Dram Shop Injury Attorney in Fort Mill, SC

Atkore Plastics Southeast, operating in Fort Mill as Queen City Plastics, plans to cut 42 jobs next year at its manufacturing facility near Regent Park.

The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce on Nov. 6. It indicates that the layoffs are expected at the 2650 Bennett Road facility between Jan. 6, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2016.

WARN notices are required when companies with 100 or more workers plan closures or layoffs that impact 50 or more jobs. They apply to smaller companies when a third or more of employees lose jobs.

Queen City Plastics makes PVC pipe including electrical conduit, elbows and fittings, according to the company website. Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Of the 42 jobs that will be lost, 13 are material handlers and 10 are machine operators, according to the WARN notification emailed from the company to the state workforce department.

The jobs are non-union and aren’t subject to bumping rights, according to the company notice. Bumping rights allow senior staff, during layoffs, to take over roles from workers who have less experience.

About Atkore

Atkore International Group acquired Queen City Plastics five years ago. Queen City had about 60 employees and its headquarters is at the Fort Mill site. At the time, Atkore had about 3,900 employees and 66 manufacturing or distribution sites worldwide.

A week after the announcement, Atkore bought the Fort Mill property for $2.7 million, according to York County land records.

Today, Atkore has about 5,600 employees who produce electrical products for commercial, industrial, data center, telecommunications and solar applications, according to recent company announcements. The company is expected to release its fourth quarter financial results Nov. 20.

In late September, Atkore announced it would review operations and look for ways to cut costs to focus on its core electrical infrastructure business like electrical and safety sectors.

The company listed a potential sale of its high-density polyethylene pipe and conduit business serving telecommunications market among a “review of select assets that may not fit” company plans.

Those steps to cut costs include a reduction in workforce and three unnamed manufacturing sites the company identified for consolidation next year, according to the September release.

Rock Hill area layoffs

The latest WARN notice comes in what has been a quiet year for large layoffs in the Rock Hill region.

The only other filing from the area was a July notice by Sodexo for 177 layoffs in Rock Hill, as part of a food vendor change at Winthrop University.

Statewide, there have been 30 site closures, permanent layoff or temporary layoff filings this year. They’ve impacted more than 3,500 workers.

A South Carolina company just bought a long list of properties across York and Lancaster counties, combining for more than $85 million.

Saviria LLC bought nine York County properties on Oct. 23 for a combined $35.8 million. The more than 20 acres includes commercial and residential sites in Rock Hill, Fort Mill and York. Saviria also bought nine Indian Land and Lancaster properties on Oct. 10 for $48.8 million. They combine for more than 150 acres.

Saviria listed its owner’s address as a home in the Piper Glen area of Charlotte, according to land records in York and Lancaster counties. The limited liability company is registered in South Carolina, state records show, with a registered agent in Indian Land who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Rock Hill properties involved in the sales are the Founders Federal Credit Union building at Home Depot Boulevard and Celanese Road, plus land on three sides of the Mount Gallant and India Hook roads intersection.

Two small properties in Fort Mill are on the corner of Tom Hall and Sanders streets, near the Walmart Neighborhood Market shopping center. York sites are vacant properties at Alexander Love Highway and Court House Avenue.

The Charlotte company owns several other retail and residential properties throughout York County.

In Lancaster County, five of the now nine properties Saviria owns are connected just south of Fort Mill Highway in Indian Land, southwest of Stock Lane. Those vacant properties just east of the York County line combine for about 60 acres.

Another Indian Land site is more than 60 acres west of U.S. 521, opposite Marvin Road. Three more properties, including the one Saviria owned prior to last month, are vacant sites off Marvin Road near the Union County, North Carolina, line. They combine for more than 30 acres.

The final piece is a gas station at 1200 N. Main St. in Lancaster.

Million-dollar business sales in Rock Hill region

Saviria wasn’t the only company purchasing properties last month. Others include:

Million-dollar home sales

Along with commercial sites, there were 27 homes that sold in October for $1 million or more in the region.

A Rock Hill home on Ivy Arbor Circle led the way at $2.8 million. Fort Mill had nine million-dollar sales, followed by Lake Wylie with six, Tega Cay with five, Rock Hill with three and Indian Land with two. York and McConnells each had one.

Use the map below for details on all the million-dollar home sales, with the October deals listed with blue icons.

Catawba Ridge is moving on.

The No. 8 seed Copperheads earned a 13-3 victory in a tightly contested SCHSL football playoff game against ninth-seeded Fort Mill in the first round Friday night at the venue known as “The Pit.”

Catawba Ridge (6-5) will play the top-seeded Northwestern Trojans at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at District 3 Stadium.

Fort Mill finishes the season with a 5-6 record.

“I thought I was down at the one,” Catawba Ridge junior running back Boston Halpin said with a laugh recounting his fourth-quarter touchdown, the only one by either side. “I look up, and I see ref like, holding the uprights.

“The support from the fans is amazing. They've been there every single home game. And the defense, man, I just want to thank the defense. Absolutely did their thing.”

How Catawba Ridge defeated Fort Mill

The Copperheads struck first in an early defensive battle.

After Fort Mill shanked the punt on its opening possession, Catawba Ridge took over with good field position and put points on the board. Sophomore kicker Josh Crick blasted a field goal, which gave the Copperheads a 3-0 advantage.

Both sides continued making stops, and a burst from Halpin brought it deep in plus territory. But the Yellow Jackets’ defense broke up a pass on third down and held Crick to another field goal.

Possessions became increasingly valuable, particularly late, and the Copperheads used a second-half timeout before a strong Halpin rush on third and short. They moved farther downfield as the third quarter continued, but Fort Mill once again kept them to a three-point opportunity — then blocked Crick’s field goal attempt.

The Yellow Jackets rode that momentum and moved the football deep in Catawba Ridge territory, and a penalty on fourth down gave Fort Mill a chance for a field goal. Junior kicker Noah Hardy nailed it, making it 6-3 late in the fourth quarter.

Catawba Ridge senior quarterback Will Griggs threw the ball well to junior receivers Josh Dobson and Isaiah Thomas, while Halpin and senior running back Connor McFadden maintained the bruising ground game throughout the late stages.

The Copperheads brought themselves all the way into the red zone, and Halpin made it first and goal, breaking through the defense and forcing Fort Mill to start using its timeouts. Halpin dashed into the end zone, reaching across the plane to score the game’s only touchdown and give Catawba Ridge a 13-3 lead.

“Boston (Halpin) is just always in the weight room,” Griggs said. “Everyone’s just always working so hard, and I think it really showed on the field.

“We’re feeling pretty good. Big win, defense played their hearts out. And we've got some things to fix.”

An interception derailed one of the Yellow Jackets’ final chances, but they got the ball back following a turnover on downs. Junior quarterback Broden Mitcheson connected with junior receiver Jameson Terrell to bring Fort Mill near midfield, but a fourth-down deep pass fell incomplete.

Notable

He said it

“(Fort Mill) is where a lot of these guys came from,” Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak said. “You want to win the town, and coach (Rob) McNeeley does a phenomenal job over there. We knew coming in, to beat them twice was going to be really hard. Both those games, that’s only 14 points between the two of us. Just finding ways to win, and anytime you can win a playoff game is great, but when it’s your crosstown rival, it makes it a little sweeter.”

What’s next for Catawba Ridge?

The Copperheads advance to meet No. 1 seed Northwestern in the second round of the SCHSL Class 5A Division II playoffs.

Scoring summary

FIRST QUARTER

CR: Crick field goal (3-0, Catawba Ridge)

SECOND QUARTER

CR: Crick FG (6-0, Catawba Ridge)

FOURTH QUARTER

FM: Hardy FG (6-3, Catawba Ridge)

CR: Halpin 2-yard touchdown (13-3, Catawba Ridge)

Fans of the former Mama’s Pizza & Pasta in Indian Land won’t have to wait much longer for another helping of traditional Italian food, this time in Fort Mill.

Sal Vindigni, who owned of the Italian spot in Indian Land’s Publix shopping center that closed two years ago, is about four weeks from opening Mama Lina’s Pizza & Pasta. It’ll go in a 1344 S.C. 160 East, suite 105 central storefront at the newest strip shopping part of Avery Plaza, at S.C. 160 and Springfield Parkway.

“We specialize in pizza,” Vindigni said. “A lot of people know us in Indian Land.”

The native Italian has owned butcher shops and restaurants in the region, prior to a 10-year run in Indian Land. He’s had similar North Carolina locations in Mint Hill, Huntersville and Matthews.

“We came from Long Island, and I’ve opened up four places between North Carolina and South Carolina,” Vindigni said. “We’ve been here about 20 years.”

His son George, who went to culinary school in North Carolina, will join the team at Mama Lina’s.

The new spot will have an area for pizza and takeout, plus a dining room offering classic Italian dishes and weekly specials. It’ll be similar to the former Indian Land menu that had New York thin crust, white, square and gourmet pizza options, hot and cold subs, calzones and stromboli.

The newly built section of Avery Plaza sits between a Food Lion shopping center and a QuikTrip gas station. In addition to growth throughout Fort Mill, the shopping center is just south of a new senior living neighborhood that’s under construction, with more than 500 homes.

Mama Lina’s will share the strip mall with the already opened Dunkin’ Donuts, an animal hospital, a dentist and a tutoring business. Together, Avery Plaza has more than 60,000 square feet of commercial space. Mama Lina’s will take up more than 2,700 square feet.

Mama Lina’s will join a crowded pizza scene in Fort Mill, though many of the existing spots in town are in the Kingsley and Baxter area, or north of it. Visit York County lists 11 Fort Mill pizza places, but only Emilio’s Pizza Kitchen on Fort Mill Parkway and Toppers Pizza on North Dobys Bridge Road are located south of U.S. 21 Bypass. Mama Lina’s would become the easternmost spot.

For Italian dining that’s less pizza-focused, there’s also Salmeri’s Italian Kitchen on Mercantile Place — although it does offer smaller pizzas — and Rizzo’s Spaghetti House, which has a Fort Mill address but is in Indian Land.