Fire Safe South Carolina, and its partners, congratulated 207 South Carolina fire departments in April for receiving their 2024 Community Designation.
Camden Fire Department, Lugoff Fire Rescue and Kershaw County Fire Service were all among the designated communities continually work to reduce home fire-related injuries in South Carolina, thereby decreasing the risks for residents and firefighters. They promote consistent fire and life safety messaging and stress the importance of providing data collected in response to fires and other emergency calls for service.
The 207 fire departments receiving the community designation represent a nearly 35 percent increase from the previous year.
“The enthusiasm for obtaining this designation continues to grow,” Community Risk Reduction Chief Josh Fulbright said. “Many departments have received this recognition for the first time, some seek it again with new purpose, and others receiving since the 2017 inception continue to build depth within their organization.”
Departments will be formally recognized during a June 13 award ceremony at the 2025 Fire-Rescue Conference in Myrtle Beach. The ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m.
To earn Community Designation, fire departments complete courses to increase their departments’ Community Risk Reduction efforts, document opportunities for public education, and work with partners to address risks in their community. Camden Fire Department has received the Community Designation every year since its inception.
Last year, because of statewide efforts, 279 community partners were identified (11 percent increase since 2023), nearly 1,284 fire service members were educated on risk reduction-related topics (nearly triple since 2023), and more than 1.1 million citizens (70 percent increase since 2023) were educated on fire and life safety topics.
“As a result of the hard work, commitment, and dedication of these departments and their community partners, more than one million citizens were educated on ways to stay “Fire Safe,” Fulbright said. “Efforts will not stop there. We will continue to work together to educate even more citizens and implement other risk reduction practices proactively to get ahead of calls for service in South Carolina.”
Launched in 2017, partners in Fire Safe SC include the S.C. State Firefighters’ Association, the S.C. State Association of Fire Chiefs, the S.C. Fire Marshal Association, the S.C. Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators and the S.C. Office of State Fire Marshal. Together, they announce the following 207 fire departments have obtained the Fire Safe SC Community Designation.
The City of Camden continues to host a summer series of small business workshops at the Camden branch of the Kershaw County Library. Kat Spadacenta, Community Development Coordinator, and representatives from the business support community will lead workshops for small business owners and any member of the public wishing to attend.
Workshops will be held on Tuesday June 3, Thursday June 12, Thursday July 10, and Tuesday July 29 at the Camden Library Branch, 1304 Broad Street. All workshops are from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.
June 3 – Make Sure Your Business is Seen Online These days, it’s necessary to have your business found online. Learn how to make the most of Google Search, Google Business Profile, Trends, and what you need to achieve on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to make sure you are seen by potential customers and loyal followers alike. Bring a laptop to this workshop.
June 12 – How to Get Started in Business! Do you know the difference between a C Corp, Subchapter s, LLC, Partnership or Sole Proprietorship? Which is better for you? How much does it cost to get started? Where to incorporate? Where will you pay the least amount of taxes? What about accounting? Small business consultant Jeffrey Cooper will have all your questions answered.
July 10 – Learn the Basics of Google Ads It doesn’t take a huge budget to market your business! In this workshop, you will learn how to reach more customers and grow your business with Google Ads. Learn how to create an account and set up an ad campaign, write great ads, refine keywords, and include ad extensions, and measure success. Bring a laptop to this workshop.
July 29 – Financing Your Business In this workshop, led by small business consultant Jeffrey Cooper, you will be able to identify the different types of financing and their requirements and pitfalls. What are the basic needs to obtain financing for your small business? What is right for you?
For more information, contact Community Development Coordinator Kat Spadacenta at 803-549-5648 or kspadacenta@camdensc.org.
The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour returns to Kershaw County for one day only, Saturday, May 31st from 9 am to 4 pm. Join in this free, self-guided tour of farms and markets, and art spaces.
Experience farm living at Granny Creek Homestead, immerse yourself in art, see antique tractors and so much more at the Arts Center of Kershaw County and Camden Art Shoppes, and fill your belly and basket with farm fresh, locally produced items at Gorget Distilling Company and the Kershaw County Farmers Market.
The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour is now in its fourteenth (14th) year, and has 22 counties participating in 2025. This annual agritourism attraction is a great way to educate people about where their food and fiber come from and introduce them to local artisans.
“We are proud of the commitment of our farms, artisans, and county teams. Because of that, we can sustain continued growth,” says Will Culler, Clemson Extension Agribusiness Agent, and Tour Director. “One of our goals has been to give people a better knowledge of what is produced in their backyard and help them to support local businesses while making healthier food choices. This event does that by putting food and product with a face.”
The following sites will be featured in Kershaw County May 31st, from 9 am to 4 pm:
Granny Creek Homestead, 257 Payne Pond Road, Westville – Have you ever wanted to know how to start a small homestead or see where the goat milk soaps come from? Tour this 10-acre homestead and visit with the chickens. Or pet, feed and milk the Nigerian Dwarf goats and see demos from the farmers on site. Artisans will be on site as well.
Arts Center of Kershaw County, 810 Lyttleton Street, Camden – The artistic hub of Kershaw County, the Arts Center’s 3 acre campus is in the heart of Camden. See live demos including chair caning, fabric ice dying, basket weaving, and more! Other activities include tortoise and hare races, hosted by Pine Tree Hill Wildlife Rescue, all natural henna tattoos, and an antique tractor petting zoo. Food and beverages will be sold on site, including the award-winning Camden Jaycees BBQ.
Kershaw County Farmers Market, 906 Broad Street, Camden – 9 am-12 pm only – Voted #1 Farmers Market in South Carolina in 2023, this is a family-friendly (pets included) place to enjoy the very best of South Carolina-grown and made products. Locally-grown produce, meat and dairy products, fresh baked goods and desserts, artisan crafts, food trucks, and more.
Gorget Distillery, 1974-A Whiting Way, Lugoff – Open 9 am – 4 pm – Kershaw County’s only distillery and a member of the Certified SC Grown program, customers are able to tour the distillery, view the spirit making process and understand how it all starts, in the field, to end in the glass. Learn from the owners how their partnerships with local farms makes the whole process sustainable. Visit artisans and food trucks on site. Distillery Tours given every 30 minutes beginning at 10:00am.
Camden Art Shoppes, 1011 Broad Street, Camden, Open 9 am – 4 pm – This local artist cooperative gallery and retail space consists of 80 artists, some of whom produce art related to agriculture and farming. Here you will see demonstrations throughout the day, including Bob Ross style plein air in the morning, mosaics and felting inside the shops, beekeepers and antique tractors outside, and art of healing instructions using medicinal herbs and teas.
Camden City Council would like to obtain your input for the development of a new housing and growth initiative for the city. Please complete this brief survey to provide your input on how the City should manage future housing and subdivision design. This survey is one of several efforts that Council will be making to obtain as much citizen input as possible during this process, and will be utilized in conjunction with information collected during the planning charrette on April 22, 2025 in order to determine how the city should amend the comprehensive plan and development related ordinances. The survey will remain open through May 17, 2025.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete the survey – your input is important to this process.
I am so honored to be the Mayor of Camden, serving with an incredible City Council and staff. And your new City Administration has hit the ground running. At the City, we have: changed meeting dates to make council meetings more accessible to the public, started a quarterly newsletter so that our citizens and customers know more of what is going on, appointed citizen-led task forces to make recommendations on how to improve Camden, begun public strategic planning on zoning and how Camden should grow, acquired critical downtown property for redevelopment, removed dozens of overhead power poles, and created an employee of the month program to reward and encourage our wonderful City employees. Council is also focused on how we can save money, including selling off excess City owned property- did you know that the City owns a lakefront lot and cabin on Lake Wateree?
If you are not a City resident, but receive City utility service, we would love for you to join Team Camden and become a resident. Adjoining property owners can choose to join the team and become City residents by applying to the City. Benefits may include lower water rates, lower sewer rates, no fee for fire protection, and law enforcement service from Camden’s dedicated police force. If you live in an adjoining neighborhood, your entire neighborhood may be eligible to join Team Camden if 75% of the residents want to become part of our wonderful City and enjoy the many benefits of Camden.
The City of Camden is an incredible place to live, work, and visit. And I am thankful to join with you in making it even better!
The City of Camden is seeking an engineering firm to evaluate and propose viable solutions to correct existing deficiencies and provide alternatives with estimated costs to correct safety issues at the Sunnyhill Upper Pond Dam near 1211 Sunnyhill Drive (S28-0560) Camden SC. The dam is privately owned by the citizens in the residential community. The SCDOT road that is located across the dam is currently closed due to a sinkhole that is believed to be related to underlying problems with the spillway/underdrain. The project will evaluate the condition and stability of the dam and roadway.
Firms interested in the project are to submit resumes and other documentation by 2:00 pm on Thursday May 15, 2025. Please direct all inquiries to Jack Thornsberry – Director of Public Utilities jthornsberry@camdensc.org.
