Chimney Sweep in Cordesville, SC

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A Berkeley County man convicted of attempting to take WWE entertainer Daria Berenato hostage inside her Florida home after months of cyber-stalking has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Phillip A. Thomas II- 24 at the time of his arrest- pled guilty in April to aggravated stalking with a weapon, attempted armed kidnapping and armed burglary.

Thomas is from the Cordesville area in Berkeley County, about an hour outside Charleston.

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Berenato, 26, performs for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Superstar "Sonya Deville." She also stars in the E! network reality series Total Divas.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigators said the attempted kidnapping happened at Berenato's home in the town of Lutz, north of Tampa, shortly before 3 a.m. on August 16, 2020.

Investigators said Thomas parked his car at a nearby church earlier in the night, then walked to Berenato's home. Once there, Thomas reportedly cut a hole in a screen to gain access to the home's patio, where he waited for several hours as he watched and listened to what was going on inside.

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After Berenato went to bed, authorities said Thomas came inside the house through a sliding glass door, which set off the home's alarm system and alerted Berenato and a guest inside.

Berenato and her guest left the home and called 911. Deputies arrived minutes later to find Thomas still inside.

When Thomas was arrested, deputies said he was armed with a knife and had plastic zip ties, duct tape, and mace in his possession.

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The preliminary investigation showed Thomas Lutz was specifically targeting Berenato, and had been planning his actions for eight months. Deputies said Thomas admitted to them he intended to take Berenato hostage.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement Thomas had a "disturbing obsession" with Berenato. Though the two had never met, he'd apparently stalked her on social media for years.

Berenato was unharmed in the incident. She addressed what happened on her social media accounts afterwards, thanking Hillsborough County deputies for their handling of the situation.

CORDESVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Cordesville community in Berkeley County is still recovering from tornadoes that ripped through the area nearly two weeks ago.

It's an area right outside of Moncks Corner.

More than 150 volunteers came out to help with the cleanup efforts and home repairs in the area of Highway 402 on Saturday.

That included churches, the State Guard, neighbors, fire departments and more.

The cleanup efforts on Saturday were organized by The President of Cordesville Community Citizens, Inc., Robyne Armstead-Johnson.

Berkeley County Emergency Management Director Ben Almquist says three tornadoes were confirmed in that area of Berkeley County, but it was one that caused major damage.

He says Cordesville is a rural community and some families don't have insurance. That's why the cleanup efforts have been important to families who live in the area.

Homes were destroyed, roofs were ripped off and countless trees came down blocking roadways.

Cordesville resident Wendi Conyers says while her home was spared and her family remained safe her family reached out to people in the community immediately after the storm to check on them.

Conyers and her husband Billy organized efforts to assist families in the days following the impacts.

"We just started going door to door and asking people ‘what can we help with, is your family okay?’ Conyers said. “Some families said ‘we’re good we’re fine’ and other families said ‘we need your help.’”

She says they posted about the needs on social media and volunteers from all over came out to help the week of the tornadoes. She says her four young children also pitched in.

"I just want to say thank you so much to everybody who has come out here to help our community," Wendi said. "Cordesville really needed you and you just don't know how grateful we are for all of this."

Event organizers say people are in need of the following items: food, water, cleaning supplies, bedding, clothing and hygiene products.

If you’d like to make a donation you can contact Robyne Armstead-Johnson at rarmsteadjohnson@gmail.com to coordinate drop-off efforts.

For a detailed list of items needed visit this post.

Copyright 2020 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CORDESVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — A stretch of Highway 402 in Berkeley County is sparking discussion among local council members, residents and the Coastal Conservation League.

It's about 200 acres between Bay Hill Lane and Bellomy Lane that's up for being rezoned. Right now, that space is in a quiet, rural part of the community in Cordesville.

It's under R-15 zoning, which means one house per acre is allotted.

WCIV

The applicant has requested to switch it to Flex-1 zoning, which Robby Maynor says will allow for two houses per acre.

"Some of these families have two or three kids and they are unable to give their kids an acre so they can build a house on those places," said Councilman Jack Schurlknight.

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Along the two-lane highway, there's only a handful of homes. Maynor, with the Coastal Conservation League, says rezoning could allow about 400 more.

"I’m very big on private property rights – I’m not a pro development, but private property ranks high in my opinion," said Councilman Schurlknight.

The councilman says he'd like to see restrictions in place so historical sites like Biggin Cemetery are preserved.

Maynor would like to see the area stay as is.

"This corridor is really significant for it’s historical resources and those natural resources that a suburban development that would be allowed under this Flex-1 zoning just wouldn’t be appropriate to the area," said Maynor.

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The land is part of a larger 500 acre parcel. He's concerned rezoning could open the door for even more development.

"Having a large kind of suburban style development right there in a rural area at the edge of a historic district would really change the culture of the area and change the character or the route," said Maynor.

The property also shares a line with the Francis Marion National Forest, which uses prescribed burning to maintain it's health -- something Maynor says would be difficult to continue next to a suburban development.

The application has to be read three times before the Land Use Committee of Berkeley County before heading to county council.

Schurlknight says it's looking like it'll be about a three month process, and public input is always welcomed.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A community garden in one Berkeley County community is helping to ensure people in need receive food and other necessities.

“We have a lot going on. We’ve been very blessed with a lot of volunteers,” said Melanie Lott, president of the Cordesville Community Citizens, which works with area churches to help with a variety of needs, like helping people get their GED or computer skills training.

They currently operate out of Cordesville First Baptist Church. Last year, they were discussing ways to feed the community.

“One of our citizens, Ms. Low Harelson, she stood up and she said, “Those people will be starved before you start that program,” so ironically enough, we started in June we served our very first meal on the first Friday in June,” she said.

They cook meals and deliver them to people in need. On the first Friday, they had 19 clients.

“Last Friday our program served 81 people,” said Lott. “We have not missed a single Friday.”

They run a community garden to provide the food. They also fill some Blessing Boxes for those who need food.

Melvin Johnson is in charge of the community garden. “I just love to plant. God blessed me with a hand that can grow things. And I just love to grow,” he said.

They initially tested the soil and were told it would not be good for growing crops. But the crops grow very well at the hands of Mr. Johnson.

“We feed people every Friday. We got homeless people all in the woods out here. I see them out walking in the street. We’ve got clothes, and food for them to come by and we just try to do what we are supposed to be doing what God put us here to do. If anybody else can give us any hand or help we sure appreciate it.”

You can learn more about the Cordesville Community Citizens group at their website.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A historic Southern plantation in the United States sold for $2.2 million at auction Friday, giving some financial relief to the strapped local Girl Scout council that has owned and used it as a camp for girls for almost five decades.

The camp in South Carolina is one of dozens of Girl Scout camps in 28 states that have closed, been sold or are for sale as chapters across the United States face financial struggles, according to Save Our Scout Camps, a group fighting efforts to sell camps in Iowa and Illinois.

Friday's sale of Camp Low Country, about 35 miles from Charleston will let the Girl Scout council meet its financial obligations to Girl Scouts USA and keep its charter, said Loretta Graham, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina.

"We plan to keep Girl Scouting in South Carolina for 100 more years," she said.

Charleston businessman Michael Bennett, a hotel and resort developer and contractor with Bennett Hospitality and Bennett Hofford Construction Company, made the winning offer among about a dozen interested bidders in an auction on the plantation grounds.

Camp Low Country sits on 152 acres of the former Richmond Plantation, a sprawling 18th- and 19th-century rice plantation.

Shuttered since 2011 for budgetary reasons, the property includes an old-brick manor house, guest houses, stables, carriage houses and dog kennels built in 1927 by New Yorker George A. Ellis, a founder of E.F. Hutton and Co., and his wife, a chewing gum heiress.

The property was on the market for two years at an initial price of $7 million, but its value was appraised at $3.7 million before the local council announced the auction on July 1.

Camp Low Country, where scouts took part in activities ranging from horse riding to learning crafts, is just the latest to fall in the wake of a broad "realignment" by Girls Scouts USA, the national governing body of Girls Scouts councils.

The realignment that took full effect in 2009 consolidated local councils. It reduced their number by two-thirds, eliminated staff jobs and set new Girl Scout priorities for building leadership skills.

Girls Scouts has about 2.3 million youth and about 800,000 adult members nationwide, said Michelle Tompkins, spokeswoman for the New York-based Girl Scouts USA.

The organization is struggling with plummeting membership, a dearth of adult volunteers, declining cookie sales and a pension fund that is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

In March, Congress introduced pension relief legislation for Girls Scouts USA and similar nonprofit organizations.

Critics fear Girl Scouts, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2012, is abandoning its traditional mission of giving girls outdoor experiences. Opponents of the camp sales have sued local Girl Scout councils in several states.

The Girl Scouts' new leadership programs focus on science, technology, engineering and math, financial literacy, and even bully prevention.

Editing by Karen Brooks and Andrew Hay