– New Marlboro County Treasurer Delorice Cox and new Marlboro County Auditor Lucille Carabo took their respective oaths of office during a morning swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, July 1st. Cox was elected during the General Election last November. The beginning of the treasurer’s term coincides with the start of the county fiscal year. Carabo was appointed by Governor David Beasley to fill the remaining term for auditor that was left vacant when Cox became treasurer.
– Marlboro County ended the last fiscal year in good shape, according to Finance Director Anna Hubbard. In her monthly financial report to the County Council, Hubbard said that the county ended the 1996-97 fiscal year between $7-$800,000 under budget based on preliminary figures. If the preliminary numbers are correct, that means the county stared the new fiscal year with a fund balance of that amount.
– Holiday Inn Express of Bennettsville has been sold to Gateway I Motel, LLC of Warrenton, Va., for $1.825 million. Doug Jennings, of Jennings and Harris law firm, told the Herald-Advocate the deed was filed on July 10.
– The Marlboro County Council appointed a Planning Commission nearly a year ago for the purpose of drawing a comprehensive plan for the county’s growth, and now councilmen want to know what’s taking so long. The council held a joint meeting with the planning commission on Thursday, July 10 to air concerns that both sides have. The commission appears to have reached a “stalemate” since it was created last September. Several members, including former chairman Joe Breeden, have resigned, and “not a lot has been accomplished,” McIntyre said. For their part, commission members claimed to be confused about what the county council expects of them. Lee Shortt, owner of Shortt Auction and Realty Company in Bennettsville, is acting chairman of the group.
– The Marlboro County Library summer reading program was a grand success with over 150 children participating in “Read Around The Clock”, an increase of 50 percent over last summer.