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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Lowcountry community coming together to hoop for change.

“We did an AAU tournament,” Ronald Smith, father of Ronjanae Smith lost her life to gun violence in May 2021, said. “A memorial tournament for the kids. To be able to come out, represent her, get a trophy, win a championship. Anything to keep the kids out of the street and to keep the violence down.”

The inaugural Positive Vibe Memorial Basketball Tournament honors the life of Ronjanae Smith, and is also an effort to end gun violence in North Charleston.

“We don’t want to other parents cry like we cried,” Smith said. “And right now, the violence has went up so much in the City of North Charleston. We’re going to continue to fight this fight to stop the violence in all communities.”

Some community leaders say events like this are effective in the fight against gun violence, but wish city leaders were more proactive in the fight.

“In many communities,” Pastor Thomas Dixon said, “such as right here in North Charleston, the city government and those that are in power, and those who have the financial wherewithal to make changes, are not doing so.”

Dixon believes making substantial change requires everyone in the community working together.

“The community has got to get engaged in this process,” he said, “but it’s not just the community. Our local municipal governments need to understand their responsibility in breaking down the cycle of gun violence. Our school system needs to understand their responsibility.”

Smith’s parents say more than anything, they want continue doing their part to make change in the community, while honoring their daughter.

“I know she’s smiling down on us to see that everyone is here,” Smith said. “And tomorrow, we have a ceremony and it’s going to be even more lovely. So, the community can see what we’re doing for my daughter, and how we’re carrying her name.”

Sunday, May 1 is the last day of the tournament. Games begin at the North Charleston Athletic Center at 9:00 a.m.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Elbit Systems of America, a company that helps manufacture products for the United States Department of Defense and Homeland Security, broke ground Wednesday on a new 135,000 square-foot facility in North Charleston

The facility is located on Sightline Drive, right off Palmetto Commerce Parkway. The facility will focus on building ground combat vehicles for the U.S. military and its allies.

Leaders say this new facility could make the Lowcountry a centerpiece for defense manufacturing in the U.S. And representatives with Elbit say North Charleston’s prime location near the port, along with the area’s heavy veteran and military community made this partnership a perfect fit.

“There's an amazing amount of companies in and around Charleston and across South Carolina that we're going to look to help with these large programs. And so, from our perspective, it was really a strategic decision to move to Charleston,” Vice President of Strategy and Growth Scott Baum said.

The big question many residents are asking: How will this facility impact the Lowcountry?

Charleston County Council officials who said that this is going to be a “Big Deal” for residents in the North Charleston area. This new facility may strengthen Charleston’s involvement in the United States defense manufacturing business.

In addition, the facility is expected to grow North Charleston’s economy by billions of dollars.

Elbit Systems of America is planning to create over 300 jobs in North Charleston, a city where the unemployment has risen by almost 4% since 2019 according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The new facility is also supposed to have an economic impact of over $380 million for the Lowcountry, with Elbit investing billions of dollars more into local businesses and manufacturing companies.

Charleston County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor said the relationship will be a win-win for the first of its kind facility in the Lowcountry.

"The faith based community folks, as well as charitable organizations, as well as reaching out to the minority community with training, trying to get them on board -- I think it's a win situation," Pryor said. "But if you look at Charleston County as a whole, we've always had a presence when it comes to the military: You look at the Air Force base, or naval base, naval weapons station. So, I think, you know, they saw it as a good fit, as well as I see it as a good fit."

Pryor also said similar projects will come to the Lowcountry.

The facility is expected to be up and running by fall of 2022.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — After some young baseball players' game was interrupted by shots fired in North Charleston last week, they'll get to resume play in style at the RiverDogs' home tomorrow night.

The minor league team will host the youth game prior to their own home contest on Tuesday, May 3, from 5 to 6 p.m.

“As a huge supporter of youth baseball, we felt that is was our responsibility to do something for these children that might help them move on from this traumatic experience”, said RiverDogs President and General Manager Dave Echols. “We have a tremendous opportunity, with what we do night in and night out, to help in difficult situations like these. Thankfully, with the help of the city of North Charleston and the North Charleston Recreation Department, we were able to put this special night together quickly.”

Major League Baseball is expected to buy tickets to the game for all three youth teams involved, plus hot a post-game picnic for them.

The Tampa Bay Rays- the RiverDogs MLB affiliate- are sending t-shirts and hats for the children.

“We are pleased that these children and their families will have an opportunity to finish this game at Joseph Riley Park prior to the RiverDogs hosting the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Tuesday. We hope the experience at The Joe will be a small step towards helping those involved in that frightening incident," said Peter Woodfork, Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President of Minor League Operations and Development.

Last week, a Dixie Youth league baseball game at Pepperhill Park was paused after dozens of shots rang out, sending players, spectators and coaches scrambling for cover.

Witnesses told authorities that multiple vehicles carrying teenagers pulled into a parking lot, and a fistfight preceded the gunshots. No injuries have been reported.

The 15-U softball team that was at the park at the time of the incident will also be part of the May 3 event at The Joe.

Police are still looking for suspects.

“The RiverDogs are a true community partner. Following the events of Monday night affecting three of our youth athletic teams, the RiverDogs were among the first to reach out to offer support to the young players and their families,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. “Playing at The Joe will be a much needed positive and joyful experience for our kids.”

As Germaine Jenkins confidently chomped on a weedy-looking plant’s stem and flowers, a group of moms and dads tentatively followed her lead.

It tasted like broccoli – which made sense, since the plant was a broccoli that had bolted, growing tall stems and delicate yellow flowers. Most gardeners work hard to prevent bolting, but Jenkins allows this natural process at Fresh Future Farm in North Charleston, since this is what produces seeds for next year’s crop.

In addition to the broccoli, the parents got to taste borage and several types of mint as they toured the farm, which Jenkins established in 2014 on the grounds of the old Chicora Elementary School, one block off of Rivers Avenue.

“There was nothing here in 2014 but grass,” Jenkins told the group. “And fire ants.”

The parents were part of the nationwide Healthy Families America program, which is run locally by MUSC Children’s Health. It’s a voluntary home-visiting program with the goal of preventing child abuse and neglect.

Pediatrician Luke Edmondson, M.D., oversees the grant that funds MUSC’s program. It’s something he wishes he could offer to every new mother, but funding limitations mean it’s restricted to children considered at risk because of the young age of the mother, low education levels, poverty, drug or alcohol abuse, lack of social support or past Department of Social Services involvement.

Family support specialists make regular visits to each family’s home, where they talk about child development milestones; offer ideas for activities; and help the families to access resources for food, housing, education, child care or other needs. Many of the families are immigrants from Mexico or Central America, so language and cultural education is also a component.

The pandemic was particularly challenging to the program’s typical operations. Home visits were replaced by virtual visits. The family support specialists might swing by a family’s home to drop off food or diapers on the doorstep. But Edmondson was surprised and pleased that families didn’t give up on the program during that time. Most remained engaged.

And on this beautiful blue-sky day, the families gathered together for a bit of community bonding and a bit of learning about organic gardening and nutrition.

The event was held to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Jenkins, who sits on the local Healthy Families America community advisory board, shared some of her personal story – how she arrived in Charleston as a single mother with a 3-year-old and 18-month-old. She talked about how it could be stressful, trying to figure out how to pay bills and to get nutritious food for her children. But she also discovered the calming power of nature.

“For some reason, when I stuck my hands in the soil, a lot of answers came,” she said.

Jenkins’ children are now grown and help with running the farm. Jenkins started it with the idea of providing fresh, healthy food to a neighborhood that lost its last grocery store back in 2005. There’s a small grocery store on site, which sells the produce on a sliding scale and hires locals at a livable wage.

“Along with the vitamins and the beautiful space, we’re growing community,” Jenkins said. “The idea is that if we can figure it out here, then other communities can come together and figure out how to do something similar.”

Jenkins noted that although the produce within the farm is sold, anything that grows over the fence is free for foraging.

“I get excited when I see peach pits because I know the kids are tasting a food that tastes like what their parents would have eaten, without chemicals. It has a lot of flavor and nutrients when you pick it right off the tree,” she said.

After the farm tour, the parents split into two groups. One group helped to lay down wood chips, which suppress weeds and retain water during hot summers, and the other group used some of the site-grown produce to create a chicken pasta salad with a light vinaigrette.

Then, the entire group of parents, children and program staff sat down to enjoy the locally grown, delicious meal.

Vicki Gannon has been bowling at Sandpiper Lanes in North Charleston for more than 40 years.

By the end of the month, she will have to find a new place to enjoy the pastime with friends.

The 2.5-acre corner property at the heavily traveled Ashley Phosphate and Cross County roads intersection where the bowling alley has hosted countless tournaments for the past 45 years has been sold. Employees have been told the lanes will close by the end of May.

The buyer of the property is Encore-Ashley Phosphate LLC of Sullivan’s Island, an affiliate of Encore Real Estate Development of Tampa, Fla. The firm paid $3.1 million for the 32-lane bowling center in late March, according to Charleston County land records.

The previous owner was the family-operated CGC Recreation Inc. of Greenwood, which paid $1.25 million for the property in 2003.

An Encore representative did not immediately respond for comment about the purchase.

A site work permit application for a convenience store and gas station has been submitted to the city of North Charleston, city spokesman Ryan Johnson said.

Bowling center manager David Morga found it hard to digest when he first heard about the sale and looming closing of the longtime business.

“I was shocked,” Morga said. “They remodeled in 2017, and last year was one of the best years we ever had. This is definitely going to hurt the bowling world. Tournaments bring people from all over the state as well as North Carolina and Georgia.”

Gannon said she was saddened by the closing of the bowling alley, where senior leagues have played for many years.

“We have become like family,” she said.

Longtime bowler Michelle Eleazer Smith said she, too, was stunned to learn of the decision in April.

“The closure is so sad,” said Smith, who has been bowling since 1978 at Sandpiper Lanes. “There are not a ton of options if you play in a league or are a sanctioned player looking to play in a tournament.”

Smith said the bowling alley’s demise will leave three other venues in the Lowcountry for sanctioned players: Royal Lanes in Goose Creek, Ashley Lanes in West Ashley and Swamp Fox Lanes in Moncks Corner. Other public and private bowling sites are in the Charleston area, as well.

In a farewell nod to the longtime entertainment site, Morga said Sandpiper Lanes will throw a going- away party from 8 p.m. until midnight May 14.