Bryan Cody Rodgers, a student of Wagener-Salley High School, won 1st place at the South Carolina State Fair in the Hobby Crafts Section. Cody is currently in 10th grade and is an amateur taxidermist. His entry to the fair was a squirrel, which he shot and stuffed. Congratulations!
WRDW News 12 spoke with Jamie Preacher this past September about the future of waterline replacement projects in Wagener. Read more from News 12 here. Preacher has been doing a lot of pipe patching lately. We had another high pressure break out at Sand Dam Road October 21st. Preacher said he's trying to be patient, but we've been waiting a year now for the Rural Infrastructure Act to get processed and acted upon by the Governor's office and the House. Rep. Bill Clyburn led in authoring the bill which will provide funding for small, underdeveloped counties. The town of Wagener plans to use this funding on two areas of main water line that need immediate replacement: Hwy 39 from the Piggly Wiggly to Busbee's Hardware and Lee Street down to Center Street on Hwy. 113. Updating our infrastructure will bring more businesses and more jobs to Wagener.
The Girl Scouts of America will once again offer a meeting group in Wagener soon. If you want to sign a child up for the group or if you'd like to volunteer, call Heather Hall at 803.640.9381.
The Wagener Fire Dept. has acquired a used 75' ladder truck. This truck can also be used to supply power to our water system should it be lost for any extended period of time. The fire truck arrived in mid-August.
Sneak Peek at First Responders Memorial Under Construction
“The First Responders memorial is one of the single greatest things happening in this area since I’ve been here,” Tanner said as he spoke to a crowd in excess of 350 at the Midlands First Responders Remembrance Memorial Fundraiser Dinner. “We have so many heroes, and in our world, we sometimes make mistakes on who our heroes really are,”
The Midlands First Responders Remembrance Memorial will honor the midlands firefighters, law officers, military men and women and medics who have given their lives in the line of duty since the 9/11 attack. The memorial will feature two large twisted beams taken from Ground Zero in NY and will be placed next to the convention center in the Vista, Columbia. Pelion stone carver, Ron Clamp of Memorial Designs has been commissioned to carve the monument.
The memorial will feature the names of first responders from the nine county SC Midlands area that have died since the 9/11 terrorist attack. The Wagener Salley area will have more first responders on the memorial than any other city in the nine county area. No other town has sacrificed more than the Wagener Salley area.
We are happy to report that we recently received the grant to build the new wagon house that will be placed on the grassy median between Hwy. 39 and the Wagener Fire Department. Hoover Builders has contracted for construction and hopes to have it finished and occupied by Fall 2011.
Wagener's original carriage will be placed in the wagon house as it was in the original wagon house at the corner of Park and Earl Streets.
The new wagon house was originally planned to be placed across from the post office, next to the library. Shortly after land clearing was started, that plan was abandoned because of SCDOT's requirement for a retention pond.
A T38 Aircraft similar to the one Donald Cooper flew will soon be placed in Wagener at the site of the former EMS/Sheriffs Department building on Hwy. 39 across from the Piggly Wiggly. The aircraft will stand as a memorial for Cooper, a pilot from Wagener who died in the early '60's while flying for NATO in Italy. Plans for the memorial include a bronze sculpture of Cooper that will stand in front of the aircraft.
The EMS and Sheriffs Department has moved from its former location on Park Street across from the Piggly Wiggly to its new location on the corner of Church and Earl Streets behind First Baptist Church.
Deconstruction on the former EMS Building will begin soon. After much study, it was determined to be unsalvageable.
The T38 Aircraft Memorial currently is placed at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Recently, Dr. Henry Ponder donated 5-1/2 acres in Wagener to be used for recreational purposes. This land, together with 5 acres of land previously donated anonymously, is located behind the Wagener Fire Department off Highway 39. Plans for the park are under development and construction has begun to clear the land. Town employees will be clearing the land using the town's Bulldozer and other equipment. Funding for the park comes from the 1% Capital Improvements Tax.
Focus for the park's development will be primarily on safety. Wagener residents have been expressing the need for a park where small children and the elderly both feel safe. Future plans for the park include relocating the Police Department and possibly the EMT Station inside the park corridors which would also be adjacent to the Fire Department.
The first area of park development will be the Yaspin Community Center. The Yaspin family previously donated the Wagener Manufacturing Building to be used as a town community center. In short time, we realized the Manufacturing Building could not meet all the demands of a community center. As an expression of gratefulness to the Yaspin family, we plan to name the new Community Center after their family name.
The Yaspin Community Center will be available for business meetings, wedding receptions, family reunions and holiday celebrations; designs currently include an attached open-air pavilion. This building could possibly become a hurricane evacuation center since we are on the evacuation route.
In addition to the community center, park plans include a walking track, an amphitheater, several picnic shelters, a playground, a visitor center, a multi-purpose athletic field and a water splash pad. Plans are subject to change as the park is developed.
The Nancy Bonnette Branch Library is closed for renovation. Current plans have the library re-opening in December 2011. Until renovations are completed, patrons can reserve and check-out materials from the bookmobile. The bookmobile will be at the Wagener Pavilion each Wednesday from 10 - 4. Library materials may be returned throughout the week at the bookdrop located in front of Wagener Town Hall.
Demolition has started at the original Kent's Korner on the corner of Church and Main Streets, Wagener. This land, the site of the very first Kent's Korner, was generously donated by the Ingram family to be used for the town's benefit. Wagener received the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the SC Dept. of Commerce and will use these funds to develop this land for the town's use.
Plans for the use of this property are currently being discussed and include some green space with a lawn, trees and maybe a fountain as well as some paved space with parking spots to decrease the need for street parking on Main Street where visibility is difficult.
