August 29 edition

County Council releases audit to law enforcement

Sheriff, solicitor say it took far too long to do “appropriate” thing

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Months after Greenville-based law firm Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd completed their investigation into Beaufort County’s P-Card system and procurement code, County Council has voted to release the report to local and state law enforcement agencies.

During their Aug. 26 meeting, Beaufort County Council members voted unanimously to release

LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN

Port Royal residents celebrate the town

PORT ROYAL

You might have called it a “red letter day” on Saturday, with two ribboncuttings for a new public library branch, a restaurant and a very lively night of street music.

The coolish weather, in the low 80’s, was an extra treat that had hundreds of folks turning out and cheering progress.

The town welcomed the sixth branch of the county library system with a tribute to the late Mayor Sam Murray, who served on town council for 41 years.

A local couple opened their dream restaurant in a building that had sat empty on Paris Avenue for the past several months. And the town-sponsored street music program on Paris Avenue provided free entertainment with New Orleans music. It was just a win-win-win kind of Saturday.

Much better than the week past when the lead story in The Island News was the story of a 12-yearold girl who was accidentally shot in the chest by her cousin. The young victim is still hospitalized recovering from the gunshot.

The “tease” with which Mother Nature blessed the Lowcountry brought hope that fall is indeed coming. Just like the elections.

SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A7

the report and any supporting documents to law enforcement.

County Council has previously told the public that the county and Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd found no criminal activity per the report and during the August 26 meeting they expressed again that they hope that law enforcement does not find anything different.

In a prepared statement read by Vice Chairman Larry McElynn during the meeting, it was

promised that the report will be released to the public subject to the Freedom of Information Act if law enforcement finds no evidence of criminal activity.

The law firm was retained by Beaufort County Council to conduct the audit of the county’s procurement code and P-Card system following the firing with cause of former County Administrator Eric Greenway in July 2023

Before voting to release the document to law enforcement, each member of council made comments regarding their feelings on the decision to release the report.

Several council members spoke

up saying that they wished the report had been made available to law enforcement from the beginning.

Council member David Bartholomew said that he had been advocating for more transparency in this process since it started.

“Trust is not established by words, it’s established by actions, and I think this is an action in the right direction,” said Bartholomew on Monday. There were a few council members who defended the time that it has taken to release the report by

SEE AUDIT PAGE A4

“The process is a process that they created. They are playing the role of fireman when they are the arsonist.”

DUFFIE STONE, 14th Circuit Solicitor, on the process Beaufort County Council went through before releasing a public audit of county spending to state and local law enforcement

Like cracking open a new book

Suspect car located in downtown Beaufort hit-and-run incident

By Delayna Earley The Island News

The vehicle allegedly involved in a hit-and-run incident with a pedestrian Thursday night, Aug. 22, in downtown Beaufort has been identified and located, but police aren’t sharing any more information.

A pedestrian was injured after she was hit by a vehicle as she and several friends were crossing crossing Bay Street in a crosswalk

in downtown Beaufort.

At approximately 10:12 p.m., Beaufort Police officers responded to reports of a hit and run. The officers who arrived at the scene rendered aid to the injured victim until the fire department and EMS arrived and took over, according to a release sent out by the Beaufort Police Department.

Responding officers spoke to witnesses at the scene and were able to gather a partial license

plate and vehicle description, but initially were unable to locate the vehicle.

There were eight pedestrians who were crossing the street, according to a post on Facebook made by one of the people involved.

The post said that the group was halfway in the street with the right of way when the driver “came out of nowhere.”

The alleged witness did not re-

spond when contacted for further comment.

On Friday, Aug. 23, officers canvassed local businesses with security cameras in the downtown Beaufort area and were able to locate clearer images of the suspect vehicle and license plate.

The Beaufort Police Department initially issued a BOLO to the public on the suspect vehicle

SEE SUSPECT PAGE A5

LOLITA HUCKABY

Beaufort County Library Director, Amanda Brewer Dickman welcomes the Chappell family to the new Port Royal Library located at 1408 Paris Avenue as the doors open to the public for the first time on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. Amber Hewitt/ The Island News

Duffie Stone

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

On Saturday, Aug. 24, Habersham’s Andrea Ogiony observed a Cooper’s Hawk sitting on a fence in her back yard for a long period of time. As she approached to take this photo, the hawk sat staring but did not move. Concluding the bird was either sick or injured, Ogiony called the Avian Conservation Center (https://thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/). Agreeing that some action needed to be taken, a volunteer came to pick up the bird within the hour and transport it to their Avian medical facility. To submit a Lowcountry Life photo, you must be the photographer or have permission to submit the photo to be published in The Island News. Please submit high-resolution photos and include a description and/or names of the people in the picture and the name of the photographer. Email your photos to theislandnews@gmail.com.

VETERAN OF THE WEEK

Beaufort’s Michael Cook, 69 joined the United States Marine Corps in Talladega, Ala., in 1974

MICHAEL COOK

After Boot Camp in San Diego he trained for handling bulk fuels. He first served at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from which he deployed aboard USS Dubuque (LPD-8) in support of the Vietnam drawdown. Next were three years at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during which he married his wife of 47 years, Katie. He next served at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan followed by duty at Montfort Point, Camp Lejeune where he was an instructor/examiner for motor transport.

Back for a tour to Okinawa, Japan for a year before five years at

MCRD Parris Island, 2½ of which were as a Drill Instructor. Then it was back to Okinawa for a year before duty at MCAS Beaufort attached to a squadron that deployed back to Iwakuni. Cook retired in 1996 as a Gunnery Sergeant with 22 years of service. He has several service connected disabilities and has had 14 related surgeries. On retirement, he began 18 years of service to Beaufort as a City police officer, at the County De-

tention Center, for the County Schools as a counselor, and finally on the security force at the Naval Hospital. He’s a member of the Montfort Point Marine Association, the Sons of Beaufort Masonic Lodge and the Mount Carmel Baptist Church.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207 For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.

MUSC Health Pulmonary Medicine has new Beaufort location

Staff reports MUSC Health Pulmonary Medicine’s Beaufort office is now open at 1251 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. Dr. Peter Manos will continue to offer his expertise and patient care and is accepting patient

appointments at the new office. MUSC Health also welcomes Megan Webb, PA-C, to the practice for appointments. The new office offers a wide range of pulmonary services, including Pulmonary Function Test

(PFT) studies, which are essential for diagnosing and managing respiratory conditions. The MUSC Health Sleep Medicine practice will remain at 989 Ribaut Road, Suite 340. This location will continue to offer an in-house sleep

center to conduct thorough sleep studies to diagnose and treat various sleep disorders.

To schedule an appointment at the new location for MUSC Health Pulmonary Medicine –Beaufort, call 843-985-3120.

August 30

2021: Retired U.S. Army Captain Seth Keshel and attorney Lin Wood, a Beaufort County resident, were among the guest speakers at an Audit The SC 2020 Vote Rally at Olde Beaufort Golf Club.

August 31

2019: More than 200 people turned out at the Beaufort Black Chamber of Commerce to hear Democratic Presidential candidate Julian Castro speak.

PAL PETS OF THE WEEK

loves treats and playing with toys. She's looking for an active household and would make an awesome adventure buddy. Hiking, running, playing, going out for coffee and a pup cup ... you name it ... Helio is your girl. She is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

Cat Of The Week Beth is super friendly and eager to grab a lap whenever

September 3

2021: The Town of Port Royal held a “do-over” July 4 fireworks celebration –the initial one was plagued by technical difficulties – at The Sands.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

possible. When you sit down, she will come right over to snuggle. Beth’s calming energy

CORRECTION:

even encourages some of the more reserved cats at the PAL Adoption Center to come out and play. She is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

For more information on Helio, Beth, or any of our other pets, call PAL at 843645-1725 or email Info@ PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.

– Compiled by Lindsay Perry

The caption accompanying the photo with the Battle of the Beards story on Page A1 of the August 22 edition of The Island News was incorrect. The correct caption should have read: Connor Francis, also known as Power Washing Man, along with Tim Green and John Hazel, speaks with the audience as they prepare to hear who is the winner of The Helianthus Project and Power Washing Man's Battle of the Beards. The event, held on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, at The Fillin’ Station, raised more than $8 000 to support the Helianthus Project's mission to build Esther's House for child victims of human trafficking. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Michael Cook

Cloud will stand trial for harboring fugitive

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

Another suspect connected to a Beaufort County sex trafficking ring had her case bound over for trial Friday, Aug. 23, in Beaufort Magistrate Court.

Magistrate Nancy Sadler ruled there was probable cause to try Kalynn Jade Cloud, 20, of Port Royal on the charge of Harboring an Escaped Convict.

On July 18, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged Cloud; Amani Nekwan Vaughn, 30, of Port Royal; and Guy Frank Talley, III, 27, of Beaufort with Harboring an Escaped Convict for their alleged roles in helping Port Royal’s Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 29 evade capture and flee the Beaufort area after his escape from the Jasper County Detention Center on or about June 9 or 10

Cloud and Vaughn, Barnes’ biological sisters, both posted a $10 000 cash bond and a $10,000 surety bond, according to court records. Vaughn’s hearing is set for Friday, Sept. 20 Barnes, the alleged leader of the sex trafficking ring, is charged with Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age; two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a

Port Royal woman charged with helping brother after escape from Jasper County Detention Center

Minor — 2nd Degree; two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — 3rd Degree; Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor; and Unlawful Escape.

Talley, who allegedly harbored Barnes at his Beaufort residence, also faces charges of Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age; Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — 2nd Degree; and Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — 3rd Degree as part of the trafficking operation.

Talley’s bond was set Tuesday, July 23 at $110 000 with GPS monitoring and house detention. He can only leave home for work or medical or legal appointments. He posted bond and was released Monday, July 29. His preliminary hearing has been continued several times.

At Cloud’s probable cause hearing Friday, SLED Special Agent Logan Fey testified that in Barnes’ escape from the Jasper County Detention Center on June 9 or 10, he utilized tools to break a hole in the shower. He entered into the ceiling, which allowed him to crawl toward daylight,

break out of the roof, break out into the enclosed yard, scale the fence and concertina wire and cross the road into the woods.

Barnes made his way on foot to a gas station in Coosawhatchie, where he used homeless person’s cell phone to contact Beaufort County resident Guy Talley III and his sisters.

According to Fey, when Talley was arrested in June, he provided a statement to investigators. Fey testified that Talley admitted providing a phone to Barnes, who then contacted his sisters — Cloud and Vaughn — and summoned them to Talley’s residence in Beaufort County.

According to Fey, it was Talley’s direct statement that he overheard the phone call between the sisters and Barnes. The two girls eventually provided clothing, as well as the cell phone of which Barnes was in possession when arrested in Florida.

According to Fey, at Barnes’ residence, a DVR, now in SLED’s possession, contained footage of Barnes’ sisters arriving and later leaving with Barnes. They eventually left Beaufort County, helping Barnes reach Florida and evade law enforcement.

According to Fey, SLED surveiled the sisters, following them to Barnes in Florida, where they supplied help to him on the run.

According to Fey, once investigators knew Cloud and Vaughn aided in Barnes’ escape, they became a target of the investigation.

On a Federal Magistrate Warrant, for up to a month prior to the escape, Fey said SLED could monitor the date and frequency of the phone calls but not the actual content of the conversations.

He testified that there was a “substantial” uptick in phone communications

between Barnes and Cloud (and Vaughn) on a device provided by the Jasper County Detention Center, though he could not testify to what they spoke about.

SLED has the communications from Barnes’ new cell phone to the sisters, while Cloud’s cell phone is still being processed at this time. (Fey said law enforcement had seized more than 50 electronic devices, so far, in this case.)

Cloud did not provide law enforcement with a statement.

Fey testified SLED does “foresee additional arrests being made” in this case.

Cloud’s attorney, Carolyn Carmody, argued that without the actual substance of the conversations or text messages, law enforcement was simply speculating as to why Barnes contacted Cloud and Vaughn.

However, in binding Cloud over for trial, Sadler made clear that Talley’s statement was more than enough when combined with the phone evidence.

“All of that added together is sufficient for probable cause,” she said.

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

Cloud

SLED Special Agent Logan Fey provides testimony during Kalynn Cloud’s preliminary hearing on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024 in Beaufort Magistrate Court. Fey detailed the events leading up to Cloud’s arrest for Harboring an Escaped Convict. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Jasper County Council looks to make drastic rezoning move

Proposed Euhaw Cultural Heritage District would keep large part of county rural

By Scott Graber The Island News

On October 7, 1996 — in the Lassiter Theater on Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort — Tom Taylor, then Beaufort County Council Chair, gave the public its first look at the just completed “Comprehensive Plan” for future growth.

That plan, envisioned by Elizabeth Brabec and her team at Land Ethics based in Annapolis, Md., had been in gestation for many months. The fundamental issue that night was “density” — what density was going to be ascribed to those parts of Beaufort County that were still rural?

Tom Taylor announced that, in rural areas, the Comprehensive Plan would allow one house for every three acres. Although there was no noticeable howl of protest in the auditorium that night, developers, builders and realtors immediately joined forces to diminish the 1996 plan. In fact, Beaufort, Bluffton and Port Royal would use the “Plan” as an accelerant to fuel their plans for annexation of nearby properties.

Jasper County has been watching development in Beaufort County for years; and for years it has been troubled by the residential/ gated community growth down Highway 278 that is now spreading into the Chelsea and Okatie pre-

NEWS BRIEFS

On this map of the Euhaw Cultural Heritage District, the green area represents the overlay district. The blue is the municipal boundary for the City of Hardeeville and the yellow is the Town of Ridgeland. Map courtesy of Jasper County

cincts of northern Jasper County. Jasper is so concerned that its County Council put a moratorium on development in June of 2023

Now, Jasper County Council has announced its intent to rezone a large swath of rural geography putting that topography into what it

calls the Euhaw Cultural Heritage District to be accompanied by zoning that would allow one dwelling unit for every 10 acres.

This new overlay district involves rural lands lying to the east of I-95 in Jasper County, and extending from the Coosawhatchie River down to Hardeeville along Highway 170 and sharing a border with the with the Broad River.

The prevalent classification is called “Rural Preservation-10” which allows one unit (house) for every 10 acres. The current density is one house per acre. This zoning will also ban heavy industry, as well as Bluffton-inspired sprawl and Hilton Head-styled resort development.

The proposed Rural Preservation-10 would cover most of Chelsea Plantation (2,442 acres) and the Okeetee Club properties (50 000 acres). Rapidly expanding Hardeeville and the Town of Ridgeland would be excluded from the District but Jasper’s headwaters adjacent to the Port Royal Sound would be protected.

This new District also proposes a new zoning classification called, “Village Commercial” that will permit small businesses, retail and churches in places like Cooler’s Corner. There will also be an exemption for traditional clusters of houses much like the “Family

Compound” exemption in Beaufort County’s Code.

In this connection, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League has requested that golf courses be made a conditional activity and that marinas be removed altogether.

Notwithstanding this new District and its prohibitions, we have seen that these downzoning changes are usually fiercely fought by developers who sometimes say this amounts to a “taking” (by the government) without compensation.

But in the case of Jasper County there has been unparalleled growth along Highway 278 as developers file their annexation petitions with the Town of Hardeeville. It is likely that the urbanization (or suburbanization) of the right of way between Hilton Head and Hardeeville was largely responsible for Jasper’s moratorium and will be the justification argument for the passage of the Euhaw Cultural Overlay District and its attendant zoning.

At 5 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, there will be a public hearing focused on this change in zoning before Jasper County Council at the Port Royal Maritime Center on Highway 170

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

ATAX grant applications

now available from City Accommodations Tax (ATAX) Grant

Applications for Fiscal Year 2025 are now available from the City of Beaufort. The application may be accessed on the City’s website on the City’s Finance Department page (https://bit.ly/3ysHWsN) or at the City Hall, Finance Department, 1911 Boundary Street. For additional information contact the ATAX Administrator Jay Phillips at jphillips@cityofbeaufort.org or 843-525-7071

The City of Beaufort will hold mandatory workshops for applicants at the Beaufort City Hall, Community Development Conference Room, 1911 Boundary Street, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, and at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug, 30

All potential applicants are required to attend one of the two mandatory workshops.

Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13

Applicants will present their requests to the TDAC in the Council Chambers on Friday, Oct. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

South Carolina established in the 1980s a 2 percent tax on overnight accommodations in addition to the statewide sales tax. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 6 Chapter 4 Allocations of Accommodations Tax Revenues states how those monies are to be allocated. A small portion of the ATAX

from page A1

saying that they were following a process and waiting for the new County Administrator Michael Moore to start in his position in July 2024

As of Tuesday morning, a copy of the report was in the possession of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office according to Sheriff P.J. Tanner, and he said they were going to ensure that the 14 th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, S.C. Attorney General’s Office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) would get copies as well.

“I think that the only thing they did last night was vote to cooperate in a small way with an ongoing

money stays in the local municipality or county where it is collected. The remainder must be used to attract and provide for tourists and must be spent on tourism-related expenditures that promote tourism and attract visitors.

Howard, Geier hosting town hall meeting

Beaufort County Council Member Alice Howard (District 4) and Board of Education Member Richard Geier will host a joint community meeting to discuss population growth especially along Salem Road and Parris Island Gateway, traffic safety including pathways and sidewalks and any other topics brought up by attendees.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 29, at Port Royal Community Center, 1514 Richmond Avenue.

Representatives from Beaufort County Engineering will be present to answer questions. The meeting will cover various aspects of transportation improvements, such as road enhancements, and pedestrian safety measures. There will also be an update on northern Beaufort County traffic issues to include what has been accomplished, what is planned and answer any questions that may come up about the one cent sales tax projects.

The meeting is open to the public as well as residents in Council District 4. For more

investigation,” said 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone. “I’m disturbed and I think most people in Beaufort County are disturbed that they would even discuss or debate that, much less vote on it.”

Tanner agreed with Stone and said that he is glad that the council is doing the right thing. And while he hopes that there is no criminal activity, he cannot believe how long it took council to arrive at this decision.

“I don’t know what happened to give them all the revelation that it needed to be done,” Tanner said.

“It should have been done months ago, but I’m glad they finally decided last night to do the appropriate thing.”

Both recognized that while council may have a process in mind with the handling of the report, law enforcement never

information please email Council Member Howard at ahoward@bcgov.net, or call her at 843-986-7403

LIBPA hosting Hurricane Preparation event

The Lady’s Island Business & Professional Association will offer a wine-and-cheese event from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Beaufort Realtors’ Association Headquarters at 22 Kemmerlin Lane, Lady’s Island.

Colonel Neil Baxley from the Emergency Management Division of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will make a special presentation. Baxley will give an update on hurricane preparation for the Lowcountry. This informative event is open to the public and free.

Allison Road to remain closed until Aug. 30

Allison Road, from Ribaut Road to Battery Creek Road, will continue to be closed to through traffic through Friday, Aug. 30

Currently, the City is engaged in a streetscape project along Allison Road, which involves undergrounding of utilities, new stormwater drainage, new sidewalks and landscaping.

Due to the impact of rain from Tropical Storm Debby, the contractors need to work until the end of the month before the road

can be reopened.

Allison Road is open to local residents only.

2024 Run Forrest Run 5 KT-shirt Design Contest

The Beaufort Digital Corridor is hosting a T-shirt design contest to find a fresh design for its race gear for the 2024 Run Forrest Run 5K. Race organizers have opened the contest to creatives living both locally and internationally. The winning design will combine the charm of the Forrest Gump movie and a love for running through the Lowcountry. The prize package includes a $300 cash prize and two race vouchers to participate in the 5K. As the contest closes August 31, artists should hurry to submit their designs at https://bit.ly/3Z1A4sP.

City of Beaufort offices closed for Labor Day

City of Beaufort offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2, in honor of Labor Day.

Capital Waste Services will not be providing trash or recycling services on Labor Day. If you are a Monday customer, your pickup will be pushed back to Tuesday, Tuesday service will move to Wednesday, etc.

– Staff reports

they created,” Stone said. “They are playing the role of fireman when they are the arsonist.”

Tanner said that his investigators were planning to start reviewing the report and supporting documentation right away and at the very least it would be weeks before they expect to be finished. He also said that they plan to compare the documentation provided with the report to supporting documents that were collected when they initially opened an investigation into Greenway in 2023 to make sure there are no discrepancies.

County Councilman Logan Cunningham listens to the reading of Item 16 of the agenda regarding the discussion to provide the Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd report and supporting documents to state and county law enforcement during the County Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Amber Hewitt/ The Island News

Girl recovering at home after shooting

Beaufort woman found dead on St. Helena

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

PORT ROYAL

– A 12-year-old

Port Royal girl accidentally shot in the chest a week ago is home and on the road to recovery.

“I believe she’s home now and she’s up and walking around,” Capt. John Griffith, spokesperson for the Port Royal Police Department, said on Tuesday, Aug. 27

According to police, the girl was shot in the chest by her 15-year-old cousin with a 9mm pistol Monday night, Aug. 19 at their home in Port Royal.

Port Royal Police officers responded to Shell Point Apartments around 10:55 p.m., for a report of a gunshot victim. Upon arrival, officers learned that the juvenile victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and had been taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) by a civilian. The victim was later transported to Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston for further treatment.

According to Griffith, during their investigation, officers and investigators learned that the vic-

tim’s cousin, a 15-year-old juvenile, had accidentally shot the victim while in the apartment, where they both lived. She was shot a single time in the chest with a 9mm pistol, according to Griffith, Investigators believe the shooting was an accident.

“Yes, at this time, we’ve found nothing to suggest otherwise,” Griffith said the day after the incident.

Griffith said a third party not involved in the shooting drove both juveniles to the hospital.

Two firearms were subsequently

recovered and seized as part of the investigation.

“At this time, we’re still trying to ascertain who the owners of the gun were,” Griffith said.

The 15-year-old juvenile has been petitioned to family court for Possession of a Firearm by a Person under 18

As of Tuesday, there had been no additional charges filed, according to Griffith.

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

Tickets on sale for HBF’s Fall Festival of Houses and Gardens

Staff reports

Tickets are on sale for Historic Beaufort Foundation’s 50th Fall Festival of Houses and Gardens tour, October 19 and 20, featuring homes of the National Historic Landmark District and a classic Lowcountry property, Tombee on St. Helena Island.

One of the Lowcountry’s most-anticipated annual events, this year’s Saturday tour, Oct. 19, focuses on Beaufort’s National Historic Landmark District. Historic homes, beautiful gardens, tree-lined streets and a historic church. Tickets for Saturday’s tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. are $65 for HBF members and $75 for non-members.

Sunday’s Southern Brunch & Tour will provide a unique glimpse inside historic Tombee, one of the few surviving pre-Civil War houses remaining on any of the Beaufort Sea Islands. Tickets, which include brunch during the 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. event Oct. 20, are $200 per person for HBF members and $225 for non-members. There is a 10 percent discount for bundling both Saturday and Sunday tours.

Tickets are available online at https://historicbeaufort.org/. Organizers encourage early ticket purchases because these tours typically sell out, attracting visitors from across the country. All sales are final, and tours will be held rain or shine. Online ticket sales close Oct. 17 at 11:59 p.m.

“We are so fortunate each year to have owners of these magnificent properties offer them to us for these tours,” HBF Executive Director Cynthia Jenkins said in a news release. “To be invited to walk through these homes and gardens is a rare treat. The Sunday brunch at Tombee will be exceptional, as this was one of the Lowcountry jewels restored by Savannah preservationist Jim Williams in the 1970s.”

The Fall Festival of Houses & Gardens and the springtime Lafayette Soirée are the primary annual fundraisers for the foundation. Proceeds from the tours assist HBF to ensure that Beaufort’s historic and architectural legacy re-

Suspect from page A1

mains strong. Tour of the Beaufort Historic District — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19

The Saturday walking tour will lead visitors through a historic and architectural timeline dating from the late 18th century and into the late 19th century.

Saturday’s Tour highlights include the Elizabeth Hext House (Riverview), ca. 1805-25; the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House, ca. 1800; the John A. Cuthbert House, ca. 1810; and the James Rhett House (Rhett’s Folly), ca. 1886

Also featured will be St. Helena's Anglican Church, ca. 1817-1842; the E.A. Scheper House, ca. 1890;

and the McGrath-Scheper House, ca. 1852

The John Mark Verdier House, ca. 1804, which underwent a comprehensive exterior renovation in 2021 followed by a rare restoration in 2023 of the Federal Period door surround and entrance, will also be on the tour this year. This year’s Saturday properties are located throughout Beaufort’s National Historic Landmark district.

Southern Brunch & Tour at historic Tombee on St. Helena Island — 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 20

Historic Tombee, ca. 1790-1800, is the focus of the Sunday Southern Brunch & Tour. Visitors will experience a Southern

brunch and an exclusive tour of one of the few surviving pre-Civil War houses remaining on any of the Beaufort Sea Islands.

Rarely open to tours, Tombee is privately owned and is an outstanding example of the Beaufort Style of architecture applied to a Federal Period residence.

Constructed on a raised tabby foundation, the two-story house was built in a T-shape with three main rooms on each floor, with a central hall.

The house and grounds remained in the hands of descendants of formerly enslaved people until 1971

Well-known Savannah preservationist and antique dealer Jim Williams sensitively restored the house and grounds in the mid

1970’s. Interior architectural details were carefully preserved during the restoration.

Tombee was the 39th restoration completed by Williams and the first of two in Beaufort County. The house was listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975

Details about the home and life on the property were chronicled by author Theodore Rosengarten in his book “Tombee: Portrait of a Cotton Planter,” based on the plantation journal of Thomas B. Chaplin. Chaplin’s diary recorded events that were part of daily life and agricultural pursuits in the mid-19th century at Tombee and St. Helena Island. Births, deaths, and marriages of both white and enslaved people were recorded.

Historic Beaufort Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit education foundation created to preserve, protect, and present sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County, South Carolina. For more information on the entity's mission and history, please visit historicbeaufort.org and follow them on social media, including Facebook and Instagram.

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

A 33-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday, Aug. 21, on Langford Road near Seaside Road on St. Helena Island.

Stephanie Campbell

The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office confirmed on Thursday morning, Aug. 22, that the name of the deceased was Stephanie Campbell of Beaufort. Master Sgt. Danny Allen with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said that Campbell was shot to death and the circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation.

According to the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, Campbell more than likely had been dead less than 24 hours, although they said it is sometimes hard to pinpoint an exact time. They estimated that her time of death had been sometime Wednesday morning.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 27, the BCSO did not have any additional information to share. Anyone with information regarding this case has been asked to contact lead investigator Staff Sgt. Tunis at 843255-3426 or submit information online at BCSO.net.

Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

City of Beaufort’s public meetings now archived on YouTube

Staff reports

The City of Beaufort has begun to archive its public meetings to its YouTube page (www.youtube.com/@ cityofbeaufort7472), dating to the beginning of this fiscal year, July 1 2024 The meetings will continue to be livestreamed on the City of Beaufort’s Facebook page (www. facebook.com/CityBeaufortSC), and a Zoom link for remote public comment will continue to be sent out with every meeting agenda notification. The meetings will be easy to find on YouTube, as they will be categorized by playlists. There is a playlist for City Council Work Session and a separate playlist for Regular Meetings. There is a playlist for the Planning Commission and a playlist for the Historic District Review Board, and so on. Meetings will be archived from newest to oldest.

active investigation, she could not release any additional information. Reeves did not comment on whether police had questioned any suspects in relation to the incident.

The Beaufort Police Department is asking for anyone with information about this vehicle to call 911 or Beaufort County Dispatch at 843524-2777. Anyone with information can also contact Officer Taylor at 843-322-7969

To remain anonymous, call the Police Department’s tip line at 843322-7938 and use the reference case #24B34453

Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

“We are excited to expand the availability of meetings to an additional platform,” City Manager Scott Marshall said in a news release. “Creating an additional means for cataloging and watching meetings on demand are tangible examples of the City’s commitment to increasing transparency.”

The Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House, ca. 1800. Photo courtesy of HBF.

The James Rhett House (Rhett’s Folly), ca. 1886. Photo courtesy of HBF.

Historic Tombee on St. Helena Island, ca. 1790-1800, is the focus of the Sunday Southern Brunch & Tour. Photo courtesy of HBF.

Staff reports

BJWSA Board approves more than $110 million of infrastructure spending

Expenditures focus on water quality, reliability, environmental protection

The Board of Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority (BJWSA) approved more than $110,709,021 in water and wastewater projects at its August meeting. BJWSA is accelerating infrastructure investments to meet regulatory requirements, meet demands driven by growth and replace aging infrastructure.

“BJWSA is committed to the provision of water and wastewa-

ter services to our current and future customers in the Lowcountry,” BJWSA General Manager Verna Arnette said in a news release. “That mission requires us to replace aging equipment, grow with our population and adapt to new regulations.”

Projects moving forward include:

Expanding the Cherry Point Water Reclamation Facility from a capacity of 7 5 million

gallons per day (MGD) to 11 25 MGD. Guaranteed maximum price in the amount of $107 3 million.

Replacing dilapidated undersized sewer lines along various streets in the City of Beaufort. Investment for this project: $1 055 640

• Hiring a consultant to design a flow equalization plan between the Cherry Point Water Reclamation Facility and

the Hardeeville Water Reclamation Facility. This project will improve efficiency at the treatment plants and several pump stations. Investment for this stage of the project: $2,153,457

Hiring a consultant to evaluate feasibility, design and conduct a pilot test for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other compounds collec-

tively known as forever chemicals. This is an early step to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates announced this Spring. Investment for this stage of the project $1,150,000; partially funded by grants.

The Authority has identified more than $590 million in needed projects to be executed over the next several years.

City launches capital projects, GIS portals on its website

Staff reports

The City of Beaufort has unveiled two new website pages to give citizens easy access to information about the City and its capital projects.

The City’s Geographic Information System (GIS) page, at https://bit.ly/3Z5r4TF, offers data and analysis based on the GIS map-

ping system, commonly used by governments and other entities. The GIS Gallery of maps includes, first and foremost, the Beaufort City Map, which has a number of layers to it, each providing a different level of information. Layers are accessed on the top right of any map, with the icon that shows three layers.

LEGAL NOTICES

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF BEAUFORT

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

CIVIL ACTION NO. 2023-CP-07-01807

JOSHUA DOWLING, Plaintiff, vs.

RICHARD YOUNG, Defendant.

TO: Defendant Richard Young:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said Complaint on the Plaintiff or his/ her attorney(s), the McCormick Law Firm, LLC, 95 Sams Point Road, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29907, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE IS HERBY GIVEN that the original Complaint in the above-entitled action was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Beaufort County, South Carolina on September 22, 2023 at 11:12 a.m..

MCCORMICK LAW FIRM, INC. /s/ Harvey W. McCormick, III, Harvey W. McCormick, III S.C. Bar No.: 0066198 95 Sams Point Road Beaufort, South Carolina 29907

Phone: (843) 525-0004

Email: harvey@McCormickLawSC.com Attorneys for the Plaintiff August 19,2024 Beaufort, South Carolina STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF BEAUFORT IN THE PROBATE COURT CASE NUMBER: 2024ES0700790 SUMMONS

EMANUEL ALSTON, PETITIONER

V. HEIRS-AT-LAW

Other maps, which are snapshots of the City Map, include City Parks, Future Land Use, Zoning, Historic District, Polling Locations, Capital Projects, and Printable Maps. One map, Am I in the City?, will allow you to see if you live within the City, or in unincorporated Beaufort County.

The City’s GIS is managed

by GIS Analyst Justin Juraidini, who will be adding new maps to the gallery.

“Our GIS analyst, Justin Juraidini, has done a tremendous job of helping us improve citizens' accessibility to public information,”

City Manager Scott Marshall said in a news release. “We are excited about the new tools that are available on

the City's website, but stay tuned. There is much more to come with our public-facing GIS tools and products.”

The City’s Capital Improvement Program, which is under the purview of Assistant City Manager JJ Sauve, can be found on our website, at https://bit.ly/3APM86p.

An icon on that page, Capital Projects, will take you to a real-time application that visually depicts each capital project, and includes a project description, status, monitoring of construction, expected closeout date, and the budgeted cost. This is a very user-friendly way to keep track of the City’s capital projects, especially ones that are pertinent to specific neighborhoods.

U2203-W6O, 4220/1901, $18,474.86, $450,

To the Respondents above-named: And to any thereof that may be residents or non-residents of South Carolina, and to the natural, general, testamentary or other guardians therefor, and to the persons with whom they reside or by whom they may be employed if any there be, and to all other Respondents whose whereabouts cannot be ascertained.

TAKE NOTICE, that the Summons, Petition, Order Appointing Guardian ad Litem, Order of Publication, and Notice to Respondents were filed in the Office of the Probate Court for Beaufort County, South Carolina on July 2, 2024, and Sarah L. Clingman, Esquire, 1813 Marion Street, Columbia SC 29201, was appointed Guardian ad Litem, her appointment to become absolute twenty (20) days after the service of the Summons.

NOTICE OF HEARING TO DETERMINE HEIRS AT LAW

To the Respondents above-named:

TAKE NOTICE that a hearing has been scheduled for September 26, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. at Beaufort County Probate Court, Beaufort County Courthouse, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, South Carolina, for the purpose of determining heirs-at-law of Eva Alston. This action was commenced by Petitioner on July 2, 2024 at the Beaufort County Probate Court to have the Probate Court declare that EMANUEL ALSTON is the sole heir-at-law of Eva Alston upon her death on July 21, 2010. Any objections to the Petitioner’s right to commence this action, as the current owners of the real property that was owned by Eva Alston at the time of her death, or to Petitioner’s prayer for relief declaring the aforementioned persons to have been the sole heirs-at-law of Eva Alston must be filed with the Beaufort County Probate Court on or before September 26, 2024, or advanced in person at the scheduled hearing.

Y. Elizabeth Wellman, Esquire Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation 8570 Rivers Ave, Suite 170 North Charleston, SC 29406 Phone: 843-745-7055 Fax: 843-745-7054 ewellman@heirsproperty.org North Charleston, South Carolina August 8, 2024

Attorney for Petitioner SC Bar No.: 101421

NOTICE OF APPLICATION

Notice is hereby given that Masala Mantra Indian Bistro intends to apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for a license and/or permit that will allow the sale and on premises consumption of beer, wine, and liquor, at 1000 William Hilton Pkwy., Ste. A, Hilton Head SC 29928. To object to the issuance of this license and/or permit, you must submit an ABL-20 protest form by August 15, 2024. Submit the ABL-20 online at MyDORWAY.dor.sc.gov, or email ABL@dor. sc.gov.

TRUSTEE'S NOTICE OF SALE 95-13

Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-32-300, et. seq., NO-

TICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the intent of the undersigned Trustee, KING CUNNINGHAM, LLC, to sell the below described Properties at Public Auction to the highest bidders for cash on 9/12/2024 beginning at 9:30 A.M. The Public Auction shall occur at the Office of Bolchoz Law Firm, 6 Buckingham Plantation Rd, Ste B, Bluffton, SC 29910. Property Descriptions: A fee simple undivided interest (SEE EXHIBIT "A") in the Project as tenant(s) in common with the holders of other undivided interests in and to the timeshare property known as MBV VACATION SUITES, as established in that certain Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and Vacation

Carolina, as amended or supplemented (the “Declaration”), having Interval Control Number (SEE EXHIBIT "A"). The names and notice address of the obligor(s), record owner(s) of the timeshare estate (if different from the obligor(s), and junior interest or lienholder(s) (if applicable) (hereinafter referred to as “Obligors”) are identified in Exhibit “A”. The sale of the Properties is to satisfy the defaults in payment by the Obligors of the obligations secured by those certain Mortgages to HHI Development, LLC as recorded in the records of Beaufort County, South Carolina and detailed in Exhibit “A”. The amounts secured by the MORTGAGES, including accrued interest and late charges now owing along with a per diem amount to account for further accrual of interest and late charges are detailed in Exhibit “A”, together with any and all additional principal, interest, costs coming due and payable hereafter. The successful bidders shall be required to pay, in cash or certified funds, at the time of the bid, unless the successful bidder is the Creditor, which shall reserve a credit against its bid for the Total Owing as set forth in Exhibit “A”. The successful bidders shall also be required to pay for Deed Preparation, Documentary Stamps, or transfer fee, and Recording Costs. This sale is subject to all taxes, liens, easements, encumbrances, assessments, and/or senior mortgage liens of record and the undersigned Trustee gives no opinion thereto. An Obligor has the right to cure the default, and a Junior Lienholder has the right to redeem its interest up to the date of that the Trustee issues the Certificate of Sale pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 27-32-345. KING CUNNINGHAM, LLC, Trustee and Attorney for HHI Development, LLC, by Jeffrey W. King, SC Bar # 15840; or W. Joseph Cunningham, SC Bar # 72655, P.O. Box 4896, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29597, (843)-249-0777. EXHIBIT “A” – NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE Owner(s), Address, TS Interest, TS Interval Control No., MTG BK/PG, Default Amount, Trustee’s Fee, Interest, Total Amount Due, Per Diem- JITENDRA G. JETWANI 420 OLD RIVER RD, BLOOMINGDALE, GA 31302-8004, 0.0073861610410129%, U2210-W5E, 4154/375, $12,315.59, $450, $668.53, $13,434.12, $5.42; STEPHANIE BEAIRD CARROLL&JACOB COLLIN CARROLL 419 HARPY EAGLE DR., WINDER,GA 30680, 0.0073861610410129%, U1103-W24E, 4167/729, $35,322.10, $450, $670.17, $36,442.27, $15.08; BRANDON EDWARDS GEORGE 4861 SHANNON RD, LOGANVILLE,GA 30052, 0.0073861610410129%, U1504-W5O, 4185/950, $14,290.95, $450, $670.17, $15,411.12, $5.76; LORETTA L. ROBINSON-GALES 498 STABLE VIEW LOOP, DALLAS,GA 30132, 0.0073861610410129%, U2507-W2O, 4185/793, $13,795.25, $450, $670.17, $14,915.42, $6.36; LLOYD STEVEN TOWNSELL 470 HOLLY GROVE ST, KYLE,TX 78640-5534, 0.0147723220820258%, U2309-W3B, 4207/3359, $18,694.01, $450, $670.17, $19,814.18, $8.56; SAMUEL EDISON PORRAS GOMEZ 220 HOBBS RD, ATHENS,GA 30607, 0.0073861610410129%, U2107W3O, 4215/2229, $13,977.13, $450, $670.17, $15,097.30, $5.29; TIARA YASMIN JARVIS&JAMAL ANDRE WHITE 131-64 225TH ST, LAURELTON QUEENS,NY 11413, 0.0073861610410129%, U2401W48E, 4272/1096, $15,559.43, $450, $670.17, $16,679.60, $7.43; MARIA CHRISTINA WADE 1705 S OUTAGAMIE ST, APPLETON,WI 54914-5507, 0.0073861610410129%, U2607-W49O, 4259/2537, $17,955.35, $450, $670.17, $19,075.52, $8.36;

EDUCATION SERVICES UNLIMITED, LLC &TRICIA HOWARTH 610 WESTMONT DRIVE, WILMINGTON, DE 19808, 0.0073861610410129%, U1102-W5O, 3635/1843, $8,107.22, $450, $670.17, $9,227.39, $3.37; WILBERT SHERRILL&GLORIA SHERRILL 3600 DRIFTWOOD DR, CHARLOTTE, NC 28205-5964, 0.0147723220820258%, U1606-W7B, 4065/2205, $21,409.62, $450, $670.17, $22,529.79, $10.01. TRUSTEE'S NOTICE OF SALE 95-13 Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §§

Public Auction shall occur at the Office of Bolchoz Law Firm, 6 Buckingham Plantation Rd, Ste B, Bluffton, SC 29910. Property Descriptions: A fee simple undivided interest (SEE EXHIBIT "A") in the Project as tenant(s) in common with the holders of other undivided interests in and to the timeshare property known as MBV VACATION SUITES, as established in that certain Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and Vacation Ownership Instrument for MBV Vacation Suites, recorded at Book 3406, Pages 1312-1365, et seq., of the records of the R.O.D. Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, as amended or supplemented (the “Declaration”), having Interval Control Number (SEE EXHIBIT "A"). The names and notice address of the obligor(s), record owner(s) of the timeshare estate (if different from the obligor(s), and junior interest or lienholder(s) (if applicable) (hereinafter referred to as “Obligors”) are identified in Exhibit “A”. The sale of the Properties is to satisfy the defaults in payment by the Obligors of the obligations secured by those certain Mortgages to HHI Development, LLC as recorded in the records of Beaufort County, South Carolina and detailed in Exhibit “A”. The amounts secured by the MORTGAGES, including accrued interest and late charges now owing along with a per diem amount to account for further accrual of interest and late charges are detailed in Exhibit “A”, together with any and all additional principal, interest, costs coming due and payable hereafter. The successful bidders shall be required to pay, in cash or certified funds, at the time of the bid, unless the successful bidder is the Creditor, which shall reserve a credit against its bid for the Total Owing as set forth in Exhibit “A”. The successful bidders shall also be required to pay for Deed Preparation, Documentary Stamps, or transfer fee, and Recording Costs. This sale is subject to all taxes, liens, easements, encumbrances, assessments, and/or senior mortgage liens of record and the undersigned Trustee gives no opinion thereto. An Obligor has the right to cure the default, and a Junior Lienholder has the right to redeem its interest up to the date of that the Trustee issues the Certificate of Sale pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 27-32-345. KING CUNNINGHAM, LLC, Trustee and Attorney for HHI Development, LLC, by Jeffrey W. King, SC Bar # 15840; or W. Joseph Cunningham, SC Bar # 72655, P.O. Box 4896, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29597, (843)-249-0777. EXHIBIT “A” – NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE Owner(s), Address, TS Interest, TS Interval Control No., MTG BK/PG, Default Amount, Trustee’s Fee, Interest, Total Amount Due, Per DiemBARBARA LOVELACE WEEKS 2118 HOBBY DR, FORNEY, TX 75126, 0.0073861610410129%, U2206-W49O, 4186/1871, $14,982.16, $450, $670.17, $16,102.33, $7.19;OLAYINKA KEN ALLEN 3020 N COLTRANE RD, OKLAHOMA CITY, TX 73121, 0.0073861610410129%, U1103-W6O, 4272/1078, $17,142.40, $450, $670.33, $18,262.73, $8.36;JANELL NICOLE GLENNDEBRISS MICHAEL GLENN 7120 SWEETFIELD DR, HUNTERSVILLE, NC 28078-7751, 0.0073861610410129%, U1601-W6E, 4197/967, $14,688.14, $450, $670.33, $15,808.47, $7.22;BETTY VEASY&KEVIN VEASY 2808 ATWOOD DR, MCKINNEY, TX 75072-6383, 0.0147723220820258%, U2407-W47B, 4197/928, $30,335.85, $450, $670.33, $31,456.18, $13.83;AALYIAH BRIANNA SAINTIL 955 MELSON AVE, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254, 0.0073861610410129%, U2402-W48E, 4220/816, $16,834.49, $450, $670.33, $17,954.82, $8.17.; ROSS HENRY THOMAS III&JUDY E. THOMAS 473 KINGSWOOD CT, ALBANY, GA 31707-3062, 0.0073861610410129%, U2502-W32E, 3852/1311, $22,229.70, $450, $670.33, $23,350.03, $7.46; LILA NIE MILES 616 BLAZE CT, WHITSETT, NC 27377-8799, 0.0073861610410129%, U2209-W50O, 4185/747, $13,057.64, $450, $670.33, $14,177.97, $6.07; ERIC PEEBLES 4129 S INDIANA, CHICAGO, IL 60653, 0.0073861610410129%, U2209-W39E, 3774/2592, $18,152.13, $450, $762.17, $19,364.30, $8.09; MICHELLE TRENIS BRANTLEY&KEBRIS RESHARD BRANTLEY 500 NE 2ND ST APT 425, DANIA BEACH, FL 33004, 0.0073861610410129%, U2108-W5E, 4244/2183, $16,838.16, $450, $670.33, $17,958.49, $8.26; STELLA JASHIENSKI 6101 YELLOW JASMINE DR, SIMPSONVILLE, SC 29681, 0.0073861610410129%,

Port Royal seeks task force for Sands Beach Road park

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

The Town of Port Royal is looking to put in a park near Sands Beach and they are currently accepting applications from interested citizens to participate in a task force to help design it.

The task force will work with staff and a contracted architect to come up with a plan for the scope and use of the passive park adjacent to Sands Beach Road.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the Sands Beach directly,” said Town Manager Van Willis. “But the park will be adjacent to the road going into Sands Beach.”

The property was given to the Town of Port Royal by Safe Harbor in a swap for a parcel of property located across the street because the town didn’t want to see any development on the side of the street where Sands Beach is located.

plating and will help guide decisions that will best utilize this property,” said Willis.

Willis said that the Town of Port Royal has a contract with J.K. Tiller Associates, Inc. who will likely be the landscape firm that they go with.

The deadline to apply to be considered for the task force is Wednesday, Sept. 4, and Willis said that the task force will likely be appointed during the Wednesday, Sept. 11 Town Council Meeting.

“We’ll hopefully put them to work pretty quickly,” said Willis.

“We thought it would be the perfect location for a passive park,” Willis said. Willis said that even though the initial thought from the town is to put in a passive park, that decision would be left to those on the task force to decide what type of park would be best for the selected parcel of land.

imagine some walking paths and taking advantage of the vistas, maybe some picnic tables, things like that,” said Willis.

get involved with the town, but Willis said that they would also love to see people apply who have some experience working with parks and planners.

“We’ll see what the concepts come back as, but I

The piece of land is estimated to be three acres, according to Willis.

The task force is expected to be made up of five individuals who really want to

“I’m retaining a landscape architect, what I’m really primarily concerned with is finding people that understand what we are contem-

Those selected to join the task force will likely meet once a month for a couple of hours each meeting and they will continue to meet until they feel that their job in helping the landscape architect to come up with a conceptual plan is complete.

“We think this is a pretty exciting opportunity,” Willis said. “Obviously,

GG’s opens in Port Royal

Golf cart crown jewel of 15th Bid for PAL online auction

Staff reports

The 15th annual Bid for PAL Online Auction will take place from 8 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 5 through 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 8, featuring hundreds of fantastic items donated by area animal loving businesses. And new this year, enter to win a 2022 Star Capella golf cart valued at more than $10,000. It’s a beauty in coastal blue with only 55 miles. Raffle tickets are available now for $100 each.

“To say this beautiful golf cart is lightly used is

Lowdown from page A1

County administrator making his mark BEAUFORT – The promise of autumn hasn’t done much for county operations, with the new administrator Michael Moore making his mark by firing folks.

According to The Island Packet, Moore, who began work on July 1, terminated three employees last month

an understatement,” PAL Development Coordinator Stephanie Bashaw said in a news release. “It was donated by a friend of PAL after being driven only a handful of times. One lucky winner will be the envy of all their neighbors.”

The chance to win a golf cart is just the beginning. Bid for PAL has something for everyone, offering many exciting items across all price points. It’s a shopping excursion like no other, with all the proceeds going directly to PAL’s no-kill adop-

for visiting an area gun store during working hours. The County Council, in announcing his employment, made it clear they expected big things of this man who certainly knew the challenge he would be undertaking. For example, the Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd (let’s call it HSB) management report has not been shared with the public or even Sheriff Tanner who’s asked to see it.

Multiple lawsuits face the county, including com-

tion center in Okatie that keeps homeless pets from slipping through the cracks of the traditional sheltering system.

“PAL routinely rescues from shelters that euthanize for space,” said PAL President Amy Campanini.

“If there is anything I have learned during my career in animal rescue, it is this.

It only takes one adopter to give a broken pet new life. One foster to give an orphaned kitten a fighting chance. One volunteer to help shoulder the heavy

plaints from the county Treasurer Maria Walls and the Pine Island developers’ challenge.

Moore has got his hands full, regardless of the weather. At least he hasn’t had a hurricane to deal with.

FYI about Buc-ee’s FLORENCE – Does everyone know about Buc-ee’s?

If you’ve traveled north on I-95 any time in the past year you’re bound to have noticed the latest … and largest ... gas station in

load. Or one donor to save an animal before it’s too late.”

PAL’s auction includes golf rounds at renowned clubs, restaurant certificates, relaxing getaways, clothing, jewelry, home décor, and more. It’s an exciting, virtual marketplace featuring the best of Bluffton, Hilton Head, Beaufort, and beyond.

Start browsing their online catalog today at www. PALauction.org, and shop to save homeless pets when the Bid for PAL Online Auction goes live on September 5

South Carolina.

What was described by a Post and Courier columnist as a “cavernous, critter-themed convenience store” has become a major economic driver for the Florence community since Gov. Henry McMaster cut the opening ribbon two-plus years ago.

But, and here’s the connection to Beaufort County, the County Council recently rezoned an additional 100 acres of farm land across the road from Buc-ee’s to

accommodate future commercial development. And the residents of Back Swamp community didn’t want to see that expansion and they protested the rezoning.

Back Swamp residents were concerned, according to reports, their rural community was being destroyed. The elected officials, on the other hand, saw more jobs, more taxes, economic development.

Most of you know how the story goes. The resident lost. The rezoning was done.

Just a little FYI if you stop to

The Town of Port Royal is forming a task force to help design a park on a parcel of land adjacent to Sands Beach Road. Photo courtesy of the Town of Port Royal

On Thursday, August 22, 2024, Dominic and Sarah Christofek, and David Clifton, Sarah’s brother, the owners of GG’s, pose for a photo at the invite-only private soft opening of their new restaurant in Port Royal. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

GG’s, a new restaurant on Paris Avenue in Port Royal, offers outdoor seating with a playground area for the kids to enjoy, and a stage to feature live entertainment — all inside a fenced-in area. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

A 2022 Star Capella golf cart valued at more than $10,000 is the top prize in the raffle during this year’s PAL Online Auction. Submitted photo

SC set to execute death row inmate in September

Execution

By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s first execution in 13 years is set for next month, the state Department of Corrections announced Friday, Aug. 23

Freddie Owens, 46, is scheduled to die Sept. 20

The date is determined by state law, which says an execution date must be scheduled for four Fridays after an execution notice is issued. The order came more than three years after the state Supreme Court halted Owens’ first execution date over the lack of execution options available.

Owens must choose in writing within two weeks whether he wants to die by lethal injection or firing squad. If he makes no choice, the default method is electrocution, as per a law passed in 2021

Owens, initially sentenced to death 25 years ago, is set to be the first inmate to die by execution in South Carolina since 2011, when Jeffrey Brian Motts was executed by lethal injection, the default method at the time. Two years later, the state’s supply of the three-drug lethal cocktail used to carry out the death penalty expired, and the state

Department of Corrections was unable to restock them as pharmaceutical companies refused to sell their drugs to kill people.

Owens

In an effort to enable executions to resume, legislators in 2021 passed a law reverting to the electric chair as the default method of execution and added death by firing squad as an option, while keeping lethal injection as an option if the drugs again became available. Attorneys for condemned inmates challenged the law, arguing both electrocution and firing squad are unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.

In an opinion issued July 31, Supreme Court justices disagreed in a split decision that allowed executions to resume.

Lethal injection again became an option for condemned inmates after the Legislature expanded the state’s execution secrecy law last year to keep everything about the drugs private, including who sold them. The law worked as legislators intended. The state prisons agency announced last September it was able to secure lethal drugs.

“We will now see if the Department of Corrections is able to satisfy the state and federal courts that the pentobarbital it obtained from who knows who is of sufficient purity, potency and quality to carry out a humane execution,” said John Blume, the lawyer who represented the inmates in their challenge settled last month by the state Supreme Court.

“The lack of transparency about the source of the execution drugs, how they were obtained and whether they can bring about as painless a death as possible is still of grave concern to the lawyers that represent persons on death row who potentially face an execution date,” he said.

Freddie Owens

Owens has been sentenced to death three times since his initial conviction in February 1999 for murdering Irene Graves during an armed robbery of the Greenville County gas station where the single mother of three worked an overnight shift.

Owens was on a spree of robberies with a group of friends on Halloween night in 1997. He shot Graves in the head after she said

she did not know the combination to the safe at the Speedway gas station, according to court documents.

The day after a jury convicted Owens of murder, he attacked and killed a fellow inmate at the Greenville Detention Center. During his sentencing hearing the next day, he confessed to the jailhouse murder and described it in detail.

“I really did it because I was wrongly convicted of murder,” he said, according to the statement published by the solicitor.

The state Supreme Court twice sent Owens’ case back to a jury for resentencing. Both times, the jury recommended the death penalty. In 2008, the high court agreed.

In 2015, Owens legally changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah. But Owens remains his name on legal filings and in the state Department of Corrections system for clarity’s sake, according to court filings.

Owens was twice scheduled to die in 2021

But rulings from the state Supreme Court put his execution on hold — the first time because the state lacked the drugs needed to carry out lethal injection. The second reprieve came shortly after

legislators passed the law setting the electric chair as the default method. Justices agreed with Owens’ attorney that the firing squad needed to be a real option.

The prisons agency announced in 2022, after developing protocols and renovating the death chamber, that it was ready to carry out an execution by firing squad. But another lawsuit challenged the law itself.

The state has 32 men on death row, 15 Black and 17 white. One is on death row in California for crimes committed in that state.

Owens is among five inmates who have exhausted all their appeals and are not waiting on any further court decisions. Two others have finished their normal appeals processes but are waiting for responses on other requests, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said earlier this month. Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

USC criticized for student event featuring Proud Boys founder

By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — A social media message circulating among University of South Carolina alumni is criticizing the state’s largest university system for allowing a student event featuring a pair of controversial farright political provocateurs, including the founder of the Proud Boys.

In response, a college spokesman said allowing the event is a matter of free speech.

The September event, sponsored by the USC chapter of Uncensored America, bills itself as a “roast” of Vice President Kamala Harris with “roastmasters” Milo

Yiannopoulos and Gavin McInnes. The event’s title uses a crude spelling of the Democratic presidential nominee’s name, which the S.C. Daily Gazette is intentionally not repeating.

Yiannopoulos, a British writer who refers to himself as a “fabulous supervillain,” has been criticized for his Islamophobic, misogynistic and transphobic viewpoints.

He is a former editor at Breitbart News, the alt-right news platform co-founded by former President Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon — a job he resigned from in 2017 — and former chief of staff for Kanye West’s fashion brand Yeezy. McInnes — who was born

in London, raised in Canada and lives in New York — is the founder of the Proud Boys.

The Anti-Defamation League says the self-described “western chauvinist” group is “a right-wing extremist group with a violent agenda,” while the FBI describes them as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism.”

McInnes announced in 2018 he was leaving the group, though he continues to be associated with it.

“Allowing this event to happen on campus is nothing less than USC sponsoring white nationalism,” the social media message read.

The message urged former USC students to “flood the alumni office and events co-

ordinator with messages.”

USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said the university has a longstanding tradition of allowing recognized student groups to host speakers and hold events of their choosing. As a public institution, the university seeks to uphold people’s individual, constitutional rights to free speech, he said.

Stensland said USC does not endorse any speakers, and events hosted at the college do not represent the school’s point of view.

The event is not listed on the university’s website of upcoming events at the Russell House student center, where it’s being held.

Critics include former

state Rep. Bakari Sellers, a USC law school graduate and CNN political commentator, who called his alma mater’s explanation lame.

“I expect some accountability on this asap,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

This is not the first time a Yiannopoulos event has caused controversy on a university campus.

When he was scheduled to speak in 2017 at the University of California, Berkeley, at the invitation of the College Republicans student group, about 1 500 people showed up to protest the event.

That protest erupted in violence, with people pulling down police barricades,

SC AG: Democratic platform may have broken rules

for candidates to receive donations.

throwing Molotov cocktails, smashing windows, and throwing fireworks and rocks, CNN reported.

The USC student group, Uncensored America, describes itself as a free speech organization. It also hosted right-wing commentator and self-described “proud Islamaphobe” Laura Loomer on campus last year, drawing criticism.

Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.

S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest statefocused nonprofit news organization.

By Abraham Kenmore SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s attorney general is questioning whether a major fundraising platform for Democrats committed fraud. State Democratic leaders and a representative of the platform contend the allegations are nonsense.

The allegations are outlined in a letter released Monday from Attorney General Alan Wilson to the CEO of Massachusetts-based ActBlue — a platform that processes donations to Democratic campaigns. ActBlue acts as a passthrough, sending donations made online to candidates in exchange for a percentage fee.

Wilson says ActBlue may have split large donations into smaller donations to avoid campaign limits, which he likened to a “smurfing” money-laundering scheme. He also says the platform may have allowed for “straw donors,” when one person makes a donation on behalf of another.

In the letter, Wilson writes that his office found specific examples

of South Carolina donors making so many contributions that it appeared “implausible and highly suspicious.” The letter makes no direct accusations. Sprinkled throughout are terms such as “may,” “if true” and “raise the question.” It asks for additional information about the process that ActBlue uses to verify donor information.

“Alarmingly, some of these individuals list their occupations as ‘unemployed’ or report jobs that could not be reasonably commensurate to the total amount of financial contributions made by others in similar positions,” he wrote. “The allegations also raise the question of whether contributions were made without the reported donors’ consent or awareness, which is equally troubling.”

The information is based on public records, according to the letter. It does not specify whether the donations were made to state or federal candidates, although it does say that either could be in violation of the law.

The letter was sent to ActBlue on Thursday. Wilson is asking for a re-

sponse by Sept. 6 In a statement, an ActBlue spokesperson declined to address Wilson’s letter specifically but said the platform enforces strict anti-fraud policies. The spokesperson also confirmed the platform is cooperating with Wilson.

“We are aware of recent attempts to spread misinformation about our platform,” the statement reads. “These false so-called ‘allegations’ are intentionally designed to mislead the public.”

State Democratic leaders also dismissed the claims from Wilson, saying that a donation made through ActBlue includes all the same required information as any other political donation.

“It’s all reported. It’s all there.

There’s no way to do straw donors,” Jay Parmley, state executive director for the Democratic party, told the S.C. Daily Gazette on Monday afternoon. “(Wilson) would rather make a stupid point that has no basis in fact than doing a little bit of research.”

Parmley described ActBlue as a “godsend” that made it much easier

“This is not going to go anywhere, but (Wilson is) going to try and confuse the electorate, make people think there’s something wrong,” Parmley said.

This is not the first time Republicans have raised questions about ActBlue.

Virginia’s attorney general, Jason Miyares, sent a similar letter in early August. Indiana’s attorney general Todd Rokita announced his office was looking into “allegations” last Wednesday. Both are Republicans.

In Maryland, right-wing filmmaker James O’Keefe alleged a laundering operation for donations through ActBlue in the spring based on information that experts dismissed as dubious.

Whitney Michael, a senior advisor with Wilson’s office, did not provide specifics about what prompted the letter other than saying the issue was “brought to our attention.”

“This isn’t a blue or a red issue.

This is a transparency issue,” Michael said.

Michael said that ActBlue has

promised to provide additional information, and next steps would be based on that information.

Fake donations do have a history in South Carolina. In 2012, then-Lt. Gov. Ken Ard resigned after being indicted for campaign violations. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years’ probation and 300 hours of public service.

This included a straw-donor scheme that involved Ard giving money to others to be donated to back to the campaign, falsely inflating the number of donations that he received. He also paid a $48,000 ethics fine for using money from his campaign to pay for personal items, like clothes, football tickets and a flat-screen TV.

Abraham Kenmore is a reporter covering elections, health care and more. He joins the S.C. Daily Gazette from The Augusta Chronicle, where he reported on Georgia legislators, military and housing issues.

S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Street Music

Guenthner, Lambert First Friday’s featured artists at Thibault Gallery

Staff reports

Caroline Guenthner and Josh Lambert will be the Featured Artists presented at Thibault Gallery for downtown Beaufort’s First Friday from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6.

Like the tides, inspiration weaves its way in and out of our lives. Whether born of the natural world or the hands of mankind, the quest for the spark unleashes our inner creativity. For artist Caroline Guenthner and photographer Josh Lambert this vision is reciprocal, transforming into a symbiotic relationship that pushes this couple in an endless pursuit to improve their crafts.

Upon discovering the view filling the camera's eyepiece, Lambert surveys his surroundings in pursuit of a fresh image worthy of being captured, while upholding the standard that the photograph matches Guenth-

ner’s ability to portray an animal's spirit and bring a blank canvas to life.

In Guenthner’s signature trompe l'oeil style of oil painting, the wildlife originally caught through Lambert’s lens now breaks borders through every passing brushstroke. Each pairing of painting and photograph is a unique depiction of our natural world representing the couple’s endless sense of adventure.

The Thibault Gallery invites the public to join the inspiration, fun, and adventure presented by the featured artists on First Friday, Sept. 6 at the Thibault Gallery. The couple will showcase two paired images while on hand to share stories and autograph your favorite piece.

Come be a part of the adventure and take home your favorite piece of art with a story.

SCDES seeking submissions for annual Coastal Photography Contest

Staff

ble poster. “Our annual Tide Table posters are consistently one of the most popular public resources we develop, and the Coastal Photography Contest is always a fun time of year,” SCDES Chief of the Bureau of Coastal Management Chris Stout said in a news release. “We always look forward to seeing the photographs of South Carolina’s beautiful coast and beaches that are shared with us.” Last year’s winner was “Pretty in Pink” by Mary Alice Tartler and features a roseate spoonbill on Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head Island. The 2024 Tide Table and previous years’ photo contest winners are available at des.sc.gov/coastalphoto. Photographs should feature coastal South Carolina scenes including marshes, beaches, or wildlife. Photos must be the original work of the photographer, must be in landscape orientation, and individual photos should not

exceed a file size of 65 megabytes. Participants may submit up to three digital photos by the extended deadline of Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 The winning photo will be featured on SCDES’s 2025 Tide Table Poster and will be shared on the SCDES website later this year. Entries must be submitted online. Visit des.sc.gov/ coastalphoto for the rules, submission form, and additional information.

Joe Krown of the Joe Krown Trio performs Saturday, Aug. 24, at Street Music on Paris Avenue in Port Royal. Photo courtesy of SK Signs, Designs & Marketing

2024 Coastal Photography Contest winner “Pretty in Pink.” Submitted photo

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Options & References for a Healthier Life

Eye and vision problems in young children

Young children can have vision problems, but with early detection eye conditions can be treated

Drawing pictures, coloring with crayons, and identifying shapes — these childhood playtime activities all involve important visual skills. But when it comes to your child’s eye health, when is the right time to test their vision?

The answer, says pediatric ophthalmologist Elias Traboulsi, MD, MEd, is that your child should have their eyes checked early to keep minor issues from becoming major issues and therefore harder to treat.

What age should my child get their first eye exam?

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends eye screenings for newborns, babies between 6 and 12 months, babies between 12 and 36 months, toddlers between 3 and 5 years old and at age 5

Pediatricians perform these limited vision screenings after birth and in the first few years of life to detect a variety of abnormalities in your child’s sight. These screenings become much more important in children who have family histories of eye conditions or are suspected of having eye issues.

In general, it is recommended that your child has a comprehensive pediatric eye exam by an eye care professional by age 1, to be repeated before kindergarten in children without any evident eye problems.

Signs of eye and vision problems

Parents might recognize noticeable red flags about their child’s vision simply by watching their behaviors. Some common concerns that warrant a comprehensive pedi-

atric eye exam include: Not making eye contact. Not following moving objects with their eyes or head.

Not recognizing facial features.

Getting up close to the TV, books, or other objects to see them better.

Eyes that drift or turn in or out.

Droopy eyelids that block their vision.

“Other risk factors that would make a comprehensive eye exam more important to do if there is a very strong family history of a sibling or parent who has some serious eye disease that does manifest itself in childhood,” notes Dr. Traboulsi.

Eye diseases that show up in infancy or childhood that are genetically inherited include congenital cataracts, childhood glaucoma, Myopia (nearsightedness), inherited retinal diseases and ocular malformations.

Abnormalities can lead to vision loss. But Dr. Traboulsi says it’s possible to reverse some problems if they’re caught early. A clas-

sic example is lazy eye. Kids with this condition have one eye that is weaker than the other. A common vision problem in children, lazy eye typically responds well to treatment (like an eye patch, eye drops or eyeglasses) the earlier it’s caught.

Can I test my child’s vision at home?

Although parenting blogs may hint at your ability to test your child’s vision at home without the help of a healthcare provider, Dr. Traboulsi says the advice is misleading. Often, parents mistake a child’s ability to see with their ability to interpret what they’re seeing, and this is an important distinction healthcare providers are trained to look for when evaluating your child’s development.

Having a professional healthcare provider evaluate your child’s overall eye health is key, as many of the things that can impact their vision can improve with specific kinds of treatment if they’re caught early.

Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/ eye-test-for-preschoolers

New test for prostate cancer may help avoid unnecessary biopsies

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among men. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. In 2023, it was estimated that about 35 250 deaths from prostate cancer occurred in the United States according to the American Cancer Society. Unfortunately, there usually aren’t any early warning signs for prostate cancer. The growing tumor does not push against anything to cause pain, so for many years the disease may be silent. That’s why screening for prostate cancer is such an important topic for all men and their families.

How can men screen for prostate cancer?

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is the best way to detect prostate cancer in its early stages. It's

typically done along with a rectal exam, because most malignant prostate tumors start nearest the rectum. With these two exams, prostate cancer can be detected when it's most treatable. High PSA levels may require more tests, such as a biopsy. A biopsy involves removing small samples from the prostate gland. Doctors then look for cancer cells. Biopsies are generally safe. But they are sometimes painful, and they can lead to side effects like a fever or urinary tract infection.

Now scientists have developed a urine test that may help men avoid unnecessary biopsies.

A decade ago, a research team created a urine test to detect prostate cancer. It could identify prostate cancer in its early stages. But the test could not tell the difference between serious cancers and slow-growing cancers. Slow-growing cancers

may never need treatment.

In their latest study, the scientists created an improved urine test. They analyzed genes from hundreds of patients with prostate cancer. They found 18 genes in urine that could be used in combination to spot the presence of serious cancers.

They next used the new test to assess the urine of over 700 men with high PSA levels. The test could distinguish aggressive cancers from low-risk cancers. And it could rule out the presence of aggressive cancer with 97% accuracy.

“In nearly 800 patients with an elevated PSA level, the new test was capable of ruling out the presence of clinically significant prostate cancer with remarkable accuracy,” says study colead Dr. Jeffrey Tosoian of Vanderbilt University. “This allows patients to avoid more burdensome and invasive tests.”

©

Guide to conquering Fall allergies care TALK

As we inch closer to the end of summer, fall allergy season is gearing up. That means many people will soon be reaching for the tissue box.

“Labor Day is about the time fall allergy season starts and that's when you'll begin noticing more of those allergy symptoms, like itchy eyes, stuffy nose, drippy nose and lots of sneezing,” explained Sandra Hong, MD, allergist for Cleveland Clinic.

To help with your symptoms this fall, Dr. Hong said it’s important to keep allergens out of your home. To accomplish this large task, the following tips may help:

Shut windows and remember to take a shower after being outside.

If pets have been outside, don’t let them in your bedroom or on your bedding since they can carry pollen on their fur.

Nasal steroids are a good go-to option for relief as well as antihistamines for symptoms like itchiness and sneezing. If fall allergies are still stopping you from enjoying the season, it might be time to see an allergist.

Source: ccnewsservice@ccf.org

Prostate cancer risk factors

Though all men should get a PSA test after the age of 50, some may need one sooner, if they have certain prostate cancer risk factors, which include:

Family history: Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles your risk, according to the American Cancer Society. Men who have multiple family members affect-

ed have even higher risk so screening should start at age 40

Ethnicity: African American men have 60% higher rate of prostate cancer, compared to white American men so they should also begin screening at age 40

Diet: A high-fat diet seems to contribute to prostate cancer. Switching to a diet high in the antioxidant lycopene may lower your risk so

get plenty of tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and watermelon, which contain high levels of lycopene. Sedentary lifestyle: Getting regular exercise and keeping weight under control seems to reduce risk for prostate cancer, and especially for aggressive cancer. One survey of nearly 70 000 American men found that those who lost at least 11 pounds over a 10year period were about 40% less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancers, compared to guys who had little weight change.

Age: This is the biggest factor. After age 50 prostate cancer risk rises significantly. About two-thirds of all prostate cancers occur in men aged 65 and older.

Source: https://newsinhealth.nih. gov

Diverse organ donors are needed!

By Alex Osiadacz

The end of August is fast approaching. It’s important to know that it’s National Minority Donor Awareness Month—a time of celebrating organ donation and educating people about transplantation by encouraging donor registration and promoting healthy living.

Dr. Shennen Mao, a Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon, says having a diverse pool of organ donors will help serve a growing wait list of those in need.

In the U.S., 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant. Nearly 60% of people on transplant waiting lists come from minority communities, while about 30% of

donors are people of color.

"Blood types and certain HLA, or antibodies, tend to correlate with various ethnic groups," says Dr. Mao. "So, it is not directly related to a particular minority group; however, organs will end up with someone of a similar background because the better matched an organ is, the more longevity that organ has."

Higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are present in minority communities, contributing to more organ failures.

"The more people we can help the sooner through transplant, the better," says Dr. Mao.

She says living donors do not experience a change

in their quality of life after surgery, but a recipient's life can change for the better almost immediately.

"If somebody is approved to be a living donor, we expect they will live a full and normal life following their donation process," says Dr. Mao.

In most states, signing up to be a donor after death can be done online or when registering for a driver's license or identification card. For a living donation, contact the recipient's care team or a transplant center for more information.

Source: https://newsnetwork. mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinicminute-why-diverse-organ-donorsare-needed/

How do airborne viruses spread and what can you do to prevent them?

Nobody likes being sick with a virus. It can feel even worse if your loved ones get sick. But you can keep your family healthier by learning ways to prevent viruses from spreading. Some viruses can live on surfaces. You become infected when you touch them and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. But many viruses can spread through the air. These are called airborne viruses. A range of illnesses—from mild colds to influenza to COVID-19— are caused by airborne viruses. Every time you talk, sneeze, sing, or cough, you breathe out more than just air. You also exhale lots of tiny fluid particles. These come in a wide range of sizes. The larger ones, called droplets, fall quickly to the ground. These typically travel less than 3 to 6 feet. But the smallest particles, called aerosols, can hang in the air for minutes or even hours. They are able to travel through the air further than 6 feet.

Dr. Donald Milton, who studies airborne viruses at the University of Maryland, recently measured how often virus is exhaled by people with the flu. He found that people did not have to cough or sneeze to expel these viruses into the air. The flu virus was detectable in the air after normal breathing and talking. Other illnesses are also caused by viruses that are airborne.

These include the common cold, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, measles, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Clearing the air . . .

Ventilation and humidity are important factors

How much virus is floating around in the air depends on where you are. Indoor spaces tend to be poorly ventilated compared to the outdoors. In a building with poor ventilation, there’s nowhere for the aerosols to go. Outdoors, aerosols can float off or blow away.

When aerosols collect in the air, you’re more likely to breathe them in and get infected. That’s why many outbreaks of viruses are traced to places with poor venti-

lation where people were talking loudly or singing—such as restaurants, bars, or places of worship.

Good airflow can quickly clear indoor air of aerosols. This lowers the chance that people will breathe in enough viruses to become infected.

Some viruses, like the flu, are known to spread more rapidly during the colder seasons. People tend to spend more time indoors when the temperature drops. But other factors may also affect how easily viruses spread during cold weather.

Certain viruses, including the flu, last longer in cold temperatures. Humidity, or how much water is in the air, drops in colder air. Humidity can affect how viruses spread.

One reason may be that moisture aids the mucus flow in our airways. This flow helps to clear out viruses.

Studies also suggest that the flu spreads better at lower humidity. Dr. Seema Lakdawala, a flu researcher at Emory University, has found that flu viruses in aerosols can survive over a wide range of humidity levels. So, humidity might not harm the viruses themselves. Instead, it may affect their ability to stay in the air. At lower humidity, Lakdawala explains, water from aerosols will evaporate. This causes them to shrink, allowing them to stay in the air longer and travel farther. At higher humidity, aerosols might absorb water from the air, causing them to fall faster.

Tips to prevent the spread

With all these viruses floating in the air, what are the best ways to stay healthy? Getting CDC-recommended vaccines can help your body fight off germs. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can also help keep you from getting ill. That includes a healthy diet and physical activity.

Face masks trap fluid droplets coming from your mouth and nose. This can stop viruses from spreading through the air. Masks can also protect the people wearing them.

Researchers are studying other ways to help lower the number of viruses in the air. These include

improving building ventilation, air filtration and using portable air purifiers.

No single strategy will be 100 percent effective at preventing all illnesses, but the following combination of tips may help reduce the spread of viruses.

Maintain a healthy immune system to help your body fight germs.

Stay up to date with all CDC-recommended vaccines. Stay home when you’re sick so you won’t spread your illness. Improve indoor ventilation and air filtration. Open windows, use portable air purifiers with a HEPA filter, and turn on fans. Change your HVAC system filters frequently.

Wear masks if you are in a high-risk space or if your immunity is low.

Practice good hygiene. This includes washing hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.

Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes and mouth.

Frequently disinfect high contact surfaces such as countertops, door handles and places where people place their hands.

Source: https://newsinhealth.nih. gov/2023/12/clearing-air

Seeking God

Saints and Sinners Encountering Brokenness Among

“This gym will change your life!”

A friend raves about his gym, sharing enthusiastically how exercise changes one’s life, and you decide to check it out. Walking around, you see a number of very fit people, exercising with focus. But you also notice a lot of people who aren’t doing much. They seem more concerned with socializing than getting in shape. And in the corner, you see your friend, taking a nap on one of the exercise balls!

We experience a similar phenomenon in church.

In pretty much every faith community, one will find people who are passionate about God and live out their faith whole-heartedly. But one will also find people who are going through the motions, or who are not practicing what they preach, perhaps even among those who are leaders or well-regarded. If you have been hurt or scandalized by someone who should have been an example of faith, it might be helpful to consider the following reflections.

God is still worth knowing, even though his followers fail. There are many things in life worth doing, even though people involved are flawed. In our analogy, the napping friend has not been faithful to exercise, but this doesn’t mean that exercise and good nutrition aren’t worthwhile pursuits. Just because some people who follow God don’t practice what they preach, it doesn’t mean that God isn’t real or that he isn’t worth knowing.

Each of us are sinners in need of salvation.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can probably see how we have often wanted to live a certain way but have failed, or sins that we have struggled with but just couldn’t seem to overcome. We are all broken to one degree or another; “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Remembering our own human weakness can help give us some perspective when we encounter indifference or outright evil among some of Christ’s followers.

Believers

There is no perfect gym, and no perfect group of believers. If we were to wait for a church full of perfect members, we would never be part of a church! Jesus told us this would be the case: his church would be full of wheat and weeds, saints and sinners, until the end of time. (Matthew 13:24-30) To a certain degree, we are all weeds. We all have sins and brokenness. Thankfully, the Church is meant to be a hospital for sinners, not a club for perfect people.

Be inspired by those who are spiritually fruitful.

The quality of a gym is best seen by looking at those who take advantage of all it offers. Similarly, the value of a church is best seen by looking at those who make full use of its spiritual treasures. Such believers will still have weaknesses, but one should be able to see a peace and a joy in their lives. In the Catholic Church, we are inspired by people like Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa, whose lives were transformed by Christ’s grace in beautiful and amazing ways.

SPORTS&RECREATION

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

A group of

take down

find much room to operate on offense against a swarming Bobcat defense in a 57-0 rout Friday night in Bluffton. Brady Sacha/LowcoSports.com

Bobcat Blowout

Bluffon’s pass game carves up Warriors

LowcoSports.com

The Whale Branch Warriors took a big swing with their season opener, traveling to Bluffton for a test against the Class 4A Bobcats, but they didn’t bring enough firepower to keep pace with Aedan McCarthy and crew.

McCarthy excelled in his debut as the Bobcats’ starting quarterback, completing 14 of 20 passes for 281 yards and six touchdowns – including four to Carnell Warren – to lead Bluffton to a 57-0 rout of Whale Branch on Friday.

It was McCarthy and Warren who hooked up to open the scoring on the first series of the game, and McCarthy shoveled a pass to Roman Benjamin for a 40-yard score on the next possession to make it 14-0 quickly. Warren pulled in two more touchdowns before halftime, including an acrobatic grab over the middle, to make it 29-0 at the break, and he tacked on a fourth to stretch it to 36-0 late in the third quarter.

Nate Ulmer found himself on the receiving end of McCarthy’s sixth TD pass in the fourth quarter, and Jacobi Saunders and Kaleb Gadson each scooped up a fumble and took it to the house to cap the scoring. Ulmer finished with four catches for 130 yards, while Warren had seven grabs for 94 yards, and Kordell Holley

High school football season is back, and the student section at Bluffton High School was in midseason form during the

found success on the ground, collecting 74 yards on seven carries.

Whale Branch’s defense gets a break this week with a trip to Class 1A Hardeeville, whose passing game is not nearly as sophisticated as Bluffton’s high-flying attack, but the Hurricanes showed some flash in a 48-6 win at Bethune-Bowman on Friday in

their first varsity game since 2012

The Warriors’ ground game should have more room to operate, as well, after running into a Bluffton defense that brought the intensity in the opener, racking up 10 tackles for loss and five sacks along with two takeaways.

Whale Branch (0-1) plays at Hardeeville at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Eagles drop heartbreaker to Fort D

Former student Hapner joins Holy Trinity as AD

Staff reports Ellison Hapner has been named the

Recreation, Tourism, and Management with an emphasis in Sports Management, as well as minors in Business Administration and Athletic Leadership.

“My time at Holy Trinity as a student allowed me to find God and many role models who molded me into the person I am today, Hapner said in a news release. “What excites me most about this position is the opportunity to build a lasting culture around the Holy Trinity Athletic Department that embodies excellence and God’s love/passion.”

Hapner will work remotely while finishing his degree and will be on campus full-time beginning in late December. Until that time, Assistant AD Jenn Carte will manage the day-to-day operations on campus.

and the Patriots had a touchdown wiped off the board by a penalty before Campbell found the end zone from 6 yards out to lift Fort D to the win. Will Codding racked up 10 tackles, and Tylik Isom and James Thomas each had eight to lead a solid defensive effort for the Eagles.

Beaufort (0-1) hosts Greenwood at 7:30 p.m. Friday for its home opener.

Ellison Hapner

Bluffton Bobcats

Whale Branch running back Alonzo Allen. The Warriors couldn't

Bobcats' 57-0 home win over Whale Branch on Friday. Brady Sacha/LowcoSports.com

SC reading scores rough; math scores worse

By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — Fewer

than half of South Carolina third- through eighth-grade students can do math as expected for their grade level, according to test scores released Friday, Aug. 16

State education officials hope to improve scores with a new $10 million program to hire math tutors, improve training and pay for resources.

A similar program has helped improve reading scores in recent years, though across the board, test scores are “still not where we need to be, period,” said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association.

On average, the percentage of students who ended last school year reading on grade level was barely over half, according to the state Department of Education.

Students’ scores on the math portion of the required annual SC READY test remain behind where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, 45% of thirdthrough eighth-graders statewide could perform grade-level math, compared to 2024, when 42% of students met expectations. The scores also worsen the older

Statewide test scores for students in Grades 3 through 8 lagged behind pre-pandemic levels in math

students get. In third grade, about 54% of students were ready to advance to the next grade level, while only 30% of eighth graders met that benchmark.

That leaves high school teachers trying to catch students up to speed, since math skills build each year, said East, a high school science teacher in Rock Hill.

Meanwhile, reading scores have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels, though they remain low. This year, 53% of students met expectations in reading, compared with 45% before the pandemic. State education officials have set a goal that 75% of students test on grade level in both subject areas, though there’s no longer a year for meeting that goal.

Statewide improvement in reading may have come from the Palmetto Literacy Project, East said. Starting in 2019, a clause in the state budget directed the department to set aside up to $14 million each year to hire reading specialists, train teachers and provide more resources to schools with particularly low scores. The department hopes to boost math scores using a similar program. With $10 million in this year’s budget, education officials plan to hire math-specific tutors,

buy better textbooks and resources, and improve training for teachers at schools where at least one-third of students fall in the lowest category of scores.

“South Carolina’s mathematics scores have consistently lagged and remain stubbornly below even anemic pre-pandemic levels,” the department wrote as the reason for the program when requesting the money.

Whether or not that program proves effective will depend on how the department spends the money and how long it continues, said Patrick Kelly, a lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association. Math scores are not likely to improve immediately as schools work to implement the program and students learn the skills, he said.

“Turning around math scores isn’t as easy as turning on a light switch,” Kelly said.

While virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic likely played a role in students’ low test scores, it’s not the whole story, East said.

In math, which remains below pre-pandemic numbers, part of the dip could come from residual effects of students not learning fundamentals online. But

most students should have had the time to recover, East said.

“We’ve been back at school for two years now,” East said. “I don’t know that we should still see scores where they are.”

Another likely culprit is an ongoing shortage in teachers, she said. The state had more than 1,300 open positions for teachers, counselors, librarians and other education professionals in February, according to a report from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. That was down from a record high of more than 1 600 vacant positions when the school year started.

As teachers take on bigger classes, students are more likely to miss out on oneon-one instruction, said Kelly, who’s also a high school teacher in Richland Two. Other classrooms may rely on a long-term substitute who doesn’t always know the subject material or how to teach it, he said.

“You have large pockets of students in this state that are either in overcrowded math classes or in classrooms without a certified teacher at all,” Kelly said.

Poorer districts are more likely to feel those effects. Fewer resources often means

fewer certified teachers, fewer options for struggling students and larger class sizes, leading to lower test scores, East said.

Some districts react to low test scores by requiring more

tests, but that should not be the case, Kelly said.

Testing often takes away time during which students could actually be learning skills, and the scores are not always an accurate reflection of how well a student is performing. Instead, schools should focus on proven ways to best teach the material, he said.

“The goal is not to reach an abstract number,” Kelly said. “The goal is to help each student reach their potential.” Students in Fort Mill (York 4) posted the best scores in the state.

Across fourth through eighth grades, at least 75% of the district’s students could read on grade level, and 76% of third-graders met math expectations. The fast-growing school district just south of Charlotte also posts the state’s lowest poverty rate, with 21% of students living in poverty compared to a statewide average of 62%, according to state agency data.

Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.

S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest statefocused nonprofit news organization.

USC ends teacher-training program on ‘culturally relevant’ K-12 lessons

By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina is ending a program that sought to improve Black students’ success in school by training K-12 teachers how to incorporate their experiences into classroom lessons.

The governing board for the state’s largest university system voted Friday to end the Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students — a division of USC’s College of Education — stating it was not financially viable, a requirement for all university programs. The program’s cost and potential shortfalls were not discussed.

The decision immediately ends all training seminars for K-12 teachers on culturally responsive instruction, which basically means using what students are familiar with to get them interested and help them understand.

An online list of the center’s lessons includes “math is natural,” how hair braiding can be used to teach patterns and math; “hip hop science,” using raps to learn the makeup of atoms; and “what’s in MY name,” engaging students by having them research their name’s origin.

USC Provost Donna Arnett told the board the center’s executive director agreed to end the outreach program. The director is still an education professor at USC, and her classes for college students are unaffected.

The program’s discontinuation falls against a backdrop of political pressure surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion programs and attempts to restrict how teachers discuss race in K-12 classrooms in South Carolina and across the country.

School cites funding issues in elimination of program

USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said the decision to end the program is in no way related to Statehouse debates over DEI initiatives or the research conducted by the center or its director.

The center’s director did not respond to messages from the S.C. Daily Gazette.

Mark Minett, a professor and president of the USC chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said funding issues are common for academic centers. He was not familiar with the financial health of this particular initiative but said he hopes the USC board judged it objectively, especially given the pushback on diversity and equity programs.

“Now is the time to be vigilant and ask questions and make sure the standards are fairly applied,” he said.

USC College of Education professor and researcher Gloria Boutte founded the center in 2017 in an effort to help school districts improve

attendance rates and close learning gaps.

“There are documented examples of schools across the country that are effectively teaching African American students — even students from lower socioeconomic statuses. So, it can be done,” Boutte said in a statement announcing the center. “Through partnerships with public schools across the state and through numerous outreach programs, the center aims to improve academic and cultural outcomes for Black students. By drawing from research about the most effective ways to instruct, educators can teach African American students in culturally relevant ways.”

But her work also made her a target for politicians as conservatives nationwide pushed bans on socalled “critical race theory.”

Boutte’s research focuses on culturally relevant teaching, which seeks to connect students’ cultures, languages, and life experiences to what they learn in school. It’s a

different concept from critical race theory, which recognizes systemic racism in society and how laws and policies, even those not explicitly about race, can cause or worsen racial disparities, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Still, Boutte was among university professors attacked in online posts starting in 2021, when legislators banned the teaching of eight race-centric concepts from K-12 schools.

The next year, legislators started debating a bill that would require factual, impartial classroom discussions on history, amend the list of banned concepts and create a statewide process for parental complaints.

Ultimately, the legislation failed twice. The first bill died in 2022 without a vote in the Senate. The latest push was defeated in June when a compromise worked out by a House-Senate panel failed to get the necessary supermajority support. But the list of what’s banned through the state budget remains unchanged.

Banned concepts include any race being “inherently superior” to another, anyone being responsible for past atrocities because of their race, and that traits such as hard work are oppressive and racist.

Also still law is the line legislators of both parties agreed could stifle instruction, which the failed legislation purposefully left out. That line bans lessons that make a student “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex.”

The law bans school districts from using state aid to train teachers or buy materials incorporating the banned concepts. It does not ban training related to unconscious bias or issues related to histori-

cal discriminatory policies. It also doesn’t apply to colleges.

A separate bill banning public colleges from factoring applicants’ political stances into hiring, firing and admission decisions passed the state House but died with the end of session without a vote in the Senate.

But USC had already struck the terminology “diversity, equity and inclusion” from a cabinet-level office in August 2023. It also changed the title of its leader, Julian Williams, to vice president of access, civil rights and community engagement.

Four months later, Clemson University renamed its own equity and inclusion office, changing it to the Division of Community Engagement, Belonging and Access. Boutte herself has served as associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion within USC’s college of education in 2023. But in further scrubbing of that language from university roles, USC has changed the title of that job to associate dean for democracy, education, and inclusivity.

Elsewhere, the University of South Alabama eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion offices amid a new state law limiting the use of public funds for such offices. And in North Carolina, the University of North Carolina system repealed its policy on diversity, equity and inclusion. UNC Chapel Hill struck DEI-related funding from its budget.

Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.

The Horseshoe of the University of South Carolina campus, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 in Columbia. Mary Ann Chastain/File/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette

How BCSD fared on SC READY ELA, Math assessments

EOCEP, Career Readiness assessment results also released

achieving higher grades.

Staff reports

The South Carolina Department of Education has released the 2023-2024 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics SC READY assessment data for students in Grades 3-8. As the state and Beaufort County School District (BCSD) continue the mission to ensure that at least 75% of students are performing at or above grade level by 2029, these results highlight both successes and areas for continued focus.

The South Carolina Department of Education has also released the 2023-2024 results for the Endof-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) and SC Career Readiness Assessments, showcasing improvements in student performance across several key subjects. While some areas require continued focus, the overall trends indicate growth in South Carolina’s education outcomes, advancing the state’s goal of having at least 75% of students meet the standard for college or career readiness.

As a point of reference, BCSD serves more than 21,000 students and has more than double the population of multilingual learners (23%) in comparison to the state (10%). One third of the district’s students were born into families whose native language is something other than English. Districtwide, the BCSD serves families who speak more than 30 different languages.

BCSD highlights for SC READY, EOCEP, and SC Career Readiness Assessments:

Every grade level showed improvement in Math

Exceeded the state in Math

SC Ready Exceeded the state in ELA SC Ready

Exceeded the state, earning A-C in all EOCEPs

Exceeded the state in Career Readiness Math, Data, Reading, and Soft Skills assessments

BCSD SC READY ELA scores remain strong; Math shows improvement

“Our SC READY scores indicate that our early interventions are working. ELA continues to be strong and steady, our math continues to rise,” BCSD Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said in a news release. “Of course, there is still work to be done. We are confident we will see even more progress in math next year, reaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”

BCSD English Language Arts (ELA) Performance: With the highest score in district history on the current state assessment since its inception, SC READY ELA per-

formance remains a bright spot for BCSD and the state, with scores across Grades 3-8 continuing to surpass pre-pandemic levels. The weighted average of students meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA for the district stood at 53 4% in 2024, slightly higher than 2023 achievement and significantly higher than the 45% recorded in 2019. This data underscores the steady improvement and sustained growth achieved over the past few years.

Like the state, BCSD students in the early grades (3-4) continue to show relatively stronger performance in ELA than higher grades, a trend that has remained consistent in recent years. During the 2024-25 school year, BCSD will have full implementation of the early literacy professional development (LETRS) for all K-3 educators in all our schools. This is a statewide programmatic initiative to ensure every child can read by the end of third grade.

Mathematics Performance: In mathematics, there has been an improvement in scores from 2023 to 2024 for the district, with the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations rising from 40% to 43%. However, the overall performance still lags pre-pandemic levels (47 2% in 2019) and demands urgent and targeted intervention.

Reaching the 75% proficiency goal in math will require sustained effort and close collaboration among educators, students, and families. BCSD is focused on fidelity of practice of instructional resources for high-quality instruction that builds upon the foundation of multi-tiered support systems, making math come alive through conceptual understanding by increasing teachers’ and students’ utilization of mathematical manipulatives.

Several schools have made significant strides in ensuring their students are working toward meeting or exceeding the district and state’s rigorous 75% proficiency goals in both ELA and Math. Here are the examples, north of the Broad River:

1. Coosa Elementary School ELA (Grades 3, 4, and 5): Surpassed the 75% proficiency goal. Math (Grades 3 4, and

5): Nearing or surpassed 75% proficiency goal.

2. Lady’s Island Elementary School Math (Grade 3): Nearing the 75% proficiency goal.

3. Riverview Charter School ELA (Grades 6 7 and 8): Nearing or surpassed the 75% proficiency goal.

The State Department of Education remains committed to supporting students and educators as they continue to build on gains. While the steady performance in ELA is encouraging, the focus will be on bringing math scores back to and above pre-pandemic levels. With dedicated resources and a strategic approach, including initiatives like the Palmetto Literacy Project and now the Palmetto Math Project, the Department is confident in the continued improvement of student outcomes across the state.

State, school district, and school level data for the SC READY assessments can be accessed by visiting https://ed.sc.gov/data/ test-scores/state-assessments/scready/.

BCSD EOCEP and Career

Readiness Assessment Results

The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) is a statewide assessment program of endof-course tests for gateway courses awarded units of credit in English/ language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These assessments are critical for ensuring that students are prepared for the academic challenges of college and the demands of the modern workforce.

BCSD EOCEP Summary

North of the Broad, Riverview middle school achieved the state’s 75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the Algebra 1 EOCEP.

English 2

The passing rate remained relatively stable at 71%, indicating stable student performance and understanding in literacy skills.

North of the Broad, Whale Branch Early College High School is nearing the state’s

of primary and secondary sources.

SC Career Readiness Assessment

The South Carolina Career Ready Test is administered to all 11th-grade students to measure the skills that employers define as foundational for career readiness. These assessments play a key role in ensuring that students are equipped with the necessary competencies to thrive in the workforce and their future careers.

75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the English 2 EOCEP.

Biology 1

The passing rate rose from 52 3% in 2023 to 53% in 2024 indicating growing student comprehension of biological concepts. Additionally, BCSD is expanding live science opportunities for younger students to deepen the prerequisite knowledge required for upper-level, secondary science standards.

U.S. History and the Constitution

The passing rate remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease of less than 1% in 2023 to 2024, indicating stable student performance in understanding U.S. history and constitutional principles.

Course % Passing (A-C) 2023 % Passing (A-C) 2024

While a significant number of South Carolina students are building the foundational skills necessary for success in college, careers, and life, progress is still needed to achieve the state and BCSD goal of having 75% of students meet the standard for career readiness.

Achieving the 75% Proficiency Goals on Career Readiness Assessment: Some (North of the Broad) schools have demonstrated exceptional commitment to preparing their students for career readiness by achieving the state’s rigorous 75% proficiency goal in the following areas:

Data Beaufort High School is nearing the state’s 75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the Data Career Readiness Assessment.

Reading Beaufort High School is nearing the state’s 75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the Reading Career Readiness Assessment.

Soft Skills Assessment Beaufort High School is nearing the state’s 75% proficiency goal for student achievement on the Soft Skills Assessment.

Key EOCEP Highlights

Algebra 1

The passing rate (grades A-C) improved from 48 6% in 2023 to 53 3% in 2024, reflecting a notable increase in students

BCSD’s focus on the progression of standards this school year will be paramount at building students’ understanding of historical knowledge through increased use

State, School District, and School Level Data for EOCEP and Career Readiness assessments can be accessed by visiting EOCEP assessment data at https:// bit.ly/4dBf1Cc and Career Readiness assessment data at https:// bit.ly/4ct6KPa.

STEAM Festival at Port Royal Sound Foundation

Robert Carson, 9, of Bluffton enjoys a virtual trip around Port Royal Sound compliments of a virtual reality controller and headset at the 8th annual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Festival held Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Port Royal Sound Foundation. The event was sponsored by the Technical College of the Lowcountry and the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy. Asa Aarons/The Island News

Angela Williams and daughter Camille, 9, of Beaufort check out part of the shells from the Port Royal Sound Collection at the 8th annual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Festival held Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Port Royal Sound Foundation. The event was sponsored by the Technical College of the Lowcountry and the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy. Asa Aarons/The Island News

ART Budding Artist

After-School Art Club

4 to 5 p.m., or 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesday/ Thursdays, Happy Art Studio, 10 Sam’s Point Way, Beaufort. Ages 8 to 13. Painting, drawing, clay or crafts. Visit www.happyartstudio.net.

CALENDAR

LIBPA Hurricane Preparation event

5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 29, Beaufort Realtors’ Association Headquarters, 22 Kemmerlin Lane, Lady’s Island. A wine-and-cheese event. Colonel Neil Baxley from the Emergency Management Division of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will make a special presentation. Baxley will give an update on hurricane preparation for the Lowcountry. Free and open to the public.

A Fund Raising Fish Fry

5 to 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6, Center Stage Area, Penn Center, 16 Penn Circle West, St. Helena Island. Meals, which cost $18, include fried fish, baked beans, pasta salad, dinner rolls, and a drink. Tickets can be purchased on site the day of the event or in advance until Sept. 6. For credit card payments, call the Penn Center Welcome Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday at 843838-7105. For those interested in sponsorship, call Penn Center, Inc., at 843-5410128. To contact Planning Committee Chair Sara Reynolds Green, call 843473-0477, or Co-Chair Barbara Gardner Hunter, call 347-497-9326. Penn Center, The St. Helena Gullah Project, the S.C. Coastal Community Development Corporation, Marshview Community Organic Farm, The Gullah Grub Restaurant and the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation are sponsoring A Fund Raising Fish Fry to help reduce the loss of land on St. Helena Island.

Roots & Rivers Festival

2 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, Oyster Factory Park, 63 Wharf Street, Bluffton. Presented by BlacQuity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Black entrepreneurs, this Coastal Cowboy and Cowgirl-themed event will include live music, line dancing, mechanical bull riding, artisanal vendors, craft beer, food trucks, and new to the festival this year, a Kid Zone and VIP experiences. The festival is set to invigorate coastal Beaufort County by providing a bustling marketplace for small businesses, artisans, and Black entrepreneurs to showcase their products. The festival aims to support the local economy and foster community growth by offering a platform for these talented individuals, creating a positive and inclusive environment for all. The festival boasts a lively beer garden, line dancing, captivating live music performances by Deas Guyz, and more. Early Bird general admission tickets for the Roots and Rivers Festival are now available for $15. For those who prefer to purchase tickets at the gate, they will be priced at $20. A limited number of VIP experiences are also available for $125. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.rootsandriversfestival.com.

Lowcountry Boil

5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, Shellring Ale Works, 1111 11th Street, Port Royal. Tickets are $85. Proceeds support the work of Lowcountry Legal Volunteers. Live music by the Cluster Shucks. To purchase tickets, visit https://bit.ly/4flPRZr.

Beaufort County Youth Conference

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, Technical College of The Lowcountry, 921 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. Free for all Beaufort County middle and high school students. Interactive breakout sessions, music, food, fun, door prizes, and T-shirts. Parent and adult wellness workshop. Register today at 843-812-4399 or 843-592-0013.

OktoPRfest

11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, Paris Avenue, Port Royal. Free. No pets. Local chefs, restaurants, and food trucks will offer German-inspired dishes such as brats and pretzels, along with American festival food favorites. There will be a wide selection of craft, imported, and domestic beers. The opening ceremony will feature a special surprise honoring the Town’s 150th birthday. Live musical performances and entertainment; a craft market area; kids zone; and Lollipop the Clown (noon to 4 p.m.). For more, https://fb.me/e/1zQlnKh37.

64th annual Saint Peter’s Catholic Church Fall Bazaar

10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 5, Saint Peter’s Catholic Church campus, 70 Lady’s Island Drive, Beaufort. The Bazaar features international foods, craft fair with local artisans, a sweet shoppe, an in-person and online silent auction, wine and beer garden, plant sale, church tours, and Kids Zone with inflatables, games, and the Beaufort Barnyard Petting Zoo. Artists and craftspeople interested in participating can send an email to parishlife@stpetersbeaufort. org for more information. The bazaar will benefit Lowcountry Outreach, a ministry of Saint Peter’s parish that provides office space for area non-profits, meeting rooms for support groups, and services such as a ride program for those with limited transportation.

39th annual Kiwanis Club of Hilton Head Island Chili Cook Off & Jeep Island Noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, Lowcountry Celebration Park, 94 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head Island. Event raises funding for local youth charities. Chili cooks will face off to determine the best concoctions

WHAT’S HAPPENING

HIGHWAY 21 DRIVE-IN

The movies scheduled for this week (Friday, Aug. 30 through Sunday, Sept. 1) at the Highway 21 Drive-In are Twisters (PG-13, 8:15 p.m.) and Deadpool & Wolverine (R, 10:35 p.m.) on Screen 1; Blink Twice (R, 8:15 p.m.) and Afraid (PG-13, 10:00 p.m.) on Screen 2; Inside Out 2 (PG, 8:15 p.m.) and Despicable Me 4 (PG, 9:50 p.m.) on Screen 3. Online ticketing is available at hwy21drivein.com on the Now Playing page. Patrons are asked to arrive early on Friday and Saturday nights. Gates open at 6 p.m.

A reminder: no outside food or beverages can be brought into the drive-in.

Upcoming movies include Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Sept. 5) and Transformers One (October).

in Professional, Amateur, and People’s Choice categories. Winners will earn cash prize donations to the local youth charity of their choice. The Jeep Island expo is a stunning array of Jeeps from around the nation – a must-see for any Jeep enthusiast. Local favorites RetroRoxx, Hilton Head Island’s explosive ‘80s party cover band, will be performing live! To sign up online to cook, sponsor, and buy tickets, go to https://hiltonheadkiwanis.com/chili-cook-off. For more information, email the Hilton Head Kiwanis Club at hiltonheadislandkiwanis@gmail.com.

Karaoke with Melissa 8 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Trivia with Tom – Fat Patties

7:30 p.m., Every Wednesday, Fat Patties, 831 Parris Island Gateway, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with either Parker or Eric.

Trivia with Tom – Bricks On Boundary

7 p.m., Every Thursday, Bricks on Boundary, 1422 Boundary St, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash and Beer Bucket prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

7 p.m., Thursdays, Amvets Post 70, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free. Public is welcome. Enjoy Karaoke. Dinner will be available.

Karaoke at Willie’s 8 p.m., Thursdays, Willie's Bar and Grill, 7 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Saint Helena Island. Come and showcase your singing talents or just enjoy the performances. For more information, visit www.GullahLove.com.

Bluffton Night Bazaar — a Lowcountry Made Market

5 to 8 p.m., first Thursday of each month, Burnt Church Distillery, 120 Bluffton Road. A highly curated selection of accessories, clothing, home goods, custom gifts and more by local artists and makers.

Habersham Farmers Market

3 to 6 p.m., Fridays, Habersham Marketplace. Vendor roster includes B&E Farm, Cottonwood Soap, Flower Power Treats, Hardee Greens, Megs Sweet Treats, Vitamin Bee, Lady’s Island Oyster Company, Pet Wants.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9 p.m., Fridays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Lt. Dan.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9:30 p.m., Fridays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Parker. Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Fridays, R Bar & Grill, 70 Pennington Dr, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Port Royal Farmers Market 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, year round, Naval Heritage Park, 1615 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Rain or shine. You will find fresh, local, seasonal produce, shrimp, oysters, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, bread and cheese, as well as plants, ferns, camellias, azaleas, citrus trees and beautiful, fresh cut flower bouquets. There are prepared food vendors serving barbecue, dumplings, she crab soup, crab cakes, paella, coffee, baked goods, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. No pets allowed. For more information, visit http://www.portroyalfarmersmarket. com/, visit @portroyalfarmersmarket on Facebook or call 843-295-0058.

Slip and Splash Saturdays

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays, Battery Creek Pool, 1 Blue Dolphin Drive, Beaufort, and Bluffton Pool, 55 Pritchard Street, Bluffton. $5 per person. Stay busy for hours climbing on our inflatable challenge track.

Music Bingo with Mike –Bricks On Boundary

6 p.m., Every Saturday, Bricks on Boundary, 1422 Boundary St, Beaufort. Free. Play with a team or alone,

win house cash! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

7 p.m., Saturdays, The Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd., Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Lt. Dan. Come early at 6 p.m. for Steak Night.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Saturdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Eric.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud

9 a.m. to noon, 1st Saturday each month, Port Royal Farmer’s Market, Corner of Ribaut Road & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal. Free. DAYLO Students and other volunteers will read to young children, who are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animals.

Karaoke with Melissa

8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, Peaceful Henry’s Cigar Bar, 181 Bluffton Rd, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

DANCE

The Beaufort Shag Club

6:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays, AmVets Club, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free lessons for members from 6 to 6:30 p.m. We also host a dance the second Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. Lessons will run September through May only. Visit our FaceBook page (beaufortshagclub) for current events.

GOLF

Stingray Scramble

9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, Ocean Creek Golf Course, Fripp Island. Team of 4, $650. Individual, $175. Benefits Riverview Charter School. Shotgun start. 4-man scramble. Registration 8 to 8:45 a.m. Registration includes golf, gift, lunch, awards. Register at https://bit.ly/4bUzWPh.

Boy Scouts of America

LowCountry Classic

11 a.m., Monday, Sept. 30, The Cat Island Club. Hosted by the Boy Scouts of America Lowcountry District. $150 per golfer or $500 for foursome. 9 a.m. registration; 1 p.m. lunch; 5 p.m. cocktails/awards. Each player hits from the tee; team selects tee shot they wish to play from; each player may then place their ball within one club length, no nearer the hole and in the same condition (rough, bunker, etc.), and play his/her own ball from that point until holed; 2 lowest net scores will count towards teams total. Each player shall receive 75% of their published handicap; maximum handicap is 24. Proceeds benefit Scouting programs in the Lowcountry District of the Coastal Carolina Council, Boy Scouts of America. All the information for players and potential sponsors can be found at https://birdease. com/BSACharityGolfEvent or contact Dave Soloman for more information at d.c.solomon@att.net.

27th annual Habitat For Humanity of the Lowcountry tournament Monday, Sept. 30, Oldfield Club, Okatie. Register to play or sponsor at https://bit.ly/4cnr58E. Event proceeds go toward building the Larry Sanders House, named in honor of the longtime volunteer organizer of the tournament.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Rooted Beaufort Yoga classes 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Thursdays, Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal; 9 to 10:15 a.m., Whitehall Park or Pigeon Point Park. Rooted Beaufort is a collective of local Yoga teachers who host outdoor yoga classes and donation-based events with proceeds being donated locally on a rotating basis.

BEMER Circulation Therapy

10 to 11 a.m., Fridays via Zoom. Already own a BEMER? Never heard of it but curious? Join to ask any questions about this leading-edge German technology that enhances blood flow 30% in 8 minutes. Sessions are designed to support those who have their own unit but everyone is welcome. Brought to you by BEMER Specialist — Human & Equine, Elizabeth Bergmann. Text 410-212-1468 to get the Zoom link. Free.

HISTORY

Beaufort History Museum at the Arsenal

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays, 713 Craven St, Beaufort. General Admission for Adults $8, Seniors $7, Active Duty Military and College Students with ID $5. Children/Teens younger than 18 Free. Explore and experience more than 500 years of Beaufort History with knowledgeable docent guided tours.

The Historic Port Royal Museum

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or upon request, Thursdays through Sundays, The Historic Port Royal Museum, 1634 Paris Ave. The museum features the turn-of-the-century businesses and industries of Port Royal: Shrimping, crabbing, oystering, the railroad, the school and the mercantile. Great gifts featuring local artists are available. For more information. visit www.portroyalhistory.org, email historicportroyalfoundation@gmail.com or call 843-524-4333.

Tour Historic Fort Fremont Dawn to dusk, Monday through Sunday, The Fort Fremont Preserve, 1124 Land’s End Road, St. Helena Island. Free and open to the public. The History Center is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can learn about

the fort’s history during the Spanish-American War through interpretive signs, self-guided walking tours with a smart phone, exhibits in the history center, and docent-led tours. For more information visit www.fortfremont.org or contact Passive Parks Manager Stefanie Nagid at snagid@ bcgov.net.

LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

Introduction to Canning

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Participants will learn the basics of preserving food. Methods will include water bath, steam and pressure canning. Belinda and Tony Jones are the owners of Morning Glory Farm and are experienced farmers and canners. No registration is required. Call 843-255-6540 for more information.

Mahjong Club 10 a.m. to noon, Friday, Sept. 13, Beaufort Library, 311 Scott Street. All levels of players are welcome. Feel free to bring your own mahjong sets. Plan to meet every week. For more information, call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458.

Native Plants of the Sea Islands 3 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Maximum 50 participants, registration required at to attend. Call 843-255-6540. In this two-hour workshop, participants learn about plants used by indigenous people of the Sea Islands. We’ll take a relaxing 30-minute walk around the library grounds, learning how to identify specific plants and learn about their properties and how they were used pre-colonization. Please wear comfortable shoes.

Gullah Art Adult Paint & Sip 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Ages 13 to adult. Space is limited, call 843-255-6487 to register. Help the library celebrate Gullah Geechee Awareness Month. Join local artis Lynn Schramm to learn acrylic painting tips and tricks and create your own art piece.

Plant Swap 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Take a plant – leave a plant. Bring your divided perennials, extra clippings, and plant propagations to share with others. Visit us at beaufortcountylibrary.org.

“Lego” With Lego 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., every Tuesday, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Free and open to the public. Ages 5 and up. No registration required. Come see our new and improved Lego Club. Choose one of our new Lego kits and get going. Call 843-255-6540 for more information.

Career Navigator

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Tuesday, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Free one-on-one resume writing and job application assistance with a Career Navigator from Palmetto Goodwill. No appointments necessary. For more information call 843-255-6458.

MEETINGS

Downtown Marina feedback forum

5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept, 5, Henry C. Chambers Park Pavilion, 950 Bay Street, Beaufort. If it is raining hard, the event will be moved to City Hall. Safe Harbor, which manages the Downtown Marina, and City of Beaufort are hosting a review and question-and-answer session for a revised layout of the Downtown Marina improvements. The revised layout addresses comments from City Council and the public during a City Council Work Session held on March 26.

Indivisible Beaufort 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, downtown Beaufort Library, 311 Scott Street. Featured speaker is Chris deVries, who will talk about the next South Carolina Legislative Session. deVries spent more than 35 years as a nonprofit executive and lobbyist in Washington D.C. She is now involved in leadership in many local groups focusing on advocacy, elections, and politics, and is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic. deVries will discuss some of the legislation from the last session and what we can expect for the next. She will also explain what could impact the legislation and how citizens can influence the agenda. The event is free and open to the public.

Beaufort Sportfishing and Diving Club 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club, Lady’s Island off of Meridian Road. The social begins at 6:30 p.m. Well known local Captain Jason Woodham of Merrikohl Outfillers Fishing Charters (www.merrikohl.com) will make a presentation on Tarpon. He will also discuss rod and reel setups and baits of choice. Guests are welcome. Reservations are not needed. For additional information, please contact Captain Frank Gibson at 843-521-7340 or email fgibson@islc.net.

Zonta Club of Beaufort 6 p.m., 4th Tuesday of each month, Smokehouse, Port Royal.

Rotary Club of Sea Island lunch meeting 12:15 p.m., 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Social gathering every 3rd

Tuesday at 5:30 pm, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary.org.

Rotary Club of Sea Island social gathering 5:30 p.m., 3rd Tuesday of each month, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary.org.

Beaufort Rotary Club Noon, Wednesdays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Catered buffet lunch, followed by a guest speaker. Prospective members welcome. For further information and upcoming speakers, please visit website www.beaufortrotaryclub.org.

The Beaufort Trailblazers –A Volunteer Group 8 a.m., first Thursday each month, Herban Marketplace, Beaufort. Anyone interested in supporting or building off-road/dirt/wilderness mountain biking/jogging/walking trails near is encouraged to attend. For more information, call 843-575-0021 or email universitybicycles@hotmail.com.

Emotions Anonymous International local group meeting 4 p.m, Thursdays, via Zoom. Emotions Anonymous International, (EAI), is a nonprofit program designed to help people with emotional difficulties. It has a chapter in the Lowcountry and members want others who feel the need to know they are welcome to participate. There is no charge to participate. They are based on the 12 steps and 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and follow a specific format designed to provide the support and tools for navigating life’s painful difficulties. All are welcome. Anyone interested in participating may contact the group via email at EALowcountry@gmail.com or call or text Laurie at 252- 917-7082. For more information on EAI visit www.emotionsanonymous.org.

Rotary Club of the Lowcountry 7:30 a.m., Fridays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, Sea Island Parkway, Lady’s Island. A light breakfast is provided before the program. For further information and upcoming speakers, please visit our website at www. lowcountryrotary.org or contact our President, Bob Bible at reconmc@aol. com or 843-252-8535.

MUSIC

Deas Guyz 7 p.m., Fridays, Aug. 30, Sept. 27, Nov. 1, Nov. 29; Willie's Bar and Grill, 7 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Saint Helena Island. $35. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit www.GullahLove.com.

Habersham Third Fridays Music on Market 5 to 8 p.m., third Friday of the month, Habersham Marketplace.

Street Music on Paris Avenue 6 p.m., Saturdays, Sept. 7, Sept. 21, between 9th and 10th Streets on Paris Avenue, Port Royal. Free. Bring your chairs or your dancing shoes. Schedule: August 24, The Joe Krown Trio featuring Papa Mali; September 7, Kat Wright; September 21, Gabe Stillman. OUTDOORS The Beaufort Tree Walk Lady’s Island Garden Club invites you to take a meandering walk through the Historic “Old Point” and enjoy some unique and noteworthy trees. The “Walk” takes about an hour, is a little over a mile starting at the corner of Craven & Carteret streets in Morrall Park and concluding in Waterfront Park. Booklets with map and information about each tree are available free at the Visitors Center in the historic Arsenal on Craven Street.

Tours of Hunting Island Every Tuesday, Hunting Island State Park, 2555 Sea Island Pkwy. Free, park entry fees apply. Sponsored by Friends of Hunting Island Keeper Ted and his team. For more information call the Hunting Island Nature Center at 843-838-7437. The next Tuesday is August 1.

SEWING/QUILTING

American Needlepoint

Guild Meeting 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1st Tuesday each month. The Hilton Head Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in needlepoint to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at hiltonheadislandchapter@needlepoint.org.

Embroidery Guild of America Meeting Second Tuesday of every month, Palmetto Electric Community Room, Hardeeville. The Lowcountry Chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in any type of embroidery including needlepoint, cross-stitch, surface and beaded embroidery, hardanger, bargello, sashiko, etc., to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at lowcountrychapter@egacarolinas.org.

SPORTS/GAMES

Inaugural Friends of Caroline Clay Shoot Friday, Oct. 4, Turkey Hill Plantation, Ridgeland. Details are being finalized. Presenting sponsorships available at $2,500 and $5,000. Station sponsors – up to 12 – start at $500. Sponsored 4-person teams $1,000.Contact Keriann for details or to reserve your spot at keriann@fochospice.org or 843525-6257. Proceeds benefit Friends of Caroline Hospice.

The time of year when anything can happen

About this time every four years in the presidential selection process, it’s important to remember that nothing is over until it’s over. Two or three unexpected things often happen – generally after Labor Day – that send campaigns spinning, often in more ways than one. And how they respond sometimes makes a difference in the outcome of the race. Sometimes not.

These so-called “October surprises” have included the impact of a possible Iranian hostage deal that never came before President Jimmy Carter’s 1980 reelection effort and a drunk driving arrest for then-candidate George W. Bush that was unearthed days before the 2000 election. And no one can forget Donald Trump’s explicit 2005 language about grabbing women that emerged a month before election day in 2016

This year is no different. Possibilities that could rollick the 2024 presidential campaign in the days

ahead range from pure scandal to a foreign policy win or loss that could cause big problems.

Somebody might make a big debate mistake. Or Trump, known for rambling and not sticking to a script, could say something so egregious or outrageous that his campaign tanks among the moderate voters he needs to win.

The first surprise dropped early this year.

Just a month ago as President Joe Biden’s campaign sputtered, former GOP President Donald Trump’s victory seemed almost assured. But when Biden put his Democratic Party’s interest and

the country before personal ambition by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, the race flipped on a dime.

The enthusiasm of her joyful campaigning with a running mate who sounds like a guy you really want to have a beer with has been nothing short of remarkable. The Democratic National Convention that initially looked like it would be almost funereal ended up being an unexpected reminder that Democrats, too, can show over-the-top patriotism and embrace freedom, apple pie and the American way. The Democratic convention almost looked more of a celebration of America than the Republican one weeks before.

All of this has thrown Trump for a loop, as Washington Post analyst Dan Balz observed: “Trump has never experienced anything like the past month. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black and Indian American woman, has pushed the White alpha male to the sidelines of the

national conversation, denying him the spotlight he craves and constantly demands.”

Nevertheless, Harris is now leading in a few battleground polls – not what would have been predicted just a month back. “The Democrats are in the game,” Balz writes, “the former president is in a box, and it’s not clear whether he knows what to do.”

(Pro tip: He’ll figure it out and come out blazing. He is, you should remember, a politician.)

Republicans should worry about the new enthusiasm that is building a 2024 army for the Democrats. Not only could you hear it in speeches by Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, but you can see it in what The New York Times calls “an unprecedented wave of small-dollar donations for Harris,” who nabbed 1 5 million new donors in the last 11 days of July that raised an astonishing $183 million.

But Democrats, some of whom

seem to be counting their chickens before they’re hatched, need to remember that about half of Americans still aren’t happy with them. The election will still be close. Maybe they should worry about possible efforts by Republican election deniers to tip the scales in swing counties around the country. A July investigation by Rolling Stone magazine described in The Bulwark highlighted how “at least 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists [are] currently working as county election officials who have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results.” According to the analysis, 22 of the 70 “already have ‘refused or delayed certification’ in recent past elections.”

Bottom line: As a country, we’ve got a long 10 weeks left. And anything could happen.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.

Latest statewide test scores illustrate how S.C. still fails students

The Charleston City Paper Editorial Board

South Carolinians are famously bound together by traditions, some seemingly as old as the earliest English footprints on the banks of the Ashley River at Albemarle Point in Charleston. But as last week’s damning statewide public school test results pointed up, some Palmetto State traditions belong on the ash heap of history – starting with our longstanding and obdurate

Irefusal to educate all of our children.

First, a little background. Every year, South Carolina students in Grades 3 through 8 take the standardized SC READY test, which is designed to measure whether they’re reading and doing math like they should for the grade they’re in. Results are reported by the S.C. Department of Education in four categories: Does Not Meet Expectations, Approaches Expectations (which is bureaucratese for Does Not Meet Expectations But Give

Us A Little Credit), Meets Expectations and Exceeds Expectations.

And how bad were this year’s results? Let us count the ways – starting with the fact that we’re not teaching our kids to, ummm, count.

For starters, as the Charleston City Paper reported this week, fewer than one-third of 8th graders in South Carolina are doing math at grade level and only half meet or exceed expectations in reading. But of course, those are just the top-lines – the averages of all students across all racial,

ethnic and income levels. It’s only when you delve deeper into the numbers –into what education professionals call the disaggregated results – that you begin to see the full dimensions of the never-ending crisis in the inadequate education that South Carolina provides her children. In the 8th grade, just 13% of Black children are meeting expectations in math, 34% in reading.

Unsurprisingly, the news for 8th grade Hispanic kids isn’t much better – 23% are succeeding in math, 40%

in reading. And finally, perhaps explaining those two results, only 19% of students in poverty are working at grade level in math, 40% in reading.

Put simply, 70 years after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case that ended de jure segregation in South Carolina schools, we still aren't making a good faith effort to educate all our children. Though, truthfully, with only 43% of White 8th graders doing math at grade level and 66% meeting expectations in reading,

it’s clear our state’s chronically underfinanced public education system is failing children from every background and walk of life. That’s a tradition that South Carolina voters can and must end. So this November, demand to know how every state and local official on your ballot is going to fix our broken education system, and vote like our children’s future depends on it. Because it does.

Charleston City Paper is an award-winning weekly newspaper in Charleston, S.C.

How dumb do they think we are?

try my best to pay attention to what is being said by politicians, but sometimes it’s difficult not to be insulted by some of the promises that they make. It is not uncommon for me to listen to them say what they know, and we should know is nonsense. I can’t help but think “How dumb do they think we are?”

Does anyone believe that if elected, Trump is going to walk into the Oval Office on the first day pick up the phone and call Vladimir Putin, and say” Vlad, it’s me Don, it’s time for you to knock off the war in Ukraine, and bring your guys home”, and the answer will be, “OK, Don I have been waiting for your call, I’ll get right on it.”

I sure wish that he could, but somehow I don’t think so.

How about Harris’ plan to build three million new low cost homes?

Does she think that contractors are just waiting around to get a

tax credit so that they can use the land they own to build low margin houses and give up profit on higher cost homes?

We already have a shortage of skilled construction workers, where are they coming from? If you give people $25 000 to put toward a new home, don’t you think the prices will rise accordingly, just as it did when the government took over the student loan program, and tuition went through the ceiling. Not to mention the accelerated demand for building material. What happens

when demand exceeds supply, the price goes up. The taxpayers are far worse off, and home buyers are no better off.

Trump says that he is going to stop inflation right away.

Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods, usually because of government borrowing and spending. Yet he is proposing to do away with tax on Social Security, and tips, which will cost billions in tax revenue and will necessitate more government borrowing and spending. By the way Harris is a “me too” on that idea.

Harris, is going to force the evil grocery chains to stop raising prices on food. Most grocery stores make about 1 5% on the goods they sell. If she bothered to look at the Consumer Price Index, she would see that the wholesale cost of food has gone up at about the same rate as the retail price in the stores. A lot of this is attrib-

utable to the rising cost of fuel and transportation. How did that happen, think Green New Deal. If you take away the small 1 5% profit, stores go out of business, fewer stores mean less competition and higher prices. It had to come sooner or later, the old socialist standby, “price controls.” Price controls don’t work, have never worked, and will never work. This last time it was tried here was by Nixon in the 1970’s. No surprise, it was a disaster. All that happened were shortages and higher prices. When people can’t make a legitimate profit on their goods, they stop making them available to the market. The only idea that is worse is a communist “five-year plan.”

We still have a $35,000,000,000,000 — that's $35 TRILLION — debt that we owe, and some day will have to pay back. Maybe someone should

talk about that. Hear anything? Wouldn’t it be nice if people running for office would talk about some practical, common sense ideas, something that we can believe in for a change, like maybe a plan to fund Social Security or Medicare and Medicaid into the future, or rebuild our military. I don’t see that happening, they are still spouting nonsense. Maybe we are not that dumb after all. Lt's be smart as to who elect locally and who we send to Congress. That's a beginning.

Born, raised and educated in the Southwest, Jim Dickson served in the U.S. Navy Reserve in Vietnam before a 35-year business career. Retired to St. Helena Island, Dickson and his wife are fiscally conservative, socially moderate and active in Republican politics, though they may not always agree with Republicans. Having lived around the country and traveled around the world, Dickson believes that the United States truly is the land of opportunity.

ANDY BRACK

JIM DICKSON

VOICES

It is Wednesday, and we’re on Interstate 81 just south of Winchester, Va. Susan and I are on our way home from Massachusetts; last night staying at the Carlisle House — in Carlisle, Pa. — where Carolyn installed us in the “Library,” saying it was her favorite room in the house, circa 1826 Carlisle Barracks is where my father got his commission during World War II. It is, I think, where this young officer convinced my mother to marry him — my mother riding the Atlantic Coast Line railroad from Florence, S.C., to witness the ceremony. In more recent times this pleasant town — a collection of small brick houses surrounding college buildings made of Ordovician limestone — is usually the first stop on our way home from Massachusetts.

In the summer of 1863, Carlisle Barracks was also

the destination of J.E.B. Stuart, who came north with three cavalry brigades (5,300 men) together with some 600 recently captured mules. Stuart had convinced Robert E. Lee — then on his way to Gettysburg — that he and his troopers could provide much needed intelligence on the whereabouts of the Union Army. Lee assumed Stuart would be gone four days, but the captured mules slowed down his fast moving cavalry. It would, in fact, be eight days before Stuart returned to Lee’’s headquarters with his ragged, rugged cavalry. This left Lee without any

intelligence (on the Union Army’s dispositions) for more than a week. Stuart also left Lee with two irregular cavalry brigades of dubious ability.

Lee had come to the rich farming country south of Harrisburg, Pa., knowing that there was a certain “war weariness” in the North, knowing that a victory in Pennsylvania would (again) humiliate the Northern politicians, and believing these fatigued, unhappy folks just might let the Southern states leave the Union.

Importantly, Lee knew he could not sustain the casualties he was taking. Even when he won — at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville — he knew he was losing.

Getting a tutorial on the keypad (that would get us into the Carlisle House after hours); and then learning the operational basics for the huge, in-the-room tub delayed our departure

for dinner, causing us to momentarily reconsider our booking of the “historic bed and breakfast” over the more predictable, slightly more expensive Hampton and Holiday Inn options.

But Susan and I often choose a bed and breakfast knowing we will have to engage the owner in conversation; knowing these old homes have small rooms that have been re-plumbed and strangely reconfigured into guest rooms; but also knowing that the complimentary breakfast will not feature geometrically shaped eggs stacked inside a stainless steel steam canister.

And I will confess that I kind of like meeting the owners and learning how they decided to leave the Navy and invest their savings in a large house requiring constant attention. I like these stories and the large, early morning breakfast taken with other guests

in the dining room — one of the best of these pre-departure breakfasts may be found at the Casa de Solana in St. Augustine, Fla. But there are times — especially as one gets older — when you want a large lobby, and hotel doors that don’t require keypad manipulation, and the presence of a smiling, helpful person behind a large desk at 9 p.m., when one shuffles back from a burger at a nearby bar.

Susan and I often choose the burger option and headed for the Molly Pitcher Brewing Company two blocks away. As we entered the bar, right next to the Dickinson College campus, the young bartender yelled “welcome back.” It is interesting how much this little bit of familiarity, this small measure of warmth means after six tiresome hours on the Interstate.

After dinner, we walked along High Street admiring the Courthouse and the

Ask anyone who decides to write a column for public consumption. Are you ready for the blow back, the responses that are positive and negative? If you aren’t, then to quote Harry Truman, “Get the hell out of the kitchen.”

What I write is mostly political because there is a plenitude of material from which to draw. With this abundance, however, is the certainty that in today’s environment, I can count on responses -- all kinds.

Let’s be clear. I take every response I receive to my writing seriously, especially when it is well-thought out. Such was the case when a reader recently took me to task for addressing the topic of J.D. Vance without having read the book, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

I admit to starting it when it first came out, but found it to be rambling and tedious. My critic was affronted by my negative assessment of Vance's name changes, explaining why these happened, and why the name Vance was taken, to solidify his relationship with his much-loved grandparents who “essentially” raised him. I’m not sure of the qualifier 'essentially,' but the argument has its merits.

It’s worth noting that Vance only spent summers with his grandparents in Appalachia, hardly making him the supreme authority to be the voice of the region that he eventually became. (Piper Hansen, AZ State, 4/21/2020)

The letter then submits that News Nation reports Vance’s stance on abortion has “mod-

erated.” I might suggest he has done so for political expediency. Furthermore, I ask this: What options do you have when you have said, “society shouldn’t view pregnancy or birth, resulting from incest or rape as an “inconvenience”, and go on to say “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Vance’s “moderation” also included his assessment of Donald Trump.

"I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon, or that he's America's Hitler," he wrote on Facebook in 2016

In citing a source I used, my critic alludes to Jay Kuo, CEO of The Social Edge, playwright, and board member of the Human Rights Campaign which supports LBGTQ+ issues. I can only assume she sees this as a negative. Shortly thereafter, I had a second experience that falls pretty much into the same category. I was sent (by an intermediary) an article to read. Of course, I was interested, and so I accessed the selection which addressed “the mudslinging and coarseness that drives political drama.” I will quote the author, Christopher Rufo, under whose picture reads, “Leading the fight against the left-wing ideological regime.”

was about to engage; despite that, I soldiered on. The following provides parts of the article, along with my response.

It began by referencing the nastiness of prior campaigns.

“The 2024 presidential election, between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, is no different. Vice President Harris began her political career through a high-profile affair with the powerful San Francisco politico Willie Brown. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, cheated on his first wife with their children’s nanny, whom he subsequently impregnated. Harris’s running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, has embellished his military service to the point that some critics have accused him of ‘stolen valor.’ And since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Harris has changed her positions on multiple issues.”

As for Emhoff’s affair, consider this:

Kerstin Emhoff said in a statement, “Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago. He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.” (Edward- Isaac Dovere, CNN)

Brown, who was then 60 years old and speaker of the California State Assembly, had been estranged from his wife for more than a decade.

Perhaps the most egregious statement is the “stolon valor” quip. At no time did Walz “embellish” his time in the military. What he told was fact. Indeed it was J.D. Vance who used that phrase incorrectly. The term actually means wearing combat ribbons although never having served in actual combat and pretending to be a combat veteran.

As for Rufo’s contention that Harris has changed her positions on multiple issues, need I mention, “J.D. Vance?”

Mr. Rufo continues.

“Former president Trump, too, has survived a protracted sequence of personal scandals. His romantic life has splashed through the tabloids for decades, with multiple marriages, accusations of infidelity and womanizing, and an alleged tryst with a pornographic actress.”

Let me interject here to say that what people do in the bedroom and with whom, is of no interest to me. I don’t ask, and I don’t care. That applies to Trump as well.

What I do care about is the morality exhibited by an individual that directly affects someone else. For instance, lying -- more than 30 000 provable. Or cheating -- on every wife and Trump University. Stealing -- boxes of sensitive secret documents. The list is larger, but you get the point.

Rufo contends:

At that point, I knew what I

Regarding the high-profile affair of Harris: She was 29 in March, 1994 when a San Francisco Chronicle columnist described her as Brown’s “new steady,” going on to say that she was “something new in Willie’s love life. She’s a woman, not a girl.” At the time,

Presbyterian Church — both buildings shelled by J.E.B. Stuart in 1863. Eventually we found the Town Square and read the plasticized placards describing the shelling and the burning of the Barracks. It was then when I realized that Susan’s great grandfather, Joseph Reid, was attached to Wade Hampton’s Brigade. And that Hampton’s Brigade was one of the three brigades that Stuart brought with him to Carlisle.

And as we walked in the twilight we talked about Joseph Reid, Chuck Graber and their time in Carlisle. We wondered if they had any notion — when they walked these brick-paved streets — that their heirs would be walking these same streets trying to remember the keypad combination.

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

through strength of personality; Harris, through the power of the national media.”

I suggest that rather than “strength of personality,” perhaps it is through the willful blindness of his cult. As for Harris, rather than insinuating that national media favors Harris, Rufo might want to view her rallies leading up to the convention, as well as the convention itself. Furthermore, the latter showcased high-ranking Republicans who openly support Harris.

It was the former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, who stated it best when he said, “If you vote for Kamala Harris, you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.”

Rufo’s article concludes with this: “I can’t tell anyone the precise formula for making a choice. But I might suggest that the scandals of this campaign do not indicate a clear moral choice.”

Surely you jest! I think the choice is crystal clear. Set the bedroom activity aside or to quote Gov. Walz, “Mind your own damn business.” Focus on the other aspects of morality, such as human decency and honesty.

As I said earlier, I do not discount any communication a reader might send my way. After all, this is what a democratic free press is all about. I certainly didn’t toss aside the one letter that called me gorgeous, saying he loved me. I questioned his vision, not his affection.

Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.” Editor’s Note:

“Trump surpassed his scandals

SCOTT GRABER

CAROL LUCAS

The art of beginning

Dampened by summer's intermittent yet thunderous downpours, my shoes squeaked gleefully against the tiled floors as my umbrella found its place alongside several others, creating a small reflective pool by the door. Small talk filled the air as pleasantries and nervous chatter found a rhythm with the sliding of metal chairs and the familiar splash as the tires of passing cars got a midday bath.

Outside of my usual routine, my interest peaked with the evident care given to the table setting. Business meetings, conferences, and continuing education courses are commonly void of the human factor, lacking any creative stimulus other than how to feign deep interest. It is a nice change.

Curious, I signed up for an Introduction to Watercolors Workshop while shopping for art supplies with my creative, artist-eyed daughter. One of my many afflictions is the need to take classes. Before my days were filled with business, motherhood, vet visits, to-do lists, and the rest of the casserole of adulthood; I shared her artistic eyes. Observing her select the tools that would help her express what is in her soul onto the

canvas sent me back to a simpler time, and I suddenly realized that, at some point, I stopped looking for colors, subtle hues, and the way the sun dances across its subject.

As the workshop began, my hands had a childlike awkwardness with the paintbrush; muscle memory in this regard must be short-term. I wondered if I was the novice in the beautifully diverse group; fortunately, artistic talent is in the eye of the beholder. The instructor captured every detail as one would expect from someone making a living in the power of details.

Almost like the first day of school, I felt like the teacher had been working all night to ensure each student had everything they needed. It was nice to be the student relaxing, not knowing it was

an art form in itself. For years, my days have lacked the reprieve of beginners bliss. For now, my only responsibility was to listen, learn, and let the dust wipe away from the creative corner of my brain.

The usual suspects of insecurities were noticeably absent. For the first time in a very long time, I could hear my breathing as I became lost in the dance of colors against the canvas. Thought was unnecessary but welcomed, as the sounds of adulthood no longer resembled bustling traffic in a metropolis thick with sensory pollution. The clink of my paintbrush against the water jar, the gentle gliding against the canvas, was a soothing harmony. How such a blankness can become a form of communication is just one power of art.

How three hours went by in what seemed like three soft strokes of my brush remains a mystery.

My newest position, added to my mosaic of a resume, spurred me to seek out the art community's intricacies, nuances, and connectivity. How have I yet to take advantage of the abundance of artistic outlets in our beautiful town? How did I not know there were teachers enthusiastically offering their mag-

ical talents to make my day more beautiful? How, in a small city, did I not know these therapeutic pockets of pure joy existed? As a new addition to the Freedman Arts District Organization, my eyes are open. From Carteret Street to Ribaut Road, there is an energy of change. It's an undercurrent twisting history into hope, revitalization, and remembrance. From assisting long-time residents in rebuilding homes that have spent decades in dilapidated disservice to encouraging the passion for cultural preservation, all in unison with the power of the arts.

The Freedman Arts District is more than boundaries on a map. It's a growing organization dedicated to creating vibrant public spaces integrated with natural amenities, resulting in improved quality of life for long-time residents, expanding arts education, and reminding us all that art is as essential and nourishing as our tides.

Cherimie Weatherford is a long-time real estate broker, small business owner, wife and mom in beautiful Beaufort and the Town of Port Royal. Now she is the Director of Operations and Programs for the Freedman Arts District.

“It

was nice to be the student relaxing, not knowing it was an art form in itself. For years, my days have lacked the reprieve of beginners bliss. For now, my only responsibility was to listen, learn, and let the dust wipe away from the creative corner of my brain.”

CHERIMIE CRANE WEATHERFORD,

on rediscovering her creative side through a watercolor workshop and embracing the Freedman Arts District's vibrant community

Responsibly regulating SC’s energy future includes protecting public

The CEOs of Dominion, Santee Cooper, and Duke Energy want South Carolina to abandon very important elements of the system of utility regulation established after the V.C. Summer collapse.

They spoke on Aug. 22 at the first meeting of the Senate Special Committee on South Carolina’s Energy Future, a committee charged with developing a bill to address the state’s energy needs.

No one denies that South Carolina is growing and needs energy to sustain that growth.

However, our energy utilities enjoy a monopoly. The state guarantees not only that they can sell their product but that they can do so at a reasonable profit.

In return, it is the legal and ethical responsibility of the state to protect the public interest, which includes economic development but also the concerns of captive ratepayers and of those who

Aargue for the protection of the environment. Sen. Shane Massey, co-chair of the committee, made it clear that he understands this. We hope other committee members do as well.

Utilities would like us to forget the past. However, as William Faulkner observed, the past is not dead, it’s not even past.

We are still paying the heavy cost of a history of weaker utility oversight that was heavily reliant on personal relationships. Before reforms following the V.C. Summer project collapse, legislators on the Public Utilities Review Committee (PURC) publicly expressed

great confidence in Kevin Marsh, SCANA CEO, and others on his team.

They did not deserve that trust and were later found guilty of federal crimes in their conduct of the project.

We should not have needed this brutal example to prove the inadequacy of this approach, but we got it.

Personal trust was and is no way to run a responsible regulatory system.

The utilities are now seeking to replace effective protections enacted after V.C. Summer with a weak regulatory regime and, again, a lot of personal trust.

At the committee meeting last week, the only assurance that we were offered in case of the failure of a project under a gutted regulatory system was that Dominion SC CEO Keller Kissam would resign and return to his family home on Halfway Swamp.

Most of the people of our state would find that promise irrelevant. His resignation would do nothing to

compensate the public for poor performance or high rates.

We must have a regulatory system that is impersonal, evidence-based, and fair to all.

A return to provisions like those of the Base Load Review Act (BLRA) would not achieve this. It is undoubtedly true that reducing risk for lenders and utilities by again transferring financial risk to ratepayers would lead to lower interest rates.

But those risks are real (lenders research their risks thoroughly) and ratepayers should not be required to bear them, as the BLRA has made them do in the case of V.C. Summer.

Those who get the profits must bear the risk. If they don’t, the moral hazard to flout those risks is high, as we have discovered through bitter experience.

Furthermore, the role and power of the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) and the Public Service Commission

(PSC) must not be compromised.

As ORS staff have often noted, their current mission is not one-sided. It is to fulfill “the concerns of the using and consuming public with respect to public utility services, regardless of the class of customer, and preservation of continued investment in and maintenance of utility facilities so as to provide reliable and high-quality utility services.”

Asking them to return to the role of “protecting the fiscal integrity of utilities” asks for a return to impossibly conflicting demands.

Weakening the current role of the PSC should also be off the table. Their current mission requires that they consider all sides as they “regulate just and reasonable rates and service of public utilities in the state of South Carolina” through an impartial and thorough quasi-judicial process.

That is as it should be.

In coming weeks, the

Senate committee will hear from a wide range of interests. They may decide to recommend adjustments to existing law. Any such changes should be minor. We ask that the Senate committee develop a bill that will continue our current evidence-based regulatory system that so wisely fosters development of a sound energy industry in South Carolina while protecting users from the potential abuses of a monopoly system.

Lynn Shuler Teague was born in Orangeburg, grew up in Columbia, and moved to New Mexico in 1968. She is a professional archaeologist and was on the faculty of the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona for many years. She and her husband returned to South Carolina when they retired. Since 2012, she has served as a vice president of the League of Women Voters of S.C. and volunteer League lobbyist at the Statehouse, working especially on the voting and election issues central for the League. She has directed the League’s work on redistricting since 2017.

Investing our abilities into God’s kingdom

s a freelance faith columnist and Christian author, I’m honored to have the opportunity to provide thoughts and ideas to relay to others. I’m sure all Bible teachers and pastors feel they are God’s messengers. What I do is nothing more special than how millions of other Christians serve Him, and I humbly acknowledge that most are more talented and effective. God’s people are important pieces of a large puzzle, stones in His wall, and voices among many who represent the one who created everything and knows everything. Writing is one of my callings, yet my personal testimony includes that I did not always pursue this path. God truly works in mysterious ways. Songwriting came to me through a spiritual experience when I was a young man. Then over time, I began to write articles, Bible studies, sermons, and eventually newspaper and magazine contributions. I’m intentionally making a long story

short, nevertheless. Writing is the first thing I think about when I awaken and in the evenings I have a pad and pen on the table next to my recliner to scribble down thoughts that often come to me. I share my journey about how the Lord is graciously using me, to ask if you have found your spiritual talent and if so are you are accomplishing and multiplying it? Every Christian has been given a carefully designed calling for the purpose of bringing honor and glory to God. If you are not sure what it is, I encourage you to read what Jesus said in Matthew

Chapter 7:7 about asking, seeking, and knocking until you know that you know.

Some have been rebellious against God about their gifts because of numerous excuses, and if we are focused more on accomplishing our will than His desires the Bible declares He is not pleased with our disobedience. Let’s look at an interesting passage found in Matthew Chapter 25 where Jesus is teaching the parable of the talents. In our study today I’m referring to talents as a gifted ability to serve the Lord in a special way, and in this story, a talent is an ancient unit of currency, worth about 6 000 denarius. I believe it’s acceptable to say that both can be used to make our point about personal obedience and accountability.

Historians say that one denarius was the average wage for a day’s labor, and a talent was worth 20 years of labor which is incredibly valuable. The story is about a wealthy man who was planning

to travel to a distant land and told his servants to watch over his finances while was gone. According to each man’s ability, one servant was given five talents, to another he gave two talents, and to the last one, he gave one.

The servant with the five talents invested them and doubled their value. The man with two talents also doubled the amount, but the one who was given one talent became afraid that he would lose it, so he dug a hole in the ground and hid it. After a while the master returned and the first servant showed where he had invested the five talents and now had 10; the one with two talents now had four. The master was very pleased with them both and said this was excellent. And since they were faithful in this assignment, he said to rejoice as he was going to make them ruler over many things.

When the last servant stepped forward, he said he knew his lord was shrewd and serious about

business affairs, so being afraid he buried the talent to keep it safe and then handed it to him. The master was angry and called him lazy and wicked for not at least investing the money where it could gain interest. The master took the talent and gave it to the one who had 10, and ordered this person to be cast into outer darkness where there is pain and suffering.

Do we recognize what Jesus was saying? If you are discouraged and have been neglecting your calling, God wants to help you accomplish what He has called you to do. Pray and fast until He reveals divine appointments and provides the necessary anointing and favor. Read I Peter 2:5, and rejoice that God is shaping you into one of His precious living stones. We know that ships are safe in the harbor, but this is not why ships were made.

Billy Holland is a licensed and ordained minister, author, and chaplain. Watch his music video, “Refuge” at billyhollandministries.com.

CHERIMIE CRANE WEATHERFORD

LYNN TEAGUE

BILLY HOLLAND

NMRTC Beaufort Naval Hospital Tour

resources

VA debt management continued, Part 4

This is the culmination of a series of four articles on managing debt to the VA. It aims to equip you with more knowledge, inspire veterans' family members, friends, and coworkers to advocate for their veterans, and provide VSO contact information. Read more than what is in these Articles. These four articles could not cover everything military members, veterans, veterans’ family members, Veterans Service Officers, VA-accredited claims agents, VA-accredited attorneys, and others need to know about this complex subject.

For more information on “Managing Debt to the VA,” reach out to the VA and your local VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO), explore the resources at https://bit. ly/46ASJxB, and refer to the VA and The Island News web pages in this article and the last three articles.

Question 8

What should veterans do if they cannot pay all or part of a VA debt?

Veterans should contact the VA within the specified time frame mentioned in their first debt letter. By seeking assistance within the given time, veterans can prevent late fees, interest, or other collection actions For VA benefit debt: Veterans can call the VA Debt Management Center at 800-827-0648 (or 1-612-7136415 from overseas), Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. They can also contact the VA online through Ask VA at https://www.va.gov/contact-us/. If you are a veteran, you can request help with some VA benefit debts online at https://bit.ly/3WPhDpX.

For VA health care copay debt: Call our Health Resource Center at 866-4001238, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you receive monthly VA benefit payments, the VA will keep all or part of them unless they approve another repayment or relief option.

If the VA referred your debt to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, call the number on your letter immediately.

Question 9

What debt repayment and relief options does the VA offer?

The VA offers four repayment or relief options for benefit-related VA debt:

• Monthly offsets: If the veteran gets VA benefit payments, the VA may keep (or “offset”) part or all of each payment to pay down the veteran’s debt. This is how the VA collects veteran debt unless they approve another option. Repayment plan: If veterans cannot pay their full debt balance now, they can ask to make smaller monthly payments.

• Compromise offer: If veterans do not get monthly benefit payments and can’t pay monthly, they can offer a lesser one-time lump sum amount as full payment. If

the VA accepts the veteran’s request, the veteran must pay the one-time amount within 30 days.

• Waiver: If even smaller monthly offsets or payments would cause the veteran financial hardship, the veteran can ask the VA to forgive part or all of a debt.

Learn more about waivers at https://bit.ly/3AfQaoI. Read about financial hardship assistance at https://bit.ly/3AfQaoI.

You can find the answers to the following and other additional questions at https://bit.ly/46ASJxB.

If a veteran cannot repay his or her full debt balance, even overtime, what can he or she do?

What happens after a veteran requests help with VA debt?

What should a veteran do if he or she gets a collection call or letter about VA debt?

• What happens if a veteran does not pay or request help within the time limit?

What happens if the VA refers my debt to the US Treasury?

Why would a veteran’s social security benefits be kept to pay his or her VA debt?

What should veterans do if they get a letter about suspended pension debt?

How does your reason for withdrawing from a class affect your VA debt?

What did the VA do for veterans between April 6 2020 and September 30, 2021, debt relief due to COVID-19, and what should veterans know about what the VA is doing now?

Do not despair

The VA and VSOs are there for veterans and their families to

help them manage VA debt. VSO services and VA advice are free.

Consider what the SC Oconee County Director of Veteran Affairs, Jerry Dyar told this columnist last week: “VA Service Offices around the state should be able to assist their local veterans/survivors with Debt Management issues. In some instances, the debt can be waived entirely. I have been able to help a good number of our clients get those debts waived entirely. Getting an indebtedness waived is possible if the veteran can show the VA’s Debt Management Center (DMC) that paying the debt back would cause a financial hardship plus, the DMC will have to reasonably conclude that the veteran has NOT been willful in creating the debt. Getting total relief from the debt is a doable process in many cases.”

Help from family, friends Family members and friends need to help veterans and surviving spouses. As Jerry Dyar told me last week, “These … articles are helpful, and the VA web pages are very detailed and helpful, but many elderly and disabled veterans and surviving spouses cannot navigate the VA Debt Management and Relief processes.”

VA VSO search

Veterans can find and appoint a VA-accredited representative (VSO, Attorney, Agent) online at https://bit.ly/3eXpwpO. Veterans can find accredited representatives by using the VA Accreditations search webpage at https://bit. ly/3QnCk5M. Veterans can also

search for representatives at VA regional offices at https://bit. ly/3TahNn1

SC & GA State/County VSOs Veterans can contact their state Department of Veteran Affairs to find a county or area VSO. The S.C. Department of Veteran Affairs webpage is https://scdva.sc.gov. There is a County Veterans Service Office in each county of S.C. Find S.C. County VSOs at https://bit. ly/3qbLVSL. Find Georgia VSOs at https://bit.ly/44KMVA7

The bottom line Some veterans do not own or have access to a computer or phone. Some are computer illiterate. Some have cognitive impairments. And some are homeless. Therefore, veterans, especially elderly and disabled veterans, rely on their family members, friends, and co-workers, Veterans Service Organizations, VSOs, the VA, the States, and others to step up and: Check on their veterans. Get their veterans to contact a VSO for help. Take them to the VSO office. Make phone calls for them. Notify the VA if the veteran needs help. Get veterans registered for VA healthcare.

Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net

LARRY DANDRIDGE

On August 12th, 2024, Col. Fred Glencamp of Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island visited Navy Medicine Readiness and Training command (NMRTC), Naval Hospital Beaufort. He was guided around the hospital by Capt. Tracy Isaac, Capt. Cecilia Brown, and Command Master Chief Joesph Matthews. The leaders also sat down to discuss the

that NMRTC Beaufort offers to support the Making of Marines mission at MCRD Parris Island. Lindsay Schreiber/Naval Hospital Beaufort

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