ARTS: See Garth Brooks at the Highway 21 Drive-In this weekend. PAGE A9
JUNE 25–JULY 1, 2020 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
State’s COVID-19 numbers still rising By Mike McCombs As South Carolina had its third day in the past week with more than 1,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 on Monday, state officials raised the possibility that the state’s K-12 students may not be able to return to in-person education in the fall. On the rise “If it con- See last tinues on the week's same path numbers on page A7. we’re on right now it’s going to be extremely difficult for us to be able to go back face-to-face,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said at a press conference. “Hopefully we’ll see a change and things will start decreasing.” Spearman said safety would no t be sacrificed in order to meet the goal of in-person instruction for the state’s students. “Certainly, if the virus is running rampant, we’re not going to sacrifice the safety of our students and our teachers just to say ‘we’re going back to school,’” Spearman saidas the 13-member
A crowd of roughly 400 filled Beaufort’s Waterfront Park on Sunday for the Father’s Day ‘March for Justice.’ Photos by Jeff Coyle.
Keeping the faith
Hundreds turn out for Father’s Day ‘March for Justice’ in Beaufort
By Mindy Lucas Vaughn Holland, of Beaufort, sat along a low wall looking out onto the stretch of grass in front Waterfront Park’s amphitheater on Sunday. Sandwiched between his wife and three grandchildren, Holland was there for the “March for Justice” and he was certainly not alone. A crowd estimated somewhere north of about 400 filled the park and, following a number of speeches from civic and religious leaders, took to the streets for the Father’s Day silent march. “I love the diversity,” said Holland at the start of the march. “I don’t know the numbers, but I would guess it’s about 70 percent white and I appreciate that. It shows the support from the community.” Holland said he thought such events were important because of the “things that were going on right now” in the country. He was also personally concerned since his oldest grandson, who just turned 16, would be driving soon. “He’s about 6-foot-1 right now, so he’s a tall kid,” Holland said, adding that even though he was still just a boy, some might consider him a threat just the same.
SEE VIRUS PAGE A7
Missed the March? Watch it on The County Channel The County Channel will air the opening ceremony and closing remarks from the March for Justice at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, June 26. The County Channel is accessible on Comcast Ch. 2, Hargray Chs. 9 and 113, as well as Spectrum Ch. 1304. The memorial can also be watched live on The County Channel’s website at www.beaufortcountysc.gov/ thecountychannel.
of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. He also paused to remember the Charleston church shooting victims who were killed by a self-proclaimed white supremacist during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. “I never thought in my wildest imagination that anyone could walk into a church and shoot nine persons while they were praying,” he said. A Sheldon native, Mitchell attended Robert Smalls High School before graduating in 1968, the same year that saw the assassination of
Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Harold "Mitch" Mitchell organized Sunday's march. “Tamir Rice was just 12 years old with a toy gun,” Holland said, referring to the young black boy killed in Cleveland, Ohio after calls about a male with a gun in an area park were relayed to officers. “So yes, I’m concerned about it.” Organized by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Harold Mitchell, the event featured a program of guest
speakers including Mayor Billy Keyserling, who read a resolution recently passed by city council at its June 9 meeting. The resolution recognizes “the deep historical systematic oppression of black people in our city and worldwide.” At that meeting, Mitchell said he had been struggling with the death
SEE JUSTICE PAGE A4
MCAS Beaufort, Parris Island change commands From staff reports Less than a month after Naval Hospital Beaufort held a change-ofcommand ceremony, Beaufort’s two Marine installations saw changes at the top, as well. On Thursday, June 18, Col. Timothy P. Miller relinquished command to Col. Karl R. Arbogast on the parade field as Col. Arbogast became the new commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Then the next day, Friday, June 19, Maj. Gen. James Glynn relinquished command of Marine Corps Recruit
Depot Parris Island/Eastern Recruiting Region to Brig. Gen. Julie Nethercot at the All Weather Training Facility on Parris Island. Nethercot joined Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region after serving Col. as the Director of the Karl R. Commander’s Action Arbogast Group for NORAD and USNORTHCOM. She was commissioned in May of 1993 and deployed for Operation
A DAY AT THE BEACH
Iraqi Freedom (OIF) I and to Marine Corps Central Command-Djibouti Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). From May 2009June 2011, she served as Commanding Officer for 9th CommuBrig. Gen. nication Battalion in Julie Camp Pendleton, CaNethercot lif. The battalion deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan from January 2010 through February 2011 in support of OEF.
Nethercot is a graduate of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School, Command and Control Systems School, the Navy Command and Staff College and the National War College. She holds a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. Her personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal
SEE MARINES PAGE A4
NEW PLANS?
INSIDE
Ribbon cutting signals completion of Hunting Island beach re-nourishment.
Something may be in the works for the old Beaufort County Jail.
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Day care at MCAS Beaufort closes for virus By Mike McCombs The Child Development Center – day care – on Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort was closed indefinitely at the end of business on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 17 after multiple caregivers and children tested positive for COVID-19. Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) South Carolina, which runs the center, posted a release on Wednesday to its Facebook page that announced the closing but made no specific reference to coronavirus or COVID-19. However, on Wednesday, the center was calling parents individually to tell them of the closure and why. The calls, as well as the reason for them, were confirmed Wednesday afternoon by Lt. Kevin Buss, Public Information Officer for MCAS Beaufort. The MCCS release reads as follows: “MCAS CDC CLOSURE EFFECTIVE COD 17 JUNE The Child Development Center will close until further notice to allow for completion of a contact investigation and subsequent recommended actions from Preventive Medicine. The closure will also
SEE DAY CARE PAGE A4