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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Lowcountry community members are set to gather and honor local heroes for Veterans Day.

Mayor Reggie Burgess and the City of North Charleston will host their 22nd Annual Tribute to Veterans event Monday morning. For 14 consecutive years, the city has been selected as a regional site for Veterans Day by the Department of Defense and the Veterans Day National Committee. This is a big honor, as North Charleston is the only site in all of South Carolina.

Event leaders are anticipating over 300 veterans will be in attendance to be recognized and honored with a custom-designed commemorative coin.

A Charleston native, Colonel Joseph Dawson Jr., will be the keynote speaker at this special ceremony and will share his story of 28 years of service and a lifetime of giving back to his community.

TJ Rostin, the recreation director for the City of North Charleston, has attended this event for about nine years and said it is important to recognize veterans and what they have done for the country.

“It’s so great to see and meet all these men and women that come here today, listen to their stories, listen to all of the things they’ve been through, just how they feel about our country and what they’ve done so that we can do what we do every day,” Rostin said.

Rostin said that it is so special to see and hear from these veterans and see how much this event means to them.

“It’s just a wonderful event for us to be able to honor all of the men and women who have served our beautiful country in as many ways as they have. We don’t get to do this as often as I think we should, but today is just our day to pour all of our support and love and passion into what they have done for us for our country,” he said.

The Tribute to Veterans event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Anyone is welcome to attend and honor these veterans. For more information about this event as well as Colonel Dawson’s story, click here.

There are several other ways to honor Lowcountry Veterans on Monday. American Legion Post 166 will be hosting a celebration at 11 a.m. at the Carolina Memorial Gardens and the City of Goose Creek will host a Veterans Day Ceremony also at 11 a.m. at John McCants Veterans Park. The Seabrook Island Club and the Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club will host their 13th Annual Veterans Day Charitable Golf Event Monday and Fort Moultrie is offering free admission all day in recognition.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Last night, the South Carolina Stingrays held a special Community Night at the Community Resource Center (CRC). Three Stingrays players—Micah Miller, Kyler Kupka, and Reilly Webb—volunteered their time to play street hockey with local kids, sign autographs, and share their love of the game. The event provided a fun and inspiring introduction to hockey for children in the community.

In addition to participating in street hockey games, the Stingrays gifted kids with team merchandise, creating an opportunity for young fans to connect with the players and learn more about the sport. ServiceMaster of Charleston, a Stingrays corporate partner, provided free ice cream for all attendees, making the night an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

Louis Smith, Executive Director of the Community Resource Center, highlighted the event's impact on the children and the broader community. “This event benefits these kids for several reasons,” Smith shared. “It introduces them to a new sport, it inspires them to study and look at hockey, and it also brings a cultural thing to these young kids.” Smith emphasized the CRC’s established role in the community, noting, “We started the Community Resource Center back in 2013. We have three locations here in North Charleston, Hollywood, and Summerville. We impact about 17,000 people a month. We help make sure they have groceries, we work with the schools, we do it all.”

For the Stingrays players, the experience was equally rewarding. Miller reflected on the importance of connecting with local kids: “I’d say the most fun part was just getting to know the kids. A lot of them don’t know a ton about hockey, but I feel like we kind of sparked an interest for them, and they seemed to really enjoy it.” Kupka echoed this sentiment, adding, “I loved seeing how much fun the kids had, getting outside with them, and playing some street hockey. They were loving it.” Webb also noted the joy that the children brought to the event, saying, “The kids all had fun outside playing hockey, and they all had smiles on their faces. That’s what I loved about it.”

The South Carolina Stingrays’ Community Night at the CRC reflects the team’s commitment to community involvement and promoting hockey as a source of fun and inspiration. The Stingrays are proud to work with local organizations like the Community Resource Center, give back to the community, and encourage a new generation of hockey fans.

Published: Oct. 29, 2024 at 1:45 PM PDT|

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments hosted a celebration of progress for South Carolina’s first-ever mass transit system.

Leaders gathered on Tuesday at the future site of the Shipwatch Square Transit Center, located at 3621 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston.

“This is the center of the Lowcountry Rapid Transit corridor. This becomes a hub of transit, multi-modal access and workforce development. A one-stop shop for all your needs,” Principal Transit Planner Sharon Hollis said.

The event functioned as a progress report for the work done so far with the public getting a chance to hear from those who have worked most closely on this system. The project has hit its halfway mark since planning began in 2019 and leaders are looking at around 60% of the final design.

The project is estimated to open to the public in 2029.

The Lowcountry Rapid Transit System is set to be a 21.3-mile modern bus rapid transit system to provide reliable forms of transportation between various places in the region.

The recommended route for the LCRT, though subject to change as they work through the design plan, would run from Ladson to downtown Charleston across 20 stations. Transit users would have access to 7,600 daily trips with a 21-hour weekday service.

The line would run in dedicated lanes along the sides and center median of busy roads, like Rivers Avenue. Each station would have real-time signage, Wi-Fi, lighting and off-board fare payment.

It would also add road safety improvements for heavily traveled roads and added facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. This includes sidewalks, crosswalks and pathways.

According to the transit group, Rivers Avenue has a 200% higher crash rate than the state’s average. The project would add 34 pedestrian crosswalks there.

“When they provide better for their families, their mindsets are higher and they can invest,” Mayor Reggie Burgess said. “This system builds generational wealth.”

Leaders said it was challenging to create an extensive plan that did not interrupt the function of existing communities but adds to them.

“What we’ve done is design a transit system that goes through communities that are alive, vibrant and active, and it adds to that. It does not displace anyone, “Chairman Mike Seekings said. “It allows communities to add things they don’t have, like housing.”

The corridor alone is expected to see a job growth of 30% and a household increase of 50% over the next 20 years.

The project requires funding from both the 2016 and 2024 transportation sales tax referendums, $250 million from 2016 and a portion of the total $648 million from 2024. There will also be $5 million from the federal government to cover construction.

The system would provide connectivity to more than 60 healthcare and hospital systems, five colleges and universities and several neighborhoods, community centers, jobs, entertainment, grocery stores and more.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Published: Nov. 14, 2024 at 3:02 PM PST|

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Lowcountry knife maker is paving the way in his industry and making history while doing it.

Quintin Middleton knows his way around a kitchen.

“My mom has four boys. She said, ‘You not going anywhere unless you know how to cook, bake. So like you need to make sure you know how to do something,’” Middleton said.

For this Lowcountry native, that something was gaining knowledge about knives by cooking and even by watching cartoons.

“I wanted to make a sword or make a knife and be like He-Man or Star Wars. And so I would take a tubing off my swing set, flatten it with a hammer and chase my brothers around the yard like, “Huhhh! I’m [Ninja Turtle’s] Leonardo,’ or something like that,” Middleton laughed.

His culinary craft continues to grow as a cut above the rest. Middleton opened Middleton Made Knives in North Charleston. It’s the first Black-owned knife shop in the country.

Each knife is custom-made with its own specialty skill. Middleton shares a standard knife takes anywhere from four to eight hours for him to craft at his home workshop in St. Stephen.

The process takes patience, as did Middleton’s journey to entrepreneurship. He credits a mentor for taking him in as an apprentice early on and helping him hone his hobby.

“He saw my determination about learning the craft. He always said if you’re serious, I’m serious so that notion to see a young person willing to learn, willing to drive and willing to put in the time. So he saw that and poured that time into me,” Middleton said.

Determination and faith is at the forefront of Middleton’s entrepreneurial endeavors.

“Any time I do any big business, anytime even opening this store, I had to pray. I said, ‘God show me where you need me to go. Show me how to do this,’” he said.

Now, Middleton is hoping to breathe life back into the community that helped raise him, by providing jobs to people in the area.

“My big motto for this season is each one, lift one. So if I can lift or inspire somebody while I’m here or if I can lift and inspire someone to do entrepreneurship, that’s my thing to breathe life into them.”

Middleton Made Knives is located at 2154 Noisette Boulevard in North Charleston.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.