kitchen countertopsIn Ravenel, SC

Bravo fans will be excited to learn that Southern Charm season 9 production is well underway, along with some cast shake-ups. The Charleston crew is back for another rousing season of showing how they navigate their privileged lives. For years, followers have watched as the South Carolina natives work, date, and party all within the small Southern town.

Southern Charm consists of the upper-class society of Charleston, South Carolina, which has opened its private gates to Bravo viewers for the past few seasons as many were given a front-row seat to Kathryn Dennis' centuries-old plantation home, Craig Conover's love of sewing, and what it is like for a trust fund baby to not lift a finger like Shep Rose. Since 2013, the men and women of Charleston have welcomed viewers into their lives, which showed their inner circle drama. But as viewers now know, not everything is perfect in the south.

Who The Fans Want Back For Southern Charm Season 9

The Instagram account @Queensofbravo revealed that Southern Charm season 9 is currently in production. While the official Southern Charm cast lineup has yet to be announced, fans weighed in on who they would like to see back. One follower asked, "Pls no Paige this season," referring to Summer House's Paige DeSorbo, Craig's long-time girlfriend. Another fan shared that they wanted to see Thomas Ravenel back on Southern Charm. Viewers were not thrilled with the lackluster Southern Charm season 8 and added they hoped Olivia Flowers was fired. However, almost everyone agreed that the series would still be entertaining as long as Shep, Austen Kroll, and Craig returned.

Who Is Returning & Who Isn't For Southern Charm Season 9

Without a doubt, viewers would like to see a more cohesive group than was presented during Southern Charm season 8, and it seems the network agrees. In an exclusive with People, Kathryn confirmed she has exited Southern Charm ahead of the new season. @Queensofbravo has also alleged that Naomie Olindo will not be back after her return last season, while Madison LeCroy will be "back full throttle." Madison even shared several Instagram photos with Patricia Altschul and Southern Charm creator Whitney Sudler-Smith alongside Madison's new husband, Brett Randle.

Some faces, like Taylor Ann Green, Shep's ex, may not come back, especially since the breakup was hard on both of the Southern Charm stars. Even Leva Bonaparte, who launched her spin-off, Southern Hospitality, is under review. Since a lot is still unknown, all fans can do is hypothesize about who else may or may not return to the show and hope that their favorites make the cut.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County deputies say a standoff that began Tuesday night at a Ravenel home has ended with a man in custody.

Michael Shawn Sweeney, 52, is charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, first-degree assault and battery, and four counts of pointing and presenting a firearm, sheriff’s spokesman Andrew Knapp said.

Deputies took Sweeney, who had barricaded himself inside a home in the 6400 block of Farm House Road, into custody at approximately 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, just over a full 24 hours after they first responded to the neighborhood.

“SWAT team members made entry in a tactical operation and located him,” Knapp said. “He was arrested without significant incident.”

Deputies received a report about a domestic disturbance involving a weapon at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 6400 block of Farm House Road, Knapp said.

Two people who were inside the home were able to leave without injury, but deputies learned that Sweeney armed with firearms remained and barricaded himself inside, refusing to come out.

Just before 11 p.m., deputies called in the SWAT team and crisis negotiators as they continued their efforts to establish contact with him.

At times during the hours-long standoff, the man has come out of the home only to walk back inside. On at least one occasion, he was seen carrying a shotgun in front of deputies, Knapp said.

Knapp said throughout the standoff that there was no known danger to neighboring homes, and people who live in the area were allowed to come and go.

Knapp confirmed Tuesday night that they do have knowledge of past arrests and past “domestic-type incidents” at the house.

Charleston County jail records state Sweeney was booked into the jail on a charge of third-degree domestic violence on June 8.

Neighbors and witnesses reported hearing multiple sirens at different points throughout the standoff.

”Throughout the course of a standoff like this, we use various tactics to establish contact with someone inside a home, and that’s just one of those,” Knapp said. “Obviously, for neighbors in this area it can be unnerving, but everything is OK.”

No injuries have been reported in this incident.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

There were no other riders behind her as she came over the Ravenel Bridge. Not one. But still, a few months later, MUSC College of Health Professions student Emily Bott said she’d absolutely do LOWVELO again.

“The hardest part was by far the Ravenel Bridge,” said Bott of the 23-mile route she completed during MUSC Hollings Cancer Center’s LOWVELO22 in November. “I had only ever ridden it once during my training, and when I got to the day of the ride, it seemed to go on forever. I was equally embarrassed and proud once I got to the bottom because, even though I was the last person to cross the bridge, I made it to the other side.”

Bott will join her team, the Training Wheels, and other LOWVELO riders and teams for the Jerry Zucker Awards Ceremony for LOWVELO22 on Feb. 16 at the Harbour Club at WestEdge from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The night includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails and celebrates the accomplishments of riders and the funds raised for life-saving cancer research at Hollings.

Bott never planned to ride in LOWVELO. But life threw a curveball at her last July when she went home to spend Fourth of July weekend with her family in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

“My parents sat me down and they said, ‘Your mom has cancer and don't look it up on the internet,’” recalled Bott.

The cancer her mother, Laura, had been diagnosed with was stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.

“When I did look at the internet, I felt pretty hopeless because of the previous statistics,” said Bott. “But thanks to research efforts it has a much higher survival rate than it used to.”

Bott’s parents encouraged her to go back to school, saying that was where she needed to be.

“So, I was looking for a way to support my family from afar,” said Bott. “To feel like I was helping in some way.”

Since research efforts were giving her family hope as her mother faced this battle, Bott decided that she could help by contributing to the process at Hollings. A group of her classmates were riding in LOWVELO, something she previously didn’t think she could do. But with a new desire to be part of the solution, she jumped in.

“I had not biked since I was a child. I don't have a bike. I thought it was awesome that my classmates were supporting each other and cancer research, but I did not think it was something that I was going to be able to do,” said Bott. “When I found out about my mom, I kind of resolved myself. I decided this is one thing that I know for sure that I can do to be part of this fight. So, I'm going to make it work and I'm going to go all in and do it.”

Go all in, she did. Bott signed up for and started training to take on the 23-mile route.

“When I got on the bike to train, it was the first time in several years. I was wobbly and turning was hard,” Bott recalled with a chuckle. “And my friends would laugh at me because I looked silly – like a baby horse or giraffe just learning to walk.”

It didn’t take long for her to get the hang of biking again, though. Bott felt empowered as she pushed through the months leading up to LOWVELO getting ready. Her team, the Training Wheels, ended up with 53 riders and more than $17,000 raised for cancer research at Hollings.

“I was so proud when I finished,” said Bott. “My roommate and friends were there cheering me on, and I felt ecstatic. It was so surreal that I actually biked 23 miles as someone who has never biked or cycled regularly.”

Bott might get that fighting spirit from her mother. She’s still powering her way through, too. She finished her last day of chemo on Dec. 27 and will undergo surgery this month, followed by radiation and immunotherapy.

Despite being the very last rider to make it up and over Charleston’s biggest hill on ride day, Bott describes her experience with LOWVELO as meaningful and impactful.

“If I can bike 23 miles, anyone can,” encouraged Bott. “I say that people can leisurely ride 10 miles in under an hour, so 23 is a great goal for a little more of a challenge. The LOWVELO team set up many supports and made me feel so safe. I would recommend it to anyone.”

LOWVELO began in 2019 and has helped fund projects like CAR-T-cell therapy. In 2021, LOWVELO funded a research grant to create purified versions of CAR-T-cells, which are used to treat certain leukemia and lymphoma patients. This therapy can give hope to patients who have fewer treatment options left. Funds raised from the 2022 ride will be announced at the awards ceremony on Feb. 16.

Happy Halloween, Charlestonians. Over the years, we’ve told bone-chilling stories from around the Lowcountry, and today we’re sharing our favorites.

Remember: Some of these stories are merely tall tales, others include historical facts, and all make for a spine-tingling read for the holiday.

Flashback to 1771: The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon is completed. British forces transform the bottom floor into a military prison during the American Revolution.

This local landmark is home to several haunting tales, including that of Colonel Isaac Hayne, who was charged with treason, sentenced to death + held in the dungeon before being hanged in 1781.

Today, the building serves as a museum. Some of those who have toured the dungeon believe to have sensed Isaac’s spirit, hearing screams and the sounds of shackles.

It’s New Year’s Eve in 1889, and three young men are walking home when they stop near railroad tracks to watch the moon and are suddenly killed in a collision.

The men are said to be buried at a baptist church near the railroad and haunt Ravenel. According to legend, their spirits can be spotted in the form of three bright lights.

It is believed that if you knock three times on the doors of the church and say “We want to see the lights” three times, you may glimpse the lights approaching.

Tower Battery, later known as Fort Lamar on James Island, was attacked by Union troops in the spring of 1862.

When all was said and done, 150 bodies lay scattered across the land along with almost 900 casualties. The Battle of Secessionville was the only attempt during the Civil War to capture Charleston by land.

There have been reports of paranormal sounds in the early morning from James Island residents + visitors — including the metallic clicking of cannons and the splashes of fleeing soldiers.

Craving more creepiness? For more spine-tingling stories, go here — if you dare.

This story was originally published in the Oct. 4, 2021 edition of the Charleston Regional Business Journal.

A second planned unit development has been pitched for Ravenel, the rural town of 2,700 residents, showing signs that progress is now pushing outward from West Ashley.

Residents are concerned the movement could fundamentally change the rural nature of the area they call home.

Plans for the Tea Farm Tract, a proposed 400-unit planned development in Ravenel, and the related annexation of over 3,100 acres of land in Ravenel, were blessed Sept. 16 by the town’s planning and zoning commission, with a recommendation to limit density on over 2,000 acres of land outside the development.

The Tea Farm Tract would sit on 395 acres of land.

Rebecca Baird, who lives adjacent to the property and whose husband runs a grass-fed beef farm on their property, also opposed the annexation and development.

“I’m begging you to not annex this property; it will be devastating for this community, it will change the traffic flow, it will change how we have grown to live in this rural area,” she said.

A public hearing was scheduled be held by the full council and possible vote on Sept. 28.

Earlier this summer, the council approved and filed annexation plans for the Golden Grove Planned Development District, with 381 single-family homes and a commercial area to be built on 597 acres between Highway 17 and Old Jacksonboro Highway.

Similarly, the Tea Farm proposed development would sit along Old Jacksonboro Road and Highway 17, next to E.B. Ellington Elementary School, about 11 minutes from the intersection of Bees Ferry Road and Glenn McConnell in West Ashley.

The site is currently owned by the McLeod Lumber Company.

“We have owned this property for nearly a century…times change, things move on,” said William McLeod Rhodes, president of McLeod Lumber, at the commission meeting. “We would look for a developer who would do it well, and of course all regulations would be done well.”

Representatives from Thomas & Hutton, the land planning firm for the site, said they have been working on the land use plan for the site for a year-and-a-half.

Land planners stated at the meeting that the development may impact wetlands, including a half-acre of “isolated wetlands” on Landover Road.

Nearly two dozen neighbors and community stakeholders — including the Preservation Society of Charleston and The Coastal Conservation League — spoke out against the development at the Sept. 16 commission meeting, which lasted two-and-a-half-hours.

One resident said he would move away from Ravenel if the Tea Farm development was approved.

Others questions why 3,000 acres needed to be annexed for a project a fraction of that size and expressed concern that the town was setting itself up for a larger buildout on the site.

Opponents cited disruption to the site’s wildlife and wetlands, potentially impacting the nearby Charleston County Parks’ Caw Caw Interpretive Center, as well as increased traffic and strains on the area’s sewer system, which could potentially lead to future flooding issues.

“That’s just an incredible amount of land that can be developed like this,” said Tim Blackwell, who spoke at the meeting. “This could start a program where it will cascade (with) partnerships and LLCs adding another 1,000 acres. Once you start this, you’re going to ruin what you’ve got and what Mount Pleasant wishes what they had. We’re going to have Highway 17 South look like Highway 17 North.”

Thomas & Hutton presented a complete plan with renderings of sidewalks, streets and bike lanes. Plans include single-family homes and townhomes, parks and open space, a community center and 16 acre-commercial area that could support a grocery store.

The Tea Farm plan calls for slightly more than two single family homes per acre, and, when combined with townhomes, comes out to six units per acre overall. The density of Golden Grove is three homes per acre.

The board’s conditional recommendation was to limit density to one home per 25 acres in the 2,700 or so acres not expressly in the Tea Farm development, as outlined in the Charleston County’s comprehensive plan for Ravenel,

Rhodes did not return an email from CRBJ, asking if he was agreeable to the density amendment by the commission.

At the meeting, however, he shared that the McLeod family has additional tracts totaling 1,350 acres, but they are not seeking that to be annexed at this time.

In his opening statement, town administrator Mike Hemmer tried to quell some concerns about the development, including that the town does have the capacity to run sewer to the planned development and that existing sewer line limits mean the remaining 2,000 acres could not be built out in full.

During public comments, only one citizen spoke in favor of the Tea Farm development at the meeting: resident Todd Johnson, who said he’s lived in the area for 20 years. He said the development will bring younger people to the area.

“I think it’s a great idea for the young people coming up; they need a place to live and work,” he said. “Everything is growing out this way anyway. I think it’s a wonderful idea and I’m glad for the town to continue to grow. We need to grow.”