Upstate South Carolina remains under a winter storm warning until 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Between 1 and 3 inches of wintry mix was expected to fall Jan. 10. Chances of snow and sleet continue through early morning on Jan. 11.

Heavy accumulation is not expected south of the mountains, but freezing temperatures could create hazardous road conditions. Accumulating ice could also bring down trees and limbs, leading to the possibility of power outages.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency for the winter weather moving across the state. The executive order issued Friday supports the state’s ongoing response efforts to the snow, sleet and ice predicted to impact many areas in South Carolina.

Publix changes hours

Publix Super Markets in the Upstate will close on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and will reopen pending weather conditions at 8 a.m. Jan. 11.

Schedule changes and cancellations

Greenville County Schools shifted to eLearning on Friday, with all activities canceled and facilities closed.

The city of Greenville and Greenville County offices are closed Friday. Greenville Municipal Court sessions for Friday have been canceled.

Greenlink will end services at 12:30 p.m. on Friday due to the winter weather. The last bus will depart from the transit center at 11:30 a.m. There will also be no bus services on Saturday.

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits rescheduled both weekend games. The Jan. 10 game will be made up on April 13, and the Jan. 11 game will be played Feb. 15.

Several Prisma Health locations have altered their schedule Friday due to the weather. All AnMed practices will remain open until noon and any closures will be shared later today.

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The Greenville County Historic and Natural Resources Trust board approved $500,000 toward the purchase of two parcels during the board’s Dec. 16 meeting.

The South Carolina Conservation Bank board followed two days later in approving $2.4 million toward the purchase of land that will enlarge the park to a total of almost 1,900 acres.

The expansion plan was publicly announced Nov. 18 during a Greenville County Council finance committee meeting.

The two parcels, one 56.4 acres and the other 9 acres, border the northeast edge of the state park. The larger parcel has frontage on State Park Road. The parcels include a home and a two-acre lake. Ownership would be transferred in 2025 to the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, which operates all state parks.

The new property would expand the existing trail network and add another access point with parking.

Read more about Paris Mountain State Park

Of the $2.4 million committed to the purchase by the state Conservation Bank, the bank anticipates being reimbursed $1 million through a federal grant from the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund, according to bank director Raleigh West.

The number of visitors to Paris Mountain State Park has more than quadrupled since the pandemic, and this would be the second major expansion to the park in the past years.

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In the early hours of Friday, Sept. 27, Hurricane Helene swept through the Upstate. The eye passed closer than expected, exposing Greenville and the surrounding area to winds as high as 90 mph.

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1,100-acre Saluda Bluffs protected

November saw the announcement of protections for the 1,090-acre Saluda Bluffs property in the heart of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in Pickens County.

Greenville-based Naturaland Trust worked with local and state conservation groups and state agencies to secure the largest privately held, unprotected piece of property in Pickens County for conservation. Ownership of the land will be assumed in early 2025 by the state Department of Natural Resources, which it will use to form the new South Saluda Wildlife Management Area.

The property is effectively the centerpiece of the views from Caesars Head, Table Rock and Jones Gap state parks, which themselves form one of the most scenic stretches of South Carolina’s section of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Highway 11 property protected, may become new state park

Another Naturaland Trust project secured 365 acres near the intersection of Dill Road and state Highway 11 in northern Greenville County, the first step in a process that may lead to the creation of a new state park.

The Glassy Mountain Foothills project came about when the property owner, Spartanburg dentist Holland Satterfield, offered the property to Naturaland Trust at a discounted price of $3.2 million.

Although in very early stages, the plan to make the property a state park is in part dependent on state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism obtaining a $1 million grant from the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Saluda Grade trail property secured

In August the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy signed a contract with Norfolk Southern to purchase the historic 31-mile rail corridor that will form a trail connecting communities on both sides of the North Carolina-South Carolina state line.

A dream for decades, the Saluda Grade Trail will connect a string of communities in northern Spartanburg County in South Carolina along 31 miles of what was formerly the steepest mainline rail route in the country before it ceased operations more than 20 years ago.

New golf course planned in southern Greenville County

September brought the unveiling of plans for a new signature golf course in southern Greenville County.

Kawonu Golf Club is planned for 294 acres to the west of Fountain Inn, along the Reedy River. Construction is expected to begin in early 2025, with the club opening in 2027. It will be private and golf only, open to a limited number of local and national members and their guests.

About 100 acres of the site will remain a nature preserve, including the portion of the land that hugs the Reedy River.

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Field Notes: Do black snakes really kill rattlesnakes and copperheads?

The short answer is: yes and no.

Among the three black snakes that we have in our area, two of them do kill and consume both venomous snakes, but the largest and most commonly encountered, the black rat snake, does not.

Never smash a yellow jacket: Field Notes with Dennis Chastain

Sometimes the lessons of nature come from quiet observation and contemplation. Sometimes they come in a wild, painful frenzy. It’s the painful ones that you never forget.

3 Greenville area restaurants earn James Beard semifinalist nominations

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2024 semifinalist nominees for the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards categories on Jan. 24, and three Upstate restaurants made the list.

New Greenville elementary school under construction, to be named in May

Construction is underway for the new elementary school at 61 Isbell Lane in Greenville.

Set to open for the 2025-26 school year, the new school will have an academic focus on environmental science and serve pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The facility was designed to accommodate up to 750 students with room for future expansion.

Six Greenville County high schools among top 25 in U.S. News SC rankings

U.S. News & World Report ranked six Greenville County high schools among the top 25 in its 2024-2025 Best Public High Schools in South Carolina list.

Skyrocketing insurance costs are closing bars, businesses. Will SC act in 2024?

Time is running out this session for the General Assembly to tackle a range of matters.

Perhaps none is more pressing than the need to remedy skyrocketing liquor liability insurance costs for the state’s restaurants and bars.

Greenville County may get new state park after Naturaland Trust conservation effort

An effort to protect a 365-acre piece of property in northern Greenville County from development may yield a new state park if all the pieces fall into place.

The parcel is near the intersection of Dill Road and state Highway 11, and Naturaland Trust has been working for months to secure funding for a fee-simple purchase of the property, which the trust has dubbed the Glassy Mountain Foothills project.

Greenville swimmer to compete in U.S. Olympic Trials

Lilla Bognar thinks of herself as a regular kid.

She is a rising senior at Eastside High School and a member of the Team Greenville swim team. She has already committed to the University of Florida after graduation in 2025, and looks forward to attending medical school to become a pediatrician.

Breeze Airways spins up new GSP destinations, targets underserved cities

Connecting people and communities is something of a passion for David Neeleman, founder and CEO of Breeze Airways, which started nonstop service to five destinations from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in early May.

Prior to launching Breeze in 2018, he founded Utah-based Morris Air in 1984, followed by Canada’s WestJet in 1994, JetBlue in 1998, and Brazil’s Azul in 2008.

How you can help: Ways to donate, volunteer after Hurricane Helene

Many organizations in the Upstate are supported the local community following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.

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Matt Wills, the chamber’s vice president for government affairs, emphasized the top priorities are to seek protection for businesses from skyrocketing liability insurance rates, and improve the accessibility and affordability of child care.

The legislature convenes Jan. 14 and is scheduled to adjourn May 8.

South Carolina’s joint and several liability laws – sometimes referred to as liquor liability laws – have led to a drop in insurance companies willing to sell policies to businesses in the state and a subsequent rise in policy rates. The current laws can leave businesses open to partial fault in lawsuits even if they are not directly responsible for an incident. Locally-owned bars and restaurants have been particularly impacted, though the laws affect a wide range of businesses.

Child care cost and availability is a nationwide issue, especially in fast-growing areas like Greenville County and the Upstate.

The chamber’s advocacy agenda also includes education funding and teacher compensation, workforce sustainability and career development, and investments in infrastructure. The full 2025 advocacy agenda can be found at greenvillechamber.org/policyagenda.

The breakfast was held at Embassy Suites Verdae with more than 200 business and community leaders in attendance.

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The Order of the Palmetto is awarded by the governor and given in recognition of outstanding service to South Carolina. Free received the framed, commemorative proclamation during an event celebrating his retirement at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. It was presented by Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County board chair Richard Hagins.

Free has led the local Habitat organization since 2009. He is retiring at the end of 2024. He previously worked for two decades with nonprofit organizations in Tennessee.

He will be succeeded as Habitat CEO by LaTonya Phillips.

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HNRT board chair Pam Shucker and secretary Dennis DeFrancesco shared the update during a Greenville County Council Finance Committee meeting Nov. 18. The county’s half-million would be matched by $2.4 million in state and federal funding, according to DeFrancesco.

The full HNRT board will vote on whether to approve the purchase during its next meeting, expected to be held Dec. 16. Funding is already available as part of the trust’s annual allocation from the county. It would increase the state park to nearly 1,900 acres.

Read more about Paris Mountain State Park

The two parcels, one 56.4 acres and the other 9 acres, border the northeast edge of the state park. The larger parcel has frontage on State Park Road. The parcels include a home and a two-acre lake. Ownership would be transferred in 2025 to South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, which operates all state parks.

DeFrancesco said visitation to Paris Mountain State Park has quadrupled in the past five years. The new property would expand the existing trail network and add another access point with parking.

If approved, it would be the second significant expansion of Paris Mountain State Park in the past few years. The purchase of Shiloh Ridge, on the west side of the park, added nearly 150 acres in 2022. Upstate Forever already held a conservation easement on most of that property, preventing development. Naturaland Trust contributed an additional 120 nearby acres at the same time, bringing the total expansion to almost 270 acres.

The Greenville County Historic and Natural Resources Trust board includes 12 seats – one for each County Council district. It was created in 2021 and is funded annually through the county budget. Its mission is to preserve “the special places that give our community its character,” according to its website.

Shucker told the Finance Committee HNRT has helped protect 2,100 acres across 18 projects since its creation, and that each dollar spent has been matched by more than five dollars in state and federal funding.

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An informal request was made during a meeting of the Greenville County Council Finance Committee on Nov. 18. There was no vote on the matter. The presentation to the committee made it clear the stadium would be built even if the county declined to contribute.

Greenville Pro Soccer is the parent company of Greenville Triumph SC and Greenville Liberty. On Oct. 30, it announced plans for a 10,000-seat, multipurpose facility at the Bridges Road exit of Interstate 385. The financial partners at the time of the announcement included Greenville Pro Soccer, the state of South Carolina and the city of Mauldin. Hughes Investments, which owns BridgeWay Station, is providing the land.

The final cost of construction is expected to be $80 million to $100 million. Joe Erwin, chairman and co-founder of Greenville Triumph SC and Greenville Liberty, told the Finance Committee $45 million would come from private funding. The state has committed $10 million. Mauldin City Council gave initial approval during its meeting on Nov. 18 to contribute $4.25 million from its hospitality and accommodations tax fund.

Hospitality and accommodations taxes are collected from prepared food and on-site beverage sales, and from hotel bookings. The money collected is used to benefit tourism at the discretion of state and local governments.

Erwin said the $14 million in upgrades would allow the stadium to compete for more events, bringing in additional tax revenue to offset the county’s investment. Those upgrades include: concert infrastructure, including a stage; additional locker rooms to host multiteam tournaments; enclosed suites, which Erwin said are required to bid for certain NCAA events; a field turf protection system; and a hybrid turf system.

Related: Mauldin advances $4.25M bond issue to support stadium: City Council notes

Both Erwin and Heath Dillard, CEO of VisitGreenvilleSC, told the committee the intent was to “make the building sweat” – in essence, keep it booked for as many dates as possible. Triumph and Liberty games only account for about two dozen dates per year.

VisitGreenvilleSC is tasked with driving tourism and visitation to the city of Greenville and Greenville County. Dillard emphasized his organization’s support for the plan, which he said would boost both economic development and quality of life.

Upgrades to the stadium would also make it possible for both the Triumph and Liberty to move to higher leagues, Erwin said. The Triumph currently play in USL League One, the third tier of men’s professional soccer. The Liberty play in the women’s pre-professional USL W League. He said the men could move up the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the U.S., and the women’s team could move to a professional level.

Greenville Triumph SC first brought a stadium plan to Greenville County Council in 2022, at the time seeking majority funding from the county. The Finance Committee struck it down and sent the Triumph back to the drawing board. Since that time, it reorganized under Greenville Pro Soccer LLC and brought in additional investors.

“We’re better off for not succeeding two years ago,” Erwin said.

Groundbreaking for the stadium, which will be located near the intersection of Holland and Bridges roads in Mauldin, is planned for early 2025. Construction is expected to be complete by mid-2026 in time for the FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It is considered soccer’s most prestigious tournament and has expanded to include 48 international teams. Some of the matches will be played in Atlanta.

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The zoo unveiled its cape porcupines in a newly built habitat, which is shared with an Aldabra tortoise moved from a display across the walkway. The plaza remains home to the recently renovated Masai giraffe area, as well as an unoccupied space that previously housed the zoo’s lions.

Huse, the mother of Greenville City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe, was a lifelong conservationist and animal lover. She passed away in 2002. The Rupert Huse Charitable Fund donated $250,000 toward renovations and additions to the plaza.

Dowe said her mother and family consider the zoo “one of Greenville’s treasures.”

“From her home, she could hear the vocal animals of the zoo every day until she died,” Dowe said of Huse. “She would be immensely proud of how far the Greenville Zoo has come and its support for species conservation, as well as programming and research initiatives that contribute to our planet’s sustainability.”

The Greenville Zoo Foundation raised $564,702 in private donations for the project, which included the new exhibit area, updated walkways, signage and landscaping. The path beside the new porcupine habitat includes bricks purchased by donors.

“It’s such a tribute. It says so much about the community spirit here, and the benevolence and the giving that happens for the zoo,” said Gail DePriest, chair of the zoo foundation board.

Additional funding for the plaza renovations came from the state. The zoo is owned by the city of Greenville and supported by the Greenville Zoo Foundation. City Council voted in August to name the plaza in honor of Huse.

Names of the animals in the Mary H. Huse Africa Plaza:

Cape porcupines: Brillo and Spike

Aldabra tortoise: Bubba

Masai giraffes: Miles, Autumn and Blossom

Quote: 

“These animal are more than fascinating species. They’re ambassadors for their species and their ecosystems. By learning about them up close, we can gain a deeper understanding and respect of the rich diversity of wildlife on our planet.” – Greenville Zoo Administrator Bill Cooper

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The food hall, which expanded earlier this year with the opening of its second phase, is located along the Swamp Rabbit Trail and the Reedy River in Unity Park.

The event will be held from noon to 6 p.m., with food, giveaways, family activities and anniversary t-shirts for the first 25 guests. Several musicians will perform, including:

• Taylor Corum, 12:30 p.m.
• Karen Clardy, 1:45 p.m.
• Moonshine State, 3 p.m.
• Andrew Wakefield, 4:15 p.m.
• Darby Wilcox, 5:30 p.m.

Incoming eatery Paseo will be serving paella as a sneak peek, and other vendors will offer special items. The current lineup at The Commons includes Automatic Taco, Golden Brown & Delicious, The Community Tap, Methodical Coffee, LaRue Fine Chocolates & Ice Cream, Indigo Kitchen, MooHogz Craft BBQ, and Kuka Juice.

The Commons opened in 2019 while Unity Park, which opened in 2022, was still under construction.

“Five years ago, we envisioned creating a vibrant community hub showcasing Greenville’s culinary talent,” said Drew Parker, co-founder of The Commons. “Today, The Commons stands as a testament to that vision and our community’s incredible support. We’re proud of what we’ve built together and are excited for the future.”

A majority stake in The Commons was purchased in September by Aston, which also owns North Hills Shopping Center, Verdae Village, McBee Station, McDaniel Village and Powdersville Plaza.

The Commons is located at 147 Wellborn St. in downtown Greenville.

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Photos provided by Greenville Tech Foundation

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