Mobile Home Sales in Bethune, SC

The school, which will soon transform into a community center, is selling most of its contents at low prices.

BETHUNE, S.C. — The Town of Bethune has spent months transforming the former Bethune Elementary School into a community center. On Saturday the town took the next step of selling all of the items from the inside.

The school has been vacant for close to a year with desks, books, and chairs still sitting around. Now that the town is preparing for the community center to come to life in early 2023, they held a rummage sale Saturday morning to get rid of the items.

Elizabeth Gaskin and her grandson Lelond Brown attended the event and got chairs for their house, clothes, and other items.

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They said they're excited about the project as 100% of the proceeds the town raises will go into the community center.

"I think it will really help the community, we appreciate all that's being done," said Gaskin.

"I hope it brings the community together," added another attendee, Tony Sullivan.

The event was also an opportunity for several teachers to get items at a discounted rate for their classrooms.

"Just to see what things I can find for my own classroom, get some furniture, some books, different classroom resources, different manipulatives to use for math, different things that will help our classroom tremendously," said teacher Heather Kelly. "We can get more for our money - more items - because we have to spend our own money."

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"It's great for us, especially making sure we maintain a budget each month, and it gives us an opportunity to do more for our parents and our classroom," added Nashanda Johnson, the owner of Caughman Academy in Camden.

The mayor said that, in total, they were able to raise $700 already, but they still have items left over. So, in the future, the town is telling the public to call in if there is a need for the remaining items. Otherwise, interested parties will have to wait for a possible second sale at the school.

The community center is expected to welcome several agencies including the Kershaw County Council on Aging and the Mobile Nutrition Center among others.

The water tower stands over Bethune as what some would call an eyesore. But the town wants to change that.

BETHUNE, S.C. — As the second allocation of money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) comes out, Bethune is among the many towns eyeing new projects in their communities.

And one of those projects is visually hard to miss.

The federal government requires the funds to be spent on things like public health, lost revenue, infrastructure needs, and premium pay for essential staff.

The town of Bethune is receiving a total of $174,245 from the American Rescue Plan Act and has already received $87,122. The other half is coming this month.

"Our first round came last fall a portion of it was dedicated in our 2022-2023 budget for I.T. infrastructure and those funds will be used for purchasing of computers and secure servers," said Bethune Mayor Susan Holley.

"The remaining portion was budgeted in our budget for capital projects for the water tank refurbishment, the second deposit of the ARPA funding will come this fall and should come any day now," Mayor Holley added. "Those funds, collectively, will be allocated as a wager towards another grant we applied for, for the water tank refurbishment."

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Mayor Holley said it's all a part of the town's revitalization and infrastructure needs.

"It's very important because it's our only tank and our only water source," she said. "So, it's important we maintain the tank, cosmetically it needs a little attention so it can last for many, many years."

The mayor said that, earlier in the fall, the town applied for a larger grant that was dedicated to infrastructure.

"If it all works out, the tank will be 100% paid for by those grants," she said.

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And it's a project several residents say they support.

"I surely would like to see it, you know, continue and help beautify our town," said Lorenzo Murphy.

"I think it will be a good idea because it makes the town look kinda bad," Robert Joseph said. "So, go ahead and re-paint it and make it look presentable - the town of Bethune presentable."

Once the money is designated and the grants approved, then the town will have an idea of the timeframe for the project.

Those interested in weighing can do so at their monthly council meeting.

It would be the longest such streak in the series since the Bulldogs won three straight from 2007-09.

If SC State is to win, head coach Buddy Pough knows the Bulldogs must play better than they did in the season opener against Central Florida.

"Sometimes I talk about the offense, sometimes the defense, but right now both sides need to improve," Pough said Thursday. "We have to play at a much higher level against Bethune-Cookman."

The Bulldogs fell 56-10 to Central Florida on Sept. 1. The offense managed 91 yards of total offense.

Bethune-Cookman finds itself in a similar position as they fell to Miami 70-13. Pough said he feels the Wildcats played a much better game against Miami than his team did against the Knights.

"I think (Bethune-Cookman) played better than us last week," Pough said. "We're going to have our work cut out for us."

Last season, SC State jumped out to a 42-7 lead after three quarters and held on for a 42-35 victory. Pough is hoping to get another hot start from his team Saturday.

"That might have been the most important part of the game for us last year," Pough said. "We were able to take the ball down the field a few times and get some scores on them. If we can set the tone early, that gives us a chance to be in good shape. Both teams come into the game a bit vulnerable, so whoever is able to get a fast start is probably going to win the game."

Bethune-Cookman boasts a number of offensive weapons, including former Jackson State quarterback Jalon Jones, who threw for 249 yards and a touchdown last week. They also bring back tight end Kemari Averett, who caught four passes for 94 yards and a touchdown last year against SC State.

Pough said he hopes his defense can get some pressure on the quarterback against an offensive line that starts three sophomores. The Bulldogs had two sacks and forced a fumble last week against Central Florida. BJ Davis led SC State with 11 tackles, including a tackle for loss.

"We have to get our defensive front playing better," Pough said. "We're a little broken on the offensive line ourselves, we have couple of guys still doubtful, but every body has to play better than they did last week."

Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

Mayor Susan Holley and town council are working with the Municipal Association of South Carolina to help bring the town back to life.

BETHUNE, S.C. — Main Street in Bethune may have only a few businesses now, but town officials say they are working to change that.

Mayor Susan Holley and town council are working with the Municipal Association of South Carolina to help bring the town back to life.

"There is a movement back to the downtown," said Charlie Barrineau, Field Association Manager with Municipal Association of South Carolina. "You can look at neighboring communities like Camden and Florence, and they are doing well."

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Barrineau explained the steps that will be taken to help bring the area back.

"You start off looking at 5-square miles, maybe a 10-mile radius, around the town to see sales ... whether it's furniture stores, restaurants, and we see how much volume that area can support."

Next, he said the will "create a target list of projects the town can focus on - beautification, flowers, looking for a specific anchor building a historic area in the downtown."

Barrineau says the town will have to apply for grants to help the town move forward.

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"We have a hometown economic grant," Barrineau said. "It was my recommendation that the council applies for that $25,000 grant to fund this assessment and master plan for their downtown area."

Sheila Mare, owner of Family Hair Center in Bethune, is hoping to see empty shops soon filled with people and business.

"If we get a lot more business, it will mean more for us," Mare said. "Maybe more people can work, and I think we need to do a lot to the town, and I think it's run down."

Barrineau said the process will not happen overnight but will take months.

The former school, which consolidated and was passed over to the town, is now welcoming several organizations.

BETHUNE, S.C. — The former Bethune Elementary School will soon be welcoming new tenants to the building.

The site passed over from Kershaw County School District to the Town of Bethune is now officially being transformed, as the Kershaw County Council of Aging has announced they are one of four entities moving into the building.

Bruce Little, the Executive Director for Kershaw County Council on Aging, said this about moving into the former school, "When we move over to the school we will have a dedicated area for our seniors."

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The space will allow the Kershaw County Council on Aging to have a permanent site as they currently are in the Recreation Department as a temporary space, as their demand has increased, "Right now we have around 22 people, pre-covid we're down to four to five, after covid our seniors started coming back."

Little adds, "It's important to us and it's important to our seniors because it gives us a sense of stability, we don't have to move any equipment, move equipment out we don't have to be through y a certain period of time, those things are very important." Adding, "It gives us more space, more storage space, more room to do inside circular activity."

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Mayor Susan Holley is excited and believes the location will be the perfect fit, "We do have an aging community, we have to remember our seniors are some of our most valuable citizens and we need to meet their needs."

Council on Aging says they plan to move in around October.

Mayor Holley adds that 4 more entities are looking at the site as a potential hub.