Gov. Mark Sanford’s 11th hour veto Tuesday of a Francis Marion Tourism Trail has raised ire locally.

The bill to create a Francis Marion Trail Commission was introduced by Sen. Hugh Leatherman in February. The purpose of the commission is to work to establish the trail, a first of its kind for the Pee Dee.

Leatherman said Wednesday he will do all in his power to override the governor’s veto.

“I’m terribly disappointed the governor would see to pick on the Pee Dee area down here,” Leatherman said. “It would appear that the governor relishes and enjoys doing things that are detrimental to the Pee Dee section of South Carolina, one of the poorer sections in the state.”

Leatherman specifically referred to monies Sanford vetoed for Francis Marion, Florence-Darlington Technical College and downtown revitalization.

“All those monies he vetoed, obviously we were able to override the vetoes,” Leatherman said. “But for him to continue to do things that appear to be very detrimental to our section, I really hope that our people understand who their friends are and who their friends aren’t.

“I really hope that they will remember this in the general election in 2006. Here we are, trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and it seems like we get kicked down by the governor every time we make a step forward.”

The heritage trail is the brainchild of Florence attorney Ben Zeigler. He also was disappointed.

“I think we are missing a wonderful opportunity for this region and this state,” he said. “I think this is a bad move, and if it’s not overridden, the governor will have done a disservice to this region.”

Zeigler said he’s baffled by Sanford’s objection to creating a commission to study and implement a tourism trail. He said the project is important because it honors Francis Marion and highlights what he stood for.

And it’s of significant importance because it is a major economic development project that could bring tourism to lower Florence, lower Marion, Williamsburg and Berkeley counties.

“These areas are some of the poorest in the state, and anything that can be done to help them is going to be good for the state,” Zeigler said.

Zeigler said the numbers are there for the trail. But he said the tourism dollars that come into the state virtually bypass the Pee Dee, even though the area has a rich, interesting history.

He said studies have been done on trails similar to the one being proposed. One in particular goes from Virginia and ends in Kings Mountain, N.C.

“N.C. State (University) did a study on this trail and said the expenditures per person on it are about $75 a day,” he said.

“Just think of the hundreds of thousands of tourists traveling through the Pee Dee and spending $75 per person. You’re talking about a real boost to the local economy without a lot of infrastructure required to make it happen.”

Zeigler emphasized that there is no money at stake in the bill because all it did was create a commission that could receive public and private funds.

He said the money for the commission has already been appropriated.

The bill creates a seven-member commission. It empowers the commission to receive money from public and private sources.

“It is a commission that has no governmental power, can’t tax people and can’t force people to do anything,” Zeigler said. “It’s just a commission that could take public money, if money is available, and use it to study this great possibility for this state.”

Francis Marion University President Dr. Fred Carter said he shares his colleagues’ disappointment.

He said the project is an important historical and cultural effort to preserve the legacy of Francis Marion.

“We’ve allowed a lot of these sites to become neglected over the past decades,” he said. “The purpose of the commission is to really focus attention and effort on these preservation efforts.”

The trail would be expected to start at Fort Moultrie in Sullivans Island and follow U.S. 21 up through the Francis Marion National Forest, across the Black and Santee rivers, and past the site of the Battle of Black Mingo into the lower part of Williamsburg County.

From there, the trail would continue through Lake City, Browntown and Johnsonville. It would eventually end at the colonial plantations of Hopsewee and Hampton.

Zeigler said there’s a great opportunity for motorists to leave Interstate 95 to drive along the trail and to draw tourists up from Charleston for a day or overnight trip.

And Johnsonville Mayor Steve Dukes said in an earlier interview that the trail offers a lot of opportunity for motels, restaurants and other outfitters.

“We hope to work with the folks that are trying to develop this and make Johnsonville a focal point,” he said. “We think that there’s a lot of historical things that were happening right here in Johnsonville.”

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