CoolSculpting in Aiken, SC

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - South Carolina’s State Senate is considering legislation that could give local governments more control over their own futures — the power to decide how fast they grow, or to pump the brakes if infrastructure can’t keep pace.

For places like Aiken County, it’s a question that hits close to home.

As new developments sprout up across the region, officials are wrestling with a fundamental tension: How do you welcome growth while protecting what makes your community special?

The reality of growth

Development is booming throughout Aiken County.

New subdivisions, commercial projects and residential communities are transforming the landscape. But there’s a problem lurking beneath the cranes and construction signs: the infrastructure needed to support all this growth is struggling to keep up.

“Certainly everyone realizes, including city council, we don’t have an infinite amount of water or sewer capacity to provide for development,” says Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh.

It’s a sobering reality that extends beyond water and sewers. Roads, traffic patterns, emergency services — all the invisible infrastructure that keeps a community functioning — face mounting pressure as new residents arrive.

The voices of caution

On the North Augusta City Council, Dennis Briatico is thinking about consequences that haven’t arrived yet.

“You’re not going to see the effects of all the development you allow until it’s here,” he explains. “Do we really know what our roads and streets are going to look like? Do we really know what all that growth is going to do on our water system until it happens?”

It’s a question that captures a fundamental challenge of growth management: by the time you see the problem, it may be too late to fix it affordably.

Legislative solution takes shape

The proposed bill would give communities like Aiken the explicit power to slow or halt development until infrastructure catches up — a tool many local leaders see as essential.

“I think this gives us further power to work towards that happy medium,” Briatico says. “It lets us hold up and take a minute and look at things before we grant any more new developments.”

Bedenbaugh agrees that state support matters.

“I’m pleased the legislature is showing this foresight,” he says. “We need to be accommodating where possible, but also keep what makes South Carolina and specifically Aiken special and why it’s an attractive place to live.”

What the people want

Talk to residents in Aiken County, and a clear message emerges: slow down.

“The feel I get from most of my constituents is we’re good where we’re at,” Briatico notes. “We want to keep the things that make this place special.”

But there’s also an honest acknowledgment of uncertainty.

“Right now, we don’t think we know where we are with our infrastructure,” he admits.

The good news? Aiken County isn’t sitting idle.

Several major infrastructure projects are underway to bolster capacity:

These investments signal that local leaders are taking the infrastructure challenge seriously — even as they debate how much new development the region can responsibly accommodate.

Finding the balance

The question facing Aiken County, and communities like it across South Carolina, isn’t whether to grow. It’s how to grow in a way that preserves quality of life while ensuring that roads are safe, water is reliable and schools and services aren’t overwhelmed.

The state bill pending in the legislature could be a crucial tool for striking that balance. But the real work happens at the local level, where officials like Bedenbaugh and Briatico are trying to chart a course between growth and preservation.

For now, the conversation continues. And infrastructure projects advance. Because whatever South Carolina decides about development, one thing is clear: the future of Aiken County depends on getting this balance right.

AIKEN — The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for portions of east central Georgia and central South Carolina that will remain in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, to 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26.

Significant icing is expected with total sleet accumulations up to one-half inch and ice accumulations between two tenths and three tenths of an inch.

The NWS shared in a Jan. 24 weather statement that roads, especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous.

Several events have already been postponed because of the approaching storm.

Power outages and tree damage are also likely due to ice.

Travel could be nearly impossible, and hazardous conditions could impact abilities to travel on Monday morning.

Although travel is strongly discouraged, the NWS shared that the latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 511. If traveling, it’s recommended to carry a flashlight, food and water in your vehicle.

The current forecast shows that the rest of Saturday afternoon in Aiken will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature near 47 degrees.

Tonight, there’s a chance of rain before 10 p.m., followed by rain or freezing rain likely between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Freezing rain is expected to follow after 11 p.m. Low temperatures around 28 degrees are expected with a 70% chance of precipitation. Ice accumulation of around 0.1 of an inch is possible.

On Sunday, freezing rain is likely before noon, followed by a chance of rain. There will be a 70% chance of precipitation and ice accumulation of less than 0.1 of an inch is possible.

Sunday night will bring rain before 1 a.m. with low temperatures around 33 degrees and a 100% chance of precipitation.

Monday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high temperature near 44 degrees.

The Aiken County Emergency Operations Center moved to OPCON 1, or full alert, at noon Saturday. This means that the center is activated, partially staffed and will now be manned 24/7.

The center is actively monitoring the weather and lining up resources to support its partner agencies.

For citizens, this means that local media including TV, radio, social media and weather radios should be monitored, cell phones should be charged and emergency kits are ready.

Aiken County Government has a free emergency notification system, CodeRed, which can be signed up for here.

The city of Aiken shared a storm update on Jan. 23 with information for reporting downed power lines.

South Carolina Dominion Energy customers should call (888) 333-4465 to report downed lines; For Aiken Electric Cooperative outages, the most efficient way to report them is by calling or texting “OUT” to (877) 246-5368.

The following are a list of phone numbers that can be called during the storm provided by the City of Aiken:

Emergency Calls – 911

Non-Emergency Calls – County: 803-642-1761

Non-Emergency Calls – City: 803-642-7620

Aiken County Department of Emergency Management: 803-642-1623

Careline (Medical Needs): 855-472-3432

Mobile Crisis Unit (Mental Health): 833-364-2274

AIKEN — The University of South Carolina Aiken and the South Carolina National Guard signed a Memorandum of Understanding Feb. 6 memorializing a partnership centered on two facilities being constructed on campus where soldiers and students will be on the front lines of cyber security defense and training.

The $31.8 million, 43,000 square foot S.C. National Guard Cyber Integration Center will be built on the USC Aiken campus next to the Savannah River National Laboratory’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative. A $13 million, 24,000 square foot S.C. National Guard Readiness Center will be on campus near the Convocation Center. Groundbreaking for the centers took place last spring.

Both facilities will have shared spaces for collaboration, workforce development, education and prototyping.

USCA Chancellor Dan Heimmermann said the centers “will mark a major milestone in the region's commitment to cyber defense and workforce development” and comprise the largest investment by the S.C. National Guard since World War II.

“This agreement will actuate the mission of the Guard Cyber integration and writing centers by supporting cyber defense and training of the next generation of cyber professionals at the university and in the guard,” he said.

“Today's signing is the culmination of more than a dozen years of hard work that resulted in bringing these facilities to Aiken,” Heimmermann said, sharing credit with his predecessor, Sandra Jordan.

The signing took place near the close of the CSRA Cyber & Innovation Exchange, a two-day event on the USCA campus bringing together leaders in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, defense, energy and workforce development for panels and discussions about regional and national cybersecurity threats, critical infrastructure protection, AI integration, defense and energy sector resilience and workforce development.

“This MOU will solidify our partnership and our commitment to technological advancement and human advancement for decades to come, and not only in Aiken, and not only in South Carolina, but in the entire United States of America,” said Maj. Gen. Robin B. Stilwell, Adjutant General of the South Carolina National Guard. “I think the work that will be done here will be just that important, and I'm excited to see the results that emanate from this project.”

S.C. Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, said locating the centers on the USCA campus “is a tribute to the efforts of the university, the City of Aiken, the City of North Augusta and Aiken County and our region.”

He said it is the “culmination of years of work” and “the commitment that we have to workforce development and growth.”

“The USCA Cyber Education Center, recognized by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in cyber defense, will couple with the South Carolina National Guard Cyber Integration Center and make USCA graduates the highly valued cyber professionals that we want them to be,” Young said.

Graduates “will be sought after by the Department of War, the Department of Energy, and companies in our region who work closely with these and other governmental agencies,” he said.

“We also will work together to make sure that we can collaborate and find ways to institute artificial intelligence into this facility, into this university, and the missions that we're supporting here at this time and in the future,” Young said.

S.C. Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, the event’s closing keynote speaker, described the state’s efforts to produce graduates “prepared to accept the challenges that our workforce of the future is going to give them.”

She highlighted the South Carolina Workforce and Industrial Needs Scholarship, or SC WINS, which provides up to $5,000 per year to students at the state’s technical colleges.

“The SC WINS program is invaluable,” Evette said. “It focuses on careers that we know we're going to be deficient in in the upcoming years.”

“I'm proud to tell you that as of today, we have educated 121,000 South Carolinians,” she said.

“The workforce of tomorrow is just half the battle,” Evette said. “The other half is making sure we have the energy to get there, because the careers of tomorrow are going to require a lot of energy.”

“Energy is the key to growth,” she said.

“Last year, when the General Assembly passed our energy bill, leading the way for VC Summer to once again be resurrected, it was a winning day for South Carolina,” Evette said, referencing a nuclear reactor construction project that was cancelled and is now being restarted.

“And the good news is, in six short years, we should start seeing energy production from those reactors. Again, that is just the first phase. There's a possibility of two more, and maybe even four more, which would be a game changer for our state,” she said.

AIKEN — The snow is over, but the bitter cold remains.

According to meteorologist Chris Landolfi out of the National Weather Service’s Columbia forecast office, Aiken County generally received around 2-3 inches of snow from Winter Storm Gianna, with some portions receiving slightly less than two inches.

Landolfi said that temperatures on the night of Jan. 31 dropped into the mid-teens with low wind chills and that the night of Feb. 1 were expected to be “similarly cold although the wind is expected to weaken.”

Several power outages were reported in Aiken County, but most were resolved by early afternoon Feb. 1. The Aiken Electric Cooperative Outage Map reports two outages as of 2 p.m. Dominion Energy reports no outages in Aiken County as of 2 p.m.

Many government facilities were closed over the weekend and have altered their hours for Monday, Feb. 2.

The Aiken County Public School District has announced that Monday, Feb. 2 will be an e-learning day and a decision regarding Tuesday’s instruction will be announced no later than 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.

The Edgefield County School District is transitioning to e-learning on Monday as well and non-virtual afterschool activities are being canceled.

Edgefield County Schools will provide an update regarding instruction on Tuesday no later than 4 p.m. on Feb. 2.

USC Aiken plans to resume normal operations on Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. All classes prior to 1 p.m. are canceled.

Aiken Technical College will have a delayed start on Monday. Campus operations and classes will resume at 1 p.m.

Aiken County Government public facilities, residential collection centers and landfills will also have a delayed start on Monday at 1 p.m.

The City of Aiken will operate on a delayed opening schedule on Monday, Feb. 2. All city public offices and facilities will open at 10 a.m. and close at the facility’s normal schedule time. Solid waste routes will operate on their normal schedule Monday, Feb. 2.

All North Augusta city facilities were closed on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 and have not yet announced a delayed start time for facilities on Monday, Feb. 2.

Although sunny conditions on Feb. 1 and high temperatures in the 30s melted most of Saturday’s snow, Landolfi says there is still concern about icy spots on the road for morning travel.

He noted that travel could continue to be hazardous, “especially on secondary roads.”

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office urged caution during travel: Bridges, overpasses, and shaded roadways may become slick with little to no warning, the sheriff's office said in a social media post.

Also, they urged motorists to stay off the road and delay travel until conditions improve.

If you must drive, the post continued, reduce speed, increase following distance and avoid sudden braking or sharp turns.