Bamberg gets body camera grants

Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston reported last week that the county has received its second year of grant funding for the purchase of body cameras for the sheriff’s department.

“It’s a five-year program and last year we got it funded. We apply for a grant to fund it each year until it’s completely paid for at year five. We just got year two,” Preston said later.

He also reported on the results of the state Department of Transportation’s $8 million litter-pickup program in District 7, which included state roads, along with progress being made on the county’s transformation of its defunct hospital into a multi-service complex.

“We’re doing final walk-throughs at the hospital and inspections on safety systems, fire systems and all that on the inside of the building,” he said, noting that both phases of exterior parking work had also gone out for bid.

“Once we get the approval of the safety stuff done on the inside and the telephone lines and all that run inside, then we can start to gradually move into the building. … We hope to have the public come into the Ed Darnell Law Enforcement Center somewhere around the first of January.

“The health department will come second. It’s a little more complicated in the back there because of some storm water drainage issue. That’s phase two, and it’s going to require a lot of grading. So we’re doing that,” Preston said.

“We also got a grant to do the resurface of the parking areas around the senior citizens center,” he said.

The administrator also said more than 200 individuals attended the county fire service banquet held Nov. 4 at Ghents Branch Baptist Church in Denmark.

Service awards were presented, along with the 2022 Bamberg County Firefighter of the Year award, which was presented to Rodney Weaver of the Denmark Police Department. The 2021 County Firefighter of the Year was Michelle Martin of the Colston Fire Department.

Also during the meeting, council approved the appointment of Bamberg County resident Edna Childs as the District 6 representative to the county Office on Aging board.