Buy a home at a reasonable rate with a VA loan in Johns Island, SC

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.

Read more: "Successful oil spill cleanup in Charleston by Coast Guard, no marine life threats."

“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.

Read more: "Suspicion arises over two Colleton County mobile home fires in three days."

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.

Trident Medical Center has submitted a Certificate of Need to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to build a $277 million hospital on Johns Island. The application is for a 50-bed acute care hospital between Maybank Highway and Cane Slash Road, across from the Live Oak Square development.

Projections for Johns Island Hospital show that within the first three years it will create nearly 300 jobs, contribute $10 million in non-income taxes to support the community and pay $70 million in salaries, wages and benefits, the organization said in a release.

“We are excited to continue making medical care more accessible to residents in our historically underserved communities,” Trident Health President and CEO Christina Oh said in the news release. “Currently on Johns Island and neighboring communities, it can take residents 30 to 45 minutes to drive to their nearest hospital, and often longer in heavy traffic and inclement weather. Our goal is to increase access to timely, high quality and affordable health care services.”

Trident Medical Center’s chief of the medical staff and medical director of emergency services, Dr. Scott Hayes, said he sees firsthand the results of delayed care.

“For residents who live far from emergency medical care and who may be experiencing a medical emergency like a heart attack or a stroke, minutes can mean the difference between life and death,” he said in the news release. “Access to care close to home is critical, especially in areas like Johns Island and the surrounding communities, that have frequent traffic delays.”

Trident Health surgeon Dr. Thomas Litton, who lived on Johns Island for 20 years and recently moved from there largely due to increasing traffic congestion and limited access routes off the island, said, “The rapid population growth and development of Johns Island, as well as its role as the sole gateway to Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw Islands, has created a strong need for a full-service hospital in the area. Residents on those islands have never had a full-service hospital. Trident’s hospital on Johns Island and their freestanding ER on James Island will greatly improve residents’ access to much-needed medical care.”

Johns Island Hospital will be located seven miles from James Island Emergency, Trident’s new freestanding ER at 945 Folly Road, Charleston, that will open in the next few weeks.

Plans call for Johns Island Hospital to have 50 beds with space to expand to 150 beds, 40 medical/surgical/stepdown beds, 10 ICU beds, 20 ER rooms, four operating rooms, two endoscopy suites and a cardiac catheterization lab. The hospital also would have two CT scanners, an MRI, two diagnostic radiology suites and a fluoroscopy room.

In addition to the hospital, services would include medical offices for primary care and specialists as well as outpatient imaging and support such as breast imaging, rehabilitation and other outpatient therapy services.

“From our first discussions about building a hospital on Johns Island, we have been committed to creating a thoughtful plan that preserves the natural beauty of Johns Island,” Oh said in the release. “We will honor the strong Gullah Geechee cultures of the community; we will partner with the areas’ community and businesses; and will promote the important and unique contributions of Johns Island’s agricultural community.”

The proposed Johns Island Hospital is in addition to nearly $140M in capital investments currently underway at Trident Health’s hospitals, Trident Medical Center and Summerville

“Indoor“Indoor or outdoor dining?” isn’t a question at Johns Island restaurant Lost Isle (3338 Maybank Highway), because all the tables are al fresco. The small white building next to the Tattooed Moose on Maybank Highway looks like it could be a family home, but behind the humble structure are sparkling chandeliers hanging from the live oaks and an expansive outdoor dining area sitting next to a wood-fired kitchen.

Restaurateur T.J. Lynch from Folly Beach bar Lowlife (106 E. Hudson Avenue) teamed up with entrepreneur Thomas Wilson and chef Josh Taylor (formerly of Root Note Food) to bring a new dining experience to Johns Island. Lynch says, “Imagine if you had roommates and one was a chef and was a bartender, and you threw a dinner party in your backyard — it’s like that.”

The focus of the menu is live fire. Taylor says he drew inspiration from cultures that use open-flame cooking like Argentina and Southeast Asia. On the menu, diners will find grilled shrimp with harissa cauliflower puree and crispy chorizo, charcoal chicken with a tamarind chili glaze and lemongrass salsa verde, and roasted carrots in a brown butter hazelnut sauce. One of the early standouts from the menu is the curry braised collards. Taylor says he was inspired by a trip to Thailand when thinking about the greens, so he created a khao soi broth to simmer the collards and added bread crumbs for texture.

“The menu goes from smaller to mid-size to larger plates to shareable plates,” says Wilson, “It is really flexible, and I suggest that tables order plates to share. Everyone will have something to choose from.”

As far as the beverages, the group says they wanted the selections to be interesting and enjoyable. “We tend to try not to take ourselves too seriously,” says Lynch, “We wanted the drinks to be tasty, fun, and accessible — not too pretentious or complex. We hope you’ll have a good time and not have to worry so much about what’s in the glass.” Lost Isle has several beers, cocktails, and wines all on tap, from the outdoor bar.

Lost Isle officially opens this evening and is open daily, from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Take a look at a sample menu here.

For years, we have urged local and state transportation planners to become more aggressive in pursuing smaller-scale traffic solutions for Johns Island, where congestion, particularly during regular commuting hours, has become the island's No. 1 challenge.

So it was encouraging last week when Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and Charleston County Council members Joe Boykin and Jenny Honeycutt met with the media to discuss their plans for advancing these solutions, which include adding lanes to Maybank Highway between the Stono River and River Road, reviving plans for a southern pitchfork that would create a new road off Maybank between the Stono River bridge and River Road and realigning Cane Slash Road to meet up better with that new southern pitchfork. "Until now there wasn't a firm commitment by both governments to do this," Mr. Tecklenburg said. "That's what's new."

All those projects hold the promise of easing congestion significantly on that part of the island. Now that local support for them seems stronger than ever, the challenge is to expedite them and find the money needed to build them. We have an idea there.

Instead of County Council committing $75 million of its 2016 transportation sales tax referendum proceeds to further planning work for extending Interstate 526 across Johns and James islands, it should divert at least half of that toward funding these smaller, less costly and far less controversial projects, which can be built far more quickly and provide relief much sooner.

Diverting that money should not harm I-526, which remains in limbo until County Council comes up with a financing plan to cover most of its $2.2 billion cost (the state has capped its contribution at $425 million). While there's talk of asking voters to approve yet another half-cent sales tax to raise that money in November 2024, we're skeptical that it will pan out.

While the State Infrastructure Bank has agreed to match the county's $75 million for 526 by releasing $75 million more of its $425 million commitment, we urge the state's Joint Bond Review Committee to reject that contribution at least until the county has a firm plan to finish the project, not simply a notion to hold another referendum.

Johns Island has seen worsening congestion not only because of its growth but also because the specter of 526's extension has seemed to slow any meaningful progress on the smaller but still significant improvements that would ease congestion.

We're not referring only to the projects officials discussed last week. The planned flyover at Main Road and U.S. Highway 17 is an equally critical and popular project to improve traffic flow at the other end of the island. We're dismayed construction work on it hasn't begun yet, even though that was one of the projects promised in the 2016 sales tax referendum.

And that's too bad, because those projects are very much worth completing even if I-526 ultimately gets extended. If that project ultimately dies, as we hope it does, the need for these smaller improvements will be even greater.

The vast majority of Johns Island is rural. Expanses of farms, equestrian trails, hunting, wildlife and tree canopies draw visitors worldwide. This makes Johns Island one of a kind.

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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