Wedding & Event Venue Near Aiken, SC.

It was a long postgame conversation Monday night between South Aiken's baseball coaches and their players.

Learning from that night's mistakes was a key topic of discussion, and the T-Breds made more than their fair share of them in a 7-6 loss to rival Aiken in the first game of this week's three-game series with major playoff implications.

Walks, hit batters and errors put the T-Breds in an early hole, and more of the same put them down four runs heading into their last hacks in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Like they had earlier in the game, they fought back. Three runs with their backs against the wall almost brought them all the way back before Aiken steadied itself to record the final two outs.

Now the T-Breds have to put that behind them. They're in a three-way tie with Aiken and North Augusta for Region 4-AAAA's last two playoff spots, and South Aiken visits Aiken at 7 p.m. Wednesday in need of a victory to build some momentum and breathe life into its playoff hopes.

"It's just mental mistakes turning into physical mistakes," South Aiken head coach Michael Baker said. "Losing the freebie war kind of hurts you a little bit. I commend our guys for sticking in there in the bottom half of the seventh and making a comeback. To do that after giving up that many, hats off to them for doing that, try to gain some momentum going into practice tomorrow. It's the same concept, just understanding to learn from our mistakes and not try to make them again and move forward and be better."

South Aiken (3-7 Region 4-AAAA) did a lot of things right Monday, and Baker was sure to give credit where it was due. The T-Breds put barrel to ball on several occasions, with Michael Carroll, Ryker Hite and Tucker Bryan each recording two of the team's 11 hits. Stephen Platte put a charge into one that nearly left the yard, and Carroll followed that with an RBI double that brought South Aiken within 4-3 through four innings.

Freshman starting pitcher Nick Starlings didn't have his best outing - Baker said it was the first of his starts the T-Breds have lost this season - but he also fought back from some of those self-inflicted wounds to make the necessary pitches to get out of the jam. That's veteran-level grit, and it's part of why he's the T-Breds' Monday night starter.

South Aiken has gotten a lot of big-time contributions from younger players, many of whom are getting their first taste of varsity-level baseball. Baker commended his seniors for helping their less-seasoned teammates and for understanding the process of leaving the program in a better place than where they found it.

"We have, I believe that we only had two returners that had varsity experience last year," Baker said. "Seeing a lot of our young guys kind of develop and get better throughout the year has been really good to watch. Now, are we there yet? Absolutely not. But they have taken steps in the right direction to get better, whether it's for this year, next year, year after for some of the these guys."

Starlings, Hite and Carroll combined to hit five batters and walk six against an Aiken lineup that did a good job of staying patient at the plate in tense situations. Reduce those mistakes, and the errors in the field, and the postgame chat is about winning the game and looking toward winning the series Wednesday night at Aiken.

Baker said it's been tough on his team this season because his players are putting in the work but not getting the results to show how talented they are. They have the work ethic he asks of them, and that kind of thing can make a team dangerous in the postseason - but the T-Breds need to win to get there.

"This is a group that, regardless of record, you very rarely see the give-up or the give-in," he said. "They will continue to battle and fight. Practice, it sets the tone. They haven't wavered from that. There aren't guys that are complaining. Clubhouse is still together. It's a unit. To see that as young men, that's why I say that, because it's a testament to these guys' character. Regardless of the outcome they're still going to come in and they're going to put in the work, and they're going to expect to win the next game that they play."

These Covid tracking pages are no longer being updated. Get the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control, or find archived data from The Times’s three year reporting effort here.

Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Aiken County area

About the data

Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization data is a daily average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Aiken County, an area which may be larger than Aiken County itself.

The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients were admitted to hospitals for Covid and is one of the most reliably reported indicators of Covid’s impact on a community.

Total population

Ages 65 and up

Total population

Ages 65 and up

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 7% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Nearby hospitals

Share of I.C.U. beds occupied

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Aiken County

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Aiken County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Aiken County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

By Jon Huang, Samuel Jacoby, Jasmine C. Lee, John-Michael Murphy, Charlie Smart and Albert Sun. Additional reporting by Sarah Cahalan, Lisa Waananen Jones, Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Josh Williams. See a full list of contributors to The Times’s Covid-19 data reporting here.

About the data

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Aiken County Public School District announced the finalists for the superintendent position on Tuesday.

The finalists include Dr. Chan Anderson, Dr. Amy Edwards and Dr. Corey Murphy.

Chan Anderson, Ed.D. is the only finalist that doesn’t currently work with the Aiken County Public School District. He currently serves as Superintendent for the Chesterfield County School District. It’s a role he has held since 2022. In his 29 years as an educator, Anderson served as an assistant Superintendent and an Executive Director in Chesterfield for nine years. He served nine years as a principal at Savannah Grove Elementary, R.N. Beck Learning Center and Park Lakes Elementary. He spent the first 10 years of his career in the Broward County School District in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Anderson was also a classroom teacher for six years, basketball coach and assistant principal. He received his Doctor of Education and Educational Specialist degrees from Wingate University. He received a Masters in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Claflin University.

Amy Edwards, Ed.D. currently serves as the Chief Instructional Officer for Aiken County Public School District. She has held this position since August 2022. She has served as an Independent Educational Consultant for AME Solutions, LLC, a Transformation Leadership Coach with the S.C. Department of Education, an assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in Orangeburg County Consolidated School District Three, Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Dorchester School District Four, Director of Testing, Research and Accountability, and Director of ELA k-12 and Media Specialists, Director of Staff Development, and District Literacy Coach in Spartanburg School District Six. She has served as president for the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) Instructional Leaders, as a board member for the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA), and currently serves on the board for Learning Forward S.C. Prior to these positions, Edwards was assistant principal for Academics at Sedgefield Middle School and Title I Curriculum Facilitator and Math Intervention teacher at College Park Middle School. She was a principal at Andrews Christian School and a classroom teacher at Andrews Primary/Elementary School and Rosemary Middle School.

Corey Murphy, Ph.D. currently serves as Chief Officer of Operations and Students Services in Aiken County Public School District, a role he has held since 2020. Prior to that, he was Chief of Staff at Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools in Williamsburg, Va., served five years as principal at Beaufort High School and five years as principal of Great Falls Middle/High School. He was an assistant principal at Camden High School as well as a classroom teacher for the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Eau Claire High School. He is also currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and has more than 23 years of honorable service. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree, Educational Specialist Degree, Master of Education and his Bachelor of Science in Biology degrees from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.

“I have been pleased with the caliber of applicants to select from and am confident that the right candidate to serve as Aiken County’s next educational leader is among the group of finalists,” said Aiken County School Board Chairman Cam Nuessle.

In August, King Laurence announced his retirement for the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

The South Carolina School Boards Association is held community input meetings on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6.

As Aiken County moved forward, they asked anyone in the community: “What qualities and characteristics do you want in your next superintendent?”

“We just want to know that the you know that the children’s best interest is taken into consideration,” said Mark Hedman, who has a student at North Augusta.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - From recent rent prices to personal reasons, several local businesses in Aiken were forced to close in 2023.

Cyndi’s Sweet Shoppe and Fuse Aiken are just two that had to say goodbye, but there’s an old saying that says “When one door closes, another one opens.”

With multiple new businesses popping up across the city, they’re ready for your support.

The new businesses include restaurants, clothing stores and a place to get your furry friend all nice and clean.

“I’m sorry to see some of the businesses go, but I’m happy that we’re being almost this rejuvenation of restaurants and different types,” said the owner of Whiskey Alley and the Red Door, Chad Jajczyk.

MORE | S.C. bill offers a solution to affordable housing crisis

Different types of restaurants are also coming to town.

In just a few weeks, Asian cuisine will hit Laurens Street at The Red Door. On Saturday, Salty Tomatoes will open its doors, serving up anything from sandwiches to scallops.

“My favorite thing is probably the smoked Gouda grit bowl, personally. And then at lunchtime we have sandwiches, flatbreads, homemade soups. Everything we make from scratch,” said Salty Tomatoes Executive Chef, Beks Crans.

Salty Tomatoes will open on Saturday. Their hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The Red Door hasn’t set an opening date just yet, but they say it will be opening in the next couple of weeks.

On the south side of East Gate Drive, a new approach to dog grooming will make its way to Aiken. They’re opening is on Friday.

The owner calls it the Jiffy Lube of dog grooming.

“Go over to Publix, do a little bit of shopping. Come back 45 minutes later, your dog is ready to go home. And part of that process is us educating dog parents on the health of their dog, anything they may need to take them to keep them healthy and keep them living longer,” said owner of Scenthound Aiken, Charlie Hartz.

They will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

If you’re looking for unique, Aiken-themed gifts, you can stop by True Aiken downtown.

“I would love for our business to be known as a place that you just must visit if you come to visit Aiken, or if you have friends and family coming to Aiken,” said owner Sarah Dodge.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

The South Carolina Public Service Commission could soon hear two requests that would allow a company to build a data center in Aiken County.

The Public Service Commission is expected to meet at 10 a.m. May 14 to hear upgrade requests that would allow Aiken Electric Cooperative to supply power to a data center.

The commission "essentially functions as a court" when utilities and other regulated companies seek to upgrade their infrastructure or make changes to their rates.

Though Aiken Electric would supply power to the data center, Santee Cooper (also known as the South Carolina Public Services Authority) and Central Electric Power Cooperative submitted the upgrade requests to the commission.

Santee Cooper is a state-owned utility that generates power at four plants. It sells part of the power it generates to Central Electric which, in turn, sells the power to the 18 member-owned electric cooperatives in South Carolina including Aiken Electric. Aiken Electric then sells the power to its members.

Santee Cooper asks the Public Service Commission to approve interior modifications to its Aiken No. 1 substation, to expand the existing Aiken No. 3 substation and to install two 230 kilovolt power lines between the Aiken No. 3 substation and a proposed Mount Zion switching station (a distance of 16.2 miles) in existing right-of-way.

The company plans to begin building in August and for the upgrades to become operational in fall 2025.

Central Electric asks the Public Service Commission to approve the construction of two new 230 kilovolt power lines in new right-of-way between the Mount Zion switching station and a substation to be built on the company's property (a distance of 1.5 miles).

If the upgrades are approved, publicly available information suggests the data center would be built in Sage Mill Industrial Park.

Sage Mill Industrial Park is located along Bettis Academy Road between Interstate 20 and the Edgefield County line.

Aiken Electric provides power to Sage Mill Industrial Park.

A map included in the application to the Public Service Commission shows property in Sage Mill Industrial Park owned by Starskey LLC.

Starskey LLC, purchased around 570 acres in Sage Mill Industrial Park for $19.3 million on Dec. 7, 2022, according to Aiken County property tax records.

Starskey is a data collection company according to information Will Williams, president and CEO of the Western South Carolina Economic Development Partnership, provided to Aiken County Council last April.

There is an existing substation located north of Mount Zion Road. The substation is around 1.5 miles from the furthest reaches of the Starskey property.

If the power upgrades are for Starskey, the data center could represent an investment of $800 million and the creation of 50 new jobs.

Aiken County Council voted last April to provide a fee-in-lieu of property tax agreement to the company. In exchange for the investment, Aiken County agreed to allow the company to pay a fee based on an assessment ratio of 4% (the normal business rate is 6%) and a rate of 235.2 mills for the next 40 years.

Though the county's agreement is with Starskey, the data center will belong to another company.