AMERICAN LEGION NAMES FIRST FEMALE ADJUTANT ON B1 2A OPINION 4A OBITUARIES 7A SPORTS 2B PUZZLES 5B CLASSIFIEDS QUOTE ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ EDMUND BURKE News&Press Vol. 145, No. 28 TWO SECTIONS • 14 PAGES JULY 10, 2019 ESTABLISHED 1874 75¢ Darlington, S.C. WWW.NEWSANDPRESS.NET Political signs stir a City Council conflict By Bobby Bryant for mayor, briefly and some- probably wouldn’t survive a their personal yard and it gets are going to follow the rule on make sure we are being con- Editor times sharply debated the legal challenge. challenged. ” one, then follow the rule on sistent across the board, as [email protected] question during council’s July That sparked City Council’s “There’s an inconsistency the other.” mayor and council, when it Bruce told council there comes to somebody’s signs.” The city of Darlington has 2 regular meeting. discussion last week, as coun- somewhere in all of this,” was still inconsistency here. Council ended the discus- an ordinance that says politi- The political-sign issue cil members talked with city Bruce said. “ … There’s some She cited the city attorney’s sion without a vote, because cal signs can’t be put up until apparently first popped up attorney Kevin Etheridge inconsistency when you talk review of the documents from there was nothing before 30 days before an election. some months ago when a sup- about the issue. about this (sign) ordinance the attorney general’s office them to vote on. If council But … opinions by the S.C. porter of Mayor Gloria Hines’ Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn (infringing) on somebody’s and her assertion that in the makes changes in the city’s attorney general’s office and re-election bid put up a Hines Bruce, who is challenging First Amendment rights. …” 2015 council races, “nobody” political-sign ordinance, a other legal rulings make it sign and someone protested Hines in the mayor’s race, said Council member Elaine put out political signs until a member will need to submit seem likely that this ordi- that it violated the city’s ordi- it all came down to consisten- Reed said: “According to our month before the election. that as a plan that can be nance couldn’t survive a legal nance. cy. ordinance, it is 30 days. It did- “Four years ago, according to voted up or down. challenge because of free- City staffers were asked to “My concern is if our city n’t matter whether it was any- Kevin, you infringed on my A third candidate running speech issues. research the law on this, and ordinance says signs (don’t) body’s yard or in the right-of- constitutional rights,” Bruce for mayor, businessman Curtis So … should Darlington the state attorney general’s go out until 30 days before the way. Political signs were not said. “Four years ago.” Boyd, says he was told that residents be required to obey office supplied a 2008 opinion election. When I ran (for supposed to be displayed In this year’s council elec- the city apparently will be fol- this ordinance in this may- written by then-attorney gen- council) four years ago, that’s (until) 30 days (before the tions, Bruce said, “I think the lowing the existing ordinance. oral-election year? eral, and now governor, what I was told,” Bruce told vote).” first sign that went up prior to Darlington City Council, Henry McMaster, indicating council. “Four years ago, As far as enforcing city 30 days was (a) Mayor Hines and its two members opposing that such time-limiting politi- nobody put signs out until 30 ordinances, Reed said, “We sign. I don’t have a prob- SIGNS ON 3A each other in this fall’s race cal-sign ordinances were con- days before the election. Now, can’t pick and choose which stitutionally “suspect” and somebody has to put a sign in ones we want to do. … If we lem with it … but we need to Another year, another rise in S.C.’s gas tax County aiding By Bobby Bryant Editor [email protected] $75 million You might not have noticed amid the Fourth of July holi- day hoopla, but you’ve been Nucor expansion paying 2 cents per gallon more in gas taxes since July 1. By Samantha Lyles that Darlington County will Last Monday, the third of Staff Writer receive an additional $8.5 mil- six annual 2-cent hikes in the [email protected] lion in revenue from the FILOT state’s gas tax went into effect. over the 30-year term. That brings the state gas tax to Nucor Corp. plans to invest $75 million in new land and Also in the realm of indus- 22 cents per gallon, up from 20 trial investment, council cents. equipment, and Darlington County Council voted unani- approved final reading of The hike should bring in an Ordinance 19-12, granting extra $70 million a year for mously in favor of a tax incen- tive package to help facilitate FILOT agreements to repairing S.C. roads, as part of Charleston-based solar energy a sweeping fix-the-crumbling- the company's plans. The vote took place at council's July 1 developer Southern Current. roads plan the Legislature Last year, the company (identi- approved in 2017. regular meeting. Due to confidentiality fied in documents as “Project The state gas tax – formally Dates”) announced plans to known as the Motor Fuel User requirements, all prior read- ings of Ordinance 19-10 invest $340 million to build 17 Fee – will go up 2 cents a year solar farms around the county. until 2022. referred to the 50-year-old steel mill as “Project Heat This new agreement (iden- Each hike will kick in on tifying the company only as July 1, the beginning of the Wave.” The final reading of the ordinance revealed that Nucor “Project Dates 2”) covers an state’s new fiscal year. additional $141 million to Supporters of the tax plan plans to invest $75 million over five years, mostly by acquiring $149 million in capital invest- point out that South Carolina, ment for six new solar farm even with the hikes, is still a land and purchasing new machinery to grow their local sites, built over the next four fairly cheap place to buy gas. In years. The new FILOT will pay North Carolina and Georgia, operations. There are no new jobs associated with the expan- the county annual fees of the state gas tax is more than $421,392 for the first 10 years. 30 cents per gallon. sion project at this time. For the county's part, Nucor In years 11 to 30, the county By the time that the last of will receive an annual fee of South Carolina’s annual hikes will be granted a fee-in-lieu-of- taxes (FILOT) agreement, $368,494. in its gas tax kicks in – sched- Third and final reading of uled for July 1, 2022 – our gas assessing the expansion at 6 percent annually for 30 years. this ordinance passed without tax will be 28 cents per gallon. has concerned state lawmak- Columbia-based government But in neighboring Florence objection. These increases are ers for years. watchdog group, about $2.3 County, no gas-tax roadwork is Nucor will also receive a spe- designed to generate a huge According to state million worth of gas-tax road- listed as being completed. cial source revenue credit of amount of money for road and Department of Transportation work has been finished in (See The Nerve’s full report $25,000 a year for the first 10 NUCOR ON 3A bridge repairs – an issue that records cited by The Nerve, a Darlington County. on Page 3B.) years. The ordinance states Free Medical Clinic expanding services to meet expanding needs By Samantha Lyles state, we have the highest mor- new patients. They referred Staff Writer tality rate because women “are 891 patients for lab work or X- [email protected] not getting screened.” Edwards rays, referred another 116 cases to specialists, and filled With a strict mortality rate said the clinic has partnered 3,110 new prescriptions 7.6 percent higher than the with the McLeod Mobile (worth over $400,000) at little South Carolina average, Mammography Unit to help or no cost to the patient. Darlington County residents patients get regular breast can- Edwards said that many need to pay more attention to cer screenings so the disease uninsured people end up their health, and the director can be caught early. delaying medical care due to at the Free Medical Clinic of The mobile unit will be at costs, resulting in around Darlington County is trying to the Darlington clinic (203 5,000 “avoidable” emergency remove barriers that prevent Grove Street) on Aug. 29 and room visits and around 2,000 those in need from seeking the Hartsville clinic (500 West avoidable hospitalizations last care. Carolina Ave.) on Sept. 16. year. Steven Edwards spoke to Edwards said a few appoint- To prevent patients from Darlington County Council at ment slots are still available, so falling through the cracks and their July 1 meeting and those interested should call skipping needed medical care, deployed some alarming data and reserve a time as soon as the Free Medical Clinic is regarding local health trends. possible. expanding their eligibility and “42 percent of our popula- Edwards said that contrary simplifying the screening tion is obese. The 10-year to some common mispercep- process.