Mortgage Broker in Orangeburg, SC

The change was made because of the potential for hazardous weather on Friday.

The National Weather Service says showers are likely Friday, with a chance of thunderstorms. An isolated severe storm will be possible Friday afternoon.

Candy and costumes are all part of a fun-filled Halloween, but safety remains a priority for local law enforcement agencies working to keep the holiday from becoming a real scare.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office officials are hoping to keep all children – and adults – safe on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

ODPS Chief Charles Austin said providing extra patrols across the city is among the ways his office is promoting safety.

“As a result of heightened concerns for children, we will have extra patrol units through the city with their cruising lights on,” Austin said.

“Costumes with reflectors add significant value, especially after dark,” he said.

The chief also encourages parents to limit trick-or-treating to familiar areas.

“Organized events at schools or churches are usually safest. Children should not accept items from individuals who are unknown to them,” Austin said.

He continued, “Parents should supervise the opening of candy, and any that is unsealed should be discarded. Trick-or-treating is encouraged prior to dark. By 7:30 (p.m.), it should be over.”

Austin said he wants everyone to have a safe Halloween and to notify law enforcement of “any suspicious activity.”

ODPS has set trick-or-treat hours for 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Halloween. The sheriff’s office has set trick-or-treat hours at 6 to 8 p.m. in unincorporated areas of the county.

Counties may have their own specific trick-or-treat times, which must be observed within their town limits, according to the sheriff’s office.

The city will have an array of activities to celebrate Halloween in conjunction with the South Carolina Humanities Festival. Orangeburg County will host its first South Carolina Humanities Festival from Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 19-22.

All activities are free to the public. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

The city’s activities include a trunk-or-treat to be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 at the Edisto Memorial Gardens. Businesses, organizations and churches will line Riverside Drive handing out treats to children age 12 and under.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities will provide a haunted trail at the azalea garden, while the Orangeburg County Conservation District and Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful will sponsored an interactive “bag monster.”

Girl Scout Troop 471 will also be painting rocks for the Kindness Rock Garden beginning at 5:30 p.m. Food trucks will also be available.

The Orangeburg Part-Time Players will sponsor a costume contest to be held from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the funniest and scariest costume, best make-up, among other categories. Children and adults are encouraged to participate.

To accommodate the Halloween activities, Riverside Drive will be closed from Lady Fountain to the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. Parking will be available along Seaboard Street. Accessible parking will be in the lower lot across the rose garden.

Groups can register to distribute candy. For more information about the event, visit the City of Orangeburg Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=City%20of%20Orangeburg%20Parks%20and%20Recreation%20Department.

The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office will hold a drive-thru trunk-or-treat from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 at the Orangeburg County Law Enforcement Complex at 1520 Ellis Ave. in Orangeburg.

Bill Staley, the director of Emergency Services said residents need to be prepared, especially those in low-lying areas.

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — In an effort to keep students and teachers ahead of the storm, the Orangeburg County School District will have early dismissal Wednesday August 30 and will operate on a two hour delay for Thursday August 31.

Crews with Orangeburg Emergency Services spent the day making sure storm drains were open to deal with the expected heavy rain. They will also be on stand by for the possibility of down trees and powerlines.

Bill Staley, the director of Emergency Services said residents need to be prepared, especially those in low-lying areas.

“We have a lot of low-lying areas in Orangeburg," said Staley. "We want to encourage our citizens to make sure they have a plan. Don’t drive through flooded waters, don’t drive through flooded roads. Make sure you have a plan, if you don’t have to be out in the peak of the storm when it’s raining large quantities of water at one time. Don’t go out at that time. Schedule what you need to do so that you are home and you are safe whenever the severe parts of this weather comes in.”

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The city of Orangeburg also met with the Office of Emergency Services to discuss preparation plans. Jennifer Van Cleave, the city's PIO says that they are still monitoring the storm.

“Right now we’re just on standby," says Van Cleave. "We’re monitoring the storm and we’ll make changes as necessary. We want to do what we can to serve our residents and make sure we that we are prepared to help them out incase there is an emergency such as trees down that sort of thing. We will be there to respond.”

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"Have plans to be in a different location," said Staley if you are living in low lying areas. "It maybe a church, it may be at a friends house, maybe a family members house for that little bit of time for when the water comes up and when the water goes down. We’re expecting anywhere from 5 to 8 inches of rainfall across our county and that could be in a short duration of time. So we end up with areas that get flooded for a short period of time. Hour, 2 hours, 3 hours until the water runs off. So those are things you kind of just want to watch.”

The Office of Emergency Services is asking for residents to have readiness plans and to avoid driving and being outside in inclement weather.

South Carolina Humanities' annual festival continues in Orangeburg with historic church tours.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The South Carolina Humanities Festival continued today with historic church tours in Orangeburg. This is the first time the SC Humanities Festival is being hosted in Orangeburg County.

Trinity United Methodist Church, Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church and St. Paul’s Methodist Church were highlighted by the festival committee for the historic church tours.

Ronald Speight is a member of Trinity United Methodist Church. He says these tours are an important way to learn about Orangeburg’s history.

"To maintain one's history, and so that others know about one's history to me is always important,” said Speight. “I do believe that you want to know your history about anything, even your own family. It's important to know from where you've come. So to know why Orangeburg is and how it is today, a lot of it has to do with Trinity United Methodist Church."

RELATED: South Carolina Humanities brings annual fair to Orangeburg County

Rosemary Smith-Hickman is a member of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. She says this church has roots dating back to slavery.

"We trace our roots back to 1853 and that's through word of mouth past down,” said Smith-Hickman. “I think that is significant because 1853, we were still in the grips of slavery and black people were unable to worship openly so our worship was in secret and that's how Mount Pisgah started and we're proud that Mount Pisgah has been around all these years."

The week is finally here!! The Humanities Festival is kicking off this Thursday with a opening reception at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center (*invitation only event). Followed by events and activities to celebrate the arts and humanities of "The Garden City" - Orangeburg, South Carolina.

See the schedule of events below ?? and find out more on the events and activities here: tinyurl.com/schfestival

The South Carolina Humanities Festival continues Saturday with an author exhibition, children’s story time, a cooking class and more events.

The Trunk or Treat event has been rescheduled to Monday afternoon due to inclement weather.

Some of the new rides include a baby Ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl and one called carnage.

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — The Orangeburg County Fair is getting ready to get underway, and people who go will see a number of new rides.

The fair board hired a new ride company, Lisko Family Amusements, that will offer new attractions for kiddies, teenagers and adults.

Some of the new rides include a baby Ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl and one called carnage.

Lin Hair is the president of the Orangeburg County Fair Association President Lin Hair says they are continuing to grow the fair each year.

“We’re bigger this year,” Hair said. “We’ve got all the exhibits full, we got more animals in the barn this year and more rides, so we are building it back up from the years.”

In addition to the new rides, guests will be able to see exhibit, including a 200-pound watermelon.

There are new safety protocols in in place for the fair, as well as a clear bag policy and metal detectors. Children under the age of 16 are required to sign in with parents and will receive matching wristbands.

RELATED: New safety rules in place for Orangeburg County Fair

Orangeburg Public Safety Chief Charles Austin says this new safety feature will help with problems during the fair.

"Sometimes in the past we have had issues with young adults who were not with adults,” Austin said. “And they gathered, and there were issues that became problematic."

Lieutenant Danny Dantzler also hopes this precaution will help reduce the number of lost children.

"We're not saying they have to hold their hands the whole time,” said Dantzler. “But at least in close proximity."

The fair admission gates open Tuesday at 5 p.m. and the fair ends on Sunday evening.

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Clemson Rural Health continues to expand health care services to South Carolinians with the opening of a new clinic in Orangeburg. The Clemson Health Clinic at Orangeburg (CHC-O) is the third Clemson-run clinic to open and will provide life-saving services in a largely underserved part of the state, both through fixed health care facilities and mobile health units.

Elected and appointed officials who attended a May 25 ribbon-cutting hailed the partnerships that made the clinic a reality and celebrated its opening as transformative.

Clemson Rural Health is part of the Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences and an extension of the University’s land-grant mission.

Clemson Rural Health has served the Lowcountry for over a decade through mobile health clinics but was restricted by travel distances from their home base in Walhalla. This new hub clinic, located at 1181 Hutto Street in Orangeburg, will allow Clemson to have a consistent and elevated impact on the health and well-being of Orangeburg, Bamberg, Barnwell and Calhoun counties.

The full-time, fully staffed primary care facility will provide in-person appointments, telehealth and remote patient monitoring along with two mobile health units for outreach into rural counties, and a highly qualified, multidisciplinary team to the community. Led by nurse practitioner, Donna Atkinson, a prominent certified diabetes care and education specialist in the region, the clinic will heavily focus on chronic disease prevention and management.

The May ribbon-cutting event included tours of the brick-and-mortar clinic and its brand-new mobile health units, free blood pressure checks, a healthy cooking demonstration and refreshments.

More information about the future of the CHC-O and Clemson Rural Health’s impact on the state of South Carolina can be found in the 2022 Fiscal Year Impact Report.

The Clemson Health Clinic at Orangeburg is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 803-516-4227. Learn more at clemsonruralhealth.org.

More information about the future of the CHC-W and Clemson Rural Health’s impact on the state of South Carolina can be found in the 2022 Fiscal Year Impact Report.