photo by Frank Johnson

A February snowstorm left a white blanket across Goose Creek and Berkeley County.

photo by Frank Johnson

A.C. Brown of American Legion Post 166 salutes during the Placing of the Wreath at the conclusion of a Memorial Day service at Carolina Memorial Gardens.

photo by Rob Gantt

Hanahan Mayor Minnie Blackwell (left) and Hanahan Chief of Police Donald Wilcox (right) present Vickie Price with a plaque at the May 11 Hanahan City Council meeting. Price was honored for being named the police department’s civilian employee of the year for 2009.

January

• First District Republican Congressman Henry Brown announced that he would not seek re-election in 2010. The surprising decision meant Brown’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which he held for five terms, was available. The race would eventually attract nine Republicans and three Democrats.

Brown, 74, said his decision to retire did not come easily.

"It is time for me to leave and spend more time with my wife of 54 years, Billye, my children and my grandchildren," Brown said.

•  The City of Goose Creek announced that it made the final payment for the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center on Dec. 31, 2009.  The $6,585,000 debt for the facility was paid off 17 months early, saving the city $139,362.50 in interest fees.

“This action certainly reflects extremely well on the fiscal stability of the city and the financial stewardship of city funds, Mayor Michael Heitzler said. “The people of Goose Creek have a beautiful municipal center and a very functional public works complex that are now paid for.”  

• The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office announced stepped up efforts to take drunk drivers off the roads.

In an effort to help curtail and diminish the number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol, DUI Units were poised to post random checkpoints throughout county.

Sheriff Wayne DeWitt announced that as of Jan. 15, his office’s new DUI Unit would be patrolling areas of the county in an effort to reduce the rate of DUI fatalities.

February

• More than six inches of snow pummeled Berkeley County, the first measurable snow of any kind to hit the area in 10 years.

Students across Berkeley County were out of school on the day when the snow hit, and the worst of the winter weather fell over the weekend. Athletic events scheduled across the area were postponed, which threw the state sports playoff schedule into chaos.

•  Berkeley County government received its own version of a five-star rating when results of an independent audit were presented to county council.

“I am pleased to tell you we were able to give you an ‘Unqualified Opinion,’ and in terms of an audit, that’s about as good as it gets,” said Larry Finney, whose firm Greene, Finney and Horton conducted the audit.

March

• First Congressional Congressman Henry Brown ended weeks of speculation as he announced his candidacy for Berkeley County Supervisor. The announcement came before dozens of supporters at the Holiday Inn Express in Moncks Corner.

“I have decided to pursue the Republican nomination for Berkeley County Supervisor,” Brown said. “Now more than ever, experience counts.”

The announcement set the stage for a months-long battle between Brown and incumbent supervisor Dan Davis.

• The South Carolina Administrative Law Court hearing date intended to resolve the ongoing dispute between Trident Health Systems and Roper St. Francis Medical was set.

The hearing was scheduled for Feb. 7, 2011, over 18 months removed from the initial Certificate of Need granted by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control to both hospital systems to build a hospital in Berkeley County.

• The Berkeley County School District will face a $10 million reduction in its budget for 2010-2011, and possibly an even steeper reduction the following year, the district announced.

“We’re right at the edge of a cliff,” School Superintendent Anthony Parker said. “(Budget cuts) could be devastating to Berkeley County, South Carolina and the United States. California, Detroit and Mississippi have had mass teacher layoffs.

“This is going to be a devastating situation for public schools. If the public realized how extensive this is, there would be a louder public outcry.”

April

• A routine traffic stop by a deputy with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Selective Enforcement Team led to the arrest of one suspect and the seizure of approximately 102 pounds of marijuana.

According to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy pulled over a maroon Cadillac for making an improper lane change on I-26 near mile marker 198.  

The driver gave consent to search the inside of the vehicle, but would not consent to a search of the locked trunk.

According to the BCSO, a K-9 unit was brought to the scene to perform an outside sniff of the vehicle for possible drugs. The dog “hit” on the trunk area, the BCSO reported. A search of the trunk revealed 16 bags with a green plant like material inside. The substance weighed approximately 15.5 pounds.

Roberto Durran Fogel, 26, North Charleston was arrested and charged with Trafficking Marijuana over 10 pounds.

May

• Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler and three city council members were sworn in for a new term in office in May, as no challengers filed for any city race in 2010.

Goose Creek’s designated election day for city elected officials came and went on April 6 with no elections.

June

• Berkeley County School Board member Kathy Schwalbe became the board chairperson following a vote at a May board meeting in Moncks Corner. The chair is the spokesperson for the school board, and leads the twice-monthly meetings.

The annual election is governed by school board policy, which states that the chair may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

Board chairman Doug Cooper, who served as chair for two consecutive years, opened the election process. Board member Kent Murray nominated Schwalbe. With no other nominations, Schwalbe was elected unanimously and took the chairman’s seat to complete the election process.

Cooper, who has been a tireless advocate for school funding reform, was the single nominee for vice-chair and was elected unanimously. Board member Phillip Obie II was elected secretary unanimously.

Schwalbe is a former Stratford High School teacher and was the first teacher in the state to become Nationally Board Certified in 1995. She was elected onto the school board in November 2008.

• After a razor-close primary, Berkeley County Supervisor Dan Davis easily bested challenger Henry Brown by more than 1,800 votes in a runoff, garnering 8,911 votes (56 percent) to 7,071 votes for Brown (44 percent).

After Davis narrowly edged Brown two weeks earlier by a mere three votes, the runoff was expected to be tight, yet was decided early in the vote counting.

“It was much nicer getting the results early as opposed to last time,” Davis said.

Davis claimed victory in front of a packed house of friends, county employees and elected officials on the deck of the Train Depot in Moncks Corner.

“People said you can’t run a clean race based on the issues, well I think we proved them wrong,” Davis said to the cheers of his supporters. “I want to thank the voters of Berkeley County for their confidence in the job we’ve done so far.”

“I guess we read the message wrong,” Brown said “People decided bigger government and more taxes is the way to go.”

• Longtime deputy coroner Bill Salisbury became Berkeley County’s new coroner-elect.

Salisbury captured 54 percent of the vote in a runoff against Sharon Shuler to claim the position held by the retiring Glenn Rhoad. In January 2011, Rhoad will have completed his second term as Berkeley County Coroner.

“I want to thank all of the voters in Berkeley County for supporting me and voting for me,” Salisbury said.

Salisbury served for 15 years as deputy coroner under both Rhoad and Wade Arnette, the last seven in the position of Chief Deputy.

• The race to replace U.S. Congressman Henry Brown saw Rep. Tim Scott easily best Paul Thurmond in Berkeley County and throughout the First District in the Republican runoff.

The win sent Scott into the fall as a favorite to win the Republican-leaning district seat. He captured close to 73 percent of the runoff vote against Thurmond.

Republican Berkeley County voters also joined the rest of the state in voting heavily for gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, who bested Gresham Barrett by a 75-25 percent primary vote count.

• Bill Crosby topped Berkeley County School Board Member Jimmy Hinson in the Republican race for House District 117. Crosby captured 1,037 votes to Hinson’s 700.

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