Hair Salon near West Ashley, SC

From the starting lineup to the practice squad, injured reserve and coaching staffs, the Palmetto State has plenty of connections to the Super Bowl teams.

Defensive ends Carlos Dunlap of Kansas City and Robert Quinn of Philadelphia played together at Fort Dorchester High School. Chiefs assistant coach Rod Wilson starred at Cross High School and at South Carolina. And Eagles’ offensive lineman Brett Toth was an All-Lowcountry player at West Ashley High School before going on to Army West Point and then the NFL.

Here’s a look at some of the South Carolina connections who helped the Eagles and Chiefs get to the Super Bowl.

Kansas City Chiefs

Carlos Dunlap, Fort Dorchester High School

Dunlap, a 6-6, 277-pound defensive end, is a 13-year NFL veteran after he was a second-round pick of the Bengals in 2010. He finished his Bengals career second in team history with 82.5 sacks, and was a Pro Bowl pick in 2015 and 2016. He signed with the Chiefs in July 2022 and this season has 23 solo tackles and four sacks.

Justyn Ross, Clemson

The 6-4, 210-pound rookie receiver is currently on the reserve/injured list. He was signed by Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Cornell Powell, Clemson

The 6-0, 204-pound receiver from Clemson is on the practice squad/injured list. He was a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2021.

Rod Wilson, Cross High School

Wilson, who played at Cross and in college at South Carolina, is in his fourth season with Kansas City as a defensive assistant. He also has coached at South Carolina and Coastal Carolina, was the Chiefs’ assistant special-teams coach from 2017-19.

Philadelphia Eagles

Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State

The 6-2, 305-pound defensive tackle is a veteran of seven seasons in the NFL. He is from Salisbury, N.C, and was drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh in 2016. He was named to his first Pro Bowl after the 2021 season after the Eagles acquired him in 2020. Was known as the “Grave Digger” at S.C. State. He had 31 tackles and 11 sacks this season.

Robert Quinn, Fort Dorchester High School

The 6-4, 264-pound defensive end played in college at North Carolina, and was traded from the Bears to the Eagles in 2022. He holds the Bears’ single-season sack record with 18.5 in 2021. He played in 12 total games for the Bears and Eagles this season, and was All-Pro in 2021 and picked for the Pro Bowl in 2013, 2014 and 2022.

Brett Toth, West Ashley High School

Toth, a 6-6, 304-pound offensive lineman, played in college at Army and was a first lieutenant until receiving a waiver to play in the NFL. He has a degree in nuclear engineering and played in a career-high 11 games with the Eagles in 2021. He’s currently on the physically unable to perform list.

Mario Goodrich, Clemson

A 6-0, 186-pound cornerback from Clemson, Goodrich was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and is on the practice squad. He was elevated from the practice squad for the week 10 game against Washington.

Tarron Jackson, Coastal Carolina

A 6-2, 254-pound defensive end, Jackson was a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in 2021. He’s played in 22 career games for Philadelphia and earned a degree in applied mathematics at Coastal Carolina. He’s also listed on the practice squad.

South Carolina’s reputation as a truly magnificent college baseball state oozes beyond the ballpark fences at school facilities.

Lexington County Stadium welcomes teams from “up North” including a South Dakota State-George Mason series Feb. 24-26. The same weekend, Shipyard Park in Mount Pleasant will host Boston College, Ball State, Merrimack, Bucknell, Rutgers and Canisius.

Unfortunately, too many Palmetto State programs have been struggling inside their fences.

South Carolina Division I teams in the NCAA’s official 2022 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings of 301 schools going into last year’s NCAA Tournament:

30. Coastal Carolina

34. Clemson

35. Wofford

69. College of Charleston

72. South Carolina

122. USC Upstate

214. Presbyterian

217. Charleston Southern

230. The Citadel

241. Winthrop

It’s really worse than that.

Clemson hasn’t been to an NCAA Super Regional since 2010, the last time the Tigers made the College World Series.

South Carolina hasn’t been to Omaha since 2012.

College of Charleston made the NCAA Tournament seven times from 2004 to 2015 but not since.

Fred Jordan led The Citadel to the NCAA Tournament seven times but the Bulldogs haven’t participated since 2010.

It’s collectively baffling, unacceptable, like a cold hot dog and soggy popcorn on a drizzly night with “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” blaring over the PA system.

But there is real February optimism this year. Not just the type that comes with fresh sod but major changes, healthier arms and returning contributors.

Coastal Carolina took host East Carolina to a winner-advance game in an NCAA Tournament regional last season.

College of Charleston is picked to repeat as Colonial Athletic Association regular-season champions.

Major League prospect Will Sanders leads a group of South Carolina pitchers that spent the summer training together in Columbia.

Clemson took a big swing when it hired Erik Bakich, who somehow made Michigan the runner-up at the 2019 College World Series.

Will Sanders, Caden Grice

Sanders, atop a South Carolina pitching staff messed up by injuries in 2022, is a nice edge for any Friday in 2023. The player MLB.com analyst Jim Callis rates as the No. 18 prospect for the 2023 MLB draft is 6-6, 230, throws hard and has developed into a team leader.

“Everybody’s really happy with where we’re at,” said Sanders, who went 7-3 last season as the Gamecocks stumbled to 27-28 and put head coach Mark Kingston on a hotter seat going into 2023.

The College of Charleston pitching staff includes Friday starter Ty Good, the returning CAA leader in wins (10) and strikeouts (88), and William Privette, CAA preseason player of the year (12 saves and an 0.91 earned run average in 2022).

At Clemson, Bakich is looking forward to “returning Clemson baseball to where it should be and competing to win our first national championship and be a championship-caliber program.”

Tweaks include moving Caden Grice from the outfield to first base for his junior year. Grice was second-team All-ACC as a freshman when he hit .317 with 15 home runs (1.045 OPS) but slumped to .244/12/.813 in 2022.

Grice will also return to some mound duty for the first time since his freshman year.

The Citadel and CSU

The changing recruiting models have been hard on mid-major baseball programs.

No more beating the bushes to find prospects at rural schools and overlooked high school programs with all the showcase tournaments.

NIL is a thing in baseball, too.

But those 2022 RPI rankings for South Carolina teams scream parity. There are still many paths to the NCAA Tournament.

Wofford just missed (and should have been included) as an at-large pick last year.

The Citadel got a home win against South Carolina last season. Head coach Tony Skole and pitching coach Blake Cooper feel good about the pitching staff, including Tyler Jones, a grad transfer who made 26 starts at Winthrop and was The Post and Courier’s All-Lowcountry Player of the Year while at Mount Pleasant’s Wando High School.

Charleston Southern went 24-30 in 2022 but came within a 3-2 loss to Campbell in the Big South Tournament final of reaching the NCAA Tournament. It was the Buccaneers’ first Big South championship game appearance since 2000.

Former two-sport Presbyterian standout Elton Pollock led his alma mater to the NCAA Tournament as Big South champs in 2021 and to an upset win over South Carolina in 2022.

True, some of these reasons to believe clash with each other.

Will Sanders vs. Caden Grice.

College of Charleston vs. The Citadel vs. CSU.

But that’s what built South Carolina into a great college baseball state and what can make it, once again, more than just a destination spot for teams from up North.

Follow Gene Sapakoff on Twitter @sapakoff

Baseball preview schedule

The Post and Courier’s college baseball preview schedule:

Feb. 13 – Charleston Southern

Feb. 14 – The Citadel

Feb. 15 – College of Charleston

Feb. 16 – Clemson

Feb. 17 – South Carolina

Since 2012, South Carolina Anglicans have been in legal dispute with the Episcopal Church. A mixed State Supreme Court ruling in April 2022 began the conclusion of the last major church property dispute in the North American Anglican realignment.

Of the 36 Anglican parishes that were parties in the South Carolina Episcopal Church lawsuit, 28 retained control of their church properties, including the historic St. Michael’s, St. Philip’s and Old St. Andrew’s churches in Charleston. The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (ADOSC) counts a total of 53 parish and mission churches.

Of the eight ruled by the South Carolina State Supreme Court to lose control of their properties:

The Episcopal Church also filed a Petition for Reconsideration and Rehearing in September, asking the Court to reverse their ruling regarding two Anglican parishes whose property rights were affirmed on August 17: Old St Andrew’s in Charleston (the oldest church building south of Virginia dating to 1706), and the Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg. Those parishes await court action.

St. John’s Parish Church on Johns Island was the first to turn over property to the Episcopal Church, leaving their historic building and grounds to begin meeting for services at a nearby middle school. An Episcopal Church-affiliated congregation began worship on the historic site July 17.

During his recent visit to Charleston for the Mere Anglicanism conference, Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) Archbishop Foley Beach preached at the invitation of the St. John’s congregation.

The decision of Archbishop Beach – who presumably would be welcome in the pulpit of any of the three dozen Charleston-area ACNA parishes – to preach at St. John’s Parish Church signaled care for and support of those who had lost properties.

“It was an incredible encouragement to have the Archbishop with us. We are humbled he chose to be with us,” St. John’s Rector Jeremy Shelton shared with me in an interview this week. “It’s been six months for us now and it has been an incredible blessing. It is difficult, for sure. But God is faithful and our congregation is growing in size, faithfulness, and unity. The Gospel speaks much louder than anything else.”

Shelton, who became St. John’s Rector at the time of the property handover, explained that the invitation for Beach to preach came about after a parish staff member suggested it. The Archbishop’s office circled back within a month, suggesting the weekend of January 29.

Johns Island is a formerly rural community that has quickly become a Charleston suburb. The fourth largest island on the United States’ East Coast, it now has a population nearing 30,000, a growth rate of 114 percent since 2000. Named for Saint John Parish in Barbados by the first English colonial settlers, there is a long history of Anglican worship on the island, with St. Johns Parish Church founded in 1734.

“Our neighbors are from Minnesota, New York, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania,” Shelton, who hails from Kentucky but has lived in South Carolina for nearly 20 years, tells me of his own residential subdivision on the island. “They are coming from everywhere.”

Asked about what has most surprised the congregation amidst the period following the property handover, Shelton answered that congregational unity has grown.

“We were essentially three different congregations worshiping in one space,” Shelton recounted of the church’s recent history. “We went from three different worship preferences to one, and there was almost no dissension at all. It has been such an incredible blessing.”

The relationship with the middle school began about 15 years ago when parishioners prayed together for the school, then scheduled to close, to remain open, leading parishioners to become more intimately involved. It now has a magnet program and is a School of Excellence.

“In 15 years, going from a school that was scheduled to be closed to being a School of Excellence is nothing short of miraculous,” Shelton says of the school where his oldest son was a student and another son is presently enrolled. “They were arms wide open from the moment I reached out to them.”

Shelton said that of the parish congregation, about 250 persons came to worship at the middle school cafeteria, while about a dozen remained with the building as it transferred to the Episcopal Church.

“We are seeing new people come almost on a weekly basis,” Shelton reported. “We hosted a newcomer’s lunch this past Sunday since we began at the middle school and there were about thirty [new participants].”

The transition has not been without challenges: school fire alarms displaced the congregation in the middle of reciting the creed on Sunday, only to recur two weeks later at the conclusion of a service. Worship in a school cafeteria also means visible chewing gum adhered to the bottom of folding tables that double as pews. But St. John’s has a history of making it work.

“We have people who have been members for 94 years that have left the historic buildings and grounds and are now worshiping in the cafeteria of the school,” Shelton notes. Longtime church members recall these aren’t the first challenges the parish faced: in the 1950s, limited space necessitated Sunday school classes meeting in an attic and a graveyard.

“We’ve always made it work,” an elderly parishioner recounted to Shelton. God, he insists, is faithful: “We’re not just making it work, we’re thriving, due to God’s faithfulness and the resolve of the congregation.”

One challenge has already been overcome: the parish initially utilized garages and living rooms for storage, but now a central home base has been established in Resurrection Hall, which houses offices, storage and a trailer at one central location less than a mile from the school.

“You can do anything for a little while,” Shelton laughs. “What we have seen is that simply being in the community, we are hosting bible studies in people’s homes but also coffee shops, restaurants and parks. People are seeing us out and that is a way of beginning conversations.”

Update: St. Matthew’s Church in Fort Motte has successfully completed a capital campaign to buy back their church building, graveyard and parish hall. More here.

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCIV) — Today marks a new chapter in the turf war between two cities, as the City of Charleston and the City of North Charleston will go to court to over a plot of land in West Ashley, which could shake up the landscape of the town.

It all started back in 2017 when the City of North Charleston annexed the Runnymede property next to the Ashley River and Magnolia plantations. The owner of this property also owned land at the Whitfield Tract plantation and gave permission to the city to annex a one-acre property adjacent to it.

With this land it would open the door for North Charleston to take control of nearly 2,500 acres of land at Whitfield Tract.

But the problem is the city’s current lines do not touch this property, which is an argument the City of Charleston will hammer in at court on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

The City of Charleston and the National Trust for Historic Annexation sued the city of North Charleston in 2018 over this dispute. In the first hearing the court ruled the City of North Charleston did not have the right to jump over Charleston for this land, however Charleston did not have “standing” to sue (which can be a big hurdle to cross in civil cases.)

On Tuesday, there’s two appeals-- one for the one-acre of land and one for the remaining 2,500 acres on Whitfield Tract.

In 2018 the City of Charleston annexed the 2,500 acre property at Whitfield tract as purely a conservation measure just a week after the City of North Charleston annexed the one acre property next to it.

In 2018 the City of Charleston annexed the 2500 acre property at Whitfield tract as purely a conservation measure just a week after the City of North Charleston annexed the one acre property next to it.

Conservation experts are worried Tuesday's decision could be a slippery slope for land acquisition in the future.

“I think that you have some catastrophic impacts that could happen across this state if cities, leapfrogging over other cities. I mean, just imagine, like, Sullivan's Island, leapfrogging over the town of Mount Pleasant to get Cainhoy Road or something," Senior Program Director for the Coastal Conservation League Jason Crowley said.

The City of North Charleston gave ABC News 4 this statement ahead of the court hearing:

The City of North Charleston prevailed at the trial court level and looks forward to moving through tomorrow’s appeal hearing stage as well.

Conservation experts also warn about the environmental impacts this decision could have. The one acre of land in question is right next to the Church Creek River Basin. The property currently acts like a sponge, stopping flooding to the basin from the Ashley River.

But if this property is developed, this could flow downstream into neighborhoods in West Ashley and only increase flooding problems in the City of Charleston.

The City of North Charleston has not confirmed any plans for the property, but certain zoning requirements could leave the door open for developments. The property falls outside the City of Charleston’s urban growth boundary, which prevents them from making any developments.

However, the City of North Charleston does not follow those rules.

While conservation experts argue for the historic nature of these plantations, they say the ecological impacts could be much worse.

“Any sort of change in hydrology change and development in this vast undeveloped area will have catastrophic effects downstream in the communities that are already dealing with some pretty major flooding,” Crowley said.

"And then you add on traffic and all the other things that everyone loves to talk about. And you will just completely destroy this area that people have fought so hard to protect over the last several decades,” Crowley continued.

The City of Charleston provided ABC News 4 with this statement ahead of the court hearing:

Fixing flooding in Church Creek is a top priority for the city of Charleston-- and to do that, we have to prevent overdevelopment of this area at the top of the drainage basin. That's our goal here, and it's why we'll be in court again on Tuesday morning

Tuesday's hearing is an appellate court hearing, which will purely focus on the legality of these annexations. But it also means if the City of Charleston loses, they could appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, which could take years to be heard.

SCDNR News

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C.

Last week, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) was awarded $1.5 million to work with partners and volunteers in the Charleston area to restore seven acres of degraded salt marsh in a historically important area. The project will unfold over four years and use volunteers to plant salt marsh grasses and construct oyster reefs through SCDNR’s South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) Program.

"We’re ecstatic to receive funding for this project," said Michael Hodges, SCDNR shellfish biologist and lead on the project. "We’re excited that we will get to involve so many volunteers and partners in the project’s implementation. This will be a unique project, using novel, nature-based solutions to restore the degraded tidal marsh in this historically significant part of the Lowcountry."

Granted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the National Coastal Resilience Fund, the award is one of eight funded across the country and represents a continuation of federally funded work on Old Towne Creek in West Ashley. Phase one of the project, led by the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT), involved developing engineering and design plans for coastal marshes in West Ashley. A team led by Dr. Joel E. Kostka, Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Schools of Biological Sciences and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at GT, will lead post-restoration monitoring and quantify habitat improvements as well as collaborate with SCDNR to train volunteers and citizen scientists. Other partners in this phase of the project will include Robinson Design Engineers and the South Carolina Aquarium.

"This project is a win-win for the Charleston area as it will restore critical wildlife habitat while strengthening the resilience of the coastline to damage from storms and erosion made worse by climate change," said Dr. Kostka. "We at Georgia Tech are excited to participate in the project, in particular to leverage science to develop metrics and improve strategies that will ensure the success of nature-based restoration activities across the U.S."

The restoration site is in what was formerly Maryville, a small town with an important role in Charleston’s history. Chartered and settled in 1886, Maryville was one of the area’s most prominent settlement communities – self-sustaining, all-Black communities that offered the region’s formerly enslaved population safer places to buy land, raise families, and pursue farming or trades in the Jim Crow-era South.

Despite later annexation by the city of Charleston and rapid development of surrounding West Ashley, the area is still known to some locals – including descendants of the town’s founders – as Maryville.

Old Towne Creek is the tidal waterway that connects this area to the nearby Ashley River. In 1670, it saw the first English settlers arrive and establish ‘Charles Towne’ on its banks. Later, the fishermen of Maryville plied its waters for crab, oysters and fish. Today, the creek is popular among kayakers and birdwatchers. But like many urban waterways, Old Towne Creek and its surrounding marshes have degraded over time, particularly after a severe drought in 2012 and another salt marsh dieback event in 2016. Researchers have found that the salt marsh within the project area has not recovered naturally like other areas with similar conditions.

The recent $1.5 million in funding will allow for the restoration and monitoring of seven acres of degraded salt marsh through community-based restoration efforts. Members of the community and the Ashleyville-Maryville Neighborhood Association, who initially noticed that the marsh vegetation was dying back, participated in the initial site assessment and will now be engaged as volunteers in the restoration.

SCDNR biologists have been constructing ‘living shorelines’ – shorelines made of natural materials – for two decades, primarily using recycled oyster shells. These shells attract young oysters, which settle on the hard materials and collectively grow into reef structures that filter waterways, provide habitat for fish and buffer shorelines from erosion.

Please click here to sign up to receive updates about marsh restoration volunteer events.

A state-of-the-art dental and oral health center has become the 22^nd specialty in the MUSC Health West Ashley Medical Pavilion, a sign of the site’s stunning evolution. The pavilion opened in the former Citadel Mall in late December 2019, a month before the first diagnosed case of COVID in the U.S. – not exactly ideal timing.

But the pavilion has thrived despite that, seeing 64,000 patients last year alone. The addition of the dental clinic brings the expertise of the Medical University of South Carolina’s James. B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine to the most populous part of Charleston.

“This is such an example of farsightedness,” James B. Edwards’ widow, Ann, said at the ribbon cutting.

Charleston’s mayor, John Tecklenburg, agreed. “This is where the customer base is. And although I certainly love and encourage folks to come downtown and enjoy all the things we have there, the concept of bringing our services to the citizens of West Ashley- that’s what this overall center is all about,” he said. “I think you'll be very successful.”

The clinic has four treatment rooms, on-site imaging and a full-time dentist on site, with MUSC faculty members who specialize in dental medicine coming to see patients as well. The dean of the dental school, Sarandeep Huja, DDS, Ph.D., said the clinic will focus on patients’ needs and the needs of the collaborative services dictated by existing MUSC Health patients.

“In addition to outstanding dental care, eventually we'll have all specialties and we'll have all levels of care – faculty, residents, our students, and it's really important for our students to experiences akin to what they would in private practice.”

Paul Davis, DMD and a member of the MUSC Board of Trustees, spoke of the foresight that led to the clinic’s creation. “Today's ceremony represents a milestone that began with a vision from Dr. Huja and his team, a vision that has been shared and supported by Dr. Cole and Dr. Cawley and MUSC Health,” he said, referring to MUSC President David Cole, M.D., and MUSC Health CEO Patrick Cawley, M.D.

“This vision highlights the importance of oral health as it relates to overall health and wellbeing,” Davis said.

Cole focused on the efforts that helped make that vision a reality. “It's an honor to be able to lead so many talented and dedicated people that are working hard to make a difference in people's lives. There's just one example, you know, so those are words from the heart. Thank you for what you do.”

Board chairman James Lemon, DMD, was also on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as were Gene Hong, M.D., chief physician executive for MUSC Health and Lisa Saladin, PT, Ph.D., executive vice president of Academic Affairs and provost.

Huja said that while the West Ashley dental clinic is the first one not on MUSC’s downtown campus, and this growth will continue. And it will serve as a symbol of what’s possible for patients. “Why is this clinic important? The connection between systemic and oral health is epitomized in this integrated model of care, which MUSC will offer here at West Ashley Medical Pavilion.”

Ann Edwards said the clinic brings a much-needed option of dental expertise backed by an academic medical center to people who live in West Ashley. “It’s just wonderful that you have come to them. And that is so important. Thank you, each and every one who made it possible.”

To make an appointment at the MUSC Health West Ashley Medical Pavilion’s dental clinic, call 843-876-9267.