Charleston County is home to a diverse and vibrant population. The food is world-renowned, the hospital system paves the way in research and care, and the way of life is the envy of cities around the world. For too long, though, the Charleston County School District hasn’t adequately prepared all kids with a high-quality education, which has become a blemish on Charleston’s thriving culture.

Academic outcomes for the district’s students are unacceptable. The majority of students countywide aren’t reading on grade level, and 46% of all students fell short of meeting expectations in reading on SC Ready last year. In math, 42% of students didn’t meet expectations on SC Ready, and more than 60% of students require remedial math by the time they reach high school.

More concerning, these gaps are much wider for students of color and students living in poverty. More than 80% of black students, 78% of multi-language learners and 75% of students living in poverty districtwide are behind in reading. Across the district, only 11% of black students and 14% of students living in poverty are on track in math by eighth grade. We must do better.

The district’s lack of urgency and relentless focus on driving results for kids is the reason the Charleston Coalition for Kids was founded.

We’re an organization supported by parents, educators, policymakers and community leaders who have joined together to demand positive improvement and success for all schools and students. We’re focused on rallying the community around the need for school board members who are urgently focused on ensuring excellent public schools for every family, regardless of ZIP code.

Though the past few elections have led to forward progress, including through Acceleration Schools, Mission Critical and the successful reopening of schools during the pandemic, more work is desperately needed. The Nov. 8 election, where all nine school board seats are open, offers the opportunity to seize change in an unprecedented way.

In addition to ensuring great leaders on the school board, our coalition is fighting for educational change that is results-based and data-driven:

District leaders can learn from the success stories of networks and districts around the country, if they’re willing to set their own personal interests aside and do what is best for kids.

We shouldn’t care what our schools are called: public charters, community schools, public schools of innovation, acceleration schools, etc. At the end of the day, all children deserve a high-quality school that meets their unique needs. The status quo simply isn’t working.

The Charleston Coalition for Kids is building a movement for educational transformation. We’re willing to work with anyone and everyone who believes our school system should ensure a world-class education for every child in this community. And we’re also willing to stand against any person or group that continues to defend the systems, leaders or practices that have failed our kids.

The stakes are too high and the moment too important for us not to fight for something better for the children of this community.

Dustin Daniels is the executive director of Charleston Coalition for Kids.

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A trio of new dining venues are in the works across the Charleston area.

In Goose Creek, an Atlanta-based restaurant chain plans to open a third Lowcountry location. Chicken Salad Chick is coming to a new building in the Planet Fitness-anchored Shannon Park retail center on St. James Avenue.

The restaurant will be on the opposite end of the outparcel building housing the recently opened Chipotle Mexican Grill. An opening date has not been announced.

Chicken Salad Chick has two other Lowcountry locations in Mount Pleasant and Summerville.

In North Charleston, a new Sticky Fingers restaurant is on the way to a recently renovated retail center in North Charleston.

A space near Planet Fitness at 5060 Dorchester Road in the Shoppes at Montague Corners is undergoing a complete overhaul for a new dining venue. A sign in the window reads “Sticky Fingers - Coming soon.”

The planned restaurant recently applied for a state license to sell beer, wine and liquor onsite.

The shopping center has seen several changes recently after it was purchased for more than $6.1 million in 2020 by an affiliate of Paragano Associates of Mount Pleasant, according to Charleston County land records.

Previously known as Oak Ridge Shopping Center, the retail site includes a refurbished facade, new landscaping and parking lot. It’s also where Latin-infused restaurant El Callao plans to open soon and where discount grocer Save A Lot recently closed.

The property abuts a 12-acre parcel, also owned by a Paragano affiliate, where a new 336-unit apartment development is planned on West Montague Avenue next to the proposed new access road to Charleston International Airport.

Also in North Charleston, a new sandwich shop soon will join the lineup of merchants at a recently opened retail destination.

Firehouse Subs plans to open in an outparcel strip center in front of the newly opened PetSmart pet supply store in Cedar Grove Shopping Center on Dorchester Road.

The building’s interior remains under construction. An opening date has not been announced.

Self-check it out

Discount grocer Aldi recently added several self-checkout lanes at two of its Charleston-area stores in Mount Pleasant and on Dorchester Road in Summerville.

The Germany-based chain, with its U.S. headquarters near Chicago, has three other stores in the Lowcountry in Goose Creek, North Charleston and North Main Street in Summerville. Self-checkout lanes are expected to be added to other sites in the coming months.

On the way

A new ear-piercing and earrings shop is coming to downtown Charleston.

Studs will open Oct. 6 at 346-B King St. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

To celebrate the opening, Studs has partnered with Charleston-based The Green Heart Project and will donate $5,000 to the organization that builds garden-based experiential learning projects and school garden programs.

The new downtown store is the retailer’s 14th location since the company launched in 2019.

Game on

A new gameroom is coming to North Charleston.

Hoodie Cat plans to open at 4950 Centre Pointe Drive, Suite 110, between Staples and Sweet Grass Dental Associates, in the Shoppes at Centre Pointe across from Tanger Outlets.

The business recently applied for a state license to sell beer and wine onsite.

In June 1972, then-27-year-old Rod Lapin opened a small frozen-treat store called Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Cream Shop in Charleston's South Windermere Shopping Center.

As the steamy summer succumbed to fall's cooler temperatures, he noticed ice cream wasn't as popular, so he added hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, soups and other items to the menu. The name of the business grew as well to reflect the expanded menu.

Fifty years later, Lapin's concept has evolved into seven Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Cream and Sandwich Cafés across the Lowcountry. Another is on the way next year in the developing Point Hope community off Clements Ferry Road.

On Oct. 7, the company will celebrate its golden anniversary with a promotion on single-serve ice cream scoops and hot dogs for 99 cents each.

At the newest location on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard in the Publix-anchored Ashley Landing Shopping Center in West Ashley, co-owner Rolando Ravelo plans to mark the occasion with a 1970s-themed event.

For Lapin, the company's growth was never envisioned as he welcomed his first customers five decades ago, when Richard Nixon was campaigning for a second term as president and before the Arab oil embargo sent the U.S. economy into a protracted recession in 1973.

For the next 15 years, Lapin made sandwiches and scooped up ice cream in the 1,200-square-foot diner that seated about two dozen or so people. Located in the center of a strip of stores, there was no drive-thru.

In 1987, Lapin sold the original shop to an employee — it closed about five year later — and opened the restaurant that still stands on Savannah Highway at Folly Road.

The South Windermere restaurant continued for another five years before being sold to another dining venture for a deli concept. It later closed.

With business bustling at the new Savannah Highway location, Lapin was content with things as they were.

"It was never a plan to do multiple locations," he said. "It was just day by day. There was no master plan."

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Plans changed as his children got older and family members wanted to get into the business.

By 1997, various family members had opened five more locations in North Charleston, Summerville Mount Pleasant and Goose Creek. Two of the businesses have since been sold to outside buyers under what the chain's founder described as “a legal business agreement” that differs from a franchise arrangement.

Earlier this year, Victor Davydov, who purchased the Savannah Highway and Mount Pleasant stores, and Rolando Ravelo launched No. 7 on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard in West Ashley’s Ashley Landing Shopping Center.

In recent years, Lapin, now 77, said he has taken a breather from the day-to-day operations.

With most of the restaurants still in the hands of of family members, he serves as consultant for the two shops in West Ashley. His daughter Becki Cole and husband Bryan act in similar capacities for the Mount Pleasant location they once owned.

"We don't like to say we retired," Lapin said. "We were just ready to step away and serve as consultants."

Lapin also never considered running the restaurant as work.

"I tell people all the time I never had a job," he said. "It was my niche. I just enjoyed it and meeting the customers."

Looking back, Lapin beams when he sees what has grown out of the small diner he started in 1972.

"When I see cars lined up around the restaurant, it just amazes me of the success and love Charleston has for Ye Ole Fashioned," he said.

As for the celebration, all of the restaurants will honor the 99-cent promotion on Friday, but Lapin said son Todd would prefer a less-busy day during the first part of the week to mark the occasion for his two Summerville restaurants. Separate celebrations on different days have not been determined for those sites.

Two South Carolina cities were named to Conde Nast Traveler’s best small city list and both are repeat performers.

Charleston was named No. 1 for the 11th year in a row and Greenville came in at No. 6 for the second time. Greenville has been on the list since 2017 at 9th and 3rd.

The top 10 list was generated by responses from readers. All but two of them are in the South, including three from Florida.

Charleston “punches well above its weight,” the magazine said. “When you consider everything it has to offer — history, culture, food, charm — it’s no wonder the so-called Holy City has repeatedly topped our list of the best small cities in the U.S.”

The magazine cited Charleston’s food and beverage industry, including festivals. They publicized one restaurant, the Ordinary, for fresh oysters.

“Stately homes, cobblestone streets, waterfront views, and an abundance of flowering window boxes only add to its welcoming vibe,” the magazine said.

The kicker — try to resist moving to Charleston. That is something well established in South Carolina’s largest city.

U.S. Census figures released last year showed the population grew 25% from 2010 to 2020.

Greenville was once again called a city on the cusp of stardom.

“The food lover’s town has a farm-to-table scene that continues to rise in the ranks (try Jianna for Italian and freshly shucked oysters, and Vault & Vator, the city’s first speakeasy, for a strong, well-crafted cocktail).”

In a news release, VisitGreenvilleSC said, “Being named to lists by prestigious outlets such as Conde Nast Traveler is critical to VisitGreenvilleSC’s efforts to be known as a top place to visit in the U.S.”

Greenville is no stranger to being on ‘best of’ lists. This year, CNN Travel said it was a best place to visit in Fall, AAA best place to bike, Lonely Planet best place to bring your dog, Thrillist coolest small city and Fodor’s best coffee, VisitGreenvilleSC said.

Other cities on the list were No. 2 Aspen, Colorado; 3. Santa Fe, New Mexico; 4. Alexandria, Virginia; 5. Savannah, Georgia; 7. Key West, Florida; 8. Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; 9. Palm Beach, Florida; 10. Wilmington, North Carolina.

This story was originally published October 5, 2022 10:52 AM.

COLLETON COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - Investigators have made a number of arrests after a body was found in the woods in Cottageville in the same area where a hunter went missing.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year-old Schuyler Rene Andrulat of Cottageville and 33-year-old Nathan Baughman of Summerville have been charged with obstruction of justice. According to court records, the charges against Andrulat were dismissed and expunged.

A third man, Brad Skipper, has also been charged with an outstanding warrant from Colleton County.

The body was found around 8 p.m. on Thursday in a wooded area off Red Oak Road, the same area where a hunter went missing last Friday

The sheriff's office says the missing hunter was staying with friends who waited until Sunday to report him missing.

The coroner is doing an autopsy to determine the cause of death and identify the body.

The arrests stems from an incident that began on Aug. 21 when a Colleton County deputy responded to a home on Peirce Road in reference to a missing person.

The deputy spoke to Andrulat who said a friend of hers, Orin Patrick, had come to her home to go hunting Friday evening.

According to a report, Andrulat said she dropped Patrick off along the woodline on Peirce Road with a shotgun.

"Andrulat stated that several hours later, she received a call from Patrick stating that he was lost in the woods and he wanted her to drive along the road and beep the horn so that he could find his way back to the road again," the report states.

Andrulat told investigators that she did this around 9 p.m. on Friday but could not find him.

According to authorities, Andrulat said she received another call from Patrick that only last a few seconds and had since been unable to reach him through his phone again. Andrulat told deputies that she did not know any more information about Patrick.

In the incident report, the responding deputy reported that when he first met with Andrulat, she was unable to give any information about Patrick. The deputy then told Andrulat to get in contact with some of Patrick's friends or family so that he could get enough information to do a report.

Authorities also spoke with Patrick's friend, Baughman, who told investigators over the phone that he and Patrick had been staying at a home on Lakeview Drive in Summerville.

Baughman said the last time he saw Patrick was on Aug. 19, but was unsure of the time "because they had both been drinking so he did not remember much about that day."

The incident report states Baughman told investigators that this was not the first time Patrick had just "gone away, but it has never been for this long and never without making contact with him."

Detectives reported that they had Patrick's cell phone pinged to find the last location for it which was in Summerville.

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