The Aiken Leader

06/15/2025

06/14/2025

Plan accordingly.

🚧 Traffic Alert: I-20 detoured near Aiken County until early next week 🚧

Following a strike by a tractor-trailer, the overpass bridge on Old Vaucluse Road is damaged beyond repair, requiring demolition and removal.

SCDOT is rapidly mobilizing contractors to demolish the bridge and remove it from the interstate. Our partners in law enforcement are working alongside us, helping keep traffic moving along the detour routes.

If you can, avoid the area. If you need to travel in this area, drive with caution, plan for delays and follow the detour signs.

03/31/2025

* East Pine Log Closure Update *

East Pine Log Road will now remain CLOSED until 6:00 AM Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

As part of the originally planned 83-hour work window for the reconstruction and resurfacing of East Pine Log Road, paving was scheduled for Monday, March 31, 2025. Unfortunately, with rain now falling in Aiken and heavy precipitation coming over the next 24 hours, this weather event will delay the paving until Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

No - this is NOT an April Fool’s Day prank - the road will remain closed an additional 24 hours beyond what was originally planned. However, given the raging forest fires in the Upstate, Aiken’s inconvenience for an extra day due to rain means much needed fire relief is headed for our fellow South Carolinians. The rain comes as a real blessing for the whole state.

Our contractor is continuing to work in the rain today, provided we do not begin to get lightning in close proximity to the work area. We intend to do everything in our power to try to adhere to this newly adjusted schedule so as to prevent any further delays in reopening the road to vehicular traffic. 

Aiken Railway thanks you for your continued patience and understanding, and please accept our apologies for this extended inconvenience.

03/05/2025

Tonight the Aiken County Council voted to table a resolution that would have split the Wagener Fire District up among New Holland, Couchton, Salley and Hollow Creek Fire Departments.

Council will revisit the matter again at its March 18th meeting. See more in this Friday’s Leader.

01/20/2025

Our school district administrators are continuing to monitor Winter Storm Enzo alongside Emergency Management Officials. With the possibility of snow forecasted late tomorrow afternoon and into the evening hours, Aiken County Public Schools will operate on an Early Dismissal Schedule Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Just as on Early Dismissal Days, elementary school students will dismiss at 11:30 a.m., middle school students at 12:10 p.m., and high school students at 12:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served prior to dismissal.

Early dismissal times are slightly different for Aiken Scholars Academy, as well as our schools in the Wagener and Ridge-Spring areas. Ridge Spring-Monetta and Busbee Elementary dismissal is at 11:55 a.m., A.L. Corbett Middle, Wagener-Salley High, and Aiken Scholars Academy dismiss at noon, and Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle and High dismissal is at 12:15 and 12:20 p.m., respectively. The Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) will dismiss at 1:30 p.m.

Students on half-day schedules who require bus transportation, including Early Learning Special Education students and others, will not come to school tomorrow as buses will be unable to make mid-day routes.

Afternoon classes at the Aiken County Career and Technology Center will not be held. Students enrolled in an afternoon class at the Career Center will remain at their high school.

There will be no after-school care tomorrow through QuestZone and no events to include athletics, arts, clubs, etc. will be held tomorrow afternoon or evening.

All schools and offices will also close early tomorrow. The district’s offices will close no later than 2 p.m. with the Operations Center closing at 1:00 p.m.

While snowfall is not expected to continue into the day on Wednesday, temperatures are predicted to remain well below freezing during the morning and evening hours. Any accumulating snowfall may impact our district’s operations for Wednesday. A decision regarding Wednesday will be announced by Tuesday evening.

Thank you for your flexibility and cooperation as we adjust our operations when weather conditions require as part of our efforts to ensure safety.

Please be safe, bundle up, and tune in for any further changes to our regular operations that Winter Storm Enzo may cause. We look forward to seeing our students and staff tomorrow morning.

09/28/2024

09/26/2024

08/27/2024

Incident on I-20 westbound between exits 33 and 31. Use caution.

08/04/2024

Showers and thunderstorms will again develop this morning and continue through this evening with heavy rainfall at times. A flood watch is in effect due to the heavy rain potential. Tonight tropical moisture ahead of Tropical Storm Debby will begin moving into the area leading to additional heavy rainfall continuing through at least the middle of the week. This heavy rainfall will likely result in areas of severe and widespread flash and urban flooding, with significant river flooding expected. The graphic below shows the Flooding Rain potential through this week.

06/10/2024

Attention Perry 31 residents! Changes to your voting location for tomorrow’s primary.

04/16/2024

Standing room only at Aiken County Council meeting tonight. Most of the crowd was gathered to object to a second reading of a proposed economic incentive package for a proposed chicken processing plant near exit 22 on I20.

That economic incentive package died before council without a motion or 2nd.