Personal Injury Attorney in Charleston, SC

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — A terrible incident that happened to a North Charleston woman as a child turned into inspiration for a new law in South Carolina to help people who experience seizures.

“Yes, I was 6 years old, and I was stabbed in the eye with a pencil by a classmate,” JenVon Cherry said.

Cherry’s family lived in Washington, DC at the time. Two weeks later, she experienced a grand mal seizure. Part of the pencil lead had lodged in her brain. Doctors performed emergency surgery, but the injury caused her to become epileptic.

She was having three to four seizures a month, triggered by anything from bright lights to heat.

“But stress definitely can be a number one trigger. Lack of sleep, not taking your medication on time or not taking your medication at all, not eating properly,” Cherry said.

After she stopped working seven years ago, she started a non-profit called Epitome of Epilepsy to help others dealing with the brain disorder. Friends encouraged her to reach out to lawmakers as well.

“There were a lot of members in the Senate who had no idea that you don’t put something in the person’s mouth because there’s a lot of misconceptions surrounding perhaps you don’t want them to choke or bite their tongue, so you place a spoon there. That is not medical advice,” Sen. Deon Tedder said.

Lawmakers passed the Seizure First Aid and Epilepsy bill with unanimous support, and the governor signed it into law this year.

“And so what it does is, it requires all state entities, state agencies to post them in conspicuous places so that it’s clear and visible for employees. The do’s and don’ts for epilepsy if someone is experiencing a seizure in the workplace,” Tedder said.

An easy-to-use guide is now available on the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s website, instructing people on how to keep seizure patients safe.

“And this is only mandatory for state agencies and state entities, but what we would hope is that the private sector also values the importance of this information and the safety mechanisms behind it, and that they too utilize the resources that the state is providing by also putting these up in their places of employment as well,” Tedder said.

Cherry is humbled that her journey is making a difference.

“Most of all, I just think that God has really blessed me to be able to be in this position to help others,” Cherry said.

Officials with the National Epilepsy Foundation were in attendance for the bill signing, and we could see similar proposals in other states as well.

“And now they are excited about it. They want to utilize our model and push this in other states. That’s something that I’ll be helping out with in the next session,” Tedder said.

To access a copy of the seizure first aid instructions, click here.

To learn more about Cherry’s organization, Epitome of Epilepsy, click here.

Four career fairs will come to the Charleston area in September in honor of Workforce Development Month, offering job seekers the opportunity to apply and interview for jobs in both the private and public sectors on-site.

The events have been organized in conjunction with the county governments by SC Works Trident, a program of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments that aims to connect job seekers with employers and training providers in the area.

Each county will have its own fair, and there will be an event dedicated to public service jobs toward the end of the month. The career fairs will be held:

Pre-registration for the job fairs is not required, though applicants are encouraged to bring their updated resume to the events and prepare for on-the-spot applications and interviews.

For a list of the employers set to participate in each of the fairs, go to scworkstrident.org/events and click on the respective job fair on the calendar.

Here’s what else is happening in the tri-county area.

Charleston

The city of Charleston’s website has a new look.

After an independent audit concluded that users struggled to find the information they sought, the new site is designed around the people who use it, according to an Aug. 24 news release.

There are separate tabs for residents, businesses and visitors. It also has a handful of new tools, including:

“Government websites have a reputation for being where information goes to hide. We built this one to do the opposite,” Mayor William Cogswell said in the statement.

Additional features, including a projects dashboard and a redesigned permit center, are expected to roll out in the coming months, the city said.

The site is live at www.charleston-sc.gov.

— Kailey Cota

North Charleston

Local business owners and leaders are invited to learn more about the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, an overhaul of the current zoning rules.

The Sept. 1 event at Wits End Comedy Lounge will kick off with local comedy from Nameless Numberhead, followed by dialogue to help city planners better understand residents’ concerns and vision for the city’s future. Light bites will be served, and a cash bar will be available. The event is free but limited to 70 people. Register at www.lowcountrylocalfirst.org.

Also, if you’re looking for free entertainment, North Charleston POPS! is bringing back its Jazz in the Park series for the fall.

On select Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m., guests can listen to jazz artists perform while sitting under the oaks at Riverfront Park. The performances are free; bring lawn chairs or a picnic blanket to sit on. The fall dates are Sept. 1, 15 and 22 and Oct. 20.

— Kenna Coe

Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant’s Committees of Council will meet on Aug. 31.

The Health, Recreation and Events Committee will get an update on the construction of Gary Santos Park, formerly called Rifle Range Park, at 8:15 a.m. The park is funded through the 2022 Recreation Referendum.

At $40 million, it was the most expensive project to be funded by the $50 million tax referendum. Construction broke ground in March and will feature artificial turf sports fields, courts for both tennis and pickleball, a playground, picnic pavilions, and a building with a gymnasium and classroom space.

The Water Supply and Resources Committee will meet shortly after at 8:45 a.m. to discuss the potential impact of data centers, an item that the Planning Committee will also take up at 10:45 a.m.

The Flood Resilience Committee will hear an update on Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for a critical Old Village drainage project that was briefly cut and then re-instated earlier this year.

Check out the full agenda at tompsc.com/agendacenter. Meetings take place at Mount Pleasant Town Hall located at 100 Ann Edwards Lane.

— Anna Sharpe

Isle of Palms

Isle of Palms will go back to the drawing board on an ordinance restricting outdoor lighting on Aug. 26, citing enforcement concerns.

City council unanimously voted against an ordinance that would have prohibited exterior lights on a home from shining directly onto an adjacent property and limit how bright floodlights can be no more than 200 lumens.

The proposal was an attempt to protect wildlife, like sea turtle hatchlings who can be distracted by bright artificial lights when trying to reach the ocean, and respect the "character and privacy of residential neighborhoods" on the island. Councilmembers voiced concerns about lack of exceptions for dock lighting and hard-to-enforce restrictions.

"There are two good, valid goals out of this, which was to try to decrease the light pollution on the island and then to prevent someone who is shining their light into their neighbor's yard," Councilwoman Katie Miars said during the meeting. "I would like for this to ... come back in a better form."

— Anna Sharpe

Hanahan

Councilwoman Amanda Colvin-Shea has been fined by the S.C. Ethics Commission in relation to a sweeping ethics complaint filed against her by Mayor Christie Rainwater that alleged campaign finance violations.

According to the commission’s decision, Colvin-Shea failed to maintain a dedicated campaign bank account for her 2024 council run, failed to properly file campaign and economic interest disclosures, and did not properly maintain records on how one of her campaign contributions was used. Colvin-Shea previously told The Post and Courier that she had worked with an ethics commission staffer to resolve the issues, which the decision notes.

The councilwoman entered a consent agreement with the commission, admitting wrongdoing and agreeing to pay a total $700 fine to the commission for the violations and donating an additional $200 — the amount of the aforementioned contribution — to the South Carolina Children’s Trust Fund.

Colvin-Shea is not the first Hanahan City Council member to come under scrutiny from the ethics commission this year. Rainwater faced her own ethics complaint over a city land sale, which resulted in her paying a fine to the commission.

— Komlavi Adissem

Berkeley County

Berkeley County’s Economic Development department is hosting a workshop for small business owners aimed to teach entrepreneurs about ways to manage their businesses’ finances.

The workshop, which a team from South Atlantic Bank will lead, will teach attendees about ways to improve bookkeeping, practical controls to prevent loss and processes to support capital growth, according to an announcement from county officials.

The event is part of the county’s ongoing Small Business Workshop Series.

Attendance for the workshop is free, and lunch will be provided. People interested in attending can register by going to jotform.com/form/262354910439156.

In other news, Habitat For Humanity of Berkeley County is accepting applications for its upcoming “Heroes Build,” which aims to provide affordable homeownership opportunities to local veterans and first responders.

According to the program’s website, veterans must live or work in Berkeley County, while first responders must serve in the county in order to qualify.

The application period is open through Sept. 11. To learn more about the program and how to apply, go to berkeleyhabitat.org/hpsp.

CHARLESTON — A state inspector general’s investigation of the Charleston County School Board has identified “acts of malfeasance, misfeasance, conflicts of interest, policy violations, misconduct in office, and neglect of duty” allegedly committed by a board member or members whose names were redacted from the report issued late Aug. 27.

Gov. Henry McMaster requested the S.C. Office of Inspector General investigate whether one or more board member willfully breached protocols or broke state law. McMaster requested the investigation on Jan. 15 and it covered the period from Nov. 7, 2022 to the present.

The report, which seems to focus on a particular but unidentified member of the nine-person board, alleges that “Trustee X” wrongfully disclosed confidential information to the news media and a district vendor, used the position of trustee for personal gain and failed to report taxable income, among other transgressions that violated board policies and the state’s Ethics Act.

In a statement released after the report’s publication, district officials said they are “deeply disappointed” by the actions described in the document, adding the findings are “serious and do not reflect the standards expected of those serving the district and its community.”

District officials said they cooperated with the inspector general throughout the investigation that included officials interviewing every board member under oath along with staff and other interested parties, the report said.

The 27-page report listed six main findings and numerous recommendations for board members and district officials, including that the governor consider removing Trustee X from the board.

The findings include:

The inspector general’s recommendations for addressing these and other issues include:

The report cited $248,000 in taxable income that Trustee X failed to report over several years as the operator of Next Level Educational Services LLC. Next Level is an educational consultation company. CCSD board member Darlene Roberson is identified as being CEO of Next Level Educational Services according to previous Post and Courier reporting.

When reached by The Post and Courier Aug. 27, Roberson, who was first elected to the board in 2022, confirmed she is the CEO of Next Level but said she had not conducted any business in that capacity since she had been on the school board. She said she has not reviewed the report.

The document also called into question whether Trustee X resided in Charleston County when elected to the board in November 2022. At the time, Trustee X listed residence in Hollywood, the report states. But a review of public documentation by the inspector general found a Charleston County address in Ravenel along with additional documentation that listed a legal residence in Summerville, which is in Dorchester County.

Inspector general staff viewed hours of recorded board meetings and attended several meetings in person, often finding trustees “bickering” about proper procedures, according to the report.

“Picayune, intra-Board squabbling accomplishes nothing but greatly distracts from the District’s highest priority — student achievement and preparing the future leaders of our communities,” the report states. “This was no more evident than the dispute over an individual’s failed nomination for the District’s foundation board that caused the District’s expenditure of financial resources in legal representation in court based on a majority Board decision.”

The statement referenced 2026 disputes over nominations to the district’s newly formed education foundation’s board after Roberson’s pick was voted down.

Pam McKinney, the board’s chairwoman, said in a statement the actions described in the report are “serious and concerning.” The board will review the recommendations and determine the appropriate next steps, she said.

“We will respect the governor’s decision and cooperate fully with local, state and federal law enforcement and other authorities as this process moves forward,” McKinney said.

CHARLESTON — The National Weather Service is warning of potentially record breaking warm temperatures for Aug. 13 and Aug. 14. The dangerous heat comes just after Charleston notched one of its warmest months ever, with multiple one-day records.

In an Aug. 12 hazardous weather briefing, the Weather Service’s Charleston office predicted that the heat index could hit 115 degrees along the coast over the two-day stretch, with other areas further inland potentially reaching 110 degrees.

Night will bring little relief, as the temperature is predicted to remain dangerously high even after the sun sets.

The Post and Courier’s Rising Waters Lab focuses on impacts of climate change and related policies and practices. It is supported by donations and grants to the nonprofit Public Service and Investigative Fund, whose contributors are subject to the same coverage we apply to everyone else. For more information and to make a donation, go to postandcourierfund.com. To sign up for our newsletter, click here.

“Overnight temperatures will challenge record high minimums, providing little relief from the heat through the overnight period,” the agency wrote in the briefing. The NWS has put the entire coastal corridor under an Extreme Heat Watch for Aug. 13.

The blistering temperatures come just after the greater Charleston area experienced its fourth-warmest month on record in July, per an NWS monitor at the airport. That record dates back to 1937, and seven of the 10 warmest months for that period have occurred in the past decade.

Last month was the third hottest on record for the Savannah area. Records for that station date back to 1870, and four of its top 10 hottest months have occurred in the past decade.

The downtown Charleston area also saw eight single-day nighttime heat records (also known as “record high minimums”) last month, 25 percent more than the previous five years combined, The Post and Courier has reported.

Nationwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that the contiguous U.S. saw its warmest month on record (going back to 1895) in July.

The climate crisis is increasing the severity and duration of heatwaves across the country, per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Across the contiguous United States, average temperatures have already risen about 60 percent more than the global average since 1970,” the EPA reports. “This is expected to continue as global temperatures rise due to climate change.”

To prevent heat-related illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend staying indoors in an air-conditioned environment during the hottest part of the day, consuming plenty of fluids, taking cool showers and checking in on neighbors and family members.