Probate Lawyer in Slater, SC

There's now even more acreage in Jasper County that will be protected by the Open Space Institute.

OSI announced on April 4 that it has acquired a third property in the Slater assemblage for a total of more than 5,000 acres protected in less than a year, according to a news release. OSI said this will help secure critical gopher tortoise habitat while also adding land for public recreation.

The property, which includes "mature productive wetlands," is adjacent to the 3,800-acre Slater and 336-acre Slater Duck Ponds parcels OSI previously acquired, a news release said.

“At over 5,000 acres and $20 million, the Slater project represents a new and transformative era of investment in Jasper County,” county administrator Andy Fulghum said. “This outstanding conservation victory was made possible by OSI’s visionary leadership, and we are grateful."

Fulghum said, "what was equally exciting is that Slater builds on the County’s 2021 Conservation Finance Feasibility Study and sets the stage for a larger, collaborative conservation investment effort for our region."

OSI said conserving the latest 929-parcel secures essential wildlife habitat and creates additional public land in one of the state's fastest-growing regions.

OSI said it intends to transfer the property to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources as funding becomes available. DNR will develop infrastructure for the public to enjoy the property while preserving its biological integrity, the release said.

"The three OSI-protected properties are within a 30-minute drive from Savannah, Hilton Head, and Beaufort, and are located in one of America’s most biologically diverse yet fastest-growing regions," the release said. "The conservation of the more than 5,000 acres offers opportunities for hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, and cycling in an area where the nearest similar public preserve is almost an hour away."

In June, OSI’s $16 million acquisition of the first Slater tract was one of the largest conservation investments in state history, the release said.

“The Slater acquisitions prove that despite mounting development pressure, large-scale conservation for nature and the public is both achievable and critically important,” said Nate Berry, OSI’s Southeast Office director. “Each of the three Slater tracts are amazing on their own. Together they are remarkable. OSI is proud to secure these beautiful and abundant properties and looks forward to working with our partners SCDNR and Jasper County on future successes.”

OSI said the newly protected 929-acre property further expands the gopher tortoise habitat established by its conservation of the original Slater property, "which is home to one of the largest colonies of gopher tortoises in the eastern United States." The land, the release said, "also contains habitat conducive for the potential reintroduction of the federally endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker."

The Slater properties link the ACE Basin with the Southern Lowcountry Conservation Focus Area, according to OSI. It said this region "encompasses more than a tenth of South Carolina’s land area, and constitutes one of the largest undeveloped, most ecologically intact regions on the East Coast."

OSI’s Southeast office, established in Charleston eight years ago, has helped protect more than 50,000 acres in South Carolina, OSI said.

MARIETTA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - For community members like Gina Norris Hinton, a new high school in the Slater-Marietta area is all about the future.

“It’s all about the population growth,” she told FOX Carolina. “We have a hundred houses being built on my road that I live on.”

Hinton is the president of the Slater-Marietta Community Association, and says their body has only just begun their 10 year plan. They believe they’re already seeing that need.

“We feel like education is important and we need to go ahead and start planning for that future,” she said.

The idea of a high school in Slater-Marietta is something that’s been tossed around even since the last graduating class left in the 1970s. The school district shut that high school down, and converted part of it into Slater-Marietta elementary, which is all that’s left.

“A lot of people might think it’s a nostalgia thing, but that’s not it at all. It’s a real need,” said community member Bob Cashion.

Cashion has been speaking to officials about the need for a new high school in his area for decades. He says he remembers just how vital having it in his neighborhood was when he graduated in 1968.

“It was really the hub of the community,” Cashion said. “I mean all major activities seemed to center around the school.”

Beyond that though, he says students are being affected negatively.

In some cases, he and Hinton both say kids living near the North Carolina state line are riding busses for long stretches down to the Travelers Rest High School every day.

“It has an impact on the sense of the community, but has a real impact on the learning of those students,” Cashion said.

“If it was your child, would you want them riding the bus 2 hours every day to get an education? I don’t think any parent would,” Hinton added.

The school board says they’re not convinced yet though.

“The numbers that I’ve looked at do not show a need at this time,” said GCS Board of Trustees Chairman Roger Meek, when we asked him if they’d consider building a new high school in the Slater-Marietta area. “We’ve still got capacity at Traveler’s Rest High School,” he went on.

Meek says--they don’t believe the same growth that community members think is coming to the area is actually going to happen. Therefore, they don’t believe a new school is needed.

The school district also gave us a statement, reading:

“Our planning and demographics department annually reviews population, growth and projected developments, and revises our long-range facilities plan accordingly. For the administration to make a recommendation for a new school, we have to have facts, data and projections that indicate a school needs to be considered. A multitude of factors enter into that: population, anticipated growth and at what point a new school becomes feasible. A high school must reflect a broad range of course offerings. The smaller the school, the more difficult it becomes. None of this is an answer to building a new Slater-Marietta high school. It’s an answer to how you go about this. The Board of Trustees asked us to look at the projected growth of that area, so as we prepare our next long-range plan, we will look specifically at that.”

Parents in the area say they’d also love to see some research done into this, adding that another stat the district should look at is the dropout rate in Slater-Marietta.

The next time this issue is likely to come back up is at a Greenville County planning commission meeting in just under 90 days. At the their last meeting just 2 weeks ago, county planners voted to postpone a resolution that would formally ask the GCS Board of Trustees to look into the feasibility of putting a new high school in the Slater-Marietta area. The resolution was proposed by councilman Joe Dill, who represents the Slater-Marietta area, along with much of northern Greenville County.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX Carolina for updates.

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New acquisition creates a 12,000-acre stretch of protected land in coastal South Carolina.

| Hampton County, SC

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The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Open Space Institute (OSI) announced a joint, two-phase effort to permanently protect more than 7,300 acres in Coastal South Carolina’s Hampton and Jasper counties. The protection of the property, known locally as “Buckfield,” will link ecologically significant landscapes, creating a 12,000-acre stretch of protected land in this fast-growing region, and make way for publicly accessible recreation land in the near future.

On June 30, TNC acquired 3,654 acres, marking a bold first step in the permanent protection of Buckfield.

“Buckfield’s enormous size, extensive river frontage and healthy longleaf pine forests have long made it a property of interest for conservation in county comprehensive plans and by the conservation community,” says Dale Threatt-Taylor, TNC's executive director in South Carolina. “We’re thrilled to be joining OSI in this significant conservation achievement and to be opening these lands to the people of South Carolina in the near future.”

OSI intends to acquire the remaining 3,672 acres later this year. The entire Buckfield property (parts I and II), along with the adjacent 5,000-acre Slater property secured by OSI last year, is expected to be transferred to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to become an approximately 12,000-acre WMA. The land will be open for public access.

“The conservation of Buckfield in this vulnerable region is a momentous achievement on its own. When combined with Slater, these 12,000 acres offer largescale connectivity and limitless public recreation opportunities,” said Nate Berry, OSI’s senior vice president. “This is an unparalleled triumph for the people and wildlife of this region."

Buckfield is an ecological treasure with upland longleaf pine forests providing habitat for rare gopher tortoise populations, 36 miles of river frontage on the Coosawhatchie River and Tulifinny River, and many braided streams. This immense watershed drains into the Port Royal Sound, providing clean, abundant water for citizens downstream and replenishing the estuaries on which recreational and commercial fisheries depend.

Additionally, the property, along with adjoining protected properties, creates a “nature bridge” of undeveloped land that spans from the 300,000-acre Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Rivers Basin to the 450,000-acre South Lowcountry-Savannah River (SOLO).

Until recently, the area between the ACE Basin and the SOLO—where Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties intersect—had few protected properties and almost no publicly accessible land. It also faces development pressure from the rapidly growing communities of Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head, located less than 20 miles away.

“Buckfield is a huge success and helps fulfill Jasper County’s community vision for the protection of land for public recreation, water quality and economic development," commented Andy Fulghum, Jasper County administrator. “We applaud TNC and OSI for partnering to get this deal done and look forward to working together on future conservation victories.”

In 2021, OSI purchased three properties, known as the Slater assemblage, totaling slightly more than 5,000 acres, in the heart of this unprotected region. The Slater project kickstarted the acquisition of adjacent Buckfield.

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in more than 70 countries and territories, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.

The manufacture of textiles will continue at the 89-year-old Slater Mill in northern Greenville County.

B&W Fiber Glass Inc. of Shelby, N.C., has taken over a fiberglass manufacturing operation at the mill that was formerly operated by JPS Composite Materials. The new operation will be called Poseidon Advanced Materials, according to new signage on the building.

B&W plans to employ 46 people at the plant and spend at least $5.25 million making improvements to it, according to paperwork related to a property tax break the company is seeking from Greenville County.

JPS had supported 103 jobs at the site — 57 more than B&W will support.

Still, the survival of the textile-making operation — even in smaller form — is good news for the Slater community, which came into being with the creation of the mill and housing for its workers in 1927.

Mark Farris, president of the Greenville Area Development Corp., Greenville County’s economic development arm, said he found it particularly rewarding to help B&W keep the operation going by arranging tax incentives.

“Rarely are we able to maintain an aging facility, especially in a community the size of Slater,” said Farris, whose late father worked as a textile plant shift supervisor in Rock Hill.

JPS said earlier this year that it would close the Slater plant if it wasn’t able to find a buyer for it.

The new operation will be called Poseidon Advanced Materials, according to new signage on the building.

Records kept by the South Carolina Secretary of State show a limited liability corporation using the name Poseidon Advanced Materials was created in mid-October.

B&W’s owners didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Executives from the company are expected to be on hand for a press conference at the factory on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Founded in 1991, B&W is privately owned by the Beason family of North Carolina, according to its website.

The company’s business partners include a small Greenville firm called Innegra Technologies, which supplies a fiber that B&W uses to make specialty hybrid yarn that both companies sell, according to Elizabeth Cates, Innegra’s vice president of research and development.

In the summer of 2015, B&W bought a specialty textile company in Manchester, England, called Multiple Winding Co., according to a press release on the B&W website.

JPS continues to operate other plants in Anderson and Statesville, N.C. It makes fiberglass and synthetic fabrics used in a variety of applications, including bulletproof vests and surfboards.

JPS, which used to be a publicly traded company based in Greenville, was acquired in the summer of 2015 by Handy & Harman, an industrial conglomerate based in White Plains, N.Y.

Name: Emily Howard Slater

Family: Sam Slater (husband), Elsie (3) and Sloane (8 months) (daughters)

Hometown: Athens, Georgia

Current Town: Raleigh, North Carolina

What Years at UGA: 2003-2007

School/Degree: Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, B.S. Psychology

Name: Lindsay Bissell Marko

Family: Evan Marko (husband), Van (almost 6 months) (son)

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia

Current Town: Charleston, South Carolina

What Years at UGA: 2003-2007

School/Degree: Terry College of Business, BBA Finance

Accolades: (ES & LM) 2019 Bulldog 100: 32nd fastest growing business. 2020 Bulldog 100. Our work has been published in Martha Stewart Weddings, Vogue and Brides.

Profession: (ES & LM) A Signature Welcome is a bespoke gift company based in Charleston, SC creating unique gift boxes for wedding, corporate and everyday occasions everywhere.

INSPO:

Book: (ES) The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You by Lydia Fenet, the leading benefit auctioneer and managing director at Christies. I went to her book signing lunch in Edgartown, Massachusetts this past summer, and she truly is a force! Her hustle is inspiring and the strategy behind her revolutionary sales approach is empowering.

Podcast: (ES) When I’m looking to learn or for inspiration from other entrepreneurs: How I Built This. When I’m looking for a laugh: Heather McMahan’s Absolutely Not.

Blog: (ES) Over the Moon is always on point.

Chef: (LM) Christina Tosi – cereal milk (ice cream), B’Day truffles, compost cookies, repeat!

Instagram: (ES) @eholmes … I have followed Elizabeth Holmes’ career for almost a decade and love everything she writes and find her to be one of the most charming and likeable people to follow on Instagram. She is a former WSJ reporter turned author and creator of So Many Thoughts, a sartorial commentary series on the royal family in which she annotates annotates pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) and the Duchess of Sussex (aka Meghan Markle) with brief, entertaining, and informative insights based on her decade-long experience as a style reporter. She started So Many Thoughts on a whim while nursing her second son in the middle of the night, and I’ve loved watching her success grow. If you’re a royals enthusiast, you need to be tuning in.

Fashion Designer: (LM) Phoebe Philo – I went to Parsons in 2009, just after she started as creative director of Celine, and I loved studying her take on contemporary minimalism.

Interior Designer: (LM) Margaret Ash – Margaret and I are friends from UGA and she studied interiors in New York City while I studied fashion. Her ability to mix color and patterns with a minimalist approach speaks to me.

Magazine: (LM) Departures – I love reading about new destinations or new ways to experience my favorite destinations.

Brand: (LM) Allbirds – the most comfortable shoes and you can throw in the washing machine

Historical figure: (ES & LM) Amelia Earhart and Princess Diana

Quote: (LM)

“Design is the process of going from an existing condition to a preferred one.”

Milton Glaser

ATHENS + UGA:

Describe Athens in five words or less: (ES & LM) Milledge, SLC, Georgia Theatre, Bloomfield

Restaurants and bars: (ES) Last Resort, Seabear Oyster Bar, Mama’s Boy

Shops: (ES) Avid Bookshop, Heery’s and Treehouse Kid & Craft

Athens/campus landmark: (ES) Walking around North Campus on a beautiful fall day. Also, the new Alice H Richards Children’s Garden at the Botanical Gardens is magical! I love taking my daughters there.

Gameday ritual/plan: (ES) I have the best memories of gameday mornings from our junior and senior years living in the “Pink House” on Bloomfield Street. Several of our best friends lived in different houses along the same street, so we’d start the morning off with our own block party of sorts with bloody marys and mimosas before we moved on to the official tailgate location.

Memory at UGA: (LM) My favorite memory is meeting Emily during sorority rush, which led us to share 99% of all UGA memories together!

Professor/Class: (LM) Dr. BA made business law feel like an episode of Suits. She kept every class so interesting! I still use her note-taking method to date (fold your paper in half and take your notes on the right side of the crease, leaving the left-hand side blank for additional notes/anecdotes)