Officials of the Family Health Center Inc. of Orangeburg said they would love to come to Ehrhardt and start a health clinic, but they want to hear from the citizens of Ehrhardt and see what the commitment is from the County of Bamberg as well as House District Representative Bakari Sellers.

“We would love to come, we would be very happy to come,” Leon Brunson CEO of Family Health Center Inc. of Orangeburg told members of Ehrhardt Town Council at their January 18, meeting. However Brunson noted that he was concerned about the small number of people to show up at the meeting to discuss the proposed clinic and noted the absence of District 90 Rep. Bakari Sellers and Bamberg County Council Chairman Clint Carter, who represents District 7 and the town of Ehrhardt on County Council. “We would have loved to have a room full of people.”

Brunson said he did some research of the area and discovered that approximately 1,452 people lived within a five-mile radius of the town of Ehrhardt, which was a sufficient number of people to have a health clinic. “It shows you have a large enough base for us to come,” Brunson stated.

Asked by Mayor Bill Stanley for a time frame as to when the clinic could be up and running, Brunson said he wanted to see Rep. Sellers’ Office and Bamberg County Council involved first before he could make that determination. “The County has a responsibility along with Rep. Sellers to get the program up and running,” Brunson said.

Each member of the Ehrhardt Town Council attending the meeting expressed the need for the Town to have a viable health clinic with Mayor Bill Stanley stating “more people needed to be in attendance to express their opinions” and noting “a lot of people in this town need a health clinic.”

Ehrhardt Chief of Public Safety Chad Dilling noted that with the uncertainty surrounding the Bamberg County Hospital it was even more imperative that the Town of Ehrhardt have a health clinic. Dilling said that he was told if something happen to the hospital, the County EMS service would have to be cutback, with the Town of Ehrhardt losing its EMS service.

The date of February 7, at 6:30 p.m. was set for a community meeting at the town hall for the citizens of Ehrhardt to come out express their opinions on the proposed clinic. Citizens are encouraged to come by Ehrhardt Town Hall and complete a survey on the proposed clinic prior to the February 7th meeting.

Also during the meeting:

• Chief of Public Safety Chad Dilling reported the fire department had “a very uneventful” holiday season. On the police department side, Dilling reported the department made several case files for the month including: Several domestic disturbances, larceny, public drunk, shoplifting and issued several traffic tickets.

• In an update on the water system project, Councilmember Freddie Copeland stated the construction company will start hooking up new meters in the southwest quadrant of town soon. Town residents will see an increase from 55 to 60 pounds of extra pressure in their water lines and work must still be done along main street, where part of the side walk will have to be taken up which is the most difficult part. “They’re coming along with it,” Copeland said of the water system project.