Home Care In Eastover, SC

EASTOVER, S.C. – Over many years, the South Carolina National Guard has developed the McCrady Training Center in Eastover, South Carolina into the training site it is today.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Frank Chapman, former McCrady Training Center training site manager, explained, what first started as a 283-acre property used for annual training and drill weekends, and was originally called the Leesburg Training Center, slowly became the 15,000-acre training site known today as McCrady Training Center.

“In May 1977, I began working on the training center,” said Chapman. “There was not much on the training site, so we made deals with Fort Jackson and obtained old buildings Fort Jackson was going to tear down. We didn't have much of a budget, so we had to find ways to make things happen.”

At the time, with a budget of $3,000 a year for development, Chapman said they had to be a little creative. They would move a building at the end of a fiscal year, then another in the beginning of the next fiscal year. One of the buildings the staff was able to get from Fort Jackson was the training site’s chapel.

“They were going to tear it down. With some clever planning we moved it here,” said Chapman. “[South Carolina National Guard] units then donated the stained glass windows that decorate the walls.”

This chapel provided a location for service members to conduct religious services during training and remains at McCrady today.

Chapman added, “Maj. Gen. Marchant came to me one day telling me that the National Guard Bureau was going to give us money if we built a school on grounds. This agreement got us the additional 14,000-acres to work with.”

This was also the catalyst for implementing the 218th Regional Training Institute, which provides training to U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, and active duty Soldiers. Today, the training includes military occupational specialty reclassification courses for engineer and signal, officer and warrant officer commissioning schools, non-commissioned officer professional military education, instructor training, and pre-command course for company and battalion-level leadership. Currently, there is also a U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve unit on site, the U.S. Navy Reserve conducts Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training at McCrady Training Center, and a USO is on site to provide morale, welfare, and recreation needs for service members.

In order to conduct some of the developmental projects early on for McCrady, the South Carolina National Guard would use internal resources that would support the growth of the training site, as well as hone skills for Soldiers.

“In the ‘80’s we were able to use the equipment from the 122nd Engineer Battalion because we were in good with the commander at the time, which happened to be me.” joked Chapman.

The equipment could stay at McCrady during the week to be used by the full-time staff and then on the weekends be used by the engineer Soldiers who used their skills to continue the development of the training site.

Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Curtis Hallman Jr., current McCrady Training Center maintenance manager, originally came on staff at McCrady in 1984-1985 as a carpenter, while serving in the South Carolina National Guard. Throughout his career serving at the McCrady Training Center, he has assisted with many of the projects, including the movement of the buildings from Fort Jackson and creating the pond surrounded by cabins on the training site. He has seen the site grow from the original 283-acre site to what it is today and does not believe it has reached its full potential.

“We are still growing,” he added.

As the needs of the South Carolina National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, and the Department of Defense continue to adapt, there are hopes that the McCrady Training Center will continue to grow to meet the demands and remain a relevant training site for service members.

Pine Gate Renewables and their construction partner Blue Ride Power broke ground in January of 2022 and are set to be completed and in service by the end of this year.

EASTOVER, SC — In a story that you will only see on WACH FOX News, there are new developments in a 100-million-dollar solar energy farm in Eastover.

We first brought you this story as state leaders demanded answers after years of delays, now we have the answers and the impact this farm will bring to the area.

“This project was an optimal location for solar, Richland County has been a great partner with the community and has been so inviting so we’re really excited to be a part of this,” Kristen Beckham, Pine Gate Renewables.

A new step to bring clean energy and power to more than 13,000 homes is in the end game for the Eastover Solar Project driven by Pine Gate Renewables after they purchased the 73- megawatt farm from Community Energy just a year after the plan was announced.

Pine Gate Renewables and their construction partner Blue Ride Power broke ground in January of 2022 and are set to be completed and in service by the end of this year.

Bringing more than two hundred job opportunities to the region,

Those are local jobs and regional jobs including employees right here in Richland County and in Eastover and Lexington County.

Long-time community members and leaders came out to the open house Monday evening to learn more about the farms' impact in their community,

“This is the way of the future, so the young people have to understand and be a part of what’s going on, I think the only thing it can do is enhance us and help us develop where we want to go," James Faber, resident in Eastover for 30 years.

“We’re all about accountability and if we’re going to have somebody come into our company we expect them to invest in our community by giving us resources and also information as to what’s going on," says Rep. Jermaine Johnson.

While the project will not directly provide power to individual residents it will provide clean energy to Dominion who will in turn distribute it to its customers.

After months of construction and repairs, Eastover's water is finally safe to drink again.

EASTOVER, S.C. — A bit of relief for many in Eastover after months of concerns over their water quality.

Bruce Edwards, a resident of Eastover, describes the headache he faced when the town was having water issues in late 2022

"They were handing out flyers saying boil the water because something was wrong with the system, low pressure, sometimes the water was off, " he said.

According to Eastover Mayor Philip Gunter, during the colder months, the town saw around 20 different leaks on water mains in the town

"The system was kinda dirty, so we had to a lot of hydrant flushing, " said the mayor.

Those issues got SCDHEC attention.

An enforcement order from December claims a team from DHEC rated the town 'unsatisfactory' for drinking water and said it 'needed improvement' in areas such as protection from contamination and source quality.

Gunter says it's been a team effort trying to improve those scores.

In a Thursday DHEC board meeting, members touted a recent EPA survey that gave the agency good marks for South Carolina's water quality.

Gunter says the town's water quality is back to DHEC's standards.

"They did their job, they wanted us to do our job as well and let it be known that it's serious out there." He says, "The water is pretty good right now, we've had a lot of success with the water."

Gunter adds crews have been working hard since the winter to get back on track.

"Making sure the line pumps and different things like that are working properly. During the winter storm things like that burst and got destroyed, some parts got broken, pipes got broken, all inside the well. I can say we're about 90%, we still got some really small things that we got to work on that's going to take some outside help to come in," said the mayor.

Edwards admits he is still a bit weary of the tap water, but for Mayor Gunter, consuming the town's tap water is something he does daily.

"I trust the water, I drink the water."

After a crash Saturday, night residents continue to see discolored water.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — We’re on your side tonight with details on a water issue in the Town of Eastover. Residents contacted News 19 about discolored water two days after the town restored water service after a brief outage.

“This is the water out of the faucet when you’re trying to cook. Yet they’re telling us in Eastover that the water is good," Eastover resident Jennifer White said in a video of water from her faucet on Sunday. "It’s not gonna get clean."

White said this problem continued into Monday with murky brown water running from her faucet.

“This morning no, same thing," White said. "So, I’ve been going, my friend allowed me to go down to her house in Hickory Hill and get some of that well water. That’s what we’ve been washing and cooking with."

According to the Eastover Mayor Phillip Gunter, a car crash on Saturday started the problem.

“Because we got that small pressurized system right now ... someone hit a fire hydrant and caused the whole town to lose water,” Gunter said.

That crash was worse than it would have been in normal circumstances because Gunter said the town is in the process of making repairs to its large main water tower.

That means, for now, they’re on a smaller alternate system.

“The town had to go to a temporary tank," Gunter said. "So, it’s basically a smaller tank operating the town’s water right now.”

While water service was restored quickly, the smaller system doesn’t have as much power to clear debris and dirt from all the water lines. The larger system has more power.

As a result some residents still have brown water.

The mayor said the city is testing the water to ensure its safety and people are urged to boil their water before drinking or using it for cooking until further notice.

The mayor added this water clearout could take anywhere between two days and a week and a half.

EASTOVER, S.C. – Over many years, the South Carolina National Guard has developed the McCrady Training Center in Eastover, South Carolina into the training site it is today.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Frank Chapman, former McCrady Training Center training site manager, explained, what first started as a 283-acre property used for annual training and drill weekends, and was originally called the Leesburg Training Center, slowly became the 15,000-acre training site known today as McCrady Training Center.

“In May 1977, I began working on the training center,” said Chapman. “There was not much on the training site, so we made deals with Fort Jackson and obtained old buildings Fort Jackson was going to tear down. We didn't have much of a budget, so we had to find ways to make things happen.”

At the time, with a budget of $3,000 a year for development, Chapman said they had to be a little creative. They would move a building at the end of a fiscal year, then another in the beginning of the next fiscal year. One of the buildings the staff was able to get from Fort Jackson was the training site’s chapel.

“They were going to tear it down. With some clever planning we moved it here,” said Chapman. “[South Carolina National Guard] units then donated the stained glass windows that decorate the walls.”

This chapel provided a location for service members to conduct religious services during training and remains at McCrady today.

Chapman added, “Maj. Gen. Marchant came to me one day telling me that the National Guard Bureau was going to give us money if we built a school on grounds. This agreement got us the additional 14,000-acres to work with.”

This was also the catalyst for implementing the 218th Regional Training Institute, which provides training to U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, and active duty Soldiers. Today, the training includes military occupational specialty reclassification courses for engineer and signal, officer and warrant officer commissioning schools, non-commissioned officer professional military education, instructor training, and pre-command course for company and battalion-level leadership. Currently, there is also a U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve unit on site, the U.S. Navy Reserve conducts Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training at McCrady Training Center, and a USO is on site to provide morale, welfare, and recreation needs for service members.

In order to conduct some of the developmental projects early on for McCrady, the South Carolina National Guard would use internal resources that would support the growth of the training site, as well as hone skills for Soldiers.

“In the ‘80’s we were able to use the equipment from the 122nd Engineer Battalion because we were in good with the commander at the time, which happened to be me.” joked Chapman.

The equipment could stay at McCrady during the week to be used by the full-time staff and then on the weekends be used by the engineer Soldiers who used their skills to continue the development of the training site.

Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Curtis Hallman Jr., current McCrady Training Center maintenance manager, originally came on staff at McCrady in 1984-1985 as a carpenter, while serving in the South Carolina National Guard. Throughout his career serving at the McCrady Training Center, he has assisted with many of the projects, including the movement of the buildings from Fort Jackson and creating the pond surrounded by cabins on the training site. He has seen the site grow from the original 283-acre site to what it is today and does not believe it has reached its full potential.

“We are still growing,” he added.

As the needs of the South Carolina National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, and the Department of Defense continue to adapt, there are hopes that the McCrady Training Center will continue to grow to meet the demands and remain a relevant training site for service members.