December 24 edition

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SPORTS: 5 county varsity basketball programs in quarantine. PAGE A8

DECEMBER 24–30, 2020 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM

COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY

Former Burton firefighter arrested in Georgia, released on bond Thomsen was wanted on charges for soliciting sex from a minor The scarred remains of this oak tree on the corner of Ribaut and Stuart streets is evidence Dominion Energy tree-cutting crews were in town over the weekend, beginning Friday. Photo by Lolita Huckaby.

By Mindy Lucas A former area firefighter wanted on charges of soliciting sex from a 13-year-old girl has been arrested and released on bond. Brandon Thomsen, 46, was arrested on Thursday, Dec. 17, by authorities in Georgia and brought back to Beaufort on Sunday, Dec. 20, where

he was taken to the Beaufort Detention Center, Beaufort Police Department spokesman Capt. George Erdel said. The department Brandon Thomsen had learned of Thomsen’s presence at a medical facility in Georgia on Dec. 6 after multiple law enforcement agencies began looking for him earlier in the month. Why Thomsen was at the facility

or what he was being treated for has not been released due to patient privacy concerns, authorities have said. According to his Columbia attorney Jack Swerling, Thomsen did not fight extradition, a statement issued by the police department. Swerling is a prominent and longtime criminal defense lawyer. This past week, the Burton Fire District announced that Thomsen was no longer employed by the district. The announcement followed another earlier in the month that he

had been placed on “immediate suspension” by the district after it was notified that warrants had been taken out for his arrest. Thomsen was booked on charges of one count of criminal solicitation of a minor and one count of disseminating obscene material to a person under 18, and was released on Monday on a bond totaling $50,000, according to Beaufort County court records. A court date had not been set as of press time.

Residents treed-off over tree pruning Arborist says ‘butchered’ trees remain healthy By Mike McCombs Dominion Energy has had crews trimming and removing trees within the City of Beaufort since Friday, and despite the fact residents in the affected areas were notified there would be pruning, Mayor Stephen Murray and the city have heard complaints. It has been a number of years since the last trimming around Beaufort. Last time, it was done by S.C. Electric and Gas, the predecessor to Dominion. “They are supposed to provide notice and they did,” Murray said. “They sent out postcards. I know I got one in my box.” Murray said, aside from some complaints about Palmetto trees being removed, the biggest complaints have been simply how the trees were cut – or butchered, as those complaining might say. Since Friday, the mayor has met with the tree crews and Dominion’s forester Will Epting, as well as the city attorney and several other city officials Murray said the city has dusted off its 1997 tree-trimming agreement with SCE&G (updated in 2010), which is still binding. And, Murray said, Beaufort has hired Michael Murphy of Preservation Tree Care to be the city’s arborist on contract Together, he said, they’ll be

Beaufort Memorial’s Director of Safety and Security Doug Rhodin, left, receives his COVID-19 vaccination from nurse practitioner Jaime Cuff on Monday morning at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Photo by Mindy Lucas.

Help is here at last ‘Mission-critical’ front-line workers at Beaufort Memorial receive COVID-19 vaccination

By Mindy Lucas Beaufort Memorial’s Director of Safety and Security Doug Rhodin was among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at the hospital on Monday. As Rhodin rolled up his sleeve, he joked with nurse practitioner Jaime Cuff who was administering the vaccination. “I’m ready,” he said after she was done to the laughter of those in the room, saying later he didn’t feel a thing.

SEE TREES PAGE A5

The hospital began the process of inoculating staff and medical workers at its on-campus vaccine clinic early Monday morning after receiving its first shipment on Sunday. The shipment contained 300 doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccination – enough for 300 employees to receive their first dose. In its regular statewide media teleconference on Friday, Dec. 18, officials with the

South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control (DHEC) said South Carolina was expected to receive nearly 43,000 doses of the vaccine in a matter of just days. Front-line medical workers like those at Beaufort Memorial and long-term care INSIDE Governor tests positive for COVID-19, A5 PLUS COVID-19 update, A5

SEE VACCINE PAGE A6

Beaufort Law Enforcement Center named after Chief Clancy

The Beaufort City Council flanks Lisa Clancy at a rededication Monday of the building the City of Beaufort’s Police Department is housed in as the Matthew J. Clancy Law Enforcement Center. Pictured, from left, are Councilman Mitch Mitchell, Councilman Neil Lipsitz, Lisa Clancy, Mayor Stephen Murray and Councilman Phil Cromer. Photo by the City of Beaufort.

From staff reports The City of Beaufort’s Police Department is now housed in the Matthew J. Clancy Law Enforcement Center. The building was named in honor of Beaufort’s former chief, Matthew Clancy, who died in July, during a Special Meeting of City Council on Monday. The ceremony was held on the steps of the building.

Chief Clancy’s widow, Lisa, accepted the proclamation during the ceremony. Besides Beaufort police officers, officers from the Town of Port Royal, Town of Bluffton, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office gathered to commemorate Chief Clancy. Chief Clancy became Beaufort police chief in 2009, and oversaw the move of the Police Department headquarters from Ribaut Road to the

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MILITARY

INSIDE

A small group of volunteers distributed 15,651 wreaths during Wreaths Across America.

McNeal-Smith brings martial arts passion to Parris Island’s Drill Field.

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Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–6 Business A6 Health A7 Sports A8–9 Education A9

Voices Local Military Legals Directory Classifieds

complex on Boundary Street. “From this center, Chief Clancy built a department that is known nationwide for kindness, diversity, inclusion, equity and community connections,” the proclamation honoring Chief Clancy said. In remarks during the ceremony, Mayor Stephen Murray said of the

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