Editor’s note: This is the first installment of our annual series which looks back at the headlines and top stories of the previous year.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had become the new normal for Marlboro County, the nation, and the world.
January
-Leadership from public safety and first responders met to discuss why there was no communication or plan of action from the state about the COVID-19 vaccine for local first responders.
-Marlboro County had 106 new cases and 237 active cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths. There were 2,031 confirmed cases.
-The Town of Clio was close to having all its outstanding audits completed.
-Marlboro County School District teachers and staff returned to teach with a virtual/e-learning platform from their classrooms. All athletics and extracurriculars were postponed.
-Marlboro County High School basketball teams remained paused as the teams in Region 6-AAA were all paused due to COVID.
-Scotland Health had suspended visitations for all locations.
-David Spencer, minister of music at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, and his wife Tiffany, released their new single, “We Are One.”
-Judge Grover McQueen administered the oath of office to Marlboro County Council members Kenneth Stroman, Verd Odom, and Charles Paul Midgley Jr. New board member Dr. Damien Johnson was sworn in at a later date due to self-quarantining.
-Marlboro County Board of Education members voted 6-3 at their January monthly meeting to extend Superintendent Dr. Gregory A. McCord’s contract by a year.
-New Marlboro County Board of Education members David Flowers and Reginald Gaymon were sworn in along with re-elected board member Michael Coachman.
-Marlboro County had 117 new cases and 311 active cases of COVID-19 and 32 deaths. There were 2,216 confirmed cases. In the school district, 65 students and 78 staff members have had COVID-19 since the beginning of the school year.
-The MCHS basketball teams were able to return to the court after being shut down in early December.
-Due to the number of COVID-19 cases in the county, all classes in the MCSD remained virtual until Feb. 1.
-Local first responders and a few members of the public over the age of 70 received COVID-19 vaccines at the Bennettsville Community Center.
-Marlboro County had 85 new cases and 330 active cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths. There were 2,390 confirmed cases.
-Rev. Jeremy Bethea was the speaker at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration held outside on the grounds of the Marlboro School Community Center.
-Trinity Behavioral Care was recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy for how they dealt with drug overdoses in Marlboro, Dillon, and Marion counties in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-A ribbon-cutting was held for R & C Consulting in McColl.
-Jalaya Dunn became the new director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance program.
-Marlboro County Board of Education members Janice Bright and Jackie Branch were recognized by the South Carolina SchoolBoards Association for 10 years of school board service.
-The Marlboro County Branch of the NAACP sponsored a Martin Luther King Jr. parade. It was a drive-thru to maintain social distancing.
-Sheriff Charles Lemon was sworn in for his second term during a ceremony on Jan. 17 on the ground of Victory World Outreach Center.
-Marlboro Eye Care was the January Business of the Month for the Marlboro Chamber of Commerce.
-Leaders from various entities in the county and other groups announced McLeod Health would have a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Bennettsville Community Center.
-Marlboro County had 96 new cases and 270 active cases of COVID-19 and 41 deaths. There were 2,547 confirmed cases.
-A Raleigh man was arrested on Jan. 26 after a fatal shooting on Ellison Street. After an investigation, Hadji Larae Jordan was arrested in the shooting death of Cedale Rahiem Frazier.
-The unemployment rate in the county continued to increase in December 2020. The county had the third-highest rate in the state at 7.5 percent.
-Dr. Damien Johnson was sworn in as a Marlboro County Council member on Jan. 22 by Judge Grover McQueen.
-A driver was dead after a three-vehicle collision on S.C. 38 North on Jan. 25.
-Bennettsville Police Department saw an increase in catalytic converter thefts.
-Court was no longer in-person in Clio and went virtual on Feb. 5.
February
-The Humidor was selected as the Marlboro Chamber of Commerce Business of the Month for February.
-Marlboro County School District returned to in-person learning.
-Another youth accidentally shot two children on Jan. 28 at a residence on Lyall Street.
-Marlboro County had 42 new cases and 260 active cases of COVID-19 and 43 deaths. There were 2,667 confirmed cases.
-MCSD was awarded $8,842,504 in Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Funds.
-MCHS girls’ team season came to an end when a member of the team had tested positive for COVID-19. The entire team had to be quarantined for 10-14 days, ending the season since they only had one week left.
South Carolina residents aged 65 or older could begin scheduling appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine regardless of health status or preexisting conditions.
-A forensic audit found no evidence of wrongdoing by MCSD officials about the 2018 $10 million bond referendum.
-Marlboro County had 47 new cases and 199 active cases of COVID-19 and 46 deaths. There were 2,777 confirmed cases.
-County council approved a joint COVID-19 vaccination project with the Marlboro County government and Marlboro County General Hospital Charity Trust, which allowed them to have resources and logistics ready for any medical provider who wanted to come and vaccinate.
-Bennettsville City Council unanimously approved promoting Laura Smith to the finance director position.
-The carpentry program resumed at MCHS after 18 years, with instructor Jesse J. Miles Jr. having more than 40 years of experience. His father, Jesse J. Miles Sr., taught the same class when the program was there.
-Marlboro County Sheriff’s Deputy Victoria Ann Cheek was charged with driving under the influence in Florence on Feb. 5.
-First Citizens Bank pledged $50,000 to the Northeastern Technical College Foundation as designated funds toward future campus expansion projects for the Cheraw campus.
-Marian Wright Edelman Public Library reopened to in-person browsing and computer use.
-Three drive-thru vaccinations were held at MCHS during the week of Feb. 14-20.
-Marlboro County had 47 new cases and 160 active cases of COVID-19 and 47 deaths. There were 2,885 confirmed cases.
-Discussion of the flooding along Crooked Creek dominated the Feb. 16 meeting of the Bennettsville City Council. Recent heavy rains caused Crooked Creek to flow over the bridge on Marlboro Street.
-For the second year in a row, the Marlboro County varsity boys’ basketball team were region champs.
-Marlboro Academy Lady Dragons finished undefeated in region.
-CareSouth Carolina started offering the monoclonal antibody IV therapy for qualifying patients at its Hartsville office.
-MCSD had a wooden box, made by the carpentry program at MCHS, erected outside the district office. The MCSD Cares Box is filled with nonperishable food items, hygiene, socks, and other items donated by district staff and community members.
-Bill and Rachel McDonald prepared to open The Nomad Café and Coffee Company on Marlboro Street.
-Marlboro County had 42 new cases and 136 active cases of COVID-19, and 50 deaths. There were 2,954 confirmed cases.
-Rev. Dr. Harry S. Wright Sr. celebrated his 90th birthday.
-Bennettsville Police Department arrested Cody Erwin in connection with a shooting that took place on Feb. 19. Erwin was involved in the shooting of Markese Alford, which occurred on Feb. 19 at Marlboro Court Apartments.
-Marlboro Academy’s Lady Dragons fell in the second round of the Class AAA tournament. The team finished the season with a 13-2 overall record and their second consecutive region title.
March
-MCSD hybrid students in grades PreK-5th began attending school face-to-face on Mar. 8. The students in grades 6-12 started to attend school face-to-face on Mar. 15.
-Marlboro County had 16 new cases and 100 active cases of COVID-19 and 50 deaths. There were 2,998 confirmed cases.
-Two individuals were arrested following an investigation in the McColl area by the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office. Roderick Shaquille Bridges, 27, and Adrian Elizabeth Huggins, 25, were both arrested following a joint operation by the sheriff’s office and the McColl Police Department on Mar. 2.
-The MCHS Bulldogs defeated Orangeburg-Wilkinson in the Lower State Championship game on Feb. 27. The victory put the Bulldogs in the championship game for the first time since 2005.
-The MCSD Board of Education approved 6-3 state-of-the-art field turf for McAlpine Stadium at their Mar. 1 meeting. The cost of the field was between $850,000-$950,000.
-Bennettsville City Council members requested that employees’ longevity and merit pay increases be restored in the 2021-22 budget. The budget was $24,135,450.
-The Marlboro School Community Center held its fourth annual Black History Program on Feb. 27. The theme was Unity is the Key with speakers such as Dr. Carolyn Prince, mayor of Bennettsville; Rev. Eddie Davis, the pastor of Community of Grace Church; Nan Fleming, retired judge; and Dr. Gwendolyn D. Coe, a retired educator.
-The Eastside Alumni Association gave an update on their plans for Eastside School. They had asked the board of education members to delay deciding on what to do with Eastside School for one year.
-Dr. Jason R. Bryant was selected as the new associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the district.
-The Marlboro County Branch NAACP held a Black History Celebration in February to spotlight the organization’s role in history and the trailblazers, who were the first to serve in social, economic, education, and political positions throughout the county.
-The Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jamarcus Antwan McLaurin, and Tommy Gerald Gillespie following the Jan. 23 murder of Oliver Jamale Douglas on Ella Street in Bennettsville.
-South Carolina moved to phase 1b of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan on Mar. 8.
-The Marlboro County Bulldogs traveled to the state championship game at the University of South Carolina at Aiken at in Seneca.
-Word of Life Christian Center Ministries collected items to send to Texas after a winter storm in Mid-February left the state with frigid temperatures, power grid failures with no electricity and heat, and pipes bursting.
-The Marlboro County Bulldogs defeated Seneca for the school’s first title since 2001. The team finished the season with an 11-2 overall record. They went 4-1 to win Region 6-AAA and the program’s second consecutive region title. DreVeon Scott was named region player of the year.
-Council Council voted 5-1-2 to purchase the old Carolina Bank and Trust Company lot and building. The county wanted to buy the building and property to provide more contactless access to pay taxes by providing a drive-thru window.
-Marlboro County had 28 new cases and 78 active cases of COVID-19 and 50 deaths. There were 3,046 confirmed cases.
-“The Movement on Main” march was held on Mar. 6 as a call to action with several community members and leaders walking together from Bennettsville City Hall to the grounds of the Marlboro County Courthouse.
-The county announced funding for an industrial speculative building project, or spec building, to be constructed in the Marlboro County Industrial Park. The project was designed to recruit new investments and jobs to the county. The cost will be $2.4 million and will be funded by grants from South Carolina’s LocateSC program and Marlboro Electric Cooperative.
-Luke Chavis, an eighth-grader at McColl Elementary Middle School, won the Pee Dee Regional Spelling Bee. He represented the MCSD and region in Washington, D.C., during the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
-Whitney Camacho, a fourth-grade teacher at MEMS, was named one of five finalists for the 2021 S.C. STEM Educator of the Year.
-The Man 2 Man Father Initiative was selected as the March Chamber Business of the Month.
-The junior varsity softball squad at Marlboro Academy went undefeated in their first two weeks.
-The MCHS softball team defeated Marlboro Academy in the Pee Dee Pitchoff preseason softball tournament.
-Bennettsville City Council unanimously approved using the city’s nuisance ordinance to force a property owner to complete work on a house at 408 Pinewood Street in the Lakeside area of town.
-The Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office arrested Deandre Malachi on Mar. 15 following a deadly shooting in the parking lot of the Ellison Club in McColl. Donta Vershawn Pearson dies died as a result of the injuries sustained in the shooting.
-Bennettsville City Council approved the first reading of the 2021-2022 budget of $24,299,042.
-Marlboro County had 20 new cases of COVID-19 and 51 deaths. There were 3,084 confirmed cases.
-At their March meeting, the county council approved a 7-1 second reading of a road protection ordinance. The ordinance provided penalties for violations.