Pool Repair in James Island, SC

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Little Rock Golf Club is being remembered with a historical marker and ceremony this weekend.

The non-segregated course came to be in the 1950s when the Country Club of Charleston was only open to white people.

Richard Smalls Sr. made the course in secret. Not even his own son or wife knew about it until it was complete, according to Richard Smalls Jr. That’s because the owner, Smalls Sr., bought the land from told him he had to farm with it.

“The owner who sold him the property would come by every now and then and toot the horn. My dad used to tell me to go outside and tell them I’m not here,” Smalls Jr. said.

Smalls Jr. says the former owners would come to check on the progress of the land.

“That was in the 50s, so you know at that time what was going on,” Smalls Jr. said.

But soon, the only non-segregated golf course opened. Smalls Jr. has fond memories of when he was 13 years old, watching his father golf there.

“When he opened that up, it was the best thing that ever happened in the neighborhood,” Smalls Jr. said.

Smalls said before then, black people were only allowed to caddy at the other whites-only course. He and the other caddies were only granted permission to play on Christmas when whites were home with their families.

Smalls Jr. said the Little Rock Golf Club was special because it was for everyone.

“You could look on weekends and the same guys and girls, ladies rather, came out and play, so it got real popular.,” Smalls Jr. said.

For about a decade, the course was in its prime, but then the municipal golf course became integrated in the early 60s.

“That’s when it declined and my father’s business went down. Only a few guys would come on the weekends and play. But he didn’t build it to become a millionaire, it only cost $2 to play 6 holes,” Smalls Jr. said.

After the decline in business, Smalls Sr. turned the course into a nightclub and today homes stand in its place.

“There’s a lot of people who move into Charleston lately and they bought homes in there and they don’t know nothing about James Island,” Smalls Jr. said.

He also referred to the history of where the people’s homes are now. His family coordinated with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, as well as the Sea Shore Farmers Lodge get the historical marker on Little Rock Blvd. It took about 3 years and is set to be unveiled at a small family gathering this weekend.

“This marker really reflects the program’s broader mission, which is to teach people about South Carolina history through its historic places. What we are really trying to do is to use the experience of being present where history actually unfolded to try to leave a deeper impression on readers and to get them to reflect on the significance of the history that took place at the specific location,” South Carolina Department of Archives and History Historian Edwin Breeden said.

Smalls Jr. admits he didn’t understand the underlying significance of his father’s work as a child.

“I didn’t know how important that was, I didn’t realize it because I was young. Later in life, I understand,” Smalls Jr. said.

Richard Smalls Sr. passed away in his late 50s, but his little secret turned success story lives on.

“I’m sure he’s glad, he’s laughing… he’s laughing,” Smalls Jr. said.

The marker is located at the corner of Little Rock Boulevard and North Grimball Road.

You can learn more about the history of the course on the James Island website.

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Two defending state champions began the Class AAAAA Division I baseball state championship series on Tuesday night on James Island.

James Island won the AAAA state title last season, while Lexington won the AAAAA championship. Both schools were bumped up to the new division by the South Carolina High School League.

Game 1 was what fans expected in a championship game, and James Island sent the hometown fans home with a smile. But it wasn’t easy.

Senior Stow Rogers delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth to lift James Island to a 5-4 win. The Trojans (29-3) will look to win the title at Lexington on May 28.

Lexington got going early against James Island freshman starting pitcher Brayden Easterling, the surprise starter by coach Matt Spivey. Lexington catcher Toby Sobieralski opened the game with a home run to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Sobieralski finished the night with four hits.

The Trojans answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, getting a two-out RBI double from sophomore second baseman Trip Ostergard. A line drive double down the left field line scored Jake Amman, who reached on a walk.

Another solo home run, this from sophomore Christian Spivey, gave Lexington a 2-1 lead in the top of the third.

James Island had another answer in the bottom of third. After Amman tripled to left, Taj Marchand delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2.

The Trojans earned their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Amman doubled in a run to make it 3-2, but the Trojans left the bases loaded.

This time it was Lexington’s chance to answer, and the Wildcats did in the top of the fifth on a Lincoln Hill sacrifice fly to center, tying the game at 3.

In the top of the seventh, Lexington loaded the bases with no outs. Sobieralski singled, his third hit of the game, and reached second on a passed ball. He then reached third on a ball in the dirt, leading to intentional walks to load the bases.

A ground ball to Marchand resulted in the first out at home, but Landon Blight delivered a single to right to score a run and give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.

Ostergard relieved Jones on the mound and got his team out of further damage.

Marchand led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the line in left and moved to third on a wild pitch. Ostergard tied the game with a single to left. After a flyout, Ostergard was picked off by Lexington southpaw Brayden Studebaker.

In the eighth, Lexington put two runners on with an out for Spivey, who was struck out by Colt Hernandez, James Island’s fourth pitcher of the night. Hernandez got USC signee Brandon Cromer to flyout to center, ending the threat.

Braden Deprill opened the eighth for James Island with a single. Brady Dantzler bunted for a single. Pinch-hitter Collin Anderson walked to load the bases, bringing up Stow Rogers. The College of Charleston signee ripped a single to left for the game-winner.

Upcoming

Poor weather conditions forced the postponement of three baseball state championship series that were scheduled to be played on May 27.

The Class AA series between Philip Simmons and Batesburg-Leesville will be resumed May 28 with Philip Simmons holding a 1-0 edge in the best-of-three series. The Iron Horses won 5-3 in Game 1 at home on May 24.

Oceanside Collegiate's second game of the Class AAA championship series with Southside Christian also was moved back a day. The Landsharks lost 14-1 in Game 1 and need a win to stay alive in the title chase.

Berkeley's Game 1 at home against Catawba Ridge in the Class AAAA Division II state championship series was postponed by weather and will be played on May 28.

Summerville's softball team will try to secure a third consecutive state title on May 28 as the Green Wave travel to Byrnes for Game 2 of the Class AAAAA Division I state championship series.

Summerville, with a 33-0 record and riding an 83-game win streak since 2023, won 3-0 in Game 1 of the series on May 26. A Game 3, if necessary, would be played on May 30 at a neutral site.

SCDOT seeks community feedback on proposed safety improvements for Folly Rd. (WCIV)

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — James Island residents attended a public information meeting hosted by the South Carolina Department of Transportation Thursday to share their concerns and ideas about an ongoing safety audit.

SCDOT is currently working on improving safety along Folly Road (SC 171), specifically in the 5-mile corridor between Old Folly Beach Road and Maybank Highway.

According to SCDOT, nearly 70,000 cars travel along Folly Road each day.

"The southern end has about 18,000 cars a day. And the in toward the James Island Expressway, almost fifty thousand cars a day, going back and forth all day long,” said Ginny Jones, the public involvement director for SCDOT.

READ MORE | "SCDOT seeks community input on proposed safety project for high crash area along Folly Rd."

The corridor also has a significant crash history. As part of the audit, the SCDOT studied data from January 2018 to December 2022. During that period, Folly Road saw 2,103 vehicular crashes, 15 pedestrian crashes, and 21 bicycle crashes. 75% of the crashes resulted in only property damage (1608), 24% resulted in injury (525), and less than 1% resulted in fatalities (6) according to SCDOT.

To improve safety, the department intends to install more crosswalks, sidewalks, new road signs, improved traffic lights, etc.

Residents of James Island are happy with the proposed improvements for pedestrians.

"I think the pedestrian improvements are going to be very beneficial. There are a lot of people who do travel by bike and walk on Folly Road," said James Island native Sarah Gallahorn.

READ MORE | "SCDOT approves $576M for 2026 pavement plan, boosting road improvements."

Design plans also include raised medians and fewer left-hand turns.

"We do include concrete medians in these road safety audit project designs because they help prevent those angled crashes that end up in injuries and fatalities," said Jones.

However, some residents have mixed feelings about the medians.

"They've talked about landscaping, the raised median portions, so that would be a great improvement," said Paul Comar, a resident of James Island. "The existing median is about eight to 12 feet wide. It's a pretty long, pretty wide expanse, and I think if they're going to raise sections of it, they could go ahead and just reduce the width of it down to about six feet. That would be plenty safe still. And take the extra width that they're gaining and put it onto either wider lanes or frankly probably the bike lane just to make things a little bit safer."

READ MORE | "Folly Beach greenlights major pedestrian safety improvements for Arctic Avenue."

Some residents expressed concerns about access to businesses along the road.

"I understand that it can have some benefits with improving safety in some areas where there are a lot of turns in median lanes, but that's going to affect those businesses and with people going to them," said Gallahorn. "Not everybody's going to sit here and go out of their way to turn around to go back to get to them."

"We had a lot of businesses and folks who drive this highway really interested in like exactly how the turn movements and the new infrastructure would affect them," said Jones. "Really it's those one-on-one conversations that we have tonight that are helpful in understanding their needs, and sometimes we can make really slight modifications that will help everyone be safer and just improve the project."

Traffic improvements are also being discussed.

"We're modifying the exit ramp from the James Island connector onto Folly Road, which will help with the turning movement onto Center Park Road," said Jones.

READ MORE | "Charleston County awards contract for $2.7M project to bring improvements to James Island."

The project is federally funded and will cost approximately $12.5 million.

If you weren't able to attend the meeting in person, you can view more information and provide feedback about the project online.

SCDOT is accepting public feedback until June 6.

Jones says the goal is to begin construction in late 2026.

JOHNS ISLAND — Johns Island residents will see the first of two urgent care centers open in June, providing emergency services for an area that has seen rapid population growth since 2010.

Both locations are along Maybank Highway, a busy stretch that will see a slate of health-care facilities, including a planned standalone emergency room and 50-bed acute care hospital.

Johns Island Urgent Care, a privately owned clinic, is set to open June 1 in the Hayes Park 16-acre mixed-use development.

Roper St. Francis Express Care is set to open June 16 in the shopping center anchored by KJ’s Market grocery store.

Accessibility to emergency services is a critical need for island residents, where it can take 30 to 45 minutes to drive to the nearest hospital on either bridge off the island — often longer in heavy traffic and inclement weather.

“I've been living on Johns Island for several years and it's almost impossible to get good healthcare close by — you always have to leave the island,” said Dr. Kevin Hinson, a former traveling physician and co-owner of Johns Island Urgent Care. “We thought Hayes Park would be accessible for anybody in the neighborhood and anybody driving by on Maybank would be able to see it.”

Johns Island Urgent Care is co-owned by Hinson, Dr. Laura Helgran and physician assistant Peter Wilson.

Hinson said there will be two doctors, three physician assistants, an emergency medical technician, nurse practitioner and office workers on staff.

The center will treat minor illnesses and injuries with X-ray services, labs, wound care and an in-house pharmacy with plans to add an ultrasound machine.

Johns Island Urgent Care will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. for walk-ins and reserved appointments and will accept private insurance plans as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

"We have plenty of support and the goal is to make healthcare services accessible and take care of the residents on Johns Island,” Hinson said.

Less than half a mile away, Roper's Express Care is set to open at 3575 Maybank Highway. It will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m.–8 p.m.

Johns Island residents, now totaling about 25,000, will have to wait a couple more years for Trident Medical Center’s proposed $277 million, 50-bed hospital and a $15 million, nearly 11,000-square-foot standalone emergency room. Both are also planned for Maybank Highway, directly across from the Live Oak Square development.

The Trident emergency room is slated to be built first and the plan is working through the permitting process.

The modern farmhouse architectural style received approval from the city of Charleston’s Design Review Board last fall.

About 15 miles south, the Kiawah and Seabrook island communities will soon get their own free-standing emergency department and clinic when MUSC Health opens its Sea Islands Medical Pavilion on Kiawah in late 2025, complete with a helipad for critical cases.

Residents have overwhelmingly supported the project in order to get life-saving emergency and critical care quickly.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Kiawah Island developers are proposing a plan to expand a new community on Johns Island.

Orange Hill Tract is about 933 acres of land between Bohicket Road and River Road. Charleston County previously approved development plans there in 2004, but since, it has been sold to South Street Partners. They are requesting approval from the County to build a new residential community and 18-hole golf course, part of the Kiawah Island Club. The group and county are also working on a development agreement, which officials said makes this deal more attractive.

“Our community development was able to secure a significant amount of funding for affordable workforce housing for Johns Island, nearly a million dollars. I think there was another $500,000 for Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, St. John’s Fire Department is getting half the cost of a fire engine from the developer and our Charleston County EMS is basically getting half the cost of an ambulance covered,” Joe Boykin, county councilmember for District 8, said.

Also, Developers tell News 2, around 60% of their employees live on Johns Island and Wadmalaw Island. They said this gives their employees another opportunity to make their commute closer to home and be present in the community with their contributions.

The revised plan coming from the South Street Partners includes a greater focus on preservation, by keeping over 80% of live oaks on the property, improving stormwater management, and reducing the numbers of homes originally proposed.

“That was done as a result of site analysis that suggested lower density and more modest home sites rather than big home sites and big homes. More modest home sites appropriate for the setting. More aligned with the character of Johns Island in terms of the nature of homes there,” said Mark Permar, Kiawah Island master planner and architect.

Additionally, by reducing the amount of homes, there will also be less impacts from previously planned roads on the property. The group has also decided to put the community’s entrance on the less congested roadway.

“The access point was instead of Bohicket Road, we felt the more after we did an assessment we felt the more appropriate access point would be off of River Road,” Permar said. “Part of that was a reaction to the ever increasing traffic count on Bohicket Road that we’re all familiar with.”

The Kiawah Partners own and manage the Beach Club and Cassique Club, and Permar said they continue to be a community involved group. When asked about possible resident concerns, Boykin added that this is a better option than allowing for an outside developer to come in and sell.

“The developer’s been pretty sensitive to our concerns as Johns Islanders and wanting to keep our sense of place. So, again the concessions they made in reduction to how many units and the rearrangement of how they’re putting in this development I think were sensitive to our concerns,” said Boykin.