Wedding & Event Venue near Lancaster, SC

Devarius Hughes, 38, of Lancaster was sentenced to 10 years in prison following a guilty plea in Lancaster County General Sessions Court.

On April 30, 2024, after an extensive investigation, officers from South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (“SLED”) arrested and later indicted Hughes on 12 counts of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent over $10,000, 14 counts of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent more than $2,000 but less than $10,000, and 2 counts of Fraudulent Checks.

Paul told the Galatians, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5: 7). After being saved, they had begun the Christian life correctly; but then at least one false teacher had started to hinder them from obeying the truth of the Bible. “This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.” God had called them “into the grace of Christ” rather than into legalism. Paul warned, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” A little yeast soon permeates an entire loaf, and false teaching eventually distorts everything we believe. Jesus warned his disciples, “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees,” meaning their false doctrine.

Paul added, “I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.” He believed the Galatians would hold to his sound teaching because Christ now lived in them, but he warned that the one who was disturbing them would be judged by God. He told the Corinthians, “If any man defile the temple of God (the church), him shall God destroy.”

I just read an article online titled “Three reasons not to take selfies with wild animals.” Actually, I didn’t read the whole thing, but I saw the headline and said out loud, “Because they will eat you, because they will step on you and because they will gore you with big scary horns.”

I love animals, but I also understand and respect the fact that they are faster and stronger than me and have much sharper teeth and claws. So I enjoy them from a distance. I was once attacked by an angry duck at Chester State Park. Have you ever had an ill-tempered waterfowl peck your bare shins? Yeah, it’s not fun. Now imagine if the duck weighed as much as a car and had horns? That would be a weird-looking duck, granted, but think about the damage it could do.

KERSHAW, S.C. (WBTV) - Lancaster County Schools is celebrating a new milestone after one of its principals was named South Carolina’s Elementary School Principal of the Year.

At a time when the state is seeing an educator shortage, organizers who award these titles hope it inspires people and shows how great the education profession can be.

Kershaw Elementary Principal Kelli Overcash has been at the school for almost a decade. It’s easy to see the energy she brings to a room. Now, she’s being recognized as South Carolina’s Elementary School Principal of the Year.

“My first thought was, I am so excited for the people here because they have worked so hard. So, this is not about me at all, it’s about the work that they do and the growth that the kids are showing,” says Overcash.

This is a first for Lancaster County Schools. This year, the school district also began its own Principal of the Year program, and Overcash was its first recipient. After nearly three decades in education, the executive director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, Quincie Moore, said she’s seen the impact Overcash has made.

“Academic achievement has soared under her leadership. But that’s a box that I love, but not the most. What I love is she’s tried to create a culture,” says Moore.

For the last 10 years, South Carolina has seen vacant positions in schools, peaking at 16% in 2024, according to InformEd SC, which says high turnover can impact student achievement. Moore says recognition like this shows what the profession has to offer.

Moore explains, “When you recognize folks like this, then others see wow, this is a great profession and why we need great leaders and teachers to take care of the children in the state of South Carolina.”

Lancaster County Schools Superintendent Dr. Raashad Fitzpatrick says leadership can also play a role in educator retention.

“If you have a great leader like Mrs. Overcash, many times you don’t have individuals leaving the field, or leaving the school, or leaving the district. And I think the turnover here is very, very low because of her exceptional leadership,” says Fitzpatrick.

Overcash says some of the best advice she would pass on to future educators is that the product in education is a person and you want to create smart and good people. She says the Kershaw Elementary School team works to do that every day.

She says, “So, we’re working on academics, but we’re working on social and emotional, behavioral — it’s the whole package. So, we’re helping raise kids along with the community. We have a great community."

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Another huge shopping center could be coming to Indian Land, continuing a generational run of new retail options in Lancaster County.

Pinehurst, North Carolina, company C.F. Smith Property Group and property owner Renewable Energy Development applied to rezone 71 acres at U.S. 521 and Laurel Hill Road from residential to business use.

The property is east of Charlotte Highway, between The Retreat at Mayfield and Shelly Woods. It’s south of Shelley Mullis Road.

A site plan shows two large retail buildings on the eastern portion of the property.

One is listed at 171,000 square feet, the other at 169,000 square feet. For comparison, the Super Walmart in northern Indian Land is 182,000 square feet, according to county land records. The Indian Land Target that opened this fall is 149,000 square feet.

A large parking lot in front of those two new retail buildings leads to seven outparcel lots along Charlotte Highway. They range from 1.3 to 2 acres.

Along with Laurel Hill Road on the south end of the property, the outparcels have one access point splitting them and another on the northern end, both off of Charlotte Highway.

Developers would realign Laurel Hill Road slightly south of where it is now, and install a traffic signal at the central entrance to the site.

Retailers for the new site weren’t named in documents submitted to the county. The developer has a community meeting planned for property neighbors at the Indian Land Recreation Center on Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The Lancaster County Planning Commission will hear the proposal at 6 p.m. on Dec. 16.

The new commercial site is just north of Promenade at Carolina Reserve, the shopping center near Sun City that has dozens of retailers like T.J. Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Burlington and HomeGoods. Plans also come just months after the fall openings of Costco and Target stores in Indian Land.

Lancaster County will review the plan while another massive shopping center awaits a decision.

MPV Properties proposed a shopping center with 300,000 square feet of space for retail, commercial, medical or neighborhood services. It’s tied to a residential project proposing 578 homes on 356 acres.