June 6 edition

Harriet Tubman monument unveiled

Sculpture honors former Beaufort resident’s role in Civil War’s Combahee River Raid, freeing more than 750 slaves

By Mike McCombs

The Island News Harriet Tubman made her long awaited return to Beaufort as a crowd of more than 500 people celebrated at Tabernacle Baptist Church on Saturday, June 1

Tubman’s appearance was in the form of a bronze sculpture by Ed Dwight honoring her participation in the 1863 Combahee River Raid. The unveiling of the work was a

long time coming for Rev. Kenneth Hodges, the pastor at Tabernacle and a former State Representative for House District 121, taking place eight years and $600,000 in private donations after the Tabernacle membership decided to erect a monument. Despite the time passed and the challenges of the recent COVID-19

Voters will decide Democratic, Republican candidates for 1st District seat in Congress

By Delayna Earley The Island News

Voters in Beaufort County and all over South Carolina will take to the polls on Tuesday, June 11, to vote in both Democratic and Republican primaries.

Here is everything that you need to know to vote.

Who can vote?

South Carolina holds open primaries, meaning that voters can choose to vote Republican or Democrat but may only vote in one primary.

Anyone age 18 or older with a valid voter’s registration and a valid photo ID may vote.

Acceptable forms of identification include:

S.C. Driver’s License

S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles ID card

S.C. Voter’s Registration Card with Photo

U.S. Passport

Federal Military ID

State law requires a person to register to vote at least 30 days before an election.

Voters can check their registration status by visiting scvotes.gov.

Who or what will be on the ballot?

All seven of South Carolina’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election in 2024

School district asks community to weigh in on cell phones in schools

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Beaufort County School District, along with the Student Improvement Council, has reached out to parents, students, staff and members of the community to weigh in on whether cellular phone usage is cause for concern by asking them to fill out a survey by Wednesday, June 5 The survey states that the school district is “proactively preparing for potential state guidance on the topic as legislators in Columbia are also currently debating the issue.”

According to Superintendent Frank Rodriguez, budget bills have already been passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives that include a provision that would require individual

school districts to adopt policies that stop students from using unauthorized electronic devices during school hours.

In the survey, participants are asked to weigh in if they believe schools should be cell phone free or if there should be limitations put on usage and what the negative and positive impacts of allowing cell phones in schools are.

Potentially removing the electronic distractions was originally discussed during the May 7 Beaufort County Board of Education meeting where the board directed Rodriguez to assess potential regulations that would prohibit cellphone use during school hours.

Currently, per the BCSD Student Manual, students are allowed to use “electronic communication

devices” on school property, including school buses, while attending school-sponsored activities, or when using the district technology system in accordance with Administrative Regulation.

If a student violates the rule, they could have their device confiscated and a parent would have to pick the

SEE PHONES PAGE A7

The Ed Dwight sculpture of Harriet Tubman is unveiled on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Harriet Tubman, portrayed by Lucinda Carr, makes her appearance during the Harriet Tubman Monument unveiling. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

This little cutie sat all day on Ali Muller’s deck railing on Lady’s Island. 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 MIKE

Beaufort’s Mike Hammer, 53 joined the United States Army in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1991 After Basic Training at Fort Sill, Okla., he trained in field artillery, specializing in multiple launch rocket systems. He was deployed to Hanau, Germany and then to

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

An endorsement for Catherine Templeton

I've now attended three forums where Catherine Templeton and Bill Young introduced themselves to those attending and answered questions as to their position on issues. Nancy Mace declined to appear before us. I voted for Catherine Templeton the first day of early voting and here's why: Catherine is a lawyer who served in Governor Nikki Haley's administration as head of DHEC and as the Secretary of Labor. She founded and ran a very successful business, she's a lady who will never embarrass us with inappropriate public statements about her sex life, and we desperately need her experience working for us in Congress. I urge you to vote for this true conservative who'll help Mr. Trump get our Country back to sensible policies and traditional values. Vote Catherine Templeton.

– Edie Rodgers, Beaufort. Rodgers, a Republican, represented S.C. House District 124 from 1997 to 2001

Carol Lucas, ‘rise above political fray’

Tell you what Carol Lucas, Alito and Thomas will recuse themselves as soon as Juan Marchan in NYC recuses himself from the Trump trial!!

Liberals often, very often, accuse the Right of doing exactly what the Democrats in NYC are doing to Trump.

The first paragraph in your article is a perfect example. To quote you, verbatim: "Once again, we have proof that impartiality and ethical standards, as they apply to our not so supreme court, have

ON THIS DATE

June 6

2000: Clarence “C.J.” Cummings, Jr. is born to Clarence Cummings, Sr., and Savasha Jenkins Cummings. Cummings holds numerous Youth and Junior weightlifting national and world records and competed in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo (held in 2021).

HAMMER

Bamberg, Germany during Desert Shield/Storm. Following that, he separated in 1993 and began a series of work environments including a job as an armed security guard at Walmart for 13 years and as a fast-food service manager. Today he owns Hammer

gone to hell in a handbasket. How is it that the highest court in our country has become infiltrated with blatant corruption?"

Just replace supreme court with the letters DOJ and the words, highest court with Juan Marchan and there you have it … dipsy-dofliper-oooo … libs running you over.

– George Richardson, Beaufort

A challenge to our new county administrator

Michael Moore starts July 1. I do wish him well. I am glad he is a retired sailor, too, cause the county, like a great ship on the ocean, needs to be open to course changes, and he knows he could function as that small device called a trim tab on the rudder, without which a course change is difficult.

I don’t know what his “top 10 goals” might be, but I’d like to offer a thought or two. And maybe he could publish a monthly column letting us know his thoughts; would not that level transparency be refreshing in this county! (P.S., The Island News is my “local paper!)

My concern is about change. It is of course inevitable, but perhaps the pace of what many may consider rampant uncontrolled over-development should not be inevitable?

I perceive our County Council as having historically facilitated the status quo, which meant that developers have had full control of the reins without any brakes.

And now our new administrator will soon experience his first hurricane season in a county watching the ocean’s steady rise and march westward — if you have not, sir, go walk our precious gem Hunting Island beach to its full length, put a stake in the high water mark and come back and check it … even a week will see change occurring at a

2020: The famous Red Piano Too Art Gallery on St. Helena Island closes its doors for the final time. The Gullah Geechee Visitors Center and LyBensons Gallery & Studio now occupy the building.

June 7

2020: Around 200 people take part in a march supporting Our Peaceful Protesters and Black Lives Matter from Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park to Beaufort City Hall. The group had been protesting against and marching in protest of the killing of

PAL PETS OF THE WEEK

Time Cleaning and Sunset Slush Hilton Head serving Italian ice.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207 For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.

pace to surprise you. So hoping perhaps that the issue of how climate change will affect Beaufort County and all of us could enter your thinking.

As to whether I’d (again) support another “penny” tax for roads etc, considering how the last one nor the County really addressed our exploding traffic issues, well, convince me, please.

– Timothy Dodds, Lady’s Island

Dominion Energy requesting another rate increase

On Monday June 10, there will be a public hearing in Bluffton on Dominion Energy’s latest request for a rate hike. Dominion is requesting a 14 21% increase. This follows the 2022-2023 increases that totaled more than 18%. This latest request does not include any potential increases to fuel (coal/ natural gas) costs which are likely given the volatile nature of these finite commodities.

In their request, Dominion cites their inability to realize their profit goals. Seriously? They can’t run their business efficiently, so they try to force us ratepayers to cover for them? Oh, and did I mention that a portion of our utility bills goes towards lobbying in Columbia? And what is lobbied for is in direct contradiction to the best interests of ratepayers? Please consider showing up and voicing your displeasure with Dominion Energy.

6 p.m., Monday, June 10, Bluffton Town Council Chambers, 20 Bridge Street, Bluffton, S.C. 29910 Register by June 7 via the Public Service Commission at contact@psc.sc.gov or at 803-896-5100

– Mike Bogel, Beaufort

George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by the police in Minneapolis, Minn.

June 12

2020: Bob Bender, local environmental activist and founder and curator of the Lowcounty Estuarium in Port Royal, dies at home of complications from throat surgeries.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

Dog Of The Week

Mojito is a fun-loving, 5-year-old boy. He is sweet, playful, and a bit goofy in the best way. He loves the water and enjoys the company of other dogs. Wouldn’t you love to have this Mojito by your side at the pool or beach? Mojito is neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

Cat Of The Week Gumbo was blessed with

stunning fur and the most beautiful, fluffy tail. This 1-yearold girl is sweet and sassy, and we love her for it. She’s the queen of hilarious facial expressions that are sure to keep you smiling. Gumbo is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

For more info, call PAL at 843-645-1725 or email Info@ PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.

– Compiled by Lindsay Perry

Mike Hammer

Chief Price sworn in

One person killed in Sunday morning crash on County Shed Road

By Mike McCombs The Island News

A Sunday morning, sin-

gle-vehicle crash on County Shed Road in Burton left one person dead and sent another to the hospital.

According to Lance Cpl. Lena Butler of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the collision occurred at approximately 7:17 a.m., on secondary Highway 73 (County Shed Road) near Parris Island Gateway, three miles west of Beaufort.

There were two occupants in the vehicle involved, a 2020 Ford F-150 pick-up

truck, which was traveling southbound when it traveled off the right side of the roadway and collided with a tree.

The passenger, identified by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office as Francisco Galnarez-Garcia, 28, of St. Helena Island, “succumbed to their injuries on scene.”

According to the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP), the driver, identified as Jose Gabriel Cruz Castillo, 22, of St. Helena Island, fled the scene but was promptly apprehended. He wasn’t found at the scene, but he was in close

proximity, according to the SCHP. He was transported by EMS to Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Cruz Castillo was charged with Felony DUI Resulting in Death and Hit And Run. After the treatment of his injuries, he was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center. He was released on Monday. County Shed Road was closed to traffic for several hours.

Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

5 killed in 3-car collision on St. Helena

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Five people are dead after a collision Wednesday night, May 29, involving three vehicles on Sea Island Parkway near Polowana Road on St. Helena Island.

The crash happened just after 10:30 p.m, east of the city of Beaufort, according to a report by Master Trooper William Bennett with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The 2009 Honda Accord was traveling north on Sea Island Parkway while the 2004 Toyota Tundra and 2009 BMW Sedan were both traveling south.

The BMW attempted to

BOARD - CERTIFIED, FELLOWSHIP - TRAINED MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST

J. Eri c Turne r, M. D.

t o B e aufor t Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center

Dr. J. Eric Turner, a board-certified, fellowship-trained medical oncologist has joined Beaufort Memorial Oncology Specialists, part of the hospital’s nationally recognized Keyserling Cancer Center in Beaufort. He joins boardcertified radiation oncologist Dr. Jonathan Briggs and board-certified nurse practitioners Katy Jones and Susanne Baisch at the center.

Dr. Turner brings extensive knowledge of the full range of established and emerging cancer therapies—including immunotherapy, molecular targeting therapy and chemotherapy—gained through 30 years of both research and clinical experience. He will treat a wide variety of cancers, including those of the breast, head and neck, lungs, and gastrointestinal system.

His experience includes running a private oncology practice in Calhoun, Georgia, and serving as medical director of oncology at Peeples Cancer Institute in Dalton, Georgia. Prior to pursuing his medical degree, Dr. Turner was a molecular cancer biology researcher at Duke University for five years.

pass the Toyota and struck the Honda head on. Then, the BMW went off the right side of the road, overturned and caught fire. The Toyota went off the right side of the road to try and avoid the collision, but then struck the BMW.

Mary Seabrook, 46, of Beaufort, was the driver of the BMW, and she was pronounced dead at the scene according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott.

Henry Watson, 31, of St. Helena, Tiera Seabrook, 31 of St. Helena, and Jaycean Perry, 4, of St. Helena, were all passengers in the BMW and were also pronounced dead at the scene.

and

at the scene. She was the sole occupant of her vehicle. The driver of the Toyota was unharmed and was the sole occupant of their vehicle. The collision is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

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.

Board-certified Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology

Fellowship - Medical Oncology

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Residency - Internal Medicine

University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville

Doctor of Medicine (with distinction)

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Bachelor of Science - Biochemistry (summa cum laude)

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

ABOUT THE BEAUFORT MEMORIAL Keyserling Cancer Center

Awarded full accreditation with special commendation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons, Beaufort Memorial’s Keyserling Cancer Center in Beaufort, as well as its New River Cancer Center in Okatie, provide access to medical oncology, radiation oncology, cancer surgeries, and lab, imaging,

infusion and breast health services. Both centers are affiliated with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) and its experienced subspecialists to provide additional treatment options when needed, as well as access to promising clinical trials, allowing local treatment for even the most complex cancers.

Raymone Dagin, 26, of Beaufort, was the driver of the 2009 Honda Accord

as also pronounced dead

Stephenie Price is all smiles while being officially “frocked” with the pinning on of her eagles by her husband Chris, left, and son Jase after being sworn in as Beaufort’s first female Chief of Police on Friday, May 31, at Beaufort City Hall. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Stephenie Price, left, is officially sworn in as Beaufort’s newest police chief by Beaufort City Manager Scott Marshall during a brief ceremony Friday morning, May 31, at Beaufort City Hall. Price is the first female Chief of Police for the City of Beaufort. Nationally, females make up only eight percent of sworn police chiefs, according to Marshall. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Beaufort River Swim set for Saturday morning

From staff reports

The 18th annual Beaufort River Swim is set for Saturday morning, June 8, on the Beaufort River.

The race is the chief fundraiser for the Wardle Family YMCA’s Learn to Swim Program. The day’s events include the 3 2-mile competitive Beaufort River Swim, a 1-mile Swim and 5k Road Race after either swim distance. There were 171 participants registered as of Tuesday.

The Beaufort marina parking lot is the end point of both swims. This is the staging area for swim and run events. Competitors should look for directional signage for check-in to receive a timing chip and be marked up. Parking is free until noon.

Check-in begins at 5:30 a.m., and the 3 2-mile competitive swim starts at 7:30 a.m., with the Fun Swim starting at approximately 8 YMCA staff will transport via bus all swimmers to their respective starting points (Safe Harbor Port Royal Marina for the 3 2-Mile swimmers and the Beaufort Memorial Hospital dock for the 1-mile swimmers).

There is no same day registration –registration ended Monday, June 3, 2024 Award presentation will be held at the downtown marina parking lot area immediately after the 5K ends.

The Beaufort Search and Rescue Squadron will be providing the primary safety for our event. DNR will have boating traffic cut off along the route. A fleet of kayakers and other safety vessels will monitor the course to ensure the swimmers' safety.

Primary from page A1

While there are also seats in the South Carolina state legislature that are also up for grabs this year, the primary is for races that are contested within their own party.

In northern Beaufort County, voters will be voting to decide on the Republican and Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives District 1, a seat currently held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.

Mace was elected to the seat in 2020

She previously represented the 99th district in the S.C. House of Representatives from 2018 to 2020 Going against the incumbent for the Republican nomination are Catherine Templeton and Bill Young.

Templeton is an attorney who worked as the Director of South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation under former S.C. Governor Nikki Haley.

Young is a Marine veteran who has worked as a financial advisor and hopes to champion veterans’ causes.

On the other side of the party line are Democrats Mac Deford and Michael B. Moore.

Deford is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard who lives in Mt. Pleasant and has worked a local government attorney for several Lowcountry municipalities.

Moore is the great-great grandson of Beaufort’s Robert Smalls and served as CEO of both the International African American Museum and Glory Foods.

A Harriet Tubman one-woman show

Rabid raccoon confirmed in Beaufort County; 2 pets exposed

From staff reports

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) confirmed Friday, May 31, that a raccoon found near Dolphin Point Drive and Indigo Loop in Beaufort, has tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. However, two dogs were exposed and were quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.

The raccoon was submitted to DHEC's laboratory for testing on May 28, and was confirmed to have rabies on May 29. If you believe you, someone you know, or your

Voters can see a sample ballot by going to the South Carolina Election Commission’s website.

When can I vote?

Precincts will open at 7 a.m. on June 11 and will close at 7 p.m., although anyone in line before 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Where can I vote?

Before heading out to vote on Saturday, make sure to confirm your correct polling place:

• Beaufort 1 – USCB Gymnasium – 1100 Boundary Street

Beaufort 2 – USCB Gymnasium – 1100 Boundary Street

Beaufort 3 – USCB Gymnasi-

um – 1100 Boundary Street

• Burton 1A – Burton Wells Recreation Center – 1 Middleton

Rec Drive

Burton 1B – Robert Smalls

Leadership Academy – 43

W.K. Alston Drive

• Burton 1C – Joseph S. Shank-

lin Elementary School – 121

Morrall Drive

Burton 1D – Joseph S. Shank-

lin Elementary School – 121

Morrall Drive

• Burton 2A – Community Bi-

ble Church – 638 Parris Island

Gateway

Burton 2B – Community Bi-

ble Church – 638 Parris Island

Gateway

• Burton 2C – Love House

Ministries – 423 Parris Island

Gateway

Burton 2D – Love House

Ministries – 423 Parris Island

Gateway

• Burton 3A – Robert Smalls

Leadership Academy – 43

W.K. Alston Drive

Burton 3B – Burton Wells Rec-

pets have come in contact with this raccoon or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call DHEC's Public Health Beaufort office at 843-525-7603 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) or after hours and on holidays at 888847-0902 (Select Option 2).

“Keeping your pets up to date on their rabies vaccination is the easiest way to protect you and your family from this deadly virus,” DHEC Rabies Program director Terri McCollister said in a media release. “Any mammal has the ability to carry and transmit the dis-

reation Center – 1 Middleton Rec Drive

• Burton 4 – Joseph Shanklin

Elementary School – 121 Mor-

rall Drive

Burton 5A – Community Bi-

ble Church – 638 Parris Island

Gateway

Burton 5B – Community Bi-

ble Church – 638 Parris Island

Gateway

• Lady’s Island 1A – Lady’s Is-

land Middle School – 30 Cou-

gar Drive

Lady’s Island 1B – Lady’s Is-

land Elementary School – 73

Chowan Creek Bluff Road

• Lady’s Island 2A – Coosa Elementary School – 45 Middle Road

• Lady’s Island 2B – David

Smith Community Center –140 Coosaw River Drive

Lady’s Island 2C – David

Smith Community Center –

140 Coosaw River Dr.

• Lady’s Island 3A – Tidal Creek

Fellowship – 290 Brickyard

Point Road South

• Lady’s Island 3B – Lady’s Is-

land Elementary School – 73

Chowan Creek Bluff Road

Lady’s Island 3C – Tidal Creek Fellowship – 290 Brickyard

Point Road South

• Lady’s Island 4A – Lady’s Is-

land Middle School – 30 Cou-

gar Drive

• Lady’s Island 4B – Lady’s Is-

land Elementary School – 73

Chowan Creek Bluff Road

Lady’s Island 4C – Coosa Elementary School – 45 Middle

Road

• Mossy Oaks 1A – Cornerstone

Christian Church – 2301 First Blvd.

ease to people or pets. Therefore, give wild and stray animals plenty of space.”

In South Carolina, rabies is most often found in wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but pets are just as susceptible to the virus. If you see an animal in need, avoid touching it. Contact someone trained in handling animals, such as your local animal control officer, wildlife control officer, or a wildlife rehabilitator. An exposure is defined as direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with saliva or brain/ner-

Mossy Oaks 1B – Beaufort

Middle School – 2501 Mossy Oaks Road

Mossy Oaks 2 – Mossy Oaks Elementary School – 2510 Mossy Oaks Road

• Port Royal 1 – Port Royal Town Hall – 700 Paris Avenue Port Royal 2 – Port Royal Town Hall – 700 Paris Avenue

• Dale Lobeco – James J. Davis Early Childhood Center – 254 Keans Neck Road

Seabrook 1 – Beaufort County Public Works – 120 Shanklin Road

Seabrook 2 – Whale Branch

Middle School – 2009 Trask Parkway

• Seabrook 3 – Grays Hill Fire Department Station 82 – 14 Bruce K. Smalls Drive Sheldon 1 – Elijah Washington Medical Center – 211 Paige Point Drive

• Sheldon 2 – Booker T. Washington Community Center – 182 Booker T. Washington Circle

• St. Helena 1A – St. Helena Library – 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road

• St. Helena 1B – Scott Community Center – 242 Scott Hill Road St. Helena 1C – Dataw Community Center – 43 Marina Drive

• St. Helena 2A – St. Helena Elementary School St. Helena 2B – Gloria Potts Community Center – 130 Seaside Road

• St. Helena 2C – Fripp Island Community Center – 205 Tarpon Blvd.

vous system tissue from an infected animal.

This raccoon is the second animal in Beaufort County to test positive for rabies in 2024. There have been 29 cases of rabid animals statewide this year. Since 2002, South Carolina has averaged approximately 148 positive cases a year. In 2023, one of the 78 confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina was in Beaufort County. Contact information for local Public Health offices is available at scdhec.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies visit scdhec.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.

When is early voting?

Early voting began on Tuesday, May 28 and ends on Friday, June 7 In Beaufort County, early voting centers open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays during the early voting period. There is no early voting available on weekends or state holidays.

Where can I go to vote early?

Beaufort County Board of Registrations and Elections Office – 15 Jon Galt Road (Beaufort) St. Helena Branch Library – 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road (Saint Helena Island)

Can I vote absentee?

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the 2024 primaries was on May 31

All absentee ballots that were issued need to be returned by 7 p.m. on June 11, Election Day.

Problems or concerns

Any issues or complaints should be brought to the attention of the poll manager, but if the issue does not get resolved, voters can contact the Beaufort County elections office as soon as possible.

The phone number is 843-2556900 and the address to visit is 15 John Galt Road.

Election fraud allegations can be reported to the State Law Enforcement (SLED) hotline at 843-4SCVOTE or by emailing any supporting documents and complaints to 4SCVote@sled.sc.gov.

For more information about precincts go to beaufortcountysc.gov or scVOTES.gov.

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.

Lucinda Carr, actress, stops to pose for a photo opportunity after performing her one-woman show “Harriet Tubman: My Life Is Not My Own” on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Stabilization underway at Russ Point Landing

From staff reports

Stabilization

“We

O’Quinn

A photo of the sign announcing the closing of Russ Point Boat Landing as seen on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at Russ Point Boat Landing on Hunting Island. Delayna Earley/File/The Island News

Port Royal Mayor Phillips endorses Mace

From staff reports

Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips has endorsed incumbent Congresswoman Nancy Mace in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat.

Phillips credits the Congresswoman’s advocacy for Parris Island as the reason for his endorsement.

“Congresswoman Nancy Mace has come through on her promises to Port Royal.

She honored her commitment to protecting Parris Island, introducing the only legislation to ensure it remains in the Lowcountry and continues to train Marines,” Phillips said in a news release. “Nancy Mace has my complete endorsement for re-election.”

“Mayor Kevin Phillips' endorsement serves as recognition for the promises we

have made, and kept over the last four years,” Mace responded in a news release.

“Parris Island belongs in the Lowcountry, and it’s because of leaders like Kevin that we can take pride in the historical pillars that the site holds true. Thank you Kevin for the endorsement, and for trusting us to take care of Parris Island for two more years.”

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Truth Matters

Pickpocket or Good Guy? Relativism in

Someone took your phone.

You feel a tug at your clothes, and you realize that your phone is no longer in your pocket. A man is walking away with it in his hand. “Stop him!” you yell. “That guy stole my phone!”

Does it work to make up our own truth?

As we explored in previous messages, relativism is the idea that moral and religious truth changes from person to person. In matters of morality and faith, there are no truths that apply to everyone: we all make up our own truth. As a theory, it sounds like a nice way to help everyone get along. But in real life, relativism quickly falls apart.

Can we say that an action is wrong?

If relativism is true, then the man who took the phone could rightly say, “Stealing may be wrong for you, but it’s okay for me to do.” Similarly, we would have no right to complain when someone cuts us off in traffic, speaks rudely to us, or breaks into our house. After all, who are we to force our personal standards of morality upon them? If everything is just a matter of opinion or personal point of view, then nothing can really ever be off-limits.

Can we take a stand for what’s right?

If relativism is true, then we cannot fight against evil. In the example of the pickpocket, there would be no reason for the bystanders to act when you call for their help. “Who am I to judge whether it is wrong for him to take your phone? What’s true for you is true for you, what’s true for him is true for him.” If we accept relativism, then we have no logical basis to take a stand for anything, since there is no right or wrong that applies to everyone.

Real Life

Can we discover truths beyond ourselves?

If relativism is true, the pickpocket in our example cannot discover answers to important questions such as, “What is the purpose of my life?” It would be like a math teacher telling the students that whatever answers they put down on the exam will be counted as correct. The exam would quickly start to seem pretty pointless. In a similar way, if we are all supposed to make up our own answers to life’s biggest questions, we are easily left with a sense that there are no true answers. This leads to a quiet sense of despair, which we often try to hide through constant distractions, such as social media, television, sports, and work.

Thankfully, truth can be known! Instead of relativism, we can embrace the traditional, common-sense way of approaching truth: religious and moral truth can be known, and such truths apply to people of all cultures and time periods. We have no problem saying to the pickpocket, “It is wrong to steal.” We can confidently stand up against evil. We can search for answers to life’s biggest questions, discovering a purpose in life that goes beyond ourselves.

Gullah Festival

and

Traffic stop leads to arrest for attempted murder

From staff reports A Beaufort man wanted for attempted murder was arrested as the result of a traffic stop. On Tuesday, May 28,at about 8:45 p.m., deputies conducted a traffic stop

on Trask

the

occupants of the vehicle were identified as 32-year-old Stevetta Jackson, 32, of Seabrook and 26-year-old Jamory Russell of Beaufort.

Monument from page A1

pandemic, Hodges didn’t believe for a second that the monument wouldn’t happen.

“I never thought that. We followed our faith,” Hodges said. “We knew no matter how long it took, it would happen if we kept the faith.”

The sculpture, 14-feet high, features Tubman with a walking stick, flanked by Union soldiers and slaves making their way to freedom.

“Dwight created something unique,” Hodges said. “I initially thought it was going to be just Tubman, but his piece was also about soldiers, young people, old people, fighting for their freedom.”

The unveiling ceremony featured performances of spirituals and numerous speakers, including Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation; Mayor Philip Cromer’ Park Ranger Christopher Barr of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park; historian and author Edda Fields-Black; and Ernestine Wyatt, Tubman’s greatgreat-great grand niece. Dwight could not make it to the unveiling. Hodges read a statement from the sculpture in his absence.

Billy Keyserling, a longtime supporter of the project, said he donated money for the memorial because he knew Hodges would see it through.

“He’s a very determined man,” he said.

The former Mayor of Beaufort

Russell was taken into custody for Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime. The arrest warrants are in connection to the March 25 2024, shooting of another man that occurred

on Peaceful Way in Grays Hill. The victim was treated and released for his injuries at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Through the investigation, Russell was identified as the suspect.

said the monument should have happened much sooner, “like a lot of other things” in the South. “A lot of people thought we wanted to undo their history,” Keyserling said. “History is a blackboard. There’s room on it for everybody’s history.”

Tubman is best known to most Americans as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, as she led scores of escaped slaves from Maryland, where she was born in bondage in 1822, to freedom before the Civil War.

But it’s her time in South Carolina, specifically her exploits 161 years to the day before the mon-

ument’s unveiling that this sculpture honors.

According to the National Parks Service, after arriving in Beaufort in 1862, she spent a year gathering information about the rice plantations lining Beaufort’s Combahee River. Then on the night of June 1 1863, Tubman helped lead three ships up the river, carrying 300 African American soldiers from the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, a regiment consisting largely of freed Blacks.

When the ships sounded their whistles, hundreds of slaves –men, women and children, ran to the river where soldiers took them

King, SC Bar # 15840; or W. Joseph Cunningham, SC Bar # 72655, P.O. Box 4896, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29597, (843)-249-0777. EXHIBIT “A” – NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE Owner(s), Address, TS Interest, TS Interval Control No., Lien BK/PG, Default Amount, Trustee’s Fee, NOS Costs, Total Amount Due; KENNETH BRIAN LUCIER , 3108 JOHN WILLIS RD NEW BERN, NC 28562-7031, 0.0147723220820258, U1609-W2B, 159/2297, $2,146.83, $450, $348.7, $2,945.53; GARY LEWIS JACKSON & TONI SHARON RODGERS JACKSON, 9300 AMBERWOOD CT COLLEGE STATION, TX 77845, 0.0147723220820258, U2507W11B, 159/2303, $3,984.42, $450, $348.7, $4,783.12; MARTIN P. HACKER & AIDA LIPSCHITZ, 33 DAWSON LANE MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ 8831, 0.0147723220820258, U1404W47B, 159/2305, $2,128.95, $450, $348.7, $2,927.65; ANTHONY DEVON OLIVER & AUDRA SEBRENA SMITH, 1022 SENATE ST ORANGEBURG, SC 629118, 0.0073861610410129, U2508W20O, 159/1427, $2,395.59, $450, $348.7, $3,194.29; JOSEPH W. MACIASZEK & MAR-

Jackson was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, 3rdor subsequent offense and Habitual Offender Violation.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office encourages the public to report criminal or

suspicious activity by calling our non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777, submitting a tip on our website at bcso.net, or through Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111 if wishing to remain anonymous.

to the boats. The soldiers then burned the plantations, destroying several million dollars’ worth of homes and crops.

By June 3 1863, the boats were back safely in Union-controlled Beaufort and 756 Blacks – men women and children – were freed.

This part of Tubman’s story is somehow not nearly as well known as her Underground Railroad exploits, but the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park and the work of Hodges and historians like Edda Fields-Black, author of “Combee,” who spoke at the unveiling ceremony, is changing that. The sculpture, and an

adjacent planned museum, will now be unavoidable when tourists to Beaufort take walking tours with Park Rangers down Craven Street.”

“They could not identify with the story locally. It’s not told. It’s not in the history books,” Hodges explained when asked why it took so long for Tubman’s exploits to be memorialized. “This is the only place this story can be told. If we didn’t tell it, it couldn’t be told. This story had to be told here.”

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

GARET A. MACIASZEK, 53 SUMMER ST NORTH BROOKFIELD, MA 1535, 0.0073861610410129, U2203-W20O, 159/2293, $2,409.79, $450, $348.7, $3,208.49. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF BEAUFORT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CASE NUMBER: 2024-CP-07-00543 SUMMONS ERNESTO FRIAS LEON, Plaintiff, -vs-

The bronze sculpture of Harriet Tubman sits by itself waiting to be lifted onto the base of the Harriet Tubman Memorial seen in the background Friday, May 31, at Tabernacle Baptist Church. It took a work crew all day to mount the base and the statue of Tubman to its concrete slab in preparation of its unveiling Saturday, June 1, the 161st anniversary of the Combahee River Raid in which Tubman played a pivotal role in freeing more than 750 enslaved people from surrounding plantations. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

During the Harriet Tubman Memorial unveiling on Saturday, June 1, 2024, Maryland State Senate District 28 Representative Arthur Ellis presents Reverend Kenneth Hodges of Tabernacle Baptist Church an Official Citation of Congratulations from the Maryland General Assembly for his 29 years of leadership in ministry and the historic unveiling of the Ed Dwight sculpture of Maryland native Harriet Tubman on the 161st anniversary of the Combahee River Raid that freed more than 700 slaves. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Keyboardist Michael “Eric” Chesterfield and drummer J.D. Brown of The Voices of Gullah ensemble play while the singers sing authentic Gullah songs during the annual Gullah Festival on Saturday, May 25, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. The singers in the background are Rosa and Joseph Murray, Charles Brown, Minnie Gadson and Eric Crawford. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Entertainment

good food aren’t the only draws to the annual Gullah Festival. Here, women browse through some of the more colorful clothing on display Saturday, May 25, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Parkway near

Howard Johnson motel in Beaufort. The two

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Former Beaufort County employee sues for alleged harassment

Former Beaufort County employ-

ee Lisa Lynch filed a federal lawsuit against the Beaufort County government on May 24 regarding alleged mistreatment that she experienced as an employee and following her termination.

Lynch and her attorney, Timothy Lewis, filed a 21-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming allegations of behavior by high-level county employees that created a hostile work environment and led to her termination.

She is accusing the county of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, wrongful termination that infringed on public policy, breach of contract, and defamation and she is seeking punitive and compensatory relief.

In the lawsuit, Lynch outlines her alleged mistreatment and sexual harassment by former Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway, alleged mistreatment by Deputy Administrator Whitney Richland and Human Resources Director Katherine Mead.

According to the filing, Lynch and her sister-in-law, began contracting with Beaufort County through their company Elementzal LLC in January 2023

They were responsible for strategy to address and prevent drug abuse in Beaufort County.

In the lawsuit, Lynch included the text message that she received in April 2023 from Greenway in-

NEWS BRIEFS

Councilman Dawson to discuss Agnes

Major Center

County Council Member Gerald Dawson (District 1 ) will host a community meeting for the citizens of Sheldon discussing the Agnes Major Community Center being shut down due to mold.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 6, at the Booker T. Washington Center in Yemassee.

Eric Brown, Director Beaufort County Parks and Recreation, will provide updates on the status of Agnes Major Community Center and future plans.

For questions and more information Council Member Dawson at 843 - 986 - 7265 or gdawson@ bcgov.net.

Mace holding a Meet & Greet at Bricks

When Rep. Nancy Mace (RSC 1 ) returns from voting this week in Washington D.C.. she will be traveling the Lowcountry.

Mace will hold a Meet & Greet at 2 p.m., Friday, June 7 at Bricks on Boundary in Beaufort.

To register to attend the event, visit https://bit.ly/3 RbVWx 7

Phones from page A1

device up from the school’s administration.

During the May 21 BOE meeting, Rodriguez revisited the cell phone issue in his address to the Board with a draft of an Administrative Regulation.

Rodriguez told the Board that he wants to put together a committee with subcommittees to investigate this issue as it is not an easy one.

forming her that he had created a new position for her with Beaufort County as the Wellness Director.

“I’ve created this job for you, it will be set up for you as you need it to be for security and comfort,” said Greenway in the text.

Lynch took the job, but not before going through the proper hiring process.

She reported directly to Greenway.

In the lawsuit, Lynch alleges that Greenway employed her in exchange for her engaging in a romantic relationship with him and she began to experience harassment just two weeks into her employment.

This continued until early May,

when Lynch attended a party, that was also attended by Greenway, with her boyfriend.

It was after this that she received an angry text message from Greenway.

“Be aware of what you gave up tonight and what this will cost you,” he said in the text. “But have f****** fun because you are now just an employee of Beaufort County and I’ve lost all trust and affinity for you!”

The text message was included in the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that Greenway then spent many hours of the night sending emails to contractors that Lynch had been forming connections with as part of her job and

severed all ties between them and the county.

Lynch says she filed complaints regarding the treatment she experienced while working for Beaufort County, but she was told that the County had not violated any laws.

Greenway was terminated in July 2023 and Lynch was fired a day later, and in the lawsuit, she alleges that she experienced hostility and retaliation until she was terminated.

After that night in May, Lynch requested a new supervisor and was placed under the former Deputy County Administrator Whitney Richland, who resigned shortly after Greenway and Lynch were terminated.

In the lawsuit, Lynch alleges that Richland made her life very difficult.

She filed an internal complaint with the county’s human resources department in May 2023 which resulted in a county investigation determining that Beaufort County did not break any laws.

Richland allegedly took away accommodations that had been promised to Lynch when she was hired, she was given large amounts of busy work and tensions peaked, so Lynch requested to be transferred to another supervisor.

At this point, Lynch began working under Human Resources Director Katherine Mead, and according to Lynch the situation did not get any better.

Lynch filed a complaint with the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which resulted in “no decision.”

It was after this ruling that Lynch filed the federal lawsuit in accordance with the required steps.

To file a federal employment discrimination case, the case must first go through the EEOC and be dismissed.

“When it’s so clear that justice isn’t happening, you’ve got to do something,” said Lynch’s attorney Timothy Lewis. “I tried to get justice [for Lynch] without filing a lawsuit, and that was not happening. Beaufort County has not admitted that they had any role in this at all Lewis said that Beaufort County has put all the blame on Greenway.

“They said, ‘Oh well bad things may have happened to her, sorry, that’s not our fault,’” said Lewis. “I can say this, we are excited to move forward with litigation and see where it takes us.”

No court date has been set, but the case is to be tried in District Court at the federal courthouse in Beaufort.

Beaufort County spokesperson Hannah Nichols said when asked for comment that Beaufort County is unable to comment on pending litigation.

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.

First Friday is June 7

School's out, Summer's in, and this Friday, June 7, is Downtown Beaufort's monthly First Friday event. From 5 to 8 p.m. Bay Street will be closed to traffic for the Summer Soiree. LIve music by Scarlett Whiskey, food trucks, and extended shopping hours for everyone.

June’s LIBPA meeting

Alice Howard, the Beaufort County Council Member for District 4, will be the featured speaker when the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association meetsat at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 11, at the Beaufort Realtors’ Association Headquarters at 22 Kemmerlin Lane, Lady’s Island. The public is welcome to stop by for coffee and conversation concerning our community.

Communications workers union endorses Deford

The Communications Workers of America Union (CWA) Local 3704 in Charleston, have endorsed Democrat Mac Deford, candidate for U.S. Congress in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

This is Deford's third union endorsement, having earned the endorsements of Locals 846 and 848

of the Iron Workers Union earlier this year.

"I am deeply honored to receive the endorsement of CWA Local 3704," Deford stated. “This endorsement highlights the critical importance of the CWA in championing workers’ rights and securing a fair and just economy for all. As a leading voice for implementing broadband internet across the nation, their advocacy is vital to our future. I am committed to fighting for policies that uplift working families, and that will secure critical investments to our national and community infrastructure. I look forward to collaborating closely with CWA Local 3704 to advance these essential goals for the Lowcountry.”

State Rep Murphy endorses Mace

Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s campaign announced the endorsement of State Representative Chris Murphy (R-District 98) on Friday, May 31. Murphy credited Mace’s leadership and accomplishments for the Lowcountry as reasons for his endorsement.

"Nancy Mace is a proven leader in tackling infrastructure challenges and creating jobs for our community,” Murphy said in a news release. “Our collabo-

ration has brought tangible results, and I proudly endorse her for reelection."

SCDNR using County boat landings for annual shellfish bed reseeding

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) will be conducting its annual shellfish ground management efforts (oyster shell reseeding) at several Beaufort County boat landings beginning this week and running through mid June.

The boat landings will remain open to the public, however there will be increased truck and barge activity throughout each day while SCDNR reseeds the oyster beds at each location.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

• Thursday, June 6 through Friday, June 7: Eddings Point

Landing

• Monday, June 10 through Tuesday, June 11: Eddings Point Landing

The barge will occupy one ramp while it is being loaded. Loading will take approximately two hours. At least one ramp will be available for public use while the barge is being loaded.

For questions and more information, please contact Assistant Public Works Director Bradley Harriott at 843-255-2731

Sportfishing and Diving Club’s June meeting

The Beaufort Sportfishing and Diving Club’s June meeting will be held Thursday, June 13, at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club located on Lady’s Island off of Meridian Road. The social begins at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will start at 7

When you have minor boat problems, off shore medical emergencies, boating accidents or careless boat activities, this month's program will consists of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard Tybee/Charleston, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Beaufort Search & Rescue, a county representative from 911 Emergency Call Center and Tow Boat USA. Bring your questions, pens, and note pads. Guests are welcome. Reservations are not needed.

For additional information, please contact Captain Frank Gibson at 843-521-7340 or email fgibson@islc.net.

– From staff reports

He said that he thinks it needs to not only consider the final outcome regarding cellphones and their usage around instructional time, but it also has to consider enforcement.

Currently, other districts in South Carolina that have taken a stand on usage are Rock hill, who has put a letter on their website stating that there shall be no cell phones and explaining why, and Aiken has a general policy that states that students can use their devices in designated

“This is a highly complex matter,” said Rodriguez to the Board. “It’s not simple, and to be honest with you, it’s not something that can be thrown together in two weeks.”

places and during designated times.

Most of the other school districts have remained silent on the matter, according to Rodriguez.

While enforcement is an obstacle, he did list for the Board a few options that are possible tools in enforcing no cellphones in class.

The first is a Yondr Pouch, which is a device that holds and locks cell phones.

The summary provided to the Board states that this option is likely cost prohibitive and easy for students to circumvent.

The second option is for students to put their devices

in a hanging pouch on the wall or door, but this presents an issue if the school district is taking possession of the students’ device as they may be liable if the device is stolen or goes missing. Rodriguez told the Board that the S.C. General Assembly should be dealing with the legislation addressing cellphone usage in the classroom during the month of June, one of the bills banning cell phone usage for the day and one only banning usage during instructional time, and he recommends that Beaufort County wait to make any final decisions

until after the legislation is dealt with at the state level.

“This is not a kick the can down the road thing,” Rodriguez said while addressing the Board. “This is, let’s see what comes from the General Assembly ruling or requirement.”

Until then, Rodriguez has suggested that the committee utilize the findings from the parental survey asking for feedback (ending June 5) to help in continuing its research into the issue.

Additionally, the committee has been tasked with researching what other school districts nationwide have done, they will look at the

application of consequences for students who violate the administrative regulation and will continue to refine the draft of the administrative regulation. Rodriguez and members of the Board agreed that they would like to have something in place addressing electronic device use by the beginning of the 20242025 school year.

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.

Lisa Lynch, former Director of Wellness for Beaufort County, addresses council members during the Beaufort County Council Meeting on Monday, August 14, 2023, in Beaufort. Screenshot from Beaufort County Council Meeting live recording

Caps off to local graduates

BRIDGES PREPARATORY SCHOOL

JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC SCHOOL

New rules on ‘age-appropriate’ books in SC classrooms set for automatic approval

By Seanna Adcox SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — A regulation on age-appropriate books in South Carolina’s schools that was widely assumed to be dead for the year will instead take effect in a month, unless a supermajority of legislators agree to block it.

The proposed rules governing what’s “age and developmentally appropriate” for K-12 classrooms and libraries never got a vote on either the House or Senate floor before the regular session ended May 9

But they’re set for approval anyway on June 25 — 120 days after the State Board of Education submitted them for legislative review. By law, that’s when the window for legislators to weigh in — either to approve or reject them — will expire.

Yet the automatic approval caught even GOP legislative leaders by surprise. Some were incensed when they found out in the waning hours of the session — if only because the regulation slipped through by an apparent fluke.

Such a significant regulation skipping a legislative vetting is a problem, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told the S.C. Daily Gazette on Thursday.

“I would prefer they not go through. I would prefer that regulations of any type be vetted in the legislative branch before they go into effect,” said the Edgefield Republican. “That’s even more the case when you have significant and impactful regulations. We spend a lot of time in the Senate vetting regulations, most of which don’t matter that much.

“This one will matter,” he said.

A vagueness problem

The regulation bars books that describe “sexual conduct” and creates a statewide system for parents to challenge books they think violate the rules, with an appeals process that gives the State Board of Education final say. Parents must have a child in the district to complain and must first talk with school- or district-level staff for a potential resolution before escalating their concerns.

The problem, say teacher advocates, is that the definition of what’s inappropriate is so broad, even “The Scarlett Letter,” classics by William Shakespeare, and the Bible could be stricken from classrooms.

The regulation ties the definition to the state’s obscenity law, but only to a portion of the code that lists sexual activities. Books and other classroom materials that describe or depict what’s on that list are barred.

During hearings in the House, the state Department of Education’s attorney said the rationale for the wording was to eliminate vagueness. It actually does the opposite, creating “a vague, unworkable standard,” said Patrick Kelly, a lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

“The Bible makes references to two people becoming one flesh. That’s a description of intercourse,” he said.

He actually credits the State Board of Education for fixing most of his group’s issues with the proposed regulation before submitting it to the Legislature. But the vagueness of the definition could “bog down a local school board with frivolous challenges,” he said.

The regulation limits the number of complaints but still allows up to five a month

per parent. That’s a lot for someone who might have a political agenda, he said.

“I worry about a chilling effect on teachers. If I’m a teacher considering whether to assign (Shakespeare’s) ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ do I worry that it runs afoul of a vague ban?” asked Kelly, also a high school teacher of Advanced Placement government courses.

It’s an easy fix, he said: A possible solution would be to simply add the word “explicit” in the definition.

After all, that would match the stated goal of state Superintendent Ellen Weaver.

In an email to teachers in March, Weaver attempted to assuage teachers’ concerns.

“What I want to stress is that the heart and purpose behind this regulation is to create certainty by providing consistency and clarity for both parents and educators,” she wrote. “I am confident that this uniform process to remove the potential of sexually explicit content being provided to children … will ultimately help lower the temperature and foster trust and partnerships between parents and our public schools.”

Kelly said he agrees with her goal, but “the problem is that the regulation doesn’t say ‘explicit.’

“They were so close to producing a pretty strong product — just a little more time and a little more thought,” he said. “If they could just come back in January and tighten up the language.”

A moving expiration date

That’s exactly what Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree said he expected to happen.

“We were all operating under the belief it would time out,” the Little River Repub-

lican told the S.C. Daily Gazette

Hembree’s committee never took it up at all. He said he proposed sitting down in the off-session with Weaver and House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson to “try to put some polish” on the regulation before putting it before senators in January.

As initially filed, the regulation itself indicated legislators had until March 2025 to reject or approve it. It was assumed — wrongly, it turned out — that the normal 120-day window wouldn’t apply once the regular session ended.

And then someone — it’s not clear to the Gazette who — realized the language to stop that clock was missing from the legislation governing the session’s adjournment.

GOP senators chalk it up to an apparent oversight in the writing of that resolution, combined with an unfamiliarity with the process. Hembree, in his sixth year as education chairman, acknowledged regulations are not something his committee normally handles, certainly not such a controversial one.

On May 13, four days after the regular session ended, the timeline on the regulation was revised. Instead of setting an expiration date of March 1, 2025, it gave June 25 2024, as the date for automatic approval.

Teachers who are aware are worried, said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association.

“We’ve received calls from teachers asking how this will impact their instruction next year, and we don’t have an answer for them,” said East, who’s also a high school science teacher in Rock Hill.

“We’re in a wait-and-see operation right now.”

Rep. Spencer Wetmore, a member of the House panel that held the only legislative hearing on the regulation, said she’s sure most people have no idea the regulation is set to go through: How could they?

It’s happening “in the most untransparent way something could possibly take effect,” said the Folly Beach Democrat.

The regulation was touted as something that won’t ban the average book, but if school boards must apply this “brightline rule” of what’s considered age-inappropriate, then classics like George Orwell’s “1984” (published in 1949) and Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel “The Fountainhead” “will and should be banned,” Wetmore said.

“I don’t know that Genesis and Leviticus will make the cut,” she said, referring to the Old Testament books of the Bible. “This is going to go in effect and people who are likely to challenge a book will know and librarians will not.”

There are a few possible ways the Legislature could still stop the regulation from automatically taking effect, all of which require supermajority approval before June 25. So, the chances of any of them happening could be slim.

The state Department of Education could also pull the regulation on its own and resubmit it in January. But an agency spokesperson confirmed Friday that’s not going to happen.

“I’m not going to stand in the way” of blocking the regulation’s approval date,

if that’s what Senate Republicans want to do, Hembree said.

But that could be an uphill battle, an attempt he likened to throwing a hand grenade into the mix of what legislators still need to accomplish, primarily finalizing the state budget.

He said he’s confident the Department of Education will send guidance out over the summer answering questions and easing concerns.

And if the regulation does cause problems, he said, legislators will fix it when they return in January with a law that would override the agency’s regulation.

“If this has a fatal flaw that reveals itself between now and January, we’ll fix it,” Hembree said. “Instead of blowing stuff up and bringing more stress (to the coming weeks), let’s let it be.”

To teachers, he said, “I wouldn’t panic. I don’t think there’s anything you need to worry about.”

Laura Bayne, a deputy superintendent for communications, said the education department is confident in the State Board of Education’s work on the regulation. The agency “looks forward to providing clear, collaborative guidance to districts on implementation procedures whenever the regulation becomes final,” she said in a statement late Friday afternoon.

Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. She joined States Newsroom in September 2023 after covering the S.C. Legislature and

Gibley Sterly Mejia Ramos accepts her diploma from Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune during the John Paul II 2024 Commencement Ceremony on May 31, 2024. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Trinity Grace Maxwell and classmate Sha’mya Jenkins show off their diplomas and caps during the John Paul II 2024 Commencement Ceremony on May 31, 2024. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Riley Farley, one of 66 graduating seniors at Bridges Preparatory School, took to blowing bubbles as he and his classmates wait for their graduation ceremony to begin Friday, May 31. Farley said he was “just chillin.’” Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Top senior and Valedictorian Morgan Dallas Garrick, center, receives her diploma from Garry McCulloch during Bridges Preparatory School’s graduation ceremony Friday, May 31, in the school’s gymnasium. Bridges Prep graduated 66 seniors. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Riverview Charter School Board appoints new Director

From staff reports

The Board of Directors at Riverview Charter School announced Monday, June 3, the appointment of Davontae Singleton as the new Director, effective July 1 2024

“We would like to welcome Mr. Singleton to Riverview and to the greater Beaufort community. We are looking forward to him sharing his experience and passion for education

with our students, staff, and Riverview families.” Interim Director Liz O’Brien said in a news release.

Prior to joining Riverview Charter School, Singleton, a Lowcountry native, served as Assistant Principal for Curriculum & Instruction at Dent Middle School in Richland School District Two. In Richland Two, Singleton was named the 2019 Teacher of the Year at E.L. Wright Middle School as well as a recipient of the 2022 Gerald Dawkins Award for his commitment to promoting equity for educators, particularly minority males.

"The board is delighted to welcome Davontae to the Riverview community and eagerly anticipates a bright future for our school under his leadership. We are confident that with his guidance, Riverview will continue to thrive and set new standards of excellence. Davontae’s enthusiasm and energy are truly contagious," Board President Kim Dudas said in a news release.

"We are deeply appreciative of Liz O’Brien’s steadfast leadership these past six months as we searched for a new Director. Her love for Riverview is palpable."

Riverview Charter School opened in 2009 as Beaufort County's first public charter school. It is a free public charter school open to all residents of Beaufort County, offering education from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Riverview emphasizes experiential learning, integrated thematic curriculum, and capstone experiences that celebrate student growth. The school is committed to fostering engaged, global citizens through hands-on learning and a supportive, inclusive community. "I am incredibly honored to join

Free music festival set for Saturday in Beaufort

Candice Glover, Tony Jackson, Springsteen cover

From staff reports

Head down to downtown Beaufort on Saturday to get your fill of good music and good food at the first Music Festival of the Lowcountry.

The festival will feature 2014 American Idol winner Candice Glover, country singer Tony Jackson and Bruce In The USA, a well known Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band tribute band.

The event is free and open to the public, and you do not

need a ticket to get in.

“I just wanted to create an event where people could get together and listen to good music,” said Jamie Peart, organizer of the event. Peart said that she has a lot of musically inclined friends and family who said it would be nice to just get up on the stage in downtown Beaufort and play, so she decided why not have a festival where local music groups can get together and play.

Riverview Charter School as Director, and even more excited to immerse myself in both the school and greater communities. I look forward to being a catalyst who propels our vision forward, fosters an environment where all students can thrive and succeed, and strengthens our partnership with Beaufort County School District," Singleton said in a news release. “I am proud to lead Riverview so that we will remain an elite beacon of excellence and innovation in education for the students across our county.”

band headline event

The Opening Ceremony and National Anthem will kick off the event at noon on Saturday afternoon.

The music line-up for the

Street Music

EDUCATION BRIEFS

Beaufort County TV airing high school graduations

BCTV is in the process of broadcasting all Beaufort County School District High School Graduations live. The broadcasts began Monday and will wrap up Friday evening.

The following week, every graduation will rerun for those who missed the live event.

The remaining live schedule is as follows:

Battery Creek, 10 a.m., Thursday, June 6

Hilton Head Island, 7 p.m., Thursday, June 6

Whale Branch Early College, 7 p.m., Friday, June 7

Encore showing schedule:

May River, noon, Saturday, June 15

Beaufort, 2 p.m., Saturday, June 15

Bluffton, 4 p.m., Saturday, June 15

Battery Creek, noon, Sunday, June 16

Hilton Head Island, 2 p.m., Sunday, June 16

Whale Branch Early College, 4 p.m., Sunday, June 16

BCTV can be found on Hargray – Chs. 9 and 417; Comcast – Ch. 2; Spectrum – Ch. 1304. BCTV also streams live on www.BeaufortCounty.tv and through the FREE BCTV APP available on ROKU, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire.

Voegtlin graduates from James Madison

Emily Voegtlin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from James Madison University during commencement exercises in May 2024 Voegtlin was among more than

afternoon includes local bands and music groups such as Fresh Vibes out of Hilton Head Island, the Charleston Pipe Band (Bang Pipers), Lowcountry Whalers, Battery Creek Drum Line (Code Blue), Beaufort Drum Circle and Toby & Kevin.

Several local food trucks and vendors such as Mother Smokin’ Good BBQ, Palmetto Kettle Corn, Belly Full by Tyger, Sassy Sweets, Sunset Slush and Taste of Mexico will be there. The event will run until 8 p.m. at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and is a family friendly event. Patrons can bring their own food and drinks into the festival, but alcoholic beverages will have to be purchased at the festival.

Expanding the Drum Circle

4 482 students who received undergraduate and graduate degrees. Congratulations to all graduates and their families!

Founded in 1908, James Madison University is a public university located in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. JMU is one of the nation's leading lights in higher education, where students enjoy engaging relationships with world-class faculty who drive education innovation and support advanced research.

Beaufort’s Apolinar on Spring 2024 Dean's List at Georgia State Cristal Gonzalez Apolinar of Beaufort was named to the Dean's List at Georgia State University for the Spring 2024 semester.

To be eligible for the Dean's List, degree-seeking students must have earned a GPA of at least 3 5 for a minimum of nine semester hours of academic credit taken at Georgia State during the fall or spring term with no incompletes for the semester. Eligible students must have a minimum GPA of 2 0 for all classes taken at Georgia State. With campuses in and around metro Atlanta, Georgia State readies students for professional pursuits, educates future leaders and prepares citizens for lifelong learning. world.

Lander announces President’s List for Spring 2024

Beaufort’s Page named to Troy’s Chancellor's List

Matthew Page of Beaufort has been named to the Chancellor's List at Troy University for the spring semester/Term 4 of the 2023-2024 academic year. The Chancellor's List honors full-time undergraduate students who are registered for at least 12 semester hours and who earn a grade point average of 4 0

– From staff reports

Lander University announces the names of 458 undergraduate students who made the President’s List during the second semester of the 2023/24 academic year. To qualify for the President’s List, a student must earn a GPA of 4 0 over the course of the semester. Honorees from Beaufort included Rose Castillo, Quinten Nold, and Molly Smith. Yemassee’s Jada Hamilton made the list, as well.

Davontae Singleton

Eric Ray, left, of the Beaufort Drum Circle, helps Jace Camp, 6, of Columbia, get started in drumming while warming up Friday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Camp was walking through the park with his family when they stopped to listen to the drummers, and he was invited to participate. He was loaned a drum, shown proper technique and joined right in. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Jonathan Ellison, front man and lead guitarist with the Jonathan Ellison Band from Memphis, Tenn., plays the blues while mixing with the crowd during Street Music on Paris Avenue on Saturday, June 1. Ellison mugs for the camera with Randal Lee as he makes his way back toward the stage. Next up will be the final concert for the Spring season featuring Seth Walker and his mix of blues and country music slated to kick off at 6 p.m., June 15, along Paris Avenue in Port Royal. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Options & References for a Healthier Life

What to do if you have an enlarged prostate

For young men, the prostate usually doesn’t cause any problems. However, as men age, it can gradually enlarge until a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) develops. While BPH is generally not a serious condition, it can cause bothersome symptoms. Fortunately, treatments can help.

What causes an enlarged prostate?

BPH primarily affects older men. About 50% of men ages 51 to 60 and up to 90% of men over age 80 have symptoms of BPH. Experts aren’t sure exactly what causes the condition, but it may be related to hormonal changes that occur with age.

A hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is thought to play a key role. DHT is responsible for certain male traits, such as facial hair and prostate growth. Older men may have high levels of DHT, which could lead to prostate growth.

Other factors that can increase the likelihood of a man developing BPH include: Certain medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease and Type

2 diabetes

Erectile dysfunction

A family history of BPH

Lack of physical activity

Identifying the symptoms

As the prostate enlarges, it can press against the urethra, the tube through which urine flows out of the bladder. Over time, the bladder muscles can get weaker, and you might not be able

to empty your bladder completely. This can cause frequent urination, up to eight or more times per day.

Other symptoms of BPH can include:

Having urine with an unusual smell or color

Pain when urinating

Trouble starting a urine stream or having a weak urine stream

Urinary urgency, or being unable to delay urinating

Urinary incontinence, or being unable to control your urine

What to do if you have symptoms

“You may be tempted to ignore symptoms, especially if they are only mild,” says Dr. Louis Plzak, III at Beaufort Memorial Urology Specialists. “However, BPH may increase the risk of developing urinary tract infections, acute urinary retention (inability to urinate), bladder stones and kidney damage. So, it’s essential to meet with a healthcare provider.”

Along with reviewing your symptoms, your provider may perform a physical exam and a digital rectal exam, which is a physical exam of the prostate. While this is usually enough for a diagnosis of BPH, your provider may refer you to a urologist for additional tests, including:

A urinalysis — A urine sample will be evaluated for signs of infection. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test — This test shows levels of PSA in the blood. High levels can indicate BPH or another problem with the prostate, such

as an infection or prostate cancer.

Urodynamic tests — These tests help the urologist determine how well the urethra and bladder store and release urine from the body.

Cystoscopy — For this procedure, a urologist inserts a narrow tube called a cystoscope into the penis to evaluate the urethra and bladder.

Transrectal ultrasound — A type of imaging exam that uses sound waves, this test involves a trained technician inserting a wand into the rectum and taking images of the prostate. Your urologist will review the images to see the size of the prostate

and look for abnormalities.

Treating BPH

You may not require medical treatments, depending on your symptoms. Instead, your provider may recommend lifestyle changes, such as: Avoiding caffeine and alcohol as well as certain medications, such as decongestants and antidepressants

Doing pelvic floor exercises

Reducing intake of liquids, especially before going to bed or going out in public

When medication and lifestyle changes are not enough, though, your urologist might recommend med-

ications, minimally invasive treatments, or surgery to reduce the size of the prostate or widen the urethra.

Medications can relax your prostate and bladder muscles or improve urine flow, so you can reduce symptoms related to urination. Other medications can shrink the prostate or treat erectile dysfunction.

Minimally invasive procedures allow surgeons to treat BPH without the side effects that can accompany traditional BPH surgeries. These procedures may involve heat, electric currents or microwaves that destroy prostate tissue using special tools inserted through the urethra or rectum, avoiding the need for incisions.

The downside to minimally invasive treatments is that

they don’t always provide a permanent solution. Longterm solutions typically require surgery. The most common surgical treatment for an enlarged prostate is called transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), in which a urologist inserts an instrument into the urethra to remove pieces of enlarged prostate tissue. The tissue pieces are flushed out through the bladder at the end of the procedure. Most of the side effects are temporary. Your urologist will help you decide on the best treatment for you. The bottom line, however, is that BPH is treatable, and you have many options to choose from, so you can live without symptoms and get back to enjoying life.

Exercising between 6 p.m. and midnight may benefit people with obesity

By Corrie Pelc

A

2023 study from researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia, recently published in the journal Diabetes Care, suggests that getting the majority of daily physical activity during the evening offers the most health benefits for people who have obesity.

This recent study reports that more than 1 billion people in the world are considered to have obesity, with projections that this number could potentially hit 4 billion people by 2050. Excess weight or obesity is a significant risk factor for many chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancers. One of the key drivers of obesity-related complications is insulin resistance—a condition which eventually leads to high blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetes. Having high blood glucose levels can cause catastrophic damage to the cardiovascular system and lead to organ failure.

Exercising after 6 p.m.

linked to lowest risk of death

Research scientists involved in this study found that people who performed most of their aerobic moderate to vigorous physical activity between 6 p.m. and midnight had the lowest risk of premature death and death from cardiovascular disease. Both moderate and vigorous physical activity raises a person’s heart and breathing rates.

Examples of moderate physical activity include: brisk walking dancing mowing the lawn lifting weights swimming

Types of vigorous physical activity include: jogging/running hiking shoveling aerobics playing soccer or basketball

Late exercise offsets nighttime insulin resistance The lead researcher of the team

believes the study results may be partly explained by the improved cardiometabolic regulation associated with undertaking physical activity during the evening, a theory which is supported by recent clinical studies.

“Our body is most insulin resistant at night and for those who cannot produce more insulin to compensate—like some of the people included in our study— undertaking physical activity at this time may be offsetting some of the natural night-time insulin resistance,” – Angelo Sabag, PhD, AEP, researcher and accredited exercise physiologist in the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of

Sydney in Australia and lead author of this study.

“Furthermore, recent findings from a smaller clinical study showed that exercising later in the day led to greater improvements in blood pressure, which is a significant risk factor for premature death and cardiovascular disease,” Sabag continued.

“Together, these theories provide some insight into what may be occurring, but further research is required to gain a more comprehensive understanding of such processes,” he added.

3 minutes+ exercise bursts in the evening

The researchers discovered that the frequency in which participants performed moderate to vigorous physical activity tasks in the evening—measured in short bursts up to, or more than three minutes—appeared to be more important than the full day’s physical activity total.

“Physical activity, whether undertaken as structured lei-

sure-time exercise, or incidental physical activity such as walking up the stairs, elicits profound health benefits,” Sabag explained. “By three minutes, most physical activity is primarily powered through our aerobic system, which when stimulated, can improve various cardiometabolic outcomes,” he continued.

Based on this study, the lead author observes that it appears frequent bouts of short-interval exercise can be beneficial. So, people who cannot get 30 to 60 minutes of daily structured exercise, may be able to do shorter, more intense activity and see beneficial results. The emphasis on the value of short, moderate to vigorous activities in the evening, like walking upstairs or cleaning, suggests a flexible approach to meeting exercise recommendations.

Source: Fact checked by Jill SeladiSchulman, Ph.D. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ articles/exercising-between-6-p-mmidnight-may-be-more-beneficial-obesity?

“The significance of exercise timing, particularly favoring the evening, should be scrutinized further before drawing definitive conclusions”

“For individuals limited to morning or afternoon workouts, there’s no immediate cause for alarm based on this study alone. The broader consensus remains that engaging in regular physical activity, regardless of the time of day, is most important for health.”

– Ryan Glatt, CPT, NBC-HWC

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Timesaving tips for cooking healthy meals

By Joel Streed MayoClinic.org

Living a busy, fast-paced life can make it hard to find the motivation to cook a healthy meal at home. However, learning some shortcuts in the kitchen can keep your healthy eating goals on track and help you avoid grazing on unhealthy snacks, grabbing the first thing you see in the fridge or going out for fast food.

Why cook at home?

Research shows that maintaining a healthy weight is challenging when you eat out too frequently.

Restaurant portions often are super-sized and can easily contain a day's worth of calories and sodium. With a bit of planning, cooking at home can be doable and enjoyable.

Timesaving strategies: Menu planning is one of the best ways to cook healthy meals. Sure, meal planning takes time on the front end. But if done right, it saves you valuable time in the kitchen.

One easy way to start meal planning is to pencil in theme nights, such as:

Meatless Monday Taco Tuesday Leftover Wednesday Breakfast for dinner Thursday

Fish Friday

Soup and salad Saturday

Set Sunday aside for planning and prepping meals for the week. That might be the day you treat yourself to a dine-in or take-out dinner.

If you prefer to improvise, you can still create a healthy, balanced meal. Use the plate method to evaluate your meal by asking:

Do I have three food groups represented?

Do I have the right portions?

Start with the vegetables since they should be the largest portion of your meal. If there aren't any planned for your meal, add carrot or celery sticks, sliced tomatoes or a spinach salad.

Step-by-step meal planning

These steps can simplify and streamline your meal planning:

Step 1: Set aside time twice a week for food prep. Chop and cook ahead for the next three to four days. Pack veggies or meats in meal-sized portions for the fridge.

Step 2: Try batch cooking. Cook once for multiple meals. Here are some ideas: Cook a big batch of brown rice. Use some for a side dish one day, in a casserole the next and in a stir fry the day after.

Brown extra ground meat and divide it up for casseroles, tacos, and salads. Refrigerate what you can use within three to four days and freeze the rest in recipe-ready portions. Prepare extra pasta and set aside some for a cold salad the next day. Make a large pot of homemade soup or chili and freeze it in smaller portions. Mix a double recipe of meatloaf and divide it in half. Bake one half as a meatloaf, roll the

other half into meatballs and freeze. You also can freeze leftover meatloaf slices for sandwiches. Simmer chicken breasts or a roast in the crockpot, and slice leftovers for sandwiches later. You also can freeze individual portions for a quick reheat later in the week.

Step 3: Overlap ingredients. Think of different meals with similar ingredients and assign them to the same week's plan. For example, a meal of brown rice, chicken and sauteed vegetables one day can become a chicken, rice and veggie soup the next. The same basic ingredients can be used for veggie lasagna and veggie pizza. Prep all the veggies for a week's worth of meals.

Step 4: Recycle your menus. Once you plan out a few weeks, repeat the menus. You'll know what worked and what didn't, so tweak your menus as needed.

Timesaving cooking ideas Mason jar meals: Try preparing meals in a Mason jar. They're portable, have fixed portions, and

can be low in fat and sodium because you control the ingredients. Create a variety of salads, yogurt parfaits, scrambled eggs, pasta or overnight oats and pack them in each jar. Make ahead of time so they're ready to go when you are.

Sheet pan suppers: No one likes washing the dirty prep and cooking dishes. But you can cut down on the quantity of dishes by using a single sheet pan to bake a complete meal. Choose a larger sheet pan to bake salmon or chicken and roasted vegetables, chicken fajitas or a seafood boil. Cut items that take longer to cook, such as meat, potatoes, and root vegetables, into smaller pieces so everything is done at the same time. Use the same concept for one-pot meals, such as chili, soups, stews, and casseroles, to save on cleanup time.

Foil pack meals: For easy-toclean-up meals, place a piece of fish, chicken, or a ground beef patty on individual sheets of aluminum foil. Add frozen vegetables and seasonings and, if desired, sprinkle with a bit of cheese or add quartered small red potatoes. Securely fold the top and sides of

the foil and bake in the oven or cook on the grill.

Try these healthy meal ideas when you're in a hurry:

• Fried egg sandwich

Serve on a whole-grain English muffin along with a piece of fruit.

• Light lunches

Mix-and-match tuna or hummus, whole-grain crackers, fruit and veggie sticks, and a glass of milk.

Main dish pasta salad

Mix leftover cold pasta with tuna or another protein, vegetables, and light mayo.

• Microwaved oatmeal

Pair with fruit and a hard-boiled egg.

• Prepared frozen meals

Look for meals that include whole grains and have 600 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. Serve veggies or yogurt with fruit as sides.

• Stir fry

Sauté steak, chicken or tofu with frozen vegetables and brown rice.

Whole-grain pita pizza

Add a side salad.

You're ready to meal plan

Remember, the key is to balance your meal by including at least three of the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods and dairy. Think about "eating the rainbow" as you choose fruits and vegetables to reach the five to nine recommended servings per day.

Healthy meal planning doesn't need to be difficult or time-consuming. Make a quick check to see what's in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Then, based on those ingredients, create a plan and a weekly grocery shopping list to match.

Source: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic. org/discussion/timesaving-tips-for-cookinghealthy-meals/ Kristi Wempen is a registered dietitian in Nutrition.

Melanoma in darker skin tones: Race and sex play a role

Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer that accounts for 75% of all skin-cancer-related deaths, is often detected later in people with darker skin complexions—and the consequences can be devastating, a Mayo Clinic study reveals.

While melanoma may be found less frequently in people with darker complexions than fair ones, this potentially serious form of cancer can strike anyone. The study, which consisted of 492,597 patients with melanoma, suggests that added vigilance in early screening is particularly needed for Black men, whose cancers are often found at later stages, leading to worse outcomes compared to white patients.

“Striking differences were seen when comparing non-Hispanic Black patients to white patients in how patients presented with the disease," says surgical oncologist Tina Hieken, M.D.,

senior author of the study and a researcher at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. "We saw more extremity melanoma, and more later-stage disease."

Extremity melanoma refers to skin cancer that can develop on the arms, legs, hands, and feet. Various factors, including social risk factors and biological components, could be at play, but further research is needed to help determine why these differences exist.

Differences in sexbased immune response?

The research found that Black female patients with melanoma fared better than Black male patients. Men tended to be older at diagnosis and more likely to have cancer that had spread to their lymph nodes compared to women. This translated to worse survival rates. The researchers learned that Black men with stage 3 melanoma have only a 42%

chance of surviving for five years, compared to 71% for Black women.

One theory centers on variations in immune response.

"Several immune signals suggest that women may respond better to some immunotherapies than males," says Dr. Hieken.

Researchers note that more studies focused on melanoma in a broader range of people, including more Black participants in clinical trials, is key to bridging this knowledge gap and potentially identifying more effective treatments.

"We want to broaden and deepen our reach to better understand the disease that affects all patients," says Dr. Hieken.

A wake-up call in the battle against melanoma.

Dr. Hieken notes that this study is a wake-up call for everyone battling to diagnose and cure melanoma,

regardless of the patient's sex or skin tone.

She emphasizes that healthcare professionals should carefully examine

areas like palms, soles and under fingernails, where melanoma might be more challenging to spot on darker skin.

"We can incorporate screening for skin lesions or lesions under the nails into the visit for patients as part of their regular checkups," says Dr. Hieken. "What we want to do is elevate care for our patients."

The Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery and Breast and Melanoma Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery supported this research. Review the study for a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding.

Source: Excerpted and adapted from the article at https:// newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/ discussion/melanoma-in-darkerskin-tones-race-and-sex-play-arole-mayo-study-finds/ Vincent Jacobbi, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@ mayo.edu Learn more: Mayo Clinic Minute: Melanoma misconception — dark skin tones at risk too Mayo Clinic Minute: Men need to take melanoma seriously

Reynaldo Hernandez Savannah Technical College

Brandyn Horton United States Marine Corps

Brooke Hubik Clemson Univ

Keannen Hill Univ of South Carolina Columbia Kelon Reynolds University of Georgia

Landon Skipper Univ of South Carolina Beaufort

Christian Tilton Clemson Univ

Ramos United States Air Force

Jose Rayo Univ of South Carolina Beaufort

Christopher Orta Univ of Notre Dame

Shelby Pinski Lees-McRae College

Benjamin Villalobos Clemson Univ Camryn Webster Samford Univ

Lauren Weniger

Univ of Notre Dame

Rose Witkowski Belmont Abbey College

Alec Yanachik Ave Maria Univ Maison Zeroll Flagler College

Collin Anfinson Clemson Univ Cooper Baroni High Point Univ

Renzo Cedeno United States Air Force Maura Clarke Villanova Univ Brad Campbell Univ of South Carolina Columbia Matthew Carbone Univ of South Carolina Columbia

Cayce Graves Clemson Univ Delilah Green Univ of South Carolina Columbia

Kathleen Hammett Univ of Kentucky Sophia Hayward Clemson Univ

Isabela Crespo Univ of North Florida Cole DeTurris Jacksonville Univ

Nickolas Klepesky United States Coast Guard

Jetzel Jimenez Advanced Aesthetics Academy

Sha’mya Jenkins Univ of South Carolina Columbia

Javier Jimenez NASCAR Technical Institute

James Keefer Georgia Southern Univ

Olivia Klepesky College of Charleston

Brady Mahoney Univ of South Carolina Columbia TrinityGrace Maxwell Carolina Univ

Sadie Moulton Univ of South Carolina Columbia Brennan McDermott Univ of North Carolina Wilmington Timothy McGuire The Catholic Univ of America

Ospreys grounded by St. George in debut

LowcoSports.com

The Beaufort Ospreys return to the diamond took a left turn early, as St. George Post 105 erupted for a six-run second inning and kept the offense coming en route to a 12-2 win in five innings Monday at Dorchester Academy.

Reece Mullen made the start on the mound for Beaufort and labored through 2⅓ innings in an effort to preserve arms for the remainder of the series, which continues at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Battery Creek for the Osprey’s home opener.

Gunner Hollingsworth was 2-for-2 and drew a walk for Beaufort, but the rest of the lineup

managed only one hit. The Ospreys (0-1) are playing their first season since 2014 with a roster of players and alumni from several area high schools.

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL

Game 1

St. George Post 105 12

Beaufort Ospreys 2

BFT (0-1) 000 02 2 3 5 STG (1-0) 163 2x 12 11 1

LP: Reece Mullen (0-1) 2 1IP, 8H, 10R, 7ER, 1BB (3HBP), 4K

Kevin M. Phillips

SPORTS RECREATION

Gunner Hollingsworth 2-2, BB

Game 2: at Battery Creek HS, 7 p.m. Wednesday

Game 3: at Dorchester Academy, 7 p.m. Friday

TOURNAMENT TIME

By Justin Jarrett LowcoSports.com

A group of 23 athletes from the Palmetto Road Runners track club opened their season Saturday and Sunday at the AAU South Carolina District Qualifier at Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, and 16 of them punched their tickets back to Columbia for the AAU Region 8 Qualifier meet June 27-30 for a chance to qualify for the AAU Junior Olympics later this summer.

Coached by Whale Branch’s Daniel Kline and anchored by a number of standouts from the Warriors’ highly successful high school program, the Road Runners had 11 athletes collect top-

10 finishes with Jonathan Kelley leading the way with a third-place finish in the 200 meters, sixth in the 100, and eighth in the long

jump in the boys 15-16 age group.

Hope Eugene (10U girls) and Joi Mulligan (13-14 girls) also qualified in

H, 15th LJ 15-16 GIRLS

Joi Mulligan: 10th 800m, 4th 1500 11th LJ 15-16 BOYS Isaiah Eugene: 11th 800m, 6th 1500

Jonathan Kelley: 6th 100m, 3rd 200, 8th LJ 17-18 GIRLS Imani Blackwell: 7th 100m H

Makeima Adams: 10th LJ, 11th

TJ

17-18

BOYS

Beaufort, Battery Creek name new coaches

LowcoSports.com

Beaufort High School found its next wrestling coach inside the building, and Battery Creek High School didn’t have to go outside the district for its next girls basketball coach.

Beaufort High last week named Coby Peeler the new head coach of the wrestling program, adding to his role on the football coaching staff. Peeler replaces Jake Sowers, who spent one season at the helm, and looks to put the Eagles on track to regaining the upper-hand in their crosstown rivalry with Battery Creek and competing with May River, Hilton Head, and a burgeoning Bluffton team in the reformed Region 7-4A. The Dolphins tabbed longtime Bluffton Bobcats assistant Terria Scott-Aiken to take over a girls basketball program that endured a rebuilding season in its last under Lonnie Kluttz. Scott-Aiken, a native of Estill, was a key fixture on coach Lonnie Roberts’ bench during a successful tenure leading the Bobcats.

12U GIRLS Jaiden Eugene: 14th 100m, 9th LJ 13-14 GIRLS Ariana Eugene: 6th LJ

Leah Smith: 12th LJ

Zykeriah Goodman: 7th 100m

Jayden Young: 6th 400m

Jonas Foskey: 12th 400m, 6th

800 Zaire Polite: 13th 400m, 8th

800 Jordan Cowan: 11th LJ,

LowcoSports.com

A championship spring has rolled over into an impressive start to the summer for Hilton Head Prep golfers. After Minnesota-bound recent Prep grad Jack Crousore won the Match Play at Congaree last month, teammate Jeep Patrick came through in the clutch Monday in U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying at Cat Island Golf Club in Beaufort. Patrick, who will play at Presbyterian College in the fall, shot 1-over 71 and won a four-way playoff for the fourth and final qualifying spot, outlasting a field of 84 golfers. Carson Bertagnole shot 1-under 69 to earn medalist honors, edging fellow Pinehurst, N.C., resident Bizzell Pate and Greenville’s Luke Mosely by one shot.

The four golfers advance to the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in

Bennett J. Schiller, III

Former Battery Creek baseball player Hunter Hollingsworth and his younger brother, current Beaufort High standout Gunner Hollingsworth, are playing together again as part of the Beaufort Ospreys American Legion baseball team, which opened its first season since 2014 on Monday with a 12-2 loss at St. George. Photo courtesy of Beaufort Ospreys

Coach Larry Scheper’s Scheper Tennis Academy held its first USTA-sanctioned junior tennis tournament for kids ages 12 to 18 on Saturday, June 1 at the downtown tennis courts in Beaufort. There were 38 kids in the tournament and the event ran from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The participants came from Columbia, Charleston, Bluffton, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., and Statesboro, Ga. Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The

Prioritizing homelessness: A call to action for SC voters and politicians

Since pre-pandemic estimates in 2020, the homeless population has grown in the vast majority of states.

Vermont has seen the starkest increase in homelessness since 2020, with its homeless population nearly tripling, while Maine saw its homeless population more than double.

According to a 2007 estimate by the South Carolina Council on Homelessness, with me included, there were 6 759 homeless individuals in South Carolina on any given night, with children making up nearly 20% of the population.

When one considers that Camden is home to slightly fewer than 7 000 people, the scope of the issue becomes more apparent.

The council also discovered that during a year, there have been more than 17 000 recorded incidents of homelessness in South Carolina. Unrecorded occurrences might substantially raise this figure.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that between 2007 and 2022, the number of people living in shelters in Columbia/ Midlands decreased by 64%

Even with these figures, several Columbia officials admitted they had not focused on the city’s rising chronically homeless population. South Carolina ranks

11th overall on this list of states having high rates of homelessness, which is low.

Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann recently requested that Gov. Henry McMaster include $10 million for a new homeless services hub in his proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The plan called for Transitions and Oliver Gospel, the two prominent nonprofit organizations that assist the city’s homeless population, to vacate their downtown locations.

Lawmakers declined. The initiative received no funding from the House or the Senate in their spending plans.

Freedom of choice is fundamental to American society, allowing individuals to make decisions that shape their lives and pursue their aspirations. However, it is essential to acknowledge that this freedom can sometimes lead to ethical dilemmas or prioritize personal desires over moral considerations.

When it comes to political standpoints, such as those relat-

ed to the economy, immigration, and abortion, it is crucial to strike a balance between personal beliefs and the more considerable societal impact.

While it is natural for individuals to have differing opinions, it is essential to consider the collective welfare and ethical implications of our choices.

While other political agendas are crucial, it is just as important to understand that rather than Republican or Democrat, for homelessness to rank among the top for voters of South Carolina, it has to first become popular within the community’s interests.

Since I left South Carolina and got myself together, I feel obligated to give back to one of the several communities that once embraced me when I most needed it.

As my contribution, I have spearheaded a campaign to encourage the public to encourage politicians to make homelessness a top concern, as they do with different priorities.

Encouraging voters in South Carolina to prioritize homelessness is an essential step toward addressing the issue in the state.

While South Carolina may currently have the 11th lowest rate of homelessness in the country, it is crucial to recognize that even one person experiencing homelessness is one too many.

By prioritizing homelessness, voters can send a powerful mes-

sage to politicians that this issue cannot be overlooked or ignored.

This endeavor leads to increased funding and resources allocated toward homelessness prevention and assistance programs, ensuring that individuals and families in need receive the support they require.

Furthermore, encouraging politicians in South Carolina to take action on homelessness can have a ripple effect beyond just the state’s ranking.

By proactively addressing the issue, South Carolina can serve as a model for other states.

It can showcase effective strategies and policies that policymakers can implement to prevent and reduce homelessness.

Additionally, addressing homelessness can have positive social

and economic impacts.

It can improve the overall well-being and quality of life for individuals experiencing homelessness while also reducing the strain on public resources and services. Therefore, it is essential to encourage voters to prioritize homelessness and urge politicians to take meaningful steps toward addressing this issue, even if South Carolina’s current ranking may seem relatively low compared to other states.

Eric Protein Moseley is a social impact documentary filmmaker who was the subject and co-producer of "Down But Not Out," a South Carolina ETV documentary filmed in Columbia in 2008. He is working on his latest film, "Understanding the Spectrum: Exploring the Classes of Homelessness."

Why the government is trying to break up Live Nation

he U.S. Justice Department, along with 29 states and the District of Columbia, have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster.

The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation “engaged in a variety of tactics to eliminate competition and monopolize markets,” which, according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has allowed the entertainment giant to “suffocate the competition” through its control of ticket prices, venues and concert promotion.

In response, Live Nation said that the antitrust suit “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24 /7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost.”

The Conversation asked David Arditi, a University of Texas at Arlington sociologist and former professional drummer who has researched the livelihoods of musicians, to explain what’s behind the government’s decision to intervene in the ticket-selling business.

What is the government accusing the company of doing?

tion Entertainment for decades. But after a botched Ticketmaster presale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in late 2022 – which made it nearly impossible for fans to buy tickets at face value – government scrutiny intensified.

Williamsburg, Va., to buy tickets to a Dave Matthews Band show at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater. I had to be at the grocery store at 9 a.m. to purchase the tickets, but because it was a local Ticketmaster vendor, it saved me an hour-long trip to the venue.

musicians assumed that they would take a loss on their tours; the payoff would come from their ability to sell more albums. Less prominent musicians, meanwhile, have always relied on playing at small venues to earn any income at all.

Live Nation, the country’s largest concert promoter, and Ticketmaster, the nation’s biggest ticket seller, had long been major players in the music industry. After the Justice Department approved a merger in 2010 between the two enterprises, the new company, Live Nation Entertainment, became far more powerful.

Live Nation Entertainment now controls many of the functions associated with putting on a concert: It owns venues, promotes concerts, books acts, produces shows, manages artists, sells tickets, and more. Why is the Biden administration doing this?

The government alleges that Live Nation Entertainment’s sprawling business model is choking off competition and that the company is punishing venues that rely on other ticketing services.

After winning the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden promised to use the Justice Department’s antitrust division to break up monopolies, and that’s exactly what the government is trying to do with Live Nation Entertainment.

The government has been investigating Live Na-

After that fiasco, fans started contacting their lawmakers, and the U.S. Senate even held a hearing on the issue. In May 2024 the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, signed a bill into law that will require all ticket sellers in the state to disclose their fees up front.

How did Ticketmaster change the ticket-buying experience?

For much of the 20th century, buying tickets to a show or sporting event required traveling to the venue’s box office.

In 1976, Albert Leffler, who worked at Arizona State University’s performing arts center, and Peter Gadwa, an IT staffer on the same campus, founded Ticketmaster with businessman Gordon Gunn III. The enterprise began to sell tickets a year later. As the company developed, it incorporated new technology to facilitate ticket sales at a growing list of locations outside of the venue where a show would be performed. Ticketmaster ultimately acquired Ticketron, its predecessor and rival.

As a teen in the 1990s, I remember waiting in line at a local grocery store in

A couple of years later, Ticketmaster introduced the technology required to give concertgoers the opportunity to purchase tickets online. In 2008, the company permitted paperless entry.

However, that convenience comes with hidden fees. Suddenly, the cost of your $25 ticket can balloon to $40, with that extra $15 relatively opaque until checkout. These fees used to be a matter of convenience; there wasn’t a fee when you went to the venue to buy a ticket.

Now, the fees are unavoidable and multiplying: There can be a service fee, an order processing charge, a facility charge and a delivery fee.

How has Live Nation affected artists’ ability to make a living?

In my research and my personal experience, I’ve observed a sea change in the roles that live music and recorded music are playing.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, recording artists with medium-sized and large fan bases toured to promote their albums. During that time, these

With the advent of file-sharing services, which later gave way to streaming, recording artists began to rely more on touring revenue to supplement their income, as money earned from album sales fell.

With even the most popular musicians increasingly relying on income from touring, they count more on making sure they earn what is owed to them. Fans feel like they have a close relationship with their favorite musicians and are willing to support them financially.

But when Live Nation Entertainment adds fees or pressures musicians to take a smaller cut of concert revenue, it becomes apparent to fans that they and their favorite musicians are getting a raw deal.

What will happen moving forward?

The government will seek a jury trial to determine if Live Nation Entertainment is a monopoly. If the company is found to be violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Live Nation Entertainment would be forced to restructure, or even split into two or more separate companies.

Of course, lawsuits take time to resolve, even if the parties settle before entering a courtroom. And any potential ruling could have to go through an appeals process. I believe it’s likely that this dispute won’t be resolved for several years. Aside from the lawsuit, the Biden administration is working on banning socalled “junk fees.” Eliminating exorbitant or hidden fees on concert tickets would address some of these problems. Unfortunately, no matter what happens to Live Nation Entertainment, the music industry as a whole – whether it’s the record labels, streaming services, music publishers or music venues – is trending toward more consolidation and monopolistic behavior.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

David Arditi is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Arlington. His research addresses the impact of digital technology on society and culture with a specific focus on music. His new book, "Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians and Power in Society," explores the way musicians’ dreams become their source of exploitation. Arditi is author of "iTake-Over: The Recording Industry in the

DAVID ARDITI

ERIC PROTEIN MOSELEY

Transitions Homeless Center in downtown Columbia, pictured here Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, is one of the largest shelters in South Carolina. Mary Ann Chastain/File/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette

VOICES

Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island

Another tutorial on evidence

It is Friday, early, and this morning we have a verdict in Donald Trump’s “Hush Money” trial. We don’t know how the deliberations went, but I suppose we’ll get endless speculation in the next few weeks on CNN, FOX and from journalists who still print their stories.

This trial has been a tutorial on evidence (and trial procedure) for many non-lawyers. We learned, for example, that closing arguments are not evidence—these summations don’t go into the jury room like the charts, written memorandums, e-mails and photographs.

We learned the last words a jury hears come in the form of instructions from the trial judge — how the jury must laminate the “law” upon the “facts” that came into play during the trial.

Facts can be diagrams, writings, sometimes animated videos that

ISCOTT GRABER

come into evidence with a smooth narration from an engineer or some other well-paid, flown-in expert.

In this connection there is an article in the New Yorker about one such chart that got into evidence in England — a chart that apparently convicted a young nurse of murdering seven new-born babies. The New Yorker said of this chart; “The case against her gathered force on a single diagram shared by the police, which circulated widely in the media. On the vertical axis were twenty four ‘suspicious events,’ which included the deaths of the seven newborns and

seven other instances of babies suddenly deteriorating. On the horizontal axis were the names of the thirty-eight nurses who had worked on the unit during that time, with Xs next to each suspicious event that occurred when they were on shift. Letby was the only nurse with an uninterrupted line of X’s below her name. She was the one ‘common denominator’ the ‘constant malevolent presence’ when things took a turn for the worse.”

“It (the chart) gave an impression of mathematical clarity and coherence, distracting from another possibility: that there had never been any crimes at all.”

The New Yorker writer then moved to the “totemic status” of the National Health Service in Britain — the closest thing to a state religion — and how that system has broken down as a result of underfunding. The piece then talked about

the hospital in question, Countess, and its deterioration with regard to infant mortality.

The New Yorker then went into records, reports and notes surrounding each infant death, essentially saying that Lucy Letby was blameless other than the fact that she was at the scene in each instance. Although these records showed no foul play they do track Nurse Letby’s emotional devastation and her physical deterioration as the babies died.

Eventually hospital authorities told her she was being “reassessed” because she was the common element “in the cluster of deaths.” Eventually she was indicted; and then convicted on the basis of the single chart showing she was around when each of the seven infants died.

Immediately after the verdict statisticians began questioning the chart, especially the fact that it was

limited to 24 “suspicious events” rather than more suspicious activity over a longer period of time.

“Shafer said that he became concerned about the case when he saw the diagram of suspicions events with the line of X’s under Letby’s name. He thought it should have spanned a longer period of time and included all the deaths on the unit, not just the one’s in the indictment.”

“For one baby, the diagram showed Letby working he night shift, but this was error; she was working day shifts at the time, so there should not have been an X by her name. At trial the prosecution argued that, although the baby had deteriorated overnight, the suspicious episode actually began three minutes after Letby arrived for her day shift.”

In the United States the trial judge is the “gatekeeper” deciding whether or not the exhibit is reliable,

probative and is not prejudicial.

Apparently the defense only had a threadbare theory that said an over-extended, underfunded Health Service was actually to blame. Apparently the defense could not reduce that notion to a mathematical formula or a chart. And, apparently, this jury wanted something statistical from the defense team.

“Our predilection for causal thinking exposes us to serious mistakes in evaluating the randomness of truly random events,” writes Daniel Kahnenman in “Thinking Fast and Slow.” Even though the United Kingdom has its own “presumption of innocence”, Lucy Letby needed numbers, a theory of her own, and experts to indict the National Health Service.

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

Here’s hoping for a great summer

felt like I should write something about the Donald Trump trial and convention, but by now a hundred people a lot smarter than me have just about said it all, one way or the other.

The one thing that I have not heard, is that the good people of New York City may have done the one thing that they feared the most, and that is to put Mr. Trump back in the White House for a second term. I could be wrong but I think most Americans of all political persuasions have a pretty fair sense of justice and fair play, and many of those people who really didn’t want either candidate, and would have stayed home, will express their unhappiness with the way the

Otrial was conducted at the ballot box on election day. It looks like Trump is now the victim and I have no doubt that he will play the role to the hilt.

One indicator is the many millions of dollars that are now rolling into his campaign war chest. Needless to say we are in for a rough ride for the next five months, but it will be interesting.

Moving closer to home, it looks like the race for who will be the Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional District is shaping up to be a close contest between the incumbent Nancy Mace, and the top challenger, the former head of South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, and businesswoman Catherine Templeton. The smart money is normally on the incumbent in that the incumbent has a clear advantage. In this case Templeton is well known and respected with Republican voters for her past government work and her business success.

I am hearing rumblings of discontent among Republican voters with Mace. It seems many think that she is spending way

too much time being the darling of Fox News and not enough time working for the people of the 1st District. There is also a wild card, a sharp young Marine veteran, Bill Young, who although a political novice, is working hard to get his name out and will surely pull some votes away from Mace. It may be a real race to the finish. If we don’t have enough politics to worry about, it looks like this hurricane season is shaping up to be one of the worst on record. We now have lots of new people who have moved here in the past two or three years and have yet to experience a hurricane or an evacuation. I hope that they are paying close attention to all of the information that is out there and will respond accordingly.

All of us need to be aware of what is going on, and those who can leave sooner rather than later, do so. With the influx of new residents the roads will be packed.

Other than that, life in Beaufort County is still wonderful, and we are among some of the world’s luckiest people to live here. I wish everyone a great summer!

Born, raised and educated in the Southwest, Jim Dickson served in the U.S. Navy Reserve in Vietnam before a 35-year business career. Retired to St. Helena Island, Dickson and his wife are fiscally conservative, socially moderate and active in Republican politics, though they may not always agree with Republicans. Having lived around the country and traveled around the world, Dickson believes that the United States truly is the land of opportunity.

A time for war and a time for peace

n June 6 1944

America, under the guidance of General Dwight Eisenhower, and its allies engaged in one of the most significant military operations of the 20th Century under the now legendary name of D-Day.

Code named Operation Neptune, this was the largest seaborne invasions in history with 160,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy on that day. Of those, 73 000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada, with no less than 17 other allied countries participating on the ground, the sea, and in the air, including French troops fighting under the command of General Charles de Gaulle. Despite poor weather conditions and fierce resistance from German forces, the operations were successful. On the evening of June 6, the Allies had gained a foothold on all five beaches as the German defenders numbering around 50 000 were uncertain how to respond.

We live near Camp Nelson National Cemetery and from the highway, you can see many of the more than 12,000 perfectly lined white marble tombstones. A

reminder of the individuals who accepted the call of duty, and what is that call?

To defend and protect our freedom whatever the cost!

These brave soldiers were willing to fight for their country and I cannot help but wonder how many of us have convictions that strong. The First Amendment was not only signed into existence with ink but with the blood of over 1 1 million Americans who have died in U.S. wars along with the countless more that have suffered from physical disabilities and psychological difficulties. The privileges and freedoms we enjoy have truly come at a great price. My family has suffered loss from war and has a deep appreciation for the service and sacrifice that men and women have given to protect our country.

My grandfather served in WWI, two uncles served in Vietnam, and another uncle

only 20 years old, died on the battlefield in Korea.

As a volunteer chaplain for Thomson Hood, a veteran healthcare facility, I’ve had the opportunity and honor to sit and talk with many fine men and women who have served in our nation’s military. The Second World War veterans are now in their nineties and older, and I believe as with all military personnel, it’s important to not only record and preserve their amazing stories but to sincerely listen and respect who they are as individuals.

One of these residents is

a man named Edward Hicks who willingly stepped forward when his country needed him the most. He was only 22 years old in 1944 and had just married his lovely bride Mary Lou four months earlier. He received the call to join the front line and bravely responded to what would be known around the world as Operation Overlord. The American soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they refused to allow a world where wrong prevailed.

Edward and his company were assigned to six miles

of beach that was codenamed “Omaha,” which has been recorded as one of the bloodiest first-wave battles of Normandy. Only 600 men survived out of the 2 600 that came ashore. He recalls when he jumped out of the amphibious vehicle, how the water was up to his neck and icy cold. Being loaded down with full gear that was now water-logged, he said it was very difficult to keep from drowning. As bullets were splashing the water and whizzing past his head, all he knew to do was to stay as low as possible.

Using floating bodies as shields, he was numb with fear. As he crawled upon the sand, he immediately began to dig a hole where he could partially avoid the onslaught of constant machine gunfire. Somehow throughout the day and thankfully with the Germans running out of ammunition, they managed to slowly make their way inland and went on to accomplish the mission.

Edward received several medals for bravery including a Silver Star and 4 Bronze Stars, but there is much more to standing against tyranny than human fortitude and earning recognition. It is comprehending the depth of spiritual love that includes loving others as much as we love ourselves. Jesus demonstrated the greatest love the world has ever known when He willingly sacrificed His life for us. John 15:13 is a solemn reminder, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Billy Holland lives in Central Kentucky with his wife Cheryl, where he is a minister, Christian author, and community chaplain. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.

JIM DICKSON

BILLY HOLLAND

Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the

Man, those bears just keep on winning

When Hillary Clinton observed that some of Donald Trump’s supporters were “a basket of deplorables,” some of them took that as a challenge. A standard to sink to meet. A badge of honor, even.

So why am I surprised at one reader’s response to my column on women being asked to choose which they would rather encounter in the woods, a strange man or a bear?

“I am unclear if the bear was a black bear or a brown (grizzly) bear?” the reader begins.

“If it was a black bear, which is much more timid around humans, I guess you could argue one way or another. Any woman stuck in the woods with a brown bear would choose that instead of a guy, well they deserve what they would get which is likely killed.

“It just goes to show the absurd nature of these discussions.

“Your examples of bears are nice but to me fits the liberal agenda. Weak men. I am sure you saw that poll about a month ago

with liberal women complaining they can't find a good man. I am not surprised.”

Looking past the absurdity of his parsing the bear species, I challenged the notion that men being nice equals being weak. The reader’s response: “If all they are is nice. Then yes.”

I decided exploring that conversation would likely be fruitless (“if all they are is nice?”) so I requested a link to the poll that was mentioned suggesting liberal women had trouble finding “good men.”

I received a link to an article published on MSN with the clickbait-y title, “Liberal woman complaining the lack of masculine liberal men while refusing to date

conservative men.” The author was listed as “Asir F.”

My first thought was the article was referring to a liberal woman, not liberal women as a group. Then I read and discovered it wasn’t a poll as much an opinion piece swiped from another site, a news outlet referred to as The Independent News

I went ahead and described to the reader that MSN is an aggregator. It has agreements to republish content from other sites and sometimes even pays people to rewrite content from other sites. Aggregators have cost a lot of good journalists their jobs by stealing web traffic, but I won’t get sidetracked by that debate.

The Independent website has no homepage, no About page, and no Contact page. Easily confused as being connected to the British Independent newspaper (I found no indication it is), it is another of those damnable aggregators that draw clicks for stories swiped from other sites. In this case, it posted conservative stories rewritten from conservative news sites.

The author Asir F. directly based their post on an article from The New York Post

The story that ran in the Rupert Murdoch-owned Post, the first story in this chain of anti-liberal missives, was about one woman’s dating problems she shared on TikTok. I have to say, the original story wasn’t nearly as negative about liberal men as the subsequent rewrites. It was just one woman complaining — and then she shared she later found exactly the kind of progressive man she had been looking for.

The Post story ran a year ago but it keeps being churned because it advances a right-wing narrative against liberal men, that being progressive (or simply nice) makes us less desirable.

A conservative website (MSN) pulling a story from another conservative site (The Independent) that pulled a story from a conservative newspaper site (The New York Post) is exactly how ideological echo chambers work. It is how agendas — and misinformation — are propagated.

People with an axe to grind take a molehill, tell other folks it is a mountain, and then those folks point to the “mountain” and accuse the rest of us of being fools because when we look all we see is a molehill.

“Everybody knows that’s a mountain!” they insist, when more often than not, it’s closer to an anthill. I explained this to the reader, who responded about as shrewdly as they did to my previous column:

“I guess a lightly educated guy like yourself thinks they can read at a higher level. Stop drinking the cool aid.”

With guys out here who think like this reader, oblivious to larger points, comfy inside their bubbles, and defensive in the face of reason, I can see why women would continue to prefer woodland creatures.

Bears haven’t seemed this safe a bet since the ’85 Super Bowl.

Terry E. Manning is a Clemson graduate and worked for 20 years as a journalist. He can be reached at teemanning@gmail.com.

Put Trump verdict into real perspective

Now that Donald Trump has become the first former president convicted of crimes, it’s safe to say America’s political polarization may be at a tipping point.

People’s reactions are all over the place. Some are gloating, figuring the bully Trump finally got what he deserved. Some are mad –really mad – because their hero didn’t prevail before a New York jury who heard days of testimony related to politics and a scheme to hush up a hook-up just before the 2016 election.

Some, including our foreign allies, are relieved that the American system of accountability seemed to work and that no one is above the law. And yet others are just sick of it all, not really caring one way or the other about the guy who has sucked the oxygen out of political space

Sfor the last decade.

There’s not really any wrong or right reaction, but it would make sense for liberals to back off gloating and conservatives to curb their anger. Otherwise, our off-the-rails country is going to stay politically out of whack.

So regardless of how you feel, maybe there’s a mind exercise for you that can help you get beyond any visceral reaction.

Imagine you have a neighbor – or a business acquaintance, fellow church

member, friend, drinking buddy or colleague – who has gotten in some serious trouble. You don’t know if he or she did what they are accused of, but you believe them when they said they didn’t do it.

Months pass. Your neighbor goes to trial. He or she is found guilty by a jury of local people, just as happens countless times across America every week.

So how do you react? Do you gloat? (“I didn’t really like him anyway; I’m not surprised.”) Do you get angry?

(“She was railroaded; the system isn’t fair.”)

Or do you move on with your life, perhaps disappointed in your neighbor, but accepting that he or she had a chance to air a version of the case in a court of law where a jury of regular people listened and took a different view?

There’s not really any wrong or right reaction, but it would make sense for liberals to back off gloating and conservatives to curb their anger.”

It’s interesting that many of Trump’s supporters who are local, state and national leaders continue to buy the dishonest narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

But if you step back and look at that whole notion from 20,000 feet, it is pretty preposterous because of its duplicity. On one hand, they’re saying the voting system corrupted the results of one election, the presidential election. But on the other hand, they’re accepting the results of thousands upon thousands of other elections

– including their own that put them into office – and they’re NOT saying those elections were corrupt.

Bottom line: America’s system of governance and judicial review should work the same for everyone, regardless of whom they are.

Trump is just a man, not a demi-god. That’s what the results of the trial showed.

So as you reflect on what’s happening with a case that’s ripping apart America, don’t gloat or get mad. Rather, try to put things in perspective based on your life’s experience.

There’s a pretty good chance that the results of this instance of judicial accountability is little different than what everyone else in trouble goes through. This time, Trump lost. He may lose again. But he had his chance in court to make his case.

And then when you head to the polls in November, cast your ballot in a way that will allow the country to adhere to time-proven principles of freedom – or not.

We hope you’ll pick the tenets of democracy in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, not a politically-tailored narrative to give special treatment to anyone.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to feedback@statehousereport.com.

When left with nothing, trash the process

o, the “party of law and order,” faced with a verdict of guilty on all 34 counts, has taken up the cudgel of denigrating the legal process of our country. Forget that this process allowed the defendant to testify in his own defense, which he chose not to do.

Forget also that this same defendant was supposed to have identified in his mind one juror as “my juror;” this assumption based upon so-called interpretation of body language which ultimately turned out to be wishful thinking.

Forget, as well, that 12 jurors, chosen randomly from a population of hundreds of thousands living in Manhattan, and six alternates, were accepted by both the defense and the prosecution. These 12 were unanimous in their decision after asking for a repeat of evidence.

Forget, too, that said defendant chose to “sleep” during the trial, in my mind, an arrogant posture that indicates a lack of interest or perhaps, just perhaps, a stance of “I have this locked up with a hung jury.” No pun intended.

And now the hue and cry from many of these Republican sycophants craving the vice-presidential slot is the word of the

day, the year for that matter. The whole trial was rigged. Even their verbiage reflects the unwavering subservience of a ‘Stepford Wife.’. Having researched some of the Republican responses, I found myself wondering if I should laugh or cry. When their lives are open to public scrutiny, one is tempted to remind them of glass houses and stones. But I offer the following as a sample of the cacophony of pious, holier-than-thou, downright pathetic responses, despite the fact that most have suffered the vitriol of Donald Trump. I begin with our own Lindsay Graham. The Senator stated the following:

“This verdict says more about the system than the allegations. It will be seen as politically motivated and unfair, and it will backfire tremendously on the political

Left. The Manhattan legal system has become a joke in every sense of the word. This is a mockery of justice.”

No, Senator. It is you who mock the ideals you were sent to uphold. And then there was Ted Cruz who said, “This is a travesty of justice.” This from the man whose father was slandered by Trump as having had a part in the Kennedy assassination.

Just look how Tommy Tubberville or ‘Coach’ as he loves to bill himself, expounded:

“It’s a very dark day in American history. This ‘trial’ was a political witch hunt from the start. The fact that the Biden campaign staged a press conference outside the court tells you everything you need to know.”

Excuse me, “Coach,” exactly who hit the microphone outside the courtroom every day? Furthermore, aren’t the words “witch hunt” just a tad overused? Come on, “Coach,” let’s hope you were more creative than that on the football field.

Of course, Marco Rubio had to make his pitch by comparing America to Castro’s Cuba, a kissup that shouldn’t shock anyone.

Finally I will conclude this dis-

gusting line-up of hypocrites with a quote from a Republican from my home state of Pennsylvania, Scott Perry:

“These are the actions of a dictator, plain and simple. Joe Biden has corrupted the awesome power of the U.S. government. His and his radical Left minions’ weaponization of “lawfare” to destroy their political opponents is nothing more than a Soviet-style show trial, replete with fake charges, the impossibility of innocence, and a predetermined outcome; it’s clear to anyone who even remotely values and respects our Constitution.”

Please permit me to address this bit of drivel, piece by piece. First the use of the word “dictator” was used by your idol, Trump. You know, the way he will conduct things the first day, should he be elected.

Then there is the word “minions.” Sir, I suggest you look in the mirror as you attempt to justify a man who supported the overthrow of our government. The man you are so quick to glorify.

Let’s look at the phrase “Soviet-style.” In case you have forgotten, it is your man who has cozied up to his hero, Vlad, on more than one occasion. It is your man who

held a conference with Russian leaders in our White House with no one else present to report the substance of that meeting.

Finally, “the Constitution?”

Surely you jest! No one has made it more clear that should he, Donald J. Trump, be re-elected, a rewriting of that document will take place.

Perhaps the party of “law and order” should turn their attention and concern about justice to the Supreme Court where two jurists are thumbing their noses at judicial ethics by refusing to recuse themselves from cases where their spouses have overtly engaged in treasonous activity. Oh, that's right. I forgot. Those two are part of your gang.

In conclusion, Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. If this is the man you choose to support, the person you want to see regain the presidency, then I can only say that it speaks volumes about you.

I would remind you, however, that treason can hardly be construed as patriotism.

ANDY BRACK

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:

CAROL LUCAS

TERRY MANNING

Siblings in life, siblings in service

By Cpl. Jacqueline Akamelu U.S. Marine Corps

MCRD PARRIS ISLAND

“Iwouldtell myself, ‘We started this together, so we’re going to finish this together’,” says PFC. Lily Membreno Paz, as she explains her experience the past 13 weeks, with her brother, Billy Membreno Paz, right by her side.

Raised in a strong El Salvadorian family, from father Evelio Membreno and mother Edith Paz, Lily and Billy Membreno Paz were surrounded by a tight-knit family dynamic. Two of five siblings, Billy and Lily are the middle siblings of their family, with two older siblings, Glenda (25) and Beibis (20), and one younger sister, Denali (6). Both born in Lewisburg, Va., in 2005 and 2006, Billy (19) and Lily (18) are close in age and inseparable in life.

Though born in the United States, the two siblings spent five years with their grandparents in Cantón Guanaste in El Salvador. Throughout their time in the Central American country, the two grew remarkably close as siblings while also adopting the deep culture, learning about the agriculture the country is known for, and becoming fluent in Spanish.

“El Salvador is where our roots began. It’s where our parents [and] grandparents are from, and so on,” explains their sister, Glenda, “it was important for them to learn and understand our heritage as we were the first of our family to come and live in the United States.”

Following their return to the U.S., Billy and Lily lived with their family in Florence, Ala. Over time, the two became acclimated to the culture change and became fluent

in English early on, becoming equally bilingual. Throughout their childhood, their family grew throughout Treon, Ala, and Athens, Ga., as more of their aunts, uncles, and cousins slowly immigrated from El Salvador and relocated to the United States.

“When we get together, it’s like a party of close to 60 people,” expresses Lily, “and we’re all family. Cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone.”

In August of 2023, their father Evelio received a phone call from U.S. Marine Corps recruiter, Staff Sgt. Charles Bagley. Billy, who recently graduated from high school, knew it was a chance to make his family proud and open various opportunities for his future. He also went on to mention the possibility of his sister showing an interest in also serving, the phone call opened the door for both siblings to join.

“Our initial plan was to go through all of the other branches and see our options,” explained Billy, “and the Marine Corps office was the first one we went to, but ever since the first time we visited, it just stuck and we stayed.”

With Lily in her senior year of high school, Staff Sgt. Bagley, explained that unless she completed her education and graduated early, it was unlikely they’d share the same ship date and go through recruit training together. With this in mind, Lily completed her senior year of high school four months early, on February 23 2024, from Hatton High School.

On March 4 2024, both Billy and Lily shipped from RSS Decatur to MCRD Parris Island.

“[Lily] was juggling her job, was going to school as a full-time student, and was working toward her ASVAB test. She has such

an incredible drive.,” expressed Glenda, “She [...] ended up even scoring the highest ASVAB score of her entire group”

Received for training by Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, the two trained in the same company, but separate platoons; Billy with platoon 1028 and Lily with platoon 1025

“We didn’t know we were going to be this close to each other at all,” expressed Billy, “I thought my sister was going to be on the completely other side of [Parris Island], so it turned out better than what we expected.”

Training simultaneously in the same company allotted reassurance to both of them, as they were able to see each other in passing during various training events, or even have brief conversations during religious services offered on Sundays.

“It always reminded me,” explained Billy, “whenever I was doing the obstacle course or something, that I am responsible for pushing through and not getting hurt. We came this far, [...] we need to complete this together.”

Seeing each other, and knowing that their sibling was going through the same training, gave them a unique and optimistic perspective, even creating a healthy competition between each other.

The Drill Instructors of their respective platoons learned early on about the siblings and would offer insight to them about the other and how they were doing in training, pushing them to continue to work hard and stay focused.

“We have a really healthy relationship with each other,” described Lily, “so it created a competitive environment for us with each other even though we didn’t write letters to one another.”

Both Billy and Lily faced similar struggles and adversity many recruits experienced throughout training.

“The [Marine Corps Martial Arts Program] environment and how it’s conducted,” describes Lily, “it felt very overwhelming and it was a struggle to remember all of the techniques.”

Billy explained that it was a struggle, at times, to keep up with the expectations placed on him, as he was assigned as a squad leader in his platoon from Forming Day 1

Lily explained that she found her strong suit in being able to manage the chaos and pressure placed on her throughout training, eventually earning her the opportunity to be assigned as the platoon’s guide.

I was running the 3-mile run,” describes Lily, “I reached the halfway point and was so exhausted, and my knee wasn’t cooperating at the time, but I knew I had to push through and finish strong for my brother.”

As brother and sister, they entered recruit training with an exceptionally strong relationship with one another. With the memorable experiences they found on the depot, the respect and appreciation for each other has reached new heights.

“I knew that she was going through it right there with me and it pushed me to be better,” says Billy.

Following their completion of the Crucible on May 18 2024 Lily was selected as the honor graduate for her platoon, and Billy was meritoriously promoted to Private First Class (PFC). Upon graduation on May 31, 2024, the Membreno Paz siblings’ next step will be reporting to the School of Infantry East, on Camp Geiger, N.C., following recruiter’s assistance with RSS Decatur.

“They are some of the finest I have been able to recruit for the Marine Corps,” expressed Staff Sgt. Bagley, “[They’re people] who strive for excellence in everything and have such a strong family and foundation. They’re going to go so far.”

ENTREES:

The largest motivation that they found for themselves throughout training was consistently that which they found in each other. Training at the same time pushed both siblings, inclining them both to perform exceptionally throughout their testing and qualifications. Both notably shot Expert on the rifle range, and performed at the first class level on both of their Physical Fitness Tests (PFT) and Combat Fitness Tests (CFT), with Billy running a perfect score (300) on his CFT.

“During the final PFT, when

Billy intends to serve in the Military Occupation Specialty as an Automotive Maintenance Technician, 3521, and Lily as an Aviation Ordnance Systems Technician, 6541

Brother and Sister, Billy and Lily Membreno Paz, grew up in a tight-knit family dynamic in a family of seven.

With strong El Salvadorian roots, they were surrounded by a depth of culture throughout their childhood that later influenced them to both choose to enlist into the Marine Corps. Cpl. Jacqueline Akamelu/USMC

Billy and Lily Membreno Paz and other members of the Paz family pose on Friday, May 31, 2024, the day of their graduation at Parris Island. Cpl. Jacqueline Akamelu/USMC

LOCAL MILITARY

South Carolina Military and Veterans Benefits

This is the final article in the four-article series on State of South Carolina military and veteran benefits.

South Carolina may be the best state in the union to be a veteran because S.C. offers special benefits for military members, veterans, and their families including:

A S.C. Veterans Affairs Office serving each county in S.C., an income tax deduction for military retired pay, property tax exemptions, employment preference, education assistance, tuition assistance, and state vehicle tags. Hunting-fishing license privileges, health/ insurance benefits, state veterans nursing homes, legal outreach programs, and veteran-peer support programs. The Dolly Cooper State Veterans Cemetery, a Veterans Treatment Mentor Court Program, free recording of discharges and certified (50 cents) copies for S.C. veterans, and free marriage, birth, death, and divorce verification when needed.

Military Family Relief Fund (SCMFRF) grants, the presentation of a South Carolina Flag to Families of deceased S.C. National Guard members, regional S.C. Veteran Advisers, S.C. reduced fee state park passes, and S.C. National Guardsmen workers' compensation.

The S.C. Veteran and Armed Services Legal Outreach Program, University of S.C. School of Law Legal Clinic for Veterans, and more. Eligibility for some benefits may depend on residency, military component, and the veteran's disability status.

You can find summaries

of SC military and veteran benefits online at:

My Army Benefits (South Carolina) webpage, https://bit. ly/3JXFY5P. Military.COM *(State Vets Benefits) webpage, https://bit.ly/3UI6QLX.

The SC Department of Veteran Affairs “Consumer Affairs” webpage, https://scdva. sc.gov/consumer-affairs.

The Island News article, “Veteran should want to live, work and retire in SC”, dated June 1, 2022, https://bit. ly/3UZ0NUv.

• The Island News article, “South Carolina military and veterans’ benefits” (Part 1 of 4), May 14, 2024, https:// bit.ly/3RbK12c. The Island News article, “SC Military and Veterans Benefits” (Part 2 of 4), May 21, 2024, https://bit.ly/3RbNMow.

The Island News article, “Veterans, Military Members should use SCWorks.org to find a job, get more help” (Part 1 of 2), May 1 2024 https://bit.ly/459BRxa.

The Island News article, “Veterans, military members should use SCWorks.org to find a job, get more help” (Part 2 of 2), May 8 2024 https://bit.ly/3RA5Etx.

The Island News article, “South Carolina military and veterans’ benefits (Part 3 of 4), May 22, 2024, https:// yourislandnews.com/. The Army Nation-

al Guard Benefits webpage, https://www. nationalguard.com/ benefits.

• The SC State HR Resources webpage, https://bit.ly/3RexQlj.

SC Department of Veteran Affairs, https:// scdva.sc.gov.

SC DOR Tax Tips For Veterans pamphlet, https://bit.ly/3Vps0jE.

SC Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission, https:// bit.ly/3Vqquxs.

American Bar Association 2023 Edition of the Military State Tax Guide, https://bit. ly/4bI98ln.

And the references in the above The Island News articles, state and other websites, and other resources listed above and in past articles.

Find past veterans benefits articles from The Island News

Larry Dandridge’s past articles on military and veteran benefits are located online at https://yourislandnews.com/. Click on the Military button at the top center of the page.

Use a “Free” and “VAaccredited” Veterans Service Officer (VSO)

Filing for federal and state veterans’ benefits can be complicated. VSOs understand veterans’ federal and state benefits and how to file for benefits. Beware of individuals and businesses preying on veterans and their families by charging fees and guaranteeing claim results.

VSOs are trained by the VA, the South Carolina (or another state’s) Department of Veteran Affairs, and a Veterans Service Organization like the American Legion (AL), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American

Veterans (DAV), and other Veterans Service Organizations. VSOs must pass a background check, pass a comprehensive examination, swear to represent honestly, and attend continuing education requirements.

SC County VSOs

Veterans can find S.C. County VSOs at https://bit. ly/3qbLVSL. Find Georgia VSOs at https://bit.ly/44KMVA7

How to search Nationwide for VSOs

Veterans and their family members can also search for VA-accredited representatives (VSOs, Attorneys, and Claims Agents) nationwide at https://bit.ly/3QnCk5M.

Find a VSO at VBA Regional Headquarters Veterans and their family members can also search for VA-accredited representatives (VSOs) at VBA Regional Offices at https://www. benefits.va.gov/benefits/offices.asp. VSOs co-located in the Columbia S.C. Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office frequently travel throughout the state to help veterans.

Contact information:

Disabled American Veterans: 803-6472422

• American Legion/SCDVA: 803-647-2434

• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): 803-6472443 Paralyzed Veterans (PVA): 803-647-2432

Some SC VSOs in the footprint of The Island News Beaufort County, Director Caroline Fermin, 100 Clear Water Way, Beaufort, S.C. 29906 843-255-6880, https:// bit.ly/3ryd5qS. Beaufort DAV Chapter, Chapter Service Officer Michael Vergantino, 843-301-2543 and mlv1030@gmail.com.

Jasper County, Alton Jenkins, 651 Grays Highway, Ridgeland, S.C. 29936, Phone: 843726-7727, ajenkins@ jaspercountysc.gov.

Colleton County, Janet Smith, 219 S. Lemacks Street, Suite 124 Walterboro, S.C. 29488, 843-549-1412, cvao@ colletoncounty.org.

• Charleston County, David LeBlanc, Lonnie Hamilton III Public Services Building, Suite B-154 (First Floor),4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, S.C. 29405 843-974-6360 vaoffice@charlestoncounty.org Berkeley County, Gerald Baxley, 212, Oakley Plantation Drive, Moncks Corner, S.C. 29461 843-723-3800 (Ext. 4023), Moncks Corner 843-719-4023, St. Stephen 843-5673136 Ext. 4023).

• Dorchester County, Johnny Brown, 500 North Main Street, Summerville, S.C., 843-832-0050 and 201 Johnston Street, St. George, S.C., 843-5630116

Some Georgia VSOs in the footprint of The Island News

EDITOR’S NOTE This article is the fourth in a series of four.

A final comment about VSOs Not all VSOs work in State or County Veterans Affairs Offices or VBA Regional Offices. Some VSOs work as volunteers for their local Veterans Service Organization (VVA, AL, VFW, etc.) Chapter. VSOs do not work for the VA but rather they work for the “Veteran and Veteran’s family members and survivors.” VSOs do work closely with the VA but they represent the veteran (for free) and his or her family. In the most complicated cases, like some claim appeals, VSOs can be counted on to refer veterans and their families to VA-accredited attorneys for help.

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

Chatham County, Ga., Manager Miguel Rivera (Bi-Lingual), 912-9200214, Ext. 2412191 Miguel.rivera5@va.gov, 1170 Shawnee Street, Savannah, Ga., 31419 Also, VSO Sheri Shellman, 912-920-0214 Extension 412194, and VSO Robert Jones 912920-0214, Extension 412193. Located in the Savannah VA Outpatient Clinic. Liberty County & Hinesville, Ga., Shannon Daniels, 912-408-2948, shannon.daniels@vs.state. ga.us, and Dennis Boothe, 912-408-2900 ext. 352750, dennis. boothe@vs.state.ga.us, 500 East Oglethorpe Highway, Hinesville, Ga., 31313. Located inside the Hinesville VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic. Brunswick Ga., Veterans Field Service Office (located in the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic-CBOC), 93 Benchmark Way, Brunswick, Ga., 31520, Manager Stephanie Jordon, Phone: 912-2647360, Email stephanie. jordan1@vs.state.ga.us

LARRY DANDRIDGE

LOCAL MILITARY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, 7 June 2024

Recruit Training Regiment • Commanding Officer, Colonel C. B. McArthur 3rd Recruit Training Battalion • Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel G. F. Curley Commander of Troops, Captain T. D. Deckard • Parade Adjutant, Captain B. J. Placek Company “M”, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion • Commanding Officer, Captain T. D. Deckard Drill Masters • Gunnery Sergeant M. N. Moreno, Staff Sergeant O. Scott

PLATOON 3024

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt D. J. Scherwinski

Pvt Aguirresantos, Bryan

Pvt Ayala, Geovanie F.

Pvt Beauchamp, Gabriel A.

Pvt Brooks iii, James O.

Pvt Brown jr, Albert R.

PFC Brown, Ali J.

Pvt Brown, Sebastian

Pvt Campoverdeandrade, Jostin R.

Pvt Carnaghi, Richard D.

Pvt Castaneda, Denzel

Pvt Corriveau, Andrew D.

Pvt Garcia, Cristian

*PFC Devaughnwilson, Aegean M.

Pvt Dubolino, Cooper L.

Pvt Green, Cody A.

Pvt Gunderson, Daniel A.

Pvt Hanratty, Thomas K.

*PFC Haskins Jr, Shawn P.

Pvt Howard, Zyiare A.

Pvt Jacinto, Carlos A.

Pvt King, Timothy G.

Pvt Mclaurin iii, Jimmy D.

Pvt Mullen, Kamari S.

PFC Napoleon, Jeremiah A.

Pvt Perezcarpio, Gustavo

Pvt Russell, Jason S.

Pvt Rust, Colin E.

Pvt Sanchez, Luis A.

PFC Stephens, Allen D.

PFC Stern, Trevor A.

PFC Treadway, Isaiah J.

Pvt Watson, Isaac G.

Pvt Willis, Jalen J.

PFC Wright, Aiden S.

*PFC Wyche, Anthony L.

PLATOON 3025

Senior Drill Instructor

GySgt L. A. Rolon

Pvt Alfaro, Arturo A.

Pvt Baksa, Seth J.

Pvt Belton, Nicholas R.

Pvt Cardonacaceres, Aniel J.

Pvt Coelho, Luke

Pvt Colbert, Stephen C.

Pvt Crichton, Riley A.

*PFC Dutcher, Carson D.

PFC Earl, Colin R.

PFC Ellick, Isaac J.

Pvt George, James A.

PFC Guay, Ian R.

Pvt Hagenimana, Jean D.

Pvt Hebert, Ryan P.

PFC Jaco, Brady G.

Pvt Jobin, Tristan A.

Pvt Johnson, Jeremy W.

PFC Jones, Faustino J.

*PFC Kidd, Thomas G.

Pvt Labelle, Travis W.

Pvt Martinez, Christopher A.

Pvt Morris, Michael R.

PFC Ponti, Robert D.

Pvt Reaver, Boone C.

Pvt Salinasplancarte, Orlando

Pvt Sjobeck, Caden L.

PFC Torres, Jose E.

Pvt Villarrodriguez, Daniel

PFC Wardlaw, Jordan K.

PFC White, Jamari D.

PFC Widger, Joseph R.

Pvt Zavala Jr, Jose M.

Pvt Zolendziewski, Zachary N.

Promote your Church Services in The Island News and increase membership! Contact us today! Amanda Hanna amanda@lcweekly.com Hope Falls ads.theislandnews@gmail.com

PLATOON 3026

Senior Drill Instructor

GySgt J. J. Merriweather

Pvt Benjaminlopez, Kenneth J.

*PFC Bolton, Daylon A.

Pvt Brummitt, Devin C.

PFC Centenonegron, Erick X.

Pvt Chapman, Michael D.

Pvt Colon, Kenneth K.

Pvt Cook, Cole R.

Pvt Devlin, Liam F.

*PFC Doherty, Owen T.

Pvt Foret jr, Derrick J.

PFC Genovezgreen, Zachery C.

Pvt Gomez, Joseph B.

Pvt Gonzalezguzman, William

Pvt Harris, Eric L.

Pvt Hernandez, Roy M.

Pvt Jankowski, Charles J.

Pvt Kampfer, Elijah D.

Pvt Langenkamp, Maxwell T.

Pvt Lopez, James W.

PFC Mclaughlin, Carson D.

PFC Morris, Christopher J.

Pvt Mundy, Brian

Pvt Nickel, Jareth C.

Pvt Nshimiyimana, Modeste

Pvt Ortiz, Roman D.

Pvt Passaretti, Brian F.

*PFC Reveal, Luke A.

PFC Rosadomartinez, Juan C.

PFC Santy, Johnathan B.

Pvt Sargent, Keegan M.

Pvt Surette jr, Vinnie N.

PFC Wood, Aidan C.

Pvt Zhinatenesaca, Edward A.

Pvt Zimmerman, Zachary O.

PLATOON 3028

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt C. A. Valdes

Pvt Brown, Adrian X.

Pvt Castle Ii, Robert R.

Pvt Chambers, Ethan J.

Pvt Darosalima, Malique E.

*PFC Dassau, Charles F.

Pvt Delpilar, Eric O.

Pvt Dorestin, Wilens W.

Pvt Esparza, Juan M.

Pvt Ferrerrios, Josuedavian C.

PFC Freda, Glenn V.

Pvt Frost, Chase A.

Pvt Grayson, James D.

Pvt Guzmanverdugo, Celestino

*PFC Hayes, Joseph E.

Pvt Head, Jacob B.

Pvt Hernandezgarcia, Christian O.

PFC Hunt, Brennon M.

Pvt Kakooza, Rynearson A.

Pvt Kemlage, Justin T.

Pvt Lima, Phillip A.

Pvt Liu, Jingyu

Pvt Lopez, Abel T.

PFC Margollavargas, Luis E.

Pvt Melendez, Kevin G.

Pvt Morales, John A.

*PFC Nadwairski Jr, Robert W.

Pvt Perezvelasquez, Enrique

Pvt Santana, Newton J.

Pvt Sielicki, Luke A.

Pvt Stewart, Kyjuan D.

Pvt Stoe, Daryl L.

Pvt Tang, Jackie

Pvt Vanderslice, Elijah P.

Pvt Weaver, Zack K.

Pvt Zanelli, Luca R.

PLATOON 3029

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt H. Lavertue

Pvt Abdullahrichardson, Zakaa S.

Pvt Abiles, Sergio F.

Pvt Almontetaveras, Brandoll

Pvt Baker, Jovaun D.

Pvt Bennett, Tyler M.

Pvt Boomershine, Mason S.

PFC Campbell, Xavier O.

Pvt Clementealejandro, Rene

*PFC Davis, Kelvin C.

Pvt Delossantos, Darian D.

Pvt Derting, Nathan C.

Pvt Dixon, Ernest L.

Pvt Facon, Samarcus K.

Pvt Garcialeon, Lenin R.

Pvt Getty, Elijah E.

Pvt Gonzalez, Jaden A.

Pvt Gordon, Samuel L.

Pvt Gutierrezhernandez, Hugo

Pvt Hampton, Ty C.

Pvt Heeralal, Andrew A.

Pvt Holland, Aaron D.

Pvt Lomonaco, David A.

Pvt Mishurin, Iurii

Pvt Mouratidis, Dimitrios

*PFC Naughton, Maxwell W.

Pvt Ramirezvarela, Luis E.

PFC Sadler, Kian R.

Pvt Smith, Jakye K.

Pvt Stephenson, Dylan R.

Pvt Stults, William J.

Pvt Thomasbransky, Kaiden M.

Pvt Torres, Eliazar

Pvt Vasqueznunez, Erik J.

Pvt Voropai, Yevhenii

*PFC Wingo, Remington I.

*Denotes Meritorious Promotions

Why legislation that could have increased turnout, sped up results in SC is dead

By Abraham Kenmore SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — Legislation that could have increased turnout in South Carolina’s local elections while speeding up Election Day tallying died in the final minutes of this year’s regular session, despite both chambers approving it overwhelmingly.

Statewide, there are more than 300 scheduled local elections yearly. And that doesn’t even include special elections to fill a vacancy for whatever reason, according to the South Carolina Election Commission.

“Literally almost every Tuesday is an election day in this state,” Director Howard Knapp told the S.C. Daily Gazette on Wednesday. “I think there were two counties this week that had elections.”

The bill would have consolidated all municipal elections to two days yearly — a Tuesday in early April or November — and required county election offices to take over running elections for towns and cities that want to transfer the responsibility.

The idea behind the consolidation was to reduce the time and money needed to run elections, while also improving turnout in contests that voters often simply don’t know about because they’re so sporadic.

It could have also possibly improved interest in candidates wanting to compete. In Barnwell County in 2022, a school board contest was decided by 24 voters — total — in a runoff after no one filed to run and two candidates who received one write-in vote apiece agreed to face off, according to The People-Sentinel.

The legislation also would’ve allowed winners in municipal elections to take office even if a challenge is filed, rather than leaving the incumbent in the seat pending a decision.

In Sumter, a challenge left a city council seat vacant for nine months. The incumbent had died, so there was no one to represent residents in that portion of Sumter while a challenge from the lastplace finisher in a five-way race filed multiple appeals eventually settled by the state Supreme Court last year.

House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, vowed to prevent what he called a “unicorn situation”

from ever happening again in South Carolina.

Another provision added by senators would’ve allowed early voting results to be uploaded at 7 a.m. on Election Day instead of 7 p.m. — allowing for a quicker turnaround of results once polls close.

Any or all of those fixes becoming law “would have been an improvement,” Knapp said. “It would have cleaned up some issues. … It would have improved elections in the state.”

Why did it die?

The House voted unanimously to pass the bill in April 2023. But the Senate didn’t take it up for a floor vote until May 8. It cleared the chamber with a 38-4 vote a day later — the last day of the regular session.

But since the Senate made changes, the bill had to return to the House for a final vote of agreement.

With the clock ticking toward the mandated 5 p.m. close of the session, the House needed unanimous approval to take up the bill.

And Rep. Rob Harris, a member of the chamber’s hard-right Freedom Caucus, objected, killing it.

Harris, a Spartanburg County Republican, noted he was among those voting 111-0 a year ago to approve the municipal changes.

“I voted for that bill when it came through the first time,” he said.

But he said he wanted a discus-

sion on the Senate changes allowing election officials to get a head start on counting ballots cast in person during the early voting window.

Early voting results are stored on secure thumb drives. It can take just minutes or up to an hour each to transfer data from them into the system. In large counties with multiple drives, waiting until polls close at 7 p.m. to upload the results can significantly delay election results. People across the state may go to bed not knowing who won, according to Knapp and local officials.

The Senate’s additions would have allowed the upload to start 12 hours earlier, at the same time election officials can start processing mail-in absentee ballots.

“They couldn’t release any results, but it would have been, like, ready to go,” Knapp said. “You’ve turned the ignition. You haven’t turned the car over yet, but it’s like right there.”

Senators also wanted to mandate that hand-audits be conducted publicly, something Knapp said election offices do not always do.

Explaining his objection, Harris said he wanted a full debate on the Senate’s changes, and a full debate wasn’t possible in minutes. So, the Wellford Republican was willing to let it die.

Isaac Cramer, director of the Charleston County elections office, said he’s hopeful that legisla-

tors might resurrect the bill when they return in the coming weeks to finalize the state budget.

Amending the temporary law that governs what can be taken up during the extended session is possible with supermajority votes in both chambers. But legislative leaders aren’t optimistic. Trying to add anything to the agenda can open the floodgates of legislators wanting other proposals to be added.

“I’m optimistic that it can be done,” Cramer said. “We’ve been contacting our legislators, letting them know that this bill is really crucial to election officials. It would be a win ahead of a very busy summer and fall.”

Cramer said his office has operated early voting hours almost nonstop since January, with few breaks, due to the presidential primaries, local and special elections. Having set days for municipal elections would help, he said, and being able to upload early voting data before polls close would allow prompt results.

“If the bill doesn’t pass, expect long delays on election night and people not knowing the result of elections when they go to bed, which is not the normal for South Carolina,” he said.

Knapp is not hopeful legislators will take up the bill again next year, when presidential, congressional and Statehouse elections won’t be on any ballots.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be a lot of priority put on election reform or election cleanup bills next year, when nobody is on the ballot and the election is over,” he said.

What’s in the budget?

The one thing legislators must do in the extended session is finalize a state spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1. Negotiations between the chambers’ differing proposals officially started Tuesday.

A clause in the House plan would allow Knapp to step in and appoint an interim director for a county elections board if the local director leaves within 60 days of an election. That’s not in the Senate plan after it was ruled out of order.

This November will be the first general election with a presidential contest for most of the local directors statewide, since 80% of

them have been replaced since 2021, Knapp said.

In Saluda County, the entire staff left earlier this year, leaving the office illegally closed from Jan. 3-7, according to an Election Commission spokesperson. It was then open with non-regular hours from Jan. 8-19 — basically, whenever staff was available — just two weeks before the Democratic presidential primary.

State law doesn’t give Knapp the authority to take over.

“I can’t reach down into a county government office and run it,” Knapp said. “I just can’t. There’s nothing in the law that allows me to do that.”

Lynn Teague with the state League of Women Voters said more state funding for local elections would be helpful.

“The state, and to some extent the feds, call the shots, and then the counties get beat up if something goes wrong,” she said.

“We believe more consistency is required in municipal elections,” Teague said.

Abraham Kenmore is a reporter covering elections, health care and more. He joins the S.C. Daily Gazette from The Augusta Chronicle, where he reported on Georgia legislators, military and housing issues. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the

Appeals Judge Letitia Verdin on deck to be SC’s next Supreme Court justice

By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com

— Court of Appeals Judge Letitia Verdin is set to be the next justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court after her remaining competition withdrew Thursday. With her expected election next Wednesday, the Palmetto State will no longer have the nation’s only all-male high court. It will join 18 other states with an all-white high court, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Verdin, 53, of Greenville, is the only candidate remaining for a seat on the state’s highest court after Appeals Court Judge Blake Hewitt, of Conway, dropped out six days ahead of a vote by the joint General Assembly, legislative staff confirmed.

to withdraw from a judicial race in South Carolina once they realize they don’t have enough support from legislators to win.

Verdin already had more than enough votes to win the three-way contest outright heading into the long holiday weekend, according to her chief vote-counter.

who has 15 years of experience on the bench — will mean four out of the state’s five justices will be from the Upstate. Only Justice George James, who lives in Sumter, lives in a different region.

Verdin will fill an opening created by the retirement of Chief Justice Don Beatty, who turned 72 last month.

His departure came two days after Circuit Court Judge Jocelyn Newman, of Columbia, submitted her letter exiting the race.

South Carolina is one of only two states where the Legislature picks nearly all judges. Virginia is the other. It is normal for candidates

Traditionally, when only one candidate remains for a joint assembly, legislators elect the judge by acclamation without actually taking a vote. However, that’s not what happened last month, when the GOP-controlled Legislature refused to seat former Rep. James Smith of Columbia, Democrats’ 2018 gubernatorial nominee, to a spot on the Circuit Court. But such a move is highly unlikely to happen again next week.

The election of Verdin —

By law, judges in South Carolina must retire from fulltime work by Dec. 31 of the year they turn 72. Beatty will retire when his term ends July 31 Beatty, too, is an Upstate resident. The former state legislator, who was first elected to the Circuit Court in 1995 straight from the House, hails from Spartanburg.

While Beatty’s impending retirement created the vacancy, the election is actu-

ally to fill the seat of Justice John Kittredge, of Greenville, once he replaces Beatty as chief justice. The state Supreme Court hasn’t been all white since Beatty was elected an associate justice in 2007. A decade later, he became South Carolina’s second Black chief justice since Reconstruction. The first was Ernest Finney Jr., also a former House member, who was first elected to the high court in 1985 elected chief justice in 1994 and retired in 2000

Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a

and

A special screening panel that vets judges in the state selected Letitia Verdin, of Greenville, as one of three finalists for the state Supreme Court. Verdin has been a judge for more than 15 years, spending the past year on the state Court of Appeals. Jessica Holdman/S.C. Daily Gazette

What’s next in shift of SC’s health, environmental agencies

By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — The breakup of South Carolina’s public health and environmental agency and creation of a health campus happens July

1 by law. But the actual split and move of thousands of state health employees out of downtown Columbia isn’t likely to start until January at the earliest.

Legislators have approved the rental agreement, but they still need to officially pay for it through the state budget that’s weeks away from being finalized. Only after the budget takes effect July 1 can renovations to employees’ new office home begin.

The process will start with South Carolina taxpayers shelling out $30 million for a year’s worth of rent and building improvements for a former utility company office complex in Cayce.

The expansive, renovated campus will eventually house workers from four health-related agencies.

But they won’t occupy the space until six months or more into the first year of a 20-year contract being inked between the state and a Columbia-area real estate developer who’s also a political mega-donor.

The idea of splitting the state Department of Health and Environment Control and rearranging other public health services has been batted around for years in the Legislature.

Supporters argued the dual-purpose agency, with its roughly 3 000 employees, had grown too large and experienced a revolving door of leaders who couldn’t adequately handle its mission.

The agency has wide-ranging responsibilities that include tracking and preventing the spread of infectious diseases, permitting hospital expansions, inspecting health facilities and restaurants, as well as inspecting dams and monitoring air and water quality.

Last year, the effort succeeded, with Gov. Henry McMaster signing into law the bill separating the agency into the Department of Public Health and Department of Environmental Services.

At the same time, the state commissioned a study on its litany of other health-related agencies, laying the groundwork for future department mergers.

Uncertainty

Still, the massive overhaul has hit roadblocks, creating uncertainty for thousands of state workers.

An ultra-conservative faction within the state House pushed back and, on the last day of the regular session, succeeded in blocking part

of the plans — at least temporarily.

With the clock ticking down to the mandated 5 p.m. cutoff May 9, members of the House Freedom Caucus blocked a vote, killing a bill that would have combined six health-related agencies into one Executive Office of Health and Policy, to be overseen by a director who answered directly to the governor.

The new mega-agency would have become South Carolina’s largest, with more than 6 300 employees.

It would combine agencies overseeing services for the elderly, mental health issues, disabilities, patients covered by Medicaid, and those addicted to drugs and alcohol, plus an estimated 1,140 workers brought over after the health and environmental agency breakup.

The idea was studied for more than two years by a private consultant hired by the state, who concluded in a report that “South Carolina is the most fragmented structure for health and human services delivery in the country.”

One of the architects of the bill still hopes to resurrect it in the Legislature’s extended session in June.

Legislators could take the unusual step of amending the temporary law that governs what they can tackle in the limited, extended session. But adding the health care merger to the agenda requires supermajority approval of both chambers. The chances are likely slim.

Confusion has ensued.

Columbia commercial real estate brokers say two of the agencies that are part of the proposed merger but not part of original plans to move — agencies that oversee Medicaid and services for the elderly — have switched to a month-to-month lease. They’re hesitant to sign new long-term leases in case they end up with a new boss.

Major moves

With the DHEC split underway, legislators last year decided the time was right to seek new offices for the

divided agencies, as well as others located along Columbia’s redeveloping Bull Street corridor, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister previously told the S.C. Daily Gazette.

The state Cabinet agency that serves as a clearinghouse for all state property was charged with finding buildings to rent. What it recommended was two locations: a campus for four of the state’s health agencies and a separate space for environmental regulators.

The estimated cost: $496 million over two decades.

That’s $335 million more than it would cost in operations and maintenance over 20 years to simply keep the agencies where they are, according to the state Department of Administration.

Specifically, the state agencies that provide services for people with disabilities, mental health issues, and alcohol and drug addictions, as well as the public health side of the divided DHEC, would move to the office complex of Dominion Energy in Cayce.

The environmental agency had been slated to move to the Columbia-area headquarters of the Colonial Life insurance company, which can hold almost 1 000 workers. But mere days after members of a legislative fiscal oversight board signed off on the office rentals, that deal fell through.

Realtors representing Colonial Life insurance company told the state it was unable to relocate an existing tenant and wouldn’t have space.

The beneficiary of what remains of that massive deal is Bill Stern.

The Columbia developer is a political mega-donor, giving mostly to the state’s ruling Republicans but also to Democratic incumbents. He is also chairman of the state Ports Authority’s governing board.

Stern retains the option to buy the Dominion property but has yet to close on the sale. The purchase price is unknown. Dominion has already relocated its employees to one of its other office

buildings, according to area real estate professionals.

The entire deal depended on the Legislature funding it in the state budget that starts July 1 — a date that coincides with DHEC’s split, as per last year’s law. Legislators obliged, with both the House and the Senate setting aside $30 million:

$11 million in lease payments (a rate which will go up 3% annually);

$5 5 million to renovate the space to fit agency needs;

Roughly $3 million for estimated annual property tax and utility payments; and

$10 5 million on moving costs and the rent and utility bills to maintain agencies’ current offices while the new one is renovated, plus potential repairs to the new space. (The contract calls for the state to cover all repairs under $100 000.)

That doesn’t include yetto-be-found space for the environmental agency and the Department of Social Services.

So far, the Department of Administration has been unsuccessful in its search for their new homes.

On Tuesday, the Legislature’s fiscal oversight panel told agency Director Marcia Adams to keep looking.

A better deal?

Though they ultimately failed, Freedom Caucus members also sought to kill the health care campus deal in the final days of the session, with one member questioning whether the Dominion Energy property was the best spending choice.

Administration faced a tough deadline and tight parameters, according to Rep. Jordan Pace, who works as a commercial real estate broker in the Lowcountry.

Given more time and flexibility, he argued, the state likely would have received better offers.

“Let’s at least do a favor for our constituents to not pay sticker price for something that we rushed into,” the

Berkeley County Republican said. “We have other options if we take the time to look.”

The S.C. Daily Gazette reviewed the eight bids submitted to the Department of Administration for consideration.

Five of the properties were much smaller. They could house just one or two of the smaller agencies, though at a fraction of the cost.

Only three properties had enough space for a multi-agency complex.

The Department of Administration ruled one of them out quickly in the process — the former Blythewood headquarters of DXC Technologies — even though it would have cost taxpayers roughly $113 million less than the Dominion property over the next 20 years.

It’s unclear why. The vacant building along Interstate 77 had enough space for four of the health agencies, plus it had a fitness center, cafeteria, auditorium and lots of parking.

According to Administration, four properties were rejected for issues including noncompliance with the Americans for Disabilities Act, insufficient parking, ongoing construction, availability of amenities, and availability timeframe. But the agency didn’t specify which properties were passed over for which of those reasons.

If the state had been willing to wait until 2029, Colonial Life also claimed it could house all 4,000 state employees working at the five state agencies currently located along Bull Street at cheaper rates.

The add-on costs are what make the rental of the former Dominion offices so expensive.

Seven of the eight properties offered all-inclusive leases, with repairs and utility costs part of the rental rate.

Only Stern sought a socalled triple-net lease, leaving the state responsible for utilities, taxes and maintenance costs.

The deal also required the state to take on the whole campus, which is 118,000 square feet more than need-

ed for the four agencies it will house but not large enough to accommodate DSS or the environmental agency. And because maintenance is not included in the lease, the state must hire a property manager for the new campus. So far, it has been unsuccessful in finding one.

The other properties also offered several months of free rent, which would have saved the state money while it prepares the agencies to move. And the other property owners were willing to chip in to cover a portion or all of the alterations that the state needed, instead of leaving that cost to taxpayers. But ultimately, if lawmakers were set on a 2025 move of multiple agencies and creation on a health care campus, only the Dominion property fit the bill.

Administration spokeswoman Brooke Bailey said the department is studying the potential for moving other agencies to the campus — though the small Department of Aging is likely the only other one that could fit in the leftover space.

What’s next

The Department of Administration will list for sale the Department of Mental Health, the only Bull Street area building to be fully vacated at this time.

As a major redevelopment project in Columbia’s Bull Street District takes shape, the land the building sits on has become more valuable.

One other financial task still remains to make the environmental and health split happen.

House and Senate budget negotiators must decide whether to approve $20 million in one-time spending that agency officials say they need to have two separate information technology offices, with costs including a second set of software licenses. So far, the two agencies have already spent $1 5 million for IT-related costs. Environmental Services also has spent $55 000 with a pair of companies — Chernoff Newman for marketing services and A3 Communications for a new secure ID badge system.

All in, the split and move is expected to cost taxpayers upwards of $60 million dollars in the first year and at least $13 million to $20 million annually for the next two decades.

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.

The Dominion Energy utility campus is set to be the new home of four South Carolina health-related agency in a major overhaul of the state’s health and environmental system. Photo courtesy of S.C. Department of Administration

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