Tag: community

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Dorchester County Offers Free HAM Radio Course

Dorchester County Logo

The Dorchester County Emergency Management & the Trident Amateur Radio Club is hosting an Amateur Radio Technician License Course. The training will be held at the Dorchester County Emergency Operations Center in February. The course is open to the public and requires no prior radio experience or technical background. You will learn the fundamentals of amateur radio and emergency communications. You can also test for your FCC Technician License at the end of the course.

Amateur radio is a proven, reliable communications tool during disasters and emergencies when other communication systems fail, radio still works. This is a great hobby and amateur radio operators are important resources to emergency services and communities during emergency events. Interested community members are encouraged to apply. 

The Dorchester County Emergency Management center is located at 212 Deming Way, Building 1, Summerville, SC. The class dates will be February 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, and 24, from 6:30 PM until 8:30 p.m. each evening. The FCC License Exam will be on February 26 (exam time will be announced during class).

The cost of the course is free (please register ahead of time). The FCC exam is $10 (not required). The FCC licensing fee is $35, and the radio license is good for 10 years.

To register for the free Amateur Radio Technician License Course, simply email jnewman@dorchestercountysc.gov with the following information:

  • Full Name
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address

Space may be limited. Early registration is encouraged.

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Join in SCDOT’s Pothole Blitz

SCDOT Pothole Blitz

The South Carolina Department of Transprtation (SCCDOT) is hitting the roads with a “Pothole Blitz.” This statewide effort is an attempt to tackle the horrible pothole problems with roads in our state. The hope is this effort will make travel safer for everyone.

SCDOT has stated, “Over the next several weeks, our dedicated maintenance crews will be working extended hours. They will fill and repair potholes across the state.” And the fastest way to get potholes fixed is by reporting them. The SCDOT has established a pothole website (https://www.scdot.org/pothole.html) where anyone can send a work order to the state DOT for pothole repairs. If you see a pothole, don’t just drive over it – report it!

To test this, I reported a pothole on Sandridge Road at the Railway intersection. Crews dropped bags of patch in the hole within a couple of days. You can call the Customer Service Center at 855-GO-SCDOT (855-467-2368) toll free. Alternatively, you can call 803-737-1200 to submit a problem. You can also use the Maintenance Work Request site. I used the work request site for my test. Filling out the form was fairly straightforward. I would recommend being as specific as possible about the pothole location. With the work request site you can even upload pictures of the pothole.

I’ve added the link to the SCDOT pothole work order page to our main page. Go find some potholes and let me know how it works!

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Notes from the December 12, 2024 Dorchester County Planning Commission Meeting

On Thursday, December 12, The Commission met at 4:00 PM. The meeting was held in the Summerville County Council Chambers at 500 N. Main Street (Cedar St. Entrance). Here is the link to the Planning Commission December Meeting Agenda Packet: https://www.dorchestercountysc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/25045/638666671247439337. Our Dorchester District 97 Representative Robby Robbins was also in attendance.

The amendment to limit new mines came before the Commission for the third time. This time, they finally stopped delaying the decision. This time, they outright rejected the staff recommendation. They refused to adopt the amendment. This decision denied our community some form of relief from the sand mine truck traffic.

Of interest to the community of the Town of Dorchester in this meeting was Agenda Item 6 (Old Business) B. “ZTA 24-07: Text Amendment to the Dorchester County Zoning and Land Development Standards Ordinance Number 04-13, as previously amended, with respect to Article X, Section 10.4.11 “Mineral Resource Extraction Operations” for the purpose of limiting the proximity of new mineral resource extraction operations from existing permitted operations.”

This text amendment was requested in response to concerns voiced regarding the condition of roads with high volumes of large trucks. The ordinance amendment was modeled after a similar condition in Charleston County. It limits the number of mines that can operate close to each other. This reduction would help decrease the amount of large-truck traffic on certain roadways (package pages 45-49). This amendment had been studied and recommended for approval by the commission staff. Amendment input included a public workshop of stakeholders and feedback from the county on roads and traffic.

Unlike prior agenda items at this meeting, no public comment was allowed during the commission’s discussion of this item. Commission Members Chris Ackerman and Bret Judy were the most vocal in opposition to the amendment. There were no other options or alternatives discussed. They led the vote to reject the amendment to reduce the density of sand mine traffic in the county. With no other alternative on the table to reduce the truck traffic density, I feel the commission’s rejection of the ordinance amendment was irresponsible. This was an open public meeting and included public feedback and comments at the end. I did rise and express my dissatisfaction to the Commission on their lack of action in this matter.

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Dorchester’s Planning Commission on December 12

Resource Extraction Areas 2.5 Mile Buffer

This Thursday, December 12, The Planning Commission will meet at 4:00 PM. Meetings are held in the Summerville County Council Chambers at 500 N. Main Street (Cedar St. Entrance). Here is the link to the Planning Commission November Meeting Agenda Packet: https://www.dorchestercountysc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/25151/638690939917530000

Of interest for this meeting to the community of the Town of Dorchester is Agenda Item 6 (Old Business) B. ZTA 24-07: Text Amendment to the Dorchester County Zoning and Land
Development Standards Ordinance Number 04-13, as previously amended, with
respect to Article X, Section 10.4.11 “Mineral Resource Extraction Operations” for
the purpose of limiting the proximity of new mineral resource extraction operations
from existing permitted operations.

I believe that for our community, this proposed amendment to the ordinance is a positive step. It aims to control some of the sand mine truck traffic pummeling us in our area.

This is an open public meeting that includes public feedback and comments. Please plan to attend and make your voices heard for a positive change.

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Join Us: Dorchester’s Zoning Amendment Meeting on November 14

Resource Extraction Areas 2.5 Mile Buffer

This Thursday, November 14, The Commission will meet at 4:00 PM. Meetings are held in the Summerville County Council Chambers at 500 N. Main Street (Cedar St. Entrance). Here is the link to the Planning Commission November Meeting Agenda Packet: https://www.dorchestercountysc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/25045/638666671247439337

Of interest for this meeting to the community of the Town of Dorchester is Agenda Item 6 (Old Business) A. ZTA 24-07: Text Amendment to the Dorchester County Zoning and Land Development Standards Ordinance Number 04-13, as previously amended, with respect to Article X, Section 10.4.11 “Mineral Resource Extraction Operations” for the purpose of limiting the proximity of new mineral resource extraction operations from existing permitted operations.

The intent of the ordinance text amendment is to limit the mining density in our county. The amendment is modeled after a successful similar ordinance amendment in Charleston County. Page 21 of the agenda packet shows the existing mines and the proposed buffer around them. Page 22 of the agenda packet includes a rather long Pro-mining letter opposing the ordinance change.

I believe that for our community, this proposed amendment to the ordinance is a positive step. It aims to control some of the sand mine truck traffic pummeling us in our area.

This is an open public meeting that includes public feedback and comments. Please plan to attend and make your voices heard for a positive change.

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Notes from the Dorchester County Planning Commission Workshop on the Issue of Mining

Resource Extraction Areas 2.5 Mile Buffer

Dorchester County Planning Commission held a workshop meeting on Monday, November 4, 2024, in the Summerville County Council Chambers at 500 N. Main Street to discuss a proposed amendment to the existing County Ordinance 20-17. While few introductions were made in the meeting, several people were assumed to be from the county commission, several people present were representing the mining interests, a couple representing the Town of Dorchester and the local area, and our State Representative for Dorchester District 97 (Colleton & Dorchester Counties) Robby Robins were in attendance.

The members of the Planning Commission indicated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed amendment to Section 10.4.11 of the Dorchester County Ordinance 20-17, by inserting the following language:

“10.4.11(b)(8) Location. Resource extraction use shall not be allowed on a lot located within 2.5 miles of another lot on which another resource extraction use has been permitted or is currently in operation, whether located in incorporated Dorchester County or within a municipality. Distances shall be measured as a radius from the nearest property line of the subject lot to the nearest property line of a lot containing another resource extraction use.“

There was discussion about a wide range of topics, including property rights, road design, state & county road maintenance and construction responsibilities, the significant increase of quad-axle trucks over the last year, augmenting the triaxle mining truck traffic, the destruction of Salem Road due to truck traffic, taxation of trucks, geology, and a lot of general discussion unrelated to the specific proposed ordinance change.

Resource Extraction Areas 2.5 Mile Buffer
Shaded areas are the proposed 2.5-mile buffer around existing mines in Dorchester County.

A few items specifically discussed related to the proposal were:

  • Mining will continue in the area for the foreseeable future to serve development and road projects.
  • The proposed change is modeled after a similar Charleston County Ordinance. Despite mining opposition, the Charleston County ordinance remains in effect and is currently unchanged.
  • State DOT borrow pits would not be exempt from this ordinance or this change.
  • The issue of determining “currently in operation” was raised, i.e., what would be the definition of in operation? Would permitted mines not actively mining be considered in operation?
  • Possible consideration for small mining (less than 2-5 acres) exemption was suggested.

At the end of the meeting, the proposed ordinance change was to move from the workshop meeting to the next Dorchester County Planning Commission Meeting. No action was taken to change the proposed language of the change from the workshop group.

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Dorchester County Planning Commission Workshop on the Issue of Mining

Sand Mine

I received a notice for posting this morning from Robby Robbins (our state representative for Colleton & Dorchester Counties) stating the Dorchester County Planning Commission is having a workshop on the issue of mining in the greater Dorchester area today (November 4, 2024) at 3 PM in Summerville. I’ll assume the location is the Summerville County Council Chambers located at 500 N. Main Street (Cedar St. Entrance). If you can attend or stop in even for a few minutes it would help show our community interest on this topic. This workshop meeting is not listed on the Dorchester County website. Please note this is a Planning Commission workshop and not necessarily a public hearing. Please. I do not know their protocols for comment or input but we want to convey any interest and concerns allowed politely and productively.

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Dorchester County Council To Consider Limiting Mining

Sand truck

After years of public feedback, it looks like the Dorchester County Council is finally considering some action to limit the negative impacts of mining operations in our area.

There is a Dorchester County Council meeting tonight at 6 pm (the County Planning meeting is at 5:45 pm). The hot topic is the Public Hearing, which is to amend the county mining regulations to limit the proximity of new mining operations.

If you can attend, please do and make your voices heard.

Planning Committee Agenda: https://docs.google.com/gview?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgranicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdorchester%2Fa342504a3e608349ebebcd358899ee2e0.pdf&embedded=true

County Council Agenda: https://docs.google.com/gview?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgranicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdorchester%2F25f03316663850fa45e5aaf192b723ba0.pdf&embedded=true

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Hurricane Preparedness Expo at Ashley River Park

Hurricane Expo 2024

With the 2024 Hurricane Season about to start, Dorchester County is encouraging residents to attend the Hurricane Preparedness Expo at Ashley River Park. The Hurricane Preparedness Expo aims to provide valuable information, tips, and resources to help residents of our county prepare for hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Event Details: 
Date: Sat. June 1, 2024
Time: 10:00AM – 1:00PM
Location: Ashley River Park, 200 Renken Road, Summerville

Win a New Generator!
The Hurricane Preparedness Expo will feature a range of fun activities and offerings. These include interactive exhibits, food trucks, an inflatable obstacle course, an electric children’s train, balloon art, face painting, and emergency services demonstrations. Charleston Electric will also be raffling off a brand new 3600-watt Generac GP3600 portable generator. 

Other Fun Activities at the Expo
Representatives from Tradesman Brewing Company will be there with samples for our 21-year-old and older crowd with our special hurricane beer, Know Your Zone.

Coastal Coffee Roasters will also be there with our one-of-a-kind coffee, Storm Surge.

The Red Cross will host a blood drive during the Expo. You can Pre-register to give blood here. Visit this link to pre-register and sign up to donate blood. 

Please note: If you do not have a Park Annual Pass, admission to the park is $2 per person (free for 3 years-old and under).

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