Personal Injury Attorney in Hampton, SC

Students returned Monday to new Hampton County High School

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. —

Students in Hampton County returned to class Monday morning at a new high school that the district says cost about $80 million to build.

Hampton County High School has capacity for more than 900 students and includes a new gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium.

District officials said students have access to more course offerings this year, including Advanced Placement, dual enrollment and career and technical education classes.

“There’s so much opportunity here. You can leave here and go to college, or you can leave here in the district to work,” said Erin Long, director of communications for the Hampton County School District.

Some of the new courses and programs include early childhood education, agriculture and barbering.

“We get plenty to do. We get to try all the classes, and there’s more opportunities,” said Caleb Bienemann, a Hampton County High School student.

While the building is new, some school policies remain in place. The district has a clear-bag policy and checks student bags as they enter the school.

“We do have a clear-bag policy. We check the bags, the students come in, and we just want to make sure that that’s an easy process and we can get students in and get them educated,” Long said.

The school also will continue to require uniforms and use metal detectors. The district’s cellphone ban remains in effect.

Drivers around the school should also expect changes to traffic patterns as students and staff adjust to the new campus.

“We hope that everyone’s really patient here with our new traffic patterns, because we know that it’s going to be a little bit of things to work through,” Long said.

The school will hold campus tours to help students become familiar with the new campus.

According to the state, the count has received only 13 inches of rain this year compared to the roughly 50 inches it typically sees during the same time period. And for many families who rely on private wells, it is a costly problem to repair.

Maggie Knox a resident of Hampton County told WSAV that the town is extremely impoverished, and for some, a new well is simply not possible.

“So for us as a community to be able to spend thousands of dollars to drop a well, to say nothing of the fact that you have to have permitting to dig a new well, that’s certainly an encumbrance as well.” Said Knox. “It’s just not feasible.”

Officials said digging a deeper well or replacing one can cost upwards of $7,000.

Susanne Peeples, the Hampton County emergency management director, said it’s not just families feeling the impact.

“We have a fire department that is out and they’re going to have to dig a new well and they’re going to dig that with a six-inch well,” said Peeples. “We also have six to seven fire hydrants that have gone dry in the areas around.”

The town did receive some rain Tuesday, but residents said it’s just not enough.

Corrin Bowers, the Mayer of Estill and a farmer, said he’s never seen anything like it and farmers are taking the heat.

“It’s an investment and you have to get a return on your investment.” Said Bowers. “Cotton is a pretty resilient crop, and I have seen cotton die this year.”

County residents are taking it day by day and leaning on each other until conditions improve.

If you have or know of anyone whose well has dried out, call the Hampton County Emergency Management Services at 803-206-0297 between 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

VARNVILLE, SC. (WTOC)- The Hampton County High School Hurricanes are entering a new chapter after finishing last season with 11 wins and the program’s first-ever state final appearance, but head coach Rob Hanna said the team is not satisfied with how that run ended.

“First team in school history to ever make it that far. Yeah, it was great and exciting, but we’re still not happy with how it ended,” Hanna said. “We always believe that the only team that can beat Hampton County is Hampton County.”

Moving down in class, but scheduling up

The Hurricanes will compete in Class 1-A this season after moving down from Class 2-A. Despite the classification drop, Hampton County’s non-region schedule includes three Class 4-A schools and several Class 3-A opponents before region play begins.

“We always have the motto here and the mindset of we want to schedule hard teams in the non-region, get us prepared for region,” Hanna said. “Dropping to 1-A, you know, I really don’t know how it’s going to look, we’ve never played that level of ball. We usually don’t play 1-A schools on our schedule except for Allendale who’s a rival and now they’re in our conference. But we’ve got three 4-A schools and a couple 3-A schools, so we’re going to be tested early to see what we’re made of.”

Region slate features familiar rivals

The Hurricanes’ new region includes rivals Allendale and Whale Branch. The team opens the season against Colleton County.

Replacing 14 seniors, chasing another title run

Hampton County lost 14 seniors from last year’s roster. Hanna said the program’s consistency since 2019 — including repeated lower state championship game appearances shared with Barnwell in the same region — sets the expectation for this season.

“Our number one goal is always to win a championship and that’s everyone’s, but I think it’s reality that we’ve now made,” Hanna said. “Since 2019 I think either Hampton or Barnwell, and it’s been the same region, but we’ve been a representative at the lower state championship game and we expect to be there again this year and hopefully make it back to state. But it all starts with just starting game one, we want to put a good product on the field and play hard and come off that field knowing we did everything to win that game versus Colleton County.”

9/18 vs Bishop England

10/9 vs Ridgeland

10/30 vs Hardeeville

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Monday marked a milestone for students in Hampton County as they headed back to school and walked into a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility for the first time.

The new Hampton County High School, located off Savannah Highway, officially opened its doors on Aug. 10. The school was designed to provide students with expanded learning spaces and career-focused opportunities unavailable at their former schools.

The new campus represents a fresh start and a major milestone for the district. Several years ago, the county consolidated, merging Estill High School and Wade Hampton High School into a single student body. Since the merger, students from both legacy schools had been sharing space at the older Wade Hampton facility in Varnville, which was originally built in the 1950s.

The new building has a capacity of 900 students, giving the current student body of 600 plenty of room to spread out and succeed.

The $85 million project was made possible after Hampton County voters passed a referendum back in 2022. They received about $55 million from the state, and the rest was funded through the bond referendum. The school broke ground in January 2024.

Hampton County High School Principal Cassandra Williams said the new building has already had a transformative impact on both students and staff.

“Teachers are excited. I mean, I have seen that ‘wow’ factor again. I have seen that glow in teachers again,” Williams said. “We are so excited that they finally get an opportunity to be in a place where they can grow and succeed. You know, too often we hear that a student’s zip code and where they live should not determine their success, and I am a firm believer in that.”

District officials designed the building with a heavy focus on safety, advanced technology, and practical career preparation. The facility features upgraded security systems, expanded Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment classes, and more than 15 Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Among those new electives are welding, culinary arts, STEM courses, and a unique new barbering program.

HCHS student Caleb Bienemann said he is already looking forward to exploring the new opportunities.

“It’s really beautiful. The kitchen is amazing. I wanna take culinary,” Bienemann said. “It’s just a great building. Its beautiful cafeteria is huge, and it’s the biggest building I’ve ever been in.”

Hampton County native Sheniqua Riley, the high school’s new barbering teacher, is excited to bring her professional experience back to her home community. Though she currently has 12 students enrolled in her class, she expects that number to climb quickly as the school year gets underway.

“They don’t have just to settle. They can take what they want, and then if they don’t like it, they can change it,” Riley said. “It’s more than standing behind a chair; I tell them that in a heartbeat. Cutting hair and doing hair and all those good things are great, but you got to learn how to make sure you are going to protect the clients and protect yourself, and at the same time, be able to serve at a capacity of being selfless.”

Superintendent Glenda Sheffield emphasized that the investments are designed to maximize the potential of every student in the district.

“Adults coming up and showing up every day to give them the very best they can, to where we are closing those opportunity gaps and maximizing our instruction,” Sheffield said.

While students are celebrating their new home, more upgrades could be on the way. Hampton County voters will decide on a new $29 million bond referendum on the November 3rd general election ballot. If approved, the funding would bring additional improvements to the high school’s athletic complex and the agriculture program.

Hampton County school bell times

As the academic year begins, the district released its morning start times and afternoon dismissal schedule:

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