JENKINSVILLE — Fliers and promotional material for Jenkinsville’s upcoming small mouth bass fishing tournament were the buzz at the April meeting of Jenkinsville Town Council.
The Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce is helping promote the May 18 event, which will occur rain or shine unless there is severely inclement weather, according to Jenkinsville Mayor Gregory Ginyard. The free event from noon to 6 p.m. will include hourly gift giveaways for children, bounce houses, games, and crafts.
Food vendors also will be on hand for the event which organizers hope will be part of a resurgence for Jenkinsville and the western side of Fairfield County. Registration forms for anglers can be picked up at Jenkinsville Town Hall and at various businesses around town.
In other business, Ginyard reported that the S.C. Department of Transportation is still working on securing landholder permission before proceeding with the town sidewalks project, but that the process is going well.
Council went into executive session for a contractual matter but no action was taken when members came back into open session.
Jenkinsville Town Council did choose to support a newly formed AAU basketball team by donating $250. Terry Chappell and his coaches and players attended the meeting and requested Jenkinsville Town Council consider sponsorship of the Fairfield Thunder.
“These boys were playing AAU ball in Columbia, but we realized we had the talent and opportunity to bring this team to Fairfield,” Chappell said.
The AAU project would give the young men something to keep them off of the streets and an incentive to be true student-athletes. Assistant Coach Lamont White said the boys will be held to the same academic eligibility standards that Fairfield Central High School requires.
This is to push the youth to excel. Soon the minimum GPA for college acceptance will increase from 2.0 to 2.5 for the NCAA. White believes that any serious student could earn a 2.5, but the students need encouragement from people who believe in them and from people they respect, like coaches.
“This is a good thing for the Western side of Fairfield County,” Councilman James Trapp said. “It is a good thing for the neighborhood.”
The summer league basketball would be a positive influence to reduce idle hours when teens could get up to mischief. Instead they want them to dream, believe and achieve in life in general in addition to sports. As part of the AAU experience these youth and their parents would receive opportunities to attend workshops informing them about changing NCAA academic eligibility standards.
“I think this is a great thing you all are doing,” Ginyard said. “The majority of these boys are from our community.”
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