News briefs

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THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S SUPERINTENDENT EARNED A RAISE, HILTON HEAD’S NEW MAYOR WAS SWORN IN, AND BLUFFTON BEGAN ITS STREET-IMPROVEMENT PLAN. HERE’S WHAT MADE NEWS DURING THE PAST MONTH:

STEPHENS

USCB STUDENT SELECTED FOR THE WATERING HOLE WRITERS’ RETREAT

Edra Stephens, a University of South Carolina Beaufort English major, Gullah poet and novelist, has been selected as a manuscript fellow for prestigious writers’ workshop The Watering Hole. She is the first USCB student to be chosen for this honor. The Watering Hole hosts the only Southern writing retreat for poets of color and draws 50-60 poets each year. Stephens, who grew up on Hilton Head Island, will bring to the group selected poems and a section of her first novel, “Born White, Dying Black.”

RESIDENT BEACH PARKING PASSES UPDATED

The Town of Hilton Head Island extended validity of 2022 resident beach parking passes through Feb. 28, 2023. Newly eligible residents can contact Facilities Management at 843-342-4580 to discuss options for the issuance of a temporary beach parking pass. Information about resident beach parking passes, including eligibility, is also available at hiltonheadislandsc.gov.

SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT EARNS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE RATING

Frank Rodriguez, Beaufort County School District superintendent, scored a “highly effective rating” by the school district’s board. The board scored Rodriguez on 37 questions to gauge professional practice. The evaluation included governance and board relations, community relations, staff relations, business and finance, and instructional leadership. The board commended him for mobilizing community resources and collaborating with community partners. His salary increase was approved by 5 percent to $251,254.

BLUFFTON BEGINS BRIDGE STREET STREETSCAPE PROJECT

The first phase of the Town of Bluffton’s Bridge Street Streetscape Project began in December and will continue through the end of the summer. The phase will cost about $1.1 million and will include improvements to sidewalks, parking, street lighting, drainage, and add Americans with Disabilities Act compliant crosswalks on Bridge Street from Burnt Church Road to Calhoun Street. The objective is to improve pedestrian flow, connectivity, walkability, public safety and improve stormwater runoff drainage and water quality along the route.

BOOKS APPROVED FOR RETURN TO LIBRARIES

Four books — “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Speak,” “Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “The Kite Runner” — were approved to return to the libraries by county school district book review committees. The Library Materials Review Committees will decide on 97 titles that were removed from libraries in October. Committee members read the assigned book and meet as a group to discuss findings.

NEW HILTON HEAD MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS TAKE OFFICE

Alan Perry, newly elected Hilton Head Island mayor, officially began his four-year term Dec. 6 after a swearing-in ceremony. Also taking office were council members Patsy Brison (Ward 2), Steve Alfred (Ward 5), and Tamara Becker (Ward 4).

WOMAN ATTACKED BY ALLIGATOR SUES

A Hilton Head woman has sued after she was attacked by an alligator Sept. 2, 2021. According to the complaint against Hilton Head Plantation Property Owners Association and the Rookery Community Association, Elsie Kyle suffered “permanent” injuries that have caused “substantial physical and mental pain.” Kyle was attacked by an 8-foot alligator. She says Hilton Head Plantation Property Owners’ Association and The Rookery Community Association allowed “an unreasonably hazardous and

unsafe condition” to exist and failed to “take appropriate measures to prevent alligators from attacking the public,” according to the lawsuit.

LOWCOUNTRY CELEBRATION PARK RECOGNIZED FOR ATTRACTIVE DESIGN

Hilton Head Island’s Lowcountry Celebration Park earned an Award of Excellence for its design from the South Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Chris Darnell, an Urban Designer with the Town of Hilton Head Island, and Wood and Partners, the firm that designed the park, accepted the award. Lowcountry Celebration Park opened in December 2020.

SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES ARCHITECTURE FIRM FOR HHI HIGH SCHOOL REBUILD

The Beaufort County Board of Education approved Charleston-based Little Diversified Architectural Company to design Hilton Head Island High School’s rebuild. A 2019 referendum included funding for the design of the Hilton Head High School rebuild, with the construction portion of this project being part of a future referendum. As the largest single-story school structure within Beaufort County School District, the existing Hilton Head High School building was originally constructed in 1983 with multiple additions over the years.

WOMAN FOUNDED DEAD IN 1995 IDENTIFIED

A woman who was found dead 27 years ago but whose identity had been unknown has been identified, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said. Maria Telles-Gonzalez of Kissimmee, Fla., had been unidentified before police confirmed she was the woman found in a roadside drainage ditch in Yemassee on May 24, 1995. She was 36 at the time of her death. The BCSO said advanced DNA technology and genealogy research led to her body being identified.