NEWS: City mask ordinance extended through April 9. PAGE A3
FEBRUARY 18–24, 2021
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
3 candidates vie for seat on Beaufort City Council Special election to be held March 2 By Mindy Lucas Who will fill an open seat on Beaufort’s City Council? That question will be answered by Beaufort voters in an upcoming special election set
for Tuesday, March 2. Three candidates – Mike McFee, Fred White and Brantley Wilson – are running for the seat, vacated by Stephen Murray when he was elected mayor in November. In that election, six candidates ran for two seats ultimately claimed by newcomers Mitch Mitchell and Neil
Lipsitz. McFee, who ran for re-election, lost by less than 1 percentage point. Only registered voters who live within city limits may participate in the municipal special election. Those wanting to vote early can do so by in-person absentee ballot, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, through March 1, at
the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections office at 15 John Galt Road. Below is a closer look at each of the candidates. The winning candidate will be sworn in on March 9. The seat’s term will expire in December of 2022.
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Attendees at the 2015 Air Show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort take in the U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy on the tarmac. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
2021 MCAS Beaufort Air Show canceled Exhibition usually draws close to 100,000 spectators
It was important to do, district officials say, since many children, whether there’s a pandemic on or not, rely on meals provided through the National School Lunch Program. A federally assisted meal program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National School Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to school
By Mike McCombs Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort announced Friday in a news release that the 2021 Air Show, scheduled for April 24 and 25, has been canceled. The show was canceled for the second time since 2013 in order to protect the health of service members, their families and the members of the community, according to the release. “The MCAS Beaufort Air show is a cherished event that allows the Air Station the opportunity to say thank you to our neighbors who support the men and women serving this nation. It is a difficult decision for me to cancel such a monumental event, but given the current COVID-19 environment it must be done,” MCAS Beaufort Commanding Officer Col. Karl Arbogast said in the release. Any tickets purchased for premium seating will be refunded. Just three weeks ago, The Island News reported ( https://yourislandnews. com/cleared-for-take-off/) that despite increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in Beaufort County and across the country, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort planned to go ahead with the air show. “MCAS Beaufort leadership takes COVID-19 seriously, and (will) meticulously implement CDC recommended guidelines and local medical experts’ recommendations to combat this virus,” read an email from Kimberly Fleming, Deputy Director, Operations, Plans, and External Affairs. “Throughout this pandemic, we have remained operational to complete our mission, as the need to defend our country is unceasing. We’ve found that COVID-19 mitigation measures are effective when strictly followed and we hope to continue our tradition of hosting our Air Show for the Beaufort community, safely,” the email stated. Fleming did make it clear, however, that the air station was also reserving the right to cancel the event, if needed.
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Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito, center, S.C. Department of Natural Resources archaeologist Sean Taylor, right, and Beaufort County Councilwoman Alice Howard cut the ribbon to officially open the Fort Fredrick park Friday at the site of the old ruins near the U.S. Naval Hospital. At far left are Port Royal Town Councilman Darryl Owens and former mayor Sam Murray. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve now open to the public By Mindy Lucas About 50 people gathered on a cold and foggy morning recently for a ribbon cutting and grand opening for Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve in Port Royal. The six-acre site, which includes a park and remains of a Colonial-era tabby fort, provides grand sweeping views of the Beaufort River. Built by the British in the early 1700s, the ruins are thought to be part of the oldest surviving tabby
fort in South Carolina. Though it never saw any action, the Online Extra small fort played an Watch a important role in 25-minute documentary on the early planning the history of of the defense of Fort Frederick Beaufort, considat www. ered the Southern dnr.sc.gov/ frontier of British heritage/ ftfredrick/ North America. videos.html However, its real claim to fame may arguably be for an event that happened more than
a hundred years later, during some of the most pivotal years in American history. On Jan. 1, 1863, the Union-occupied site became the setting for a New Year’s Day celebration that included a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. Thousands poured in to attend the celebration – including many formerly enslaved African Americans, or freed men, and newly recruited soldiers
IF YOU GO Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve is at 601 Old Fort Road, in Port Royal. The park and preserve is open from dawn to dusk Monday through Sunday.
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In addition to the historic tabby ruins, the park/preserve features a picnic pavilion with picnic tables available on a first-come first-serve basis and several interpretive panels where visitors can read more about the history of the area.
‘COVID or no COVID,’ Beaufort County School District’s free school meal program goes on
By Mindy Lucas Last spring, when S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster gave the order to close all South Carolina schools due to COVID-19, Beaufort County School District’s food service staff, without having to be asked, went in to work that very same day. It was a Sunday and normally employees don’t come in until Monday to prepare meals. But these “lunchroom ladies” as they are sometimes lovingly called,
felt compelled to make sure school children across Beaufort County would still have a meal come Monday. “They call them their babies,” said Larry Wilson, District Manager for Sodexo’s On-Site Service Solutions team, which provides food services to the district. As Wilson explains, it took a little creative thinking and a whole lot of people willing to regroup to make it happen, but the day after
FOR MORE INFORMATION If you or someone you know would like information on the Summer Meal Program, call the school district at (843) 322-0800. Information is also available online at www.beaufortschools.net.
the shutdown the district was able to open 12 distribution sites at schools across the county. By weeks end, it was utilizing school buses to deliver meals to the sites.
EDUCATION
MILITARY
INSIDE
The future is now: USC Beaufort goes high tech for history.
See Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Immanuel Jarrett from Beaufort aboard the USS Freedom in Panama.
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