Co-Working Space in Walterboro, SC

SOUTH CAROLINA (WCIV) — It’s amazing. It was already 15 years ago, I did a story on an aspiring singer/songwriter leaving for Nashville after his time as a Clemson Tigers long snapper. It worked out pretty well for that guy- Lee Brice.

This week, we do the same story. A former Clemson long snapper, leaving to follow his music dreams in Nashville. Walterboro’s Jim Brown.

If passion could be purveyed, Jim Brown has always found a way to do it.

Walterboro's Jim Brown follows in Lee Brice's footsteps, gunning for a music career. (WCIV)

“I sing vocally very gritty and aggressive," said the Pinewood Prep grad.

If purpose and passion meet, Jim Brown will find a way to connect them. In his fifth year at Clemson, he was awarded a scholarship by Dabo Swinney.

The Walterboro native has a deeply rooted passion, and now, is his time to shine.

“I taught myself how to play guitar in HS after an ACL injury, bedridden for two weeks so I picked up a guitar and learned to play. When football was over, just latched on to it— all music. Singing vocals, piano, music theory, songwriting- started diving as deep as I could and it sort of got me to here," he said.

Construction consultant is the title that pays the bills for now. But Jim Brown is ready for that chord progression to take the next step. Similar to going from walk-on to scholarship player.

“I’m not trying to be the next Chris Stapleton, but I want to make music that hopefully relates to people on some level," Brown said.

Music, can always take you home. His first single is doing just that.

“The Devil and the Gavel” is his ode to the Murdaugh murders saga in his hometown of Walterboro.

“In Charleston I played a lot of gigs, covers around town and on weekends, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at Edisto Beach and Walterboro. Now, more songwriting. At the end of the day, what I want to do is release music that I have, keep playing. I know its something I’m fortunate to have, and kind of let people know this is my thing," Brown said.

He doesn’t know Lee Brice. He’s never met him. But he hopes his passion will help him follow the same path.

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - Colleton County has two large industries coming around Walterboro in the near future and county officials are already thinking about how this is going to affect housing.

Pomega Energy Storage Technologies, a subsidiary of Kontrolmatik Technologies that makes lithium-ion batteries, is investing $279 million to build a facility located in the Colleton Industrial Campus near Walterboro.

“That is the largest economic investment of a company coming to this county in history,” Colleton County Councilman Scott Biering said.

This industry will bring in 575 jobs, but that’s not all. Biering says Boise Cascade Company, a leading manufacturer for building materials, will also bring in 30 additional jobs and developers have already sent in applications.

“I think there’s two developments, like maybe 100 houses per development,” Biering said. “And that’s a big deal for us.”

Mark Wysong, the president of the Colleton County Chamber of Commerce, says this will bring greater prosperity to the city of Walterboro.

“Right now, that’s one of the biggest challenges that we have in Colleton County is affordable housing,” Wysong said.

Wysong says these industry jobs will increase the median income within the county, improving the housing market overall. Biering says there are roughly 9,000 people that leave every day to go work in neighboring counties and they want to try to keep those people a little closer to home.

“There’s not been a whole lot of homes and developers in this area for a long time,” Biering said. “So, this is something new to us to have this amount of interest.”

Wysong says he knows locals will want to keep their small town the way it is, but no one should have to worry about losing it.

“While retaining the small-town feel, I think these new developments coming in will adopt that look and feel, so you retain this really small neighborhood community,” Wysong said.

Biering says these housing developments are only in the planning stages, and nothing has been approved so far.

“We like to live, work and play here,” Biering said. “We’d like to keep it closer to the center. So, I think the housing will be a big plus in that direction.”

Biering says Pomega is hopefully expected to break ground in 2024.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCBD)- Walterboro, it’s known to people around town as the ‘Front Porch to the Lowcountry’.

However, this front porch, needs some work done.

Kathy Mayer moved to Walterboro in 2020.

That’s when she discovered the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary, the only spot of its kind in town.

“I love to walk so I would come down to and walk the boardwalk park as well as the asphalt park,” Mayer said. “You can come here, birdwatch, there’s lovely insects throughout the year. People come and fish and it’s just a lovely place year-round.”

However, soon after she moved, a tornado hit.

“There were parts of the boardwalk that branched off that were shut down due to damage,” Mayer said.

“It exposed many of the failures in the building and the construction that took place prior. 15 to 20 years ago,” Walterboro’s Assistant City Manager, Ryan McCleod said.

It forced the city to close damaged sections of the sanctuary down.

That happened in 2020, its 2023, and some parts are still closed.

“What you’re seeing right now is the access point or should be the access point. It has never been opened since I have been walking these trails in 2020,” Mayer said.

Mayer says this should’ve been fixed soon after the damage was done, but it’s been a waiting game.

The city is empathetic to the frustrations.

“I understand that entirely because I’ve had my hands on it as parks director for 4 years,” McCleod said.

Empathy isn’t enough for residents like Mayer.

They want answers, and Wednesday, that’s what the city of Walterboro is giving.

“We had an engineer actually come in and actually do a full-blown report. They looked at every linear foot of boardwalk they have and to do that kind of study it takes time,” McCleod said.

Funding has also held them up, but there’s good news.

“We applied to various grants, we were fortunate enough to be rewarded the undiscovered South Carolina grant for $250,000 dollars,” McCleod said.

The city says the rebuilding project is up for bid.

Mayer says she’ll wait until she can take walks on the trail again, but she says her patience is running thin.

The City of Walterboro says once this project is started, they’re expecting it to take about 250 days.

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - Ring camera footage from a Walterboro home appears to show a dog being run over by a U.S. Postal Service driver who did not stop or slow down, a Colleton County woman says.

The dog, Yogi, survived but awaits surgery that could result in his leg being amputated. If not, a BluePearl Pet Hospital in Summerville says because of his poor quality of life, he might have to be euthanized.

“She’s been delivering our mail for over a year,” Paula Gouge, Yogi’s owner, said. “She knows my dogs. She’s pet my dogs before... And I don’t know if she might have given him treats in the past and he was running for a treat.”

BluePearl Pet Hospital says Yogi suffers from a dislocated hip, broken femur and lower spine and internal injuries. The family has been in contact with Officer Suzi Reeves with Colleton County Animal Services, who is handling the case.

“Officer Reeves told me that we did nothing wrong,” Gouge said. “We did not break any laws. We do not have to keep him on a leash.”

Matthew Breen, managing partner of Lowcountry Law, LLC, says the family can decide to sue this driver for negligence and depending on what the solicitor decides, the driver could face charges as high as a hit and run.

“Yes, they might have needed to restrain their animal,” Breen said. “But at the same time... that doesn’t give us an excuse, ‘Well, that dog doesn’t have its leash on and it’s outside the road. I can just run it over and kill it.’”

He says it’s important for pet owners to be diligent.

“You want to make sure that you protected your pet to the greatest extent that you could, and if they’re injured, that you can recover civilly against the wrongdoer who injured your pet,” Breen said.

Reeves says the driver will face at least two citations under the proper care of animals under the Colleton County Code of Ordinances. She says the driver has been identified and she claims she didn’t know she hit the dog.

“He’s only eight and a half years old,” Gouge said. “He’s not done. I just pray that he can get better and be a miracle dog and run around on three legs.”

The Walterboro Postal Service declined to make a comment because the case is under investigation. The postal service Southern Area Corporate Communications says they’re still reviewing the video and gathering additional details about the incident.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCBD) – Community members are concerned about a new ministry that is set to open in the Walterboro area.

Shield Ministries, an organization that claims to help convicted sex offenders rehabilitate and re-enter society, will open its doors off Barracada Road near Highway 17-A.

About 50 men could be housed at the property at any given time as the first phase of their three-phase program to help the men improve their lives.

“Shield Ministries is an organization that works to help men transition from the devastation of their past into a thriving future,” explained David Truluck, executive director for Shield Ministries.

But those who live nearby say they are concerned about having sex offenders so close to their homes, children, and grandchildren.

“I’ve lived here for 35 years. I love Walterboro. I love the community,” said neighbor Lisa Langdale.

Langdale is worried about what is going in at this old church site in her rural neighborhood. “I’m just really concerned about living in the neighborhood, for our children, and living in the neighborhood even for myself,” she said.

She’s even part of a new Facebook group that has gained more than 600 followers.

“What do you say to people who maybe they live nearby, they have children or grandchildren at their house, and they’re concerned? What would you say to them,” we asked Truluck.

“Well, we have been a big asset to the community. When you look at our history, we have great relationships with law enforcement agencies,” Truluck replied.

There is also concern about Truluck, personally, because he is a registered sex offender.

“I believe the offense was committ or attempt a lewd act on a child. Do you understand why people might be concerned about an organization that you’re leading being right there in their neighborhood as well,” News 2 asked.

“I do understand why they would be concerned about that, but one of the things I would like to communicate to them is, I’ve been through the process of healing I’ve been through court-ordered counseling, which we will be providing,” he replied.

When asked if he could guarantee that none of the men in the program would bring harm to anyone in the community, Truluck said “I don’t think we could give that type of guarantee,” but cited the program’s “zero percent recidivism” rate.

A community meeting geared toward showcasing the proposal will take place Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. across from Tractor Supply on Bells Highway in Walterboro.

Leaders with Shield Ministries say they are in the process of getting the property ready to open, however, they do not have a specific opening date at this time.