Mortgage Broker in Seven Oaks, SC

A woman is in jail after taping a kindergarten student to a chair, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.

Olivia Michelle Murray, a 25-year-old Columbia resident, was charged with cruelty to children, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. Murray is no longer employed by Lexington-Richland 5, a spokeswoman told The State.

The incident happened Wednesday at Seven Oaks Elementary School, where Murray worked as a teacher’s aide, according to the release. The Lexington-Richland 5 school is on Ashland Road, near the intersection with St. Andrews Road and about half a mile from Exit 106 on Interstate 26.

Murray used duct tape to confine the 4K student’s legs to a chair, Sheriff Jay Koon said. The incident happened while the teacher was out of the classroom, according to Koon.

“Murray told detectives the student had been moved to the back of the classroom for being disruptive and not listening,” Koon said in the release.

Information on the student’s condition was not available.

Murray was arrested at her home on Wednesday night and was taken to the Lexington County Detention Center, according to the release.

She remained behind bars Thursday, and no bond had been set at of 11:15 a.m., jail records show.

Lexington-Richland 5 said it works “hard to ensure a safe learning environment at our schools and work closely with law enforcement to make safety our top priority.”

The school district said it’s working with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation and had no further comment.

If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, Murray faces a maximum punishment of 30 days in jail, according to South Carolina law.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published March 2, 2023, 11:23 AM.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Farmers in Orangeburg County are begging for rain with hot and dry conditions outside putting their crops at risk.

The Seven Oaks Farm right off Highway 321 in North produces about 1,000 acres of corn, cotton, and peanuts, but it’s the corn that’s most at risk because of recent drought conditions.

After going several days with no rain and a record-breaking heatwave to top it off, the co-owner of Seven Oaks Farm, Jeffrey Axon, said some of his corn is significantly damaged and some corn is already considered unsellable because of the unfavorable weather.

There’s a distinct difference in the two fields of corn crop on opposite sides of Creek Mill Road at Seven Oaks. One side is irrigated which helps to make up for the lack of rain, but the other side is what’s called “dry land corn” – visibly smaller and wilted from the lack of water, and the bump in temperatures over the last few days hasn’t helped.

It’s bad timing for farmers growing corn, says Axon, who said he hasn’t seen any rain in, “a good three weeks and the corn right now is at a critical time for needing a lot of rain. So, the combination of the extreme heat the lack of rainfall is really starting to take a toll on the corn crop.”

Even the irrigation process will only help so much to combat the recent drought. According to Axon, using irrigation to make up for lost rain can also be counterproductive.

“We’re at the point now where even the heat and dry weather can take a toll on the irrigated crop. The irrigation is not meant to replace the rain that God gives us,” said Axon. “It’s meant to supplement it. So, it’s getting to the point where it’s hard to keep up. The more we run it, the bigger the power bill and the less profit we’re able to make as we have to put so much money into keeping the water running.”

Only about 25% of the corn crops at the Seven Oaks Farm are “dry land corn,” which is still about 100 acres of corn that could be a complete loss now because of the recent drought-like conditions. Even if we get some rain, at this point Axon fears it may be too late for some of the corn, and our meteorologists say there is no sign of any relief for at least another week.

The Seven Oaks farmers typically harvest the corn in late August or early September, and are hoping this setback won’t damage too much of their product.

Copyright 2019 WIS. All rights reserved.

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. — After 19 years of serving residents in the Rogue Valley, Seven Oaks Farm in Central Point is permanently closing its produce stand.

Jerry Mefford, the owner of Seven Oaks Farm explained after dealing with a labor shortage for several years, he and his wife decided it was time to downsize.

“It's hard to get labor, if you ask anybody in agricultural, they will tell you that is a problem and that is going to be a future problem,” Mefford said.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, the American Farm Bureau Federation, an independent organization that states it represents farm and ranch families, released a report stating the COVID-19 outbreak would lead to a "serious labor shortage at a critical time".

Mefford explained the issue started long before the virus began to spread.

“We’ve actually been dealing with a shortage of labor for the past five years,” he noted.

Mefford said the farm has been in his family since 1924 and mentioned the change does not mean he is retiring, he is not selling any of his farm, nor will he grow hemp.

“We're going to mechanicals so my wife and I can do it all, we are going to mechanize so we don’t have to have any labor,” he said.

He explained they will now focus on producing alfalfa hay because it does not require outside help.

Mefford shared his gratitude for the community’s support throughout the years.

“We appreciate all the business we had in the past but you know its time for us to do something different and most people when they get close to their 60’s they either retire or do something different, we aren’t going to do that but we are still farming but we want to slow down a little bit,” he said. "We are still going to be busy but with less stress."

Mefford noted the family will have corn seed for sale on May 15 during Central Point’s citywide yard sale.

Columbia has been hot for a while now and not just because of the weather.

Often referred to as ‘famously hot’ because of the high summer temperatures every year, Columbia has also been hot lately in terms of attracting new residents. For instance, Columbia recently ranked second among all U.S. cities that gained the most new 18 to 24 year olds or Generation Z. The 2021 Census data, compiled in a report by Today’s Homeowner, shows that Columbia had a net gain of 11,640 Gen Z residents.

And more broadly, according to more recent, preliminary Census data, South Carolina was the third fastest-growing state in 2022.

However, more people drives demand for housing and Columbia has not been immune to this fact. Sales prices for homes in the Columbia area have skyrocketed in recent years.

The greater Columbia area has a median sales price of $250,000 for 2023 as of February — up 2% from $245,000 for the same period last year, South Carolina Realtors statistics show.

But fear not, for there are places in the Columbia area that offer more affordable housing.

Redfin, a residential real estate brokerage website, has used its latest March housing market data to compile a list of the most affordable places in the Columbia area to buy a home. Affordability is based on whether the city or unincorporated area’s median home sale price or average sale price per square foot is less than Columbia and under a 25-minute drive from downtown Columbia.

Here are the five most affordable places in the Columbia area.

The unincorporated community of Red Bank is about a 25-minute drive from Columbia proper. It has a median home price of $239,750 and $155 average sale price per square foot.

“With 10,900 people living in this affordable town, Red Bank is a great option to consider when looking to stay close to Columbia without paying the premium for a home in the city,” Redfin states.

West Columbia’s listed median home price is $215,000 has an average sale price of $153 per square foot. With a population around 17,400, the city boats plenty of things to do and places to eat. Enjoy the riverfront views at West Columbia Riverwalk Park and Amphitheater and then stop by the Riverbanks Botanical Garden. Also, downtown Columbia is only an 8-minute drive away.

Drive 15 minutes outside of Columbia to find Seven Oaks. The area has a population of just under 15,000 and several places to check out nearby, such as Seven Oaks Park and the Environmental Center at Saluda Shoals Park. Seven Oaks has a listed median home price of $191,000 and an average sales price of $130 per square foot.

Woodfield is a suburb of Columbia with a population of around 9,200 people. It’s median home price is $160,000 and it has an average sale price of $136 per square foot. And at just a 20 minute drive from Columbia, you can easily visit places like Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. Or, if boating and fishing are your hobbies, just take another quick drive to Lake Murray.

With a median home price of $158,950 and an average sale price of $101 per square foot, Denstville tops Redfin’s list of most affordable places around Columbia. The Columbia suburb with more than 14,000 people is a 15-minute drive from the city. It’s also a short drive from Sesquicentennial State Park, where there’s plenty of hiking and camping options available.

More than 1,000 new homes and townhomes are proposed in York and Lancaster counties.

Some already have their decisions, while many more await decisions from planning commissions or councils. The York County planning commission will meet May 9. Decisions must be made on a final land sale in Baxter, a large York property with hundreds of proposed homes, and an extension of time for a large Lake Wylie development.

Projects include:

? Owner Clear Springs Baxter and developer Fielding Homes applied for a new townhome subdivision at Sixth Baxter Crossing and Hugh Street, near North Sutton Road. The property is almost 3 acres. The plan involves 20 townhomes.

The Borough at Sixth Baxter is, according to county information sent to the planning commission, the last lot in Baxter Village to be sold by Clear Springs Baxter. The property is near both residential and commercial space, including an urgent care site.

? The Bull Creek project in York is back up for county review. County planning staff recommends against the plan for a 409-lot manufactured home community at 975 McAfee Court. County planning staff doesn’t believe that scale of development is consistent with residential and agricultural uses in that area now, according to information sent to the planning commission. The 155-acre property has 62 mobile homes on it now.

? Owners of 14 acres on Saluda Street in Rock Hill applied to rezone the property to allow a new 11-home subdivision. There are five manufactured homes there, plus wooded and grassy areas. A sketch plan shows all 11 lots off a single entrance from Saluda, which leads to a cul-de-sac.

The property is east of Ogden Farms and south of Cedarbrook, between Porter Black Road and Autumnwood Drive.

? Almost 200 more homes are still planned, but could come later than was laid out in a prior county approval. Fielding Homes got county approval to build four new phases of Paddlers Cove in Lake Wylie. The 135-acre new portion of the existing subdivision is set for 195 homes.

County approvals typically come with two-year vested rights. Developers have to request annual extensions if they don’t start until after the vested rights period ends. Developers get up to five such extensions. The owner asks the county now for an extension to run through March 2023.

The Lancaster County planning commission met Thursday night. The commission recommended a zoning change for almost 44 acres that would allow a new home subdivision. Lancaster County Council will make the final decision.

The property on the southeast corner of Fork Hill Road and Little Dude Avenue is owned by R&C Investments. Earl Coulston applied for the zoning change. The site is just north of Kershaw, about a mile west of Haile Gold Mine.

Dale Robertson is a partner with R&C Investments. Robertson has done other residential projects in that area, with the mine in mind.

“There’s just a lot of people that are driving an hour and fifteen minutes, some of them two hours, to work,” Robertson told the planning commission Thursday. “There’s hardly no houses down there for people to buy.”

A plan with an exact number of new homes hasn’t been submitted, but the new zoning would allow up to 2.5 homes per acre. Or, roughly 110 homes for a property that size.

An even larger project was on the planning commission agenda Thursday, but was deferred until next month. Rezoning and a development agreement are proposed for Arbor Walk. That new home subdivision could have 233 homes on almost 113 acres on Vance Baker Road.

The planning commission in Rock Hill met Tuesday, where one of several property proposals was the Arbors at Seven Oaks project. Owner Rock Hill Multifamily Investments applied for preliminary plat approval on Springsteen Road and Evelyn Street. There are three parcels, two in front of the Seven Oaks subdivivision and the other with a pond on Evelyn.

Plans show 148 townhomes proposed on 21 acres. The site was approved for 220 apartments in 2014. Plans have changed and been pushed back several times due to utility and other negotiations.

Several road upgrades are part of the plan. Access to the site southwest of Seven Oaks Boulevard will come from a new driveway connection to Springsteen. The area northeast of Seven Oaks Boulevard will have a new drive onto Springsteen and and another onto Evelyn, across from Wildwood Drive. A left turn lane on Springsteen at Evelyn will be added, and the intersection will be realigned. Springsteen also will be widened to create a center turn lane.

This story was originally published May 6, 2022, 11:39 AM.