Chiropractorin Holly Hill, SC

The town of Holly Hill elected a new mayor on Tuesday while the sitting mayors of Elloree, Eutawville and Springfield all won re-election.

Billy Chavis cruised to victory over long-time Mayor William R. Johnson in Holly Hill. Chavis received 309 votes, or 66.6% of the vote, to Johnson's 155 votes, or 33.4%.

“I really appreciate everyone's vote,” Chavis said. “I thank them all. It is time for us to move forward.”

"We have turned a corner," Chavis continued. "We own our own destiny."

Chavis said one of his main goals as mayor will be to “start rebuilding infrastructure and getting us ready for growth.”

In Elloree, incumbent Mayor Mike Fanning received 52%, or 72 votes, to Krista Hasell's 67 votes, or 48.2%.

“I am thankful for everyone who supported me,” Fanning said, noting he was still holding his breath because of the close vote count.

“That is a sacred trust to receive someone's vote. I don't take that lightly,” he said.

Fanning said as mayor he will work for the town, residents, civic groups and businesses.

“We look forward to what a post-COVID economy will do with our business,” Fanning said. “We look to see what residential growth will occur as we widen I-26 and folks and businesses move from the Lowcountry up I-26 to our community.”

Fanning said he hopes people will continue to see the town as being a “nice, safe, Southern community.”

In Springfield, incumbent Mayor Ed Furtick received 83 votes, or 62% of the vote, to Whitney Corbett, who received 49 votes, or 36.57% of the votes.

“I would like to thank them for their support and look forward to serving the people of Springfield for the next two years,” Furtick said. “I would like to congratulate the candidates that ran and those that won and those that did not win.”

“It is good to see that many people in towns interested in their government,” Furtick said. “I hope we now can come together and work for the betterment of Springfield.”

In Eutawville, incumbent Mayor Brandon Weatherford received 34 votes, or 40% of the votes, to challenger Le'shonda Parker's 25 votes.

“Let us put the election behind us and move the town forward,” Weatherford said.

Bowman – two council seats

• Leroy Harley – 69

• Write-ins – 1

Branchville – two running for three council seats

• Brett Banks – 37

• Thomas W “Tommy” Connelly – 41

• Voters cast 38 write-in votes, but the names were unavailable Tuesday night.

Cordova – mayor and four council seats

• James V. Martin – 8 votes for mayor

• Write-ins – 0

• Lee Hughes – 8 votes for council

• Jo Ann Mooney – 8 votes for council

• Jean H. Preveaux – 8 votes for council

• Terry C. Ott – 8 votes for council

• Write-ins –0

Elloree – mayor, two council seats and water commissioner seat

• Michael G. Fanning – 72

• Krista K. Hassell – 67

• Write-ins – 0

• Kim Taisha Gidron – 5

• Write-ins – 0

Council District 4

• Bill Brandenburg – 40

• Write-ins -- 0

Water Commissioner

• Jane Singh - Water Commissioner – 113

• Write-ins –4

Eutawville – mayor and two council seats

• Brandon L. Weatherford – 34

• Daniel Cox - 34

• Richard Chaz Miller – 41

• James L. Nutt – 55

• Write-ins – 1

Holly Hill – mayor and two council seats

• William R. Johnson -- 155

• Write-ins – 0

• George Summerson Jr. – 59

• Write-ins -- 53

Council District 4

• Cynthia Nelson Fuller – 82

• Marvin Wright – 34

• Write-ins – 0

Livingston - one council seat

• George H. Widener – 14

• Write-ins –0

Neeses – mayor and four council seats

• Kenneth L. Gleaton – 29

• Write-ins –0

• Mason Browder - 26

• Paula Dyches Hutchins -- 27

• Julie Renee Olenick – 28

• Wylie Williams – 28

• Write-ins – 0

North – two council seats

• Jennifer P. Williams - 33

• Paige Jeffcoat – 25

• Write-ins –7

Norway – two council seats

Council District 1

• Write-ins – 5 votes for Almanda Holiday

Council District 4

• Write-ins – 3; 2 votes for Shirley Spires and 1 for Almanda Holiday

Rowesville – mayor and two council seats

• Paul D. Bishop – 22 votes for mayor.

• Write-ins -- 0

• Carolyn J.F. Groom – 21 votes for council

• Lannie R. Sanders – 21 votes for council

• Write-ins – 0

Springfield – mayor and four council seats

• Ed Furtick – 83

• Whitney Corbett– 49

• Write-ins – 2

• Francine Edwards - 118

• Lelia Anne Greene – 49

• Gregory Abendroth– 55

• Tiffany M. Brice – 54

• Doug Kinard – 74

• Allen Stanley – 72

• Troy T. Thomas – 46

Vance - mayor and two council seats

• Michael Aiken Sr. – 30

• Douglas A. Chapman - 19

• Eugene Elmore Jr. – 29

Woodford - mayor and two council seats

• Sam Anthony – 6

• Write-ins – 10; Akwete Pettus received 9 votes

• Daniel Green – 12

Write-ins -2

• No one filed for a second council seat after incumbent Norbia M. Pough did not file for re-election.

Cameron – mayor and two council seats

• David W. Summers Jr. – 118

• Write-ins –1

• Wayne Polin – 87

• Terry Fowler – 58

• Jimmy Bryant – 78

• Write-ins – 1

St. Matthews – three council seats

Council District 1

• Linda Archie-Simmons – 22

• Marla Cunningham – 32

• Write-ins – 0

Council District 3

• Deidre Prickett – 5

• Write-ins –0

Council District 5

• Virgil Jacobs -- 26

• Write-ins – 0

Ehrhardt - mayor and two council seats

• Hallman Eugene Sease Jr. – 41

• Write-ins – 2

• Harry Hughes – 38

• Write-ins – 12. No one filed for a second council seat after Bennie Hughes did not file for re-election.

Govan - mayor and four council seats

• Wilma L. Edmonds – 12

• Write-ins – 0

• Elizabeth M. Banks - 12

• Edgar A. Banks - 12

• Willie Mae Daniels - 12

• Erone Edmonds – 12

A litter of puppies dumped in a South Carolina forest is safe thanks to a couple now determined to help the animals find new homes.

The 19 puppies were rescued after someone abandoned them in a wooded area near Holly Hill, according to the Rural Animal Volunteer Effort. Casey Whitehead, who founded the rescue, said the dirt roads behind her home are where people tend to ditch their unwanted pets.

“They use it for a dumping ground,” Whitehead told McClatchy News. “So we make sure that at least once a day we ride those dirt roads multiple times.”

She said she and her husband were headed home Thursday, May 26, when they saw what looked like birds scurrying in the road. They soon realized they were puppies and stopped in the pouring rain to pick them up.

“I get in the woods, and there are puppies everywhere,” she recalled. “I realized it wasn’t just two (dogs). There were way more than that. We start grabbing puppies and piling them into the floorboard of my car.”

The couple operates RAVE out of their home and are working on getting approved as a nonprofit, Whitehead said.

They took 10 puppies home then returned to the woods to make sure they hadn’t left any behind. That’s when Whitehead’s husband nudged her to check a cardboard box that was left in the area. The bottom gave way when she picked it up, revealing nine more newborn pups.

Overwhelmed by the 10 puppies already at home, Whitehead gave the newborns to another animal shelter in the area. She estimates those puppies were less than 12 hours old. One did not survive the night.

It’s not clear how long the dogs were in the woods, and Whitehead believes whoever left them there “didn’t want them to be found.”

“They had plenty of opportunities to drop them closer to (a road) where people actually travel,” she said. “They made sure to take them off into the woods, so nobody would have ever found that box.”

“I’m so glad they’re getting the attention they need because ... somebody knows something,” Whitehead added. “There’s no way that nobody knows where these puppies came from.”

After a week-long quarantine, the puppies are doing well in their recovery and some are ready to be placed in permanent homes as of Thursday, June 2.

“I have 10 dogs that need fosters, and we have multiple dogs that need adopters,” she said.

Holly Hill is about 70 miles southeast of Columbia.

This story was originally published June 2, 2022 2:21 PM.