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DECEMBER 30, 2021–JANUARY 5, 2022
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
PRESORTED PERMIT NO. 97 BEAUFORT, SC 29902
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
MIKE MCCOMBS
Dolly’s Imagination Library comes to Beaufort
I
f you’re paying attention, it’s really hard not to like Dolly Parton these days. In fact, it’s fair to say a lot of people would tell you that if you don’t like Dolly, it’s a “you” problem, not a “Dolly” problem. Just over the past year or so, Parton has made news for two really good deeds she’s done. In late 2020, Parton made a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University’s medical school for research that resulted in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, the most effective of the COVID vaccines so far. And in August, her Dollywood Foundation donated $700,000 to residents of areas of Middle Tennessee impacted by heavy flooding. “I’m kind of addicted to the feeling of giving,” Parton told People magazine, which named her one of their People of the Year for 2021 (unlike Time magazine, which chose Elon Musk for its “Man of the Year”). “Knowing that I’m doing something good for someone else.” If these don’t seem like much, a Google search should reveal a list of Parton’s good deeds of the past 20 years or so on a list compiled and updated by Billboard magazine. But the cherry on top of Parton’s charity sundae, and the most personal endeavor for her, is her Imagination Library. And according to an email from the Beaufort County Public Library earlier this month, Beaufort County children, until now unable to benefit from Parton’s gift, are finally eligible to participate. Parton, inspired and saddened by her own father’s inability to read, in 1995 started the Imagination Library for the children in her home county of Sevier in Tennessee. What started as a local outreach is just now beginning to reach around the world. The effort now spans five countries – the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia – and distributes more than a million books each month. The premise is simple. With the help of local sponsors, Parton’s Imagination Library delivers a book by mail every month to eligible children from birth until they reach the age of 5. As of Tuesday night, there were 1,923,253 children registered in the program. And 170,824,458 books have been delivered. Bluffton’s LowCounty Community Church signed on as Imagination Library’s local partner for all of Beaufort County. So far, there are 1,360 children covered by this partner.
SEE MCCOMBS PAGE A2
Participants hit the water in a previous incarnation of the Pelican Plunge at Hunting Island. File photo.
It’s time to take the plunge
12th annual Pelican Plunge set for Saturday at Hunting Island From staff reports On New Year’s Day 2020, more than 450 participants hit the water at Lighthouse Beach at Hunting Island State Park in the 11th annual Pelican Plunge, raising more than $3,000 for the Friends of Hunting Island.
Friends of Hunting Island didn’t have a chance to top those numbers last New Year’s, as the event was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But given the mild weather this year, the nonprofit has another chance Saturday when the
12th annual Pelican Plunge goes down on Hunting Island. Those who want to join their friends and neighbors and plunge into the refreshing waters of the Atlantic on New Year’s Day should visit https://www. friendsofhuntingisland.org/peli-
can or register from 11:30 a.m. to noon on the day of the event at the Lighthouse Shelter. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Park entry fee is not included in the registration fee,
SEE PLUNGE PAGE A3
Lecture series at USCB to dive into Beaufort history
From staff reports The Historic Beaufort Foundation and the USC Beaufort Center for the Arts are presenting a fivepart lecture series on the history of the Old Beaufort District from settlement to the 20th century. The series, to be held at the USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret Street, will begin at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 13, and will continue every Thursday evening through Feb. 10. This rare opportunity to experience Beaufort’s history as presented by three of South Carolina’s leading historians – Lawrence
S. Rowland, Stephen R. Wise and John M. McCardell, Jr. – will bring to life the Beaufort District and its developmental role in the region, the state and the nation. Tickets may be purchased by individual lecture or 5-part series: • Thursday, Jan. 13 – Exploration, Settlement & Revolution, 1521-1782 – Presented by Rowland and Wise. • Thursday, Jan. 20 – “King Cotton,” “Calculating the Value of the Union,” and the Mindset of Beaufort, 17831860 – Presented by McCardell,
Jr. and Rowland. • Thursday, Jan. 27 – The War of the Rebellion & the Rehearsal for Reconstruction, 18601868 – Presented by Wise. • Thursday, Feb. 3 – Reconstruction, Recovery & Redemption, 1868-1913 – Presented by Rowland. • Thursday, Feb. 10 – The Twentieth Century, 1910-1970 – Presented by Rowland and Wise. For more information on the lecture series and to purchase tickets, please visit www.historicbeaufort. org.
NEWS
MILITARY
INSIDE
Burton Fire District promotes 2 as lead Investigator retires.
Larry Dandridge discusses the definition of Marine and Army Infantry in Vietnam and Afghanistan and lessons for all.
PAGE A4
PAGE A11
Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–5 Health A6–7 Sports A8 Faith A9 Voices A10
Military Directory Classifieds Games Cartoon Legals
About the speakers
John McCardell, Jr., Ph.D. McCardell, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of Sewanee, The University of the South and retired Professor of History, is a distinguished historian and respected national leader in liberal arts education. John A scholar of the McCardell, American South Jr., Ph.D. and a prolific writer,
A11 A12 A13 A13 A13 B1–B14
SEE LECTURE PAGE A4