Home Care In Clover, SC

For more than 40 years, a water tank mural painted by Clover artist Todd Atkinson covered part of a building in the small downtown. He painted it as a young man out of Clover High School to help pay for college.

The name: “Water Tank.”

“It took me a couple of weeks,” Atkinson said. “I used a 26-foot extension ladder. Painted left to right until it was done.”

“Water Tank” had Atkinson’s name on it, too. Artists often sign their names, and the credit remains forever.

That name became the focal point of a federal lawsuit over visual artists’ rights, because Todd Atkinson’s name went missing.

Because in 2023, another artist from Florida created what Atkinson’s lawyers say was a substantially similar copy of the Water Tank. And he painted it right over Atkinson’s mural, then “obliterated” Atkinson’s name on the mural and replaced it with his own, the lawyers said.

Two years after lawyers for Atkinson filed a lawsuit on his behalf alleging a violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act, a federal judge has said the actions of Chan Shepherd in taking off the name were a violation of federal law, and issued Atkinson a judgment against Shepherd of $158,400.

$8,400 was for copyright infringement, the court order shows.

The $150,000 default judgment is the maximum damages allowed under a rarely used federal law protecting artists and their names who can show the work was theirs.

U.S. District Court Judge Sherri Lydon wrote in her ruling earlier this month: “Chan Shepherd painted over Water Tank, substantially replicating the mural but replacing Atkinson’s name with his own.”

Lydon issued the default judgment because Shepherd did not respond to the lawsuit filed in 2024, court records show. Atkinson’s lawyers served him with an initial summons about the lawsuit after it was filed, and again he did not respond to a second summons after Lydon issued an order of default judgment last year, court records show.

Clover and the mural

The Town of Clover, in western York County with around 7,000 people, is 20 miles northwest of Rock Hill and 25 miles southwest of Charlotte. It became a town in 1887. Clover got its name, according to the lawsuit and lore, from a clover patch that grew around the water tank that once was used to fortify steam engines on the railroad that passed through.

Atkinson, who still lives in Clover, said when one of his kids told him a few years ago somebody was painting his mural on a building on North Main Street, he was a little miffed.

“I said, ‘Now wait a minute, they’ve taken my name off of it,’ ”Atkinson said.

Atkinson later filed the civil suit.

“Todd Atkinson is just a guy who wanted to do the right thing,” said his lawyer, Samuel Alexander “Alex” Long Jr. of Charlotte’s Shumaker law firm. “This is a case about principle, not money.”

Federal law: Artists have rights

The 1990 federal law states visual artists have rights over their works, Long said.

The ruling relied in part on expert analysis evaluating the destruction of the original mural and the similarities between the original and copied work, a statement from the law firm said. Another lawyer in the firm, the late Moses Luski, an art collector and philanthropist, helped identify the art expert who submitted a report to Judge Lydon about the water tank mural.

“This case underscores the enduring importance of protecting artists’ rights, which include not only their economic interests, but their identity, authorship, and legacy,” Long’s firm said in a statement.

In her ruling, Lydon said she agreed with Atkinson and his lawyers that the case calls for “strong deterrence of willful abuses” of the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act.

Lydon agreed with Atkinson’s lawyers that Shepherd “willfully destroyed a work of art authored by a fellow artist” and then “did not deign to appear and defend himself...” the order said.

Shepherd could not be reached for comment at several phone numbers listed in public records.

What happens now?

The lawsuit is over, Long said. The judgment ends the case. There will be no trial.

And the “Water Tank” can’t be seen anymore either, Long said. It’s been dismantled.

But the ruling and principle remain, according to Long and Atkinson. It remains unclear when, or if, Atkinson will see any of the money from the judgment.

CLOVER, S.C. (WBTV) - Parents of students in South Carolina schools are being asked to watch their kids carefully for signs and symptoms of the measles as the outbreak continues.

Since the measles outbreak started in 2025, C Schools are telling anyone who’s feeling unwell to stay home.

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The Clover School District hasn’t had a case of measles, but it is close to areas affected by the outbreak and they want to make sure families are prepared.

“The settings of potential public exposures other than schools that have been newly identified in the last week include churches, restaurants, businesses, and many healthcare settings,” said the state’s epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell.

During its latest update, South Carolina’s Department of Public Health and Dr. Bell shared that 124 new cases have been reported in the state since Friday.

School districts are continuing to keep students and staff informed on how to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease.

“First of all, I’d like to say we have not had any cases yet here in Clover School District. And we do follow the South Carolina immunization laws,” said Clover School District lead nurse Jessica Faulkner.

Faulkner explained that in South Carolina, students are required to get a number of vaccines before being admitted to schools -- including, “The DTaP, polio, MMR, varicella, hepatitis A, hepatitis B,” Faulkner said.

She said the school district has a 93.6% immunization rate. According to the South Carolina Department of Health the number of students with required immunizations has been trending down.

Medical exemptions have increased overall and so have religious exemptions.

“If the family has an exposure, and they have a student who is or has a positive case in the home, the family would be excluded as well if they are not immunized,” Faulkner said.

Faulkner said they are continuing to monitor numbers in this outbreak and follow state department guidelines. She said the district wants families to be aware of symptoms and risks.

“It is close and if you’re not immunized, you could possibly come down with measles,” Faulkner said.

Clover, SC — Shumaker has achieved a federal victory for artistic integrity, with a judge awarding a Clover, S.C. artist $158,400, including maximum Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) damages, in a case reaffirming the power of artists' moral rights.

Shumaker represented artist Todd Atkinson, whose mural Water Tank, which was commissioned in 1982 for a building in Clover, S.C., was painted over and destroyed by another artist. The defendant, Chan Shepherd, replaced Atkinson's original mural with a nearly identical copy, but removed Atkinson's name and substituted his own, erasing the original artist's attribution.

(Top image shows Atkinson's original mural; the bottom shows the version painted over it by Shepherd)

In a January 6, 2026 order, U.S. District Judge Sherri A. Lydon found Shepherd liable for copyright infringement and violations under VARA, concluding that the conduct was willful.

The court emphasized that VARA protects an artist's moral rights of integrity and attribution, which are distinct from copyright ownership and do not require registration.

Although VARA has been in effect since 1990, only a small number of cases have been brought under the statute, and even fewer have resulted in damages awards, particularly maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per work.

The court awarded:

"This case underscores the enduring importance of protecting artists' rights, which include not only their economic interests, but their identity, authorship, and legacy," said Shumaker Partner Alex Long.

In awarding the maximum statutory damages, the court agreed that a significant penalty was necessary to deter future violations of VARA, particularly where one artist intentionally destroys and misattributes the work of another.

The ruling relied in part on expert analysis evaluating the destruction of the original mural and the similarities between the original and copied work. The firm credited its late partner, Moses Luski, who passed away in May 2025, with helping identify the art expert whose report was instrumental to the damages finding. Luski and his family were avid art collectors, philanthropists and supporters of artists' rights.

Shumaker attorney Spencer Mead assisted with the case.

The case is Atkinson v. Shepherd, 0:24-cv-01545-SAL (D.S.C. 2024)

ROCK HILL — Whether you like it hot or cold, coffee is a steaming business across the Rock Hill area.

It’s strong enough that Visit York County, which promotes area businesses and tourism, developed a Coffee Trail promotion featuring 16 locally owned shops. If java enthusiasts visit at least 10 in a year by checking into an app on their smart phones they get an exclusive York County coffee mug.

Off the trail, coffee lovers will have several new options in 2026 as private business owners and chains open more shops.

“Coffee is trending, but I chose to expand just because I have a lot of support locally,” said Briana Harris, owner of the Parkin’ Latte coffee trucks in Clover. “And a lot of them aren’t just coming in from Clover.”

Throughout her three years in business in York County, Harris has expended to two trucks and expects to open storefront locations in Clover and nearby Blacksburg in Cherokee County.

“We were pleasantly surprised how Clover took the idea of a coffee truck,” she said. “I started mobile because I figured if it didn't work out here I would just take it to the next city over. But Clover took it very well. I stay very busy. I have a lot of regulars.”

With Parkin’ Latte listed as a York County Coffee Trail participant, Harris said she’s seeing even more business at her trailer window. Her primary location is the parking lot of Boyd’s Tire and Automotive on North Main Street. Her second trailer goes to weekend events.

Parkin’ Latte is the only food truck on the York County Coffee Trail list, which launched in November. The rest are brick-and-mortar shops, including a few that opened in 2025, such as Flora Coffee on Cherry Road near Winthrop University and Techno Café, located next to the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

The expansion of coffee shops in York County has been happening in spite of the operating expense increase that came in 2025 from tariffs on imported coffee beans.

Harris said she was facing a 30-percent cost increase for beans due to tariffs and switched to a different brand.

“We went bean-hopping” to find a suitable substitute, she said. “We could tell the difference a little bit, but for the most part most of my customers couldn't tell the difference.”

For drinkers going off the trail, 2026 could start busy. PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, which opened its Fort Mill location in September, is holding its grand opening celebration on Jan. 10.

Scooter’s Coffee, which has a few locations throughout the county, will also host its grand opening on Jan. 16 at its new shop at 4971 Old York Road.

Other chains that have announced expansions into York County include Haraz Coffee House, a Yemini coffee shop with several locations in Charlotte, opening in Fort Mill; Ellianos Coffee, a Florida-based company, opening in Clover; and Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, which announced it will set up shop at The Thread near downtown Rock Hill.

YORK COUNTY — Students at a South Carolina high school are making the news for their whole community.

Coffee stays ready and all the teens have media credentials in Kelly Clark’s first period class at Clover High School.

The young reporters don’t look up from their laptops as a deadline for The Roaring Eagle’s next edition hangs over the room. Software struggles have tensions high. Changes that should’ve saved are nowhere to be found. Making the grade means getting this paper to print, and the students won't fail.

“It’s their paper,” said Clark, the publication’s faculty advisor.

The Roaring Eagle publishes monthly to an audience of hundreds across the towns of Clover and Lake Wylie in the northern-most part of York County.

These journalists want to make one thing clear — this isn’t your typical school newspaper.

“It is more of a working environment, rather than a student,” said Lily Wallace, a senior and the paper’s managing editor. “You're not doing just assignments. You have people outside of this classroom to contact, you have a process to follow, you have a deadline. I would say that it gets you more ready than other classes in a school building for the work world.”

The 10-teen news team fills a void, serving as the local voice on town fee increases, school district changes and the area’s restaurant scene.

A push from the River Hills/Lake Wylie Lions Club made the paper possible in 2023. Sensing a need for local journalism, the philanthropic group supported the school district in jumpstarting the newspaper.

Clark, a former college professor turned English teacher, took charge, recruiting a newsroom of students and putting ink to paper.

“We have grandiose ideas, so it quickly went from a four-page, like, ‘Let's get something out,’ to a 12-to-24-page edition every month,” Clark said.

The Roaring Eagle has churned out 25 issues with multiple rebrands since first hitting print. The paper earned a Medallion Award, the South Carolina Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association’s highest honor, in its first year.

In the digital age, the Gen Z students get handheld bylines. Copies of the magazine-style newspaper are shared around town, along with an online edition that’s sent to an email subscriber list of more than 500.

The young staff said their writing leads to notoriety.

“It's a learning experience, and then when I'm working, people are like, ‘Oh, do you write the newspaper?’ I'm like, ‘Yes!” said Kaya Spencer, a senior in her third year with the paper. “It’s good to be recognized.”

Several of the students will soon be nationally published as a series of articles from the teens is expected to be included in the Horseless Carriage Gazette, a magazine for antique automobile enthusiasts.

Spencer dreams of writing a book. The paper has fueled her ambition as she publishes articles to the local community.

“I feel like I can do more,” she said. “This is just a little thing and I can go way higher.”

Most of these high schoolers don’t have Woodward and Bernstein dreams, so the class focuses on skills that will have relevance in any field.

Students are pushed out of their comfort zone interviewing influential strangers. Others said they’ve learned people management, professional communication and marketing, while building a resume of writing experience.

Sophomore Piper Haycock said reporting scratches her itch for internet sleuthing. She takes pride in the stories where she’s found answers to the unknown in her community.

“I did so much digging, I went through this whole rabbit hole, and it's very fun for me,” Haycock said. “I (now) know it's happening and I would have never known any of this if I hadn't taken the class.”

The students fit their work into a 90-minute class period each day. Operating on the school calendar can lead to quick turnarounds, leaving the teens to take their work home on weekends.

The biggest challenge they face is being taken seriously. The staff said sources often won’t return the calls of the high school journalists thinking they’re just a newsletter or school paper.

“They don’t really know us, so we kind of get put off,” Wallace said.

Ahead of a vote on local impact fees, the student journalists requested interviews with York County Council representatives — only three have replied. Undaunted, they continue to expand coverage across the community.

“We're trying to incorporate both Clover and Lake Wylie communities, not only schools,” Wallace said. “We want to bring those two together.”

More students are joining the class next semester, making it the biggest news team they’ve had yet.

Next year, the newsroom is expected to grow even more as the Clover School District opens Lake Wylie High School. Clark said plans call for students from the new school to join The Roaring Eagle staff.

As the paper evolves, Clark dreams of publishing more frequently, getting articles online quicker than the current monthly format allows.

The students believe their work is already more than others might think.

“It's everything a journalism job would be, plus being a teenager in high school,” Haycock said.