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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Plans are finally in motion to replace the old Lincoln High School with a brand new school in McClellanville.

It's been nearly a decade since Lincoln High closed. At a board meeting Wednesday night, there was finally talk of what a new school would bring the community.

Charleston County School District leaders presented a slideshow detailing the future of the new high school and middle school in northern Charleston County.

CCSD considering magnet program for future high school in McClellanville area. (WCIV)

Since the closure of Lincoln High School, kids are waking up earlier to make the bell at Wando High and returning home late because of the long drive.

The constituent school board said a new school will bring relief to the people living in Awendaw and it will provide help to the schools already reaching capacity.

The district is looking at attendance lines within the area while looking at creating a magnet program.

"I do believe a partial magnet or magnet program of some kind might be within the programming options and given that it's going to have a size of 1,000 students it will probably need to pull in some areas other than just the McClellanville and Awendaw area," said Pamela Jouan-Goldman, Chair of the District 2 Constituent School Board.

Scenarios of possible zoning were shown during the meeting.

The methodology was based off the fiscal year 2022 data.

Parents voiced their concerns of drawing the line further down into Mount Pleasant.

"You do not want to force a family who is living right next door to a school go up the road to another school if at all possible so that's why were looking at the magnet as an opportunity to attract families that want to go there despite any increase in distance then they would have," Chief Operating Officer of CCSD Jeff Borowy said.

The district's goal is to get 500 students in both the middle and high school.

Thomas Colleton, Chair of the District 1 Constituent Board, said the school will need to offer something enticing.

“It is important to this build the school but at the same time let's figure out what were going to be doing inside. The curriculum means a lot," Colleton said.

“I don't know how much it would make sense to drive by Wando High School to get on (Highway) 17 to go up to Awendaw, but it does sound like they are going to have different specific programs at their school. So for example if they have got a great art program and my daughter is really into art, that sounds like a nice option to have," said Jonathan Mars, a parent of students at Carolina Park.

Colleton said it's crucial everyone is transparent throughout this process.

Their next steps will be to develop a blue-ribbon committee to review these options and create a draft to be presented to the constituent boards in October.

"I'm hopeful this blue ribbon commission will ease some of this tension, and let people know going to another school, which would be a state of the art school, why wouldn't you want your child to go there," Colleton said.

The Kaiser Farm Tract property was leased in December of 2021 to the former owner to be used as a hay farm.

The three-year lease agreement is able to be terminated at any time with a 90-day notice.

It's also possible a park and library could be built on the property in the future.

AWENDAW, S.C. (WCIV) — Social media forums are buzzing in the Awendaw-McClellanville area.

Mosquitos have people swatting from the second they step outside.

It’s a problem that has crept into the freshly painted walls of Howard AME Church off of Rutledge Road.

“Every day it’s getting worse and worse and worse right now,” said Vince Green, who has been remodeling the church for more than two months.

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Renovations are nearing completion, but an unwanted pest is now itching to cause trouble.

“I’ve used up two cans of spray, Cutter, already,” Green said Monday afternoon. “So, it’s really, really bad.”

Green said the situation is bad on the outside, but worse on the inside. Mosquitos have planted themselves along windows and walls of the church. Green, like many others in the area, have noticed this problem grow substantially over the last week.

“We kind of figured it was coming,” said Brian Hayes, manager of Charleston County Mosquito Control.

Between Hurricane Ian and the Lowcountry’s recent temperatures, Hayes said it’s a timeline that makes sense.

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“The cooler weather kind of prolongs how long the mosquitos are in the lava stage,” Hayes said. “But now that we’ve passed that 14-day period, all these mosquitos have hatched off.”

Despite the county’s varied attack from the air and ground, Hayes admitted there are certain challenges McClellanville presents.

“There are certain places that we’re restricted from spraying,” he said. “We’re restricted to only spraying on one product, which we’ve been using a long time. So, you know, we use the same product for a while, it’s not as effective.”

Despite limitations, Hayes insists the county is doing all it can, as quickly as possible.

“[We’ve received] well over 200 to 300 requests probably since Friday, so we’re well aware of the situation out there,” he said. “[We] completely understand things are really, really bad, and we’re doing all we can to assist the people up there.”

There is some good news, according to Hayes. Charleston County said it is unlikely this species of mosquito carries any diseases, and is hoping this week’s cooler temperatures will kill off large populations.

The quiet black water slips beneath your kayak. Sunlight plays on the surface of the water, filtered through the leaves of tupelo and tall bald cypress trees — some hundreds of years old.

The only sounds you hear are the gurgle of the water around your paddle, and the occasional chatter of a woodpecker darting among the trees. The water swirls nearby and an alligator slips into the channel in front of you and then silently disappears, like a prehistoric submarine, only to resurface far behind you where he observes you with a wary eye.

You see other eyes, too. High in the trees you spot a barred owl, sitting on a limb and surveying her domain. The night hunter is a statue of feathers and could be carved from the wood of the tree, except that her eyes follow you as you paddle by. When you are alone in the wilderness, you are never truly alone.

The wilderness you are exploring is the Wambaw Creek Wilderness Area near McClellanville, and even a short visit to this mysterious, beautiful place is an unforgettable experience.

Named one of the “14 best places to canoe and kayak on national forests” by the National Forest Foundation, Wambaw Creek is a popular destination for outdoor explorers. It rises from the swamps between Charleston and the mighty Santee River. It snakes its way on a northeasterly track for about 10 miles from such colorfully-named watersheds like “Hell Hole Swamp” and forms a watery path through the heart of the Francis Marion National Forest.

The region is steeped in history, from the earliest colonial days and Huguenot settlements, to prosperous rice plantations that made men wealthy along its banks — while enslaving others. Numerous battles were fought in the Wambaw Swamps, where Gen. Francis Marion, the cunning “Swamp Fox,” outwitted the British or waylaid them in hit-and-run battles that earned him fame, and our nation its independence.

Wambaw Creek today is an untouched preserve that bears little mark of its historic past. Massive cypress trees stretch into the sky, and well-tended forest service roads take visitors to two well-maintained boat landings to provide easy access. A popular kayak and canoe trail along the Wambaw is 4.6 miles from Still Landing to the bridge at Elmwood Recreation area. This makes for an easy 2- to 4-hour paddle that is excellent for all skill levels. If you have more time and a desire to explore, you can paddle upstream from Still Landing before turning around for a descent of the creek to the takeout. This makes for about a 7- to 9-mile trip and offers some incredible wildlife and nature-viewing opportunities.

I recently paddled Wambaw Creek with a group of friends. We launched at Still Landing and paddled upstream to explore the upper reaches of the creek. After a few hours we turned around and began our descent toward the Santee. Wambaw Creek is affected by the tides, and though our trip was easy going, we could see the effect of the water levels on the banks and in the current as we paddled.

We took out at Elmwood, recording a trip of 9 miles (including several side trips into smaller creeks), and then headed off for dinner at a local restaurant. Along the way, we stopped by the St. James-Santee Parish Episcopal Church to check out the history of the brick church built in 1768, and then enjoyed a seafood dinner at the Seewee Restaurant. This rustic, friendly diner located on U.S. 17 in Awendaw has served authentic Lowcountry seafood and other fare for nearly 25 years. It was the perfect stop after a day exploring a genuine wilderness, such as you will find at Wambaw Creek.

Wambaw Creek Wilderness Area was created in 1980 and is a Lowcountry treasure. Located a little over two hours from the Beaufort area, Wambaw Creek near McClellanville is part of the Berkeley County Blueways, and is an easy drive that provides an excellent day trip into the wild that you can tailor-make to your schedule and experience level.

Take U.S. 17 north through Charleston to McClellanville. At McClellanville, turn left onto S.C. 45. At 7.5 miles, turn right onto Forest Service Road 211. At 3.5 miles, turn left onto Forest Service Road 211B to Still Landing.

Elmwood Recreation area (suggested take-out) is located three miles further on FSR 211. This is a relatively easy paddle, but take precautions for encountering wildlife, and for exploring a wilderness area. There are stores and restaurants in nearby McClellanville, but there are no facilities at the landings.

For more information on exploring Wambaw Creek and the area, contact the U.S. Forest Service at (843) 336-2200 or visit www.berkeleyoutdoorlife.com. For information on the St. James-Santee Parish Episcopal Church, go to https://www.brickchurchstjames.org.

MCCLELLANVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) – The Charleston County School Board’s Committee of the Whole on Monday heard details of a proposal to breathe new life into a shuttered school.

Lincoln High School in McClellanville was closed in 2016. Since then, it has been available to the community in limited ways.

Graduate Lewis Porchet’s vision is to transform the building into a cultural center and community hub with a number of uses to fit the area’s unique needs.

“Lincoln… presented the opportunity to create a model that can not only celebrate our Gullah Geechee cultural heritage, preserve it to enrich the culture, provide a space for local artists and continuing education programs, all of that is in the plan, but also will be a model that can be duplicated along the corridor and assist in rural community development,” he told the committee Monday afternoon.

The proposal would also see the former school become a hub for rural community development, with space for entrepreneurial training, continuing education and medical resources.

“Most of these initiatives have the goal of cultural appreciation, community education or creation of new jobs,” Porchet said.

The group plans to cover its costs through grants, private funds and revenue from leasing, and asked the district to consider leasing it the building for $1 and eventually sell it to them.

A number of community members said the biggest need in the area is a space for kids.

“There’s lots of possibilities. Open up the community center, game center for the kids, something for them to do here, especially in the summertime,” Sherry Howard, who lives behind the former school, said.

Regardless of its final form, Porchet said the project also serves as a chance to build trust between the Gullah Geechee community and the school district, which haven’t always seen eye to eye.

“The Gullah Geechee community has a skewed or negative perception of the way that it’s been served, and we believe that happened for a variety of that we’re not here to even argue, we’re here with solutions,” he said.

Monday’s presentation was just for informational purposes so the board was not able to take any action, but they asked staff to review the proposal and report back by next month.

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MCCLELLANVILLE — Larry Mcclellan can look from the porch of his century old farmhouse out across Jeremy Creek where the shrimp boats rock under their hanging nets.

Mcclellan captains one of the boats there and his son captains another. The creek, which leads to the rich Bulls Bay shellfish waters, is his livelihood and his life. The hub of it all, where the boats are moored, is the Carolina Seafood dock.

That’s how integral Carolina Seafood owner Rutledge Leland’s business is to McClellanville, the modest fishing village north of Charleston.

The seafood dock is the cultural heart of the place. And it could be lost.

Mcclellan was among a roomful of town residents who turned out at a Charleston County Greenbelt meeting last week to support an East Cooper Land Trust request for funding to conserve the Carolina Seafood dock as an open space and cultural heritage worth protecting with sales tax dollars, but also as a business.

The support “is almost unanimous in this town,” Mcclellan said.

Traditional commercial fishing docks like Leland’s are disappearing across the state because of the niche nature of the business in an international market, as well as development pressures on the lucrative waterfront properties.

But in a region where tasty fresh shrimp, oysters and finfish are sought-after delicacies, commercial dock space is critical for offloading, fueling, taking on ice and provisions and conducting general maintenance.

Saving the docks has become a priority for local groups such as the East Cooper trust, which is working with Leland and other McClellanville residents to pay Leland $1.3 million to put the space under a conservation easement.

Mixing business and nature isn’t a conventional project for conservation groups. But they are turning more to public-private community efforts to conserve the traditions of a place as growth and expansion is seeing the region become more urban. The move has drawn criticism as costing the public too much money in relation to conserving less urban tracts.

Catherine Main, the East Cooper trust director, points to other private-public waterfront conservations seen in Okracoke, North Carolina, and Portland, Maine.

“It has been done before and has been done before successfully,” she said. “We look at culture and history as important to protect the natural and scenic character of the community.”

The trust’s proposal is to put into conservation easement the dock’s 2 acres while opening 1 acre as a community park with a sort of riverwalk working waterfront and restricting commercial use of the other acre to fishing. The Greenbelt committee asked them to resubmit the proposal with more emphasis on the conservation.

The trust plans to go back to the committee with more details and a park design that would include open spaces under live oaks and spots to view wildlife such as dolphins and pelicans.

Leland would add $337,000 to the effort. The conservation payment wouldn’t be a windfall for him, he said. The dock needs to be rebuilt, the seafood house renovated with more advanced equipment.

Carolina Seafood handles 70 percent of the shrimp that comes into Charleston County, which is 30 percent of the shrimp that comes into South Carolina, according to state figures. It is one of the last of a handful of seafood houses left in the state.

The dock is the main mooring for the local commercial boats. A second commercial dock in town has been sold and its seafood house is operating on a lease. The expectation is the property eventually will be developed residentially.

Already the shellfish boats motor down Jeremy Creek past waterfront home docks that cost more than the boat captains’ houses. They pass yacht-size sports fishing boats docked where commercial fishing boats used to tie off.

Leland is 75 years old. He has made a life at the dock since his father brought him down there as a toddler in a life jacket nearly as big as he was.

Running a seafood house, negotiating prices for varying catches in a market that constantly shifts with supply and demand “is not an easy job to put anybody in,” he said.

“I’ve wanted for years to do something to commit this property to local fishermen. I never could come up with a plan,” he said. “There are a lot of people in town who depend on this dock for a paycheck.”

Leland has talked with the captains about forming a community co-op to run the place and hopes the conservation of the property will help them do it.

He, like everyone else in McClellanville, sees the massive growth in the Charleston area and new homes going up in town.

“It’s a reality. You have to deal with realities,” Leland said. “I would like to see this place set aside for commercial fishing. I’d just hate to see that go away, and I’m going to do everything I can to help keep it.”

Reach Bo Petersen at @bopete on Twitter or 843-937-5744.