Personal Injury Attorney in Aiken, SC

Published: Jan. 14, 2025 at 6:49 AM PST|

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Aiken County school officials say no student or staff data was compromised in a recent data breach.

Also safe from the breach was the Edgefield County district.

The Aiken County Public School District told parents and guardians Monday night that no student or staff data was compromised by the breach of the PowerSchool system.

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“While Aiken County Public Schools use PowerSchool, our own investigation indicates that no student or staff data in their district was compromised,” the district told patrons Monday night. “We understand you may have concerns. we want to assure you that we take this matter seriously.”

The district said it’s working with PowerSchool and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to monitor the situation and we will keep parents informed with any updates.

The South Carolina Department of Education said the data breach occurred the night of Jan. 7.

It said an “international incident” caused those with “unauthorized access” to obtain customer data from PowerSchool’s Student Information Systems, including personally identifiable information.

In addition to Edgefield County, only three other South Carolina school districts were not affected by the data breach:

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Leaders with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs released a few tips to keep in mind for parents to safeguard their children’s information and avoid cyber threats:

If you believe someone is using your child’s information, call 800-922-1594 or visit https://consumer.sc.gov/identity-theft-unit/id-theft.

by submitting an Identity Theft Intake Form by clicking here.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

Snow days could be on the way for some parts of South Carolina, while most of the state will just be bundling up against sub-freezing temperatures.

A cold front moving into the Palmetto State this weekend will see temperatures in the 40s during the day, dropping into the 20s at night across the state, according to the National Weather Service.

The chance of precipitation increases early next week, but temperatures are expected to be well above freezing by then.

High temperatures in Charleston are expected to drop from near 60 on New Year’s Day into the 50s on Jan. 2 with lows in the 30s, the NWS reports. From Friday into Saturday, highs could be in the 40s with a hard freeze expected when overnight temperatures dip into the 20s. Temperatures are predicted to climb back into the 50s over the remainder of the weekend and into early next week.

Temperatures are expected to drop again late next week as a second round of arctic air moves through the Southeast. It's that second cold front that could mean snow for parts of the Upstate and Midlands.

"Judging by pattern recognition, that is definitely a possibility," Patrick Moore, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Greenville-Spartanburg office, said about a winter storm.

Moore added that "you need two ingredients to get a winter storm" — cold air and a storm system.

"Indications are that we're going have plenty of cold air," he said. "So the next problem is, will we get a storm system that will come along while we've got the cold air? That's been our problem the last couple of seasons, that we haven't had that overlap."

A model from the NWS Climate Prediction Center puts portions of the Midlands under a "slight risk of heavy snow" in early January amid low temperatures. Those areas include Irmo, Lake Murray and Blythewood, with a 20-40 percent chance of heavy snow from Jan. 7-13.

"There's a lot of uncertainty out that far," NWS Columbia meteorologist Emily Carpenter said. "It does look like there's probably going to be a pattern shift towards some cooler weather, some below normal temperatures, possibly some freezing temperatures early next week."

Lowcountry meteorologist Dave Williams added additional caution in a Facebook post, saying any forecast that far out is a "guess at best."

Nevertheless, chief meteorologist Chris Justus at WYFF television in Greenville wrote on Facebook that he would be "VERY surprised" if we didn't see snow at some point through January.

"We're going to be so cold that if we make it through that pattern, as active as things are going to be, if we make it through without any precipitation, I would be shocked," he said in a video.

Even without snow, the upcoming freezing temperatures come as South Carolina has enjoyed relatively warm weather for December, with highs pushing 70 degrees. It also comes on the heels of heavy rain in some areas and three tornadoes that touched down near Columbia.

It’s not unusual for temperatures to change suddenly, said Rachel Gross-Zouzias, a NWS meteorologist in Wilmington, N.C., which covers the Myrtle Beach area and other parts of the Pee Dee.

“We do fluctuate a bit, which is quite normal,” she said.

As for the weekend, Gross-Zouzias advised people to prepare for freezing temperatures by bringing their pets inside, insulating pipes and following other cold weather safety tips on the NWS website.

Reporters Lauren Leibman and Abby Ann Ramsey contributed.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Aiken County Public Schools will soon have a new cellphone policy.

It was approved Tuesday night. at a meeting where the school board also scheduled

It includes sweeping changes for thousands of elementary, middle and high schoolers.

The new policy is a topic that parents in Aiken County have mixed opinions on, but the approval was inevitable.

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That’s because the state is requiring all school districts to restrict the devices.

Billy Formisano’s son attends Aiken Scholars Academy. He says his son has always held an A average in school.

“My son had an issue using his cellphone during school hours. It had gotten to be such a problem with it that his grades dropped,” said Formisano.

He says education is the top priority for him and his son.

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But the phone had become too much of a distraction.

“He was busy hiding his phone like all great teenagers do, under the desk, and he was texting. Checking out Instagram, checking out all his pages, texting his girlfriend during school hours when he was supposed to be learning,” he said.

Formisano says he implemented his own cellphone policy far before the state-mandated one.

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“For the rest of the school year, it was about midyear in school. He had to drop his phone off at the front desk when he walked into school. Then he had to pick it up on his way out of school,” said Formisano.

He says after his son did this, he saw a major improvement in his grades.

“Once we took his cellphone away, his grades are all high A’s now,” he said.

The school board says at the end of the day, it’s not up to local officials to decide.

“This is not something that we sat around and dreamed up. It’s a policy that is required by the state of South Carolina,” said John Bradley, vice chairman of the Aiken County Board of Education.

But Formisano says it’s a no-brainer for his family.

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“Personally feel that I’d be a bad parent by allowing him to continue to play on his phone and not listen to the teacher that’s trying to teach him for the future,” said Formisano.

Bradley says he understands some parents are worried about safety, but school administrators will be able to contact parents if it’s a necessity.

The new policy kicks in when students return to the classroom after winter break – which will be a day shorter than originally planned, with Jan. 6 as an e-learning day.

To view the local policy, visit the Aiken County Public Schools website.

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An activity unavailable in Aiken since 2017 will be returning late this week.

Park Avenue Lanes will be back in business Dec. 6 after an extended break.

An open bowling session is scheduled to begin “after” 7 p.m., according to the Park Lanes Avenue page on Facebook.

“It’s been a long time in coming,” said Danny Zielinski, who owns the facility with his wife, Dottie.

Park Avenue Lanes has been closed since the collapse of a roof in 2013.

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The other bowling alley in Aiken, Strikehouse Bowl on Whiskey Road, shut down four years later, and a Taco Bell fast food restaurant was constructed on its former site.

Zielinski faced a variety of challenges during his efforts to revive Park Avenue Lanes, which included the replacement of the area where the 16 lanes are located with a metal structure.

“The insurance took 28 months to settle,” Zielinski said.

Among the other setbacks were the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain problems, contractor-related issues and a delay involving the certificate of occupancy.

“I could have walked away from this,” Zielinski said. “When the roof collapsed, I could have taken the insurance money and left. But that’s not what I wanted to do. My mom would have wanted me to keep it open.”

Zielinski’s mother, Patricia “Grandma Pat” Chapman, and his stepfather, James “Papa Jim” Chapman, opened the bowling alley in 1971 and operated it until 1978.

Zielinski worked there as a pin chaser when not attending school.

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After his parents sold the business, Park Avenue Lanes was known for a while as Strike and Spare Lanes and also as Family Bowl. But Zielinski’s association with the facility continued through his employment as a mechanic.

Zielinski has owned Park Avenue Lanes since 2005.

His family’s legacy wasn’t the only reason for Zielinski’s determination to reopen the bowling alley.

He said he felt a responsibility to the community because Aiken “needs something for kids [to do]… in a positive family environment.”

The projected cost, however, was daunting.

Based on an estimate that Zielinski received, he was going to have to pay $100,000 per lane, or $1.6 million for 16, to build a new bowling alley.

Fortunately, Zielinski said, he was able to save a lot of money by purchasing equipment “seven or eight years ago” from a bowling center that had been shut down in Georgia.

He stored it in a warehouse so it could be installed eventually at Park Avenue Lanes.

Another step in the reopening process was a major renovation of the section of the building that wasn’t replaced by the metal structure.

“Along with longtime friend Allan Morgan Jr., we gutted it," Zielinski said. “We remodeled everything and designed it ourselves. We put up sheetrock and insulation. The bathrooms had old 1960s tiles. We ripped them out and put in new tiles.

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Wood from the old lanes was used to make an island and counters where the snack bar and front desk are located.

In addition, "everything was brought up to code," Zielinski said, and he made sure that the bowling alley met ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) requirements.

Zielinski’s daughter, Dani Roberson, will be in charge of the snack bar and also will serve as “kind of a general manger,” her father said.

Roberson is excited about Park Avenue Lanes’ revival.

“My little girl (5-year-old Brodi) can grow up here like I did,” she said.

Zielinski plans for Park Avenue Lanes to be open seven days a week, but Sunday operating hours won’t begin until early 2025.

Interest in bowling leagues has been high, said Zielinski, who works at the Savannah River Site.

The bowling alley’s address is 1100 Park Ave. S.E.

For more information, call 803-648-9227 or visit parkavelanes.com.