Don’t think, for a skinny minute, this is an easy job. Writing politics is war. It’s dangerous out here, what with bullets flying, incoming mortar rounds and all. I lost my flak jacket and helmet the other day and had to low-crawl to my computer. With my youngest grandbaby on my hip. But I did it. I’m one tough woman, willing to go where few men are brave enough to…
Okay, okay. Maybe no one was shooting at me. I misspoke. Just Like Hillary.
She thrilled us all with her wild Bosnian tale, her near-miss as First Lady, landing at the airport in Tuzla, her plane having taken evasive maneuvers to avoid being shot down…then her mad dash across the tarmac, hunkered down and dodging bullets every step of the way. You don’t forget a near-death experience like that one This was a time, Hillary told us, that a trip was “too dangerous for the president”, so they sent her instead. This is one woman who’s ready to take command and, like John McCain, she’s taken hostile fire and lived to tell about it. Barack Obama? Shoot! (No pun intended.) All he’s got going for him is a fine mind, the capacity to engage ordinary people in the political process and some good ideas about civility in politics and humane governance. Nothing heroic about that. What we need is a macho/hero type, and Hillary Rodham Clinton qualifies.
If only it had been a true story. Turns out there was no danger involved. Hillary landed quite nicely in Tuzla with teen-aged daughter Chelsea in tow. They enjoyed a sweet little ceremony there after deplaning, Bosnian children on hand to welcome the First Lady and First Daughter with hugs and kisses.
Caught in telling a whopper, Ms Clinton took the typical politician’s way out. “I misspoke,” she said. “I was sleep-deprived…I’m human…”
Really? She did not “misspeak” about running the gunfire gauntlet in Tuzla. Saying “I misspoke” implies a little slip of the tongue. A tiny lapse, like “I’m sure bought milk on Monday—no, make that Tuesday.” She says she was sleep-deprived? I don’t care how much sleep you’ve lost, you don’t mistake hugging a Bosnian child on the tarmac with dodging bullets. She lied. She told a deliberate, fabricated story to get a leg-up in a faltering campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In doing so, she has betrayed every one of us who have argued for a woman in the White House. Worse, she’s made more than a few American mothers furious. A good mama—a smart mama—does not take her child along on a trip “too dangerous for [Daddy] to make.” If that’s not lousy judgment, I don’t know what is.
We women expect better than this from one of our own. We don’t want just any woman in the White House, we want one who represents the best of what a woman has to offer—and that’s plenty. We want feminist principles in a campaign and in the Oval Office. If we have to vote for a man to get them, we will.
By Linda Hansen
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
‘Just the Facts’ on next week’s referendum
Many of us may remember the TV show Dragnet. Joe Friday was famous for saying, “Just the facts.” I think these words are very appropriate when we evaluate whether we should keep the sewage treatment system as-is, or to transfer it to Chesterfield Rural Water.
So here are the facts,
1. The Town of Pageland’s current sewage treatment plants are nearing capacity.
2. These sewage treatment plants and sewer pipes are old, which means that the cost to run these plants and to maintain the sewer lines will increase as time goes on.
3. Jobs are by-passing Pageland due to the lack of sewage capacity.
4. The EPA and DHEC will continue to increase the standards on waste water discharge.
5. Conbraco, a major employer in Pageland, is paying $300,000 annually to pre-treat its waste water before it can be processed by Pageland’s sewage treatment system.
6. Because of DHEC proposed new waste water standards, the cost to pre-treat by Conbraco is expected to increase dramatically.
7. Conbraco is a major employer and source of tax revenue for the Town of Pageland.
8. Conbraco is competing in a world economy and these pretreatment costs are not helpful.
9. Conbraco has considered consolidating and relocating some of its operations to Pageland, which mean more jobs, but can not do so because of the pre-treating cost.
10. It is not economically feasible to run a sewer line from McBee just to handle Conbraco sewer needs.
11. A developer is still looking to build 1,000 residential unit subdivision in Pageland contingent on closing the North Arant sewage treatment plant and the town having ample capacity to handle the increased waste.
12. This subdivision alone will exceed the sewage treatment capacity at the North Arant sewage treatment plant.
13. The Town Council voted to have a referendum, putting the decision on the citizens of Pageland whether to stay as is or to get out of the sewage treatment business.
14. The average sewer bill for the residential customer will not change by having Chesterfield Rural Water handle the sewage waste.
15. The sewer treatment capacity will increase by 400% by having Chesterfield Rural Water handle the sewage waste.
16. The $5/1,000 gallon rate presented by the committee, includes covering the town’s debt payment and the inflow and infiltration in the town’s sewer lines.
17. The cost to shut down the sewage treatment plants is very small as confirmed by DHEC and the Town of Andrews.
18. DHEC will not permit a land application system that is not environmentally sound. As a matter of fact, the Town of Dillon has been operating a spray field operation for 10 years without a single environmental issue.
19. Pageland’s leading industry executives unanimously support the initiative to move to Chesterfield Rural Water citing economic growth, business and residential expense control, job creation, increased town revenue, and social improvement as key decision factors.
To my knowledge, all of these facts are true. I have gone through pain staking efforts to research my information. I have talked with DHEC, the Town of Dillon, the Town of Andrews and others to verify this information. If these are not the facts, please let me know. If there are additional concerns, please let me know (675-3200) and I will find out the answer. This decision is too important not to get all the facts.
Ed Drozd serves on the executive board of the Pageland Chamber of Commerce.
So here are the facts,
1. The Town of Pageland’s current sewage treatment plants are nearing capacity.
2. These sewage treatment plants and sewer pipes are old, which means that the cost to run these plants and to maintain the sewer lines will increase as time goes on.
3. Jobs are by-passing Pageland due to the lack of sewage capacity.
4. The EPA and DHEC will continue to increase the standards on waste water discharge.
5. Conbraco, a major employer in Pageland, is paying $300,000 annually to pre-treat its waste water before it can be processed by Pageland’s sewage treatment system.
6. Because of DHEC proposed new waste water standards, the cost to pre-treat by Conbraco is expected to increase dramatically.
7. Conbraco is a major employer and source of tax revenue for the Town of Pageland.
8. Conbraco is competing in a world economy and these pretreatment costs are not helpful.
9. Conbraco has considered consolidating and relocating some of its operations to Pageland, which mean more jobs, but can not do so because of the pre-treating cost.
10. It is not economically feasible to run a sewer line from McBee just to handle Conbraco sewer needs.
11. A developer is still looking to build 1,000 residential unit subdivision in Pageland contingent on closing the North Arant sewage treatment plant and the town having ample capacity to handle the increased waste.
12. This subdivision alone will exceed the sewage treatment capacity at the North Arant sewage treatment plant.
13. The Town Council voted to have a referendum, putting the decision on the citizens of Pageland whether to stay as is or to get out of the sewage treatment business.
14. The average sewer bill for the residential customer will not change by having Chesterfield Rural Water handle the sewage waste.
15. The sewer treatment capacity will increase by 400% by having Chesterfield Rural Water handle the sewage waste.
16. The $5/1,000 gallon rate presented by the committee, includes covering the town’s debt payment and the inflow and infiltration in the town’s sewer lines.
17. The cost to shut down the sewage treatment plants is very small as confirmed by DHEC and the Town of Andrews.
18. DHEC will not permit a land application system that is not environmentally sound. As a matter of fact, the Town of Dillon has been operating a spray field operation for 10 years without a single environmental issue.
19. Pageland’s leading industry executives unanimously support the initiative to move to Chesterfield Rural Water citing economic growth, business and residential expense control, job creation, increased town revenue, and social improvement as key decision factors.
To my knowledge, all of these facts are true. I have gone through pain staking efforts to research my information. I have talked with DHEC, the Town of Dillon, the Town of Andrews and others to verify this information. If these are not the facts, please let me know. If there are additional concerns, please let me know (675-3200) and I will find out the answer. This decision is too important not to get all the facts.
Ed Drozd serves on the executive board of the Pageland Chamber of Commerce.
Letters to the Editor
‘... who else will be connecting to it in the future?’
This letter is in response to your Guest Editorial in the March 4th issue of The Progressive Journal. My first question is who made Mr. Hough an expert on what is best for the Town of Pageland. Mr. Hough stated that constructing a pipeline from the North Carolina state line to Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company’s new sewer treatment facility in McBee will be very expensive. But, it is far less expensive than upgrading both of Pageland’s existing sewer plants to provide the additional capacity needed for future growth. Does Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company actually have a facility in McBee? No, I don’t think so! This whole project was based on the fact that The Towns of Pageland and Jefferson would just jump on the band wagon. You see, what I don’t understand about this whole picture is that as Mr. Hough said, The Pageland Chamber of Commerce and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board are among groups backing the pipeline project then why don’t they partner with Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company. Mr. Hough spoke of the grant money the said company may be eligible for. He said it is estimated that the grant funds will pay for at least half of the pipeline costs. There is no guarantee that they will be able to attain 50% of the funds for this project. On January 22, 2008 the Pageland Progressive Journal printed that Alligator Sewer & Water is going to build an l MGD Waste Water Treatment Plant in McBee. This will not allow Pageland any room for growth. If they (Alligator Sewer) do add on to the new plant who is paying for it? Where is the pipeline located in reference to hwy. 151 and Van Lingle Mungo Blvd? Will it come to the South Plant to collect or will we have to build a lift station to pump it? If the North & South Plants are closed down, who will pay for clean up of plants. Does Alligator have engineered drawings? Who will be responsible for all the lift stations and line maintenance? The sewage plants in Pageland are nearing capacity only on the DHEC checkbook and can be reduced. The cost of maintaining treatment plants and sewer lines will increase for everyone, including Alligator. Conbraco are relocating some operations to Pageland is only office jobs (domestic sewage). It has been published that Alligator will almost double the average sewer bills. Is Alligator Sewer & Water affiliated with Chesterfield Rural Water? Do the people of Pageland want to refinance the town debt to 40 years when we have only approximately 12 years left to pay off the current debt which the treatment plants are paying, with extra leftover? The Town of Andrews is facing fines from DHEC for not cleaning up their closed treatment facilities. How long will be the length of the original contract? Would the people of Pageland want a small increase in sewer rates to expand their own plants or a larger increase in rates that they would have no control of increases from then on? When will Alligator show to Pageland Official plans for the line and plant to be built? All industries are not major wastewater contributors. If the town is the major contributor to get this line installed who else will be connecting to it in the future? By closing the WWTF, we will be taking clean water out of our streams and rivers contributing to the drought, meaning less wetland for animals and less water for potable waters users downstream. The committee which was formed by council, did not ask questions from the Waste Water Operators, nor did they review records of the treatment plants or HSMM, the engineers of Pageland who designed the plants in 1974, but got their data from other places, that have nothing to do the operations of the Waste Water Treatment Plants in Pageland.
‘Why ask so many questions in a letter ...?
In Ms. Martha Hamilton’s letter, she asks 15 questions pertaining to the proposed sewer project in Pageland. I have only one question for Councilwoman Hamilton: “Why ask so many questions in a letter to a newspaper instead of at a town council meeting?”
The Pageland Town Council has met four times since agreeing in December to hold a referendum on whether the Town should shut down its two sewer plants and partner with Chesterfield County and Alligator Rural Water Companies to build a pipeline to Alligator’s treatment plant in McBee. Councilwoman Hamilton has not raised a single question at any of these meetings.
At our most recent meeting on March 4, CCRWC General Manager Charlie Gray and two board members accepted an invitation to meet with council. Gray gave a comprehensive summary of plans for the sewer project. He invited questions at the end of his presentation. Councilwoman Hamilton did not ask one question!
In her letter, Ms. Hamilton asks if the people of Pageland want a small increase in sewer rates to expand the two existing plants or a larger increase in rates to build a pipeline. I don’t know what figures Ms. Hamilton is referring to but the Town’s own Sewer Committee Report, which was given to all council members in November 2007, states that the pipeline project is by far the least expensive alternative. In fact, the report predicts sewer rates will go up twice as much if the Town decides to expand its two existing plants instead of building the pipeline.
Ms. Hamilton does correctly point out that the pipeline cost projections are based on receiving 50% grant funding for the project. Based on CCRWC and Alligator’s past successes in obtaining grant money, I believe 50% grant funding is a realistic figure. I also believe, based on conversations with our state and federal elected officials, that more grant funds are available for regional projects than for a single town.
The groups endorsing the sewer pipeline project include the Chesterfield County Council, the County Economic Development Board and the Pageland Chamber of Commerce. All of these groups have a stake in Pageland’s future. As far as I know, the only one opposing the pipeline project is Ms. Hamilton. Even Pageland Mayor Carroll Faile, a critic of the pipeline, has said he will vote for the project if Pageland voters approve it in the March 25 referendum.
The decision to build the pipeline should have been made at our December town council meeting, when over 300 local citizens turned out to urge council to do so. However, a decision was made instead to leave the matter in the hands of the people in the form of a referendum vote.
I maintain that the best course of action for the creation and preservation of jobs, the town’s future growth and development, the lowest possible sewer rates, and for the good of the environment, the best choice is to build the pipeline. I hope all Pageland citizens will vote “Yes” for the sewer referendum on March 25 and send an unmistakable message to any council members who may still have questions about what is best for Pageland.
Vote ‘Yes’ on March 25
It is up to the residents that live in the Town of Pageland to make this happen, vote “Yes” on March 25th. The businesses that make up the town and community won’t have a big impact on the sewer referendum vote. The owners, managers, and employees don’t all come from the Town of Pageland. Large portions of these residents are from out of town and cannot vote “YES” on this referendum. The residents of the Town of Pageland are our voice. Most of the businesses have a sewer bill just as the residents but we do not have a voice on March 25th. We need the residents to get out and vote ! We are all depending on you.
Voting “YES” on the sewer referendum will insure that part of Pageland’s future is secure. If you don’t get out and vote you will have no right to complain. This vote of “Yes” will provide plenty of additional sewer capacity for new homes, businesses and industry inside the Pageland town limits and throughout western Chesterfield County. Without additional capacity we will be forced to turn away many prospects. Your voice does matter; one vote can make a difference.
If you wait until your child starts college to start planning for college where will you get the money? If you wait until the sewer will no longer accommodate new and larger businesses or a housing development where will we find the money? You have to prepare for the future by making the necessary changes today. The vote on March 25th can change our present and our future. For the sake of our town and our children I urge you to get out and vote “ YES “ on March 25th. This is our responsibility we have to step up and make the decision.
The Pageland Town Council voted to have a referendum, putting the decision on “YOU” the citizens of Pageland. Make your voice heard loud and clear on March 25th. Vote “YES”
Vote ‘No’ March 25
1. The Town of Pageland will be a customer of Chesterfield County Rural Water, not a partner.
2. Chesterfield County Rural Water, although the contracted party, does not treat wastewater and therefore doesn’t control treatment rates.
3. The Town will be required to enter in a 40 year contract.
4. There is no definitive sewer rate for Pageland customers. The current proposed rate is approximate and assumes grants which are not secured. There is no solid sewer rate for Pageland citizens. The Chesterfield County Rural Water Company or Alligator Wastewater Company’s current proposed rate is $5.00 per thousand based on unsecured grants, however CCRWC or Alligator WW Co. hasn’t quoted a base price. The citizens presently pay $13.95 for the first on thousand gallons and $2.95 per thousand gallons thereafter for treatment of wastewater.
5. Scope of services to be provided by Chesterfield County Rural Water is not clear. Who is to provide pump stations and force mains at abandoned plants? What is the capacity of these pump stations? Who is to close out existing plants? Who pays the existing debt on the wastewater plants? Who pays for removal of Inflow/Infiltration within the Town of Pageland?
6. Pretreatment limits have not been determined. Existing industries are required to meet current limits today. The proposed plant that will be built in McBee will have a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons per day. Pageland’s current Wastewater Treatment Plants have a total capacity of 900,000 gallons per day; which means that there will have to be an expansion immediately and the cost will be passed to the citizens of Pageland and other customers.
7. As the majority of the flow at the proposed plant will be from Pageland, Pageland customers will bare the majority of the costs. These cost include transmission lines, plant construction and future plant upgrades (capacity and treatment), and operation and maintenance.
8. Pageland will be required to maintain and operate the Town’s sewer collection system. This cost will be above the proposed rates of Chesterfield County Rural Water. Taking into consideration the above items the cost to treat Wastewater in McBee could be much more than $5.00 per thousand gallons and could be between $5.00 and $8.00 per thousand gallons to treat.
9. Pageland’s plants are sufficiently designed to meet current and proposed limits. Flow increases will required additional expansion.
10. Please consider these facts and vote “NO” on March 25, 2008.
This letter is in response to your Guest Editorial in the March 4th issue of The Progressive Journal. My first question is who made Mr. Hough an expert on what is best for the Town of Pageland. Mr. Hough stated that constructing a pipeline from the North Carolina state line to Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company’s new sewer treatment facility in McBee will be very expensive. But, it is far less expensive than upgrading both of Pageland’s existing sewer plants to provide the additional capacity needed for future growth. Does Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company actually have a facility in McBee? No, I don’t think so! This whole project was based on the fact that The Towns of Pageland and Jefferson would just jump on the band wagon. You see, what I don’t understand about this whole picture is that as Mr. Hough said, The Pageland Chamber of Commerce and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board are among groups backing the pipeline project then why don’t they partner with Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company. Mr. Hough spoke of the grant money the said company may be eligible for. He said it is estimated that the grant funds will pay for at least half of the pipeline costs. There is no guarantee that they will be able to attain 50% of the funds for this project. On January 22, 2008 the Pageland Progressive Journal printed that Alligator Sewer & Water is going to build an l MGD Waste Water Treatment Plant in McBee. This will not allow Pageland any room for growth. If they (Alligator Sewer) do add on to the new plant who is paying for it? Where is the pipeline located in reference to hwy. 151 and Van Lingle Mungo Blvd? Will it come to the South Plant to collect or will we have to build a lift station to pump it? If the North & South Plants are closed down, who will pay for clean up of plants. Does Alligator have engineered drawings? Who will be responsible for all the lift stations and line maintenance? The sewage plants in Pageland are nearing capacity only on the DHEC checkbook and can be reduced. The cost of maintaining treatment plants and sewer lines will increase for everyone, including Alligator. Conbraco are relocating some operations to Pageland is only office jobs (domestic sewage). It has been published that Alligator will almost double the average sewer bills. Is Alligator Sewer & Water affiliated with Chesterfield Rural Water? Do the people of Pageland want to refinance the town debt to 40 years when we have only approximately 12 years left to pay off the current debt which the treatment plants are paying, with extra leftover? The Town of Andrews is facing fines from DHEC for not cleaning up their closed treatment facilities. How long will be the length of the original contract? Would the people of Pageland want a small increase in sewer rates to expand their own plants or a larger increase in rates that they would have no control of increases from then on? When will Alligator show to Pageland Official plans for the line and plant to be built? All industries are not major wastewater contributors. If the town is the major contributor to get this line installed who else will be connecting to it in the future? By closing the WWTF, we will be taking clean water out of our streams and rivers contributing to the drought, meaning less wetland for animals and less water for potable waters users downstream. The committee which was formed by council, did not ask questions from the Waste Water Operators, nor did they review records of the treatment plants or HSMM, the engineers of Pageland who designed the plants in 1974, but got their data from other places, that have nothing to do the operations of the Waste Water Treatment Plants in Pageland.
Martha W. Hamilton,
Pageland Town Council
Pageland Town Council
‘Why ask so many questions in a letter ...?
In Ms. Martha Hamilton’s letter, she asks 15 questions pertaining to the proposed sewer project in Pageland. I have only one question for Councilwoman Hamilton: “Why ask so many questions in a letter to a newspaper instead of at a town council meeting?”
The Pageland Town Council has met four times since agreeing in December to hold a referendum on whether the Town should shut down its two sewer plants and partner with Chesterfield County and Alligator Rural Water Companies to build a pipeline to Alligator’s treatment plant in McBee. Councilwoman Hamilton has not raised a single question at any of these meetings.
At our most recent meeting on March 4, CCRWC General Manager Charlie Gray and two board members accepted an invitation to meet with council. Gray gave a comprehensive summary of plans for the sewer project. He invited questions at the end of his presentation. Councilwoman Hamilton did not ask one question!
In her letter, Ms. Hamilton asks if the people of Pageland want a small increase in sewer rates to expand the two existing plants or a larger increase in rates to build a pipeline. I don’t know what figures Ms. Hamilton is referring to but the Town’s own Sewer Committee Report, which was given to all council members in November 2007, states that the pipeline project is by far the least expensive alternative. In fact, the report predicts sewer rates will go up twice as much if the Town decides to expand its two existing plants instead of building the pipeline.
Ms. Hamilton does correctly point out that the pipeline cost projections are based on receiving 50% grant funding for the project. Based on CCRWC and Alligator’s past successes in obtaining grant money, I believe 50% grant funding is a realistic figure. I also believe, based on conversations with our state and federal elected officials, that more grant funds are available for regional projects than for a single town.
The groups endorsing the sewer pipeline project include the Chesterfield County Council, the County Economic Development Board and the Pageland Chamber of Commerce. All of these groups have a stake in Pageland’s future. As far as I know, the only one opposing the pipeline project is Ms. Hamilton. Even Pageland Mayor Carroll Faile, a critic of the pipeline, has said he will vote for the project if Pageland voters approve it in the March 25 referendum.
The decision to build the pipeline should have been made at our December town council meeting, when over 300 local citizens turned out to urge council to do so. However, a decision was made instead to leave the matter in the hands of the people in the form of a referendum vote.
I maintain that the best course of action for the creation and preservation of jobs, the town’s future growth and development, the lowest possible sewer rates, and for the good of the environment, the best choice is to build the pipeline. I hope all Pageland citizens will vote “Yes” for the sewer referendum on March 25 and send an unmistakable message to any council members who may still have questions about what is best for Pageland.
Brian Hough,
Pageland Town Council
Pageland Town Council
Vote ‘Yes’ on March 25
It is up to the residents that live in the Town of Pageland to make this happen, vote “Yes” on March 25th. The businesses that make up the town and community won’t have a big impact on the sewer referendum vote. The owners, managers, and employees don’t all come from the Town of Pageland. Large portions of these residents are from out of town and cannot vote “YES” on this referendum. The residents of the Town of Pageland are our voice. Most of the businesses have a sewer bill just as the residents but we do not have a voice on March 25th. We need the residents to get out and vote ! We are all depending on you.
Voting “YES” on the sewer referendum will insure that part of Pageland’s future is secure. If you don’t get out and vote you will have no right to complain. This vote of “Yes” will provide plenty of additional sewer capacity for new homes, businesses and industry inside the Pageland town limits and throughout western Chesterfield County. Without additional capacity we will be forced to turn away many prospects. Your voice does matter; one vote can make a difference.
If you wait until your child starts college to start planning for college where will you get the money? If you wait until the sewer will no longer accommodate new and larger businesses or a housing development where will we find the money? You have to prepare for the future by making the necessary changes today. The vote on March 25th can change our present and our future. For the sake of our town and our children I urge you to get out and vote “ YES “ on March 25th. This is our responsibility we have to step up and make the decision.
The Pageland Town Council voted to have a referendum, putting the decision on “YOU” the citizens of Pageland. Make your voice heard loud and clear on March 25th. Vote “YES”
Chad S. Arant,
president, Pageland Chamber of Commerce
president, Pageland Chamber of Commerce
Vote ‘No’ March 25
1. The Town of Pageland will be a customer of Chesterfield County Rural Water, not a partner.
2. Chesterfield County Rural Water, although the contracted party, does not treat wastewater and therefore doesn’t control treatment rates.
3. The Town will be required to enter in a 40 year contract.
4. There is no definitive sewer rate for Pageland customers. The current proposed rate is approximate and assumes grants which are not secured. There is no solid sewer rate for Pageland citizens. The Chesterfield County Rural Water Company or Alligator Wastewater Company’s current proposed rate is $5.00 per thousand based on unsecured grants, however CCRWC or Alligator WW Co. hasn’t quoted a base price. The citizens presently pay $13.95 for the first on thousand gallons and $2.95 per thousand gallons thereafter for treatment of wastewater.
5. Scope of services to be provided by Chesterfield County Rural Water is not clear. Who is to provide pump stations and force mains at abandoned plants? What is the capacity of these pump stations? Who is to close out existing plants? Who pays the existing debt on the wastewater plants? Who pays for removal of Inflow/Infiltration within the Town of Pageland?
6. Pretreatment limits have not been determined. Existing industries are required to meet current limits today. The proposed plant that will be built in McBee will have a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons per day. Pageland’s current Wastewater Treatment Plants have a total capacity of 900,000 gallons per day; which means that there will have to be an expansion immediately and the cost will be passed to the citizens of Pageland and other customers.
7. As the majority of the flow at the proposed plant will be from Pageland, Pageland customers will bare the majority of the costs. These cost include transmission lines, plant construction and future plant upgrades (capacity and treatment), and operation and maintenance.
8. Pageland will be required to maintain and operate the Town’s sewer collection system. This cost will be above the proposed rates of Chesterfield County Rural Water. Taking into consideration the above items the cost to treat Wastewater in McBee could be much more than $5.00 per thousand gallons and could be between $5.00 and $8.00 per thousand gallons to treat.
9. Pageland’s plants are sufficiently designed to meet current and proposed limits. Flow increases will required additional expansion.
10. Please consider these facts and vote “NO” on March 25, 2008.
Mayor Carroll Faile
Mayor Pro-Tempore
Martha Hamilton
Council Member Jimmie Baker
Council Member Shane Hancock
Council Member Cathy Smith
Mayor Pro-Tempore
Martha Hamilton
Council Member Jimmie Baker
Council Member Shane Hancock
Council Member Cathy Smith
Monday, March 10, 2008
Letter to the Editor
This letter is in response to your Guest Editorial in the March 4th issue of The Progressive Journal. My first question is who made Mr. Hough an expert on what is best for the Town of Pageland. Mr. Hough stated that constructing a pipeline from the North Carolina state line to Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company’s new sewer treatment facility in McBee will be very expensive. But, it is far less expensive than upgrading both of Pageland’s existing sewer plants to provide the additional capacity needed for future growth. Does Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company actually have a facility in McBee? No, I don’t think so! This whole project was based on the fact that The Towns of Pageland and Jefferson would just jump on the band wagon. You see, what I don’t understand about this whole picture is that as Mr. Hough said, The Pageland Chamber of Commerce and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board are among groups backing the pipeline project then why don’t they partner with Alligator Rural Water & Sewage Company. Mr. Hough spoke of the grant money the said company may be eligible for. He said it is estimated that the grant funds will pay for at least half of the pipeline costs. There is no guarantee that they will be able to attain 50% of the funds for this project. On January 22, 2008 the Pageland Progressive Journal printed that Alligator Sewer & Water is going to build an l MGD Waste Water Treatment Plant in McBee. This will not allow Pageland any room for growth. If they (Alligator Sewer) do add on to the new plant who is paying for it? Where is the pipeline located in reference to Hwy. 151 and Van Lingle Mungo Blvd? Will it come to the South Plant to collect or will we have to build a lift station to pump it? If the North & South Plants are closed down, who will pay for clean up of plants. Does Alligator have engineered drawings? Who will be responsible for all the lift stations and line maintenance? The sewage plants in Pageland are nearing capacity only on the DHEC checkbook and can be reduced. The cost of maintaining treatment plants and sewer lines will increase for everyone, including Alligator. Conbraco are relocating some operations to Pageland is only office jobs (domestic sewage). It has been published that Alligator will almost double the average sewer bills. Is Alligator Sewer & Water affiliated with Chesterfield Rural Water? Do the people of Pageland want to refinance the town debt to 40 years when we have only approximately 12 years left to pay off the current debt which the treatment plants are paying, with extra leftover? The Town of Andrews is facing fines from DHEC for not cleaning up their closed treatment facilities. How long will be the length of the original contract? Would the people of Pageland want a small increase in sewer rates to expand their own plants or a larger increase in rates that they would have no control of increases from then on? When will Alligator show to Pageland Official plans for the line and plant to be built? All industries are not major wastewater contributors. If the town is the major contributor to get this line installed who else will be connecting to it in the future? By closing the WWTF, we will be taking clean water out of our streams and rivers contributing to the drought, meaning less wetland for animals and less water for potable waters users downstream. The committee which was formed by council, did not ask questions from the Waste Water Operators, nor did they review records of the treatment plants or HSMM, the engineers of Pageland who designed the plants in 1974, but got their data from other places, that have nothing to do the operations of the Waste Water Treatment Plants in Pageland.
Martha W. Hamilton,
Pageland Town Council
(Editor's note: this letter arrived Sunday evening, too late to include in this week's issue. It will be published in the March 18 issue.)
Martha W. Hamilton,
Pageland Town Council
(Editor's note: this letter arrived Sunday evening, too late to include in this week's issue. It will be published in the March 18 issue.)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Vote ‘Yes’ in the March 25 referendum
Pageland citizens will vote March 25 on an issue which will determine whether our town will grow or die. Your vote will also affect how much your sewer bill will cost you for many years to come.
A “Yes” vote on the referendum question is the only way to ensure that Pageland will have adequate sewer capacity for future growth and the creation of new jobs. It is also the only way to guarantee that your sewer rates will stay as low as possible.
Constructing a pipeline from the North Carolina state line to Alligator Rural Water & Sewer Company’s new sewer treatment facility in McBee will be very expensive. But, it is far less expensive than upgrading both of Pageland’s existing sewer plants to provide the additional capacity needed for future growth. A study made by the Town Sewer Committee indicates that the cost of sewer services for all customers would double if the Town were to upgrade both of its existing plants.
The Town can save money by shutting down its two plants and those savings will help pay for construction of the pipeline. Also, by partnering with Chesterfield County Rural Water Co. and Alligator, and possibly the Towns of Jefferson and McBee, the pipeline project will be eligible for state and federal grants that Pageland would be unable to get on its own. It is estimated that grant funds will pay for at least half of the pipeline costs.
Construction of the pipeline would provide sewer service along the entire length of the Hwy. 601/151 bypass through Pageland. This would open up large new areas for commercial development, which will add to the Town’s tax base.
Speaking of taxes, a proposed 775 acre housing development, which the developer is willing to have annexed into the town limits, would add at least $500,000 a year to the Town’s tax base. However, that development won’t be built unless the Town follows through on the sewer pipeline project.
We also won’t be welcoming any new industries to the Pageland area until the Town increases its sewer capacity. The Pageland Chamber of Commerce and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board are among the groups backing the pipeline project. As we all know, industries provide most of the jobs which are the life’s blood of any community.
While it is true that most new industries are likely to locate outside the town limits and therefore won’t pay Town taxes, these new industries will pay the Town for sewer service. The Town charges a higher rate for out-of-town customers, including industries, than for in-town customers.
The Town has the opportunity to help two industries which are in town, Conbraco and Pageland Screen Printers, by going with the pipeline project. These two industries will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade their wastewater pretreatment systems in order to comply with tougher new state regulations in 2009. However, the industries won’t have to spend that money if the Town goes with the pipeline project. That is because Alligator’s treatment system is land based rather than discharging directly into a stream.
The land based treatment option is better for the environment, according to State regulators with the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Removing the Town’s wastewater discharge from the Lynches River will improve water quality. That is an important consideration for the Carolina Heel Splitter Mussel, which is an endangered species.
In order to protect water quality for this clam, the State is unlikely to issue a permit for the Town to increase its wastewater discharge to the Lynches River. That means the Town can’t increase the size of its existing sewer plants, leaving the pipeline project as the only option.
While the wording of the resolution voters will be asked to approve on March 25 would give the Town the authority to contract with “a third party” to provide sewer service, the only “party” interested in building a pipeline to Pageland is Chesterfield County Rural Water Co.
Pagelanders approved the switch to buying our drinking water from Rural Water in a referendum vote five years ago. Since that time we have had good quality drinking water at a fair price. Voters should keep that in mind when they go to the polls on March 25 to vote on the sewer referendum.
Brian Hough serves on Pageland Town Council and is the former editor of The Progressive Journal.
A “Yes” vote on the referendum question is the only way to ensure that Pageland will have adequate sewer capacity for future growth and the creation of new jobs. It is also the only way to guarantee that your sewer rates will stay as low as possible.
Constructing a pipeline from the North Carolina state line to Alligator Rural Water & Sewer Company’s new sewer treatment facility in McBee will be very expensive. But, it is far less expensive than upgrading both of Pageland’s existing sewer plants to provide the additional capacity needed for future growth. A study made by the Town Sewer Committee indicates that the cost of sewer services for all customers would double if the Town were to upgrade both of its existing plants.
The Town can save money by shutting down its two plants and those savings will help pay for construction of the pipeline. Also, by partnering with Chesterfield County Rural Water Co. and Alligator, and possibly the Towns of Jefferson and McBee, the pipeline project will be eligible for state and federal grants that Pageland would be unable to get on its own. It is estimated that grant funds will pay for at least half of the pipeline costs.
Construction of the pipeline would provide sewer service along the entire length of the Hwy. 601/151 bypass through Pageland. This would open up large new areas for commercial development, which will add to the Town’s tax base.
Speaking of taxes, a proposed 775 acre housing development, which the developer is willing to have annexed into the town limits, would add at least $500,000 a year to the Town’s tax base. However, that development won’t be built unless the Town follows through on the sewer pipeline project.
We also won’t be welcoming any new industries to the Pageland area until the Town increases its sewer capacity. The Pageland Chamber of Commerce and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board are among the groups backing the pipeline project. As we all know, industries provide most of the jobs which are the life’s blood of any community.
While it is true that most new industries are likely to locate outside the town limits and therefore won’t pay Town taxes, these new industries will pay the Town for sewer service. The Town charges a higher rate for out-of-town customers, including industries, than for in-town customers.
The Town has the opportunity to help two industries which are in town, Conbraco and Pageland Screen Printers, by going with the pipeline project. These two industries will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade their wastewater pretreatment systems in order to comply with tougher new state regulations in 2009. However, the industries won’t have to spend that money if the Town goes with the pipeline project. That is because Alligator’s treatment system is land based rather than discharging directly into a stream.
The land based treatment option is better for the environment, according to State regulators with the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Removing the Town’s wastewater discharge from the Lynches River will improve water quality. That is an important consideration for the Carolina Heel Splitter Mussel, which is an endangered species.
In order to protect water quality for this clam, the State is unlikely to issue a permit for the Town to increase its wastewater discharge to the Lynches River. That means the Town can’t increase the size of its existing sewer plants, leaving the pipeline project as the only option.
While the wording of the resolution voters will be asked to approve on March 25 would give the Town the authority to contract with “a third party” to provide sewer service, the only “party” interested in building a pipeline to Pageland is Chesterfield County Rural Water Co.
Pagelanders approved the switch to buying our drinking water from Rural Water in a referendum vote five years ago. Since that time we have had good quality drinking water at a fair price. Voters should keep that in mind when they go to the polls on March 25 to vote on the sewer referendum.
Brian Hough serves on Pageland Town Council and is the former editor of The Progressive Journal.
Monday, March 3, 2008
The wages of war? No sweat
Houston, we have a problem.
And Dubya has finally owned up to it. The economy is not so good, folks. We’re making less money, paying more for everything from soup to gas, Wall Street has the flu and folks all over the country are losing their homes.
In an interview with NBC, George W. denied there is any connection between the Iraq War and the faltering economy. Zero. Zip. Nada. We can afford our little war — shoot! — it’s only costing us somewhere between $2-3 billion a week. That’s not so bad, is it? At that rate we’re only paying $432 million a day. $18 million an hour. For a country as rich as we are, that’s practically pocket change.
When confronted with the cost of the war, Dubya grins that sweet, wacky grin of his, cocks his knotty little head and says, “I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs...because we’re buying equipment...and people are working...” Which begs the question: “Huh?” Anyone you know made any war equipment lately? Opened a war equipment shop on Main Street? Own a piece of Halliburton?
No matter. Dubya has it all figured out. “I think the economy is down,” he says, “because we built too many houses...” The failing economy, he goes on, is only “adjusting” to all those houses we built. Silly us. This from the president who said “Thanks to our policies, home ownership in America is at an all time high.” (September, 2004) and “We’re creating...an ownership society in this country, where more Americans than ever will be able to open their door where they live and say ‘Welcome to my house, welcome to my piece of property.’” (October, 2004) It’s enough to make you misty-eyed, ain’t it?
A Bush spokesman said that long after folks (like us) forget all about Baghdad and Abu Ghraib, this president’s legacy will be the Great Ownership Society. George W. is, after all, the architect of the Home Buying Surge in America. He does enjoy a good surge. How did he do it? Well, one way was to push the “easy home ownership” doctrine. Bush urged the private sector to “unlock millions of dollars” for the purchase of homes. He wanted poor folks to have homes, too. And that’s a grand idea. Let’s go after ‘em. But his “easy” way was the free market, who-needs-regulations-when-there’s-quick-money-to-be-made method, and predatory lenders of all stripes came out of the woodwork, advertised to a fare-thee-well,and lured folks with little money to buy bigger and better houses than they’d ever dreamed possible — because the easy money’s right here for ya! These scam artists fast-talked right past the poor folks’ subprime pitfall featuring mortgage payments that could double or triple over time. So folks who could just barely afford the payments on the houses they bought found themselves stuck with payments they couldn’t possibly afford later on. Imagine buying in at, say, $800 a month. Say you keep the same job (remember, wages aren’t going up by much) and, two years later, your payment is $1,600. Three years later? $2,400. You’re in foreclosure before you can say “Honey, find me the phone number of that fella we borrowed from — ”
If you do try to find that fella, well, it won’t help, because your home loan has been sold and resold to so many mortgage companies you can’t find it to save your life. Or your house. And it’s your fault the economy is going belly-up.
Ask Dubya. The $18 million an hour occupation of Iraq has nothing to do with it.
By Linda Hansen
And Dubya has finally owned up to it. The economy is not so good, folks. We’re making less money, paying more for everything from soup to gas, Wall Street has the flu and folks all over the country are losing their homes.
In an interview with NBC, George W. denied there is any connection between the Iraq War and the faltering economy. Zero. Zip. Nada. We can afford our little war — shoot! — it’s only costing us somewhere between $2-3 billion a week. That’s not so bad, is it? At that rate we’re only paying $432 million a day. $18 million an hour. For a country as rich as we are, that’s practically pocket change.
When confronted with the cost of the war, Dubya grins that sweet, wacky grin of his, cocks his knotty little head and says, “I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs...because we’re buying equipment...and people are working...” Which begs the question: “Huh?” Anyone you know made any war equipment lately? Opened a war equipment shop on Main Street? Own a piece of Halliburton?
No matter. Dubya has it all figured out. “I think the economy is down,” he says, “because we built too many houses...” The failing economy, he goes on, is only “adjusting” to all those houses we built. Silly us. This from the president who said “Thanks to our policies, home ownership in America is at an all time high.” (September, 2004) and “We’re creating...an ownership society in this country, where more Americans than ever will be able to open their door where they live and say ‘Welcome to my house, welcome to my piece of property.’” (October, 2004) It’s enough to make you misty-eyed, ain’t it?
A Bush spokesman said that long after folks (like us) forget all about Baghdad and Abu Ghraib, this president’s legacy will be the Great Ownership Society. George W. is, after all, the architect of the Home Buying Surge in America. He does enjoy a good surge. How did he do it? Well, one way was to push the “easy home ownership” doctrine. Bush urged the private sector to “unlock millions of dollars” for the purchase of homes. He wanted poor folks to have homes, too. And that’s a grand idea. Let’s go after ‘em. But his “easy” way was the free market, who-needs-regulations-when-there’s-quick-money-to-be-made method, and predatory lenders of all stripes came out of the woodwork, advertised to a fare-thee-well,and lured folks with little money to buy bigger and better houses than they’d ever dreamed possible — because the easy money’s right here for ya! These scam artists fast-talked right past the poor folks’ subprime pitfall featuring mortgage payments that could double or triple over time. So folks who could just barely afford the payments on the houses they bought found themselves stuck with payments they couldn’t possibly afford later on. Imagine buying in at, say, $800 a month. Say you keep the same job (remember, wages aren’t going up by much) and, two years later, your payment is $1,600. Three years later? $2,400. You’re in foreclosure before you can say “Honey, find me the phone number of that fella we borrowed from — ”
If you do try to find that fella, well, it won’t help, because your home loan has been sold and resold to so many mortgage companies you can’t find it to save your life. Or your house. And it’s your fault the economy is going belly-up.
Ask Dubya. The $18 million an hour occupation of Iraq has nothing to do with it.
By Linda Hansen
Pageland history needs to be protected
I am immersed in Pageland’s history right now, so much that I have to take occasional breaks to find out what’s happening in the here and now. I’ve got a century worth of spotty documentation that I can never possibly finish reading and, even if I could, these newspapers would tell only a fraction of this town’s story.
And it is most certainly a story. An epic, even, with re-occurring characters and themes that will probably become more apparent over the course of our 100 Great Pagelanders series.
Last week, Mildred Graves submitted some information about her late father-in-law Dr. “Luke” Graves. Part of this information was his obituary, which included the names of many prominent Pageland citizens of the day, including many men who have already been included in 100 Great Pagelanders. It’s probably not a coincidence.
Many of our 100 Great Pagelanders are on the verge of being forgotten. Even a man of Van Lingle Mungo’s stature is a veritable unknown to many people under the age of 30. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know who Mungo was when I moved here, but what I’ve recently learned has left me baffled as to how much local history has slipped through the cracks.
Mungo’s niece Martha Horton visited my office last week after reading my column. She brought with her family scrapbooks dating back to the 1930s containing newspaper clippings from around the nation, cartoons, telegrams, letters, baseball cards and other assorted memorabilia related to Mungo’s storied athletic career. There were photos of him with Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, incredible headlines from newspaper like The New York Times singing Mungo’s praises and much, much more.
My first thought was that these books — or reproductions — needed to be in a museum. Not a museum in Columbia, but a museum right here in Pageland, a place where children can keep in touch with the roots of the community.
The problem would be finding someone willing to take the responsibility for such an effort. Organizing and creating the museum would probably be easy. Maintaining it and paying the utilities (not to mention the salary for a curator) might be another story.
I can think of two local groups who could do this, particularly if they worked together. They are private groups so I won’t put them on the spot, but maybe I will prompt some discussion on the subject. After all, if Pageland doesn’t preserve its heritage, nobody will.
Last week I mentioned that Mungo had 155 career losses as a pitcher, which was either my own typographical error or a mistake on the part of my source (either way, the mistake is mine to own.) According to Dan Mungo, his cousin had 115 career losses. My apologies. And don’t forget to visit us at The Scout (pagelandturns100.blogspot.com) and sign the online petition to get Mungo into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
— Wallace McBride, editor
And it is most certainly a story. An epic, even, with re-occurring characters and themes that will probably become more apparent over the course of our 100 Great Pagelanders series.
Last week, Mildred Graves submitted some information about her late father-in-law Dr. “Luke” Graves. Part of this information was his obituary, which included the names of many prominent Pageland citizens of the day, including many men who have already been included in 100 Great Pagelanders. It’s probably not a coincidence.
Many of our 100 Great Pagelanders are on the verge of being forgotten. Even a man of Van Lingle Mungo’s stature is a veritable unknown to many people under the age of 30. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know who Mungo was when I moved here, but what I’ve recently learned has left me baffled as to how much local history has slipped through the cracks.
Mungo’s niece Martha Horton visited my office last week after reading my column. She brought with her family scrapbooks dating back to the 1930s containing newspaper clippings from around the nation, cartoons, telegrams, letters, baseball cards and other assorted memorabilia related to Mungo’s storied athletic career. There were photos of him with Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, incredible headlines from newspaper like The New York Times singing Mungo’s praises and much, much more.
My first thought was that these books — or reproductions — needed to be in a museum. Not a museum in Columbia, but a museum right here in Pageland, a place where children can keep in touch with the roots of the community.
The problem would be finding someone willing to take the responsibility for such an effort. Organizing and creating the museum would probably be easy. Maintaining it and paying the utilities (not to mention the salary for a curator) might be another story.
I can think of two local groups who could do this, particularly if they worked together. They are private groups so I won’t put them on the spot, but maybe I will prompt some discussion on the subject. After all, if Pageland doesn’t preserve its heritage, nobody will.
Last week I mentioned that Mungo had 155 career losses as a pitcher, which was either my own typographical error or a mistake on the part of my source (either way, the mistake is mine to own.) According to Dan Mungo, his cousin had 115 career losses. My apologies. And don’t forget to visit us at The Scout (pagelandturns100.blogspot.com) and sign the online petition to get Mungo into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
— Wallace McBride, editor
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