The City takes pride in keeping His-torical Marion looking beautiful. WithSpring comes the warmer weather andthe grass-cutting season is quickly ap-proaching. There are City Ordinances for over-grown and vacant lots. If you have anyquestions or concerns, you can contactVickie J. Nichols at (843) 423-5961.In case you didn’t know, a tire, ortires, placed curbside in the City of Mar-ion is considered litter by city ordinancefor health and safety reasons and in ac-

cordance with DHEC regulations, cityemployees no longer pick up tires atcurbside. The fine for lit-tering is$1,092.50. Home-owners are to dis-pose of unwantedtires in the MarionCounty Landfill onRed Bluff Court oron Sen. GasqueRoad.

Call the landfill at (843) 464-1157 forhours of operation. If you have any ques-tions about this reminder, call the cityadministrator, Marion City Hall (843)423-5961.To property owners in the HistoricDistrict, please be aware of the zoningordinances and guidelines that are inplace before any changes are done tohistoric properties.If you have any questions, pleasecontact Ms. Nichols, Historic District Of-ficial, City of Marion at (843) 423-5961.

Chamber offering second“Shred Day” for papers

Citizens in all corners of the county will take part in acounty-wide clean-up on Saturday, April 14, in conjunctionwith PalmettoPride as a fulfillment for grants awarded tovarious entities in the county.

As a Community Pride Grant recipient, one grant obliga-tion is to stage a Great America Clean-up event betweenMarch and May.

Results of the clean up are then reported to PalmettoPride. City and county officials say working together and se-lecting one day for the clean-up made sense.

Anyone or any group needing trash bags, safety vests orother items can con-tact Elizabeth Ficikwith the City of Mar-ion at 423-5961;Tarus Gilchrist withthe City of Mullins at464-9583; ChiefBullard with theTown of Nichols at526-2193 ext. 15;Mayor Barbara Hop-kins with the Townof Sellers at 758-3873; or OglerettaWhite with thecounty at 423-8203ext. 120. White saidT-Shirts are availablefor participatinggroups, as well. Callher for details.

Bagged trash willbe picked up by cityand county sanita-tion groups andtires, appliances andsuch can be leftcurbside for removal on that Saturday. Each district in thecounty will be competing to see who can “bag the mosttrash.”

White said anyone wanting details about the competitionor prizes can call her.

The City of Marion, South Carolina

x

Volume 2, Issue 11 April 2012

Great American Cleanupset for all of county, city

-

Saturday, April 14, 2012Saturday, April 14, 2012

Our county-wide clean-up is in conjunction with PalmettoPride.)

Marion County’s first county-wide Marion County’s first county-wide

Great American CleanupGreat American Cleanup!!

Elizabeth Ficik, City of Marion, 423-5961Tarus Gilchrist, City of Mullins, 464-9583

Chief Bullard, Town of Nichols, 526-2193 ext. 15 Mayor Barbara Hopkins, Town of Sellers, 758-3873 Ogleretta White, Marion County, 423-8203 ext. 120

Bagged trash will be picked up by city and county sanitation groups.Tires, appliances and such can be left curbside for removal on that Saturday.

Each district in the county will be competing to see who can "bag the most trash." For details about the competition or prizes, call your appropriate municipal or county rep.

Anyone or any group needing trash bags,

safety vests,or other items can contact any of the following or their electedrepresentative ...

Swamp F o SceneA FREE monthly news magazine for

the ciizens of and visitors to the Swamp Fox City

Quick reminders about remembering City of Marion codes

With the April 15th tax day deadline quickly approach-ing, there is the rush to gather receipts and documents.Once the tax deadline is met and the proper forms are com-pleted and filed comes the age-old question of what to dowith the old tax forms and documentation.

The Marion Chamber of Commerce has a solution to anyconfidential document storage problem, giving its members,the local business community and individuals an opportu-nity to clear out old paper files.

As shown above, the Cintas company will accept your olddocuments from home or the office and securely dispose ofthem on Monday, April 23, from noon until 2 p.m. when theChamber conducts its second annual “Shred Day” in theparking lot behind Baxley Hardware. Cintas, a companythat oversees the shredding and disposal of all types of doc-uments, will have a secure shredder set up in that location.

This project is sponsored by Ashley Brady at First Char-ter Company and Stacy Smith at Wheeler Street Package.

There is no fee for this service, but the Chamber will ac-cept donations toward their 2012 Education Program. Therewill be a limit this year to the number of boxes you have tobe shredded.

If you need more information or have questions on thisyear’s “Shred Day”, please call the Chamber office at 843-423-3561.

The City of Marion selected Sanitation Departmentemployee Hezekiah Brown as the February 2012 Em-ployee of the Month. Hezekiah has been employed withthe City since 2007 and is responsible for collectinglarge household items and yard debris from citizensand transporting these items to the landfill.

“Hezekiah is one of our most dependable anddedicated employees,” said Sanitation SuperintendentWinky Fore.

The Mayor and Council recognized Hezekiah Brownfor his contributions and loyalty to the City of Marionat the March 13th City Council Meeting.

Page 2 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov April 2012

CITYNEWS ..........................................................................City selects Brown as Employee of the Month

Among the many recognitions duringthe March 20th City of Marion EmployeeRecognition banquet was the naming ofthe Employee of the Year.

This award, Mayor Rodney Berrysaid, recognizes one employee who hasexcelled in his or her work in the pastyear.

This year, that award goes to JeneralHarps, shown below. The Mayorappoints a committee to take recommen-

dations from Department Heads to giveto him for his review. This committee se-lects the person whom they believe hasmade the most significant contributionto the City.

Once again, Berry said, “an excep-tional individual has been chosen, and Iwholeheartedly agree with their deci-sion.” This is an annual tradition startedby former Mayor T. Carroll Atkinson Jr.to recognize an employee for outstandingservice to the City.

According to his supervisor, RonnieSanders, Jeneral is “a young man with alot of enthusiasm and there is no job toolarge or too small for him totackle, from cutting grass todecorating for Christmas todriving the big blue stormdrainage truck. He is willing todo whatever it takes to get thejob done, day or night, anddoesn’t know the meaning of theword quit. And he does it with abig smile.”

Receiving the AnonymousCommittee’s Award for Out-standing Public Service to theCity of Marion was Mary Eaddy,shown above. The award honors

folks willingto give theirtime andenergy tohelp betterthe city. Asa leader andparticipanton numer-ous commit-tees,includingFox Watch,Planning &Zoning,Housing Re-habilitationand the Cit-izen’s Advisory Committee. Ms. Eaddywas honored for being an exceptionalindividual who is always ready to lead byexample. “Her love for Marion and its cit-izens is evident in everything she does,”the committee said.

Receiving the Fireman of the Yearaward from Chief Trey Cooper wasRobert Lance Collins.

Receiving the Police Officer of theYearawardfromChief JimGray, anawardvoted onby hispeers,wasMichaelHartson,shown atright.Chris Hucks and Keith McNeil each re-ceived this year’s Chief’s Award fromChief Gray.

Service awards for longevity with the

city went to the followingemployees.

Five Years: BarbaraHuggins, Aundry Bowens,James Brown, Dal “PeeWee” Johnson, HarryMcQueen, Andy Nieden-thal, and volunteer fire-fighters Jamie Collins andAndrew Herring. Shown atthe bottom of the page areBarbara, Aundry, Harry,Jamie and Andrew.

10 Years: PatriciaBrown, Franklin BrownJr., Dennis Brown, PoetteLewis, and volunteer fire-fighter Jeneral Harps.

15 Years: CharlesCollins and Jackie Yates,both volunteer firefighters.

20 Years: Police ChiefJim Gray and Police Lt.Walker Davis, Perry Mason,and volunteer firefighterWalter Ray.

25 Years: Calvin Legetteand volunteer firefighterRuss Cotton.

35 Years: Volunteer fire-fighter Aundry Bowens.

The only retiree of theyear honored was Lt.Farmer Blue who retiredas a police investigatorafter 18 years. Farmer Bluejoined the Police depart-ment in 1993 and was de-scribed as a loyal, hard-working and dedicatedofficer. The Marion PoliceDepartment and the citi-zens of Marion were alwayshis top priority. Lt. Blueretired in May 2011 andhis absence is felt daily.

Annual city banquet honors employees

Chief Jim Gray

Lt. Walker Davis

Perry Mason

Calvin Legete

Russ Coton

Aundrey Bowens

April 3rdTuesday, 6 p.m., New book club; Meet-ing in “Lunch” on Dozier Street. FirstTuesday of each month. Book to readfor APRIL is Heaven is for Real byTodd Burpo. Call Carol at 423-7000for details.April 4th Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.,Olde Towne Marion, Rise& Shine, First CitizensBank, Main Street. Every-one is welcome. Call 423-9918, for details.April 6thFriday, Good Friday;City offices closed. 7 p.m., Film Club Movie, Hugo, Emporium, Main Street.April 9th Monday, 5:30 p.m., CitizensAdvisory Committee meeting, Fire Station, Bond Street.April 10thTuesday, 6:30 p.m., City Council (Sec-ond Tuesday of the Month), CouncilChambers, City Hall, 107 S. Main Street.April 13thFriday, 6:30 p.m., Marion County’sRelay for Life, Withlacoochee Park.

April 14Saturday, 9 a.m., Opening Day ofBaseball, Green Street Rec Center9 a.m., Farmers Market and MarketPlace reopens for the season on MainStreet (NEW LOCATION!) 1:30 p.m., Fox Field, Marion HighSchool’s Oldtimers’ Game.City-wide, County-wide Clean-up Day!April 16thMonday, 6:30 p.m., Marion’s FoxWatch meeting, 332 N. Main Street.April 18thWednesday, 10 a.m., Denim DayEvent; call 423-7117 for informa-tion.April 23rd

Monday, Noon-2 p.m., Chamber-spon-sored “Shred Day!” behind Baxley’sHardware.April 27thFriday, 5:30 p.m., Frogmore Fest, tick-ets necessary ... Call 423-9918.FOODs & FILMs ... Contact Brian Nolan at 250-4322about Marion’s Foodie group or FilmClub, sponsored by the Arts Council ofMarion County. E-mail him atbriannolanemail@gmail.com. Coming in May ...

May 5, Olde Towne Marion’s SpringYard Sale in Baxley Hardware’s park-ing lot. Call 423-9918 for details

May 18-19, FoxTrot Festival! Fordetails and information, call Chuck at423-9918.

The Swamp Fox Scene is the City of Marion’s freemonthly news magazine forcitizens and visitors of the Swamp Fox City, Marion, South Carolina. Printed by HeraldMulti-forms in Dillon, city employees produce and distribute the newspaper. TheMarion Chamber and HMRA help pay printing costs. Call Mayor Rodney Berry or CityAdministrator Alan Ammons at 843-423-5961 for more information.

Questionsabout your water or sewer bill?Call Grand Strand Waterand Sewer Authority at (843) 765-4539

or visit them in City Hall on Main Street.

Visit the MarionChamber’s

Facebook pageand discover

their latest news and things to do!Also on Facebook areThe City of Marion and the Farmers Market & Market Place!

Page 3 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov April 2012

Coming up ........Coming up ........Keep up with what’s going on around Marion!

April

14

Spring Frogmore Festtickets available now

The third annual Frogmore Fest is set forFriday, April27 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. atRosewoodManor on MainStreet.

The suc-cessful OldeTowne Marion(HistoricMarion Revital-ization Associ-ation)fundraiser willfeature musicfor your listen-ing pleasure.

Tickets for the event are $15 each and areavailable in the HMRA building on Main Street.Call 843-423-9918 to reserve yours!

NEED HELP WITH CITY SERVICES?Call City Hall, 843-423-5961, unless otherwise noted, and one of the following

will be able to point you in the right direction ... Mayor Rodney Berry, 843-423-8235City Administrator, Building Official Alan Ammons, Ext. 19City Clerk Pam Jones, Ext. 10City Treasurer Patricia Brown, Ext. 18Municipal Court Clerk Heather Evans, 843-423-8616Personnel, Purchasing Director Elizabeth Ficik, 843-423-8614 Planning & Zoning Admin Assistant Vickie Nichols, Ext. 11Recreation Admin Assistant Cheryl Askins, 423-5410

‘Denim Day’ and moreplanned to promotesexual assault awareness

Marion City Council and Mayor Berryhave prepared a resolution marking“Denim Day in Marion County,” asproposed by the Rev. Marvin Hemingway,founder and CEO of South CarolinaWoman to Woman Conference. The Con-ference is set for the third Wednesday inApril, because April is Sexual AssaultAwareness Month.

Others helping him include TeresaSims and Laura Mooneyham. LatoriaLewis with the Marion Boys & Girls Club,will also co-sponsor a Community Aware-ness Day on April 21.

Other events planned in April to bringattention to Sexual Assault Awarenessinclude:

April 5, Easter egg hunt, Little PeeDee Manor in Mullins, 11 a.m.

April 13, Movie Night from 7-9 p.m. inthe CD Joyner Auditorium. (Free admis-sion and free popcorn and drink.)

April 18, “Denim Day Marion County”Proclamation Ceremony, 10 a.m., loca-tion to be announced.

April 21, Final Four Basketball Tour-nament, 10 a.m. (Children v. The Com-munity).

April 23, Earth Day, Little Pee DeeManor, Mullins.

For information, call Teresa Sims at423-6568 or Rev. Marvin Hemingway at423-7117.

With Spring clean-ing coming up,

yard sales will be pop-ping up all over town! Remember to pur-chase your permit($3 per day) at CityHall Monday throughThursday. No yardsale permits areissued on Fridays.

Call Pam at 423-5961if you have questions.

YARDYARDSALE?SALE?

Group donatingmovies to library’scollection

On April 6 the Marion Film clubwill be showing Hugo at 7 p.m. in theMarion Emporium. As always, organ-izers say, people may enter throughthe back door, and bring theirfriends, snacks, beverages and comfychairs or pillows.

The Film Club is now going topurchase the movies viewed, ratherthan renting them. The movie willthen be donated to the MarionCounty Library. Donations to helpcover the cost of the purchase of theDVD will be accepted.

Additionally, we’ll collect and de-liver DVDs to give to the library if youhave movies you’d like to donate, or-ganizers said. Call 843-250-4322 fordetails.

The following play-grounds are open to thepublic and provide free funfor the kids.Grice’s Recreation

Center, 603 GurleyStreet. This location hasbeen updated with newplayground equipment.This site also has abasketball court behindthe center and a walkingtrack on the side.Tilghman Park, 409

Montgomery Street. Thisis the city’s location for T-ball and coach-pitchedbaseball. It also has slides,hobby horses, swings, anda merry-go-roundWithlacoochee Park,

Withlacoochee Avenue.This location has also beenupdated with new equip-ment for the children. Thissite holds Marion’s newTennis Courts and a walk-ing track.Ready for Bingo?!?Let’s play!

Bingo is offered at theWatsonia Recreation Cen-ter on the first and thirdThursdays of each month,from 8:15-9:15 a.m. Thereis always room for more tojoin in the fun. We offerrefreshments for everyoneand prizes for those whowin. If you have any ques-tions call 423-5410!Need a rental?

It’s time to begin plan-ning your cookouts, familyget togethers, birthdayparties, and more!

From Watsonia andGrice’s Recreation Centersto our outdoor Pop DorseyPicnic Shelter, check withus to see if your date isavailable. Call Cheryl at423-5410 for more details.

Page 4 Visit the City of Marion online at www.marionsc.gov April 2012

Coming UpSPORTS & RECREATION .............................................

Join the fun and support the coachesand players!

Opening Day Ceremoniesfor this year’s baseball sea-son are planned for Satur-day, April 14 at the GreenStreet Complex. The daystarts with team photos,and games begin at 9 a.m.

The public is invited toattend and to support theplayers and coaches of the2012 Baseball, Softball andT-ball season.

For more information about this event orto volunteer to help, call Cheryl at 423-5410.Games will be held at the following

locations: The Pee Wee Minors and Majors will play

at Tilghman Park, 409 Montgomery Street.The 9-12-year-old Boys will play at the

Watsonia Recreation Center, 100 RecreationDrive.

The 9-15-year-old Girls and the 13-14-year-old Boys will play at the Green StreetSports Complex, 301 Green Street.

Visit our Facebook pages for updates onthe recreation activities offered through theCity of Marion.

Above, Rusty Cotton, left, and BillyThompson, with the city’s recreation depart-ment, measure the base line in preparationfor the coming season.

Opening Day ceremonies planned for baseball

Firefighters take to the courts for trainingAbout 20

City of Marionfirefightersrecently playedbasketball intheir turnoutgear. Therewere twogames, eachwith two teamsof five, incor-poraing self-containedbreathing ap-paratus (SCBA)training. Thepoint of thetraining, FireChief Trey Cooper said, was to familiarize the firefighters with the limitaions of their proteciveequipment and with their personal physical limitaions. Firehouse Basketball Rules were “normalbasketball rules,” with a few addiions. There is no running on the fire ground, so there was no run-ning in the game. When an individual’s air consumpion was up, the player was out of the game. Thegame coninued without the team member who was out of air. This teaches the firefighter to exertthemselves, but also teaches them to manage their air supply wisely. Cooper said, adding “... eachfirefighter’s gear is approximately 50 pounds, is bulky and has limited visibility.”

Survey says parents pleased with local Boys & Girls ClubThe Boys & Girls Club of Marion

County conducted a survery of its par-ents last month. According to their re-port, 95 percent of the parents answer-ing the survey said their child seems toenjoy the club and its programs; 95 per-cent said the club, in the Grice’s Recre-ation Center on Gurley Street, is a safeplace for their children to go after school;and 84 percent believe the club is havinga positive impact on their children.

The Boys & Girls Club is open to chil-dren 6 to 18 years old. The club has 179members, of which 51 percent is maleand 49 percent is female. The member-ship, the report says, is representative of13 different area schools and 10 zipcodes.

Also, only 14 percent of the memberslive with both parents and for 95 percent

of the members, this is the only youthgroup to which they belong. The ques-tionnaire asked parents if they thoughttheir children’s manners had improvedsince joining the club, (47 percentagreed); if children did their homeworkat the club (50 percent said agreed); andif the child feels accepted at the club (92percent agreed).

The report also said that 95 percentof the parents agreed that having theirchildren at the club makes it possible forthem or someone in the family to be ableto hold a job. Fifty-five percent of mem-bers’ households make less than$15,000 annually, the report said, with82 percent making less than $25,000per year.

Other comments from parents saidthe club is a “positive improvement for

the children in the community,” “thestaff is very nice,” and that it would be agreat help to parents if the club wasopen on Saturday so parents could work... and children could do something be-sides just watching television.

Parents noted that specifically theirchild was “learning how to be a leader,”“more involved in his community,” “moresociable,” “gets along well with otherkids and ... shares ... being a kid that re-spects others,” and “interacts more withpeers his own age ... in a positive way.”

Seventy-one percent of the parentsanswering the survey said their child ismore competent in dealing with everyday situations as a result of being amember of the club.