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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials with the city of Charleston and Charleston County have announced a plan to address traffic concerns on Johns Island.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the plan is the result of collaboration between the city of Charleston and Charleston County and will tackle traffic flow problems at the intersection of Maybank Highway and River Road, portions of Maybank Highway and the northern and southern Pitchforks, Tecklenburg said.

“Traffic congestion has been a huge issue coming and going on Johns Island,” he said. “And it was accentuated when that traffic light got added down the street. And everyone came to the realization that we needed to go back and rethink what got done six or seven years ago, what’s been done since then and what can we do collectively and collaboratively to make it better and make improvements.”

The city and county laid out the main points of the plan:

“Pitchforks” means two new roads that will branch off of Maybank towards River.

“The current cost estimate sits somewhere between $25 and $30 million to do all of this,” Charleston County Councilmember Joe Boykin said.

Tecklenburg said the money will come from future sales tax and Department of Transportation funding and once permitted, will apply for federal funding.

The full construction funding will have to be identified and approved by both city and county councils, according to Tecklenburg.

The first goal for short-term, interim improvements to Maybank Highway are expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2024, Tecklenburg said.

Robby Lingenfelter who works on Johns Island said he’s hopeful about the project but still frustrated.

“They say that the northern pitchfork will be completed by the first quarter of 2024, that’s good,” he said. “Southern pitchfork they said will take years, so we’re still five to ten years from alleviating the issues we have now.”

He said the city and county have been meeting since June to address the traffic issues on Johns Island.

“It’s going to happen. We are committed to making that happen,” Tecklenburg said.

Some locals question the mayor’s timing.

“Hearing this press conference that is happening five days before an election, can’t help but notice that a lot of this was conceptual and funding for a lot of this isn’t even secured,” Logan Mcvey said. “So, this seems like more talk and a lot more traffic just sitting and waiting on stuff to happen.”

Tecklenburg’s response was that they needed enough vetting through engineers and design teams before the plans could be presented.

Charleston County Council member Jenny Huneycutt, Charleston City Council member Karl Brady and the city’s planning and traffic directors also attended the news conference.

WATCH THE CHARLESTON LEADERS ANNOUNCE THE JOHNS ISLAND TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN BELOW

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The residents of James Island are now seeing and hearing coyotes throughout their community following a rise in coyote interactions on Sullivans Island last month.

“Obviously, they’re here in our neighborhood, and we all need to be vigilant,” Lighthouse Point Neighborhood Association President Brook Lyon says.

Those who live in the Lighthouse Point community on James Island say they have recently seen and heard coyotes sometimes in broad daylight or in their backyards.

“I’ve had several reports over the last few weeks of people actually seeing the coyotes,” Lyon adds. “One last week was seen going across Schooner Road in broad daylight. Another photo was taken in the backyard of someone who has a chicken coop, and there’s live chickens there, which could be a potential food source for coyotes.”

Photos recorded on home security cameras show the coyotes on the island, concerning the community about their personal safety and their pets’ lives.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Department says there is one reported incident with coyotes on James Island back in June.

Sullivans Island also reported five coyote attacks involving dogs in August, making the community on James Island even more worried.

“We are one town, one island, and we don’t want animals to start getting snatched or people getting attacked, like what has happened in other areas,” Lyon says.

Lyon and James Island Town Councilmember Troy Mullinax says they reached out to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and was told there was no program to help them with coyotes in the neighborhood.

“My next step is to contact Governor McMaster because it’s a natural resource issue, and at this time, the town does not have any wildlife management people,” Lyon says.

“DNR does not have anything in place,” Mullinax adds. “This is something we’re going to address at our upcoming meeting this Thursday, and just let people know that there’s something we’re working on.”

To keep the coyotes out of your neighborhood, they recommend not feeding the wildlife or keeping any potential food source outside for them to find.

If you run into a coyote, you’re advised to react loudly, throw small sticks or cans or spray the animal with water.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD)- It has been 35 days since Jennifer Drummond was found severely injured along a James Island road.

Friends and family are still searching for answers in what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

The family, joined by their attorney, held a press conference Wednesday morning with new details they hope will bring them closer to finding the person responsible.

The Drumond family, fatigued, after over a month of not knowing exactly what happened to Jenn.

“We don’t sleep at night, wondering if someone texted with a lead,” Jenn’s uncle, Chris Drummond said.

However, they’re not letting up.

Drummond said, “You just can’t hit somebody in the roadway and drive off, and someone not know something.”

Searching everywhere they know of for answers to what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, their attorney Scott Bischoff, gave new information on her movements that morning.

“Based on information on Jenn’s phone, her step count that was also connected to her apple watch, we believe that she left her house around 5:17 and her step count stops at 5:18, just before 5:19,” Bischoff said.

According to surveillance video there were three cars that drove down Woodland Shores Road around the time of the incident, but new video shows the car believed to be the one that hit Jenn.

“We believe the primary suspect vehicle is vehicle number 3, that appears to be a relatively modern SUV with a sunroof and 5 lights,” Bischoff said.

As far as Jenn’s condition, family members say she is making progress.

They say she got up and walked yesterday, but she’s still very slow to answer questions and there’s still a long way to go.

At this point they’re just doing whatever they can to bring justice to Jenn.

“On top of a really awful injury that she suffered, our mind is also thinking who did this, when will answers surface, will answers surface. It’s something that weighs on our mind constantly,” Jenn’s best friend, Audrey Marhoefer said.

There is a $10,000 reward for information about the incident of you have any information about this incident, call the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

This was supposed to be the first real test of the regular season for James Island.

The AAAA Trojans had rolled through their first four games, allowing just one touchdown, heading into Friday night’s game against Class AAAAA Cane Bay.

But James Island had never beaten Cane Bay in six previous tries, including a heart-breaking 3-point loss a year ago when the Cobras kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.

The Cobras (2-2) were coming off an open date and had two weeks to prepare for the Trojans.

But this one wasn’t even close as James Maxwell scored two touchdowns to lead fifth-ranked Trojans past Cane Bay, 28-7, on Sept. 15 before a crowd of more than 2,000 at The Backyard on the campus of James Island.

It wasn’t a perfect game or even a pretty one; the Trojans turned the ball over four times and had more than 100 yards in penalties. But James Island won the physical battle up front.

“We knew this was going to be a smashmouth football game,” said James Island coach Jamar McKoy. “We made way too many mistakes, but we found a way to step up and made some great plays when there needed to be great plays made and won a big ballgame.”

James Island’s defense smothered Cane Bay’s option offense, limiting the Cobras to less than 200 yards of total offense and one TD.

“It was a very physical football game,” said Cane Bay coach Russell Zehr. “They showed up to play that kind of game and we didn’t. At times they were much more physical than we were and that’s disappointing because we pride ourselves on being a physical team and were not tonight.”

After a short punt by the Cobras, James Island grabbed a 7-0 lead on Maxwell’s 8-yard TD run early in the second quarter.

Maxwell appeared to be caught in the Trojans’ backfield on the handoff, but brushed off the initial hit, and then ran over the next two tacklers on his way into the end zone.

The Trojans pushed their advantage to 14-0 on Maxwell’s second TD of the first half, this one coming from a yard out with 2:41 left before halftime.

Any local high school football fan that loves offense would have enjoyed Friday night’s Class AAAA second-round playoff game between visiting Hartsville and unbeaten James Island.

Touchdowns and yards were piled up by both teams, but James Island had a bit more offense in the tank. The Trojans scored on five straight first-half possessions and improved to 12-0 with a 45-21 win.

James Island ventures into the third round next week and will host an undefeated Irmo High team.

James Island’s defense gave up yards but had two fourth-down stops, one early in the first quarter and another in the third quarter. Hartsville came into the game averaging better than 300 yards rushing per game, but it was James Island’s run game that dictated the outcome. The Trojans rushed for nearly 350 yards in the game.

“When we see something working early, we stick with it and we were having a lot of success running the ball,” James Island head coach Jamar McKoy said. “The O-line did a great job tonight. Backs ran hard, physical. It was a really good performance overall, but now it’s on to the next one.

“We’re the underdogs. A lot of people thought we would lose tonight,” McKoy said. “We just keep playing for as long as we can. We expect another challenge next week.”

In a wild first half that saw eight touchdowns and nearly 700 total yards between the two teams, the Trojans took a 35-21 halftime lead. The Trojans scored on five plays on their first possession with Amontrae Scott capping a 66-yard drive with a three-yard run.

After stopping Hartsville on downs, the Trojans went 61 yards on five plays and Tank Scott scoring on a 14-yard run for a 14-0 lead.

Hartsville answered on two plays, getting a 79-yard screen pass that Hakeem Watters took 79 yards for a score.

James Island needed seven plays to score a third first-quarter touchdown, but also needed some luck. A fumble on the Hartsville 1-yard line bounced into the hands of receiver Wushi Ravenel, who broke a tackle and fell into the end zone for a touchdown.

On the first play of the second quarter, Watters went 49 yards for a touchdown, cutting the James Island lead to 21-14. But the Trojans had yet another answer, using nine plays to go 70 yards with Amontrae Scott scoring on a 14-yard run.

Hartsville went 80 yards on eight plays with Carmello McDaniel pushing in from the 2-yard line to make it 28-21 Trojans.

Just before halftime. James Island scored again. A 45-yard pass from Braxton Scott to Ravenel set up Tank Scott’s 3-yard run for a 35-21 halftime lead.

James Island finished the first half with 360 total yards, while Hartsville totaled 311 yards.

“Hartsville has a high-powered offense so it’s hard to expect to shut them down completely,” McKoy said. “We challenged the defense at halftime and they responded. No points in the second half. Proud of those guys.”

James Island opened the third quarter with a fourth-down stop of Hartsville near midfield. Facing a third-and-20 from its own 44, James Island’s Braxton Scott, under pressure, found Jaden Singleton near the sideline. Singleton turned on the jets and beat the defense to the end zone for a 42-21 lead.

The Trojans threatened to score another touchdown late in the third but settled for a Gray Dangerfield 20-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 45-21.

In other games:

• Oceanside Collegiate rolled past Woodland, 49-0, in Class AA as Tanner Swisher and Aiden Manivian each threw two TD passes, and Gavin Gaspar caught three scores ... Yannick Smith caught two touchdown passes and threw for another as No. 1 Summerville ousted Berkeley by 34-14 in Class AAAAA.

• Fort Dorchester, Stratford and West Ashley were all eliminated in AAAAA. Fort Dorchester went down 50-7 to White Knoll, Carolina Forest beat West Ashley by 28-21 and Sumter took out Stratford 27-6 ... In Class AAA, Gilbert raced by Hanahan by a score of 49-35, and Crestwood knocked off Philip Simmons by 34-14 ... And in Class AAAA, Lancaster ousted Lucy Beckham by 38-20.

• In Class A, Cross remained alive with a 28-18 win over Allendale-Fairfax ... In SCISA, Laurence Manning took out Porter-Gaud by 48-20; Patrick Henry eliminated Dorchester Academy by 17-13.

PREP FOOTBALL

SCHSL Playoffs

Second Round

Lower State

Class A

Bamberg-Ehrhardt 41, East Clarendon 13

Cross 28, Allendale-Fairfax 18

Johnsonville 35, Lake View 14

Lamar 23, Carvers Bay 20

Class AA

Andrew Jackson 51, Kingstree 20

Barnwell 31, Marion 25

Hampton County 48, Andrews 14

Oceanside Collegiate Academy 49, Woodland 0

Class AAA

Brookland-Cayce 34, Philip Simmons 14

Camden 35, Dillon 21

Crestwood 44, Beaufort 0

Gilbert 49, Hanahan 35

Class AAAA

Irmo 55, Myrtle Beach 24

James Island 45, Hartsville 21

Lancaster 38, Lucy G. Beckham 20

Class AAAAA

Carolina Forest 28, West Ashley 21

Summerville 34, Berkeley 14

Sumter 27, Stratford 6

White Knoll 50, Fort Dorchester 7

Upper State

Class A

Blackville-Hilda 28, Wagener-Salley 0

Christ Church Episcopal 43, McBee 21

Southside Christian 21, Calhoun County 7

St. Joseph 7, Lewisville 0

Class AA

Abbeville 41, Newberry 28

Gray Collegiate Academy 62, Chesnee 14

Silver Bluff 22, Fairfield Central 21

Class AAA

Belton-Honea Path 44, Pendleton 28

Chester 58, Chapman 24

Clinton 38, Broome 7

D.W. Daniel 35, Wren 21

Class AAAA

Greenville 24, Greer 21

Midland Valley 24, South Pointe 17

Northwestern 55, Greenwood 7

Westside 49, York Comprehensive 13

Class AAAAA

Dutch Fork 31, T.L. Hanna 28

Gaffney 24, Clover 12

J.L. Mann 17, Spartanburg 7

SCISA Playoffs

Semifinal

Class A

Patrick Henry Academy 17, Dorchester Academy 13

Robert E. Lee Academy 35, Thomas Heyward Academy 19

Class AA

Bethesda Academy, Ga. 32, Northside Christian 6

Williamsburg Academy 41, Beaufort Academy 6

Class AAA

Wilson Hall 21, Florence Christian 7

Class AAAA

Laurence Manning Academy 48, Porter-Gaud 20