AC Repair in Knightsville, SC

By Casey L. Taylor, JD

Tucked away near Summerville, SC – the place known as “Flowertown, USA” – is a sanctuary dedicated to gibbons (small apes). It’s a jungle-like wonderland that has lifesaving at the core of its mission.

The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) sanctuary is a secret to many locals. It is situated on over 40 acres of land surrounded by lush woods. Neighbors are lucky enough to hear the songs and great calls of these interesting primates throughout the day and night.

The sanctuary is home to 36 gibbons, the smallest of the apes, who have been rescued or retired from laboratories, deplorable “roadside” attractions, or the pet trade. IPPL provides lifetime care to these incredible endangered species and works to educate the community on the plight of gibbons in the wild.

The gibbon residents at the sanctuary have indoor night houses that are hurricane-grade, expansive outdoor habitats, and aerial walkways that give them the choice to safely move about their designated areas as they wish. It is important to the organization that each sanctuary resident is given as much freedom of choice as possible in a captive environment, while keeping them safe. Despite most residents having a rough start to their lives, they thrive at IPPL. They even have some residents nearing the age of 60!

International Outreach

IPPL is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the world’s remaining primates, great and small. For the last 45 years, IPPL has made a global impact by securing an export ban on primates from Thailand (saving thousands and thousands of lives) and working with over 20 reputable primate rescue and rehabilitation centers in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.

IPPL not only supports their efforts to care for native primates who have been rescued and are in need of rehabilitation or lifetime care, but also to thwart poachers and illegal wildlife traffickers, as well as educate local villages and communities on how they can help be part of the solution in preserving native populations of primates.

Small Team, Big Impact

With a small but mighty team of animal caregivers, maintenance technicians, office staff, and dog nannies, IPPL provides compassionate lifetime care for every resident, which includes nutritious and delicious fresh produce three times a day for the gibbons, as well as veterinary care and enrichment — to stimulate those intelligent minds of theirs!

Forms of enrichment vary from food puzzles that the gibbon must figure out in order to get their healthy treats, to special time with their favorite caregiver. Bubble-blowing is a big hit with some of the gibbons. Tong, who was one of the first four original residents at the sanctuary, loves a good foot rub — what girl doesn’t?

Absolutely nothing beats a life in the wild, but for these residents that is sadly not a reality. The team at IPPL feels that the least they can do is make the rest of these individuals’ lives the happiest and healthiest they can be. From residents used in invasive human vaccination studies and locomotion tests, to those kept in less-than-favorable conditions, IPPL’s sanctuary is a safe and loving place for them to thrive and to live as gibbons should.

Casey L. Taylor, JD is the Executive Director of IPPL.

MORE ABOUT IPPL

The sanctuary is not open to the public as an attraction, but it holds educational events in the community and offers options to visit during special times. Sign up to receive their e-newsletters on their website (www.ippl.org) and be the first to know about opportunities and events.

Dorchester County is continuing with its plans for a large-scale rezoning effort to stop the over-building of additional apartment complexes and townhomes.

At a County Council meeting Monday, members voted and approved the rezoning of dozens of parcels of land from multi-family residential to mostly single-family. Under single-family zoning, property owners aren’t allowed to build apartments or townhomes.

Knightsville LLC is a property owner with plans for building townhomes that was exempt from the rezoning ordinance after filing a complaint in county court. County officials say there have also been some additional complaints from residents about the rezoning.

“The complaint from Knightsville LLC held more significance because of the level of investment involved,” said Kiera Reinertsen, the county planning and zoning director.

In 2004, the county’s zoning ordinance was amended and led to an increase in approvals of multi-family zoning.

After hearing complaints about traffic, infrastructure and flooding during the organizing of its 2018 Comprehensive Plan, the county announced mass rezoning plans for multi-family spaces.

According to officials, most of the property owners under the rezoning project already live within single-family spaces. The project will help bring property owners who have spaces for commercial use into compliance. Using a property for commercial use is not permitted in a single-family residential district.

The project will also help balance population densities and available county infrastructure.

Some of the multi-family areas highlighted for rezoning include property southeast of Ladson Road toward North Charleston and between Ladson Road and Central Avenue in Knightsville.

In April, Knightsville LLC filed a complaint in the county court over proposed rezoning. The owner had purchased three parcels of land off of Central Avenue in Knightsville with the goal of building townhomes.

In the complaint, the owner alleged that the rezoning plans undermined and violated their investment-backed expectations and denied them the right to pursue a planned development project.

During the Monday meeting, attorney Ellis Lesemann spoke on behalf of Knightsville LLC. He said they paid just under $1.1 million for the land in 2019. He also argued that there is enough infrastructure in place to develop the project.

“They’ve been incurring permit fees, legal fees, engineering, doing a wetlands delineation and going through other types of carrying costs to bring that project forward,” he said.

Lesemann said his client learned about the rezoning plans for their property in February. After a Monday executive session, the council agreed to exclude property under Knightsville LLC from its rezoning ordinance.

“We were pleased to be able to resolve the matter with the county,” Lesemann said.

Future approval of multi-family zoning will be based on the county’s available infrastructure and future land use.

The area above Central Avenue in Knightsville is next on the county’s list of mass rezoning. The county’s planning commission is scheduled to meet on Oct. 8 to review proposed rezonings.

A County Council public hearing is expected to follow on a later date. Officials say property owners impacted by the rezoning should’ve already been notified.

Many owners have likely received a flier on their property notifying them about the rezoning.

I first noticed Artist Sandy Allan’s creative works quite some time ago at the Antiques & Artisans Village at 619 Old Trolley Road in Summerville, and her items are still there to view and buy.

Her works are colorful and useful, ranging from painted mailboxes, napkins, wooden wall hangers, bird feeders, and more. Originally from Graham, North Carolina, she has lived here for 50 years.

Regan: How did you get started making your art creations?

Allan: I moved down here with my ex-husband several years ago. I did not really have a job and did

part-time work. My son suggested I paint little houses. I found a small wooden Charleston house, and I started painting it. I had a friend who had a skill saw, and I started making the rainbow row types of homes or churches. I first went down to the Charleston City Market, and the woman there liked my work and gave me a table. I only worked Sundays there initially. I also did work for Diane at People, Places and Quilts, like some of Summerville’s notable houses and churches. I have about 90 pieces now of the various places I have created. Years ago, Susie Davis had a garden-related store across the street from Diane’s shop, and she suggested I start making birdhouses. It all just kind of snowballed from there.

R: Was this always just a hobby, or was art full-time for you, especially after you retired?

A: More so of a hobby, overall, especially now. I worked my table at Charleston’s City Market (for nearly 40 years). Rita Berry of the Greater Summerville/Dorchester Chamber of Commerce used to have a gift basket company a long time ago. Rita wanted some of my creations in her baskets. I did not need much more work as I had two children, so I stayed very busy.

R: What is your favorite type of item to create? Least?

A: I like making the little Charleston houses the best, which can be placed on the mantel or displayed on the windowsill. I had made houses depict the different seasons of the year. Some could be Christmas ornaments or hung in the windows. My least favorite is switch plates because they take up much space and must be laid out flat. It was cumbersome and a lot of work. I also liked making the mailboxes, but now they cost much more money, especially the metal ones versus the plastic type. They were also time-consuming.

R: Have you ever taken art classes, or are you self-taught? You’ve also done commissioned work?

A: No, I have never taken art classes. We did not have regular art classes at school – we had home economics back then. Years ago, I painted some of the walls at the daycare center where I worked. I knew John McKissick, so I did the wave mural at the McKissick Stadium, but it is no longer there. It went away after the coach left. That was the largest project I had ever painted. People got to know me from that. I have also done little wooden replicas of various schools. I had drawn them, cut them out of wood, and painted them. They were given out to teachers as mementos if they were leaving or retiring from the school.

R: Any good memories from when you had your booth at Charleston’s popular City Market?

A: I had an FBI agent who brought his daughter and wife down there — he saw my little houses. His daughter was 8 years old back then. He returned to revisit me to say hello and get more houses lined up on the wall for her. I keep in touch with some people who have come through there. I’ve met a lot of nice people over the years.

R: What’s next for you?

A: I still work on my artwork every day. I get orders all year long for gifts for their homes.

Visit www.facebook.com/HandPaintedBySandy/ for more information.

Columnist Mary E. Regan is a freelance publicist with her propublicist.com consultancy.

She is always seeking new publicity clients and writing projects. Email Mary@ProPublicist.com with story ideas.

Two Dorchester School District Two arts educators received recognition from the South Carolina Arts Education Association (SCAEA) for excellence in arts education and advocacy.

Alston Middle School’s Natalie Schwieger received the 2023 Middle Level Art Educator of the Year Award, and Fort Dorchester High School’s Stephanie Shank received the 2023 Youth Art Month Award.

Schwieger’s award recognizes her art education advocacy, teaching and program development. Schwieger has taught art for 14 years and has been a member of SCAEA for 13 years. She serves on the District’s Fine Arts Leadership Committee, leads the school’s Fine Arts Steering Committee and established her school’s National Junior Art Honor Society. She has written nine grants to receive approximately $144,000 from the Distinguished Arts Program through the South Carolina Department of Education.

“As an art teacher, my ultimate goal is to inspire my students to express themselves creatively and find their own unique voice through art,” Schwieger said. “I have always believed art is a powerful tool for self-expression and personal growth. My teaching style centers around encouraging my students to explore their own creativity and to take risks in their artmaking.”

Shank’s award recognizes her advocacy for Youth Art Month on the local, state and national levels. She has taught art for 16 years and has been a member of SCAEA for 14 years. Expanding a partnership with the Public Works Art Center that includes a student art exhibition, she organized the Educator as an Artist Exhibition to showcase the talent of regional art educators and promote SCAEA membership. Shank was also recognized for fostering leadership among her colleagues and providing service opportunities, as well as her enthusiasm for the arts that inspires students, staff and the arts education community.

“Youth Art Month is an amazing time of year when we are able to flood our state with student artwork,” Shank said. “Between the Youth Art Month celebration at Public Works Art Center and the DD2 Dream Fest, we had more than 600 student artworks on display in downtown Summerville alone. Following that up with an exhibition that honored our talented regional educators was truly amazing.”

SCAEA is a chapter of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), which advances visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding. NAEA is dedicated to providing educators with connectivity, resources, and opportunities to enrich classrooms, enhance careers and inspire creativity.

DORCHESTER COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - The Dorchester District 2 School Board announced who will take the helm at the three new elementary schools next school year.

Vernisa Bodison will be the principal for the new Alston-Bailey Elementary School. She is currently the principal at Windsor Hill.

Dr. Eugene Sires Elementary School will be led by Laura Blanchard who is currently the principal at William Reeves Elementary.

Dr. Wally Baird will take on the new Sand Hill Elementary School. He is at Knightsville Elementary right now.

The old schools will see some familiar faces as their new principals as some assistant principals will be stepping up in those leadership roles.

A full list of administrative teams can be found below.

Dorchester School District Two has announced the administrative teams of the three new elementary schools opening in the fall of 2016, along with other elementary school administrative changes. The following administrators were named to take the helm at the three new elementary schools beginning with 2016-2017:

Alston-Bailey Elementary School

Vernisa Bodison—Principal, is currently principal at Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary

Assistant Principal—to be announced

Dr. Eugene Sires Elementary School

Laura Blanchard—Principal, is currently principal at William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary

Dan Farmer—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Fort Dorchester Elementary

Sand Hill Elementary School

Dr. Wally Baird—Principal, is currently principal at Knightsville Elementary

Annette Roper—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Knightsville Elementary

The following are additional administrative changes for elementary schools beginning with 2016-2017:

Knightsville Elementary School

Claire Sieber—Principal, is currently assistant principal at Knightsville Elementary

William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary School

Natalie Hayes—Principal, is currently assistant principal at William M. Reeves, Jr. Elementary

Michelle Nicholson—Assistant Principal (no change)

Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary School

Robert Neuner—Principal, is currently assistant principal at Gregg Middle

Fort Dorchester Elementary School

Rachel Mahaffey—Assistant Principal, is currently assistant principal at Flowertown Elementary

Copyright 2015 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE — Tables begin to fill up just past noon at a restaurant 31 miles from downtown Charleston.

Surrounded by chain eateries in a Publix-anchored strip mall, La Cuisine Du Chevalier — or La Chev, as most call it — has the buzz of an energetic lunch crowd ready for some midday human interaction.

A trio of women attempt to corral four children while dunking grilled bread into large white bowls of bouillabaisse, brimming with mussels, shrimp and white fish, all steeping in saffron broth.

Empty black shells are pushed aside at another round mahogany table, where two friends catch up over mussels and glasses of iced tea.

A man sitting solo at a two-top finishes his meal and tells the server he will be back next week.

These are the sights and sounds of a restaurant that’s become a neighborhood lunchtime favorite less than a year after quietly opening in November 2022.

I would have never found La Chev without a tip from a colleague, but I’m glad I came. That satisfaction extends to residents of the Knightsville and Summerville area, who have thanked owner Jason Tucker for bringing his Southern take on French cuisine to them rather than downtown Charleston.

“A lot of people were confused about why I did it here,” said Tucker, a Summerville resident. “I saw the direction of where the homes are going.”

Tucker struck out on his own after cutting his professional teeth at restaurants in Charleston’s French Quarter. Inside the strip center space that previously housed a Ladles sandwich and soup shop, the Johnson & Wales University graduate is teaming up with La Chev’s chef de cuisine, Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville.

Whether it’s crab dip with grilled bread or seared scallops over French onion cheese risotto, DuPriest is consistently coming up with new daily specials that the restaurant posts on its Facebook page, which takes the place of an actual website.

La Chev boasts separate lunch and dinner menus, but there are several crossovers, including the shrimp and grits, crab croquettes and yellowfin tuna — a dish that stood out after two visits to the restaurant.

The lightly-seared tuna, served cold, rests on a steaming hot medley of chopped asparagus, corn, confit tomato and cubed bacon. A speckled cream sauce pulls the vegetables together, adding sweet smokiness to the fresh but mild fish.

“It doesn’t just play with your taste buds, it plays with the temperature sensitivities of your palate, as well,” Tucker said.

With a nice crust and firm pink center, the tuna hits all corners of my mouth, leaving soft, peppery spice behind. Though served as an appetizer, I enjoyed it as my full meal with an order of duck coq au vin dumplings — a fun riff on a French classic — on the side.

During dinner, the white tablecloths are brought out and topped with larger appetizers and mains that allow for some “Lowcountry liberties,” Tucker said.

For instance, crab croquettes are more petite crab cake than filled-and-fried roll, but the flawed descriptor doesn’t take away from each delicate bite. Paired with a light and bright diced cucumber salad, the patties’ crab-to-filler ratio favors the former.

A trio of cheese-adorned meatballs, floating in tomato ragù and served with small wedges of garlic bread, is another appetizer that satisfies without reinventing the wheel.

The same can often be said for the restaurant’s dinner entrees.

Roasted salmon, stuffed with crab and served atop crisp green beans, is one example of an expertly cooked daily special. On the side, Carolina Gold rice is bound with cheese to form a thick patty, bringing substance and salt to the Southern grains.

Steak, which appears to have been marinated and spent some time in the oven, makes up for a lack of crust with a juicy, tender texture — almost reminiscent of the roasted filet of beef my mother serves at Christmas.

Of the six dishes I sampled at La Chev, each one left me without complaints.

There isn’t much in the way of décor, more noticeable during a Monday night dinner service that saw just two occupied tables between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. This was a far cry from the crowded lunch service I witnessed weeks before, making me ponder if ownership might consider closing their doors on Monday, typically the slowest dining day of the week.

It also made me wonder if this type of restaurant — a place that skirts the line between neighborhood establishment and one worthy of a special night out — can work in this location.

I remain optimistic.

While it’s just four miles from the town’s top restaurants — Laura, Bexley and La Rustica, among others — it’s less crowded and closer to home for many Summerville restaurants.

And as those who have dined at La Chev have likely realized, there isn’t anything like it in Knightsville.

There were smiles, cheers, high-fives and even a few tears as Knightsville Elementary bid farewell to its fifth-graders on May 26 -- the last day of school for Dorchester District Two.

Knightsville Elementary traditionally has its fifth-graders parade through the school in celebration of graduating from elementary school, but this year the school had a special twist on the tradition: they invited back 2017 high school and college graduates -- also Knightsville Elementary alumni -- to return to their old stomping grounds wish the fifth-graders good-luck as they set off for middle school.

Drew Massey, graduating senior at Summerville High, called it nostalgic.

"It's weird to come back 10 years later," she said.

Massey was one of approximately 25 returning graduates who participated in the walk. Summerville High graduates donned their signature green caps and gowns. A handful of Clemson University and University of South Carolina graduates also participated.

The returning students spoke to fifth-graders in their classrooms prior to the parade to offer words of encouragement and students also heard from college professors from Charleston Southern University and The Citadel.

Massey said she wanted to participate because it felt special.

"I saw a lot of them (students) crying," she said. "I think they thought it was special too."

The entire school lined the hallways, along with parents, faculty and staff, to watch all the graduates weave through the building. Younger students awarded the graduates with cheers and high fives along the way while the school played "Pomp and Circumstance" over the intercom.

Teachers wore little graduation caps as well and, if they still had them, they were invited to wear their old graduation robes.

Principal Claire Sieber referred to the returning graduates as the "continuance of the legacy of learning that started here at Knightsville."

"You have empowered our fifth-graders to rise on and continue their education. I'm looking forward to all that the future will hold," she said.

The idea to invite the former Knightsville Elementary students back was Assistant Principal Carey Hodge's idea. Hodge said she had seen a similar event in her former hometown.

Sieber and Hodge said they wanted to have a community connection with the fifth-grade parade this year. With the response they got, Sieber said she anticipates this will be a tradition going forward.

Hodge said their focus for the last couple of weeks has been words of encouragement. She said they have been working on coordinating the event for three months.

Hodge said she thinks the Knightsville Elementary students really enjoyed it.

"I'm seeing tears of...joy and miss -- they're going to miss us. I know it's very bittersweet for them," she said. "But it's always a great thing when kids don't want to leave."

"Above all we just want them to love, learn and lead," she said.