Mobile Home Sales in St. Matthews, SC

CHICAGO – U.S. Under-16 Women’s Youth National Team head coach Patchy Toledo has named a 20-player roster that will travel to western France from March 29-April 10 for the six-team Mondial Montaigu Football Tournament.

The USA will be in Group F along with Portugal and Norway while Group E features host France, Japan and Mexico.

Each team will play the other teams in its group once, plus one game against a team in the other group that will not count in the tournament standings. The group winners will play for the championship, the two second-place finishers will play for third and the two third-place finishers will play for fifth.

The USA opens against Portugal on April 3, faces France (in the game that is outside of the tournament competition) on April 5 and finishes against Norway on April 7. The placement matches are on April 9. None of the U.S. games will be streamed.

“This tournament is a great opportunity for our young players to experience a high level of international soccer against Europeans teams,” said Toledo. “This is an opportunity to test themselves against top players, expand their knowledge of the game at the highest level and to display strengths while improving their weakness. I am hoping they enjoy every minute of this adventure.”

The tournament is being held concurrently with a 16-team Under-16 boys’ international competition and a eight-team boys’ club competition featuring Under-16 sides from mostly French professional teams.

All the players on the U.S. roster were born in 2007, which is the birth year that will form the primary age group working to earn a berth to the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Seventeen of the 20 players attended the last U-16 WYNT training camp in early March in Los Angeles, with forwards Zoe Matthews and Maddie Padelski and midfielder Tessa Knapp being added to the group.

Eleven of the players on this roster helped the USA win the 2022 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship in August of 2022: goalkeepers Molly Vapensky and Kennedy Zorn, defenders Mya Brandon, Alexis Coughlin, Jordyn Hardeman, Katie Scott and Kai Price, midfielders Kennedy Fuller, Ainsley McCammon, and forwards Ayva Jordan and Alexandra Pfeiffer.

The 20 players on this roster come from 16 different clubs – with three each from Legends FC in Southern California and Solar SC in Texas. The players come from 12 different states with seven from Texas.

Goalkeepers (2): Molly Vapensky (Chicago FC United; Evanston, Ill.), Kennedy Zorn (SC del Sol; Peoria, Ariz.)

Defenders (7): Mya Brandon (Michigan Hawks; Canton, Mich.), Alexis Coughlin (Legends FC; Corona, Calif.), Kiara Gilmore (FC Dallas; Allen, Texas), Jordyn Hardeman (Solar SC; Midlothian, Texas), Daya King (Legends FC; Moreno Valley, Calif.), Kai Price (Concorde Fire; Atlanta, Ga.), Katie Scott (Internationals SC; Fairview, Penn.)

Midfielders (5): Trinity Armstrong (IMG Academy; Frisco, Texas), Kennedy Fuller (Solar SC; Southlake, Texas), Tessa Knapp (Internationals SC; Bay Village, Ohio), Ainsley McCammon (Solar SC; Bedford, Texas), Y-Lan Nguyen (Virginia Development Academy; Fairfax, Va.)

Forwards (6): Eleanor Hodsden (Lonestar SC; Dripping Springs, Texas), Ayva Jordan (Slammers FC HB Køge; Las Vegas, Nev.), Zoe Matthews (Legends FC; Southlake, Texas), Maddie Padelski (Tennessee SC; Nolensville, Tenn.), Alexandra Pfeiffer (St. Louis Scott Gallagher; St. Louis, Mo.), Mya Townes (The St. James FC Virginia; Aldie, Va.)

Tortoise Threatened by Habitat Destruction, Fragmentation Across Southeast

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Nokuse Education, Inc. filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for denying Endangered Species Act protections to the eastern population of gopher tortoises. The decision left the beleaguered reptiles without lifesaving federal safeguards in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and most of Alabama.

The Service denied protections in 2022 despite originally finding in 2011 that the tortoise warranted protections — and despite its own projections of staggering range-wide population declines over the next 80 years. By 2100 nearly three-quarters of the remaining gopher tortoise populations will be lost, the Service projects.

“Without lifesaving Endangered Species Act protection for our gopher tortoises, urban sprawl will keep driving them ever closer to extinction,” said attorney Elise Bennett, Florida director at the Center. “That’s bad news for the tortoise and for hundreds of other southeastern species who rely on them to thrive, from the threatened indigo snake to the wild and weird gopher tortoise shell moth.”

Gopher tortoises have shovel-like front legs and strong, thick back legs that help them dig intricate burrows, which are relied upon by more than 360 other species. Gopher tortoise burrows are considered key features in the large, unfragmented upland ecosystems these communities of wild animals need to survive.

“We are committed to the conservation of the gopher tortoise, and to fulfill that commitment we must challenge the Fish and Wildlife Service’s flawed protection decision,” said Matthew Aresco, board member at Nokuse Education Inc. “Without stronger regulation and protection under the Endangered Species Act, gopher tortoise populations and their habitat will continue to decline.”

Gopher tortoises have already lost 97% of the longleaf pine savannas they historically inhabited and continue to be severely threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation driven by urbanization. This limits food availability and options for burrow sites, which exposes them to being crushed in their burrows during construction, run over by cars or senselessly attacked by people. Tortoises are also threatened by disease, invasive species like fire ants, and climate change.

Some states have implemented limited protections for gopher tortoises, but those have not stopped or reversed the species’ ongoing decline.

Florida requires that most tortoises be relocated out of the way of development, but the state does not protect tortoise habitat, meaning tortoises are being squeezed into increasingly smaller areas of available habitat. This reality, combined with booming development, has led to shortages of suitable places to put relocated tortoises.

Gopher tortoises in limited parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and western Alabama continue to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Those in eastern Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have been waiting for federal protection since 1982.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Nokuse Education, Inc. is a non-profit education and conservation organization and operates the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center, an environmental education center in Walton County, Florida. The core mission of Nokuse Education, Inc. is to educate students and visitors on the importance of biodiversity, to promote sustainability, and to encourage conservation, preservation, and restoration of ecosystems. Nokuse is actively involved in gopher tortoise conservation efforts through habitat acquisition, restoration, and management.

The United States has a 250th birthday coming up, and South Carolina is positioning itself to play a vital role in the celebration.

On July 4, 2026, the U.S. will celebrate 250 years of independence from Great Britain.

Bill Davies, who’s part of the S.C. Revolutionary War Sestercentennial Commission, spoke to a small group of Calhoun County residents on Monday night about how each county can help spark interest in residents and tourists alike.

“Honest to goodness, what we’re trying to do is hook every one of you to being part of this because we think it’s really important,” Davies said.

The S.C. American Revolutionary War Sestercentennial Commission – or SC250 for short – along with the Liberty Trail are working to promote two goals ahead of the nation’s upcoming milestone.

“The first goal is education. Education should always be first,” Davies said.

“The education we need to focus on is winning back the heritage that South Carolina had before 1860 for having a pivotal role in winning independence from Great Britain,” he added.

“If you read all the books before 1860, it’s recognized that the South is where the war was won. After that, the South got written out of the war. This is something we need to educate people on and reeducate us – all of us, not just some – school children and everybody about our role in that war,” Davies said.

“We also need to educate the visitors because the visitors are coming,” he said.

The second goal “is technically called cultural heritage tourism. What that really means is local economic development. We want to get literally hundreds of thousands of people who are going up and down our interstates, who tour our state every day. We want to get them off the highway – somewhere other than Myrtle Beach and Charleston – we want to get them to rural South Carolina. And when we get them off the highway, we want them to stop and buy gas. We want them to buy T-shirts, belts, hats and maybe a pocketknife or something. And we want them to eat lunch in our restaurants and we want them to spend the night here,” Davies said.

At least 400 Revolutionary War incidents took place in South Carolina, Davies said.

He noted there were two battles each in Charleston and Camden, “and everything else was out in the country.”

“When people go to Revolutionary War sites, they will be in rural South Carolina,” he said.

Davies said tourists and residents are heading to rural areas to visit Revolutionary War sites.

In 2020, Star Fort, a national park in the Ninety-Six district of South Carolina, saw 95,107 visitors. Davies said the visitors invested an estimated $5.7 million in the state.

Cowpens National Battlefield, just outside of Chesnee, saw 227,000 visitors during 2020, bringing an estimated $14.9 million in revenue to the state.

As the state gets ready for the nation’s 225th birthday, each county needs to form a committee to tell of its Revolutionary War sites, contributions and other significant impacts, he said.

“Once your county council recognizes you as the official Calhoun County committee, we have a $3,000 grant that’s not competitive or anything else,” Davies said. “We’ve got grants that will help you locate sites in your county. Grants that will help research history and find the place and provide the archaeology, that will help you set up the pull-offs and will help you with signage.”

Davies said the SC250 Commission is focused on telling factual stories of the Revolutionary War to not only focus not only on the people who fought in battles, but capture the diversity of people who contributed to the efforts.

St. Matthews Mayor Helen Carson noted, “I’m happy to see this. It would be a wonderful thing for our children and grandchildren to know South Carolina played such a vital role.”

“We’ve got to bring others to the table, to the drawing board, because that’s what’s going to make the horse run down the road,” she said.

To learn more about South Carolina’s efforts to celebrate the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday, visit: www.southcarolina250.com

The Liberty Trail is a free, interactive phone application that allows users to plan tours of Revolutionary War sites across South Carolina.

The $2.4 million contract was awarded to Lexington, South Carolina-based Wiley Easton Construction Co. Inc. to build the park.

The county received two bids for the project with the high bid of $4 million and the low bid of $3.5 million, which included the construction of the recreation complex and the irrigation of the golf complex.

County Recreation Committee Chairman Ken Westbury said the committee recently met and it was determined the financing for the new recreation complex in St. Matthews is costly.

"As with everything else, the costs are astronomical,” Westbury said. “We had planned on doing both the complex and we planned on doing the irrigation at the golf complex but we will have to forego the golf complex now until we can secure other funding.”

Calhoun County Administrator John McLauchlin said, “We removed a number of things that we can't afford right now and one of those big-ticket items was the irrigation at the golf complex.

“We feel like some of those items we have pulled out we can look at still doing down the road with other funding opportunities.”

The recreational complex will be located on 57 acres at Chestnut Street and Saints Avenue near the Family Health Center.

The complex will include a football field, two soccer fields, two pickle ball courts, two tennis courts, a fieldhouse, a playground, a fitness area and a walking track. It will also include a building for concessions, restrooms and changing space.

Construction will begin in about a 45-day to 60-day period with targeted completion in about 9 months to a year, McLauchlin said.

The park's architect is North Charleston-based Meadors Inc. The county has used Meadors in prior projects, including the renovation of the county's courthouse.

The sports complex will be paid for via a $2 million recreational bond. The bond will have about a .99% interest rate over five years.

In addition, the county will be working with other entities to receive grant funds.0

The recreational complex is a partnership between Calhoun County, the Calhoun County School District and the Town of St. Matthews.

The facility will be used during the day by the school and after hours, weekends and nights by the county.

“I have wanted recreation for our children,” Council Chairman James Haigler said. “And we are finally seeing it come to light. It took a long time.”

In other business:

• Calhoun County will hold a countywide litter pickup Wednesday, Oct. 19. Individuals should meet at 9 a.m. at the County Annex building behind the County Courthouse.

• Sandy Run resident Dennis Spilde requested council consider having at least two of its meetings next year in the Sandy Run area as the area is growing. Spilde also wants council to be proactive in thinking about the future infrastructure and service needs in the county such as water, sewer, fire, police and schools.

• Harvey Elwood, operator of WOCS 93.7 FM in Orangeburg, appeared before council to ask for a stronger relationship with Calhoun County and offered his services to broadcast and cover Calhoun County events and happenings.

Elwood also said a name change of the radio station would be coming soon to include Calhoun County.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Global Sales and Warehousing, a family-run original equipment golf bag manufacturer and distributor, today announced plans to establish operations in Orangeburg County. The company’s $4 million investment will help create 35 new jobs.

A sister company of Golf Sales West (GSW), Global Sales and Warehousing was originally launched to serve GSW’s original equipment golf bag manufacturing customers. Today, Global Sales and Warehousing also provides industry leading logistics services to supply companies all over the world.

Located at 2630 Saint Matthews Road in Orangeburg, Global Sales and Warehousing’s Orangeburg facility will import materials to assemble and distribute completed golf bags.

The company’s operations are currently online. Individuals interested in joining the Global Sales and Warehousing team should contact the company via email.

QUOTES

“Global Sales and Warehousing is excited to announce the opening of its new third-party logistics and OEM golf bag manufacturing facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The state stood out to us not just because of the incredible infrastructure and business-friendly environment, but also because of the people. As a family business and the nation’s largest original equipment golf bag manufacturer, our top priority is working with kind, loyal, willing individuals, and we believe that Orangeburg specifically is an area that exemplifies that. We look forward to working with the county of Orangeburg and the great state of South Carolina in creating a long lasting, mutually beneficial relationship for everyone.” -Global Sales and Warehousing Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Aubery

“We are pleased to welcome Global Sales and Warehousing to Orangeburg County. We are proud to say that Orangeburg County has the business-friendly environment and the resources to accommodate a leading company like Global Sales and Warehousing. Congratulations, and we look forward to creating a long and prosperous partnership in the years ahead.” -Gov. Henry McMaster

“Congratulations to Global Sales and Warehousing on their new operations in Orangeburg County. South Carolina’s talented workforce, convenient East Coast location and unparalleled infrastructure provide an ideal location for companies to efficiently make and move their products.” -Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III

“We are thankful and honored for the creation of these new jobs heading to Orangeburg County thanks to Global Sales and Warehousing. With a capital investment of $4 million, the impact will create well-paying jobs for our citizens. On behalf of the county council and citizens of Orangeburg County, we look forward to celebrating your success as part of the Orangeburg family.” -Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright Sr.

“As our communities grow and technology advances how business is conducted worldwide, ensuring that products can get from facilities to store shelves and consumers’ doors efficiently and effectively is of increasing importance. Thank you, Global Sales and Warehousing, for your commitment to Orangeburg County.” -Central SC Alliance Chairman Matthew Shaffer

FIVE FAST FACTS