Adoption Attorney Near Me Aiken, SC

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) — Aiken County recorded a significant drop of 50% or more in drug overdose deaths, mirroring a statewide decline.

State officials announced Monday that overall overdose deaths in South Carolina fell more than 31% in 2024. According to the state’s latest data, there were 1,481 drug overdose deaths in 2024, down from 2,157 deaths the previous year.

Aiken County was among several counties that recorded reductions of 50% or more, demonstrating the impact of expanded prevention and response efforts.

The body of a nonverbal 5-year-old girl who went missing has been recovered in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

“We’re encouraged to see overdose deaths declining, a sign that statewide prevention efforts are making a real difference, but even one life lost is too many,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, acting South Carolina Department of Public Health director.

The figures were released as South Carolina leaders marked International Overdose Awareness Day.

Despite the progress, the synthetic opioid fentanyl remains the leading contributor to fatalities, playing a role in 914 of the state’s 1,481 overdose deaths in 2024. To combat this, the state is offering free safety kits containing naloxone and testing strips at local health departments.

On Sunday, community members gathered at the South Carolina State House to honor the lives lost to overdoses and stand in support of those on the journey to recovery.

The event featured a butterfly release symbolizing remembrance, transformation, and hope for families and communities affected by overdose.

Organizers said events like these raise awareness, reduce the stigma, and spread hope. State officials emphasized that work to treat addiction like a chronic disease must continue year-round.

Individuals seeking support can call the Statewide Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

GRANITEVILLE — To generate enthusiasm for the official start of its 2026 fundraising campaign, the United Way of Aiken County chose “Game Day” as the theme for its event Aug. 28 at the Aiken County Family YMCA.

Many people wore football jerseys or other clothing that featured the colors of Clemson or the University of South Carolina.

There also was some cheerleader-style pom-pom shaking, and helmets from Aiken County’s high school football teams were among the decorations.

The ESPN “College GameDay” vibe was no accident.

“This campaign is going to be an exciting one,” said United Way President and Chief Professional Officer Ellen Luton. “We are doing a football kickoff type of theme, and that’s important because we want to showcase and really celebrate what our partner agencies all do together as a team.

“One single agency can’t tackle all the issues alone,” she continued. “It takes a collaborative effort.”

The United Way’s fundraising goal this year is $2,001,658.

“I’m feeling really optimistic,” Luton said. “We’ve had a few pacesetter campaigns that have already started raising money for us. Their participants have been pretty gung ho and excited about it, so I think we are going to have a successful year.

“I just believe in the generosity of our community,” she added.

United Way Board Chair Danielle Elliott also had a positive outlook.

“I have a great group of people working with me to make this campaign successful,” she said. “We just know we are going to have spectacular year, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Chris Bryant is the 2026 fundraising campaign’s chair.

When he served in the same position last year, the campaign generated $2,295,721.

“There is a lot of need in the community, and this is a good event to get everybody energized,” said Bryant about the importance, in general, of the United Way’s annual campaign kickoff.

A partner agency fair traditionally has been a part of the campaign kickoff, and it returned this year.

There was an area with tables for the participating agencies to use for displays.

The Tri-Development Center of Aiken County was giving away football-shaped cookies made by its Busy Bakers.

Money raised during the United Way’s 2026 fundraising campaign will help pay for its partner agencies’ programs that are “important to the community,” said Terrence Jackson, Tri-Development’s director of safety, prevention and volunteer services.

He is a big fan of the agency fair because it offers Tri-Development the opportunity to interact with campaign kickoff attendees and give them information about the nonprofit’s services.

Tri-Development assists individuals with autism, head and spinal cord injuries, and intellectual disabilities.

The other agency fair participants included Mental Health America of Aiken, Barnwell and Edgefield Counties.

“The United Way is so important to nonprofits because without them, we couldn’t do what we do,” said Mental Health America Executive Director BonnieAnne Fulghum.

For more information about the United Way, call 803-648-8331 or visit uwaiken.org.

The United Way’s headquarters is at 159 Morgan St. N.W. in Aiken.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Aiken County students made broad academic gains on South Carolina’s latest statewide tests.

District leaders point out steady, year-over-year growth and a standout performance in high school Algebra 1.

New results from the SC READY exams and End-of-Course Examination Program show improvement in English language arts, math and science at the elementary and middle school levels.

Authorities are working to bust a theft ring that’s taken more than $2.7 million in parts from school buses in multiple counties.

At the high school level, Aiken County’s Algebra 1 passing rate rose even as the state average declined.

“This reflects the focused work of our students, teachers, school leaders and instructional support teams,” Superintendent Dr. Corey Murphy said.

SC READY measures student performance in grades three through eight.

In English language arts, Aiken County students improved in grades three, four, five, seven and eight. In math, scores went up in grades three, five, six, seven and eight. Science is tested in grades four and six; students at both grade levels posted gains compared to the previous year.

Fourth-grade math was the only area where the district saw a decline in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards. State officials reported a similar dip in that grade level statewide.

Beyond the top lines, math data showed another encouraging shift: fewer students at every grade level fell into the lowest performance category.

“Particularly in mathematics, our students made significant gains in grades six, seven and eight,” said Amy Edwards, the district’s chief officer of instruction. She credited a deliberate effort to track progress student by student and to pair that data with targeted support when specific skills are missing.

High school students take end-of-course exams at the conclusion of core courses including Algebra 1, Biology, English 2 and U.S. History. Among those, Algebra 1 showed the most dramatic change. Aiken County’s passing rate climbed to 79.4 percent, while the statewide rate slipped to 64.6 percent.

The share of Aiken County students passing U.S. History increased by 2.7 percentage points. Biology results held steady, essentially matching last year’s performance. English 2 was the one high school subject that went in the opposite direction, with the district’s passing rate falling from 85.2 percent to 83.4 percent.

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Michele Warren has opened a second boutique in Aiken, less than a year after opening her first store.

Warren opened Urban Hyena on Hayne Avenue earlier this year. A few months later, the business moved to a larger space on Laurens Street.

“There was just so much more that we wanted to bring to it,” Warren said.

The move left the original Hayne Avenue building empty. Warren said the original plan was to let the landlord rent the space to someone else, but that changed.

“I put my key in the door to come in and I realized I just didn’t want to let it go that there was like another store that needed to happen,” Warren said.

Warren opened the Salty Hyena in the former Urban Hyena location. The store is a coastal boutique.

“We had about one week of a completely empty space here and then to pull it together,” Warren said.

The Salty Hyena has a beach and surf theme. Warren said the clothes and accessories are not limited to summer shopping.

“In January and February you better bet I’m down somewhere where it’s warm. So where am I going to find a linen dress, a bathing suit, surf shorts for my husband?” Warren said.

Warren said Urban Hyena’s new location on Laurens Street has given her the opportunity to expand the store’s offerings, including menswear.

“It was really fun to add that into the boutique, and menswear is something that I’ve been wanting to kind of get into for a while,” Warren said.

Warren said she is grateful for community support of both stores.

“You just can’t do this in any place else,” Warren said.

The Salty Hyena is located on Hayne Avenue in Aiken. Urban Hyena is located on Laurens Street in Aiken.

COLUMBIA — Edgefield County has secured the $3 million in state funding it requested for the construction of its new EMS headquarters, representing a windfall that is expected to cover at least half the total cost of this project and relieve taxpayers from a portion of last year’s big property tax increase.

Additionally, the $2 million in “seed money” promised to the city of Aiken this May for the Salvation Army’s vision of a full-service resource center, has also come down.

The South Carolina General Assembly on Aug. 25 passed a little more than $350 million in special projects funding, often called earmarks, including some $8.74 million for Aiken and Edgefield counties, the cities of Aiken and North Augusta, and Aiken County Public School District.

It was a separate action from the regular 2026-2027 state budget that was approved in mid-August.

It was also a surprise or, as Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, put it, “resurrected” after these appropriations had appeared “about as dead-dead as you can get” just two weeks ago.

“I am most gratified that the House and the Senate came to terms because community investment projects are very important, and particularly in rural areas of South Carolina where there’s not the tax base to be able to do major capital improvements that are essential and necessary or social services that extremely important to a community,” Taylor said.

After Edgefield County’s EMS headquarters, the next largest amount earmarked for this area, at $2 million, went to the city of Aiken to support the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope, the capital campaign for it expected to launch this fall.

“The homeless issue in Aiken County is very severe. Many folks don't want to acknowledge that, but it’s here,” Rep. Taylor said.

Taylor, along with other House members in Aiken County’s legislative delegation, had promised this same $2 million in “seed money” for the Center of Hope back in May when the Salvation Army hosted its Table of Hope gala.

Planned as a resource center, “it’s not only a temporary shelter, but it literally has state agencies and county agencies and nonprofits in the same facility to help people get back on their feet and into permanent housing,” Taylor said.

Included in the overall framework for the agreement on funding special projects was that all requests related to public safety or first responders would be funded in full — Edgefield County’s $3 million request for EMS headquarters among these.

As would all projects less than $300,000 that were requested by a House member. From there, other requests brought by a House member saw a 39% reduction from the requested amount.

Estimated at $5 million to $6 million, the new Edgefield County EMS headquarters would be built on land at the county's industrial park and that has only recently been disentangled from a more than 2.5-year property dispute.

The county council, in preparation for pushing the EMS headquarters forward in earnest, had in July finalized a $6.25 million bond issue for the project, coupling it with a property acquisition that will also support Piedmont Technical College’s own $10 million investment at the industrial park in the form of an Advanced Manufacturing Center.

The bond issue will also go toward improvements to existing county-owned buildings.

Still, the state funding that’s now come through could present opportunity to revisit the millage dedicated to the debt service on the new headquarters.

Edgefield County Council last summer approved the first property tax increase in 15 years, a large one at 16.25 mills, with 77% of it going toward EMS operations and the other 23% funding the debt service on the new EMS headquarters.

It’s that portion dedicated to the debt service — 3.75 mills — that could get a second look.

“With receipt of the $3 million and favorable bids on the station, we should have options for debt service millage reduction once all final costs are known,” Edgefield County Administrator David Caddell said.

Caddell said this could be revisited next summer if the anticipated timeline holds: “Our goal is to close on the property in September, ask Council to approve a design and engineering contract in October, and have the project out for bid early 2027,” he said.

This would allow for construction to begin next summer or fall.

Other projects to get funding in the appropriations bill were a waterline infrastructure replacement by the city of Aiken ($1 million); improvements to the Martintown Road-Knobcone Avenue intersection in North Augusta ($1 million); a new fire tanker ambulance for Aiken County ($750,000); Umoja Village community projects ($300,000 to be disbursed by Aiken County); an Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health property acquisition ($100,000); widening of Carey Hill Road in Edgefield County ($549,000); and Midland Valley Recreation Association under Aiken County Public School District ($70,000).