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JUNE 30–JULY 6, 2022 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
PRESORTED PERMIT NO. 97 BEAUFORT, SC 29902
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Port Royal set for July 4 fireworks
The Town of Port Royal will put on a fireworks show Monday, July 4. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
By Mike McCombs With Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island declining to hold an Independence Day fireworks show, the town of Port Royal is now the only game in town. Port Royal, in partnership with the Community Beer Garden, will hold its Hometown Celebration on Monday, July 4. There will be two stages for live music, beginning at 2 p.m. On the Community Beer Garden stage, Austin Williams will perform from 2 to 4 p.m., and Campfire Tyler will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. On the main stage, near the entrance to the boardwalk, the Esquires will play
from 4 to 6 p.m., while the Marine Corps Rock Band will play from 8 p.m. until. “The fireworks will start sometime after 9 p.m., when it’s completely dark,” Town of Port Royal Town Manage Van Willis said. The Boy Scouts will be serving hot dogs and hamburgers and there will be several food trucks on hand inside the Community Beer Garden offering other options. No pets will be allowed, aside from service dogs. No firearms or concealed weapons are allowed, and coolers are prohibited. Last year, Port Royal was forced to
have a fireworks “do-over.” The original July 4 show was saddled with delays before being cut short for technical reasons. Town of Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito promised a make-up show sometime in the fall and made good on his word on Labor Day weekend. “They realized what they had done wrong and they have corrected it,” Willis said of Munnerlyn Pyrotechnics, the company contracted to put on Port Royal’s fireworks display last year, as well as this year. “They made it up to us, so it was not so bad.” Willis wanted to remind residents that the Port Royal Boat Landing
will not be open July 4. “We close it down every year,” Willis said, “but that doesn’t mean people won’t show up and be mad.” In one other logistical update, Willis said the town is actually shooting off their fireworks from The Sands Beach this year, as opposed to a barge in the river as in previous years. “The tides work out perfectly,” he said, “and we can isolate them way on the end, safely away from the people on the beach.” Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
Council passes budget giving teachers big raises By Mike McCombs In a time when public school teachers are under siege from seemingly all directions, Beaufort County made a statement this week. If it was to continue to put its children first, it was going to have to make a commitment to its teachers. On Monday night, Beaufort County Council approved the Beaufort County School District’s (BCSD) submitted budget proposal for the 2022-2023 school year, and as a result, the county’s teachers will now become some of the best compensated in the entire state. “Every day we are competing with districts across the country to recruit and retain educators. This proves especially difficult given the high cost of living in Beaufort
Billy Keyserling, former mayor of Beaufort, led a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Beaufort on Saturday, June 25. Hosted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the ceremony celebrated major repair work to the 126-year-old building completed with money from the county's ATAX fund. Photo by Tony Kukulich/The Island News.
Grand Army’s hall grander County funds repair of Reconstruction Era landmark
By Tony Kukulich
I
t may seem unusual to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a building that is 126 years old, but former City of Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling was on hand at the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Hall this past weekend to do just that. The ceremony marked the completion of structural repairs to the building, which was built in 1896 and is located at 706 New Castle Ave. Beaufort County Council ATAX funds contributed $115,000 toward this project. “Preservation of our Grand Army Hall, and the work being done by the Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington and his team to protect it, has never been more important,” said City of Beaufort Councilmember Mitch Mitchell, who attended the event. “The Grand Army Hall shares the history and contribution of Black Americans to our own emancipation and our continued struggle to be accepted as equal.” The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War hosted a crowd of approxi-
Weaver, Matthews win runoffs From staff reports Turnout was low — 3.77% in Beaufort County and 6.75% statewide — but after Tuesday’s primary runoffs, the ballot for the Nov. 8 General Election are set. Kathy Maness led a crowded field of six in the Republican race for S.C. Superintendent of Education, when she captured 30.57% of the vote in the primary. But second-place finisher Ellen Weaver, who earned 23.33% of the primary votes before the runoff prevailed decisively on Tuesday, claiming 63.91% of the vote statewide. In Beaufort County, the rout was even bigger with Weaver claiming 73.86% of the vote. In the Democratic race for U.S. Senate, once again, the second-pace finisher from the initial primary won the runoff decisively. Krystle Matthews, who finished second June 14, won Tuesday over Catherine Fleming Bruce with 55.78% of
James Yancy speaks about the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth after Billy Keyserling, former mayor of Beaufort, led a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Beaufort on Saturday, June 25. Hosted by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the ceremony celebrated major repair work to the 126-year-old building completed with money from the county's ATAX fund. Photo by Tony Kukulich/The Island News. mately 50 who gathered on a seasonably hot and sticky Saturday morning for the ceremony, which included a keynote address by James Yancy. Yancy spoke about the significance
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of the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth, which was recently celebrated as a federal holiday for the
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About 50 people turned out for the anti-gun violence rally Saturday in Beaufort.
Whale Branch’s Dee Delaney hosts camp for kids on his home turf.
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