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& T T HE HE C C HESTERFIELD HESTERFIELD A A DVERTISER DVERTISER The Cheraw Chronicle www.thecherawchronicle.com 50¢ Thursday, July 22, 2010 Volume 123 ● Issue 29 Cheraw grad to compete in Jr. National Olympics - B section Inside Order pictures from The Cheraw Chronicle off of the Web site at www.thecheraw chronicle.com. Calendar ...........2A Classifieds........ 5B Recipe ..............2A Opinion ............4A Obituaries ........5A Sports ............... 1B FINES CONTINUED ON PAGE 3A Charlotte K. Berger cberger@thecherawchron icle.com CHERAW – A cash reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction for the persons involved in a break-in at F-8 West Pine Apartments in Cheraw. According to the Det. Rodney Elvis, authori- ties are investigating the burglary that occurred between the hours of 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Monday, July 12 last week. “Unknown persons gained entry into the F- 8 West Pine Apartments by kicking the back door in while no one was at home. The suspects took a flat screen TV, X- Box 360, Playstation 2, and approximately 20 games and medication,” said Elvis. “At this time, it is not clear whether or not the suspects were driving a vehicle or were on foot,” Elvis continued. Police are asking anyone with information regard- ing this crime to contact Det. Elvis at the Cheraw Police Department at (843) 537-7868. Police offer reward in search of suspect LIBRARY CONTINUED ON PAGE 6A Charlotte K. Berger cberger@thecherawchronicle.com SOCIETY HILL – It won’t be long before residents in Society Hill and surrounding areas will enter the doors of a brand new 4,200 square-foot public library in the historic Town of Society Hill. Currently, the four branch- es of the Darlington County Library System include Society Hill, Lamar, Hartsville and the main branch office located in Darlington. The new library will serve residents of Society Hill and the surrounding areas and will provide more space for future children’s programs, literacy classes and computer classes. The new Society Hill branch will be much larger than the cur- rent building, allowing room to house thousands of items includ- ing books, tapes, DVDs, CDs, magazines, VCR tapes and more computers. Also planned are five additional computer work- stations instead of the current seven, which will allow two dedi- cated computers for children’s use only. The library’s operating hours will also increase and the library board is projecting to hire three additional part-time employees to meet the demand of new services, according to Darlington County Library System’s new Director, Nancy Ray. “We will have one full-time posi- tion and three part-time positions. One of those part-time positions will be a one-hour a week custodi- al position, and the other two will be for working inside the library,” said Ray. “We are so pleased that we are able to get the new library in Society Hill. In addition to the grant, we also received a federal loan from U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for $797,000 to help pay for the project. Heartland Construction also projected a time frame of completing the construction proj- ect within six months,” she con- tinued. Ray, who resides in Hartsville attended Duke University, Florida State University, and is Shannon Justice SJUSTICE@thecherawchronicle.com When the students of Long Middle School return to school this August they will be joining the ranks of the students from two other schools in the Chesterfield County School District who are also required to wear school uniforms. The decision to move to a school uniform policy was voted upon this past spring by the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and the School Improvement Council of Long Middle School. While the schools in the dis- trict have the option to go to a school uniform policy on a local level, the past success of other schools in the district including New Heights Middle School in Jefferson and Pageland Middle School, helped to make the decision easier. Research on school uniforms has shown that there are many benefits to school uniforms, but a few local parents don’t see them yet. “I don’t like the idea of school uniforms, and I think that it is unfair that one school’s students have to wear uniforms, but kids from other schools in the same district don’t have to,” said Vikky Dunn of Cheraw. “Parents may not be able to afford them, and once they leave the eighth grade they will be right back to wearing whatever they want to again.” Some of the benefits for school administrators and student include less distraction for students and increased focus on learning. Research has also shown however that school uniforms can also reduce social snobbery and school bullying and increase the feel- ing of community among students. Many schools across the nation have made the move to require a designat- ed uniform for their students because of these benefits. Hugh Livingston of Cheraw said “I think that both parents and students have mixed feelings on the new school uniform policy, but the decision has been made, and the positive side of the issue is that there won’t be any fusses anymore about what the kids are wearing in the morning.” The appropriate uniform for Long Middle School students will be khaki pants, skirts, shorts or capri pants and polo shirts of navy blue, gray or white. In the upcoming weeks a few of the local retailers will be stocking their shelves with school approved uniforms. Some local stores like Pee Dee Outfitters and Wannamaker Drugs have already received their stock and are advertising their lines of school uniforms. Long Middle School moves toward uniforms STAFF PHOTOS BY JENNIFER GORDON Long Middle School students, Ian Livingston (above) and Logan Dunn (below) check out the new school uniforms at Pee Dee Outfitters in Cheraw. Society Hill library projects to cost $1 million Shannon Justice SJUSTICE@thecherawchron icle.com Renovations to repair the structural damage to the Theatre on the Green are slated for comple- tion in early August. The repairs, which have been underway since last year, should be completed just in time for a live concert on August 28. In October 2009 the Theatre was closed due to structural problems, which made the building unsafe for the public. The Town of Cheraw called in a structural engineer as a consultant and found that the support of the build- ing was failing, the roof had dropped eight inches. Further evaluation found severe termite damage within the building. Some of the non-struc- tural issues that have been problematic for the histor- ic landmark include cos- metic issues like cracked plaster, relocating the water and sewer lines to make way for the new foot- ers and support structures and electrical problems resulting from a lightning strike as well as electrical upgrades. “Once we start- ed working on the build- ing, many other problems were found,” said Interim Town Administrator Mike Smith. The Theatre has been a part of the Cheraw com- munity since 1920 and in recent years has been used as a home to local arts groups, but due to the Theatre being closed for the past year, many of the scheduled events needed to find a home in other locations like local churches and schools. Along with the concert in August, the historical landmark will also host the South Carolina Jazz Festival in October. “We are really excited about the grand re-open- ing of the Theatre and will be sponsor a concert by a local rock band called Idlewilde South,” said Sherry Leviner or the Onstage Theatre Group. The grand re-opening will be held on August 28 and will also be used as a fund- raiser for future renova- tions to the Theatre. Theatre on the Green to reopen in August Shannon Justice SJUSTICE@thecherawchronicle.com The Cheraw Codes Enforcement office will be tak- ing additional measures to deter local homeowners and contractors from making changes to their homes without the proper building permits in place. Currently, individuals who are found to be making renovations to their homes without a building permit will be fined an amount that is double what the cost of the original build- ing permit would have been had they gotten one. “The regulations for building permits are essentially in place for safety reasons,” said Everett Sauls, Cheraw Codes Enforcement Officer. “The codes themselves were driven by the insurance agencies because of the potential for fires or injuries in the event of the work not being done correctly.” A building permit is required for anyone who is No permit equals a double fine STAFF PHOTOS BY CHARLOTTE K. BERGER Shown is the site where the new Society Hill Library will be built.Located on Main Street in Society Hill, the new 4,200 sq. ft. facility will replace the current 850 sq. ft. building that now houses 9,720 items. NETC Application Deadline July 28
