Wedding & Event Venue Near McCormick, SC.

McCORMICK, S.C. (WJBF)- Tucked away in McCormick County is 1310 acres of land, which is home to the SC Governor’s School of Agriculture at John de la Howe.

They were founded in 1797, but for the last three years they’ve been a governor’s school, allowing students to learn more about the outdoors.

“Our school has to offer a very hands on approach to education, and hands on approach to agriculture. It serves a great purpose because agriculture is the #1 industry in the state of South Carolina,” said Principal Greg Thompson.

Those students learn alongside two other governor’s schools in the state. But what sets them apart are the residents halls for men and women the nearly 100 students have at John de la Howe.

So in a way, it’s like a college campus for high schoolers.

Principal Thompson says students have an opportunity to choose from four different agriculture programs that are offered.

“We have horticulture, plant and animal science, natural resources and ag make. So they choose one of these pathways to focus on when they enter school here,” said Thompson.

Students say they have enjoyed every minute at John de la Howe, and feel it has prepared them for the real world.

“I’ve loved every day here. I’ve gotten to do challenges, last year I got to do a lumberjack competition and we took home first place and the trophy is sitting in the office of the school. I just love all of the venues we have here,” said senior Sam Bennett.

“Each day is pretty new, and you look forward to each new day instead of it just being a dredge and repeating every single day. I’ve been able to grow by learning a lot of very genuinely helpful social skills that you wouldn’t get in a normal schooling environment,” said senior Logan Doty.

“I want to be a John Deere Marketer. And John Deere looks at kids that specifically come to this school, and once they graduate they can hire them right out of high school. So that’s why I wanted to come here so bad,” said junior Kelly Tasch.

Thompson says on top of the educational experience they will get, it’s also about how they finish, and prepare for the next step.

“We want to help them fulfill their dreams. When they leave here, and they shake my hand and give them a high school diploma, every kid will have a post-secondary plan,” said Thompson.

PIO Tony Baughman says times are exciting for the school right now, but the future is even brighter.

According to Baughman, over the next 5 years there will be work going on to add new cabins, horse riding trails, and two new programs for agro-tourism and culinary arts.

Students received electronic devices Sunday morning, as they will be back in the classroom Monday morning.

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis CITY SC has nailed just about every one of their hires from sporting director to head coach to starting goalie.

They work with academy teams, those coaches developing the future of CITY SC and one of those coaches has a unique story.

This is Megan McCormick, one of two female coaches in Major League Soccer.

McCormick is unique for a lot of reasons. For one, she graduated from Ball State University in Indiana with a degree in architecture. Then she had to tell her parents

"I am not going to be an architect, I want to coach soccer, I want to be a soccer coach," McCormick said. "The initial reaction was 'Is that even a thing? Is that something you can do full-time as a job?' and I said 'I think so.'"

So, she took a job in Carmel, Indiana, as a middle school special ED teacher where she coached youth soccer too.

She also played in the Women's Professional Soccer League.

McCormick became the head coach at DePauw University and worked as a coach in the U.S. Soccer Federation.

When St. Louis CITY SC was looking for a coach in their academy program, they chose McCormick. She now coaches the U-16 team and they rarely lose.

"A couple weeks ago when we were tied to this team at the half and her tactile adjustment and we ended up beating that team 4 or 5 to 1. It was just amazing to see the tactile adjustments that she had that really changed our performance," one player said.

A woman coaching the boys, it's no problem at all.

"I think at a high level, players can figure out pretty quickly who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't. So as soon as they see that, gender doesn't become part of the conversation," McCormick said.

"It's really not that different, I mean I've all had man coaches. But man, she's a great coach and basically the same," another player said.

McCormick could have had a life as an architect, and it may have been easier. But she didn't want to miss out on this.

"Being part of a team, there is something about maybe growing up as an athlete and growing up in team sports, how much formative that was for me as a person," McCormick said. "I think when you retire from playing, when you hang up your cleats or when you step away from organized sports, sometimes you lose that team identity and being part of a team. That's always something that's been core to me."

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MCCORMICK COUNTY, SC — A South Carolina fugitive took to Facebook to defend himself -- on a Facebook post featuring a “wanted” photo with his own face on it.

Kyle Willingham is wanted in McCormick County, South Carolina for multiple crimes.

The McCormick County Sheriff’s Department says Willingham is “wanted in multiple jurisdictions and is known to be armed and dangerous.’

The Sheriff’s Office put out a wanted poster featuring Willingham and encouraging the public not to approach him.

Willingham seemed to disagree with how he was being portrayed and thought the comments section was the appropriate place to defend himself.

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“I’m not dangerous, and I literally don’t even own a weapon, but I guess if you talk S*** to a cop who you feel has violated your rights, their EGO will get in the way, and they will try and destroy you. They will tell lies to pull you over, just hoping you don’t know your rights I’m telling you this sheriff’s office needs to be investigated because they break the law and abuse people’s rights there on a daily basis,” Willingham responded to the post.

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In response, deputies replied: “Two sides to every story. Hopefully, you will turn yourself in tomorrow. If you want to come tonight, we work 24/7. If not, we will be seeing you soon!”

Willingham continued to blast the sheriff’s office in the comments section, accusing officers of illegally searching his property.

Facebook users poked fun of Willingham in the comments section.

“Any reward for finding him?” Nestor Vasquez wrote. “I think I found ‘em in these comments.”

Other Facebook users were impressed with Willingham’s brazen approach.

“Jeremy Willingham for president!” Jamie Barbie wrote.

Deputies say Willingham is 5 feet 8 inches and 170 pounds.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

McCORMICK, S.C. - Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette paid a visit to the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe on Thursday for a firsthand look at the future of agriculture in the state.

En route to an event in Aiken, Lt. Gov. Evette spent about 90 minutes touring the 1,310-acre working farm in rural McCormick County and visiting with students and staff at the nation’s only residential high school devoted to agricultural education.

“I am so impressed – so impressed by what’s going on out here and so impressed by the students that are here,” Evette said at the end of her visit. “So many times we see in the news, the national news, about all the things that kids are doing wrong. But all these children have taken the path less traveled to do something that they’re really passionate about. That gives us hope for the future, and our future is bright. We always say that here in South Carolina, and these students are a testament to that.”

In the school’s library, the lieutenant governor chatted with student leaders J.C. Chandler of Belton and Caitlyn Krout of Fair Play about their academic studies along the school’s four pathways: animal science, plant science, wildlife and natural resources management, and agricultural mechanics and technology. She then stopped by the school’s ag mechanics shop to discuss career readiness with teacher Russ Abrams.

“Every place you go, you hear, ‘I didn’t realize the impact our farmers have on us,’” Evette said. “Especially now, with food prices skyrocketing. Everybody’s starting to have a whole new appreciation. I said it this morning: If you see a farmer, thank a farmer – because that’s how we’re eating every day.”

Evette stressed the importance of the mission to prepare students such as those at the Governor’s School for Agriculture to be college-ready and career-ready to meet the growing demand for skilled labor in South Carolina.

“We all know we need more farmers,” she said. “You talk to our water commissioners; they need more water engineers, they need more soil engineers. By highlighting why those are really great career choices, all we’re doing is opening up our future – and that’s what the Governor’s School is doing.”

After a driving tour of the campus – which included a visit to the tomb of the school’s namesake, French physician Dr. John de la Howe – the lieutenant governor returned to the school cafeteria for a photo opportunity. Afterward, she stood inside a circle of students and encouraged them to continue the noble mission of advancing agriculture in the Palmetto State.

“I think Agriculture Commissioner (Hugh) Weathers is extremely proud of the Governor’s School for Agriculture,” Lt. Evette said. “Hugh has got a lot to brag about, and so do I. I told everybody here, the students here, as you reach big milestones, please reach out to me because I would love to brag about you not just around the state but across the nation. That’s one of the things I enjoy most – bragging about South Carolina.”

For more information on the academic programs at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture and potential enrollment, visit the school’s website at delahowe.sc.gov.

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McCORMICK, S.C. (WJBF) – People from around McCormick, South Carolina gathered at the River Grille at Tara Clubhouse for a chance to get up close and personal with some of their elected officials.

“One of the goals of a chamber is to have advocacy that makes government and business come together, and for the community to come together. It is to show our community that when we work together, these are the things that could happen,” said Executive Director of the McCormick County Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Tallent.

Those who attended were treated to a nice lunch, a presentation and then got the chance to ask questions to Senator Shane Massey and State Representative Daniel Gibson.

“We had a great crowd today and I appreciate people being interested and paying attention. That’s the only way this system works is if people participate. I always think it’s important that people hear from us about what’s going on and it’s more important that we hear from them, and they can tell us what they’re thinking about,” said Senator Massey.

“We all have problems, we all have things that we need taken care of, but if you don’t tell me, I don’t know about it, so it’s a great opportunity for us, and Senator Massey and I to come out, and listen to people, I love taking there questions,” said Representative Gibson.

Not only were questions answered but several McCormick organizations were presented with checks.

“Today we announced great things for three of our organizations. It was our sheriffs department, the McCormick County Historical Commission, and the Arts council. Almost a million dollars in to our community,” said Tallent.

There were a lot of smiling faces at the McCormick Legislative Luncheon, and they appreciate the elected officials that came out for the special day.

“Our elected officials are great, when we ask them to come out, if it is at all possible, they are here, and this is what makes them real to the community, and then our community gets more comfortable with having conversations, and this is what’s happened. The positive things comes about if we’re all talking to one another,” said Tallent.