Pressure Washing in Johns Island, SC

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Balancing development and existing infrastructure is an issue Charleston County and city leaders are facing.

Ask any John's Island residents their main complaint and they will likely tell you traffic.

Charleston city councilman for District 3, Jim McBride, is brainstorming ways to alleviate the stop-and-go drive on and off the island.

On Maybank Highway, two lanes are coming onto Johns Island and only one going off towards James Island.

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Councilman McBride said it's a bottleneck and taxpayers are sitting in traffic, wasting time and money.

There are three projects in the works.

McBride said the first project that will alleviate this problem is the Northern Pitchfork, which is expected to be finished in March.

It will allow motorists to take a right coming onto the island at the fairly new stoplight near Fenwick Hall Allee and take them to River Road, meaning no one has to sit on Maybank.

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The second project is restriping Maybank Highway near the intersection of River Road.

Right now, there are short turn lanes and McBride said cars get backed up, slowing traffic coming onto the island.

He said after the striping, there will be a left turn lane only. The middle lane will be three lanes and a new right turn lane will be added.

The third planned project is the nearly $30 million Southern Pitchfork, creating a possible left turn when you come onto Johns Island.

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The traffic light for the Northern Pitchfork would potentially be moved and realigned with the entrance to the Southern Pitchfork closer to the bridge.

"If that gets funded, and if that happens, the estimated completion time would be somewhere somewhere around 2028," McBride said. "I don't want to wait for four years and no one on the island wants to wait for four years. So, we're trying to come up with some ideas to improve things before that."

McBride said these projects will allow traffic to flow better coming onto the island, but there is nothing funded now to help people get off the island.

"Every single morning taxpayers are sitting in traffic wasting money wasting time," McBride said. "And it's a problem that needs to get fixed."

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One idea McBride is researching is reversible lanes.

With reversible lanes, the middle lane would switch directions in the evening, potentially alleviating traffic.

"In the morning you have two lanes going off the island, and then in the evening, you'd have two lanes coming on the island," McBride said.

McBride said it would require large signaling and possibly entry gates to make it very clear which direction people would drive.

"In 2019, the county did a study on this idea, and they determined that it would improve traffic going off the island in the morning by 66%. That's a huge improvement," McBride said.

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McBride said the county recommended they could not do reversible lanes because currently there are too many stop lights too close together.

He said if the Northern Pitchfork is realigned with the future Southern Pitchfork, there would be one intersection closer to the bridge which would create a more continuous stretch of road, potentially allowing this idea to work.

McBride said the reversible lane idea would cost about $5 million.

"In comparison, the Southern Pitchfork is estimated to be about $30 million. So, $5 million is a lot of money, but it will save taxpayers so much money over time and save time. Instead of sitting in traffic you know, wasting time and gas money," McBride said.

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This is just one idea McBride is researching.

He said he is working alongside Mayor William Cogswell, city staff, and county council members Jenny Honeycutt and Joe Boykin to find a solution for Johns Island traffic.

River Road and Maybank Highway are state-owned, meaning they are managed and funded by the county.

McBride said this requires collaboration between the city and county.

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This November, the county will vote on a 2024 Half Cent Sales Tax Referendum to potentially replace an old sales tax set to expire in the next 2 years.

McBride said it would raise an estimated $5.4 billion.

He said $2 billion would help fund the Mark Clark Expressway, and the other $3.4 billion would help fund the County Infrastructure Improvement Projects.

It is the reason I moved back here after 30 years of visiting yearly to restore my soul.

The urban growth on Maybank has drawn wonderful businesses and world-class restaurants, making Johns Island a destination.

Johns Islanders have worked to maintain this balance by coming together to collaborate with local government and other partners to create and implement tools, including the urban growth boundary and rural zoning districts.

These actions have helped Johns Island avoid the fate of becoming a cookie cutter community and keep its special natural rural beauty, culture and ecosystem intact.

This comes with a constant awareness of new developments and a vigilant effort to maintain and preserve the balance of this way of life for future generations.

If we are not intentional in future development, our beloved islands will soon be destroyed.

Some believe extending Interstate 526 will solve this. But I believe it will only bring more traffic that could destroy the wildlife, ecosystem and uniqueness of Johns Island.

Island residents still have the opportunity to maintain a balance of rural and urban areas. Extending I-526 would irreparably tip the scales.

ROBIN DYESS

Johns Island

The Dec. 16 commentary by Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, is about union Grinches.

But it might be titled, “There is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out,” from the poem, “Casey at the Bat,” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The poem is about Casey’s overconfidence when he strikes out. He let two pitches fly by as strikes before missing the next pitch.

Right-to-work states are swinging and missing the ball. Labor unions were created in order to help workers with work-related difficulties such as low pay, unsafe or unsanitary working conditions, long hours and other situations.

Unions bring higher wages for the lowest-paid workers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual report on union membership published last January, “Workers who are members of labor unions in the U.S. make 18% more than their nonunion counterparts.”

Which group would you want to be part of?

NANCY ZETTLER

Mount Pleasant

Thank you for Mark Powell’s delightful New Year’s commentary, “Firsts on the First: A quiz for New Year's Day.”

This reminded me of the power of mind over matter, especially the comments on cigarette commercials being banned when President Richard Nixon signed legislation.

It’s been 54 years, and I can still hear the jingle, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.”

How pitiful for the child who heard that, believed it and stayed hooked on nicotine for 30 years.

I haven’t smoked in more than 30 years.

Now if we could just get legislation to ban beer commercials, we would have a less drugged America. No one wants to believe alcoholics start with a first taste of beer. I, for one, know better.

“This Bud’s for you.”

To a happy, healthier new year.

SUE GEORGE

Summerville

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CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Clean-up efforts are underway after vandalism resulted in a 60-gallon diesel fuel spill on Johns Island, officials with Charleston Water System said Monday.

The diesel fuel spilled into a stormwater ditch behind homes along Colonel Harrison Drive that leads to the Stono River. Residents initially discovered and smelled the fuel spill over the weekend. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was called on Sunday to help with the spill.

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“Our contractor cleaned up a portion of the spill, immediately called in a professional environmental remediation company, and notified SC DHEC and the EPA’s National Response Center,” said Mike Saia, Charleston Water System's public information administrator. “It may take several days for them to recapture all remnants of the fuel.”

This is the third instance of vandalism to contractor equipment in recent weeks, and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

“I mean it is a very, in depth vandalism. It's not just a rock through the window. It’s someone who came out here to destroy this 200-something thousand-dollar machine,” said Chad Hunter, owner of Hunter Landworx Construction, the contractor onsite.

Hunter showed up to his Johns Island job site Monday expecting to quickly finish a project he’s been working on since October. Instead, he found his machinery completely vandalized.

“There are wires in there, cut and hidden like that. We wouldn't be able to find it if we didn't see that all the fuel around it, my guys would've gotten in the machine. He put rocks and all in our engine to try to blow the engine up,” Hunter said.

But the damage doesn’t stop there.

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The vandalism led to a 60-gallon diesel fuel spill into the surrounding area along the Stono River. Charleston Water System owns the construction project, and its staff says they’ve never seen damage this bad.

“We don't see a lot of vandalism. If we do, it's very, very minor, and easy to repair. But this is a different situation because not only did the person damage the equipment related to the job, but they've also damaged the environment,” Saia said.

Saia said they were able to soak up as much of the liquid fuel as possible and the Coast Guard confirmed to CWS that the spill didn't reach the river.

Now, Hunter must pick up the pieces.

He said the damage to his machine alone will cost a few hundred thousand dollars and his crews are now behind on all their current projects.

“We're out here to clean up somebody's mess as well as take time from our family and slow down the project. I mean, it's hurting everybody, the neighborhood, everything around us is just getting messed up from one person,” Hunter said.

“One hour's worth of work is causing weeks of fix-up.”

News 4 has reached out to CCSO for more information.

For once, none of the board members have done anything that anyone could reasonably criticize — yet they are still in the middle of a simmering controversy.

And they have to sort this mess out next week.

The trouble here is unfortunate: An excessively large committee of school officials and community members recently recommended christening the district’s new River Road school as Johns Island Elementary.

Which is only a problem because just about everyone really wants to name it after local civil rights icons Esau and Janie Jenkins.

Now, there are no villains in this story. No one set out to slight the Jenkins family. On the contrary, by most accounts this is actually the result of a well-intentioned attempt to avoid disrespecting anyone.

Unfortunately, the result is a generic, homogenized name that many board members say would be a wasted opportunity to honor a nationally acclaimed legend in education.

Last year, the district set up a naming committee for the new school, which will open in August 2025. Following preliminary discussions, the panel took its first tally in the fall, allowing members to vote on two names that would move forward for consideration. Esau Jenkins Elementary came out on top by one vote.

But then everybody got to talking.

See, Johns Island has a rich history — and a long line of African American residents who’ve done a lot of good in the Lowcountry. We’re talking about community activists like Bill Saunders, John and Mattie Washington, Hermina Traeye.

These are folks who worked to end segregation, help their fellow citizens engage in public discourse and bring civil rights to this country. For instance, Traeye was a nurse famously involved in the Charleston hospital workers’ strike; Saunders helped broker its resolution.

Esau Jenkins worked with many of those folks and, a lot of people would argue, led their efforts. He set up the first local citizenship school so African Americans could pass the literacy tests required to vote back in the day, started the island’s famous Progressive Club, founded the district’s Haut Gap school, hosted Martin Luther King Jr.

He and his wife, Janie, bought a Volkswagen van to drive students to school, because they knew education was the key to everyone’s success. As Jenkins drove students to downtown schools, Janie taught them to read.

It’s such a powerful story that part of their van ended up in the Smithsonian.

Most old-timers will tell you Jenkins is a local superhero, and the island's most famous native son. The bridge between Johns and Wadmalaw islands bears his name, as will a new senior housing complex that just broke ground.

Maybe that’s why some committee members started talking about honoring other locals from the Sea Island’s history. A little competition developed, and most folks understandably wanted no part of taking sides.

So they fell back on a district policy that says, in general, school names should reflect their geography. In fairness, many Charleston schools do just that: You’ve got James Island, North Charleston and Ladson elementary schools, and neighborhood schools like Stiles Point, Belle Hall and Oakland.

But the district also has nearly two-dozen schools — about a quarter of its facilities — that are named for somebody: A.C. Corcoran, E.B. Ellington, Mamie Whitesides, James B. Edwards elementary schools, just to mention a few.

In recent years, the district has named a middle school after local philanthropist Jerry Zucker and a high school after longtime Wando principal Lucy Beckham. Both of which were appropriate, worthy candidates for such an honor.

The Johns Island committee, however eager to avoid controversy, has only stirred up more. As The Post and Courier’s Valerie Nava reports, the committee received letters supporting the Jenkins name from a majority of Charleston County Council.

No pressure or anything.

Johns Island School Board member Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson suggests the board thank the committee for its work, take its recommendation to name various rooms in the school after local residents such as Saunders, the Washingtons and Traeye — and officially name the school Esau and Janie Jenkins Elementary.

In other words, the board should make the hard decision the committee sidestepped.

“They’re only making a recommendation,” Dunmeyer-Roberson said. “It’s up to the board to make a final decision.”

She’s correct, but things are rarely that easy at 75 Calhoun St. — even though, when the board first discussed this in February, there seemed to be majority support for the idea.

Several board members say all the names brought up in the committee’s debate are worthy of honor, but Esau and Janie Jenkins should have the school named for them because education is their legacy.

And this is really not that complicated.

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JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A woman neighbors describe as a staple of the community has a new home thanks to a group of volunteers.

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity celebrated another closing on Johns Island Friday, handing over the keys for the second house they completed this year to Clareatha Matthews.

Matthews says she has been waiting for this day to come. She previously lived in a trailer right behind her new home for almost 40 years. On average, trailers are only supposed to last 10 to 15 years.

Matthews is an active member of the community and has been a resident of John’s Island since 1989. She is involved in multiple Bible studies and has worked at the John’s Island Subway for 20 years now.

“Oh my god today means so much to me. I have been blessed and truly blessed for this day. I have been waiting for this day,” Matthews says.

The project to build her home began in September. When a new homeowner is picked, they are required to work a certain amount of “sweat equity” hours by working with volunteers to help build their own home. Matthews was required to work 300 and volunteers say she continued to come out and work on her house even when her required hours were completed.

“She is just a staple. She is a very active part of this community, and she was also very involved in her habitat sweat equity hours. Continuing to come out and help work on her house even after she finished her hours,” Construction site supervisor Kali Tanguay says.

She also said that they have seen some new homeowners in the past fall short on their hours or not want to commit, but that Matthews went above and beyond.

Her friends and family came out to celebrate and help Matthews move in. Her daughters said their mother worked three jobs when they were growing up and that she never complained. They said that she deserved this greatly.

“We owe our entire life to Habitat for Humanity. It’s very special because my mom is such a dependable, hardworking, and deserving lady and it’s good to see her just totally happy,” Matthew’s daughter, Veronica Huggins, says.

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity completes an average of five to six houses per year and they are hoping to see that number continue to grow.

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