Mobile Home Sales in Dalzell, SC

Editor's note: This article and all of The Sumter Item's hurricane coverage is free as a public service. We believe having access to reliable, accurate and up-to-date local information before, during and after inclement weather is critical to the vitality and safety of the communities we serve and that money should not be a barrier to that access. We do, however, rely on paying subscribers to support our independently, family owned business. If you value the local news you're reading and are not a subscriber, please consider becoming one today at http://theitem.com/subscribe. Sumter County power outages continued to fall by 5:40 p.m. Friday. At that time, 1,022 households in Sumter were without electricity. That is down more than 1,000 total since 3:45 p.m., when totals reached 2,072 homes without power. Clarendon County is in the worst scenario in the tri-county region with 1,594 households without electricity as of 5:40 p.m., according to totals from Duke Energy and regional electric cooperatives. 5:40 P.M.

HOUSEHOLD POWER OUTAGES BY COUNTY: Sumter: 1,022 Clarendon: 1,594 Lee: 808TOTAL: 3,424 * Areas served by BREC, Duke Energy and Santee Electric Cooperative. -----

Between 3:45 and 4:30 p.m., Sumter County households without power reduced by almost 500. Totals reported at 4:30 p.m. for Sumter were 1,580 households, down from 2,072 at 3:45 p.m., according to Duke Energy and Black River Electric Cooperative totals. 4:30 P.M. HOUSEHOLD POWER OUTAGES BY COUNTY: Sumter: 1,580 Clarendon: 1,740 Lee: 528TOTAL: 3,848 * Areas served by BREC, Duke Energy and Santee Electric Cooperative. 3:45 P.M. HOUSEHOLD POWER OUTAGES BY COUNTY: Sumter: 2,072 Clarendon: 1,353 Lee: 1,613 TOTAL: 5,038

* Areas served by BREC, Duke Energy and Santee Electric Cooperative. 3:00 P.M. HOUSEHOLD POWER OUTAGES BY COUNTY: Sumter: 1,757 Clarendon: 1,118 Lee: 804 TOTAL: 3,679 * Areas served by BREC, Duke Energy and Santee Electric Cooperative.

11:30 A.M. Black River Electric Cooperative was reporting about 441 households without power in Sumter County. BREC also reported another 27 households without power in Clarendon County. There were no outages reported in Lee County. BREC serves parts of four counties: Sumter, Kershaw, Lee and Clarendon.

BREC spokeswoman Brenda Chase said officials expect the worst effects from the storm to be between 3 and 6 p.m. today.

Duke Energy is reporting about 250 households without power in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties.

10 A.M. Black River Electric Cooperative was reporting about 105 households without power in its Sumter County coverage area, officials said. Outages were not necessarily in a defined area of Sumter, but spread throughout the county. BREC also reported at the time that another 23 households in Kershaw County were without power. BREC serves parts of four counties: Sumter, Kershaw, Lee and Clarendon.

“We are expecting the worst conditions after lunch,” BREC’s Brenda Chase said. “Our crews are ready to roll.”

Bruce Mills contributed to this article.

HOW TO REPORT AN OUTAGE: DUKE ENERGY CUSTOMERS Customers who experience an outage during a storm can report it the following ways: - Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device. - Use the Duke Energy mobile app — Download the Duke Energy App from a smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play. - Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply). - Call the automated outage-reporting system, at: 800.POWERON (800) 769-3766.

Customer service specialists will be available to manage customer calls should the need arise, with additional corporate responders from across all Duke Energy jurisdictions available to assist as needed.

There is also an interactive outage map at https://www.duke-energy.com/outagemap where customers can find up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration.

Source: Duke Energy

BLACK RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CUSTOMERS In the event of a power outage, call Black River Electric Cooperative at (803) 469-8060 or after 5 p.m. or weekends call 1-844-431-BREC (2732).

When calling, please be prepared to provide us with the exact name as listed on your Black River account, your account number or your actual service location address along with a current working phone number. After power has been restored to your area, Black River employees may contact you to verify that your lights are back on.

Also, leaving your porch light on will help restoration crews verify that your power has been restored.

Source: Black River Electric Cooperative website

Dr. Nikkole StewartDirector of University Academic Advisingnstewart4@twu.edu940-898-4109

Hometown: Born in Valdosta, GA at Moody Air Force Base into a military family, however, I consider my home Dalzell, SC where my parents are both retired.Education: B.A., Winthrop University; M.Ed., University of Georgia; Ed.D., Northeastern UniversityAbout Me: I have worked in academic advising more than 15 years. My experience includes both academic and career advising. I am a 3rd generation college student. My grandmother was a teacher and the first in my family to attend college. Right now I am into thrifting, trying new restaurants, and listening to podcasts. My favorite thing about TWU is that we are an institution whose primary focus is the education of women. Our motto, “Educate a Woman. Empower the world,” is a constant source of inspiration.

Pre-Nursing Advising Team

Dr. Jessica CampASB 309Associate Director of Academic Advisingjcamp@twu.edu940-898-4116

Hometown: Houston, TXEducation: Bachelor’s from University of Texas at Austin; two Master’s degrees from Texas Woman’s UniversityAbout Me: I have been working with students for over 10 years and enjoy helping them discover new paths. My hobbies include doing volunteer work, gardening, and spending time with my family and friends.

“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.” – Michelle Obama

Yesenia Martinez VelaSenior Academic Advisor and Retention Specialistprenursing@twu.edu

Hometown: I was born in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico. However, I was raised in Haltom City, TX for the majority of my childhood.Education: Bachelor’s in Mathematics, Texas Woman’s UniversityAbout Me: After graduation, I was a math and advisory teacher for grades 7-12. In my years as a teacher I found my passion to be an advocate for all first-generation and undocumented students. I love connecting with students and guiding them through milestones in which they are the first in their families to achieve. In my free time I love to create crafts and spend time with my family.

Robin ShawnCoordinator of College Academic AdvisingPre-Nursingrshawn@twu.edu

Hometown: The Colony, TexasEducation: B.B.A. in Computer Information Systems & M.B.A., Tarleton State UniversityAbout Me: I have worked in advising for almost ten years, first as an advisor in the College of Professional Education, then as a Coordinator of College Academic Advising. As a first generation student myself I understand some of the challenges our students can face. I enjoy spending time with my two girls and exploring new places. I believe Albert Einstein said it best when he said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow.”

Trinity DouglasAcademic Advisor I, Pre-Nursingprenursing@twu.edu

Academic Recovery Team

Wylijanna ColeCoordinator of Academic TransitionsAcademic Probation, Suspension Recovery, TWU Dual Credit StudentsBHL 228passprogram@twu.edu

Hometown: Dallas, TexasEducation: Bachelor’s in English, Texas Woman’s University; Master’s in Higher Education, Abilene Christian UniversityAbout Me: I work with students who are on academic probation and suspension, as well as high school students who are taking dual credit courses at TWU. In my free time, I enjoy reading, shopping, going to brunch and hanging out with friends.

Retention Support Team

Kim TaylorAssistant Director of Academic AdvisingUndecided, Exploring Majors, Special PopulationsWH 013Ektaylor15@twu.edu

Hometown: Ponder, TexasEducation: B.B.A. in Human Resource Management, Tarleton State UniversityAbout Me: I have worked in academic advising for over 10 years. Seven years as a first-year advisor in the College of Health Sciences here at TWU and the last six years as a Coordinator of College Academic Advising. I was a transfer student in school, doing my first two years at a community college before finishing up at Tarleton. One of my favorite quotes is, “Always remember that you are absolutely unique; just like everyone else.”– Margaret Mead. I enjoy spending time with family, friends, outdoor activities and traveling.

John ThompsonSenior Academic Advisor and Retention SpecialistUndecided, Exploring Majors, Special PopulationsPCSE 225jthompson34@twu.edu

The holiday season is a time for gathering, celebrating, relaxing and enjoying the company of loved ones. However, we also are in viral respiratory season as both influenza and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) are surging with COVID-19 continuing in the background. It remains important to practice proven safety measures this holiday season to protect the most vulnerable among us: the youngest and the oldest.

We are nearly three years into COVID-19 and recognize that masking, washing hands and socially distancing remain effective measures against the spread of these and other common respiratory viruses. Once sneezed or coughed out, the virus particles have to settle somewhere. This is why cleaning surfaces, covering coughs and washing hands often are keys to safe gatherings. Masks are not generally recommended at family gatherings but may be considered when around severely immune compromised folks. This helps to protect them from the wearer.

RSV in particular is especially problematic for newborns, young children and the elderly who are most at-risk to catching the virus and developing complications. At ECU Health, we saw our current RSV surge starting in June and it did not take long for children’s hospitals and pediatric clinics across the country to experience consistently high volumes of young patients needing care. Just about everyone at the family gathering loves to hold and play with the newest members of the family, so please take care in touching newborns to help prevent any possible spread of RSV. Rather than kiss them, smile so they can know they are loved.

It is also important to protect yourself as well as remember the importance of protecting elderly or immuno-compromised members of your family. Getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 remains the cornerstone for this. These vaccines make it harder for the virus to infect you, and if you get infected, the disease is milder and clears more quickly, which also means less spread in the family. Both vaccines take about 2 weeks to provide effective protection, so the earlier the better.

Having a safe and joyful holiday season means protecting the health and well-being of those we love most, including ourselves. When the Scriptures tell us it is better to give than to receive, this does not apply to viruses. Do your part to ensure respiratory viruses are not an unwelcome guest at your family gatherings.

Dr. William Dalzell is medical director of infection prevention at Maynard Children’s and clinical professor and division chief of pediatric infectious disease at the Brody School of Medicine.

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Joshua Simon came to camps, went on visits and did the whole recruiting thing at South Carolina while Will Muschamp’s staff was in place.

At the time, the Dalzell, S.C. native, was a student at Crestwood High School, where he mostly played wide receiver and defensive back as a junior. During his senior year, he lined up at tight end, quarterback and still played a good bit at defensive back.

Simon enrolled at Western Kentucky in January of 2019, and it didn’t take him long to make an impact. Fast-forward a few years: The 6-foot-4, 236-pound tight end is coming home.

South Carolina hosted him for an official visit before Christmas. He signed with the Gamecocks before suiting up one more time for Western Kentucky in the New Orleans Bowl last Wednesday night.

Simon caught only a couple of passes for 15 yards in the blowout win over South Alabama, but he’s been a productive player, catching 86 passes for 1,146 yards and 16 touchdowns over 40 career games.

TheBigSpur caught up with Simon before he exited campus last weekend, as he was going to meet the Hilltoppers in The Big Easy.

“Very welcoming – southern hospitality – there isn’t anything like it,” Simon said, referring to South Carolina. “Just ready to get to work. Power 5 school, SEC. They’ve got everything you need. All the resources are there. They accepted me into the program with welcoming arms, open, welcome arms.”

A lot stood out to him about the Gamecocks, though it kind of started before his visit actually began.

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“The atmosphere, the things they’ve got going on with coach (Shane) Beamer, going with the team right now,” Simon said. “If you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. They beat Clemson and Tennessee. You can see what’s going on. Just to come down and be a part of that, come back home to play football, it’s something I want to be a part of.”

Simon joins transfer tight ends Trey Knox (Arkansas) and Nick Elksnis (Florida) in South Carolina’s 2023 recruiting class. Connor Cox, Reid Mikeska and Kamron Sandlin also signed on Wednesday.

Tree tops and branches lay strewn across Sumter County in the fall of 1989, littering the landscape like broken matchsticks after one of the most powerful hurricanes in state history swept far inland from the coast.

Mooney Player, a legendary ex-high school football coach, remembers it well. Hurricane Hugo leveled much of the forested land his family had owned for six generations, costing him money from lost timber sales and causing him to wonder what he would do with the land in the future.

Player eventually settled on an idea that he never regretted. With the help of an agricultural expert, he converted the battered land into a private quail preserve, where he could hunt the coveted game birds with his friends.

Now, more than 30 years later, the 91-year-old Player has sold the 774 acres for the public to hunt on. The $1.5 million sale to Quail Forever has been finalized, and preparations are underway for quail experts to manage the property, as Player has done.

On Wednesday, officials with Quail Forever and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources planned to formally recognize the land transfer, with a dedication event on the property in the Dalzell community near the Sumter-Lee county line east of Columbia.

The property, to be called the Bobwhite Hills Wildlife Area, is the first Quail Forever has acquired in the eastern United States. Public hunting is expected to start in the 2023-24 season. General public access also will be allowed, according to plans. The land is adjacent to a 2,000-acre public wildlife management area

Raleigh West, director of the S.C. Conservation Bank, said the sale by Player to Quail Forever will protect property so that it can continue to be managed for the popular but dwindling game bird. The Conservation Bank, a state agency, provided about $850,000 toward the purchase by Quail Forever.

”The bobwhite quail is an iconic game bird that even as populations declined, continued to bring together generations of sportsmen and women,” West said. “The acquisition of Bobwhite Hills represents not only an opportunity to grow the native quail populations, but also it sets a backdrop for continuing our state’s rich sporting traditions.”

The bobwhite quail, so named for its characteristic “Bob White” call, is found in many places, including the upper Midwest and the Southeast. Noticeable for white and dark stripes on its head, the brownish-gray bird can stand nearly 11 inches tall and weigh 6.3 ounces.

The birds have been hunted for decades. They provide not only a great sporting challenge, but a tasty meal for those who bag them.

Quail thrive in grasslands and fields between cleared farmland and deep woods, but much of their habitat has been lost through the years to suburban sprawl and more intensive farming practices. Predators, such as fire ants and hawks, also threaten quail populations.

In South Carolina, bobwhite quail populations have dropped substantially since 1979, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The decline may have started sooner than that. Federal statistics show a 60% decline in quail population in the Southeast from the mid 1960s to the mid-1990s. Populations have rebounded slightly in recent years.

According to plans, the DNR will help manage the Player property with Quail Forever. That will involve keeping the proper habitat for quail so that the birds on Player’s former land will continue to sustain themselves. Wildlife managers also will limit the quail harvest to about 15% of the population at Bobwhite Hills, according to the DNR.

The key is preventing forested floors from becoming overgrown, and making sure open fields are maintained — both habitats that quail like. .

Player, one of the winningest coaches in state high school football history, said he sold the land because it was becoming harder to maintain and he had no family members available to take oversight of the property.

“There was not a sixth generation person to take over,’’ Player said. “There was nobody to pass it on to.’’

Player said, however, that West was helpful in putting the deal together, a move that allows for public access. Player said the preserve at one time “probably had the best natural quail’’ around.

State wildlife officials don’t dispute that.

“The beauty of this property is it is not going to require a lot work to get it going,’’ said Michael Hook, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ small game program chief. “This one is already there. You sort of jump in and go.’’

Player’s efforts to maintain a bobwhite quail preserve should come as no surprise to those who know Player as a football coach.

An intense and colorful character who once told a team manager to call the Air Force to complain about jets flying over his team’s practice field, Player won five state championships from 1957-1972. He coached at Newberry, Saluda and Lower Richland high schools. He won more than 150 games . He is a member of the S.C. Athletic Hall of Fame.

During his tenure, he was known for innovative offenses, crisp practices, inspirational speeches and the slogan “Can’t Beat the Creek,” a reference to Lower Richland. While at Lower Richland, he lobbied to change the school’s mascot from a hornet to a diamond, thus today’s nickname “Diamond Hornets,’’ according to a 2010 story by The State’s Ron Morris.

Player, who grew up in Barnwell County, left Lower Richland in 1972, eventually seeking the vacant University of South Carolina football coaching job in late 1974. Bumper stickers around town called for USC to hire Player. But the university picked Texas Tech coach Jim Carlen, and Player never coached again.

Player said he began to hunt more often after leaving football — but only then.

““It was always football first, and I hunted a little bit after football season and after school in the afternoons,’’ he said.

Now, the public will benefit from his post-football hunting passion — and having the opportunity to maintain the land for quail will help in the fight to sustain populations of the bird, according to the DNR and Pheasants Forever, the parent organization for Quail Forever.

“For several years, coach Player searched for an entity to maintain and improve upon the conservation work he has completed, while perhaps expanding opportunities for future South Carolinians to experience a wild quail hunt,’’ the DNR and Quail Forever said in a statement, noting that the Quail organization was glad to help.

This story was originally published November 2, 2022, 7:30 AM.