Mobile Home Sales in Eastover, SC

Tucked away behind the adjutant general’s headquarters in downtown Columbia, close to the University of South Carolina’s football stadium, lies a hidden gem: the South Carolina Military Museum, home to many South Carolina military memories and artifacts.

The museum’s director, Mr. Saddler Taylor, is honored to showcase South Carolina’s contribution to the America’s war effort. And for Taylor, the connection to South Carolina’s military history is a personal one. Not only does he lead the museum during the week, on drill weekends he leads Soldiers in the South Carolina Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel.

“We deal with a subject matter that’s very personal,” said Taylor. “Veterans will see an old artifact that sparks a memory or a flashback.”

Taylor emphasized that a South Carolina Military Museum carries more significance than a mere brick-and-mortar history class.

Since taking on the director role about a year ago, Taylor has seen veterans from different eras still having vivid connections with the artifacts in the exhibits.

With multiple museum staff members witnessing the experience of visiting veterans or even themselves, Taylor emphasized the need to personalize the museum.

Already implementing plans to add life to the museum, he shared details about an ongoing program the museum is offering called the Oral History Program.

Taylor said this program is an audio interview given by appointment that allows veterans to share experiences in a specific war or an individual artifact in the museum.

“Just about everything in our collection has come from donations,” said Taylor. “People bring objects in from their grandparent’s generation and offer us to place them in an exhibit.”

Coming from a family rich in military background himself, Taylor said that people connect best through personal experiences and stories.

“We get a wide variety of visitors,” said Taylor. “From kids to basic training graduates, to veterans.”

With museum attendees coming from all walks of life, he said that the Oral History Program allows the ability to empathize and understand the reality of war and the service members' sacrifices.

This program won’t be the last of its kind. Taylor explains that volunteers are provided opportunities to work with the program curator and lead research projects in their specialties for new exhibits.

“Whether you like giving tours or are good with your hands, anyone can be a part of sharing history,” he said.

Taylor invites service members and civilians to either volunteer or visit and take part of experiencing monumental moments in history. The museum is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. The museum is located at 1 National Guard Road in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information, contact the front office at (803) 299 - 4440 or go to scmilitarymuseum.com.

Veterans Day would be perfect time to plan a visit. Taylor said this will be the first time in the museum's history that it will open its doors for the memorial holiday.

It's the end of the year, and that means it is time to start looking forward to a new year.

Before moving forward we wanted to take a look back to see which articles performed the best over the past twelve months. According to the analytics, here are Cola Daily's most popular news stories of 2022.

1. Eastover tire shop owner faced with eviction says, "all tires are free until Dec. 31st"

A good story starts in the community. This story features Scott Dorrill, the owner of 10203 Tires Plus in Eastover, who announced in late December that he was facing eviction and wanted to give away free tires. Unfortunately, his goodwill was short-lived after he said hundreds lined up to receive free tires.

2. Columbia seafood restaurant closing

When a local business closes its doors, the news often comes as a shock. So, when a popular Columbia Facebook group shared that the Fiery Crab off Sparkleberry Lane was permanently closing its doors, it caused quite a stir.

3. New public access lagoon may soon bring beach life to the Midlands

News of an idyllic beach lifestyle in the heart of the Midlands left many readers bubbling with curiosity and wonder. According to developers, Crystal Lagoons is expected to come to the area soon, bringing clear waters and sandy beaches to our backyard. Cola Daily will most certainly provide more updates on this story in the new year.

4. Surprise proposal thrills crowd at South Carolina State Fair

Knowing how our readers love a good love story, it wasn't a surprise that after we shared the news of a surprise proposal at the South Carolina State Fair, this feel-good favorite clinched the No. 4 spot on our list.

5. Photo Gallery: St. Pat's in Five Points celebrates 40th anniversary

In 2022 Five Points celebrated its 40th anniversary, and Cola Daily Reporter Allen Wallace captured and featured those memorable moments. Forty years is a milestone, and readers enjoyed the article.

6. Photo Gallery: Lexington holds annual Christmas parade, large crowd floods downtown

Good weather paired with holiday cheer perfectly set the stage for the massive crowd that flooded downtown Lexington for the town's annual Christmas parade. Revisit the Town of Lexington's memorable holiday event.

7. Photo Gallery: Miss Hartsville claims Miss South Carolina crown

Beauty pageants and bright lights are always a big hit, and this article featuring a University of South Carolina student from Socastee being chosen to represent the Palmetto State in the 2022 Miss America competition was most certainly a big hit with our readers.

8. New restaurant coming to Irmo in late February

Coming in at No. 8 was news that Jenn Hellenbeck, Matt Francis, and Michael Fusco teamed up to open Tavern on 6. Learning that the new establishment would be located at 2914 Dreher Shoals Road in Irmo went over well with our viewing audience.

9. Richland County deputies searching for Smoothie King theft suspects

Public safety is always a concern, so when the Richland County Sheriff's Department asks the public for help identifying and locating two Smoothie King theft suspects. Our readers help this article land in the top 10 for the year.

10. Lexington native Meera Bhonslé crowned Miss. South Carolina 2022

Every once in a while, the staff at Cola Daily has an opportunity to highlight one of our own; and this article was our finest moment.

The entire team beamed with pride as former Cola Daily reporter and Lexington native Meera Bhonsle was crowned Miss South Carolina USA 2022.

The two-day competition, previously known as Miss South Carolina Universe, is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss USA pageant. Seeing how this article completes our top 10 stories of the year, it's evident that so many readers also enjoyed the article.

As always, we are grateful to all of our readers and look forward to continuing our mission of providing engaging content in the new year.

Scott Dorrill, the owner of 10203 Tires Plus, announced Thursday morning that he can no longer offer free tires to the community due to the challenges he faced on Wednesday.

Dorrill must vacate the premises before the end of the month and initially made the offer on Tuesday to spread goodwill despite his circumstances. Unfortunately, his goodwill was short-lived after he said hundreds lined up to receive free tires.

"I can't take the amount of people that are coming in because I'm getting a call like every half of a second, so I can't even keep up with the number of people," said Dorrill. "I need a little more structured from it because I can't even make a phone call because when I go to make a phone call because I'm getting so many phone calls coming in and text at the same time, I'm getting about around 100 and the phone won't let me contact anyone."

Travis Huggins, the owner of O'Kelly's Bar and Grill, located next door to the tire shop, said cars were lined up and waiting for Dorrill all day on Wednesday, beginning around 8 a.m. He added the overflow of traffic blocked his parking lot and prevented vendors and customers from coming to his business. In an email, he stated that he would be taking Dorrill to court for loss of income and blocking access to his parking lot.

The tire business has been on the property since 2011 and has become a fixture in the community over the years.

According to Dorrill, the property was sold to a new owner early this year. Shortly after the sale, he received a notice to vacate, and after a long-fought legal battle, he must be out by the end of the month. Dorrill said he feels like he is being forced out with every failed attempt; however, Charlotte Huggins, owner of the property, said Dorrill is not being forced out.

"He is not being forced out, squeezed out, none of that," said Huggins. "Talk to Judge Simons, magistrate of Eastover, and they can tell you what went down, and the four court hearings, FOUR and this have been going on since July; it didn't just happen yesterday, since July. He is being evicted for non-payment of three months, so he is not being forced out, and I don't give a rip whether he gives away free tires or not."

The recent legal troubles have been a hard hit for Dorrill and his family and coupled with the financial impact caused by the pandemic, and he said he was hoping he could proceed.

EASTOVER, S.C. — A $70,000 grant from the USDA is helping the Eastover Community Garden expand.

The current 1,800 square foot plot behind the Richland Library Eastover will soon become 9,000 square feet.

Inspired by his stepfather's love for gardening, Michael Dantzler started the Eastover community garden in 2014. Dantzler took a break from 2016 to 2020 and started back up in 2021.

Dantzler said applying for the grant was a "long process," taking four months to complete and two months to hear back.

Until now, Dantzler has relied on his own money along with community donations to keep the garden running. Looking at the small garden, Dantzler calls it humble beginnings.

The USDA grant will allow him to carry out everything he's envisioned.

"I really want to expand. I want it to be full of plants. Perennials, annuals, native plants," said Dantzler.

The garden already grows a myriad of plants such as potatoes, peppers, collard greens, and even sunflowers.

Everything grown in the garden is given back to the community.

RELATED: Town of Irmo plans to distribute COVID-19 relief grants to local non-profits soon

The town of Eastover is known as a food desert-- an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. The closest grocery store is 20 minutes away.

“It means a ton to me. It’s really important to us that this community has access to healthy, safe, and fresh food,” said volunteer Krystal Price.

Price said the grant money will also allow organic food to be grown at the garden, a commodity many rural areas can't afford.

"Being able to homegrown organic pesticide produce for the community is what I'm most excited for," said Price.

Dantzler said the goal of the garden is about feeding people's minds as well.

"That's really my gesture here is to get people more involved in the process and get people to know their own power,” said Dantzler.

The Eastover Native described the garden as a "sanctuary" for the community--a place where they can come together and do good.

"This is a wide-open space that we can come together," said Dantzler.

The Eastover Community Garden will now be among a larger network, the South Carolina Food Connection Community Garden with sites around the state.

If you're interested in volunteering for the garden, you can go to the Get Involved LR Facebook Page.

Eastover, S.C (WACH) — Record cold temperatures have reeked havoc throughout the Midlands for days.

A mother and her young daughter need a place to stay after finding their home flooded out from the ceiling because of those temperatures.

"I don't know what I am going to do... I have no clue," said Lakendra Noble who's home in Eastover was flooded out.

After spending Christmas out of town with family, Lakendra Noble and her young daughter came home to a flooded apartment and caved in ceilings at Lewis Scott Court in Columbia.

"I don't know how many days it's been flooding, but my neighbor across the street called me and said she seen water rushing out the front door and my neighbor that stays directly next to me, he went through the back because he said it was pink insulation stuff rushing out the back door," said Noble.

Noble says she called Columbia Housing who owns the property and the Red Cross but wasn't able to get any help.

"I've left messages on my caseworker's voicemail, I've called housing I called the call center, just running around in circles making the same calls," said Noble.

WACH FOX News reached out to Columbia Housing officials to see what could be done.

"We have in fact gone out to that particular unit to make sure the water was turned off, but we weren't able to get in touch with the resident at that time," said CEO of Columbia Housing Yvonda Bean.

Bean says the extreme temperatures have caused major and minor issues in nearly ten percent of their properties.

"We do have some families that were negatively impacted," said Bean. "Meaning they needed to be relocated to a hotel temporarily and then there were some that just had issues that we called in that required our maintenance team or contractors to go out.

The night noble and her daughter got back into town she says she made arrangements for her daughter to stay with family and she is currently staying in a motel.

'It scares me because once this place has gone me and my daughter don't have any place to go," said Noble.

Noble says she and her daughter have lost everything and she can't afford to replace it

Columbia housing says they sent out tips to residents prior to the freezing temperatures.

Housing officials have since been able to get in touch with Noble and are working to see what can be done to save her home.

"We are working extremely close with the residents the extreme tips wasn't anything we could have anticipated to have the outcomes they did on some of our residents"

A go fund me page has been set up to help noble and her family.

Noble says they are in need of non-perishable food items and clothes for both of them.

I you would like to give back click this link to their GoFundMe page

The link is also pasted here below.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/me-and-my-babygirl-have-to-replace-everything?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2s5fxAPr6GODBU8Aq_HwLHnCLZTIatc9EveZheWUaIDzhijr1pDVipIxE