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Wando High School’s yearbook, Legend, lived up to its name with the recognition of Best Yearbook in South Carolina by the SC Scholastic Press Association. This marks the second year in a row Wando has claimed this title and the third time overall in the school’s history.

This year’s volume was themed “Something Within Us,” inspired by the trials and challenges Wando students faced being in school throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Co-editor for the 2022 yearbook, Lily Higgins, said she and her co-editors wanted to produce a yearbook that spotlighted the perseverance of Wando students.

“It’s something within us that took us apart and made us go through all these tribulations and come out better,” Higgins said. “What we have inside is what really strengthens us and brings us through tough times. It’s so much more than what is seen on the surface.”

Millie Rice, another co-editor of the 2022 volume, said last year’s staff was dedicated to making a memorable yearbook for Wando students to enjoy after enduring high school amid a public health crisis.

“A lot of the people had that mindset of if they were able to produce such an amazing thing during [the pandemic] then…we can produce something better because things are normal again,” Rice said. “Each person on staff wanted to make the best book.”

The Legend staff took home 12 individual awards. Wando earned more awards than any other competing yearbook in 2022 and won more first-place awards than any other yearbook in the state won total awards.

Clara Barresi, another co-editor for the award-winning yearbook, was also named a top-10 finalist for Designer of the Year by the National Scholastic Press Association. She is the 10th NSPA individual awards finalist in Legend history, and she has won more design awards than any past yearbook student.

Barresi was a designer on the yearbook staff for two years, and as one of three co-editors, she was heavily involved in the design and look of the yearbook.

“It was a way to have an outlet for my creativity throughout the school day,” Barresi said. “It taught me so much about graphic design and I just loved getting there, taking the theme and putting it into a digital asset and using all the different covers and templates.”

“The hard work of these young men and women continues to make me proud, and they continue to amaze me with their talent,” said Wando English teacher Phillip Caston who serves as the school’s yearbook adviser. “Each year, they strive to be even better than the year before, and being the absolute best in the business is their goal with all they do in producing this yearbook. They don’t just want to record Wando’s history; they want to do it with the finest quality of work.”

The following Legend staff members received SCSPA individual awards:

The late Bill Noonan was among the first to notice something special about Kevin Brown.

Former Wando High School coach Jimmy Noonan brought his dad in to help coach the Warriors’ running backs in 2014, and the old man couldn’t stop raving about this one young player.

“He’d always talk about Kevin Brown, Kevin Brown, Kevin Brown,” said Jimmy Noonan, now the coach at Georgetown High School. “He said, ‘The kid has something special to him.’

“He was a little small, just an undersized kid at that time. But he just had an innate desire to be successful in the sport.”

That desire, along with some speed and skill, has carried the 5-9, 205-pound Brown a long way since he played middle school football for Moultrie and Laing in Mount Pleasant.

He was named an FCS All-American this season to cap off a stellar career at Incarnate Word, a private school of about 9,300 students in San Antonio, Texas. The Cardinals went 10-3 this season, won the Southland Conference title and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

A lot of that success was due to the play of Brown, who rushed for 956 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. In six games last spring, he averaged an NCAA-best 10.5 yards per carry, and finished a three-year career with 2,451 yards and 20 TDs in 31 games, averaging a remarkable 6.9 yards per rush.

He can also catch the ball, with 31 receptions for 312 yards and two TDs last season.

“Not enough can be said about what Kevin Brown brings to the table on and off the field,” former Incarnate Word coach Eric Morris said last spring. “He is a phenomenal person, player and teammate.

“He is a threat to take the ball to the house anytime he touches the ball whether it is a handoff or a catch. I’m so proud of the way Kevin comes to work every day.”

That work ethic dates back to at least Brown’s years at Wando, where he played on teams with future South Carolina Gamecocks in quarterback Bailey Hart and receiver OrTre Smith.

“He was always willing to put in whatever time and work was necessary,” said Jimmy Noonan. “He has all of those intangibles, and is special with the football in his hands.

“His senior year, he was everything to us offensively. And honestly, his effectiveness in the backfield enabled us to distribute the football to a young receiver named OrTre Smith. That’s one reason OrTre was so successful, is that folks could not double up on him because of what we had coming out of our backfield.”

Brown ran for almost 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns his senior season, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Noonan said some questioned why he took Brown to the Shrine Bowl that season, but Brown led all running backs in rushing yardage in the all-star game that features top seniors from North and South Carolina.

When it came to college recruiting, Brown admits he did not have the grades at the time to sign with a Division I program. He went instead to Highland Community College in Kansas.

“It was my grades,” he said. “I didn’t understand how they looked at grades, and that kind of messed me up when it was time for recruiting.”

But Brown earned his degree from Highland and played well enough — with 857 rushing yards and 10 TDs in his second season — to earn an offer from Incarnate Word.

“There were some ups and downs,” he said. “It was definitely a struggle. JUCO is a different breed, especially where I was at. Highland is in the middle of nowhere — 30 minutes to the nearest city, 15 minutes to the nearest McDonald’s and Walmart.

“There’s nothing but cattle and cornfields, and it’s cold. But the players and people there made it fun.”

At Incarnate Word, Brown proved himself as one of the top running backs in FCS. But he says he’s not done.

In December, he announced on Twitter that he was declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft.

“I wouldn’t be the man I am today without hurdling through every challenge presented to me and learning every day I stepped on the field,” he said.

The NFL odds might be against a 5-9 running back, but Kevin Brown is used to that.

“I think he’s got a chance,” Jimmy Noonan said. “The thing he needed to do was prove he could run between the tackles and be physical and durable enough to last, and he’s done that.

“His speed checks off, his hands check off and being able to throw to him out of the backfield. I think he can be that scat back folks are looking for.”

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (WCIV) — The S.C. Dept. of Transportation plans to shut down both sides of the Wando Bridge twice in the coming months, meaning a reinstatement of controversial lane reversals on Interstate 526 while repair crews work on the maligned James B. Edwards Bridge.

Kevin Turner, an S.C. DOT engineer overseeing the I-526 Wando Bridge repair project, confirmed the lane reversal plans to ABC News 4 on Thursday. Repair work on the east and west side of the bridge is set to start "sooner than later," he says.

Fortunately, traffic impacts shouldn't be as significant for daily commuters. Turner says the lane reversals only will occur on two single weekends.

On both weekends, Turner says the lane reversals will start after evening rush hour on Fridays, and end on Sundays. The exact weekends for the closures haven't yet been determined, says Turner.

The lane reversals won't be the only impacts of the Wando Bridge repair work.

(MORE | SCDOT following 14 recommendations to improve Wando Bridge)

Turner says there will be an additional four weekends during which individual lanes on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the Wando Bridge will be closed for ongoing repair work.

Also, the trucking lanes on the east and west sides of the bridge, which are currently closed, will remain closed through the duration of the repair work, according to Turner.

Concrete barriers will be added along the closed trucking lanes to enforce the closure and protect workers, Turner says.

Freyssinet USA has been selected through a bidding process as the contractor to handle the $4 million repair. Turner says the construction company is one of a handful in the world qualified to take on the project, as their engineers specialize in post-tensioned box girder bridges such as the Wando Bridge.

The $4 million project will be paid for using a combination of state and federal dollars, Turner says.

Repair work is expected to start this summer, and continue through the first quarter of 2020. An exact timetable has not yet been established.

Turner says local mayors will be the first to know of the timetable for the lane closures and construction developments overall.

Repairs will be made to both the eastbound and westbound sides of the bridge, with contractors working to implement 9 of 14 repair and improvement recommendations made in a January 2019 comprehensive report on the bridge's issues.

The bulk of the work will be repairing corrosion damage caused by water leakage, and improving the structure to prevent water-related damage in the future, Turner says.

On May 14, 2018, DOT officials closed the westbound side of the James B. Edwards Bridge after discovering extensive corrosion and degradation to key parts of the bridge caused by water leakage.

The westbound side of the bridge was deemed unsafe for travel, while the eastbound portion — while in need of repair — was determined to be safe for continued use.

Initially, eastbound I-526 traffic was allowed to continue as normal, while westbound traffic was detoured onto U.S. Hwy. 17 over the Ravenel Bridge.

After nearly a week of extensive traffic congestion in the Mount Pleasant area because of the bridge closure, the DOT elected to reverse one lane on I-526, installing paved crossovers on the Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island approaches to the bridge, and placing dividing cones over the bridge.

The reversal allowed one lane of westbound I-526 traffic from Mount Pleasant to flow across the east side of the Wando Bridge toward Daniel Island and North Charleston.

DOT plans to enact a similar traffic pattern with the impending lane reversals, Turner says, but this time both sides of the bridge will close for a weekend apiece.

That will mean westbound traffic being diverted again into eastbound lanes over the bridge, and vice versa.

When the lane reversal was put in place last May, the move was appreciated by drivers and elected leaders East of the Cooper in 2018, but was criticized by drivers who commute to Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant from West Ashley, North Charleston, Summerville, Goose Creek and beyond.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey was vocal in his disapproval, feeling the lane reversals failed to consider the broader impact on traffic in the greater Charleston area.

Turner says DOT this time around has been in frequent contact with Mayor Summey, Mayor Will Haynie of Mount Pleasant, the Port of Charleston, and other local stakeholders, letting them know the potential impacts well in advance.

"We have been apprised of the timing and the plans," Haynie said in response to Thursday's news. "The object is to get complete the repairs we all so painfully became aware of last year, and we are glad to see them occurring."

"I also support the weekend lane reversals because it lessens the impact on the tens of thousands of Mt. Pleasant residents who commute on workdays," Haynie added.

Mayor Summey couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

(Clarification: This story's original headline said the lane reversals would happen in Summer 2019. S.C. DOT officials asked us to clarify that while it's very possibly the reversals will happen in the summer months, it's not certain. The reversals will happen sometime between now and the first three months of 2020.)

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Fifteen ship-to-shore cranes at the Port of Charleston now stand 155 feet above the wharf deck at Wando Welch Terminal. With five cranes to a berth, the terminal is now capable of efficiently working three 14,000-TEU vessels simultaneously.

The new ship-to-shore cranes have 155 feet of lift height and the ability to reach out over 22 containers to work the biggest ships calling the East Coast. Crane operators efficiently move containers on and off ships, helping to keep the supply chain fluid.

“It is truly remarkable to see the final crane of our new fleet moved into place on the Wando Welch Terminal wharf. This is the culmination of years of effort, planning and coordination by our team and project partners,” SC Ports president and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “Our modern equipment provides smarter operations and more fluidity for the supply chain.”

The cranes are a key part of SC Ports’ $500 million investment to modernize Wando Welch Terminal. The multi-year project enhanced capacity and operations with new container-handling equipment, a modernized container yard and refrigerated cargo yard, improved traffic patterns and IT systems, a strengthened wharf, and an on-terminal transload facility for mega retailers.

“SC Ports boldly invests in infrastructure ahead of demand, ensuring we have the capabilities and capacity to meet our customers’ needs,” Melvin said. “Our SC Ports team and broader maritime community put in the work every day to make these investments successful.”

Maintaining fluidity

In addition to investing in port infrastructure, SC Ports continues to deploy creative solutions for the supply chain.

SC Ports has extended Sunday gate hours for motor carriers through at least peak season, given berth priority to vessels taking out more cargo, significantly improved rail dray dwell times, hired more than 150 people in operations to handle the influx of cargo, and launched a port-owned and port-operated chassis pool.

These efforts have helped SC Ports maintain fluidity. There have been no vessels waiting since early May, though supply chain challenges continue along the East Coast.

SC Ports handled 216,097 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 119,872 pier containers at Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston Terminal and Leatherman Terminal in July.

SC Ports moved 21,034 vehicles at Columbus Street Terminal in July, a 36% increase year-over-year. Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon reported combined 11,383 rail moves in July.

“We are continuing to be adaptive and responsive to ensure fluidity for our customers and cargo owners,” Melvin said.

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MT. PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) - The SCDOT said major problems with the James D. Edwards Bridge were first noted during a 2010 biennial inspection.

That inspection report and following final report were released Thursday following the press conference to announce the bridge would open on Saturday.

The findings included signs of water intrusion, corrosion and even pictures of duct tape being used for connections in the bridge.

The Wando River Bridge was open to traffic in 1991 and almost immediately had some cracking issues the state had to repair.

Fast forward to 2010 to the first reports that water was getting into places it shouldn't be and causing potential corrosion.

One report even detailed inspectors found duct tape being used in numerous locations to hold connections.

Who originally did that and why is unclear.

We now know corrosion is what caused a cable to snap two years ago and again this month.

"It's clear to me from looking at the documents you see before you that these bridges have been problematic almost from the beginning, especially with regards to water intrusion," said Christy Hall with SCDOT.

In 2010, inspectors noticed strange white deposits under the bridge and said there were serious durability issues.

Water from the deck was getting inside, penetrating the tendons and cables and causing potential corrosion.

A year later engineers gave the state five priority one recommendations for the bridge.

On Thursday, the SCDOT said of those, four items have all been completed.

But the fifth recommendation, "Perform load rating analysis for EB and WB bridges," has still not been completed.

That is a formal test of the weight the bridge can safely handle.

"Structural engineering analysis and modeling has been completed and occurred, but a specific load rating analysis has not been completed at this time but is currently included in the current scope of work for the asset management contract."

Basically, they are working on it.

The bridge originally cost tax payers more than $32 million dollars, and we've spent at least $8 million more on repairs and inspections.

That doesn't include this month's work which the state is still calculating.

May 28, 2010: Inspection Report

October 2011: Final Report from May 2010 Inspection

An October 2011 report stated the "unusual" finding of white deposit material on several locations of external tendons during the regular biennial inspection which prompted further investigation.

Unprotected holes were also located in the tendons along with grout leakage and "inadequate corrosion protection" of the tendons.

SCDOT officials said during their press conference on Thursday that these holes were later filled.

"It is suspected that there may be many more locations where grout vent tubes are not completely filled with grout (or perhaps, are filled with a degraded grout)," the report stated. "Such situations provide a direct path for air and water…to reach tendons."

Recommendations made then included the repair of all tendons mentioned in the report, to seal the grout tubes, and to document the water intrusion.

A third priority recommendation included an inspection of vertical tendons in the pier columns.

We'll continue to look through all of these documents and bring anything notable to light.

Copyright 2018 WCSC. All rights reserved.