Mortgage Broker in Moncks Corner, SC

MONCKS CORNER — Cherry Collins probably knew her career path as a toddler.

She had devoured so many books by the time she reached kindergarten age, she was already at a fourth-grade reading level.

After a few odd jobs when she finished high school, Collins invested $4,000 to start a used bookstore called Dreamalot in Goose Creek. It eventually migrated to Moncks Corner.

Over the next few weeks, the business she has operated in three locations for the past 24 years will write its last chapter.

Dreamalot at 1013 Old Highway 52 is going out of business. The last day originally was set for the end of September, but the lease has been extended through October, according to Phil Rowe, a longtime friend from Connecticut who is helping her close the shop.

“It’s breaking my heart,” said Collins, as tears welled up in her eyes while waiting on customers in the 3,050-square-foot shop near a Big Lots discount store. “But I can no longer afford it.”

Her inventory of more than 100,000 books, along with games, puzzles, trinkets, pictures and some clothing, is all marked down 50-90 percent. Shelves and displays also must go. Items in a lending library in the back of the store are free.

Collins, who uses a wheelchair due to ailments, noted she tried to find a business partner to keep the business going.

“I wasn’t able to do that, and I can no longer do it by myself,” the 51-year-old said.

Dreamalot started on Aug. 1, 1999, in a small shop on Highway 52 in Goose Creek, where it operated for 18 years before moving up the street for a short stint. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the business moved to the edge of Moncks Corner.

“This has been an excellent location,” she said. “My business doubled overnight after I moved here.”

Collins not only sells pre-owned books. She also donates supplies to jailhouses in Berkeley and Charleston counties and charter schools in the Lowcountry. She also tries to help the homeless as much as she can.

“I’m sad that I won’t be able to do it any longer,” she said.

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Customers browsing the stacks Sept. 12 lamented the shop’s imminent demise.

“This has always been my place to come when I’m feeling sad,” longtime patron and retiree Penny Maguire said. “This is my happy place. You can come here and look and browse and find all kinds of things you didn’t know you were looking for.”

Dr. Morgan Glass glanced through the shelves for some fiction titles.

“It’s kind of sad that it’s closing,” the pediatrician said. “I bring my boys — 6 and 10 — here all the time. I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I will probably get back to the library more.”

Cane Bay resident Brandon Lorick is part of a group that tries to read at least one book each month, but he aims for two.

He used to shop at Mr. K’s Used Books in North Charleston before it closed last spring. He called the closing of shops such as Dreamalot “a shame.”

“You can get deals online, but you don’t get that personal experience when you go through the checkout line and they talk about the books you selected,” Lorick said.

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Rowe, Collins’ friend from Connecticut, called the clearance sale a huge undertaking.

“We have a lot of everything, and we have two storage units filled with books as well,” he said. “Everything has to go.”

He urged shoppers to bring boxes and bags and noted items will be sold in bulk at reduced prices near the end of the sale to help clear out remaining merchandise.

Cigar bars have become commonplace in a lot of areas, but Calvin “Hollywood” Jenkins claims there is not one like his anywhere in the Low Country. He’s the owner of Luxe Cigar Lounge at 415 Corner Square Plaza in Moncks Corner.

Jenkins was born and raised in North Charleston and tried to get the Berkeley County spot up and running back in 2020, but COVID-19 put the brakes on that plan. He then decided to take his cigars on the road. A luxury cigar bar on wheels.

“My mobile became safe from COVID where, when you rent the mobile out it’s your event so you pick and choose who you want to be around,” Jenkins said.

Now his mobile plan is a big part of his business.

“It’s not just here,” he said. “I’m gone every weekend. I just came back from Atlanta this morning. I do all the steeplechase horse races from Nashville, Aiken and Charleston, and I do a lot of stuff in Miami and Orlando.”

His stationary spot, Luxe Cigar Lounge, comes with large leather couches, a fireplace, brandy and bourbon. He wanted to create the perfect atmosphere for those passionate about cigars. Jenkins described why the spirited interest in cigars remains strong.

“It’s rest and relaxation,” he said. “When you are sitting down smoking a cigar it’s like therapy. When you leave therapy you’re feeling good. It’s almost like getting a massage. You’re sitting down smoking a cigar maybe drinking some bourbon or cognac or whatever it is, and you have some light music playing in the background, maybe you’re watching some sports. It’s peace.”

Jenkins’ cigars range in price anywhere from $7 to $150, but he didn’t have an opinion on what makes the perfect cigar. When asked how does one know a good cigar? “The one you like,” was his response.

As for his brick-and-mortar spot in Moncks Corner, he said, optimistically, it’s getting there and he has his regulars. Also, because of the proven health concerns from tobacco, there is legislation that makes for some tricky advertising rules. He can’t advertise tobacco the same way someone would advertise for a concert.

“A lot of folks don’t know you’re here because you’re not getting the word out,” he said. “The atmosphere in here is set up in this place so people don’t have to go downtown [Charleston] or somewhere else,” he said before offering a statement as bold as some of his cigars. “I am the first luxury cigar lounge in the Low Country and I’m second-to-none.”

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCIV) — Kay Beilstein, who has been living along Merrimack Boulevard since 2017, sees the construction of new townhomes right next door to her for about a year now - and is afraid of what they could possibly bring to her front yard.

"Because we live in the Lowcountry, we get a lot of rain," she said. "There's a lot of flooding in some areas and (when) these neighborhoods get built, they don't really take into consideration where that water is going to go."

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Beilstein says when it has rained in the past, water comes on to the streets washing dirt on to the roads. She believes the new development won't help the problem.

"Right now, (the water is) going to go right on to my property and flood my garage and driveway," Beilstein said. "Hopefully, not the rest of my yard, but it depends on how much rain we're going to get."

In response to these concerns, Moncks Corner officials said, "In reviewing the plans, it appears that on-site and off-site stormwater concerns were adequately addressed."

Kay Beilstein, who has been living along Merrimack Boulevard since 2017, sees the construction of new townhomes right next door to her for about a year now - and is afraid of what they could possibly bring to her front yard. (WCIV)

The approved plans show the entire subject property will catch, detain, and release the drainage to the two ponds the property will have installed. This is accomplished with catch basins in the proposed roads, fine grading around the building pads, and underground pipes running from various points around the property, leading to the central and southern stormwater devices.

The vast majority of water from the site is designed to flow south (away from 119 Merrimack Blvd) to the central pond, then to the southern pond, before discharging at the southern edge of the property into an existing 45-foot drainage easement, according to the approved plans.

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Despite this new development coming, Beilstein hopes it won't change the area she loves.

"I'm not looking forward to it," she said. "I do really enjoy my neighbors and my home, but I feel like the town hasn't really taken into consideration that they're ruining our neighborhood for a little bit of money."

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCIV) — Berkeley County keeps it simple -- one pick-up for all trash. The trucks then head to Repower South, which is a facility that helps reduce how much trash is going to the landfill.

All kinds of trash -- anything from paper and plastic to shoes and diapers, come into this facility in Moncks Corner.

Berkeley County's innovative waste strategy: One pick-up, more recycling, less landfill (WCIV)

“We accept all of the MSW, garbage basically from Berkeley county,” said Brian Gilhuly, CEO of RePower South.

“We process it to pull out recycle commodities, and then we also extract non-recyclable paper and plastics and make an engineered fuel that’s used to replace coal in local industry, primarily in the cement mills in the Holly Hill area.”

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This mixed material system is complex.

“Pre-sort area where we pull out things that could be damaging to the equipment...chains, ropes, textiles,” said Gilhuly.

The rest of the waste goes through multiple processes using magnets, infrared light, and robots to sort it all out.

“The system is extremely automated...almost all of it occurs without human intervention,” said Gilhuly. “We have people on the front end basically feeding the system, and we have got people on the back end effectively pulling products off the back end.”

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All of these commonly recycled items like cardboard, water bottles, and steel cans come out of the facility to be sent off for recycling but in the future, they are hoping items like film plastic, which are plastic bags, trash bags along with organics can be recycled in the future.

“Single-use plastics and film plastics, we can take that material and melt that down to a naphtha oil in a reactor to sell that to petrochemical companies to make new plastics from recycled material,” said Gilhuly.

Food is something else they are hoping to keep out of the landfill in the future.

“Organics in the landfill create Methane -- which is a really bad greenhouse gas,” said Gilhuly. “Through anaerobic digestion, you can capture that Methane convert it into renewable natural gas, and put it right into your pipeline. There is a main feeder pipeline right here from Dominion Energy, and Dominion is interested in securing sources of renewable natural gas in their system.”

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The County says that the partnership with RePower South has processed nearly one-half million tons of waste and has recycled 50,000 tons of cardboard, paper, plastic, and metal over the past four years.

“Even though the county itself has been growing rapidly, the volume of waste hasn’t tremendously increased at this point in time,” said Gilhuly.

Hopefully, it is a trend that will continue in the future...although they hope to be putting even less in the landfill in the future.

The main things going to the landfill right now are textiles, diapers, wood, and glass.

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The only other facility that RePower South has is in Montgomery, Alabama.

"Since 2019, RePower South has been a unique resource for our County and the region," the statement from Berkeley County reads. "The work that they conduct helps reduce waste in our County landfill and convenience centers. A top priority for the County administration and Berkeley County Council has always been to maintain a high standard of quality of life for our communities and its citizens.

"The County’s partnership with RePower South has processed nearly one-half million tons of waste and has recycled 50,000 tons of cardboard, paper, plastic, and metal. By prioritizing recycling through RePower South’s operation, the County is not only meeting that mission but also partnering in an environmentally friendly effort that our residents and the industrial sector can celebrate."

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Lacey Park in Moncks Corner is considered a staple for the town, a place where parents can bring their kids and relax. Over the years neighbors said the park has been neglected and there have been no efforts to fix it.

"Right now If you go to Lacey Park the swings is about all you have," said longtime Moncks Corner resident Thomas Hamilton. "I’m telling you a lot of these moms who want to bring their kids they won’t go there and it needs to be cleaned up."

Moncks Corner Lacey Park News 4. (WCIV, June 27, 2023).

Hamilton has been fighting for many years to revive one of his favorite parks. He described the playground's equipment as old and uncared for and he blames town leaders for neglecting the park.

"I have been pushing for new tennis courts, pickle ball courts, flash pads for the kids, and eventually a Rex center for Moncks Corner," continued Hamilton. "It seems like the town of Moncks Corner all they want to do is put time and money and effort into the ball field and to that Rex center up there and the rest of the parks get neglected."

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Recently town leaders passed a 15 percent tax increase and Hamilton believes some of the money should go towards the park's revitalization.

"We should be getting more tax revenue and I just feel like the city council and the mayor and the town administrator needs to be looking at these parks and start asking what can we do for the residents," said Hamilton.

News 4 reached out to Moncks Corner Officials and asked if Lacey Park would get attention anytime soon, and in a response they said: "The Town of Moncks Corner began developing a Parks Master Plan last year to evaluate our parks and help establish priorities for refurbishing our existing facilities. We were also able to identify what recreation needs are not being met. This study was based on a comprehensive survey sent out to our residents, which showed support to improve some of our older parks, increase funding, as well as add new facilities."

The spokesperson from the town continued: "The study is expected to be completed in the next two months and will provide Town Council with specific recommendations and prioritizations for all the parks. In the meantime, Town staff has been working to maintain the existing facilities but has, at times, been challenged with long lead times in getting replacement parts. If anyone sees anything that seems unsafe with any of our facilities, we ask that they contact us at 843-719-7900, so we can address it as soon as possible. Improving our older parks, including Lacey Park, has been, and continues to be a Town priority. We look forward to accomplishing it with the support of our residents. "