GAINSWave® Treatment in Lake Wylie, SC

LAKE WYLIE, S.C. — In January, Piedmont Medical Center will take over the River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS, the community service that has been operational since 1980.

The Lake Wylie ambulance service responded to about 1,500 calls last year, The Rock Hill Herald reports. Piedmont Medical Center has operated most of York County’s ambulance services for more than 40 years.

The River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS service was established in 1980 and has undergone several changes in operations and management over the years. Initially, the service relied solely on donations and operated without paid employees for the first 20 to 25 years, according to Dick Mann, board member and operations director.

“We managed for probably the first 20 to 25 years to exist solely on donations, because we did not have any paid employees,” Mann said. “But over the last 20 years, we’ve been forced to add one employee, two employees.”

Today, the service employs 25 individuals.

Piedmont’s acquisition of the Lake Wylie EMS group ensures that an ambulance will remain stationed in Lake Wylie.

The transition to Piedmont will bring improved pay and benefits to the service’s employees, The Rock Hill Herald reports. Previously, the Lake Wylie EMS group had to rely on fundraising drives, with a recent effort raising $250,000 to continue operations.

“We never can break even,” Mann said. “We’re always running just a little bit behind.”

The ambulance service will maintain its branding as River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS, while also incorporating logos from Piedmont Medical Center or Tenet Health.

“You hate to see this happen, but you know it has to happen,” Mann said. “We just can’t keep going the way it is.”

The transition is set to take place in January, with further details about the operational integration expected to be ironed out as the takeover process progresses.

Read more here.

WATCH: ‘Isn’t normal’: Contractor charged after delayed, botched home renovations

©2025 Cox Media Group

QTS, the company behind a massive data center project in York County, bought more than $26 million worth of property this week near Lake Wylie. The deal more than doubles the size of the company’s holdings in the area.

The land is off Paraham Road, where the company has been working toward a $1 billion data center development for more than two years. The Herald wasn’t able to reach the company Friday for information on what the property sale means for the data center plan.

Real estate management company Walton, whose U.S. operations are based in Arizona, has owned property in the area for more than a decade. Walton lists a 677-acre property online called York Farm Master Plan that spans both sides of Paraham Road.

A company called 410 York Farms Acquisitions bought seven properties from Walton on Dec. 19 for $18.5 million, according to York County land records. They combine for more than 400 acres. QTS then bought those same seven properties from York Farm Acquisitions on Dec. 29 for $26.1 million.

Of the seven properties, only one has a listed address in county records. It’s a more than 55-acre site at 782 S. Paraham Road. All seven properties, ranging from 3 to 136 acres, are connected on the northeast side of Paraham, east of Hands Mill Highway.

The more than 400 acres sit just south of 391 acres already owned by QTS.

QTS data center in York County

In mid-2023, York County negotiated a tax incentive deal with a then-unnamed company that The Herald connected to Kansas-based QTS through property sales. QTS lists its U.S. headquarters online now as a Virginia site, but the address tied to this week’s sales is still the Kansas one.

QTS spent more than $10 million in separate deals in 2023, buying hundreds of acres both from York County and a private seller. That property centered around 2107 Hands Mill Hwy. and 5805 Campbell Road.

York County approved an incentive deal for the data center project in 2023 based on a minimum investment of $900 million and 10 new jobs within eight years. QTS would be allowed to pay a fee in place of taxes for 40 years, with a fixed millage rate and a 4% assessment rate. The company also would be allowed credits against those required payments of up to 35% in the first five years, according to the deal.

The QTS project is part of a growing number of data centers across the Charlotte region. Last spring, York County approved changes allowing data centers to be built taller, at up to 80 feet. That change came due to plans for the 5.3 million-square-foot QTS proposal at Hands Mill Highway and Campbell Road, according to county planners.

After building White Knoll into a state championship contender, Nick Pelham will get a chance to start a high school football program from scratch.

Pelham was named the first coach at Lake Wylie High School in Clover. The hire was approved at a school board meeting on Wednesday morning. He informed his team of the decision earlier on Wednesday.

Lake Wylie will open ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. It is not known what classification the school will be, but that will be announced Friday when SC High School League announces its 2026-28 realignment classifications.

Pelham, who is originally from Michigan, had a successful run at White Knoll over the last five years. The team went 38-24 overall in that span, and Pelham led the Timberwolves to a Region 4-5A title and first trip to the Class 5A championship in 2023.

During that 2023 season, White Knoll knocked off Dutch Fork in the regular season, ending the Silver Foxes’ streak of seven straight region titles. Dutch Fork defeated White Knoll a month later in the state championship game.

The Timberwolves advanced to the Class 5A Division II Lower State final in 2024 and made it to the third round of the playoffs this year, losing to Irmo each of those games.

White Knoll’s 29 wins over the past three years are the most in a three-year span in school history.

“We were clear from the start- Lake Wylie football is going to be tough, disciplined, and built to compete. Nick Pelham is the coach to make that happen. He demands accountability, brings a physical brand of football, and isn’t afraid to set high standards from day one,” Lake Wylie High School Athletic Director Steven Peeler said in a school release. “Coach Pelham knows how to build a program the right way, and he will establish a culture of physicality, toughness, and pride that our players and community can stand behind,”

Before White Knoll, Pelham was the defensive coordinator at Dutch Fork and part of the Silver Foxes’ state record five-straight state championships.

SC Football Coaching Openings

School — Former Coach — New Coach

Chapin — Ryan Cole — TBA

Colleton County — Adam Kinloch — TBA

Conway — Josh Pierce — TBA

Lake Wylie — (School opens in 2026) — N/A — Nick Pelham

Liberty — Paul Sutherland — TBA

McCormick — Leroy Collier — TBA

May River — Richard Bonneville — TBA

Ninety-Six — Matthew Bennett — TBA

North Myrtle Beach — Greg Hill — TBA

St. James — Tommy Norwood — TBA

Union County — Quinnon Isom — Bryan Robinson

Wagener-Salley — Blaze Gillespie — TBA

Whale Branch — Willie White (interim) — TBA

White Knoll — Nick Pelham — TBA