COMMUNITY: Sarah Dyson named Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation chair. PAGE A4
JANUARY 18 - 24, 2018
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Flu season peaking By Amy Rigard
According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), more than 17,000 cases of influenza have been reported in South Carolina so far this flu season, which begins in October. The season, which typically begins in October, seems to be peaking throughout much of the country, with widespread activity reported in nearly every state and territory, according to the Centers for Disease VIRTUAL Control and VISITS Prevention. Find out more The CDC’s about Beaufort weekly reMemorial's BMH porting Care Anywhere service. PAGE A6 has shown a steady increase in the number of reported flu cases in the past few weeks throughout much of the country. And South Carolina is no exception. For the week ending January 6, 2018, the number of flu-related reported hospitalizations in South Carolina increased by more than 87 percent compared to the previous week, according to DHEC. DHEC reports that during South Carolina’s current flu season, there have been 830 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 15 influenza-associated deaths reported. Dr. Kurt Gambla, Beaufort Memorial Hospital Chief Medical Officer, said that while the prevalence of the flu nationally is projected to track twice the normal rate, Beaufort Memorial Hospital is on par with last year’s flu season with about 65 cases per week. He noted that the season does seem to be coming close to peak, and the hospital has experienced an increase in the number of respiratory infections overall.
Ceremony marks year anniversary of Reconstruction Era National Monument
Myra Parker, center left, of the Beaufort Mass Choir, leads the dancing while the choir sings during the one-year anniversary celebration of the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument on Friday, Jan. 12, at The Arsenal on Craven Street. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) describes his childhood woking on his family’s packing shed on St. Helena Island near Penn Center. Sanford was the keynote speaker during the ceremony marking the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument, which is part of the National Park Service, and is comprised of four sites: Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island; Camp Saxton at Fort Fredrick in Port Royal; and the old firehouse in downtown Beaufort.
Artist Sonja Griffin Evans, left, describes some of the finer points of her painting after its unveiling to honor the park’s anniversary. Evans calls her piece “Mine Eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.” The Reconstruction Era monument is dedicated to commemorating the period from 1861 - 1900 when nearly 4 million African Americans, newly freed from bondage, sought to integrate into a free society and the educational, economic and political life of the country.
SEE FLU, PAGE A6
A Beaufort tragedy remembered 16 years later By Sally Mahan
Sixteen years ago this month, two Beaufort County Sheriff ’s deputies responded to a 911 call in Burton. It was the last call the two would answer. Lance Cpl. Dana Tate, 44, and Cpl. Dyke “A.J.” Coursen, 35, were shot to death by Tyree Roberts, on Jan. 8, 2002. Coursen had been with the Beaufort County Sheriff 's Department for one year. He left behind his wife, D.J., son, and stepdaughter. Tate was a U.S. Navy veteran and had been with the department for over four years. He also left behind a family, including his wife, Marie. Meanwhile, the defendant, who now goes by the name Abdiyyah ben Alkebulanyahh,
continues to sit on death row at Kirkland Correctional Institute in Columbia, having recently filed another appeal, according to the SC Attorney General’s Office. On the fateful day, a 911 came in at about 4 p.m. saying a woman and her child were being held against their will by the woman’s boyfriend. According to various court records, Roberts lived in a trailer at 21 Riley Road owned by Brenda Smith. Another woman, Kimberly Blake, with whom Roberts had an infant daughter, was also staying there. Blake wanted the police to help her leave because Roberts had hit her. When the deputies arrived, Roberts hid in a bedroom closet with his semi-automatic rifle.
Left: Lance Cpl. Dana Tate Right: Cpl. Dyke “A.J.” Coursen
Blake left the room and the trailer’s owner, Smith, gave the deputies permission to search the bedroom. Then there was a hail of gunshots. Blake ran outside and down the road, and
Roberts was not far behind. Holding his gun, he told Blake, “I just killed those two white bitches and I’m going to say it was self-defense.” When backup officers responded to the scene, they found Coursen and Tate dead. Coursen had suffered six gunshot wounds; Tate had seven. However, Tate was able to wound Roberts before he died. A short time later, Roberts was found hiding in the mud under a bridge with a shoulder and hip wound. At the time, he had a black fanny pack which held a cell phone, a knife and ammunition for an M-14 assault rifle. They then found a rifle magazine and an SKS assault rifle in the area in which Roberts had ran. SEE TRAGEDY, PAGE A6 We are. Accreditation
FIGHTING FIRES Burton Fire District responds to three house fires in single weekend; officials stress importance of smoke dectectors. PAGE A3
HONORING MLK Beaufort honors Martin Luther King Jr. with annual parade through downtown. PAGE B1
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