Archive for January, 2008
Charleston County Parks Proposes Purchase of 812 Acres near McClellanville
January 30th, 2008 All Articles, Community Info Daniel Bates No Comments
A recent Post & Courier article about Charleston County Parks and Recreation plans to purchase a large track of land Two Pines Road came to a big surprise to myself and everyone I’ve talked to the past few days, so I’ve done a little more research to fill people in on the facts. 
Two Pines is a small community of a dozen or so homeowners along the Intracoastal Waterway just south of McClellanville and north of Tibwin. The proposed 812 acre tract begins at Highway 17 and continues on both sides of Two Pines Road until it reaches the waterfront residences.
This property was bought from an International Paper affiliate in 2005 by The Nature Conservancy for the sum of $4,469,025. Charleston County Parks has now proposed purchasing the entire tract of land for $3 million from The Nature Conservancy. The purchase would be paid for from the CCP’s $36 million share of the counties proceeds from the 1/2 percent sales tax increase to fund transportation and green space needs. 
I spoke to Senior Design Manager for Charleston County Parks, Julie Hensley, this afternoon to ask her about the development. She couldn’t discuss all the details because the deal is still far from complete, but was able to advise that, if purchased, the land would convey with protective convenances restricting land use and limiting the amount of impermeable surface and structures. She stated that it may not be utilized for five to ten years, but development would probably include hiking trails, boardwalks over wetland areas, picnic tables and shelters and some sort of park center facility for educational purposes.
Hensley also assured me that a buffer would remain between the park and the residents of Two Pines Road and that there would be a public input forum when the time comes to develop the park so that the community can voice their opinion. I spoke to several home and property owners on Two Pines Road and all of them indicated that they were happy with the County’s efforts to preserve the area from further development and provide a natural area for the community to take pride in.
I also spoke with Mike Prevost with The Nature Conservancy who confirmed that Charleston County Parks’ intentions were for the creation of a more passive park that would be fitting with McClellanville’s rural nature. He emphasized the fact that it would be the only park in a rural area east of the Cooper.
McClellanville’s distance from Charleston and the various county decision makers means that we are often the overlooked and underfunded tip of Charleston County. Our incorporation as a Town often gives us a stronger, unified voice, but we still make up a very small portion of the population and county taxes. I’m glad to see that Charleston County Parks recognizes the need to provide services to this region and hope that their future plans will be a benefit to the entire community.
You can see from the map that this tract is almost the size of the incorporated Town of McClellanville. Acreage like this in the hands of a developer could changed the face of McClellanville. If nothing else, the citizens of McClellanville should be happy that yet another large track of protected land will continue to act as a buffer against development in the area.
Bud Hill: a McClellanville Hero
January 26th, 2008 All Articles, Community Info Daniel Bates No Comments
Whether you live in McClellanville or have just driven through it once, you have seen the work of Bud Hill. Evidence is all around if you know where to look, but he rarely takes credit for any of it. As director of the Village Museum since it’s formation in 1999, Selden “Bud” Hill has his hands quite full, but he always has time for the community that he cares so much about.
At the Village Museum’s last Annual Oyster Roast in November, Bud was finally recognized for all his hard work in the community by being awarded the Order of the Silver Crescent. This is the highest civilian honor awarded by South Carolina’s Governor’s Office for local community service. The Order of the Palmetto is awarded for community service at the statewide level.
The plaque reads “In recognition of the dedication, commitment and leadership for the benefit of South Carolina and her citizens…”.
I asked Bud what he considered to be his greatest community service, and without pause he emphatically claimed the Village Museum as his proudest accomplishment ever in his life. He said, “the events I plan give me great pleasure, but they are fleeting. The Museum is something that will outlive me and can be passed down from generation to generation.” The cold cinderblock walls have been warmed with the history of our ancestors and exhibits that show off the past lives of McClellanville. It’s these future generations that Bud devotes much of his time to, giving museum and walking tours and visiting local schools to talk about the history of the area and instilling them with a sense of heritage.
As director of one of the finest small town museums in the state, Bud isn’t just in charge of the exhibits inside the Village Museum, but also for it’s advertising, marketing, budgeting, programming, event planning, fundraising, and anything else you can think of! Bud will gladly tell you that none of it would be possible without the generous donations from the community and museum members (which he has grown to over 750 families), but it never would have reached the level that it has without Bud’s leadership.
Bud does much more than run the Village Museum though. Almost every local event that goes on passes across his desk. He is always willing to help other’s celebrate their latest achievement with events like book signings, art shows, and concerts. When someone comes up with a good idea, Bud helps them see it to fruition and then gives them all the credit. He’s also been there in times of celebration, sadness, and respect to organize events such as the Veterans Day ceremony and Fourth of July celebrations.
I recently spent an afternoon at the Village Museum in the “Family History Room” upstairs combing through the newspaper articles collected about McClellanville going back to the early 1800’s, and Bud was there to help me and expound on each story I read. He has a wealth of knowledge about the area and it’s people, and more importantly, doesn’t mind sharing his knowledge with others.
His genealogy work on the families of McClellanville is vast and growing by the day. As people come to learn more about their families, they share things that are missing and fill in the blanks. Bud is registered with the South Carolina Archives and is always willing to assist people in search of their own family tree.
My fondest memory of Bud goes back to my early teenage years when he had just returned to McClellanville. T.W. Graham’s had just gotten a few pool tables, but I didn’t have a clue how to play. Bud taught me the principles of the game and a few tricks of the trade. He didn’t just tell me how to do it, he took the time to show me until he knew that I got it.
I doubt that this is the “dedication, commitment and leadership” that he was recognized for when awarded by the governor (because I never did become a leader in the pool halls), but it goes to show his character. Bud cares about the Village, it’s history, it’s homes, it’s people, and it’s future. He simply wants to make McClellanville the best that it can be; nothing more, nothing less.
South Carolina History Lesson:
Name the two symbols featured on South Carolina’s state flag?
If you said a palmetto tree and a crescent moon, you were wrong! The crescent shape on South Carolina’s flag does not represent a moon, but is probably a gorget, or neck guard. The other item is indeed a palmetto tree and was added to the flag after it’s logs were used in the construction of Fort Moultrie’s walls and successfully absorbed the British cannon balls.
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“The New Daughter” Comes to McClellanville
January 17th, 2008 All Articles, Community Info Daniel Bates No Comments
I can now confirm my earlier post about the filming of the new Kevin Costner movie, The New Daughter, here in McClellanville. Film crews are already in the area and filming is slated to begin February 18th. I have been working with the films housing manager to help them find suitable McClellanville Rentals for all the cast and crew.
The New Daughter is a horror/thriller movie, in which Kevin Costner plays a single father who’s daughter starts acting strangely after moving to a new house in the country that happens to have burial mounds on the property. Ivano Baquero, who starred as the young girl in Pan’s Labrinth, will be playing the role of the daughter. Costner has starred in (and often directed and produced as well) more hollywood blockbusters than you can shake a stick at including Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld, Wyatt Earp, Tin Cup, 3000 Miles to Graceland, and The Guardian to name a few.
What do you think of the idea of McClellanville as a backdrop for a horror movie? Leave a Comment
Update: New Daughter Movie Update
Recycling Pickup in McClellanville
January 16th, 2008 All Articles, Community Info Daniel Bates No Comments
A few months ago I wrote an article about adding recycling pickup to the regular trash pick up in McClellanville. I also put up a few petitions around town asking for signatures from town residents that would be willing to pay an additional $25 a year to pay for the service. I received almost 50 signatures, but I know that there are more of you out there. I will be presenting the idea and the petitions at the next Town Council meeting on February 4th at 7p.m. If you feel as strongly as I do about making it easier for everyone to reduce waste and save the planet, than please join me at McClellanville Town Hall and voice your opinion to our council members. I believe that the current garbage man, Barron Duke, will be present and can field any questions that people have for him. It usually takes several meetings for town council to get something approved and the new years budget starts in June, so we need to hurry on this to get in in the new budget. Please come out to Town Hall Meeting and show your support.
McClellanville Town Council Meeting
January 12th, 2008 All Articles Daniel Bates No Comments
| February 4, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
McClellanville Town Council Meeting at Town Hall
Photographer’s Choice
January 12th, 2008 All Articles Daniel Bates No Comments
| January 19, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm |
Come see seven local photographers exhibit a few of their favorite photos at the McClellanville Town Hall. Featured photographers are William Baldwin, Sharon Cumbee, Vennie Deas-Moore, Selden B. Hill, Bernadette Humphrey, Sylvan Racine, and Hailey Russell.
Second Saturday Sale
January 12th, 2008 All Articles Daniel Bates No Comments
| February 9, 2008 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 1:00 pm |
| March 8, 2008 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 1:00 pm |
Group Yard Sale at McClellanville Arts Council. Call 887-3157 to reserve a space.
McClellanville Goes Hollywood…Again?
January 9th, 2008 All Articles, Community Info Daniel Bates 1 Comment
The Post and Courier reported today that McClellanville may be the new site for the filming of a horror movie called “The New Daughter” starring Kevin Costner. The article reports that McClellanville and Edisto Island are two possible locations for the filming and that a production studio has made it’s home in Charleston. The film is based on a story by John Connolly which takes place in rural Illinois. This leads one to wonder what McClellanville and Illinois share visually, but I guess thats where they say a film is “loosely” based on a novel.
Of course this isn’t the first time McClellanville has attracted the attention of Hollywood. Much of the movie Paradise, starring the then-married Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and a young Elijah Wood, was filmed in McClellanville in 1991. I remember it well because we got to get out of school to go watch them film and then we played football with Elijah Wood who was our age. You can recognize T.W. Graham’s restaurant in the scene near the beginning when Elijah arrives in town on bus. As I recall the name and appearance of the restaurant were changed and there was a large fake red building facade that was built next to it as part of the scene. My memory is a little fuzzy due to the fact that I was only 11.
A few scenes from Forest Gump were also filmed in McClellanville a few years later in 1994. When Forrest (Tom Hanks) jumps off his shrimp boat to go see Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) was filmed on the Intracoastal Waterway and the footage of the shrimp boat fleet after the storm was news footage taken after Hurricane Hugo.
(Copyright © 1994 Paramount Pictures - All rights reserved.)
There have also been quite a few articles written about McClellanville published in various national and local magazines and publications over the past few years if you’d like to read some unbiased reviews of the area.
UPDATE: The New Daughter will indeed be filmed in McClellanville.
UPDATE: New Daughter Movie Update
A McClellanville Year in Review: Saying Goodbye to 2007
January 1st, 2008 All Articles Daniel Bates No Comments
2008 came quietly at the Bates house. Noah, my son, was visiting with his grandparents and Josie and I were in bed well before midnight. I was actually asleep when the ball dropped, a nice change from my old policing days when I seemed to always being working on New Years Eve (probably the worst night of the year to work) and arresting drunks and drunken drivers until daybreak.
Looking back on the year it has been full of many great events for me. I became a father and have learned more about myself through that process than I ever thought possible. We built our first new home in McClellanville and are still unpacking boxes after almost 6 months being here (a newborn tends to slow things down). I started this blog (website) and continue to learn more and more about web design, writing, marketing, and the people and places of McClellanville. I repaired and began managing a vacation rental property that has so far been successful.
It was a slow year for real estate in McClellanville with only 11 homes and 20 lots sold. This compared to the record 2005 and 2006 years where 18 homes sold each year and 32 and 34 lots sold respectively. The national news is saying that the “experts” predict a slow real estate market until 2009. I think if they were really experts, they wouldn’t be making blanket statements about something as localized as real estate and that the media is warping the general population’s attitude toward buying (but that’s another story). Prices had risen quite high in the years prior and we have witnessed a moderate correction in those prices this year. I don’t feel that we will experience any more reduction in price and that buyers that have been waiting for things to stabilize will soon recognize the deals that can be found in McClellanville when compared to other coastal areas.
In the new year, I plan to continue to cover many of the local McClellanville events, but I’d also like to go into detail about some of the things you hear about around town (breaking down the gossip and reporting the truth) and read about in the town newsletter. I am going to do more background articles about some of the local attractions and finish my neighborhood spotlight series. I’m also going to roll out a new interactive map and put together some great new contest to reward my loyal readers out there.
All in all it was a great year and with any luck 2008 will be ever better.
PS – Don’t forget to pick up a new 2008 boat landing launch sticker at the town hall.
