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JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District is holding two community input meetings to update Johns Island residents on plans for a new school on Johns Island.

The first meeting is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Zion Elementary. The second meeting is schedule for the same times Thursday at Angel Oak Elementary.

Charleston County School District COO Jeff Borowy says the main topic of the presentation and discussion will be the location of a new school.

Borowy says the referendum for a new Johns Island elementary school was passed by Charleston County tax payers in November of last year. He says they have not determined a location for the new school yet, but hope to have it identified by the end of this year.

Johns Island community input will be considered in the board of trustee’s final decision and Borowy says Angel Oak Elementary and Mt. Zion Elementary families will be impacted by rezoning when the new school comes. That’s why Borowy says these families’ feedback is so important.

Borowy says there are overcrowding issues at both Mt. Zion and Angel Oak. He says at Angel Oak, they’ve had to bring in eight trailer classrooms.

“Parents have to say, ‘hey look, as an example, you know, I’m zoned to Angel Oak. Is there an opportunity for me to be zoned to this new school?’ You know, or I would rather stay in the zone of Angel Oak?” Borowy said. “They’ll have an opportunity to provide that input as well as look at what the potential impact would be on commuting distances, how that might positively help them, or they might want to stay where they’re at.”

Borowy expects about 600 students will move to the new Johns Island elementary school when it opens in a few years.

“There’s nothing as satisfying as being at school on the first day when we open a new building,” Borowy said. “To see kids have a bigger classroom, see kids have brand new everything. Both them and the teachers in that school, it’s just a refreshing feeling, it’s a recharge for everybody, and it really makes a huge difference in attitudes and desire to be in school when you’ve got something like that.”

Borowy says a video of the meeting will be uploaded online, and parents can email questions as well. He plans to post all comments on the school district website after the meetings.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Construction to restore the Crab Bank Seabird Sanctuary in Charleston Harbor could begin as soon as Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District on Monday announced that Virginia-based contractor Norfolk Dredging Company was moving hydraulic pipe into the area for its dredge to begin pumping operations as soon as Tuesday.

The project calls for the one-time placement of approximately 660,000 cubic yards of compatible material from the Charleston Harbor Deepening project to create approximately 32 acres of of prime nesting habitat above mean water for nesting birds.

The project, sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, is expected to benefit the nesting and migrating seabird species that used the sanctuary prior to Hurricane Irma removing the last remaining bit of nesting ground in 2017.

Civil Work Chief Brian Williams says the cost of the project was around $230,000 because the material used was already being dredged.

“The project for Crab Bank cost about $230,000 because we’re already dredging the material anyway,” Williams said. “It was really just the cost difference to place it over there on Crab Bank.”

The project has been in the works since 2018 when the planning and fundraising for the project began. The Corps of Engineers says federal grants along with contributions raised by non-profit groups, businesses and private citizens will fund a majority of the work.

“This project would not have been possible without the amazing community support and assistance from Audubon South Carolina, the Coastal Conservation League, and Coastal Expeditions, as well as all of the individual donors who contributed to this effort,” SCDNR Director Robert Boyles said. “Communication, fundraising and awareness have been key to the success that we hope to see this spring as birds return to the newly established footprint of Crab Bank.”

The Corps of Engineers estimates the project to take approximately two months to complete and are urging those that use the area for recreation to give them a little space during that time.

“The entire process should take about two months,” Williams said. “So really we would encourage folks to give us a little breathing room for two months and then once the equipment is demobilized and moved offf site, get out there, paddle around like you normally would.”

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – A Lowcountry dry cleaning service is working to locate a misplaced New York City Fire Department dress uniform.

20 years later, September 11th still brings the same memories to Johan Zamoscianyk, many of those experiences are tied to what he wore that day.

Zamoscianyk, a former New York City firefighter/EMT and 9/11 survivor, said the dress uniform was dropped off at Sandy’s Cleaners on Old Trolley Road last month and he planned on wearing it for a string of events commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the terror attacks, like the 9/11 Silent Walk in Mount Pleasant.

The uniform was engraved with emotion. A reminder that he’ll never forget what happened on a September day in 2001.

“That was the uniform I should have worn to the MUSC Memorial this past Friday, The Silent Walk on the 11th and that is what I should have been wearing when I met Senator Tim Scott Saturday night at the RiverDogs game,” he said.

But when he stopped in to pick the dress uniform, he discovered it was missing. “I went to pick it up on Sept 4th. That is when I learned it was lost,” he said.

“Sure, I can buy another one, but the sentiment is not there. What it went through with me is not there,” said Zamoscianyk.

Zamoscianyk and his family are calling on members of the community to return his FDNY dress uniform if they accidentally picked it up from a Charleston-area Sandy’s Dry Cleaner’s location.

“Please check your cleaning for my FDNY dress uniform,” said Zamoscianyk in a Facebook post.

The owner of Sandy’s Cleaners said they are “exhausting all means” to locate the missing uniform and have “tremendous regret” over the mistake.

“While unsuccessful so far, we are using all means available to try and locate the item. We have cameras at the store showing the uniform being bagged and loaded in the van to go to Trolley Road,” the owner said in a Facebook post.

Owners say they have called several customers in case it was mistakenly placed with another order.

The company says the uniform was last seen leaving the plant in Ladson on the way back to three stores, one in Goose Creek, another in North Charleston, and at the location where he dropped his uniform off in Summerville.

The uniform has not been located as of Monday morning.

Anyone who has information is asked to contact him at [email protected] You can also call or text at (843)-406-3875.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - MUSC says the seven-day average of new COVID-19 infections in the Tri-County area dropped 3% for the first time in more than two months.

MUSC College of Medicine Professor and global health specialist Dr. Michael Sweat said his team was expecting a drop to happen.

“I really do think we’re approaching the peak,” Sweat said.

But he warned people not to fall into a trap of thinking COVID-19 is gone.

“We are at a pivotal point because of schools and universities opening. I believe those are fairly strong forces for transmission,” he said. “We’ve seen huge outbreaks in colleges. And a lot of kids in schools are picking it up. School transmissions are happening, and I think that could push it back up, but I do think we’re on the path to seeing at least an initial decline. Hopefully, it’ll keep going.”

He said summer COVID surges in other places have tended to last eight to 12 weeks.

“They have a sharp curve up and a pretty sharp curve down,” he said. “Louisiana is definitely coming down, substantially and quickly. Mississippi - another sharp decline occurring. Alabama, it’s coming down, although it’s early. Georgia, same way. Florida, major decline.”

Every state that preceded South Carolina had the same pattern in about the same amount of time, he said. He called the Delta variant’s impact, which has played out over the past several weeks, shocking.

“I did not expect Delta to be as bad as it is, and it just tells you how that virus can find the little clusters of people and move around,” he said.

He also said there is a real chance of another wave coming into the winter just like last year.

“That was our worst wave yet,” he said. “There’s another potential for that, so it’s important to keep people’s eye on that.”

The most recent release from the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control showed a three-day total of 14,763 new cases and 158 deaths from COVID-19. DHEC reports three-day totals on Mondays because it does not release numbers on weekends. Monday’s totals include test results from the previous Thursday through Saturday.

The latest three-day total of new COVID-19 cases statewide released Monday showed 14,763 new cases. That figure was down almost 2,600 from the previous three-day total of 17,346.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Please read the report in its entirety; information can change quickly.

The Path Forward / Recovery

COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATE

MUSC Health has vaccine appointments for all eligible individuals age 12 and up. Eligible individuals can visit muschealth.org/get-vaccine to make an appointment; while appointments are encouraged, walk-ins are welcome at all MUSC COVID-19 vaccine clinic locations. View information and a video with directions on how to schedule a vaccination appointment. The community is encouraged to monitor muschealth.org for COVID-19 vaccine availability criteria, updates and FAQs.

For more information related to public, community vaccination sites operated by MUSC Health throughout the state, please visit https://vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.

Homebound individuals who need in-home COVID-19 vaccination services should contact DHEC’s COVID-19 vaccine information line by calling 1-866-365-8110. Please note that community members should not directly contact the vendors. All calls must be routed through the DHEC COVID-19 vaccine information line to access this program.

MUSC Health vaccination administration data is available upon request.

MUSC Health COVID-19 Vaccination Expectation for all care team members

All MUSC Health leaders and care team members are now required to have the COVID-19 vaccine. Religious and medical exemptions may apply for some care team members. All new care team members should receive a single dose vaccine prior to starting work or the first dose of a two-dose vaccine prior to starting work. The second dose must be completed within three weeks as a condition of employment. As of July 1, more than 99.9% of MUSC Health care team members have complied with this policy. MUSC Health has established this policy for the safety of our care team, our patients and patients’ families and visitors.

FOR UPDATED DATA:

Will It Last?

“My gut tells me we’re at the peak” in Tri-county, scientist says, but worries school infections have potential to turn that around.

The MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project is a digital dashboard that provides leading indicators related to the COVID-19 epidemic to enable informed decisions. Current situation assessments for MUSC Health – Charleston (Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties), MUSC Health Florence, and MUSC Health Lancaster divisions are available on this site.

HELPFUL WEB LINKS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

MUSC COVID-19 mobile diagnostic testing

MUSC Health offers COVID-19 testing in hospital, clinic and other locations. Patients are encouraged to communicate with their providers through MUSC MyChart should they need testing services. Current turnaround time is approximately 24 hours for test results. A full list of testing information is available at musc.co/testing.

MUSC Children’s Health After Hours Care and Pediatric Emergency Department are receiving significant COVID testing requests, which can be a strain on staff as they work to serve sick patients and emergency needs. If possible, please share with your audiences that while the pediatric After Hours Care and Emergency Department are great spots for most of a child’s medical needs, when it comes to COVID-19 testing, we are encouraging families to take advantage of community testing locations right now.

MUSC Health, in partnership with the state legislature, is also rotating mobile screening and collection sites in rural and underserved areas throughout the state, for both walk-up and drive-through patients, which are advertised locally in partnership with municipalities, community organizations and businesses. Prescreening is not required and there is no cost to patients. Patients will be contacted within two days with the results of their test, if not sooner. Patients are asked to bring photo identification and an insurance card if they have one. The CARES Act requires MUSC to bill insurance providers if patients do have insurance. Patients may email [email protected] if they have questions regarding their results. If they do not have an email address, they may call 843-985-8888.

Sites may close early or operate with reduced hours if weather conditions become unsafe for care team members or if volume exceeds site safety capacity.

Information related to Healthy Me — Healthy SC free, statewide mobile testing sites for each week can be found here.

COVID-19 related stories for follow-up

As COVID cases shoot up another 25% in Tri-county compared with previous week to another record high, scientist looks ahead to potential peak.

New MUSC Health data shows rate of COVID breakthrough infections slowly rising as doctor points to need for more info on booster shots.

MUSC Health opened a new monoclonal antibody infusion site in West Ashley to treat patients during the Delta-driven COVID-19 surge.

As Charleston area hits new COVID high, scientist looks for “signal of the curve” – indication of when surge may end.

Mutations of Delta variant show up in testing at Medical University of South Carolina.

One group that is especially lagging in COVID-19 vaccination also happens to be at higher risk of severe illness – pregnant women.

Basic stats / COVID-19 positive cases

Previously reported data points, such as the total number of COVID-19 community screening tests completed by MUSC Health- Charleston and the number of positive cases determined via those tests, the number of telehealth screenings, total number of specimens collected at various mobile sites, or the number of COVID-19 positive MUSC care team members are available upon request. Information related to vaccinations is at the top of this release.

For specific information about MUSC Health Florence or Marion Medical Centers, please contact Kim Geiger at [email protected].

For information about MUSC Health Chester or Lancaster Medical Centers, please contact Ashley Shannon at [email protected].

For information about MUSC Health Columbia Medical Centers Downtown or Northeast and MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging, please contact Tina Creighton at [email protected].

For information about MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center, please contact Karlin Ferguson at [email protected].

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $271 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2020, continuing to lead the state in obtaining National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $129.9 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 2,000 beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians’ practice plan and nearly 275 telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eleven hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Fairfield, Florence, Kershaw, Lancaster, Marion and Richland counties. In 2021, for the seventhconsecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The more than 20,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.