Buy a home at a reasonable rate with a VA loan in Goose Creek, SC

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Goose Creek Fire Department is asking residents and business owners for input to help create the department’s first strategic plan.

City of Goose Creek Fire Chief Mike Nixon said the purpose of the plan is to get everyone in the department on the same page. They’ll get input from members of the department, the City of Goose Creek residents and business owners.

The survey asks what they need to work on and what they are doing well. That feedback will help them make a plan that will provide a clear and concise path moving forward. Nixon said it would also consider risk factors that could be faced in the future whether it’s internal or external with a response.

“Where are we excelling at, where are we failing at and kind of find a way to solve those issues. It could be something that people have had interactions with us on a fire scene where they thought we performed average. We don’t want to be average, we want to be above average,” Nixon said.

Once the survey closes they plan on having focus groups within the department to analyze the information and come up with a plan.

“We’re going to all sit down separately with the information that we’ve received from all of the surveys internal and external and we’re going to deep dive into every specific content point and we’re going to break them down and we’re going to figure out where we really need to focus we’re doing or at first try to problem solve those issues and come up with solutions for that,” Nixon said.

There is no set deadline for that set, but once it’s complete it will be posted for anyone to see. They plan to annually review it and about every three years create a new one.

You can take this 10-question survey starting Feb. 6, for 30 days. It’s available in three languages and you can drop off the paper version at city hall or online here.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — On Tuesday, the Trump Administration sent the first group of migrant detainees to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which is being used as a large scale immigration detention center.

“There’s a lot of space to accommodate a lot of people, yeah, so we’re going to use it,” says President Trump from the Oval Office.

This, following his executive order on January 20th to crackdown on illegal immigration.

Also on Tuesday, Attorney General Alan Wilson sent a letter to all 46 sheriffs across SC — encouraging them to apply for ICE’s “Section 287-G Program” — which allows local law enforcement to perform and help in certain immigration efforts.

According to the official website of “Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” only Horry, Lexington, and York counties are currently signed up for the program.

Christale Spain, Chair of the SC Democratic Party, says there’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding the raids causing fear throughout certain communities.

“You know I just think people are scared, and emotionally feel afraid. We don’t know what’s happening with our country, and I think the way to combat that, as far as the Democratic Party goes, is to put out factual information,” she says.

With recent ICE raids happening as nearby as Goose Creek, SC and Savannah, Georgia, the SC Democratic Party wants legal community members to know their rights — should an ICE agent come to their door.

“To know that they don’t have to open the door for ICE unless they have a signed warrant from a judge, and they do have the right to remain silent, and they are not required to answer questions about their immigration status. And don’t sign anything without legal representation,” says Spain, adding, if you’re able to record the ICE raid safely, to do so.

“And report those incidents to immigrant rights organizations and legal groups,” she says.

According to Spain, adding to fear mongering regarding ICE raids are impersonators, with three men recently arrested for pretending to be an ICE agent. This includes 33-year-old Sean-Michael Johnson from Charleston County.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace has also taken part in raids, as she posted on X.

“If there aren’t safe guard rails put up on some of this, this craziness, you know, Americans are going to get swept up into this, and that…that should be a concern for everybody,” says Spain.

If you’d like more information, a free discussion regarding ICE raids will be held at the Richland County Public Library on Saturday, February 8th at 2:30 p.m.

Published: Feb. 4, 2025 at 5:21 PM PST|

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - The largest military shipbuilder in the U.S. is expanding its operations in Goose Creek with plans to create more than 250 jobs.

HII recently purchased the assets of W International, a metal fabrication facility located on Bushy Park Road that specializes in the manufacturing of shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies.

The site will now be known as Newport News Shipbuilding-Charleston Operations and will operate under HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division.

Berkeley County Economic Development Director, John Williams, said HII will bring all existing workforce, resources, and contracts with them, including contracts they already have with the U.S. military.

“They purchased the company and all the assets. The building that they have in place, all the equipment that they have in place, all of the contracts that they currently have, many of which are with the U.S. military, they’re assuming all of that. They’re going to take what they have and they’re going to grow it,” he said.

Williams said because HII is expanding operations, they’re increasing their capital investment to $100 million. He added they also plan to achieve W International’s failed goal of creating 600 positions.

“This is all kinds of trades. It’s not just welders. I mean, they need electricians, they need highly skilled machinists. They need pretty much any of the trades that you can think of that are going to be housed there and going to be needed by them. And, these are high-paying jobs. We’re not looking to try to recruit low-paying jobs in this area or lots of jobs. We want a good number of jobs, and we want good-paying jobs. And that’s why HII checks the box so well because they are... It’s a great company, long-standing, safe jobs, stable jobs, and high-paying jobs,” Williams said.

He said the site is perfect to support HII and all of their operations, and has many benefits like barge access, deep water access and a nearby railroad.

“That park is really desirable. The fact that they got deep water access, and so you can bring ships, you can bring submarines, you can bring any of those types of vessels that need water for transportation, you can bring them in there. If you’ve got pieces of equipment or engines that are too large to put either on the highway, on a truck, or on a rail, you can always put them on a barge and carry them by water. Bushy Park’s ability to barge different pieces of equipment checks the box for the HII,” Williams said.

He said all of these factors are important when thinking about transporting the type of giant vessels and submarines like HII does.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Operations Are Underway at Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations

GOOSE CREEK, S.C., (Jan. 27, 2025) — HII (NYSE: HII) announced today it has closed on its acquisition of an advanced manufacturing facility and assets and begun work at its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) — Charleston Operations site in South Carolina.

“HII is committed to going where the labor is to increase shipbuilding capacity and increase throughput for our national security customers,” HII President and CEO Chris Kastner said. “This lets us efficiently add trained talent and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities to the urgent job of building ships, making it a unique opportunity to immediately accelerate throughput at Newport News Shipbuilding in support of the Navy and AUKUS.”

HII announced last month its intent to acquire the facility and associated assets. Since then, more than 99% of the legacy workforce have accepted offers to continue to work on site, supporting the construction of nuclear-powered submarine modules and aircraft carrier units for U.S. Navy programs. Working closely with the South Carolina state and regional leadership, HII plans to create hundreds of additional jobs to support the increased demand and growth at the Charleston facility.

In addition to existing trained talent, HII’s acquisition also provides:

“This is great news for the South Carolina economy. This investment will allow us to expand our manufacturing footprint more aggressively in the shipbuilding industry,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “If you can drive it, fly it, shoot it or float it, South Carolina makes it.”

“The expansion of our nation’s largest military shipbuilder in South Carolina underscores the pivotal role our state plays in strengthening America’s national security,” U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said. “The dedicated shipbuilders in the Charleston area are part of a highly skilled workforce that will propel our nation forward. This innovation and modernization in our defense industrial base will create jobs and draw resources to our state’s already robust Navy presence.”

About HII

HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII’s mission is to deliver the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:

MEDIA CONTACT

Todd CorilloTodd.T.Corillo@hii-co.com757-688-3220

Danny Hernandez Danny.J.Hernandez@hii-co.com202-264-7143

General Inquiries:

hii_communications@hii-co.com

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “guidance,” “projections,” “outlook,” and similar words or phrases or the negative of these words or phrases generally identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to the Company’s future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and expected benefits of the transaction. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions, expectations, plans and projections that we believe to be reasonable when made, but which may change over time. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and inherently involve a wide range of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Specific risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: those discussed in this release; those identified under “Risk Factors” and other important factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC; the possibility that anticipated benefits of the acquisition may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the risk that management time may be diverted on acquisition and integration-related matters; and other events or circumstances that could adversely impact the business. There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time. You are urged to consider the limitations on, and risks associated with, forward-looking statements and not unduly rely on the forward-looking statements including the accuracy thereof. Forward-looking statements are based on information, plans and estimates as of the date they are made and there may be other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.