Rock Hill

The bridge over I-77 at Gold Hill Road will close next month, as part of ongoing traffic improvements there.

The City of Tega Cay issued a news alert on Wednesday. According to the alert, the bridge will close from midnight on Aug. 20 to 5 a.m. on Aug. 23. The interstate on and off ramps will remain open during the weekend closure.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation awarded the construction contract at Gold Hill to Boggs Construction. Improvements will create the state’s first diverging diamond interchange. A reduction of left turns will, traffic planners say, reduce congestion at what can be a heavy traffic area. Particularly during the weekday evening rush as commuters come back into York County from Charlotte.

Pennies for Progress, the county cent sales tax program that funds road work, lists the interchange as a $12.5 million project set to wrap up this year. Voters approved the project as part of a larger referendum in 2011.

The Gold Hill interchange improvement runs along Gold Hill from Cassandra Court to Wilson Business Parkway and Bromley Park Drive. It also includes ramps on and off of the interstate in both directions.

The Gold Hill work comes as part of an unprecedented list of I-77 road upgrades in York County. There’s ongoing work to improve the exit 85 interchange between Baxter and Kingsley in Fort Mill. Almost $75 million in state money will go to that interchange and the one at exit 83 in Rock Hill. There’s a new Rock Hill interchange coming to serve the planned Carolina Panthers headquarters.

The most recent work to gain public attention was the resurfacing of I-77 southbound lanes over the Catawba River in May. That bridge work slowed and rerouted traffic for weeks. Similar work will follow, though it hasn’t been announced when, to resurface the northbound lanes.

There aren’t many alternate routes nearby Gold Hill Road that cross the interstate. The nearest interchanges are at S.C. 160 to the south and Carowinds to the north. Another option to cross the interstate is Coltharp Road.

The more than 600-acre Catawba Indian Nation reservation in York County may grow a little larger.

York County Council passed the first of three readings needed to expand the reservation. The initial decision was by title only, meaning details haven’t yet been finalized into an ordinance. The title only approach isn’t uncommon. Full details on such decisions then come before second and third reading, and, when required, a public hearing.

The title only decision mentions expansion of the reservation by several listed properties, but also future expansion of land contiguous to the Rock Hill-area reservation as outlined in a federal agreement.

A 1993 federal land claims settlement agreement restored and extended federal rights for the Catawbas. It repealed a prior act from 1959. It provided for expansion of the reservation and conveyed property from the state to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs as trustee. It also made the tribe eligible for gaming, key to the opening earlier this month of a new Kings Mountain, N.C. casino.

That North Carolina project involved almost 17 acres acquired by the Catawbas in 2020 when it was trusted by the U.S. Department of Interior.

The ongoing York County decision involves five properties. They’re on Reservation Road and River People Trail, most of them where Reservation intersects with George Dunn Road and Indian Trail.

They combine for more than 13 acres. County land records show all the properties changed hands from private owners to the Catawbas in 2010 or 2012, then to the federal government in 2013. Properties range from half an acre to 10 acres.

The properties combine, according to county land records, for $203,000 in property value.

According to county spokesperson Trish Startup, the five land parcels are being held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Expansion of the reservation requires approval by the secretary of the interior. The tribe can submit an application for review by the bureau and upon approval, the parcels are held in trust.

The move also requires an approval by county council and a law or joint resolution by the state general assembly, signed by the governor.

Laney Buckley, community services director for the Catawba Nation, issued the following statement:

“The action follows the process outlined in our settlement agreement for the tribe to add lands to our reservation. These five contiguous parcels, totaling 13 acres, have been acquired over time and taken into federal trust, but the tribe recently has been able to start developing projects on the land. We want to be good neighbors and remain in compliance with the settlement.”

The earliest county council could take up its next reading is Aug. 16.

Despite prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations at long-term care facilities above all but a handful of states, South Carolina has some of the lowest vaccination rates among nursing home residents and staff in the nation, according to federal data.

Roughly 76% of the state’s nursing home residents and about 50% of nursing home staff are fully vaccinated, putting South Carolina behind most states in both metrics, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which tracks coronavirus cases, deaths and vaccinations at nursing homes across the country.

Nursing home vaccination rates vary widely between facilities and between states, but nationally about 80% of nursing home residents and 57% of health-care staff working in nursing homes were fully vaccinated as of July 4, according to CMS data.

Only one in five facilities nationally reported staff vaccination rates at or above the 75% industry target, and in South Carolina, just 7.8% of nursing homes hit that benchmark, an AARP analysis of CMS data found.

While the low vaccination rates here haven’t translated into more infections — COVID-19 cases and deaths at South Carolina nursing homes are currently at or below national averages — advocates are concerned that too many of the state’s most vulnerable residents remain unprotected as the delta variant sweeps the Palmetto State.

“Residents and staff of nursing homes were devastated by this virus and we can’t let that happen again,” AARP South Carolina director Teresa Arnold said. “We must remain vigilant and redouble efforts to encourage residents and staff in long-term care facilities to get a free COVID vaccine to protect themselves, their family and their community.”

Long-term care facilities, which include nursing homes, assisted living facilities and facilities for people with intellectual disabilities, have accounted for 3.4% of all coronavirus cases in South Carolina since the start of the pandemic, but more than 20%, or nearly 2,000, of the state’s deaths, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Over the past month, however, South Carolina’s 750 long-term care homes have reported just 54 COVID-19 cases combined and no deaths, DHEC data show.

“The drop in cases and deaths in nursing homes is welcome news,” Arnold said. “But the potential for the highly contagious delta variant causing more harm to residents and staff is very real.”

Public health experts believe the extremely transmissible variant, first identified in India, is responsible for the spike in COVID-19 cases currently being felt across the country.

After accounting for just 5% of COVID-19 cases statewide in June, delta now likely makes up the majority of infections in South Carolina, according to genomic sequencing data.

All three COVID-19 vaccines on the market in the U.S. are considered highly effective against the delta strain, if administered as recommended.

Research has shown, however, that partially vaccinated individuals are far less protected from delta than they were from the original SARS-CoV-2.

As of Wednesday, almost 44% of eligible South Carolinians were fully vaccinated and about 50% were partially vaccinated against COVID-19, according to DHEC data. Nearly 190,000 of those partially vaccinated individuals are more than a month late for their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, health officials said.

In December, state health officials set aside more than 200,000 doses, the entirety of its initial allotment of Moderna shots, for use at long-term care facilities.

South Carolina, like many states, partnered with CVS and Walgreens to get those shots into the arms of residents and staff at every extended care home in the state.

While most states squirreled away just a fraction of the doses they believed would be necessary to vaccinate all long-term care residents and staff and used the rest to inoculate health care workers, seniors and first-responders, South Carolina set aside all the shots it estimated would be needed for extended care homes upfront.

The state’s estimate, based on facility bed counts, significantly overshot the number of doses needed for long-term care facilities and left South Carolina with fewer doses to administer to the roughly 1 million frontline health workers and seniors eligible for shots at the time.

In the end, CVS and Walgreens needed only about half the doses they’d been allocated to vaccinate long-term care residents and staff due to a combination of reduced facility headcounts and lower-than-expected uptake.

DHEC sent the excess doses to other providers in South Carolina who at the time were struggling to meet the intense public demand for vaccine.

The agency has defended its decision to prioritize vaccinations at long-term care facilities, even though it likely slowed down the inoculation of other eligible populations, arguing it helped save lives.

DHEC spokesman Derrek Asberry said in April, shortly after the pharmacies wrapped up vaccinations at extended care homes, that the agency had no regrets about initially keeping so many doses in reserve.

“Our number one priority has been and continues to be to save lives,” he said. “When vaccine doses were initially very limited, it was critical to ensure those most susceptible to this virus and who were living in shared living spaces were among the first to receive their shots in order to save as many lives as possible.”

The agency did not immediately respond to questions about the relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates that persist at South Carolina nursing homes or what threat the delta variant might pose to the unvaccinated among those fragile populations.

Nikki Hutchison, associate director of advocacy and governmental affairs at AARP South Carolina, said the organization has been doing outreach in areas with high rates of vaccine hesitancy to explain why inoculation against COVID-19 is important for older Americans.

The organization also recently sent a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure stressing its desire that the federal agency require vaccine education at long-term care facilities and offer all residents and staff the opportunity to be tested for and vaccinated against COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.

In South Carolina, long-term care residents who have been vaccinated are granted certain privileges not afforded to unvaccinated residents.

Vaccinated long-term care residents, for example, cannot have their indoor visitation limited when county COVID-19 positivity rates exceed 10% and fewer than 70% of facility residents are fully vaccinated, according to DHEC’s visitation guidelines.

They’re also not required to quarantine when newly admitted to a facility or when returning to an extended care home after a multi-day trip, as is recommended for unvaccinated individuals.

Have you been to SouthTown Wake Park? Summer adventures are calling us, and new and exciting things become harder to find towards the end of the season. Kidding Around’s Melanie and her son made a discovery in Rock Hill, SC, that will have you hopping in the car and making the trip to York County! SouthTown Wake Park has something to keep everyone entertained, no matter how adventurous you are!

For more fun things to do in the Charlotte Area, Check out our Guide To Fun With Kids In Charlotte, NC.

SouthTown Wake Park in Rockhill, SC

Just about 90 minutes from here is one of my favorite day trip destinations. York County, South Carolina, has so many fun adventures to enjoy. My children and I have made countless trips and have yet to scrape the surface of possibilities. However, SouthTown Wake Park is worth the trip all on its own! This Aquapark has something for all adventure levels, so don’t worry if you don’t share the same enthusiasm for watersports with the rest of your family.

Traditionally wakeboarding consists of a boat pulling a rider around a body of water from a two rope, while they stand on a single ski. At SouthTown Wakepark riders are pulled around one of two lakes by a cable system. This activity is fun and in no time you can be zipping across the lake. SouthTown also offers wakeboarding if you have never done anything like this and want to ease into it.

The instructor will start you out on the straight cable, where there aren’t any features to complicate things. Here you will learn the basics and what to do if you let go of the cable system. Once you feel at ease, it’s on to the lake with the ramps and a cable system that loops the lake. Don’t worry, you won’t be jumping any features just yet, you’ll just work on holding on as that cable rounds the corner.

Wakeboarding is one of the fastest-growing extreme sports, and my son loved his time on the lake. He took to it and if we lived closer, he would be there every week.

SouthTown also has a floating obstacle course for families to enjoy. This is a great activity to tire those kids out, as it takes a ton of energy to climb and jump over the obstacles. While you don’t need to be straight off the set of “American Ninja Warrior” to enjoy the course, I do caution you against participating if you have any back issues. While falling off the platform requires little effort, pulling yourself back up onto the platform requires a bit more muscle.

If you enjoyed this course, you can Tackle the Floating Obstacle Course at Charleston Aqua Park

For younger kids, and parents that aren’t into the excitement involved in the previously mentioned activities, SouthTown offers kayaking and paddleboarding. Parents can paddle across the lake with the younger kids, over to the floating obstacle course to wave hi! That way everyone gets some time out on the water. This is a great way to practice in a controlled environment if you are considering investing in paddlesports for your family (which we encourage!)

In addition to all of the fun on the water that is offered at SouthTown, they also have things that don’t require you to get wet. Land-lovers can enjoy a game of disc golf or cornhole. There are picnic tables to sit at and the pro-shop offers soft drinks and ice cream for sale.

The $45 First Time All Access Pass is the best deal for those new to wakeboarding and gets you everything you need for an entire day at SouthTown Wakepark!

SouthTown Wake Park
255 E Rambo Rd Rock Hill, SC 29730 | 803.324.3020

Our complimentary fun at SouthTown Wake Park was arranged by Visit York County, all words and opinions of the writer are honest and genuine. All the info you need to make the most of a trip to York County, South Carolina can be found on Kidding Around!

Wildfires burning in the western United States and Canada are causing smoke that can affect the health of South Carolinians, particularly people with chronic conditions, the state’s Department of Health and Environment control said on Wednesday.

The smoke has already drifted into the northern parts of South Carolina, according to DHEC

The smoke “can irritate the eyes and respiratory system as well as aggravate or exacerbate chronic heart and lung diseases,” DHEC said.

Multiple parts of the state could be affected depending on wind conditions, according to DHEC. The smoke is expected to most significantly affect north of a line from Myrtle Beach to Columbia to Abbeville.

The smoke will likely drift into the state Wednesday night and Thursday. Effects may linger until Friday.

“DHEC recommends individuals with respiratory health issues limit time spent outdoors to avoid the smoke,” the agency said. “Keep windows and doors closed. Run an air conditioner if you have one, but keep the fresh-air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.”

The Bootleg wildfire in Oregon is searing through the state, fueled by dry conditions and a heatwave.

For more information, please visit DHEC’s website at: scdhec.gov/HomeAndEnvironment/DisasterPreparedness/Wildfires/.

For more information about the location of the wildfires, please visit: fire.airnow.gov.