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by Nia Watson

Carolina Bank and Florence city officials celebrated the grand opening Thursday afternoon of the new $4.5 million branch and headquarters in downtown Florence.

“Our family had a vision to move to Florence and here we are today enjoying the moment,” said Carolina Bank CEO Rick Beasley.

Beasley said the business started with his grandfather opening up a small bank in Lamar in 1936. Currently, the company has 12 locations in six counties with the latest and biggest branch in the hub of the Pee Dee.

“City of Florence has been great. They’ve opened their arms for us.” Beasley said.

Brian Falcone, the bank’s senior loan officer, said after seeing the growth in Florence, they decided to relocate from Darlington and renovate the three-story building into their new home.

However, their presence in Florence isn’t new. There’s also a branch on West Palmetto Street. Falcone said 70 percent of Carolina Bank’s loans are in the city.

“The Waters building, Kress corner, so we’ve been kind of instrumental in doing a lot of lending in this area so we kind of felt like it was time for us to move to downtown,” Falcone said.

Mayor Pro Tem Frank Brand said the steady development is a result of government and the private sector working together.

While the bank is the latest business to open up, another one is in the works on North Dargan Street.

The Lost Cajun Seafood and Gumbo restaurant with a rooftop bar received approval from the city’s design review board Wednesday afternoon. The business still has to submit plans to the building department.

Brand said the goal of is to get young people to the community.

“The young people that is what is driving this whole thing to get young people that have gone off to universities and work in Charlotte or Charleston. We want then back here, we want them in Florence,” Brand said. “If we can do it in Florence it’s just the more opportunity for them to come back and Florence is not an expensive place to live compared to these other cities.”

At the rate of this progress, Brand said it won’t be long until the vision becomes reality.

“The last five years it’s going to be multiplied over again as Florence continues to march forward, getting better, bigger and just more alternatives for people to do things in our community,” Brand said.

Copyright 2019 WMBF. All rights reserved.

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by Matthew Christian

The Lost Cajun found approval from the city of Florence’s design review board Wednesday afternoon.

Owner Terrance Thomas applied for a certificate of appropriateness from the design review board to turn the building at 135 N. Dargan St. into a seafood restaurant called The Lost Cajun Seafood and Gumbo, a rooftop bar to be called Soho Vibes Tables and Taps, and two studio apartments.

Wednesday afternoon, the design review board voted unanimously in favor of granting the certificate. Board member Scott Collins did not participate in the discussion or vote as he is the architect tasked with designing the project.

Board members Nathaniel Mitchell, Tom Kolias, and Chairman C. Pierce Campbell expressed their appreciation that Thomas would take it upon himself to build something in the currently vacant building.

The building was constructed in 1920 and has 2,400 square feet. It is located between Jazz on Dargan and Local Motive Brewing. According to design review board information packet, the owner of the property is ASK Investments and Holdings LLC. ASK was incorporated on March 29, 2018, according to the website of South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond.

The design review board works within the city’s downtown redevelopment district and to determine the need to preserve the historic character of the city’s downtown. There are currently eight members of 10 available spots, according to the city’s website.

In other action Wednesday, the design review board:

>> Approved a certificate of appropriateness to allow painting and updating of the building at 383 W. Cheves St.

>> Approved a certificate of appropriateness to allow the installation of rooftop solar panels at a home at 661 S. McQueen St.

>> Approved a certificate of appropriateness to allow the demolition of homes at 709 and 713 S. Dargan St.

>> Approved a certificate of appropriateness for two pedestrian eye-level signs at the new Hyatt Place Hotel.

>> Deferred action on a proposed outdoor dining area at El Agave on West Evans Street.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

by Shamira McCray

Lake City philanthropist and entrepreneur Darla Moore said The Continuum is “a vision for what the future of education could, and probably should, look like.”

The new educational initiative in Lake City is a partnership between the Darla Moore Foundation, Francis Marion University and Florence-Darlington Technical College.

“There are many issues facing South Carolina today,” Moore said in a news release. “None is more pressing than creating an educational system that more effectively meets the needs of the businesses and industries of this state, and the citizens who make them go.”

Moore said major employers such as Volvo and Boeing have informed her that they need a better-trained and educated workforce to sustain their growth in South Carolina.

“That’s a vital need we must meet,” Moore said. “I believe The Continuum will fast become a model for how that can be done.”

The Continuum will be housed in a new $25 million, 46,000-square-foot facility in downtown Lake City and will be a regional center for education and workforce development. There will be a focus at The Continuum on “advancing the knowledge and mastery of innovative and technical skills,” according to the release sent Thursday.

Courses that lead to two- and four-year degrees will be offered at The Continuum, plus a business incubator, dual enrollment courses for high school students, workforce development certificate programs and other science and innovation programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Students from Pee Dee-area public school districts and private schools are expected to enroll for classes that will begin in August. Courses for both dual enrollment and traditional students will include English, math, history, biology, chemistry, art, music, business, computer science, education, pre-engineering and pre-nursing, the release said. Initial workforce development courses will include training in HVAC, welding, health sciences, mechatronic and advanced manufacturing technology.

According to the release, The Continuum will include seven high-tech classrooms, three computer labs, three distance learning (online) classrooms, large prep rooms for biology and chemistry labs, four workforce development classrooms/labs, a health science space and a large lecture hall that can be converted into an event space.

“The business incubator will have a separate public entrance and space for up to five nascent businesses,” the release said. “The incubator will be run by FMU through its Kelly Center for Enterprise and Innovation, which operates the business development center for the city of Florence in downtown Florence.”

Francis Marion University President Fred Carter said what Moore has brought together is extraordinary in its breadth and vision.

“There is no single path to becoming an educated person or to engaging in a meaningful vocation,” Carter said through the release. “Through its unique structure and flexibility, The Continuum opens new doors for students across the spectrum. FMU is eager to begin this bold, new adventure.”

Florence-Darlington Technical College Interim President Ed Bethea said The Continuum will be huge for Lake City and the surrounding area.

“Lower Florence County will have easy access to educational opportunities that have never before been available in that part of Florence County,” Bethea said.

Former J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet School Principal Jeanette Altman will be the director of The Continuum. Anna Todd, who most recently served as assistant director of admissions at Francis Marion University. will direct the university’s services at The Continuum while managing other outreach programs. Briana Dennis, the Kelly Center director at Francis Marion, will manage the business incubator.

The Continuum will announce other personnel later.

A four-member board will govern The Continuum, the release said. The board includes Moore, who will serve as the chairwoman, Darla More Foundation CEO and President Dr. Marion Fowler, Bethea and Carter.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

by Lauren Owens

The Fellows in Education program members toured Wilson High School on Tuesday and learned about its programs.

Principal Eric Robinson opened the March meeting with an informational session about Wilson’s IB program, sports medicine program and early college program.

The IB program at Wilson High School scored second in the state for IB test scores, and the students ranked well across the nation and world, Robinson said. Students in the early college program can graduate from high school with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.

Robinson said the school focuses on programs that will provide children a better future, whether that is in a four-year university, a technical college or the workforce.

“My idea is just like the district’s: We try to put students first at all times, and we have to cater our curriculum to every student,” Robinson said. “We try to prepare them for life afterward.”

Bryant Moses, a fellow and a member of the Wilson High School Alumni Association, talked about the active role the association takes in the school through providing scholarships for students and donating money to the school.

Robinson said the association gives almost $25,000 to the school each year.

Annie Ham, a member of the 2018-19 fellows, is a parent of a Wilson High School student, as well as a Wilson High School alumna.

“It makes me feel really good about him (her son) being a student here,” Ham said. “I feel the principal seems to be doing a really great job.”

Ham said she was pleasantly surprised to see how nice the school is after almost 30 years since she was a student. She also said the student camaraderie is just how it was while she was in school.

“It’s also nice to hear how the students thought about the school,” Ham said. “It’s a lot of the way I felt about Wilson while I was here. There was always a lot of school pride and school spirit.”

The next Fellows in Education program will be at Dewey L. Carter Elementary School.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.