Wedding & Event Venue Near Hampton, SC.

Two local public high schools are set to have historic, and final, graduation ceremonies as a new consolidated high school is born.

The Class of 2023 will be the final graduating classes for Wade Hampton High School and Estill High School, which will merge in the coming academic year to form the new Hampton County High School. WHHS will hold its graduation ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 9, while EHS graduates will march at 7 p.m. on June 8.

While many parents and former students are saddened by the ending of an era, many school leaders are excited about the promise of new educational opportunities that will bring the north and south districts of the county together.

“It is wonderful for us to be able to have a new high school being built to meet the educational needs of our students in Hampton County," said Superintendent Dr. Ronald Wilcox in a recent statement to The Hampton County Guardian.

While both H.C. School Districts One and Two have already formally consolidated to form the new Hampton County School District, the two high schools will physically consolidate beginning with the 2023-2024 school year,

Beginning in August, all HCSD high school students will be housed temporarily on the former WHHS campus, and the Estill-area students will be bussed to Hampton, while a new school campus is under construction roughly midway between Hampton and Estill.

The new school, which will be a comprehensive campus to include a career and technology center, will be located on US Highway 601 South between Hampton and Estill, just across from the Hampton radio station.

The existing Estill High School and Estill Middle School campus in Estill will be renovated to become a K-8 educational facility.

Wade Hampton High School in Varnville, the larger of the two high schools, will be graduating 126 students in its Class of 2023.

"It is indeed an honor to have served as principal for such an awesome group of students," said WHHS Principal Cassandra B. Williams. "I wish the Class of 2023 the best that life has to offer. Although they will be the last graduating class of Wade Hampton High School, their journey of new possibilities will just begin. My hope is that each of them will continue to build their dreams with determination, integrity, good character, self-motivation and respect."

Hampton County's private school, SCISA-affiliated Patrick Henry Academy, will kick off the local graduation season with its commencement exercises at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 25.

The city of Greenville heard from residents on plans to overhaul Wade Hampton Boulevard and announced an injection of funding from the state to help pay for the project.

“It’s the beginning of transforming Wade Hampton Boulevard from an industrial corridor – which is what I think it really is (with the) speeding cars – to a neighborhood boulevard that still gets our vehicles efficiently, safely and timely up and down the road,” said City Councilman John DeWorken.

During the public meeting, Mayor Knox White announced the city received $2.5 million for the project from South Carolina’s $20 million budget for road infrastructure and utility undergrounding. The city has also budgeted $1 million for the project through the capital improvement program.

The project site consists of 1.7 miles along the corridor from Church Street to Pleasantburg Drive. To redesign this section of the boulevard, the city is working with AECOM consultants and the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

“Ultimately, the city wants to see this area revitalize from one redevelopment economic development standpoint,” said Clint Link, the city’s director of engineering services. “We want to do what we can on the boulevard to enhance (the) redevelopment of the area.

Designs for various roadway safety improvements have been presented to receive public input.

The “superstreet”

Three roadway options have been shown as possible improvements to the current corridor with two designed to turn Wade Hampton Boulevard into a “superstreet.”

Link explained a “superstreet” involves reducing a street lane from each direction.

“It would allow us to put a median down the road and establish key places where we want to allow left turns,” Link said. “Those would be strategically designed signalized to make them see intersections but it allows traffic to move.”

One of the “superstreet” options proposes a wide center median that includes green space and a shared-use path for pedestrians. Steve Mills, president of the North Main Community Association, said he thinks this option would be a nice addition and would help connect all the surrounding neighborhoods.

Reduced conflict intersections

By creating a wider center median, reduced conflict intersections, or RCI, can be created along the corridor, Link explained.

An RCI is an intersection design that changes how cars cross or turn left on major roads by using a downstream U-turn. The goal of the design is to reduce the number of conflict points or areas where vehicle paths merge, cross or diverge, along the corridor.

Kurt Wallenborn, owner of the Prosper, an executive office space on Wade Hampton Boulevard, said he believes any safety improvements along the corridor are key.

“It’s dangerous. It’s terrifying turning out of there,” Wallenborn said. “I think the biggest issue we see is we don’t want to lose access to properties. I think u-turns seem a little more dangerous than left turns especially when people are going 60 miles per hour.”

North Church Street intersection roundabout

To improve the intersection at North Church Street and Wade Hampton Boulevard, a new roundabout has been proposed as a safety upgrade option.

“Roundabouts are great tools for facilitating that type of turn movement,” Link said. “ They also just keep traffic moving. We’ve got to study it more. I mean the initial analysis shows it works.”

Additional benefits of roundabouts include:

White Oak Road and Bradley Boulevard realignment

White Oak Road intersects Wade Hampton Boulevard at an angled, signalized intersection. Cars often use this road as a cut through from Pleasantburg Drive to Wade Hampton.

The city began exploring the realignment of White Oak Road and Bradley Boulevard in the Wade Hampton Boulevard Strategic Plan. This realignment is expected to discourage traffic cut-throughs and help make more logical turn movements.

“We will straighten that out. (White Oak is) really close to the church parking lot, to the church daycare (and) playground area. So there are some opportunities to kind of realign the road. Definitely get some safer buffers, widen the road a little bit to accommodate sidewalks.”

Residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the project through an online survey conducted by the city and AECOM.

For more information on the Wade Hampton Improvement project, visit the city’s website.

Crews & Mills introduces Hampton's newest dentist, Dr. Watson

If he can learn how to hunt and fish properly and tell a decent joke and a good story, then Dr. Price Matthew Watson, DMD, just may be the future of dentistry in a legacy dental practice in Hampton.

After graduating this year from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, Dr. Watson, who commonly goes by "Matt," will be joining Dr. Francis Mills and the team at Crews & Mills in Hampton. Watson will join as an associate under Dr. Mills, a longtime dentist known as a colorful character always quick with a joke, anecdote or yarn that many locals consider the Patch Adams of dentistry in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

"He is the future of this practice and will be a valuable addition to this community, but he needs work on his comedy routine," joked Dr. Mills. "But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. He wants me here to mentor him."

Dr. Watson, a 26-year-old Simpsonville, S.C., native, will work as an associate for Crews & Mills for a six-month trial period to see if he is a good fit with the practice and community. If so, he would become a partner in the practice and Mills says he plans to "phase into retirement" over the next three to five years.

But that associate period is most likely a formality, as Dr. Watson is looking to spend his career in a small town, rural community like Hampton, said Mills.

"He didn't want a large corporate practice, he wants a small rural practice where he can become family oriented and develop relationships with his patients," added Dr. Mills.

There are other factors that have drawn Dr. Watson to this area, however. Watson, a church deacon and former Eagle Scout, is also looking for a Christian mentorship and a place to continue his community service.

“This historic dental practice that has served the residents of Hampton and the surrounding areas for over 50 years is totally unlike any other I have seen, and Dr. Mills is the dentist I pray to God I can be like 50 years down the road," said Watson. "For every single patient he encounters, it is felt deeply these are lifelong relationships that have been built and have been marinated in his personal prayers to God for them over the years, by name.

"I still remember the first time I visited the practice and how it was as if he was taking spiritual vital signs on every single one of his patients before getting to the actual dentistry," he added. "I hope the people of Hampton know Dr. Mills is a very rare dentist, and I thank the Lord continually for His special providence and answer to prayer in allowing Dr. Mills and I to meet. I am eager to work as unto the Lord beside a fellow laborer in the Vineyard like Dr. Mills. Please pray for the Lord to continue to establish the work of our hands as we serve in the vocation of dentistry for His glory.”

Watson grew up in the Upstate as a Baptist and, after moving to Charleston, was ordained as a deacon in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He recently started a Good News Club in Mount Pleasant and continues to teach children of all ages, from elementary to high school, in the local church. He recently moved to the Pond Town section of Hampton County.

A 2019 graduate of North Greenville University, he is an Eagle Scout and experienced servant leader, nationally and locally, of the Scouting movement, including being a member of the administration of the 2017 National Scout Jamboree and 2019 World Scout Jamboree. Watson said that while in Scouts he first discovered a love for dentistry as he was personally mentored by a past President of the South Carolina Board of Dentistry.

Hampton's newest dentist comes from a family of Irish immigrants.

"My fourth-great-grandfather, Dr. Robert O’Sheal, was a dentist in Massachusetts," Watson said. "His son and my third-great-grandfather, Dr. RYH O’Sheal, eventually moved down to South Carolina before fighting in the Civil War. After the war, he went back up North to eventually graduate from both medical school and dental school. When his schooling was finished, he headed back down to practice in the Pendleton and Pickens area before eventually settling down to practice in rural Georgia and keep his own farm. His son and the brother of my second-great-grandmother was a dentist who went to dental school in Atlanta."

Crews & Mills is located at 202 Third Street East, Hampton, and is now accepting appointments for Dr. Watson. To set up an appointment call 803-943-2191.

Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Hampton 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 Hampton County, an area which may be larger than Hampton County itself.

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

Total population

Ages 65 and up

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 Hampton 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 Hampton County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Hampton County

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

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.

Contributing Columnist

We live in exciting times! Science, while not able to answer all questions, is making exciting breakthroughs every day. One of the more useful and exciting new breakthroughs in science is the Human Genome Project. Through this project the entire DNA of humans has been sequenced as of April 14, 2003. Through this research, several chronic diseases have been linked to specific genetic sequences.

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has launched a community health research project called In Our DNA SC. The project will look at how your DNA affects your health. It may also help improve access to personalized health care and support new research discoveries for our community, and it's coming to Hampton!

MUSC representatives are coming to the 81^st Watermelon Festival to educate the community about this cutting-edge program, and will have plenty of information, giveaways and helpful insights into what this research can do!

In Our DNA SC aims to enroll 100,000 participants in genetic testing at no cost to you. You and your doctor will receive confidential results about your genetic risk for certain cancers and heart disease. The project will also develop a secure and privacy-protected genetic and research database. Over time, the information in this database will help researchers learn what may cause certain diseases, how to treat them more effectively and help improve the standard of health care for all. To accomplish this goal, MUSC has partnered with a leading population genetics company named Helix.

The sample consists of a simple saliva sample that is sent to Helix. Your sample will be screened for three conditions that can be passed down in families and may put you at a higher risk for certain cancers and heart disease: Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer, Lynch Syndrome (Hereditary Colorectal Cancer), and Familial Hypercholesterolemia (Genetic High Cholesterol).

The results will show a Genetic Ancestry Report which shows where your ancestors likely lived. Additionally, you will receive a Traits Report explaining how your genetic makeup may affect certain traits, such as caffeine sensitivity, among others.

When you sign up for In Our DNA SC, you become a valued member of the team and will be kept up to date on ways your data and that of everyone is helping to advance scientific research in South Carolina, and around the world.

By now, you are asking, “How do I sign up?” Well, we are bringing this program right to your front door. Not only are representatives going to be onsite at the Watermelon Festival to answer all of your questions, but Hampton Regional Medical Center will also be bringing a collection event to Hampton County later in the year, so you can provide your samples then. Check the Hampton Regional Medical Center website or Facebook page for the time and location of this event.

One Word of Caution

The In Our DNA SC community research project study team is aware of a recent increase in fraud schemes involving genetic testing. Scammers may offer genetic testing, request insurance information for identity theft, or impose fraudulent billing. Fraudsters appear to be targeting beneficiaries through telemarketing calls.

The In Our DNA SC research study team will never call you to request insurance information, or to request payment. Participants will never be directed to a 3rd party testing agency for additional testing that requires payment.

Please reach out to the In Our DNA SC study team at 843-876-0582 with any questions or concerns or if you have been contacted by a fraudulent service. Reference: https://web.musc.edu/-/sm/enterprise/inourdnasc/f/in-our-dna-sc-approved-messaging.ashx