County council remembers Judge Larry Inabinet

The Barnwell County Council met for the last time under the guidance of current Chairman Harold Buckmon before the chairman seat rotates to Vice Chairman Jerry Creech.

Chairman Creech’s 2023 Goals

Jerry Creech currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the council, and will soon step into the position of Chairman due to the council’s seat rotation every two-years.

In this position, he hopes to make advancements on a multitude of county-wide projects.

“We’re pushing Barnwell County into a modern county,” said Councilman Creech at the meeting.

A handful of projects are already underway, and incoming Chairman Creech hopes to either continue or complete many of them. Some of the projects already in progress are work with the S.C. Dept. of Natural Resources to renovate facilities at the state park, create more recreational opportunities on Lake Edgar Brown, and many more.

Incoming Chairman Creech also proposed county projects from funding from the next Capital Project Sales Tax. This includes a new animal shelter, a new coroner’s facility, a looped system of water service including Barnwell, Williston, Blackville, and Hilda, expanding the detention center to house more federal inmates, and bringing broadband coverage to the entire community.

According to Creech, housing federal inmates would bring more money into the county and would come after extensive conversations with the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Department regarding feasibility.

Councilman Daniel Alexander has been looking into the expansion of broadband services in Barnwell County and plans to continue doing so in the coming months. Incoming Chairman Creech hopes this can be handled by 2024.

S.C. American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission

A resolution was approved to establish the Barnwell County 250 Committee to organize local events in support of the South Carolina American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission.

The S.C. American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission was authorized in the General Assembly in 2018 and its goal is to celebrate and promote the state’s role in the American Revolution by educating, engaging, and inspiring South Carolinians and visitors,” according to their website.

This committee will focus on significant events, people, and places in Barnwell County during this historic period.

Although the event itself will not happen until July 4, 2026 and the committee will experience two chairman rotations, Vice Chairman Jerry Creech brought this resolution before council now in the effort to plan ahead.

For more information about this state-wide initiative Barnwell County will play a role in, visit https://www.southcarolina250.com/.

Resolution of Recognition

Councilman Freddie Houston presented a Resolution of Recognition honoring the late Judge George Lawrence “Larry” Inabinet for his service to Barnwell County.

Receiving the plaque were his family; wife, Judith Bolen Inabinet, daughter, Rachel Wall and her husband Jeremy Wall, and son, George Lawrence “Beau” Inabinet.

“Barnwell County Council wishes to express its appreciation for the many contributions the Honorable George Lawerence ‘Larry’ Inabinet made through his life and for the examples he set,” stated the resolution.

Councilman Houston expressed his personal condolences to the family, and reminisced on some of the many memories he shared with his friend.

Judge Inabinet passed away on November 29, 2022. He left behind a legacy in Barnwell County serving as the Chairman of the Finance Committee at the Williston First Baptist Church and as a Family Court Judge in the Second Judicial Circuit elected in 1983.

2023 Meeting Dates

Below are the regular county council meeting dates for the upcoming year, each is the second Tuesday of the month. These dates were approved at the Dec. 13 meeting: January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13, July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, and December 12.