electrician in Rock Hill, SC

ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – A former Rock Hill Bearcat is helping his team end an era in college football over the weekend.

Plus, the Rock Hill Bearcats and Northwestern Trojans renew their rivalry on the hardwood.

And, CN2’s Jeremy Wynder caught up with one of the best quarterbacks to come from football city USA.

We have those stories and more.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – The effort to revitalize the Southside of Rock Hill, known as the Clinton ConNEXTion, recruited York Technical College to help reach another goal of it’s mission.

The two organizations have partnered to offer courses and certifications at the Emmett Scott Recreation Center located on Crawford Road.

For now the only courses offered at the Rec. Center will be Commercial truck driving, a Customer Service Certificate, and the OSHA 10 manufacturing essentials program. The hope is to expand that list in the future. York Tech officials say the goal of the expansion is to give everyone a chance to learn.

Enrollment for those courses will begin in January, with the program being fully funded by York Tech. Students will still be expected to cover the cost of additional materials, such as books.

More information on the partnership can be found here on the York Technical College website.

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – A Lancaster County family is trying to pick up the pieces after losing everything in a house fire.

According to Lancaster County Emergency Management fire crews were called to a house on 15th Street around 3:45 AM Monday, December 19th for a structure fire.

Fire leaders say the house is a total loss and it started in the home because of a kerosene heater that was being used to heat some of the home.

Clayton Smith told CN2 News he is thankful he, his two children and his children’s mother made it out ok. He says they woke up to the home on fire and he rushed to get everyone out safely.

Smith says they lost everything in the fire, even Christmas presents.

Lancaster County Fire Marshal, Mike Magette says its common to see house fires this time of year as neighbors work to keep houses warm. He says with kerosene or electric heaters, there are important tips to keep in mind.

If you would like to help the family, you can reach Clayton Smith at (803) 650-9085.

Kolton, a 5th grader at Mount Gallant Elementary School, said he just wanted to make sure his teachers and classmates had a pretty campus to come back to.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — If you ask most kids how they spent their winter break, they might tell you they went to the mall or played video games or went skating with some friends.

If you ask 10-year-old Kolton Dunn, he'll tell you he spent his winter break cleaning up his school campus.

Kolton, a 5th grader at Mount Gallant Elementary School, said he just wanted to make sure his teachers and classmates had a pretty campus to come back to after winter break.

"Now there's not going to be as much trash," Kolton said. "And it makes everything more beautiful because there's not just trash flying around everywhere."

Kolton's good deed at the school is all part of the random acts of kindness project he and his family came up with.

Kolton's mom, Danielle Dunn, said instead of a traditional advent calendar, they have a random acts of kindness calendar.

"We do it every year," Danielle Dunn said. "We don't do a traditional advent calendar. We do a family advent calendar that has acts of kindness tasks throughout the month."

The Dunn family said the acts of kindness can be as small as paying for someone's meal who is sitting alone at a table.

"Maybe they'll pass it on and it's kind of a trickle effect," Danielle Dunn said. "So that's just kind of teaching them kindness."

Shout out to our guy, Kolton! He is a 5th Grade Beta Club member who donated time during his break to beautify our campus! #rocksolid #MGESthrive @RockHillSchools pic.twitter.com/XVQjNhJneK

— Mt. Gallant Elem (@MtGallantElem) January 3, 2023

When asked, Kolton said he hopes other kids follow his lead and do something similar for their schools.

"It can help the world be a cleaner place and better place," Kolton said.

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Thousands of customers were without electrical service Friday afternoon in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties in South Carolina as a winter storm with potentially dangerous cold moved into the area, according to officials and utility providers.

The outages came as the National Weather Service said temperatures Friday night were to drop close to single digits late Friday with wind chills expected to reach zero or below.

Duke Energy reported around 2,000 outages in the three counties after 2 p.m. There were a few hundred outages in York County mainly near Newport between Rock Hill and York, according to the utility’s outage map.

Outages included more than 1,000 in Chester County, and around 800 in mostly northern Lancaster County near the North Carolina border, the utility’s outage map showed.

York Electric Cooperative reported on its outage map just a few scattered outages in the early afternoon Friday.

The utility had restored outage to more than 4,500 customers who had lost power earlier in the York area, and other areas from Lake Wylie south and east through Fort Mill, Tega Cay and south of the city of Rock Hill, according to cooperative officials and the outage map.

The City of Rock Hill utilities department map showed around 150 outages Friday afternoon.

Tens of thousands of others were reported without power in other areas of South Carolina, according to Duke Energy. More than 10,000 were out of power west of Rock Hill near Greenville.

More than 20,000 customers were without power adjacent to York County in the Charlotte region, The Charlotte Observer reported.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the area through Friday with gusts expected of 30 MPH or more.

Temperatures are expected to only reach the 30s Friday and around 30 Saturday. Lows are expected Friday night into Saturday to reach near record cold of around 10 degrees.

A wind chill advisory was also issued by the weather service that lasts through Christmas Eve on Saturday. Coupling in wind and the cold, wind chill - what it feels like outside - are expected to be below zero Friday night into Saturday.

Emergency management officials advised people to be mindful of the danger of fallen electrical lines and trees.

Check back for updates.

This story was originally published December 23, 2022 9:40 AM.

A judge has denied approval of a bankruptcy plan proposed by a David Tepper-owned company that would pay creditors in the failed team headquarters project in Rock Hill.

Bankruptcy Judge Karen Owens during a hearing Wednesday did not approve the GT Real Estate (GTRE) plan that documents and court statements show would essentially end the case and all lawsuits associated with it. The hearing was held in-person and by video conference from Delaware federal court.

Without judicial approval, no creditors, including the taxpayers of York County and Rock Hill, can be paid.

However, lawyers for GTRE, York County, Rock Hill and contractors agreed to continue negotiations and discussions, officials and lawyers said in court.

GTRE, or GT Real Estate, is the company created by Tepper to oversee what would have been the Panthers NFL team’s headquarters and practice facility in Rock Hill, S.C. The project failed and resulted in GT Real Estate filing for bankruptcy.

GTRE filed bankruptcy in June after construction had stopped in March over a money dispute between GTRE and Rock Hill.

Lawyers for GTRE, York County, Rock Hill, and the general contractor all said during Wednesday’s hearing that they agreed to the overall plan where contractors would get $60 million and York County would get $21 million. Rock Hill would get no cash but have an option to eventually own the land the project sits on. That land is worth more than $20 million.

The sides agreed to adjourn the hearing around noon Wednesday, and continued negotiations until 4 p.m. The hearing reconvened at 4 p.m. but no agreement was reached Wednesday, GTRE lawyer Will Guerrieri said in court. Hearings on the plan were set to resume Thursday afternoon, court officials said.

GTRE, York County, Rock Hill and the general contractor also agreed that the plan would end (release) all lawsuits and claims in the case, including lawsuits by York County and Rock Hill against GTRE and other Tepper companies. Lawyers for all sides argued in court to accept the plan with the releases in place.

Lawyers for GTRE, Tepper and his companies, and contractors said the releases, described in court as components that would keep the sides out of potential future civil legal action, were crucial negotiations to make the deal.

Dan Fliman, who stated he was a lawyer representing Tepper and affiliated Tepper companies Appaloosa Management, DT Sports Holding, and Tepper Sports Holding, said in court that without the releases, there would have been no plan set for approval.

“We were fending off attacks left and right,” Fliman said.

Fliman said the plan would provide “consensus, peace, and finality.”

Owens said she had concerns about what she described as “non-consensual releases” in the plan, concerning any potential future legal action that could affect other parties connected to the case. Those potential parties were not named in court.

Owens said she understands why the sides in court Wednesday want the releases, but as the plan stands the releases, in her opinion, do not pass a legal standard set by past court cases.

Owens said the releases likely could be drafted a different way that could possibly pass judicial scrutiny.

In the Wednesday hearing, a lawyer for the U.S. Trustee voiced objections to releases from potential future court actions.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a trustee is appointed in bankruptcy to ensure cases are handled to the benefit of all involved -- including taxpayers.

A trustee in the case voiced objections months ago and again in November as the bankruptcy plan moved forward.

Owens said Wednesday she approved a settlement between GTRE with York County for over $21 million. That was over road tax money York County sent to GTRE that was used in the project.

Part of that settlement is that all claims and allegations made by York County against GTRE and other Tepper companies would be dismissed and withdrawn, and will later be expunged, according to court statements and documents.

GTRE lawyer Stephen Moeller-Sally said in court the settlement means a “complete and global settlement of all claims” among GTRE, other Tepper companies, and York County.

GTRE acted in good faith in the negotiations, Moeller-Sally said.

“This was an extraordinary action taken by the debtor (GTRE) at no cost to creditors,” Moeller-Sally said in court.

Chuck Gibbs, one of Rock Hill’s lawyers, said in court that Rock Hill and GTRE previously agreed to a settlement worth about $20 million, where the city gets title to the property if the bankruptcy plan is approved.

Gibbs said the settlement between the city and GTRE was essential.

“It was a long and difficult road,” Gibbs said. “We are getting title to the property that frankly is an eyesore and will have to be torn down.”

Contractors and subcontractors would get over $60 million in the settlement with GTRE, Michael Roeschenthaler, lawyer for the general contractor, said in court. All contractors would get at least 90 percent of what was claimed, and some would get the full amount, he said.

Roeschenthaler called the releases “essential” to the plan being passed. He said the general contractor has the authority to back out of the deal if the releases are lost.

Roeschnethaler said the deal is “extraordinary” for all parties, even if it is not perfect.

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good,” Roeschenthaler said. “The plan is not perfect, but it is exceptional.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2022 5:52 PM.

An upscale steakhouse will serve as the anchor tenant at The Power House in Rock Hill.

Epic Prime — a new concept for restaurateur Elliott Close and the team behind Epic Chophouse — should make its debut in early to mid-summer.

“It’ll be something Rock Hill hasn’t seen before that’s for sure — and it’s something Rock Hill is ready for,” Close says. “We’re always trying to read the market and do what the market is telling us.”

Epic Prime is a key piece to The Sherbert Group’s vision for The Power House, says Tara Sherbert, CEO.

“We have full confidence this is the correct fit and the fit we were patiently waiting for,” she says.

The $18 million project is part of Rock Hill’s University Center. The Sherbert Group is transforming a 58,000-square-foot building there into a community hub. It dates to 1929 and served as the power plant for the mill campus.

The restaurant will be tucked into a space known as the grotto.

Epic Prime will occupy just over 5,000 square feet. Historic remnants of the power plant, including concrete structures and exposed brick, will provide character. The 1,350-square-foot patio will hug the smokestack, Sherbert says.

“We knew it was really going to take the right operator and the right user to put in this space to complement each other,” she says.

Close — who’s involved in Drift on Lake Wylie, The Pump House in Rock Hill and Napa at Kingsley in Fort Mill — was intrigued by the possibilities for The Power House when he toured it about five years ago. He thought a steakhouse would be a great fit. That led to a partnership with Rick Mack and Larry Sponaugle, the duo behind Epic Chophouse.

“It’s just an opportunity that is too hard to pass up," he says.

A team of 30 investors has been tapped for the multimillion-dollar project.

“We will spare nothing to get it right,” Close says. “We will make sure the interior and our layout is second to none.”

Expect Epic Prime to deliver cuts of USDA Prime steaks — unique to its brand and name — in an intimate setting, Mack says. The focus will be on creating a great atmosphere, with top-notch service, high-quality food and value.

“We’re always trying to create a dynamic, exciting environment,” Mack says. “Epic Prime will be another challenge as far as getting the best of the best and trying to make it affordable.”

Mack and Sponaugle founded the Epic Chophouse brand in Mooresville. It expanded its footprint with a second location in Kingsley Town Center in 2020.

Epic Prime is the next iteration for that brand.

“It’s meant to become its own thing,” Mack says. “We want to connect in a community. We want to be part of a community.”

Synergyone in Davidson is the general contractor, and RDM Architecture has been tapped as architect on the project.

Sherbert says work on The Power House continues. The project looks to create a community center, with a food hall, brewery, restaurants and Class-A apartments.

The food hall is on track for a first-quarter opening, along with the expansive event lawn. Six tenants as well as a barber shop have taken space there.

Middle James Brewing Co. is nearing completion on its 2,800-square-foot space. The apartments are also in the punch-list stage.

“This project is very much wanted and needed in Rock Hill," Sherbert says.