Your First Choice for Scratch and Dent Appliances in Moncks Corner

Published: Sep. 23, 2024 at 3:56 AM PDT|

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - Berkeley County residents are getting a new financial aid resource to help mitigate the negative effects of Tropical Storm Debby.

Berkeley and Orangeburg County residents can apply for disaster loans starting Tuesday. The loans are for underinsured and uninsured homes and businesses that were hit with damage from floodwaters. The owners of underinsured properties, like homes without flood insurance coverage or with high deductibles, are eligible to apply.

This comes after Governor Henry McMaster’s Sept. 16 request to the U.S. Small Business Administration. McMaster asked the administration to grant a disaster loan relief program following the heavy rain in the Lowcountry in August. The administration required at least 25 homes in the counties with a minimum of 40% uninsured or underinsured loss. The counties did not meet the damage criteria for the Individual Assistance program by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Berkeley County Emergency Management department officials say the county worked to get the administration loan program to provide another disaster relief avenue for residents in need. Berkeley County Emergency Management Director Will Rochester says the program also offers preventative services for future emergencies.

“There’s something you can do at your house that can prevent flooding damage or prevent another type of damage to really reduce or lessen the impact of a future disaster,” Rochester says. “Because we know disasters and emergencies will continue… sometimes with warning… sometimes without warning.”

Officials say the largest amount of rain came into Moncks Corner and extended into the Cane Bay and Cordesville areas. McMaster’s request highlights that several areas saw plenty of rain, like how Moncks Corner saw over 22 inches. Holly Hill in Orangeburg saw over 11 inches of rain.

Officials saw a large amount of flood damage between 10 and 11 o’clock at night until the morning when those rains came. Rochester says they saw around 100 road closures and 30 rescues.

“With rescues, with road closures, with people stuck in their neighborhoods so a lot of the damage came from that related to flooding,” Rochester says. “Whether it was water getting into people’s homes and kind of standing in their homes or roof damage or ceiling damage or even some mold that we’re seeing now because it’s been so long and we’ve had to go through this kinda long process.”

The loan program extends to Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Lexington and Williamsburg counties. Orangeburg County residents can visit the Bowman Library starting Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Residents can apply at the library from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or on Saturdays when the library will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Berkeley County residents can visit the Berkeley County Administration building starting Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The center will open on Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, it will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The loan program centers close permanently Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. Emergency Management officials say residents can still apply until after on-site closure. Applications for relief from physical property damage must be turned in by Nov. 18. Economic injury applications can come in until June 18 of next year.

More application information is available here. People can also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or contact them via email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - A family-owned business with close to a century of service under its belt will serve a new purpose for incoming restaurants and businesses.

Williams Farm Supply closed its doors in 2019 after more than 100 years of business. The building, with some wear and tear, is often described as a memorable site to those who pass over the railroad tracks into town.

“This building is not just going to rot away in the weather until nothing can be done about it. Something that has been a landmark here in Moncks Corner is still going to be here in a way,’ Mayor Thomas Hamilton Jr. says. “People will be able to come here and remember. This is history.”

The store, built in the 1920s, was a one-stop shop for farmer needs. Inside, remnants of seed labels line the wood paneled walls, and order slips pour across the floor.

“There was a lot of farming around here, and farm supplies would make quite a business on the back area here,” Businessowner Manuel Cohen says.

Cohen is the second to own Barron’s Department Store, one of many other local-centric businesses on East Main Street. His shop is celebrating 101 years of service.

Many like Cohen remember the Williams family, not only for their supply, but also their hospitality.

“The Williams family has been here years and years. He (Buster Williams) had land all over. I’d see him at the county building, he’d look up and knew where all the land was. I enjoyed him very much, I like characters.”

The feedstore will be developed through Carolina Contracting Solutions LLC. It would rebuild the store in the exact same way as its former glory but with updated materials. The inside would have enough room to house five tenants.

Contractors hope to pay homage to the Williams’ three generations of service by including old machinery, like cash registers, safes and other items left behind, in the new rendering.

Some community members recommended using the new spaces to honor the late feedstore owner, Rusty Williams, who passed away four months before the shop closed.

“This area fits into our downtown redevelopment. When you look around and drive by, you may say ‘that is a rundown site.’ Once it’s revitalized it’s going to fit into what we have downtown,” Hamilton says. “It would probably be easier for the developer to take it down to nothing and start over. But you get an instant connection with the community.”

Project leaders expect the construction to cost around $1 million. They aim to complete the space by April 2025.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.