Growth fuels Kershaw election

Candidates for County Council differ on expanding fire services

By MARJORIE RIDDLE - mriddle@thestate.com

Preparing for growth by expanding fire service and alleviating traffic are key issues for Kershaw County Council District 3 candidates.

District 3, which includes most of Elgin and part of Lugoff, is experiencing growing pains largely because of neighboring Northeast Richland’s explosive growth.

Republicans Charlie Miles and Councilman John Wells are on the ballot for the June 10 primary. Wells is a 14-year incumbent, and Miles a political newcomer.

The top vote-getter will be unopposed in November’s general election.

Both candidates want to expand fire protection, though Miles wants to focus on additional firefighters for Lugoff and Wells on Elgin’s proposed new fire station.

“Lugoff needs a full-time fire department,” Miles said.

Miles, 44, said response times would be better in Lugoff if more full-time firefighters were hired for the mostly volunteer department.

“Time is everything in an emergency,” he said.

But Wells, 53, who has served on council 14 years, said because growth is directly affecting Elgin now, the county should concentrate on building a bigger fire station there to accommodate more firefighters in the future.

“It would be foolish to build a new fire station that does not accommodate 24-hour occupancy because we will need that as Elgin grows,” he said.

Traffic in Elgin is becoming a bigger issue, Miles said.

“We need another traffic light in Elgin (behind Town Hall and Campbell’s Grocery),” he said. “Traffic is heavy in the morning.”

Miles said he’d like to see a bypass around downtown Elgin to keep it from losing its small-town flair.

“We don’t want to make Elgin four lanes because it would wipe out the small businesses,” he said.

Wells disagrees, saying Main Street needs to be widened to at least three lanes, with a median and turn lanes.

“We need to avoid traffic gridlock,” he said. “We’re asking (the Department of Transportation) for three lanes but will eventually go to four.”

The town can maintain its character through neighborhood schools, churches and town government, Wells said.

“Elgin is an interesting mix between suburbia with old families who’ve lived there for generations and, now, families who don’t know their next-door neighbor,” he said.

Reach Riddle at (803) 771-8435.