Wedding & Event Venue Near Georgetown, SC.

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GEORGETOWN — A line of vehicles more than a dozen deep backed up around the corner of Dozier and Prince streets with Hurricane Idalia making its approach to American shores.

The city of Georgetown began distributing free sandbags with a 10-bag limit on the site of the former city hall at 3 p.m. Aug. 29. According to Laurie Cipolla of the Georgetown public works department, that load of more than 300 bags ran out within 38 minutes. The city soon sent out an email that it would provide “sand, shovels, and bags” at the site beginning after 5 p.m.

After a city truck dumped hundreds of pounds of sand in a lot at the site just before the stroke of 5, those lined up in their vehicles quickly got to work with shovels and bags. There was enough sand for about another 300 bags, bringing the city’s total to more than 600 distributed in one day.

And it would indeed be one day, as Aug. 29 was the only day the city could give out sandbags. As residents leaned their shovels into the pile, it was 85 degrees. Clouds began to approach from the southwest but it remained humid, the sort of South Carolina afternoon in which sweat is inevitable and fast-acting.

Area jurisdictions increased action as the storm approached. Georgetown County declared a state of emergency the same day, as did Conway and Horry County.

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Earlier in the day, the Georgetown County School District announced it will switch to eLearning on Aug. 31. Horry County Schools did the same.

“The county is bracing for heavy rainfall, strong winds, coastal flooding and the possibility of isolated tornados beginning on Wednesday and into Thursday,” according to an Aug. 29 county statement. “Georgetown County Emergency Management – in conjunction with S.C. Emergency Management and the National Weather Service – is monitoring the storm’s track closely and encourages residents to do the same.”

This year, the Georgetown County School District is trying out a new modified year-round calendar.

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - This year, the Georgetown County School District is trying out a new modified year-round calendar.

On the new calendar, students get out for summer break at the end of May instead of the first part of June. However, the summer break will be shorter, with students going back to school in early August.

In exchange for the shortened summer break, kids will have two additional breaks on top of the typical Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

They will have a week off in October and another week out of school in February.

Superintendent Keith Price said parents, students and employees took a survey and voted on the decision.

He said he believes this new calendar will give everyone the boost they need to finish the school year strong.

“It gives our teachers and students kind of a chance to catch their breath, re-energize and keep pushing forward with lots of momentum,” Price said. “That should help with teacher burnout, and student burnout, so that’s one of the pros.”

Price said the new calendar will also allow students to finish their first semester before winter break, meaning they will knock out all their exams before winter break.

Elementary and students grades 4th through 6th will also have a slightly longer day than last year. The district is tacking on an extra 15 minutes.

Price said the idea for the change first started during covid when they used that time to clean. However, some worried it took away time from learning.

Parents and school principals then voted to bring back the time lost.

Price said while another 15 minutes a day may not seem like much, it makes a huge difference.

“When you spread that out over a school year over 180 days, you’re looking at between 40 and 45 hours of instruction we’ll be able to add to those levels,” Price said.

There are no changes in school hours for middle and high school students.

The first day of school for the county is Thursday.

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GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Being South Carolina's third oldest city, Georgetown has several iconic sites in its more than 290 years of history. For the past half a dozen years, it's been lacking a formal home for those who run the city.

Thursday, that changed with the official unveiling and handing over the keys to a new city hall site along Hazard Street just a block from the Liberty Steel Mill.

It will be a new chapter for the city, but it will be written on top of a storied past for the location. The building that will now house city offices for decades stood as the administrative building for the Georgetown Mill now called Liberty USA.

What has been Steelworkers Square will now be City Hall nestled next to the Mike Johnson ballpark, the United Steelworkers Union Hall, and the Georgetown County operations center as well as Howard Auditorium.

Mayor and Council alongside the city administrator and LIBERTY Steel officials unveil the future site for the city hall. (Jendaya Fleming/WPDE)

"What a pleasure it is to stand before you here today and know that we the City of Georgetown have the privilege of owning one of the most beautiful pieces of property in our beloved city," said city Mayor Carol Jayroe.

The property has been home to mill workers and mill officials for decades. It was not up for sale, but mill officials say the city persuaded them to convey it since it was sparsely used since the pandemic.

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"We will miss it, but Liberty is proud to have a hand in bringing in the next chapter of Georgetown's storied history," said LIBERTY Steel plant manager Tom Houlihan.

It's a deal you would not have seen struck between the city and the mill a little over a year ago. In early 2021, the city aimed to see the mill close for good with the former zoning administrator declaring it had violated city law by remaining shuttered for too long during the COVID-19 pandemic. That decision was later overturned by an appeals board and went in favor of the mill's reopening and remaining in operation.

Union leaders for mill workers call the transaction between the city and LIBERTY a win-win.

"We have formed a great working relationship and we see now that the city wants to come in and be a part of that relationship," local union president James Sanderson said.

The city purchased the land as well as a neighboring parking lot for a little more than $1.5 million. Mayor Jayroe says the city has access to $3.5 million in reserve funds from insurance payments when the city had to destroy the old city hall due to structural concerns from sinkholes.

The city has an active request for builders to offer quotes for renovating the building. It's expected to house a majority of city business offices.

"We will, the city of Georgetown promise to be good stewards of this property that has meant so much to our city and steelworkers for decades. That is our pledge," Jayroe said.

The mayor hopes to see another ribbon-cutting ceremony take place roughly a year from now to welcome a fully operation City Hall for the residents of Georgetown.

June 2, 2023 - Parker’s – a nationally acclaimed convenience store company and food service leader – recently hosted a ceremonial ribbon cutting for its first Parker’s Kitchen in Georgetown, S.C., located at 1347 N. Fraser St. Parker’s CEO Greg Parker also presented a $5,000 Fueling the Community check to Georgetown County School District Superintendent Keith Price to support local teachers and students.

Local dignitaries in attendance included Georgetown County Council members Lillie Johnson, Tamika Obeng and Hobson Henry Milton; President and CEO of the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce Beth Stedman; City of Georgetown Main Street Coordinator Al Joseph; and Georgetown County Economic Development Executive Director Tiffany Harrison.

Strategically positioned on the north end of Georgetown across from WalMart and Belk, the company’s 76th retail store offers award-winning, Southern-style, made-from-scratch food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a wide range of convenience items.

The bright, inviting store design in Georgetown — which is the company’s 32nd location in South Carolina — features Lowcountry-inspired architecture with a modern, contemporary glass-front façade with lime-washed brick, handsome bracketry and designer lighting. The retail footprint offers an optimized interior layout to maximize efficiency for customers, with manned as well as self-check-out stations.

“We’re truly honored to join the Georgetown community and to serve local customers while giving back to support local schools,” said Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker. “Our newest location in Georgetown is an exceptional fit for our growth plan, which is based on building new stores in strong growth markets.”

The newest Parker’s Kitchen in Georgetown offers popular grab-and-go options as well as a hot bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and convenient electronic kiosk ordering. Popular items include never-frozen, antibiotic-free, double-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, signature mac ‘n’ cheese and potato logs. Additional highlights include the Parker’s Kitchen Spicy Chicken Tender Sandwich, freshly made salads, gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet tea, Fancy Lemonade, 28-degree beer, fountain drinks with Chewy Ice and a wide range of convenience items. The new store offers regular, diesel and non-ethanol fuel.

A wide range of Parker’s Kitchen items are prepared fresh on-site and are available seven days a week. The entire menu is handcrafted on-site from the freshest ingredients by Parker’s Kitchen chefs who take pride in cooking for the communities where they live and work.

“At Parker’s, we are continuing our strategic transition from a convenience store company that sells food service to a food service company that offers convenience,” said Parker. “We deeply appreciate the support from our newest customers in Georgetown.”

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WPDE) — On Saturday, the Georgetown community came together to unveil a statue that gave a glimpse into our country’s past.

The sculpture is called “The Journey to Freedom.” It's around 2,400 lbs. made of bronze and stands at Joseph Hayne Rainey Park in Georgetown.

It shows Harriet Tubman, a former slave known for helping many others escape slavery, saving a child.

"Tubman dreamed of only one thing: freedom, liberty, emancipation," said Marilyn Hemingway, CEO of Gullah GeeChee Chamber of Commerce.

Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland but was able to escape to Philadelphia.

She vowed to rescue her family who were still enslaved.

"After learning about the pending sale of her niece Kessiah Bowley and her two children James and Araminta, Harriet devised a daring plan to rescue them from an auction block in Cambridge, Maryland," Hemingway said.

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Tubman succeeded and eventually returned to Maryland 13 times and rescued about 70 slaves.

"Harriet proclaimed ‘I was the conductor on the underground railroad for 8 years, and I can say what most conductors can not, “I never ran my train off the tracks, and I never lost a passenger," Hemingway said.

After Tubman rescued her great nephew James Bowley, he settled in Georgetown and eventually served as a state representative and educator.

Tubman’s great, great, great grand-niece Ernestine Martin Wyatt said her selflessness is still making an impact.

"You need people in this world like her," Wyatt said.

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Wyatt hopes when people see this statue, they remember to help each other.

"And that’s what we have to do for one another. We have to pull each other and lift up one another. And that’s what she does," Wyatt said.

This statue will be in Joseph Hayne Rainey Park until Oct. 31.