kitchen countertopsIn Johns Island, SC

SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- The Chattanooga women's cross country team was picked to finish fourth in the Southern Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll while the men were selected eighth.

The women finished fifth in 2021 and will return top finisher Lesley Green and all-freshman performer Emma Russum.

The men placed eighth at the league championships and will see the return of top performer Jonathan Boyd for his final season. He is joined by senior Ryan Phillips and sophomore Aaron Isbell who was the Mocs' top finisher at the NCAA South Region Championships.

The women received 51 points in the poll behind Furman (81), Samford (72) and East Tennessee State (66). The men had 29 points in the poll finishing just behind UNCG (5^th), VMI (6^th) and Western Carolina (7^th). The Mocs finished ahead of Wofford and The Citadel in the men's poll.

Coach Robert Gary's Paladin squads, who have won each SoCon meet since 2013, both received all nine possible first-place votes in the polls, totaling 81 points each. With a win at the 2022 SoCon Cross Country Championship on Johns Island, South Carolina, on Oct. 30, the Furman men, who swept the top seven individual spots at the 2021 meet, would match the league record for consecutive SoCon team titles set by William & Mary from 1966-75. The Furman women, who claimed nine of the top 10 individual spots at the 2021 meet, would extend their own league record with a 10th straight team title.

Chattanooga opens the 2022 season at the Tennessee Tri-Star Invitational in Knoxville, hosted by the Vols. It will feature the host Tennessee, Chattanooga and UT Martin on Friday, Sept. 2.

FOLLOW THE MOCS For the latest news and information on Chattanooga Mocs Cross Country and Track and Field, visit the official website of Mocs Athletics at GoMocs.com. Fans can also follow the Mocs on social media at /UTCTrackAndCrosCountry (Facebook), @GoMocsXCTF (Twitter), @gomocstrackxc (Instagram).

2022 Southern Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll

2022 Southern Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll

HARBOR ISLAND, S.C. — A Crested Caracara — a falcon with long legs and distinctive colors that’s native to South and Central America — made a rare visit to coastal South Carolina’s Lowcountry, prompting serious birders from as far away as Ohio to come see for themselves.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says the Crested Caracara — sometimes called the Mexican eagle — is instantly recognizable because of its long yellow-orange legs and sharp black cap set against a white neck and yellow-orange face.

Two Florida men who were visiting saw the bird at 3:50 p.m. Aug. 19 on Harbor Island, the small, gated-island community 14 miles east of Beaufort, and reported the sighting anonymously to eBird, the Cornell Lab’s online database of bird observations.

A rare bird sighting alert went out.

All serious birders use the Cornell Lab app — including Jenn Clementoni, who happens to live on Harbor Island. With her husband, John, she owns Birding Beaufort.

Jenn had never seen a Crested Caracara. Her heart was aflutter.

That night, determined to see the falcon for herself, Clementoni researched its habitat and behavior and came up with a plan. The next day, a Saturday, Aug. 20, she would sit along the Sea Island Parkway, between the Johnson Creek Bridge and Johnson Creek Tavern, as cars whizzed by, and wait for the falcon. The falcons, she knew from her research, frequently perch on the tallest tree or structure around.

“And lo and behold,” Clementoni said, “a couple of hours into it, it appeared on a telephone pole right before us.”

It was 2:12 p.m. Clementoni, who is also a Lowcountry master naturalist and photographer, couldn’t believe it. But the excitement was just beginning.

Later that evening, around 7:30 p.m. the falcon flew over her house.

And at 8:19 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, the Crested Caracara landed on a Sea Island Parkway pole again. Clementoni, now joined by a throng of 10 to 20, saw it for the third time.

“It was a pretty intense 48 hours,” Clementoni said.

With its sharp beak and formidable talons, a Crested Caracara looks like a hawk even though it behaves more like a vulture.

Clementoni was expecting its body to be similar to a turkey vulture. She was pleasantly surprised by its tall and slender features and long legs.

“Very pretty,” Clementoni said.

The last time there was a confirmed sighting of a Crested Caracara in South Carolina was seven years ago, Clementoni said. The Mt. Pleasant resident who saw the bird in 2015 was in the Outer Banks in North Carolina when he got word of the latest sighting, Clementoni said. On Sunday, eager to see one again, he drove eight hours, straight through, to Harbor Island, but the falcon was gone.

The last reported sighting was at 12:55 p.m. Sunday.

Other birders drove in from Columbia, South Carolina, Ohio and Georgia.

“If you want to hire people who are pretty dedicated,” Clementoni said, “it would be birders. It caused a really big frenzy.”

The Clementonis’ backyard is a marsh leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

They started the Birding Beaufort business in July. The couple offers tours around Beaufort and the Sea Islands.

On Harbor Island alone, 200 types of birds have been reported. Migratory birds, like shore birds, come through, flying back from the Arctic, or up from the south, from places like Argentina.

“They stop here and fuel back up,” Clementoni says, “so that’s why our beaches are so important.”

Maritime forests of the Lowcountry also provide great cover and food such as bugs and worms. Wading birds thrive in the marshes, where they feast on shrimp and other coastal cuisine.

But a Mexican eagle is an infrequent flier through South Carolina. It’s sometimes seen in extreme southern Florida and Texas, but the birds don’t migrate to the Arctic or northern U.S. breeding grounds.

“For something to appear randomly in South Carolina with no rhyme or reason,” Clementoni says, “is pretty spectacular.”

Clementoni isn’t sure why the falcon made an appearance in South Carolina. Usually when non-native birds show up they are migrating and are blown off course by winds and storms, she said.

“But because this bird isn’t a known migrator through this area,” Clementoni said, “it may be coincidence, he may be trying to establish a new territory.”

Maybe, she joked, “he heard how great the Lowcountry is.”

A Crested Caracara — a falcon with long legs and distinctive colors that’s native to South and Central America — made a rare visit to coastal South Carolina’s Lowcountry, prompting serious birders from as far away as Ohio to come see for themselves.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says the Crested Caracara — sometimes called the Mexican eagle — is instantly recognizable because of its long yellow-orange legs and sharp black cap set against a white neck and yellow-orange face.

Two Florida men who were visiting saw the bird at 3:50 p.m. Aug. 19 on Harbor Island, the small, gated-island community 14 miles east of Beaufort, and reported the sighting anonymously to eBird, the Cornell Lab’s online database of bird observations.

A rare bird sighting alert went out.

All serious birders use the Cornell Lab app — including Jenn Clementoni, who happens to live on Harbor Island. With her husband, John, she owns Birding Beaufort.

Jenn had never seen a Crested Caracara. Her heart was aflutter.

That night, determined to see the falcon for herself, Clementoni researched its habitat and behavior and came up with a plan. The next day, a Saturday, Aug. 20, she would sit along the Sea Island Parkway, between the Johnson Creek Bridge and Johnson Creek Tavern, as cars whizzed by, and wait for the falcon. The falcons, she knew from her research, frequently perch on the tallest tree or structure around.

“And lo and behold,” Clementoni said, “a couple of hours into it, it appeared on a telephone pole right before us.”

It was 2:12 p.m. Clementoni, who is also a Lowcountry master naturalist and photographer, couldn’t believe it. But the excitement was just beginning.

Later that evening, around 7:30 p.m. the falcon flew over her house.

And at 8:19 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, the Crested Caracara landed on a Sea Island Parkway pole again. Clementoni, now joined by a throng of 10 to 20, saw it for the third time.

“It was a pretty intense 48 hours,” Clementoni said.

With its sharp beak and formidable talons, a Crested Caracara looks like a hawk even though it behaves more like a vulture.

Clementoni was expecting its body to be similar to a turkey vulture. She was pleasantly surprised by its tall and slender features and long legs.

“Very pretty,” Clementoni said.

The last time there was a confirmed sighting of a Crested Caracara in South Carolina was seven years ago, Clementoni said. The Mt. Pleasant resident who saw the bird in 2015 was in the Outer Banks in North Carolina when he got word of the latest sighting, Clementoni said. On Sunday, eager to see one again, he drove eight hours, straight through, to Harbor Island, but the falcon was gone.

The last reported sighting was at 12:55 p.m. Sunday.

Other birders drove in from Columbia, S.C., Ohio and Georgia.

“If you want to hire people who are pretty dedicated,” Clementoni said, “it would be birders. It caused a really big frenzy.”

The Clementonis’ backyard is a marsh leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

They started the Birding Beaufort business in July. The couple offers tours around Beaufort and the Sea Islands.

On Harbor Island alone, 200 types of birds have been reported. Migratory birds, like shore birds, come through, flying back from the Arctic, or up from the south, from places like Argentina.

“They stop here and fuel back up,” Clementoni says, “so that’s why our beaches are so important.”

Maritime forests of the Lowcountry also provide great cover and food such as bugs and worms. Wading birds thrive in the marshes, where they feast on shrimp and other coastal cuisine.

But a Mexican eagle is an infrequent flier through South Carolina. It’s sometimes seen in extreme southern Florida and Texas, but the birds don’t migrate to the Arctic or northern U.S. breeding grounds.

“For something to appear randomly in South Carolina with no rhyme or reason,” Clementoni says, “is pretty spectacular.”

Clementoni isn’t sure why the falcon made an appearance in South Carolina. Usually when non-native birds show up they are migrating and are blown off course by winds and storms, she said.

“But because this bird isn’t a known migrator through this area,” Clementoni said, “it may be coincidence, he may be trying to establish a new territory.”

Maybe, she joked, “he heard how great the Lowcountry is.”

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Charleston County School District staff members presented new information and a possible plan to build a new elementary school on Johns Island Thursday night.

The district has allocated $41 million in taxpayer dollars to build the new campus, according to the school district’s 2023-2028 Capital Building Program.

The school will be built on River Road, between Brownswood and Murraywood roads. As it stands, the district says they will have to put in a roundabout at the River Road entrance of this new school near Swygert Boulevard.

Several parents say they are worried about the impact on traffic, but others were worried about equity. The district’s chief financial officer, Jeff Borowy, says the school will ease overcrowding at Angel Oak and Mount Zion elementary schools.

“We have multiple children that are in trailers,” Borowy said. “They’re still a good educational environment but certainly not as good as a permanent building, and so this project will give us the opportunity to bring kids in from the classroom trailers.”

As part of the new school, the district is looking to establish a single attendance zone for elementary students on the island and change the grade configurations.

Students in Head Start through first grade would go to Angel Oak Elementary, while students in second through fifth grades attend the new school. Mount Zion Elementary would be turned into a family center under this proposal.

“It would give every child on Johns Island an opportunity to be at the new school in grades 2 through 5,” Borowy said.”

A big talking point among parents was the potential impact the school will have on traffic.

“We do need a new school, especially our Mount Zion kids, but also, it’s just the location of where they’re going to have it,” Keiaunta Alexander said. “How are we going to fight this traffic when we already have more traffic?”

However, other parents were worried about how the school’s proposed change to grades will affect education.

“Having Mount Zion being a Title I school and all the extra resources that go to that Title I school, just want to make sure that when we combine schools and have those different age levels that our children who are living below the poverty line are still getting equal access and getting resources they still continue to need...,” Casey Thaler said.

Officials say they need to come back with recommendations on possible changes to the board of trustees in August.

The district says they expect construction to be completed on this new school in the summer of 2024.

In its 2023-2028 plan, the district has funded over $410 million consisting of several new buildings and expansions to current schools.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The more than 20,000 square foot facility will be located at 1884 Seabrook Island Road, near Bohicket Marina. The Sea Islands community is expected to undergo significant population growth over the next few years, especially those residents 65 and older. The Sea Islands are also geographically isolated, situated more than 20 miles from the nearest hospital. The area also accommodates a large seasonal population of tourists, many of whom have trouble navigating local health care services.

“It can take up to 45 minutes to get to the nearest hospital from the Sea Islands. That’s too long for an emergency situation such as a stroke, where every minute counts. As the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, we are committed to delivering the best possible care, closest to home,” said David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, MUSC president. “This new medical pavilion will provide rapid access to outstanding care for the entire Sea Islands community.”

As part of the MUSC Health system’s overarching strategy, the MUSC Health Charleston Division has worked to provide better community access and local care in the greater Tri-County region, as well as coastal communities to the north and south of Charleston. This enables better capacity at the flagship facilities, which offer specialized and complex care downtown while enhancing overall accessibility and continuity of care for patients and families, especially in underserved communities. Since 2019, four new multispecialty ambulatory care platforms have opened in West Ashley, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant.

In addition to 24/7 emergency care, the facility will offer two trauma rooms, a rooftop helicopter pad, and a medical office building that will provide primary and specialty care, including imaging and lab services, cardiology and physical therapy. A telemedicine network will connect the entire facility to some of the nation’s top providers at MUSC Health in downtown Charleston. The Town of Kiawah Island donated $1 million to create a healing, restful green space and garden adjacent to the new facility.

“Accessibility to the wonderful health system and hospitals we have here has been a concern, so it was exciting to hear about this project,” said Town of Kiawah Mayor John Labriola. “My hat’s off to the MUSC Board of Trustees and the institution’s leadership, because getting a certificate of need is not easy… personally, I look forward to the ribbon cutting and seeing our garden that will be named for the Town of Kiawah.”

The project was made possible in part by Kiawah Partners, which was acquired by South Street Partners in 2013, who donated 6 acres of land to the Medical University Hospital Authority (MUSC Health), valued at $4.85 million.

"This project was initiated to meet the huge need for medical services on Kiawah Island, Seabrook, and Johns Island. With no convenient emergency healthcare options currently available, we have been working for seven-plus years to figure out a way to bring accessible healthcare to the Sea Islands,” said Chris Randolph, South Street Partners. “Thanks to MUSC, we will soon have a world-class medical facility that provides so much more than what we had originally envisioned. We couldn’t be more pleased to have been able to donate the land for this project and feel very grateful to partner with such an excellent health care system.”

Of the estimated $30 million needed to fund the project, MUSC is committed to raising $17 million in private support. To date, it has received more than $9.5 million in confirmed gifts, with many coming from local residents.

“Private support is critical to the long-term success of the MUSC Health Sea Islands Medical Pavilion because of the many financial challenges that come with operating a medical facility in this community,” said Kate Azizi, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “One challenge is the low population density of the Sea Islands. While this is an aging population that needs timely access to medical care – there aren’t enough people living in these communities full time to sustain our operations. Philanthropic support helps fill those gaps, allowing us to deliver the best care possible where and when it’s needed.”

Donors Chris and DeeDee Gibson are giving $2 million to the project. In recognition of their generosity, the physical therapy space will be named in their honor. “My family has been coming to Kiawah for close to 40 years,” Chris Gibson said. “When my wife DeeDee and I built a home here, she had one request: that there was a hospital nearby in case of an emergency. All these years later, we are excited to contribute to the new MUSC Health Sea Islands Medical Pavilion and to help make these vital medical services available to our neighbors on Kiawah, Seabrook and Johns islands.”

“The construction of a full-fledged medical facility with emergency services is a dream come true for all Johns, Kiawah and Seabrook Islands,” said local resident Pam Harrington, who donated $2 million and will name the emergency department after the Harrington family. “As our population continues to grow and more folks are retiring to our area, the demand for medical services grows with it! Being a Kiawah/Cassique resident for many years, the addition of a medical pavilion fills a real need that has existed over several decades. Prior to my 40-plus years in real estate on the islands I was a practicing ICU nurse. This medical center is near and dear to my heart! As a thank you and show of appreciation to all who have been so supportive of my success, here, on the Sea Islands, it seems befitting to take this opportunity to give back in a meaningful way.”

Construction is expected to conclude in late 2023.

Quote bank:

Seabrook Mayor John Gregg – “It is indeed my pleasure to welcome MUSC to Seabrook Island, as our local community will be well served by the capabilities of this facility and the practitioners who will staff it. We look forward to having better availability of care, ranging from emergency room treatment, to advanced diagnostics for the ailments, bumps, pains, scrapes, stings, and strains that come with having an active and diverse population.”

MUSC Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Charles Schulze – “On behalf of the board, I want to acknowledge, commend, and deeply, deeply thank you for your dedication hard work and the public private collaboration that is taking place to get us to where we are today. As an air force veteran of the Vietnam war, I know the importance and necessity of teamwork. When you have a complex mission ahead of you in those situations, your unity as a team is your biggest strength… And it didn't matter where you live, where you were from or what your background was in our military. You learned that persistence, perseverance, collaboration, and expertise are critical to the success of a mission. And it's been no different in this case. When the board began to discuss the feasibility of this project, we knew it wasn't going to happen without teamwork and vision. Not only from everybody at MUSC, but also from the community here in the sea islands.”

MUSC Health System CEO and Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Dr. Pat Cawley – “What makes this project challenging is that it doesn’t fit into normal health constructs. We spent a lot of time with the community, trying to gauge what was needed and it was clear that there was tremendous community support for this project and it was the engagement with the concept of neighbors caring for neighbors and the work of the community to reach out to state officials and regulators that helped make this project a reality. MUSC Health is proud to be a part of this community and its health care provider of choice, and we are humbled by the level of support we are receiving to bring this shared vision to reality.”

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,000 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 850 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $327.6 million in research funds in fiscal year 2021, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit web.musc.edu

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and five additional hospital locations in development; more than 350 telehealth sites, with connectivity to patients’ homes; and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2022, for the eighth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets totaling $5.1 billion. The nearly 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, affiliates and care team members who deliver and support groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.