William Dudley Gregorie

06/23/2026

It is with the deepest heartfelt condolences that I share with you the passing of my big hearted good friend

MONA LISA ROLLERSON SIMS ..

Fellow Bulldog Burke High School Class of 1968 who also served as City of Charleston, SC Government City Council District 6 Constituent Liaison for the entirety of my tenure of over 16 years.

Chief of "Taking Care of Business" .. Mona Sims touched thousands of lives in the city of Charleston.

Her laugh, smile and Y&R updates will surely be missed. She always reminded us to "Be better and not bitter."

Please join me in offering prayers and condolences at this difficult time to her family, friends and community.

The arrangements are as follows.

Rite of Committal Service
Friday, JUNE 26. 11:00 AM (ET)
Sunset Memorial Gardens
2915 Ashley Phosphate Rd.
North Charleston, SC 29418

https://www.dorothyshff.com/m/obituaries/mona-lisa-sims/Memories

06/18/2026

May we continue to keep The "Charleston 9", their families and fellow firefighters in our hearts and minds.

Nine brave City of Charleston firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice on June 18, 2007, while battling a massive, fast-moving inferno at the Sofa Super Store on Savannah Highway.

It remains one of the deadliest days for U.S. firefighters in history.

The Fallen Heroes

The tragedy claimed the lives of the following firefighters and officers:

Captain Louis Mulkey
Captain Theodore Michael Benke
Captain William "Billy" Hutchinson
Engineer Rodney Bradford "Brad" Baity
Engineer Mark Kelsey
Assistant Engineer Michael French
Firefighter Melvin Champaign
Firefighter James Allen "Earl" Drayton
Firefighter Brandon Thompson

The Incident
On the evening of June 18, 2007, a small trash fire began on the loading dock of the Sofa Super Store. The fire quickly spread into the building, which was packed with highly flammable furniture and lacked modern safety measures like sprinklers.

As crews fought to contain the blaze, they became disoriented by smoke and trapped in the maze-like showroom. Tragically, the building's roof collapsed, cutting off their escape.

Legacy & Reforms
The devastation sent shockwaves through the national firefighting community and the City of Charleston. The tragedy exposed significant flaws in the department's aggressive, older firefighting tactics and lack of modern equipment.

This prompted widespread fire safety protocol reforms and complete overhauls of the Charleston Fire Department's training, management, and operational standards.

The Memorial
The original site of the furniture store is now home to the Charleston 9 Memorial Park at 1807 Savannah Highway. The park features a monument, and local firefighters hold a solemn 24-hour watch and memorial service at the site to honor their sacrifice.

The Charleston 9 Memorial Park is a memorial in Charleston, South Carolina, honoring the nine firefighters who died in the Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007, located at the site of the former store.

The park features a flagpole and markers for each fallen firefighter, serving as a place for quiet reflection and annual remembrance ceremonies.

Annual Ceremony: The Charleston Fire Department holds an annual remembrance ceremony at the park, which includes a 24-hour watch by personnel.

Future developments
The city plans to integrate improvements for the park into the construction of the new CFD Station 11, which will be built on adjacent land.
Interpretive boards are planned to tell the story of the fire and its impact on the fire service.

06/17/2026

NEVER FORGET!! THE EMANUEL NINE and The FIVE SURVIVORS.

On this day, JUNE 17 2015, 11 years ago, "90 seconds changed the world" forever.

Please take time today, the 11th anniversary of their murders, to remember and honor the Emanuel 9 and the five survivors!!!

Prayers continue for the families, Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church family, and our communities!!!⛪️🙏🏾🕊️❤️

The phrase "90 seconds that changed the world" refers to the approximate duration of the horrific gunfire during the June 17, 2015, mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

During a Wednesday evening Bible study, a 21-year-old white supremacist opened fire on the congregation, killing nine Black parishioners in a targeted act of racial terror.

🕊️ The Emanuel Nine 🕊️

The nine faithful individuals who lost their lives became nationally revered as the Emanuel Nine:

The Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney (41, Senior Pastor and South Carolina State Senator)

Cynthia Graham Hurd (54, Librarian)

Susie Jackson (87, Longtime choir member)

Ethel Lee Lance (70, Church sexton)

The Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor (49, Minister and enrollment coordinator)

Tywanza Sanders (26, Aspiring poet and entrepreneur)

The Rev. Daniel L. Simmons Sr. (74, Retired pastor)

The Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (45, Minister and high school track coach)

Myra Thompson (59, Bible study teacher)

🕊️

How Those 90 Seconds Changed the World

Though the attack lasted mere moments, its profound aftermath reverberated globally:

Radical Grace and Forgiveness: Just days after the shooting, family members of the victims stood in court and publicly offered forgiveness to the killer. This unexpected display of grace stunned the world and averted the widespread racial violence the shooter intended to incite.

Removal of the Confederate Flag: The tragedy served as a massive cultural tipping point, prompting the South Carolina legislature to finally remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds after decades of contentious debate.

The "Charleston Loophole": The shooting brought intense national scrutiny to U.S. gun laws. It exposed a critical gap in FBI background checks—allowing a fi***rm purchase if the check takes longer than three days—which directly enabled the shooter to buy his weapon.

Current Legacy Today marks exactly 11 years since the tragedy. Mother Emanuel AME Church is holding a daylong observance featuring prayer services centered on lament, memory, justice, and reconciliation.

Simultaneously, a permanent $25 million Emanuel Nine Memorial featuring sweeping marble "angel wing" benches is nearing completion on the church grounds, designed to stand as a permanent beacon for national reflection and healing.

# # #

The Mother Emanuel Way Memorial District is a designated area on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston, SC, honoring the Emanuel Nine who were killed in a tragic 2015 shooting. Spanning between Meeting and Concord streets, the zone celebrates a legacy of forgiveness and unifies the city.

Gaillard Center Tribute: Located just across the street at 95 Calhoun St, the front lawn of the Charleston Gaillard Center features 15 dedicated trees and a commemorative plaque honoring the nine lives lost, the five survivors, and the church congregation.

"Freedom, forgiveness, faith, and family."
Susie Jackson Freedom Memorial Garden
73 Alexander Street, Charleston SC https://www.charlestonparksconservancy.org/park-finder/susie-jackson-freedom-memorial-garden/

The Emanuel Nine Memorial: Located on the church grounds, the memorial features a courtyard, a fountain, and a survivor's garden designed by Michael Arad (the architect behind New York's National Sept. 11 Memorial). https://emanuelnine.org

06/09/2026

"While many drivers recognize the William Dudley Gregorie Pump Station near the Ashley River Bridge, city officials said the structure is only the visible portion of a much larger underground network."

"The fifth and final phase is the construction of the William Dudley Gregorie Pump Station and an outfall that carries water from the station into the Ashley River."
# # #

Hidden below Charleston’s peninsula, a $200 million flood defense is nearly done

https://www.live5news.com/2026/06/04/hidden-below-charlestons-peninsula-200-million-flood-defense-is-nearly-done/

After more than 15 years of construction and decades of planning, Charleston’s largest flood mitigation project is entering its final stages.

By Gracie Kirschner

Published: Jun. 4, 2026 at 5:20 AM EDT|Updated: Jun. 4, 2026 at 5:54 AM EDT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — After more than 15 years of construction and decades of planning, Charleston’s largest flood mitigation project is entering its final stages.

The city secured preliminary funding for the project in 1999, but construction did not officially begin until 2011 after years of planning, design and permitting.

The nearly $200 million U.S. 17 Spring/Fishburne drainage project covers roughly 20% of the Charleston peninsula and is designed to reduce flooding along some of the city’s busiest and most critical roadways. This includes Septima P. Clark Parkway, otherwise known as the Crosstown, as well as the medical district.

While many drivers recognize the William Dudley Gregorie Pump Station near the Ashley River Bridge, city officials said the structure is only the visible portion of a much larger underground network.

“The pump station that you see being built between the Ashley River Bridges is essentially the tip of the iceberg,” Steve Kirk, the City of Charleston’s project management practice lead, said. “That’s what moves the water out. However, we have to get the water from upstream in that 500-acre basin down to that one point between the Ashley River Bridges.”

Kirk said the city accomplished that by constructing about 1.5 miles of deep tunnel beneath downtown Charleston.

The project consists of five construction phases and includes a 500-acre network of tunnels, pipes and wells that carry stormwater beneath the peninsula to the Lockwood pump station. The infrastructure improvements include upgraded and expanded surface drainage systems throughout the basin, several shafts drilled as deep as 150 feet underground and three 12-foot-diameter tunnels connecting those shafts. The fifth and final phase is the construction of the William Dudley Gregorie Pump Station and an outfall that carries water from the station into the Ashley River.

Once fully operational, three four-story pumps at the station will be capable of moving roughly an Olympic-sized swimming pool’s worth of stormwater off the peninsula every two minutes.

According to city officials, the drainage system has already been helping reduce flooding since 2022 by relying on gravity alone. The addition of the pumps will allow the system to continue moving water even during high tides, when drainage is often slowed.

The project serves one of Charleston’s most flood-prone areas. The flooding can cut off access to three major medical centers that serve nearly 500,000 patients annually, along with two fire stations, four schools, the Charleston Police Department headquarters and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office.

“The days where we get the quick afternoon thunderstorms where you get 2 inches of rain in less than an hour, which prior to 2022 would have flooded U.S. 17, This will significantly reduce the number of times that happens and how long that happens,” Kirk said. “It’s not just people on the peninsula that are going to benefit from this project. It’s people in the entire region.”

Kirk said the improvements will also help maintain access to the medical district and support hurricane evacuations.

“The Septima Clark Parkway U.S. 17 corridor... is a hurricane evacuation route,” Kirk said. “Reducing the drainage challenges that we have there significantly improves access to health care.”

City leaders expect the final phase of the Spring/Fishburne project to be completed later this summer.

As the project winds down, the pumps are being tested for use and final landscaping is underway. It is expected to be fully completed this summer. Officials said they are eager to have the full system in place as the Atlantic hurricane season ramps up.

Copyright 2026 WCSC. All rights reserved.

05/31/2026

☀️ School’s almost out, but FREE meals are in! 🍎 CCSD, Charleston County Public Library, and Lowcountry Food Bank are teaming up to provide free meals for children and teens ages 5–18 at participating library branches across Charleston County this summer.

Stop by for a meal, grab a book, and enjoy all the fun your local library has to offer!

01/13/2026

1.13.26

City of Charleston City Council Meeting 1/13/26

01/07/2026

The image displays the front page of The Post and Courier newspaper from Wednesday, January 7, 2026, focusing on the progress of the Lockwood Drive pump station in Charleston, SC.

The project is the fifth and final phase of the $198 million Spring-Fishburne Drainage Project.

The station will house three massive pumps capable of draining an Olympic-sized swimming pool's worth of stormwater in less than two minutes.

The final part, installing and connecting the pumps to the underground network, is expected to be completed by the summer.

The city council approved naming the station after former Councilman William Dudley Gregorie.

12/21/2025

ONLY ON "Quintin's Close-Ups"- After serving the constituents of the City of Charleston's District 6 area on City Council for 16 years, William Dudley Gregorie is stepping down into retirement in January.

He has a talk with the councilman about his legacy and what's next for him.

(CLICK ON THE LINK TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW AND SHARE) https://youtu.be/iaa7Ex3vlRg?si=8FUCiYIcO0vnwrDC

After serving the constituents of the City of Charleston's District 6 area on City Council for 16 years, William Dudley Gregorie is stepping down into retire...