Mobile Home Sales in Lancaster, SC

LANCASTER, S.C. — A teacher is on leave from a local school after a video surfaced that appears to show him taking a student to the ground.

It happened during an argument between students at South Middle School in Lancaster earlier this week. A local parent sent that video to Channel 9′s South Carolina reporter Tina Terry. They told Terry they were upset about what happened and felt the teacher could have seriously harmed that student.

Terry learned the school district also received a complaint about the incident and is investigating.

In the video, you can hear and see the commotion inside the middle school, and then a teacher is clearly seen going to the ground with a grip on a student.

Lancaster County School District spokesperson Bryan Vaughn says it all happened during a dispute between two students. He said the teacher stepped in to diffuse the situation.

“There was a pretty ugly altercation and there was a fear that there would be some potential violence occur,” Vaughn said. “One individual pushed a staff member out of the way to try to get to another student.”

But some felt the teacher went too far. One parent reached out to Terry on social media saying, “This is ridiculous! This teacher could have caused serious harm” or could have, “killed this student with slamming him this hard on a concrete floor.”

“Typically, a teacher is allowed to intervene to break up a fight, or keep a third party from being harmed,” Vaughn said. “We want to make sure they complied with those rules and make sure it was justified.”

The teacher is on leave with pay as the district investigates, but some in the community are coming to the teacher’s defense.

“If he felt it was necessary to protect, I’m on his side,” Kevin Edwards said. “Protect the teacher, protect himself, or protect another child from an unruly student, period.”

School officials say there is surveillance video from the incident that they’re looking at. There’s no word on whether the students involved will face any punishment.

(WATCH BELOW: One arrested, another cited after fight at high school football game spills out of bleachers)

The website Wallet Genius looked at data compiled by 24/7 Wall St., Data USA, and U.S. News & World Report and picked 12 U.S. cities to strip from your list if you’re thinking of moving.

One is in South Carolina.

Lancaster, about 60 miles northeast of Columbia, was described as having small town Southern charm amid a high poverty rate, high unemployment and median home value beyond most residents’ reach.

Mayor Alston DeVenny said Lancaster has for sure been through some tough times, but the economy has improved dramatically. Property values are up as is employment. He called Wallet Genius’ figures outdated and just plain clickbait.

Wallet Genius said the five-year average unemployment rate among the 9,143 residents is 18% compared to 5.7 % for the state. When the mill closed it was 11%. Recent census figures show unemployment below 4%.

The poverty rate is: 35.3%, state is 15.2% and the median home value is $141,600, state $162,300, Wallet Genius said.

Lancaster was hit hard in 2003 when Springs Industries shut down its textile mill there, which had operated since 1896. Generations of families worked in the mill and when it closed more than 300 workers were left without jobs.

“We were really struggling in 2008, but it’s a different story now,” he said.

Wallet Genius said, “If homeownership is a goal of yours, then Lancaster, South Carolina, is a city to avoid, In fact, its homeownership rate is well below the national average.”

Data USA says 44% of Lancaster residents own a home, compared to 64% nationally. The problem is compounded because home values are relatively high, income not so much.

DeVenny said signs are good from both the retail and development sectors.

“It’s a happening place,” he said.

Also, people who work in Charlotte, 40 miles away, are finding more reasonably-priced homes in Lancaster, he said.

In February, a report on how to revitalize downtown was released after a lengthy study by MKSK, a Greenville urban planning firm. They brought in residents, city leaders and professional planners to see what is the best path forward to improve the look, feel and use of downtown to jump start economic development.

The downtown is a collection of historic buildings, homes and churches, but also some empty and deteriorating storefronts.

“For all its assets and amenities, it is not a place that people outside of the City think of when it comes to a place to go, to shop, or to be entertained,” the report said. “In the coming years, a revitalized downtown could become a destination for Lancaster residents, county residents, and even a place where folks in Indian Land can go to get local culture and commerce.”

The report outlines about $7 million in improvements to streetscape on one downtown block and in Petal Park. It also encourages the city to hold more downtown events, building on the success of the annual Red Rose Festival each May for the past 13 years..

“The value of the Red Rose Festival to downtown is tremendous,” the report says.

Lancaster is known as the Red Rose City because the red rose was the emblem of the House of Lancaster during England’s War of the Roses in the 1400s.

The report encourages finding a permanent home for a farmers’ market and adding other experiences on days the market is open.

Lancaster is the county seat of Lancaster County, which was formed in 1785 and named for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Other cities on the Wallet Genius list are Douglas, Arizona; McKeesport, Pennsylvania; Mayfield, Kentucky; McAlester, Oklahoma; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas; Fairbanks, Alaska; Atmore, Alabama; Huntington, West Virginia; Gallup, New Mexico; Yazoo City, Mississippi; and Opelousas, Louisiana.

Helena-West Helena, Yazoo City, and Opelousas have poverty rates above 40%..

New population figures for this region show one county among the fastest growing in the state, one punching above its weight class and another losing people.

On Thursday the U.S. Census Bureau released new estimates for states and counties nationwide. Estimates for smaller areas like cities and towns should follow in May.

The latest figures are population estimates as of mid-2022. South Carolina is up to more than 5.28 million residents. An estimated increase of 1.7%, or more than 89,000 new residents, in a year.

York and Lancaster counties are a significant part of that increase.

Scroll through this sortable chart to compare one- and two-year growth rates throughout South Carolina.

York County had an estimated 294,248 residents last year. That figure is seventh most among South Carolina counties. There were an estimated 12,158 more people last year than at the 2020 Census, an increase of 4.31%.

That two-year growth rate is eighth highest in the state and the total population increase is fifth highest.

From 2021 to 2022, York County grew by an estimated 4,993 people for a 1.73% rate. It’s the fifth highest total increase statewide and 10th highest growth rate.

Lancaster County is No. 15 in total estimated population, with 104,577 people as of last year. Lancaster County was No. 16 in population in 2020. Where Lancaster County stands out, though, is in growth rate.

At an 8.92% growth rate the past two years, Lancaster County ranks third statewide behind only Jasper and Horry counties.

Lancaster County has more than three times the people Jasper does, and a little more than a quarter the people Horry has. Lancaster County has more than double the two-year growth rate of York County, which is eighth highest statewide.

The 8,561 new Lancaster County residents is No. 9 statewide despite all but one other county in that top 10 having more than five times as many total people. Lancaster County is the smallest in the top 10 (by more than 90,000 people) for total population increase.

Lancaster County had the third highest one-year population change rate at 4.03% and the 10th highest one-year total population change with 4,055 people. Again, all other counties ahead of Lancaster in total increase are significantly larger in population.

Chester County ranks No. 29 in estimated population for last year.

The 31,931 residents are down 1.12% compared to the 2020 Census. The negative growth rate puts Chester County at No. 34 in the state. Chester is No. 33 in total population change since 2020, with 363 fewer people.

In a year, a decrease of .52% of its population ranks No. 34 statewide. The estimated 166 fewer people ranks No. 36.

Lancaster County also ranks highest in one-year and two-year population growth in the Charlotte metro area.

Among Mecklenburg and neighboring counties in North Carolina and South Carolina, only Lincoln County in North Carolina is close. Lancaster County has double or more the rates of most area counties.

Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, dominates any overall figures. It’s almost four times bigger than any other county in the metropolitan region. Mecklenburg is roughly the size of the next four largest counties combined.

York County is the second largest county in the metro area. Only Lincoln County is smaller than Lancaster County, among bordering counties to Mecklenburg.

LANCASTER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Parents in Lancaster County say they are fed up with the top leadership in the district and they want the superintendent out.

They organized a second petition, this one received hundreds of signatures within a few hours.

“We would much rather have him leave like now.. now, ” concerned grandparent Sandy McGarry said.

Those feelings sum up how nearly 240 other parents feel in Lancaster County. They want the Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Phipps to resign immediately. During the March 21st school board meeting, Phipps announced his decision to retire two years early.

He has been with the district since 2017.

“There’s been so many problems that we’ve seen between the parents, the children, financials, everything that has gone wrong. And so it’s better for him to just step out of the picture now so that we can get the healing process started and the hiring process started or the interview process started and move on to the hiring process and get him out of the picture,” McGarry said.

One parent emailed Queen City News along with the Lancaster County Board of Trustees and state representatives saying in part “During the countable years and currently, Mr. Jonathan Phipps’s leadership qualities have failed parents, school-aged children, and the district in its entirety. Mr. Jonathan Phipps has displayed an imbalance of independence, lack of direction, lack of transparency, and manipulation. Mr.Jonathan Phipps has implemented and executed boundary-crossing, absence of empathy, lack of listening, encouragement of unethical actions, and has shown an inability to deal with high-pressure situations. As a result of Mr. Jonathan Phipps’s ineffective leadership qualities, I am writing this letter requesting the immediate removal and replacement of Mr. Jonathan Phipps from the Lancaster County School District. Our Lancaster County School District needs an adequate, suitable, and competent leader that can rebuild our school district and begin putting our children first!”

The district responded to Queen City News’ request for comment, saying “The district has no official comment on this issue. The relationship between the board of trustees and the superintendent is a personnel matter and will be treated in accordance [with] our normal guidelines in referencing personnel issues“

Charlene Hunter, who immediately signed the petition, says that is a response she is used to.

“When parents submit [the district with the] threats that their students have been threatened with, they have no comment. When we ask for help from the district, it ‘Maybe it is a problem with the teacher,’ ‘Maybe the teacher is the one having problems.’ Their answer is always no comment,” she said.

One of the main reasons she signed the petition is because of financial reasons.

“There have been some financial uncertainties because before a county goes under a fiscal watch, they get a pretty much a three-year warning that something is amiss. And we’ve been under a fiscal watch now for the past two years. It is time for Mr. Phipps to move on and leave the citizens and children of Lancaster County alone,” Hunter said.

She says the next superintendent needs to be what she calls a true leader who cares about the district’s students and listens to teachers. She says the number of signatures on the petition signals a need for change.

“The community can see that this leader is no longer the one that can represent our children in the way that we need them to be represented,” she said.

Phipps is set to retire next June.

LANCASTER, S.C. — You can often see Mr. George walking around town in Lancaster, usually talking to someone near the doorway at 107 S. White Street.

“He’s very kind and you can talk to him for 20 minutes or 30 minutes,” said Bill Selvitelle. “Mr. George usually walks around the city of Lancaster at different places he makes his home he’s been doing that for years I’ve been told.”

But in recent visits, Selvitelle has seen the health of Mr. George decline as he has been experiencing homelessness.

“His feet were getting so bad. He couldn’t stand up and walk and he got to the point as the months progressed, that he was no longer able to walk,” said Selvitelle. “He was just laying down all the time.”

ALSO READ: Roof Above helps people experiencing homelessness move into repurposed apartments

Beckee Garris noticed Mr. George’s condition as well. She works across the street on S. White Street, and she told Channel 9 about her last conversation with him.

“I asked him if he needed anything,” Garris said. “And they said, ‘Yeah, I’d like some coffee,’ and I said, ‘Well, how would you like it?’ and he said, ‘Black.’”

But that was a few weeks ago. White Street hasn’t seen Mr. George walking around because he’s in the Lancaster hospital after community members rallied to get him care.

“They came up with a game plan to get him off the street under a protective custody order,” said Selvitelle.

“Thank God, he’s getting the help he needs now,” Garris said.

But Selvitelle says Mr. George’s situation is part of a larger issue, saying he’s “just one of many.”

“Other people are living in the woods or living behind buildings, and there is a homeless population that really needs a lot of help,” Selvitelle said.

Garris said she’s just thankful Mr. George has a community looking out for him.

>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Almiya White shows how community members in Lancaster are coming together to help Mr. George.

(WATCH BELOW: CMS says 3,300 students are experiencing homelessness so far this school year)