NORWAY -- When Norway Police Chief James Preacher recalls the speeding tickets he's written over the years, it's the Florida woman barreling through town in a brand new pink Lincoln Continental who comes to mind.

"She said, 'How fast was I going? I had the speed control set on 70.' I agreed that's what the radar said. She had got off I-95, with the speed control set at 70, and she was looking at the scenery. It's not unusual, because a lot of people use (Highway) 321."

Preacher says that for those who patrol small towns located on heavily traveled thoroughfares, it's the volume of high-speed traffic that creates the inevitable demand for writing tickets, not the municipality's need to generate revenue.

Like other local government and law enforcement officials in the towns of Norway and Eutawville -- ranked among the top five South Carolina municipalities in per-capita traffic fines -- Preacher clearly rejects the implication that his town is a speed trap.

The dubious distinction for the two Orangeburg County towns came to light in a chart accompanying an April 27 report by The (Columbia) State that focused on traffic stops in the Lexington County town of South Congaree.

The newspaper's analysis of records provided by the S.C. Treasurer's Office shows the town of Norway, with a population of about 389, ranks second in the state in per-capita fines ($469) collected during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The Berkeley County town of Jamestown ranked first ($1,057); while Eutawville, population 344, came in fourth ($294). South Congaree, ($190) ranked 12th.

Preacher and Norway Mayor Rose Dukes both say they have not received one single comment about the article and not one single complaint about the town's ticketing procedures.

"Nobody has called me or mentioned a thing about it. They must not have been too upset," Dukes said. "Not a single soul called, one way or another that they even saw it."

In Eutawville, neither Mayor Robert Collins nor Police Chief Russell Parker has even seen the article, much less heard any unfavorable comments.

"We have over 248,000 vehicles per month coming through here. Those are last year's figures," Collins said. "To write 40 to 60 tickets per month, that's a very, very low percentage and most of them are for other things than speeding. We don't write tickets unless someone is 10 miles over the speed limit, like other towns. We've got signs saying 'reduce speed' and going from (55 to 45 to 30). It's no excuse, if you can't read ... I don't care where you go, if you go over 10 miles over the speed limit, you need to get a ticket, especially in congested areas."

With three highways going into Eutawville -- Highways 6, 453 and 45 -- and lots of Lake Marion area tourists, Collins argues the town's three-member force, in essence, polices the entire eastern end of the county.

Parker, who called rumors of the town being considered a speed trap a "blatant lie" during the April meeting of town council, agrees with the mayor's traffic assessment.

"We have 200,000-plus vehicles a month," he said. "And 59 tickets don't sound like a speed trap to me."

Preacher's concern is that the public may not understand "per capita."

"I'm sure a lot of people read that and didn't really understand it. Actually, it was a very good article; especially the 10 things to do if you're stopped," he said. "The reason we're so high is we are such a small town."

Arguing that town books are open and above board, Preacher notes the tickets are published for all to see.

"Last month there were 56. We have gone as high as 200. I don't think that's a speed trap," he said. "We've talked with our merchants and, if you look at the traffic (it's not). We were identified on the internet as a speed trap. It said we hide in the bushes. Well, if they see you, they'll slow down. The majority of the people who live here in Norway see the traffic. It's a major artery people use instead of I-95. The Highway Patrol says 5,000 vehicles a day traverse Norway ... To be a speed trap, you'd have to write hundreds of tickets."

In addition, the chief says his department allows 15 miles over the speed limit, except on Highway 400, where they allow 10, because of congestion.

"It's a town ordinance and it doesn't affect points," he said.

According to Preacher's estimate, approximately two-thirds of all tickets are issued to state residents; and, of those, probably a third are given to people within a 50-mile radius of Norway.

"We are a well-traveled road to the prison in Estill. On weekends, we're inundated with people going to the prison. And, (Highway) 321 is a major route for tourists," he said. "We get Canadians and people from all over going to Florida and back. I lot of people don't like to drive the interstate."

Like Eutawville, Norway has three speed-limit signs warning approaching motorists -- a reduce-speed sign, a 45-mph sign and a 30-mph sign.

"But the majority just don't pay attention to it," Preacher said.

The chief also stresses that he gives tickers primarily for speeding, drugs and open containers of alcohol; while he gives warnings for such violations as tinted windows, broken head lights or tail lights, and first-offense loud music.

"When I went to the state academy, we were taught to write one ticket and not multiple ones (that) would look like we were persecuting someone," he said. "Now, they're told to write up all of the violations ... If you write up speeding and seat belt (violation) and anything else you find, the average person can't afford to pay several hundred dollars in traffic fines."

With two new police cars and associated costs, Preacher estimates that the town breaks even.

"At the end of the year, we might come out about a thousand dollars to the good or a thousand dollars to the bad. But we pretty well pay for ourselves," the chief said. "If you use that as a standard -- that's what the paper said -- then it's not a speed trap."

That brings Preacher to his "pet peeve."

"Are you aware of how much money goes to the state? At one time it went to the Criminal Justice Academy for training, but in 2001 the Legislature passed a law that we have to take a new assessment," he said. "If we write a ticket for $50, we have to collect $107; $57 goes to the state, straight off."

In fact, the town provides each ticketed motorist with a printed statement explaining that the state has increased the assessment on municipal court fines to 107 percent of the local fine. Also, a detailed accounting is made of how the state distributes its share.

"We're just a collection agency for the state," he fumed.

After about 12 years as Norway's chief, Preacher says he works for the best town in the state.

"There are good people here and they support law enforcement. I don't think a policeman could work in a better town. We are lucky; we don't have the problems that Orangeburg, North, Springfield and Denmark have, not the violence," he said. "We're visible on the road and that's an effective cause of crime prevention. In statistics for the last five or six years, our violent crime rate is down."

Although the mayor acknowledges that town officials had "never figured it up to see how we stood," she says the revenue collected does help "to keep our taxes down." And, she stresses, the two-officer police department protects the town.

"If someone sat in the office here and looked out the window for 20 minutes, they'd see things are really speeding through this municipality. It's for the protection of all our citizens that we do respect our laws," she said. "In Norway, our streets are just two lanes and it's a little more congested than maybe at Neeses ... Our businesses are in the area and people park on both sides of the street and, if people go too fast, it presents a problem."

In addition, the mayor said the town park is across the street from a convenience store and children are constantly crossing the highway. Motorists "have to slow down," she said.

All revenue from the fines go into the town treasury and contribute to the operation of the police department, Dukes said.

"We feel like we've got a nice little town here and we want to keep it safe," the mayor said. "Our biggest problem is litter."

T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545.

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