Camden’s new recycling program rolls along

Blue is the new green -- at least when it comes to recycling in Camden. In early October, some residents' old green bins were replaced with blue rolling bins as part of a pilot program offered by the city of Camden.

Sports complex referendum to be acknowledged

In what will be among Jeffrey Graham and Pat Partin's final actions as, respectively, Camden's mayor and a city councilman, Camden City Council will consider a resolution to declare and acknowledge the results of a referendum held during the Nov. 6 general election on the construction of a proposed sports complex. By a 7 percent margin, city voters said "no" to continuing ...

A ‘chili’ day

The second annual Chili Cook-off on Nov. 3 benefited the United Way of Kershaw County. The Amateur first place winner of the Chili Cook-off was Team Deloach (Joe Deloach Jr.), second place was Upchurch and Jowers and third place was Old Armory Steak House. In the Professional category, first place went to the Camden Shrine Club (Jamil Bums, Curtis Corbett), second place went to the Camden Shrine club (Terry McCoy), and third place went to ...

C-I profile: Camden’s new mayor

The nation's capital is the place those with political aspirations usually aim for as an ultimate goal. There's a reason the classic James Stewart movie is called "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." But what if you were born in Washington, D.C., and your main aspiration was to see your plays produced on stage?

Camden begins looking for Bronson’s replacement

Camden City Council gave its approval -- along with that of incoming Mayor-elect Tony Scully and Councilwoman-elect Laurie Parks -- for city staff to begin the search to replace City Manager Kevin Bronson. Bronson recently announced he will resign from the city effective Jan. 3 in order to take a management position with the city of Rock Hill government.

Cushman pleads guilty to contempt of court

Suspended Camden City Attorney Charles Cushman pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to contempt of court by an attorney and paid a $130 fine. In exchange for the plea, the 5th Circuit Solicitor's Office dismissed misconduct in office charges against Cushman connected to allegations that he dismissed Camden Municipal Court charges against certain defendants in exchange for "donations" to the Camden City Drug Fund. Thursday's ...

More Welsh Street annexations on tap

Three more Welsh Street property owners are asking to come into the city of Camden, some of the last in the Sunnyhill subdivision to request annexation. Camden City Council will consider three separate ordinances accepting the properties into the city at Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. meeting.

Live Civil War-era cannonball removed from Archives

Authorities evacuated the Camden Archives and Museum for several hours Friday after staff discovered what is believed to have been a live Civil War-era cannonball in its collection. The shell was eventually removed and destroyed.

Swoosh!

Htax hearing focuses on lack of ‘tourism’ in documents

"Tourism," "tourism-related," "tourists." Those three words dominated a court hearing held Thursday morning on the city's use of hospitality tax funds to build a proposed sports complex. The hearing -- non-jury trial before Circuit Court Judge Alison Renee Lee at the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia -- took place as a result of a lawsuit filed by Camden resident Herbert Farber and ...

City seeks AG's opinion on C-I FOIA

The city of Camden continues to work on a full response to the Chronicle-Independent's September S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents and other materials in connection with charges of misconduct in office filed against suspended City Attorney Charles Cushman.

History unveiled

"You couldn't ask for a better day." At least 150 people -- possibly 200 by some accounts -- appeared to agree with Camden City Manager Kevin Bronson as they crowded on to the west side of Camden's Town Green Thursday afternoon. They were on hand to witness the official unveiling of two life-size statues of the "Patron Saint of Camden" and the ...

Camden receives outstanding planning award

The city of Camden was recently honored as the 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Planning award by the South Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association (SCAPA) at its annual conference Oct. 19 at Litchfield Beach. The Outstanding Planning award is presented to a project of local significance that shows innovation, quality, transferability, comprehensiveness, sustainability and cost benefit. The city of Camden, with the ...

Military museum proposed for Camden

In January 2007, Lt. Col (ret.) Ross E. Beard Jr. of Camden showed off much of his personal collection of military and related memorabilia during a preview tour of the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia. Now, more than five years later, Beard, 83, wants to bring the collection home to the city where he has lived since 1953. During Camden City ...

Bronson resigns as city manager

Camden City Manager Kevin Bronson tendered his resignation to Camden City Council during an executive session at Tuesday's regular meeting, to be effective January 3. Council hired Bronson at the end of March 2009; he signed an updated employment agreement in November 2010.

Smith named State Transport Police 2012 Employee of the Year

The South Carolina State Transport Police (STP) held a ceremony on Friday, May 3 to recognize its top employees for 2012. LaShaune Smith, resident of Camden, was named State Transport Police 2012 Employee of the Year. Ms. Smith has been with STP for nine years. She serves as the CMV Statistician and Administrative Assistant to Captain J.D. Price.

Beard collection opens Thursday at Archives

Visitors won't be able to help but stop and stare at the giant rifle at the Camden Archives and Museum. At 6 feet long and 90 pounds heavy, the training rifle features an 8-inch bolt for .50 caliber armor piercing rounds. Fashioned at Pearl Harbor, the rifle's barrel is actually from the USS Arizona sunk during the Japanese attack of Dec. 7, 1941, that catapulted the United States into World War II.

Invista Camden helps out SC jobs

According to a study completed in 2012 by Harrah Analytics, INVISTA's Camden site supports more than 3,000 jobs and more than $145 million in compensation and benefits. The independent economic research firm found each INVISTA job generated, on average, about six other jobs in the state. Nationally, INVISTA's nearly 4,500 full and part-time employees in the United States indirectly resulted in an estimated 22,000 additional jobs and more than $1.3 billion in compensation and ...

Nuclear plant equipment reroutes traffic on Camden’s Broad street

A 605,000 pound piece of equipment traveling to V.C. Summer Nuclear plant in Fairfield County made an appearance in Camden on Wednesday.

Olympic gymnast Luikin to make personal appearance

All Around Olympic Champion Nastia Luikin will be appearing at Wateree Gymnastics Center of Camden SC's Fit n' Fun Gymnastics Clinic and fund raising dinner on June 24. Competitive gymnasts of all levels are invited to attend the clinic, and the fund raiser dinner, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is open to the public. The fund raiser dinner with Nastia Luikin is being held to help raise funds for gymnastics scholarships for needy children ...

Tuesday Power outage in Camden result of fallen limb

A limb falling on a line on Lakeview Avenue caused a power outage Tuesday morning in a residential section of Camden.

Broad Street road diet will be done in stages

It might not happen until at least 2016, perhaps later, but if the city of Camden decides to move ahead with a proposed plan to put a section of Broad Street on a "road diet," it will happen in four stages and take 18 months to complete. That was the word from Ernie Boughman of URS, the city's engineering firm, to Camden City Council during a 4 p.m. work session Tuesday. Council also learned ...