Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Our mission is to add to our community, not divide it!
We want to inform our community by fully and fairly covering the good and bad news. That’s how we learn and grow, which then creates a better future!
We love publishing the positive things that are happening in our community, such as sports, fundraisers, people overcoming life’s obstacles, births, weddings, and academic achievements, to name a few. We often refer to this as “refrigerator journalism” because they are things you want to clip out of the newspaper and post on the fridge as a source of pride.
However, it’s also important for newspapers to cover the events, topics and issues that are not so positive. This includes crime, accidents, government misdoings, controversies, and more. They aren’t the easiest topics to cover, but they are important so citizens can be informed about what’s happening. It also allows us to work to make our community better.
One example of this is holding public officials accountable for their actions. Whether they are elected, appointed, or hired, it’s important that public officials act as good stewards of the people they represent. They are entrusted with great responsibilities, including setting policies, hiring/firing employees, establishing budgets, using taxpayer funds, etc.
The S.C. Freedom of Information Act governs how these public officials should operate. They keyword is “should” because public officials/public bodies don’t always follow the law.
Sometimes it’s out of blatant disregard while other times it’s due to a lack of understanding. Regardless of the reason for their actions, it’s a newspaper’s job to act as a watchdog on local government.
The People-Sentinel has always been committed to that goal since our inception in 1852. At times, we haven’t fulfilled this mission as well as we would have liked, particularly over the last decade as layoffs and budget cuts left our staff just a shell of what it once was.
However, we are once again growing – not only the size and content of our newspaper but also our team. Shifting to local ownership in 2021 after decades of corporate ownership has been a blessing. The extra staff and resources allow us to better serve our community.
We’ve investigated the state of animal control in Barnwell County after a local resident was attacked by dogs over the summer as she walked to work.
We’ve also questioned public officials on their specific purpose – or lack thereof – for entering closed (or executive) session. Simply stating “personnel/employment matter” or “contractual matter” is not sufficient. It needs to be more specific.
Two weeks ago, we reported violations by Barnwell City Council and Barnwell County Council over failing to state the “specific purpose” for entering closed session. Both listed vague reasons for closed session. City council listed “personnel/procedures/informational briefing” as their reason. After asking city council to clarify the specific purpose, city leaders said they did not know the exact reason for the closed-door meeting because the sheriff requested the meeting. Both councils seem to have learned from the past because they stated the specific purpose for closed session at their next meetings.
As reported in this week’s edition, the Barnwell County Consolidated School District planned to enter closed session for “personnel”, “contractual”, and “student” matters at their meeting last week. Prior to the meeting, we asked the superintendent for more specific purposes. The school board amended the agenda at the meeting to include those specific reasons.
We appreciate Barnwell City Council, Barnwell County Council and the BCCSD for listening to our concerns and then working to address them. It’s important we communicate and work together. That’s how we all grow!
As we celebrate National Newspaper Week, our staff wants to thank everyone for the support of our locally-owned newspaper! You have helped us grow our circulation over the past year as we’ve sought to grow our product.
We are committed to keeping you informed through factual, unbiased, and fair reporting.
