-The City of Marion, South Carolina

Swamp F o Scene

xA FREE monthly news magazine for the ciizensand visitors of the Swamp Fox City

Volume 2, Issue 12 May 2012

Friday: Movie & Fireworks Display, Fox FieldFamily movie starts at dusk and fireworks follow; Gates open at 6 p.m. Cost is $2 per person; Concessions provided by MHS Boosters.

Saturday: Main Street Parade starts the day’s activities at 10 a.m.Amusement Rides for Children and Adults, Antique Car & Tractor Show, Arts & Crafts, Live Entertainment, Food Court,

Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, and More! A fun day for all!

Performing noon-6 p.m. on the Main & Godbold Street Stage:Emmalyn Davis’ School of Dance, Party Favor Band,

Victoria Huggins with Jason Bullock, Justine Roberts’ School of Dance, Bo Poston, Renewed Hearts

Evening Street Dance with A New Creation, FREE admission, 6-9 p.m.Call Chuck for details, 843-423-9918.

Come & enjoy the 20th annual FoxTrot Festival!Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19

MARION COUNTY DAYHEALTH CARNIVALAND JOB FAIR SET

Allendale was first and now it is Mar-ion’s turn ... After meeting with countyleaders in March to discuss ways tomove Marion forward, Gov. Nikki Haleyand her Original Six Foundation areshowcasing Marion on June 2 at theMarion County Technical EducationCenter on U.S. Highway 76 from 10 a.m.until 2 p.m.

The special day, focusing on healthissues and jobs, is open to all. The dayseeks to get neighbors helping neighborsagain in South Carolina, Haley said ear-lier this year in Allendale, when her

foundation conducted its first specialcounty day. The Foundation hopes tohelp match families and organizationsthat have resources to share with fami-lies and organizations with needs, cross-ing traditional boundaries in the state.

The group is organized as a statewideinitiative to help provide the tools and

resources needed for distressed commu-nities in the state to grow economically.

The Foundation unites private sup-port and public challenges and does notuse any government funding. To learnmore about the Governor’s Foundation,visit www.TheOriginalSixFoundation.org.More information about the day will becoming and volunteers are needed. Tovolunteer, call Wendy Hoymeyer at 803-244-9511.

Shown at left are Marion CountyHeathcare Foundation Director GeneTucker with Gov. Haley in March.

Governor to host county event on June 2

The City of Marion selectedEric Jones as its March 2012 Em-ployee of the Month.

Eric joined the Street Depart-ment in September 2011 andquickly established himself as avaluable asset to the crew.

He is a hard worker whotakes great pride in his work,which varies throughout the year.

Eric helps to prepare andplant the community gardens inthe spring and fall, mows grassduring the summer months and

plays an important role in deco-rating the City for the Christmasseason. “Eric has been a great ad-dition to our team,” said StreetSuperintendent Ronnie Sanders.“He has a positive attitude andworks hard, and he is alwayswilling to take on any new proj-ects that are assigned to him.”The Mayor and Council recog-nized Eric Jones, at right, for hisstrong work ethic and significantcontributions to the City of Mar-ion at the April council meeting.

Page 2 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov May 2012

CITYNEWS ..........................................................................City selects Jones as Employee of the Month

Computer Labis open to public

Computers are availablefor use from 9 a.m. unil noonand from 2 to 6 p.m. in theSwamp Fox Higher EducaionCenter on Elizabeth Street.

Robbie Johnson of the CityRecreaion Department over-sees the center.

For informaion about thecomputer lab, call the CityRecreaion department at843-423-5410.

City Patrolman Jack McCaskill

Departmentannouncesnew hire,rehire

The Marion PoliceDepartment is pleased tointroduce two new em-ployees, Patrolman TyroneReed and Trey McCaskill.

Reed was re-hired bythe City in March 2012.He was previously em-ployed with the MarionPolice Department in2010.

Patrolman McCaskillwas hired by the City in2011 and graduated fromthe South Carolina Crimi-nal Justice Academy inMarch 2012. Both officersare residents of MarionCounty.

Grooming business opens on Harllee PlaceThe Marion Chamber of Commerce had a ribboncutting to welcome the owners of Lucky DogGrooming Salon to Marion on Wednesday, April 18.Located at 118 Harllee Place, the business is ownedby Melissa and George Ford. Marion ChamberPresident Alan Zeman and Mayor Rodney Berry,along with other Chamber board members andfriends, shown at right, welcomed the new businessto the community. To make an appointment for yourpet or for more information about their services, callthe Salon at 843-275-3644. For more informationabout the Chamber, call 843-423-3561.

Cleanup day nets five truck loads of trash in cityThe city’s clean-up team was hard at work on Saturday, April 14, part of the county-wide Great Ameri-

can Cleanup. The cleanup was, in part, to fulfill grant requirements. The City and County received PalmetoPride grants this year and agreeing to help keep the environment clean is part of the process.

Employees work hard to keep trash off the streetsThe things we throw away! Keyboards,

couches, tree limbs and broken chairs, withother household and yard items and yard de-bris are thrown out along the street curb atour houses and then they magically disap-pear. Disappear, that is, into the back oftrucks.

And then, thanks to the city staff whowork hard at driving and loading those trucksthrough our neighborhoods, our yard andhome debris and clutter is taken away. Andour streets and neighborhoods are leftcleaned. According to Sanitation DepartmentSuperintendent Leonard “Winky” Fore, thecity is divided into four routes and these menand their trucks start and run their routesrepeatedly all week long.

And picking up discarded tires is still ano-no, he said. Citizens are always remindedto leave tires with the dealer who replacedthem or to take them to the county’s landfill,he said. Over the course of the day, according

to Fore, five truckloads carried away enoughto fill four 30-yard containers. In a year, ac-cording to AWS, about 140 tons of commer-cial trash and 280 of residential trash iscarted away.

On Monday mornings the sanitation crewsbegin their routes through the north end ofthe west side of town (Kimball Drive to God-bold Street), the south end of the west side(MLK Boulevard to Godbold Street), the northend of the east side (Rogers Road to GodboldStreet), and the south end of the east side(Silver Trace Apartments to Godbold Street).

If citizens happen to place their debrisstreet side after the truck is passed, Foresaid, “Be patient. They’ll be back for it. Re-member, though, it depends on how muchother debris is to be picked up along theroute and hauled off before they can return.”

For questions about debris removal by thecity’s sanitation employees, call the City Ad-ministrator at City Hall, 843-423-5961.

Page 3 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov May 2012

The Swamp Fox Scene is the City of Marion’s freemonthly news magazine forcitizens and visitors of the Swamp Fox City, Marion, South Carolina. Printed by HeraldMulti-forms in Dillon, city employees produce and distribute the newspaper. TheMarion Chamber and HMRA help pay printing costs. Call Mayor Rodney Berry or CityAdministrator Alan Ammons at 843-423-5961 for more information.

Questionsabout your water or sewer bill?Call Grand Strand Waterand Sewer Authority at (843) 765-4539

or visit them in City Hall on Main Street.

Visit Olde Towne Marion

online @ www.theswampfox.com

Discover

the Marion Chamber’s

Facebook page ...Also on Facebook are

The City of Marion and

the Farmers Market

& Market Place!

NEED HELP WITH CITY SERVICES?Call City Hall, 843-423-5961, unless otherwise noted, and one of the following

will be able to point you in the right direction ... Mayor Rodney Berry, 843-423-8235City Administrator, Building Official Alan Ammons, Ext. 19City Clerk Pam Jones, Ext. 10City Treasurer Patricia Brown, Ext. 18Municipal Court Clerk Heather Evans, 843-423-8616Personnel, Purchasing Director Elizabeth Ficik, 843-423-8614 Planning & Zoning Admin Assistant Vickie Nichols, Ext. 11Recreation Admin Assistant Cheryl Askins, 423-5410

May 1stTuesday, 6 p.m., Book Club, Meetingin “Lunch” on Dozier Street. FirstTuesday of each month. Call Carolat 423-7000 for details.May 2ndWednesday, 8:30 a.m., Olde TowneMarion, Rise & Shine, HMRA Buildingon Main Street. Everyone is welcome.Call 423-9918, for details.May 3rdThursday, 6-8 p.m., Taste of Mullins,Lions Club Park, Tickets are $10;children under 5 free; Call Cindy at464-6651 for details.May 5th Saturday, 7 a.m.-Noon, Olde TowneMarion’s Spring Yard Sale in BaxleyHardware’s parking lot; $5 per table;Call Chuck, 423-9918, for detailsMay 8thTuesday, 6:30 p.m., City Council (SecondTuesday of the Month), Council

Chambers, City Hall,107 S. Main Street.May 11th Friday, 5:30 p.m.,Olde Towne Marion’sAnnual Meeting in theHistoric Marion OperaHouse. Come celebratewhat Olde Towne Marionhas accomplished this year and learnwhat is coming for next year! Enjoy theevening’s “Incredible Edible” auction.May 14th Monday, 5:30 p.m., Citizens AdvisoryCommittee meeting, Fire Station, BondStreet.May 18thFriday, at dusk, annual FoxTrot outdoormovie, followed by Fireworks, Fox Field.$2 per person. Call Chuck for details,423-9918.May 19thSaturday, Beginning with the 10 a.m.,Parade on Main Street, 20th AnnualFoxTrot in downtown Marion; Rides,food, entertainment and more!Call Chuck, 423-9918 for information.

May 20thSunday, 3 p.m., Debut of MableMontgomery’s Limbs on Our Family Tree,about life in Marion from 1850-1955, atThe Grove, 408 Harllee Place. Receptionfollows debut of book. Call Denley orAnn Caughman, 423-5220, for details. May 25thFriday, 7 p.m., Mullins Downtown Livepresents Carl Brunson in a free concertat the Historic Train Depot on MainStreet. Call 464-6651 for details.FOODs & FILMs ... Contact Brian Nolan at 250-4322 aboutMarion’s Foodie group or Film Club,sponsored by the Arts Council of MarionCounty and follow the groups on Face-book ... E-mail Brian for more informa-tion at briannolanemail@gmail.com. Coming in June ...

Plan now! June 30th, 7 p.m. 5-AlarmBeach Music Festival at Hidden Acres;Money raised goes to the county’s firedepartments; Advance tickets $15; Atthe gate, $20; Call Donny at 430-0332for more information.

MAY

19Keep up with what’s going on around Marion!

........................................................................COMINGUP!

City employee GlennBridgers gets one of two

sites ready for the Marioncommunity gardens ... Want to volunteer to work

in a garden? Call Alan Ammons,City Administrator, at 423-5961.

Officers remind golf cart owners to obey rules of the roads, or face finesResidents are reminded

to obey state and locallaws regarding driving golfcarts. Drivers must have avalid South Carolina driver’slicense, have a permit from thestate’s Department of MotorVehicles ($5), and have proof ofinsurance.

Drivers also can only drive golf cartsduring daylight hours. Parents whoallow children to violate the laws shownbelow will be charged accordingly,Marion Police Chief Jim Gray said.

According to SC Code ofLaws, Section 56-3-115, theowner of a vehicle commonlyknown as a golf cart, if he orshe has a valid driver’s license,may obtain a permit from theDepartment of Motor Vehiclesupon the payment of a fee of $5

and proof of financial responsibilitywhich permits his agent, employees, orhim:

(1) To operate the golf cart on a sec-ondary highway or street within twomiles of his residence or place of busi-

ness during daylight hours only; and (2) To cross a primary highway or

street while traveling along a secondaryhighway or street within two miles of hisresidence or place of business duringdaylight hours only.

The fine for failing to have proper li-censes, or driving after dark in the Cityof Marion, is $237.50, according toHeather Evans, Marion Clerk of Court.

The $237.50 fine also applies to thecharge of “permitting unauthorized chil-dren to drive” and “permitting unautho-rized persons to drive.”

Chamber recognizesYard of the MonthMr. and Mrs. Wayne James, 1619 Fox Hollow Drive, have beenawarded the Marion Chamber of Commerce Yard of theMonth for April 2012. The Chamber is proud to recognizethose in our community that work so diligently, and add somuch to our community’s unique character. Mr. and Mrs.James will be receiving a gift certificate from Tru Green Nurs-ery in recognition of this honor.

Page 4 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov May 2012

SPORTS & RECREATION .............................................City Recreationto offer yoga for beginners

The City of MarionRecreation Departmentwill be offering “Introduc-tion to Yoga” on Tuesdayand Thursday eveningsbeginning on May 22.

The classes will beconducted in the trainingroom of the Marion FireDepartment Substation onSenator Gasque Road.

The classes, taughtfrom 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.,will be open to the first 12students to sign up. Thereis no fee for the eight-week Introductory Class.

For information and toregister, call JudyJohnson at 423-3561.

GET OUTSIDE & PLAY!It’s official! Marion

joins 213 cities and townsacross the nation to earnrecognition from nationalnon-profit KaBOOM! as a2012 Playful City USA forour efforts to increase andimprove play opportunitiesfor children.

Stay tuned for more in-formation about what thisaward means for our city!

Second Shred Day still successfulThe Marion Chamber of Commerce, thanks to members FirstCharter and Wheeler Street Package, had its second annualShred Day as a way to securely get rid of personal documents.The two-hour stretch was “steady” with customers, JudyJohnson, Chamber executive vice president said. The programis offered free, and any monetary gifts go to help offset theChamber’s education programs. Shown above is a line of carswith folks waiting to have their papers destroyed.

PLAYBALL!

From chaos to order;from opening pitchesto opening catches,team pictures and

more ... Opening Dayevents kicked off the2012 Baseball, T-balland Softball seasons

on April 14 ...