EDUCATION: Board of Education approves employee bonus and step increase. PAGE A10
APRIL 29–MAY 5, 2021
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
New, safer Harbor Island Bridge opens By Tess Malijenovsky The new bridge along U.S. 21 (Sea Island Parkway) over the Harbor River in Beaufort County officially opened Monday, April 25, two months ahead of schedule. It is the only way the communities of Harbor, Hunting and Fripp Islands can access the mainland of Beaufort County, making the replacement of the previous 82-year-old swing drawbridge foremost a matter of safety, according to state officials. The new bridge is also the S.C. Department of Transportation’s most expensive bridge construction project to date for aging infrastruc-
ture that isn’t eligible for State Infrastructure Bank funding, coming in at $77 million, according to Senator George “Chip” Campsen (R-District 43 – Beaufort, Charleston and Colleton Counties). Rising 65 feet above the Harbor River and spanning close to three-quarters of a mile long, the new bridge will provide unimpeded passage for shrimp boats and sailboats that no longer have to wait for the old Harbor Island bridge to swing open. That goes for the estimated 6,200 motorists that cross the bridge every day, too. More importantly, the new bridge provides a
faster, safer way to evacuate the barrier island communities in the event of a hurricane or tropical storm. “The age and the working mechanisms of the bridge are just worn out,” said S.C. Rep. Shannon Erickson. “It got to the point where every time we would open the bridge, we would have to have an engineer on site to make sure that we could get it closed and to keep it operational.” The bridge was known to get stuck open at least a couple times a year and as recently as a couple weeks ago, holding up traffic for
SEE BRIDGE PAGE A6
The new Harbor Island Bridge towers over the 82-year-old swing bridge. The new $77 million structure was official opened Monday following a brief ribboncutting ceremony. The old bridge will be dismantled to enhance an offshore artificial reef aimed at helping marine life. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
SC looking into vaccination ‘slowdown’
The Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team was in town this past weekend in support of “flight currency and proficiency requirements” practice session, according to a statement released by the Public Affairs Office at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Though the practice session was not open to the public, hundreds people parked in open fields across from MCAS Beaufort to watch. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
No Air Show?
By Mindy Lucas South Carolina’s top health officials say they are taking a “deeper dive” into the state’s data to see why the state’s overall vaccination rate has slowed and appointments are going unfilled. The slowdown follows a nationwide trend as health officials across the county work to determine what’s behind the drop in numbers – whether it’s “vaccine hesitancy” or a reluctance to get the shots or whether it’s a normal dip in numbers as supplies of the vaccine become more plentiful. “We’re doing everything we can to reverse that trend and get more people vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, Public Health Director for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) on a state wide teleconference call held with members of the media on Friday, April 23. As part of that effort the agency is partnering with faith groups, local businesses and other entities to reach all areas and populations of South Carolina, Dr. Traxler said. “And we’re still encouraging everyone to go and get vaccinated, if they haven’t done so already,” she said. The recent pause of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vac-
Blue Angels show up, show off over Beaufort By Mike McCombs If you thought when MCAS Beaufort announced in February that the 2021 Air Show scheduled for Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 was canceled that it meant you wouldn’t see the Blue Angels over Beaufort this year, you likely now know better. Social media was abuzz Thursday afternoon as the Blue Angels flew low and fast around town. The Blue Angels then flew again Friday and Sunday afternoons, staying grounded Saturday because of rain. Civilians were initially surprised, but those who work aboard MCAS Beaufort and their families were aware the Navy’s flight demonstration team would be in town to prac-
tice and perform their routines. And it wasn’t a secret, really. MCAS Beaufort had announced earlier in the week that the Blue Angels would be flying but made clear the demonstration, set to begin around 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, was not open to the public. “The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will conduct flight training at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to support flight currency and proficiency requirements. These training flights on MCAS Beaufort will not be open for public viewing. We appreciate the understanding of our surrounding community as we look forward to
Spectators filled open fields across from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to watch Friday’s “flight currency and proficiency requirements” practice session. Though the practice session was not open to the public, both fields along Shanklin Road were crowded with hundreds of people wanting to watch the famous flight demonstration team.
SEE ANGELS PAGE A4
Cummings repeats as Pan Am champ, breaks own American record
By Mike McCombs Beaufort’s C.J. Cummings successfully defended his overall gold medal and broke his own American record in the Snatch in the 73 kg weight classification at the 2020 Pan Am Games on Wednesday in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cummings made 148 kg and 142 kg on his first two Snatch attempts. His American-record 155 kg Snatch on his third lift, ironically, was only good for silver in the lift. He was just short of Venezuela’s Julio Mayora. The current Pan American record holder lifted 156 kg to take gold “I felt really confident with the 155kg
Snatch,” Cummings told USA Weightlifting after the competition. “In my mind I already had it made up, so what I did was just pulled it really hard and had to take a step back because I overC.J. pulled it. It felt like an easy Cummings lift.” Cummings made up for the shortfall in the Snatch with a dominant Clean and Jerk to win gold in the event and the total for the weight class. The Beaufort High grad made 178 kg on his opening attempt before a big leap to
188 kg. He missed on his American record attempt at 194kg on his third lift, but the 188 would stand for gold. His 343 kg total was good enough for gold and made him the 73 kg Pan American Champion. “I wanted to go six for six today, obviously I didn’t,” Cummings told USA Weightlifting after the competition. “All in all, it was a great performance and I’m just happy to have won another championship.” Including Cummings’ three medals, Team USA’s men scored 14 medals, including five gold, three silver and six bronze, to
SEE SLOWDOWN PAGE A6
The shopping center will be located on 28 acres bounded by Robert Smalls Parkway and Parris Island Gateway, across from the Walmart Supercenter.
Major shopping center planned on busy stretch Robert Smalls Parkway has been the site of numerous critical and several deadly collisions over the years By Mindy Lucas A busy stretch of road that includes a deadly intersection along Robert Smalls Parkway in Beaufort could soon become a whole lot busier with the addition of another major retail center in the area. Charlotte, N.C.-based developers The Morgan Companies received conditional approval to build a largescale, mixed-use retail center on the corner of Robert Smalls Parkway and Parris Island Gateway.
SEE CHAMP PAGE A11
HEALTH
MILITARY
INSIDE
Heart disease gaining on cancer as a major cause of death in young women.
Parris Island celebrates Earth Day with Nature Walk ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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