roofer in Jedburg, SC

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign event in Summerville Monday predicting a record-breaking win in the South Carolina Primary as he campaigned for a second term as commander-in-chief.

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

He told the crowd that his last two years in office were the best two years South Carolina boat builders and South Carolina businesses have ever had, saying that boat builders couldn’t make the boats fast enough.

“When I left the office business was roaring like a 400 horsepower Mercury outboard motor,” Trump said. “But then the economy slammed into a pile of rocks known as crooked Joe Biden.”

He promised to end Biden’s “war on American energy” and reclaim energy independence.

“In other words, we will drill, baby, drill,” he said.

Trump said he won South Carolina twice by record numbers and pledged to do it again.

“We did phenomenally here. We’ve always done well here and we’re going to do it at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” he said. “So we broke the record twice. We’re going to break it a third time. We’re going to break our own record.”

He said he intends to “take back our country and we’re going to make America great again.”

Before Trump’s speech, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told the crowd he went into the State House about a month after Trump went into the White House.

“And South Carolina has been booming ever since,” he said. “But then in January 2021, everything changed.”

McMaster said his administration has had to fight the Biden Administration “every day.” He cited the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for military personnel, and accused it of destroying the nation’s borders and the nation’s energy independence.

“From 2016 until now, [the Biden Administration] has been doing anything and everything they could, legal, illegal, ethical, unethical, unheard of, unprecedented, to do one thing: That includes two bogus impeachments and full-of-baloney indictments to do what? To stop one man, to stop our man from being president of the United States,” McMaster said.

Gov. Henry McMaster praised former President Donald Trump Monday at a campaign event held in Summerville.

Dorchester County deputies said earlier on Monday that Trump’s visit to Summerville would cause delays on Highway 78 from Summerville east of Berlin G. Myers Parkway to Jedburg Road at Mallard Road. Drivers in the area are asked to search for alternate routes if they don’t live or work along Highway 78 and are encouraged to use other entrances to neighborhoods in the area.

Traffic delays are expected to last through about 5 p.m. Monday but the delays could be extended.

Dorchester County deputies are warning of traffic delays ahead of former President Donald Trump’s visit to the Lowcountry.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A Berkeley County intersection has seen 13 accidents this year based on data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and now residents are asking for changes.

“It’s dangerous,” are two words people used to describe the intersection of Jedburg Road and Drop Off Drive.

This intersection could be a stop-and-go spot if you’re headed away from the Lowcountry towards Charlotte or Columbia or it could be a part of the routine drive to work. Residents who have lived near the intersection for years say problems are only getting worse.

At the intersection, drivers have the opportunity to turn left, right, or continue straight on all sides. The problem is the lack of a traffic signal at the intersection.

Residents say they’ve contacted the South Carolina Department of Transportation multiple times for a solution to the problem with answers ranging from “a light or roundabout was not needed in the area,” to “SCDOT does not put lights in close proximity to interchanges.”

Wendy Odom, who works in the area and is a Summerville resident, says it’s another accident waiting to happen.

“Especially at nighttime, these roads are dark, and you hardly have any streetlights coming out,” Odom said. “It’s going to be an accident one day.”

SCDOT Director of Strategic Communications Ginny Jones says the agency has been working with Berkeley County to improve Jedburg Road.

“The intersection is not eligible for a signal due to proximity to the interchange and traffic signal at the ramp,” Jone said. “However, SCDOT has been working with Berkeley County and they have recently finalized a corridor study which conceptualizes Jedburg Road improvements not only at this intersection but along Jedburg Road.”

Summerville resident William Grimes says he wants to know why it always takes an accident to end fatally before something is done about a road.

“It’s very bad. It’s very hard to get out and it’s very dangerous because you can’t see,” Grimes said. “You have big trucks coming in and out, you got the cars trying to come in the store, people taking their lunch break. It’s very backed up and it’s very bad.”

Do you know of a dangerous intersection, pothole problem or construction issue along your regular route? Submit it here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

On the heels of its Jan 4 opening and Jan. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony, the McDonald’s restaurant at 2902 West 5th North Street in the Jedburg area of Summerville is looking to add to its current staff.

“It’s an amazing location. I am glad we are finally open,” said General Manager Mara Stolman. “We have been busy, and the community is excited for us to be here.”

She further added that the new site is looking to supplement its work crew by hiring for all positions, including day shift, evening shift, managerial roles and maintenance.

“There’s a lot of good jobs we have for the community and we’re very excited to serve the community with exceptional service,” noted Stolman.

The new restaurant — owned by Jim, Sarah and Ryan Booth — features the latest upgrades in technology and modernization, as stated in a corresponding corporate press release. Leading the host of amenities is the venue’s digital self-serve kiosks and a state-of-the-art outdoor digital menu board.

The local eatery also offers a dining room and double drive-thru lanes that are open daily 5:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Daily operation hours for the lobby area are 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Some of the available specials this week at the Jedburg restaurant are:

Wed. Jan 25- First Responders Day, as free meals will be offered to members of law enforcement, fire departments and EMS.

Thurs Jan 26- Buy-one-get-one-free for purchasers of McCafé drinks of any size.

Fri Jan 27- Free medium fries with any purchase 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

The Dorchester District Two Board of Trustees voted Monday, Sept. 25, on the recommended process to follow over the next several months to rezone school attendance boundaries beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

“The natural question would be why is this process necessary in Dorchester School District 2,” said Dr. Shane Robbins, superintendent of Dorchester District 2. “The simple explanation is our strong academic reputation and our community’s appealing quality of life means we have welcomed thousands of new families in a short amount of time.”

Robbins said new growth and housing developments in part of Dorchester County have produced increased enrollments in some of the district’s facilities and now require the board and administration to consider setting new attendance zones to relieve overcrowding at Beech Hill Elementary, Sand Hill Elementary and William Reeves Elementary. Additionally, East Edisto Middle School, Ashley Ridge High School and Summerville High School are nearing capacity.

“The overcrowding at these locations just happens to coincide with a lower enrollment in other portions of Dorchester School District 2,” Robbins said. “We will rezone attendance boundaries because crowded classrooms create unsafe environments and make it difficult to provide the high-quality education that is a cornerstone of our community. We also understand the importance of maximizing our resources (facilities) for the taxpayers of Dorchester County.”

Several key dates have been identified as part of the rezoning process over the next year:

Nov. 7-14 – public engagement: District officials will collect feedback and answer questions during public meetings and an online process.

Dec. 11 – board meeting for public engagement: The meeting agenda will include a public comment opportunity and the results from the public engagement in November.

Jan. 8, 2024 – final board vote: Anticipated board vote on the recommended map for rezoned school attendance boundaries.

Summer 2024 – rezoning takes effect: The new maps for K-12 school attendance boundaries will determine where students are zoned to attend school based on their home addresses.

Visit www.ddtwo.org/rezone for more information. Robbins said the website will be updated as the rezoning process moves forward.

Several new commercial tenants are coming to a large housing development on the edge of Summerville.

Lombardi’s Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children’s gym KidStrong are all lined up to be a part of The Hub in Nexton.

The restaurants and fitness sites are expected to move in by late June or early July, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

The Hub is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard near Home Telecom and Refuel convenience store.

Office tenants include Coastal Vascular & Vein Center, Charleston Wound Care, Palmetto Primary and Specialty Care Physicians, Derrington Dermatology and Holliday Ingram law firm.

A new pair of two-story office buildings is expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025. They will be 30,000 square feet and 20,000 square feet, respectively, and be built beside Nexton Parkway.

Nexton is a 5,000-acre, mixed-use development next to Summerville between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County. With more than 2,500 homes already sold, the development is expected to have 7,500 residential units at full build-out.

It also could house as many residents as the current populations of Clemson, North Myrtle Beach or West Columbia, roughly between 16,000 and 20,000. That would make it as big as Moncks Corner and Georgetown combined.

Now open

A new pizza restaurant is now open in Mount Pleasant.

BarPizza opened May 12 at 656-G Long Point Road in the revamped former Kiki & Rye space.

It’s part of Free Reign Restaurants owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones. They also operate the recently opened Southbound on the Charleston peninsula and Community Table in Mount Pleasant.

Stepping in

A new retail shop that incorporates a clothing item in all of its wares is close to opening in downtown Charleston.

Respoke hopes to open by the weekend at 377 King St. in the former location of Simply J Boutique.

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The shop will offer shoes, clothing and other items that are made in part by repurposing different sections of scarves. Hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, but they could change after the shop opens, according to store manager Joseph Fennell.

New threads

Also, coming to downtown Charleston is a new women’s clothing store, now with a shop in Asheville.

Hazel Twenty owner Lexi DiYeso plans to open in August at 73 Wentworth St., formerly part of 269 King St. that was used as back-of-house storage for the former Gap store. The front section houses Aerie, also a clothing shop.

The 3,641-square-foot space is currently under construction behind clothing store Collared Greens and next to The Port Mercantile, part of The Restoration Hotel, according to Blair Hines Gearhart of Oswald Cooke & Associates, who represented the tenant. Charles Constant with Constant Properties represented the landlord.

SUMMERVILLE — A North Carolina-based supermarket chain continues to beef up its presence in the Lowcountry.

Food Lion is now open at 2915 W. 5th North St. in the Jedburg area near Summerville. It’s open 7 a.m.-11 p.m. daily on U.S. Highway 78 where Jedburg Road becomes Mallard Road in Dorchester County.

“I’m extremely excited to open this new store in the community where I grew up,” said Mark Rocheleau, the store manager of the new Jedburg Food Lion.

Real Estate

The Summerville High School graduate has been a Food Lion employee for 33 years.

“I’m proud to welcome my neighbors and family to shop with us and experience our expansive assortment and variety throughout our store,” he said. “I look forward to seeing new faces, welcoming old friends and serving my community at our new location.”

The new store offers an extensive product assortment, including in-store, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, “grab-and-go” meal options and a variety of catering selections. The supermarket’s To-Go service is also offered at the new location, allowing shoppers to order items online for pickup at the store.

A variety of local products also are offered, including items from Lillie’s of Charleston, beer from Palmetto Brewing Co. and Italian sauces from Porzio’s.

The store also features energy-efficient lighting, doors on beer, dairy and lunch meat cases and motion sensors on frozen food cases that dim the lights to 20 percent output when not being used by a customer.

When construction started in the spring on the new store, it was the chain’s 17th in the Charleston region.

In June, Food Lion announced it is buying 38 Bi-Lo stores in South Carolina. Five are in the Charleston area, including two stores in Summerville and one each in Edisto Beach, St. George and Walterboro.

The Federal Trade Commission gave the green light in early November for the deal to move forward.

The stores are expected to continue to operate under the Bi-Lo banner until the transaction is finalized. They will change to the Food Lion brand on a staggered basis from January through April.