Physical Therapy near Westcott, SC

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Residents are asking important questions directly to decision-makers.

Those who reside in Dorchester County had the opportunity to voice their concerns on a wide range of topics to elected officials at a town hall meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The two-hour-long meeting at the Westcott Park clubhouse in North Charleston had a decent turnout despite the rain, with more than 30 residents attending.

Hot-button topics residents had questions and concerns about were growth and traffic in the county.

“What is county council doing to look after the people that are here now, not the people coming in, but take care of the things that we have going on now and have infrastructure in place before the first house is built,” one resident asked the panel.

The resident was referring specifically to the Yerby Road neighborhood development.

“If you didn’t want that property built on, you could’ve bought it,” Dorchester County Council Chairman Todd Friddle said. “You control what you own. So, I’m sure the county would sell you the road and leave all the maintenance involved in it if you like to, if you can gate it.”

School library books and the state’s school voucher program were also discussed, as Wednesday’s panel included Dorchester School District Two Board of Trustees member Kellie Bates, and State Representative Chris Murphy, in addition to Friddle and North Charleston City Councilwoman Dr. Charmaine Palmer-Roberts.

“I don’t understand logically how you don’t think the loss of that money when it goes to a public school, is going to damage what happens in the public school,” another resident asked the panel.

“There will be people who take advantage of the program,” Murphy said. “There will not be a mass exodus from the public school program. As I stated, one-third of the state budget every year goes towards public education and that’s now changing.”

A few questions were raised about the data center Google is going to build in the county in relation to taxes. Friddle said another option for that space was housing or a manufacturing plant, which would’ve contributed to traffic and population in the county, which is not what residents want to see.

“If we put the same amount of money into a manufacturing plant there that’s going to put 1000 kids in school, 1000 cars on the road, 1000 houses being built, just think what the stretch of infrastructure would be,” Friddle said.

This joint town hall meeting was the first of its kind for District 4.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former and current residents at a Summerville apartment complex are sharing their stories, alleging bad communication from management and deteriorating conditions, after seeing one woman come forward about a mold problem.

In March, Breanna McCalla detailed a mold problem that she says forced her to move her family out of the Latitude at Wescott.

Madison Harriss says she experienced something similar when she spotted mold in her unit.

“When I first saw it, I started off by sending emails to the front office just letting them know about it. I also made a couple of trips into the office to talk to someone as well,” Harris says.

Harris feels she did everything right when she first saw mold nearly a year after she moved in. She says it took months of emailing and visiting the office to get someone in her unit to check out the issue.

“And it was frustrating because all they did was paint over it with some KILZ and called it a day. So it didn’t feel like it was resolved because it came back shortly after,” Harris says.

Harris says the mold and mildew-resistant paint job was too little too late, and when her lease was up in 2021, she left but took her story with her and shared her experience with anyone asking about living in the area.

While current resident Casey Hendricks says she hasn’t seen mold, her communication problems started before she even got on the property.

“Within three days of our move-in date, they told me that we could no longer have the three-bedroom apartment on the first floor they instead were moving us to a two-bedroom apartment temporarily on the third floor, which made it really difficult with two little kids and a dog,” Hendricks says.

Despite paying her deposit and hiring movers, Hendricks’ family was in a space too small. When they were finally allowed to relocate to a 3-bedroom months later, further communication issues cost her hundreds of dollars. Her moving company spent hours sitting in the parking lot on the day of the switch, waiting for management to allow them into the unit. When the company ran out of time that day, Hendricks had to pay movers to come back.

Once inside, Hendricks says the conditions were concerning. She pointed out water stains and missing vanity draws and knobs.

“The vanity that was never fixed. It was like this when we moved in. I did do a walk-through with the property manager and she is aware of this as of last November and when I moved in and it still has not been repaired,” Hendricks says.

Now Hendricks is facing mounting water and sewer bills, more than quadruple what she budgeted as average cost, and she wants answers. But with no repairs to her apartment yet, she doesn’t think she’ll ever get the help she’s asking for.

“So many other apartments are filled with mold. It definitely makes you wonder what might be out there in your air ducts and stuff that you’re not seeing,” Hendricks says.

Harris says while she lived there, she faced other maintenance issues besides mold like Hendricks.

“It just felt like they really didn’t care to fix the problem,” Harris says.

Latitude at Wescott management declined to comment when asked to answer questions for this story.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A Summerville family says they moved out of their rented apartment at the recommendation of a doctor after months of seeing mold across the unit.

Breanna McCalla says her family moved to Summerville in the fall, but when they signed their lease at the Latitude at Wescott, they had no idea they would be moving again in less than six months.

“I think, a week after moving in that we noticed the first amount of mold up on the vents, which was the first thing that we noticed,” McCalla says.

She provided a screenshot of an email sent in October, alerting property managers about the mold, and asking that it be checked out and addressed. But McCalla says not only did nothing seem to get fixed, it instead got worse.

“I also have also lost multiple sentimental things that I can’t get back. I had a bag full of all my kids’ baby blankets that was covered in mold. You know, like baby items and clothing and things that you can’t replace,” McCalla says.

Staff at the Latitude at Wescott did not comment on the situation despite three attempts to ask if they were aware of the issue and, if so, whether any effort was made to address it.

Mary Templeton, a fellow in an Equal Justice Housing Works Program, specializes in renter cases at Charleston Pro Bono. She says tenants do have rights under South Carolina law.

“A lot of people don’t know their rights because South Carolina landlord-tenant law is not necessarily intuitive,” Templeton says. “So a big thing that I think that all tenants should know in South Carolina is just to make sure to document any issues you’re having. The more evidence you have of a problem, the easier it is to get it resolved, even if it does require court action.”

Parts of the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act say landlords must “comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety” and “make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.”

“I was constantly stressed about it with the kids, mainly with the mold. I mean, the other things we cleaned, and you know, it’s fine, but the mold, I know how serious mold is,” McCalla says.

She provided emails with management through December and January documenting continued mold appearances on vents and windows. She says the last straw for their family was when her daughter developed a persistent cough and her other two children also seemed to struggle with breathing.

“We’re doing doctors and taking antibiotics. She wasn’t testing for anything and we were starting to put the pieces together,” McCalla says.

On Feb. 10 at a follow-up doctor appointment, the provider made a note on McCalla’s daughter’s visit notes. It states, “Seek care at COEM (Center for Occupation & Environmental Medicine) for mold exposure along with treatment for cough symptoms.”

“The first thing she said was immediately you need to get out the only way you’re going to start feeling better and you know healing from this is removing yourself from the mold,” McCalla says.

Templeton says Charleston Pro Bono gets at least weekly if not daily requests for help with tenant issues. She says there are specific timelines for when certain types of issues should be fixed, and a professional can walk someone through their rights if they have the documentation.

“The more evidence you have of a problem, the easier it is to get it resolved, even if it does require court action,” Templeton says. “You always have to put a repair request for those things in writing. Landlords don’t have a duty to fix things unless they’ve received a written notice about the repairs that need to be made.”

While they are not in the habit of taking on mold cases because of the cost, she says documenting everything does a lot if you want to build a case to break your lease. Templeton says a mold case can be hard to prove but not impossible if people have the proof.

“With mold cases, if someone is looking into some sort of damages where you know, they think they’ve been injured because of the mold, their children are sick things of that nature…It’s very hard for legal aid providers to take on those cases just because we don’t have the sort of capital needed to kind of front the bill for those sorts of lawsuits,” Templeton says. “Typically, in those sorts of lawsuits. It’s my understanding that expert witnesses are needed, you know, who have to be paid. You get the property tested by maybe environmental organizations, things like that to see what the risk level is.”

McCalla, when breaking her lease, checked a box claiming to break through “no fault” not wanting to pay because of the mold maintenance issues. She says they have been in touch with a potential lawyer and are planning to get the family tested for mold levels at COEM.

“I know that I did as much as I could have I also wish I would have done more like I wish I would have been like in their face telling them like this is not okay,” McCalla says.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

We are pleased to announce new leadership in the Department of ITFSE and welcome new staff to the Watson College of Education:

Amy Moody assumed the role of chair of the Department of Instructional Technology, Foundations and Secondary Education in January. Dr. Moody joined the faculty at UNCW in 2008. She is a professor of early childhood special education, director of the Center for Assistive Technology, a member of the STEM Learning Cooperative and STEM SENC, a nationally-recognized autism expert and recipient of the 2018 UNCW Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. She has served as interim chair of the Department of ITFSE since September 2022.

Assistant Dean

Keith Westcott assumed the role of Assistant Dean for Administration and Resource Management at WCE in January, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to his new position.

In his capacity, Keith oversees the Business Office Team, responsible for numerous administrative functions, including financial, human resources, facility, and event management activities for WCE. He collaborates closely with the college leadership team, providing essential data analysis and insights to support informed decision-making.

Prior to joining WCE, Keith served as a Senior Business Officer within Academic Affairs at UNCW, where he played a pivotal role in providing strategic accounting guidance to the Associate Provosts for Student Engagement, Enrollment, and Retention, as well as the Graduate, Continuing, and Lifelong Education department. His responsibilities included overseeing financial and personnel aspects, coupled with the development of internal policies contributing to the efficient functioning of these units.

Keith brings to WCE extensive knowledge in budget development, financial reporting, finance, resource management, and strategic planning. As an esteemed alumnus of UNCW, he holds both his BS and MS Accounting degrees from the Cameron School of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant, further solidifying his qualifications for this role.

Instructional Coach

Jodi Hebert has joined the PDS team as an instructional coach with the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program. Jodi has been an educator for 22 years and has spent most of her time teaching in elementary classrooms. Most recently, she served as Operations Coordinator and Liaison at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy. Jodi enjoys spending time with her family, yoga, and doing crafty little projects.

Executive Assistant, EPLS

Trang Le joined Watson's Office of Engagement, Professional Learning, and Scholarship last November as the Executive Assistant to the Associate Dean. Her unwavering passion and commitment to education have empowered her seven-year career journey in various roles within the field. She previously led the operational team at Amy.app, and worked as the Industry Engagement and Internship Coordinator at RMIT University, where she facilitated employment and collaboration opportunities between RMIT and the industries. Trang holds an MBA from Chinese Culture University in Taiwan and received the 2018 Distinguished Service Award at RMIT for her contributions. She relocated from Vietnam to the U.S. last year. She enjoys travel, photography, and exploring diverse cuisines.

Business Services Coordinator

Ellis Pressley-Whitman joined the staff in the WCE Business Office in October in a temporary capacity and accepted a full-time position in December. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has a strong background in business. He moved to California for college as a professional baseball prospect and continued his growth in business by working in the restaurant industry. He quickly became one of the youngest General Managers in Los Angeles. His passion for food and business led him to Dallas, where he opened multiple restaurants and met his wife. Due to the impact of Covid-19 on the restaurant industry, he and his wife decided to shut down their pizza place and move to Wilmington. After a year of exploring the city, they decided to make it their permanent home. When Ellis isn't working, you can find him cruising down to Wrightsville Beach on his electric bike and trying out the best restaurants in town. He's a big foodie, and he loves nothing more than chatting about which restaurants are worth visiting and which ones to skip.

Overnight Programs Coordinator, MarineQuest

Liz joins MarineQuest as the Overnight Programs Coordinator. She started working for MarineQuest in 2013 and has worked in many temporary positions for the University over the past ten years, including as an adjunct professor for the EVS department after finishing her master's degree from the same. Originally from Illinois, she was inspired as a young girl by Chicago's Shedd Aquarium to pursue marine science education as a career. Outside of work, Liz can be found volunteering with dog rescues and training her own dogs in running agility courses.

Executive Assistant, APS

Shawn Sproatt is the new Executive Assistant for WCE’s Office of Academic Affairs, Program Support, and Student Success (APS). Shawn joined the Watson College in July 2023 as an Administrative Associate, and quickly proved herself to be to be a self-starter, efficiently tackling challenges and tasks across the four units of APS. Originally from Beaufort, SC, Shawn graduated from College of Charleston with a BA in Theater. She moved to Wilmington in March 2014 and is excited to join the UNCW family after working as an administrative assistant in the office of a heating and cooling company. She is very active in the local theater community, and previously served as President of the Board of Directors for the theater company Big Dawg Productions. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, acting in and attending plays, and hanging out with her dog, Daisy.

This article has the following tags: Watson College of Education

No matter what type of on-camera flash you rely on for your photoshoots, you’ll need a long-lasting power solution to get you through multi-location portrait sessions, wedding receptions, and shoots in the studio. Fortunately, most speedlight and on-camera flashes integrate seamlessly with high-capacity camera-flash battery packs.

Camera Flash Battery Packs

Rechargeable battery packs are a cost-effective and efficient power solution for photographers. Most flash battery packs are compact so you can integrate them into your normal photography kit without worrying about physically accommodating a lot of extra equipment while you shoot.

When you’re firing flashes in rapid succession, you need to minimize the time required for your batteries’ power level to fully recycle. Traditional AA and AAA batteries aren’t robust enough for operating a flash, so you’ll experience increasingly longer recycling times the longer you shoot.

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Brackets, battery holders, and carrying pouches make it easy to position your flash’s power accessories exactly where you need them for the most functional setup. You can wear your power packs on your belt, attach them to the camera itself, or carry them in a pouch with a strap.

Every on-camera flash unit is different and has its own set of technical specifications and power requirements. Powering your flash unit with the right battery pack is an important step for prolonging the life and functionality of your gear. Choosing brand-specific power packs ensures your gear works as expected every time.

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Nikon, Canon, Quantum, Flashpoint, and Westcott are some of the top names in professional-quality flash units for photography. Investing in flash batteries by these and other leading brands helps you prepare for and execute every photo shoot. Turn on your flash knowing you’ll have all the juice you need to shape the light to perfection with one of these battery packs.