Saturday flood reminders: Volunteers, tetanus shots, building permits
FREE TARPS
Tarps will be available beginning 8 a.m. Saturday while supplies last at the following water distribution sites to help residents cover items placed outside of flooded homes.
▪ Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln St.
▪ Walmart, Forest Drive near Fort Jackson
▪ Richland Mall, 3700 Landmark Drive
▪ Eastover Park, 1031 Main St.
▪ Gadsden Community Center, 1660 S. Goodwind Circle
▪ Crane Creek Community Center, 7405-B Fairfield Road
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP HOMEOWNERS
The United Way of South Carolina is asking for volunteers across the state who can help victims clean debris from their flood-stricken homes and sort the debris at the curb. United Way requests that volunteers register here: getconnected.uwasc.org/drm
Debris removal workers are asking homeowners to separate the debris into six categories to speed the removal process: household garbage, construction debris, vegetation, household hazardous waste, electronics, and appliances (white goods).
Debris removal will occur for the next several months, and volunteers can help by putting together Flood Buckets for survivors, consisting of a 5 gallon bucket, sponges and scrub brushes, heavy-duty gloves, a retractable utility knife, mold control spray, bleach and disinfectant.
TETANUS SHOTS
DHEC is providing tetanus shots to residents Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at A.C. Flora High School and from 3 to 5 p.m. on Seawright Road in the Pine Glen subdivision in Seven Oaks.
On Sunday, clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Garners Ferry Adult Activity Center, at 8620 Garners Ferry Road in Hopkins, and at the Irmo Branch Library, 6251 St. Andrews Road.
NEED PET FOOD, BLEACH, WATER?
The American Red Cross is providing clean-up kits, containing bleach and other items, as well as dog food and water beginning 9 a.m. Saturday at 1703 Atlas Road in south Columbia.
BUILDING PERMITS
Anyone making repairs to a flood-damaged structure in the city of Columbia needs a zoning and building permit issued by the city’s Development Center.
Columbia officials are asking contractors and property owners who are seeking a permit to proceed with repairs on storm-damaged buildings to contact permit officials at the city’s Washington Street office building.
More information about the permitting process can be found online at http://www.columbiasc.net/development-inspections or by calling (803) 545-3483.
Columbia officials cannot authorize permits for property that lies in a floodplain. That requires federal approval. For more information on the Floodplain Development Permitting process, please visit http://www.columbiasc.net/floodplain.
WATER FILLING STATIONS
Customers can bring their own containers to city water filling stations, open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. These are in addition to water distribution centers. They are:
▪ Dutch Square, 421 Bush River Road
▪ Midlands Shopping Center, 2638 Two Notch Road
▪ Former Sam’s Club parking lot, 1401 Sunset Drive
▪ Walmart, Forest Drive near Fort Jackson
▪ Richland Mall, 3700 Landmark Drive
▪ Lower Richland High School, 2615 Lower Richland Blvd.
▪ Eastover Park, 1301 Main Street, Eastover
▪ Gadsden Community Center, 1660 South Goodwin Circle
JURY DUTY CANCELED
Richland County Central Court’s jury trials have been canceled for the week of Oct. 12. Jurors should not report.
HOMELESS PETS
Pawmetto Lifeline, which receives funding from Richland County, is seeking volunteers to commit to two weeks to foster an animal in need because of the flooding. Training is provided. Find out more at www.pawmettolifeline.org.
GUARDSMAN HURT IN HIT-AND-RUN
Richland County sheriff’s deputies are seeking help in locating a suspect responsible for injuring a State Guard officer during a hit-and-run incident Friday morning.
Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Curtis Wilson said the guardsman was directing traffic outside of Harvest Hope Food Bank on Shop Road when a driver struck him, then fled the scene.
Wilson said the guardsman’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Witnesses said the driver intentionally hit the guardsman, Sheriff Leon Lott said. Lott said when the suspect is caught, he will be charged with attempted murder.
Lott said the vehicle involved is described as having a partial license plate of 717. Witnesses told The State newspaper the vehicle was silver or gray in color.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are urged to call Crimestoppers at 1 (888)-CRIME-SC.
TWO DAMS GET THUMBS UP
The dams at Lake Catherine and Lake Columbia were given a thumbs up after a DHEC inspection. After a re-inspection, they were declared in “good condition,” Richland County officials said.
3 MORE LOOTING ARRESTS
Three people were charged by local authorities on Friday, bringing to five the number of people charged since Sunday with looting during a state of emergency.
Jeremy Jeffers, 32, was accused by Columbia police of stealing miscellaneous items from front yards of flood victims at the 1200 block of Glenhaven Drive, just off South Beltline Boulevard.
Richland County charged two people with looting after a report of vehicles being broken into Thursday night at an apartment building, also off South Beltline.
Wilshawn Wilson, 21, and Shareeka Dreher, 21, were located by deputies, allegedly with a stolen car battery in their possession.
“Looting will not be tolerated, and those caught will be charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison,” Sheriff Leon Lott said.
Lott’s deputies arrested two men Thursday, also in the Glenhaven Drive area, allegedly taking items from people’s yards.
FIREFIGHTER RECOVERING
A Columbia firefighter who was rescued Sunday in Lower Richland after almost an hour of hanging onto a tree is doing well, fire chief Aubrey Jenkins said Friday.
Jenkins has not released the firefighter’s name, but said he has not been with the department long.
The firefighter stepped off a fire truck into what he did not realize, because of flooding, was a deep hole, Jenkins said. The firefighter was submerged under water but managed to surface and grabbed onto the tree.
For a while, the fire department did not know where he was, the chief said earlier this week. The firefighter did not require hospitalization, Jenkins said Friday. He had gone by himself to a rescue call at a flooded home along Bluff Road, authorities said this week.
“When you know that one of your firefighters is missing, that’s something you don’t want to hear,” Jenkins said at the time.
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Saturday flood reminders: Volunteers, tetanus shots, building permits."