Riley Gracely and his family were looking around the piles of dirt and gravel at Palmetto Fossil Excursions in Summerville when he saw something that looked like a tooth.

The 8-year-old Lebanon, Pennsylvania, boy started digging in the soil, clay and gravel and pulled out a huge fossilized tooth from the long-extinct angustiden shark species, that was 22 million to 28 million years old.

“He got lucky,” Riley’s dad Justin Gracely said in a phone call Monday.

Sky Basak, who owns Palmetto Fossil with her husband Josh, called it a “once in a lifetime find.”

The tooth measured 4.75 inches — about the size of Riley’s hand.

The Gracely family was on their annual vacation to Myrtle Beach and made the 2.5-hour trip south to Summerville to go to Palmetto Fossil, a 100-acre pit rich with prehistoric material including all manner — and parts — of sea creatures.

South Carolina has many such locations, buried deep in the earth along the coastal plain, where ocean and rivers ebbed and flowed for millions of years.

Gracely, 40, said he has been visiting Myrtle Beach since he was 5 and he and his mother, a microbiologist, scoured the sand for shark’s teeth.

Two years ago, when Palmetto had just opened, Gracely saw something on Instagram about it and made the trek. This summer was their third visit.

Last year, older son Collin, 10, found a 4-inch megalodon tooth, a species that came after the angustiden and the largest fish that ever lived, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The largest ones were three times the size of the biggest sharks that exist today.

The Gracelys were searching in an area where trucks were dumping material from property where the landowner was building a lake.

Basak said she hunts for specimens every day, 12 hours a day, and she and her husband have found a treasure trove in the new material. They intend to donate all of it to the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History at the College of Charleston, where they often go to just sit and look at the whales and dinosaurs on display.

“Simply speaking, this is some of the richest fossil layer we have ever seen. The colors on the fossils are also amazing, which is caused by the sediment in which they fossilized,” according to Palmetto Fossil’s Facebook page.

They have found a walrus, parts of baleen whales, beluga whales, giant speartooth dolphin, all millions and millions of years old.

Basak and her husband started the business in 2020 as a “cool part time gig,” she said. Within four months it was much more than that. They were hiring staff and now have 11 employees during the summer.

Basak said interest was immediate.

“It’s a cool feeling knowing you’ve got something that old,” she said.

They are leasing the land on Sand Hill Road in Dorchester and are looking for a place to settle with enough ancient deposits to carry them through two or three generations..

Their goal is to start a research facility to better understand South Carolina’s rich geologic history.

Riley Gracely, meanwhile, is keeping his find in a glass display box. He’s shown it to all his friends.

Someone mentioned to his dad that perhaps they would want to donate it for research or display.

“I think we’ll let the little guy keep it for a while,” Justin Gracely said.

This story was originally published August 23, 2022 5:00 AM.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - For many people, when they first hear they have Parkinson’s Disease, it can be scary and worrisome. But, a group of people attending a boxing class called Rock Steady Boxing in Summerville, say it’s helping slow the progression of the disease.

Dennis Tianello has been coming to Rock Steady Boxing at Title Boxing in Nexton for two months now.

“My doctor, when I was first diagnosed and everything, I couldn’t walk to his exam room without touching the wall four or five times in the hallways,” Tianello said. “I went back to see him after doing this for a month and he says ‘Dennis, I watched you walk down the hall way. You didn’t even touch the wall.”

Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder that affects motor movement. Through this boxing class, folks say they’ve seen their balance, coordination, and strength improve.

Annie Barra, the lead trainer at Title Boxing, says they recognize the disease is still there, but the program helps slows it down.

“They box and they move around and we challenge them to different things,” Barra said. “It’s a great group of people and it brings them together where they may have felt uncomfortable, we make it comfortable.”

Paul Werksman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about two months ago, even though he says he had many symptoms long before that. When he got his diagnosis, he started attending Rock Steady Boxing.

“Just being able to work it out and get better myself,” Werksman said. “I know I’ve lost my voice quit a bit. That’s why Don has us speaking very loudly.”

While it’s completely non-contact boxing, Bob Rodenkirk says one of his favorite things in the class is when he gets to go one-on-one with an instructor.

“They’ll get one of those belts on and they’ll say okay, give me everything you’ve got, don’t hold back,” Rodenkirk said. “And boom, boom, boom, boom.”

Rodenkirk says he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s five years ago. He says this boxing class has helped him stabilize things and has helped him feel normal.

The instructor of the class, Donald Wright, says they do more than just boxing. The goal is to get these folks moving and exercising, which is something doctors tell many people with Parkinson’s to do.

“We have a bend, lift, stretch, voice, you toss balls, stack cones, lift, weights, get on the floor, planks, push ups, sit ups if you can,” Wright said.

Rodenkirk says he’s been surprised by the impacts he’s had from Rock Steady Boxing.

“My doctors told me, you’re not going to lose if you try boxing,” Rodenkirk said. “You may think it sounds stupid or I’m just gonna get pounded, but it’s not that at all.”

Many of the fighters added that Rock Steady Boxing has been a great way for them to build new friendships and realize they aren’t alone in their Parkinson’s journey.

The class is held three days a week. Title Boxing owner Chris Bowen says they are always accepting new members. He added that anyone with Parkinson’s Disease interested in joining can come watch a class before attending. More information on the gym can be found on their website.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Dorchester District 2 leaders say they are still short 12 bus drivers but have 20 applicants in the pipeline as of Monday.

This bus driver shortage has caused many students to be late to school and even led to a new bell schedule for middle and high schools.

District Superintendent Dr. Shane Robbins says with many drivers in the pipeline and a new bell schedule, this shortage will hopefully get resolved.

“The shift in the bell schedules really is a reversion back to what we used last year,” Robbins said. “Really it was designed so that we can maximize instructional time, but it doesn’t reduce the amount of times students have access to lunch or in their classes and that’s the reason why we did that.”

District Transportation Director Steve Shope says people applying to be a bus driver must take an academic class with the district, get a learner’s permit with the DMV, obtain a commercial driver’s license two weeks after that, and take a certification exam by the State Department of Education. He says the entire process takes about a month.

“That have credentials, I think I got four that have credentials that were getting through the class that’s going to finish this Wednesday,” Shope said. “And then we got to put them in the seat for a few hours and we think we can get them running by Monday morning. So, that will definitely help us.”

When asked about an incentive to keep these drivers in the district, Shope says there’s only a promise of a year’s step increase in salary as long as they drive the required number of days.

Dr. Kenneth Wilson, who is the district office’s assistant superintendent, says there were 13 additional drivers out for illness or other reasons on top of the 12 drivers short on Monday. He says he wants the parents to know the district is listening.

“We’ve heard everything that you’ve said, and we are definitely working on that,” Wilson said. So, we do want to thank you for your cooperation and your flexibility as we work through this process.”

One board member said parents should contact bustransportation@dorchester2.k12.sc.us if any bus transportation issues arise.

Aside from the transportation update, the district will be making 30 minutes of unencumbered time required for elementary school teachers next year on Oct. 1. This will cause the district to hire supervisors to watch the students during this time. Paying their salaries will cost the district about $548,100.

District leaders also say they are not in favor of mandating lockers for middle and high school students. They say they’ve realized a lot of textbooks have gone online and they’ve seen an overall decrease in the students using lockers too. They also say they want less access for storing any potential contraband in the schools.

For more information on the Sept. 12 meeting, visit the district’s website.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Riley Gracely and his family were looking around the piles of dirt and gravel at Palmetto Fossil Excursions in Summerville when he saw something that looked like a tooth.

The 8-year-old Lebanon, Pennsylvania, boy started digging in the soil, clay and gravel and pulled out a huge fossilized tooth from the long-extinct angustiden shark species, that was 22 million to 28 million years old.

"He got lucky," Riley's dad Justin Gracely said in a phone call Monday.

Sky Basak, who owns Palmetto Fossil with her husband Josh, called it a "once in a lifetime find."

The tooth measured 4.75 inches — about the size of Riley's hand.

The Gracely family was on their annual vacation to Myrtle Beach and made the 2.5-hour trip south to Summerville to go to Palmetto Fossil, a 100-acre pit rich with prehistoric material including all manner — and parts — of sea creatures.

South Carolina has many such locations, buried deep in the earth along the coastal plain, where ocean and rivers ebbed and flowed for millions of years.

Gracely, 40, said he has been visiting Myrtle Beach since he was 5 and he and his mother, a microbiologist, scoured the sand for shark's teeth.

Two years ago, when Palmetto had just opened, Gracely saw something on Instagram about it and made the trek. This summer was their third visit.

Last year, older son Collin, 10, found a 4-inch megalodon tooth, a species that came after the angustiden and the largest fish that ever lived, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The largest ones were three times the size of the biggest sharks that exist today.

The Gracelys were searching in an area where trucks were dumping material from property where the landowner was building a lake.

Basak said she hunts for specimens every day, 12 hours a day, and she and her husband have found a treasure trove in the new material. They intend to donate all of it to the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History at the College of Charleston, where they often go to just sit and look at the whales and dinosaurs on display.

"Simply speaking, this is some of the richest fossil layer we have ever seen. The colors on the fossils are also amazing, which is caused by the sediment in which they fossilized," according to Palmetto Fossil's Facebook page.

They have found a walrus, parts of baleen whales, beluga whales, giant speartooth dolphin, all millions and millions of years old.

Basak and her husband started the business in 2020 as a "cool part time gig," she said. Within four months it was much more than that. They were hiring staff and now have 11 employees during the summer.

Basak said interest was immediate.

"It's a cool feeling knowing you've got something that old," she said.

They are leasing the land on Sand Hill Road in Dorchester and are looking for a place to settle with enough ancient deposits to carry them through two or three generations.

Their goal is to start a research facility to better understand South Carolina's rich geologic history.

Riley Gracely, meanwhile, is keeping his find in a glass display box. He's shown it to all his friends.

Someone mentioned to his dad that perhaps they would want to donate it for research or display.

"I think we'll let the little guy keep it for a while," Justin Gracely said.

Hey Summervillians, have you heard the news? A new 20,000-sqft library is coming soon to Oakbrook, and we can’t wait grab a library card and check it out.

The Oakbrook Library at the Ashley River broke ground last week in this fast-growing neighborhood, which has experienced a recent population + business boom.

Funding for the project was supported by a 2019 bond referendum voted for by citizens. The county considers this project to be an investment in the community. Look forward to both traditional and modern library services at the new digs.

SeamonWhiteside, a site design firm with offices in Mt. Pleasant and Summerville, joined the project team and will be completing the land planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture for the library. The firm will work closely with architecture and design firm McMillan Pazdan Smith. Also on the team are RMF Engineering, ADC Engineering, and HITT Contracting.The library is not the only thing Dorchester County has to celebrate. Ashley River Park recently opened on the banks of the Ashley River off of Bacon’s Bridge Road. This 80+ acre park features dog parks, playground and picnic areas, and a walking trail for community members to enjoy. Here’s the cool part: The park is located across the street from the upcoming library.

Oakbrook Library is expected to be completed late next year, so mark your calendars and book it to 2830 Bacons Bridge Rd. when it opens. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye out for updates.