CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - More than six months after a woman was crushed to death at a Ladson business, officials with the South Carolina Occupation Safety and Health Administration have shared their investigative findings on what they believe the business failed to do.

Jessica Birkmire, 53, died at Pegasus Steel in Ladson on Jan. 12 after a large, steel door closed on her, crushing her arm and head, according to the Charleston County Coroner.

OSHA’s investigative report says Birkmire was preparing to unload materials at a large bay door when she reached through a small gap to click the ‘open’ button. She instead clicked the ‘close’ button, and the door shut on Birkmire.

OSHA details how Pegasus Steel did not conduct a ‘job hazard analysis,’ and despite making references to these job inspections, they provided no documentation to prove these risk assessments had been completed.

They say their inspection revealed conditions they believe to be in violation of state health and safety laws, specifically Code 41-15-210, which states “each employer shall furnish to his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”

The report states this is a ‘serious’ violation.

OSHA’s report goes on to say there is, however, a memo from management sent out last summer that explains how employees were not authorized to walk through the bay doors, according to the report. During investigative interviews, OSHA found employees were routinely walking through these doors, and the report states no disciplinary action was taken.

The Chief Human Resources Officer for Pegasus Steel said in an interview with OSHA officials that Birkmire broke safety codes at the business when she reached through the bay door. The report also details how Birkmire was “headstrong” and that management had told her in the past to “not place her body in places that can hurt her.”

OSHA says the company also should have had sensors in place to detect objects in the door’s path.

OSHA provided Pegasus Steel with tips on how to keep the door from closing on people again including installing sensors. The business is also now ordered to pay a penalty of $3,500.

Officials said in the report they’re currently working on relocating those control buttons that Birkmire pushed. The business did not respond to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Facility will insource production of key security products and bring new jobs to the region

(RESTON, Va.) July 6, 2023 – Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE^® 500 science and technology leader, today announced plans to establish a new security systems manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. This will be the company’s third security systems manufacturing location in the U.S., expanding its presence and support to customers. Leidos will invest $31.7 million in the new facility, creating up to 170 new jobs in the region over time.

“This facility brings more manufacturing back into the U.S. and expands Leidos’ global security capabilities for the aviation and critical infrastructure markets,” said Jim Moos, Leidos Civil Group president. “We’re thrilled to expand into the North Charleston area and look forward to making a positive impact in the community.”

The new facility will produce security systems for Leidos’ Security Enterprise Solutions (SES) operation. SES offers a comprehensive suite of fully automated and integrated products for aviation, shipping ports, border crossings and critical infrastructure customers. These systems provide threat detection by screening baggage, cargo and people at checkpoints around the world.

“Leidos’ $31.7 million investment in their new facility here in the Lowcountry will lead to significant job growth and economic development,” said Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-1). “We congratulate them on their expanding operation and thank them for putting their faith in South Carolina.”

Located in Ladson Industrial Park, the new 150,000-square-foot facility will enable Leidos to onshore more manufacturing increasing the company’s critical capacity to support its growing customer base. The new plant will optimize manufacturing efficiency, quality and safety through application of best-in-class manufacturing processes. The facility is currently under construction and is expected to be fully operational by the first half of 2024.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500^® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company’s 46,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.

Certain statements in this announcement constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the “Risk Factors” set forth in Leidos’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.

LADSON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District is one step closer to getting a new elementary school in Ladson.

The Charleston County School District’s Audit and Finance Committee approved funding for a new Ladson Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. The Charleston County Board of Trustees will have a final vote on the building next week.

The project is just now in the beginning stages, but the new Ladson Elementary School will cost over $47 million for materials and labor to build the school that will hold 900 students.

Ladson Elementary School is currently located at 3321 Ladson Rd., with the current building being completed back in 1976.

“I think the biggest thing is always to make sure they’ve got enough bids to find the best price,” parent Joy Brown says. “It is a huge ticket item, but it’s expensive to build a school.”

The existing Ladson Elementary School has seen steady growth over the last four years according to data from the South Carolina Department of Education 45-day school headcount numbers.

This year the school has 893 students compared to 843 students back in 2020.

Going even further back to 2012, Ladson Elementary had 801 students.

As the Charleston County School District continues to grow with more people moving to the area, Brown says it’s important for the district to spend money in the right places.

“I think for me as a parent, I feel like it’s important to have the right amount of schools,” Brown says. “School size matters, class size matters. You can’t have tons of kids packed into one school; Charleston’s a high growth area.”

The committee also approved over $66 million for 12 projects throughout the district ranging from renovations, replacements, and new buildings. Some projects of note include:

“I think it’s important for people to realize this money has been allocated specifically for schools,” Brown says. “We just want to make sure that it is efficiently used when you’re looking at growth.”

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

LADSON, S.C. (WCSC) - Representatives of the Coastal Carolina Fair are voicing their concerns about Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority’s plans to build a park-and-ride facility at the fairgrounds.

This park-and-ride facility is a part of CARTA’s Lowcountry Rapid Transit Plan – the first-ever large-scale transportation project in the region.

CARTA Chairman Mike Seekings, says this $600 million plan is the result of over a decade of regional planning.

“Large-scale transit projects are a function on the front end of planning - a lot of planning - identifying the needs of a community, and seeing how we can meet those needs by planning out the alignment, finding the funding, and we’ve done all those things. So, we’re a good ways down the road right now,” Seekings says.

If plans go through, the facility will take up about six acres of the 180 acres available for parking on the fairgrounds. Mike Jernigan, a member of the Exchange Board as well as the former president of the Coastal Carolina Fair, says that their initial discussions with CARTA were about leasing an acre to an acre and a half of land for a bus stop, but he said that CARTA wanted more land to either purchase or take by eminent domain.

Seekings is surprised by this response. He says that they spoke with the leadership of the fairgrounds early in the process and have had conversations over many years about this area of land.

Officials with the Coastal Carolina Fair say that their issue is not the size of the facility, though, but the location. The park-and-ride facility would be located in lot 2A of the fairgrounds which is adjacent to Highway 78 and Gate 2 – one of the major entrances of the fairgrounds.

“We feel like supporting public transportation is a good thing. We’re not opposed to that in any way,” Jernigan says. We just feel like this location is the wrong location. That there are other options that are available adjacent to our property, or even at a different place on our property, but not to take our prime parking spot.”

Seekings says that throughout the conversations over the years, they have changed the intended location of this facility twice, and lot 2A was what was agreed upon.

“We’ve identified, through cooperative meetings with the Exchange Club, a number of different spaces. This last one we actually had a public hearing over at their request in August,” Seekings says. “So, we’re a long way down the road. It’s not signed, sealed and delivered, but it’s unlikely that we’re going to change the routing and change the manner in which we’ve gone through a long planning process. And now, at the eleventh hour, we’re ready, we’re ready to go implement this project - cooperatively, fairly to the benefit of all citizens in the region, including but not limited to those who are aligned with the Exchange Club and those who like to go to the fair.”

Jernigan disagrees. He says that they believe the location of the facility would disrupt patrons’ ability to enter and exit the fair, hurt fair revenue generation and impact the future success of the fair as well as their ability to support their community partners.

“This lot that would be affected by this potential park-and-ride disrupts our ability to park people efficiently. It would eliminate our ability to use one of our primary gates, and we feel like the effect of that on our parking means that we have less revenue and then less money to give away to the charities that depend on the profits from the fair,” Jernigan says.

The Coastal Carolina Fair supports about 70 different nonprofit organizations and charities in the area. CARTA and the fair representatives are not seeing eye-to-eye on this park-and-ride project. Seekings said they believe this project will actually have the opposite effect and be beneficial to the fair.

“Having access to the fair from public transit brings more people to the gate, enhances gate revenue, makes it more convenient, gives you many more local connections,” Seekings says. “It will be a very cooperative and beneficial experience for both sides of this and for the region.”

Jernigan says they just want to have more conversations about these plans and alternative solutions.

“We feel like there’s too much at stake here for the community, the charities we support and the long-term future of the fair to not have more discussion about other options which we feel like are available to CARTA in this general area - but you know, potentially even on the backside of the fair property - that need to be given consideration,” Jernigan says.

Jernigan says that even though the land is privately owned, the decision is ultimately not up to him, though, it is up to government officials.

Seekings says they want to make the plan work for everyone and enhance the experience for the community, but that it is unlikely much will change now that they are this far along. He says they want to implement this plan cooperatively and fairly and he believes there is some misunderstanding here. He says that this project is world-class public transit that works for everyone.

If plans go through, construction is slated to begin in 2026 and be completed by 2029.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

LADSON, S.C. (WCIV) — There is a buzz in the Ladson area about dead bees near a house. The homeowner is concerned after finding them.

Bees are important pollinators. Many crops people eat are thanks to them. On top of that, honeybees produce honey.

Read more: Grand Bees residents voice concerns over heavy crow population in their neighborhood

"I get up in the morning, and I come through here because there is a lot of pine straw and leaves," Chris Wells said. "I'll blow all this off, so they are normally congregated around here and up here."

"In the back, don't really find many, but I got chickens back there," he continued. "(The chickens) probably eat them once they are on the ground and dead."

It's been happening over the past month. Near the front of the house, Wells says he was finding up to 100 a day. Recently, it's been a little less, but still more than 20 a day.

Wells doesn't think mosquito spraying is the cause since his house in Dorchester County was last sprayed two weeks ago. Other areas in the Lowcountry allow residents to opt out of spraying to protect bees.

Brian Fahey, who does beekeeping as a hobby, is impressed with how Charleston County officials work hard to protect the bees.

"The measures (county officials) take to make certain that they're not over-paying or contaminating any of our hives or taking out any bees (includes) spraying at night," he said. "Bees only fly during the day, they need sunlight to be able to navigate."

By looking at the pictures, Fahey thinks the bees' tongues sticking out could be a sign of poisoning, but it is hard to tell without further inspection. He says the bees definitely look older, although they typically only live up to 45 days.

Read more: Bee swarming season: what to do if you spot a swarm

"The last thing honeybees do is forage," Fahey said. "As they're forging, they're on their last legs. They're beating their wings to death."

Whatever the cause, Wells is hoping to get to the root of the problem because he believes the lack of bees around him has resulted in less pollination this year.

“We have a bunch of plants back there that needed to be pollinated," he said. "We didn't get any blueberries this year. Got a few figs, but normally, we get a pretty good amount of blueberries."