Come join us for Sumter's Comic Book Festival, Swan Con, this weekend. The fun starts at USC-Sumter on Friday and moves over to the Sumter County Cultural Center on Saturday. The Mystery Machine, the Howling SHELD Car, along with artists, vendors, a cosplay contest and it's free and fun for the whole family. We'll see you Friday at USC-Sumter and Saturday at Patriot Hall.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Sumter County Council Tuesday evening approved first reading on two land use matters among other items during its regular meeting.

City-County Zoning Administrator Helen Roodman spoke to council about a request to rezone a five acre parcel at 4980-4984 Cane Savannah Road from Agricultural Conservation (AC) to General Commercial (GC) or General Residential (GR).

Roodman said the request came from the property owner, Charles Smith, who wants a mobile home park, which isn’t permitted in an AC district, but allowed in GR. Under the 2030 Land Use Plan, the property is designated as part of the Military Protection Area, she said, and lies between Shaw Air Force Base and Poinsett Electronic Combat Range. It’s outside of the Noise Attenuation Zones, she said, and in the past was Oak Grove Mobile Home Park.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

The Second Mill Dam project received a certificate of completion from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, according to Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon.

During Tuesday’s County Council meeting, Mixon reported to council members that High Street and Industrial Road have been paved.

He also noted that the county just received a certificate of completion from DHEC.

The Second Mill Dam was heavily damaged by the historic 1,000-year flood in October 2015. Exactly a year later, Hurricane Matthew caused even further damage.

Testing of the dam showed three of the four spillways worked perfectly and the fourth will cycle up and down for several days as it was locked in place for quite some time.

Second Mill Pond will rise close to full level in the coming days, he said, as adjustments are made.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

The Sumter County Assessor’s Office has moved to Magnolia Place and is open for normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The old Item building, now known as Magnolia Place and located behind Wendy’s, currently houses the Auditor and Treasurer’s offices as well. It is across the street from the Health Department.

Handicapped parking is available in front the building and there’s a ramp into the building as well. There’s a parking lot across the street and additional parking next to the building.

The Sumter County Assessor’s Office is moving to Magnolia Place and will be open for normal business hours at 8:30 a.m. on March 4, 2019.

The old Item building, now known as Magnolia Place and located behind Wendy’s, currently houses the Auditor and Treasurer’s offices as well. It is across the street from the Health Department.

Handicapped parking is available in front the building and there’s a ramp into the building as well. There’s a parking lot across the street and additional parking next to the building.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the South Carolina State Library (SCSL), the Sumter County Library will be offering a wide variety of craft and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs to people of all ages.

To make this possible, the Friends of the Sumter County Library furnished a Make Station room on the third floor of the Main Library that is specially designed to promote crafting, creating, collaborating, tinkering, and innovating.

There are several Make Station crafting programs available to adults. The library has partnered with the Sumter Shepherd’s Center to conduct monthly craft classes, and there are also monthly classes that are free and available to the general public. Crafty Folk takes place on the first Thursday of the month from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Make Station room at the Main Library. Crafters can bring their in-progress crafts and socialize and share ideas. The library will also offer a Saturday Crafternoon class on the first Saturday of the month from 4 to 5 p.m.

No experience is necessary, and a different craft will be taught each month. Please call 803-773-7273 to find out if registration is necessary.

There are also programs for children and teens in the Make Station. We have partnered with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club to provide regular STEM programming, and the library will also offer monthly activities that are open to the general public. The Tech Playground program in particular, geared towards students ages 8 to 16, is a great opportunity for youth to experiment with the library’s tech toys, such as Snap Circuit kits, STEM engineering kits, computer coding, and even LEGO robots.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

The Sumter County Auditor and Treasurer's offices are located at 20 North Magnolia Street, now known as Magnolia Place. It is across the street from the Health Department and behind Wendy's. Handicapped parking is available in front of the building, and there's a ramp into the building.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Sumter County Council Tuesday evening recognized the success of a partnership between the American Red Cross and Sumter Fire Department to get smoke detectors in homes to save lives.

Steve Shumake, the American Red Cross Disaster Team Coordinator for Central S.C., told council members the Sumter Fire Department’s diligence in a home fire safety campaign for numerous years has been instrumental in saving lives.

Shumake and Red Cross colleagues Nancy Cataldo and Gerald Jennings presented plaques to Sumter Fire Department Division Chief Johnnie Rose and Fire Prevention Specialist Selena Ruth Smith for their ongoing work as part of the ‘Sound the Alarm, Save a Life’ campaign.

A Dalzell family of five were saved by a smoke detector, Shumake said, as he expressed appreciation for the work of Sumter Fire Department Chief Karl Ford and Assistant Chief Ernie Dollard.

To learn more about the American Red Cross, visit https://www.redcross.org/

*See PDF for information and scheduling.