Orangeburg County recognizes service; first four honorees named

Orangeburg County Council has decided to honor individuals each year who have made contributions to the community in the areas of justice, community, government and as first responders.

The public was asked to nominate individuals who have proven influential in those four sectors.

The names of the inaugural honorees were revealed at Monday’s Orangeburg County Council meeting. They are being honored by having their names placed at the Orangeburg County Courthouse’s Martin Luther King Jr. Monument.

The honorees are:

In the field of justice, the county is honoring the late Karen Johnson Williams, chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Williams was the first female judge for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

She was recommended by the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond and nominated to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The court hears cases from the district courts in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

Williams died in Nov. 2013 at the age of 62.

According to the nomination, Williams served in the soup kitchen at First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, was a member of the Orangeburg Rotary Club, and former director of the Orangeburg County Retardation Board and the Regional Medical Center Hospital Foundation.

The late Rep. Earl Middleton was honored for his work in the community.

Middleton trained with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in Alabama at the beginning of World War II. He finished his military service in the South Pacific, witnessing a portion of the Japanese surrender at war’s end.

Returning to Orangeburg, he began an entrepreneurial career with ownership of Coldwell Banker Middleton and Associates Realtors and The Middleton Insurance Agency.

From 1975 to 1984, he was in the South Carolina General Assembly as a representative from District 95 in Orangeburg County. Middleton was the county’s first African-American elected representative since Reconstruction.

Middleton was credited with encouraging young individuals in the community to pursue careers in public service and county government, as well as encouraging minorities to become active in politics and run for state offices.

A life member of Trinity United Methodist Church, Middleton was also a former Scoutmaster and recipient of the Boy Scout’s Silver Beaver Award.

Middleton died at the age 88 in 2007.

“I know he would be proud,” Middleton’s son, Kenneth, said about the recognition. “He certainly loved Orangeburg and the people of Orangeburg.”

“He represented them for quite a while through the legislature and worked hard on an ongoing basis for the betterment of Orangeburg and Orangeburg County,” he said. “That is an honor to be one of the inaugural chosen.”

Government

Sixth District Congressman James Clyburn, the House majority whip, is being recognized in the area of government.

Clyburn is a graduate of South Carolina State University who participated in sit-ins during desegregation and was a former teacher, employment counselor and director of several community development programs.

Clyburn also served on staff of Gov. John West as the first non-white member to reach such a position in state government. He also served as the South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner from 1974 to 1992.

He was the first African American to address the joint session of the General Assembly and the first African American to become House majority whip.

First Responders

Clinton Metts, a lifelong resident of the Canaan community, is being recognized for his service as a first responder.

Metts has served as the chief of the Canaan Fire Department for 37 years and has served as the information technology coordinator and volunteer.

Metts also served as part of the department’s dive team, which performs body recovery and evidence recovery from Lake Marion, the Edisto River and local ponds.

In the mid-1990s, he was one of several people who helped start Orangeburg County’s fire service.

Metts worked for Albemarle for 36 years, where he received firefighting, emergency response and hazardous materials experience.

He is also a member of the Canaan Baptist Church.