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Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Paper Shredding event set for Oct. 28
Sept. 28, 2017

Georgetown County Public Services will host its semi-annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Paper Shredding event in Pawleys Island on Oct. 28.

This event takes place every fall and spring, and grows more popular each year. The purpose is to make it easier for residents on the Waccamaw Neck to dispose of paint, chemicals and other toxic household items that require special disposal. These items normally have to be taken to the Landfill on Highway 51 in Georgetown for disposal. By making proper disposal easier, the department is seeing fewer people getting rid of such items improperly and is helping to keep dangerous chemicals from leeching into the ground and ending up in the water supply.

The Oct. 28 collection event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Palmetto Ace Home Center, 8317 S. Ocean Highway. Georgetown County will give away rain barrels to the first 10 people who bring in at least five qualifying household hazardous waste items. A pet waste disposal system will also be given away, along with other items.

The collection will take place in conjunction with Palmetto Ace’s Fall Festival, which will include face painting, pumpkin painting, games for kids, a bake sale and a pet adoption event with Saint Frances Animal Center. Midway Fire Rescue and Keep Georgetown Beautiful will also partner in these events.

At the most recent collection event back in April, the county collected a record 13 tons of household hazardous waste and nearly 3 tons of paper documents that were shredded. Officials with the Public Services Department said they expect the number of materials collected at these events will continue to grow.

“We’re doing a better job with promotion every year and we’re at a point now where people are asking about these events, they’re telling people about them and they’re holding on to items until the collections roll around every spring and fall,” said Terri Davis, an organizer of the annual collections.

For more information about the collection event, call (843) 545-3524.

 

HHW Collection

Items accepted:	Items NOT accepted:
• Unwanted paint • Used oils • Auto batteries • Rechargeable batteries • Chemicals • Antifreeze • Pesticides • Fertilizers • Other unwanted products   labeled “poison,” “warning” or “caution"	• Waste from businesses • Containerslargerthan5gallons • Explosives • Ammunition • Radioactive waste • Compressed gas cylinders

 

Paper Shredding Event

Items accepted:	Items NOT accepted:
• Mail and envelopes • Bank statements • Medical records • Cancelled checks • Old tax returns • Any other paper documents that need    to be permanently, securely destroyed • Window envelopes • Photos • Blueprints • Magazines  • Brochures • Newspapers * There is no need to remove staples, paper clips, rubber bands or small binders.	• Phone books • Cardboard • Hardcover books • Packing Materials • Plastic bags • CDs/DVDs/computer disks • Transparencies • ID Cards • X-rays • Computer parts and metal items   other than staples and paper clips

 

Is your family ready for Hurricane Season?
Sept.10, 2017

Residents of the South Carolina coast got a small taste this month of what they can expect if a major hurricane heads our way. As Hurricane Irma appeared to be on a track directly for the Palmetto State, grocery store shelves were empty, generators were in short supply, and gas stations from the coast to the Midlands started experiencing shortages.

We all breathed a huge sigh of relief when the powerful storm shifted away from us. While it was hard to feel good knowing our fortune could mean devastation for people in Florida, folks here started taking down their hurricane shutters and went back about their daily lives.

Georgetown County saw only tropical storm force impacts from Hurricane Irma, but even those caused significant flooding in coastal and low-lying areas, destroyed beach accesses and wiped out dunes on sections of  beachfront that had only recently been restored following Hurricane Matthew.

“Even without having completed damage assessment, we know this storm caused significant damage,” said Sam Hodge, Georgetown County Emergency Manager. “If this storm had hit Georgetown County as a Category 3 or 4,  the impacts would have been devastating.”

Hodge said he hopes  residents will think about that and that it might encourage more people to prepare and heed any evacuation orders that may be issued for future storms. Many who tried to buy supplies in advance of Irma saw how quickly items such as water, canned goods and plywood disappear from stores when a storm is already approaching. He hopes this will convince residents to start their hurricane season preparations before a hurricane is headed our way.

“After a storm is out there and we know it’s headed our way, it can easily already be too late,” Hodge said. “The time to start making those preparations — to make sure you have your emergency kit ready and know where you’re going and where your pets are going — is right now.”

Emergency Management officials encourage resi-dents to always have an emergency kit and plans ready . The first day of each hurricane season (June 1) is a good time to review kits and plans, and make sure everything is still good to go.

County officials heard a number of residents complain they had wasted time and money getting ready for Irma after the storm shifted track. Hodge said no one should feel their efforts were wasted.

“Hurricane season is far from over,” Hodge warned. “The season doesn’t end until November, and this is actually the peak of hurricane season. Historically, September and October are when we’re most likely to be hit by a hurricane. I’d always rather spend some time getting ready and end up not needing those preparations, than to wait until the last minute and be sorry. We don’t want anybody to find themselves in that situation.”

Hodge recommends every family, individual, business and group in Georgetown County have a disaster plan in place that includes what to do in a hurricane. Residents should also realize that in the event of a major hit by a hurricane, utilities could be out for weeks and it could take months for life to get back to normal. There’s no avoiding that sort of threat on the coast, so the best thing to do is be as prepared as possible, Hodge added.

For planning information, visit our Emergency Management page or the S.C. Emergency Management Division. Residents can also call (843) 545-3273.

 

Restaurant, community outreach programs included in new airport plan
Sept. 9, 2017

The important role the Georgetown County Airport plays in the area’s tourism and economic development is too often overlooked and uncredited, say members of the County’s Airport Commission.

That group, along with other leaders in the field and county staff, recently completed a master plan to correct that. The plan was adopted this month by Georgetown County Council. It was crafted during a series of work sessions over the last year — including a flight to tour the Greenville Downtown Airport and Donaldson Field.

What the group came up with is a long-range guide for the airport's future that includes making people (locals as well as potential visitors) more aware of the airport, introducing youth to career possibilities in aviation, and growing the business community around the airport. This includes taking steps to make it easier for economic development staff to attract appropriate businesses to property near the airport and opening a restaurant on the airport campus to cater to pilots as well as attract local residents to visit the airport.

It is expected to take about 10 years for all aspects of the plan to be executed. But some components will start to be carried out as early as this year. Among the first goals to be tackled will be community outreach. Airport Commission members will reach out to the Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Alliance and local schools to form partnerships and find ways they can help each other.

Committee members said they see a great need to reach out to local schools, expanding and creating programs that allow students to visit the airport and, in some cases, even take their first flight. There is a huge number of students in the county who have never been on an airplane or even to a regional airport. 

“We have a lack of demand here for flight training and also for mechanical engineering programs up at PIA [Pittsburgh Institute for Aeronautics] in Myrtle Beach,” said said Doug Decker, a pilot and tenant at the airport who led the planning process. “We just haven’t built that demand from the bottom up. We have to reach out to schools at the high school and college level with robust programs and let them know what kinds of opportunities there are for people with those skills. There is good pay and a demand for people in those jobs.”

PIA has a facility use agreement with Horry-Georgetown Technical College, and thus could offer satellite courses on HGTC property in Georgetown.

 The S.C. Aeronautics Commission already has a high school curriculum developed and ready for use that local schools could put in place.

James Stephens, executive director of the state commission, was part of the Georgetown planning group and said he applauds the county’s vision for the airport and is enthusiastic about seeing their goals become reality.

“The development of a business plan will enhance the airport and ultimately the economic viability of the community,” he said. “Airports are a vital part of the transportation infrastructure within their respective communities, and without this critical infrastructure component, economic development efforts are often inhibited.”

Aerospace is the second largest industry in South Carolina, and the coastal region leads in aerospace jobs and services, he added. 

“The strategic efforts that are currently underway will enable Georgetown County to be part of the growth, and doing so at the airport will facilitate further aviation/aerospace opportunities for the state and the county,” Stephens said. “I look forward to the completion of the project, and I believe that the end product will be something that can be replicated across South Carolina at many of our other airports.”

View the long-range airport plan

 

2nd phase of road resurfacing plan under way
Aug. 29, 2017

Georgetown County residents will see more than 60 road resurfacing projects completed by July 2018, thanks to the 1 percent Capital Project Sales Tax voters approved in 2014. This is in addition to more than 40 road projects completed last year during the first phase of work. 

The contract was awarded this spring and crews began paving in mid-July on roads that don’t require concrete work. For roadways with concrete elements, such as sidewalks, driveways and curbs, concrete work must be completed before paving can begin. SCDOT is working closely with the county on the projects. However, dates for completion of specific roadways within the plan are not available, as the order in which roads are completed is up to the contractor. 

View Road List and Completion Status

 

 

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