Darla Kaye Wynne >>
Debra Kelley >>
Name: Donna Abernathy Bryan
Address: 205 Duke St., Great Falls SC 29055
Years at address: 6 months in current house, lived at 20 Argonne
Ave with son since Dec, 2006.
Age: 54
Spouse: Divorced
Children: Robert Bryan and Jeffrey Bryan Both of Great Falls
Your Occupation: Retired Child Protective Services Caseworker in
Ga and SC
Church Affiliation: Mt. Dearborn United Methodist Church
Civic Involvement: Hometown Association
Education: USC did not graduate...enlisted in USAF
BS in Elementary Education, attended school on GI BILL
AA in Lab Tech from Air Force
Military: Enlisted in the Air Force in 1973 and was stationed at
Andrews AFB. Md. This was during the Viet Nam Era but served all time
stateside. Rec'd an Honorable Discharge.
Qualifications: Worked closely with court and legal systems,
attorneys, and schools as a caseworker.
Was appointed Omsbudman for a Nuclear Submarine to work with families.
Member of Foster Parent Board of Directors in Glynn County Georgia.
Previous experience: no elected office
Goals if elected: "To put GREAT back in Great Falls!!" Bring in
more businesses thru tax breaks for those new businesses, and to attempt
to clean the area of so much drug activity.
What do you see as the single most important issue facing the town
and how would you address it? I feel that economic and housing
issues are at the forefront of town problems. To begin we need to begin
to clean up the drug and the areas we live in. New people with come with
positive attitudes if we give them something to be positive about. There
are so many good people in Great Falls...
What other issues do you plan to target? To have the town council
work with the people of the town, representing ALL people not just a
few.
If there were one thing you could change about Great Falls, what would
it be? I feel more police presence is needed, and no one turning a blind
eye to what is happening here. Ask the Sheriff's Dept to work closely
with the local police to regain control of the town for the majoirity of
the people, not just some. Clean up area of drug dealers and other
immoral activities.
What services provided by the town would you like to see change and
why? If we are going to have more people moving into the area the
garbage pick up and trash pick up needs to be better. Have one day a
week when other than trash and yard waste can be collected. People
moving in will need pick up of moving boxes and other things. Most towns
and cities provide this, I was surprised that Great Falls doesn't.
What are your ideas for economic development and what would you do to
attract industry? We need to advertise Great Falls as a safe place
to live and somewhere to bring up your children. Again this will need to
start with cleaning up the area and the drug problems. Drug deals on the
street should not be allowed. We need to bring a positive image to Great
Falls. Tax breaks for companies that come in, and with jobs will come
more people and safer housing. The areas around us are growing and we
need to be able to compete with them. Family oriented areas and
activities would make Great Falls more attractive for industries to want
to place jobs and people.
Do you see any way to cut taxes? Cutting taxes would be nice, but
right now they are needed as they are I feel. As we attract more
business and more home owners then taxes could come down. Let senior
citizens work off some tax money with volunteering at school or other
incentives.
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Name: Darla Kaye Wynne
Address: 44 Walnut Street, Great Falls, SC 29055
Years at above address? Almost 10 years
Age? 43
Spouse? Single
Children & address of residence (town only) none
Your occupation? Bookkeeper/Private Paralegal work/Notary Public
Church affiliation? Covenant of the Sidhe
Civic involvement? Volunteer in the Department of Corrections, Civil Liberties
Education? University of Alaska Fairbanks, Everest University, currently working on a BS in Homeland Security and have taken 6 FEMA Courses for Emergency Planning and Preparedness; I have received certifications as a Certified Medical Assistant, EMT, Flight Medic, Phlebotomist, Certified Nurses Assistant and hold a Secretarial Science Diploma with Honors and currently maintain a 4.0 GPA and have been on the President’s List and have also attended seminars and lectures on gang intervention.
Qualifications? I have the strength and convictions to follow through with anything that I start. I am not a part of the local “buddy” system, so I am not representing anyone other than the people that would elect me. I would have no problem shaking the tree to see how many snakes fell out of it to insure that our local government was acting in the best interest of the people of this town, not their own or those of their “buddies.” If you want to shake up the council, electing me would do exactly that and put them on notice that you are tired of the way things are going and being done. Change would occur by my appointment and I do have the strength and conviction to represent you the people.
Previous experience? I have been an active participant within the meetings of the town council for many years and have worked diligently attempting to insure that we have an open government that serves all the people all of the time and our best interest.
Goals if elected? I want to insure that we have an open government, so that is high on my priority, but also we need to insure that the actions of the council represent the betterment of our community; we spend a lot of money every year and it does not reflect any form of progress that benefits our community; we need to focus on the youth of this town by giving them activities that are productive and healthy; we need a law enforcement community that represents the law in equality to all of the people and we need to focus on bringing in companies and businesses that will hire local people to bring down the unemployment in our town and have our community prosperous in their daily lives.
What do you see as the single most important issue facing the town and how would you address it? The buddy system seems to have its hold in several areas of our community; local government and law enforcement and this system needs to go out the door; the law enforcement community needs to treat our citizens with respect and concern and apply the law equally to all people and the local government needs to represent all of the people; not just rubber stamp want a few want in this town. I feel strongly that if the buddy system is removed from these areas our lives as citizens will be fuller and enriched and we will have the ability to prosper and grow as a community.
What other issues do you plan to target if elected? Our youth has absolutely nothing to do in this town, but to find trouble and this needs to change before we ruin the next generation and the town council needs to focus on the future and the youth are the future of this town.
I would also work on getting the hospitality tax revoked due to the fact that it was done with less than half of a council and was rejected in a full council. Our nation is on the verge of a recession and as we have seen the federal government is working on pulling us out of it by giving the tax payers a refund, our council needs to not give us more taxes to pay because it is only harming our community of an already poor people trying to survive on a daily basis; our hardships need to be considered when the council is considering taxes; we pay a federal, state, county, town, property, vehicle and now a local hospitality tax and once you remove all of the taxes, we are receiving a little over a half of our paychecks; we deserve better and more from our local government.
As a private citizen I have attempted to get a community police committee approved by the council and have been unsuccessful at my efforts, but I feel strongly that it is needed and would use my time as a councilwoman to work on this issue to insure that there was accountability by the local policing community by the community and not those that serve their own interest.
If there were one thing you could change about Great Falls, what would it be? I would remove all those in power and in positions of authority and put qualified and caring individuals in those positions.
What services provided by the town would you like to change and why? The one service that has me dazzled and my attempts to find out how this is done has been blocked constantly by the mayor and council, but CMD has a flat rate fee for services provided by the town and when they do not provide these services they do not give us credit for services not provided; this is not right and maybe even illegal and this needs to be changed.
I would also like to change how the police department behaves and interacts with our community, as well as change some of the positions at the police department.
What are your ideas for economic development and what would do you to attract industry? First, I think we need to help the residents do a makeover of their homes and streets and to do this we would need to apply for grants and work with banking industries to provide this opportunity at an extremely low rate to our community and once we do a makeover of the community it makes it more appealing to industries to move here because they will see a community that cares about each other and their neighbors and one that is prosperous. I feel we should also open the zoning issues so that individuals can work more easily out of their homes, which is a growing trend in America and our community has the opportunity to be more productive in this field. We also have a wonderful area of wildlife and water that can offer many opportunities for nature lovers and our local community can benefit from those that come to our area for nature and wildlife activities. I think we also need to show that we are comfortable with diversity and this will also make us more appealing for growth with industries moving into our community. We currently have to do the majority of our shopping outside the community and this is an area that we need to change as well by tempting more businesses to move to our local community by providing a reasonable tax incentive and competitive property prices.
Do you see any ways to cut taxes? Yes, our taxes should reflect the services of our community and when it boils right down to it, we don’t receive much service from this community by means of the local government and to just provide funds for the council to spend any way they choose is not economically feasible for the people, but extremely beneficial to those in positions of authority and their interest. I would go over the budget diligently to find means to fund the activities needed to run this town, but not at the expense of the people.
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James A Williams, Prefer Jimmy Williams
Address:
38 Pinecrest Avenue, Great Falls, SC
Years at above address: Currently 3 years, 19 years (ages 0 year old to 19 years)
Age: 58
Spouse: Susan K Williams
Children & address of residence (town only): NA
Your Occupation:
Engineer, Incident Management
Church Affiliation:
First Baptist Church, Great Falls
Civic involvement:
I am a Lifetime member of the local Mason Lodge 277.
Within the last 5 years, both my wife of 30 years and I work with abused children in North Carolina in foster care where we took care of small African American children. Also within the last 5 years, we were active members as a Senior Certified Advisor assisting the elderly. I moved from Chapel Hill, NC to Great Falls to care for my father.
Education:
Bachelor of Science “cum laude” from Tulane University, AA from USC, and graduated from Great Falls High School, class of 1968
Qualifications:
Senior Escalations Manager for major telecommunication company where I managed ad hoc problems, turnkey projects, and worked to resolve high profile critical issues where the impact was in the in the million dollar range. Have the capacity to think out of the box and understand that we may face setbacks. If we do not face setbacks, then we are not dreaming big enough. Setbacks are a symptom of success.
Previous experience:
Nothing political, lots of problem solving for major corporations.
Goals if elected?
To bring in new business, tax breaks to allow businesses to expand, thus creating new jobs.
What do you see as the single most important issue facing the town and how would you address it?
How one sees the City of Great Falls and its public image. I see empty buildings that encompass both downtown and uptown. If you are a prospective investor or current business owner who would like to either build a new business or relocate an established business in Great Falls, what is the first thing you see. I see buildings that have stood empty for decades. This is a testament to another agenda and does nothing to fix the image of cascading uncertainties, reinforcing the mental image to pass Great Falls by in lieu of a more attractive, council friendly and inviting environment. I see forgotten places, which are now a paradigm, unnoticed because a generation has lived half a lifetime with the way things are. If this city is going to have a chance, then that mindset has to change on how we see things, or in this case, do not see things or choose to ignore.
What other issues do you plan to target if elected.
If a crisis or issue develops, it seems that our city calls into session a special council meeting to deal with this problem. In my humble opinion, why do we not have a city manager, who is competent, and can make decisions without calling into play the entire city council setting up a scenario where a number of people are bound to disagree on process and solution? This type of incident management is a haven for disagreement that has manifested from historical process resolution.
What other issues do you plan to target if elected.
1 - What is the most abundant thing we have here, our river and the infinite beauty that surrounds her. We need to take a more aggressive stand to bring in business that will create tours, camping, kayaking, and cycling without doing harm to the environment.
2 - The Number Three Republic Mill is approximately 70% in ruin with 30% of its structure still in tact. This is a problem needs to be addressed. There is a vast number of issues that currently confront such a complex problem and the goal should be a win-win for the city and the current owner. This needs our attention.
3 - Similar problem hold true for the Number Two Republic Mill. Explore our short term and long-term options, ascertain a plan and make it happen that can exploit this structure. I have lived in both small and large cities that took an industrial building then converted it into either apartments or stores. They subdivided and leased the newly created space to startup businesses.
4 – What do our children have to do during off hours? I grew up with Springs Park and swimming pools between what was the old library where my mother was Librarian and the now demolished community house. There was a huge park behind this area. Our tennis court and basketball court are in need of attention. I see the night-lights on and the courts empty. Who pays for this energy usage? We need more things to keep our kids off drugs, away from a TV, and getting exercise.
If there were one thing you could change about Great Falls, what would it be?
I would have made sure that I-77 came up Highway -21. Any idiot knows where there is a city with people willing to work, and you build an Interstate Highway, industry will sprout. We are half way between Charlotte and Columbia. What distribution centers would have looked at this area in a different light if the City were sitting on the I-77 Interstate? Look at Richburg and every town and city that took advantage of this. They have jobs. We had three empty cotton mills with Rail Road track going to them. We let all that go and with it, any chance of adapting to change. People and cities that do not accept change are doomed to fail. Today we hear nothing but excuses. Excuses are tools of the incompetent who build monuments of nothingness. Those who use them seldom achieve anything. On a personal note, I would like to see all power lines placed underground. I personally think they are an eyesore, subject to falling trees or limbs and cause power outages. (This is just a personal observation, perhaps some people find them attractive)
What services, provided by the town would you like to change and why?
I believe our police are underfunded or perhaps needs a shift in their focus. Why, one street below me an elderly man was brutally beaten and robbed. When a 911 call went to the Great Falls police, response time was poor. With no response, family members notified SLED who responded all the way from Columbia in less time than it took the Great Falls police to arrive. Personally, about two years ago, we had a break in and some vandals broke into a storage area behind the house. We called the Great Falls Police three times and paid a personal visit to the location only to find it locked. We even left a note on the front door, beside the three voice mails on their dispatch phone. Well, in the past two years, nobody has even had the courtesy to call back and say we do not have the time, gas, or work force to send someone the two miles to our house. I contacted the insurance agent who make the off hand remark, "You should just forget it. The chance of getting the Police to show up to investigate a break in was zero."
What are your ideas for economic development and what would you do to attract industry?
Tax incentives for companies that continue to expand their current business or improve on the building’s appearance. To attract new business, you first have to clean up your own mess. Who wants to move into an area that is not attractive? I would like to see when someone is astonished at how clean the town is verses how dirty.
Do I see any way to cut taxes?
Perhaps, but first a cost analysis of what it would take to get where we need to be should be reviewed. The old adage remains true, that you have to spend money to make money. The same is true in government that tax incentives, when applied with the correct intentions, will reap a positive outcome. Worst case is we clean up the town.
I am a Viet Nam Era Veteran:
I served in the Navy on Nuclear submarines and trained by the Navy Seal Team as a diver. I received and Honorable Discharge.
Special Achievements:
I hold one US Patent, number 4,714,174
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