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News
Beaufort County named a new administrator, Hilton Head town council resumed in-person meetings, and developers purchased Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton. Here’s what made news during the previous month:
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LPGA AT MOSS CREEK
Eric Greenway has been named Beaufort County administrator. He had served as interim county administrator since November. He has more than 26 years of experience managing, directing and administering programs. Whitney Richland was named deputy county administrator. She had served as Beaufort County’s assistant county administrator/chief financial officer.
SCHOOL DISTRICT NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Three administrators were selected to serve as executive directors for the Beaufort County School District: Chad Cox, Ed.D., Mona Lise Dickson and Celestine LaVan, Ed.D. Cox has 18 years of educational experience, all at BCSD. He holds an education specialist degree from South Carolina State University and recently earned a doctorate degree in education leadership from South Carolina State University. Dickson has 28 years of educational experience, 27 of which serving BCSD. She holds an education specialist degree from The Citadel. LaVan has 17 years of educational experience, 14 of which serving BCSD. She holds an education specialist/ leadership degree and a doctorate degree in educational leadership, both from Liberty University.
LPGA RETURNS TO MOSS CREEK
The South Course at Moss Creek Hilton Head hosted 16 players from the LPGA’s Legends Tour in a warm-up for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open held in August. The field collectively represented 65 LPGA Tour wins. Cathy Johnston-Forbes, a major championship winner on the LPGA Tour, from Kitty Hawk, N.C., won the $6,000 prize, shooting a 1 under-par 71. The Legends Tour is the official senior tour of the LPGA, showcasing golfers aged 45 and over. Moss Creek has a history of hosting LPGA events. The Moss Creek Women’s Invitational was an official LPGA Tour event from 1976 to 1985.
MONTIE
Dr. Eric W. Montie, a member of the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, received a 2021 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Research at a Predominately Undergraduate Institution. This statewide award recognizes Montie’s strong research program in soundscape ecology, which focuses on estuaries. Since 2013 Montie’s lab has been recording the underwater soundscape of the May River in Bluffton. From 2017 to 2019 his team expanded soundscape monitoring to Charleston Harbor, Chechessee Creek, Colleton River, and the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
TOWNS APPROVE 2022 BUDGETS
The town councils of Bluffton and Hilton Head approved final readings of their fiscal year 2022 budgets. Bluffton’s budget ($40,132,070) reflects an 8.5% decrease compared to 2021, according to the town of Bluffton. The proposed budget keeps the
property tax millage the same at 38.5. The budget supports a nearly $11.6 million Capital Improvement Program and adds eight full-time positions, according to a Bluffton news release. The town of Hilton Head’s proposed budget ($96,838,322) includes no millage rate increase (28.1 mills). The budget supports a $28 million Capital Improvement Program and expands the town’s fire-rescue staff with the addition of three firefighters and provides for updating public safety equipment, a Hilton Head news release said.
FORMER 14TH CIRCUIT SOLICITOR DIES
Randolph Murdaugh III, who served as the 14th Circuit Solicitor from 1986 to 2005, died at his home June 10. He was 81. Murdaugh III was president of the S.C. Solicitor’s Association from 1995-1996 and served on the National District Attorney’s Association Board of Directors from 19982005, according to his obituary. In 2018 he received the state Order of the Palmetto. His death came days after the shooting deaths in Colleton County of his daughterin-law Margaret Murdaugh and his grandson Paul Murdaugh. S.C. Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shootings and has set up a tipline at 803-896-2605.
HILTON HEAD GAS STATION SHOOTER SENTENCED TO PRISON
A Hilton Head Island man was convicted of murder in a 2018 shooting in a gas station parking lot, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Joseph Decoriyus Burton, 27, of Greens Road, was found guilty last month for killing Christopher Shaun Fells. Burton was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Burton was also convicted of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He received a two-year sentence for that offense, which will run concurrently.
GOVERNOR ENDS COVID-19 EMERGENCY ORDER
Gov. Henry McMaster did not renew the COVID-19 State of Emergency he issued in 2020. The order was active for 451 days before it expired Sunday, June 6. “It is no longer necessary for us to have a state of emergency,” McMaster said during a news conference, according to the Associated Press.
Bluffton’s Bryson Nimmer finished tied for 35th at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. The event, held at Congaree Golf Club in Jasper County, represented Nimmer’s best finish at a PGA Tour event. He finished the tournament 3-under overall. Garrick Higgo shot an 11-under overall to win the tournament.
