In April 2023, a who’s who of Richland County Democrats gathered at a sheriff’s substation on the campus of Lower Richland High School to announce the kickoff of a local anti-crime initiative called the Community Cares Project.
For too long, the rural communities of Eastover, Gadsden and Hopkins had been starved for resources and plagued by violence. But now, thanks to an $800,000 federal grant from U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, there was reason for hope.
A small, politically-connected alumni group with a $45,000 annual budget and no apparent criminal justice track record would be leading the effort in partnership with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and several other local government and community organizations…