Home Care In Hopkins, SC

HOPKINS, S.C. (WACH) — Those strong storms over the weekend, caused some major problems for quite a few people.

In fact, it's still creating issues for a Hopkins man with health issues, who is essentially trapped inside his home.

Neighbors did what they could to help, but there's still plenty of problems to deal with in the area.

At one point Monday, Third street in Hopkins was flooded by nearly a foot of water.

Willie Dwight lives along this road, and the 72-year-old man has cancer. He is also confined to a wheelchair.

The flooding prevented his healthcare assistant from getting inside the home to help with medicine and meals.

"With the water like that, I can't get my medicine, and I cant get the supplies that I need. They have nowhere to put it, and know where to get it on the ramp," said Willie Dwight, elderly man trapped inside his home.

Dwight has lived in his home for years, and says every time he see's heavy rain, his yard floods.

Dwight's health situation only makes matters worse, and he says he needs seven different pills every day.

"If something would really happen to me in here, then I can’t get out of the door, because of all the water," said Dwight.

"Every time it rain's, like one-time, it was worse than this. But, after they put those drain things down, it was a little better. But this is the second, third time it done, done this," said Selena Davis, a neighbor.

Although Hopkins was hit hard, as of Monday night, Sumter County still had nearly 10 streets that were closed due to flooding.

Despite the situation in the area, Dwight is trying to keep his spirits high.

"So I looked out the door and said oh god almighty! I said I couldn’t get out my door, I need me a boat," said Dwight.

"I’m scared for him, you know. Cause he just might come out there and fall, and he can’t get up," said Davis.

A neighbor called for Richland County officials for Willie Dwight to see if work crews could come help with the flooding issue here.

They say they were told it could take anywhere from one to 10 days to help drain the property.

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

A civil suit between an Upstate man and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office went to trial Tuesday.

Stephon Hopkins claims he was injured during an arrest four years ago and that, among other things, his head was slammed into the door of a deputy's car.

The arrest happened in April 2019. A portion of the body cam video showing the door hitting Hopkin's head was released in 2021.

Hopkins appeared in court Tuesday. He's also suing Greenville County.

GCSO: Handcuffed man hit in head with patrol car door was not excessive force

More news: (Story continues after these links)

According to information learned in court, it all began after a series of 911 calls in which the caller hung up. Two deputies responded to a home near White Horse Road, not knowing why.

They found a woman pacing out front. She denied anything was wrong, but deputies learned she was arguing with Hopkins, who was the father of her child.

He came outside yelling that she had cheated on him and ran off. Deputies eventually apprehended him. But he and his legal team, led by Bakari Sellers, said deputies used a stun gun on him 10 times, punched him using handcuffs and slammed his head with the door of the patrol car.

"I'm going to answer this question now," Sellers said in opening arguments. "Some of you may ask the question — and it's human nature — why did Stephon Hopkins run? And I'll just tell you if you ask him today, he probably wishes he didn't. But I will tell you that that's pretty irrelevant to the way that they treated him."

The sheriff's office found no wrongdoing by the two deputies. They said Hopkins ran because he didn't want them to know about warrants for his arrest.

"You can see (the deputy's) hand closing the car door," said defense attorney Stephanie Burton. "He reaches to close the car door, thinking that Mr. Hopkins is back far enough to be out of the way. He's not." (The deputy) accidentally hits him with the car door, following which Mr. Hopkins starts screaming, 'Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. That's on camera. That's on camera. That's a lawsuit.'"

Hopkins was later charged with resisting arrest and hindering an officer. He served seven months in prison on those charges, according to his attorneys.

Day two of the civil trial resumes Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Dr. Billy Clowney had his eye on the building at 9661 Garners Ferry Road in Hopkins for quite a while.

Clowney, who worked for decades as an oncologist, lives in Lower Richland and would often drive by the building in Hopkins while he was on his way to work in Sumter. The facility had different uses through the years, including time as a furniture store.

“I live on Motley Road, and I drove by this for 30 years going to Sumter,” Clowney said. “I was going back and forth to Sumter and every time I passed this hill I thought, ‘There should be a restaurant in that place.’”

Now, what once was little more than a vision or aspiration for Clowney has become a reality, as he recently opened The Epicurean Table restaurant just off Garners Ferry Road, near the intersection with Horrell Hill Road. The restaurant is just west of Horrell Hill Elementary School.

It’s an establishment where Clowney, executive chef Everette Tucker and other staffers are looking to bring an elevated dining experience to rural Hopkins. The inside of the facility has been completely remodeled, with high-backed, cozy booths illuminated by chandeliers, along with an elegant bar and bold colors highlighting the tabletops and floors. A Christmas tree glowed on a stage during a recent visit by a reporter, and jazz played softly from the sound system as lunch diners filed in and out.

The menu at The Epicurean Table features diverse offerings, including shrimp & grits, rib-eye steaks, shrimp Alfredo, lamb, beef lasagna, chicken & waffles, grilled salmon, salads and much more. There are also vegetarian options, including an eggplant and lentils dish that features grilled eggplant with sauteed mushrooms on a bed of lentils, topped with a carrot ginger puree.

“Our inspiration was to bring something nice to Hopkins,” said Clowney, who is now retired from his oncology work. “There are a lot of people here in this area. Why should they have to drive all the way downtown to have a nice meal in a nice atmosphere?”

Tucker said Clowney has encouraged the kitchen staff to create a vibrant menu, one that offers lanes for culinary experimentation. He also said the restaurant strives to be a comfortable spot for local residents.

“It’s different,” Tucker said. “We don’t have TVs on the wall. You come in to eat, you come in to enjoy it with your family. ... It’s family oriented. What ‘epicurean’ means to me is consistent, luxurious tastes with wine and family and friends, communing together.”

The Epicurean Table opened about a month-and-a-half ago, and has been slowly tweaking its menu and making adjustments as it introduces itself to the community. Clowney said the response in Lower Richland has been encouraging.

“We have people come in and say they love the food, which makes me feel good,” Clowney said. “We’ve given people something very nice and very healthy. That, in itself, is the pleasure of it.”

Clowney said he hopes The Epicurean Table can serve as an inspiration that other businesses can make a go of it in Hopkins.

“This is just a start,” Clowney said. “This is a spark. ... I think people will realize they can stay here and have a good time and build and raise a community that is better than what we have.”

The Epicurean Table is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Monday.

This story was originally published December 13, 2023, 10:36 AM.

Chris Trainor is a retail reporter for The State and has been working for newspapers in South Carolina for more than 19 years, including previous stops at the (Greenwood) Index-Journal and the (Columbia) Free Times. He is the winner of numerous South Carolina Press Association awards, including honors in column writing, government beat reporting, profile writing, food writing, election coverage, social media and more.

FLORENCE – Fred Hopkins Jr.’s attempt to appeal a sentence of life in prison for his actions in a deadly 2018 ambush of Florence law enforcement has failed.

In October, Hopkins pleaded guilty to murdering two Florence law enforcement officers and shooting five others.

The appeal was his latest attempt to avoid serving time in prison. But in a November decision handed down by Judge Jan Holmes, his appeal was dismissed.

Hopkins, 79, had argued in a handwritten letter to the judge that he faced multiple judicial errors and a “breakdown in the entire judicial process” during his time in court.

Among them, he accused his own legal team of being ineffective and at times working against him. He said the judges presiding over the case were predisposed to side with the solicitor. He also alleged investigators made procedural errors from the beginning that should have made much of the evidence against him inadmissible.

But Holmes said the explanation failed to meet the standards for an appeal under South Carolina law.

It’s not the first time Hopkins has accused the judicial system of incompetence and corruption.

In a letter to The Post and Courier, he said the justice system was “riven with corruption,” depriving him of adequate opportunities to meet with his attorneys and obtain a speedy trial.

In an interview at the time, his lawyer, Boyd Young, said he was aware of Hopkins’ concerns and worked to address them.

Hopkins was convicted of ambushing law enforcement as they attempted to serve a warrant at his home in suburban Florence. The warrant was related to a sexual assault investigation into Hopkins’ son.

After years of back and forth, Hopkins abruptly pleaded guilty in October in a hastily arranged hearing. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death sentence.

At his sentencing hearing in October, victims and their family members excoriated Hopkins, at times furious and at times still grieving.

Sitting in a wheelchair in the courtroom, Hopkins did not speak.

When Hopkins filed the appeal, 12th District Solicitor Ed Clements, who prosecuted the case, said he was not worried that he would make any headway.

With the appeals court having dismissed his attempt, his last recourse would be post conviction relief, Clements said in October. Post conviction relief is applicable if a defendant can prove his lawyers were ineffective or prosecutorial misconduct occurred.

The pool is closed to the public and is now drained.

HOPKINS, S.C. — In March, the Richland County Recreational Commission closed the Hopkins Park Pool indefinitely due to safety concerns.

On Monday the commission discussed the latest on the pool, and residents aren't happy.

“How did we get this point of the pool being closed and not safe to swim in?” Darryl Davis, a long time Hopkins resident said

The county showed pictures of the current condition the pool is in.

“The Hopkins Park Pool is currently closed to the public. Currently giving you an update. We have drained the pool," a member said.

Pictures included a crack from the pool to the fence, cement separating from the foundation, and missing tiles.

The county discussed some options for moving forward and eventually re-open the pool. They’re now going to get some proposals to see what’s the best option.

Davis said the attended the meeting and isn’t happy with what he heard.

“They made a suggestion that can we replaster the pool to get the pool reopened and what not and was like but if we could have done that, why is the pool closed," Davis said.

Felecia Nazery attended the meeting as well.

“As a steward of what we have in the community, we should be bound by making sure what we have in place stays in place and it stays working and operable," Nazery said.

But she wasn’t satisfied with this response, so she asked Patrick Dimig, a pool builder to come to examine the pool. He said in his opinion the pool isn’t in complete disrepair.

“It looks to me that it could be renovated properly where it doesn’t need to be demolished and started over with. Things like the tile on the water line need to be replaced. There’s some cracking, the skimmers need to be changed out and then replastering the pool," Dimig said.

During the meeting, commissioners discussed the next steps for the pool including how to get the funding to make any necessary changes.

“We already determine they need the money for a new pool. Let's get the money to get them a new pool,” a member said.

The commission will now have to come up with the money to repair the pool or build a new one.

News 19 reached out to the Richland County Recreation Commission about this story on Tuesday but they declined to comment.