Tree Trimming in Goose Creek

CONWAY – The Conway National Bank Kickoff Classic is back at Brooks Stadium and it appears like it is there to stay – at least for the next three years.

Coastal Carolina University Athletic Director Matt Hogue confirmed that CCU and CNB have agreed to a three-year contract to keep the event at Brooks Stadium until at least 2023, with this year’s event falling on Aug. 13.

The event will feature scrimmages from 10 area high school football teams – all nine Horry County Schools programs (Aynor, Green Sea Floyds, Socastee, Conway, St. James, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Loris and Carolina Forest), plus Waccamaw High School.

“This is one of those events that really makes perfect sense for us,” Hogue said. “There’s a lot of benefits that come from having a good, centralized location where all the teams can compete … which I think is really a thrill for the coaches and the players to be in that environment.”

Hogue also said having the event will help benefit local recruiting and admissions with the exposure the university will get.

The CNB Kickoff Classic was last held at Brooks Stadium in 2019, and before that was held for several years at that venue in the mid-2000s. However, the event was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will be co-directed by South Florence football assistant coach Chuck Jordan and CNB’s Terrance Herriott.

Jordan, who served as athletic director, head football coach and a math teacher for over three decades at Conway High School and was also briefly CCU football’s analyst for high school relations, was one of the creators of the event back in 1990.

“They’re very important,” Hogue said. “Obviously, Coach Jordan’s background here (is big). He’s really the father of the event in a lot of ways … He’s really the glue that makes it all work, and certainly Terrance as well.”

Hogue said Brooks Stadium is good to go for full capacity for the event. The venue seats roughly 20,000 people.

One thing that will be different for the ticketing system this year as opposed to 2019 will be that tickets will be available through CCU’s digital ticketing system. However, patrons can also buy tickets at CNB branches and at the gate of the event.

Current and prospective business owners from Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and surrounding areas now have a convenient one-stop location to seek guidance on all of their business-related questions.

The Charleston Area Small Business Development Center is expanding to Berkeley County with a new office in Goose Creek.

Beginning today, consultants will be available 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays at the Creek Compass Room in Goose Creek City Hall, located at 519 North Goose Creek Blvd.

The move is the result of an alliance with the City of Goose Creek Economic Development Department.

The growing need for a new office in Berkeley County was first recognized by department director Matt Brady and Berkeley Chamber of Commerce CEO Elaine Morgan, who would send their clients from Berkeley County to SBDC consultants in North Charleston.

"We decided we'd set up an office over there because it's a pretty good drive from Moncks Corner to North Charleston," said business consultant Tom Lauria.

The move will also help consultants reach new clients who may not have been previously aware of South Carolina SBDC's services.

"It's advantageous to us because it helps us get the word out to make sure people understand who we are and what we can provide," said Paul Featheringill, region director for the S.C. SBDC. “Especially since we've been doing so much of our work remotely, to be able to get back out into these areas and reestablish our presence is a tremendous benefit.”

SBDC consultants work with business owners on a variety of topics, such as business plans, marketing, sales growth strategies and fiscal management. The new office of the Charleston Area SBDC is one of 21 centers in South Carolina, with additional offices at The Citadel and on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. Consultations are free and by-appointment only.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – There is a new focus on spotlighting art in the City of Goose Creek.

Local artists spent the day painting a large mural on the side of a business Tuesday. It’s just the first step in bringing more art to the city.

“You’re looking at the very first colorful large-scale piece of public art in the City of Goose Creek,” said the city’s art coordinator, Barbara Richardson, who is active in the art scene.

“I’ve been part of the Cultural Arts Committee for close to three years and its sole purpose is to get art out and give the residence of Goose Creek a feeling of home,” she said.

The mural on the side of the Food Lion shopping center next to Button Hall Avenue is a big part of that push.

“It’s something Goose Creek has needed for a very long time. I’ve lived here all my life,” said Richardson.

She has been helping spread her love of art for decades.

“I went to Goose Creek high school. I went to college, majored in art my master’s degree is also in art; I’ve been an art teacher for years, I’m currently teaching at Charleston School of the Arts, and one of the artists working with us recently graduated.”

Enrique Boyd is from North Charleston but has lived in Goose Creek.

“I mean it’s great. I didn’t know it was gonna blow up as much as it has and I’m excited for everyone to see it when it’s done. We still have a way to go but as you can see, we’re making progress, the second day,” he said.

The other artist working on the project is Louis Tompkins.

“It’s something great that honestly, the city of Goose Creek has needed for a long time,” he said. “I was raised here in Goose Creek. My parents were raised here in Goose Creek, my wife’s parents were raised here. So we have roots here, this actually means a lot to me.”

The city is paying $4,000 for this mural, but they are considering several other art projects for the near future, including a possible mural park, where visitors could come create their own large murals.

“There are many more great things to come here,” said Tompkins.

“Let’s just face it, art transforms communities,” said Richardson.

Richardson says they’re hoping to finish work on the mural later this week and may begin work on another mural after that.

If you own a business in Goose Creek and would be interested in having a mural on your building, you are asked to contact the city.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – The City of Goose Creek is considering a temporary moratorium on automotive-related businesses in two specific areas. It comes amid a plan to beautify the city and grow new business.

There are currently more than 20 auto-related businesses in these specific areas – a zone north of the railroad tracks, mainly along St. James Avenue, and a zone south of the railroad tracks along Red Bank Road.

Goose Creek city officials want to use the moratorium time to enact a plan for growth and new development for these areas.

“The first thing to realize is that this is not a city-wide moratorium. This is for two specific areas,” said Frank Johnson, Goose Creek Information Officer. “We recently conducted a very thorough comprehensive plan with the help of our residents, and this is a result of that.”

Residents said they wanted more sit-down restaurants, retail, and technology businesses. But there are currently several auto-related businesses – like body shops and used car lots – in these areas.

“These are very important businesses to us. There is an important part of the deal here; if there weren’t any of these businesses within these areas, we would be looking for incentives to get them here,” Johnson explained. “As it stands, there are 21 of these businesses just in these two specific areas that we’re looking at.”

Goose Creek City Council is considering a moratorium on any new auto-related businesses within the zones over the next year or so.

The city planning department will spend that time creating new design standards of how they want businesses to look in the future.

“It’s going to be a year, maybe even less,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be up to conceivably 18 months.”

Current businesses or businesses already in the process of opening in the area will only be impacted if they are planning to expand during the moratorium. New auto-related businesses would not be able to open during the moratorium.

“We want it to look great and we want it to have a diverse selection of businesses. Restaurants, retail opportunities- that’s true in these districts they were specifically looking at and it’s true for the entire city, frankly.”

Goose Creek City Council has passed the first reading of this. They will vote on implementing the moratorium in August.

GOOSE CREEK, SC — Hiring surged in the U.S. in June and average hourly wages increased as more Americans return to a pre-pandemic way of life. However, the country still has a long way to go before pandemic job losses are fully reversed.

The U.S. added 850,000 non-farm jobs in June, which was the largest monthly increase since August 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total payroll employment is up 15.6 million jobs since April 2020. However, the country is still down 6.8 million jobs (4.4 percent) from pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1 percentage points to 5.9 percent between May and June.

The unemployment rate in the Goose Creek area has largely improved since the beginning of the pandemic, and there was some improvement from April to May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. May figures are the most recent for local unemployment.

The Berkeley County unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in May, down from 4.0 percent in April. That reflected significant improvement from May 2020, when the unemployment rate stood at 10.2 percent.

The Berkeley County May unemployment rate is lower than South Carolina's 3.6 percent rate, according to the latest local figures from the BLS.

Nationally, the leisure and hospitality industry added 343,000 positions in June in a sign that more Americans are ready to return to restaurants, bars and vacation spots. Employment in the industry still has a long way to recover, with positions down 12.9 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

Average hourly earnings continue to climb as employers offer more money in an effort to fill positions. The average hourly earning was $30.40 in June, up 10 cents from May. Average hourly wages are up 43 cents since April.

President Joe Biden celebrated the report and said the country is rapidly recovering from the pandemic's economic damage.

"Instead of workers competing with each other for jobs that are scarce, employers are competing with each other to attract workers," he said in a statement.

Long-term unemployment (jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 233,000 to 4 million; people who are long-term unemployed account for about 42 percent of all unemployed people in June.

Editor's note: This post was automatically generated using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Please report any errors or other feedback to content@patch.com.