House of Refuge holds ribbon cutting

A ribbon cutting for House of Refuge was held on Tuesday evening at the Darlington Library, 204 N. Main St., in Darlington. House of Refuge provides secure shelter for those involved in domestic abuse. The locations of the facilities are not disclosed in order to protect the safety of those housed there. Tonya Flowers (center), Founder of the group, has been doing this for over 10 years and thanked everyone involved in bringing this to fruition. She gave special thanks to Trinity UMC, First Church of God, St. Matthews Anglican Church and Pastor Ragland “Rags” Coxe, First Presbyterian Church, Central Baptist Church, the Florence Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Joe Ervin, Former Mayor Anthony C. “Tony” Watkins, the Naomi Project, Robert “Bobby” Kilgo, Roseanne Brasington, Sheriff James B. Hudson Jr., Cissy Weatherford, Phyllis Caples, Mary Lovelace and all others who helped with donation, construction materials, labor and food for the workers. PHOTO BY STEPHAN DREW