Mattress storein Walterboro, SC

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Walterboro has been accepted into a state program to revitalize their historic downtown area in hopes of bringing economic success to the community.

Walterboro joins over 30 other communities like Beaufort, Kingstree, and Orangeburg in the Main Street South Carolina network, which aims to address issues that challenge historic commercial districts.

“People who have grown up in this town have seen it gone from a very vibrant, bustling downtown that had pharmacies, restaurants, banks,” Scott Grooms, director of tourism and downtown development for the City of Walterboro said. “I’d love to see downtown just totally populated again with that to where people come downtown to shop and do day to day business.”

Business owners downtown say they love the area’s southern charm and small town feel but agree that some updates would bring in more business.

“I think we have incredible potential I just think we need some help in realizing what all we have,” Jessica Burdick, owner of Twig Boutique, said.

In the coming weeks, Main Street SC will come to Walterboro and bring in a research crew to find out what the city is doing right, and what they could do better, holding meetings with stakeholders, residents, and public officials to find out their vision for downtown. Then, they will assist Walterboro in coming up with strategies to achieve that vision.

“I think it’s gonna bring new business, a lot of potential for a lot of our local people for things different to do, and hopefully some beautification and some buildings that are currently empty, to fill those as well,” Heather Larson, co-owner of Colleton Day Spa, said.

Before the team arrives, the city has posted a survey asking people who live, work, and spend time in Walterboro to share what they think the most pressing issues facing downtown are, what types of businesses they would like to see, and more.

You can find that survey here. You’re encouraged to submit honest feedback about what you would like to see downtown until Jan. 25.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

For the Press & Standard

On Tuesday, Jan. 17, the School Superintendents Association (AASA), announced the recipients of the 2023 “Helping Kids Mini-Grants”, a program funded by AASA, and supported by its government cooperative procurement partner, Sourcewell.

This year, $108,000 in funds have been distributed to 35 school districts across the country and have been used for everything from urgent everyday necessities to disaster relief. As a continuation of AASA’s “Live Well. Lead Well.” initiative, AASA is providing these funds to districts for assistance with promoting healthy students, healthy staff and healthy buildings. In addition, funds are also being provided to districts impacted by 2022 natural disasters.

“AASA wants to help. As the nation’s premier organization serving public school districts and school district leadership, a major part of what we stand for is to help school districts, especially those who need our help the most,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “We thank Sourcewell for making this relief effort possible. This partnership speaks to the unparalleled commitment being made to school districts nationwide.”

“Our mission at Sourcewell is to be a source multiplier. This is an opportunity where we can work with AASA and school districts to make a real difference with students, families, and the communities in which these families live,” said Chad Coauette, executive director, chief executive officer, Sourcewell. “We are so proud of the longstanding relationship we have with AASA. Through this relationship, we are grateful to play a small role in helping to establish stability on behalf of the honorees, especially in the uncertain times we’re in.”

For 2023, the following school districts were chosen to receive the AASA/Sourcewell “Helping Kids Mini-Grants.”

Adams 12 Five Star Schools:

Thornton, Colo.

Superintendent: Chris Gdowski

Abington School District

Abington, Pa.

Superintendent: Jeffrey Fecher

Bozrah School District / Fields Memorial School

Bozrah, Conn.

Superintendent: Denise Grant

Brush School District RE – 2J

Brush, Colo.

Superintendent: William Wilson

Colleton County School District

Walterboro, S.C.

Superintendent: Vallerie Cave

Dallas School District 2

Dallas, Ore.

Superintendent: Steve Spencer

Glens Falls Common School District

Glens Falls, N.Y.

Superintendent: Brian George

Highlands School District

Natrona Heights, Pa.

Superintendent: Monique Mawhinney

Intermediate District 287

Plymouth, Minn.

Superintendent: Marcy Doud

Kuspuk School District

Aniak, Alaska

Superintendent: Madeline Aguillard

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools

Savannah, Ga.

Superintendent: Ann Levett

School District of Mellen

Mellen, Wis.

Superintendent: Rhonda Elhorst-Friemoth

Susquenita School District

Duncannon, Pa.

Superintendent: Jon-David Fox

Washington Local Schools

Toledo, Ohio

Superintendent: Kadee Anstadt

West Yellowstone School District

West Yellowstone, Mont.

Superintendent: Coul Hill

Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50

Gurnee, Ill.

Superintendent: Robert Machak

The following school districts were chosen to receive disaster relief funds through the program.

Beaufort County Schools

Washington, N.C.

Superintendent: Matthew Cheeseman

Brunswick County Schools

Bolivia, N.C.

Superintendent: Jerry Oates

Carteret County Public Schools

Beaufort, N.C.

Superintendent: Richard Paylor

Charlotte County Public Schools

Port Charlotte, Fla.

Superintendent: Steve Dionisio

Collier County Public Schools

Naples, Fla.

Superintendent: Kamela Patton

The School District of DeSoto County

Arcadia, Fla.

Superintendent: Bobby Bennett

Flagler Schools

Bunnell, Fla.

Superintendent: Cathy Mittelstadt

Georgetown County School District

Georgetown, S.C.

Superintendent: Keith Price

Glades County School District

Moore Haven, Fla.

Superintendent: Beth Barfield

Hardee County Schools

Wauchula, Fla.

Superintendent: Bob Shayman

The School Board of Highlands County

Sebring, Fla.

Superintendent: Brenda Longshore

Hillsborough County Public Schools

Tampa, Fla.

Superintendent: Addison Davis

The School District of Lee County

Ft. Myers, Fla.

Superintendent: Christopher Bernier

School District of Manatee County

Bradenton, Fla.

Superintendent: Cynthia Saunders

Onslow County School District

Jacksonville, N.C.

Superintendent: Barry D. Collins

The School District of Osceola County

Kissimmee, Fla.

Superintendent: Debra Pace

Sarasota County Schools

Sarasota, Fla.

Superintendent: Brennan Asplen

Volusia County School District

Deland, Fla.

Superintendent: Carmen Balgobin

Ponce Education Region of the

Puerto Rico Department of Education

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Superintendent: Roberto Rodriguez

Since 2012, AASA and Sourcewell have worked together to create the mini-grant program. For additional questions, please contact Leigh Hines at leigh.hines@aasa.org.

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On Wednesday, Dec. 28 a community meeting was held that centered around the

concerns and questions that local citizens have about a men’s transitional house

proposed to open in March of 2023 to potentially house between 50- 100 offenders.

Those in attendance were Mayor Bill Young, Sheriff Guerry ‘Buddy’ Hill, several local

media outlets, and approximately 75 concerned citizens of Walterboro.

Shield Ministries has purchased the property located at 1705 Barracada Rd, formally

known as Living Word Church, and have already made improvements to it. This location

would place the men’s house amid a residential area where families, churches, and

schools are.

Shield Ministries is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded by Reverend David

Truluck and his wife Melodie Truluck. Shield Ministries' home office is in Charleston and

their program is described as a means to help men that have been in prison to make to

transition back into civilian life. The transitional house would host first-time and non-

violent offenders of a variety of charges, including but not limited to sex offenses.

According to the 2021 annual report provided by Shield Ministries, 70 percent of the

participants in the Charleston locations are registered sex offenders. Visit

www.shieldministries.org/_files/ugd/6ae18f_552781bb122e43a5bb4b8966a83d83ed.pdf

for more information.

Attendees discussed how the founder; David Truluck is also a registered sex offender

who is said to be reformed. Additional information can be found at

www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/SC1287426/David-Montgomery-Truluck.

Those presenting at the meeting provided some statistical data and information about

the organization and its two founders. Based on the information discussed, there was a

consensus that rehabilitation and housing programs are positive initiatives. There was

also a consensus that it should not be in a residential area near potential victims if the

men with sexual charges were to re-offend while housed within the community.

According to state law, anyone that is registered cannot reside within 1,000 feet of any

school, childcare center, church, and park. When converted, 1,000 feet is about .19

miles. There is a church, Kingdom Hall, that is .20 miles away from the proposed house.

For more information visit

library.municode.com/sc/columbia/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH14OF

MIPR_ARTXSEOFRERE#:~:text=Any%20person%20required%20to%20register,playin

g%20fields%20or%20courts%20or.

Some of the concerns voiced by community members included how the founder,

Truluck was not forthcoming with all the plans, processes, and intent of the transitional

home with the community. Another concern is potentially accepting and bringing in more

convicted pedophiles into the community with no real evidence to ensure the safety of vulnerable residents within the community such as women, children, and those of

differing abilities.

An additional concern raised was how a small rural community such as Walterboro

would be able to support and sustain a facility with possible 50-100 men. Each male

that would reside within the transitional house would be required to obtain a job within

the community in order to pay for his stay at the facility. As of Aug. 2022, Walterboro

has an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent compared to Charleston’s unemployment rate

of 2.6 percent visit www.homefacts.com/unemployment/South-Carolina/Colleton-

County/Walterboro. With a small job market currently available, it could be difficult to

sustain employment opportunities for every citizen of the working age. The extra influx

of residents would also become taxing on other infrastructures such as medical care,

hospitalization, and law enforcement as well.

Meagan Bishop made the first post made on several local Facebook pages and Lisa

Langdale was also present for the meeting. Bishop is the daughter of Melodie Truluck.

She also stated that David Truluck was her abuser. She shared her story with those in

attendance. Langdale is a concerned member of the community along with several

citizens that have created an informational Facebook group page to spread awareness.

This page is called STOP Pedifiles Housing on Barracada Road. (*Note: Misspelling of

pedophiles is intentional, so Facebook algorithms do not block the page.)

Bishop explained that she was 12 years old at the time of the charges against Truluck

and his indictment. She stated that her mother gave up custody of all three of her

children in order to stay with David, her stepfather. She said, “I'm speaking from

experience that if Melody didn't care about protecting her own children, that she

definitely doesn't care about protecting your children or any other children that this may

ultimately harm.” Bishop also stated, “I just felt I needed to raise awareness to this

community about it. If I can just prevent one child from harm, I have to at least try to

stop this.”

Mayor Young assured the citizens that no city funding was provided for this transitional

house. He also indicated that the property is in the county outside of city limits, therefore

the city would not have or receive any permit requests. Those would have to go through

the county. Additionally, he said that he personally could not support this in Walterboro

and Colleton County.

Sheriff Hill stated that for a variety of reasons rehabilitation is paramount and that there

is a place for everything, but this location is not the place. He suggested that a location

that is not populated with residents would be more suitable.

*Update: As of Saturday, Dec. 31 the Shield Ministries has changed its webpage by

removing the image of the Barracada Road location along with its announcement of the

projected new location. At the time of publication of the article, the Press & Standard had reached out for a

statement from David Truluck. He responded via email “At this time we would like to say

we are considering multiple possibilities with the property in Colleton County.”

The Shield Ministries webpage includes a statement, “The mission of Shield Ministries

is to teach men how to think, choose, and build correctly which promotes healing; to

teach life skills to help men overcome obstacles by using Christian biblical based

principals and mentorship to promote accountability and responsibility; and to provide

residential stability; of which all reduces recidivism.”

There is also a petition in circulation within the community to stop the transitional house

from opening. Citizens attended the Walterboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan.

3 to voice their concerns. They also plan on attending the Colleton County Council

meeting Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.

For more information about Shield Ministries visit www.shieldministries.org, email

david.truluck@shieldministries.org, or call 843-209-7941.

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WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCIV) — The fight against a halfway house continues in Walterboro as residents will take their concerns to the Colleton County Council for the first time tonight.

Several Walterboro residents are worried the proposed halfway house located on Barracada Road, can bring dozens of sex offenders to the area.

However, despite a conversation on the county council’s agenda tonight, officials say Shield Ministries has not revealed plans yet.

Shield Ministries purchased the land of an old, abandoned church—speculated to be the future halfway house.

According to Colleton County Council Chair, Steve Murdaugh, no permits were filed by Shield Ministries, an action required for a residential facility to come before the council.

Despite the lack of action, residents say they want to get ahead of the issue, showing the county their concerns regardless.

“We don't expect an answer tomorrow. Really, we really don't expect an answer. We just want to present our case,” Walterboro resident Lisa Langdale, “Our plan is to give the county [our concerns], present our case and give the county every piece of ammunition we can to be able to say no to this because we just so feel like it's not the right thing for our community, and especially our neighborhood.”

Murdaugh says he does believe the proposed location is not suitable for the halfway house and could push for action to be taken tonight.

Shield Ministries responded to resident’s concerns in a statement saying, “right now, we are exploring all options with the property.”

In Shield Ministries' 2021 annual report, 70 percent of their applicants are registered as sex offenders. The company says between 40 and 50 men will live at the Walterboro location.

The proximity of the location on Barracada Road of the proposed halfway house worries residents, as it’s a quarter mile from a Jehovah’s Witness meeting location, Kingdom Hall Church and at least four schools within an eight mile radius.

The South Carolina law states sex offenders can’t live within 1000 feet of a church or a school bus stop. The proposed location is just over 1000 feet from Kingdom Hall by a hundredth of a mile, and many bus stops are in the immediate area.

“Ultimately our goal is to stop this because we don't want it in our neighborhoods. We have children, we have families. It is residential. It's not secluded, or isolated and I think that's what it was called at one point--and it's not,” Langdale said.

Sex offenders haven’t been a consistent problem for the town. Colleton County Sheriff’s Office reported statistics for sex offenses from 2020-2021 reveal sex crimes decreased nearly half, while other violent crimes increased.

Crime statistics Colleton County:

2021:

All of this and more will be discussed at the Colleton County council meeting tonight at 5:15 p.m. in Walterboro.

Stick with ABC News 4 for updates.

(Family Features) A new year is a perfect time to consider the habits you want to keep and the ones you’d like to develop. One resolution to consider is helping your children develop a growth mindset this year.

“We know one of the greatest boosts to parents’ confidence over the past year came from knowing their children’s whole selves are being nurtured, and we want to see that trend continue,” said Carter Peters from KinderCare Learning Center’s education team. “A growth mindset helps children try new things despite fear of failure. It’s the kind of thinking that allows inventors and creative thinkers to get excited about trying something new and ensures they have the cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills to work through hurdles.”

Adults can often easily spot when children are engaged in creative thinking and prideful of their work, but that confidence may be lost as failures turn into insecurities. By nurturing a growth mindset and showing children they can learn and develop new skills in any area, it better sets them up for long-term success.

Consider these three tips to help children build a growth mindset:

Praise effort: It’s easy to fall into the habit of praising successes. However, praising effort encourages children to try new things without the fear of failing. It also teaches children personal growth and achievement are possible, even if their overall effort wasn’t a success.

“Young children often get excited to try something new,” Peters said. “By praising effort and showing children they’ll still be loved and valued despite the outcome, you can reframe how they approach challenges and teach them that difficult doesn’t mean impossible.”

Encourage the process: People often withhold praise until there’s a result, which leads children to hurriedly scribble a picture to hold up for a “good job” instead of taking time to focus on their efforts. When children know adults will encourage them during the process, instead of only upon the achievement, they’re more likely to try new things or master a new skill. For example, try providing encouragement such as, “I can see you’re focused on drawing that tree. It looks so lifelike because you’re putting so much thought into what you’re doing.” Once their project is finished, continue the encouragement by hanging up their artwork or school projects in a prominent place.

Model a growth mindset: You can model a growth mindset for children by narrating your actions when you are facing a challenge: “I am having a difficult time putting this shelf together, but it’s OK. I’ll take a break then read the instructions again.” Remove negative words from your vocabulary, such as “I can’t” or “I’m stupid.” Even when you are joking, children may not be able to tell the difference. You can also ask your children to join you in problem-solving. Take time to hear their ideas and try them even if you think they won’t work. This not only supports the development of their growth mindset, but the quality time and encouragement reinforces their sense of self-worth and builds confidence.

For more tips to help children develop a growth mindset, visit kindercare.com.

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