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The mayor said most unhoused neighbors crowd in the city to access what they do have.

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LANCASTER, S.C. — The colder temperatures this season are raising concern for officials in Lancaster County.

The coroner’s office says with an uptick in homelessness and a lack of resources for unhoused neighbors, there’s a high chance the county could see its first hypothermia death case in years.

“I just would not want anyone’s exposure to this weather to cause their demise,” explained Karla Deese, the coroner for Lancaster County. “There’s nowhere to go with heat or power and I’m not sure that they would be acclimated to the cold weather -- so I do have concerns."

Deese says with the fact the unhoused community is “exposed and without shelter”, combined with the temperature hitting the “lowest of the year so far”, it’s only a matter of time.

Right now, there’s only one emergency warming center in the county for people to take advantage of at night. This resource is also only available when temperatures hit below freezing.

“It’s a tough problem – it’s an intractable problem. We really need some additional resources. It’s a much larger issue than just the city. The lack of mental health resources from the state is one of the biggest issues – the lack of addiction recovery services is an issue,” explained Lancaster mayor Alston DeVenny.

He said most unhoused neighbors crowd to the city of Lancaster because of what resources they do have – but he also explained the problem is going to require outside help.

“We’ve been responding with the services that we have available, but they’re limited with our small municipality,” DeVenny said.

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Roads could be treacherous and power outages are possible as the Rock Hill region prepares for ice from a winter storm Friday and Saturday.

York, Chester, and Lancaster counties could see snow, freezing rain and sleet — or a combination of all three. The National Weather Service said in its forecast there is a 100% chance of winter weather starting Friday afternoon and has issued a winter storm warning that lasts through Saturday morning.

The Rock Hill area — from Lake Wylie east to Indian Land and Fort Mill — could see about an inch of snow and .3 inches of ice, the NWS said. That ice amount could cause roads to freeze and trees and power lines to be knocked down, officials said.

“Snow and ice accumulations will make many roads treacherous and impassable,” the weather service said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The official winter storm warning — upgraded from a watch — is issued when “a significant combination of hazardous winter weather is occurring or imminent,” according to the NWS web site.

[As of 12:10PM 1/9] A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia, but any decisions to upgrade to Warnings/Advisories will be done by 4:00PM as we evaluate new model guidance and trends. pic.twitter.com/GI2vNhUIkv

— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) January 9, 2025

Area schools have already decided to close or have remote classes Friday and have canceled extra-curricular activities.

Emergency officials have issued a travel advisory urging people to stay off the roads from Friday until icy conditions abate.

“Travel is probably going to be our biggest issue,” said York County Emergency Management Director Chuck Haynes. “Overnight Friday into Saturday, it really has a chance to get dangerous.”

Temperatures Saturday even as skies clear are not expected to rise much over 40 degrees, with lows Saturday night around or below 20 degrees. That means areas that remain wet could refreeze Saturday night into Sunday, said Darren Player, Lancaster County emergency management director.

Officials said even if main roads such as I-77, U.S. 21 and U.S. 521 are clear, secondary roads can be hazardous because they receive less traffic and direct sunlight after a storm passes.

Freezing rain on trees and power lines can cause widespread problems, officials said.

“The weight of the snow and ice on tree limbs and power lines could produce numerous outages,” the weather service said.

If there are power outages, people can check online maps that are updated freqquently by Duke Energy, York Electric Cooperative, and the city of Rock Hill Utilities.

For problems or information, York County officials suggest using these numbers:

▪ Duke Energy 800-769-3766.

▪ York Electric Cooperative 866-374-1234

▪ Rock Hill Utilities 803-329-5500

▪ Comporium 888-403-2667

▪ York County Natural Gas 866-201-1001

This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

A massive new senior living community could come to Lancaster County, just south of Sun City in Indian Land.

Delray Beach, Florida, company Kolter Group Acquisitions applied for several county zoning changes to allow a community called Cresswind. It would be an age-restricted senior community by Kolter Homes on nearly 870 acres.

A sketch plan submitted to the county shows 853 home lots. Plans don’t indicate the cost of the project. A call to the developer fromn The Herald wasn’t immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

The western end of Cresswind would be Van Wyck Road, across from thousands more senior living homes at Sun City. Cresswind would stretch east to U.S. 521, or Charlotte Highway, and south to the railroad line across from Waxhaw Highway and the Walnut Creek subdivision.

The sketch plan shows a new public boulevard through the property, giving it two access points. One would across Charlotte Highway from Henry Harris Road. The other would be on Van Wyck Road near River Bend Boulevard, in Sun City.

The sketch plan shows 409 acres of open space that include ponds, streams and wetlands. There’s a 7-acre amenity area at the center of the property in one sketch plan, though it’s broken into two pieces in another version.

The main entrance on Charlotte Highway would have more than 13 acres a business space and 3 acres of institutional space. That’s a zoning typically used for county properties like a park, fire station or emergency response substation.

The area zoned for business is described in documents only as retail or commercial construction.

The project requires a mix of decisions, include zoning and county land use plan changes. It also would involve a development agreement with the county.

A community meeting on Cresswind will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Del Webb Library in Indian Land.

The county Planning Commission will get more information when the proposal comes to that group Jan. 21. The commission will recommend for or against changes, but Lancaster County Council will have the final decision.

The county council won’t look at the Cresswind proposal until at least Jan. 27.

The decisions will take multiple council votes, lasting at least a month from when that group first sees the Cresswind proposal.

This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 2:38 PM.