Wedding & Event Venue Near York, SC.

The sheriff's office said when they were arrested, six people had made enough drugs to kill the entire population of York County.

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — On Oct. 24, 2022, the York County Sheriff's Office announced that a year-long investigation resulted in a major bust of a fentanyl production lab. At the time, Sheriff Kevin R. Tolson said six suspects had produced enough of the deadly drug to theoretically kill the entire county population.

"Did you hear what I said?" Sheriff Tolson asked. "What sits before you is enough fentanyl to kill the entire population of York County."

On Thursday, Nov. 11, two of the six suspects charged in the bust stood before a judge: Timario Gayton and Thomas Perry Jr. The duo reportedly were part of the operation in a house along Golden Pond Drive in the town of York, which was close to other homes and even a church and school. But aside from the operation, nobody was really home.

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"There were no beds within this residence. No personal belongings, this was solely for the purpose of creating fentanyl pills, pressing fentanyl pills, distributing kilos of drugs," said York county prosecutor Marina Hamilton. "This was a lab.”

The drugs seized - which included cocaine, meth, and marijuana along with the fentanyl - are estimated by the prosecution to be worth millions of dollars in street value. That tracks with the scale of the operation as well; investigators believe the operation is tied to cartels in Mexico and along the Gulf Coast.

To further underscore the level of the alleged lab, law enforcement officers said 62 pounds total of fentanyl were seized, including about 200,000 pills.

"Officers did have knowledge that [the suspects] were some of the biggest producers within the Southeast," Hamilton noted.

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Fentanyl itself has been proven to be a deadly drug; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports it's the top killer of adults aged 18 to 45 years old. But part of the operation included using pill-pressing machines, which law enforcement said were being used to mold potentially lethal doses to look like prescription oxycodone pills.

“You have these people who are not trained, who are creating these pills to look like valid prescription pills, and it’s Russian roulette when they get on the streets,” Hamilton said.

The bonds for both Gayton and Perry Jr. were denied Thursday. But the possible consequences they could face have been lambasted as not enough by Sheriff Tolson. In South Carolina, the strongest consequence for someone found guilty of trafficking fentanyl is a 15-year jail sentence. During the October news briefing, York County Solicitor Kevin Brackett echoed Tolson's sentiments.

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“We’re hampered because we can’t get laws that will hold people accountable," Brackett said. "We’ve been trying for years to get a fentanyl trafficking statute."

At the federal level, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports fentanyl is classified as a Schedule II drug. Federal drug trafficking penalties range from five years to life imprisonment depending on how much fentanyl is seized and on how many prior offenses the guilty party has.

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Part of a York County road was shut down Saturday after a tree fell and took power lines down with it.

The York County Sheriff's Office shared details on Facebook around 4 p.m. along with photos. The tree fell onto Charlotte Highway near the intersection with North Shiloh Road.

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One of the photos taken by deputies showed the tree narrowly missed a Nissan SUV, landing just behind the car.

The roadway was still blocked around 6 p.m., but deputies said new power lines were being installed by crews as work to remove the tree went on.

It wasn't immediately clear how many residents lost power.

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A large residential subdivision plan has returned in York County.

The Bull Creek company of Pineville, N.C., has applied to rezone almost an acre of a two-acre property at 2782 York Highway in York. The site is west of Shiloh Road and north of Gordon Road.

The zoning change would allow an entrance to a nearby, planned 409-lot manufactured home community. Early this year, Bull Creek applied to rezone 155 acres at 975 McAfee Court. The property with 62 mobile homes on it would allow the new subdivision, if the zoning is changed, but also would require a mile-long utility extension.

County planning staff had concerns about the project and how it would fit with the existing area. The project came back in late spring, but issues for county planners remained. Both county planning staff and the appointed planning commission recommended denial of the Bull Creek project.

At its first look at the project, York County Council added a condition to any potential approval that the applicant ask for a future land use map amendment. The county comprehensive plan being updated, so Bull Creek was told to make the request during public hearing of the plan update.

That public hearing should come in January.

Information provided by county staff to the planning commission ahead of its Dec. 12 hearing on the one-acre zoning proposal again recommends denial. The staff write-up calls the plan a “significant departure” from current land uses.

“The scale and density of the project is not compatible with the surrounding residential subdivisions which comprise of single-family homes with at least one acre lot sizes,” reads the staff report.

The larger zoning change to allow the new subdivision would take three positive votes and a public hearing from York County Council. The first vote came in June. The second is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 6, 2023 and third reading Feb. 20, 2023.

Also on the Dec. 12 planning commission agenda are decisions that would allow business and residential growth.

? Reynolds Industries in Fort Mill asked to rezone four acres at 3601 Foothills Way to expand the existing metal fabrication business.

? A two-acre zoning change at 133 Churchill Road in Rock Hill would allow Supreme Transport to keep a trucking operation on the site. The change would allow parking, dispatch and repair of semi-trailer trucks. A code enforcement case and stop work order halted those operations, because current zoning doesn’t allow that.

? Owners of almost 34 acres on Eastview Road in Rock Hill applied to rezone the site for combination with 72 adjacent acres. The properties could be split into two or three large lots. Current development plans aren’t listed for the heavily wooded site.

? A two-acre portion of a 13-acre site at 2884 Gordon Road in Rock Hill would be rezoned to parcel out space for a family home.

New population figures for this region show one county among the fastest growing in the state, one punching above its weight class and another losing people.

On Thursday the U.S. Census Bureau released new estimates for states and counties nationwide. Estimates for smaller areas like cities and towns should follow in May.

The latest figures are population estimates as of mid-2022. South Carolina is up to more than 5.28 million residents. An estimated increase of 1.7%, or more than 89,000 new residents, in a year.

York and Lancaster counties are a significant part of that increase.

Scroll through this sortable chart to compare one- and two-year growth rates throughout South Carolina.

York County had an estimated 294,248 residents last year. That figure is seventh most among South Carolina counties. There were an estimated 12,158 more people last year than at the 2020 Census, an increase of 4.31%.

That two-year growth rate is eighth highest in the state and the total population increase is fifth highest.

From 2021 to 2022, York County grew by an estimated 4,993 people for a 1.73% rate. It’s the fifth highest total increase statewide and 10th highest growth rate.

Want to see 150 years of York County population change in less than a minute?

Lancaster County is No. 15 in total estimated population, with 104,577 people as of last year. Lancaster County was No. 16 in population in 2020. Where Lancaster County stands out, though, is in growth rate.

At an 8.92% growth rate the past two years, Lancaster County ranks third statewide behind only Jasper and Horry counties.

Lancaster County has more than three times the people Jasper does, and a little more than a quarter the people Horry has. Lancaster County has more than double the two-year growth rate of York County, which is eighth highest statewide.

The 8,561 new Lancaster County residents is No. 9 statewide despite all but one other county in that top 10 having more than five times as many total people. Lancaster County is the smallest in the top 10 (by more than 90,000 people) for total population increase.

The flu has spread faster than usual this year in York County — and statewide — but it’s possible South Carolinians haven’t yet experienced the worst of the virus, local health officials said.

“The peak for flu is going to be anywhere from December to February, so we don’t know the full extent of it yet,” Dr. Javed Patka, Medical Director of Hospital Medicine at Piedmont Medical Center — Fort Mill, said. “Rates are still going up.”

And significant flu activity can last as late as May, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

This year’s flu season has been more severe nationwide, but South Carolina has one of the highest rates of cases compared to other states, CDC data shows.

To date, South Carolina has had 36,562 cases reported since the flu season began this year. Last year, the state had 696 cases reported over the same period, data from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control shows.

The latest data also shows that 8.2% of patient visits to statewide healthcare providers last week were for flu-like illness, which was above the state’s 3.6% baseline. York County was one of the 21 counties that reported flu activity above the state’s baseline.

“People are having more significant symptoms and severe symptoms compared to previous years, and that’s what’s most concerning,” Patka said.

Last week, there were nine new flu-associated deaths in South Carolina. And so far, there have been 30 total flu-associated deaths reported this year, DHEC data shows. Last year, the state reported two total flu-related deaths over the same period.

And there were 281 flu-associated hospitalizations reported by 49 hospitals in the state last week. So far, there have been 1,814 hospitalizations reported this season, DHEC data shows. Last year, there were 63 flu-associated hospitalizations reported over the same period.

“We are having a bad flu season this year,” Patka said. “We’re seeing a lot of ER visits and an increase in hospitalizations related to flu illness.”

Meanwhile, COVID hasn’t completely eased and cases of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also are surging statewide and across the country.

“With the combination of that, we’ve had quite a larger amount than we would have expected to compared to previous years as far as hospitalizations for patients coming in with respiratory illnesses,” Patka said.

There are several factors contributing to this year’s significant spread, he said.

“It’s probably a combination of kids being back in school unmasked and in previous years, we had COVID precautions,” Patka said. “That led to just a general lower rate of flu-like illnesses.”

And the time of year has likely played a role, he said.

“The holiday season also impacts it,” Patka said. “There are more travelers and more large gatherings, so it’s just a combination of everything.”

Like COVID, there are certain individuals more susceptible to developing complications from flu, Patka said.

The vulnerable group includes young children, adults aged 65 years and older, pregnant individuals and people with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, COPD, other lung diseases, heart disease and diabetes.

“Most people are going to recover from flu,” Patka said. “Once you get it, have a good amount of fluid intake. Take Tylenol if needed. Stay away from people while you’re sick.”

But it’s important patients, especially those with increased risk of complications, know when to seek medical attention.

“Recognizing the severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, dizziness, feeling like you’re severely dehydrated and you can’t get enough fluids — those are all concerning symptoms and when you should rush to go seek medical attention,” Patka said.

The flu vaccine is typically recommended in September or October, but Patka said it’s not too late to get it.

“You’re still going to get good protection in the coming months,”he said. “Most years, flu is going to peak in January-February time, so the best thing you can do is vaccinate.”

On top of that, he said good hygiene is important.

“That includes hand washing, don’t go around others that you know are sick, avoid touching your eyes, your nose and your mouth and cover your nose while you’re coughing or sneezing,” Patka said. “Most spread is going to be direct person-to-person, but you can pick up the virus on other surfaces.”

For details on where to get flu shots in South Carolina, people can visit DHEC’s website here.

This story was originally published December 9, 2022, 12:59 PM.