Personal Injury Attorney in McCormick, SC

McCORMICK, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - McCormick County School District opened the 2026-27 school year Wednesday, exactly two months after a fire damaged McCormick High School’s gymnasium.

The fire broke out May 22 and was contained to the gym roof area, causing water and smoke damage inside the volleyball gym and the adjacent middle school gym. The rest of the building was unaffected, according to district officials.

Crews used sandbags — including some brought in by the South Carolina Department of Transportation — to divert water and limit additional damage.

Superintendent Jaime Hembree said the district’s insurance team dispatched a fire and water restoration crew to the campus by May 24, two days after the fire.

“It took collaboration with our insurance team,” Hembree said. “From the day that the fire started, they sent us a recovery team that specialized in fire and water restoration.”

Hembree said roughly 45 workers were on site around the clock replacing ceiling tiles, cleaning classrooms and preparing the high school wing for students. She said the middle school gym floor was completely replaced and is expected to reopen Monday, July 27.

High school teachers were not permitted back on campus until Monday, July 20 — their first time in the building since the day of the fire — and spent two days preparing their classrooms before Wednesday’s first day.

“They had to come in and kind of close out the school year, but then get ready to reopen,” Hembree said. “But they’ve been amazing.”

The high school gym sustained the most significant damage and will require a new roof, floors, bleachers and other structural work. Hembree said the district is working with a team of architects and the Office of School Facilities at the State Department of Education on the restoration.

“We’re predicting the high school gym will be open starting second semester, but certainly not this semester,” Hembree said.

In the meantime, students will use the middle school gym for athletic and physical education needs.

Seniors Jamiyah Hennings and Trinity Williams said they were relieved to be back.

“I was kinda scared of coming back, but I feel good,” one of the seniors said. “I feel comfortable being back in here.”

The pair described teachers greeting students at the door with fist bumps and said the school’s small-town atmosphere helped ease the transition.

“Everything is like a house here kind of,” one said. “Because we live in a small town and it’s a small school, everyone knows each other — they’ve known each other since elementary school and all through middle school and high school. It really makes you feel like everyone’s family, including the teachers.”

Both said they were looking forward to dual enrollment classes and sports.

Principal Gena Wideman, who is entering her sixth year at McCormick High School, said she was impressed by how staff came together.

“As a leader, you’re dependent upon those that you lead to make things happen,” Wideman said. “I’m so impressed with the teachers and the staff and the way they have rallied and come together to make things ready so that children feel good when they come back to school.”

Wideman noted the district had also dealt with hurricane impacts within the past year, and said her top priority for the new school year is safety.

“Number one, after the hurricane and the fire within a year’s time, I’m really looking forward to a safe school year first of all,” Wideman said.

Business teacher Christie Talbert, in her second year at the school, said the return felt normal.

“You almost could tell it never happened,” Talbert said. “I think everybody’s very resilient.”

Hembree credited the broader McCormick community — including business leaders, first responders and neighboring school districts — with supporting the recovery.

“We have a slogan that we are one McCormick, and through adversity sometimes you see just how strong your community is,” Hembree said.

She also specifically thanked maintenance and operations supervisor Jodie Morris and her staff for their work coordinating with the restoration team throughout the summer.

Over 75 firefighters from across South Carolina responded to the May 22 fire.

MCCORMICK, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The McCormick County Planning Commission on Thursday recommended a nine-month pause on data centers, denied a rezoning request tied to a proposed data center site, and recommended a data center ordinance to protect neighbors — all following a packed public meeting where residents spoke overwhelmingly against the proposal.

The Pollard Land Company is seeking to rezone land off Whitetown Road, approximately two miles from downtown McCormick, for a data center. Planning Commission Chair Tom Greene said the proposal would rezone 1,000 acres.

“Their proposal is to bring in a data center, and they want to rezone 1,000 acres, but from what I can tell, the data center would not take up all of that,” Greene said.

Greene said a natural gas pipeline into the county would also be part of the development. County Councilman Chuck Cook was one of two speakers in favor of the rezoning.

“We have bemoaned the loss of economic development opportunities because we do not have natural gas here. This proposal would include $200 million to build a natural gas pipeline from Lincoln County,” Cook said.

READ THE FULL DRAFT:

Proposed Data Center Moratorium - McCormick by garrettkicklighter

Most residents at the meeting opposed the proposal. Toye Willis, who lives in McCormick, said her position was clear.

“This is my stance. No rezoning, no data center. We need a moratorium for sure,” Willis said.

Jamie Strickland, also a McCormick resident, said the proposal prompted his first involvement in local politics.

“As soon as I heard that it was a possibility, I immediately sprung into action. I’ve never been involved politically at all, but this is something that I couldn’t not get into,” Strickland said.

The planning commission’s recommendations — including the 9-month data center pause and the proposed ordinance — now go to county council for approval. The rezoning on the Pollard land was recommended for denial.

Greene said the pause would allow time to review the proposal and establish protections.

“Gives us a chance to go through, find out what the plans are for the site, and make sure we have safeguards in place,” Greene said.

Greene said when Pollard Land Company purchased the forest approximately one year ago, residents had assumed it would be used for the company’s lumber operations. The Pollard Lumber Company has a public meeting scheduled for Aug. 11 at the Mims Center to discuss data centers and a proposed $1.5 billion natural gas pipeline for McCormick.

All of the Planning Commission’s recommendations will have to go before the County Council before they’re final.

McCORMICK, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Residents showed up to a McCormick County Council meeting to oppose a possible data center on Tuesday, even though the topic was not on the agenda.

A planning commission meeting is scheduled for July 30, where members will take up the second reading of a data center ordinance.

Most of those who attended the council meeting asked for more time and additional information before any decisions are made.

“Right now we do not have enough information about the risk or the solutions or the benefits,” one resident said. “A moratorium of at least a year would give us time to research. I would also be very supportive of a referendum on the November ballot so the citizens can vote on this.”

Neighbors have started a petition calling for a 12-month pause on any data center approvals in McCormick County.

A public meeting drew a packed crowd to the McCormick Country Club on Monday as residents raised concerns about a possible data center project.

Neighbors described the area as a rural community centered around the lake, tourism and natural resources.

“So it’s a super rural community. The largest part of it is a retirement community. It’s on the water and it’s on the lake. So it’s a natural resource kind of community, a tourism community. We are pro-business, we are for the industry, but we need the protections in place,” a resident explained.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has picked engineering firm Amentum to begin negotiating a lease.

The data center was not listed on the commission’s agenda, but neighbors said they believe the project will still come up for discussion.

Residents have raised concerns about noise, heavy water use and strain on local resources.

Data centers seem to be a big topic this week in the CSRA:

Augusta leaders on Tuesday to extend a moratorium on new data centers by 60 days, adding three public hearings before any vote on a permanent ordinance.

The federal government on Monday announced , complete with its own power facility.

MCCORMICK, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - McCormick County Council Chairman Bernie Hamby says county staff is preparing a proposed temporary moratorium on data centers .

In a statement to residents, Hamby said he has instructed the county administrator to draft the proposed moratorium. Once it is written, Hamby said it will be sent to the McCormick County Planning Commission for review and recommendation before appearing on an upcoming County Council agenda.

The next regular meeting of McCormick County Council is currently scheduled for Aug. 18, according to Hamby.

Hamby emphasized that any moratorium would have to move through a public process before final action.

That process, he said, includes:

Hamby also addressed why county staff previously drafted a data center ordinance.

He said that under the county’s current zoning ordinance, data centers are already permitted in the county’s Service/Industrial zoning district and that there are currently no county-specific standards or restrictions governing them.

Hamby said the earlier draft ordinance was intended to create a baseline set of regulations and protections before any development proposal is submitted, with the expectation that it would be reviewed, amended and strengthened during the Planning Commission process and through three County Council readings.

Hamby said the county has not received an application or development proposal for a data center and that County Council has not approved or committed to any project.

“While we recognize that data center developers have expressed interest in our region, there is no active proposal before the County to consider,” Hamby said.

He also said he is not aware of anyone associated with McCormick County signing a non-disclosure agreement related to a data center project.

What’s next

Hamby said county leaders plan to continue gathering information and considering stronger protections, while also encouraging state lawmakers to explore statewide standards.

He thanked residents for attending the recent council meeting and said county officials will continue the process “openly” and “with opportunities for public input every step of the way.”