ORANGEBURG COUNTY COUNCIL: Grant helps fund 6 OCDS school resource officers

The $452,814 grant will cover the cost of six Orangeburg County School District school resource officers from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office provides the school district the resource officers, which are paid for by the school district. 

The grant will help cover the cost of the SROs.

Orangeburg County Council unanimously approved a resolution approving the request of the school district to designate sheriff officers as SROs.

Dover Elementary School and Holly Hill Elementary School are two schools in the district that will benefit from the grant, according to the school district.

In August, the OCSD board of trustees recognized the district’s SROs publicly. The district also highlighted two of the officers in a district press release.

OCSO Sgt. Kendrick McCullum has for the past eight years been a constant at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.

“I’ve had the privilege of seeing many students grow over the years, and it’s heartwarming when they reach out after graduation,” McCullum said. “A few have even been inspired to walk the path of law enforcement, and it’s an indescribable feeling knowing I played a small part in their journey.”

“Each day, I wear this badge not just as a symbol of law but as a testament to my purpose,” McCullum said. “It’s incredible how often the students themselves are the anchors of my day.”

OCSO Deputy Quentin Williams serves as an SRO at Carver-Edisto Middle School.

A product of Carver-Edisto, Williams attended the school from kindergarten and graduated from Edisto High School in 2011.

As an SRO for the past five years, his dual role as an alumnus and officer brings a unique perspective.

“Our students are the torchbearers of the future,” Williams said. “I’ve been where they are. I understand their journey, and I am here, at school and in the community, to ensure they can be there very best.”

Williams has gone beyond his duty by initiating a student-involved security team and taking on the role of MUSC health and wellness liaison.

“Our SROs, including Sgt. McCollum, Deputy Williams and all others across our district, embody the dedication and commitment that goes beyond just ensuring safety. They play an integral role in shaping a nurturing and supportive environment. Their consistent presence and genuine care make a significant difference in our students’ lives every day,” OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said. 

In other matters, a dining, retail, lodging and residential development for Cannon Bridge Road in Orangeburg across from an Orangeburg recycling industry is one step closer to becoming a reality.

County Council unanimously gave second reading approval to Florida-based Civil Design Engineering LLC’s proposal to build three restaurants, about 14,000 square feet of retail space, a hotel, 10 apartment buildings, a playground and on-site parking on about 30 acres of property at 410 Cannon Bridge Road.

Company officials have requested the property be rezoned from business industrial to a planned-use development district to pave the way for the development.

The targeted construction date is the fourth quarter of 2024.

The property is located across the street from Sunshine Recycling, a recycling and demolition business.

According to the project site plan, the restaurants and hotel would front Cannon Bridge Road. The retail and residential establishments would be located behind the restaurants.

There’s currently a vacant home on the site. Access to the property is on Cannon Bridge Road.

The Orangeburg County Planning Commission previously unanimously approved the rezoning request.

Also, council agreed to tighten its rules on where “drinking places” can locate in the county.

Council gave final approval to an ordinance requiring drinking places in commercial general and commercial neighborhood districts to be one acre in size, at least 1,500 feet from a home, residential subdivision, residential zone, church, religious institution or public or private school.

A drinking place, according to the ordinance, is defined as “any business or establishment used for social gatherings that sells or permits on-premises consumption of any alcoholic beverage.”

The ordinance is not intended to prohibit social gatherings or parties where alcohol is served. The ordinance prohibits a business establishment where alcohol is served.

Existing drinking places in these districts will be grandfathered in, unless the establishment has not been used or has been closed down as a drinking place for six months.

In other business:

• Council gave unanimous second reading to repeal a rule requiring the county to bury large animals on private property. The repeal was deemed necessary due to Department of Health and Environmental Control regulations on the burying of animals.

The county in the past has been responding to calls to bury large dead animals such as horses, cows and hogs per county ordinance since 1983.

County public works officials say the work is costly and has placed a burden on county resources and manpower as some cases have required a response to the same properties multiple times.

The county will no longer bury large animals upon the passage of third and final reading.

• Council gave unanimous approval to a transit manual for the county’s Cross County Connection federally funded public transit system. The transit manual will cover the different programs offered by the transit system. The transit manual needs to be approved to stay in compliance with federal guidelines.
• Regina Lawrence requested council consider having Legend Court in Santee paved due to the increased traffic and growth in the Santee area. The neighborhood is off Old Highway Number Six and is about a mile into Santee State Park.

“Since the road is so narrow, it is difficult for two vehicles to even get through the road and for buses to get back there or any type of emergency services,” Lawrence said. “Currently the road is entirely too narrow and is beginning to be unsafe.”

“I think sometimes we are a little bit forgotten because we are so deep in the state park,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence was asked to contact her council member, Johnny Ravenell, about her concerns.

• Alice Baker, a resident of Mimosa Drive in Orangeburg, expressed concerns about the influx of mobile homes into the neighborhood and the impact on property values, neighborhood safety and attractiveness. She said the county’s ordinance restricts mobile homes from coming into the neighborhood.

Baker said residents have signed petitions and have let their voices be known to council. She questioned the enforcement of the county’s zoning laws and ordinances.

“Does it depend on where you live, who you are, where you work, what you do, who you know?” Baker said. “Does it take into account if you are senior citizen, you are low income and a minority? We ask you once again to reconsider allowing mobile homes to be put in front of our homes.”

“You represent all of us and not one set of people,” Baker said. “We are valuable too. We are voters. We count.”

Councilwoman Deloris Frazier said she has visited the neighborhood.

• Council unanimously appointed Officer Jasmine D. Quarles and Officer Harriett Davis as county code enforcement officers.