Nondenominational Church in Summerville, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Santa has a jam-packed schedule this holiday season. Are you wondering where to take the kids to see Santa? Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the areas Santa will be across the Lowcountry.

Summerville

– Head to Top Dawg Tavern in Summerville on Dec. 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and grab some pictures with Santa. Kids are welcome to attend, and there will be live music from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with specials running all night.

– Children of Summerville can take pictures and give Santa their wish list letters at the Old Time Summerville Christmas Celebration on Nov. 28 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Mount Pleasant

– Support local children’s charities and see Santa and Mrs. Clause by attending Winter Wonderland at The Belle Hall Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant. The event will be Dec. 1 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

– All kids can get a free chocolate pop and a photo shoot with Santa at Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre from Nov. 24 to Dec. 24. To see the photo shoot schedule and make reservations, go to https://mtpleasanttownecentre.com/events/photos-with-santa-claus/

– Ahead of the Folly Beach Christmas Parade, citizens can grab photos with Santa Pierview, Pavilion Ballroom, Dec. 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There will be ornament-making craft tables and a hot and cold food buffet. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.tidesfollybeach.com/breakfast-with-santa/?utm_source=third_party_listings&utm_medium=calendar_listing&utm_campaign=santa-breakfast

Isle of Palms

– Eat at Rudolph’s pancake buffet and have breakfast with Santa on Dec. 2 in the Tides Ballroom at Wild Dunes Resort from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Call 877-230-9224 to book a reservation.

Cottageville

– Bee City Zoo’s Wonderland of Lights will feature Santa visits from Nov. 22 to Dec. 31. To purchase tickets and see Santa’s schedule, visit https://www.beecityzoo.com/

North Charleston

– Visit with Santa at the City of North Charleston Christmas Festival and Parade at Felix C. Davis Community Center, Dec. 2, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

– Santa’s Workshop will be set up at Northwoods Mall in North Charleston on Nov. 22. To reserve your visit or find visitor hours, click here: https://www.shopnorthwoodsmall.com/store/santas_workshop

Charleston

– Santa will be at the Citadel Mall Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Nov. 24 through Dec. 24. You can also make reservations and skip the line at citadelmall.net

– Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be at The Charleston Place on the 2nd-floor landing Dec. 2,9 and 16 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

– The Charleston Santa welcomes visitors at The Best Friend Train Museum every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Reservations are required; however, admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Dec. 16, 17, and 23, which will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

– Visit with Santa in the library at The Restoration Hotel on Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

– On Christmas Eve, Santa will be at the Crown Ballroom for a breakfast buffet filled with sweet and savory foods. If you want breakfast with Santa, call 843-990-5460 or make reservations online at https://www.opentable.com/r/hotel-bennett-special-events-charleston. Tickets are $82 per adult and $47 for children under 12.

SUMMERVILLE — Russ Touchberry will replace Ricky Waring as the town’s new mayor.

Touchberry defeated opponents Dickie Miler and Vickie Fagan with 53 percent of the vote in the Nov. 7 election.

“It’s time to get the work done, and I can’t wait to get the work done,” Touchberry said. “That’s what we’ve been looking forward to.”

Results are unofficial until certified by election officials later this week.

Waring believes Summerville is in good hands as Touchberry prepares to replace him.

“I’ve enjoyed working with him on City Council for the last few years. Russ is a thinker, he concentrates on issues and works well with everybody,” Waring said. “I think he’ll do a great job.”

Touchberry, an engineer, has served on Town Council since 2021.

Tiffany Johnson-Wilson won the District 2 seat for Town Council. She beat opponents Bill McIntosh and incumbent Terry Jenkins with 35 percent of the vote.

“I am just so thankful,” Johnson-Wilson said. “I put my heart and soul into this, and I worked day and night for this, seven days a week.”

Richard Waring, the recently retired fire chief, ran unopposed for the District 4 council seat. Incumbent Bob Jackson ran unopposed in District 6.

NORTH CHARLESTON — To continue efforts to become the Coast Guard’s “operational center of gravity” on the East Coast, officials broke ground Jan. 26 on its new $160 million campus.

This 64-acre site along the Cooper River — just south of the former naval base that closed in 1996 — will house an administration building and redesigned 1,100-foot concrete pier.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2026.

“This Charleston campus will have improved infrastructure that translates into more productive personnel and more efficient operations,” said Capt. Neal Armstrong, the commanding officer of facilities design and construction.

The 51,500-square-foot administration building will provide training and conference room space, and additional rooms dedicated to cutter ship support.

Sustainability is a priority, so the new facility will achieve net-zero energy usage and a net-zero carbon footprint, Armstrong said.

The current Pier November will be replaced with a pier more than three feet taller to enhance durability during coastal storms. It will provide utilities to support five national security cutters and a 90-ton crane, which is critical for dockside maintenance, Armstrong said.

During the design and construction phases nearly 60 subcontractors will support the two main contractors on the project, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and RQ Construction LLC, providing work for nearly 900 people.

Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, said every Coast Guard mission begins and ends at a shore facility. When the ships are not at sea, they need a base that can provide necessary maintenance, she added.

The missions conducted at Base Charleston are vital to protecting national security and economic prosperity, Fagan said, adding that the new campus will aid in “lifesaving work,” including patrolling the waters for smuggled narcotics.

A second candidate has announced his intent to seek the seat representing District 3 on Summerville Town Council.

Matt Halter, a local business owner and engineer, said he decided to run for office because he believes his resume qualifies him to tackle many of Summerville’s current problems.

“I also believe your representative should be elected by you, not appointed by a select few elitists and those currently in power,” he said. “It’s time we had more than just figureheads in our local government – we need rock-solid leaders fighting for the best interests of our town and its taxpayers.”

Halter said that, over time, Summerville’s leadership “has bloated our government to the point of dysfunction” and has “recklessly allowed developers to overrun our town, bringing with them unmanageable traffic and a maze of red tape.”

“This is not leadership; it is a failure to serve the public interest,” he said. “While I support change and growth, the growth Summerville’s leaders approve needs to be in the best interest of our town. Some development can actually add to the value of our town, while apartment home communities, for example, add major traffic concerns, overrun our schools and produce housing that is not affordable, driving up the cost of rent and home ownership.”

A resume provided to the Journal Scene by Halter shows experience in government, the private sector and as a small business owner.

“I’m not an elitist in a line of politicians – I’m a regular citizen,” he said. “It’s time to bring strength and common sense back to our council. It’s time your family’s needs outweigh the wants of a privileged few. This is not about politics as usual; it’s about restoring a government that works for its people and bridges that gap between government and its citizens so that the government is ‘of the people, by the people and for the people. We need a government that listens, acts and delivers. I’m rock-solid and here to ensure Summerville thrives for all its residents.”

Halter has been married to his wife, Donna, for 32 years. She is an elementary school teacher in Dorchester School District 2 and manages the books for their business, Benchmark LDS.

Their son, Matt Jr., is a civil engineer, and their daughter, Lauren, is a registered nurse. Matt and Donna have two grandchildren.

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Matt is a graduate of Stratford High School and The Citadel. He became a registered professional engineer, land surveyor and licensed general contractor. His career began in Charleston, where, as an engineer and stormwater superintendent, he led projects and managed a team of more than 80 employees.

Matt went to work for the town of Summerville in 1996 as the town engineer and public works director. During this time, he wrote the town’s first development standards and founded the South Carolina Association of Stormwater Managers.

Matt ventured into the private sector in 2004, applying his engineering, land surveying and project management experience as the owner and president of Benchmark LDS.

“One of my more notable contributions was the design and construction of the Summerville Miracle League field on South Laurel Street,” he said. “This project wasn’t just about building a field; it was about creating a space where everyone in the community, regardless of their abilities, could come together and enjoy the spirit of the game.”

As one of the founding board members and president of the Summerville Miracle League, Matt, along with a team of citizens, raised more than $500,000 for the field, which was a joint venture between the town and private entities, which he said showcases his ability to “lead, collaborate and deliver.”

He has served on the Dorchester County Transportation Authority and was a multiple-term member of the town’s Commercial Design Review Board.

“In every role, I have demonstrated a consistent commitment to the betterment of Summerville,” he said. “My actions and achievements speak volumes about my dedication, making me not just a candidate for the town council but a true steward of the community’s well-being and future.”

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A Summerville family says they moved out of their rented apartment at the recommendation of a doctor after months of seeing mold across the unit.

Breanna McCalla says her family moved to Summerville in the fall, but when they signed their lease at the Latitude at Wescott, they had no idea they would be moving again in less than six months.

“I think, a week after moving in that we noticed the first amount of mold up on the vents, which was the first thing that we noticed,” McCalla says.

She provided a screenshot of an email sent in October, alerting property managers about the mold, and asking that it be checked out and addressed. But McCalla says not only did nothing seem to get fixed, it instead got worse.

“I also have also lost multiple sentimental things that I can’t get back. I had a bag full of all my kids’ baby blankets that was covered in mold. You know, like baby items and clothing and things that you can’t replace,” McCalla says.

Staff at the Latitude at Wescott did not comment on the situation despite three attempts to ask if they were aware of the issue and, if so, whether any effort was made to address it.

Mary Templeton, a fellow in an Equal Justice Housing Works Program, specializes in renter cases at Charleston Pro Bono. She says tenants do have rights under South Carolina law.

“A lot of people don’t know their rights because South Carolina landlord-tenant law is not necessarily intuitive,” Templeton says. “So a big thing that I think that all tenants should know in South Carolina is just to make sure to document any issues you’re having. The more evidence you have of a problem, the easier it is to get it resolved, even if it does require court action.”

Parts of the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act say landlords must “comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety” and “make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.”

“I was constantly stressed about it with the kids, mainly with the mold. I mean, the other things we cleaned, and you know, it’s fine, but the mold, I know how serious mold is,” McCalla says.

She provided emails with management through December and January documenting continued mold appearances on vents and windows. She says the last straw for their family was when her daughter developed a persistent cough and her other two children also seemed to struggle with breathing.

“We’re doing doctors and taking antibiotics. She wasn’t testing for anything and we were starting to put the pieces together,” McCalla says.

On Feb. 10 at a follow-up doctor appointment, the provider made a note on McCalla’s daughter’s visit notes. It states, “Seek care at COEM (Center for Occupation & Environmental Medicine) for mold exposure along with treatment for cough symptoms.”

“The first thing she said was immediately you need to get out the only way you’re going to start feeling better and you know healing from this is removing yourself from the mold,” McCalla says.

Templeton says Charleston Pro Bono gets at least weekly if not daily requests for help with tenant issues. She says there are specific timelines for when certain types of issues should be fixed, and a professional can walk someone through their rights if they have the documentation.

“The more evidence you have of a problem, the easier it is to get it resolved, even if it does require court action,” Templeton says. “You always have to put a repair request for those things in writing. Landlords don’t have a duty to fix things unless they’ve received a written notice about the repairs that need to be made.”

While they are not in the habit of taking on mold cases because of the cost, she says documenting everything does a lot if you want to build a case to break your lease. Templeton says a mold case can be hard to prove but not impossible if people have the proof.

“With mold cases, if someone is looking into some sort of damages where you know, they think they’ve been injured because of the mold, their children are sick things of that nature…It’s very hard for legal aid providers to take on those cases just because we don’t have the sort of capital needed to kind of front the bill for those sorts of lawsuits,” Templeton says. “Typically, in those sorts of lawsuits. It’s my understanding that expert witnesses are needed, you know, who have to be paid. You get the property tested by maybe environmental organizations, things like that to see what the risk level is.”

McCalla, when breaking her lease, checked a box claiming to break through “no fault” not wanting to pay because of the mold maintenance issues. She says they have been in touch with a potential lawyer and are planning to get the family tested for mold levels at COEM.

“I know that I did as much as I could have I also wish I would have done more like I wish I would have been like in their face telling them like this is not okay,” McCalla says.

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A Louisville, Ky.-based breakfast chain with an emphasis on biscuits will open its first South Carolina location in Summerville this year, with plans to also open a Fort Mill location.

Biscuit Belly, a Kentucky based “craft casual” brunch restaurant serving up warm hospitality and chef-driven gourmet biscuit breakfast sandwiches, will open a store this fall at 118 West Richardson Ave., Summerville, according to a news release. The chain will also open stores in Norfolk, Va., and Raleigh, N.C., this year.

Biscuit Belly’s current franchise group, DGB Tenn LLC, will be spear-heading the brand’s new locations. Additionally, it expects further expansion into the northern Virginia market as early as fall 2024, the release stated.

“Growing with Biscuit Belly has been an incredible experience so far,” said Clint Umphrey, operating partner for DGB, said in the release. “The brand has created a delicious and craveable menu based on some damn good biscuits and in return, has cultivated a strong following from its customers. We are thrilled to be close to the opening of our two next locations in Norfolk and Raleigh and can’t wait to integrate into the communities.”

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The brand has also announced that current franchise partners, Todd Gallinek and Deepen Patel, have signed leases for their first two locations coming to the greater Charlotte market, including Fort Mill in South Carolina, at 2147 W. Highway 160 Suite 101.

“We’re thrilled to finally be able to announce the addresses for our first two locations coming to the Charlotte area,” said Deepen Patel, Biscuit Belly franchisee, in the release. “We know that Biscuit Belly will be a perfect fit for Charlotte’s vibrant food scene and the community will appreciate the better brunch experience the brand provides.”

Founded by Lauren and Chad Coulter in 2019, and franchising since 2020, Biscuit Belly has become a staple in their home state of Kentucky, the release stated. Known for their chef-inspired offerings revolving around a scratch-made biscuit, boozy beverages, and a bright, modern environment, it has seen rapid success locally and is eager to continue expansion across expanded markets.

“We’re thrilled to finally have nailed down the addresses for our newest locations in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina,” said Chad Coulter, founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly, in the release. “We’re confident in our partners abilities to uphold the standards we set ourselves to of bringing a better brunch experience and damn good biscuits to communities throughout the country.”