Chiropractic Care in Knightsville, SC

KNIGHTSVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – “She lights up my world.” “She changed my life.” “She’s fun and creative.” “She helped my son.”

These are just a few words of adoration used when students and parents talk about Knightsville Elementary Special Education Teacher Kristi O’Callahan – the News 2 Cool Teacher of the week.

O’Callahan has a passion for teaching special education. “I feel like this is what I was born to do,” she said. “I never wanted to be anything else.”

The New York native teaches special education kindergarten through fifth-grade math and English at the Dorchester District 2 school. It’s a role she’s had for the past six years.

“A safe place to love, and learn, and just be awesome,” she said, “They’re not less than. They’re awesome. They’re amazing, and I love them! I love my kids.”

Sixteen years dedicated to special education, O’Callahan said she always wanted to be a teacher.

“The special ed part was a close family friend of ours. Growing up, their son had Down’s syndrome. I saw the way people looked at him differently, or the way they acted around him, but my brother, my cousins, his siblings – we didn’t treat him differently. He was just Patty to us.”

She went on to say, “I just knew I wanted him and kids like him to not feel less than. I just want them to feel special and important. I think that’s what we do here every day, myself, my T-A, that’s what we strive for.”

O’Callahan said she uses a fun multi-sensory approach to teaching.

“We do reading and math primarily, we have fun, too. It’s all about a hands-on multi-sensory approach. So there’s kinesthetics, so we’re moving. I think the most important thing is the relationships that we form first. I think the bond, rapport, and communication. I want them to feel safe, and loved, and important, and special.”

“Once they feel those things, I think then we kick in academics and that’s when they really thrive. I just want to make a difference when they come here because being pulled out of your Gen-Ed setting makes you feel a little different and weird, so I just want them to come here and be happy and excited about my classroom,” she added.

Fourth-grade student Ariyah Hallock says Mrs. O’Callahan changed her life. “She lights up my world. I want to come to her classroom every day because how grateful I am. Over the two years, I’ve been with her, she’s been helping me read and everything she’s done for me, and I’m so thankful for her. She is making a difference,” Ariyah said.

The principal at Knightsville Elementary School, Claire Sieber, said O’Callahan’s energy level and expertise to meet children where they are and to help them grow academically make her the right fit for the school.

“She makes those connections with students that help them to engage in the learning, feel proud of their successes, and want to take the next step in their learning to continue to fill in the academic gaps they might have,” she said.

Parent Bridget Sowards’ son, Daniel, is one of Mrs. O’Callahan’s students. She nominated her to receive the Cool School Teacher award. “She’s making a big difference in our school. Mrs. O’Callahan is an amazing support for Daniel. She would send me emails sometimes and say ‘oh I saw this and thought of Daniel, and maybe you can implement this at home as well.’ It just blows my mind how amazing she is with the kids, and how Daniel is so excited to come to school to be with her and how he has improved in the last two years in English Language Arts by leaps and bounds where he was really struggling,” she said. “He’s beginning to catch up to his peers, which is the whole point of her being with her. She’s really amazing.”

O’Callahan said she’s thankful for the special accolades and recognition. “It’s super overwhelming! I just don’t think about things like that. I come here, I love on my kids. I teach my kids and that’s the most important thing. I love it! It’s amazing! It’s such a good feeling!”

If you would like to nominate a Cool School or educator, send an email to Octavia Mitchell at omitchell@wcbd.com.

SUMMERVILLE — Every school in Dorchester District 2 rated average or higher in the first state report card issued since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The S.C. Department of Education evaluates all school districts in the state based on several factors, including test scores, student growth, graduation rates and college and career readiness. The report card looks at a minimum of 85 percent of students tested, and all the schools in DD2 greatly exceeded that threshold with a minimum of a 96 percent participation rate, according to superintendent Shane Robbins.

State report cards haven’t been issued over the past two years due to COVID-19.

Of the schools in the district, 10 were rated excellent, six were rated good and eight were rated average overall. Newly opened East Edisto Middle School was not included since it only began instruction this semester.

This is the first time in at least five years that no school was rated below average or unsatisfactory, according to Thad Schmenk, director of assessment and accountability.

The schools that were distinguished as excellent were Ashley Ridge, Fort Dorchester and Summerville High Schools; Rollings Middle School of the Arts; Beech Hill, Fort Dorchester, Knightsville, Spann, Summerville and Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary Schools.

The schools were also graded on some achievement indicators, such as growth in English language arts and math, science and social studies, school climate and English learner’s progress. In some of these categories, a couple schools were rated as below average or unsatisfactory, but Schmenk said he sees room for improvement and has high hopes for the schools.

Five schools were rated below average in the science and social studies achievement indicators, five were rated below average in the growth in English language arts and math and one was rated as unsatisfactory. Six schools were rated below average in the school climate indicator.

Knowing now that some students may need more support, Robbins suggested paying more attention on what’s going on inside the classroom to see where students are in terms of meeting learning standards.

“We’re going to have to be more targeted in our approaches to try to make these kids achieve more focus,” Robbins said.

All three high schools either exceeded or maintained their pre-COVID-19 college and career readiness ratings, according to a DD2 press release. The district increased its graduation rate to 93.3, which is the fourth consecutive year of improvement.

DD2 board member Justin Farnsworth said upon looking at the report card, he wasn’t surprised at the results, even with COVID-19 forcing students to learn remotely for some time.

“It just shows that we’re able to bounce back from difficult issues that came up,” Farnsworth said. “That’s the resilience of kids, the resilience of our educators and it’s just having the best of the best.”

Robbins echoed Farnsworth’s sentiments in a press release, attributing the success to the educators, staff, students and families of DD2.

“While we are proud of this year’s results, we will continue to seek ways to grow and improve,” Robbins said.

Report cards are available at www.screportcards.com.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) - Tornado watches around the Lowcountry have been allowed to expire as Tropical Depression Nicole moves farther from South Carolina.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole put the Lowcountry under tornado watches throughout Thursday night going into Friday morning.

Most of the watches ended Friday morning, and a watch for Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties ended just before noon. Two tornado warnings were issued in the Tri-County during the storm activity.

A tornado warning was issued at 12:20 a.m. for parts of Charleston County, however, it expired at 12:41 a.m.

Another warning came Thursday afternoon as a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located at 5:17 p.m. near Knightsville The warning expired at 5:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service has not verified if any tornados touchdown during either of the warnings. Meanwhile, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division says county emergency managers across the state reported minimal damages. None of the managers requested state assistance.

Click here to download the free Live 5 First Alert Weather app.

Live 5 Meteorologist Joey Sovine says gusts to tropical storm force are possible Wednesday through Friday.

A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form, but does not indicate that any actual tornadoes have been detected.

Tropical Storm Nicole has sent multiple homes collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean. Nicole made landfall as a hurricane early Thursday near Vero Beach, Florida, but the brunt of the damage was along the East Coast well north of there, in the Daytona Beach area. Its damaging coastal surge was hitting beachfront properties in Daytona Beach Shores that lost their last protections during Hurricane Ian.

The Live 5 Weather team declared Thursday and Friday as First Alert Weather Days because of possible impacts from the storm.

Sovine says coastal flooding is likely through Friday around high tides with beach erosion and high surf also likely.

Sovine said heavy rain could be possible with rainfall totals between one and four inches. Breezy conditions could occur through Friday and winds may occasionally gust to, or over, 40 mph near the coast.

Nicole became the 14th named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season on Monday.

As of 10 a.m., Nicole was a tropical depression with its center located near latitude 34.2 north and longitude 84.3 west, about 35 miles north of Atlanta, Ga. The storm was moving to the north-northeast at 23 mph and its estimated minimum central pressure is 1001 mb or 29.56 inches.

Forecasters say an acceleration toward the north and north-northeast is expected Friday.

On the forecast track, the center of Nicole will move across central and northern Georgia Friday morning and over the western Carolinas later.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Nicole is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone Friday, then dissipate Friday night or early Saturday as it merges with a frontal system over the eastern United States.

Tropical Storm Warnings are now in effect for Charleston, Berkeley, Coastal Colleton and Beaufort counties. Gusts to tropical storm force(40+mph) are possible today through Friday near the coast. pic.twitter.com/VOkWBvcYTx

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) November 9, 2022

City of Charleston officials say they will be closely monitoring the tropical storm. Crews have already begun preparing for potential storm impacts.

“Residents are asked to keep an eye on reliable local weather reports over the next few days,” Emergency Management Director Ben Almquist said in a news release. “If bad conditions do arise, citizens are advised to follow the guidance of Emergency Management officials and, as always, motorists should avoid driving through high water when they encounter it.”

The city’s stormwater department has prepared temporary pumps for low-lying areas. Crews will also be cleaning out ditches and drains in flood-prone areas.

To find out how you can help, visit the Adopt-A-Drain website by clicking here.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs through Nov. 30.

Nicole made landfall near Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane at about 3 a.m. Thursday, more than a hundred miles south of Daytona Beach Shores, before its maximum sustained winds dropped to 60 mph, the Miami-based center said. The storm was centered about 30 miles southeast of Orlando. It was moving west-northwest near 14 mph.

Robbie Berg, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami advised people to understand that hazards from Tropical Storm Nicole “will exist across the state of Florida today.”

Nicole came could briefly emerge over the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Mexico Thursday afternoon before moving over the Florida Panhandle and Georgia, he said.

The storm left south Florida sunny and calm as it moved north, but could dump as much as 6 inches of rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains by Friday, the hurricane center said.

Nicole became a hurricane Wednesday evening as it slammed into Grand Bahama Island. It was the first to hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019.

For storm-weary Floridians, it is only the third November hurricane to hit their shores since recordkeeping began in 1853. The previous ones were the 1935 Yankee Hurricane and Hurricane Kate in 1985.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.

It’s the end of an era for roller skaters. Music in Motion Family Fun Center roller rink in Summerville shut its doors for good Sunday night. A rink employee confirmed Monday that the skating facility has permanently closed.

Last Thursday, at the rink’s final adult night, skaters zipped along, displaying skills that spanned from spinning and dancing on wheels backwards to apprehensive first-timers feeling it out. A disco ball spun along with the tunes that weren’t necessarily child-appropriate.

As word spread the rink would close permanently, skaters unabashedly filmed one another to document their joy and camaraderie as they zoomed around in circles grooving to the beat.

The closing of Music in Motion is a major cultural loss for the area, many say, especially since the only other rinks in the area, Hot Wheels Skate Center and Stardust Skate Center, closed in 2014.

Summerville native Demont Teneil said he has skated at Music in Motion for 14 years. For him, roller skating is therapy to help navigate career and relationships changes.

“I needed something that no one could take from me — and it was skating,” Teneil said. “It’s been my outlet. I just kept going and just kept trying new tricks and it rolled me out of depression.”

Teneil said he heard from his fellow skaters that Music in Motion, which opened in 2001, would not be a roller rink much longer.

“I’m sad that it’s been sold but it will definitely still always be a part of me, because I’ve learned so many of my tricks at the skating rink,” Teneil said. He plans to start traveling to Savannah, Ga., and Columbia to rink skate, and will hit the outdoor skate areas, such The Bridge Spot off of Poinsett Street in downtown Charleston.

The dynamic of teaching and learning is a big part of the roller skating experience at Music in Motion, others said.

“Everybody’s really nice and supportive,” said Nick Velez, who’s been skating regularly at Music in Motion since February. He has roller skated for about 16 years and used to be an instructor in Southern California before he moved to Goose Creek.

“Everybody’s really cool and down to help out,” he said. “If you’re struggling, don’t fear. They’ll help you up. If you have any questions, if you want to learn something, they’re more than happy to show you how to do it. If you’re trying to pop off and be yourself, they’re all about it.”

Shmeika Hall from Goose Creek said she worked at Music in Motion for almost a year before she left her position as a rink floor guard last June.

“Working here was important to me because I was able to teach people how to skate,” she said. “I was able to interact and make skating friends. When I first started skating here, maybe five years ago, it was a very small crowd of adults, but over time it has grown. [The rink] was like a safe place for adults to come and have fun, and I don’t know how we’re going to do that now.”

A few months ago, Auburn Fiore, who lives in Knightsville, visited Music in Motion for the first time in 10 years. As a child, she said she visited frequently.

“When I came here for adult skate night, I realized how joyous and amazing the community is here,” Fiore said. “While we’re here, we’re all one big community that loves to come together, dance and have a great time. I’m definitely scared of losing a place for us all to gather and bond over roller skating.”

Roller skating is just as much about congregating as a group as it is the privilege to have a space to skate, she said. Outdoor roller skating isn’t an ideal option for beginner skaters, she added, because of uneven concrete, blistering heat and rules that prohibit skating at sports courts around the area.

“It’s definitely devastating,” Fiore said. “Now all the people that have bonded over this super-interesting talent and hobby, there’s nowhere for us to congregate.”

While the future of roller skating in the area is unclear, one option exists for women skaters: Lowcountry Highrollers Derby, a local women’s roller derby team. It’s offering a meet-and-greet Thursday.

Highrollers president Traci Doutaz of Ladson remembers going to Music in Motion often between 2015 and 2017 after Hot Wheels Skate Center closed.

“For beginners, it’s super important to have a roller rink to learn not only because the floor is amazing, but [it] also has skates to borrow,” she said. “Roller skating is not the easiest hobby to just pick up and not having a local roller rink and its community just takes that option away for a lot of people.”

Doutaz joined Highrollers in 2010, and she said it was popular up until about 2015 when the group lost its bouting venue at The Citadel. Then Covid-19 hit and roller skating blew up, Doutaz said, so there was renewed interest in Highrollers. After more than a year of searching, North Charleston Coliseum offered the group a space to practice and hold bouts currently. The closest roller derby club for men is in Columbia, she said.

Doutaz has been roller skating for almost 30 years. She worked her first job as a carhop on skates at a Sonic in Kentucky.

“Emotionally it’s my escape,” she said. “It’s how I deal with things. It’s my happy place. I’m more comfortable with wheels on my feet than anything else.”

The Highrollers group offers a haven for women skaters who need to be shown the ropes.

“We will teach you everything: how to skate and how to fall,” Doutaz said. “You can show up even if you have never put skates on before.”

Lowcountry Highrollers Derby is hosting a meet-and-greet 6-9 p.m. Aug. 25 at Rusty Bull in North Charleston.

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SUMMERVILLE — Nico Romo has fond memories of large family gatherings in France at a table filled with large bowls of handmade pasta.

Soon, he’ll set the table for close to 100 Summerville diners with their eyes set on rustic Italian cuisine.

The French-born chef, who opened NICO in Mount Pleasant in 2017 before adding Bistronomy by Nico downtown in 2020, calls forthcoming Laura “a love letter to the storied, traditional Italian family recipes” he grew up eating.

The 6,000-square-foot restaurant will open at 101 North Main St. at the start of 2022.

“We literally have a pasta room, so that’s really the excitement of it to me,” Romo said. “We’ll be doing a lot of handmade pasta there, and then we’re going to have a huge wood-fired pizza oven.”

The restaurant is named after Romo’s grandmother, who was born in Italy before moving to France. In fact, Romo’s great grandfather served for Italy in World War I and France during World War II.

“They would spend every summer at home in Italy. Growing up I always had huge family meals,” Romo said while reminiscing about bowls of his grandmother’s handmade gnocchi. “It was always a big party.”

Romo plans to throw nightly dinner parties at Laura, which will seat 70 guests indoors and another 20 to 25 on its patio. There’s also an 80-seat private space that will eventually (spring 2022) be outfitted with all the bells and whistles for weddings, corporate events and other celebrations.

Romo isn’t the first peninsula chef to spread his wings in Summerville. Swig & Swine has a location on Old Trolley Road, and Halls Chophouse, Poogan’s and D’Allesandro’s Pizza all opened Nexton outposts in the last two years.

According to D’Allesandro’s co-owner Nick D’Allesandro, who operates three South Carolina locations with his brother Ben, the area’s recent growth made adding a Summerville shop attractive. The brothers opened D’Allesandro’s Summerville on Feb. 7, 2020.

Noticing the trend, Romo purchased Laura’s North Main Street space close to three years ago, but the project was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Unlike other chefs and restaurateurs to venture northwest on Interstate 26, Laura will be an escape from the food Romo serves at NICO, his traditional French take on oysters and seafood, and Bistronomy, where he serves French Asian fusion in an upscale yet unpretentious environment.

As Romo puts it: “It’s a restaurant for Summerville. It’s not another NICO.”

Antipasti, house-made pasta, Neapolitan pizzas and whole fish cooked in the wood-fired oven will lead the charge on a menu that mimics the family-style meals Romo fell in love with as a kid. Desserts and pastries are earmarked for a display case near the entrance, according to the chef.

Once open, Laura will serve Summerville dinner seven days a week. Lunch and brunch will be offered on weekends, but, according to Romo, Laura will stay closed during the day Mondays through Fridays due to the extended time it takes to prepare the labor-intensive dishes.