+ Months)

Request outside aid for debt relief

Request PMPA rate adjustments

Debt refinancing/restructuring

Strategic rate plan based on cost of service study

PILOT – payment in life of taxes program for non taxable properties

Load Growth – emphasize economic development to increase customers to spread the fixed PMPA costs among more customers

Separate City and Utility – create stand alone utility if it reduces costs

Separate Billing – explore billing water and sewer on a separate bill from electric

Clinton City Manager Frank Stovall last night proposed solutions to the problem created by exceptionally high electric bills this summer. He divided the solutions into Short Term, Intermediate and Long Term fixes.

In the short-term he proposed that the city would improve communications with customers and improve access to the city’s management team. He said that a member of the management team would be on duty in the customer service area of the M.S. Bailey Municipal Center for several hours each day so that someone with the authority to make a decision would be available to customers struggling with these bills.

Also in the short-term, late fees and penalties for the month of June will be waived. They can also potentially be waived for July so long as the customer contacts the city on or before the due date of the bill to explain that they will not be able to pay on time.

Mr. Stovall also stated that he would ask City Council at the next meeting to pass a resolution eliminating the $25 fee associated with service disconnections. He explained that someone unable to pay the entire bill is probably not someone the city should ask to pay an additional $25. He said he felt that it was the right thing to do for the city to do away with that fee, not temporarily but permanently.

SOLUTIONS SUMMARY

Short Term  (0-6 Months)

Improve Communication – new web site to answer questions and inform progress

Assistance Agencies – help customers find avenues of assistance

Reduce Penalties/Fees –

• No late fees for June bill
• Reduce late fee for July bill to 5% (can be waived if you ask prior to your due date
• $25 fee for disconnection eliminated permanently
• Determine true cost of reconnect fee and charge accordingly

Hiring Freeze for all non critical positions

Capital expenditure freeze

Improve access to city’s management team

Purchase Power Cost Reduction

Energy Reviews – assist customers in finding ways to save energy costs

Budget Billing – year round average billing to eliminate surprises

Mid Term (6-18 Months)

Independent Cost of Service Study and adjust rates accordingly

2.3% rate reduction for customers on Demand Side Management.  (allows city to temporarily suspend power to A/C compressor and pool pump during high usage.

Implement Financial Assistance Program

Transfer Policy – study use of utilities to supplement other services

Long Term (18+ Months)

Request outside aid for debt relief

Request PMPA rate adjustments

Debt refinancing/restructuring

Strategic rate plan based on cost of service study

PILOT – payment in lieu of taxes program for non taxable properties

Load Growth – emphasize economic development to increase customers to spread the fixed PMPA costs among more customers

Separate City and Utility – create stand alone utility if it reduces costs

Separate Billing – explore billing water and sewer on a separate bill from electric

At a marathon meeting of Clinton City Council last night, citizens expressed their frustration at the continued extraordinarily high utility bills. Several people told the Mayor, Council and assembled city staff that they just could not pay these bills. They said that we’ve had hot summers before but never had they seen these kinds of bills before and they demanded answers. And, they got them.

First up was Coleman Smoak, General Manager of Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (PMPA). Mr. Smoak explained the history of PMPA including the decision for ten cities, including Laurens and Clinton, to join the PMPA.

He explained that wholesale electric rates in South Carolina increased by 270% between 1970 and 1975. Nuclear energy was seen as the answer for public power. The high construction costs of nuclear power stations caused energy producers to seek partnerships to assist with financing the construction of these power plants. PMPA agreed to purchase 25% of one of the two reactors at Duke Energy’s Catawba Nuclear Station. PMPA’s debt on the purchase runs through 2034. The member cities of PMPA shared in the purchase and in the associated debt.

That debt is a part of the problem and contributes to a base power cost for each of the member cities which is much higher than anyone anticipated 30 years ago. Mr. Smoak explained how PMPA acquires, distributes and bills each of the member cities for electricity.

Then Clinton City Manager Frank Stovall took the floor to explain how the city distributes, maintains and bills its customers for electricity. After an overview of how the electric division operates Mr. Stovall explained the huge jump in electric bills for June and July.

He presented a temperature chart comparing previous years to 2015. He agreed that we’ve had hot summers before, even summers with some days hotter than we experienced this year. But, he explained, in those years we had several super hot days followed by extended periods of milder temperatures. This year, while the peak temperatures may have actually been less, the average high temperature for the months of June and July were warmer, much warmer. With sustained temperatures at those levels home air conditioners were running pretty much non-stop trying to cool the interiors he said. He showed sample usage from several residences in Clinton showing that power consumption for some doubled and in some cases tripled. The accompanying power bills did the same.

Mr. Stovall explained that City Council voted last December to include a Purchase Power Adjustment Charge on utility bills for Clinton. That allows the city to maintain their electric rates at 14.8 cents per kilowatt hour and use that adjustment charge to make up the difference when that rate falls short of actual costs.   When demand is exceptionally high and PMPA must purchase power from outside sources, he said, the cost of that electricity is a lot higher than what the city normally pays. So, those high demand days created an exceptionally high purchase cost adjustment for June and July.

Monday’s special meeting of Clinton City Council was called for the specific purpose of discussing electric power rates, but there was one other issue brought up. During the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, Ms. Emily Bailey was recognized. The question she asked wasn’t about electricity, although some present appeared to be shocked by it.

Ms. Bailey asked this question of Clinton Mayor Bob McLean:

“I would like to respectfully ask your opinion as to which form of government, the city manager form or the strong mayor form of government, would be in the best interest of our citizens in Clinton and why do you think this?”

Mayor McLean never directly answered the question, telling Ms. Bailey that the decision was not up to him but was up to the voters in Clinton.

For months WLBG has heard indications of an ongoing ‘whisper’ campaign in Clinton advocating a change in the form of government, moving away from the Council-Manager form of government and to the Mayor-Council, or the ‘strong mayor’ form of government. Emily Bailey evidently wanted the Mayor on record about which form of government he favors.

It should be noted that a change in the form of government would require approval by city voters through a referendum.

Laurens City Council last evening voted to approve a request from City Building and Zoning Director Clay Rykard to rezone property at 805 Church Street from R2 to R3.

Mayor John Stakus and council members Sylvia Douglas and Martin Lowry voted against the rezoning request, indicating their apprehension of future legal issues.

City Council last night also gave second reading approval of an ordinance that authorizes the sale of less than an acre of city-owned property. The property is being sold to Dominick Motors, Inc.

Two ordinances to change the way Main Street Laurens is funded were unanimously approved on 2nd reading by Laurens City Council last evening. The first ordinance removes the special tax assessment on property in the Downtown Improvement District, which has been used to help fund the program since its inception. The second ordinance replaces that with a $20 flat fee on all parcels of property throughout Laurens that have a structure on them. The change to a city-wide funding is expected to provide a significant increase in funds available for the Main Street Laurens Program. Mayor Stankus has indicated his belief that a healthy Downtown area is important for the entire city.

During the public hearing prior to the final votes on the changes, two people came forward speaking in favor of the change, and one spoke against the change.

In November of last year an off duty Laurens County Sheriff’s Deputy was hunting on property off Warrior Creek Church Road north of Laurens when he discovered a human skull.  A thorough search of nearly 24 hours yielded other human bones and a wallet with identification.  ( see previous story:  http://wlbg.com/2014/11/09/human-remains-found/  )

But, as it turns out, there’s more to the story.  To get the full picture we need to go back to another discovery in the same area on July 28^th, 2009.  On that date a Deputy found what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle near the intersection of Warrior Creek Church Road and Bluff Road.  When checking the vehicle he discovered the vehicle was reported as stolen in Greenville County.  Further, the vehicle had been reportedly used in an armed robbery at a CVS Pharmacy in Mauldin just a few days before.

In November 2014, the discovery of the wallet with a Driver’s License surprisingly indicated that the wallet belonged to the chief suspect in that robbery.  In fact, a warrant for armed robbery had been issued for Jeffrey Jones Harrison of Greenville County.  Officials from the Laurens County Coroner’s Office, the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and SLED believed that the remains found were those of Mr. Harrison but they wanted to be sure.

Laurens County Coroner Nick Nichols told WLBG that they located a brother of Mr. Harrison at a correctional facility in the lower part of the state and obtained a DNA sample from him.  That sample along with the skull that had been found were sent to a forensics laboratory in Texas.  Yesterday, a positive identification was made.

The skeletal remains were, in fact, those of Jeffrey Jones Harrison.  The cause of death is listed as Undetermined.  Coroner Nichols stated that there were no signs of violent trauma on any of the bones.  He also said that several bottles of controlled substance medications (possibly stolen during the CVS Pharmacy robbery) were found near the remains.

Coroner Nick Nichols thanked Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain, Investigator Ben Blackman and the other Deputies of the Sheriff’s Office as well as SLED’s forensics team for months of diligence and patience.  The mystery, it seems, has finally been solved.

In California, there’s great concern about folks flying drones over forest fires, getting their private video views….but causing a hazard to aircraft trying to fly over the fire to dump fire retardants.

Meanwhile, here in Laurens County, a different concern has surfaced about the use of drones.

Sheriff’s Corporal Farrah Cook was dispatched to a residential street west of Laurens at 7:05 last evening and was advised that there is an on going concern about someone flying a drone over the residence. One resident reported she feels unsafe with a subject using drones to watch them. The officer spoke with the alleged drone pilot, who reportedly indicated he flew drones over his property to collect data to use over his concerns about the neighbors.

While Corporal Cook was there, she was notified about someone from a nearby street also concerned about the drones. At 8:13 last evening she went there and spoke with a resident there who expressed concern about the subject flying drones close to him as he walked his dog on that first street.

Laurens Police were dispatched to an apartment on Independence Avenue at 11:20 last night, where Officer Billy Robert Sellers reported finding a 29-year-old man with multiple wounds visible on his legs and hands. He said he had gone to visit a friend on Spring Street a few minutes before 10:00 pm when a man he identified approached him aggressively and asked if he had hit this man’s sister. The victim said he replied he had not hit the aggressor’s sister, but the man struck him in the head and pushed him to the ground. At this time at least four other individuals joined the first man in beating the victim. He said he got up and ran back to his residence on Independence Street. He said he did not notify police immediately out of fear of negative repercussions. He indicated he called police some hour and a half later after his mother made him call. He said he had not struck the aggressive man’s sister, who is his baby’s mama; but that he had left a hickey on her cheek. The girlfriend was contacted by Officers and confirmed the victim had not struck her, that the mark on her face was a hickey. Officers also talked with witnesses to the assault on Spring Street, who confirmed the man’s report of the attack involving multiple people. EMS was called and treated the injuries on the man, but he refused transport to the hospital. The incident remains under investigation.

Laurens Police Officer Doug Jones reported he was patrolling Caroline Street at 3:00 yesterday afternoon when he observed a car headed toward Hillcrest Drive without validation stickers on the license plate. Officer Jones followed and initiated a traffic stop on Hillcrest near the Ag South office. He reported observing a front seat passenger and a rear seat passenger making furtive movements, then noted the smell of alcohol coming from the car. Two open beers in the front seat were observed, and the front seat passenger said they were his. He was issued a citation for an Open Container violation. Master Patrolman Jones reported observing several small bags of powder that was field tested as Cocaine in the rear-seat passenger’s pocket. He was arrested and placed in the Johnson Detention Center. A charge of Possession of Cocaine was issued for 34-year-old Dumarcus Antonio Franklin of 311 East Hampton Street, Laurens. He is also reportedly known as “D-:Moe.” The front seat passenger was released with the ticket for Open Container. The driver of the car was issued a warning about the validation sticker matter and released.

Laurens Police Sgt. Michael Gainey was on duty at Laurens Middle School at 9:00 yesterday morning when contacted by Deputy Shepard with the Sheriff’s Office, inquiring about a student registered at Laurens Middle. The youth was reportedly wanted for Armed Robbery charges in New York State. Sgt. Gainey and an Assistant Principal went to a classroom and removed the 14-year-old male student, taking him to the office. Deputy Shepard arrived and took the juvenile into custody for transport to DJJ in Columbia. There he was to be held, pending extradition to New York for an Armed Robbery charge in Orange County. Sgt. Gainey retrieved the student’s book bag; a check inside reportedly located metal knuckles. Laurens Police did not issue charges for the Illegal Weapons Possession, due to the 14-year-old male being wanted for the Armed Robbery charge. Sgt. Gainey notified the youth’s mother about the matter.

A young Laurens woman was arrested yesterday regarding alleged neglect of her children in late July. The Sheriff’s Office charged 22-year-old Sandra Elexis James of 302 Lakeview Drive, Laurens with two counts of Child Neglect. In the two warrants, Sheriff’s Officer Martin states that on July 23rd 2015 Ms. James placed at unreasonable risk of harm to a minor child, one who is 2-years-old and the other who is 2 months old, by the minor child testing positive for methamphetamine. The warrants further state that the defendant had custody and is the child’s parent. Cash or surety bonds were set totaling $60,000 on the two charges. Sandra Elexis James remained in the Johnson Detention Center this morning.

Clinton Public Safety yesterday had six drug and traffic charges yesterday for a Cross Hill man, arrested following a police pursuit early yesterday morning. Sgt. Thomas Peay reported he was conducting stationary radar on South Broad at Springdale at 1:46 yesterday morning when he clocked a GMC pickup southbound on South Broad doing 48 in the 35-mile-per-hour zone. He reported hearing the truck accelerate as the officer was turning around. Sgt. Peay reported that as the truck passed by Charlotte’s Road it was doing 115 miles per hour. The Sheriff’s Office was notified about the speeding truck. It reportedly continued toward Mountville at speeds over 100. Officer Peay noted that as the truck approached Lisbon Road it blew a tire and began to slow down, then crossed into the northbound lanes and went into a ditch. The driver was observed crawling out of the truck and fleeing into the woods. Lt. Jones and Officer Harris arrived and assisted in searching the woods. They reported locating the subject lying in the woods and took him into custody.

35-year-old Brian Allen Oswald of 1506 Whiteford Road, Cross Hill was charged with Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Narcotic and with Failure to Stop for Blue Lights on South Broad. Those charges came in warrants obtained yesterday. He was initially issued tickets from Sgt. Peay citing traffic offenses on South Broad and Springdale Avenue at 1:54 yesterday morning. These cite Oswald with Driving under Suspension, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Use of a Tag on Another Vehicle.

One warrant states the defendant failed to stop his motor vehicle when signaled by a Public Safety vehicle with lights and siren, that he accelerated his vehicle and made erratic driving maneuvers in an attempt to evade law enforcement on South Broad Street in Clinton.

Another warrant states that Brian Allan Oswald possessed between one and ten grams of a white crystal substance, clear liquid, and a white porous substance which field tested positive for methamphetamine on South Broad yesterday. A third warrant states that Oswald was in possession of white round pills believed to be Oxycodone Hydrochloride, without authority to possess.

Personal recognizance bonds on the three charges from citations issued totaled $1,000. Cash or Surety bonds set on the Failure to Stop for a Blue Light and the drug warrants total $45,000. There were also holds for Oswald for Greenwood and for Probation and Parole.

Contact of a sexual nature in a four-month period this year was alleged in a man’s arrest yesterday. The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office charged 46-year-old Troy Anthony Edwards Sr. of 170 Shepard Drive, Clinton with Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor. Sheriff’s Investigator Michael Crockett states that between March 1st and June 28th, 2015 Mr. Edwards did engage in sexual battery by fondling the victim on her vaginal area, with the victim being between eleven and fourteen years old and the defendant being more than three years older. A cash or surety bond of $75,000 was set during arraignment on the charges. Troy Anthony Edwards Sr. remained in the Johnson Detention Center this morning.

A Spartanburg County man is facing multiple sex-related charges following his arrest by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office yesterday. 37-year-old Terry Glenn Stokes was booked in the Johnson Detention Center last evening with an address of 129 Fairview Oaks Drive, Campobello. He’s charged with Dissemination Obscenity, Criminal Solicitation of a minor, Disseminating Harmful Material to a Minor, 1st Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor in the 1st Degree and with Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

In warrants which list an address at 2130 Highway 92, Enoree, Sheriff’s Investigator Michael Crockett states that these offenses occurred in Laurens County this year between June 1st and August 15th. Warrants allege that Mr. Stokes knowingly disseminated obscenity by sending and requesting explicit sexual text messages, that he had electronic communication with a 14-year-old juvenile female with intent of persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing the victim to engage in sexual activity and that he disseminated or exhibited harmful and obscene material depicting sexually explicit nudity. Warrants further allege that during this 2 ½ month period Stokes did induce, coerce and/or encourage a 14-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity and/or appear in a state of sexually explicit nudity, that he committed Criminal Sexual Conduct by exposing his genitalia to a 14-year-old female juvenile and that he knowingly and willfully provided a minor with marijuana, an illegal narcotic.

The warrants were signed by Magistrate Lyles Tuesday. Terry Glenn Stokes was being held in the Johnson Detention Center, pending a bond hearing today.

The Sheriff’s Office was dispatched at 9:21 yesterday morning to investigate a theft of items valued at $4,710. Deputy Allen met with a man on Tullyton Road, Fountain Inn who said that since 4:00 Sunday afternoon someone had forced open the latch to his storage building and had taken items he had recently purchased new, and that he was in the process of moving them into his home. Items taken ranged from golf bags to various tools and several power tools. The Burglary was under investigation.

Laurens Police were investigating three automobile break-in in the early morning hours today. Officers responded for two cases on Cummings Street and one on Owens.

The City of Laurens recently donated $15,000 in support of the Laurens County Future Scholarship. Chamber of Commerce President Greg Alexander yesterday said these funds will go directly for high school graduates that reside within the city. Alexander said that beginning this Fall semester, the Future Scholarship will provide recent high school graduates with a tuition-free path to complete two years of technical training, or the first half of a bachelor’s degree at Piedmont Technical College. He said the scholarship is built on the generosity of Laurens County citizens and organizations. More information is available at Future Scholarship (dot) Org, or by calling the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce.