Summers wins District Two seat

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Political newcomer Cynthia Summers was declared the winner of a Special Election on September 14, to fill the Bamberg City Council District 2 seat left vacant by the resignation of former Councilmember Ella Bamberg.

Summers defeated political veteran Frances Johnson, who had previously served 16 years on Bamberg City Council by a tally of 88 votes for Summers (70.9 percent) to 36 votes for Johnson.

The final results by precincts and absentee voting were:

Cynthia Summers: South Bamberg 48; North Bamberg 20; Absentee 17 and Machine Absentee 3.
Frances Johnson: South Bamberg 23; North Bamberg 4; Absentee 4 and Machine Absentee 5.

Summers will occupy the District 2 Seat until May, 2011 before facing re-election.

Bamberg District Two considers $800,000 bond

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

Bamberg School District Two School Board heard a report from Ross, Sinclair and Associates and Toya Green of McNair Law firm concerning a proposed $800,000 bond at Monday night's regularly scheduled board meeting. Financial advisor Mike Gallagher of Ross, Sinclair and Associates said the proposed bond would be used for capital projects "as the board sees fit." Gallagher mentioned new air-conditioning units for the district's schools as one possible capital project. The proposed bond would result in "minimal to no millage increase," he said. The "minimal" increase would amount to "one or two mills," he explained. “I don’t think it would be there,” he said, “but I want you to be aware of that possibility. This is a good time to borrow money,” he explained, “because of historically low rates at this time.”

Green explained that the District has outstanding of the 8% of debt that is available ($957,000) and that the $800,000 would be a part of that available amount.

Job Corps forms partnerships

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

Job Corps formed a wide array of partnerships with area agencies during the September meeting of the Bamberg Job Corps Center Community Relations Council.

“Job Corps changed my life,” Center Director Eric Jones told the large audience Thursday. A product of Job Corps, Jones completed the Job Corps Facilities Maintenance program, went on to earn his associate degree and his bachelor’s degree, became program director at the Miami Job Corps Center and three months ago became the Center Director of the Bamberg Job Corps Center.

Several in the audience consisted of representatives of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in South Carolina, Job Corps recruitment and outreach. The WIA supports training programs that help job seekers prepare for employment and businesses access skilled workers. WIA services are delivered through the state’s comprehensive Career One-Stop system. One-Stop Workforce Centers in every county offer job seekers and businesses access to WIA-and Trade Assistance Act (TAA)-funded training opportunities, as well as other services provided by One-Stop system partner agencies that support employment and training.