Chiropractorin Moncks Corner, SC

Moncks Corner officials are starting a program to aid local businesses with expenses as varied as landscaping and signage to online branding and outreach, thanks to an influx of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding.

The town is using $850,000 from ARPA to fund the one-time Business Assistance Program. Business owners have until June 30 to apply, according to information on the town’s website, which emphasizes the assistance is low cost or free to qualifying businesses.

Local business owners can apply for financial aid for one of the following improvements: façade, landscaping, signage, branding, website creation and upgrades or social media and marketing.

Doug Polen, the town’s community development director, said when local governments began receiving the federal COVID relief money, Moncks Corner officials were eyeing it as a way to help small businesses that suffered during the pandemic and ensuing economic downturn.

“I think the (ARPA) money was originally conceived by the president as (a way to aid) economic development,” Polen said. “I know a lot of towns have used it for things like paying bonuses to their employees. That’s fantastic ... but we are the Lowcountry’s hometown and in a hometown, we help each other.”

He said town officials are working with area firms and local consultants that can help small businesses with whatever project they’re wanting to implement.

The application, which business owners can fill out on the town’s website, asks for information about the business’ income and profit, including whether it can match the town’s grant. For the most part, the program applies to already established businesses, though Polen said anyone within the town limits of Moncks Corner can apply, even if they’re just starting out.

Once the application process closes at the end of the month, Polen will go through them and make recommendations to an ARPA committee, whose members will be appointed by the town council. The committee will make the final decision on which businesses to award the grants to. Hopefully, the awardees will be announced by the end of the summer, the town’s website says.

As of June 3, about 35 businesses had applied for the grant, though Polen expects many more before the application deadline. The town advertises the program on its social media about once a week, and every time the post makes the rounds on Facebook, a few more applications come in.

Polen said he won’t know until the applications come in and the committee makes their decisions how many grants will actually be awarded. Depending on what business owners want done, there could be thousands of dollars’ difference between projects, he said.

“There’s a wide disparity between a business wanting to redo their Facebook page … versus a business wanting to redo their façade,” Polen said.

Outside the Business Assistance Program, Polen says his office finds ways to assist local businesses other than financially, such as helping find locations.

When local businesses do well, he said, it helps everyone in town.

“By making businesses more attractive, by helping them market themselves better, … it helps those businesses and it helps the town,” he said.

To apply for a Business Assistance Program grant, visit Moncks Corner’s website or go to https://form.jotform.com/221164466222045.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCBD) – The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday revealed the rendering of a woman whose body was found in a wooded area of Goose Creek back in 1977.

But how did the sheriff’s office utilize new technology to help them reconstruct the woman’s image 45 years later?

“We currently have two detectives assigned to our cold case unit. They are juggling anywhere from 25 to 35 cases at any given time,” said. Maj. David Brabham with BCSO.

They currently have 32 cold cases they are working on. The woman highlighted during Wednesday’s press conference is just an example of how they are using new technology to crack old cases.

“The ability to take a human skill and actually put muscle and skin and develop a fairly accurate depiction of that person.”

New techniques can now be used to soak old evidence, and gather DNA from the evidence that may not have been possible in the past.

“It’s a process that is able to take and extract DNA from pieces of evidence we may not be able to get touch DNA off of.”

Some improvements are not new technology, but rather quick access to technology in-house. One example is the AFIS fingerprint system, allowing fingerprints to be identified at the sheriff’s office.

“Able to run it possibly the next day in order to see if we can identify our suspect which would’ve taken probably a week or better having to run to another agency.”

Also, their new forensics lab makes processing evidence quicker.

Some technology may be available even out of state.

The remains found in Mt. Holly in 1977 were sent to Texas and then Florida to gather more info. They learned the body was a woman, and they were able to recreate what she likely looked like via computers.

“A lot of that’s afforded to some of these areas through federal grants and that’s made available to us at no charge because of that federal money.”

“Our job is to speak for the victims and their families and so when we’re able to utilize this technology and come back and solve a case regardless of age I think it benefits and gives a lot of closure to the families.”

The next step in the case of the woman who was found in 1977, they’re going to start looking into her genealogy in hopes of finding someone who may be a match.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper is now accepting applications for its new EVolve Electric Vehicle Commercial Grant Program. The program is available to Santee Cooper commercial customers and will offer grants of up to $25,000 designed to help transform the Grand Strand and other parts of the utility’s service territory into electric vehicle-friendly destinations.

“South Carolina is a destination state and expanding our EV infrastructure is a must for both visitors and locals who drive electric vehicles, so that they can enjoy all this beautiful state has to offer,” said Jimmy Staton, Santee Cooper President and CEO. “We are pleased to play a role in advancing EV infrastructure.”

There is $100,000 available for EVolve grants in 2022, and selected projects will receive grants of up to $25,000. Customers can apply for EV projects in one of four categories:

Applications will be competitive and undergo an evaluation by an independent third party, with the highest scoring projects receiving funding. Criteria for scoring includes project feasibility, proposed use of funds, innovation, community benefits, matching funds, and equity.

In January, Santee Cooper’s Board of Directors authorized funding of $500,000, with $300,000 of that included in the 2022-2024 budgets and the remainder to be included in subsequent budgets. Funds will be awarded once in 2022 and then two grant cycles per year thereafter.

Santee Cooper began supporting electric vehicles a decade ago by assisting with grants that helped install several charging stations in publicly available locations throughout the Grand Strand. The utility recently donated new chargers to replace now-outdated chargers left from the original effort. In addition, Santee Cooper has an active rebate program for in-home charging stations for residential customers.

For more information on the EVolve Grant Program or to apply, visit www.santeecooper.com/EVolveGrant. For more information about residential EV rebates, visit www.empowerscauto.com.

Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest power provider, the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state, and one of America’s Best Midsize Employers as named by Forbes. Through its low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity and water services, and through innovative partnerships and initiatives that attract and retain industry and jobs, Santee Cooper helps power South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.santeecooper.com and follow #PoweringSC on social media.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCIV) — The Lowcountry is a premier spot in the state to fish and go on the water. Berkeley County is now making it easier to access those waterways.

The Berkeley County Roads & Bridges and Facilities & Grounds crews will unveil new improvements to the Cypress Gardens boat landing Wednesday at 4 p.m.

County officials said over 100 boats come through the landing a day.

Before the upgrades, there were only 35 parking spots for these boaters to use- forcing many to park farther down Cypress Gardens Road.

But with these new improvements, county officials said boaters will now have safer access to the water.

The Cypress Gardens boat landing now has over 91 boat and trailer parking spaces, as well as 47 passenger vehicle spots and four handicap boat trailer parking spots.

The additions make it one of the largest sites in the county.

Improvements were also made to the boat access points and a new pavilion was built for casual fishers.

The landing has fishing competitions- with nearly 90 boats regularly- held at this landing and county officials say these improvements will help provide the ample space needed for residents enjoy the water.

“In Berkeley County and in the Charleston area- but big time in Berkeley County- we have some of the best fisheries in the entire country,” Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb said. “We routinely had over 100 boats or 100 users. So, the project wasn't 'if you build it, they will come'. It was, they're already here and what are you gonna do about it.”

The improvements cost about $400,000.

Cribb says the manufacturing plant Dupont donated 100 percent of the land for these improvements, which eased the burden on the county's budget.

Not only do over 100 boats come through the landing a day, but officials say the number of casual fishers who come to the dock have increased ten-fold.

With the increased number of pedestrians in the area, county officials have some added new walkways and security measures for a safer experience.

The county planted new ropes and poles to carve out a safe pedestrian walkway, which they said was a priority at Cypress Gardens due to its proximity to the busy Cypress Gardens Road.

Additional security cameras and lighting have also been installed.

The Cypress Gardens landing is the first boat landing to receive these improvements by the county, with more planned improvements to others in the future.

County officials say it will cut down on traffic in the area and provide more access to waterways closer to home.

“Planting all those poles out there and rope is not inexpensive and easy to do. but it's really important to do so we can protect the pedestrians from the different vehicle traffic coming in,” Cribb said. “What you want to do is thin out the herd. The more quality safe boat landings you have, people want to go to the one closest to their home, but they will drive much further away if they need to. so, this helps us keep cars off the road needlessly.”

Cribb said the next project they are working on is the Spiers boat landing in Cross.

The brand-new site is planned to include 450 parking spaces for boaters and a full hiking trail for residents to use.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Berkeley County has proposed a substantial amendment to its FY2022 Annual Action Plan and 2022-2025 Consolidated Plan—both of which address local housing and community development needs. There will be a public hearing on the amendment on Wednesday, June 29 at 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Berkeley County Administration Building, located at 1003 N. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner. The public is invited to attend the meeting to share comments and ask questions.

Specifically, the Annual Action Plan (AAP) helps carry out the Berkeley County Consolidated Plan by providing a summary of the actions, activities, and funding resources the County needs to annually address the needs and goals identified by the Consolidated Plan. The FY 2022 AAP outlines proposed projects and activities by the County’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program to address the identified priority needs and goals in the Consolidated Plan as Substantially Amended. View the Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan HERE.

Needs can cover public facilities, economic development, housing, public services, and other eligible activities in unincorporated areas and within participating municipalities within the County. Through the CDBG program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved approximately $1.2 million for Berkeley County to use to address these needs. In May, Berkeley County awarded the funding to seven different local nonprofits and municipalities. Read more HERE.

The County expects to receive $1,226,054 in CDBG funding and $516,868 in HOME funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for FY 2022, which begins July 1, 2022 and ends June 30, 2023. This will be the first allocation of the HOME grant for Berkeley County.

The proposed amendment to the Annual Action Plan will also be available for public comment for 30 days, from June 15 to July 15, 2022. Hard copies of the plan, including blank pages for comments, will be available at the welcome desk in the front lobby of the County Administration Building in Moncks Corner.

Written comments may be submitted to the County’s Grants Administrator at cecilia.anthony@berkeleycountysc.gov, or delivered to the Grants Administration Office at 1003 N. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner. For more information, call (843) 719-4766.