Roofer in Aiken, SC

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A South Carolina State Representative is calling for the Aiken County Council to revitalize the areas of Horse Creek Valley and Beech island.

Representative Melissa Oremus penned a letter to the Aiken County Council following a town hall October 6.

In her letter, Rep. Oremus called for the council to adopt a House Creek Valley and Beech Island Revitalization Program centered around public safety, blight cleanup, economic redevelopment, and accountability.

She also gave a proposed timeline with immediate actions and short and long-term goals.

In her letter, Rep. Oremus explains that South Carolina has laws and incentives in place for issues such as the ones she’s listed.

Rep. Oremus ends the letter by calling for a collaborate between the Aiken County Council and people living in the Valley and Beech Island.

In the town hall, several attendees raised concerns about Walking Tall Ministries.

Community members allege the group misused funds intended to support people experiencing homelessness.

“I hope that those who have questions and concerns about the ministry will reach out to me directly and let’s have a conversation about how we can work together and better address these problems as a community and not fight against each other,” said Zak Moyer, director of Walking Tall Ministries.

The town hall included appearances from Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer and Burnettown Mayor Karen Jones.

“I hope that we, as a community, figure out what we can do in regards to the sheriff’s department and helping them, and regarding the judges who keep releasing these people back out on the street,” said Bubba Moyer, lives in Gloverville.

In addition to public concerns about Walking Tall Ministries, local leaders discussed the overall state of the community and shared updates about the Valley’s future.

Sawyer said, “I’ve heard several things ... if they are true, we need to address. If not, we will move on.”

Between the two world wars, Charleston experienced a blossoming of urban pride propelled largely by the members of the artistic community and those intent on ensuring the survival of the city’s architectural fabric. Organizations like the Preservation Society of Charleston, the Carolina Art Association (Gibbes Museum of Art) and the Poetry Society of South Carolina emerged during the period now known as the Charleston Renaissance.

The first two of these organizations have remained largely localized, but the Poetry Society has looked over the years to extend its reach statewide. On Saturday, Nov. 1, Jim Lundy Jr., PSSC president, will be in Aiken to host a program to embrace current members and to introduce the general public to the work of the society. In addition, the event will feature a free screening of George Wingard’s short documentary “To Have a Name Worth Owning,” which focuses on the life and work of Aiken-based antebellum poet James Matthewes Legare.

Lundy is the author of the meticulously researched, 358-page “History of the Poetry Society of South Carolina: 1920-2021.” The book chronicles decade by decade the story of the society from its legendary past to its dynamic present.

It all began in the upper crust salons South of Broad where the group met in the members’ homes. Not everyone was of a literary bent — in fact, one wag remarked that the organization was “one tenth poetry and nine tenths society” — but there were enough serious writers to add authorial legitimacy to the enterprise. The first officers included DuBose Heyward (“Porgy”), Josephine Pinckney (“Dinner at Three O’clock”), and John Bennett (“Mr. Skylark”).

The society’s first two decades are often regarded as the group’s “golden years” despite the entrenched conservatism of its members during that early period. Lundy points out, for example, that the society’s second meeting featured a reading by Carl Sandburg at the beginning of his illustrious career and that many members were less than impressed by his free verse. The group was deeply committed to rhyme. The society was also strongly segregationist. When it was discovered in 1923 that Jean Toomer (“Cane”) had somehow managed to gain out-of-town membership, the mixed-race author was not invited to renew his dues.

Despite its initial shortcomings, the society evolved over the years, eventually acknowledging a range of verse forms and celebrating the diversity of the general population. The organization finally settled on an annual calendar of events that included three or four readings per year and two programs featuring the winning entries in various contests sponsored by the group.

The roster of readers is a veritable who’s who of modern American literature, including Gertrude Stein, Robert Frost, Thornton Wilder, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. I was particularly interested in the portion of Lundy’s book devoted to the 1970s, the time of my arrival in Aiken, largely because some of the writers featured in society programming were also guests of the visiting writers series at USC Aiken, including David Bottoms and Alice Cabaniss, whose poem “Inside Orange” is one of my all-time favorites.

Also featured in the pages of Lundy’s volume are the names of local authors past and present, writers like Starkey Flythe, Linda Lee Harper, and Phebe Davidson. The book is full of interesting information about the lives and work of a host of creative people.

Poised now for the 21st century, the Poetry Society of South Carolina welcomes everyone to the free 2 p.m. talk and film screening at the Aiken County Public Library on Nov. 1. Producer and director George Wingard will also be on hand to answer questions about his Legare documentary.

AIKEN — The Savannah River Site Museum’s third annual Fall Fission Festival turned a parking lot into a science-based carnival of fun activities promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math on Oct. 18.

Hundreds of guests convened at the corner of Laurens Street and Park Avenue, steps away from the museum at 224 Laurens St. S.W. for hands-on STEM activities, games, food trucks and a DJ.

Many children dressed for a Halloween costume contest and circulated through the exhibits, learning about science and leaving with candy.

“Those of us who are scientists love reaching out and trying to get people excited about the wonders of science and engineering,” said Jim Marra, board chair of the SRS Heritage Foundation, which runs the museum.

“This is one of the outreach events that the museum does for the community to bring attention to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,” said Marra, who worked at the Savannah River National Laboratory for 26 years.

“It’s a beautiful fall day, and all our partners, all the exhibitors and the food trucks and all the volunteers are pitching in together to have a great day,” he said.

Tom Scott, a workforce development specialist in the College of Science and Engineering at USC Aiken, was costumed as the fish Nemo from the Disney film “Finding Nemo.”

Riffing on the homonyms of fission and fishin’, he’d set up a bucket of water for children aim at with a sponge dangling from the end of a rod and reel.

He also invited them to spin a wheel and answer science-based trivia questions

“It’s a beautiful day, I get to dress up and hang out with cool kids who are going fishing and playing Wheel of Fortune,” Scott said.

Brandon Greene of Aiken said his 9-year old daughter was having a good time, and that they were there “just to come out and learn and have fun.”

Museum director Linda Lindler said the purpose of the Fall Fission Festival is “to get people excited about science.”

“We really just want to reach out to the community and be a trusted partner for them and encourage kids to get involved in STEM activities, introducing them to various career paths they might encounter in the area,” Lindler said.

“We want to reach beyond the four walls of the Savannah River Site museum and be a community resource for education and science and STEM activities,” she said.

Lindler was dressed in 1950s garb as a nod to the 75th anniversary of SRS, which the museum will be celebrating with a special exhibit.

“We are so excited about celebrating the 75th anniversary,” Marra said. “The Savannah River Site has been such an important part of our community in many aspects, not only as an employer,” Marra said.

“Come visit the museum, and next year be sure to put the Fall Fission Festival on your list,” he said.

Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness and Savannah River Mission Completion have announced University of South Carolina student Zachary Gardiner as the winner of the 2025 SRMC Science Scholarship.

The $10,000 scholarship is sponsored by SRMC, the liquid waste contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site.

Gardiner, a senior from Hummelstown, Pa., is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at USC in chemical engineering with a minor in nuclear engineering, energy concentration. CNTA Executive Director Allison Hamilton Molnar said CNTA is proud to award this scholarship to such a deserving student.

“Zachary is an exceptional student who understands nuclear and all that it can do to improve our world,” Hamilton Molnar said. “CNTA is pleased to present him with financial support to continue his education. No doubt he will be an exemplary addition to the nuclear industry’s future.”

This past school year, Gardiner served as the vice president of the American Nuclear Society student chapter at USC, as well as the president of the American Chemical Society student chapter.

Through these positions, he said he was able to discuss ways to connect students with nuclear industry professionals, as well as how to conduct educational outreach programs to explain the positives of nuclear energy in the world today.

In his studies at USC, he conducted research by contributing to, growing, and obtaining data in support of the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database, a joint project between USC and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop an easily accessible database that assists in modeling nuclear fuel behavior and interaction at various temperatures and concentrations in a molten salt reactor.

Following assisting in this project, he conducted more experimental thermodynamic measurements in the laboratory supporting molten salt corrosion and phase behavior research for projects with multiple DOE laboratories.

Over the Summer of 2025, he participated in an internship program at the Savannah River National Laboratory working in the Hydrogen Isotope group on tritium technology.

Gardiner’s career goal is to obtain a degree in chemical engineering, and to enter a nuclear engineering or related PhD program. He added that he wants to obtain a PhD so that he might be able to work in nuclear-related research following graduation, whether at a DOE laboratory, a university or in the industry.

The SRMC Science Scholarship is a joint project of CNTA and SRMC.

The annual scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior at a college or university in South Carolina or Georgia who demonstrates an outstanding academic achievement in nuclear science/engineering or a directly related field, such as chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental science, materials science, etc., with applications to the nuclear field. Details on the scholarship can be found at: https://cntaware.org/maher-memorial-scholarship/.

CNTA is an Aiken-based charitable educational organization dedicated to providing factual information about nuclear topics and educating the public on nuclear issues. For further information, call CNTA at 803-649-3456 or email at office@cntaware.org.

GRANITEVILLE — President and CEO Will Williams had some impressive numbers to brag about during the Western SC Economic Development Partnership’s annual meeting on Oct. 22 at the Gregg Park Civic Center.

During the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which ended June 30, companies announced plans to make $1.22 billion worth of capital investments in Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties that are expected to create 419 new jobs.

“That pretty much is a record for our region … but the most exciting thing is that all four counties had at least one announcement and that hasn’t been done in a while,” Williams said. “Those projects were both new industry coming in and [new investment by] existing industry, so we had a good balance there.”

Construction of a data center for global technology giant Meta is underway in Aiken County following the announcement in August 2024 of a more than $800 million investment.

In May of this year, Kimberly-Clark revealed that it would be spending more than $200 million to add 1.1 million square feet to its Aiken County manufacturing facility.

In addition to celebrating the recent past, Williams talked about the future.

“This fiscal year won’t be as good as the last fiscal year. I’ll just go ahead and make that prediction,” he said. “Sometimes it’s better to under promise and over deliver, and I’m hoping for over-delivery.”

“We’re still seeing impacts from the uncertainty that is being caused at the federal level with tariffs,” Williams continued. “Companies have plans, they get ready to have conversations and then the direction changes. You’re looking at multimillion-dollar investments and it’s just going to take a little bit of time.”

Williams, who described economic development as more of marathon than a sprint, expressed confidence about the long-term prospects for the Economic Development Partnership’s four counties because “we do have a good pipeline in place” to attract new industries.

“Our communities are business-friendly and ready to go,” he said.

More affordable housing and more childcare options would help generate “a lot more success” in the Western SC Region, he believes.

Power also is an issue.

“It’s not just data centers,” Williams said. “The manufacturing projects that we see are much larger. Their capital investments are much higher and their labor requirement is lower, so you’ve got much more capital-intensive investment. The different machinery and equipment that are making these products require a significant amount of electricity.”

In some cases, data centers could provide a solution.

“Many of them are showing up with their own power sources,” Williams said.

The event at the Gregg Park Center was the Economic Development Partnership’s 41st annual meeting.

Cristina Paredes, executive director of SC Nexus, was the keynote speaker.

SC Nexus is the state’s “federally designated tech hub focused on innovation in the industry sector,” said Williams, who introduced Paredes.