Hair Salon inMoncks Corner, SC

MONCKS CORNER — What started as a way to support children of parents with major health concerns has grown into a resource that supports elderly and homeless community members.

“Growing up, they always said it takes a village,” Katrina Carpenter, executive director and founder of Jean’s Angels, said.

Jean’s Angels is a nonprofit based in Moncks Corner that focuses on supporting some of the most at-risk communities in the Lowcountry. It was started in 2014 with Carpenter simply working with children.

Years ago, Carpenter lost her mother, Bobby Jean Smith, to ovarian cancer and her father, Rufus Smith Sr., to heart failure. As an adult, Carpenter said it was hard for her to deal with, so she could only imagine what it would be like for a small child.

While working at a dialysis center, she would routinely run into children who didn’t have the chance to travel or do a lot of things because of their parent’s health.

“So I would take them to Disney World for a week,” Carpenter said.

From there, Jean’s Angels was started as a way to support children of parents on dialysis. It was named after her mother.

Over time it would grow to offer tutoring, supporting children of single parents, and those that witnessed domestic violence and gun violence.

Eventually that would expand even further to what it is today. Now, in addition to children, she works with supporting senior citizens in the community through giveaways and pre-pandemic nursing home visits.

The nonprofit also hosts and organizes special dinners for people who are homeless. Gift bags with toiletries items are frequently given away, as well as canned goods

“Our mission is to inspire and put God’s love into action,” Carpenter said.

Jloundia Pinckney is one of the many individuals that volunteers with Jean’s Angels. She is also a longtime resident of Cross in Berkeley County.

Pinckney said she remembers seeing Carpenter as a little girl in the Cross community. She ended up reconnecting with Carpenter through Jean’s Angels work for senior citizens.

At one point, Carpenter returned to Cross to gift items to senior citizens. One of those individuals was Pinckney’s aunt, who is in her 90s. Pinckney said she was impressed by the quality of items the nonprofit gave away.

Her aunt frequently uses the weighted blanket and heater she got from the organization. As a volunteer, Pinckney said she gets to see firsthand how much work goes into all the work the organization does.

There’s not a lot of organizations in Moncks Corner that compare to Jean’s Angels, she said.

“She gives to people all over the Lowcountry,” Pinckney said. “I just wish more people would at least be able to give to her.”

Carpenter said she is thankful for the support she does get and doesn’t have any plans to slow down. Since its creation, Jean’s Angels has given away around $200,000 worth of items.

“We are here, we service the Lowcountry,” Carpenter said.

In the next six months, the organization will launch a mobile shower space that can be used by people who are experiencing homelessness in the Lowcountry.

For more about Jean’s Angels, go to jeanangels.org.

As the Charleston metro region spreads westward along Interstate 26 and northward along U.S. Highway 52, Moncks Corner can expect to experience growth pressures like never before. The good news is there’s still time for the town to plan for how to handle it.

One promising step is the U.S. 52 Corridor Study begun by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, which ultimately will create a blueprint for what kind of traffic improvements, parks, new development and safety upgrades should be made along the 18-mile-long artery linking Moncks Corner and Goose Creek.

The study could even lay the groundwork for a new bus rapid transit line that would link up to the one already being planned between the Ladson fairgrounds and downtown Charleston. (The two lines could join at U.S. Highways 52 and 78.) We urge Moncks Corner residents and all those interested in the future of this highway to take the online survey available until Jan. 14 at bcdcog.com/us-52-corridor-study/.

And they should continue to pay attention throughout the coming year, as the planners define different land-use scenarios, analyze those scenarios’ impact on traffic and the environment and then recommend a vision for the corridor’s future.

Meanwhile, the town also has begun a major revision to its comprehensive plan, and public meetings are expected to be scheduled soon. The timing is fortuitous as Berkeley County and Goose Creek have completed or nearly completed their own planning updates. For the first time, Moncks Corner’s comprehensive plan may look at what land uses are desired in certain parts of town rather than simply matching its land-use vision to the existing zoning.

This planning effort will give residents an important chance to weigh in on what type of growth they want to see in which parts of town. Such a discussion is timely. Moncks Corner saw a heated debate over a developer’s recent attempt to annex Gippy Plantation into the town for denser residential development. The town said no, but the property’s future remains uncertain.

We hope residents use the comp plan to bolster efforts to revive Moncks Corner’s downtown. Five years ago, the town’s first downtown plan led to new branding as the “Lowcountry’s Hometown,” a new flag and aesthetic improvements, but more can be done to encourage desired commercial development, such as a small hotel, and to upgrade the public realm.

“We all understand that we’ve got one chance to build this town correctly,” Community Development Director Doug Polen says. “It’s really hard to redevelop, and there’s so much growth potential. We know people are coming. We know people are going to build houses. We want people to build commercial to support those houses.”

As growth continues to push farther into once-quiet sections of the tri-county area, it brings both prosperity and challenges. Moncks Corner’s population has grown more than 30% since 2010, and the Volvo plant and other industrial operations emerging along I-26 — along with the town’s more affordable housing prices and surrounding natural beauty — are expected to continue to make it an attractive destination.

But to maintain the region’s quality of life and the town’s appeal, it might make sense to view Moncks Corner as a stopping place for the region’s growth, an idea that would help protect the historic rural and environmentally sensitive area to the east, including the Francis Marion National Forest. These are also lands valued as fishing and hunting grounds.

Accommodating new development while protecting what town residents value will be the challenge.

Post and Courier reporter Jerrell Floyd provided a slice of what they cherish about small-town life in his account of the Moncks Corner’s Christmas tree lighting on Main Street.

“Everybody kind of knows everybody,” Virginia Woolverton told Mr. Floyd as a loud train passed nearby.

The coming growth is expected to be a lot like that train: powerful, predictable and potentially disruptive. The town and those who love it must engage now to ensure it’s on the right track.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) -The Berkeley County School Board has voted unanimously to allot $1.5 million to increase the pay for substitute teachers in the district to help fill positions amid recent staffing shortages.

The vote came after an hour-long meeting at district headquarters in Moncks Corner, Tuesday night.

“All of our schools are being affected by the need for substitute teachers because of a surge in the COVID numbers,” Dr. Karen Whitley, the district’s chief human resources officer, said.

Last Thursday, the district announced four schools would switch to online learning temporarily due to staffing concerns.

Officials shared during the meeting that over 71% of staff members who called out on Tuesday in the district’s schools were because of a COVID-related absence.

The district also said 130 classes across the district had to be covered by internal staff on Tuesday.

Dr. Natasha Wright, the Director of Human Resources for Berkeley County Schools, said that she and other staff members have been covering for classes because of a recent shortage of staff members.

“I, myself, have been out to schools,” Wright said. “It’s been an all hands on deck kind of thing. I know we’ve had several coordinators, several staff members in general from all different departments to go out and cover classes.”

To help bring in more substitute teachers, the district will use $1.5 million in coronavirus relief funds from the federal government to pay for the wage increase through May 31st.

Noncertified teaching assistants will get a bump in pay from $10 per hour to $15 per hour, and at the high-end, a long-term certified substitute teacher will now make $200 per day versus $150 per day. A full breakdown can be found down below.

Whitley said keeping students safe, supervised and in the classroom is the reason behind raising the pay of substitute teachers.

“When you have a large number of folks absent, then you’re pulling folks from other duties from the school and also from the district level,” she said.

Whitley also said that if the district remains competitive with its pay, then that will make more substitute teachers come to work in the district.

Below is a full list of the updated pay raises:

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Job fair

Berkeley County will host an in-house job fair for open positions with the county government on Jan. 27.

The job fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Berkeley County Administration Building at 1003 Hwy. 52 in Moncks Corner, according to a county press release announcing the event.

Any members of the public searching for a new job or career change are invited to attend, the release says. Department heads will be present to review resumes and discuss available positions.

Berkeley County offers competitive pay, state retirement, paid holidays, education reimbursement and more, and the jobs open include areas from law enforcement to engineer and technical positions to administrative roles. For a full list of openings, visit the county’s website at berkeleycountysc.gov and click on Careers at the bottom of the webpage.

Knight’s Companies acquires local concrete, steel companies

Summerville-based Knight’s Companies has announced in a statement the acquisition of Charleston-based Tekna Corporation, a local prestressed and precast concrete manufacturer, and Sovereign Steel, a rebar and steel reinforcements fabricator.

Through this acquisition, Knight’s Companies can provide additional product lines to its customers and participate more in upcoming infrastructure projects, said a press release announcing the acquisition.

“It gives us diversification,” said Pete Knight, CEO of Knight’s Companies, in a press release. “While our book of business is currently focused on residential growth and commercial development, we can now offer prestressed foundation piling, bridge beams, bridge deck slabs, rebar packages and more to help our customers meet South Carolina’s immediate infrastructure needs.”

Knight’s was founded in 1969 and provides septic, ready-mix concrete, precast concrete, trucking and concrete pumping services to commercial and residential customers in South Carolina and Georgia.

Tekna Corporation and Sovereign Steel have worked on Lowcountry construction projects like Mount Pleasant’s Memorial Waterfront Park and foundation replacement at the Battery in downtown Charleston, said company founder Eric Deierlein in the release. It most recently has been building the main components for the Battery Park Pedestrian Bridge over Noisette Creek with Knight’s Redi-Mix as their concrete supplier.

“Being a former customer, I know Pete and others in the organization and felt I was leaving my team in good hands,” Deierlein said in the release. “I know my guys will have work in the future and be able to draw from a bigger bench to handle more projects.”

Knight’s looks forward to using its existing resources to support Tekna and Sovereign Steel and taking the customer relationships they’ve cultivated within South Carolina to “the next level,” the release says.

“We’re excited to see how this acquisition further aligns us with what our customers do and the opportunities it presents to strengthen our partnerships,” Knight said.

Visit Knight’s website at www.knightscompanies.com to learn more about the company.

Buddin stays on as Berkeley chamber president

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce announced on Jan. 5 it has reappointed Todd Buddin as president of the chamber’s 2022 Board of Directors.

Buddin, who is president and CEO of First National Bank of South Carolina, was first chosen to serve as president of the chamber last summer.

“Serving as the President of the Berkeley Chamber’s Board of Directors is an honor,” said Buddin in the press release announcing the 2022 board. “In 2022, the Chamber will be focused on growing and strengthening our businesses and building synergy throughout the business community. Our Board of Directors’ focus will be on developing and expanding programs and opportunities for our businesses, along with addressing and advocating the key issues that affect our members: workforce, infrastructure, education, training, and planned growth of our region.”

In the release, chamber CEO Elaine Morgan said she looks forward to the work Buddin and the chamber will do in the coming year.

For a full list of new and sitting members, or to learn more about the chamber, visit berkeleysc.org.

Parker’s — CStore Decisions’ 2020 Convenience Store Chain of the Year — recently opened a new Parker’s Kitchen at 106 Foxbank Plantation Road in Moncks Corner, S.C. Strategically positioned near S.C. Hwy. 52 just north of Goose Creek, the new Parker’s Kitchen location offers a selection of the company’s award-winning, Southern-style, made-from-scratch food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Currently celebrating its 45th anniversary, Parker’s operates 29 retail stores in South Carolina and gives back to every community where stores are located through the company’s Fueling the Community program and the Parker’s Community Fund.

“We’re delighted to expand our presence north of Charleston, S.C. to meet the growing demand for Parker’s Kitchen food, fuel and other essential items,” said Parker’s Founder and CEO Greg Parker. “Our new location offers a handsome brick exterior, sleek interior design, great visibility and easy access for customers in Moncks Corner.”

The newest Parker’s Kitchen in Moncks Corner offers popular grab-and-go options as well as a hot bar with signature items like never-frozen, antibiotic-free and double-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders; savory mac ‘n’ cheese; and jalapeno cornbread. In addition, the store offers a complete menu of breakfast offerings, from egg casserole to sausage, egg and cheese biscuits. Gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet tea, lemonade, 28-degree beer, fountain drinks with Chewy Ice and an assortment of convenience items are also available.

A wide range of Parker’s Kitchen items are prepared fresh on-site and are available seven days a week. The entire menu is handcrafted on-site from the freshest ingredients by Parker’s Kitchen chefs.

Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Parker’s owns and operates 71 stores throughout coastal Georgia and South Carolina and is in the middle of a major expansion in the metro Charleston, S.C. market. The company has enjoyed steady 20-24% annual growth every year for the past 22 years and offers an acclaimed Parker’s Rewards program.

The Parker’s Rewards loyalty program, which includes more than 228,000 members, has saved customers more than $15 million to date. The company employs more than 1,200 individuals throughout South Carolina and Georgia and completes more than 125,000 transactions daily.