Home RemodelingIn Richburg, SC

Science-based actions can reduce damage from high winds, hail and even tornadoes, says IBHS

RICHBURG, S.C., Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- La Niña is affecting the United States for a third consecutive year. With it comes an increased threat of severe weather, especially across the Southeast, reinforcing the need to prepare early to reduce the impact on homes and businesses.

La Niña typically creates drier, warmer winters across the South and cooler, wetter winters in the North. It will likely wane before summer, but as spring approaches, this weather pattern is linked to an active early threat of severe thunderstorms, which can cause wind, rain and hail damage to roofs and garage doors, and all too often, structural damage that forces people from their homes and workplaces.

"Atmospheric cycles, climate variables and their effect on our day-to-day weather may sound concerning; however, they are recurring patterns, and we can prepare for them," said Dr. Ian Giammanco, lead research meteorologist at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). "Home and business owners should start now, focusing on areas most vulnerable to high winds, heavy rain and hail."

An estimated 40 percent of insured losses each year are caused by hail and wind damage. Yet advances in building science have identified the most vulnerable parts of a home and effective measures to strengthen them to better withstand the roughly 2,000 hailstorms and 1,300 tornadoes the U.S. experiences every year.

IBHS scientists recommend addressing the two most vulnerable areas of the home — the roof and garage doors — for the greatest impact. A roof won't be replaced often, but if it is aging or damaged, homeowners should request their roofing contractor follow the FORTIFIED Roof™ standard. FORTIFIED is a re-roofing method shown in lab and field studies to withstand winds up to 130 mph and also requires shingles that can withstand 2-inch hail impacts.

Garage doors — typically the largest opening on any structure — are also vulnerable. High winds can push a garage door inward, allowing pressure to push up on the roof and surrounding walls, causing a cascade of structural damage to the entire home. Wind-rated garage doors have been tested to verify they can withstand these pressures.

There are also simple, low-cost actions that can have a meaningful impact in reducing the chance of costly storm damage. IBHS offers a free online Thunderstorm Ready guide to take home and business owners through key actions to increase resilience, including:

"Being proactive in putting science-backed guidance into action can give property owners peace of mind ahead of early spring storms," added Giammanco. "Addressing areas like the roof or garage doors may require financial planning, but property owners can meaningfully reduce severe weather risk today with low-cost options like trimming trees or organizing the garage."

For more ways to prevent damage from severe weather, see IBHS's full Thunderstorm Ready guide on disastersafety.org.

About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. Learn more about IBHS at ibhs.org

SOURCE Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

Ronald Calhoun was front and center when it was time to take a picture in front of the marker recognizing the site of the former Cayce Colored School, sitting in his walker with a host of fellow alumni behind him.

“I started first grade at the school,” the 70-year-old told the Chronicle. “Without this school, I wouldn’t be here.”

He and many other former students were in attendance Feb. 24 as a state Historical Marker was unveiled at the site, with 93-year-old Isola Calhoun, who said she was the oldest former student there, taking part as they removed the bag covering the monument.

The school, the first former all-Black school in the city to be recognized with a state marker, means a lot to the students who went there, but it’s also a reminder of the state’s segregated past.

In 1927-28, a wood-frame school house was built on the site, now occupied by Mt. Zion Church of Cayce, to house the Cayce Colored School, which served African-American residents of the city, alum Ella Rose Gladney recounted, dedicating the marker and reading the text that appears on its cast aluminum face. About 200 students attended each day until the school was expanded in 1930.

“In 1953, a 10-classroom building was built south of the old school, by then known as Cayce Negro Elementary,” Gladney read. “It was funded by the South Carolina Equalization Program, a state effort to preserve segregation by improving Black schools.”

The school was later renamed Ida A. Bull Elementary School in honor of a local teacher before being closed in the wake of desegregation in 1969.

In addition to recognizing the experiences of the students who attended the school, Cindye Richburg-Cotton, executive director of the nearby Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center, told the Chronicle it’s important to remember the finer points of what segregation looked like in local communities, reinforcing that this is a history that must not be repeated.

“Preserving the history of this school is very significant and very important,” she said, noting that it was a feeder into Lakeview School, the former segregated school that is incorporated into the center she leads.

“These weren't the only schools that existed for African Americans back in the day, and many of these schools were part of the state Equalization Program, which meant that these were funds that they received to stay separate,” Richburg-Cotton said. “It gave them money to expand their facilities to improve their facilities, but it was designed to keep them separate.

“And so for that reason, we want to preserve history so that history doesn't repeat itself. And then also to have a place where people can come and learn and grow.”

Momentum would seem to be building locally to keep adding reminders of this history. The Lakeview School recently applied to and was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and making a similar push for the Cayce Colored School was mentioned during the unveiling ceremony.

“I think it feels like a lot of momentum,” Richburg-Cotton said. “Because people hear through this forum here. They see it on television, they see it in print, and they feel inspired to want to preserve history.”

Making people feel empowered and inspired to preserve this history is key, she added, as anyone can get the ball rolling to have an aspect of history that’s important to them remembered in such a way, so long as they’re willing to be patient and work hard to see it done.

In the case of the Cayce Colored School marker, it was a collaborative effort that involved the Neriah Community Development Corporation, the Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center, Cayce Elementary Alumni, and the state Department of Archives and History.

On hand for the unveiling was Cayce Mayor Pro Tem James “Skip” Jenkins, who attended the school and has been vocal in his push for Cayce to uncover and preserve the area’s Black cemeteries, with the city currently undergoing an initiative to do just that.

“I started my education here in this school. It was the only one available for us,” he said. “It prepared all the kids from here to go to Lakeview, where we completed our education. Over the years, the school had changed names twice, but it's still standing. And that's one thing we need to be thankful for. ... Hopefully it will go on to the near future, and you can teach your kids coming along where their parents got their start from.”

Keywords

cayce colored school, lexington county history, sc segregation

Fire departments say they're struggling to find staff, and it's putting pressure on the staff they do have.

RICHBURG, S.C. — Volunteer fire departments say they're struggling to find staff, and it's putting pressure on the staff they already have.

Richburg Fire Rescue in Chester County was called to assist with a Fairfield County fire early Tuesday morning but had to turn around because they were needed in their own county.

The fire they were assisting with was at Dutchman Creek Marina and Restaurant on Lake Wateree in Winnsboro.

RELATED: Fire destroys popular marina on Lake Wateree

Early Tuesday morning, several trucks and 20 firefighters fought the blaze with neighboring jurisdictions called in to help. One of those departments was Richburg Fire Rescue in Chester County.

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Ehrmanntraut says crews were canceled halfway there, when suddenly they got a call in their own county.

"It's a challenge because if we're down there helping them and we have incident, there's no one here to immediately respond," said Ehrmanntraut. "We were called to a fire out in Fairfield, we were resent to a fire that was occurring in Great Falls."

The house fire in Great Falls left one person dead, according to emergency services.

Tower 841 and personnel responded to a mutual aid request with Fairfield County at 4:53 AM. This was to assist with a fully involved structure fire at a marina on Lake Wateree. We were notified we could cancel as we approached the Mitford area.

As we were returning, a mutual aid request for a structure fire in Great Falls came out at 5:34 AM. This was a fully involved structure with an entrapment. Crews were not able to save the victim due to the amount of fire on arriv...

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RELATED: One dead in structure fire in Great Falls, SC

"The biggest problem is, if we don't have enough members to respond to an incident, we can't effectively conduct a rescue," Ehrmanntraut said.

Richburg Fire Rescue has four employees, so when there's a call, those four employees head out on that call. That means they then must rely on volunteers to come and staff the station.

"It's not a case that you won't get help, it's a case that that help will take a little longer to get to you," Ehrmanntraut said.

Like many other volunteer stations, Richburg Fire Rescue needs volunteer firefighters.

"We certainly do need a lot more firefighters to step up and volunteer," Ehrmanntraut said.

The extra helping hands, would not only alleviate pressure, but could help save lives. "If we don't have those numbers, we can't conduct that rescue."

Counties across the state need volunteers. If you're interested, head to the South Carolina Volunteer Firefighter's website and click on the "join the team" page.

YORK COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – The York County Sheriff’s Office says its investigating three inmate overdose cases.

Leaders say the overdoses occurred inside one housing unit at the York County Detention Center.

Below is the official release from the sheriff’s office.

YORK COUNTY, SC – York County Detention Officers are investigating three inmate overdose cases inside one housing unit at the York County Detention Center. Between September 7, 2022 at 11:30 p.m. and September 8, 2022 at 12:15 a.m., three inmates were found by officers unresponsive in their cells. NARCAN was immediately administered to the inmates and all were taken to local hospital facilities by EMS for further assessment and care.

The first inmate was found around 11:30 p.m. As a precaution, detention staff increased inmate well-being checks from every 30-minutes to 15-minutes. During these checks two more inmates were found unresponsive.

The initial investigation has concluded that on September 6th, information was given to detention staff about possible pills being distributed in a specific housing unit.

Working on this information, detention staff conducted a search of the suspected housing unit.

During the search, inmate Tyquan Rodriguez Green, 25, of Charlotte, NC, was attempting to dispose of 95 pressed fentanyl pills in a toilet.

Detention staff were able to retrieve the pills before they were flushed.

He was charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Schedule II Narcotic and Possession of Contraband.

A follow up search of the housing unit was conducted during the day on September 7th, and inmates Keon Arquis Davis, 27, of Rock Hill, and Tyler Mitchell Fesperman, 27, of Rock Hill, were found to be in possession of approximately 40 pills. Both were also charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Schedule II Narcotic and Possession of Contraband.

One of the inmates that overdosed on the night of September 7th, Jacob Dwayne Hall, 29, of Clover, SC, was found to be in possession of 24 pills.

Hall was charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Schedule II Narcotic and Possession of Contraband. Hall’s cellmate Leroy Westberry III, 30, of Rock Hill, was also charged the same. Inmate Westberry did not overdose.

The two other inmates that overdosed, Colton Lukas Haire, 25, of Fort Mill, and Trampus Keith Faile, 46, of Richburg, SC did not have additional pills in their possession and were not criminally charged.

“It is clearly disturbing as to how these pills were brought into the facility, and even more so the life-threatening risk that the inmates posed on themselves by taking such a dangerous narcotic,” said Sheriff Kevin Tolson.

After the overdose incidents another intense shake down search of the housing unit was conducted, and no additional pills or contraband were located.

“We are searching the entire facility and all inmates for any further pills,” said Tolson. “This is the first time that this large of an amount of contraband has made it past our stringent security screenings, and we will work to prevent something like this to happen again.”

It is unclear how Tyquan Green, who has been in custody at the YCDC since August 25, brought the pills into the facility. During the arrest and booking process all inmates are physically searched several times and put through a body scanner.

The pills were not discovered or seen during those searches.

Additional housing unit searches have not found any more pills.

All inmates taken to the hospital have since been returned to the YCDC. The investigation is ongoing.

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Local leaders have given their approval for a major development being proposed in Chester County.

Earlier this week, Chester County Council approved the third and final reading for a development agreement for the Stanton Development in Richburg. The master-planned project will be developed by Charlotte-based JDSI LLC and calls for more than 1,000 residential units with homes, townhouses and apartments. The development agreement approval comes after developers successfully rezoned the land for the project last year. The project was formerly known as Cheswick.

The final reading was approved at the county council's meeting on March 21. At that meeting, leaders said the project called for 630 single-family homes, 240 apartments and 200 townhomes, the same plan that was presented when developers pursued the rezoning last year. Of the 630 homes, 180 of them are classified as low-density units and the remaining 450 will be medium-density units.

The project site is located at Lancaster Highway and Wylies Mill Road near Exit 65 of Interstate 77. The development agreement estimates that 50% of the project will be built out in five years, with full buildout projected after 10 years. That is consistent with the timeline the developers shared with the Charlotte Business Journal last year.

JDSI LLC is run by David Hensley and Judson Stringfellow, the leaders of SouthCraft Builders in Charlotte. In June 2021, they estimated that they were around two years away from beginning home sales for the Stanton project.

The project also has land available for commercial development, which developers said last year would be built after construction on housing units begins. Site plans have shown around 40 acres available for commercial uses there. Developers have said previously they hope to land an anchor store for the commercial component. Uses such as a drug store, sit-down restaurants and other retail or medical office space are also in play for the commercial section.

Ranked by Local square feet developed, 2021