Mobile Home Sales in Effingham, SC

Tom Finigan

PRESS RELEASE - Springfield, GA - The Colleton County High School Band of Blue placed third overall out of sixteen bands at the 2022 Coastal Empire Classic Marching Contest at Effingham County High School in Georgia this past Saturday. The Band of Blue scored a 94.375, earning a superior rating, and competed with 16 bands from Georgia and South Carolina.

The group was 2nd in Open Class, 2nd in Music Performance, 3rd in Music Effect, 5th in Visual Performance, 2nd in Visual Effect, 2nd in Percussion, 1st in Guard, and 4th in Drum Major Color Guard this past Saturday, October 8, 2022. Richmond Hill took top honors, with Southeast Bulloch placing second and Colleton County in third. Ashley Ridge High School, a bigger 5A South Carolina Band placed 10th overall. A huge crowd from Colleton County followed the Band of Blue to this Georgia event.

The Band of Blue’s performance of Saints and Sinners is a crowd favorite! The capacity crowd reaction was overwhelming to the pre-show vocals and characterizations.

Director Tom Finigan and staff were very proud of the effort this past week during practice.

“Our band cleaned up visually and worked on music for five straight days after being held up with Hurricane Ian,” Finigan said.

Nick Infinger, Associate Director and arranger for the band, added a lot of corrections in music and visuals, and the band handled them well.

“The crowd response to our Southern Gospel - Mardi Gras style show has been super!,” he said. “The guard costumes, the props, the drill, and the music really gets you involved.”

The Band of Blue is continuing to work on a few minor things this week and is headed to Aiken to Silver Bluff High School for their contest this Saturday.

The Band of Blue will also travel to Columbia where White Knoll High School will play host to the SCBDA Lower State Championship Saturday, October 22nd. The Band of Blue will march at 4:00 pm in an afternoon performance.

The 2022 Band of Blue show “Saints and Sinners” features music composed by Nick Infinger and Clif Walker.

The Band of Blue Is under the direction of Tom Finigan. Finigan is in his 36th year with the Band of Blue program.

The Associate Band Director is Nick Infinger, and our Assistant Directors are Cathy Meshach, and Clay Blackwood. Color guard choreographer/instructor is Jason Johnson. Band staff is Cody Dalton, William Finigan, Travis Smalls, Dyneira Brown and Lexi Lee, Chandler Ballew, Jacob Havers, Peyton Taylor, Dooley Hiott, Tyquan Ferguson, Fantasia Hodges, Sierra Smart, Kashawn Lambright and George Ritchie.

The Band of Blue Booster Club is now selling Fresh Florida Citrus to help the band students to travel to New Orleans in February 2024. They are also selling Southern Sheets Bed Linens for $40 a set. See any band member this week to place your order in time for Christmas.

THANK YOU to Colleton County for your support of YOUR Band of Blue!

Scores from the Effingham Coastal Empire Classic:

Richmond Hill 96.25, Southeast Bulloch 95.528, Colleton County 94.375, Appling County 93.938, Camden County 93.688, Fernando Beach 93.625, GMC 93.313, Jenkins County 93.063, South Effingham 93.00, Ashley Ridge 91.875, Fernando Beach 91.625, West Nassau 88.750, Metter 88.438, Liberty County 82.75, Savannah Christian 82.375, Tattnall County 76.375

Savannah's City Council unanimously approved a motion Thursday to authorize the city attorney to file an appeal with Effingham County Board of Commissioners after a recent rezoning and buffer variance puts the city's drinking water supply at risk.

"A nearby jurisdiction took the opportunity not only to rezone but get a variance to place warehouses 25 feet upstream from everyone's water source," Alderman Nick Palumbo said at the Aug. 25 council meeting. "So what happens in the warehouse, may be coming soon to a tap near you."

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The property in question is a 130-acre parcel off Old Augusta Road near the Chatham-Effingham county line that was rezoned from agriculture to industrial to make way for an industrial park. Variances to reduce the buffers between surrounding properties were also approved. The applicant, Jacksonville-based Chesterfield LLC, plans to build four warehouses totaling 1.1 million square feet.

The property abuts one owned by the City of Savannah, which is used to house its drinking water intake plant on Abercorn Creek. The water pulled from the site is processed in Chatham County, before going to homes in Chatham, Effingham and Bryan counties.

Effingham Commissioners unanimously approved a plan for the developer to build a 25-foot buffer between one warehouse and the city's Abercorn Creek property, which prompted opposition from several environmental activists and city officials, who said the proximity of the industrial site to Abercorn Creek means the region's main drinking water source could be contaminated by run-off if flooding events or major storms impact the properties.

"This, to me, represents a clear and present danger — not just to all of the residents of Savannah — but the 400,000 people in our area that depend on this service," Palumbo said during Thursday's council meeting.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said the "time-sensitive nature" of the development process — the project received its final approval earlier this month — was the reason for the rapid response from city council.

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The city will file an appeal to the Board of Commissioners, which will result in a hearing and vote from the Board of Zoning Appeals. Johnson said the city hopes this move brings both parties to the table to find a resolution.

"If there are opportunities to discuss mediation, we are certainly open to it," Johnson directed Savannah City Attorney Bates Lovett.

Jen Hilburn, the north coast advocated for the nonprofit One Hundred Miles, said the appeal authorization is a step in the right direction in protecting Abercorn Creek and the surrounding properties, which pose danger to the area's drinking water should they become polluted.

"The City of Savannah’s decision allows an opportunity for Effingham County, City of Savannah, neighboring municipalities and community representatives to come to the table to discuss the ultimate goal of preserving the property in perpetuity while creating recreational outdoor opportunities for everyone," Hilburn told the Savannah Morning News.

Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram.

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – One softball practice stood out this season for Effingham County standouts Rylee Mills, Morgan Coleman and Caleigh Eubanks.

It was Halloween and a fun practice would include running the bases backward.

Mills and Eubanks decided to take the fun to another level. They wore granny clothes and counter-circled the bases while using walkers and shaking canes.

Coleman dressed as an old-time basketball player.

“We went all out for it,” Coleman said.

Friday, the girls were ready to take softball to another level again while announcing their intentions to play in college after high school.

Mills and Coleman will head to the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick. Eubanks also won’t stray too far from home, choosing the University of South Carolina-Beaufort.

“These colleges aren’t just getting good players, they’re getting good kids,” said ECHS softball coach Brad Thompson to one of the biggest signing party gatherings at the school in recent memory.

“All three of us grew up together and we’ve played on the same travel teams one place or another. We’ve always been close,” Mills said.

The threesome comprised one third of the 2022 Rebels’ 27-win team that advanced to Columbus and won a game in the eight-team state championships.

ECHS fell just short of capturing a region championship after losing to South Effingham 1-0 in the regular-season region finale.

Mills, a first baseman/pitcher, earned the region’s most valuable player honor while hitting .461 with 15 doubles, 3 home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Mills was also 12-4 with a 1.68 earned run average as a pitcher.

Eubanks, an infielder/outfielder, hit .315 with 11 doubles, a homer and 30 RBIs. Coleman, an outfielder, hit .232.

“It’s exciting because Morgan and I can be roommates,” Mills said. “Coastal Georgia was one of the first schools I looked at. I went to a camp there and it felt like home.”

Eubanks will see some familiar faces at USCB, where former Effingham County stars Jaci Coleman and Addie Reynolds and former South Effingham star Chloe Turner are playing softball.

“I’m super excited,” Eubanks said.

“(When selecting USCB) I took into consideration classroom size, what kind of school I wanted and what kind of environment I wanted. The coaching staff and players over there gave me a warm welcome.”

Eubanks said she will pursue a degree in early elementary school education.

Mills wants to work toward teaching kindergarten and Coleman wants to pursue neonatal nursing.

Special for the Effingham Herald

Nervousness, excitement and anticipation followed South Effingham’s wrestling team to Gainesville High School.

The Mustangs held a four-point lead entering the final match of the Class 6A state championship Saturday afternoon. Sophomore wrestler Emilio Santana scored an early takedown and SEHS coach Christopher Bringer had a good feeling.

Then a reversal and Santana was struggling to get off his back. Bringer’s heart skipped a beat.

But the Mustang wrestler recovered and late in the third period had his opponent locked in a cradle and a 21-8 major decision and four final teams points followed.

“I think the whole gym went up in flames,” said Bringer, recreating joy over the happiest of phone calls.

South’s band of fighters had won the school’s first team state championship by knocking off North Forsyth, 36-28.

“You can print this, ‘Effingham County is a wrestling county now,’ ” Bringer said. “We can create champions.”

It was a satisfying moment for a team that compiled a 35-2 record during the dual (team) season. North Forsyth defeated the Mustangs’ nemesis Brunswick in the state prelims and was seeded No. 1 in the tournament. SEHS was seeded No. 2, but primed for the reversal.

“We went to tournaments in Atlanta, Florida and South Carolina and won,” Bringer said. “I think people understand now, South Georgia kids are pretty tough.”

The journey to the title started a week earlier with wins over Paulding County and Jackson County, sending the Mustangs to the Elite Eight.

On Saturday, SEHS beat Lassiter 58-16, then held off No. 3 Creekview 44-18.

“In the first match, our middleweights came through and in the second match the heavyweights came through and in the final match, the lightweights came through,” Bringer said. “It was truly a team (championship). Every kid had to pull their weight.”

Against North Forsyth, Brandon “Moose” Bringer (at 132), Eli Wood (138), Ashton Tootle (157), Enrique Santana (165), DaMyon McFarlin (175), Ashton Anderson (285) and Stephen Tootle (113) scored wins.

McFarlin’s victory came in overtime.

Stephen Tootle’s win – a 10-0 major decision over Xavier Martinez – provided four points and broke a 28-28 deadlock, putting the outcome in the hands of Emilio Santana, who had missed six weeks this season after suffering an elbow injury.

Emilio returned for the area tournament and helped the Mustangs defeat Brunswick – a team that had won two straight area titles.

“It was just amazing, surreal,” coach Bringer said. “We went out to have a team dinner and we were getting phone calls from everywhere in the country.”

Bringer said winning a state title was the team’s goal from the start of the season. A prodding message kept the wrestlers focused.

“We told them work hard and it will happen for you,” Bringer said. “We had spring workouts, we went to summer camp at Newberry (College), we got together some Sundays in the fall. We just outwrestled people.”

Bringer, 49, and assistant coach Chris Hobbs, 59, created a culture of school pride.

And now South Effingham has the alpha wrestling program in Class 6A.

“We’re just two oldtimers trying to do great things,” Bringer said. “We should be favored next year too.”

No pressure.

COVINGTON, Ga. — The Alcovy Lady Tigers competed in a new-look Super Regionals on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the four games they played, the Lady Tigers defeated the Riverwood Lady Raiders twice, but couldn’t overcome the Effingham County Lady Raiders in either contest.

Alcovy lost to Effingham County 5-4 and 11-3, respectively, to end the Lady Tigers’ 2022 season.

In the first matchup against the Lady Rebels, Alcovy had its opportunities to earn a victory. Particularly in the bottom frame of the final inning, the Lady Tigers’ top three hitters were due up trailing 5-3.

Ashlyn Hoy reached second base on an error and, two at-bats later, CeCe Williams singled on a ground ball to center field to score Hoy. But Williams would be left stranded at first after Makinzie Johnson and Alani Munoz popped out to end the game.

The Lady Tigers fell down from the beginning trailing 4-0 in the first inning and a half. However, thanks to a Munoz homer and a Hoy RBI, Alcovy cut the lead in half at the end of the second inning.

Both teams added a run in the fifth with Williams’ seventh inning RBI concluding the scoring in game one between the two schools.

Effingham County came out firing in game two against Alcovy, though, scoring two runs in the first followed by a four-run second inning. The Lady Tigers kept battling despite the deficit and added their three runs in the fourth inning to cut the lead 10-3.

But it was too late to mount a comeback. The Lady Rebels added another run and held Alcovy scoreless the rest of the game.

Alcovy made it to the second game against Effingham County, though, because of its 13-5, 8-5 wins against Riverwood.

Johnson led Alcovy at the plate in both games recording five RBIs while Kaitlyn Williams, Alexis Hernandez and Olivia Tomberlain each had two. CeCe, Munoz and Olivia Coliagnese contributed one RBI apiece, too.

But Alcovy couldn’t seem to get that offensive production to carry over against Effingham in the second game and, as a result, the Lady Tigers’ season came to an end.

Even so, they finished 26-8 overall, which is the best finish for the program since 2014. Alcovy’s 26 wins marks the most wins in a single season since it finished 27-4-1 in 2012. It also finished 14-0 in Region 3-AAAAAA and captured the region title for the first time since 2015.

On top of that, the Lady Tigers will return nearly 88% of its roster next year with only Tajah Jackson and Hernandez graduating from the team.

But, for now, Alcovy will enter the offseason and will look to bounce back in 2023.

This story will be later updated with quotes from coaches and players.