BENNETTSVILLE— At a special called meeting Tuesday, the Marlboro County Council announced a $75,000 donation from the C.W. Love Foundation.

According to Council Member Charles P. Midgley, Jr., the foundation gave the county the money to remodel the kitchen at the Marlboro County Golf and Recreation complex. “They are very excited about what we’re doing with the golf and recreation complex and they’re going to put some more money towards it in the future. Not only that, but they were very excited about the rodeo that we had this last year and they’ve pledged $20,000 toward the rodeo next year,” he said.

According to CauseIQ.com, “The CW and Dorothy G. Love Foundation is a private foundation that made 71 grants last year. It is located in McColl, S.C., and is supported by the Estate Of Charles Love. Grantees include Caresouth Carolina Inc.” The foundation was started in 2005.

The county purchased the former country club in 2022.

In other business, the council began a discussion about a gun range that would be built in Clio. According to council member Verd Odom, Caleb Alsup, owner of Blue Crescent Arms, purchased 50 acres of land in Clio and wants to open a gun range to train people for concealed carry permits and handgun safety.

“It’s a pistol range for people to learn how to use handguns and stuff,” Odom said. “The county ordinance, that is dated back to 2002, is set up for 2,5o0 feet and the state ordinance is only 150 yards statewide.” Odom was explaining the distance that a gun range needs to be away from other structures. He wanted to see if the ordinance could be brought in line with the state’s guidelines.

Council member Ken Stroman questioned how this would impact people living near the site. “When you talk about homes, for me, to even consider sending it to the (zoning)board, that’s not a lot of space and I would be against changing our ordinance just based on that.” Stroman said 150 yards isn’t enough space when talking about gunfire around residences.

Odom said that high-powered guns wouldn’t be an issue at the proposed range because there would be abutments at the range.

County administrator, Wilson “Tony” Clyburn said before moving forward, he wanted to consult with the county’s attorney to see what the next steps should be.