Junk Removal in Ladson, SC

About 20 years after the purchase of his Summerwood subdivision residence on Poplar Grove Place in Ladson, family man Duane Dickerson has yet to solve intense spells of flooding that affect his home, as his attempts to seek assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers haven’t produced any tangible results to date.

“The street started to flood almost immediately, almost a couple of months after I bought it.” recalled Dickerson, a construction worker who has never considered moving as many of his former neighbors have due in part to the great school districts his three children are part of.

The issue, he says, stems from a “clogged up” waterway known as Eagle Creek that runs along the Sawmill Branch Trail in area near the Berlin G. Myers Parkway.

“They call it a creek, but it looks more like a ditch,” describes Dickerson, who said that soot at the bottom of the canal is sparking an overflow of water seeping into people’s homes, particularly during hurricanes and other major storms.

State Senator Sean Bennett told the Journal Scene that he previously met with Dickerson in 2019 to assess Eagle Creek.

“I saw the concerns he had. It needs to be cleaned. There is a spillway there that is not operating,” stated Bennett, who also pointed out that Dorchester County cannot do anything to remedy the dilemma since the creek is under jurisdiction of the Army Corps. In fact, no work can be initiated without the permission of the federal agency.

The local elected official further mentioned that the Army Corps actually does have a plan to clear out the reported clogging, but the group cannot access the necessary government funding to carry out their project.

While the Journal Scene’s phone calls to the U.S. Army Corps haven’t been returned, a Channel 2 News report confirms Bennett’s analysis by citing claims on the part of an Army Corps program manager, who observed that he can’t secure the necessary federal dollars to reduce flooding to local homes and infrastructure.

The Army Corps rep broached the idea of digging a retention pond to mitigate overflows with Channel 2.

Dickerson, on the other hand, promised the Journal Scene that he could fix the problem in two months by himself with one piece of equipment.

“It would look a lot different, but I can make the water move from point A to point B and it would never come through the neighborhood, it would ride right through the woods like it’s supposed to.”

Meanwhile Dickerson and his neighbors have seen an uptick in flooding in 2022, as anywhere from 5-26 inches of water has infiltrated people’s homes, driveways and garage areas.

The worst case of it occurred in 2015, recounted Dickerson, when the “1,000-year Flood” produced water levels so deep that people couldn’t move their vehicles, resulting in about 30-35 cars that were lost.

Another hindrance in dealing with the Army Corps, according to Dickerson and Bennett, is the constant turnover at the top.

Dickerson summed up the matter by adding: “This project is long overdue. Somebody from DOT told me it will happen one day, they just don’t know when. We’re probably going to flood 100 more times before it happens.”

LADSON, S.C. (WCBD)- The annual Coastal Carolina Fair is underway at Exchange Park in Ladson.

Most fairgoers have their eyes and stomachs on fair food for the first day.

“They always have good food and it’s just a good time to spend with family. They have a little arts and crafts center where you can see the students’ local talents,” said Jasmine Kelly.

“Sausage dogs and French fries. Walk around and look and see what’s going on,” said Woody Barsha.

One of the new food items on the menu is an Oreo cookie crusted turkey leg.

“No I don’t think so I’ll stick to French fries,” said Barsha.

“I can’t eat that much, but I will have an elephant ear,” said Kelly.

There are 10 new rides this year as well. One of them is a Ferris Wheel that’s 12 stories tall and comes from The Netherlands.

Fair organizers say that those new attraction and food items are great additions, but having a full-scale fair is also something to celebrate.

“We’re really excited about opening up because this is the first really big open fair we’ve had since COVID-19 has happened. We say ‘New in 22,’ and that’s what we’re doing because we have brand new rides, we have many new food vendors so we’re really excited about starting the year off right,” said Gary Leonard from the office of Media and Publicity Relations at the Coastal Carolina Fair.

Most families make the fair a tradition, but it’s even more special for Dan Caskey.

“Today’s my birthday. Every year I have a party and bring this to town to share with everybody else. It’s a great tradition. We love coming out here and having a fun time with the family,” said Caskey.

The fair runs for 12 days and hours of operation can be found here. A calendar of events can be found here.

LADSON, S.C. (WCIV) — It's that time of year again! The annual Coastal Carolina Fair kicks off this week in Ladson with some brand new rides and foods.

The fair opens this Thursday and Friday from 3 to 9 p.m.

This year's fair will run from Thursday, Oct. 27 to Sunday, Nov. 6.

RIDES

There will be around 65 rides in total this year, including some new ones.

Thrill seekers will be excited to see the largest rollercoaster AND Ferris wheel they've had yet. The Ferris wheel is over 100-ft tall.

“We’ve got a brand-new carnival. It’s a big deal for us. We had a very long relationship with the last one, and this one had some opportunities to bring some new coasters, rollercoasters in. Some great rides, and we just couldn’t pass it up,” said Coastal Carolina Fair’s media relations spokesperson, Jay Wallace.

FOOD

A wide variety of tasty treats are on the menus: barbeque sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, funnel cakes, deep fried brownies- and the list goes on and gets more creative.

Some other options will include funnel cakes, elephant ears, and award-winning jalapeno corndogs.

Be sure to look out for the Oreo-encrusted turkey leg!

ENTERTAINMENT

In addition to rides and food, fairgoers will find lots of other entertainment.

TICKETS

Coastal Carolina Fair officials suspended online ticket sales until further notice after fraudulent activity was detected Wednesday.

Tickets can be purchased at Circle K stores or at the fair gates for the time being.

Credit and cash are accepted at the gate ticket booths, but only credit is accepted at the kiosks located at each entry gate.

Fair officials said do not buy tickets from people that approach you or posted online.

Check the fair's calendar for special discount days for seniors and more.

TICKET PRICES THROUGH OCTOBER 26TH:

TICKET PRICES BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH:

SAFETY

The use of metal detectors and a clear plastic bag policy will continue for this season, and that there will be plenty of security. Some of it will be around the clock during the fair’s two-week run.

“The No. 1 rule we have around here that tells us if we’ve had a good fair is if we’ve had a safe fair," said Coastal Carolina Fair’s media relations spokesperson Jay Wallace.

All rides are inspected by multiple agencies, Grimm said.

LADSON — The Coastal Carolina Fair is back this year at Ladson Exchange Park.

The annual event returns for 11 days of rides, concessions, exhibitions, games and live entertainment from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6.

The fair is a fundraiser by the Exchange Club of Charleston, a chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to volunteering and serving the community. Established as a fundraiser in 1957, the Coastal Carolina Fair has raised more than $11 million, with the money going directly back to nonprofits in the Lowcountry. The Coastal Carolina Fair is the largest volunteer fair in the United States, according to Donnie Pitts, the new fair president.

There will be at least 10 new rides courtesy of Reithoffer Shows that will be making a debut on the fairgrounds. Those include “The Beast,” which will swing and loop people 360 degrees, and the 126-foot Dutch wheel, the tallest wheel to be at Ladson Exchange Park. Pitts said he thinks the community will be excited about the new rides.

There will also be four days of rodeo events, which include bull riding, bronco riding and barrel racing, said Gary Leonard, the fair’s chair of media and press relations. He said participants can earn points at these rodeo events to qualify for the national rodeo competitions in Las Vegas.

Included at the fair are rides such as the Merry-Go-Round and Tea Cups; food such as tacos, chicken tenders and fries; live music and entertainment featuring Neal McCoy, ERNEST and J. Howell; and competitions, including the fiddle contest and chili cook-off.

Pitts said he anticipates the fair getting an even larger crowd than last year because of growth in the tri-county area.

“We’re growing leaps and bounds every day. A lot of people didn’t even know we had a fair last year because they weren’t here,” Pitts said. “We can tap into that community of newcomers, get them to come out to a family-oriented fair.”

While the fair doesn’t often bring in new food vendors, one new fair treat Pitts and Leonard say to look out for is a cookie-dipped turkey leg.

Both Pitts and Leonard emphasized the importance of safety. The clear bag policy established last year, as well as state-of-the-art metal detectors and extra security, still stand. No weapons are allowed on the fairgrounds, per usual. They said they noticed all three of these had positive effects on the fair experience.

“We’re about being safe, and trying to provide that family-friendly type safe atmosphere, so if I can get that, then I’m thinking (the fair would be) a success,” Pitts said.

In 2021, there were 177,297 attendees at the fair. Leonard attributed a lower attendance to a couple of days being rained out.

The fair still raised over $324,000 and the money was distributed among 63 nonprofits, including Dorchester Habitat for Humanity, Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina and the Larry and Rebecca Collet Foundation.

The fair has switched partners, from Amusements of America — they were partners for over 60 years — to Reithoffer Shows due to the end of the contract cycle.

There are several special deal ticket days. Examples include free admission for military and first responders on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, and a discounted Seniors Day on Nov. 2.

Also on Nov. 2, the fair is granting free admission with a front page of The Post and Courier from Oct. 30.

A schedule is available at coastalcarolinafair.org/events.

Tickets to the Coastal Carolina Fair can be purchased at the gate. Discounts will be available in advance online at coastalcarolinafair.org/tickets and at local Circle K stores.

LADSON, S.C. (WCIV) — For the last two years, the trucking industry has struggled with an all-time high in truck driver shortages. Amid this crisis, a Charleston trucking company is looking to change the narrative right here in the Lowcountry.

In exactly four months’ time, the Coastal Carolina Fairgrounds will be full of truck service companies, operators and vendors taking part in the first-ever trucking expo in the Lowcountry and South Carolina.

The expo is hosted by the trucking agency CM Transportation. The event will serve two main purposes:

One is to connect prospective drivers with current operators, vendors or agencies to provide the first step into entry in the trucking industry and open doors to those who haven’t had the opportunity before. It also looks to connect these prospective drivers with resources on how to get certified and obtain a commercial driver’s license.

The second is to connect operators with vendors in an attempt to improve supply chain management and look at ways to increase revenue.

With the current driver shortage totaling nearly 80,000 drivers nationwide, according to the American Trucker Association, leaders with CM Transportation say they felt the need to step in to try and make a change.

“With there being so many changes, like the cost of diesel fuel right now increasing the rates, we have a lot of people who are interested in entering into our industry,” CM Transportation owner and operator Carisa Carter said. “The lack of knowledge is why we peril. So, they don't really have the information that a lot of people don't have. The information that they need when they begin their journey in trucking. So, I think that this will change the face, because now they'll see that there is a support system.”

Carter said another focus of hers is to increase the female presence in the trucking industry. She hopes to use her connections within female-owned small businesses to help connect truck drivers with big players in the industry.

Truck drivers are in high demand, but there are many more factors that contribute to some of the struggles within the trucking industry.

One is the hike in diesel fuel prices over the last few months. Mix that with supply chain delays, and trucking companies like CM Transportation say it has completely changed the cost analysis for many companies and even caused many financial struggles.

Entry into the industry has also become harder over the last few months. New federal laws passed in February increased prices to obtain a CDL, which is required to be able to become a truck driver, by thousands of dollars.

To combat this, trucking officials say they have seen the highest salaries for drivers in almost 23 years, and with Charleston’s roots in shipping and ports, CM Transportation leaders hope this expo will drive more people into the industry.

“From East Coast to West Coast, there's just not enough truck drivers to deliver the amount of cargo that came in after the world opened back up after COVID,” Carter said. “That is one of the foundations, the biggest industries, that we have here locally, and so we're, you know, with this being a port city, the value is increased nationwide, which has allowed us to increase the value of our drivers here.”

The official date of the expo is set for Sept. 17 at the Coastal Carolina Fairgrounds. There will also be food, a DJ and a raffle for an estimated $6,000 set of tractor tires.

Tickets officially go on sale Tuesday for the first-of-its-kind expo. General admission starts at $25, with a professional package with more amenities starting at around $50.

Check out ABC News Four’s Sean Mahoney’s Twitter or Facebook page for more information on how to sign up.