electrician in James Island, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Proposed upgrades to an intersection on James Island appear to be concerning some neighbors.

Charleston County’s recommended plan requires removing two grand oak trees at the intersection of Camp Road and Fort Johnson Road, an act that some James Islanders deem unnecessary.

Tuesday, the James Island Board of Zoning Appeals will meet to review the request to remove the trees.

According to a local advocacy group, they are 150-year-old grand oaks.

The town of James Island said removing the trees is needed in order to move forward with the intersection improvements, one councilman is wondering if there is any way these trees can be saved.

The intersection of Camp Road and Fort Johnson Road is one of the four areas on James Island that Charleston County has determined needs safety improvements. The first two Grand Oaks that line Camp Road are the trees in question.

One proposed plan for the intersection adds a turning lane, taking out many of the trees. But, the option the county recommends is a compact roundabout, only removing two trees.

James Island Councilman Garett Milliken said that’s still too many. He said the trees are perfectly healthy Grand Oaks and taking the first two trees could set the precedent for taking more in the future.

But he acknowledges the intersection improvement project must go forward.

“I believe that both goals can be realized. I do believe that nothing is carved in stone here with respect to the plans. And I feel that if the engineers can find a solution to saving these trees, that solution can carry over to other projects,” Milliken said.

However, James Island Mayor Bill Woolsey, said he disagrees.

He said they will continue to review the intersection with the county, making sure there is no way to avoid taking the trees.

For now, he said he thinks this plan is best for the town.

“This relatively small traffic circle is the best option. And if we have to sacrifice two trees of the over 40 on the road, I just think that is the responsible thing to do,” Woolsey said.

The county provided a statement saying they recommend this option because it saves more trees than the other options they provided and improves the safety of the intersection.

“Charleston County Public Works recommends the construction of an urban compact roundabout at Fort Johnson Road and Camp Road to improve the safety of the intersection. This type of roundabout will save as many Grand Oak trees as possible and require the acquisition of the least amount of right of way,” the County said in a statement.

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion with the town of James Island regarding the intersection plan and tree removal, you can email kcrane@jamesislandsc.us.

Today’s meeting starts at 5 p.m. For a link to the agenda, click here.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Two fake stop signs have been found in one James Island neighborhood, which the mayor says has caused confusion and controversy between town officials and local

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Two fake stop signs have been found in one James Island neighborhood, which the mayor says has caused confusion and controversy between town officials and locals.

A neighbor’s security camera captured the Town of James Island’s public works department removing the illegal stop signs from the corner of Clearview Drive and Tennant Street on Oct. 21.

“You cannot put your own stop signs out. You can always come to the town and make a request, and it will always be merited,” Mayor Bill Woolsey said. “We won’t often be able to put them up, but you can’t put them up yourself, and how we respond is we immediately contact SCDOT. We would have been very surprised if they put a stop sign out there without telling us beforehand.”

A worker could be seen wiggling one of the signs a couple of times before lifting it out of the ground and placing it in the back of a truck.

Not only were the signs put in illegally, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, but the ground next to the street was painted with white stop bars, as well.

“It’s the first I’ve ever heard about it, and I hope it doesn’t spread,” Woolsey said. “[I’m surprised] someone would come and paint a line in the road and buy some online stop signs and install them themselves in the middle of the night or early in the morning.”

Deputies said they were patrolling the area the night before and didn’t see any new signs, but when they went back the next day, they said the signs, which were apparently purchased online, had been put in overnight.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has also confirmed they have not installed any stop signs at the intersection.

Neighbors initially thought the stop signs were put in by DOT to help with speeders and said the fake signs hurts their ability to address the issue.

“I guess somebody duped us, and they were putting in fake stop signs,” neighbor Jim Boyd said. “They looked to all of us legitimate and 100% real. We are just in favor of anything and everything that we can get people to slow down. Yes, we understand first responders need to get here quickly as well, but we want everything and anything.”

However, Woolsey said he believes the signs did not pop up at random.

“If we find out who did it, they will be charged, and we believe that, most likely, it was someone who lives close by,” he said.

Woolsey also said there was a recent incident where an illegal speed bump was found and removed near the intersection. He said the speed bump had black and yellow stripes and was similar to one found in parking lots across the Lowcountry.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Congratulations to James Island head coach Jamar McKoy, the winner of SBLive South Carolina's Coach of Week award as voted by South Carolina high school sports fans.

This is the second consecutive week that SBLive voters have honored Coach McKoy. He received 85.86% of the state-wide vote as James Island (10-1) beat York 32-14 for the program’s first playoff win in more than a decade.

If you would like to nominate a coach, please email gary@scorebooklive.com or message us on Twitter or Instagram at @sblivesc.

Here's a look at the other great coaches who were nominated for this this week's honor:

Jason Winstead, Goose Creek

Goose Creek was limping along at 0-6 and going nowhere fast. That was then. Just look at the where they are now.

The Gators have won four in a row, including a 40-2 trouncing of West Ashley in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs.

Marc Morris, Carolina Forest

Carolina Forest got a tough draw with River Bluff in the first round of the playoffs and responded quite well with a 42-28 win. The Spartans are 8-4 after playing a brutal non-conference schedule and they’re winning at the right time.

Morris is a quarterback-whisperer, too, and he’s got a good one in Scott Saylor. The Spartans could be a tough out in the playoffs.

Russell Zehr, Cane Bay

Can you defend the run? If you can’t, you’re in trouble with Cane Bay. The Cobras just throttled Ashley Ridge 30-13. They're now 8-2 and in the second round of the AAAAA playoffs.

Scott Earley, Westside

The Rams are humming along at 9-2 after winning six games a year ago. They just beat Midland Valley 45-35 in the first round of the AAAA playoffs. Westside has won five consecutive games.

Reggie Shaw, Byrnes

Byrnes means state championships. The Rebels are again a force to be reckoned with after turning back Hillcrest 31-28 in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs. They can throw it and they can run it.

The Rebels endured a tough 25-22 loss to Dorman that cost them the region title. But they came right back with a win over Gaffney and then the playoff game.

Neil Minton, Florence Christian

Florence Christian surprised defending SCISA AAA champion Hilton Head Christian 43-36 in the playoffs. The Eagles are 6-6 but two of the losses were by one point each.

Three years ago, James Island had a mediocre football program.

The Trojans finished the season 5-5 and were searching for an identity under first-year head coach Jamar McKoy.

In three short seasons, McKoy, who came to the James Island from Hunter Huss High School in Gastonia, N.C., has built the Trojans into one of the best programs in the Lowcountry.

Liam Nixon threw for 187 yards and Amor Scott scored two touchdowns to lead James Island past York, 32-14, on Nov. 4 before a raucous crowd at The Backyard at James Island Charter School.

The Trojans (10-1) will face Irmo, a 14-7 winner over North Myrtle Beach, at home on Nov. 11 in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

“To win this time of year, you’ve got to play great football and win all three phases of the game,” McKoy said. “I thought we played a complete game in all three phases. Offense was able to move the ball, the defense bent a little bit, but didn’t break and the kicking game connected on some big field goals.

“It takes that kind of effort to win this time of year. We made some plays on both sides of the ball when we needed it the most.”

A week ago, the Trojans won their first region title since 1995. James Island’s playoff win was its first postseason victory since a 56-55 victory against Wren in 2009.

“This is a huge win for us, for the program and for James Island,” said James Island linebacker Walker Woodall, who finished with eight tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss. “We’ve been working toward this all season, especially the seniors.

“We were 5-5 my first season and to be where we are now is crazy. The players have put in the work, watched a lot of film and now all the hard work is paying off.”

The Trojans hadn’t played many close games during the regular season. Coming into the game, James Island had outscored its first 10 opponents, 402-62.

And while the Trojans jumped out to a 22-0 lead — on two short TD runs by Scott and another by Tykell Maxwell in the first half — the Cougars made things interesting in the second half.

Tristan Barnett came off the bench and threw for 193 yards to get the Cougars back into the game.

“You have to give (York) a lot of credit,” McKoy said. “They used another quarterback and we didn’t expect that. He threw some good balls and they didn’t quit.”

York’s Aiden Davis closed the gap to 22-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard TD run.

But James Island answered when Gray Dangerfield connected on a 48-yard field goal with 9:13 to play in the game to give the Trojans a 25-7 advantage.

“That was a big field goal for us,” McKoy said. “Gray has a strong leg. We were confident he could make it from there.”

Barnett scored on a 10-yard run to narrow the Trojans’ lead to 25-14 with 7:42 to play.

The Trojans put the game away when Cam’Ron Williams recovered a Barnett fumble in the end zone for the final margin of victory.

“We want to play games in December, that’s the goal,” McKoy said. “Right now, we’re not worried about records of milestones. We want to play for state championships.”

The high school football playoffs continue across South Carolina with games Friday night and Saturday. Here are the latest statewide scores, schedule and updates (down below) from The State’s Lou Bezjak.

Class 5A

Lower State

Fort Dorchester 46, Berkeley 0

Class 4A

Lower State

West Florence 42, Myrtle Beach 21

South Florence 50, Bluffton 0

Class 3A

Upper State

Powdersville 42, Chester 12

Class 2A

Upper State

Abbeville 49, Newberry 7

SCISA 4A

Laurence Manning 28, Trinity Collegiate 27

SCISA 3A

Pee Dee Academy 42, Pinewood Prep 27

SCISA 8-man

Holly Hill 72, Richard Winn 14

All games are 7:30 p.m. unless noted

Class 5A

Upper State

Spartanburg at TL Hanna

Dorman at Dutch Fork, 8 p.m.

JL Mann at Gaffney

Class 4A

Upper State

Catawba Ridge at North Augusta

South Pointe at Greenville

Indian Land at Westside

Class 3A

Upper State

Woodruff at Daniel

Belton Honea Path at Clinton

Seneca at Chapman

Lower State

Crestwood at Beaufort

Class 2A

Upper State

Saluda vs. Gray Collegiate at Irmo High School, 8 p.m.

Class A

Upper State

St. Joseph’s at Southside Christian

SCISA

Class 4A

Porter-Gaud at Hammond

Class 3A

Florence Christian at Wilson Hall

Class 2A

Bethesda Academy at Williamsburg Academy

Colleton Prep at Beaufort Academy

8-man

Faith Christian at WW King

Class 5A

Upper State

Byrnes at Blythewood, 2 p.m.

Lower State

Cane Bay at Sumter, 5 p.m.

Lexington at Summerville, 6 p.m.

Carolina Forest at Goose Creek, 6 p.m.

Class 4A

Upper State

Greenwood at Northwestern, 2 p.m.

Lower State

Irmo at James Island, 6 p.m.

Hartsville at AC Flora, 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A

Lower State

Lower Richland at Camden, 3 p.m.

Brookland-Cayce at Dillon, 5 p.m.

Manning at Gilbert, 6 p.m.

Class 2A

Upper State

Keenan at Strom Thurmond, 6 p.m.

Fairfield Central at Silver Bluff, 6 p.m.

Lower State

Andrews at Barnwell, 1 p.m.

Timberland at Andrew Jackson, 4 p.m.

Cheraw at Woodland, 6 p.m.

Wade Hampton (H) at Oceanside Collegiate, 8 p.m.

Class A

Upper State

Calhoun County at Christ Church, 1 p.m.

Denmark-Olar at Lewisville, 2 p.m.

CA Johnson at Wagener-Salley, 6 p.m.

Lower State

Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Johnsonville, 3 p.m.

Baptist Hill at Lamar, 6 p.m.

Carvers Bay at Estill, 6:30 p.m.

Lake View at Cross, 6:30 p.m.

SCISA Class A

St. John’s at Lee Academy, 6 p.m.

Calhoun at Thomas Heyward, 7 p.m.