The research facility that was forced into the spotlight in November 2024 after 43 monkeys escaped from the Yemassee location is now facing federal scrutiny for not following animal welfare laws regarding a separate November incident that resulted in the death of 22 monkeys.
Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center on Castle Hall Road in Yemassee has been cited with a “critical” violation by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service after 22 monkeys died due to faulty heating units in the “outdoor housing facilities” on Nov. 22, 2024
The inspection report, which was released publicly almost two months after the incident was inspected, states that a night husbandry team member was doing evening rounds when they saw many primates down in a field cage. The employee acted quickly, according to the report, and was able to save 32 of the affected 54 mon-
Bands, Brews & BBQ is back
Popular Port Royal festival makes its return
after
a year off, change in leadership
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
After skipping a year for a transition in leadership, Bands, Brews & BBQ makes it’s return to downtown Port Royal on Valentine’s Day weekend.
The event, for years a fundraiser for the Friends of Caroline Hospice (FOCH), is now being put on by the nonprofit Zonta Club of Beaufort.
According to Marie Larson, President of the Zonta Club, the event changed hands in October or November of 2023
Larson said that LaNelle Fabian, the Director of Community Engagement with FOCH told her, “The Board (of Directors) had decided
they didn’t want to do it anymore.
She said she had to let it go.”
Zonta, which raises money for scholarships and to assist other nonprofits, made the decision to cancel the 2024 event in order to gather resources to have the best chance to
put on a successful event in 2025
Initially, Zonta was partnered with HELP of Beaufort, but HELP backed out, and Zonta leaders made the decision to go ahead.
“Toward the end of January, they decided they no longer wanted to participate in this,” Larson said. “Instead of postponing it, we decided to go forward.”
Despite the hiccups, Larson is confident the event will be as good as ever.
Larson said there are 16 cook teams registered for the S.C. Barbecue Association-sanctioned event,
SEE BANDS PAGE A5
keys, but 22 died. Necropsy and histopathology findings on the deceased primates showed that the animals likely died from exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) gas.
The USDA’s report says that “shelters provided with auxiliary heating that are unable to safely provide warmth can result in adverse health impacts, stress and extreme discomfort of the nonhuman primates housed therein.”
The report continues to say that the shelter must provide heat to
County Council votes to release emails to Ethics Commission
By Delayna Earley The Island News
Continuing with County Council’s promise for transparency going forward following a change in leadership, Council made the decision to unanimously vote to cooperate with a subpoena from the South Carolina Ethics Commission.
Following the executive session during their regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 13, Councilman David Bartholomew made a motion to waive attorney-client privilege to release emails between council members, county administration and staff members that were sent between June 2021 and August 2023 pertaining to legal advice that was received from county attorneys as well as outside council.
Council members unanimously voted to pass the motion.
Current Council Chair Alice Howard, after she was voted into the role 6-5 over former Chair Joe Passiment in January, told The Island News that the Council is committed to cooperating and maintaining transparency going forward in hopes of earning back and keeping the trust of Beaufort County constituents. County spokesperson Hannah Nichols said that initially the county opted to retain its attorney-client privilege as it related to matters that were under investigation, but when the second request was made, administration brought the subpoena to council to allow them to decide if they wanted to waive privilege or not.
While the details of the subpoena were not disclosed, there have been at least nine separate complaints filed alleging unethical behavior by Beaufort County employees since early 2023
So far, only one, former Beaufort Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Loper, has been cited for an ethics violation.
In total, there were three
SEE ETHICS PAGE A7
An image of research monkeys taken from the Alpha Genesis Facebook page.
Photo from the Alpha Genesis Facebook page
Chip Peterson, center right, of Riverside Smoke BBQ from North Augusta, helps a woman with her barbecue sauce during the 2023 Bands, Brews and BBQ event in Port Royal as John Johnson, also of Riverside Smoke BBQ looks on. Bob Sofaly/File/The Island News
LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS
Habersham’s Ron
snapped this photo of a Confederate rose. For those who don’t know about the Confederate rose, they grow in South Carolina, and according to legend, when a Confederate soldier fell in battle near one of these white roses, the flowers turned pink, then red, and then finally dropped off when the soldier died. 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 JACK MCNAMARA
American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Beaufort’s Jack McNamara, 88, who joined the U.S. Navy in New York City in 1955
Jack McNamara
After Boot Camp in Bainbridge, Md., he trained as a Sonarman at the Fleet Sonar School in Key West. He was then assigned to USS Damato (DD-871) homeported in Norfolk. He made
ON
THIS DATE
February 10
1863: In a letter bearing this date, President Abraham Lincoln authorizes that part of a 64-acre tract known as Polly’s Grove Plantation be used for Beaufort National Cemetery. The land had been acquired by U.S. Army Gen. David Hunter for $75 at an 1863 tax sale of properties confiscated by the federal government. After the Civil War, 29 acres of the parcel was retained for the cemetery.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Thank you to the people of Beaufort
The overwhelming generosity of the people of Beaufort helped provide joy to children in need through Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts this season. Across the Unites States, the Samaritan's Purse project collected 10 5 million shoebox gifts in 2024. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2024, the ministry is now sending over 11 9 million shoebox gifts to children worldwide.
Shoebox packers brought joy and hope to children around the world through fun, full, personalized gifts. For many children, this is the first gift they have ever received. Each shoebox gift is a tangible expression of God’s love, given to children in need around
– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207 For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
a number of deployments to the Caribbean, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, including the eastern Mediterranean during the Israeli-Egypt war in 1956 and off Lebanon during the crisis in 1958. He next served on USS Norfolk (DL-1), also based in Norfolk. He separated in 1959 as a Third Class Petty Officer and returned to Queens, N.Y., where he worked as a salesman in the garment industry for 35 years. He moved to Beaufort County in 2006
February 11
1926: James Edwin McTeer is appointed sheriff of Beaufort County after the death of his father, also James Edwin McTeer, before his term in office expires. The younger McTeer would serve as sheriff until his retirement in 1963 McTeer was widely known as a root doctor and an expert on witchcraft, according to the Beaufort Gazette.
– Compiled by Mike McCombs
the world. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 232 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.
Across the region, shoebox packers often shop for deals on shoebox items throughout the year, and many serve at a deeper level by becoming a year-round volunteer. Information about ways area participants can get involved year-round can also be found at samaritanspurse.org/occ.
Although local Beaufort drop-off locations for shoebox gifts are closed until Nov. 17 through Nov. 24 2025, anyone can still be a part of this life-changing project by conveniently packing a shoebox gift online in just a few simple clicks at samaritanspurse.org/ buildonline.
These simple gifts, packed with love,
PAL PETS OF THE WEEK
Dog of the Week
Cassie is a calm, affectionate hound mix who takes a little time to warm up. But once she does, she's a loyal, loving companion. She's curious by nature and loves to sniff everything around her, taking in the world at her own pace. Cassie would thrive in a peaceful home where she can enjoy quiet moments with you and occasional bursts of playful energy. She is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.
green eyes.
remind children around the world that they are loved and not forgotten.
– GreenLee Smith, Samaritan’s Purse
Thank you for Dandridge’s articles
Thanks for publishing the recent articles about veterans’ benefits from Larry Dandridge. I found them informative and very helpful. These articles have helped me, and I’m sure other veterans, better understand their benefits. We have thousands of vets and their families in the Lowcountry that can use this information. Your continued support to all Veterans is appreciated.
– Rick McNamara, Sgt., U.S. Army, retired
She’s short in stature and sweet with just the right amount of spunk. Sol is a woman who knows
what she wants, and as such, she tends to be a bit assertive with other cats. She wants to be an important part of your world and would love to cuddle up next to you at the end of the day. She is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.
For more info on Cassie, Sol or any of our other pets, call PAL at 843-645-1725 or email Info@ PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.
– Compiled by Lindsay Perry
Callari
Cat of the Week Sol is a charming, 3-year-old girl with captivating,
Seabrook man arrested in connection with January murder
Staff reports A Seabrook man has been arrested by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) in connection with the death of a missing and endangered Dale man in January.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28 2025 investigators served 36-yearold Kevin Maurice Johnson, of Seabrook, with warrants for his arrest on the charges of murder and possession of a weapon during
the commission of a violent crime in connection with the disappearance and subsequent death of 49-year-old Darren Mulligan. Johnson was already in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center. Johnson was initially taken into custody on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, on outstanding arrest warrants and additionally charged with a drug-related offense.
According to the Detention Center’s website, Johnson remains
confined as of Tuesday, Feb. 4
Mulligan, who was wheelchair-bound, was last seen leaving the Albany Grocery Store around 1 p.m., that same Saturday. His family was concerned for his well-being due to his difficulty getting around and the amount of time he was missing.
The BCSO first asked for the public's help locating Mulligan on Thursday, Jan. 16, after he was reported missing to the
Sheriff's Office by the family on Wednesday, Jan. 15
According to the BCSO, on January 20 2025, deputies were led to a home on Gibbet Road in Bluffton, where Mulligan was found dead. Following an autopsy, the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office ruled Mulligan’s death a homicide. Through the investigation, according to the BCSO, Johnson was identified as an individual
responsible for Mulligan’s death, and arrest warrants were obtained.
The investigation into this case continues and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Corporal Petruzzi at 843255-3267. For those wishing to remain anonymous, tips can be reported to Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County via the P3 Tips app, online at www.TIPSBFT. com, or by calling 1-844-TIPSBFT (1-844-847-7238).
County presents two proposals as part of Lady’s Island Corridor Traffic Improvements
Staff reports
Beaufort County held a public meeting Thursday, Jan. 30, in the Lady’s Island Middle School Gymnasium to allow Lady’s Island residents to examine proposed designs for the Hazel Farm Road/Gay Drive (S-497), and Sunset Boulevard (S-186)/ Miller Drive West (S-187) Streetscape projects, as approved in the 2018 One Cent Sales Tax Referendum for the Lady’s Island Corridor Traffic Improvements.
The proposed designs for both projects included bicycle and pedestrian facilities and road improvements. There was no formal presentation during this meeting. Instead, the meeting was conducted as an informal drop-in. Displays depicted the proposed designs, and
representatives from Beaufort County Engineering, J. Bragg Consulting, and Davis & Floyd were available to discuss the proposed improvements, answer questions, and listen to feedback.
The Island News photographer Amber Hewitt attended the meeting and said the majority people willing to speak with her were not in favor of these projects as designed. Comments included “horrible idea,” “only cause more confusion” and “the county is forcing people out of their homes and off their land.”
One community member said that the fact the County has no plan to put a traffic light on Hazel Farm Road where they are putting the new Starbucks is going to result in “accident central.”
One community member who has lived in her home for more than 50 years and it is on the route for one of the projects. She said that they want to take part of her land and that she feels like they are building roads to get people to leave their homes, and once everybody has left, they will no longer need those roads and end up developing commercially.
The proposed design exhibits and other project information can be viewed at https://bit.ly/4aNZ0Iw through Friday, Feb. 14. Citizens can view the information and submit comments by Friday, Feb. 14
Persons requiring additional assistance due to language barriers should contact the Engineering Department at 843-255-2700
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Claudia Hahne Client Associate
To expand access to digestive health services in the region, Beaufort Memorial has added Jessica Elkins, PA-C, a board-certified physician assistant, to the gastroenterology team at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group Specialty Care.
A Beaufort native, Elkins is a graduate of the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, with a Master of Physician Assistant Studies. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, summa cum laude, from Lander University in Greenwood, S.C. At the practice, she offers general and specialized gastroenterological care to patients alongside the Lowcountry Medical Group board-certified physicians in Okatie and Beaufort.
She said it was gastroenterology’s role in connecting the human body’s immune and nervous systems which sparked her initial interest in the field. Her clinical interests include the treatment and management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and liver and gallbladder disease, as well as the prevention of gastrointestinal cancers.
Community members review boards containing renderings of the Hazel Farm Road/Gay Drive project location as Brittanee Bishop, Beaufort County Program and Finance Manager, answers questions during the Lady’s Island Community Meeting held at Ladys Island Middle School on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Traffic stop leads to another drug arrest in Port Royal
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Port Royal Police Depart-
ment arrested a 40-yearold Savannah woman and a 44-year-old Hardeeville man after stopping their vehicle near Parker’s on 12 Savannah Highway in January.
Rosalie Ann Mossholder, was charged with driving under suspension; license not suspended for driving under the influence; and the passenger, Joseph Leonard Orr, was arrested for fleeing to evade and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
During the traffic stop just after 9 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 25, officers said they smelled marijuana coming from the car. Orr attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended.
Following a search of the vehicle, officers found a half pound of marijuana and an unknown pink powder that is suspected to be fentanyl. Police also found a firearm in the vehicle.
This is the third drug-related arrest stemming from a traffic stop that the Port Royal Police have posted on their social media account since the end of December.
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.
Internet, cellular phone outages plague Beaufort area Monday
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
A number of customers across the Lowcountry experienced internet and cellular phone outages
Monday afternoon, Feb. 3
According to the DownDetector. com website that tracks cellular and internet outages, the reports of outages first spiked around 1 p.m., with Hargray’s internet service returning entirely late Monday night.
Sparklight, formerly Hargray,
posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, just before 4 p.m., that read, “South Carolina Outage Alert: A subset of customers in Beaufort, Lady's Island, Okatie, Ridgeland, Estill and a portion of Hardeeville are currently experiencing service interruptions due to a fiber cut.”
Just after 3 p.m., the City of Beaufort posted on its Facebook page, “Please be aware that internet and phone services are down at the Municipal Complex as part
of a regional outage and staff are working with utility providers to resolve the issue.”
There were updates at 5:01 p.m.
-- “We have located the fiber cut and excavated around the area. On site crews are working as quickly as possible to splice and restore services. Thank you for your continued patience as we work on resolution efforts.” — and 11:54 p.m.
— “Repairs were completed, and services have resumed. We again apologize for any inconvenience
and thank you for your ongoing patience.”
It wasn’t just internet that was down. Some cellular phone customers with Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket (AT&T) and Boost all reported service outages. Brightspeed also had increased internet outages. The outages did not affect 911 service.
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
Meeting of the Joint Council
NEWS BRIEFS
County offers free electronics recycling event Saturday
The Beaufort County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling will host two free electronics recycling events for County residents from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 8 at the following locations: River Ridge Academy, 3050 Raider Drive, Bluffton; and Beaufort County Public Works, 140 Shanklin Road, Beaufort.
Items that will be accepted for recycling include: personal computers, laptops, CRT monitors, LCD monitors, CRT televisions, non-CRT televisions, printers, hard drives, miscellaneous electronics (cell phones, tablets, and fax machines).
Items not accepted at this event include microwaves, vacuums, stereos, speakers, tuners, VCRs, DVDs, lamps, etc. These can be taken to the Convenience Centers for disposal and will not be unloaded at the event.
Residents are asked to stay in their cars during the event. Staff will unload electronics. Residential only.
Monkeys
from page A1
the primates to keep ambient temperatures above 45 degrees Fahrenheit and in “accordance with generally accepted professional and husbandry practices.”
At the time of the inspection, which was in Dec. 2024 there were more than 6,400 monkeys being housed at the facility – Crab-eating Macaque, Rhesus Macaque and Brown Capuchin. It is unclear at this time if
For residents who would like to schedule a drop off on another date, visit https://bit.ly/3CyFbYU.
If you have questions about Beaufort County recycling events, please call the Solid Waste and Recycling Office at 843-255-2736 or visit https://bit.ly/3OrvP3O.
FOHI presents ‘Conserving the Heart and Soul of the Lowcountry’
The Friends of Hunting Island are presenting “Conserving the Heart and Soul of the Lowcountry,” a conversation by The Beaufort Open Land Trust at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 9 at Shellring Ale Works in Port Royal.
Liz O’Brien, Director of Development with the Beaufort Open Land Trust, will discuss the innovative strategies, vital community partnerships and long term vision the group employs to safeguard the vanishing natural landscape before it becomes too late.
The Beaufort Open Land Trust is
a conservation leader, having protected more than 10,000 acres from development in just the past four years. Please contact FOHIConservationOutreach@gmail.com for more information and sign-up.
Moore
to speak at February
LIBPA Meeting
Beaufort County administrator
Michael Moore will be the featured speaker when the Lady’s Island Business & Professional Association meets at 8 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11 2025, at the Beaufort Realtors’ Association Headquarters at 22 Kemmerlin Lane, Lady’s Island. Please stop by for coffee and conversation concerning the community.
Coastal Discovery Museum names Warner History Educator
The Coastal Discovery Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, announced
the appointment of Isabella (Bella) Warner as its new History Educator. Warner will help lead and expand the museum’s school programs, Discovery Lecture series, and history presentations, while also assisting in the Discovery Lab.
Her background in both history and environmental studies makes her an ideal addition to the museum, Coastal Discovery Museum Director of Education Dawn Brut said in the release.
Warner earned her bachelor’s degree in history and environmental studies from Reed College in Portland, Ore. Her academic work includes a thesis on the Appalachian botanical drug trade during the Civil War.
Cities annual strategic retreat rescheduled
The City of Beaufort's annual strategic planning retreat has been rescheduled and will be held on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
An image of Alpha Genesis’ Facebook post in response to PETA’s response to USDA inspection findings against Alpha Genesis.
after
Feb. 24 to 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all days. The retreat was rescheduled due to Winter Storm Enzo. The retreat will be held at the Black County Chamber of Commerce, on the first floor at 711 Bladen Street.
The Capital Improvements Projects (CIP) quarterly work session that was originally scheduled for February 25 has been canceled and will instead be discussed during the strategic planning retreat.
Among the items to be discussed: current fiscal year budget status, status of current initiatives, a review of current capital projects, and an in-depth look at emerging capital project needs. It will also include brief presentations from some of the City’s strategic partners.
The retreat is open to the public. Public comment will be welcomed on all days during the retreat. The retreat will also be livestreamed on the City's Facebook page.
The agenda is available at https:// bit.ly/4hknf3u.
– Staff reports
PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo.
“Despite receiving $19 million in contracts from the National Institutes of Health, agencies should be prohibited from throwing taxpayer dollars at a facility with a documented history of negligence, cruelty and deceit,” said Guillermo.
In taking to their Facebook account on Monday, Feb. 3, Alpha Genesis made a statement regarding the report and PETA’s comments in response to the report.
“Alpha Genesis respects
the findings of the most recent USDA inspection report dated 12/12/2024 We do not respect the incendiary garbage put out this afternoon by PETA. In closing, PETA can again go f*** themselves,” the post, which was signed by Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard, said.
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.
Mossholder
Orr
Port Royal Police Chief Jeffrey Myers addresses council members during the Town of Port Royal/City of Beaufort Joint Council held at Port Royal Town Hall on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Open for business
The Sands Boat Landing in Port Royal is open again, as of Tuesday, Jan. 28. The boat landing, which is owned by the town of Port Royal but managed by Beaufort County, has been closed since Sept. 27, 20024, when the area was hit and the landing, as well as the Henry Robinson Boardwalk, were damaged by Tropical Storm Helene. Photo courtesy of Beaufort County
Staff reports South Carolina Department of Revenue agents arrested a Beaufort County man on Tuesday, Jan. 28 and charged him with four counts of tax evasion. Christopher Andrew Jennings, 54, of Port Royal, operated the heavy machinery and equipment rental business Easy Rentals. Between July 1 2018 and June 30 2021, Jennings reported and paid $37 533 in sales tax to the SCDOR, according to arrest warrants. The investigation found that he collected $171,947 in sales tax during the same period. As a result, he evaded approximately $134 414 in sales tax. If convicted, Jennings faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/ or a fine of $10 000, plus the cost of prosecution for each count.
The Foundation for Leadership Education (FLE) hosted the seventh annual Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards on Saturday evening, Jan. 25, at the Carolina Ballroom on Dataw Island.
The awards honor and celebrate local citizens and their lifetime contributions to the Lowcountry as well as recognized FLE’s Lighthouse Scholarship recipient and Leadership Grant awardee.
Around 250 guests attended the black-tie affair. FLE Board President Charles Tumlin welcomed guests, and Brig. Gen. George “Barney” Forsythe served as the Master of Ceremonies.
Highlights included the announcement of this year’s Lighthouse Scholarship Recipient, Miss Ava Elizabeth Rios, a senior at Bluffton High School, and Leadership Grant Awardee, The “Leader In Me” Program at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy.
Friends and family in attendance gave a standing ovation as Rob Bridgers accepted the 2025 Servant Leader Award.
J. Edward “Ed” and Andrea S. Allen were named the first of three Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awardees for inspiring and engaging others, turning ideas into impactful actions and making a lasting difference in countless lives.
Retired General Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton was the second to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his impressive military career and his unwavering dedication to tackle challenges head-on while paving the way for future generations.
The late Senator James M. Waddell Jr. was the third and final Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awardee. He left a lasting legacy of dedication, loyalty and an uncanny ability to get things done. Senator Waddell’s son and grandson accepted the award on his behalf.
The awards ceremony was followed by a festive “Cocktails and
Celebration” where guests danced to to the Stuck In Time band. The evening was made complete by guest pianist Geneva Baxley, catering by Dataw Island Club, and delicious desserts by Jordan Plair.
Visit lowcountryleaders.com for a complete list of the annual Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards’s sponsors and a full catalog of photos from the event by
Charlotte Berkeley Photography. The Foundation for Leadership Education’s (FLE) primary objectives are to support leadership education, promote leadership awareness, develop and implement leadership curriculum for high school students in Beaufort County and to maintain the Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards program.
City performs well in annual audit
Staff reports The City of Beaufort has received a clean bill of financial health from accounting firm Mauldin & Jenkins, which performs an annual financial and compliance audit for the City, according to a news release from the City.
At Work Session on Jan. 14, David Irwin, CPA, a partner at Mauldin & Jenkins, reviewed the audit with City Council. The audit was performed for the fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30 2024. The audit opinion said that the City met the
“highest level of assurance” and that all financial statements were fairly presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The audit included two compliance reports, with no weaknesses or deficiencies found, Irwin said. He commended the City of Beaufort for the continued increase in its General Fund Balance (reserves) from 2020, at $8 million, to 2024 at $14 6 million. The audit is available at https://bit.ly/4aM8EeH.
At the same meeting, Finance Director Alan Eisenman presented the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), also ending June 30 2024 This report goes above and beyond basic reporting requirements. It is submitted annually to the Government Finance Officers Association. The City was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 17th year in a row for last year’s report.
Bands from page A1
the first in this year’s series of judges barbecue competitions. Points earned at each event accumulate through the year and there’s an overall winner crowned at year’s end. On the event’s first day, from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14, the Hometown Heroes Wing Throw Down Party will be held. The wings event, according to Larson, is a
competition event featuring several dozen judges, including those from the SCBA, as well as local figures. Wings from the 16 teams will be judges and first through third place will be awarded. Then, Larson said, the cook teams will continue to work and cook all night in preparation for the SCBA competition on the second day, from 11 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15. The cook teams will submit samples of their Boston Butt resipes to the SCBA judges, and from 3 to 3:30 p.m., first through fifth place will be awarded.
Tickets will be sold at the event for samples of the wings and barbecue.
“If it wasn’t for the people that worked this event before, we would be lost,” Larson said, crediting the scores of volunteers and those at FOCH. “They’ve been so very helpful.” At the last event in 2023, vendors ran out of food on Saturday, well before the end of the event. Larson said she steps have been take to insure that doesn’t happen again this year. “We feel like we have a system in
place in our first year, we have a little better communication with our volunteers,” Larson said. “When we get low on something, we’ll be signaled, ... we’ll know when to slow down with the tickets. We don’t want what we had happen in 2023.” Larson said there will also be three food vendors not involved with the cook teams to provide fare other than wings or barbecue. There will be Piece of Yard and Abroad, which serves Jamaican cuisine; Lemons and Dough, which serves lemonade and doughnuts; and the Dog Wagon, which special-
izes in, you guessed it, hot dogs. There will be live entertainment, as well. The Marine Corps band will perform early on Friday, and Chris Jones will perform Friday night, while two bands will perform Saturday, as well.
“It’s a big effort,” Larson said. “It’s a fun event … family oriented. We hope that everybody has a great time.”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of
Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Award winners J. Edward “Ed” and Andrea S. Allen. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Berkeley Photography
Rob Bridgers, right, accepts the 2025 Servant Leader Award at the Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards ceremony on Saturday evening, Jan. 25, at the Carolina Ballroom on Dataw Island. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Berkeley Photography
Calendar ‘makes something wonderful happen’
for $2,700 to the Child Abuse Prevention Association, a third of the more than $8,000 raised from the Firefighter & Therapy Dog calendars.
Effort to
Staff reports
About a year ago, Rebecca W. Bass had an idea about how to pay tribute to some deserving heroes, while at the same time helping three important local organizations.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, members of the
Beaufort/
for
Island News
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, members of the City of Beaufort/Town of Port
Fire Department, Rita
from Alphagraphics, and Rebecca
present a check for $2,700 to the S.C. Burned Children’s Fund, a third of the more than $8,000 raised from the Firefighter & Therapy Dog calendars.
honor firefighters, therapy dogs raises money for nonprofits
said in the media release.
According to a media release from the S.C. Burned Children’s Fund, Bass, the Broker-in-Charge of SeaBass Properties, had initially approached the Beaufort/ Port Royal Fire Department to establish regular visits to the fire station by certified therapy dogs to provide comfort and joy to the firefighters. But the visits turned into something more. Inspired by the rapport
A year later, Bass had achieved her goals with the help of some friends – they had successfully honored the heroes, and during the last week in January, Beaufort County Animal Services, the Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA), and the S.C. Burned Children’s Fund each received checks for $2 700
she witnessed between the firefighters and the therapy dogs, she conceived the idea of creating a 20-month calendar featuring local firefighters and therapy dogs as models.
Bass presented the idea to Deputy Fire Chief Ross Vezin, who recognizing the potential impact of the project, enthusiastically sought and obtained approval to proceed.
“Our firefighters look forward to the therapy dogs coming to visit the firehouse each month,” Vezin
Dog heads for river after Broad River Bridge crash
The Burton Fire District responded to a motor vehicle collision just after 2:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 31, on the Broad River Bridge. Emergency crews arrived on scene to a two-vehicle collision between a passenger vehicle and a pickup truck. Initial reports indicated that a dog involved in the wreck jumped into the water from the bridge and that the driver, the dog’s owner, jumped in after it. While both wound up in the water, neither had jumped but entered from the end of the bridge after the dog ran in and his owner went after it. Beaufort County EMS and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office also responded. Beaufort Water Search and Rescue initially responded upon reports of a person jumping from the bridge into the water; however the response was canceled once the driver and dog were located. Minor injuries were reported, and traffic heading into Beaufort was delayed for approximately an hour while emergency crews cleared the scene. Photo courtesy of Burton Fire District
Bass, an experienced photography whose work has been featured in numerous publications, conducted four photo shoots at diverse locations around the Beaufort/Port Royal area and donated her photographs to this project.
Bass recruited her friend, Rita Wilson, an owner of AlphaGraphics, to provide design and printing services.
"The best decision I made was inviting Rita Wilson and her team at Alphagraphics to design
and print these calendars,” Bass said in the media release. “Not only did they do a magnificent job but Rita charged us only for the cost of the materials without any profit to her business."
Each month in the calendar showcases a beautifully composed photograph of a firefighter, a therapy dog, and a fire truck, symbolizing the strength, courage, and compassion of our community’s first responders.
Fundraising events were sponsored by several local businesses including
Shellring Ale Works, Ladys Island Feed and Seed, and Carolina Floral Design.
The project raised more than $8 000 -- after deducting material costs for printing -- which was distributed equally to Beaufort County Animal Services, CAPA, and the S.C. Burned Children's Fund.
"I have truly enjoyed working with Rebecca and Ross on this one-of-a-kind project,” Wilson said. “Three community leaders came together to make something wonderful happen!"
Mobile home fire displaces Burton family
Staff reports
Just past 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, the Burton Fire District, MCAS Fire and Emergency Services, and Beaufort County EMS responded to a reported cooking fire in the Lakeview Mobile Home Park off Joe Frazier Road.
Fire crews arrived on scene to a single wide mobile home with smoke coming from the front door. Firefighters entered the home and found flames burning on the stove and spreading up through the cabinets in the kitchen.
Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire while searching the home for
occupants but finding no one inside. Fire damages were confined to the stove and cabinets; however, there was smoke damage throughout the home. Power to the home had to be shut off.
A family of three adults and an infant were displaced. Red Cross was notified to assist. The home had smoke alarms; however, they were old and did not operate. Burton fire officials remind landlords and property owners that it is their responsibility by law to ensure that their rentals have working smoke alarms and that they are properly placed
Celebrate Mardi Gras Port Royal style
Festive parade, afterparty featuring New Orleans music, food, family fun returns
Staff reports Laissez les bon temps rouler! The second annual Krewe of Port Royal Mardi Gras is marching back into the Town of Port Royal on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025
The Town of Port Royal will be turned into a lively festival of life, culture, and community, bringing the beads, music, floats, and all the excitement of Mardi Gras — Port Royal style! Save the date and gather your krewe — the parade starts at 4 p.m., following the same route as last year. Be sure to line up along Paris
Avenue, between 16th Street (Anchor/Mariners Park) and 11th Street, to catch all the action. The parade will conclude at Shellring Ale Works, where the after-party kicks off with the band Kanola playing all your favorite New Orleans music, food
trucks, a face painter, and activities for the kids. Featuring a variety of irresistible, authentic New Orleans dishes, with classics like jambalaya, gumbo, beignets, and more, the celebration will bring your senses to life as the air fills with the enticing aromas of Cajun and Creole spices. Whether you're in a float, dance group, marching band, golf cart, or simply just love the Mardi Gras vibe, the Old Village Association wants you in the parade. Applications are open — send a direct message to the Old Village Associa-
tion’s Facebook page with your email address or visit Port Royal Town Hall to pick up your application. Spots are limited. Mark your calendars, invite your friends and family, and come dressed in your best Mardi Gras attire to join in the revelry.
On Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, members of the City of Beaufort/ Town of Port Royal Fire Department, Rita Wilson from Alphagraphics, and Rebecca Bass present a check
Amber Hewitt/The Island News
City of
Town of Port Royal Fire Department, Rita Wilson from Alphagraphics, and Rebecca Bass present a check
$2,700 to Beaufort County Animal Services, a third of the more than $8,000 raised from the Firefighter & Therapy Dog calendars. Amber Hewitt/The
Royal
Wilson
Bass
Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Early Saturday afternoon, the Burton Fire District responded to a reported fire in the Lakeview Mobile Home Park off Joe Frazier Road in Burton. Photo courtesy of Burton Fire District
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office seeking Burton man
Staff reports
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is searching for 32-year-old Alexander Corneilus Speaks of Burton.
Speaks has an active arrest warrant for criminal sexual conduct with a minor, 2nd degree. It’s in connection to a November 2024 investigation into the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
BCSO Investigators believe Speaks is still in the northern Beaufort County area.
If you know where Speaks may be, please call Staff Sergeant Tunis at 843-255-3426
If wishing to remain anonymous, tips can be reported to Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County via the P3 Tips app, online at www. TIPSBFT.com, or by calling 1-844-TIPSBFT (1-844-847-7238).
Veterans Affairs, Lowcountry Legal Volunteers offering ‘Wills and Power of Attorney Clinic’
Staff reports
Beaufort County Veterans Affairs is partnering again with Lowcountry Legal Volunteers to offer a free clinic for area veterans who need help drawing up a will or power of attorney.
The clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7 at Beaufort County Disabilities and Special Needs Office at 100 Clearwater Way in Beaufort.
This event is free of charge and open to all veterans and their dependents. Registration is required. Apply online at lowcountrylegalvolunteers.org or call Lowcountry Legal Volunteers at 843-815-1570
"We are excited and grateful for this opportunity to sponsor this clinic with Lowcountry Legal Volunteers," Veterans Affairs Director Caroline Fermin said in a news release. "End of life planning is incredibly important. Being able to offer the service free of charge, answer any and all questions our veterans might have and knowing they will leave the clinic prepared with either a will or power of attorney, is one more service we are proud to offer our veteran population here in Beaufort County."
Ethics from page A1
confirmed investigations into the actions of Loper, two into the actions of County Administrator Eric Greenway, one into the actions of former Capital Improvement Projects Director Eric Larson, one into the actions of former Deputy Administrator Whitney Richland, one into the actions of Special Assistant to the County Administra-
The Beaufort County Veterans Affairs Office assists veterans, their spouses and other dependents with access to government
tor Hank Amundson and one into the actions of Assistant County Administrator for Infrastructure Jared Fralix.
The S.C. Ethics Commission originally submitted the subpoena asking for the emails in February 2024 but had to renew the request in December 2024 County Council, under the leadership of former Chairman Joe Passiment, has been openly criticized by citizens and elected officials, such as Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner
LEGAL NOTICES
programs for which they are eligible. Veterans Affairs Counselors are available by appointment only by calling 843-255-6880 For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3CgzP1z.
The Federal Benefits Handbook for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors is available at https://bit. ly/3zYm6On or by visiting www.va.gov.
and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, for their lack of transparency with the public and law enforcement since early 2023 in dealing with investigations into inappropriate spending and P-Card usage in response to the firing of former Administrator Eric Greenway.
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.
How to know if you have a concussion
As anyone who follows the NFL can tell you, a concussion is a serious injury—so serious that the Philadelphia Eagles’ star quarterback was sidelined for two games during a critical time in the season.
What is a concussion? Why is it serious enough to cause multimillion-dollar athletes to sit out games for their safety?
Concussions are a common type of traumatic brain injury where the brain moves rapidly within the skull.
“It’s important to be aware of the signs of a concussion and understand the steps to take for a safe recovery,” says James Varner, a board-certified physician assistant at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group Primary Care. “Recognizing the condition right away can help prevent further complications.”
Concussion causes and symptoms
Some of the most common causes of concussions include impact from sports, falls or collisions.
“Symptoms are often most severe right after the injury happens, but other symptoms can develop and appear later,” Varner says.
Immediate symptoms may include:
Headache (the most common symptom)
Dizziness or confusion
Slurred speech
Temporary memory problems
Blurry/double vision
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of consciousness
Some symptoms may not appear until days after the injury, including:
Sensitivity to light or noise
Restlessness or anxiety
Feeling unusually tired or lacking energy
Trouble concentrating
Seeking care
“If the injury occurred during a sport or physical activity, stop immediately to avoid further harm,” Varner says. “Monitor symptoms, paying particular attention to how the injured person feels over the next few hours and days. Look for symptoms like worsening headaches, confusion or vomiting.”
Seek emergency care immediately if the person has any of these symptoms: Can’t stay awake or won’t wake up after losing consciousness
Has confusion and/or a headache that won’t go away
Has convulsions or seizures
Has repeated vomiting or nausea Has slurred speech
Has one eye pupil larger than the other or double vision
Has weakness or numbness or can’t keep their balance
Has difficulty recognizing people or places
Delaying care can lead to serious complications; even if the
symptoms don’t seem that bad at first, seeing a health care provider is important. They can evaluate the injury, provide a diagnosis and recommend steps for recovery.
Diagnosis and treatment
Health care providers use a variety of methods to diagnose concussions, including a neurological exam or an imaging test like a CT scan or MRI to determine the seriousness of the injury.
To treat a concussion, a health care provider will typically recommend:
• Get enough sleep, avoiding screen time and activities that strain your brain too much
Avoid bright lights and noise
Avoid driving
Gradually returning to activities
Monitoring symptoms
You can take steps to prevent concussions, including clearing your home of trip hazards, wearing a seat belt in your car and protective gear or helmets while playing sports.
If you or a loved one is experiencing a medical emergency, call 911. For non-emergency concerns, schedule a visit with a health care provider to get the care you need.
—This article is provided by Beaufort Memorial Hospital
When to say “so long” to your mattress
According to the Better Sleep Council, a mattress will generally need replacing after 7 years. People may find that the best indication of a mattress wearing out is how it looks and feels to sleep on. The durability of a mattress can also depend on the usage and the type and quality of its materials.
For example, metal coils in hybrid and innerspring mattresses may loosen over time and provide less support. A higher amount of coils in relation to the surface area of the mattress creates a stronger and more durable mattress. Also, natural latex has higher durability than petroleum-based foams and is very resistant to dust mites and mold.
Some signs that a mattress may be wearing out and needs replacing can include: sagging and dips lumps and bumps visible wear and tear uncomfortable to sleep on stains, smells, or dirt that will not go away presence of bed bugs
Mattresses can affect quality of sleep and spinal position. In fact, research suggests that around 7% of sleep problems are due to uncomfortable mattresses. An old or uncomfortable mattress may cause aches and pains. Some health reasons to replace a mattress include: waking up stiff or with aches and pains • numbness waking up tired
A mattress cover can help protect against dust and dirt. However, a mattress may also need replacing if it poses health risks with allergens such as dust mites, which can cause allergic rhinitis. If a mattress has any signs of a bed bug infestation, it may be possible to eliminate the bed bugs without disposing of the mattress. If a person does choose to replace the mattress, however, they will need to completely eliminate the bed bugs in the room or building first. People may also need to
consider replacing a mattress if a change in weight, sleeping styles, or usage— such as starting to share the mattress with another person—creates a change in how supportive it is.
If a person sleeps on a different mattress than usu-
al and their sleep quality improves, it may indicate the need for a new mattress. Adding a mattress topper or pad may add extra comfort or support to a mattress. This is sometimes a more affordable option.
Some other steps a per-
son can take to prolong the life of a mattress include the following: Vacuum the mattress regularly to keep it clean.
Avoid using harsh chemical cleaners.
To remove a damp spot, apply a small amount of baking soda and then vacuum it.
To remove a stain, lightly dab it with mild soap and cold water, but avoid soaking it.
Use the correct base for a mattress, which people can check with the mattress company.
Flip the mattress every month or so, unless the mattress is not suitable for this, or turn it around 180 degrees to avoid always sleeping in the same spot.
Avoid jumping on the mattress or putting very heavy objects on it.
• Keep pets off the mattress to help keep it clean.
People can also replace their pillows every year to help support the spine and
reduce their exposure to potential allergens. If a person can no longer use their mattress because it negatively impacts their health or sleep quality, it will not be suitable for anybody else to sleep on. According to the Better Sleep Council, safe options for mattress disposal include checking if a mattress company will collect an old mattress when they deliver a new one and checking for a local recycling scheme that collects larger objects. Beaufort County, SC residents should place their old mattresses into the Class 2 Container at the following Beaufort County SC Convenience Centers: Shanklin, St. Helena, Bluffton, Hilton Head.
Sick days are no fun for parent or child. When someone isn’t feeling well it definitely puts a damper on any day, even one that entitles the child to a day off from school. Plus, many of the illnesses that require a day home from school are the let-it-run-its-course varieties, such as stomach bugs or colds. There are ways you can make the most of sick days with your child. Here are some strategies for soothing symptoms and maximizing time spent at home.
Keep water handy: Fluids hydrate a body and promote faster
recovery. Plus, when vomiting or fighting a fever, it’s important for a child to drink plenty of fluids. Place a fun water bottle beside your child’s bed to encourage drinking. Use silly straws, or tint with a colorful electrolyte powder to make it more interesting to drink .
Fun foods: It can be hard to get a child to eat when he or she isn’t feeling well. To encourage consumption, make “mini” foods and serve them on doll china or make a sandwich-pop, using a skewer to hold cubes of bread, cheese, and sandwich meat. Smaller portions in a fun presentation may be eat-
en more readily.
Diversions: Keep your child’s mind off of feeling lousy with activities that stimulate the brain. Puzzles, cut-and-paste collages, sorting photos for a scrapbook, or favorite books can be entertaining and low-impact when rest is mandatory.
Is your watch wristband a health hazard?
Researchers found potentially harmful germs on 95% of wristbands
Smartwatches offer up lots of useful information. That little device on your wrist may track your heart rate and hours of sleep, for instance. It probably logs your fitness activities and counts your steps, too.
But one thing your watch doesn’t tell you is the grossness level of its wristband.
A small study found bacteria such as Staphylococcus and E. coli on a whopping 95% of tested watch wristbands. You’re essentially wearing a habitat for potentially harmful germs. (Pretty icky, right?). Luckily, there’s a simple solution to this problem, explains Cleveland Clinic family medicine specialist Daniel Allan, MD.
The world is a germy place. Millions (if not billions) of different types of bacteria live among us. So, as you go about your day-to-day activities, you’re bound to come in contact with some of them.
Now, most of us neutralize the immediate threat of germs on our skin by regu-
larly washing our hands or using a hand sanitizer.
But think about everything you bring along on your daily adventures, says Dr. Allan. There’s your smartwatch, of course, plus your cell phone, credit cards and more. Those items also are exposed to bacteria—and it shows if you dare test for it.
Researchers in the watch study found bacteria on all different types of wristbands.
Cloth, plastic, and rubber watchbands ranked as the grimiest. Metal watchbands had the lowest germ counts.
What you do while wearing your watch also makes a difference in the ick factor. If you wear your watch during a workout, for instance, your sweat helps bacteria flex its muscles. Handling animals also elevates germ counts.
Are bacteria on watchbands dangerous?
Bacterial infections can lead to uncomfortable outcomes such as a skin rash or various gastrointestinal
issues (think diarrhea and nausea). Worst-case scenarios can involve your heart and lungs.
Is that going to happen from a grubby watchband?
Probably not—but it’s always better to limit unnecessary exposure to bacteria, notes Dr. Allan.
Risk levels increase if you’re immunocompromised or are around someone whose immune system is weakened. (That was one of the main concerns cited by the authors of the watchband study.)
Increased contact with bacteria can also contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, which can have a long-term impact on infection control.
The solution? Clean your watchband!
How often do you clean your watchband? Odds are, it’s not enough, at least given what researchers found when they went searching for bacteria on watchbands. The good news is you
don’t need anything fancy to kill bacteria present on your wristband. Use a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75% ethyl alcohol wipe, or Clorox® disinfecting wipe. You can also make a diluted alcohol mixture and lightly mist a microfiber cloth to wipe down you watch surface.
Dr. Allan suggests making it a habit to clean your wristband daily. (He offers
a similar recommendation for cell phones, which have been found to harbor more germs than a toilet seat. But cell phones require more specialized cleaners to avoid damaging the screen.)
“Wristwatches can indeed carry germs, potentially contributing to the spread of bacteria and ultimately infections,” confirms Dr. Allan.
“Therefore, it’s advisable to
Cancer cases among women and younger adults rising
An oncologist offers some insight into the annual cancer trends report released by the American Cancer Society.
It appears mortality rates for cancer are continuing to decline.
According to the American Cancer Society’s annual report, there was a 34% decrease in deaths between 1991 and 2022
And while that’s good news, another concerning trend has emerged: more women and younger adults are being diagnosed with cancer.
“Overall, younger patients in general, men and women, are having more and more cancers, and the reality is we don't necessarily know the reason for that. That's an area of active study,” said Dale Shepard, MD, oncologist for Cleveland Clinic. “One reason that maybe more women are having increased cancers compared to men is that we haven't seen the same
clean wristwatches to minimize the risk. Ideally, daily cleaning is recommended— but any frequency is better than none.”
benefits in women is really a preventable cause, and that's continued smoking.”
Dr. Shepard was not a part of the research for this report. However, he said lung cancer cases are actually now higher in women than in men among people younger than 65
Colorectal cancer cases for adults younger than 65 and cervical cancer cases for women between 30 and 44 have also gone up.
In addition, the report found that pancreatic cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.
Dr. Shepard said unlike lung cancer, for example, there is no early screening available for pancreatic cancer and treatment options are limited.
What can be done to help change these trends?
“Even though we've made progress, we can make even more
progress if people do lifestyle modifications that can decrease their risk for cancer,” said Dr. Shepard. “That would be stopping smoking, minimizing alcohol exposure, getting screenings when appropriate, follow up with your doctor if there's symptoms for earlier detection, and minimizing obesity.”
The American Cancer Society report also noted some racial disparities.
Native American people are two to three times higher than white people to die from kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancers.
And black people are twice as likely to die from prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancer compared to white people.
Angry, petulant, childish, narcissistic – words that similarly describe a punk and a president.
The Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten sang an anthem of angst, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” in 1976 to transform decaying England’s music scene through punk rock. He had bad skin, dyed orange hair and fronted a rage that inspired a genre.
President Donald Trump sang an anthem of angst throughout 2024 to recapture the White House in a petulant power grab – the likes of which America has never seen. He has bad skin, orange hair and fronts a rage that inspired a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol and fuel a thick-minded movement.
Some would say it’s not appropriate or correct to compare English punks and MAGA punks. They might note how punk rock was a musical rebellion against an established economic order
ANDY BRACK
that was failing Britain with high inflation, high unemployment and hopelessness. And how the United States today has the best economy and is a global leader.
But both movements have something hugely in common – the zeal for cultural disruption.
Remember what punk’s Rotten, whose real name is John Lydon, once said, “Don't accept the old order. Get rid of it.”
That could have come from Trump on any day of the week. Just look at how the early few days of his second administration
have been filled with disruptive acts to break down the establishment that he now represents – attacks on migrants, attacks on health research, a flurry of executive orders to undo, reshape and change how American government works.
Imagine how parents and their school-age children feel with the un-American threats of immigration officers lurking in schoolways. Or how Holocaust survivors and families feel when they hear about a big migrant camp in Cuba. Or how cancer patients struggling to survive feel when they hear funding for medical research may be frozen or cut.
The weeks and months ahead will see a continuation of massive thrusts and parries from the Trump administration. It will float trial balloons hither and thither to push envelopes as far as they can until too many people erupt, causing the bullies to back down
as they did when they threatened to freeze federal spending. It’s not going to be pretty. So maybe it’s time for Trump and his smarmy sycophants to bust out the leather, fasten a few safety pins and bounce around in a sweaty mess spewing their new fascist hymn, “Anarchy in the U.S.” Here are the new lyrics, only slightly rewritten:
Right now, heh, heh, heh, heh.
I am an Antichrist I am an anarchist Don't know what I want but I know how to get it I wanna destroy the passersby 'Cause I, I wanna be anarchy No illegals.
Anarchy for the U.S.
It's coming sometime and maybe I give a wrong line every single time
Your future dream is a crypto scheme
I'Cause I, I wanna be anarchy In the country.
How many ways to get what you want?
I use the best, I use the rest
I use the D-O-G-E.
I use anarchy
'Cause I, I wanna be anarchy
The only way to be.
Is this the N-I-H?
Or is this the F-D-A?
Or is this the E-P-A?
I thought it was the U-S-A Or just another payday Or another M-A-G-A.
I wanna be anarchy
And I wanna be anarchy
And I wanna be anarchist I get pissed. Destroy.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.
The credit card proposal that’s bad for SC small businesses
t’s no secret that the last four years have been brutal for small businesses across South Carolina and the nation. From the COVID-19 pandemic to heavy inflation, small businesses have struggled to make a profit and keep the lights on. Things could get much worse if Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, continue to push what I see as dangerous credit card legislation that would hurt small businesses, entrepreneurs, consumers, banks, and the economy as a whole.
In the previous Congress, Durbin and Marshall introduced the Credit Card Competition Act, which would have essentially allowed major retail stores like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, and Kroger to process credit card transactions based on the best fee for them. As a result, this would have stripped banks of the funding necessary for programs that small businesses rely on, such as cybersecurity, fraud protection, access to credit, and rewards.
In a time when small businesses have struggled to make ends meet in an inflation-heavy economy, we can’t let legislation like this pass.
While critics on Capitol Hill may blame banks and credit card issuers for inflation, data shows that the price gauging of major retailers has caused much of the havoc.
Credit card processing fees have ranged from 1 15% to 3 15% per transaction. The average rate from 2014 to 2019 was 1 8%. On the other hand, mega stores like Walmart, The Home Depot, Costco, and Kroger have pocketed hundreds of billions in revenue.
For example, Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, has had an average of $583 billion in gross revenue since 2020
Meanwhile, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, there was a 25% increase in food prices from 2019 through 2023
The Federal Trade Commission has blamed the profits of mega stores for inflation in grocery prices, and even major retail executives have admitted to price gauging. As bills like this pad the pockets of major retailers, Main Street small businesses gain nothing and lose everything.
Since the pandemic, small businesses have relied much more on innovative technologies for electronic transactions to compete in the market. This bill would jeopardize the funding for critical services such as fraud protection, data security, and improvement to the U.S. electronic payment system.
The new regulations would limit interchange for the benefit of major retailers while the funding and quality of services for small businesses would decline.
In addition, many small businesses in South Carolina rely on small financial in-
stitutions like credit unions and community banks for loans and access to credit. The routing mandates that this bill would implement would reduce the interchange revenue that smaller financial institutions use to lend to small businesses.
Despite what proponents of this legislation may say, history tells us it will harm small businesses.
Look no further than Durbin’s amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 which implemented debit card price controls and routing regulations.
Since then, 22% of major retailers have raised their prices and have pocketed more than $145 billion.
Meanwhile, small businesses now pay higher debit card acceptance costs for small-ticket transactions.
A survey from the Small Business & Enterprise Council found that 87% of new business owners deemed electronic payment options as the most important decision for the launch of their businesses. Legislation like the Credit Card Competition Act would hurt access to electronic pay-
ment options and technologies that small businesses heavily rely on to compete in the current market.
The bill introduced in 2023 never got a vote and died with the end of the last Congress. But it could be renewed in a new Congress. And we can’t let harmful legislation like this continue to be pushed.
While some may see it as a clash of two titans between big banks and major retailers, I hope Sens. Graham, Scott, and the entire South Carolina congressional delegation will see the many small businesses that are the backbone of our economy and the risks it could pose to us.
Sion Owen owns Foot Saviv, a small business in Irmo. For over 30 years combined, Owen and his team have specialized in quality footwear, orthotic inserts, and toe prostheses for diabetics, as well as lower extremity products (bracing) and services that benefit patient lives and improve disease management outcomes. As a small business owner, Owen has experienced first-hand the struggles of Main Street businesses in the postpandemic, inflation-heavy economy and how credit cards have helped businesses afford daily operations.
“From the COVID-19 pandemic to heavy inflation, small businesses have struggled to make a profit and keep the lights on. Things could get much worse if Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, continue to push what I see as dangerous credit card legislation...”
SION OWEN, on the impact of proposed credit card legislation on small businesses and the risks it poses to their survival.
SION OWEN
Editor’s Note:
It seems the revolution has begun
It is Tuesday, gray and grim, and we’re just returned from the Performing Arts Center on Carteret Street where Susan and I did “Books Sandwiched In.” Today it was Margaret Seidler presenting her book, “Payne-Ful Business — Charleston’s Journey to the Truth.”
Seidler came to Beaufort’s popular, long-running program with Robert Adams who is currently the Executive Director at Penn Center. At first they explored Seidler’s personal journey and how that led to the writing of her book.
Seidler — a Charlestonian — grew up on land that was once part of the McCleod Plantation. This antebellum plantation at the intersection of Folly Road and Maybank Highway (on James Island) may be familiar to some because one can actually see a row of slave cabins from the highway. Notwithstanding her particular proximity to these still-existing slave cabins, Seidler had no clue that her ancestors had been involved in that City’s notorious slave trade.
Thanks to a black woman who said that she shared Seidler’s
DNA, Seidler (who is white) began a search that eventually landed upon John Torrans, William Payne and Josiah Smith Payne — three generations of her family who were definitely engaged in the “domestic slave trade.”
That meant she had to confront the fact that her ancestors where up to their elbows in a very bad, arguably the worst chapter of the on-going American Experience.
A chapter that led to the Civil War and 620,000 dead. A chapter that led to another 100 years of lynchings, cross burnings and a segregated system that was unequivocally unequal.
Finally, at least for Margaret Seidler, it led to the Mother Emanuel AME Church at the corner of Meeting and Calhoun Streets in
downtown Charleston. Seidler, who had been a consultant to the Charleston Police Department, had a role working with survivors of that shooting.
The second half of the program, however, focused on what white people might do about these bad chapters; especially if one happened to have ancestors who were engaged in this “peculiar institution.”
As some of you might know my mother’s family were dirt farmers in Eastern North Carolina. These people raised cotton, collards and hogs and lived hard, relatively short lives usually felled in their 50s by small pox, tuberculosis or influenza. And yes, I’ve seen their Last Will and Testaments and know they died owning slaves. I am, however, somewhat comforted knowing that this number (of slaves) was in the single digits.
In the 1860s the Teacheys, Sutherlands and Riddicks marched off to war taking on a huge Union fleet at Fort Fisher, enduring a long, bloody siege at Petersburg and taking a final stand at Averasboro, N.C.
And so, yes, I have previously written about their desperation and personal valor knowing, full well, that they were fighting to save a degrading and disgraceful system.
So what does someone, like me, do with these facts.
According to Seidler the process begins with acknowledging and accepting that slavery actually happened and, from all accounts, was a miserable and barbaric way to live out one’s time on earth.
The second thing is to acknowledge and accept that “you were not responsible for what happened …”
The third thing is to feel empathy and to extend sympathy for those black descendants who continue to suffer the after-shocks of this dark and dismal chapter.
As Seidler and Adams were discussing concrete ways to make this sympathy and empathy manifest, meaningful, a woman in the audience stood up, remained silent for about 15 seconds, and then asked;
“What about reparations?”
It seemed to me that another 15 seconds passed before Seidler said, “My emphasis has always been relationships.”
And Adams added that “reparations are a powerful idea.”
There was then a brief discussion about the Manchester Guardian (newspaper) that put aside $10 million to be used for remediation in places like “South Carolina’s Sea Islands.”
But as we sat in the semi-darkness of the Performing Arts Center hearing phrases like “empathy” and “sympathy”, other phrases — phrases like “inclusion, diversity and equity”—were being removed from the mandates, contracts and grants awarded by the Federal government.
As the gray-headed audience was trying to decide whether to buy Seidler’s book, a whirlwind was howling through the country that was wiping away affirmative action and minority set-asides. As we talked about a “way forward,” an incoming tide of anti-woke sentiment was sloshing though the marshes of Beaufort County. It seems the revolution has begun.
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
In these times, be a winter soldier
When I sat down to write my article this week, I admitted to being baffled about a topic. That’s never the place to be if you expect to accomplish anything, and if you have a deadline to meet. I had so many topics rattling around in my brain that achieving focus looked to be almost impossible. You see, my first thoughts had settled on what I had seen during the Robert Kennedy, Jr. hearings. Talk about a study in Psychology 101!
With that, my mind wandered back to 1960 and the swearing in of JFK as President. This was my first year of college, and I was completely taken with his looks, his politics, his Boston accent.
Truth be known, it was probably in that order, because I know when I learned much later of his trysts with Marilyn Monroe, I was appalled. That was my first lesson regarding the illusions one can have regarding famous figures.
RFK, chosen by the cur -
rent President to head up the department of Health and Human Services grabbed my attention. What a joke! This is the man who tells of a brain worm, who was on heroin for 14 years, whose cousin Caroline delivered a scathing letter/video, telling how Bobby was responsible for providing drugs to his siblings, his cousins, and God knows how many others. She added that his father, as well as hers, would have been disgusted. All you had to do was look at his face and listen to his voice to know that brain worm is still at work. So enough about RFK. What emerged from my dilemma over what to write about was not just RFK’s apparent incompetence, but that same lack of
ability on the part of the President’s other choices to facilitate and lead our governmental agencies.
Ah, as usual, dear reader, I have digressed! One would think our country’s leader would want the best possible people, those with education and experience in the area for which they are proposed. One would also think that by choosing those whose competence is outstanding, said decision maker (the president) would realize the positive reflection on himself and go for the best, those with stellar backgrounds.
So why is No. 47 choosing some of the most inept, incapable, inefficient persons he could possibly pick? Now there is the $64 question as far as I am concerned. Eureka! I have my topic for this week.
I would think that very thorough vetting must take place in order to fill these positions. One does not choose a 14-year heroin addict whose pastime was putting small chicks and mice into a blender. Nor does he put forth the name
of a man whose background includes alcoholism and abuse of women who sadly was approved to head up the Department of Defense.
And he should not consider a person to head the FBI whose goal is to dismantle that organization at the same time he published a hit-list of people, a man caught in so many lies during his hearing that he looked like a deer in the headlights. And decidedly, the present occupant of the White House should not give the nod to a woman who has spent private time with known enemies of our country, a woman who refuses to acknowledge Edwin Snowden as a traitor. After all, her position would be that of guarding our nation’s secrets.
This entire debacle began with Matt Gaetz who seems to have quietly exited the scene. The Florida representative was accused of sex trafficking, rape (sex with a minor) and drug use. He eventually bowed out of the “Let’s Make a Deal” sham, so maybe he was smarter than the rest. Time
and future history will determine that.
All of these individuals are fodder for separate articles, but I have neither the energy nor the inclination to go down that path.
The better path takes me to this question: is this what a smart business mind does? Does he actively seek incompetence?
Are those who are advising him failing to do proper vetting? What can possibly motivate someone to put forward individuals with such questionable backgrounds, knowing the entire circus will be televised for the world to see?
Or is there a deeper motive on the part of the advisors as well as the president? The use of legerdemain comes to mind, that skillful use of one’s hands when performing tricks. You know, watch this hand closely while my other hand is deftly accomplishing what I really want to do.
Lately I have read several articles that stress the ability to focus only on one or two issues that have deep meaning for a person. One
consistent theme emerged from all of these: do not let yourself be bombarded with so many issues that you become overwhelmed and scattered, ultimately shutting down on all of it. This is what they want! Let me repeat, “This is what they want.”
Don’t take your eye off the wobbling plate and run to the next that is wobbling even more. Recall that old circus trick?
It was Thomas Payne who said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” The rest of that quote is “the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country …" I feel confident that there are enough of us who are not “summer soldiers” but rather those resilient fighters of Valley Forge fame. Let's be those soldiers of winter whose goal is to never lose focus.
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.”
SCOTT GRABER
CAROL LUCAS
Preparing the Way
God Saves His People
Jesus of Nazareth
The glorious days of King David are a faint memory. During the thousand years following his reign, the people of Israel were conquered several times and endured many hardships. At the start of the first century, Israel found itself without military power or glory, an unimportant province of the Roman Empire. God had promised that an everlasting kingdom would come from Israel, and that the entire world would be blessed through this family of faith. Had God forgotten his promises to his people?
In this time of uncertainty comes a man named Jesus. He was born to a poor family and raised in Nazareth, a small town in the northern region of Israel called Galilee. There he lived a quiet life as a carpenter. At the age of about thirty, he began to travel throughout the countryside and towns of Israel, preaching a message that attracted people of all walks of life.
The crowds are amazed by his words and actions.
Jesus teaches as no one had ever taught, with a simplicity and a power that touches hearts. He shows great love and compassion to those who are seen as unimportant or without value. Wherever he goes, he performs great miracles. He heals the sick, the blind, and the lame. From those who are possessed, he casts out demons. He even forgives people their sins. On one occasion, after Jesus had shown control over nature, his followers ask, “Who is this, who even the wind and the sea obey?” (Mark 4:41)
Preparing the Way Message 8 of 8
His followers slowly begin to understand his true identity. Jesus reveals himself to them little by little, so that they are not overwhelmed. They gradually come to recognize that he is not an ordinary man. Something completely and utterly unthinkable has happened: God has actually entered into the world and become a human being! Like a warrior storming a castle to rescue his beloved, God had come personally into the world to save his people!
Jesus is the true Son of David, the true King of Israel. As a descendant of King David, Jesus perfectly fulfills the promises given to David. He is truly the Son of God; he is the King whose kingdom will last forever. The Israelites expected a leader like David who would again make them victorious in battle, but Jesus does something much greater. By his death on the cross and his resurrection, Jesus defeats our greatest foes: sin and death. He allows humanity to once again be reunited to God.
Through Jesus, all peoples and nations are blessed. Jesus fulfills the third promise to Abraham in a completely unexpected way. His victory was not meant for just the Israelite people, but for all peoples and nations. Through Jesus, the family of faith begun with Abraham expands into a worldwide family of faith, through which all peoples can come to know and to love him. Through his family of faith, Jesus continues to invite all to share in the victory he has won for us.
Execution of SC inmate marks first execution in the US for 2025
Marion Bowman was 3rd death row inmate executed in SC since September
Protesters gather outside the
of
Daily Gazette
By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Marion Bowman
died Friday night by lethal injection in the country’s first execution this year.
His recorded time of death was 6:27 p.m.
The roughly 30 protesters outside the prison gates sang “Amazing Grace,” Bowman’s favorite hymn, after receiving confirmation of his fate.
His final minutes
The curtain in the death chamber opened precisely at 6 p.m. Bowman, wearing a green jumpsuit and strapped to a gurney,
STATE OF THE STATE
turned his head toward his attorney, Boyd Young, and nodded.
Young read Bowman’s last words, a lengthy statement that concluded with one of his poems.
Bowman maintained his innocence up to the end.
“I did not kill Kandee Martin,” began the statement. “I’m innocent of the crimes I’m here to die for.”
Bowman acknowledged the pain Martin’s family felt in losing her, as well as the love of his friends and family and the companionship he found during his nearly 23 years on death row.
He stared up at the ceiling, eyes closed, as Young read. “We are
not what the state labels us to be,” the statement concluded. “We are kind, caring, loving people, and it’s a shame the world can’t see that.”
Members of Martin’s family, who are legally allowed to attend, were absent from the witness room.
Young and an attorney from the solicitor’s office watched from the front row, both occasionally wiping at their eyes.
Behind them sat media witnesses, including a reporter from the S.C. Daily Gazette.
At the end of the three-minute statement, as Young took his seat again, Bowman looked toward him
on Wednesday, Jan. 29,
Rep. Nancy Mace talks to reporters at a Richland County GOP event on Jan. 27, 2025. Shaun Chornobroff/S.C. Daily Gazette
Mace’s next move: aiming for governor?
Nancy Mace yet to announce bid for SC governor, jabs at potential opponents
By Shaun Chornobroff SCDailyGazette.com
Gov. McMaster wants SC to ‘usher in a nuclear power
renaissance’ Nuclear revival
By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster in his eighth State of the State address on Wednesday urged the revival of a failed nuclear project in South Carolina.
State-owned utility Santee Cooper announced last week it would seek a buyer for the pair of half-built nuclear reactors, located at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County, that were mothballed more than seven years ago.
“I believe that restarting these two reactors will not only help fuel our state’s future power needs but will
also usher in a nuclear power renaissance across the country, one that will spur nationwide investment and construction of new nuclear power generation,” McMaster said in his hour-long speech.
The governor’s support for the project comes as legislative leaders grapple with how to meet the state’s growing energy needs.
“We are running out of time,” said the governor, who with his address officially became the longest-serving elected governor in South Carolina history.
“Our electric generation, distribution, and transmission capacity and
capabilities must be able to handle enhanced future economic development, anticipated technological advances, and population growth,” McMaster continued.
And he urged action by the General Assembly to address the issue.
When Santee Cooper and now defunct South Carolina Electric & Gas partnered on the V.C. Summer expansion nearly two decades ago, it marked the first new nuclear construction in the country in 40 years.
But construction fell behind
ACLU challenges SC law keeping lethal injection information secret
By Skylar Laird SCDailtGazette.com
COLUMBIA — The state’s law keeping information about lethal injection drugs secret violates constitutional rights
COLUMBIA— U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has yet to publicly announce she’s running for governor, but she’s already taking jabs at potential GOP opponents. South Carolina’s First District congresswoman criticized Lt. Gov Pam Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson while speaking to primary voters last week during the Richland County Republican Party meeting.
The appearance in Columbia is one of many she plans on making around the state as she mulls a run for governor in 2026. The 47-yearold single mom plans to make a decision in the next month or two, she told reporters.
Gov. Henry McMaster, who is already the state’s longest-serving elected governor in state history, is ineligible to run for a third term, leaving a wide-open field to replace him.
No one has formally announced for the primaries that are still 18 months away. Candidates can’t officially file for the race until midMarch 2026
But a de facto race is already heating up.
Mace alluded to her impending governor’s bid during another trip through Columbia last Friday.
“Just see that big beautiful dome, capitol of South Carolina. I could get used to that,” Mace said on X, formerly Twitter, in a video from in front of the Statehouse.
Wilson, who’s in his fourth term as South Carolina’s top prosecutor, has been the primary focus of Mace’s criticism, both on social media and in front of voters. That suggests she knows he’s her biggest competitor — at least, among expected opponents.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster gives his State of the State to a joint session of the Legislature
2025 at the Statehouse in Columbia. Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette
gates
Broad River Correctional Center in Columbia Friday, Jan. 31, 2024, ahead of the scheduled execution of Marion Bowman. The protesters held up signs featuring family photos of Bowman. Jessica Holdman/S.C.
from page B1
And on Monday, Wilson was on Mace’s home turf, telling the Beaufort County Republican Party that he’s considering a run, The (Hilton Head) Island Packet reported.
Mace has been condemning Wilson in a barrage of recent posts on X. She continued her scathing remarks Monday, calling Wilson one of the nation’s worst attorneys general.
“He has no business even thinking about running for governor, and I will take him out,” Mace said. “I will personally make sure that he is never governor of South Carolina.”
She also referred to Wilson, who’s had two stints as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, as a “do-nothing attorney general.”
Execution from page B1
She implied she’d do a better job as governor prosecuting crime, though she is not an attorney, and that’s not the governor’s or lieutenant governor’s job.
“I know what the system is like, and I know why it’s so important to have a governor, a lieutenant governor and an attorney general who will actually prosecute child trafficking,” she said.
Evette declined to comment for this article. Wilson defended himself in a statement to the S.C. Daily Gazette.
Spokeswoman Jacqueline Lane noted it was Wilson who pushed to create the state Human Trafficking Task Force, which he leads. She also said he was prosecuting child sex crimes as an assistant attorney general — when McMaster was attorney general — even before he was elected to the post.
Last year, he pushed for legislation criminalizing artificially-generated child por-
again and mouthed something indecipherable to media witnesses through the glass partition. Young replied, “Thank you.”
The execution began at 6:04 p.m. Bowman, still staring at the ceiling, took several deep, loud breaths, puffing out his lips and cheeks with each one. Those subsided into shallower, quieter breaths.
Bowman’s chest stopped moving at 6:06 p.m. At 6:26 p.m., a doctor entered the room and placed a stethoscope on his chest and a hand on his neck. A voice on the intercom one minute later announced that the execution had been carried out.
The length of time was similar to previous executions. Bowman showed no outward signs of pain.
For his last meal, Bowman ate fried seafood, including shrimp, fish and oysters; chicken wings and tenders; onion rings; banana pudding; German chocolate cake; cranberry juice; and pineapple juice.
Bowman chose to eat the meal Wednesday, consuming normal prison food for his final days.
In the hour leading up to the execution, people who gathered outside the prison gate to protest the death penalty included Deidre Kelly, of Rock Hill; Mary Rider, of Garner, N.C.; and Wilna Petion, of Boyton Beach, Fla. The three spoke about Bowman’s case and how he maintained his innocence.
“Death is final and I just don’t think there’s enough certainty in the justice system,” Kelly said.
Bowman decided not to ask Gov. Henry McMaster for mercy, his attorneys said Thursday. He made the decision after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene, and a federal appeals court denied his request to know more information about the drugs that ultimately killed him. McMaster released a statement anyway saying he’d reviewed the records and would not grant clemency.
Bowman was the third inmate executed after the state resumed the process in September. An unintended 13-year hiatus, caused in part by the state’s inability to get the drugs used in lethal injections, ended after the state Supreme Court ruled that electrocution and firing squad were constitutional methods of execution.
All three inmates chose to die by lethal injection after a 2023 law keeping everything about the drugs secret allowed officials to restock. Inmates, including Bowman, have asked federal courts to require officials release more about the drugs that will kill them, to no avail.
Three more inmates have exhausted their appeals and are eligible to receive death warrants in the coming months. The soonest the next inmate could receive a warrant will be Feb. 7
The crime Bowman, then 20, was out with his sister Feb. 16, 2001, when he noticed 21-year-old Kandee Martin standing outside a house with a group of people.
STATE NEWS
nography, but the legislation died with the end of session. He also asked legislators last year for $10 million to open more shelters for children and teens freed from human trafficking. The Legislature approved $6 6 million in the state budget.
“Any statements that he hasn’t protected children or victims of sex crimes is blatantly false,” Lane said in the statement.
Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, first won elected office in a January 2018 special election to the South Carolina House representing parts of Charleston and Berkeley counties. She replaced a GOP legislator who resigned amid a years-long Statehouse corruption investigation started by Wilson, who handed the case to a Democratic solicitor he later unsuccessfully tried to fire.
In 2020, Mace ousted oneterm Democrat Joe Cunningham to flip the coastal
Bowman knew Martin. According to his own statement, the married Bowman and single mother Martin had been having an affair. Attorneys have said Martin had a history of exchanging sex for crack cocaine, which Bowman sold.
Asking his sister to stop the car, Bowman told Martin, “I want my money today,” his sister later testified. If she didn’t give it to him, he said she would be “dead by dark,” his sister and cousin later told a jury.
Later that day, Bowman’s cousin, James Taiwan Gadson, was drinking at a friend’s house when Martin drove up, with Bowman in the car. Bowman told Gadson to get in, which Gadson did, he later testified.
Bowman told Martin to drive to a remote part of Dorchester County. Parked along the side of an empty road, the three got out of the car.
Bowman told his cousin he believed Martin was wearing a wire and he was going to kill her, Gadson later testified.
A car passed. The three of them hid in nearby bushes. Then, as Martin started back toward the car, Gadson heard three gunshots. Martin said, “Don’t shoot me no more, I have a child to take care of,” Gadson testified. Bowman shot her twice more, according to trial transcripts.
Bowman dragged Martin’s body out into the nearby woods, and the two took her car back into town.
Bowman drove the car around through the evening, at one point trying unsuccessfully to sell it outside of a bar, according to court documents.
Around 3 a.m., Bowman called on a friend, Travis Felder, for help. Travis followed Bowman in his own car back out to that rural road in his own car, where Bowman retrieved Martin’s body from the woods, put her in the trunk of her own car and lit the car on fire, Felder testified.
“You didn’t think I’d do it,” Bowman said to Felder, the friend later recalled.
“Did what?” Felder responded.
“I killed Kandee Martin,” Felder told the court Bowman said.
Firefighters arrived later that morning to put out the blaze and discovered Martin’s body in the trunk.
A jury convicted Bowman in 2002 and recommended the death penalty. Bowman’s family, along with the friends and cousin involved, testified against him.
Bowman disputes the way prosecutors laid out the evening. He didn’t testify during his original trial, but in a December statement released by his attorneys, he gave his own sequence of events.
Gadson was the one to kill Martin, Bowman claimed. Bowman went home after spending the day with his sister and learned about the crime later, when Gadson pleaded with him to go out to a bar, his statement continued.
Bowman declined plea deals that would have allowed him to instead spend the rest of his life in prison because that would require him to admit guilt, he wrote.
“I am so sorry for Kandee and her family, but I did not do it,”
congressional district back into Republican control.
After that close election, the district was redrawn as part of the Legislature’s decennial redistricting process to favor a Republican. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the map last May. She easily won re-election in November with more than 58% of the vote despite never debating and barely recognizing her Democrat challenger.
She won last year’s GOP primary with the endorsement of President Donald Trump, two years after winning her GOP primary against a Trump-backed challenger.
On Monday, she said she wants Trump to weigh in on her potential run before she makes a decision. That conversation will be a crucial factor, she told reporters.
“I think that anyone that wants to run statewide or any election, really, in 2026 or 2028 beyond, will need the President’s support,” Mace
Bowman wrote in December. “Her family has suffered a loss that can not be undone. They have been through trials, and appeals, but they have never heard the truth from me. I know this won’t bring them satisfaction, but this is my truth.”
Final appeals
In the months before Bowman’s execution, his attorneys asked the state Supreme Court to overturn his sentence, arguing that prosecutors withheld evidence and his own attorney was racist.
Felder and Gadson testified after receiving plea deals, which could have cast doubt on their stories if jurors knew they had something to gain, attorneys argued. Much of the prosecution was based on that testimony, since no DNA tied Bowman to the scene, the appeal continued.
Also excluded was a statement a fellow inmate made claiming Gadson had confessed to the killing after his arrest, the filing argued.
Knowing about the plea deals and the statement, which the inmate later rescinded, would likely not have been enough to change jurors’ minds, the state Supreme Court decided. Bowman’s attorneys raised similar arguments at different stages of his appeals process, to no avail.
The court also rejected the idea that Bowman’s defense attorney, who is white, was racist against him because he was Black. As did the U.S. Supreme Court, in an order issued Thursday.
Bowman’s current attorneys claimed that his attorney implied there was no reason Bowman and Martin would have been together that night except for Bowman to harm her. He tried to persuade Bowman to accept a plea deal because he had little hope of success as a Black man who killed a white woman, the complaint alleged.
Those quotes were taken out of context, and Bowman’s attorney was not wrong for wanting to warn him about possible racism, attorneys for the state replied. Both courts agreed.
Bowman maintained his innocence in declining to ask Gov. Henry McMaster for clemency. It was unlikely McMaster, a former attorney general, would grant Bowman life in prison without parole. No modern governor has done so, and McMaster denied clemency to the past two inmates who asked.
Not attempting is an unusual decision that was difficult for Bowman to make, his attorneys said in a statement Thursday.
“After more than two decades of battling a broken system that has failed him at every turn, Marion’s decision is a powerful refusal to legitimize an unjust process that has already stolen so much of his life,” the statement read.
Kandee Martin
Martin, 21, got a new job not long before she died. She was learning how to sell mobile homes in Orangeburg, which she was enjoying, said her mother, DiDi Martin, during Bowman’s 2001 sentencing hearing.
She was in the midst of planning a birthday party for her son, Tyler, who would turn 2 years old less than a week after her death. Kandee
said. Early in her congressional tenure, the two had a rocky relationship. Mace condemned Trump in her first speech in the House following the Jan. 6 2021, riot at the Capitol. And Trump blasted her after she was among House Republicans who voted in the aftermath to impeach him.
But she’s since become one of Trump’s most fervent allies. In July, she spoke at the Republican National Convention.
And, after angering many Republicans for joining with the hard-right House Freedom Caucus to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in fall 2023, she helped his successor, Mike Johnson, hang on to the speaker’s job earlier this month.
According to the Washington Post, it was Mace who got Trump on the phone with Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina’s Fifth District, who flipped his vote to support
Martin was going to get him a cake featuring the Sesame Street character Elmo and throw him a party. She and her mom were in the process of sending out invitations, her mother testified.
When Kandee Martin died, Tyler would often cry and ask when his mom was coming home, DiDi Martin testified.
“He loved his mother with all his heart,” DiDi Martin testified.
“They had a relationship that you just can’t explain because it was so wonderful.”
Kandee Martin, the younger of two siblings, was a caring person, family members recalled. Several years before her death, she and her mother set up a glamour photo shoot, where they got dressed up and took pictures, her mother recalled.
“I would say she was a loving type young lady, and she cared for everybody and (there was) nothing she wouldn’t do for anybody,” her father, Wayne Martin, said during the hearing.
At the funeral 10 days after Martin’s death, the family kept the casket closed, he added.
“That was the worst thing, not being able to say goodbye,” Wayne Martin said.
Marion Bowman Jr.
Born to a teenage mother and an abusive father, Bowman’s early life was difficult, a psychologist recounted during his sentencing hearing.
When Bowman was a teenager, his mother suffered a back injury that left her bed bound. The responsibility for chores and earning money fell to Bowman and his two sisters, according to court documents.
By the age of 14, Bowman was drinking heavily and selling drugs. He dropped out of school after finishing the ninth grade and suffered a series of tragedies, including the deaths of two beloved cousins and the separation of his mother and stepfather, the psychologist said.
Still, Bowman was a kindhearted person who loved his family and went out of his way to help his aunt, relatives testified during his sentencing hearing.
During his years in prison, Bowman, who’s 6-foot-4 and nearly 400 pounds, has earned a reputation as a “gentle giant,” something his aunt repeated in a statement released by attorneys earlier this week.
“Marion is someone who would do anything for someone else if he is able,” Lorraine Johnson said in the statement.
Bowman always makes a point to ask Johnson how she is and what’s happening in her life. He remains close to his daughter, Marissa, who was born while he was awaiting trial. She had her first child in August, making Bowman a grandfather, according to the state’s statement.
“It has torn our family apart to have Marion be on death row,” Johnson said in her statement. “I do not think that Marion’s mother would recover if he were to be executed.”
His mother, Dorothy Bowman, said as much during his sentencing hearing.
“I don’t want to see my son die, because that’s the only son I have, and I don’t know what went wrong,”
Johnson after the call.
On Monday, she told voters the nation needs more bold leaders like Trump and ones “who will him implement his agenda.”
Wilson, who’s spent much of his own tenure fighting the Obama and Biden administrations in court, said he intends to do just that.
“It’s nice to have a partner in the White House,” his spokeswoman said. As for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot she once condemned, Mace said she supported Trump’s decision to pardon nearly 1,600 people charged in the mayhem.
“The folks who were at (the Capitol on Jan. 6) have served their time for the crimes they’ve did,” she said. “They’ve done that, and I support President Trump.”
Shaun Chornobroff covers the state legislature for the S.C. Daily Gazette, part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
BOWMAN’S FINAL STATEMENT
Read by his attorney Boyd Young:
“I did not kill Kandee Martin. I’m innocent of the crimes I’m here to die for.
“Living behind these walls has taught me a lot about loss and grief. It is never easy, but I have learned to find comfort in sharing good memories and funny stories. My suffering will soon be at an end, but I know it is the beginning for others. Please keep your head up, remember I love you, and please share your memories of me.
“I know that Kandee’s family is in pain. They are justifiably angry.
“I
“Over
“If
“We
Dorothy Bowman said at the time.
Since 2009, as far back as sanctions listed online go, Bowman has received only one disciplinary action in prison, for destroying property in 2016
Because of his good behavior, Bowman received a job coveted on death row since it meant more time out of his cell cleaning and collecting meal trays, former associate Warden Ralph Hunter said in a statement filed with the state Supreme Court.
“Even though Marion was a big man, no one was concerned about him causing trouble,” Hunter said. Bowman is also a prolific poet. Leading up to his execution, his attorneys released a 58-page collection of his poems, titled “My Thoughts.”
“Some were used as words of encouragement, some as a way of venting, and others were about what was going on around me,” Bowman wrote in a brief introduction.
Some end with Bible verses, a reflection of the Christian faith Bowman found while in prison. One that repeats reads, “I was in prison, and you visited me,” from Matthew 25:36
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.
Bill requiring lab-grown food to be clearly labeled advances in SC
By Shaun Chornobroff SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — A bill
mandating the clear labeling of lab-grown food sold in South Carolina advanced Thursday, Jan. 23 to the Senate floor.
The bill makes it illegal to sell a “cell-cultivated food product” as real beef, poultry, fish, shrimp or any other animal protein it “may resemble.” The product’s origins must be “conspicuously labeled on the front of the package,” reads the legislation approved unanimously by the Senate agriculture committee.
“We’re not banning it. We just want people to know what they are buying,” said Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Boiling Springs, a co-sponsor
and chairman of the panel that first considered the bill Wednesday. Cell-cultivated food is produced by taking cells from an animal, then giving it vitamins and sugars to grow into edible protein that’s similar in taste and nutritional value.
The legislation authored by Senate Agriculture Chairman Wes Climer would expand on a five-year-old state law that says cell-cultivated food can’t be labeled as “meat” or “clean meat.”
Food that’s not born and raised as an animal isn’t real meat, said Sen. Everett Stubbs, R-Rock Hill. He doesn’t even want it to be called cultivated chicken, for example.
“At some point a chicken walks and clucks and does
the things that chickens do,” said the freshman senator. “Quite frankly, I have a problem with this product being labeled chicken.”
Travis Mitchell, director of the South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association, agreed.
“When we refer to beef as cattle producers, that means it is a living, breathing animal raised on farms all across this state, all across this country,” he said.
A lobbyist for the Washington-based nonprofit that advocates for alternative proteins said the industry’s so new, the products aren’t available in South Carolina grocery stores yet.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture cleared two California-based
companies in 2023 to sell cultivated food products. However, they’re not yet widely available, said Tamar Lieberman of the Good Food Institute, which calls the protein “real animal meat made without animals.”
She contends the products’ labeling already ensures people with diet, allergy or religious restrictions don’t mistakenly eat the product.
But she did, however, agree with Kimbrell on one thing: Cultivated meat is more expensive than farmraised meat.
It can cost four times more than regular meat or poultry, Kimbrell said.
“Some people, I think, probably assume because of that it might be healthier, organic and grass fed,” said the
Spartanburg County Republican. “It’s none of that. It’s grown in a lab.”
Under existing state law, mislabeling the products is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to a year in prison. Climer’s bill specifies that each package not clearly labeled is a separate offense.
A similar bill by Climer passed the Senate unanimously last April but died with session’s end a month later without a vote in the House.
South Carolina’s farmers support the bill.
Agriculture is a $25 billion industry in South Carolina, with poultry representing the largest sector among meats, said Clinton Leach, an assistant commission-
er at the state Department of Agriculture. “We want to make sure that our agriculture industry continues to thrive,” he said. “Beef and poultry and seafood producers and processors play an important role in the fabric of our industry.” Iowa and West Virginia already require similar labeling. Legislators in South Dakota are considering a similar bill. Alabama and Florida have banned labgrown food products, while Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said last week he hopes to join them soon.
Shaun Chornobroff covers the state legislature for the S.C. Daily
from page B1
tember, following a state Supreme Court ruling that found electrocution and firing squad constitutional methods of death.
Not knowing where the drugs come from makes it possible for the state corrections department to buy drugs that are not safe or effective, with no public oversight to determine otherwise, the ACLU argues.
“In the lethal injection era, advocacy organizations, journalists, scientists, attorneys, activists, and other citizens have relied on this information to scrutinize the safety, quality, efficacy, legality, and morality of lethal injection drugs and protocols,” the lawsuit reads.
As far back as the late 1800s, when counties conducted executions by hanging, the details were “widely available,” such as where the supplies to construct the gal-
Nuclear
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schedule and over budget. The companies ultimately abandoned the effort in July 2017 — after jointly spending $9 billion.
South Carolina power customers are still paying much of the cost for the reactors that have yet to generate a single megawatt.
Remembering Helene
The governor also went on to pay homage to South Carolina’s electric utility line workers. Hurricane Helene’s arrival to the Palmetto State as a tropical storm in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 27 knocked out power to some 1 4 million homes and businesses.
“Joining us here tonight are a few of the men and women who worked day and night – some for weeks, at dangerous heights, and
lows came from, the lawsuit claims. When the state began carrying out executions using the electric chair in 1912, the public was told how the chair was constructed and the wattage used to execute condemned inmates. And ahead of the state’s first execution by lethal injection in 1995, the state released information on the drugs used and the qualifications of the executioners, according to the lawsuit.
around deadly high voltage electricity – to get the power back on,” McMaster said, asking workers in the balcony to stand.
Legislators responded by giving them a standing ovation.
Helene was the deadliest storm to ever hit the state, killing 49 people and damaging at least 6 300 homes and 912 roads. Ten bridges must still be rebuilt.
More than $5 million in donations poured into the One SC Fund at Central Carolina Community Foundation to help people recover, the most that has ever been donated to the fund for a single storm since it was created following the historic flooding of 2015 The state has received federal disaster dollars, and more is expected, but it won’t be enough, McMaster said. For example, the Department of Transportation will need an additional $50 million for debris removal and road repair expenses that
“This ban not only departs from the state’s history of making execution-related information publicly available but criminalizes the disclosure of this information by anyone for any reason,” the lawsuit reads.
Death row inmates facing execution have asked for more information about the drugs used to kill them, arguing that even under the secrecy law, corrections officials
aren’t covered by the federal government, he said.
Meanwhile, to prepare for future storms, the governor renewed his budget requests to allocate $40 million toward replenishing a pair of state-funded reserves to help with disaster recovery and prevention. He also wants legislators to put $150 million into a new state grant program to cover what the Federal Emergency Management Agency won’t.
“That’s how we take care of our people,” he said.
‘We must fix this’ McMaster again asked the Legislature to put the state’s agencies serving those with disabilities and mental health issues under his direct control as Cabinet agencies.
The federal Department of Justice sued the state last month, saying South Carolina keeps adults with serious mental illnesses in institutions longer than necessary.
According to an outside analysis of the state’s health
can disclose how and where the drugs are tested, the results of the tests and how the drugs are stored.
A federal judge has twice turned down those requests.
South Carolina is one of about a dozen states that protects information about drug manufacturers, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The ACLU contends that the Palmetto State’s law is among the most wide-reaching
system, 77% of young people facing depression do not receive mental health treatment. That’s on top of a growing number of homeless people “who fall through the cracks,” with untreated mental, physical or substance addiction problem, the governor said.
“Our people with physical disabilities, special needs and mental health issues seeking assistance must navigate through a confusing landscape of offices, agencies and officials as they seek help for a loved one or dependent,” McMaster said.
“We must fix this.”
McMaster said the agencies are run by boards of commissioners “who are accountable to no one.” He asked the Legislature to “hold one person — their governor — accountable” for the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs.
Private school choice
Senators were in their sec-
and harsh on offenders, who can face up to three years in prison for violating it.
Lawsuits in other states have challenged those laws, “with mixed success,” said ACLU attorney Meredith McPhail.
The ACLU is taking a different approach from many of those lawsuits, which often point to alleged violations of state freedom of information laws, by arguing that the law instead violates the First Amendment, McPhail said.
“Our lawsuit is unique in part because the scope and severity of South Carolina’s secrecy statute make it uniquely problematic and because we’re taking a novel approach,” McPhail said in a statement to the Daily Gazette.
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.
ond week of debate on a bill that would use lottery profits to provide scholarships for private K-12 tuition. As introduced, the aid for up to 15,000 students would align with what the state sends school districts on average per pupil, which would be about $8,500 next school year.
The governor asked the GOP-controlled Legislature to send him a bill as soon as possible that would reinstate the private tuition payments halted in September by the state Supreme Court.
A majority of justices ruled the payments violated the state constitution’s ban on public dollars directly benefiting private education, which partially threw out a 2023 law that provided $6,000 annually in taxpayer-funded scholarships.
“Parents, not school attendance lines, should determine the education that best suits their child’s unique needs,” McMaster said.
But Democrats, in their
response to the governor’s remarks, pushed back, saying so-called school choice is not the answer.
“Instead of sending our tax dollars to private schools, we should first fully fund our public schools — something South Carolina has neglected to do for decades,” said Sen. Margie Bright Matthews. The Walterboro Democrat, who delivered her party’s response, said the bill under debate in the Senate dismantles public education.
“Taking money from public schools and giving it to private schools, won’t improve educational outcomes for thousands of children who need it most,” she said.
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.
Gazette. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest statefocused nonprofit news organization.
South Carolina’s execution chamber. Photo courtesy of S.C. Department of Corrections
SPORTS
High school basketball
Voucher law could be a game changer for SC high school sports
By Shaun Chornobroff SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Starting next school year, all high school athletes who switch schools in South Carolina may be able to immediately play ball for their new team.
That potential game changer in the rules governing middle and high school sports is due to a single sentence in the state’s 2023 voucher law that hasn’t gotten much attention — that is, until senators opened this session debating a bill designed to reinstate what the state Supreme Court struck: K-12 scholarships for private tuition.
At a subcommittee hearing on the bill, Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto questioned how a carve-out rule for student athletes receiving the state aid could be abused. That exception isn’t new to the bill, he was informed. It’s already state law. And it is. However, it’s so new and went so unnoticed, the situation hasn’t come up. At least, not that Jerome Singleton, commissioner of the South Carolina High School League, knows about.
‘No other option’
The part of the 2023 state law in question — which was unaffected by the high court’s ruling — says any scholarship recipient transferring from one public school to another public school is exempt from High School League rules that require most student athletes to sit out for a calendar year after transferring.
While the voucher law refers specifically to students who use state aid to transfer to a different public school in another district — a still-allowed use of the scholarship — it will likely force the league to alter its transfer rules for all athletes, Singleton told the S.C. Daily Gazette.
“If we were going to be consistent, then we’d have no other option,” said the leader of the independent, dues-paying organization that sets and oversees the competition rules for participating middle and high schools, public and private.
Between 3 500 and 4 000
Source:
student athletes in league schools transfer every year, Singleton said.
The High School League’s Legislative Assembly — made up of delegates from schools statewide — could change its bylaws in March to make the rules the same for everyone. If it doesn’t, that would mean there are essentially two sets of rules for students who transfer, which Singleton says will pose problems.
“What about those that don’t transfer under this?” he asked.
The bill approved by senators Thursday would add a limitation to the transfers.
Students using state scholarships would be exempted from the one-year wait one time only — allowing them to immediately play for their new school but not hop around to other schools and keep suiting up.
Under the amendment offered by Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, any moves after the one, penalty-free transfer could be sanctioned by the league.
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to simply remove the exception for
students in the voucher program.
“This would treat scholarship students differently from other students,” and that’s not right, said the Edgefield Republican.
Sen. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, agreed, saying it further complicates rules that are already notoriously disputed.
“We are again creating a subset of students and athletes that can access this and go and play immediately,” said the freshman senator.
‘A recruiting tool’
While noting he was conflicted about making students in the scholarship program sit out, Massey said he worried recruiters will abuse the exemption to build a winning team, swaying athletes to transfer just for sports — and doing it with the state’s help.
Under the bill as approved Thursday, the scholarship amount would equal 90% of the average the state sends to districts per pupil. For the coming school year, that means about $7,700 each for up to 10 000 students. Next year, the cap is 15 000 students.
Allowable expenses include tuition, tutoring, textbooks, and — for public school transfers — the fee school districts can charge to make up for unpaid local property taxes.
“If unscrupulous coaches or people identify a loophole that could allow them to recruit people in, they get a scholarship and they just spend $500 bucks on tutoring,” Massey said. “This could be a recruiting tool.”
Sen. Chip Campsen was the most vocal supporter of the immediate eligibility provision. He called the bill a “white knight” for a child in a failing school. The inability to immediately play sports at a new school could prevent students who could benefit from a scholarship from applying, particularly if they’re hoping to play sports in college, he said.
“I think this would be an impediment for a lot of students. It would be for me,” said the Isle of Palms Republican, noting he played lots of sports in high school and college.
Campsen said he doesn’t doubt the rule will be exploited, but lawmakers shouldn’t assume it will be widespread.
“We’re dangling this before these children in schools that don’t fit them,” he said. “We can’t presume that their motivation to
go to the better school is, ‘You’re a great quarterback and we want you on our football team.’”
Where the two Republicans agreed is that they don’t want to create a culture where athletes use the scholarship to exclusively change schools for athletics. They don’t want to do to high school athletics what happened in college sports after the NCAA changed once-strict transfer restrictions and allowed student-athletes to profit from their success by marketing their name, image and likeness.
“They just about ruined college football,” Campsen said.
Hembree, the bill’s main sponsor, offered his onetime exception rule as a middle ground.
“If they try to game the system back and forth, back and forth, that’s what this is trying to prevent,” said the Little River Republican, noting the High School League already allows exceptions to its own rule.
More than a dozen qualifying exceptions include a student moving to a home in a new school zone or being placed in foster care.
“Right now, it’s a patchwork quilt,” Hembree said.
“It’s not a good-looking quilt,” said Sen. Ronnie Sabb of Greeleyville, who was
among all Democrats in the chamber ultimately voting against the bill.
Other potential changes
Other legislative proposals would force the High School League, whichfrequently attracts legislators’ ire, to change its transfer rule regardless of the voucher law.
They include a bill sponsored by Hembree that would create two, five-day windows in January and August where student-athletes can move schools without being penalized. A student transferring any other time would be ineligible to participate in school sports for 90 days.
House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson told the S.C. Daily Gazette her committee will likely tackle various issues relating to high school sports, including the transfer penalty.
“We’re trying to foster enrollment where children need to learn best,” said the Beaufort Republican. “It seems counterintuitive that we aren’t going to help them with their sports at the same time.”
Shaun Chornobroff covers the
legislature for the S.C.
An illustration of the SC. House of Representatives chamber with a football play in the foreground. Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CREATIVE/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette
Bridges Prep’s Alaysia Neal blocks Whale Branch’s Alyssa Fields on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at Whale Branch Earley College High School. Whale Branch won, 47-24. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Bridges Prep’s Amarion Wilson blocks Whale Branch’s Isaiah Evanson Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at Whale Branch Early College High School. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Whale Branch’s Kevin Jenkins dribbles the ball past Bridges Prep’s Ivan Grayon Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at Whale Branch Early College High School. Amber Hewitt/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.
BOOKS
2025 Books Sandwiched In Noon to 1 p.m., Mondays through March 10, USCB Center For The Arts, 805 Carteret Street, Beaufort. The event is free and open to the public. Each week, a community member talks about a book that has been meaningful to him or her. Light refreshments are served and raffle items are available for bidding each week. For those interested in joining the Friends to support the work they do, an annual membership can be purchased at the door or on the Friends website at $25 per household or $15 per military household. For more information, please visit https://friendsofthebeaufortlibrary.com/ or contact Carter Hoyt at carterhoyt@ comcast.net or 404-936-5695. Remaining schedule -- Feb. 10: “Black Boy” by Richard Wright; Presented by Jeffrey Blount. Feb. 17: “Teddy and Booker T.” by Brian Kilmeade; Presented by Pat Sculley. Feb. 24: “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman; Presented by Elaine Adams. March 3: “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” by Tom Stoppard; Presented by Bruce Page. March 10: “Books Promiscuously Read” by Heather White; Presented by Lauren Hoffer.
CALENDAR
Dueling Pianos –A Musical Night To Remember
6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, Tabby Place, Port Republic Street, Beaufort. $85 in advance; $90 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online at www.afsgb.org or by calling the office at 843-521-9190. Proceeds benefit Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort. The evening also features complimentary beer and wine, dinner from local restaurants and a live auction.
Bands, Brews & BBQ
6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14 & 11
a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15, Paris Avenue, Port Royal. Two days of food, music and fun with wings, barbeque, beer, live music and fun for the entire family. Proceeds from the event benefit nonprofits HELP of Beaufort and Zonta Club of Beaufort. HELP of Beaufort assists our neighbors in need of food, clothing, financial assistance, prepared meals since 1973, and is a certified USDA Wellness Pantry. Friday is the Hometown Heroes Wing Throw Down Party, while Saturday features the Hometown Heroes Boston Butt and Ribs.
50th Beaufort Charities Festival Friday & Saturday, Feb. 28 & March 1, Live Oaks Park, Port Royal. Live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights. Oyster roast all day Saturday.
Lowcountry Food Truck Festival
11 a.m., Saturday, April 5, 1404 Paris Avenue, Port Royal.
MCAS Beaufort Airshow Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13, MCAS Beaufort. Celebrate 250 years of the Marine Corps with us. From the U.S. Navy Blue Angels to unforgettable aerial thrills, it’s a weekend you don’t want to miss. Tickets are free for general admission but required! Reserve yours now to secure your spot. Go to beaufortairshow.com to reserve your tickets.
Karaoke with Melissa
7:30 p.m. to midnight, Mondays, Tomfoolery, 3436 17 Market, Habersham, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.
Karaoke
9 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort. With DJ Ali.
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.
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.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
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 Drive, 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.
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 Road, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.
CLASS REUNION
Beaufort High School Class of 1975
Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, 2025, Beaufort. 50th Class Reunion Celebration. Request that graduates of this class contact the class Community Outreach Representative Barbara Gardner Hunter at 347497-9326 or email gardnerbarbara991@gmail.com to provide current contact information.
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.
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
Language of Clay: Catawba Indian Pottery and Oral Tradition Through Saturday, Feb. 22, Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage,
10782 South Jacob Smart Blvd., Ridgeland. This immersive exploration of Catawba pottery, curated by the University of South Carolina Lancaster’s Native American Studies Center, promises to captivate audiences with its profound connection to oral traditions.
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
Toddler Storytime
11 a.m., Mondays through May 12, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. (Library will be closed Jan, 20 and Feb. 17.) Join us for a fun-filled time of stories. Books and activities will focus on toddlers/preschoolers, but siblings are welcome.
Postpartum Support Group
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Join us fr a postpartum and parenting support circle, a weekly gathering for parents and caregivers navigating the postpartum journey. Led by full-spectrum holistic doula Tameka Walker, the circle provides a warm supportive environment where families can connect, share and learn together. Registration is requested but not required. Call 843-255-6487 for more information.
“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.
Bridge Club 11 a.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Beginning September 18. The first session is for beginners new to the game, and following sessions will provide some instruction and we will learn as we play. Join us if you want to learn a new game, practice your skills, or need more players. Call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-2556458 for more information.
Baby Time 10 a.m. Thursdays through May 15, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355
Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Join us for stimulating stories, activities, and more. Designed for babies, 0-18 months.
Mahjong Basics
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. Join us to learn the basics of this fun tile game. Intructor Donna Misuraca will teach participants the structure and rules of the game and guide you through how to play. All game materials will be provided. Call 843-2556540 for more information.
Mahjong Club
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fridays, 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 843-2556458.
MEETINGS
Beaufort County Public Meeting 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 30, Lady’s Island Middle School Gymnasium, 30 Cougar Drive, Beaufort. A public meeting for the Hazel Farm Road/Gay Drive (S-497), and Sunset Boulevard (S-186)/ Miller Drive West (S-187) Streetscape projects, as approved in the 2018 One Cent Sales Tax Referendum for the Lady’s Island Corridor Traffic Improvements. The County will present the proposed designs for both projects which include bicycle and pedestrian facilities and road improvements. The meeting will be conducted as an informal, drop-in format. There will be displays that depict the proposed design, and representatives from Beaufort County Engineering, J. Bragg Consulting, and Davis & Floyd will be available to discuss the proposed improvements, answer questions, and listen to feedback. For questions or persons requiring additional assistance due to language barriers, contact the Engineering Department at 843255-2700.
PFLAG Savannah –
Beaufort Peer Group
6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of every month, Fellowship Hall, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort (UUFB), 178 Sams Point Road, Beaufort. Free. The group will be moderated by Rick Hamilton and Kay Carr. The provides advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, family, peers, and allies in the Lowcountry. The peer group provides a safe and strictly confidential environment for LGBTQ+ individuals, their families, friends, and allies to discuss the challenges faced in coming out or being out in neighborhoods, the workplace, school, or church. The organization offers resources for counseling, educating, and advocating to achieve an equitable, inclusive community where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved. Minors under the age of 18 are required to come with an adult parent, guardian, or mentor. Additional information about peer groups, membership, donations, and volunteering is on the website www.PFLAGSavannah.org and on Facebook.
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, 81 Lady's Island Dr., Ladys' Island. Catered breakfast from local chef. Speakers weekly. Occasional social events replace Friday mornings, but will be announced on our website, www.rotaryclubofthelowcountrybeaufort.org.
MUSIC
Music on Malphrus — Friction Farm 7 p.m., Saturdays, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry, 110 Malphrus Road,
Bluffton. $25. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets available at the door or at https://www.uulowcountry. org. Schedule — Feb. 8: Pat Wictor. Feb. 22: Matt Nakoa. March 1: Miles and Mafale. March 21: The Kennedys. April 11: Scott Ainslie. April 26: Karyn Oliver.
Live entertainment 7 to 11 p.m., Wednesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.
Chris Jones 7 to 11 p.m., Thursdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort. Habersham Third Fridays Music on Market 5 to 8 p.m., third Friday of the month, Habersham Marketplace.
Live entertainment 9 p.m. to midnight, Fridays & Saturdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.
OUTDOORS/NATURE
Friends of Port Royal Cypress Wetlands Speakers Series –Thomas Rainwater
5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19, Shellring Ale Works. Thomas Rainwater, Ph.D., will present “All About Gators.” Rainwater is a Wildlife Biologist and Research Scientist at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center and Clemson University’s Baruch Institute, following his previous role as a Wildlife Toxicologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Growing up in Florence, he developed a passion for wildlife, particularly reptiles and amphibians. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Furman University, an M.S. in Environmental Toxicology from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Tech University. Over 34 years, he has researched wildlife biology, ecotoxicology, and conservation across various regions, focusing on the effects of pollution and habitat changes on endangered crocodilians and turtles. In 2010, he began a longterm study of American alligators in coastal habitats and has since expanded his research to include alligator populations on Spring Island, examining their ecology and the impact of environmental changes.
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.
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
ACBL Duplicate Bridge Club
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Tuesdays, Carteret St. Events will be held weekly. Contact Director and Club Manager Susan DeFoe at 843-597-2541 for location.
Bridge Club 11 a.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Branch Library. The first session is for beginners new to the game, and following sessions will provide some instruction and we will learn as we play. Join us if you want to learn a new game, practice your skills, or need more players. Call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458 for more information.
Beaufort Masters Swim Team
6 to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, Wardle Family Port Royal YMCA. Coached practices. Ages 18 & older, all skill & speed levels, no prior swim team experience needed. Visit lowcountryswimming.com for more information.
‘Anne Frank: A History For Today’
Keynote Speaker Frank W. Baker, author of “We Survived the Holocaust,” speaks to students, parents, family members and guests Tuesday night, Jan. 28, 2025, at Lady’s Island Middle School (LIMS). LIMS, along with the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina, is hosting the traveling exhibit “Anne Frank: A History For Today” through Tuesday, Feb. 11. Frank, a teenager whose diary was published after she died in a German concentration camp during World War II is considered the author of one of the most touching chronicles of the Holocaust. Students will be trained as docents and guide visitors through the exhibit during it’s stay at the school. The exhibit is free and open to the public. All visitors must check in at the front office. Photo by Asa Aarons
Smith
Lawsuit: SC law causes bans on lessons, books about Black history
Legislation
By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Department of Education is discriminating against Black people’s viewpoints by enforcing a law that bars schools from teaching that any race is inherently superior or automatically racist, claims a federal lawsuit filed Monday, Jan. 27
The lawsuit, filed in Columbia on behalf of the state NAACP, teachers, students and librarians, names state Superintendent Ellen Weaver and two school districts in Lexington County. It claims they removed curriculum and books out of fear of violating the clause that legislators first approved as part of the state budget in 2021. Schools that violate the law risk losing state funding.
The law says no state money can go toward the teaching or training of eight banned concepts, which include anyone being responsible for past atrocities because of their race, that someone’s worth is determined by race, and that traits such as hard work are oppressive and racist.
Of the eight, the concept cited as the most troublesome says lessons can’t make anyone “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex.”
The wording is vague and discriminatory, leaving schools and statewide officials to unnecessarily remove history lessons and books by Black authors from shelves, the lawsuit claims.
Legislators of both parties agreed that line in the law could stifle instruction. That’s why it was purposefully excluded from legislation that sought to clean up the law while creating a uniform complaint process. But that bill ultimately
died last June after negotiations between the House and Senate stalled for a year. Then, on the final day of the special session, Senate Democrats refused to accept the compromise, which needed bipartisan support for the necessary supermajority approval in both chambers. So, it failed on a vote of 25-13, leaving the vague language in place. The House never voted on the final version.
Legislators would have to start over a third time if they want to revive the proposal.
(The first version died in 2022.)
The education department remains dedicated to ensuring schools teach “both the tragedies and triumphs” of history, said spokesman Jason Raven.
“This meritless lawsuit does not diminish our dedication, nor does it identify any shortcomings or legal defects,” Raven said in a statement. “The South Carolina Department of Education will continue to seek meaningful opportunities to build bridges across divisions, honor the richness of our shared history, and teach it with integrity, all while ensuring full compliance with state law.”
Education department officials pointed to the law and controversy surrounding it in when it didn’t include African American Studies on the state’s roster of Advanced Placement courses for this school year — the course’s inaugural year following a two-year pilot.
Schools can still offer honors classes on African American history, with the option of taking the end-ofcourse Advanced Placement test for college credit. Instead of the state paying the $98 fee for the test, though, the cost would fall to the district or student.
It’s unclear why honors African American classes but not the standard Ad-
vanced Placement version would be allowed under the law, the lawsuit reads. Two students joined the lawsuit over the AP course.
“This lawsuit simply is to ask the courts to do what’s right to stop the censorship and allow students to hear from their teachers, to learn freely about things like race and gender,” said attorney Tyler Bailey.
School librarians, teachers and administrators have also removed books from classrooms and libraries for fear that they violate the law, the lawsuit claims.
Among those books are “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which was removed from a teacher’s curriculum in the Lexington-Richland 5 School District in 2023, and “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Ibram X. Kendi, which has been removed from school libraries across the state, the lawsuit claims.
Kendi, who a GOP legislator repeatedly quoted during a House floor debate last year, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Those books and others contain valuable insights into Black culture and history, as well as important information for students to learn, attorneys said.
“We see this as an attack on Black people, history and culture,” said Santino Coleman, an attorney for the Legal Defense Fund, which is representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Teachers and administrators may be overly cautious in enforcing the law because it’s so unclear what it covers, the lawsuit claims.
For instance, some teachers believe they can’t talk about events such as the Holocaust because that would cause students discomfort. Others questioned whether they would be able to talk about pay disparities
between men and women because of the inclusion of sex discrimination in the law, the lawsuit reads.
Chapin High School librarian Ayanna Mayes, a plaintiff in the case, found herself unsure of what books might be allowed to remain in the school library, she told reporters Monday. School administrators began monitoring her work much more closely after the law went into effect, she said.
“There is no way to deny that our state and school districts have thwarted mine and my colleagues’ efforts to provide the highest quality education to our students without blatantly calling us liars,” Mayes said.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to stop the enforcement of the state law, claiming it violates constitutional rights to freedom of speech and equal protection, as well as protections against viewpoint discrimination and selective enforcement of the law.
An unfortunate irony?
Beyond striking the most problematic banned concept, the legislation that died last year also specified that “fact-based” instruction on history was not part of the ban.
During the debate, legislators of both parties said they want students to get a full and accurate picture of history, including the ugly and brutal parts.
As passed by the Senate in May 2023, also along party lines, the bill specifically protected “historically accurate” discussions on slavery, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, segregation, racial lynchings, and any “historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, sex, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, or geographic region.”
The opponents who protested outside the State-
house and packed hearings said the legislation would create fear among teachers about what they could teach, censor lessons, and discriminate. Some of their testimony centered on language in other bills filed by the uber-conservative House Freedom Caucus, which wasn’t in the versions passed by either chamber.
Opponents wanted the bill struck altogether, rather than amended. They won.
But what many perhaps also didn’t realize is that much of the bill they successfully pushed to kill was already state law, which was left in place.
The language inserted into the state budget in 2021 has the same legal authority as state statutes.
While the state budget is technically a one-year law, budget clauses generally roll over from one year to
the next unless the Legislature specifically votes to take it out or passes a permanent state law that supersedes it — which the killed bill would have done. If the Legislature tries again, there’s a greater chance Democrats won’t like the bill, since the election newly gave the Senate a GOP supermajority, and any final compromise wouldn’t need Democrats’ support. The federal courts, however, could weigh in first.
TCL receives $1 million from Jasper County
Funds to go toward TCL’s planned workforce training center at Bluffton campus
Staff reports
The Technical College of the Lowcountry has received a $1 million appropriation from Jasper County to go toward the construction of the college’s planned workforce training center.
“We are so happy about the decision you made to support the college and the construction of the Arthur E. Brown Regional Workforce Training Center,” said TCL President Richard Gough, who was on hand along with Jasper County council members for a check presentation held Tuesday, Jan. 21 at TCL’s New River Campus.
Gough said that while the college has seen increased enrollment numbers, it still has work to do to prepare for the growth that
is coming to the region.
“And we know Jasper County is going to be at the center of the growth,” he added.
TCL broke ground on the training center earlier this year following a $10 million appropriation from the State of South Carolina in 2023, part of a total $21 million in combined support from the state and Beaufort County. When completed, the new facility will feature 50,000 square feet of space with a capacity for 850 students.
The total cost for the center is estimated to run $26 million with funding expected to come from other local governments and private sources, or funds raised by TCL’s Foundation.
SC Senate passes K-12 voucher bill pulling from lottery profits
Senators changed income cap, scholarship amount; bring it closer to program halted by SC’s high court
By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — The Senate passed legislation Thursday that provides up to 15,000 scholarships for private K-12 tuition using lottery profits.
The 32-12 vote, mostly along party lines, capped two weeks of debate that saw friction among Republicans as some tried to make all students eligible. The bill would revive private tuition payments halted by the state Supreme Court last September.
The only Republican to vote “no” was Sen. Shane Martin, a former school board member in Spartanburg District 6 who’s advocated for public schools.
Republicans made the bill a top priority for the session, saying they wanted to renew payments for children stopped by the high court’s ruling a month into the school year. Donations will keep every student in their private schools at least through the third quarter of this school year.
The bill expands both the scholarship amount and who’s eligible. But amendments reined in what would’ve been near-universal expansion.
Instead of a set, $6,000 annual scholarship — as in the law partially thrown out — the amount would equal 90% of the average the state sends to districts per pupil. For the coming school year, that means about $7 700. (As introduced, the bill provided the full average.)
Amendments also brought income eligibility back in line with the existing law.
For the coming school year, up to 10 000 students whose parents earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level can enroll. Eligibility rises to 400% of the poverty level for up to 15,000 students in 2026-27
That money would come from lottery revenue, instead of pulling from the general fund, which the state Supreme Court found violated the state constitution’s ban on public money directly benefiting private education.
Unlike existing law, the bill would make all students
already attending private schools eligible for the state aid.
However, they would have to wait for any potential open spots after the early application window closed for priority groups, which include students below 300% of the poverty level and those in public schools wanting to transfer.
What changed As introduced, income eligibility would’ve expanded to 600% of the federal poverty level in the 2027-2028 school year, or $187,200 for a family of four. And there was no priority given to poorer students in public schools.
That would allow nearly every student in the state to qualify, said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey.
The purpose of the law passed two years ago was to help poor-to-middle-class children stuck in failing public schools. And 600% is “not middle class. It’s just not,” he said. “I’m not OK with 600% of poverty.
“You’re going to have wealthy kids taking the spots and squeezing out the poor kids,” said the Edgefield Republican.
The same thing will happen in opening up eligibility to everyone in private schools, he said. Private
school parents will get guidance on how to sign up.
“They’re going to have a huge advantage in the application process,” Massey said.
As a product of public schools whose children attend public schools, Massey said he’s a public school proponent who recognizes some schools are failing children whose parents can’t afford any other option.
“I want to help people who are stuck,” he said. “These are the children we need to help.”
Eventually, senators settled on an amendment proposed by Sen. Michael Johnson, which set priority windows.
“I’m not stopping anyone in a private school from applying,” the Tega Cay Republican said. “I’m saying, ‘Hey, let’s let the poorest kids have an opportunity to apply before the kids in private school.’”
Massey also successfully proposed lowering the scholarship amount, arguing that the $6,000 legislators set in the 2023 law was based on the average cost of private school tuition.
Setting it at 100% of the state per-pupil average, which would be about $8,500 next year and keep rising, “is too much money,” Massey said, ar-
guing that schools would raise tuition to match the state-funded scholarships.
“If you allow for a scholarship of $8 500, the schools are going to charge $8 500,” he said.
Push for universal
Sen. Wes Climer pushed back against his own party leader’s proposed changes, calling on his peers repeatedly to remove all limitations on who can use the money.
“Here’s the bottom line: If you’re against school choice, you are for this amendment,” the Rock Hill Republican said to fellow senators after Massey’s first attempt to pass the changes. “If you are for school choice, you are against this amendment.”
Massey’s initial proposal to change the bill Tuesday failed, with a mix of Republicans and Democrats voting it down. Senators picked up the pieces separately Thursday, adding back in Massey’s decreases in the income cap and scholarship amount.
Toward the end of Thursday’s debate, Climer proposed a change that would get rid of all eligibility requirements in the bill, making the program universal. Senators voted down that plan.
Democrats and Republicans alike rejected proposals
from Climer and Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, to expand eligibility.
Sen. Darrell Jackson dubbed it the “Shane Beamer” plan, referring to the fact that the University of South Carolina football coach who makes $6 4 million each year would be able to receive the funds to pay his children’s tuition if he so wished.
“What I’m hearing is that the CEO who makes a million dollars a year would never really have school choice in South Carolina because the government isn’t paying for it,” the Hopkins Democrat said.
Republicans focused on the cost of the program as a whole. If the state instituted universal school choice, which would allow any child to receive money to attend private school, that could cost the state as much as $367 million each year, said Sen. Greg Hembree, the North Myrtle Beach Republican who sponsored the bill.
Climer and Kimbrell also proposed getting rid of the scholarships from the lottery fund and replacing them with a tax credit that would balance out by removing money from the education fund. While that
proposal was thrown out as not being germane to the original bill, it caught the interest of some senators.
Pulling from the lottery fund could pass constitutional muster, but a tax credit is “bulletproof,” argued Sen. Tom Davis.
“I don’t know why we’re so determined to do something in a more complicated way,” the Beaufort Republican said. A simultaneous rally As the Senate was debating the program, a rally on the Statehouse’s front steps celebrated National School Choice Week.
State Superintendent Ellen Weaver, a longtime proponent of education vouchers, held a sign reading, “choice means hope.”
“Education choice and freedom is on the move in South Carolina,” Weaver said. “Here in South Carolina, we are building the education system of the future.”
Lt. Gov Pamela Evette praised the state for already having a number of choices for students already available, including public, private, charter and virtual schools.
“In South Carolina, we are blessed to have so many options for education,” said Evette, a mother of three.
The ability to transfer to another school is a major deal for students who can benefit from smaller class sizes and more one-on-one attention, said Candance Carroll, a lobbyist for advocacy group Americans for Prosperity South Carolina.
She included her own daughter, a 10-year-old who has autism, among them.
“I needed a school that could meet her unique needs,” Carroll said. “That’s when I understood the power of school choice.”
Reporter Shaun Chornobroff contributed to this report.
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.
Jasper County council members were on hand along with members of Technical College of the Lowcountry’s Area Commission for a recent check presentation held at TCL’s New River Campus in Bluffton. Holding the check are
(left) Jasper Council Chairman John Kemp and TCL President Richard Gough. Photo courtesy of TCL
State Superintendent Ellen Weaver talks at a rally for National School Choice Week on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Shaun Chornobroff/S.C. Daily Gazette
McMaster is asking legislators to increase teachers’ minimum pay to $50,000, keep college tuition steady, and allow people to buy state lottery tickets with a debit card.
Those are among the recommendations in his $13 billion budget package released Monday, Jan. 13, a day ahead of the Legislature’s return to the Statehouse.
A $50,000 salary floor for firstyear teachers in 2025 would reach his goal a year ahead of schedule and represent a 66% increase in starting pay since 2017, when he became governor.
The additional $200 million his proposal distributes to K-12 schools would increase minimum pay by $3 000 across the so-called salary schedule, which pays teachers according to their years of experience and level of college degree. And, unlike last year, he is not seeking to change when pay rises — an idea that brought a backlash from veteran teachers with advanced degrees.
The Republican governor also made clear that legislators need to keep increasing pay beyond the accomplished goal.
“I emphasize again we should not stop there,” McMaster told reporters about the $50 000 recommendation. “We must have educated young people.”
The latest report on teacher vacancies, released in November, showed the first break in ever-increasing shortages since 2019. Pay increases that have climbed above the Southeastern average could help explain the reduction.
Comparing South Carolina to its next-door neighbors, the state-paid minimum for first-year teachers in Georgia this school year is just shy of $43 600, and in North Carolina, it’s $41 000. That’s $6 000 less than in South Carolina. However, as in South Carolina, school districts in surrounding states often use local taxes to pay more than state minimums.
This school year’s state-paid average is $57,250. But with local supplements, 16 of South Carolina’s 72 school districts already start teachers at or above $50,000
Those districts wouldn’t be required to boost salaries more. The increased fiscal autonomy legislators gave them several years ago allows them to use their state aid however they want, as long as they pay teachers the state minimums.
McMaster’s proposal also puts $29 4 million toward hiring 177 additional school resource officers, which would fulfill his push to have an armed officer at every
public K-12 school. When he set the goal in 2018, following a mass shooting at a high school in Florida, 406 schools had an officer. That number’s grown to 1 106 this year.
His budget also funds a third year of $20 million grants for school safety improvements. Last year’s awards included $2 million to lock up student’ cellphones during the day.
Colleges As for higher education, McMaster seeks to freeze college tuition for in-state students for a sixth consecutive year.
However, the $29 million his plan distributes in exchange for that promise is less than a quarter of what colleges say they need to keep tuition steady. Arguing there’s no rationale to colleges’ requests, the governor’s budget creates a “tuition mitigation” calculation that involves tuition, inflation, and the number of in-state, undergraduate students.
He recommends putting $100 million toward the University of South Carolina’s efforts to build a highly specialized hospital for strokes, dementia and other diseases affecting the brain and nervous system.
That’s $50 million less than USC is requesting in state aid for the estimated $350 million project in downtown Columbia’s BullStreet District.
Lottery sales
Beyond using lottery profits to fund merit-based college scholarships, McMaster wants to continue spending $100 million on needbased financial aid and $95 million on scholarships at technical colleges that prepare students for
high-demand jobs.
But keeping that tuition aid flowing from lottery sales, he said, will require ditching the cash-only rule for buying tickets.
Lottery profits are expected to bring in $64 5 million less this fiscal year compared to last. And they’re projected to continue falling by $35 5 million next fiscal year, according to the state Board of Economic Advisors’ November forecast.
But enabling people to buy lottery tickets with debit cards could turn that around. According to the Lottery Commission, that would generate an additional $52 million.
According to the governor, South Carolina is one of only three states that require cash-only lottery sales, with Tennessee and Wyoming being the other two.
McMaster, who as state GOP chairman campaigned against the lottery ahead of the 2000 referendum, said he remains opposed to gambling.
Asked why he now supports making it easier for people to play, he said, “there are a lot of young people who got an education” from lottery-funded scholarships who couldn’t otherwise afford it, and the state shouldn’t abandon that.
Fewer people are buying lottery tickets partly because of the cash-only rule. Not only do fewer people carry cash, but a lot of stores no longer even allow cash payments, he said.
Allowing debit purchases would keep up with the times without allowing people to go into debt to play the lottery, he said. He’s against allowing credit card purchases, since that can run up a debt, but likened using a debit
card to spending only what’s in your pocket.
“If we don’t allow changes of that program, the chances of being able to do what we’re supposed to are slim,” McMaster told reporters.
As for how to further cut income taxes, he’s leaving that to legislators.
McMaster’s budget gives no specific recommendations beyond completing the tax cuts provided in a 2022 law, which is on track to be fully phased in next year.
Cuts should continue “as much as we can, and as fast as we can,” he said.
But he made no suggestion on the numbers. House Republicans have made “historic income tax cuts” a top priority. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey has said the Legislature should go beyond cutting income taxes to overhaul the tax code. There is no plan yet.
The governor’s budget proposal is just that — a proposal, which legislators can use as a guide or ignore. They generally do some of both.
However, McMaster’s had better success than his predecessors with his budget recommendations, largely because he meets with legislative leaders ahead of releasing his plan and works with them through the process — rather than publicly criticizing them. The gist of many of his recommendations make it to the final budget package, though the details or dollar amount are often different.
Employees’ health care
McMaster’s budget plan again provides pay raises for state law enforcement but includes no across-the-board cost-of-living raise for other state employees.
However, it would fully fund
increases in state employees and teachers’ health care premiums, representing the 13th consecutive year they would pay nothing more out of pocket for their health care expenses.
Covering that increase will cost more than $112 million next fiscal year, bringing the total rise in employees’ premiums over four years to almost $450 million.
“Long-term, it is simply unsustainable for the state health plan to require over $100 million additional dollars annually,” the budget reads.
So, he’s calling for a cost study, saying health insurers contracted by the agency that oversees employee benefits need to propose cost savings to slow the rate of growth.
The State Health Plan provides health insurance for more than 540,000 public employees, their spouses and dependents. They include employees of K-12 school districts, colleges, state agencies and retired government workers.
The budget plan includes an additional $55 4 million in state taxes just to maintain health services for South Carolinians covered by Medicaid, the government-paid health plan for the poor and disabled.
Asked about the potential of supporting an expansion of Medicaid eligibility to more poor adults, the reply from his office was quick: No.
During AAUW Beaufort's STEAM Day event at USCB Bluffton Campus on Saturday, Feb. 1, Beaufort County School District Superintendent Frank Rodriguez watches as the students observe what termites are doing in the science class portion of the event. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Keynote speaker Capt. Tracy R. Isaac, Naval Hospital Beaufort Commanding Officer, speaks to the attendees during AAUW Beaufort's STEAM Day event at USCB Bluffton Campus on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette during the governor’s state budget press conference in Columbia, S.C. on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. Travis Bell/Statehouse Carolina/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette
Promotion to Corporal
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Delilah Romayor, combat graphic specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, is pinned to the rank of Corporal on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, by her sister, Hailey Valencia at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. A Corporal plays a vital leadership role, responsible for guiding, training, and mentoring junior enlisted Marines while ensuring the success of their assigned tasks and missions. Cpl. Mason Coots/USMC
Appealing Veterans Administration decisions
Supplemental claim, higher-level review, appeal to the Board of Appeals
This article and the next will cover information that veterans and their families need to know about appealing Veterans Administration (VBA) Claim Decisions.
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs “Board of Veterans’ Appeals” webpage (https://www.bva.va.gov). On July 28, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) by Executive Order 6230, Veterans Regulation No. 2(a). The Board was delegated the authority to render the final decisions on appeal for the Administrator (now Secretary) and was directly responsible to the Administrator (Secretary). The Board was charged “to provide every possible assistance” to claimants and to take final action that would “be fair to the Veteran as well as the Government.”
The Board is comprised of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and such number of Veterans Law Judges and Board members as necessary to meet the Board’s mission to conduct hearings and dispose of appeals properly before the Board in a timely manner. 38 U.S.C. § 7101(a).
To address the growing number of appeals, the Board, over the past five years, has grown from approximately 800 to about 1 200 personnel and is still growing thanks to the continued investment of the Department and Congress. The Board increased its staff to include Veterans Law Judges, attorneys, and administrative and operational personnel, recruiting and hiring widely diverse, bringing together different backgrounds, education, experience, ideas, and perspectives to include Veterans, military spouses and family members, caregivers, survivors, first-generation Americans, and LGBTQ+ members. This diversity strengthens the Board and enables it to serve its constituency better.
The Board composition and procedures are governed by 38 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7112. The Board often receives questions regarding how appeals are worked at the Board.
Under 38 U.S.C. § 7107 (a)(1), all appeals at the Board shall be considered and decided in regular docket order according to its place on the docket.
The docket is defined by the date of receipt of the appeal. So, appeals are processed in the first in, first out method. The only exceptions are those appeals that are advanced on the docket whether the appellant is age 75 or older, or for which motion has been filed for serious illness, severe financial hardship, or for other sufficient cause shown.
The Board is working on both legacy and appeals modernization act (AMA) appeals filed by Veterans and appellants. Legacy appeals are those that existed prior to the implementation of the AMA in February 2019 and are the oldest pending appeals. More information can be found in the metrics section on the Board’s website.
What can veterans do if they disagree with their (VA) initial claim decision?
The VA “What Veterans can do if they do not agree with their initial claim decision” webpage explains that The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA) created a new decision-making process for claims and appeals. This process applies to Veterans who receive an initial VA decision on or after February 19, 2019
AMA created three lanes/options for veterans to choose from. The VA and this author encourage veterans to work with their VSO or representative to assist them in making the best choice for themselves and their cases.
• Lane/Option 1 Supplemental
Claim: A Supplemental Claim is a Higher-Level Review
processed by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA), or Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board).
A Supplemental claim is an option if, after the veteran receives a decision, he or she identifies new and relevant evidence, such as medical evidence. Veterans can submit that evidence along with a VA Form 20-0995 to have their claim reviewed with that new evidence, and if granted, the veteran will maintain their original effective date. This is an option for any decision from the VA to include a Board decision. Veterans have one (1) year from the date of the original decision to submit the evidence and VA Form 20- 0995
• Lane/Option 2 Higher Level Review: The Higher-Level Review is an option when the veteran believes there was a misinterpretation of the evidence in the record when the decision was made. Veterans may not submit any additional evidence. Veterans have one (1) year from the date of the decision to elect this option by submitting a VA Form 20-0996. This is the FASTEST option for another decision.
• Lane/Option 3 Appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board): The option to appeal directly to the Board is available after any decision made by the VA except for Board decisions by submitting a VA Form 10182 within one (1) year of the decision the veteran is appealing. When choosing this option, veterans have another choice to make. Which Board option is the best? The veteran's VSO (or Attorney or Claims Agent) can best assist in making a choice.
Veterans who appeal directly to the Board (Lane/Option 3 above) must choose one of the following three options.
Ellis earns NMRTC Beaufort 2024 Sailor of the Year
U.S. Navy Office of Community Outreach Petty Officer 2nd Class Caleb Ellis, a native of Paxville, S.C., has been awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for being named Navy Medical Readiness Training Command Beaufort's 2024 Sailor of the Year.
Ellis, who joined the Navy eight years ago, serves as a hospital corpsman. He graduated from Manning High School in 2006
“Being named Sailor of the Year shows recognition to the hard-working team I have around me,” he said. “It is important for Sailors to know that what we do matters and is noticed by our leadership. I am proud to be a role model for my junior Sailors and to assist them in reaching their professional and personal goals. One team, one fight.”
Cline named 2024 Sailor of the Year for Naval Support Facility Beaufort
EDITOR’S NOTE
This article is the first in a series of two.
Direct Review: This is the fastest option at the Board. This is an excellent option if you feel there is a misinterpretation of the law or the facts of the case.
Evidence Submission: This lane allows additional evidence to be submitted within 90 days of appealing to the Board. Only additional evidence to support what is already in your file can be considered.
• Hearing with a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ): Hearing with a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) is the longest option for a decision at the Board. This option is best if the veteran believes his or her words and story would not have the same impact if submitted in writing and would like to speak directly with a VLJ. Currently, only virtual hearings are available.
Please use a VSO to help you appeal Veterans who receive an initial claim decision that they disagree with should ask a VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) (or a VA-accredited Attorney or claims Agent) to help them file an appeal. VSO services are free, and VSOs can guide veterans through the appeal process in most cases. Veterans are not required to have someone represent them. It is the veteran’s choice.
Continued next week.
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 or 843-276-7164
Staff reports
Petty Officer 2nd Class Emma Cline (Little), a native of Gridley, Calif., was recently awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for being named Naval Support Facility (NSF) Beaufort's 2024 Sailor of the Year.
Cline, a 2020 graduate of Gridley High School, joined the Navy four and a half years ago. Additionally, Cline is currently a student at Arizona State University.
"Hard work does not go unnoticed," Cline said. "I've been working towards this award for the last four years, and it means everything to finally be able to say I did it. I tell my juniors that going above and beyond in the workplace will pay off someday. I hope this shows them that they too can end up on top if they continue putting in the extra effort. I want to thank my leaders for pushing me to be the best sailor and mentor I can be, and to my juniors for allowing me to be the role model I always dreamed of being."
Today, Cline serves as a master-at-arms responsible for law enforcement and force protection in the U.S. Navy.
Located in Beaufort, NSF Beaufort provides sustainment and security services to Naval Hospital (NH) Beaufort. NH Beaufort provides general medical, surgical and emergency services to all Active Duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel, as well as retired military personnel and all military dependents residing in the Beaufort area.
LARRY DANDRIDGE
Caleb Ellis
Emma Cline (Little)
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