Breaking ground

A crew from C. Ray Miles Construction Company begins work Wednesday at the site of Camden's future Chick-fil-A restaurant on a portion of the Seven Oaks Shopping Center near the intersection of West DeKalb Street and Springdale Drive. City officials said construction may last about four to five months and that the restaurant may be open by mid-May. City Building Official John Burns said Chick-fil-A is spending $1.1 million on the construction of the 4,500-square-foot restaurant.

BAR to again be topic at Camden work session

Camden City Council will once again tackle the prospect of transforming the Camden Historic Landmarks Commission (CHLC) into a board of architectural review (BAR) during a 4 p.m. work session Tuesday.

Town Green transplanting operation successful

A portion of the Town Green parking lot was temporarily closed on Jan. 10 to facilitate the replacement of two live oak trees. The original trees had been planted two years earlier during the Town Green's construction. Unfortunately, they did not survive the relocation process and had to be replaced despite the fact that the trees had been properly planted and cared for.

Cushman’s law license reinstated

The South Carolina Supreme Court reinstated former Camden City Attorney Charles Cushman's law license in an order filed Wednesday. The lifting of Cushman's law license suspension comes two months after 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson dropped a felony charge of misconduct in office in exchange for Cushman pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contempt of court.

‘Portrait of Camden’ exhibit at Camden Archives and Museum

Epsy Peebles smoothed her straight brown hair back from her face and into a bun at the nape of her neck. The reflection in the mirror showed her plain round face. Her skin was still smooth as a schoolgirl's. Her lips were still full and young looking. Her brown eyes searched her reflection carefully. She was getting ready to have her photograph portrait made with Daniel -- for the first time ever. The appointment ...

CPD, CFD concerned about railroad crossing closure

The Camden police and fire departments expressed concern about Monday's upcoming four-day closure of two key railroad crossings in the city's Dusty Bend community during a Camden City Council work session Tuesday afternoon. Interim City Manager Mel Pearson highlighted the closures and arranged for Camden Police Department (CPD) Chief Joe Floyd and Camden Fire Department (CFD) Chief John Bowers to speak to council. According to ...

Equine center seeks Camden’s help

The S.C. Equine Center, located east of Camden near I-20 exit 101, is looking for some help to expand from the city of Camden.

Railroad repairs to close Dusty Bend crossings

Due to repairs being made by CSX Railroad, railroad crossings at Broad and Lyttleton streets at Dusty Bend will be closed Monday through Jan. 17.

Security may be increased at Camden Archives

Security isn't a problem currently at the Camden Archives and Museum, but may need to be enhanced depending on future exhibits. That's the assessment made by Camden Police Department (CPD) Capt. Mike Stone to CPD Chief Joe Floyd in a Dec. 20, 2012, memorandum attached to Tuesday's Camden City Council work session agenda.

Two trees to be replaced at Town Green

Despite our best efforts at proper planting and maintenance, two of the live oaks at the Town Green will be replaced in the coming days/week. The live oaks have been in decline for some time due to a variety of reasons but it basically boils down to transplant shock. This shock is due to a large percentage (up to 90 percent) of the trees' root system remaining at the nursery when the tree is ...

Commerce Alley drop-in meeting today

The city of Camden will hold another in its series of drop-in public meetings on infrastructure projects, this time focusing on enhancements to the Commerce Alley parking lot and alleyway. The city is hosting the drop-in from 5 to 7 p.m. at TenEleven Galleria, 1011 Broad St. The meeting will provide opportunity for interested individuals and groups to actively participate in the planning and design process.

Camden featured on NLC website

The National League of Cities (NLC), which offers a variety of programs to its members cities -- including Let's Move! and a prescription drug card program -- recently began featuring the city of Camden on its website.

Camden earns ‘Let’s Move!’ medals

The National League of Cities (NLC) has recognized Councilmember Alfred Mae Drakeford for recent completion of key health and wellness goals for Let's Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC). LMCTC is a major component of First Lady Michelle Obama's comprehensive Let's Move! initiative, which is dedicated to solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.

Camden’s Ariail honored with national award

Syndicated cartoonist and Camden resident Robert Ariail has been named a recipient of the Berryman Award, a national honor recognizing excellence in editorial cartooning. A cartoonist since 1981, Ariail said he was truly surprised after hearing he won the award. "You enter these things, but you don't really expect to win," Ariail said. "Considering some of the cartoonists ...

Kershaw County Christmas Parade Royalty

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 ...