Hormone Replacement Therapy in Tega Cay, SC

TEGA CAY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The Tega Cay city council approved another round of culling 80 deer to prevent overpopulation during its November council meeting.

“We were successful in what we did. Where we are right now with our population of deer is a good place,” said Tega Cay councilmember Brian Carter.

Carter was the lone vote against the decision. He says he hadn’t received any complaints about deer in a year, and neither had other members.

“I don’t feel a reduction should be justified,” Carter continued.

City council approved the wildlife management plan in 2023, which approved killing some of the city’s deer population in order to control overpopulation in the area. The plan also set the sterilization of hundreds of deer into action.

But, city leaders say there is a need to kill 80 more to reduce the hazards that overpopulation can lead to.

“People just seem to have kind of accepted the fact that the population has decreased. And just even though we still do have some deer out there, I think they’re making peace with the fact that they can hopefully still live with the ones that we have,” Mary Ickert said.

MORE | Deer hunter said Tega Cay’s culling approach is not solving the overpopulation issue

Ickert has been a proponent for sterilizing the population, saying it does take longer and it’s more humane.

“It’s been actually really disheartening to see the decline in population. I used to see six to eight nightly walk through our yard and now I see one, two, one, two to once a week, if that. It’s been it’s been staggering to see the lack of deer even driving around. You just don’t see them anymore,” she said.

She spoke to city leaders during the November meeting — hoping to change their minds before the vote.

“I definitely feel like culling is not necessary this year because of the lack of deer we seem to be having. Culling is such a decisive topic in our community. It’s also just a band-aid. It doesn’t target the root cause, which is reproduction.”

Ickert says sterilization is a multi-year commitment, and investment is long-term.

“It was always meant to be long-term. So when they agreed to bring in the sterilization project, we all were assuming it was going to be the long multi-year project. So when they didn’t come back in the fall, it just felt very disappointing that they weren’t going to be following through with that,” she said.

Mayor Chris Gray says the decision was based on one thing — money.

He says the sterilization company the city was using nearly doubled its price for the job, leaving leaders with no choice.

That original plan cost the city $300,000; to cull it was less than $30,000.

“What we’re trying to achieve is a healthy herd. And we’re trying to achieve a herd that doesn’t damage people’s property. You don’t see them climbing up on people’s backs, and you don’t see them in everybody’s backyards like they were. The brow line is going away, which is what we were trying to accomplish,” he said.

Ickert says she understands the city had a tough decision to make, and there are several neighbors still looking to make a difference somehow.

“We still have a team of concerned citizens that are focused on celebrating the females that are now tagged. They are treated. They are safe from being culled. They are basically spayed, so they’re not going to be pregnant and nursing year after year after year. They’re healthier. And the most important thing is they’re contributing to less population because they’re having zero fawns,” she suggested.

Gray says leaders went through the proper steps to get the culling approved. The deadline is March 1.

TEGA CAY — Voters in Tega Cay will choose between two candidates in February to fill an open city council seat left vacant when a former member was elected mayor in November.

Tega Cay residents Liz Duda and Jim Foltz filed for the opening by the noon deadline on Dec. 8 for the special election. They have about two months to campaign before the Feb. 3 vote.

Duda, who works part-time in banking supervision and regulation at the Federal Reserve in Charlotte, has spent several years in volunteer roles for Tega Cay.

She was on the Water Citizen Advisory Council in a battle against sewage spills a decade ago, led walkability studies around the city’s playground and Fort Mill High School, and was a member of the Health and Active Living focus group, which contributed to the comprehensive plan update in 2025.

Her opponent, Foltz, is a retired military officer and financial services executive.

“I learned a lot about the priorities and concerns of residents as a campaign volunteer, knocking on hundreds of doors and speaking with dozens of voters during our recent municipal elections,” Foltz said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Early voting is set for Jan. 20 through Jan. 30, but only at the York County Voter Registration and Elections Office in York. Seven precincts in the Tega Cay area will be open for the special election date.

In November, residents backed Mayor Pro Tem Carmen Miller to take over as mayor, which left her seat open and triggered the special election. Miller received 49 percent of the vote over a pair of challengers, Alice Dobleske and John Tukker.

The mayor and council members serve four-year terms. February’s winner will finish out the two years remaining in Miller’s council term.

Incumbent Mayor Chris Gray initially filed for re-election but subsequently dropped out ahead of the November election.

Also that month, voters retained incumbent Councilman Thomas Hyslip and added Heather Jones to the governing body.