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AMANDA HARRIS for Carolina Gateway In her 100 years, Louise Vincent has seen many changes, but one thing has been constant. “I have a wonderful family,” she said. Vincent, who lives in New York City near her daughter, Marjorie Vincent, but often stays with her daughter, Carol Cook, in Sun City Carolina Lakes, is marking her 100th birthday today, March 9. “I’m very thankful,” she said. “I’ve had a very nice life.” Vincent, born in 1916 in Meriden, Conn., spent 60 years married to Arthur Vincent, whom she met in dancing school as a teenager. The two danced to “Life is photo above courtesy of LOUISE VINCENT; photo below by AMANDA HARRIS/for Carolina Gateway ABOVE: Louise Vincent, center, parasails in Hawaii on her 94th birthday with her daughters, Carol Cook, left, and Marjorie Vincent, right. Vincent turns 100 today, March 9. BELOW: Vincent at home with Cook in Sun City Carolina Lakes. She splits her time between her children. CHRISTOPHER SARDELLI [email protected] With less than three weeks left until voters head to the polls to decide on a $199 million school bond referen- dum, campaigning on either side of the issue has been sparce. If approved during a special election March 22, the bond would help fund a long list of projects for the Lan- caster County School District, from new Indian Land schools to multipurpose centers in the southern end of the county to technology upgrades countywide. A Vote YES! volunteer committee has emerged to urge residents to approve the bond. Using an informational website, stacks of fliers and a series of speaking engage- ments, the committee is advocating for the bond as a way to address the student growth explosion in the Panhandle, as well as a lack of updated technology and security throughout the district. As vice chairman of the committee, Indian Land resi- dent Melvin Stroble said the committee’s goal is to get the word out to as many people as possible. “We organized to inform residents of Lancaster County to know about the bond, get facts and encourage people to support it,” Stroble said. “So far, we haven’t put our signs up yet. We’re being kind of strategic. But we have been speaking to various communities and organizations and businesses about the bond over the last few weeks.” So far, Stroble hasn’t seen any organized opposition to the measure akin to the “Vote No” campaigners who are rallying against the current Indian Land incorporation initiative this year. “Across the county I’ve heard a lot of people who are positive about this. People understand this bond will be a See BOND, Page 3 ADVENTUROUS AGING Vincent 100 years young today Little campaigning yet on March 22 referendum All quiet on the school bond front AMANDA HARRIS for Carolina Gateway VAN WYCK – With unanimous consent from more than 70 residents, the Van Wyck community is moving forward with its incorporation. The Incorporate Van Wyck Committee (IVWC) revived a fight that began in 2014, but died due to lack of support, said committee member Jack “J.R.” Wilt. The push for incorpora- tion now is due to the Voters for a Town of Indian Land group looking to incorporate Indian Land, including all of Van Wyck down to S.C. 5, which Van Wyck residents have opposed. Due to state law, the only way for Van Wyck to defend itself against being incorpo- rated into Indian Land is to become a town itself, Wilt said. On Monday, March 7, the Incorporate Van Wyck Com- mittee submitted its 15-day notice of intent to file its incorporation proposal. The Van Wyck incorpora- tion proposal will be filed with the Secretary of State’s Office on March 22. Another group, the Citi- zens for the Protection of Van Wyck (CPVW), headed by Roy and Rosa Sansbury, arranged a community meeting on the Van Wyck incorporation effort Satur- day, March 5, and distribut- ed fliers about the meeting. The Incorporate Van Wyck Committee presented its proposed incorporation plan to a packed house of community members during the town hall-style meeting in the Van Wyck Communi- ty Center. Many of those attending have called the small area home for more than 20 years. The committee wanted Van Wyck members’ approv- See VAN WYCK, Page 2 Van Wyck files incorporation notice Community to fend off IL encroachment by becoming town itself ILHS Prom Showcase 7 OBITUARY, PAGE 12 Mike Hoffman, 58 WHAT’S INSIDE Business....................................6 Classifieds...............................15 Education.................................7 Entertainment.........................13 Lifechanges.............................12 Opinion....................................14 Religion...................................11 Sports........................................8 www.carolinagatewayonline.com online PR SRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #33 Newsroom: (803) 283-1154 or (800) 844-9344, ext. 225; fax: (803) 283- 8969; cgnews@thelancasternews. com. Advertising: (803) 283-1140 or (803) 283-1142; advertising@thelan- casternews.com. www.carolinagatewayonline.com u FREE Wednesday, March 9, 2016 u Volume 13, Issue 10 A weekly newspaper covering northern Lancaster County Indian Land u Fort Mill u Sun City Carolina Lakes u Van Wyck 8-year-old boy killed in bicycle/car accident Flurry of Filings Mitchell files for Long’s House seat Tyler Mitchell is the latest candidate to jump into the race to fill the S.C. House District 45 seat. Mitchell, 23, a Democrat, will oppose Brandon Newton, 21, who announced his can- didacy in December. Two file for Dist. 1 council seat Two Panhandle residents plan to run for the District 1 seat on Lancaster County Council. Melvin Stroble, an Indian Land resi- dent and project manager with a Charlotte engineer- ing firm, will com- pete for the seat against retired educator and Van Wyck res- ident J.R. Wilt. Both are running as Republicans. Person challenges Mulvaney Fran Person, a former aide to Vice President Joe Biden who once played on the Game- cocks’ offensive line, will challenge Rep. Mick Mulvaney for the 5th Dis- trict congressional seat. The 33-year-old Tega Cay Demo- crat announced his candida- cy last week – See page 5 for stories about these candidates. Person REECE MURPHY [email protected] An Indian Land boy was fatally injured March 1 when he rode a bicycle into a moving car in the Glen Laurel subdivision. Bryson McSweeney, 7, died about 12:30 a.m. March 2 at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he was flown after the accident, according to Karla Knight Deese, the county’s chief deputy coroner. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bill Rhyne said Bryson was riding a bicycle on Mercer Street when he rode through the stop sign at Glen Laurel Drive and into the front right side of a passing Honda Accord. He was not wearing a helmet. Though an autopsy was not sched- uled until Thursday, March 3, Deese said March 2 she suspected the child died of complications from severe head injuries. The driver of the Honda, Marina Morales, 31, of Fort Mill, was not injured in the accident. The case remains under investigation, Rhyne said. Bryson, the son of Brian and Kim- berly McSweeney, was a second- grader at nearby Harrisburg Elemen- tary School. Community grieves for second-grader Bryson McSweeney See BOY, Page 2 Stroble Mitchell Wilt See 100, Page 2 REECE MURPHY/reporter Deputies retrieve Bryson McSweeney’s bike from the sidewalk following the March 1 accident that killed him.
