Plumbers in North Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON S.C. (WCIV) — Wonderful things can happen when a community comes together.

Lowcountry non-profit, Metanoia SC, is listening to the people who live in North Charleston's Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood.

Over the past 20 years, Metanoia has been implementing programs to meet residents' needs to generate positive changes.

Shawn Saulsberry is the Board Chair of Metanoia.

"It's a huge responsibility because Metanoia is literally serving the area that I grew up in," Saulsberry said.

Saulsberry remembers growing up in what's known as "Charleston Heights," or the "Heights" in North Charleston.

The community played an important part in his childhood.

"I didn't have the organization that we have today, but somehow I ran across those metanoia-type people who saw me, and they invested in me."

His grandfather taught him the importance of entrepreneurship.

"My grandfather taught us to work hard at an early age. He would let us rent the lawnmower from him, and we would go and cut grass in the community, and we would get to keep the profits," Saulsberry said.

Now, as a Senior Manager at the accounting firm Ernst & Young, Saulsberry uses his background of a strong work ethic to encourage the youth in the neighborhood.

Metanoia serves as a youth leadership pipeline.

"I'm not the smartest or the brightest, but I do know how to work hard, and I also know how to have endurance and not stop and just encourage them. If you do those things eventually, you're gonna find what you love. You're gonna find what you want to do in life, and it's gonna work well for you," said Saulsberry.

Metanoia was launched in 2002 by a coalition of churches across South Carolina.

By definition, Metanoia certainly works well with the community it serves.

"It means to make a positive transformation, kind of take upon a positive change of direction," explained Metanoia CEO Reverend Bill Stanfield.

Rev. Stanfield and his wife Evelyn live in the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood with their two teenage sons.

Before Metanoia's founding, the couple spent one year getting to know their neighbors and listening to their concerns.

"We really do believe people closest to communities know the solutions to their own problems," said Stanfield.

Stanfield saw this as an opportunity to build on the positive community members saw in their neighborhood.

And Metanoia did just that.

In addition to building leaders, it's the non-profit's mission to also establish quality housing within Chicora-Cherokee.

"We build new homes for some home buyers. We also build new homes for affordable rental, all within the community where prices are going up, and people are finding it hard to afford a place to live," said Stanfield.

The organization also invests in neighborhood assets. They support black businesses on Reynolds Avenue and have a partnership with a local manufacturing company to create jobs in the community.

"There's a systematic way of listening to the community and understanding what the community needs and then coming alongside the needs of the community and becoming an advocate for what the community wants to do," said Saulsberry.

If you'd like to nominate an individual or organization for a prestigious 'Jefferson Award, email your nomination to ABC News 4's Tessa Spencer.

NORTH CHARLESTON — A new motel, barbecue restaurant and coffee shop are slated to be the newest businesses in the Chicora Cherokee neighborhood where once-vibrant Reynolds Avenue is now a focal point for revitalization.

“Our goal is to not be King Street,” said Ed Sutton, developer and president emeritus of the Reynolds Avenue Area Merchants Association, emphasizing the need for the North Charleston strip to attract locally owned business as opposed to chain restaurants.

But there’s another problem that affects the downtown Charleston business corridor that those living near North Charleston’s Reynolds Avenue are hoping to keep at bay: flooding.

The Chicora Cherokee community, a hot spot for new development and also a target for affordable housing and new businesses, is one of six neighborhoods that have been targeted for drainage improvements. Though residents and community leaders welcome the improvements, the city’s recent decision to move forward with a flooding study in Chicora was met with mixed reactions.

City Council voted Dec. 15 to pay civil engineer Reveer Group $146,510 to lead the Chicora Drainage Study. The study will analyze existing flooding conditions and evaluate remedial action in the form of maintenance or drainage improvements that will reduce or eliminate future flooding.

Reveer, a North Charleston-based firm, will also develop alternatives that will increase the capacity of the stormwater system and reduce the flooding potential in Chicora.

Chicora will be the first of six neighborhoods to undergo drainage studies using funding from grants awarded last year by the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program to help cover more than $14 million worth of drainage improvements. Other neighborhoods that will see flooding solutions are Union Heights, Accabee, Read Street, Midland Park and the Northwood/Bentwood area.

The city still needs to secure additional funding to implement the recommendations from the study, Councilman Michael Brown said.

AJ Davis, president of the Chicora neighborhood, said any improvement that seeks to alleviate flooding is welcomed. But the infrastructure improvements are to be expected, given the economic interests in the city’s south end, he said.

Development is trickling southward from the Park Circle community, an eclectic district of residences and restaurants. Businesses have stretched south along Spruill Avenue and along Reynolds Avenue into the predominantly Black Chicora neighborhood, where housing affordability and gentrification remain a concern.

Some expected that incoming development would “trigger” infrastructure improvements, Davis said.

“In my opinion, this is less about truly addressing infrastructure issues for the people there and more so about aligning with a development trajectory that we’re all pretty much seeing,” Davis said.

Union Heights, located a few miles south of Chicora, is also slated to see drainage improvements.

Skip Mikell, neighborhood president, said he was unaware of the $14 million being invested in southern end neighborhoods. He also said the city should have considered the number of grassroots organizations that have for years been examining environmental issues in these neighborhoods.

In 1980, North Charleston studied the Chicora Drainage Basin, which spans over 400 acres and covers the neighborhood, and concluded that a new box culvert and outfall to the Cooper River was needed. The study also concluded that the pipes upstream of the retention areas were undersized and only provided up to 50 percent of the required stormwater conveyance capacity.

Soon after, the city constructed the recommended saltwater retention. In 2007, the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority built a new box culvert though the former Charleston Navy base and a new outfall to the Cooper River.

While drainage has improved, flooding has continued to impact the community, which includes several homes, nonprofits, businesses, schools and churches.

“You have flooding to where folks can’t get to their houses,” Brown said. Brown added that the problem hasn’t gotten better over the years, even as new infrastructure projects have made way, such as the four-lane Cosgrove overpass that was replaced several years ago.

Evie Palmisano lives at the corner of Arapahoe Street and Captain Avenue, located in the adjacent Nafair neighborhood. She bought her home in 2019. Since then, her yard has flooded at least 10 times, she said. In 2021, Palmisano lost her car after the vehicle was flooded during heavy rainfall.

“I’m tentatively hopeful,” she said in hearing about the city’s new Chicora drainage study.

Rexton Street, a strip that stretches off the up-and-coming Reynolds Avenue, is also frequently under water. This impedes current plans to transform the strip into community-oriented space that includes an amphitheater, cafe and plaza. But proper infrastructure will need to be in place for those plans to be successful, Sutton said.

NORTH CHARLESTON — The holiday season might have passed, but it’s never too late to plan ahead, especially when purchasing a gift that is supposed to last a lifetime.

That’s the promise made by Smithey Ironware Co., a company shipping cast iron and carbon steel cookware nationwide from its headquarters at the former Charleston Naval Base.

“It will outlive you and that’s intentional,” said Will Copenhaver, Smithey’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales. “It’s a business based on making things that last.”

Founder Isaac Morton started Smithey in 2015 with just one 10-inch cast iron skillet. The company’s products are now sold in nearly all 50 states, with Charleston establishments like Vern’s, High Wire Distilling and Lenoir on Smithey’s client list.

Morton credits a Griswold cast iron pan he received as a gift for jumpstarting a longtime interest in vintage cookware.

“I just thought it was a really nice piece of cookware because it was polished and I liked the branding on the other side,” Morton said. “It was really different from cast iron as I had known it.”

Morton helped Smithey add a second skillet by 2018, and the company has expanded its operations and sales since. Smithey now offers close to 20 cast-iron and carbon steel skillets, grill pans, woks and Dutch ovens online and in specialty stores such as the Preservation Society of Charleston Shop on King Street.

Though Smithey’s two biggest sales markets are in California and Texas, the business is still rooted in Charleston-based craftsmanship.

Smithey’s signature cast iron products are milled smooth from gritty raw castings at the company’s North Charleston warehouse during a multi-step process.

Metal and polishing is first removed in a machine that creates pressure and causes steel to chip away. In a matter of three minutes, Smithey’s CNC (computer numerical control) machinery sheds about four pounds of steel off its pans, raw material that is later sold.

Cast iron cookware then heads to a tumbling machine that further smooths the surface. From there, it’s on to a seasoning station, where pans are brushed with grapeseed oil and placed in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Cast iron cookware transforms from a gray color to copper by the end of this process, though with use, Smithey pans will darken like many cast-iron pans on the market.

While cast iron is made by pouring molten liquid into a mold, Smithey’s line of carbon steel products are hand-forged by the talented blacksmiths at Robert Thomas Iron Design, currently located nearby on the former Charleston Naval Base.

The decade-old company recently announced plans to expand its operations in Charleston County following a $2.9 million investment.

“We intentionally don’t take labor out of it because we want peoples’ hands on it,” said Eric Doyesburg, a Robert Thomas employee. “That’s what makes the pans we produce for them have the look and feel they do.”

Seasoned Smithey products are ready for use upon purchase. After cooking with the vessel, Morton suggests scraping off any residual food bits and rinsing with a little soap. Dry the pan and apply a tiny bit of oil before putting it away.

“I always think of seasoning as it’s just like a coat of paint on your house,” Morton said. “It’s there to protect it and keep it from rusting or oxidizing.”

Morton stresses the fact that these pans are built to last, meaning they aren’t fragile. If a cast iron or carbon steel product does need some work, Smithey’s restoration shop is there to help “bring your cast iron back to life.”

The company’s commitment to this pan preservation extends to other brands of vintage cookware. As long as it is cast iron or carbon steel, Smithey will restore it.

For more information on Smithey Ironware Co., visit smithey.com.

Despite fears of a recession, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce projects nearly 36,000 new jobs by the end of 2026.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - New numbers this month show employment in the Charleston and North Charleston metro area saw a 6.6% increase last year. That’s the second highest in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It really goes to show that our region is thriving,” said Celeste Granger, VP of Talent Development at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Despite fears of a recession, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce projects nearly 36,000 new jobs by the end of 2026.

The chamber is piloting a grant from the federal government aimed at getting historically marginalized communities into higher paying roles in the healthcare industry. It’s something that the organization hopes can translate to other industries, including technical ones.

“We were so used to saying, you know, for so long that there needed to be a four-year degree,” Granger said. “There doesn’t necessarily need to be that.”

At Trident Technical College’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program, students are learning skills they will use on the job in local Charleston businesses.

“There’s definitely high demand in our area,” program director David Provenzano said.

This semester, the college has about 200 students enrolled in HVAC courses. Tuition is free through 2024.

“You can carry the HVAC trade to a lot of different levels,” Provenzano said.

He says increasing awareness of the underlying skill set is important for addressing today’s worker shortage.

“It’s got a lot of variables and being able to troubleshoot it and resolve the problem is satisfying,” Provenzano said.

Granger said that mentality applies to any industry.

“Because you might be able to find workers that you traditionally hadn’t thought about,” Granger said.

Back in the field, Benware said there’s no quick fix to the trade worker shortage.

He said his industry must focus on getting young people the message that a trade job can be fulfilling.

“You can make as much money as you want to make if you have the effort and the willingness and the desire to learn and the passion to move forward,” Benware said.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Kreator and Sepultura will hit the road this May with Death Angel and Spiritworld as support. Kreator and Sepultura will rotate closing out each show, denoted on the tour dates below with asterisks.

"I'm really happy to be back in the US this May with the mightiest of all… Sepultura," said Kreator's Mille Petrozza. "A new 'Klash Of The Titans' partnership and an absolutely stacked bill from start to finish. I'm looking forward to checking out Spiritworld live – a great new band with big riffs. Plus sharing the stage with the legendary Death Angel. Awesome! Can't wait… see you in the pit!"

"I'm very excited to be back in North America with our friends and my personal idols Kreator!" added Sepultura's Andreas Kisser. "They were a very strong influence in our early days, and it's great to see they are stronger than ever, which is how I feel with Sepultura as well. It's going to be a historical run.

"Thrilled to have our brothers from Death Angel and the awesome Spiritworld with us. Do not miss this, metal is alive and well, so let's celebrate 'Klash of the Titans North America 2023' on the road! See you all soon!"

5/12 – Harrisburg, PA5/13 – Worcester, MA *5/14 – Niagara Falls, NY5/15 – Silver Springs, MD *5/17 – McKees Rocks, PA5/18 – Charlotte, NC *5/19 – Atlanta, GA5/22 – Dallas, TX *5/23 – San Antonio, TX5/25 – Phoenix, AZ5/26 – San Diego, CA *5/27 – Los Angeles, CA5/28 – San Francisco, CA *5/30 – Seattle, WA *5/31 – Vancouver, BC6/2 – Salt Lake City, UT *6/3 – Denver, CO6/5 – Minneapolis, MN *6/6 – Chicago, IL6/8 – Toronto, ON *6/9 – Montreal, QC6/10 – New York, NY *