GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Christmas came early for a young man in Goose Creek but not before a couple of Grinches got in the way.

After realizing he dropped more than $1,700 in cash while riding his motorcycle down Highway 52 as he was headed to the store, 20-year-old Kyle Kons got to his destination Wednesday afternoon only to find his money missing. He retraced his steps to see several cars pulled over on the side of the highway - people were grabbing his cash and driving off.

“By the time I got there, the last car was pulling off,” Kons says. “I felt hopeless. I thought ‘I’ll never get this money back.’”

Kons says he had just bought a car with the cash and had put the leftover money in an envelope from the bank.

“I thought my front jacket pocket was zipped up all the way, but I guess not,” he says. “I thought I had felt something fall out and hit my leg, but I didn’t question it because nobody behind me was stopping.”

“My heart sunk. I felt like I was the laughingstock of the town,” Kons says. He says he moved to Goose Creek last year for his career in the Navy. He’s currently a Petty Officer.

In a Facebook post of his own in the group, Kons wrote, in part:

“I didn’t realize my money was gone until I arrived at Walmart, and by the time I got there, the last car was scooping up my money… I ask people to be decent human beings and return the money to the owner. I earned that money that you got for free.”

In addition to expressing his frustrations, Kons left his phone number on the post to see if anyone had extra work, so he could earn some money during the Christmas weekend.

He says he never would have thought the community would use his phone number to find his payment apps, like Venmo, CashApp and Zelle, and gift him his money back… and then some.

“I came home from work Thursday, and I had $300 in my account,” Kons says. “I was like ‘no way,’ and it was maybe five people total at the time sending money and saying ‘this sucks but have a great Christmas.’ I was so touched, like, oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Kons says most of the payments appeared to be coming from other military members in the area. The payments ranged from a couple of dollars to $250.

In total, Kons tells us he’s been sent over $2,000 through the payment apps, and he doesn’t want to get any more notifications or payments.

He spent Friday with his roommates, John VanTatenhove and Tyler Roton, picking up litter on Highway 52 where he lost his money as a way of giving back to the Goose Creek community.

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A brand-new park opened in Goose Creek on Friday with the focus of being “a park built for everyone.”

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - A brand-new park opened in Goose Creek on Friday with the focus of being “a park built for everyone.”

The $9 million project, Central Creek Park, hopes to be inclusive towards everyone with volleyball and basketball courts, a splash pad, a food truck pavilion and pickleball courts.

Over 26,000 square-feet, ‘Debra’s Playground’ will offer a wide range of accessible activities for people with physical or visual disabilities. The surfacing is all wheelchair accessible, and the equipment is based on sensory items for everyone to enjoy.

Families who include children with disabilities were the first invited to play at the park after this morning’s ribbon cutting. Nicole Valentine, mother to her special needs daughter, says other parks have never really been concerned about including all the different aspects of sensory play before.

“It’s never really kept in mind the heart of all children to be fully inclusive, and even down to having the fence around for those kids who love to run,” Valentine says. “It’s very important and it does so much for parent’s safety concerns to be able to just come here, and you almost get a little bit of relief watching your children play and not be so stressed out.”

The City of Goose Creek hosted a tribute to the donors of the park ahead of the ribbon cutting ceremony. Goose Creek Recreation Director Crystal Reed addressed the city and sponsors after working for months on the development.

“Central Creek Park sets our community apart and creates opportunities to remove barriers, increase self-esteem, develop community culture where everyone benefits from health, fitness and social connections,” Crystal says. “Thousands of children and adults across Berkeley County of all abilities have benefited from our therapeutic recreation program over the past several years; because of you, we just raised the bar with Central Creek Park.”

Parents of children with special needs say that it means the world to them to see their children experience a park they can truly enjoy. Kathy Kackley, parent to Trista Kutceher, travel the U.S. together promoting inclusivity in parks and compared other parks to Central Creek Park.

“There’s something here for everyone; there’s something here everyone can do,” Kackley says. “We like to be inclusive in our play and in our life, and we are very appreciative that Goose Creek has stepped up and has a place for everybody to play together.”

Goose Creek Assistant Recreation Director, Nicole Herrera Murray, explains how the city worked to choose specific pieces of equipment for special needs children to use. After planning and researching for months, she says Friday was a dream come true.

“I’ve been dreaming of this day for a really long time. It’s really amazing to see everyone enjoying and hearing the screams behind us is just everything that I’ve ever wanted,” Murray says.

The public is invited to join in on the fun Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 47 Old Moncks Corner Rd.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

As the Lowcountry experiences cold temperatures this holiday weekend, one warming shelter shares how and why they serve those who may not have a warm place to s

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - As the Lowcountry experiences cold temperatures this holiday weekend, one warming shelter shares how and why they serve those who may not have a warm place to stay.

Goose Creek United Methodist Church has opened its doors since 2018 to people when temperatures drop below 32 degrees.

They provide water, food, beds, blankets, hygiene kits and emergency lighting in case of a power outage.

Craig Sullivan, the church’s disaster relief coordinator, says they had six people stay at the church Friday night, who will most likely stay until Tuesday.

“They’re grateful to have a warm meal, and we got snacks,” Sullivan says. “We have people if they want someone to talk to, but we don’t try to put religion in the context; we’re just here to help their comfort. If it’s that part of the comfort they can use, fine, but we are just here to help people comfortably through the cold nights.”

To ensure an efficient process, the church accepts community members from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with lights out at 11 p.m. The next morning, everyone is given breakfast before having to leave by 7 a.m.

Emergency Management Director Will Rochester, who works with the county, says the biggest gap in getting people to the warming shelters is transportation.

On Saturday at the Walmart in Moncks Corner, a bus will take anyone who needs to get to a warming shelter in Berkeley County at 5 p.m. Berkeley County is working to continue transportation efforts for the rest of the cold front.

“We want to keep them out of the elements; that’s the biggest thing, we know it’s going to be cold,” Rochester said. “It’s the coldest day that we’ve experienced in a long time in the Lowcountry. That’s the biggest thing and to mitigate any kind of medical issues, illnesses or injuries for folks that don’t have that place to go when it gets really cold.”

Warming shelters are provided anytime the temperatures drop, especially with the winter storm hitting the nation during the holiday season, Pastor Henry Simmons says.

“Our hearts go out to those that are trying to brave to cold, and they’re trying to make something here at Christmas; and what better opportunity for us to show them the love of Christ,” Simmons said. “We’re providing the buildings, we’re not really doing anything way out of the way but to be there and just open the buildings and provide a warm meal; it’s there for the taking. We want them to know that God blesses them.”

The shelter has never reached capacity but says if they become overcrowded, people will be transported to another nearby location.

For a full list of warming shelters in the Lowcountry, click here.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

People who ride their bikes and walk in Goose Creek say they want to feel safer.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - People who ride their bikes and walk in Goose Creek say they want to feel safer. With the new construction of a large park and amphitheater near Old Moncks Corner Road, they say they wish they didn’t have to take a car and clog the roads.

John Polito, who lives in the area, says he wants his safety as a pedestrian to be just as prioritized as new construction.

“We have a lot of really great assets, but they’re not connected,” Polito said.

Polito has been riding his bike down Old Moncks Corner Rd. in Goose Creek for the last ten years. He frequently visits the Berkeley County Public Library in Goose Creek and South Berkeley Seniors Center located off this road. This is the same area that has the soon-to-be $9 million Center Creek Park and $4 million Joseph S. Daning Amphitheater. He says there are currently no sidewalks in this area to bring him to all these places.

“[One-percent] of the money that went into that park down there is all we need to build sidewalks, about 1,900 ft. of sidewalks from the park to the library, so everybody can safely get to the library and use it,” Polito said.

According to the #CreekRising Community Survey that the city released in May 2021, one of the top concerns amongst residents was accessibility and condition of transportation options, such as roadways, sidewalks, etc.

Crystal Reed, recreation director for the city, says they are in the engineering phase of building a 10 ft. trail on the opposite side of the street from the library and the park with crosswalks connecting to it.

“So, the goal for the rec department and the city is to provide entertainment, high-quality recreation in the area, so we can reduce car traffic and people can get to these places via these trails,” Reed said.

There is currently a trail across from the park, but not one that goes all the way to the library or senior center. The city says they cannot put a sidewalk on the same side of the road as these amenities because of gas lines, drainage and a cemetery.

Polito says he wants to see the plan and wishes they had it in the city’s comprehensive plan.

“We need council to get serious about safety and as serious about safety as they are about growth,” Polito said.

The city says there is currently no timeline on this project, and they don’t know how much it’s going to cost. They say it is not a recurring budget item, but this would be under a special project. It would be paid for by ARP funds and donations.

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First-year Goose Creek High School girls basketball coach Jabari Deas knows fully what is considered normal for the Lady Gators during the winter.

Under former coach Tim Baldwin, Goose Creek won four state titles, tons of region titles and struck fear in local opponents. For the Lady Gators to win 20 games and make a deep run in the playoffs was a given.

Including preseason tournament games, Deas and the Lady Gators are 5-5 against a tough non-region slate this winter. They had won three of four before falling to a Class AAA power, Philip Simmons, on Dec. 14.

“It’s been great to have the opportunity to coach at such a tradition-rich basketball school like Goose Creek,” Deas said. “It’s something I don’t take for granted. Since I’ve been here, the girls have bought into me. They’ve embraced my style of play. We’ve had some lumps along the way and some adversity but they’re giving me their heart and soul. They’ve given me everything I can ask for.”

The record is misleading considering Deas and company has only dropped games to ranked teams. They’ve not come up short against any average teams. The Gators have been their best when things are clicking on both ends of the floor.

“We’ve been really good defensively,” Deas said. “We’re going to hang our hat on that. I like to apply a lot of pressure. If our defense is on, that can help us some nights when our offense isn’t. We’ve had some pretty good nights. That has helped keep us in most of our games when we’ve been stagnant on offense.”

Last winter, Goose Creek was 5-18 overall and 1-7 in the region to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. So, to be 5-5 before Christmas is progress.

“We want to get back to the postseason,” Deas said. “We want to get back to that level of normalcy for Goose Creek basketball. It’s normal for us to be in the playoffs. It’s normal for us to win playoff games. We want to get back to Lady Gators basketball.”

Goose Creek last won a state title in 2020. Cane Bay is the defending region champion, coming in ahead of region runner-up Stratford.

“We’re in a tough region but we’re going to compete and fight with you every night,” Deas said.

The Gators have several lettermen returning as they aim to break into the postseason scene again.