NEWS: Beaufort County needs poll workers for Nov. election. PAGE A6
AUGUST 20–26, 2020 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Vote on Whitehall subdivision plan ends in tie; discussion tabled By Mindy Lucas Plans to build a major subdivision on the property known as Whitehall have been kicked down the road again – this time by a deadlocked planning commission. The result was a tie after members of the Beaufort-Port Royal Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) took a first vote on approving the project at its regular monthly meeting held, Monday, Aug. 17. After a lengthy discussion over the course of a nearly four-hour meeting,
the commission eventually moved to table any further discussion until its next meeting. The site is zoned for mixed use and current plans presented by the developer show a mix of retail and approximately 200 residential units on 10.1 acres. Approval of the project has been held up for most of the year – previously by the developer who asked to remove its consideration from two previous MPC meetings citing a desire to have the public weigh in at an
in-person meeting. However since March, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented those types of meetings and city and other municipal meetings have been held virtually. On Monday, project developer Sam Levin was given the option to postpone again, but Levin made it clear he no longer wanted to wait. “We’ve been down this path, and the project has been talked about an awful lot,” he said. The other half of the original 20acre site was sold to Beaufort Coun-
ty in 2018, and the county has since moved forward with its plans to develop a public park. Chief among the commission’s latest concerns have been a traffic impact study – first provided in 2018, then updated in May. At its July meeting, commission members asked for an updated study. The updated study, conducted by Ramey Kemp & Associates, was provided at Monday’s meeting and a traffic engineer from the firm took members through the data explaining how
it was collected and analyzed. The city’s own engineer, Jared Fralix, also weighed in on the analysis at the request of commission members. “I feel comfortable with what …has (been) proposed …,” Fralix said. “I think that’s adequate for what’s being proposed as far as what the traffic volumes dictate.” However, as of Monday night, at least one commission member still had concerns over what was presented.
SEE PLAN PAGE A5
The Island News fares well in SC Press contest Staff reports In the “better late than never” category, 2019 was a good year for The Island News in the South Carolina Press Association’s yearly awards. For the first time, The Island News placed second in the South Carolina Press Association’s overall General Excellence category in the Weekly Division for newspapers with a circulation of more than 7,500. “I’m extremely happy,” Editor-in-Chief Mike McCombs said. “I believe there are more good things to come.” In all, the newspaper brought home 11 total awards. As a result of COVID-19, the S.C. Press Association’s annual meeting and awards ceremony, originally set for March, was rescheduled for Sept. 18-19, in Myrtle Beach. The event will now be held virtually. Aside for the years during the Civil War and the Great Depression, the SCPA had offered an in-person gathering every year since 1852. Reporter Mindy Lucas won a first-place award in Enterprise Reporting for The Road Not Taken, her Sept. 26, 2019 story about a dispute over a Warsaw Island boat ramp and road that Mindy riled the com- Lucas munity and spawned a class action lawsuit. Lucas also won a thirdplace award in Reporting-In-Depth for her Aug. 21, 2019 story about Lady’s Island residents unhappy with annexation and “up-zoning.” Photographer Bob Sofaly brought home six awards, upping his total with The Island News to 12. Sofaly swept the General News Photo cate- Bob gory, taking Sofaly first, second and third. He placed first and third in the Sports Action Photo category, as well, and took home second place in the Photo Series or Photo Story category for capturing a lunar eclipse over Beaufort.
SEE CONTEST PAGE A4
Students at Beaufort Academy sit four to a table with plexiglass shields between them. When lunch is over, teachers may use the outdoor, shaded area for instructional purposes to give the students a break from wearing the mask all day. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
Taking every precaution
Beaufort Academy the 1st area school to return to the classroom
Beaufort Academy started school on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
By Mike McCombs They are the canaries in the coal mine. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, 337 children, from kindergartners to 12th-graders – including 115 new students – started their school year at Beaufort Academy’s campus on Lady’s Island, making BA the first school in northern Beaufort County with in-person learning for the 2020-21 school year. So far, so good. “We had a great first day back,” Beaufort Academy Director of Communications Lisa Gallagher said. “Our re-opening plan has guided us in a good way, and our teachers, staff and students
SEE FOR YOURSELF Beaufort Academy’s complete reopening plan can be found at https://bit.ly/34ayadh.
are adapting well. As with anything new, we will need time to adjust. … I have not heard one student complain about our ‘new normal.’ Our staff worked hard to make the first day as smooth as possible, and it absolutely showed.” Beaufort Academy is offering both on-campus and at-home live instruction simultaneously. Students and parents were given the option and, according to Gallagher, for most students
and parents, being in the classroom was worth the annoyances of masks, shields, and social distancing. Only around 35 students chose at-home instruction, she said. “Our campus is ideal for a school reopening,” Gallagher said. “We were able to comply above and beyond with DHEC and CDC recommendations while maintaining smaller class sizes and utilize our college style campus.” In late June, Beaufort Academy made public “Envisioning A New Normal – A Plan For A
SEE RETURN PAGE A5
New Covid-19 cases trending down in state Staff reports The number of new COVID-19 cases across the state appears to have dropped, only breaking 1,000 once in the seven-day period ending with Monday, Aug. 17. And though the past few days have been encouraging – just 451 new cases, 18 in Beaufort County, and an 11.5 positive test rate on Monday – indications are at least some of the decline can be attributed to fewer tests being administered.
Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, there were 928 and 712 news cases reported, respectively. But the positive percentages those days were still high at 20 and 19.6 percent, respectively. Those are close to the positive rates when the state was averaging between 1,500 and 1,800 new cases a day. Data says masks are working The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
(DHEC) released new data last week that indicates local mask ordinances are helping to slow the spread of COVID-19. “This new data shows us what we already knew, wearing face masks works,” Dr. S.C. State Epidemiologist Linda Bell said in a release. “We’re strongly supportive of these local leaders’ initiatives that are centered on protecting the health and wellbe-
THE NUMBERS From S.C. DHEC Totals As of Monday, Aug. 17 S.C. confirmed cases: 105,905 S.C. probable cases: 1,048 S.C. confirmed deaths: 2,185 S.C. probable deaths: 103 Beaufort County cases: 4,357 Beaufort County deaths: 58 See more totals and last week’s numbers on A5.
SEE CASES PAGE A5
AIR SHOW
FOOTBALL
INSIDE
Beaufort County Airport has open house.
SCISA charges ahead toward Friday night lights.
PAGE A4
PAGE A8
Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–6 Business A6 Health & Wellness A7
Sports Arts Voices Directory Classifieds
A8 A9 A10 A10 A11