Branchville Youth Sports report

Branchville Youth Sports (here is a new Facebook link) fielded seven baseball teams and two softball teams in 2015, with more than a hundred players ages 4 to 12, Michael Blankenship informed the Town Council on March 9, 2015.

There were also five soccer teams involving about 30 players, he said.  These teams were led by about 30 volunteer coaches. Last autumn, about 80 players and cheerleaders were involved in the organization's football program. 

Some of the teams travel to, and host teams from, towns across Orangeburg County and several neighboring counties. Home games are played at Horton Field at the intersection of Freedom Road (US 21 North) and Bowman Branch Road (SC 210).

BYS has grown so much that it's running out of room at Horton Field. To meet the increasing demand for athletics and recreational opportunities in the greater Branchville community, not just for youths but for adults as well, the Town of Branchville and Orangeburg County are partnering to build an athletics complex off SC 210 (Bowman Branch Highway) just outside the Town limits. For more information, visit the Newsroom page and the Home page of this website.

The BYS Board received an update on the new athletics complex at its meeting July 27, 2015, at Town Hall. Preparation work includes a boundary survey, a topological survey, a wetlands survey, creation of a design for where each of the facilities will be built, and a review of the design by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. All of that needs to be done before any actual construction can begin. Officials are optimistic that the facility will be ready for spring sports in 2016.

The board meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall on the last Monday of each month.

Take a look at plans for athletic complex

A detailed chart has been put on display at Town Hall that shows the "footprint" for the athletic complex that will be built starting later this year on Classic Road off Bowman-Branch Highway just outside the Branchville town limits. You are invited to come to the Town Hall lobby and take a look during regular office hours (8-12 and 1-5 weekdays).

HealthPlex's limited-time offer: Exercise, get fit, and save 30%

Branchville is proud to have the RMC Healthplex Branchville at 7031 Freedom Road (U.S. 21).  It is one of four fitness centers operated by the Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg & Calhoun Counties. The others are in Holly Hill, Santee and St. Matthews.

The Branchville site is staffed Tuesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 1:30 to 5 p.m. by an exercise physiologist who can assist you in achieving your lifestyle goals. Members get access anytime between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days a week.

For more information, phone (803) 274-4413 and if there is no answer, phone (803) 395-2804. Both numbers are local calls from Branchville. Or phone toll-free in South Carolina: 1-800-476-3377, ext. 2804.

Branchville included in first national study of healthy eating, active living

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the first national study to measure the extent to which communities of different population sizes have implemented policies, standards, and practices that support healthy eating and active living.

City managers and planners, or persons with similar responsibilities, responded for their communities via an online survey. Your municipality was one of approximately 2,200 randomly selected municipalities that completed the survey.

This report presents selected results of the survey and shows your community's responses along with aggregate data for communities that are similar to yours in population size.

As you review the findings presented, keep in mind that there are multiple policies and practices that communities can establish to support active living and healthy eating. Whether these are in place in a given community may depend on factors such as community size, available resources, geography and competing priorities.

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the survey. Your response was important. CDC will use the information you and other communities provided to learn more about the ways communities support active living and healthy eating.

For additional information, contact Dr. Deborah Galuska, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 770-488-6017, dbg6@cdc.gov

NOTE: The survey was completed before the Farmers Market opened.