Mobile Home Sales in Hover, SC

A South Carolina witness at Lexington reported watching and videotaping a hovering fireball-like object at 7:15 p.m. on January 5, 2023, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).

The witness watched the object for several minutes and then began to videotape.

“It was a large yellow, white, orange fireball type of object that was observed stationary for approximately two minutes before the video was taken for another one minute,” the reporting witness stated.

The witness turned the camera off and the object was stationary for another minute.

“Then, it simply vanished. Yup, poof.”

The witness remarked that at age 62, his eyes are always on the sky and he’s "sober as a judge."

One video clip was included in the report, which was filed on January 8, 2023. Witness quotes were edited for clarity. Please report UFO activity to MUFON or to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

South Carolina Cases

South Carolina was rated 20th in total U.S. UFO sightings for December 2022 with eight cases filed, according to the MUFON January newsletter. South Carolina shared the rating with Arkansas and New Mexico. California topped the list with 51 cases.

There were eight fireball cases reported nationally in December 2022.

Recent South Carolina Coverage

Historic South Carolina

A South Carolina witness at the Spartanburg-Greenville area recalled an encounter with a disc-shaped object at 10 p.m. on September 9, 1964, according to testimony from the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

The witness was 17 or 18 years old. The report date is approximate. The witness tried to forget the incident over the years because talk about UFOs was taboo in the home of a southern Baptist preacher at that time.

The following event took place in upstate South Carolina within 30 miles of the Spartanburg-Greenville airport.

“The reason I mention this is, the airport had very good radar at that time, and the Air Force Base at Sumter is less than than 15 minutes away for an interceptor,” the reporting witness stated. “None showed up.”

The witness and his brother, two years younger, usually sat out on the front porch each weeknight after school started back in late summer and they would talk for an hour or so before they went to bed around 11 o’clock.

Their front porch faced about 10-20 degrees northeast. There was a wooded area directly across the street in front of them that had a lot of trees in it that were 50 or 60 feet high, so their view of the sky was limited down to about 1 o’clock.

“This night the moon was very bright and probably within a few days of being full, which made the porch dark where we were sitting. We heard a strange sound coming from across the street in the sky and out of our sight.”

The witness said that it sounded like a multi-engine aircraft that was straining really hard. The two sat there and listened for a couple of minutes as the sound got closer and the noise changed to more of a whine, almost like a locomotive without the rail noise.

“In a minute or so we could see some lights through the trees and a huge shape moving slowly toward us. My brother said it was ‘one of those flying wings’ speaking of some multi-engine aircraft at that time that looked like wings.”

As the object cleared the trees they realized it was a "flying saucer" and the sound had changed to a high-pitched hum.

“We watched in awe as it came slowly over the road and over the house beside us on our left or west side. It was very low and not moving much faster than a person can walk.”

The boys jumped up and off the porch and walked beside the house watching it as it moved over the house and then just stopped and hovered over the backyard. The hum changed to a hum like an electric motor as they stared up at the huge craft.

“It was a round, thick disc with three or four little blue lights on the side I could see. It had a big dome on top of the disc and it had a few amber lights around it about a third of the way up. It looked to be about 100 feet across the disc and maybe 50 feet high.”

They observed that the object was about 500 feet up and maybe 100 feet west of them.

The object was described as a dull gray color and the moon made it look very dark underneath.

“The odd thing was, the moon didn’t reflect off the dome in any way that I could see. The craft just sat there motionless as we stood there looking it over. I wasn’t afraid of it at all. I was fascinated as I watched it.”

The witness noticed that there was something about it that seemed to make a weird sensation in his body. After what seemed an eternity, which in reality was probably around a minute, the sound changed to a high-pitched hum and then the object seemed to get out of the sounds that a human can hear.

“The craft started to move up and back a little to the northwest at a very steep angle, slowly at first, and it left so fast that it was gone in about two seconds. I remember as it was going out of sight I saw a red light blink somewhere on it.”

The witness had a hard time talking to friends and family about it over the years.

No images were included in the report, which was filed on March 13, 2002. Witness quotes were edited for clarity.

Eight-year-old Zack Otto had never hung upside down.

He didn’t even know the ride, called the Gear Spin, twisted and turned upside down. After getting off the ride with a grin, he pointed to a big, blue roller coaster and emphatically said he’d ride that next.

“I’ve never actually been on an upside down ride in my entire life and I’m 8 years old,” Otto said. “Now I know the feeling…I don’t know why I was so scared.”

Twelve-year-old Audrey Otto was equally as surprised. As soon as she got off, she bolted in the direction of a friend to go back through the line.

Carowinds opened its new Aeronautica Landing flight-themed area at the park Thursday, which includes four new rides, a redesigned attraction and a new ride that will open at the end of Spring. The area includes new games and a new culinary experience that will serve craft beer and cocktails.

Aeronautica Landing celebrates the influence of aviation history in the Carolinas, said Manny Gonzalez, Carowinds vice-president and general manager.

“It seemed fitting that we would do an aeronautics-themed plan because of North Carolina’s influence on flight with the Wright brothers,” said Ken Parks, corporate director of creative development of Cedar Fair, the company that owns Carowinds. “This plan fits in perfectly for what we’re doing here.”

Aeronautica Landing is a three-acre area that replaces the Country Crossroads County Fair that was added in 1979. Carowinds, built in 1973, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The park is located in Fort Mill, S.C., near the N.C. border.

The new rides include:

• Hover and Dodge — redesigned “futuristic” bumper cars with a light show and music

• Gear Spin — propulsion spinning and speeding engine

• The Airwalker — airborne acrobatics

• Air Racers — “speedsters of the skies”

• Windstar — hang-gliding adventure where the rider controls the motion

• Gyro Force (opening in late Spring) — rotating aircraft engine

The new area also includes Terminal A, a “unique food concept” that “harkens back to the golden age of air travel when top-tier service and luxury accommodations were the norm.”

Clayton Lawrence, Cedar Fair corporate creative producer, said the difference between the new area and other attractions in the park is the accommodations offered to non-riders.

“Some of the rides are very intense,” Lawrence said. “You can feel like you’re in the story, hangout; we have plenty of shade.”

Brian Oerding, assistant general manager of Carowinds, said so far, the feedback from Aeronautica has been positive.

“Everybody who has come out and visited has had a really fantastic time,” he said. “Everybody has walked away with a smile, which is really rewarding for us.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2023, 4:25 PM.

The original names of two yellow Labrador retrievers who were dumped out of a truck last week in Greenville aren’t known to their rescuers.

For now, they’re called Macaroni and Cheese. A male and female.

They both have heart worms. Cheese, the female, was hit by the fleeing truck and suffered a broken leg. They are so tightly bonded Macaroni did not leave Cheese’s side.

Their fates could have been much different.

But witnesses saw what happened and called animal control. Officers picked them up and took Macaroni to the Greenville County Animal Care shelter and Cheese to Upstate Vet Emergency and Speciality Care.

The labs are probably about 9 years old. They’re considered elderly — yellow and black labs live between 10 and 12 years, chocolate about 10 — but there was something about the dogs and their circumstances that caused folks at the privately funded Greenville Humane Society to go get them.

Upstate Vet set Cheese’s leg and heart worm treatment began.

“Cost was no concern to our team – we just knew she was in pain and desperately needed it repaired to avoid further complications, especially given her old age,” the Humane Society said in a Facebook post.

The Humane Society is in the midst of constructing a dog kennel and they’ve treated 1,250 injured or sick animals so far this year, they said, causing them to conduct a separate fundraising effort for Mac and Cheese, they said on Facebook.

“This was obviously not planned,” the post said, adding, “Heartbreaking cases like these come to us often. We try not to ask for help unless we’re desperate… and that’s where we are.”

The cost for caring for the dogs is estimated at $6,500.

Here’s how to help: www.greenvillehumane.com/donate and choose ‘Macaroni and Cheese’ as Donation Type, Venmo to @greenvillehumanesociety, mail a donation to 305 Airport Road, Greenville,

This story was originally published May 16, 2023, 4:12 PM.

There were no top-prize winners, but someone who previously bought a losing ticket in South Carolina turned their fortunes around in Saturday’s Powerball drawing.

A ticket sold in Lexington became a $50,000 winner in the Double Play drawing over the weekend, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said in a news release.

Because the ticket buyer originally purchased the $1 Double Play option with their normal Powerball game, the five-figure prize was won in the second drawing held after the regular Powerball drawing, lottery officials said.

The prize-winning ticket was one number away from matching all of those selected in the drawing, according to the release.

The ticket matched four of the five white balls, along with the red Powerball number, officials said.

The winning numbers from the drawing were 3, 13, 36, 50, 61 and Powerball: 16.

The ticket was sold at the PSM Liquor Store at 1856 South Lake Drive, near the intersection with Platt Springs Road.

So far, the ticket holder has not come forward to claim their prize.

The winner has 180 days to claim their prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

The odds of matching four white ball numbers and the red Powerball number are 913,129-to-1, according to the release.

The liquor store in Lexington will receive a commission of $500 when the ticket is turned in to lottery officials.

The chances of winning the top prize in a Powerball drawing are 292,201,338-to-1, officials said.

Because there was no jackpot winner Saturday or Monday, the top prize in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing has risen to $71 million.

This story was originally published May 2, 2023, 1:31 PM.

Have you ever had nitrogen ice cream?

Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream is set to open its first South Carolina location later this year in Bluffton.

The made-to-order nitrogen ice cream shop will be opening its new establishment at 65 Towne Drive, Unit 65 in Belfair Towne Village II in Bluffton.

The current estimated opening date will be this fall.

The new locale will be owned and operated by Derek Cohen, the new franchisee and retiring Marine Corps veteran, who recently purchased the rights to develop new Chill-N locations in the Hilton Head area and Savannah, Georgia markets, according to recent release by Chill-N.

Cohen’s immediate plans are to open one location in each market for a total of two.

“As I was looking for an ice cream brand that could service the more than two million visitors that the Hilton Head area receives each year, I was immediately blown away by Chill-N and its level of technology. I believe that Chill-N is leading the way in which all ice cream shops will eventually operate, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of a brand that is pioneering the future of one our country’s most beloved sweet treats,” said Cohen.

“I’m looking forward to introducing Chill-N to the Bluffton community and growing my portfolio even further in the years to come.”

The new Bluffton Chill-N location will feature the brand’s newest prototype, which includes a new nitrogen system that has allowed the brand to reduce its investment to open a store by 20%, increased production efficiency, and enhanced the customer experience, according to the release.

Cohen will reportedly hire approximately 15 new employees for his first Chill-N shop in Bluffton and has plans to open a second shop in Savannah in the future.

How does Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream work?

Customers will have the ability to choose a portion size, ice cream base and then a flavor. Ice cream bases include milk, yogurt, or alternative milk option such as coconut, almond or oat.

Next, guests may choose to add on premium toppings including candies, cookies, cereal, fresh fruit, sauces, nuts, and Cuban coffee.

Each scoop of ice cream is hand-crafted to order, and flash frozen instantly using liquid nitrogen at -320° Fahrenheit.

The new Bluffton Chill-N locale will be open within the next several months and will operate Monday through Sunday.