Wedding & Event Venue Near Aiken, SC.

Aiken No. 1: St Johns Methodist Church, 104 Newberry St NW, Aiken, SC 29801

Aiken No. 2: Lessie B Price Aiken Senior & Youth Center, 841 Edgefield Ave. N.W., Aiken, SC 29801

Aiken No. 3: Aiken High School, 449 Rutland Dr. N.W., Aiken, SC 29801

Aiken No. 4: Schofield Middle School, 224 Kershaw St. N.E., Aiken, SC 29801

Aiken No. 5: St. Mary’s Smith Hall, 125 Park Ave. S.E., Aiken, SC 29801

Aiken No. 6: Odell Weeks Center, 1700 Whiskey Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Bath: L B C Middle School 29 Lions Trail, Warrenville, SC 29851

Beech Island: Beech Island Fire Department, 1565 Sand Bar Ferry Rd, Beech Island, SC 29842

Belvedere No. 9: Nancy Carson Library, 135 Edgefield Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Carolina Heights: American Legion Post 232, 6070 Broadcast Dr, North Augusta, SC 29841

China Springs: Center Fire Substation 7, T And S Dr., Aiken, SC 29801

Clearwater: Clearwater Elementary School, 4552 Augusta Rd., Beech Island, SC 29842

College Acres: Mercy, 2700 Whiskey Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Eureka: Mount Sinai Baptist Church, 596 Johnston Hwy, Trenton, SC 29847

Gloverville: Langley Bible Church, 255 Augusta Road, Gloverville, SC 29828

Graniteville: Hope Center, 3 Hickman St., Graniteville, SC 29829

Jackson: Jackson Town Hall, 106 Main St., Jackson, SC 29831

Langley: Langley Community Center, 2710 Augusta Rd, Warrenville, SC 29851

Lynwood: Burnettown Municipal Bldg, 3187 Augusta Rd, Warrenville, SC 29851

Millbrook: Aiken Elementary School, 2050 Pine Log Rd, Aiken, SC 29803

Monetta: Ridge-Spring Monetta High School, 1071 Trojan Rd., Monetta, SC 29105

Montmorenci No. 22: Montmorenci First Baptist Church, 44 Old Barnwell Rd, Aiken, SC 29803

New Ellenton: New Ellenton Community Center, 212 Pine Hill Ave, New Ellenton, SC 29809

New Holland: New Holland Fire Department, 2243 Old 96 Indian Trail, Batesburg, SC 29006

North Augusta No. 25: North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 26: Fairview Presbyterian Church, 1101 Carolina Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 27: North Augusta High School, 2000 Knobcone Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 28: Hammond Hill Elementary School, 901 W. Woodlawn Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 29: First Baptist Church North Augusta, 602 Georgia Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

Oak Grove: Oak Grove Baptist Church, 1721 Old 96 Indian Trail, Batesburg, SC 29006

Perry: Perry Town Hall, 1075 E Railroad Ave. N., Perry, SC 29137

Salley: Old Crescent Vocational School, 230 Pine St. N.W., Salley, SC 29137

Shaws Fork: Shaws Fork Baptist Church, 1085 Shaws Fork Rd., Aiken, SC 29805

Shiloh: J.D. Lever Elementary 2404 Columbia Hwy. N., Aiken, SC 29805

Six Points No. 35: USC A Convocation Center 2049 Champion Way, Aiken SC 29801

Tabernacle: Couchton Fire Substation No. 2, 4765 Wagener Rd., Wagener, SC 29164

Talatha: New Ellenton Middle School, 814 S. Main St., New Ellenton, SC 29809

Vaucluse: Hope Center (temporary location), 3 Hickman St., Graniteville, SC 29829

Wagener: Courtney Senior Center, 49 Roy St., Wagener, SC 29164

Ward: Jerusalem Baptist Church, 4185 Columbia Hwy. N., Ridge Spring, SC 29129

Warrenville: First Baptist Church Warrenville, 1012 Aiken Blvd., Warrenville, SC 29851

White Pond: Summer Grove Baptist Church, 2465 Old Barnwell Rd., Williston, SC 29853

Windsor: Oakwood-Windsor Elementary School, 3773 Charleston Hwy., Aiken, SC 29801

Belvedere No. 44: Belvedere Elementary School, 201 Rhomboid Place, Belvedere, SC 29841

Misty Lakes: Mims Grove Baptist Church, 843 Ridge Rd., North Augusta, SC 29860

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Six Points No. 46: Center for Innovative Learning at Pinecrest, 1050 Pinecrest Ave., Aiken SC 29801

Aiken No. 47: Odell Weeks Center, 1700 Whiskey Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Hammond: New Beginning Ministries, 317 Williston Rd., Beech Island, SC 29842

Willow Springs: Clearwater Elementary School, 4552 Augusta Rd., Beech Island, SC 29842

Breezy Hill: Christian Heritage Church, 285 Ascauga Lake Rd., Graniteville, SC 29829

Midland Valley No. 51: Aiken County Career Center, 2455 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Warrenville, SC 29851

Levels No. 52: Kennedy Middle School, 274 E. Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Hollow Creek: Mercy, 2700 Whiskey Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

North Augusta No. 54: North Augusta Middle School, 725 Old Edgefield Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 55: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1002 Carolina Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

Couchton: Aiken Electric Coop, 2790 Wagener Rd., Aiken, SC 29801

Redds Branch: East Aiken School of the Arts, 223 Old Wagener Rd., Aiken, SC 29801

Fox Creek No. 58: North Augusta Public Safety, 501 W. Five Notch Rd., North Augusta, SC 29860

Pine Forest: Langley Fire Station No. 3, 486 Pine St., Warrenville, SC 29851

Gem Lakes No. 60: Warrenville Elementary, 569 Howlandville Rd., Warrenville, SC 29851

Silver Bluff: Silver Bluff High School, 64 Desoto Dr., Aiken, SC 29803

Belvedere No. 62: First Baptist Church Belvedere, 421 Edgefield Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Ascauga Lake: Mt. Transfiguration Baptist Church, 350 Blanchard Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Cedar Creek No. 64: Cedar Creek Church, 3001 Banks Mill Rd. S.E., Aiken, SC 29803

Sleepy Hollow No. 65: St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 1630 Silver Bluff Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Hitchcock No. 66: St. Paul Lutheran Church, 961 Trail Ridge Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

North Augusta No. 67: Riverview Park Activities Center Building, 100 Riverview Park Dr., North Augusta, SC 29841

North Augusta No. 68: Mossy Creek Elementary School, 421 W. Five Notch Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Anderson Pond No. 69: Millbrook Baptist Church, 223 S. Aiken Blvd. S.E., Aiken, SC 29803

Sandstone No. 70: South Aiken High School, 232 E. Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Midland Valley No. 71: Aiken Technical College Room 1300, 2276 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Graniteville SC 29829

Levels No. 72: Aiken Electric Coop, 2790 Wagener Rd., Aiken, SC 29801

Fox Creek No. 73: Grace Fellowship Church, 507 W. Five Notch Rd., North Augusta, SC 29860

Belvedere No. 74: First Baptist Church Belvedere, 421 Edgefield Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

South Aiken No. 75: Cedar Creek Church, 3001 Banks Mill Rd. S.E., Aiken, SC 29803

South Aiken No. 76: Living Hope, 2550 Old Dominion Rd, Aiken, SC 29803

Gem Lakes No. 77: Aiken Elementary School, 2050 Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Montmorenci No. 78: Montmorenci First Baptist Church, 44 Old Barnwell Rd., Aiken SC 29803

Sandstone No. 79: South Aiken High School, 232 E. Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

North Augusta No. 80: Fairview Presbyterian Church, 1101 Carolina Ave., North Augusta, SC 29841

Hammond No. 81: New Beginning Ministries, 317 Williston Rd., Beech Island, SC 29842

Windsor No. 82: Oakwood-Windsor Elementary School, 3773 Charleston Hwy., Aiken, SC 29801

Levels No 83: Kennedy Middle School, 274 E Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Ascauga Lake No. 84: Crown Kingdom Cultural Center, 720 Edgefield Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Creek No. 85: Mossy Creek Elementary School, 421 W. Five Notch Rd., North Augusta, SC 29841

Community No. 86: Graniteville Community Church, 208 Bettis Academy Rd., Graniteville, SC 29829

Breezy No. 87: Graniteville Community Church, 208 Bettis Academy Rd., Graniteville, SC 29829

Midlands No. 88: Langley Church of God, 2444 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Graniteville, SC 29829

South Creek No. 89: Chukker Creek Elementary, 1830 Chukker Creek Rd., Aiken, SC 29803

Barrier Free: Reg And Elections Office, 1930 University Pkwy. Ste. 1200, Aiken, SC 29801

As of October 2024, the average solar panel system costs $2.51/W including installation in Aiken, SC. For a 5 kW installation, this comes out to about $12,531 before incentives, though prices range from $10,651 to $14,411. After the federal tax credit, the average price drops by 30%.

You'll probably pay even less than what we show here. It doesn't include the federal ITC or Aiken, SC state incentives, which will lower this price by at least a few thousand dollars.

It may seem obvious but larger solar panel systems cost more money. We use cost per watt ($/W) so you can easily compare quotes, controlling for slight variations in system size.

While a 5 kW system will only cost you $12,531 in Aiken, SC, doubling the system size effectively doubles the price, so you'll pay about twice that for a 10 kW system. The higher the price tag, though, the more you'll get back as a credit towards your federal tax bill.

Average solar cost by system size in Aiken, SC

If you can't shell out $12,531 in cash to pay for solar, don't sweat it. You can choose to finance your system with a loan instead. Some companies even offer $0-down loans so you can start saving on day one if your loan payments are less than your current electric bills. Just keep in mind that your long-term savings will be lower with a loan due to interest rates.

The numbers we're showing are averages. The price you'll pay for solar depends on many factors unique to you and your home:

If you're looking for solar companies in SC, here are some popular suggestions:

Solar is a major purchase, but you can get the price tag to come down a bit by being an educated shopper. Taking advantage of incentives and rebates and shopping around for quotes can bring down your cost of solar in Aiken, SC.

As long as your federal tax bill is high enough, you can take advantage of the federal tax credit in Aiken, SC. This incentive allows you to apply 30% of your solar installation and equipment costs toward your federal tax bill. If the amount exceeds your tax bill, you can roll over the remaining credit to the following year. Many states also offer great local incentives and rebates.

Comparing multiple solar quotes can save you money through competition and transparency. Each additional quote you receive for solar will help you find the right solar panel system at the right price.

This is where EnergySage can help. With funding from the Department of Energy’s SunShot Prize, EnergySage opened the country’s first (and now the largest) marketplace for home solar panel installations. We gather custom solar quotes from local installers on your behalf and put them in an easy-to-compare format. When you compare quotes for solar panels on the EnergySage Marketplace, you can expect to see prices up to 20% lower than if you work with a single solar company.

CANDIDATE: Dr. John Bradley

RUNNING FOR: Bradley is a candidate for Aiken County Board of Education District 8

OCCUPATION: Clinical psychologist

FAMILY: Sally S. Bradley, wife; John Michael Bradley, son

EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, University of South Carolina; Master of Arts degree in psychology, University of South Carolina; Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology, University of South Carolina; 30 post-doctorate graduate credits in education

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: I grew up in Columbia, S.C., and graduated from Eau Claire High School. My mother was a public school teacher and my father worked for the S.C. Department of Corrections. I worked my way through college. I worked for several years as a school psychologist before coming to Aiken to be employed as Director of Special Programs for the Aiken County school system. I worked as an administrator in a variety of roles before retiring from the Aiken County school district in 1990. I also worked at Savannah River Site as a clinical psychologist and also operated a private practice in psychology in addition to being an adjunct professor at USC Aiken and University of South Carolina in Columbia. After retiring from the school district, I ran for the Aiken County Board of Education and served for 16 years, including 13 as chairman. After an 11-year hiatus, I successfully ran for Board of Education in 2019 to fill a seat that came open. I was re-elected for a full term in 2020. In the past five years, I have served as chairman for two years and am currently serving as vice chairman of the board. I spend my spare time reading, oil painting and cooking. I am active in my church, and through the years I have been active in organizations that offer support for mental health and programs for the handicapped.

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION? School board service is a calling for me and I ask for the opportunity to serve one more term. I have invested over 40 years of my life in the Aiken school district and I love it. I believe that public education is the key to individual success and to a strong democracy. A public school education gave me a foundation that provided me with the financial capacity to have a good life and with a degree of knowledge necessary to cope with the complex demands of modern day society. I have a wealth of experience and education that has provided me with a solid understanding of how public schools work and with an understanding of the needs of students and parents as well as the needs of the systems. I thank the people who have elected me to the board six times and feel that I still have a great deal to contribute to the education of our children.

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) will host the 2024 T.I.P. Championships at Stable View in Aiken, S.C., which will be held Oct. 24-27 after its postponement due to Hurricane Helene.

The show welcomes hunter, jumper, English pleasure, dressage, combined test, Western pleasure, ranch riding, competitive trail, and in-hand competition.

The in-hand classes will include classes designed to specifically celebrate horses that have started 50 or more times, have won more than $100,000 in earnings, and were adopted from Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organizations or Thoroughbred Charities of America grantees.

Six special awards will be given at each show recognizing the youngest, oldest, most recently raced, highest earning, highest sale price, and most-raced Thoroughbred.

The 2024 show is poised to welcome nearly 240 Thoroughbreds competing in 42 divisions. Each championship division will be awarded prizes and $2,000 in prize money with awards through 10th place.

“We are excited Stable View is able to host the T.I.P. Championships at this later date,” said Kristin Werner, coordinator of T.I.P. “The successful transition of racehorses to sport horses is so important to the Thoroughbred industry as a whole, and we believe that this show highlights the versatility of the breed and rewards those competitors who have chosen to ride a Thoroughbred."

A livestream of the 2024 T.I.P. Championships will be available through Horse & Country TV on October 25 and 26, offering footage of the Mark Phillips Jumper Ring. (This is the only livestream of the 2024 T.I.P. Championships. Before you can watch the event, you must sign up for an H&C+ membership or purchase an event pass. The event can be watched here: Stable View [horseandcountry.tv].) A full schedule of events is available on the T.I.P. website at https://tjctip.com/About/CSF.

Created and announced in October 2011, T.I.P. recognizes and rewards the versatility of the Thoroughbred through sponsorship of Thoroughbred classes and high point awards at sanctioned horse shows, year-end performance awards, a recreational riding program, and non-competition awards. Additional information about T.I.P. is available at tjctip.com and on the T.I.P. Facebook page at facebook.com/tjctip.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and directly or through subsidiaries, it serves the information and technology needs of the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Among its many supported initiatives are America’s Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), OwnerView (ownerview.com), and the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (tjctip.comm). Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

As a whole, students in the Aiken County Public School District performed slightly below the state average on most measures used in the annual S.C. School Report Cards, but only eight of the district's schools were rated below average.

An annual report required by state law, the latest ratings provide insights into student performance and school quality for the 2023-2024 school year. The report cards were released by the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee on Oct. 15.

All South Carolina public schools receive overall report card ratings based on a 100-point scale. Overall school district ratings are an aggregation of school-level ratings.

The Aiken County Public School District has 41 schools that received ratings in the S.C. School Report Cards. Two received a rating of excellent. Nine received a rating of good. An average rating was given to 22 schools, and seven schools received a rating of below average. One received a rating of unsatisfactory.

The report cards grade the academic effectiveness of schools based on academic achievement, how well they prepare students for success, the progress of multilingual learners, the graduation rate, how ready students are for college and careers, and student progress.

The report cards grade the school and classroom environment based on student and teacher perceptions and objective measurements, student safety and financial data.

Academic achievement of elementary and middle school students is based on the S.C. Ready English Language Arts and Mathematics test.

In Aiken County, 50.8% of students met or exceeded grade-level expectations for reading and writing, compared to 54.1% statewide.

In mathematics, 33.8% of the county’s students met or exceeded grade-level expectations for mathematics, compared to 42.8% statewide.

Academic achievement of high school students is based on the end-of-course test results in English 2 and Algebra 1 classes.

In English 2, 60.3% of Aiken County students scored a C or higher, compared to 66.4% statewide.

In Algebra 1, 38.2% of the district’s students scored a C or higher, compared to 47.8% statewide.

High school students’ academic performance in science and social studies is based on end-of-course tests in Biology and U.S. History.

In Biology, 40.2% of Aiken County’s students scored a C or higher, compared to 47.9% statewide.

In U.S. History, 37% of the district’s students scored a C or higher, compared to 41.5% statewide.

Compared to last year, the district’s dropout rate increased slightly and the graduation rate declined.

The dropout rate is defined as the annual rate of students in grades 7 through 12 who leave the district prior to graduation without transferring to another school, district or institution. The latest dropout rate is 3.4%, up from 3.2% last year.

The percentage of Aiken County students who graduated from high school within four years is 84.5%, slightly lower than the statewide rate of 85.4%.

The district’s graduation rate has declined every year since at least 2021, when it was 90.5%

Readiness for college or a career is based on a combination of assessment tests and the number students taking college while still in high school. A total of 68.4% of the district’s students were graded as ready for college or a career, compared to 71.5% statewide.

One factor in the readiness assessment is the district’s students’ average SAT score, which was 978 out of a possible 1600, compared to 1008 statewide.

Student perception of school safety was based on a survey in which the average rating by 13,710 students was 6.88 out of 10. The statewide rating was 6.76 out of 10.

A survey of parents received 2,168 responses. A total of 89.5 percent said their child felt safe at school.

To access the SC School Report Cards, visit screportcards.com. The page is searchable by district and by school.

Restoration of internet service to customers in Aiken and Edgefield counties continues following the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 27.

Communications crews have been following behind power company crews restoring electricity and behind debris removal crews, according to local internet service providers.

“As powerlines were being restored, our fiber crews followed closely behind to begin repairs as soon as it was safe to do so,” said Daniele Ligons, manager of marketing and strategic services for Aiken Electric Cooperative.

Aiken Electric provides internet service to residents in rural areas through a partnership with CarolinaConnect of Lexington.

“Our teams understand the critical nature of these disruptions and are committed to rebuilding the damaged power and fiber lines as efficiently as possible,” Ligons said.

AT&T has restored internet service to “97% of wireline customers” in South Carolina, said Madelynn Traylor, communication and PR manager for AT&T.

“We have made a lot of progress… however, we realize we still have customers without service,” Traylor said.

“Some of the issues we have remaining are because of lack of power or critical infrastructure being damaged. Those are issues which can [take] time to fix. We also need to ensure that debris is removed to safely access sites,” Traylor said.

Spectrum had 395,000 customers offline in South Carolina at the peak of the storm, said Patrick Paterno, director of field communications for Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum.

“As other organizations work to restore poles, lines, roadways and clear debris additional damage is being identified and Spectrum crews are responding to make necessary repairs. Restoring connectivity to emergency services, government and public safety locations and telecommunications infrastructure is a top priority,” Paterno said.

“More than 90% of Breezeline’s customers in Aiken County were affected by the storm,” said Laurise Roy-Tremblay, communications advisor for Cogeco, which owns Breezeline.

“Our crews are currently working to repair extensive damage to our network so that we can restore services of the 10% remaining customers as quickly as possible,” Roy-Tremblay said. “We have several areas that are underground and have been damaged from trees being uprooted and ripping our buried cables out of the ground.”

Comcast, which owns Xfinity, reports that they have restored service to “large sections of North Augusta,” S.C. Sen. Tom Young said in an email Oct. 16.

“They are aware of other places without service and are working to address those outages,” Young said.

No internet service providers said they could predict when full service would be restored.

“Repairs are actively underway, and we hope to have an estimated timeline soon,” Ligons said.

“Due to the significant number of customers affected — particularly in heavily impacted areas such as Edgefield, McCormick, Plum Branch, Sweetwater, North Augusta, Graniteville and Trenton — it is difficult to predict exactly when services will be fully restored,” she said.

“The damage we’re seeing in fiber routes directly correlates with the damage from power restoration. For example, Edgefield District, which experienced the most damage to powerlines, also suffered the most extensive fiber damage,” Ligons said.

Paterno said Spectrum continues to bring in additional teams from other regions to help expedite repair.

“More customers are seeing services restored every day,” he said.

AT&T customers who have power but no internet might need to reset their modem, Traylor said.

If that doesn’t work, “please reach out to us and let us know. The issue may be something specific to your address,” she said.

Ligons had the opposite advice for CarolinaConnect customers.

“There is no need to call us if you’re experiencing an internet outage — our system has already identified affected locations,” she said.

“Our experienced contractors are working on repairs. Fiber restoration is more complex than power restoration due to the delicate nature of fiber optic cables, which cannot be fused like electric lines,” she said.

“Fiber repairs involve splicing, a meticulous process that can take up to 16 hours for our best crews, followed by testing, which could take an additional 3-4 hours. As a result, this process is more time-consuming than power restoration,” Ligons said.