Best Jewelry Store in Johns Island, SC

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – The 15^th annual Feeding of the Multitude event was held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Haut Gap Middle School on Johns Island.

Twenty-four separate church congregations came together as one to feed neighbors on the Johns and Wadmalaw Islands.

“We don’t want anyone on these islands to go hungry,” Feeding of the Multitude outreach coordinator Easter Laroche said, “so the purpose of it is just to ensure that the residents of Johns and Wadmalaw Islands are given a hot Thanksgiving meal.”

A hot Thanksgiving meal that residents like Lisa Pitts said she is extremely grateful for.

“Since I’m on a fixed income,” Pitts said, “I think it’s good that the community helps people in need have a thankful Thanksgiving.”

In the generous and giving spirit that embodies what Thanksgiving is all about, many who drove through the line came to pick up items for other families.

“It’s people that can’t get here to get a bag,” Marcia Brown said, “so I said let me just come down and get a bag. If it’s somebody that needs a turkey or need a thing, I hand it to them and say, ‘Here, Happy Thanksgiving.’”

“I know I got a gift card so I can take it to a family,” Doris Bright, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church said, “and I have a bag of groceries to take to a family. Coming to see this is marvelous that we’re doing the work of Jesus Christ. To go to those who can’t come to us.”

With more than 1300 meals handed out Saturday, organizers said they are blessed to be able to help so many community members ahead of Thanksgiving.

“The smiles on their faces and the interaction and the fun,” lead organizer Claudia Boyce said. “Everybody is having fun today, and that’s what the Lord wants, he wants us to be joyful and we are joyful. So, it’s a great day.”

Volunteers said this year’s event is one of the biggest and most successful they have had in the past 15 years.

NORTH CHARLESTON — A man provided Charleston County deputies with a different name before he took off running across several lanes of a major road and jumping from an overpass.

Kelvin Cole, 56, died Oct. 28 after being struck by multiple cars on Interstate 26. Investigators later determined he had active arrest warrants from Charleston County’s Family Court and the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Cole, who lived and worked as a welder in Johns Island, was riding in the passenger seat of a car when a deputy stopped it for alleged traffic violations. The car’s 31-year-old driver was ultimately given a warning.

Attempts to reach Cole’s family Nov. 2 were unsuccessful.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office released an incident report Nov. 2, several days after Cole’s death. It provides new details on what preceded the moment he ran from the deputy.

Deputy Tanner Buller was patrolling around 10:30 p.m. near Stall and Mazyck roads in North Charleston when he noticed a white SUV swerve several times from its lane, the report states. The driver also failed to use a turn signal when changing lanes.

Buller, who has worked in law enforcement for five years, had a deputy-in-training with him during the stop. He flipped on his blue lights and the SUV pulled over onto the Ashley Phosphate Road overpass, which sits atop I-26.

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Buller spoke with the car’s driver through the passenger-side window. The driver denied he had been drinking, but Buller wrote he could smell marijuana and alcohol coming from the vehicle’s passenger side. The car’s passenger, later identified as Cole, told the deputy his name was Raymond Brown.

Buller had both men get out of their car so he could search them. The driver admitted he’d smoked marijuana earlier in the day, the report states.

When Cole exited the car, Buller saw a beer can near the passenger seat. Buller found Cole’s driver’s license and noticed it did not match the name he’d provided the deputy.

Buller tried to detain Cole “but he pulled away and fled on foot” across Ashley Phosphate Road, the report states. The deputy chased Cole while trying to avoid traffic.

He repeatedly asked Cole to stop but the man “eventually jumped over the guardrail,” the report states. Buller saw Cole’s hands “grabbing the rail for a brief period” before he appeared to let go and fall onto I-26, the report states.

Buller never drew his weapon, said Andrew Knapp, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. The deputy remains on duty. In addition to conducting its own internal review, the Sheriff’s Office also requested State Law Enforcement Division investigate the incident, Knapp said.

Investigators searched Cole’s name in a federal database and found he had an active warrant with the probation department, as well as three bench warrants with Charleston County’s Family Court.

Cole was the defendant in an ongoing child support case filed in 2016, court records show.

He was placed on a year of probation in February 2020 after pleading guilty in Charleston County to a forgery charge. Cole’s probation sentence would not be terminated until he paid all associated fees, said Anita Dantzler, a department spokeswoman.

Cole owed nearly $2,500 to the department, records show.

A windowless white cinderblock building looked lifeless at 1:22 p.m. on a recent Friday afternoon, though a parking lot full of cars suggested otherwise.

After unsuccessfully trying to enter through a locked front door, I wandered to the right side of the single-story structure, opening the door to a cozy room full of people and the scent of fresh fried fish.

One couple sat down with their basket of flounder, french fries, hush puppies and coleslaw at a table by the fireplace, while three women across the room laughed as a tower of Jenga pieces fell to the floor. Most, however, crowded around the bar, or canteen, as it’s called at the PFC Ralph H. Johnson USMC American Legion Post 147 on James Island.

Established in 1919, The American Legion is a wartime veterans service organization with over 3 million members. Post 147 is one of about 12,000 American Legion posts across the country. Membership is open to veterans who served during wartime periods. Spouses and family members of those who served during wartime dates are eligible to join the American Legion Auxiliary or Sons of The American Legion.

But membership isn’t a requirement to come enjoy Friday Seafood Lunch at The American Legion Post 147.

“We’re glad to bring people in and, as I say, take care of veterans and their families, and veterans and their friends, if it comes to that,” said Post Commander Steve Driscoll, a Marine Corps veteran who worked in education for 48 years. “On a given day we’ll almost always have 100 if not 115 folks coming through the door.”

The bang for your buck is unmatched at Post 147’s Friday Seafood Lunch — a basket of flounder, french fries, hush puppies and coleslaw costs just $9. Add shrimp, oysters or both for an additional $3 each.

Beyond just the price, the group of volunteers churning out 100-plus orders of fish every Friday knows what they’re doing in the kitchen. Close your eyes, take a bite and you might feel as though you’re at a trendy new Lowcountry fish camp.

In this welcoming environment, people want to learn your name — whether it’s the volunteer chefs, four staff bartenders or canteen manager Tina Baugh, who has worked at Post 147 for 11 years.

Baugh and Driscoll both recounted the origin story of Friday Seafood Lunch, which started with a group of five members who garnered the nickname the Weenee Boys. Sam Brown, Jim Churchill, Trip Compton, Pat Clute and Mike Garvin, the post’s first kitchen crew, started serving hot dogs on Fridays as a way to fund improvements to the post. Hot dogs were traded for seafood in 2014, and years later, the meals were opened to the public, with 100 percent of proceeds going right back to Post 147.

“We opened up to the public and they were very receptive,” said Baugh, who took a short pause during our interview to tell one of the bartenders a customer’s regular drink order (Canadian Mist Whisky, cherry juice and sweet vermouth). “All we’ve got is that one sign out there.”

“We’ve picked up over time maybe 10, 15 members that way, which is always good,” added Driscoll. “The more members you have the greater chance you have of impacting change.”

Legionnaires participate in community activities and work with the students at four local high schools. They also support one another, welcoming newcomers with open arms.

Members of Post 147 now have a new canteen to gather in thanks to Friday Seafood Lunch and other meals that are open to the public, including Wednesday and Thursday lunch, Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast.

Improvements include a raised ceiling, updates to the bar and the addition of a Purple Heart memorial, marked by a gorgeous stained glass window from the American Military Museum, which closed and never found a new home.

“They seem to like it a lot because it’s more open,” Driscoll said of the upgrades, completed in September. “It’s improved the service and certainly the ambiance.”

The atmosphere is quite nice, I concluded while dipping the last bits of flounder in a small pool of Texas Pete hot sauce.

Go see for yourself next Friday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., when Driscoll will holler “last call for seafood!”

I’m fairly certain you’ll be glad I sent you.

Congratulations to James Island head coach Jamar McKoy, the winner of SBLive South Carolina's Coach of Week award as voted by South Carolina high school sports fans.

This is the second consecutive week that SBLive voters have honored Coach McKoy. He received 85.86% of the state-wide vote as James Island (10-1) beat York 32-14 for the program’s first playoff win in more than a decade.

If you would like to nominate a coach, please email gary@scorebooklive.com or message us on Twitter or Instagram at @sblivesc.

Here's a look at the other great coaches who were nominated for this this week's honor:

Jason Winstead, Goose Creek

Goose Creek was limping along at 0-6 and going nowhere fast. That was then. Just look at the where they are now.

The Gators have won four in a row, including a 40-2 trouncing of West Ashley in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs.

Marc Morris, Carolina Forest

Carolina Forest got a tough draw with River Bluff in the first round of the playoffs and responded quite well with a 42-28 win. The Spartans are 8-4 after playing a brutal non-conference schedule and they’re winning at the right time.

Morris is a quarterback-whisperer, too, and he’s got a good one in Scott Saylor. The Spartans could be a tough out in the playoffs.

Russell Zehr, Cane Bay

Can you defend the run? If you can’t, you’re in trouble with Cane Bay. The Cobras just throttled Ashley Ridge 30-13. They're now 8-2 and in the second round of the AAAAA playoffs.

Scott Earley, Westside

The Rams are humming along at 9-2 after winning six games a year ago. They just beat Midland Valley 45-35 in the first round of the AAAA playoffs. Westside has won five consecutive games.

Reggie Shaw, Byrnes

Byrnes means state championships. The Rebels are again a force to be reckoned with after turning back Hillcrest 31-28 in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs. They can throw it and they can run it.

The Rebels endured a tough 25-22 loss to Dorman that cost them the region title. But they came right back with a win over Gaffney and then the playoff game.

Neil Minton, Florence Christian

Florence Christian surprised defending SCISA AAA champion Hilton Head Christian 43-36 in the playoffs. The Eagles are 6-6 but two of the losses were by one point each.

William Robert “Bob” Thomas

THOMAS — William Robert “Bob” Thomas, 77, of St. Marys, Ga., passed away peacefully at his home Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, following a battle with ALS.

Bob was born Dec. 27, 1944, in Charleston, S.C., as the middle child to the late Fred C. Thomas III and Janie K. Thomas. He was raised on James Island, S.C., with his two brothers, Fred C. Thomas III and Gerald Thomas. He graduated from James Island High School.

He graduated from Clemson University in 1972 with a degree in industrial management.

Bob served in the U.S. Army (active) from 1968-71, then stayed with the Army Reserve for another 26 years, retiring in 1997 as a lieutenant colonel. He went to work for Lockheed Martin with the FBM program at POMFLANT in 1975. He then was transferred to Sunnyvale, Calif., in 1983 as part of the Leadership Development Program. In 1985, he and his family moved to St. Marys, Ga., where he continued his career with Lockheed Martin at SWFLANT until his retirement in 2005 after 30 years of service.

On May 30, 1970, Bob married the love of his life, Diane “Chris” Thomas. Together, they raised two beautiful children, Elizabeth Chrisman Thomas LaPha and William “Will” Robert Thomas Jr. After his retirement from Lockheed Martin, there wasn’t a fishing pole or a golf club far from his hand. Over the years, Bob served his community and church in many capacities, including, but not limited to, Sunday School teacher, basketball coach, elder in the Presbyterian Church USA, PTA president at St. Marys Elementary School, member of St. Marys Kiwanis Club, and most recently serving as the Share a Meal coordinator at St. Marys United Methodist Church. When asked what he loves most about serving in the ministry, he said, “I enjoy doing things for other people, especially those less fortunate than me.” He also said, “Find a ministry that you believe in and that you would enjoy doing and serve in that capacity.”

Survivors are his wife of 52 years, Chris Thomas of St. Marys; daughter, Elizabeth (Steven) LaPha; and grandson, Luke Thomas LaPha; son, Will Thomas; brothers, Fred (Kaye) Thomas and Gerald (Janice) Thomas; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in the St. Marys United Methodist Church chapel. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service (10 a.m.) in Bailey Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Marys United Methodist Church, the ALS organization, or Hospice of the Golden Isles.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

Allison Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.