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Alligator seasons are in all over the southeastern United States—and South Carolina’s opening weekend was one for the books. At one taxidermy and butcher shop in the Palmetto State’s Lowcountry, as many as 18 gators were checked in on September 10 alone.

Among those was an absolute giant that measured 13 feet long and tipped scales at an eye-popping 625 pounds. The giant gator was pulled from the shallow waters of Lake Marion—110,000 acres of prime alligator habitat just south of the Congaree National Park.

Kenneth Cordray, whose family owns Cordray’s Venison Processing in Ravenel, South Carolina, says the gator was one of the biggest he’s ever dealt with at the shop, where he’s been processing alligators since 2008. “When you get over 500 pounds, and you get to 13 feet…that’s a big alligator,” Cordray told Field & Stream. “We get a lot of 12-footers, and a lot of 100-, 200-, and 300-pounders, but when they get over that mark, it’s rare.”

Cordray says that three alligator hunters— Adam, Noah, and Nick Gilbert—brought the massive lizard into his shop late in the night on Saturday, September 10. “They were out on their first gator hunt ever,” he said. “They saw a big gator, followed the bubbles, and hooked him.”

Successfully harvesting an alligator of that caliber on a first-time outing is no small feat, Cordray said, but the method of take that the three hunters employed made their story even more compelling. “They didn’t harpoon him, and they didn’t shoot him with a bow fishing rig. They just threw out a big treble hook and pulled the thing in,” he said. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Lake Marion is one of three large lakes in South Carolina’s Santee Basin. With its shallow, stumpy water full of big swamps, it is prime alligator habitat that draws scores of hunters every year. In 2010, a gator that weighed 1,025 pounds was taken from Lake Moultrie, the lowest of the three Santee Basin lakes.

That gator was taken by a Massachusetts hunter named Maryellen Mara-Christenson. According to the Charleston Post & Courier, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources does not maintain an official alligator record book, but Mara-Christenson’s 2010 monster is widely recognized as the biggest gator to ever come out of a South Carolina swamp.

Southern Charm's Thomas Ravenel is at it again and this time is lashing out at Bravo for continuing to follow Kathryn Dennis' story after she lost the custody battle. The father of three has not held his tongue when it comes to his outrage against the network. Every couple of months, Thomas takes to social media to let the network feel his wrath.

Kathryn and Thomas have had a tough, drawn-out custody battle that had turned ugly for both reality stars until they came to an agreement back in December 2019. Southern Charm viewers will recall that Thomas filed for sole custody of their two children, Kensington and Saint, after Dennis allegedly failed a drug test. In February 2021, Kathryn lost custody of her children and now only has supervised visits on the weekends.

Over the weekend, Thomas tweeted his disdain for Bravo via Page Six, proclaiming that the network is "corrupt." Thomas couldn't help but notice how hypocritical the network was supposedly being, claiming that if he had lost custody of his children, he would have been portrayed as a horrible father. Instead, the disgraced politician noted that he was being accused of "buying off the system" to gain custody of his children. Thomas quickly deleted his post, but fans are wondering what prompted the outburst.

Southern Charm viewers have never learned exactly why Kathryn lost custody since, in 2021, she requested that the documents be sealed. During their custody battle in 2021, it was shared that a mutual friend reportedly told Thomas that the redhead took her children on a ski trip and allegedly left cocaine in easy access points. Soon after the allegations, Thomas uprooted the children and moved them to Aiken, South Carolina, which is a 2.5-hour drive from Charleston. The relationship between Kathryn and Thomas has not improved as she blames him for losing her children.

Kathryn has difficulty processing that she no longer has her children and feels that court-supervised visits are horrible. Southern Charm fans empathize with the mother of two, who has been sharing her hardships on the small screen. Currently, Kathryn gets every other weekend with her children and can only see them between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Kathryn is also paying Thomas $4,000 in child support and for his nanny to drive the kids to Charleston. While it doesn't look like Thomas will be back on the show, fans hope to see Kathryn get another chance to be a mom.

Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Artemis I rocket is set for another launch attempt on Saturday afternoon. If successful, it will be the first spacecraft in 50 years to go to the moon.

Boeing is the prime contractor for Artemis and several team members from the Boeing North Charleston plant helped to build the rocket. One of them is a Stall High school graduate who grew up in North Charleston.

“Yes, I was very excited to be one of the ones that was selected for the program to go build this Artemis one,” Isaiah Ravenel said.

Ravenel has worked as a structures mechanic for Boeing for 13 years. His experience building airplanes, made him a great candidate to work on the next rocket program that will take humans to the moon.

“I build the engine core section. That’s the section where the four RS25 engines will be attached to the rocket going into space.”

Along with hundreds of others, he relocated to New Orleans from 2017 to 2020 to work at the Michoud Plant NASA facility building Artemis.

“Building this rocket, the Artemis I, knowing that it’s going to be the rocket that’s going to put the first woman back on the moon and the first person of color back on the moon, it’s an awesome experience,” Ravenel said.

So how did this 1986 Stall High School grad end up working on the next generation space program. He credits his 10 years of service in the Army.

“With radio and avionics and that took me to the career of aeronautics to work with Boeing and other aeronautic companies building aircrafts,” Ravenel said.

And now, he’s got a great experience to share with his family and friends about his contribution to the space program and the Artemis I rocket.

“Something I can sit back and tell my grandkids, say hey, Papa built that.”

The latest plan calls for a second launch attempt of the Artemis I rocket on Saturday. The launch window opens at 2:17 p.m. Ravenel says he will be keeping his fingers crossed for a successful launch.

According to its website:

Boeing is the prime contractor for the design, development, test and production of the launch vehicle core stage and upper stages, as well as development of the flight avionics suite.

The Boeing-built core stage for the Artemis I mission has completed a series of tests known as Green Run at the agency’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. It has been refurbished and delivered to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the rest of SLS. Meanwhile, Boeing is building the core stages for Artemis II and III.

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September 6, 2022 - Bluffton-based real estate team, The Patterson Group, has joined real estate brokerage Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty. Consisting of Realtors® John Patterson, Kimberlee Patterson, and Liz Warner, the team is on the heels of an impressive 2021, recording an annual sales volume of over $20M.

"We seized this opportunity to align with a growing brokerage in the region that would match our commitment to our clients," said John Patterson, a private golf community specialist. "As part of Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty, our clients will have the advantage of leading technology and marketing on a global scale.”

Patterson’s golf community expertise stems from 30 years in and around the golf industry that includes playing on the professional circuit. Locally, residents will recognize his name as the three-time winner of the Hilton Head Open and the 2013 South Carolina Open at Belfair. His passion for the game forges bonds with like-minded clients and underscores his ability to connect individuals with not just a home but a lifestyle.

Kimberlee Patterson joined her husband in real estate in 2016 after building a successful career in advertising and marketing. She provides a thoughtful, tailored approach to presenting homes for maximum exposure, including assisting homeowners with preparation like staging and organizing.

"Kimberlee and John's skillsets are so complementary. They offer the total package to their clients in a warm, welcoming way," said Judy Collins, Director of Development for the firm's Bluffton and Hilton Head Island offices.

Liz Warner, previously a bi-coastal marketing and public relations professional, rounds out The Patterson Group. She brings a high-level perspective to clients, having spent more than a dozen years promoting all facets of the real estate industry. From finance and development to architecture and construction, Liz has invaluable insights into the commercial and residential sectors.

"Together, we make an incredibly strong team," said Patterson. "With the resources available at Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty - the newly renovated Bluffton office, the support staff, the marketing expertise, and the power of the brand - we'll be positioned to offer our clients an unparalleled service experience."

The Patterson Group will work out of the Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty office in Bluffton at 49 Boundary Street. More information can be found at https://bit.ly/3CWmYlJ.

Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel criticized Bravo this week, claiming a false narrative has been portrayed regarding the custody situation of the two children he shares with ex Kathryn Dennis.

According to Page Six, the 60-year-old took to Twitter this week, calling the network “corrupt” and accusing it of making it look like Thomas “bought” custody of the kids. (His tweets were deleted shortly after he posted them, though.)

Thomas stated that, had the situation been reversed and Kathryn been given full custody, he feels the network would have done its best to exploit that.

“If I lost all custody of my kids, all the Bravo-controlled media would be talking about what a horrible father I am,” Thomas tweeted and soon deleted.

“Instead, as I have full custody, the narrative is that I’ve bought off the system and Family Court is corrupt. I think Bravo is corrupt.”

When someone responded, “Money always wins,” Thomas clapped back.

“Money can be a double-edged sword,” he tweeted. “It can put a target on your back and invite frivolous lawsuits and allegations.”

Though he didn’t clarify what led him to fire off the tweets, Thomas was seemingly referencing the fact that Kathryn lost temporary custody of daughter Kensie and son Saint in March 2021.

Just last month, Kathryn opened up on a podcast about the current custody agreement between her and Thomas, calling it “f**king horrible.” She also discussed factors that contributed to her losing temporary custody of the kids, citing a failed drug test for marijuana, which she said the court considered to be a relapse on her part, as she previously went to rehab in 2016 for a self-admitted “problem with weed.”

Due to the custody agreement, Kathryn is only allowed to see her children every other weekend from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during visits that are supervised by someone appointed by the court.

During the podcast, Kathryn also alleged that the situation had been orchestrated by Thomas to ensure that he would be allowed to take Kensie and Saint with him to live in Aiken, South Carolina. (Meanwhile, Kathryn continues to live in Charleston, which is about 2.5 hours away.)

While Thomas did not mention Kathryn by name, he seemed to respond to Kathryn’s version of events last month, arguing that his main focus is protecting his children.

“I take it as a badge of honor that I don’t give way to being hated, lied about and attacked for fulfilling my most sacred and moral obligation: protecting my children!” Thomas tweeted in August.

RELATED STORY: Former ‘Southern Charm’ Star Thomas Ravenel Calls Protecting His Children His “Most Sacred & Moral Obligation” After Kathryn Dennis Criticizes Their Current Custody Arrangement

(Photos: Bravo; Twitter)