Mortgage Broker in Simpsonville, SC

As Simpsonville gears up for voters to head to polls on Nov. 7 to choose City Council representatives, unpacking who is running for which seat may be difficult.

Councilmembers Matthew Gooch (Ward 1), Jenn Hulehan (Ward 3) and Ken Cummings (Ward 5) are not seeking reelection. Mayor Paul Shewmaker is the only incumbent on the ballot. In addition, Shannon Williams (Ward 3) is the only candidate running unopposed.

Mayor

Incumbent: Paul Shewmaker

Position: Retired director of human resources and does HR consulting work

Years as mayor: 3.5

What do you plan to work on if reelected? Complete the major projects council has begun, including the new municipal complex and renovation of Simpsonville Park, improved walkability and traffic flow downtown, making South Main a better festival venue, and extending the Swamp Rabbit Trail to Heritage Park. Continue developing a plan to help the people most affected by stormwater runoff during heavy rains. My highest priority is to continue the leadership, integrity and civility I have brought to the mayor’s office and council meetings during my first term.

Challenger: Warner Bouzek

Position: Owner of King Tut Grill in Simpsonville

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? The one thing that needs the most focus is getting families to and from work or school more easily. I plan to work heavily with the county and state to improve the infrastructure and prepare for the next 20 years. Families should be spending more time at home and less time on the road stuck in traffic.

Challenger: Janice Curtis

Position: Owner of Merle Norman Cosmetics and Spa in Simpsonville

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? I have established relationships with our county, state and federal representatives. I have personally met with the representatives to discuss flooding in our community and remedies. I look forward to working with county representatives to curtail problems Simpsonville encounters when new developments are approved in the county. The traffic must be addressed in our community. I know the city currently has a traffic plan in place, but this will take substantial time to complete. We must have safety precautions in place for neighborhoods that will be used as cut through during roadwork. I have a proven record of rolling up my sleeves and doing the hard work and keeping promises.

Ward 1

Candidate: Erin Medlin

Position: Realtor and English instructor at USC Upstate and Spartanburg Community College.

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? Simpsonville has grown exponentially, which requires sustainable growth and infrastructure to be our top priority. I want to see that growth carried out in a transparent and viable fashion, with input from our citizens. Growth without plans for implementation leads to a poor quality of life for everyone and Simpsonville deserves a livable community today and for the future. I have started the conversation with our county and state representatives on how we can work together to solve some of these issues.

Candidate: Chad O’Rear

Position: Care navigator with Providence Care

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? One of my first orders of business is to work towards a repeal of ordinance No. 2018-07 which requires a “super majority” vote to make decisions about the employment of the city administrator and department heads. Secondly, re-open Hunter Street. Thirdly, be more available, receptive and transparent with the citizens of Simpsonville.

Candidate: Skip Strong

Position: CNC/EDM machinist

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? I am a strong supporter of our law enforcement and first responders and believe that more staffing, equipping and training is necessary to keep up with the growth that Simpsonville is experiencing. I’d say the general consensus is that people feel safe parking downtown and walking to restaurants, shopping, music venues, etc. Let’s maintain that level of comfort and safety as we grow.

Ward 3

Candidate: Shannon Williams

Position: Homemaker

What is one thing you plan to change if elected? I think there has already been some wonderful work done by the city council. I am looking forward to contributing to the positive changes the city has made and will continue to make. I would like to focus on the community and making sure Simpsonville is a great place for all of its citizens. I am open and here to listen to the people of Simpsonville.

Ward 5

Candidate: Tim Pinkerton

Position: Retired from the construction and engineering industry

What is one thing you plan to change if elected? I would change the counterclockwise proposed traffic switch and develop safe passage through the heart of Simpsonville without creating more traffic through and affecting neighborhoods. My construction-business background suits the need of a representative with a common-sense approach to growth with a focus on maintaining our infrastructure before city enhancements.

Candidate: Jermaine Smith

Position: Trainer at Michelin

What is the one thing you plan to change if elected? I am looking at bringing change through economic opportunities for existing and new residents of Simpsonville, so that everyone can have a hand in the growth of the community.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. —

At the age of 19, Simpsonville native Parris Goodman is starting to truly see the fruits of her labor.

"The Color Purple," one of the most iconic titles in film and literature, will be in theaters across the country on Christmas day in the form of a new adaptation of the original 1985 film.

Goodman is one of two Upstate natives set to grace the big screen. Goodman is cast as TEEN Lil Cat, beating out roughly 3,000 other prospects.

"This is like a dream come true. I prayed for times like this and I’m super grateful,” Goodman said. "This is based off the Broadway show, the book and original movie. It’s more uplifting and rooted around sisterhood.”

Goodman said she attended virtual school at home, following an in-person schooling experience in middle school to further pursue acting. She detailed her battles with self-doubt, finding herself, and the importance of mental health as her acting journey started back in 2018 following her first stage play.

"I heard the reaction from the crowd, and I fell in love with it," Goodman said. "So, I did it again in 2020, and I was like, oh, I can get used to this. I've learned that you just can’t give up. You can have those small breaks to get yourself together, but you’re going to have to get back up. You’re going to have to keep on going, and you are going to have to stop doubting yourself."

Following her second stage play in 2020, Goodman joined Spartanburg-based Stisa Talent Agency under the leadership of Steve and Lisa Lopez.

Goodman thanked her immediate family, her Stisa family, along with anyone who has supported her along the way. She also talked about the importance of her faith and how that has led her to continue on a rewarding path.

"In middle school, I wasn’t as close as I should’ve been to God and going into home school, I was by myself, so I only had him," Goodman said. "So I had to get close with him and it’s like he made me a promise – if I get through high school and keep my faith with him, that he’ll make this happen. You ever question yourself, like are you loved? This definitely shows me that I’m loved.”

"The Color Purple" will be in theaters on Monday, Dec. 25.

SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. —

Fans of a country singer slated to appear in South Carolina this week are in for some disappointment after the artist canceled some shows.

(Above video is the Tuesday morning headlines for 10/3/23.)

Michael Wilson Hardy, or just HARDY as he's known to fans, announced Tuesday he was pulling the plug on two mockingbird & THE CROW tour dates, including the one set for Thursday, Oct. 5, at the CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville.

The venue posted on its website that ticketholders will be receiving an email from Ticketmaster.

HARDY posted about the decision on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, saying:

"I've been dealing with some serious anxiety since the bus accident last year and over the last two weeks, it has taken control of my life. It caused me to suffer many panic attacks which have landed me in the hospital. I need a moment to focus on me and to make myself better for my wife, family and you, the fans."

More news (story continues after links.)

Along with the Heritage Park appearance, HARDY also canceled his show on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Athens Fairgrounds, in Winterville, Georgia.

"Refunds for these two shows will be available from the point of purchase," HARDY wrote.

HARDY suffered significant injuries on Oct. 2, 2022, in an early-morning crash when his tour bus overturned on a stretch of Interstate 40 West in Nashville.

Also injured in the crash was the bus driver, HARDY's manager and a photographer/videographer, Tanner Gallagher, who posted on Instagram about the crash more than a week after it happened.

HARDY has written songs for Florida Georgia Line, Chris Lane, Blake Shelton, Dallas Smith, Thomas Rhett, and Morgan Wallen.

"My plan is to be back and focused on Oct. 12th," HARDY ended his post. "Thank you for understanding, see you soon."

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The deal between the YMCA Simpsonville and Fellowship Greenville church, located at 3161 S. Highway 14, closed on June 15.

Charlie Boyd, currently a lead pastor at Fellowship Greenville, has been a member of the church for 26 years.

“We have grown tremendously over the past year,” he said. “By about 900 people in just one year. A lot of them are moving from out of state. Every week I meet people from the West and Northeast, so we ran out of space.”

A realtor who attends Fellowship Greenville services mentioned putting up a bid for the YMCA Simpsonville once it was listed for purchase, Boyd said.

“We put a figure out there, and the Y accepted our bid,” he added. “This space will hold about 700 people, and it’s just six miles down the road from our present location, so it’ll work out well as a satellite campus.”

The church has about 1,100 people who live within two miles of the YMCA Simpsonville property already wanting to go to this campus once it opens, said Boyd.

This YMCA has had a plan for several years to move everything to its other Simpsonville location near Interstate 385, said Boyd.

“We are planning to allow them to use the sports fields for the foreseeable future, but there is not a formal partnership,” Boyd said. “But we have worked together well, and it has been a great experience.”

The building will undergo $12.8 million of renovations.

Renovations will be extensive, said Marks, and they are looking into partnering with a permanent coffee shop as part of the common area coffee shop that could run at the new location all week long.

“We think it will be a nice upgrade to this part of the community,” Marks said.

Fellowship Greenville Executive Pastor Rob Marks said the building currently has a gym they are going to convert to a worship space. There are multipurpose rooms and a pool that will all be converted for kids and students. There also will be a foyer/coffee area similar to the space they have at their current location.

“Part of what we will do is run the same programming there that we do on a Sunday morning here,” said Marks.

Initially, the new location will just be open on Sundays for children’s ministry, middle school ministry, preaching and worship, and Bible study type activities will still be held at the Greenville location, he said.

“From our perspective, we have a bunch of people who already live in this area who could benefit from the new location, but we also want to reach even more people,” said Marks. “We really wanted to partner with the Y to continue to offer their outdoor sports programs. They don’t have space, yet (at the other Simpsonville location), so we still want to have the community involved in these sports. We wouldn’t want the community to feel like they couldn’t do that just because a church has moved into that space.”

is the architect on record, and currently, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

SIMPSONVILLE — It began with a vision for a place to gather community over good food. A place to have a beer and a place where kids could play safely and parents could relax and enjoy some down time.

Now, two years later, Justin and Allie Holck can hardly believe their dream is a reality.

The idea the two shared in 2022, just after they moved to Greenville from Bend, Ore., has now come to life with the opening of Scuffletown Food Truck Park.

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The park is the first such dedicated food truck park in South Carolina, Justin said — and if the couple are judging from the opening weekend’s success, it won’t be the last.

“We want to open a couple more food truck parks,” he said. “Saturday was such a validation that this is a concept people really enjoy and love.”

Plans are still underway for a food truck park in Greer, which was announced earlier this year, but the owners are awaiting permitting.

Scuffletown, which sits on just under an acre at 206 Ladean Court near the Walmart Supercenter off Fairview Road in Simpsonville, features six full-time food trucks, a taproom with 21 beers on tap that are served via a self-pour model and a children’s play area.

The trucks are a mix of different styles of food and cuisines from various countries. During opening weekend, Justin tried them all out.

“It’s a very surreal feeling when you come up with an idea in your head and then it comes to life,” he said.

From coffee to food trucks

The idea for a food truck park actually began as an idea for a coffee roastery.

Justin, who is passionate about coffee and beer (he was an avid homebrewer for years), saw an opportunity to supplement his firefighter salary and to start a business of his own.

After getting more acquainted with their new home, the Holcks saw that the coffee market was a bit saturated. However, they saw a distinct lack of food truck parks, something they had enjoyed immensely while living on the West Coast.

With Scuffletown, the Holcks took all the things they loved about food truck parks and built from there. As parents of three children ages 11, 7 and 1 month, they wanted their park to be family-friendly. So, they built a fenced-in area for kids to play with a play structure, small climbing wall and a huge sand box.

Justin loved beer but detested having to wait in long lines to get one, thus the self-pour tap system. The tap allows multiple people to serve themselves at the same time. And you can get the exact amount you want.

As for the food, Justin spent a lot of time tasting and then tasting some more to find the right trucks. The goal was to offer both variety but also quality. The six trucks feature everything from Colombian-style burgers in toston, chicken wings, brisket sandwiches, Caribbean-inspired tacos, birria and donut sundaes.

The featured trucks have a one-year contract to be part of the park. Temporary trucks will fill in as needed, he said, but the hope is that there is enough variety that people can come back day after day and try something new.

“You can come here every day of the week, and it would still take you a good month or two to try everything on their menus,” he said.

Food trucks:

Half Rooted – Colombian specialties like empanadas, toston, yuca fries and a Colombian burger

BirriaBoy – Birria tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more

One Love Fusion Foods – Asian-tinged rice bowls, tacos and nachos

Duck Donuts – get one, a half dozen, or a dozen

Rad Dad’s BBQ – classic barbecue plates and sandwiches and sides

Too Sac’D Up – a variety of chicken wings with classic and new flavors

A passion for food, beer and community

It wasn’t that Justin set out to own a food truck park, but more that he saw a need and a chance to do his own thing while melding his interest in food and beer.

At one point he thought about going to culinary school but realized that while he enjoyed cooking for his family, he didn’t want to cook for a living.

After 12 years in the Air Force as a firefighter and then a couple years working as a civilian firefighter, a job he loved, he was ready for a change.

He officially retired from firefighting two weeks ago to focus on Scuffletown fulltime. He manages the taproom and the food truck park, while each individual food truck manages their own hours.

It’s hard to believe the trajectory of life over the past two years, but when he considers it, he feels immensely humbled and fulfilled.

“We want to be able to create a space for a sense of community and a place that supports local,” Holck said. “It’s really exciting to see people able to spend more time with their families and friends.”

For specifics about hours and menus, visit www.scuffletownsc.com

Note that each food truck sets its own hours of operation.