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Miss South Carolina, Davis Wash, Reads to W.E. Parker Elementary School students (Oct. 25, 2024).
Michael Rosier
Miss South Carolina, Davis Wash, reads a book to students at W.E. Parker Elementary School on Friday, October 25, 2024.

Edgefield, SC - Miss South Carolina, Davis Wash, visited W.E. Parker Elementary on Friday, October 25, 2024, where she read a story to a Child Development class and fifth grade classes.

Wash, who attended W.E. Parker Elementary School, shared when she was in the third grade she learned the song, "Fifty Nifty United States". She told students how she sang the song for the judges during her Miss America interview and it helped her win Miss South Carolina.

Thank you, Miss South Carolina, for sharing your story (and a great book) with our Parker Pride students.

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SCDE employes deliver essential supplies in Edgefield.
Michael Rosier

Edgefield, SC – Most school buses are built with the idea of delivering students, but recently a very important bus delivered much needed supplies and hope to Edgefield County residents.

On Thursday, October 10, 2024, State Superintendent Ellen Weaver, joined a number of employees from the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) in delivering a bus filled with essential supplies to residents still reeling from Hurricane Helene.

The SCDE bus arrived in downtown Edgefield on the campus of Piedmont Technical College with diapers, baby formula, canned goods, wipes, water and much more. The supplied were all donated by SCDE employees, and around 100 residents participated in the free supply drive.

State Superintendent Weaver said it was important to both she and the SCDE team to join the recovery effort in Edgefield County.

“Edgefield was so impacted by the storm in a way very few counties across the state were and I wanted to see for myself both the damage and the beautiful resilience of the people of this town,” she stated. “I’m so proud of the work Superintendent O’Gorman and his team have been doing to support the community here. We at the department of education just wanted everyone to know we’re standing with them and we’re here for them.”

Edgefield County School District (ECSD) Superintendent, Dr. Kevin O’Gorman, said many local organizations and agencies and now the state department of education have all responded when help was needed.

“It’s great Superintendent Weaver was able to come here with supplies that were donated by and that came directly from the hearts of the employees at the state department of education,” commented Dr. O’Gorman. “It took a lot of people coming together for us to accomplish all we did after the storm, whether it was DSS or Red Cross, Edgefield County, emergency management or the sheriff’s department, our local police and the mayors. It seems like every time we’ve asked for help, people have come.”

“I reached out to Superintendent Weaver a few days after the storm and let her know what was going on because I didn’t think the state and the world knew what had happened in Edgefield County,” he added. “She’s responded to that call, and we certainly appreciate that.”

Angelica Blacks, who brought her school-aged children, Sydney and Skylar, to the event, expressed her gratitude for the supplies and the kindness of the SCDE employees.

“The hurricane was overwhelming and unexpected,” she said. “None of us were ready for that. I had never seen wind like that. It was a pleasure to meet (Superintendent Weaver). It was so nice for them to do something for us like this because we all needed to replace a lot of things.”

 

 

 

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Pictured are Sam Falk, Dr. Alan Gray, Larry Vinesett and ECSD Superintendent Dr. Kevin O'Gorman.
Michael Rosier

Johnston, SC – Larry Vinesett was doing his best to make it out west and away from South Carolina, where he was born and raised in Fort Mill. Hurricane Helene had other ideas, however, and while trying to take a shortcut off Interstate-20, he drove his 2017 Kia Soul around a tree in the road and never saw the log that would damage a tire axle, rendering his vehicle useless.

He was stuck and going nowhere outside of a small town called Edgefield.

And what might have been a terrible misfortune for Larry Vinesett, a man already beset by challenges and tough times, turned instead into a blessing he will remember for the remainder of his life. His battered and worn Kia made it as far as the Edgefield Fire Department and would go no further. For a couple of days, Fire Chief Roger Ellis and Assistant Fire Chief (and the Town of Edgefield’s Mayor), Ken Durham, helped Vinesett with food, a restroom and some necessities until the Edgefield County community emergency shelter opened just up the road at Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton (J-E-T) Middle School.

“He was in need, and we helped him out and did what we could for him and others,” stated Mayor Durham. “That’s what it’s all about, helping people.”

That’s when the Edgefield County School District (ECSD) took the ball and carried it into the end zone, repairing Vinesett’s vehicle at no charge at the Strom Thurmond Career & Technology Center (STCTC) automotive technology garage, setting him back on the road to the American west.

“I’ve had a lot of issues in my life, and I’ve actually been homeless and I’m trying to get my life together and the love I found (in Edgefield) has given me hope,” said Vinesett, whose repaired Kia had made it all the way from South Carolina to New Mexico as of Wednesday afternoon. “There was love from the top to the bottom in that town. You know, small town America is about dried up. I’ve seen more love from the community there than I’ve ever seen before.”

ECSD Superintendent, Dr. Kevin O’Gorman, says meeting and being able to offer help to Vinesett will be a cherished memory from his own experience during hurricane recovery.

“Larry was the first person to show up at the JET shelter and he was pretty upset because he thought both axles were broken and in his mind his car was pretty much totaled,” said Superintendent O’Gorman. “It didn’t matter to anyone here that he didn’t live here, and no one knew him. His being helped by several different entities in this county, without hesitation, is just an exemplar of what this community is really about.”

For Vinesett, the support he found in a community of people he had never met will remain present in his heart, forever. A community’s love for their fellow man, a complete stranger, had picked him up and set them back on the road for wherever life would take him next.

The same love shown to Vinesett continued on Wednesday in downtown Edgefield with a free community meal that fed over 700 people. Meanwhile, the Edgefield County School District will re-open its doors to returning students, faculty and staff on Monday, October 14, 2024.

“Who knew I would get stuck in a place called Edgefield?” Vinesett added while standing in the bright sunshine of a cool New Mexico day. “I’m still amazed. I was really down until I got to that city, and I sat around for days and just watched people wave to one another and have courtesy and love one another. It’s a loving town. That’s the nicest town I’ve ever been in in my life.”

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JES Teacher Angela Fallaw loads a pack of water into the back of a Johnston resident's vehicle.
Michael Rosier

Johnston, SC - The Edgefield County School District (ECSD) will welcome back students, faculty and staff on Monday, October 14, 2024, in a return to normal operations following intensive hurricane recovery efforts at all district schools.

"I could not be any prouder of our school district family than I am right now," stated ECSD Superintendent Dr. Kevin O'Gorman. "The way our employees, parents and families came together during this crisis has been something amazing to see."

"We've learned a lot of lessons and created wonderful new partnerships in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene," he added. "I cannot thank our staff enough for stepping up to the plate to help those in need. Although rewarding in a lot of ways, the past two weeks have been anything but normal. Opening school on Monday (Oct. 14) feels like a monumental effort based on the work we've done, but hopefully for our students it will seem like just another Monday back in school."

Residents who are still in need of emergency food and water may receive them at the Edgefield Fire Department. Those in need of emergency shelter are encouraged to contact the Red Cross at 1-800-RedCross.

Extracurricular activities and athletic practices and games have resumed. Strom Thurmond High School JV and varsity volleyball host Pelion HIgh tomorrow starting at 5:30 p.m. and STHS students will attend this Friday's (10/11) home varsity football game versus American Leadership free of charge with a photo ID or school badge during a "Pink Out" game to support Breast Cancer Awareness.

#StillGrowingGreatness

#StillSmiling

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Douglas Elementary School Principal, Windie Burton, loads water into a county resident's vehicle.
Michael Rosier

Trenton, SC – What are we going to do? What can we do to help?

Douglas Elementary School (DES) Principal, Windie Burton, heard these same questions (and many other varieties of them) over and over again from her staff and parents following the damaging departure of Hurricane Helene.

Before these questions could be answered, however, others needed to be asked and answered. She and her faculty and staff desperately needed to find out which of their DES families needed help, and how much help they needed.

So the call went out. A spreadsheet was created and the names of DES community families needing food, water and other supplies quickly took shape much in the same way Hurricane Helene had formed, slowly at first and then faster and faster.

Once Burton and her staff had the information they needed, they sprang into action alongside many DES parents, traveling to Johnston Elementary School and Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton (J-E-T) Middle School for emergency meals (MREs), water and other supplies, while also supplying items on their own in some cases, to pass out in the community.

“We found out what our families had and what they needed, and we worked to provide those things,” stated Burton. “Many of our parents also reached out to me to see what they could do so they came out and joined us, using their personal vehicles to help bring things to our community. Our teachers and parents volunteered so it was truly a group effort.”

“We went out into the Trenton community to ensure our kids, and our families, had what they needed,” she added. “We also checked on our staff to see if any of them needed help.”

In the days after those needs were addressed, Burton, and other DES faculty and staff, have not been idle. They’ve found other ways to help, including joining Johnston Elementary School staff members during daily food and water distributions.

Burton says the response of her school to community needs in Trenton and the Johnston areas has warmed her heart and bolstered her faith in the human spirit.

“This whole process has reminded me that we’re all in this together,” commented Burton. “When I put the call for help our teachers, faculty and staff responded. It makes me feel good to know, not only do they all care about educating our children, but they also care about their well-being, and they care that they have the things and necessities they need.”

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