4 storylines to know from local government
Filing ends for city council
City council filing came to an end Wednesday, July 31, with a majority of candidates running for Ward 4 and mayor.
After current Ward 4 representative Steve Corley announced he is not seeking reelection, the race to represent Sumter's Historic District has grown rapidly with five candidates vying for the position: Gene Weston, Jimmy Davis, Lucy Mahon, Lynn Kennedy and Scott Burkett.
Meanwhile, the two other wards up for election, Ward 2 and 6, have zero competition and are occupied by their current representatives, Ward 2 representative James Blassingame and Ward 6 representative Gifford Shaw.
The race for mayor has brought forward three candidates to challenge current mayor David Merchant, who is running for reelection: Foxy Campbell, Reginald "Reggie" Evans and Travon Adams.
The city council race is non-partisan.
County Council may change rules for meeting conduct
In a county council meeting July 23, the draft for a new ordinance passed in a 5-2 vote that would change the rules surrounding conduct during county council meetings.
The ordinance raised concerns with Councilman Gene Baten and Councilman Carlton Washington, who worried about potential censorship of residents during public comment. Chairman Jim McCain said council members will have the chance to change the document in the future.
Because the ordinance is labeled as title only - in other words, all the language in it is subject to change - it cannot be quoted or released to the public until it is in its final stages.
The draft passed its first reading, but it will need to pass two more readings to get to its next stage.
10-year study shows Shaw AFB disruptions to be minimal
The Air Installation Compatible Use Zones Program, or AICUZ for short, conducts a study every 10 years to ensure that Air Force bases and communities are living together harmoniously.
On July 23, it was time for findings from this study to be presented to the Sumter community regarding Shaw Air Force Base.
The study found that no noise nuisances were disrupting the community on Shaw's end, nor was the surrounding community posing any risks to the base.
Part of what the study examines is building height, large light sources and even making sure that a surplus of birds is not being attracted by the community. For the base itself, AICUZ mainly focuses on noise level, especially from fighter jets.
Program will reduce military childcare costs, childcare center costs; announcement held in Sumter
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster made his way to Sumter-Shaw Farm in Dalzell on Aug. 1 for an announcement that would see childcare costs for military personnel and childcare centers decrease statewide.
The program, Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS, or MCCYN-PLUS for short, will be launched by South Carolina Department of Social Services in partnership with the Department of Defense, and it will offer fee assistance to South Carolina military families. According to a news release, the program will help "South Carolina military families in locating affordable, accessible child care within their communities" and offer "child care fee assistance to eligible military and DoD civilian families when child care is unavailable on an installation or when families do not live close to an installation."
S.C. is one of only 15 states to gain access to the program, and childcare centers that seek accreditation through ABC Quality will qualify for the reduced costs.