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The City of Johnsonville recognized mayor Joseph Stevens Dukes for 38 years of service to the City with an engraved train bell at its City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 5.  Dukes was elected to Johnsonville City Council in 1981 and has been serving as mayor since 2004.

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The Florence County Board of Elections & Voter Registration has confirmed election results for the City of Johnsonville.  Johnny Hanna has been elected Mayor and Frankie Poston and Dennis Bailey have been elected to City Council for terms of four years.  Gary Arthurs has been re-elected to another four-year term on Council.

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At a special called meeting on Tuesday, October 22, Johnsonville City Council voted unanimously to modify some aspects of the water rate increase which took effect in July of this year.

 Water customers will be billed for the specific amount of water consumed on a monthly basis.  The rate structure had been set up to round up to the next 1,000-gallon increment on bills. 

 Depending on the exact amount used, consumers should see a slight decrease in the total bill amount.

 “Council decided to take another look after hearing feedback from customers,” said Johnsonville Mayor Steve Dukes.  “We understand that many of our customers live on tight budgets.   Although it is not a significant amount, we are happy to make the adjustment to help our citizens,” Dukes concluded.

The City of Johnsonville has adopted new water and sewer rates which are taking effect for the first full billing cycle of the new fiscal year which began July 1, 2019. 

City Council approved the new rates based on the results of a rate study conducted by The Wooten Company.  In a presentation at the City Council meeting on June 4, company representative Gary Hartong explained that the new rates would change from a declining rate to a fixed rate with a variable rate for every thousand gallons used.

“This cost of service study was performed earlier this year and reflects actual costs to serve Johnsonville water, sewer and sanitation customers,” said City Administrator Jim Smith.

“The City has not increased utility rates for several years and the new rates will allow Johnsonville to remain cost-competitive with surrounding municipalities in Florence County,” added Smith.

City Council meetings are open to the public.  Agendas are posted at the Johnsonville Post Office, front door of City Hall and at www.cityofjohnsonville.com at least 24 hours before each meeting.  Anyone with questions regarding the new rates can contact City Hall at 843-386-2069.

Click here for new rates.

The Lake City Housing Authority has donated a wooden gazebo to the City of Johnsonville.  The City placed the gazebo near the boat ramp at Odell Venters Landing for public use.

Johnsonville Police Chief Ron Douglas acquired the gazebo and volunteered to replace some of the railings and stain the woodwork.

Odell Venters Landing , statue of General Francis Marion, the park shelter and the gazebo are maintained by the City of Johnsonville Streets and Sanitation Department.

Johnsonville voters defeated a proposal to reduce the size of City Council from six seats to four in a referendum held Tuesday, June 25.  The unofficial results show 93 residents voted “no” and only 25 voted in favor of reducing the council size.

 “With the Mayor and two Councilmen not running for re-election in November, we saw this as a good time to reduce the size of council if the citizens wanted,” commented City Administrator Jim Smith.  

 “Also, with that many races for open seats, the election will cost the taxpayers in the City of Johnsonville over $10,000 this November,” Smith added.

 In the past, there has not been a lot of interest in running for Council seats.  Smith hopes citizens who strongly opposed the reduction, will step up and run for office.

 The filing period will begin in August for candidates wishing to run for Johnsonville City Council or Mayor.

 “The voters have spoken, and we do not see a downside either way,” Smith concluded.

Edward "Dwight" Carraway, Jr., died Saturday, June 22 at his home in Myrtle Beach.  He was a resident of Johnsonville from childhood until the early 1980's.   

Carraway was elected to Johnsonville City Council at the age of 20 in 1976 which is the South Carolina record for the youngest person ever elected to public office.   He was a classmate of  current Mayor Steve Dukes.

Graveside services will be 5:00 PM, Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at Harmon Cemetery, Hemingway.  The family will receive friends from 3:00 – 4:00 PM, Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at Carolina Funeral Home, Scranton.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Marie Haselden was sworn in as a member of the Johnsonville City Council by Judge John Kirven on Tuesday, June 4.  A native of Johnsonville, Haselden won the seat in a special election held in May 2019. 

Johnsonville City Councilman Patrick Nettles died suddenly in February.  Haselden will serve the remainder of that term which expires in December 2021.

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CAKE COOK-OFF WINNERS
1.   Laura Taylor
2.   Sara Martindale
3.   Renetta Evans
4.   Brandi Gaskins
5.   Brandi Gaskins
6.   Kayla Cribb

ANYTHING RICE COOK-OFF WINNERS
1.   Gregg James
2.   Kevin Davis
3.   Myron Wise
4.   Wayne Douglas
5.   Barry Collins
6.   Terry Johnson (Tie)
6.   Jamie Altman (Tie)

BAR-B-QUE CHICKEN COOK-OFF WINNERS
1.   Kevin Davis
2.   Ray Suggs (Piggly Wiggly)
3.   Randy Prosser
4.   Dexter Stuckey
5.   David Martin
6.   Phil McCracken

By SHAMIRA McCRAY smccray@florencenews.com

The Josh Brannon Band will be the featured entertainment on Friday, May 17 at the Johnsonville Heritage Festival.  The local band from Georgetown County will play country music favorites from 8:00 until 11:00 p.m. 

Radio D.J.  Dan E. Lockemy will be at the festival Friday night and all day Saturday (May 18) with games and other entertainment for kids and the whole family.  HA HA the Clown also will be at the festival Saturday offering free face painting.

The festival features a baking contest on Friday and a barbecue chicken cook-off on Saturday.  Vendors will be selling food, arts, crafts and other goods during the two-day festival.  Admission is FREE!

Visit the Florence County website for more information: 
http://florenceco.org/offices/voter-registration/

Register Online - Click here for online voter registration

• Requires S.C. Driver's License or DMV ID
• If you have moved, you must first update your residence address with DMV

Register by mail, email, fax - Download a voter registration form, complete it, and return it to your county board of voter registration by mail, fax, or email.

Register in person - Visit your county board of voter registration and register in person.

2018 GENERAL ELECTION VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES:

• Registration by Mail:  Must be postmarked by Wednesday, October 17.
• Online Voter Registration: Register before midnight, Wednesday, October 17.
• Applications submitted by fax or email:  Must be received by county voter registration office before midnight, Wednesday, October 17.
• In-person applications at county voter registration offices:  Most county offices will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17.  Check locally for specific hours.

County Boards of Voter Registration Contact Information

Download a Voter Registration Application 

Who Can Register?

In order to vote, South Carolina law requires one must first register to vote at least 30 days prior to the election. To be eligible to register in South Carolina you MUST:

• be a United States citizen -be at least eighteen years old on or before the next election
• be a resident of South Carolina, this county and precinct
• not be under a court order declaring you mentally incompetent
• not be confined in any public prison resulting from a conviction of a crime
• have never been convicted of a felony or offense against the election laws OR if previously convicted, have served the entire sentence, including probation or parole, or have received a pardon for the conviction.

There is no length of residency requirement in South Carolina in order to register to vote. You can register at any time.

You must be registered at least 30 days prior to any election in order to vote in that election. Registration by mail applications must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to that particular election to be eligible.

Wilson “Sonny” Cox Hardee, 84, passed away Monday, March 25, 2019 at the McLeod Hospice House.   Hardee was born on October 6, 1934 and served as Mayor of Johnsonville from May of 1968 until May of 1970.

The Visitation will be held Friday, March 29 from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m.  at Johnsonville United Methodist Church, 250 N. Georgetown Highway, in Johnsonville.  Funeral services will be Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the church.

Morris Funeral Home is in charge.

Duke Energy has officially launched a new and improved online outage map. The new map was designed based on feedback from nearly 2,500 customers. The company asked customers how it could improve the outage map and their overall experience when using the platform. Based on their feedback, the map has several new features:

• Shows the number of affected customers (rather than the number of outages)
• Provides information on the status of crews responding to outages
• Includes more intuitive icons
• A new mobile-friendly format that expands to fit your mobile screen for an optimal experience

 When you visit the map for the first time, you will be guided through a brief tour. The tour provides an overview on how to interact with the map including how to view an outage summary by county, outage history, how to search outage information for a specific location and how to find details about an outage such as the cause and status of the responding crew.

 You can access the new map by visiting duke-energy.com/outagemap. Once on the page, select the state to review outages and bookmark the page for future reference.

 View the video tutorial overview to learn how to navigate and become familiar with the new outage map. You can also access a list of FAQs about the new tool.

Present for the John W. Harris Leadership Award announcement were: Johnsonville City Administrator Jim Smith, Florence School District Five Superintendent Randy Smiley, award recipient Alycesaundra Lyerly, Beta Club Sponsor Adrian Filyaw, and JMS Career Specialist Sally Coker.

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The City of Johnsonville is sad to announce the sudden passing of City Councilman Patrick Nettles, age 47, on Wednesday, February 6.   Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kim, and the Nettles family. 

Funeral services will be Saturday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m. at Morris Funeral Home Chapel.  Burial will follow at the Garden of Devotion cemetery. 

Click the the headline above for full obituary. 

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The tank which serves Johnsonville water customers in the Kingsburg area was repainted recently.  The lower part of the tower is painted sprearmint  green and the message "Visit Johnsonville South Carolina" in matching color is featured on both sides of the white tank.

Rainy weather did not stop Johnsonville from holding its annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 1.  Hundreds of local citizens came to see a variety of vehicles and floats parade down Broadway Street.  Rain did not dampen the Christmas spirit and on went the show.  Click the headline to see more photos. Read More

City of Johnsonville employees from the Waste Water Treatment and Street Departments paid a visit to Kindergarten classes at Johnsonville Elementary School on Tuesday, October 2 and gave the students a chance to see the sanitation truck up close and even sit inside.

 “The kindergarten classes enjoyed the visit by Johnsonville sanitation truck,” said Florence School District Five Superintendent Randy Smiley.  “The students thought it was the biggest truck they had ever seen,” Dr. Smiley continued. 

 According to Smiley, all this week kindergarten classes are being visited by community helpers.  “They are being visited by EMS, the City of Johnsonville, mail delivery, a nurse and the police.  This will help students see all of the helpers in our community that provide services to them and keep them safe.”

The Johnsonville Police Department coordinated a free supper for flood relief workers at the Chic Restaurant on Friday, September 21. 

A free meal was provided to 25 police officers and firefighters from the Nashville, Tennessee area as well as local National Guard members working in lower Marion County.

The Chic Restaurant provided the meals at no charge in appreciation for the services these workers are providing to our community.

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The newly renovated Odell Venters Landing was officially opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, June 16.  Senator Hugh Leatherman and Representative Roger Kirby were among the public officials invited by the City of Johnsonville to open the landing on Highway 41/51 just north of the city.

“Odell Venters Landing is used not only by the Johnsonville community, but by boaters and fishermen from surrounding towns and counties as well,” said Johnsonville Mayor Steven Dukes.  “On behalf of all of them, I want to thank Senator Leatherman, Representative Kirby and the rest of the Florence County legislative delegation for securing the funding to create this exceptional recreation facility.” 

Proceeds from the “Water Recreational Resources Fund” were used to fund the $460,000 renovation project.  The fund is distributed to each county based on boat registrations for purposes related to public waterways. 

The City of Johnsonville contracted R.L. Morrison and Sons, Inc. of McClellanville to make the improvements which include a reinforced concrete dual ramp, a new 8’x100’ aluminum floating courtesy dock and a resurfaced parking lot.  Contactor representative Ron Rose of Alpha Construction Company supervised the installation of the ramp.

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