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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
School board to vote on masks Decision postponed until Board of Education can get legal, medical advice
Rendering from the initial planning charrette when the Habersham Master Plan was designed. Photo from Habersham Land Company FAQ document.
Trouble in paradise? Neighbors divided over proposed church at Habersham
By Margaret Evans
F
or retiree Glen Goldenberg, living in Habersham is “like being on vacation all the time.” Goldenberg was drawn to the award-winning New Urbanist neighborhood about six years ago by the “diversity of the population” – residents hail from all over the country – along with the “charming, open-minded lifestyle in a wonderfully maintained environment.” Joy Kraft has similar feelings about her community. “Habersham is great,” she said. “I love the new urbanism. Our neighborhood is a very caring, cooperative group of people who volunteer left and right.” “I have made good friends in Habersham,” yet another resident told The Island News. “I have neighbors here that I have helped in a heartbeat, and I know they would do the same
Regular outdoor worship services have been happening for more than a year at Habersham. Photo from Habersham Land Company FAQ document. But now there may be trouble in paradise. And ironically – or perhaps predictably – it’s coming in the form of a church.
Our neighborhood is a very caring, cooperative group of people who volunteer left and right.” for me. And even though their politics or religious beliefs are quite different from mine, I have managed to live side by side with them.”
Background A couple of months ago, a small group of concerned residents went door to door delivering a letter to their
neighbors, inviting them to an “Important Habersham Community Meeting.” The letter began: “For over a year (during COVID quarantine), the Anglican Church in North America (local Beaufort congregation, the Parish Church of St. Helena) has sponsored a worship group that first held outdoor Sunday services across Cherokee Farms Road and more recently in the wooded parking area just before the River Retreat. The group has now declared itself The Parish Church at Habersham and is proposing to build a
formal church facility of at least 6,000 square feet and three levels on property they have contracted to purchase from the Habersham Land Company. The minister, on the staff of St. Helena, lives in Habersham …” On July 10, about 150 Habersham residents came together for that meeting, to ask questions, share information, and express concerns about this proposed church to be built on a wooded site designated “civic,” just beyond Habersham Marketplace, at
By Mike McCombs They finally got around to “the elephant in the room.” After an hour and 45 minutes of business, the Beaufort County Board of Education eventually got to the topic on everyone’s mind as school’s opened during the recent resurgence of COVID-19: masks. After a motion to mandate masks in Beaufort County Schools at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, the board voted 6-5 to postpone a vote until it can get the proper legal advice, as well as the advice of a health care expert. The board was scheduled to meet again at 6 p.m. Wednesday, but it was unclear when a vote might happen. At the end of Superintendent
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BMH tightens policies as COVID surge goes on From staff reports In developments that go hand in hand, the surge in COVID-19 continues locally and nationwide and Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) is tightening its policies to protect patients, staff, and community members. South Carolina reported 2,286 new cases Tuesday, down from the seven-day average of 3,397. That’s a 65 percent increase in the seven-day average over the last two weeks. Beaufort County’s numbers are actually worse that those of the state. Beaufort reported 116 new cases on Tuesday, down from 169 on Monday. The seven-day average is 169, up 84 percent over two weeks ago. Beaufort County reported one death, an elderly person, on Tuesday, as well. As of Tuesday night, Beaufort Memorial Hospital had 41 COVID-19 patients, including seven of the 10 in the ICU and seven on ventilators. That’s three patients off the hospital’s previous high of 44 on Jan. 8. S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, S.C. Department of Health and Environment Control Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell and members of the American Academy of Pediatrics held a press conference Tuesday pushing parents to send their children to school wearing
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Sunday fundraiser set for Beaufort toddler who suffers rare disorder, has both kidneys removed.
Warriors, Eagles ranked in S.C. Prep Media Football Poll preseason top 10.
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