Editor’s note: This is the first installment of our annual series, which looks back at the headlines and stories of the previous year.
FIRST QUARTER
January
-After 40 years at the corner of Fayetteville and Broad streets in the historic Shiness building, the Herald-Advocate moved its offices to 97 West Market Street on the courthouse square in Bennettsville.
-Chief Deputy Stephen Weaver retired from the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office after 44 years in law enforcement.
-New Bennettsville City District 1 Council member Wanda Weaver and reelected District 5 Council member Tyron Abraham were sworn in on Jan. 3.
-The county saw an increase in COVID-19 cases. The vaccination rate for the county was 36.8%.
-The Thomas Memorial Baptist Church Daycare reopened with a new director Kim Thurman.
-Jackie Branch was sworn in as the new chairman of the Marlboro County Board of Education on Jan. 10. Board members voted 5-2 to have Charles Chuck Graham fill the District 3 seat. Board members voted to elect Rev. James Smith as vice chairman and Katherine Manville as secretary.
-County council approved additional funding for the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office.
-The Marlboro Branch NAACP and the Berea Baptist Association held an Emancipation Proclamation Celebration on Jan. 1 on Zoom.
-Interim sheriff Larry McNeil, Chief Deputy Larry Turner, and Capt. Anthony Sellers was sworn in on Jan. 10.
-Delorice B. Barrington, Marlboro County treasurer, was sworn in as president of the South Carolina Auditors, Treasurers, and Tax Collectors Association.
-CareSouth Carolina named Community Health Center of the Year.
-The Marlboro County Branch of the NAACP held its annual MLK Day Parade on Jan. 15 in downtown Bennettsville. The event was completely drive-thru.
-Allen Taylor was sworn in after being reelected to the Bennettsville City Council.
-The Marlboro School Community Center had its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast on Jan. 17. Rev. Jeremy Bethea was the guest speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
-Five inches of snow blanketed Marlboro County on Jan. 21-22.
-The local McDonald’s franchise hosted vaccination clinics and provided incentives to encourage employees and community members to vaccinate.
-Bennettsville received almost $5 million in mitigation buyout grant funding.
-Bennettsville City Council approved premium pay for city employees using American Rescue Act. Employees were put into two categories – medium and high. Employees in the medium category were capped at $3,000, while the high was at $4,000.
-The ribbon cutting for Victoria’s Credit and Tax Service in Bennettsville was held on Jan. 24.
February
-The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control urged schools across the state to use the Test to Stay program to ensure healthy students could continue in-person learning.
-Winter weather had returned for a third consecutive weekend in the county. This visit left about an inch of snow.
-William Light Kinney McNiel received his Eagle Scout badge on Jan. 29. His service project was the restoration of 19 South Carolina historical markers throughout Marlboro County.
-Hamilton Office Supply was the February Business of the Month.
-Coach Tony McMillan worked hard to restart the Marlboro County High School wrestling program.
-The Marlboro Players announced the cast for their spring production of “The Sound of Music.”
-Bennettsville Mayor Carolyn Prince made a $500 donation to the Marlboro County High School Student Government Association as part of a Senior Care Package project for the elderly.
-Marlboro County Branch NAACP held a voter registration on Feb. 12.
-Alan Bohn was named the new manager of Domtar’s Marlboro Mill. Bohn succeeded Dennis Askew, who retired in December of 2021 after 36 years in the pulp and paper industry.
-The Marlboro County Board of Education approved a $500 one-time stipend at the end of the 2021 fiscal year and received a two-percent increase for 2022-23.
-Chuck Graham was sworn in by Judge Mia Weaver as the District 3 representative for the Marlboro County Board of Education.
-Marlboro County Council had a chance to look at the proposed redistricting maps on Feb. 15.
-Marlboro County High School Principal Dr. Jamane Watson learned his contract was not renewed for the 2022-23 school year.
-Bennettsville City Council approved a resolution for almost $5 million for buyouts of properties impacted by flooding in the Shady Rest and Richardson Park areas of the city.
-MCHS Girls and Boys Basketball teams were headed to playoffs.
-The Blenheim Middle School Boys and Girls Basketball teams were the Marlboro County School District Middle School Basketball Champions on Feb. 12.
-Marlboro County Council approved staff to proceed with costs, analysis, securing of options or other items necessary to move forward with possible recreation initiatives at their meeting on Feb. 8. This approval included supporting Eastside School Preservation Alumni Association (ESPAA) in finding the best use of the old Eastside School property.
-Election filings started on March 16 and ended on March 30. Seats to be on the ballot include Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney
General, Comptroller General, State Superintendent of Education, Commissioner of Agriculture, U.S. Senate, U.S. House District 7, State House of Representatives District 54 and 55, Probate Judge, Auditor, and County Council Districts 1, 4, 7, and 8.
-The King Me Men’s Conference honored males in the community on Feb. 19. These are the recipients of the Community Grassroots awards at the King Me Men’s Conference on Feb. 12. From left are Willie Albert Buck Williams, Timothy Cook, Dr. Jamane Watson, Daniel York, and Deacon Herbert Pearson.
-Marlboro County Board of Education unanimously during a special called meeting to name the press box at Marlboro County High School after Mike Skipper, who died on Feb. 16. Skipper made the public address announcements at the MCHS football games about 30 years ago.
March
– The Marlboro County Council adopted a redistricting plan at a special called meeting on Feb. 28.
-Marlboro School Community College has its fifth annual Black History Program on Feb. 26. The theme was “Youth Empowerment.” The guest speakers were Jamison Bethea and Isabella Allen McDuffic Kinney.
-The Marlboro County Justice Complex got a new flagpole.
-MCHS Football player Bennie Thomas signed a scholarship offer to play football at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte as a tight end.
-Remembrance Celebrating Black History was held on Feb. 27. Jaharra Graves, director of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation for the City of Bennettsville, said there is a lot of culture here in the city that many do not know about. “This event was a way to educate people about our history,” she said. The event featured food trucks, a student art exhibit, music by DJ Doc the Motivator, a trivial Jeopardy game, informational vendors, African drumming, and basket weaving.
-Alpha Beta Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma celebrated its 57th anniversary.
-Marlboro County native Bryan B. Blair was named the Rockets’ new Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Director of Athletics at UToledo.
-Marlboro County School District started the search for a new superintendent. The new superintendent will not start until the 2023-24 school year.
-Gas prices increased significantly in the county. The average gas price in the county was $4.05.
-The Marlboro Players presented “The Sound of Music” on March 10-12 at the Marlboro Civic Center.
-Marlboro County High School baseball players Michael Norris and Tristan Hunt signed to play baseball at the University of South Carolina at Lancaster.
-Ashlyn Camacho, an eighth-grader at McColl Elementary Middle School, was the Marlboro County School District’s only S.C. Junior Scholar.
-Five students at Marlboro County High School scored perfect scores on their End-of-Course exams in Biology 1 and English 2. They were recognized at the March meeting of the Marlboro County Board of Education. From left are Hayden Snyder, Biology 1; Blakely Store, Biology 1; Jamison Bethea, English 2; Ciara Williams, Biology 1; and Lukas Chavis, English 2.
-Marlboro County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 8.6% based on the data released for the January employment situation.
-MCSD held a job fair on March 12 to hire teachers and fill other vacancies in the school system.
-Bennettsville Police Department held a job fair and open house for the public on March 11.
-Marlboro County Council, the Marlboro Economic Development Partnership, and their economic development partners held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 21 for the County’s new speculative industrial building.
-Marlboro County Board of Education had a representative from their auditing firm, Mauldin and Jenkins, come to a special called meeting on March 21 to discuss
the fiscal watch declaration from the state.
-MCHS Track and Field team honored their late teammate Precious Le’Nique McLain with a balloon release on March 22. McLain died in a car crash on March 15.
-MCHS Football Coach Bobb Collins left the school to become head football coach at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill.
-Fire departments from around the county and across the state line worked together on March 28 to put out a fire that burned acres on Pine Grove Church and Academy Roads.
-Marlboro County saw its unemployment rate increase slightly to 8.9% in February.
-The filing for 2022 statewide and local political races ended on March 23.
-The first Humane Society of Marlboro County Pet Wellness Clinic provided veterinary services to more than 150 animals.
-The Board of Directors at Word of Life Christian
Center Ministries announced the appointment of Rev. Gloria Brody as interim pastor of Word of Life Christian Center Ministries.
-Marlboro School Community Center had a Women’s History Program on March 26. Sen. Mia McLeod, who was running for governor, provided the keynote speech at the event.
-The United Charities of Marlboro County Inc. granted $25,500 to area non-profit agencies.