GAINSWave® Treatment In Rock Hill, SC

The organization initially set out to help 15 families but was able to stretch their funds and help nearly double that.

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ROCK HILL, S.C. — Just a few months ago the hail storm that blew through the south side of Rock Hill took many residents by surprise and caused immense damage to homes, cars, and multiple businesses.

Since then, multiple organizations stepped in to help residents get back on their feet. In June, Habitat for Humanity of York County dedicated $250,000 toward renovating homes for residents who didn’t have insurance.

According to CEO Tim Veeck, the organization initially set out to help 15 families but was able to stretch their funds and help nearly double that.

“It’s been a lot of roof, siding, window repair. Some people had their entire HVAC system completely damaged. Having to repair ceilings and drywall is something else that we’ve done,” Veeck explained.

Now – months later – driving through the south side of Rock Hill, multiple homes look completely different with new siding, new windows, and new roofs. Some residents say they’re happy the storm is all just a memory.

“I received a new roof, shingles, new strings on the windows,” shared Bobby Stevenson, who lives in Rock Hill.

“We had great big tears in the siding, the roof was destroyed. We did have some internal damage with the roof. We literally watched our cars get the doors blown off and the windows blown out," added neighbor Ruth Perkins.

However, Perkins said the community's best sides were shown in the aftermath.

"I think in a way it’s brought our neighborhood together,” she said.

Habitat for Humanity said it hopes to have all of the work done in the coming weeks.

Contact Anna King at aking2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

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As one restaurant announced it’s leaving Main Street in Fort Mill, several other projects are in line to grow the commercial scene downtown.

Center Theatre Pizza & Ice Cream posted a goodbye message on its Facebook page Tuesday. The Main Street eatery that opened two years ago offered “a heartfelt thank you to all in the Fort Mill community who welcomed us and supported our small venture” before noting it is closed and won’t reopen.

Employees were given notice, according to the post, and customers can redeem gift cards at Emmet’s Social Table in Waxhaw, North Carolina. The pizza and ice cream spot at 100 Main St. was an Emmet’s Social Table small plate restaurant before the fall 2023 switch.

Just hours after the Center Theatre closing post, the town’s Historic Review Board gave unanimous approval for two projects related to new business downtown. The historic district, largely properties on or near Main Street, require approvals from that board for building or design changes.

One project involves the former Kimbrell’s Furniture building.

Developer Growing Main applied for several changes aimed at opening the 232 Main St. property to new tenants. One proposed tenant, Treadstone Defensive Tactics, is listed in documents submitted to the town. Plans show five suites on two levels, the first floor on Main and a basement.

The review board decision allows Growing Main to remove an old loading ramp at the rear of the property and replace it with a new entrance, stairwells and a covered patio area.

The former Kimbrell’s site is far from the oldest building on Main. It was built in 1956, while others date back to the early 1900s or earlier. But along with Fort Mill Barber Shop right beside it, Kimbrell’s was one of the longer-running businesses at a single spot on Main. Kimbrell’s sold the property three years ago.

Growing Main approached the Historic Review Board about the site in late 2022.

The Kimbrell’s building and the warehouse beside it at 102 Tom Hall St. would transition into a possible restaurant or brewery with other tenants, the developer proposed at the time. Online property listings still show the two buildings, which combine for more than 17,000 square feet of space, with leasing options available.

The Historic Review Board also approved new projecting and door signs at 106 Confederate St. for Mackey Realty. That address is off the side of 124 Main St., where clothing and accessories company Vestique now operates in the former and long-time home of the Fort Mill Times newspaper.

The most recent tenant at 106 Confederate St. was the Hobbs-Threet law firm. Mackey Realty is a real estate firm with other offices in Charlotte, Columbia and Asheville, North Carolina.

Other review board decisions in recent months include signage or other changes for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate at 100 Main St., Modulex at 219 Main St., Blue Root Acupuncture at 227 Main St. and Bossy Beulah’s at 314 N. White Street.

Nearby, former business sites are changing. They include improvements at Elisha Park and work toward a new town hall.

Removing the asphalt trail at Elisha Park and putting in a concrete one is the latest phase of improvements that already brought an amphitheater, swings and a new playground.

The park is near Main Street, where the Springs Mill once stood. Beside it, the former Springs Global office building is being renovated for use as a new town hall.

This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Rock Hill region companies confirmed to the state more layoffs last year than they have in any year since the COVID pandemic began in 2020.

Large companies cutting positions typically have to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN notification, with the state Commerce Department. Those reports don’t cover all job losses in the area, but show the largest ones.

There were five WARN notices in 2024 combining to lay off 475 workers across York, Lancaster and Chester counties. The Rock Hill region had 950 job losses in WARN reports in 2020, not counting companies that listed job cuts “statewide” rather than by specific location.

Other than in 2020, there only have been three years since 2013 with more job cuts than there were last year. The most recent was 2018, when there were 504 layoffs.

A Flourish chart

Mitch Miller, interim director of the York County Economic Development, cautions against reading too much into the increase in York County WARN notices last year.

“The majority of these job losses stemmed from two large employers — Stanley Black & Decker and McKesson Medical-Surgical — making significant organizational changes,” Miller said. “These decisions, while impactful, do not point to a broader economic trend.”

While layoffs increased in 2024, new job announcements didn’t. In fact, the region saw historically low numbers for new job announcements.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce and I-77 Alliance routinely announce when large companies agree to expand or relocate to York, Lancaster or Chester counties. They don’t disclose every new job, but they do cover the biggest employment additions in the area.

The 41 new jobs announced by the I-77 Alliance last year is the smallest number in the decade of that organization’s records.

Even the 30 more jobs announced by the state Commerce Department that were left out of the I-77 Alliance figures don’t change much. The lowest annual total for the I-77 Alliance before last year was 460 new jobs in 2019.

A Flourish chart

Not every job announced by the state or economic development groups leads to a hired worker.

A prime example came last year, with a massive Rock Hill project. New York silicone carbide manufacturer Pallidus announced $443 million plans in 2023 to bring 405 jobs to the city.

But in October, city and county officials confirmed Pallidus wasn’t coming. The company didn’t appear in a WARN report since it wasn’t in business yet when the company pulled the plug.

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Sometimes, job creation can take longer than companies initially project. That involves an even bigger announcement from 2023 that remains tied up in litigation.

Silfab Solar promised 800 jobs and an investment of $150 million in Fort Mill. York County residents sued, claiming the company shouldn’t be able to manufacture solar panels in a light industrial area on Logistics Lane.

Miller remains optimistic about York County’s business climate.

He points to its location near Charlotte within a growing region, skilled workforce and ability to attract a variety of businesses as reasons to expect “a better consumer climate and stable economy to come.” There’s also York County’s third-highest average weekly wage in the Charlotte metro area ($1,218 per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) and the Fed’s lowering of interest rates to consider, he said.

“York County remains on solid economic footing,” Miller said.

Here’s a look at five layoff or expansion actions for the region from last year and how they’ll potentially change the area job scene:

In March, Stanley Black & Decker announced it would close its Carolina’s Manufacturing Operations facility at 4260 Pleasant Road in Fort Mill and eliminate 192 jobs. Of those jobs, 105 workers were listed as product assemblers in the WARN notice.

The first wave of 158 workers losing jobs began May 10. Smaller phases of job cuts followed in July and September. The final dozen jobs at the site followed from mid-September through the plant closing at the end of the year, according to the company’s plan.

Stanley Black & Decker allowed for some worker transfers to other areas, but didn’t give bumping rights — where laid-off senior employees displace junior ones elsewhere — for salaried or non-union hourly workers at the Fort Mill site.

In June, clean technology and recycling company Princeton NuEnergy announced it would take over the 25,000-square-foot former ShayoNano facility at 564 Ecology Lane in Chester. An investment of $11 million would add 41 jobs.

The lithium-ion battery recycling operation would be up and running by the fall, according to Princeton NuEnergy. The company recycles batteries from electric vehicles, consumer electronics, energy storage batteries and manufacturing scrap.

Novant Health submitted a WARN report in late June for layoffs at its 6237 Carolina Commons Drive site in Indian Land. That decision would cost 90 workers their jobs within two months. The Lancaster County site was part of 171 layoffs across the Carolinas announced by the company, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Software engineers, developers and analysts lost jobs as part of a transition to a new IT model that outsourced some positions, the Observer reported. Employees received 60-day notices of the layoffs, the company stated in its WARN notice.

Rock Hill medical company McKesson Medical-Surgical filed a WARN report in September indicating it would cut 13 jobs at 885 Paragon Way by mid-November. Then in December, the company filed again. The company would permanently close its distribution center and warehouse, it wrote in that WARN notice.

That closing impacted another 179 warehouse workers, with layoffs starting in early March 2025. There were no bumping rights, and no workers were represented by unions. Workers were made aware of other opportunities in the larger McKesson company, along with transition benefits including severance.

LCI-Lineberger Construction announced a $10 million investment in October that will create 30 jobs in Lancaster County. The road construction and site development company founded in 1995 works throughout the Carolinas, according to the state commerce department announcement.

The Lancaster company employed more than 100 workers prior to the summer announcement.

The expansion will build a new asphalt plant next to the existing facility at 1490 Kershaw Camden Highway. Company paving projects include work for the state and municipalities, along with other contractors. Planned opening for the expansion is this January.

As the Rock Hill region braces for snow, sleet and ice on Friday, here’s a list of schools that will close for the weather:

▪ The Rock Hill School District will have an eLearning day, or online school, on Friday. Parents won’t send students to school. Extracurricular activities for Friday and Saturday are canceled.

▪ The Fort Mill School District will close all facilities Friday. Students will move to eLearning. After-school activities, including sports, are canceled. District facilities will be closed Saturday, too. Schools are commonly used on weekends for basketball, robotics and other events.

▪ The Clover School District will use remote learning on Friday. Students won’t have live instruction but will be given assignments to complete. School staff will be available online for support. Athletic events for Friday and Saturday are canceled.

▪ The York School District will go to remote learning Friday. All athletic events are canceled for Friday and Saturday.

▪ The Lancaster County School District will close Friday and go to eLearning. All school facilities will be closed and all scheduled events at them canceled Friday through Sunday.

▪ The Chester County School District will go to remote learning Friday, and school district facilities will be closed Friday through Sunday. Students will be given work for Friday to complete, but won’t have online classes.

▪ York Prep will go to a half-day schedule on Friday. Kindergarten through fourth grade will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Friday, with older grades dismissed at noon. All after-school activities Friday are canceled.

▪ Legion Collegiate Academy postponed all of Friday’s basketball games. Saturday’s girls game will be played in February.

▪ Riverwalk Academy will have an early release day Friday. Kindergarten through fifth grade will finish school at 11:05 a.m. Older grades will finish at 11:30 a.m. All after-school activities are canceled.

As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service listed a winter storm watch for Rock Hill.

The forecast showed a chance of snow before 2 p.m. Friday, and an 80% chance of precipitation afterward with a mix of snow, sleet and ice. Freezing rain and sleet would continue Friday night with a 100% chance of precipitation after 7 p.m. The forecast low is 29 degrees.

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Saturday would have a chance of sleet before 7 a.m. and morning fog, with a 30% chance of precipitation on a mostly sunny day. The expected high temperature is 42 degrees. A low of 19 degrees on Saturday night would be followed by several days of high temperatures in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.

This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 12:41 PM.

South Carolina’s longest-running Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade won’t happen on the holiday weekend, but it will still happen.

The 44th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade is postponed from Saturday, Jan. 18, to 1 p.m. next Saturday, Jan. 25.

The Western York County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People moved the York event back a week due to the weather forecast. The National Weather Service predicts a 70% chance of rain and a high of 51 degrees Saturday at the York County Airport in Rock Hill.

The main and related events at what’s been dubbed the “people’s parade” will all return to York on the makeup date.

“Starting at East Madison Street and we’re going to go all the way down to Jefferson Field with the vendors and the bands and the fun and the stage show — all of the things that we’ve been doing for the past 44 years,” Dontavius Williams with the Western York County branch said in a Facebook video announcing the date switch.

The parade has grown to more than 100 entries.

It includes everything from college marching bands to voter registration drives in election years. It’s meant to celebrate the holiday and bring the York community together. The parade began before the federal holiday was created.

“We will continue the show,” Williams said. “We will continue the fun. We will continue the community relationship building.”

There are several other Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations throughout the Rock Hill region:

▪ Hundreds of people are expected to attend the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on Monday morning at First Baptist Church in Rock Hill. The event is sold out. Each year the event recognizes citizens for public service, awards youth essay winners and celebrates King’s legacy.

▪ Fort Mill hosts its MLK Call to Service Day on Monday. The town will have marked boxes in front of town hall from 9 to 11 a.m. to take donations for Classroom Ready, Fort Mill Care Center, Historic Paradise Foundation and York County Council on Aging.

▪ York has the Tender Hearts MLK Weekend Kickoff Celebration on Friday night. The United Mens Club of Clover has its fifth annual MLK Prayer Breakfast at 11 a.m. Monday.

▪ Lancaster has the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration & Parade starting at 3 p.m. Saturday. Activities are on Main Street, with a multicultural ceremony at Hope on the Hill after the parade.

▪ Chester hosts a parade and other activities in downtown on Sunday, starting at 3 p.m. Activities are hosted by the Chester County MLK Celebration Committee.

This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM.