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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
HUNTING ISLAND: A heartbreaking scene
Film festival keeps growing By Kat Walsh
Clockwise from top: One of the comfort stations at the Hunting Island campground still stands but was heavily damaged during Hurricane Matthew; the storm eroded both the primary and secondary dune system at Hunting Island State Park; a toilet filled with sand shows how extensive the damage done to the state park’s waste disposal system. The entire system needs to replaced. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
By Sally Mahan
Before the early morning hours of Oct. 8, Hunting Island was home to an incredibly popular campground, an expansive, glorious beach and walking trails through the lush maritime forest. Now, it looks like a battleground. Beaufort County residents have seen the piles of debris caused by Hurricane Matthew; they’ve seen the landscape change before their very eyes. But nothing quite prepares you for Hunting Island. The 5,000-acre barrier island, like other barrier islands in Beaufort County, took a sucker punch right in the face from Hurricane Matthew.
The 19th century lighthouse, the nature center, Little Blue (the small lone cabin left in the park) and the park rangers’ homes survived intact. But that’s about it. The trails are covered in fallen trees; the lagoon suffered saltwater intrusion; and the campground is a tangle of trees, limbs and debris. Additionally, the 9-foot storm surge destroyed all of the dunes and the beach suffered a tremendous amount of erosion. Sand was pushed up into one of the bathrooms closest to the beach and it piled up to the top of the bowls (and even inside the bowls) of the toilets. Four trees also fell on that bathroom.
HOMETOWN HEROES Two local firefighters were honored recently for their service to the community. PAGE B1
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There is a lot of debris still on the beach, including crab traps, branches, palmetto leaves and more. Park manager Daniel Gambrell said the beach will have to be renourished because there is so little of it left. One positive note is the “boneyard” of trees on the beach survived, but were pushed farther away from the water. Additionally, more than 2,000 trees have been lost throughout the park, some due to the high winds, and most pines were downed or have died because they couldn’t survive the salt water intrusion. The park is now inhabited by state park rangers and the cleanup contractor, which is See ISLAND page A8
I-95 GRANNIES Lee Scott takes a look at I-95 grannies, a new type of driver making their way along the interstate. PAGE B2
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The Eleventh Annual Beaufort International Film Festival will host thousands of film lovers from around the world from Tuesday, Feb. 15, and continuing through Sunday, Feb. 19. Organizers are expecting their biggest crowd to date at one of the fastest growing film festivals in the Southeast. Due to its popularity, the festival has expanded to five days. “This will allow for more screenings to occur on Saturday night,” said Ron Tucker, co-founder of the Beaufort Film Society. "We are honored to have one world premiere film, ‘Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence,’ one East Coast premiere, ‘Saturn Returns’ and one Southern U.S. premiere, a student film, ‘Icarus,’ ” said Tucker. At most of the screenings, the filmmakers will attend their own film showings. “At this time, we have over 50 commitments from filmmakers planning to attend the festival,” said Tucker. Awards will be presented in the areas of Features, Documentaries, Short Films, Student Films, Screenplays, Animation, Comedy and Audience Choice. Also, winners will be named for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director. In addition to the category and individual awards, the inaugural Robert Smalls Merit & Achievement Award will be presented to trailblazing filmmaker Julie Dash. “This award was created to recognize a filmmaker whose body of work has served as a catalyst for groundbreaking discoveries and societal change. Ms. Dash's accomplishments during the last quarter century certainly meet this criterion," said Tucker. Filmed in Beaufort, Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” has been restored and re-released as part of its 25th anniversary. “We are very fortunate to be selected as one the screening locations for the limited theatrical re-release during the festival,” said Rebecca Tucker, co-founder of the Beaufort Film Society. “And following the
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