HANAHAN, S.C. (WCBD) – The owner of a fitness training company in Hanahan that has been working with kids and adults for a few years is calling on the community to help keep his business open.

Kendrick Robinson opened The Factory Sports and Fitness Training in Hanahan a year before the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States to help train people in basketball, football, and other athletics.

“It was something that God brought to me. He gave me a vision,” said Robinson. “I wanted to have a facility where the youth in our community could (better) selves and have a safe place where they can come and train.”

“He always helps out. He helps out with kids like schoolwork and stuff like that before training,” said Christian Gray, who has been coming to the program for four years.

Robinson said working with the youth is his passion. But things have been tough financially, he said.

“Our rates are really not expensive, but if they’re not able to do training, we try to do charitable giving would give out free sessions,” explained Robinson.

He went on to say, “We kind of gotten [sic] to a rough patch since Covid. We had a business plan, and it kind of altered all of that, and we’ve been playing catch-up ever since.”

Robinson decided Sunday to let the public know they might have to close next month and started a GoFundMe in hopes of finding some assistance.

“Not something I wanted to go public with, but closed mouths don’t get fed. God revealed that to me, he told me to make sure I keep this place open and get the help that we needed from the community. The response has been, man amazing.”

More than $2,500 has already come in from the community, of the $10,000 they need.

“It’s been amazing to get all the feedback and support from the supporters we’ve had over the years and knowing that we’re doing the right thing just by being transparent with the community and letting them know that it hasn’t always been easy.”

If you would like to help, please click here.

HANAHAN, S.C. —

Milan Turner has Carolina on his mind.

Turner, who was head coach at three different Georgia high schools, has been named the new head coach at Hanahan High School in South Carolina.

Turner had successful head coaching stints at Emanuel County Institute (2005-2010), Thomson (2011-2013) and Veterans (2018-2021). He served as the director of high school relations for the Georgia Southern football program in 2022.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Thank you to Coach Helton, Staff, Players, Administration and Eagle Nation for an exciting journey this year. Thank you for letting me be a small part of something Special! The future is bright at Georgia Southern, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet! #GATA #HailSouthern pic.twitter.com/yaTU5ZqoUv

— Milan Turner (@MilanTurner_GS) January 25, 2023

Turner compiled a 112-43 record over 13 seasons as a head coach in the Peach State. He would lead Emanuel County Institute to 65 wins and a state championship in 2007. The Bulldogs would finish GHSA Class A runner-up in 2008.

“We are elated to welcome Coach Turner to the Hawk family,” Hanahan High Principal Tom Gallus said. “Our community is very fortunate to have a coach of this caliber to lead and develop our student-athletes on and off the field. Coach Turner is a proven educator and leader. He knows what it takes to build a successful high school football program and to ensure that each student is prepared for their next steps after high school. I look forward to serving alongside Coach Turner and seeing our Hawks shine under the Friday night lights.”

Turner takes over a Hanahan program that went 6-4 in 2022. He replaces interim coach Steve Blanchard, who took over after Art Craig stepped away and eventually retired.

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Turner has been an educator since 1994. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent time as an assistant at several Georgia schools. Turner has coached in six GHSA state championship games during his time at five different Georgia high schools.

He has been named the North/South All-Star Head Coach, Region Coach of the Year, Atlanta Touchdown Club Class A Coach of the Year, GACA Class A State Coach of the Year, and was selected to coach in the 2008 Under Armour national all-star game.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Can’t thank you enough for what you mean to our football family coach! You were meant to be apart of kids lives! We will all be cheering for you in South Carolina! https://t.co/ttjDWBHhqO

— Clay Helton (@GSCoachHelton) January 25, 2023

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – (Tuesday, March 14, 2023) – Berkeley County, in partnership with the City of Hanahan, will celebrate the completion of Railroad Avenue Extension in Hanahan with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 17 at 10 a.m. The event will take place in front of the Hanahan Recreation Center ballfields across from Mabeline Road in Hanahan.

This critical road project, which was managed by the S.C. Department of Transportation, has been in the works since the 1990s. The County celebrated the project’s groundbreaking in spring 2021.

Kiewit Infrastructure South constructed the project, which consisted of extending Railroad Avenue from Mabeline Road to Eagle Landing Boulevard and adding a two-lane roadway along the eastern side of the existing CSX rail line, with a sidewalk along one side of the road.

The project provides a safer connection between North and South Hanahan. Specifically, drivers will no longer have to enter Rivers Avenue and cross the railroad twice; and first responder vehicles will also have a better and safer access to those communities, overall improving emergency response times.

This project cost an estimated $20.1 million, including approximately $16 million from Berkeley County’s One-Cent Sales Tax Program—specifically from the referendum voters passed in 2014—and $4 million from federal funds.

“This road extension project, which has been decades in the making, is a gamechanger for the Hanahan community and public safety. We are thankful to Berkeley County voters for approving the County’s One-Cent Sales Tax referendum and to Congressman Henry Brown for securing federal funds to pay for this long-awaited infrastructure project. We are confident the result will be faster emergency response times and safer travel for all.” -Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb

“Thanks to the perseverance and hard work of so many who have passed the torch of this much needed project, we are finally celebrating the infrastructure connectivity of Hanahan through Railroad Avenue Extension. I am grateful for the collaboration of many different agencies to make this happen. Hanahan is now safer, transportation is easier, and quality of life is better.” -Hanahan Mayor Christie Rainwater

The City of Hanahan will also host a “Meet in the Street Block Party” event at 5:30 p.m. on Friday to commemorate the road project’s completion. There will be a food truck and other festivities. For more information, go HERE.

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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-

HANAHAN — A parade of emergency response vehicles and a school bus were the first to drive a newly opened mile-long stretch of Railroad Avenue, a road project recently completed after years of work.

The extension runs from Mabeline Road to Eagle Landing Boulevard, adding a two-lane roadway along the eastern side of the existing CSX rail line, with a sidewalk along one side of the road.

Though only a mile, the new stretch connects the northwest corner of the city, where several neighborhoods and Hanahan Elementary School are, to the rest of the city, said Mayor Christie Rainwater.

Prior to the extension, drivers had to take a roundabout route and cross the railroad tracks twice.

“In order to get to the Eagle Landing ... part of the city, you actually had to leave the city, cross over the railroad tracks, go to another city (North Charleston), and then go down Rivers Avenue, cross back over the railroad tracks and get back into (Hanahan),” she said. “So obviously it was inconvenient to say the least.”

It was also completed after more than two decades of delays, which ballooned the cost from a $4 million federal earmark in the 1990s to more than $20 million by the time the county broke ground on the project in 2021.

Berkeley County’s 1 percent sales tax to pay for infrastructure contributed more than $16 million to the funding.

Officials said the delays were due to a number of bureaucratic hurdles and discussions between the county, the S.C. Department of Transportation and CSX, all of which had to review and approve various aspects of the project. Funding issues contributed as well, Rainwater said — the longer other delays took, the more expensive the project became and the more time it took to secure further funding.

Town and county officials held a ribbon cutting for the road extension on March 17, with a cohort of former mayors and other public officials in attendance such as former U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, who helped secure the initial federal earmark. Officials, local emergency responders and other attendees took to the school bus and emergency vehicles to drive through a blue ribbon and up the mile of road.

Hanahan High School senior baseball player Nick Cappello has committed to one of the better junior college baseball programs in the country.

Cappello made a verbal commitment to Florence-Darlington Tech Aug. 15 and will aim to make another move up in a year or two. FDT has put the sting into many opponents over the years. The Stingers have five Region X titles since 2012 and two JUCO World Series appearances in 2017 and 2021. Many of their players move on to NCAA Div. I and II schools.

Cappello (5-10, 175) is a two-time all-region selection and was the Hawks pitcher of the year last spring when they shared a region title with eventual state champion Oceanside Collegiate.

“He is a bulldog on the mound,” Hanahan coach Brian Mitchell said. “He’s very intense. He fears nothing and loves to compete. He doesn’t flinch. He can throw three pitches for strikes and was hitting 88-89 in the Palmetto Games. He is very solid.”

Cappello has been on the varsity roster since he was a freshman. He also catches some for the Hawks, who advanced to the Lower State tournament last spring. Cappello batted .348 with a 7-0 mark and 1.55 earned-run average on the mound.

As a sophomore, Cappello went 3-1 with a 3.36 ERA.

“He works hard in the weight room,” Mitchell said. “He’s been very versatile for us over the years. This season, we’ll have to catch him some. I can see him pitching one day a week, catching one day a week and then playing designated hitter one day a week.”

Recently, Cappello competed in the Diamond Prospects’ Palmetto Games at the University of South Carolina. The multi-day event invites many of the best high school players in the state for a showcase.

Seven Lowcountry high school football teams are ranked and two others receiving votes in the Tuesday, Oct. 17, S.C. Prep Media polls.

Summerville leads the local group at No. 1 in Class 5A, the state’s largest classification. The Green Wave (8-0) received 19-of-20 first-place votes after knocking off West Ashley, 48-30, on Friday, Oct. 13. The Green Wave have been atop the poll since mid-August.

Two of its rivals join Summerville in the top 10. Fort Dorchester (5-2) is No. 7 and Ashley Ridge (7-1) No. 8. The Patriots are coming off a 63-6 win against Stall while Ashley Ridge knocked off Berkeley, 48-14.

In Class 4A, unbeatens James Island (8-0) and Lucy Beckham (8-0) are ranked No. 4 and No. 8. The lone ranked Berkeley County School District team is Philip Simmons in Class 3A. The Iron Horses (8-0) are No. 9 for the second-straight week after blanking North Charleston, 43-0, on Thursday, Oct. 12.

In Class 2A, Oceanside Collegiate (5-2) is ranked No. 3. Woodland is just outside the top 10 receiving votes.

Another BCSD program, Cross, is receiving votes in Class 1A.

South Florence (Class 4A), Daniel (Class 3A), Gray Collegiate (2A) and Lewisville (1A) are the other top-ranked teams.

Class AAAAA

1. Summerville (19 first-place votes)

2. T.L. Hanna

3. Byrnes (1)

4. White Knoll

5. Hillcrest

6. Gaffney

7. Fort Dorchester

8. Ashley Ridge

9. Lexington

10. Clover

Others receiving votes: J.L. Mann, Carolina Forest, Sumter, Rock Hill

Class AAAA

1. South Florence (17)

2. Northwestern (3)

3. Irmo

4. James Island

5. Westside

6. Midland Valley

7. South Pointe

8. Lucy Beckham

9. North Augusta

10. Hartsville

Others receiving votes: Ridge View, Myrtle Beach, Greenville, York, West Florence

Class AAA

1. Daniel (18)

2. Belton-Honea Path (2)

3. Dillon

4. Gilbert

5. Chapman

6. Crestwood

7. Chester

8. Broome

9. Philip Simmons

10. Camden

Others receiving votes: Clinton, Pendleton, Manning

Class AA

1. Gray Collegiate (14)

2. Abbeville (6)

3. Oceanside Collegiate

4. Hampton County

5. Fairfield Central

6. Marion

7. Strom Thurmond

8. Saluda

9. Silver Bluff

10. Ninety Six

Others receiving votes: Woodland, Andrew Jackson, Chesnee

Class A

1. Lewisville

2. Christ Church

3. Bamberg-Ehrhardt

4. Whale Branch

5. Southside Christian

6. St. Joseph’s

7. Calhoun County

8. Hunter-Kinard-Tyler

9. Latta

10. Blackville-Hilda

Others receiving votes: Lamar, Lake View, Cross