electrician in Clover, SC

Clover’s historic season lives on.

The Blue Eagles, thanks to three pins to open the contest and clutch performances down the stretch, notched a gutsy 37-26 win over York County foe Northwestern High School on Monday night. The third-round South Carolina playoff win at home means that the Blue Eagles will travel to Hillcrest on Wednesday night — and be one win away from the program’s first 5A Upper State title and its first state championship appearance.

“This is great for Clover High School,” said Clover head coach Mike Fitzgerald, who started the Blue Eagle wrestling program 19 seasons ago. “I mean, at the end of the day, it’s Clover’s program, it’s not my program. I’m just a steward here guiding it. I love it for these guys. I love it for this community. I just love it for the opportunity that we get.

“And now it’s one step further. We’ll relish that. We’ll take on whoever we got.”

The Blue Eagles entered Monday’s match an accomplished group already: They’d won a second-consecutive (and second-ever) region title. They’d made it to the third round of the 5A state playoffs, the deepest run they’ve ever made.

But they didn’t rest on their laurels.

Clover started Monday’s match with three tone-setting wins. Yannis Charles, a leader and junior for a deep Clover team, started the match with a pin at the 145-pound weight division. Teammates Michael Tomko (152) and Wilton Grice (160) followed Charles up with pins of their own to extend the lead to 18-0.

Northwestern, though, slowly pulled the game back into its reach. First came Northwestern’s Kamarien Barnette (170) with a pin. Then, after Clover’s Kaevon Gardner earned a win by decision, Northwestern’s Noah Lee (195) and Isaac McLellon (220) bested their opponents to make it 22-13.

The match stayed close the rest of the way: Clover’s Jakaevien Thompson at 220 won by pin fall. Then Northwestern’s JP Snipes (106) won by pin, too — doing so to give his team life and a real comeback possibility. 28-19.

Northwestern’s Christopher Wentz (113) followed that up with a win by decision, and then Northwestern’s sturdy sophomore Corey Dye (120) came back in his third period and notched a huge win to make the match score 28-26.

But those were the last points Clover would relinquish.

Soon — after a Jaden Sikorski win at 126, a match-sealing win by Carson Enix at 132 and then a final Enoch Long win at 138 — it was over: The Blue Eagles were moving on.

“This year, I’ve watched these kids put blood, sweat and tears into the mat, just fight and fight and fight,” Charles told The Herald, adding, “We’ve been making history for the past two years. And it’s just absolutely amazing.”

Northwestern head coach Ryan Whitmore told The Herald post-match that he was proud of his team for how it fought all season. The first-year head coach, who’d made a name as an assistant at Rock Hill for over a decade, was able to put the third-round and season-ending loss into perspective no matter how clearly it hurt.

“I’ve got a tremendous group of character-kids in this room,” Whitmore said. “They made it unbelievably easy to come in as a first-year. But I’ve stressed from day one that we’re building a family approach and building a program. We didn’t want to build a team that was going to have success and then (leave). We want to build a program.

“We want to be here from now on. And that started with the senior leadership. They were tremendous. And we’re young. We are really young. And we’re not going anywhere.”

Clover will travel to Hillcrest on Wednesday, a function of an SCHSL rule that states the same two teams cannot play in the same location two years in a row. Hillcrest has won three consecutive state championships.

Wednesday poses another chance to extend a special season for Clover.

Another chance, that is, at more history.

Said Fitzgerald with a big smile: “I have more pride about people seeing Clover and talking about Clover than anything else.”

All of the other teams in The Herald’s coverage area were eliminated in the third round of competition Monday night.

The Catawba Ridge Copperheads, who won the Region 3-4A title and advanced to the postseason for the first time in their three year history, dropped a 67-4 decision to Lugoff-Elgin.

The Indian Land Warriors, who were the runners-up in Region 3-4A, lost to six-time defending state champion Eastside by a score of 54-18.

The Chester Cyclones, who were the champions of Region 4-3A, lost to Belton-Honea Path 40-30.

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 11:34 PM.

Clover High School has a new band director.

The program will be led by Rick Langdale Jr. starting in the 2022-23 school year, per a release from the Clover School District.

Langdale is replacing Joe Gulledge, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Gulledge is a recent inductee into the South Carolina Band Directors Hall of Fame.

Some of the Clover program’s most memorable accomplishments under Gulledge’s supervision came this spring — including when Clover’s Trumpet Ensemble finished second at the 2022 National Trumpet Competition in Delaware and when Clover’s indoor drumline finished first at the World Percussion Championships in Ohio.

Langdale was introduced as the school’s next band director on Monday, at the Clover drumline’s encore community performance.

“It is truly a humbling honor to be asked to lead a program with such an enormous history of excellence and community involvement,” Langdale stated in a release, adding, “Mr. Gulledge has been a mentor and friend of mine since my freshman year of college; we won’t talk about how long ago that was. He and his team has led the Clover Band to massive heights of excellence in every facet of the program.

“I look forward to working with all the directors and staff to get moving on things as soon as they give me the keys.”

Langdale joins Clover from Easley High School, where he was the school’s Director of Bands for a successful stint.

His program was named the Class 4A state champion in competitive marching band in 2018. And since then, Easley’s been a perennial state finals contender and has traveled across the country for marching band competitions.

“The band program has recently experienced success unseen in our state,” Clover principal Rod Ruth wrote in a statement. “For that reason, and because of the hard work put in by our students, staff and Band Director Joe Gulledge, Clover High School emerged as the premier band vacancy in South Carolina. ...

“The expectations for our program are high, created not just by our recent success, but by the students themselves. Rick Langdale is the leader to meet these expectations and continue the tradition that is the Pride of Clover.”

The growth downtown is happening as a resource team from the Main Street South Carolina program is set to visit in March.

CLOVER, S.C. — Downtown Clover is poised for big moves over the next three years as the city joins the Main Street South Carolina program at the aspiring level.

The small town’s downtown district is filled with the familiar charm of historic buildings, with a mix of businesses ready to welcome people off the streets.

“I always say it’s like the little town of Mayberry, but just like a 2022 town of Mayberry, I guess you could say,” Alicia Griffith, one of the owners of Carolina Chocolate Company, said.

It’s part of the reason why Griffith opened a storefront a block off Main Street about six years ago.

The chocolate company has grown from a group of stay-at-home moms sticking on the labels to grocery store chains now selling the sweet treats.

“It’s fun and crazy and exciting,” Griffith said. "And it’s a lot of work.”

The shop only serves retail customers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, benefitting from the foot traffic as downtown Clover has grown over the last few years.

“A lot of younger families that are getting out and walking ... and you know, wanting to support small businesses and local, so it’s just been a really nice growth to sit and be a part of," Griffith said.

The shop opened in January 2021 as a new addition to Main Street.

“Saw that this place was available, and I had been kicking the tires on opening a bottle shop outside of Charlotte somewhere, so it all just fell into place,” Brent Voye, owner of The Vault Bottle Shop, said.

Voye transformed the former bank, complete with a vault for authenticity, into a new spot downtown to grab a beer or glass of wine in-house or on the go.

“You’ve got a couple new businesses,” Voye said. “I think two or three, as well as myself, that have all opened over the last year or so, so I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.”

The growth downtown is happening as a resource team from the Main Street South Carolina program is set to visit in March.

According to its website, “Main Street South Carolina empowers residents with the knowledge, skills, tools and organizational structure necessary to revitalize their downtowns, neighborhood commercial districts and cities/towns into vibrant centers of commerce and community.”

Over the next three years, the program aims to revitalize the area, while preserving its history and the progress that’s already been made.

“What we want to do is celebrate those businesses and their investment in the downtown,” Jenny Boulware, state coordinator and manager of Main Street South Carolina, said. "But we also want to find opportunities to expand the work that they’re doing and find good neighbors to be a part of downtown’s growth.”

Boulware said the program will focus on design elements, identifying partners, promoting and branding the downtown area, and addressing economic development.

By the end of the three-year program, Boulware said she hopes to see downtown Clover 100% occupied, or close to it, and to have a renewed enthusiasm in the Main Street area.

“Downtowns are bringing back a lot of that community fabric of knowing your neighbors, supporting them, and knowing that you’re buying local,” Boulware added.

Clover School District residents voted Saturday against passing a $197 million bond referendum.

The bond would have paid for a second high school, an eighth elementary school, and the creation of a third middle school. The district, which passed bonds in 2007 and 2014, insisted the referendum was needed to alleviate congestion at several schools with the growing student population.

The bond, which included a tax increase, became a point of contention among residents. Two vocal groups — one in favor, the other against — placed “Vote Yes” and “Vote No” signs across the Clover area. Those who opposed the bond thought the tax increase, which ranged between 15% to 30%, was too high. While, those who supported the bond argued the tax raise was justified.

Despite the vocal divide, around 22% of the district’s 35,959 registered voters cast ballots in the bond vote, according to the York County elections office.

Of the 7,985 ballots cast, including absentee, about 71%, or 5,635 votes, were against the bond. While, 29%, or 2,350 votes, were in favor, according to unofficial results.

“We appreciate our citizens taking the time to make their voices heard,” Clover School District spokesperson Bryan Dillon said Monday. “That’s a big part of the process. Having them come out and sharing their thoughts is part of it.”

Dillon said the district will work with residents to come up with another plan to relieve the congestion in its schools and address the area’s continual growth.

“As in our presentation, we are a growing community,” Dillon said. “People across the community recognize that, so we’ll get back together. We’ll look at things and try to develop a plan that everyone can support and find the best way to support the students and staff and facility needs within the district.”

As far as next steps, hearing from Clover residents is an important one for the district, Dillon said.

“We’ll definitely have community meetings — our board meetings and our work sessions that we’ve had, town halls that we had prior to this one, focus groups like we had dating back to May before this one,” he said. “We’ll do those sorts of things again and look forward to the community coming and sharing their thoughts.”

Shortly after the vote results came out, several Clover area residents on Sunday were already brainstorming, on social media, alternative plans to address the district’s growth.

“I, first, wanted to thank everyone who voted for the school bond today,” Angela Stahlecker said in a Clover-area Facebook page. “It may or may not have been the outcome you desired, but let’s keep the momentum going and come up with a solution for these kids and teachers that is also favorable for the majority of citizens’ budgets.”

Charlene Ridley suggested the district create a community action committee to come up with a solution.

“Now that the bond vote is done, how can we help CSD come up with a better solution that solves our problem?” Ridley said on Facebook.

York County Council member Allison Love, who represents the Clover and Lake Wylie area, said on Facebook there needs to be a “coming together” in the district. She said she plans to hold a community meeting in October.

“We will all be better off if we can funnel the passion of the past few weeks into some positive solutions for our community,” she said.

The county election’s office will certify the results on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. The hearing is open to the public.

This story was originally published September 20, 2021 9:47 AM.

With sub-freezing temperatures expected Monday night and roads wet after having been covered Sunday with snow and ice, school systems are making decisions about how they will proceed this week.

Traditionally, if roads weren’t deemed safe due to winter weather, students didn’t go to school. When COVID-19 hit, districts across the country invented and introduced a range of virtual school options.

This is what The Herald now knows about school plans this week in this region.

A release from the Rock Hill School District at midday Monday said “Rock Hill Schools will engage with eLearning Tuesday due to the forecast of refreezing ice that will make it unsafe to open our buildings.

“All district buildings and schools will be closed to our team, this includes facilities and custodians.”

The district, through the state, has the flexibility to use five eLearning days each year for inclement weather. That means in the event of ice, snow or torrentially terrible wind, the district would use an “eLearning day,” which, in other words, is a day when students receive work through an online platform and must complete it within a certain time.

“If for some reason we run out of eLearning days, we would use the weather days (snow days) and then have to make them up as dictated by our calendar make-up days,” said Lindsay Machak spokesperson for the school system.

Clover and York districts are scheduled to be off Tuesday.

The Clover School District board voted last week during a special meeting to move the originally scheduled teacher workday from March 14 to Jan. 18. The calendar change was made because a significant number of staff are out as a result of COVID-19, according to the district’s website.

Clover School District spokesperson Bryan Dillon told The Herald in an email that the district’s calendar has three days built in to be used as bad weather make-up days, which is required by the state. The district also has the ability to call an “eLearning day” in the case of inclement weather, he said.

Since the district has the ability to plan in advance, the district could call an “eLearning day” on Wednesday if the weather requires it, Dillon said.

“CSD will be closely monitoring the amount of weather we receive and its impact on our roads,” he said.

York School District students also are scheduled to be off Tuesday. York School District spokesperson Tim Cooper told The Herald that the district is monitoring the weather and has started considering its options.

The district’s board voted Thursday during an emergency meeting to amend its calendar, moving the originally scheduled teacher workday on Feb. 18 to Jan. 18, according to the agenda. The change was made to “assist with staff and student COVID-19 numbers that are reaching a critical point,” according to a release from the district.

The Chester County School District has been advised by Emergency Management that due to Sunday’s winter storm, road conditions will not be safe on Tuesday morning, Chester County School District spokesman Chris Christoff said in a statement.

Tuesday will therefore be a remote learning day, Christoff said.

Students will work independently on assignments, but teachers will advise students of all assignments for the day and will be available during normal school hours via email to provide support as needed.

As of right now, the school at CCSD will return to normal operations on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, Christoff said.

The Lancaster County School District also will cancel school Tuesday, according to a post on their Facebook page.

“Please look for more information from your child’s school and individual teacher for what this means for your student,” officials wrote in the post. “If you should have a power or internet outage, please know that we will work with your student to address missed assignments.”

Due to the possibility for unsafe traveling conditions following the winter storm this weekend, all Fort Mill schools will transition to eLearning for Tuesday, a statement from the district said.

All afterschool activities and programs are canceled.

Schools will communicate more information for how the instructional day will operate, the statement said.

Because Fort Mill will have an eLearning day rather than cancel school, there will not a need for a make-up day later this year.

This story was originally published January 14, 2022 12:47 PM.