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Historic Election/Mayor Thompson
Harold Thompson was elected as Union’s first black mayor after winning the November write-in election.
Crime
Murder and related mayhem were major stories throughout the year, which ends with many cases still pending, some suspects remaining at large and a young woman still missing.
The grim toll began when authorities found the body of 16-year-old Marisha Jeter in the Broad River on the afternoon of Jan. 5.
Charged with her murder were her ex-boyfriend, Pernell Clayton “Chub” Thompson, 20, and his wife, Yolanda Dee Thompson. Authorities said the Thompsons lured Ms. Jeter to the YMCA parking lot on the pretense of returning a jacket. Thompson then stabbed her, dumped her body in the river, drove her car into Chester County and set it on fire.
The 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced in December that it would seek the death penalty against Pernell Thompson.
In March, 71-year-old Tommy Howell was beaten to death in his home. His grandson, Shane Howell, was charged with murder in the incident. Under questioning from investigators Howell said he came home intoxicated and his grandfather, who didn’t allow drinking in the house, confronted him about it. He said he became angry at this and killed his grandfather.
Howell’s arrest lead to a violent confrontation between four of his relatives and WSPA-TV reporter Charmayne Brown. Trina Dawn Vinson, Billie Joe Taylor, Tousha Michelle Smith and Ronald Lee Harris were charged with assault and battery for attacking Ms. Brown near Howell’s Spring Street home.
Howell pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in September and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The case against his relatives is still pending.
In August, 19-year-old Kelvin J. Davis was shot and killed by a group of men who invaded and robbed his home. Authorities identified two of the men as Patrick Troy Rice and Derrick “Black Jesus” Ruff and made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest them within days the shooting. Rice was later brought to the sheriff’s office by his parents while Ruff remains at-large.
The killing played a role in the shooting death a few days later of Pacolet resident Michael Wheeler by Davis’ brother, Preston Marco Davis. Davis told investigators he shot Wheeler for taunting him about wearing a shirt with his dead brother’s picture on it.
September brought a mystery that remains unsolved.
Maria Fernandez has been missing since the afternoon of Sept. 3 after leaving work at Ellen Sagar Nursing Home. Authorities believe she was last seen on the porch of a Blue Ridge Road home where she once lived with her boyfriend and their 5-year-old son. Authorities been unable to find Ms. Fernandez or determine what happened to her.
Economic development
Economic development was another major story in 2008, though in some cases the announcements provoked controversy.
The S.C. Department of Commerce announced in July that Virginia-based Osage Bio Energy would build a $170 million barley-based ethanol production facility that would employ 75 people when it began operations in 2009. Plans call for the facility to get water for its production process from Carlisle Finishing and its potable water from the Town of Carlisle.
Critics of the facility were led by Carlisle resident and former EPA and DHEC official Charles Jeter. They questioned the role of public financing of the facility and raised concerns about odors, noise, pollution and traffic and whether or not baly really will be used to make ethanol.
Osage officials, however, said that while they remain interested in public funding, they have secure private equity financing for the project. They also said the facility will be environmentally-friendly and so unobtrusive the public won’t even know it’s there. They said that while barley will be the primary material used, the plant will also be able to use wheat, corn or milo if necessary.
In November, DHEC announced it had issued a permit for the plant’s construction. Jeter and two other property owners said they would appeal the decision.
In October, Sloan Construction Co. announced plans to build a $15 million liquid asphalt cement facility on Highway 18 and create up to 20 new jobs. The move was criticized by residents of the Woodhaven and Camelot subdivisions who signed a petition opposing the facility on traffic, health, fire and environmental grounds.
Several residents went before Union County Council to ask that it stop the facility from being built only to be told the county can do nothing because it doesn’t have a planning commission or zoning. The residents asked council to implement some form of land use planning to prevent a similar situation from happening in the future. The matter was referred to council’s administration and finance committee for review.
In October, LSP Automotive Systems announced it was expanding its plant. The company will invest another $45 million in the facility, generating 61 new jobs. The first automotive supplier to locate in Union County, LSP has already invested $100 million and generated more than 150 jobs.
Timken U.S. Corp. announced in October it would expand the production capacity of its Tyger River plant to serve the wind energy market. Earlier in the year, Timken moved its maintenance operations from Tyger River to its new Industrial Service Center in the spec building in Union Commerce Park. This freed up space for expansion of its wind energy production.
The year ended on a sour note when Renfro Corp. announced it would close its Whitmire plant by Jan. 30, leaving 570 workers without a job. The plant, which produces men’s, women’s and children’s socks, is closing because of decreased consumer demand. Renfro is Whitmire’s only plant with 40 percent of its employees living in the town and another 20 percent from Union County.
More development
• A total of $2.25 million in grants were awarded for the construction of a Quick Jobs Development Center on U.S. 176.
• Team Aruba formally opened its U.S. Home Base Complex on the Whitmire Highway in April.
• Bogangles opened at the corner of Rice Avenue and U.S. 176 in February.
• McDonald’s relocated from the West Towne Plaza to its new, larger facility at the intersection of the Buffalo-West Springs Highway and Duncan By-Pass in July.
• Wal-Mart broke ground on its new $8.7 million super center on U.S. 176 in March.
• The unfinished drag strip in Santuc was acquired by a new owner who plans to complete and open it in the spring of 2009.
Charter School
The effort to create a Jonesville-Lockhart Charter School got off to a good start early in the year when its governing board announced plans to build the facility next to Kelly One-Stop and open in August. A combination of factors including the sub-prime mortgage crisis caused the school’s construction financing to fall through and the district lost its option on the Kelly-Kelton site. This forced the district’s governing board to shift the location of the school to Jonesville and delay opening until Aug. 2009.
Even as the charter school struggled, the Union County School District moved ahead with the construction of the new Sims Middle School on U.S. 176 south of Union and the Jonesville Elementary/Middle K-8 School at the corner of New Hope Church Road and U.S. 176 near Jonesville. Work at both sites was more than 50 percent complete as of early December and the schools on target to open for the 2009-2010 school year.
Patriot’s Lake
The first part of 2008 was dominated by the battle over the proposed Patriot’s Lake. The 6,500-acre lake, which would be formed by damming Tyger River and Fairforest Creek, was touted by proponents as a spur to economic development for the county and a needed source of water. A coalition of environmental groups, however, claimed the lake was unnecessary and called for the area to be developed for “green” tourism.
A study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that while the lake was “technically possible” it was not economically justified. The study projected that while the lake would generate some benefits, these would not be enough to justify the estimated $187 million it would cost to build it.
Proponents, however, questioned the report’s conclusions about the economic benefits of the lake and vowed to press on with the project.
Deaths
The year saw the passing of a number of long-time community leaders including Les Kingsmore, a former veteran of the year and unofficial historian of textile baseball and the Buffalo community, in February; John Lewis Greer, who served 16 years as supervisor of Union County, also died that month; longtime business and community leader Boyce Wade died in October; December brought the death of Ralph P. Woodward Jr., a commissioner with the Union Housing Authority and past director of Union County Chamber of Commerce.
Union County also lost a four-legged institution in 2008 when J.D., the Inn at Merridun’s house cat, died in April at 16 1/2 years of age.
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