Public commenters press safety, eviction process; council issues proclamations honoring vitiligo awareness and fatherhood month

At the June 15 Orangeburg County Council meeting, several members of the public urged attention to public-safety trends, eviction procedures and community services, and the council adopted two ceremonial proclamations.

David Thorberg, speaking during public comment, cited a 2024 newspaper ranking that he said placed Orangeburg County third in the state for violent crime and offered calculations he said equate to roughly 2.5 violent crimes per day for the county’s population. Thorberg said particular trouble spots included Edisto Drive and Golf Avenue, and he urged new ideas to help residents and attract businesses.

Landlord Tim Brown told council he had filmed a deputy knocking briefly and leaving eviction paperwork on a tenant’s door; Brown said he counted an 8–12 second interaction and questioned whether the serving procedure—if incorrect—cost landlords days of rent and required additional filing steps. The chair asked staff to research the issue and follow up with the sheriff’s office.

Breanna Parker, founder of the Madd 2 Autism Foundation for Orangeburg, described the organization’s growth, said last year’s foundation event drew more than 1,000 attendees from neighboring states and called for sustained county partnership to expand services locally. Dr. Lawrence Ford of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families asked the council to proclaim June as Forging Strong Fathers and Families Month, describing statewide operations and local outreach through the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition.

The council read and adopted a Vitiligo Awareness Month proclamation and later adopted the fatherhood proclamation; attendees were invited to the front for photographs and brief remarks after the votes.

Council members said they would follow up on the eviction‑service question with the sheriff’s office and thanked local nonprofit leaders for their community work.