Best Moving Company in Summerville

MONCKS CORNER — There was a time when Berkeley Citizens consisted of a small preschool in the basement of a church with 21 students.

Today, the nonprofit services more than 850 people with intellectual disabilities.

Berkeley Citizens is a nonprofit based in Moncks Corner dedicated to supporting adults and teens with disabilities. Some of the organization’s services include early intervention work, adult job training and specialized art programs.

Holly Frye, the executive director of the organization, said if an employer is in need, they can reach out and Berkeley Citizens can train people for the job.

It’s also one of many organizations facing ongoing concerns around opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Sandy Jordan is the director of employment programs for Able SC. It’s a center for independent living that provides life skills and services for people with disabilities.

She said a person with a disability is more than twice as likely to be unemployed than people without a disability.

When the economy eventually recovers from the impact of the pandemic, it has to include people with disabilities, she said.

“We don’t want people with disabilities to be left out,” she said. “We still want people with disabilities to be thought of as capable employees.”

In 2020, South Carolina ranked 43rd in disability employment according to RespectAbility, a national nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities.

RespectAbility president Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi said in a release that pushing for job creation in the disability community can’t be a one-year commitment.

“Positive impact requires continued focus and attention by the states,” she said

Throughout the course of the pandemic, job loss was felt across multiple communities. People living with a disability were not immune to it.

According to the Kessler Foundation, between March and April of 2020 alone, the number of employed people with a disability dropped by 20 percent.

Summerville resident Ashley Lawrence was recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair USA South Carolina again. It’s part of a national program and pageant catered to women who require the use of a wheelchair.

She said one of the reasons it’s important for the community to care about issues of people who have a disability is because it can easily be them in that situation.

She was able-bodied for 37 years.

“You can become disabled in a matter of moments,” she said.

While organizations like Berkeley Citizens and Able SC are capable of training and providing workers, some of the groups are also in need of caregivers.

At Berkeley Citizens, those that are hired as a caregiver will currently receive a $1,000 sign-on bonus. These are individuals that receive training to work directly with people with intellectual disabilities and autism.

Community members are invited to call 843-761-0300 to learn more about job opportunities, volunteer services and how to donate to the organization.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD)- Community pet shelter Dorchester Paws has issued a temporary moratorium, closing their admissions department until Sunday.

According to Marketing and Development Director Danielle Zuck, the shelter has taken in 748 dogs and cats since September 1. That is an average of 15 animals per day, resulting in the shelter being at max capacity.

A full shelter means Dorchester Paws no longer has space for new animals and had to issue a temporary moratorium on animal intake on Tuesday, an action which Zuck said is the last resort.

“For us to have to say no as an open-admission shelter, it’s urgent,” Zuck said. “We are in dire need of adopters and fosters.”

Dorchester Paws is an open-admission shelter, meaning it takes in every lost, abandoned, or abused animal and houses them until they find a forever home. The shelter is also a partner in “No Kill South Carolina,” an initiative aimed at creating “an infrastructure for humane animal welfare organizations in order to optimize quality of care and maximize lifesaving of healthy, treatable canines and felines in South Carolina.”

Zuck noted that another challenge facing the shelter is funding. It costs an average of $35 per animal, the first day they are with Dorchester Paws. With 748 animals currently in its care, it costs $26,180 at a minimum to care for the animals.

“We don’t have the funding,” she said. “We get food donated and we get supplies as much as we can donated, but we’re still low on some things.”

Dorchester Paws is calling on Lowcountry residents to consider adoption or fostering. In an effort to encourage this, the shelter has launched a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” campaign for all dogs, cats, and kittens, excluding puppies. Zuck said the shelter does ask for at least a minimum of $5 for adoptions. Until the shelter intake reopens, Dorchester Paws is offering supplies and resources for those who keep an animal.

“For you to get a $5, $10, $15 animal that’s ready to go, that’s awesome,” she said. “We are not closing our doors but we are literally SOSing, we don’t know what else to do.”

Currently, there are about a dozen seniors (dogs over the age of 7) on the shelter’s adoption floor. Senior dogs tend to be adopted at a 50% slower rate than any other age, according to Zuck.

“We are asking people to give the animals a shelter break, just foster them for a week or two,” she said. “Get them out because shelter life is no life for any animal.”

Dorchester Paws hopes to end the moratorium on Monday at 12 PM, but Zuck said they will need to clear out at least half of the shelter to do so.

Below are some of the animals currently available for adoption:

All photos courtesy of Dorchester Paws

The current “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” campaign will end on November 7.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Summerville Town Council voted late Wednesday afternoon to offer the town administrator job to a former town employee.

Council members selected Lisa Wallace, the current assistant city manager for Myrtle Beach, and approved a three-year contract.

“Lisa’s local government experience and previous service to the Town gives myself and council a sense of familiarity as we move forward,” Summerville Mayor Ricky Waring said. “Her qualifications, professionalism, and leadership skills prove that she’s the best person for this job. I’m proud to welcome her back to Summerville.”

Wallace worked for the town of Summerville from 1996 to 2016, serving in a number of roles including clerk, treasurer, assistant town administrator, director of administrative services and special assistant to the mayor, Summerville town spokesperson Mary Edwards said.

Wallace served as the city manager for the city of York from 2016 to 2019, when she took the assistance city manager role in Myrtle Beach.

“I’m excited to be back in Summerville and grateful to council for the opportunity to serve as town administrator,” Wallace said late Wednesday. “I appreciate the trust and confidence in being selected for this position and will work to maintain and improve the outstanding quality of life we have in Summerville.”

The position will pay $170,000 and her first day on the job will be July 8, Edwards said.

Council made the selection days after a vote during a special meeting on Saturday to terminate the town’s contract with its former administrator, Rebecca Vance. Vance was hired as the town’s administrator on Jan. 31, 2020. However, nearly a year and six months into her contract, the mayor and town council members voted to fire her immediately and without cause, according to draft minutes of Saturday’s meeting.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about why Vance was let go. Saturday’s special-called meeting was announced just over 24 hours before council members would gather to terminate her contract.

According to meeting minutes, all but two of the town’s council members voted to end her time in the role.

Most of the council members wanted to fire Vance because they believed Vance was taking the town in a different direction than what the mayor or council wanted.

One council member, Terry Jenkins, said he believed “there was a fundamental and philosophical difference between the Town Administrator and the Mayor and Council in dealings with daily interactions with Council and staff.”

Council member Bill McIntosh said he voted to terminate without cause “because he believes that the Town Administrator was not a good fit for this Council,” and council member Aaron Brown stated “there was a dichotomy between the Administrator and Mayor/Council as to who was in charge of the Town.”

Council members Kim Garten-Schmidt and Bob Jackson voted against the termination, and Jackson also voted against meeting in executive session on Saturday to discuss Vance’s termination.

“He did not think it was right to call a meeting on a Saturday morning when there was no time to get all of the facts regarding the issue,” draft meeting minutes stated.

Vance’s contract was signed on Jan. 31, 2020, but her term didn’t officially begin until March 9, 2020, according to her contract. She was set to remain as the town’s administrator for three years and make an annual gross salary of $165,000.

According to meeting minutes, Vance’s contract was terminated by the town involuntarily. Her contract states that the town must pay her a lump sum payment in the amount equal to her gross salary and benefits, “which would normally be paid over a period of one hundred eighty days.” Town officials have not yet released how much that amount will be.

The Summerville town council gathered Saturday morning to fire Vance while she was in Myrtle Beach for a meeting of the South Carolina City and County Managers Association. She was chosen during that meeting by the association’s members to lead as its president. Allison Burkey with the SCCCMA said Vance will remain president as there didn’t seem to be any ethical misconduct with her termination as Summerville’s town administrator.

“We allow the manager up to a year to be searching for a new position if they are in a director or officer position,” Burkey said.

In a press release from the town of Summerville announcing Vance’s hiring last year, Mayor Ricky Waring acknowledged Vance’s experience.

“Rebecca Vance has a strong background in local government and administrator experience,” Waring said in 2020. “Council is impressed with her qualifications, leadership experience, and high ethical standards. We look forward to the tremendous amount of value, transparency, and innovation she’ll bring to Summerville.”

Before her time as the town’s administrator, Vance served as the Deputy Administrator of Community Services for Dorchester County. She also served as the City Manager of Cayce, the City Administrator of Manning, and the Town Administrator of Summerton. “She also worked for the Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments and the Sumter City-County Planning Commission earlier in her career,” the press released stated.

“I’m honored to work in Summerville with a council that’s passionate about their people and with a staff that values teamwork and service,” Vance said in 2020. “I appreciate the trust and confidence in being selected for this position. I look forward to giving back to a community that has given me so much throughout my life.”

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A new fire station is coming to the town of Summerville, making it the town’s sixth station.

Summerville Fire Department Chief Richard Waring says the new station will be built on Miles Jamison Road, right next to the Coastal Center. He says right now, they’re finishing up site work for the new station, and they hope to finish by December. The plan is for them to start clearing land by Jan. 1, Waring said.

There is not an address assigned to the site yet, but Waring says it will be located between the traffic circle and the Coastal Center on Miles Jameson Road. It would be on the same side of the road as the Coastal Center.

Waring says Fire Station 6 is going to improve their efficiency, especially as Summerville continues to grow.

“Just looking at the response times and what not for the area that this station’s going to serve,” Waring said. “Neighborhoods such as Summerville Place, the Lakes of Summerville, and those neighborhoods that are in town, it’ll improve our response time to those areas, and that’s what we were looking to do.”

Waring says the closest Summerville fire station to this area is on Trolley Road in the Oakbrook community. While that station averages about a seven to 10 minute response time to the area, Waring says the new Fire Station 6 will get them down to a less than five minute response time.

Waring says Summerville Fire is working with Dorchester County on the land agreement for the new station. While it is in town limits, he says they are going to be able to serve some areas in unincorporated Dorchester County as well.

Waring says they’ve renovated two existing stations over the last few years, but the last new station in town was Fire Station 5 in Knightsville. That was built back in 2014.

“Well, it’s just, it’s exciting,” Waring said. “Anytime you add a new fire station facility, it’s great for the department because it gives us a sense of pride for a new facility, and it’s also a better service we’ll be able to provide for our citizens, so we’re excited for that.”

Waring says Fire Station 6 will have the same features as the other stations in town, like work out equipment, diesel exhaust systems, and safety features on the building.

Fire Station 6 will have one fire engine and 12 firemen based out of it.

Waring says they are hiring for new members and those interested can apply on the town of Summerville’s website.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Summerville Sweet Tea Festival returns to Hutchinson Square this weekend after a shift in how things were presented last year because of the pandemic.

Summerville Dream, the nonprofit that organizes the festival, says this is the first festival on their calendar this year. While they have had some smaller entertainment events throughout the week after realizing those worked last year, Executive Director Steven Doniger says Saturday’s all-day festival will set the tone for future festivals returning soon.

“That’s what these things are really all about at the end of the day,” Doniger said. “Is that everybody came out, had a good time, had a chance to reconnect with one another and get a chance to see the magic of Summerville because this is an extraordinary downtown and a great community for people to come out and do things.”

The Sweet Tea Festival runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Doniger says usually they have around 130 vendors, but they scaled that number down to about 70 this year to allow for more social distancing. He says the vendors are mostly all from South Carolina and will feature food, art, and crafts.

All the existing stores and restaurants in Hutchinson square will be open as well.

Some of the event staples return like sweet tea tasting, a contest to vote on your favorite, and restaurants featuring special sweet tea-inspired entrees.

“Downtown Summerville is the heart of Summerville,” Doniger said. “This is our historic district. This is where our small businesses thrive, this is the backbone of everything we do. So, when we can bring out people and have them exposed to our downtown, do some shopping and dining, it’s always a wonderful thing. We have to recognize that it’s been a really difficult year for everybody, but economically, we have to also work together to find a balance to go ahead and keep our doors open, lights on, and activities happening.”

Doniger says in previous years, they estimate millions of dollars were brought in from the festival from meals, shopping, hotel stays, and people traveling.

He says there are a few people who travel from out of state, but it’s mostly a celebration of Summerville and the Lowcountry, which is where the majority of visitors will be from.

Doniger says throughout the year, they’ve seen a steady rise in visitors and expect 10,000 to 12,000 people will visit the Sweet Tea Festival throughout the entire day.

The Sweet Tea Festival is free to attend. Doniger says masks are recommended and folks are asked to social distance as much as possible.

Little Main Street and the cross streets around Hutchinson Square, like West Richardson Avenue, will be closed Saturday afternoon for the Sweet Tea Festival.

For last year’s festival, organizers shifted the style to smaller events held throughout the week.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.