"I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was in elementary school. I was often questioned by people saying, 'Are you sure this is what you want to do?'" said Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher at Lugoff Elementary School. "But I just knew God had gifted me in certain ways. This is what I was supposed to do with my life."

So, when Johnson won the 2009 Kershaw County School District Teacher of the Year award at the school district's annual gala in May, one could only assume she believed she was a shoo-in for the award.

Those challenges -- the general economy's malaise and pending healthcare reform being considered in Washington -- were discussed by the KH Board of Trustees during its June 22 meeting and touched on by Weeks during a Lunch & Learn session at KH's Health Resource Center (HRC) on Friday.

Trustee Scott Ziemke, who is chair of the board's finance committee, reported a $429,000 net loss for the month of May. Fiscal Year 2009 net income to date as of May 31 was $1.5 million, well below a $2.8 million by the same time the year before.

KH Trustee Carolyn Hampton reported to the full KH Board of Trustees at its June 22 meeting that while the building is essentially complete, two subcontractors working under general contractor Mashburn Construction have experienced delays.

Hampton said exterior metal panels necessary for the building have been ordered, but won't arrive for six weeks. The other delay was materials for shielding the urgent care center's MRI unit, which should have arrived Sunday.

"The new completion date is set for September 1," Hampton said.

"I am not a technology guru, but I love technology," said McDonald. "If you don't go with the change, it's going to run right over you. You want change for the better. They're making enhancements (to CMS) all the time. Eventually, this will be state-of-the-art."

CMS, which went live in Kershaw County back on Dec. 1, allows staff to more effectively file data, keep financial bookkeeping and access records from counties across the state.

The reaction of Kershaw County's legislative delegation, all Democrats, was muted, as was that of other local political leaders. They all said more time was needed to sort out exactly what Sanford's admission means.

S.C. Sen. Vincent Sheheen, of Camden, who is a likely Democratic candidate for governor in 2010, said it was too early to tell what the repercussions of Sanford's admission will be.

"I don't know the details of the entire situation," said Sheheen. "I don't know anything beyond what I've seen and read in the newspapers. Let's let time play out and assess where we are in a week. That's all I can say; it's a serious thing."

Sheheen did express disappointment with the governor.

The budget passed with a majority vote, with only trustees Andy James and Dr. Charles King II voting against it.

"I voted against it because I don't want to outsource our custodial services. I just can't sleep at night taking people's jobs like that," James said after the meeting. "I don't think we had to; we've got the money."

The general operating budget of $66.5 million represents slightly more than an 8 percent decrease from the 2008-09 fiscal year.

It also includes reductions of state revenue and assumes only level revenue from local sources.

Going into the meeting, there were three full-time and three part-time positions likely to be cut.

Those positions will now be spared thanks to a 2 percent across-the-board reduction in next year's operations budget. The cut was recommended by Councilman Sammie Tucker Jr.

County Finance Director James Absher said he feels the county can get by with the reductions.

At a work session last week, Probate Judge Harriet Pierce was critical of proposed job reductions and Coroner Johnny Fellers said department heads were left out of budget discussions.

Jones fired back at council's Tuesday night meeting, referencing specific dates of budget work sessions where Pierce and Fellers were in attendance, along with the comments they made. He also noted that these two department heads are elected officials.

Turning his attention to Chairman Steve S. Kelly Jr., Jones disputed Kelly's assertion that "for the last four to five weeks I've asked council to have this work session. The only reason it happened today is because I called it..."

"He was angry about the possibility of the sheriff getting the jail, which is a dead issue now," Jones said during a telephone interview Wednesday morning. "He made some comments about Councilman (C.R.) Miles and (Kershaw County) Sheriff Steve McCaskill."

Jones deferred from making any other specific comments about the case, saying he was letting the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) handle the matter.

According to reports filed by both the KCSO and Camden Police Department (CPD), Zady Robin Burton, 48, of Norden Drive, Camden, was identified as the man who had attacked Jones and made threatening statements. The two deputies arriving at the scene were asked by Jones to talk to the man and ask him not to strike him again.

Kershaw County Coroner Johnny Fellers identified the girl as Maghan Bowers of Westville. He said she attended Baron DeKalb Elementary School.

"She was in a vehicle driven by her grandmother," said Fellers. "The car went off the right side of the road, overcorrected and flipped, landing upside down."

Fellers said Bowers was wearing a seatbelt but suffered head trauma and died at the scene.

"Both of her grandparents were taken to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, one by helicopter and the other by ambulance," said Fellers.

"We recognize Kershaw County is a growth area for our region, and we see this as a great opportunity," said Central Carolina Technical College (CCTC) President Dr. Tim Hardy, adding that within five years he hopes to see 1,000 students at the center. "We see this as the first phase ... Central Carolina Technical College is committed long-term to Kershaw County."

Rutledge Place was annexed into the city about a month after the Camden Planning Commission unanimously recommended the property be split-zoned between residential R-15 and PDD (planned development district). The plan, said developer Cecil Brazell, was to have the northern 20 acres of the 38-acre property be used for single-family homes; the remaining 18 southern acres for "patio" or, perhaps more accurately, 1,800-square-foot cottage homes with two-car garages.

Russell & Jeffcoat Realtor Teri Horton, who is marketing the subdivision for Brazell, said the cottage home lots are slightly larger than typical "patio" home lots, but still feature a fairly narrow lot line.

City Manager Kevin Bronson confirmed for Councilman Pat Partin that the first payment was appropriated into the current budget.

"This is just a housekeeping matter," Bronson said.

Mayor Jeffrey Graham noted that similar payments are being made by Kershaw County.

"This is a good example of how the city, county and private partners -- the S.C. Equine Promotion Foundation -- are working together," Graham said. "There is already work going on at Exit 101."

But with a large school budget deficit and sinking economy, the district won't have nearly as many positions to fill.

"Typically, we fill about 80 teacher positions in the school district in any given year," said Dr. Cecil McClary, KCSD coordinator for recruitment, retention and evaluation. "This year, we're only going to have about 34 teacher positions to fill within the district. That's because of the budget shortfall and the fact that the district had to cut 16 positions."