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The recent winter weather blast has not only affected drivers but has also taken a toll on local farmers, including those at Legare Farms on Johns Island. The farm has faced significant challenges due to the sudden drop in temperatures. (WCIV)

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — The recent winter weather blast has not only affected drivers but has also taken a toll on local farmers, including those at Legare Farms on Johns Island. The farm has faced significant challenges due to the sudden drop in temperatures.

"It was like a sleet," Thomas Legare, a farmer at Legare Farms, said. "I walked outside about eight o'clock to get him, bring him in the house, it was pelting you. It was hurting when it was hitting you."

Legare explained, "Between myself and my crew-- we've had to put in a lot of overtime here in the last couple of days. Feeding animals, getting ice out of water troughs, making sure everything's got feed and hay."

The cold weather has led to the loss of five water buffaloes on the farm. "All of a sudden this storm hit and temperatures dropped below freezing and I think that's what caused the fatalities in some of our buffaloes," Legare said.

READ MORE | "Dorchester roads slowly improving but black ice remains a danger, officials warn drivers"

Despite the harsh conditions, Legare emphasized the relentless nature of farming. "We're busy 365 days out of the year," he said.

The winter weather's remnants, including snow and sleet, may impact upcoming crops and have already affected the farm's workload. "Our business is down big time this week," Legare said, noting that the farm's mobile markets have been shut due to rough roads.

However, there is hope on the horizon as temperatures rise, melting some of the ice and snow. Legare Farms is preparing to celebrate 300 years of serving the Lowcountry. "I've probably seen more in my lifetime in the last 60 years than in the first 240 years we were here," Legare said.

He is preparing to start planting winter and spring vegetables soon. The impact on crops will depend on how wet the fields remain and for how long.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County School District staff ensure the opening of upgraded baseball fields for St. Johns High School baseball and softball players is “on schedule,” after concern from families over winter weather delays and turning over the turf in time.

Newly upgraded baseball fields at Johns Island Park are set to be the new dugout for St. Johns High School athletes. The upgrades include new grass, fences, lighting, scoreboards and batting cages costing around $4.8 million. The project has seen a long list of delays nearing the year-and-a-half mark.

Parents say baseball and softball are a hotspot on Johns Island, with more than 600 kids involved in Little League programs, yet a majority of its student athletes travel to other areas for the sport. They believe the problem is a lack of resources.

“We want it to be done. I want it all, I’m sorry. I don’t want halfway anymore. They tell us they want to give us an equitable solution, equitable fields. On par with what we’re seeing elsewhere at other schools. We’re just not seeing that,” parent Lindsay Jackson says.

Shelton’s son is a senior at St. Johns High School, among many who are hoping to play college baseball.

" The goalpost is continuing to be moved. We’ve never had a good, every deadline or timeline we’ve been given has fallen through, it’s been broken, it’s inadequate. Everything in this process along the way has been completely inadequate and our kids deserve more. They put in the work, the effort, they deserve a lot more," parent Jeremy Shelton says.

In Monday’s board of trustees meeting, the district pointed to snow and ice from last week’s storm, prompting challenges for construction crews. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Borowy mentioned the weather placed workers out of a week’s worth of work.

“We have fielded questions from constituents, from board members, about that. We have ensured we’ve prioritized a practice space and we are scheduled to open on time, although last week’s weather episode with the ice made it challenging,” Superintendent Anita Huggins says.

Borowy intends to keep the opening date, set for the beginning of February, despite those delays. Borowy also mentioned collaboration with the City of Charleston, who owns Johns Island Park, added a step to the process.

“We feel very confident that the best has been done with that field to minimize the impact on St. Johns High School and as the superintendent pointed out, have it ready for the upcoming season this spring,” Borowy says. “That project, from a construction perspective, will end up taking 10 months. 10 months for a construction project is pretty incredible. We’ve had other teams that have lost an entire season because of the construction process.”

Since August 2023, Live5News has published three articles surrounding the completion of the fields, not including this one:

In 2023, those delays were prompted by reallocating the funding to other “priority projects.”

In the meantime, players have been using rectangular fields on campus, formerly tennis courts, or traveling to different parks, fields or facilities.

“How are they going to provide what they promised? Not really for us, but our kids. They’re the ones getting affected most by it,” parent Jothem Jayne says.

“This is the best way to get parents to keep kids on the island. 50% of the kids living on the island at high school age leave and go to other high schools. I wonder why. We don’t have a baseball field and we haven’t had one since 1923,” parent Karen Tetrev says.

The team is asking for a defined completion date and full commitment to the completion. If the district is unable to provide the requested information, parents are asking for help with transportation to alternate parks, practice fields or facilities.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Underneath the overgrowth and rubble left behind from what was once an active Confederate fort is the promise of something new.

Charleston City Council discussed a contract on Tuesday with Bluetide Marine Construction, which would use $1.2 million to complete public access improvements at Fort Pemberton Park. This precedes the construction of a project several years in the making.

The city purchased the roughly six-acre, Yates Avenue property in 2019 for more than $6 million. The goal was to follow a city master plan of improving greenspace and waterfront access for the public good.

“If this property would’ve come up anywhere in the city limits, we would’ve tried to purchase it. It’s a very special place. Hundreds of years of history,” City Parks Director Jason Kronsberg said. “This was somewhat of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to preserve this type of property in perpetuity for the public.”

Fort Pemberton was built to be used as one of several defense systems during the American Civil War, although it never saw combat. The historic landmark is one of a few “earthwork” forts in the Lowcountry, being made mostly of mounded dirt.

Much of the fort is still distinguishable if you know what to look for, including walls and moats that once surrounded a center of defense, outlooking the Stono River from higher ground. Many history buffs know the property for its pentagonal shape.

While one can stand at the top and picture its historic integrity, the city of Charleston wants to repurpose the property into something the public can enjoy, while also preserving its past value.

“We always anticipated this as a passive park. Interpretive in nature. Two entrance points, one entrance point getting you into the middle of the old fort, another one down here the lower land,” Kronsberg said. “Passive open space, like you see behind me. Come out, throw your frisbee, kick a ball, take a walk and enjoy the sunset.”

The city plans to construct minimally on the property, simply adding a picnic shelter near the foundation of the former home, restrooms, a supply of parking spaces, small park site furnishings and revamping the old two fishing docks.

One of the docks will be intended as a kayak launch point.

The group is also discussing long-term efforts to provide better connectivity between the different county parks and connection points lining the Stono River. This would provide a “blue trail” for travelers on water to make pit stops.

The city plans to preserve the fort’s remaining structure and create signage that tells its history.

“Gives you another place to come, the view here is incredible on the Stono River, especially at sunset. It’s kind of a hidden-away spot. Riverland Terrace is the oldest subdivision on James Island and part of the city. I’d be interested to see how many people start utilizing it,” neighbor Adam Friend said.

The funding for the project includes grants from water and land conservation, greenbelt and the city’s general funds.

The property is not open to the public at this time. The city advises it is considered private property and being on-site without city permission is considered trespassing.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JOHN ISLAND — A combination of soaring construction prices and a road plan many residents opposed have put a significant Johns Island artery project on hold.

The route known as Main Road Corridor Segment C aimed to improve Bohicket Road from Maybank Highway to River Road with redesigned intersections, the widening of parts of the two-lane road and construction of a 12-foot-wide pedestrian and bicycle path.

In 2024 it became clear residents overwhelmingly disliking the plan, with just 23 percent supporting what the county laid out in public meetings. The county councilman representing Johns Island — Joe Boykin, vowed in May to "fight to my last breath" to strip the pedestrian and bike path from the concept.

"What I would tell you is that Segment C has been shelved," Boykin said Feb. 17, but added "It’s not dead and gone."

Many residents opposed the roughly nine-mile bike and pedestrian path because it would require land from dozens of property owners and would cross many driveways on the Bohicket Creek side of Bohicket Road.

They also opposed widening Bohicket Road beyond Plow Ground Road. The intersection improvements were controversial due to significant impacts on homes and businesses.

County staff set out to address the issue, but "we have been unable to satisfy the concerns that were raised by citizens," program manager Alex Owsiak told Charleston County Council at a recent meeting.

Also, there's no funding left to pay for the work, he said.

"In general, there are going to be limited resources that are going to be reallocated if folks don’t support what we put forward," said Councilwoman Jenny Honeycutt, who represents Kiawah and Seabrook islands along with Folly Beach and most of James Island.

Funds for the Segment C plan were redirected to a larger plan that's also meant to improve Johns Island traffic — turning the intersection of Main Road and U.S. Highway 17 into more of a highway-style interchange, to eliminate the backups and long delays there.

Funded through the half-percent sales tax approved in 2016, the Segment C plan had been budgeted to cost $75 million to $90 million, and all three segments of the Main Road Corridor plan were budgeted at $195 million. Instead, the contract for the intersection redesign came in above $350 million.

County officials noted that voters rejected a ballot measure in November that would have extended the half-percent sale tax to provide more road funding.

"It is safe to say that Segment C has gone with the referendum," County Council Chairman Kylon Middleton said at a recent council meeting.

Most of the money from the proposed tax continuation would have gone to the Mark Clark Extension, and that plan to continue Interstate 526 from West Ashley across Johns Island to James Island is now considered dead. The state and county have been in talks to unwind contractual agreements related to the Mark Clark.

But even if there were funding for the Segment C project, the county hasn't found a way to address residents' concerns about the unpopular plan.

"I think if they had the money they could come up with a plan," said island resident John Zlogar, who co-founded Rational Roads for Johns Island years ago because of concerns about the Segment C project. Early proposals included a cross-island parkway that was later abandoned in the face of opposition.

County officials aren't sure they can come up with a new notion residents would like. For example, Owsiak told council members that ending the widening of Bohicket Road at Plow Ground Road would result in a failing level of service — too much traffic congestion — at Edenvale Road, where the county's plan called for the widening to end.

Moving the planned multi-use path to the other side of Bohicket Road would create new right-of-way and environmental challenges, he said, and avoiding impacts on residential and business properties would be impossible, officials say.

The Main Road Corridor is a primary north-south route across the island, running from near the entrances to Kiawah and Seabrook islands on the south end to the intersection with U.S. Highway 17 in West Ashley on the north end.

It's two-lanes-wide and carries three names in segments: Main Road from U.S. Highway 17 to Maybank Highway, where the name changes to Bohicket Road until it hits River Road, where the name changes again to Betsy Kerrison Parkway.

Segment C is so-named because Charleston County divided a road project listed in the 2016 sales tax referendum into three parts. That project was the "US 17 at Main Road flyover and widening Main Road from Bees Ferry to Betsy Kerrison with (a) Parkway type section at Bohicket."

All of that work was expected to cost $195 million, but the price of a recently issued contract to design and build the U.S. Highway 17 interchange at Main Road came in at more than $354 million. That's Segment A.

The county previously decided against work on most of Main Road between U.S. Highway 17 and Maybank Highway. That would have been Segment B.

And now the rest of the Main Road Corridor, the stretch from Maybank Highway nearly to Kiawah Island, is also on hold.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Johns Island Elementary is expected to open in Fall 2025, however once open it will cause more traffic for surrounding residential neighborhoods.

City of Charleston council members met on Jan. 28 for a Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting. They discussed where the progress lies for the new school and heard about traffic pattern setbacks that may delay the project. However, the school is planned to have exits going into two neighborhoods, which has created some concerns.

“I think the main thing is really just – let’s say there’s an accident on River Road which is already ridiculous as it stands. Where’s everyone going to come from? They’re going to go right through here,” Michelle Ballinger, a Johns Island resident, said. “This neighborhood is fantastic for kiddos but I think the issue is that let’s say a mom is running late or something like that – and a kid darts out. I think it’s just safety for the children in the neighborhood and then feasibility for us to take on all that additional traffic.”

Officials expect nearly 700 students from second to fifth grade to attend. The two exits are on Moonbeam Drive and Claybrook Street, where there are single family homes.

“Talked to the city to do preemptive speed humps or other traffic calming measures in those neighborhoods,” Jim McBride, City of Charleston council member, said of some safety aspects he had asked about.

Ballinger mentioned she had tried accomplish an initiative that would bring such measures into her neighborhood, but was suggested that a traffic study should be done. However, she said it wouldn’t become useful until the regular school day traffic is in full swing.

While the neighbors are excited to have the elementary school, some said even though a new traffic pattern may be necessary, officials need to reassess their priorities first.

“At the end of the day, protecting the kids, the pets and the community is very important, and they need to make sure that message gets out. It will be convenient for us to be able to get our kids to school but it will also be a cut through for others,” Jamie Bradford, a Johns Island resident, said. “We know that, so we want to find out what’s going to happen and then we can address that once we know what’s its going to look like.”

The City of Charleston mayor and Charleston County School District are expected to meet to discuss further road improvements.

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