Have you ever driven by the old Jim and Tammy Bakker built “Hertiage Towers”? The towers are located in Fort Mill SC Regent Park off of US Hwy 21. Is the tower an eyesore for nearby Fort Mill home owners or a diamond in the rough for future senior citizens? If you have not seen Heritage Towers, you’ll find a high rise tower located in what seems to be an odd location for such a tall 21 story structure. There is a fence around the building shielding anyone from falling bricks off of the building. Basically the tower and some areas around the tower look like an un-kept, decaying,  unfinished safety hazard.

Tower owners Morningstar Ministries will meet with York County Council on March 5th to discuss the fate of the tower. Moringstar Ministries has been trying to restore the tower to be used as a high rise christian based retirement complex. Unfortunately their restoration plans, which started in 2004, have never been fully implemented or completed. York County has been pressuring on the group to restore or tear the tower down since 2007.

The long battle between York County and Morningstar Ministries is scheduled for a final resolution in March. The public is invited to the March 5th York County Council Meeting to listen to Morningstar Ministries “final” proposal to the County .

What’s your opinion. Should the Towers stay or be taken down?

On November 1, College Board released their 2nd annual AP (Advance Placement Program) District Honor Roll. The Honor roll recognized 367 U.S. and Canada public school districts that simultaneously achieved increases in access to AP® courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or improved the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP Exam. The Second Annual AP Honor Roll is made up of only those school districts that are simultaneously expanding opportunity and improving performance.

The Fort Mill School District has achieved the AP Honor Roll for years 2011 and 2012. The Fort Mill School District is one of 2 South Carolina school districts that made the honor roll. Laurens County School District is the other South Carolina school district on the honor roll

College Board was founded in 1900 and is a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education and connects students to college success and opportunity. College Board is well known for their SAT college entrance exam.

WCNC reporter Tony Burbeck’s story on Nov 15th, 2011 has confirmed our story back in September 2010  (Is Publix Grocery Coming To Fort Mill SC)  that Publix’s grocery will build a 49,000 sq ft store on the corner of Pleasant Rd and Gold Hill Rd in the Fort Mill Township near Tega Cay  SC (York County).

Publix also announced it will build a store on Hwy 521 near Dolby’s Bridge Rd in Indian Land in Lancaster County SC.  

With the new grocery stores opening in late 2012 or early 2013, comes approximately 100 jobs for each store. See Reporter Burbeck’s video story below.

Here is a  great reason to consider moving to Fort Mill SC. Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA) has once again received an award from the Charlotte Business Journal as one of the “Best Places to Work” in the Charlotte area.

Just so you know, Fort Mill SC is just minutes south of Charlotte and considered part of the Charlotte Metro. Continental Tire moved its headquarters to Lancaster County SC (Near Fort Mill SC) in March of 2009. For more info, see our post about the Continental Tire HQ move. 

CTA was recognized as the ninth best place to work in the greater Charlotte area. The award recognizes companies with benefits, policies and practices that are among the area’s best. The annual evaluation of the work environment is based on employee surveys, conducted by a third party. CTA was also ranked as the ninth Best Place to Work in the Large Business category by the Charlotte Business Journal in 2010.

So why is Continental Tire a great place to work? According to Continental Tire’s press release:

“Continental Tire the Americas is a great place to work because of our people,” said Jochen Etzel, Chief Executive Officer, CTA. “The fact that we have been recognized for this prestigious award two years in a row, and that this award is based on employee feedback, makes this recognition very special.”

“We’ve worked hard to create a work environment that values employees’ contributions and provides them with outstanding careers at Continental,” Etzel said. “In addition, our business continues to grow, and we are very excited about welcoming new employees to our headquarters over the next several years.”

CTA’s headquarters in Lancaster County is home to nearly 400 employees. The building opened in 2009. Due to the significant growth in the CTA business, Continental has been hiring additional employees at a steady pace.

On October 6, 2011, CTA announced an investment of more than $4 million to expand its Lancaster County, S.C. headquarters. The investment will provide for a 16,000 square foot addition to the headquarters location, bringing the total size of the building to 91,000 square feet. The investment also includes the creation of 80 new jobs over the next four years.

Last Tuesday night, the Fort Mill School Board voted to delay the opening of the new elementary school number 8 (Gold Hill Rd near Tega Cay) until 2014. See an earlier post about FM elementary school 8 planned to open 2o12.

The board also voted to move up the opening of the 9th elementary school near the Massey community on Doby’s Bridge Road to the same year 2014.

The Board’s sited reason for the open date changes are:

1. Cost saving advantages on construction and opening the 2 new schools at the same time.
2. Although there is an enrollment freeze at Gold Hill Elementary and and soon to be Orchard Park, there is still room at other Fort mill Elementary schools. The district wants to maximize the space at all schools and not open a new school before it is needed. Of course this means some new elementary students may have to go to a school that is in another part of town for a while. Fort Mill School District’s current elementary school facility capacity is 6,300. The district is currently at 5106 Students.
3. Redraw the district lines once for the simultaneous opening of the 2 new schools rather then twice in separate years.

Looking for Fall Festival Fun in the Fort Mill area? There are several Fall Festivals to take part in this weekend and next.

Ann Springs Close Greenway and Springs Farm Fall Festival & Corn Maze

Horse rides, hay rides, kids hay mazes, pedal carts, kayaking and canoeing, arts and crafts, and more

Oct 28 Fri 6-10PM, Oct 29 Saturday 10am-10pm, Oct 30 Sunday 1pm-6pm – Click for more info

Tega Cay Fall Festival

Bands, hay rides, arts and crafts on display, Kids zones (jump rides), food

Tega Cay Golf and Conference Center Oct 29 Saturday 10am-6pm Click for more info

Fort Mill Fall Festival

Trick or Treat down Main Street, music, costume contests and more.

Oct 31 Monday 5pm-7pm

Baxter Village 11th Annual Fall Festival & Market Day

Hay rides, moon bounces, slides, food, music, shopping, games, estimated 160 boths, and more

Nov 5th, Saturday 12pm-6pm

Update 11/14/11 – Tenders has closed

Here are some tweets about the closing…

PDQ Restaurant in Gray Stone Crossing Shopping Center in Tega Cay (Hwy 160 between Dam Rd and Stonecrest Blvd) has changed its name to Tenders Fresh Food. PDQ or now Tenders, opened last September 2010 with a fresh food concept and menu consisting of hand-breaded chicken tenders, chicken and turkey sandwiches (prepared grilled or crispy), hand-cut fresh fries, fresh squeezed lemonade, milkshakes and a variety of salads. See last years post What-is-the-pdq-fresh-food-fast-restaurant-in-tega-cay.

On A October 9 2011 press release, Tenders Fresh Food located in Cornelius, NC, is pleased to announce that its current sister location in Tega Cay, SC, will be taking on the same name and corporate culture dedicated to community service.

Why the name change? According to President of Operations Steve Erickson, Tenders had a difficult time branding itself and finding their identity as PDQ or “People Dedicated to Quality.”, “The problem was that people couldn’t figure out who we were. The local citizens confused PDQ with other restaurant concepts and our name was not indicative of what we specialize in.” This change, along with the emphasis on community contribution in the form of fundraising, full-service catering and providing healthy lunches to local schools, is what the Company believes will help them flourish.

Tenders in Tega Cay offers employee appreciation discounts for other great local Companies, frequently do fundraising nights for local schools, charities and churches, and offer healthier catering options including: grilled tenders, raw vegetables, salads and fruits.

Congratulations goes out to the the Fort Mill High School Marching Band for a job well done. The FMHS Band On Saturday October 15, won every award that they could in Akron Ohio including the winner and Regional BOA Champion.

The Oct 15th 2011 Akron Bands Of America completion consisted of 22 bands competing from 8 states. This is the first time the Fort Mill Band has won 1st place at the  BOA Regional Championship. The previous highest finish was 2nd place. 

The Fort Mill HS Band buses arrived back in Fort Mill Sunday evening as were greeted by an escorted by the local fire and police department.  At the FMHS school, parents and supporters gathered to cheer on the students for their achievement. Read more at the bands website at bands-of-america-akron-regional-results.

Fort Mill School District Central Office is moving next Spring 2012. A new construction notice sign was installed Wednesday signalling the start of the interior construction process for the new Fort Mill School District Central Office.

The new offices will be located at 2229 Deerfield Drive in the same development area (Gold Hill Commons) as the current Knights baseball stadium.

View Larger Map

The are two exiting “shell” office buildings with a combine square footage of  34,000 on 2.92 acres. The FMSD purchased the buildings May 2011 for approx 3.380 million (per York County online tax info). The construction work will be primarily focused on the interior of the office buildings with a hope to move in during the Spring break period next spring.

From York County SC Online GIS

Next to the new central office, work should begin in about a month on a new school bus transportation facility to house and maintain approx 150 school buses.  Read the Jan 2011 FMSD press release with information on these 2 land acquisition projects and a new  Middle School next to Pleasant Knoll Elementary School.  FMSD-News-Release-January-2011-Land-Acquisition

A certified letter was mailed by DHEC to all 3 Fort Mill hospital applicants today. The letter said,

“It is the decision of this Department that a Certificate of Need be issued to Carolinas Medical Center –Fort Mill for the construction of a 64 bed general acute care hospital to be located in York County SC.”

The letter went on to say CMC has best met all of the criteria in the community need documentation.

My question is, is this their final answer?

If you remember, DHEC awarded the Fort Mill Hospital need to Piedmont Medical Center in 2006. See my Jan 2008 post about the hospital war.  Two-New-Hospitals-In-Fort-Mill?  Both CMC and Presbyterian Hospital appealed the decision and last year DHEC reopened the Certificate of Need process for a second time with a different decision announced today.

The DHEC decision becomes final 15 days after the notice period. If the decision is not appealed again, CMS will begin plans to build new 64 bed hospital on 20 acres in the southwest corner of 1-77 and Sutton road exit 83.

More details at the DHEC site

Good news for parent. School summer is officially over August 17, 2011. The Fort Mill School District starts back to school Wednesday 17th. The 2011-2012 has been finalized and you can download it here =>2011-2012 FMSD final approved Feb 15 2011.

Many of the elementary meet the teacher and middle school open houses are Monday August 15. The new Banks Trail Middle school is official open this year. Banks trail has a slightly different open house schedule see at Fort Mill School.

If your kids are taking the bus, the district has a bus transpartation page at Bus Information.

We wish all of the Fort Mill Students a successful and rewarding 2011-2012 school year!

As of June 21 (a month later), the death toll from the Joplin MO May 22 Tornado is approaching 155 and counting. Century 21 First Choice , Stockbridge Commons Shopping Center, and the Crossing Church have been collecting donations for victims of the Joplin devastating tornado.

Two Century 21 First Choice agents Kim Efird and Kelli Voss have been spearheading the donation drive for weeks. Their main donation event including a band is planned for Saturday June 25th from 10am to 2pm next to the Lowes Food store.

Visit their Facebook page for more info. The page is called Helping Neighbors and Beyond Tornado Disaster Relief.

Here is a list of needed items:

Gatorade (No water)

Single packages different flavors of Crystal Light

Canned Foods, like vegetables, soups etc.

Laundry detergent

Paper Towels

Large Trash Bags

Manual Hand operated Can openers

Flashlights with batteries

Pull Ups

Large Coolers

Ideally all items are in boxes, sorted out preferable on pallets as well and shrink

wrapped.

What is needed more than anything is CASH:

Checks can be made out to:

The Salvation Army

P.O. Box 21787

St. Louis MO 63109

(please designate the gift: “Joplin Tornado”)

Cell Phone users:

Text: “JOPLIN” to 80888 to make a USD $10 donation

The donation will be boxed up and Crossing Church will ship the items to a mission and the Salvation Army collection point in Joplin MO.

You can drop off donations anytime this week during regular business hours at the Century 21 First Choice office located at 206 Rockmount Dr Fort Mill, SC 29708 on Gold Hill Road.

For more info contact

Kim Efird  – kbefird@aol.com
Kelli Voss -  kelli.voss@century21.com

Shortly before 10pm last night, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for north central York County SC according to the details in a Rock Hill Herald article this morning. We heard the warning sirens go off in the Fort Mill – Tega Cay Area. Fortunately for the Fort Mill area, the storm weakened by the time it approached our area. Folks were not so lucky in the Clover area. So what should you do when you hear the sirens?

York County Office of Emergency Management states on their website to tune into local radio stations for York County which are AM Station WRHI – 1340 and FM Stations WRHM – 107.9 and WRHI – 94.3.  During the regularly scheduled tests, the sirens are activated for one 3-minute cycle. During a real emergency, the sirens will be activated for several 3-minute cycles.

What should you do when there is a tornado warning? Below is information from the FEMA website:

If you are under a tornado WARNING, seek shelter immediately!

If you are in: A structure (e.g. residence, small building, school, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center, high-rise building)

Then: Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck. Do not open windows.

If you are in: a vehicle, trailer, or mobile home

Then: Get out immediately and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes.

If you are: outside with no shelter

Then: Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the potential for flooding. Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location. Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter. Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries.

To view FEMA’s suggestions go to: What to Do During a Tornado

What did you do last night when you heard the tornado warning sirens?

Wednesday May 4th 2011 is the official kick off of this years South Carolina Strawberry Festival in Fort Mill. There are 4 days worth of events in Fort Mill. Below is the schedule of planned events:

Wednesday May 4, 2011 – South Carolina Strawberry Festival GOLF TOURNAMENT. Registration begins at 8AM – Shotgun start at 9:30AM then Buffet lunch, award presentation.

Thursday May 5, 2011 – South Carolina Strawberry Festival PAGEANT, 7-9PM, Teen Division (13-18), Miss Division (19-29), Mrs. Division (Married, 21-56).

Friday May 6, 2011 – South Carolina Strawberry FESTIVAL at Walter Y. Elisha Park is 6-11PM The Strawberry JaM! which includes:

• Bands – See Band Line Up
• Food & Beverage Vendors
• Arts & Crafts Vendors
• Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling Company Kids Zone and more!
• Meet the Strawberry Queens

Saturday – May 7, 2011

5K Run – Anne Springs Close Greenway Gerald T. Parks Memorial Foundation 5K starts 8AM, 5K Walk/Run to benefit Dorn VA Medical Hospital.

South Carolina Strawberry FESTIVAL at Walter Y. Elisha Park, 11AM-9PM The Strawberry Jam!

• Bands – See Band Line Up
• Food & Beverage Vendors
• Arts & Crafts Vendors
• Rock Hill Coca-Cola Bottling Company Kids Zone
• Piedmont Medical Center Healthy Hometown
• Meet & greet with The Strawberry Queens
• Recipe Contest
• Ice Cream Eating Contests
• Strawberry Pie Eating Contests
• Petting Zoo
• Hay Rides
• Pig Races
• Car Show 10 am – 5 pm at Calhoun Street Park
• Fireworks @ 8:45PM

And to help raise money for Fort Mill Middle School Sports, The boosters are having a Corn Hole Tournament both Friday and Saturday. See their website to register http://www.fortmillathletics.org/fundraisers/corn-hole-tournament/

Last Thursday March 24th, 2011, Toronto based Mood Media announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Muzak Holdings LLC (“Muzak”), a privately-held company based in Fort Mill SC, for 345 million.

Muzak, which started in 1934 playing phonograph records for hotels and restaurants, currently delivers its product to subscribers over satellite radio. Muzak relocated to Fort Mill SC in 2000 from Seattle. The company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2009 and then successfully emerged from bankruptcy last year after restructuring its debt.

Mood Media uses an Internet-based delivery system and operates an international in-store media and music retail business with an extensive geographic footprint and a broad client base including several multinational blue chip organizations.

So will Mood Media shut down the Fort Mill Headquarters after the acquisition is estimated to be approved in the 2nd quarter? Lorne Abony, CEO & Chairman of Mood Media Corporation, said:

“Over the past five years, Mood Media has transformed the in-store media industry by offering unparalleled innovation and convenience to our customers across the world. We now have the opportunity to extend this legacy to a world-recognized brand and create a truly global leader with U.S. headquarters in the Charlotte area.”

The Mood Media Press Release further said:

“Mood Media intends to maintain a significant presence in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, with its U.S. headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina.”

The comments seem to be positive for Fort Mill based Muzak employees. Time will tell how many jobs will actually remain in Fort Mill after the acquisition transition.

The CENTURY 21 ®of the Carolinas Spring Rally and Awards Event was held this last week in Charleston, SC. Century 21® Realtors® and Brokers from both North And South Carolina attended the awards conference. The real estate agents at Century 21® First Choice office, owned and operated by Pete Hall based in Fort Mill SC, received many awards for their outstanding customer service and home sales in 2010.

Pictured above left to right – Alex Dewey, Barbara Ferguson, Linda Hall, Carmen Miller, Laura Pogue, Andrea Wells

The Century 21® First Choice Award Recipients are:

• Century21 ® First Choice Company: Gold Medallion Office and Quality Service Pinnacle Award
• Linda Hall: Centurion Team Award, President’s Award, Quality Service Pinnacle Award
• Carmen Miller: Centurion Award, President’s Award, Quality Service Pinnacle Award
• Laura Pogue: Master’s Diamond Award, Quality Service Award,
• Kellye Coltharp: Master’s Ruby Award, Quality Service Award
• Alex Dewey: Master’s Ruby Award, Quality Service Pinnacle Award

CENTURY 21® First Choice has served the Fort Mill SC area real estate needs for over 30 years and provides one of the most comprehensive residential brokerage services anywhere and is affiliated with the market-leading Century 21® Real Estate LLC.

Century21 ® First Choice is Fort Mill’s number one real estate company as far as market share (home sold) and voted best real estate company in Fort Mill by a Fort Mill Times Survey. For more information, contact a real estate professional at CENTURY 21® First Choice. www.fortmillsc.com.

Click to to read about 2009 award recipients

Fort Mill continues to see more new growth with another recent construction start near Highway 160 and Dave Gibson Blvd. The land that is in the process of being cleared behind the South Carolina Bank and Trust is for a preschool called Ivybrook Academy.

The new Ivybrook Academy in Fort Mill will be the 2nd campus for Ivybrook Academy, also found on the internet as LearningLinksAcademy.com. The first location is in Weddington NC and has been operation since August 2007. The Academy’s spokesperson Drew McWilliams said they picked Fort Mill for their new location

because of the highly regarded public schools in the area which matches that of our current early childhood education programs”.

Ivybrook Academy is a half-day preschool offering 6 different programs:

Mother’s Morning Out, Explorer, Investigator, Inventor, PreKindergarten, and Transitional Kindergarten. The Academy promotes their facilities are “Eco Healthy ” and  “expertly designed to provide the optimal learning environment for your child”.

The Fort Mill Ivybrook Academy facility is estimated to be completed by August 1, 2011. Just in time for the 2011-2012 school year. Read more about Ivybrook Academy at their website.

If you drive by the intersection of Gold Hill Road and Hwy 160 near Tega Cay, you can’t help but notice the construction taken place on the north east corner. Lake Wylie Lutheran Church is adding a 5,800 sq foot Fellowship Hall, meeting space, and expanded parking lot primarily for the expansion of their ministries and outreach possibilities for the community.

Lake Wylie Lutheran was established in 1981 and has a slogan of “Come As You Are”. The church has seen a 70% increase in congregation from 2002 to 2009. Currently the church has approx 325 members with average worship of 170 in two Sunday services.

Church Council President Dottie France said the Fellowship Hall construction should be completed in Mid March. The Church has a 3 phase growth vision which includes the expansion of the sanctuary and small chapel near the columbarium (Phase II) estimated in 2015 and a ministry building (phase III) in 2022.

Lake Wylie Lutheran Church welcomes all people to worship. They offer two worship services each Sunday; the 8:30 uses the traditional Lutheran liturgy and the 11:00 service uses the best of current contemporary Christian music. A professionally staffed nursery is provided each Sunday. See more info at www.lakewylielutheran.org.

The results from a recent Fort Mill Times survey voted Century 21® First Choice as The Best Real Estate Company in Fort Mill !

CENTURY 21® First Choice has been serving the Fort Mill Township under the direction of President and Owner Pete Hall for over thirty years. Their know to provide the community with the most comprehensive residential brokerage service. Their service includes buying, selling, renting, property management, REO/foreclosure services and more. The Century 21® First Choice award winning team of agents have the necessary training, experience, and tools to serve our communities real estate needs.

Just as important as great customer service, the Century 21® First Choice agents and staff are well known for their community service including many donation projects for school supplies, clothing, and food, to name a few.

Congratulations to the Century21® First Choice Staff for outstanding service which include:

• Peter W. Hall,
• Becky Shugart
• Jodi Boone-Baird,
• Kellye Coltharp
• Cydni Crain
• Alex Dewey
• Melanie Dewey
• Kim Efird
• Shannon Evans
• Barbara Ferguson
• Linda Hall
• Debra Hayes
• Sandy Hynes
• Sue Kost
• Ann Lyman
• Bindu Mathew
• Carmen Miller
• Laura Pogue
• Deborah Storin
• Jessica Sullivan
• Debbie Sue Taylor
• Kelli Voss
• Andrea Wells

Read more about the Century21® First Choice agents and staff at www.fortmillsc.com.

ALDI, a more than 1000 store grocery chain, posted a banner this week their new store location on Hwy 160 and Vandora Springs rd in Fort Mill will open January 13, 2011. The new store has been under construction for several months and appears to be completed but is sitting idle until January.

ALDI opened their first store in southeastern Iowa back in 1976 and now has more than 1,000 grocery store locations in 31 central and east coast states. Their slogan is “honest to goodness savings” on the items you buy the most. If you have not been to an ADLI, the first thing you’ll find different is you’ll have to pay 25 cents to use a shopping cart. ADLI claims they save money by not having extra employees fetching carts so they encourage you to return the cart and get your quarter back. By the way, bring your own eco-friendly shopping bags to shop.

I have seen local online comments glad to see ADLI in our area to other comments stating we don’t need another grocery store. I am sure the negative comments come from the fact that another grocery chain Publix is attempting to build a store in Fort Mill within a couple miles of the new ALDI. More stores or choices should breed competition and in theory lower prices. Who’s not for lower grocery prices? For those of you that have shopped at an ALDI elsewhere, please share your ADLI shopping experience with us.