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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Beaufort County Council chairman resigns Rodman’s resignation comes after council members call for immediate action
By Mindy Lucas Beaufort County Council Chair Stu Rodman abruptly resigned as chair at the end of the county’s regular meeting held Monday, March 9, but not before a contentious discussion was held in which calls for his immediate resignation were voiced by several council members.
Rodman had come under fire in recent months after it was reported in local media that he had Stu used his perRodman sonal email to discuss county business such as a controversial roads proj-
ect on Hilton Head Island. Those emails showed he had attempted to steer the project by side-stepping the County Administrator Ashley Jacobs by contacting the county’s Director of Construction, Engineering & Facilities privately through his personal email. He then denied those emails existed after a resident
filed a request using the Freedom of Information Act, but a later request of other council members emails showed their existence. Council members also voiced concerns at Monday night’s meeting over Rodman’s treatment of Jacobs and other county employees, took issue with the way in
which Rodman attempted to limit public comment and asserted that he had disregarded parliamentary procedure or had used council agendas in way that benefited him. “The temperature at the administration building is horrible right now,” said Councilman Mike Covert, one of Rodman’s strongest critics in
By Mike McCombs If you like the way Tom Davis has conducted his business in the South Carolina State Senate since 2009, you will have the opportunity to keep him Tom there in No- Davis vember. Davis, who has lived in Beaufort County for more than 35 years, announced Monday, March 9 he intended to run for re-election to the S.C. Senate for District 46, which includes parts of Beaufort and Jasper counties. Governor Mark Sanford’s former chief of staff, Davis was first elected in 2008. "Our district and this state have unlimited potential," Davis said in a release. "The question is whether we are advancing solutions that will unlock that potential in ways that promote prosperity, freedom and free markets." In recent years, Davis has been noted for his support for legalizing medical marijuana and restructuring the way in which South Carolina spends money dedicated to roads and bridges, taking politics out of the equation and addressing much-needed repairs instead of new projects. His re-election media release touts the legislation Davis has authored that has become law. Among those bills are: Act 191: Expanding markets for wind insurance and lowering homeowners' premiums; Act 194: Legalizing social
An estimated 5,000 people showed up on Saturday and feasted on fresh oysters during the 16th annual Beaufort Charities Oyster Roast at Live Oak Park.
Beaufort Charities’ big event blessed with sun, good numbers
By Bob Sofaly
B
eaufort Charities managed to avoid the rainy weather that had besieged Beaufort for a week and pulled off a miracle for their 16th annual Beaufort Charities’ Oyster Roast on Saturday, March 7 at Live Oak Park in Port Royal with lots of sunshine and mild temperatures.
It was estimated that around 5,000 people participated in this year’s fundraiser, up about 2,000 over last year’s numbers. One man, sitting by a big bonfire and sharing a plate of oysters with his wife asked, “Where else can ya sit under the shade of an oak tree on a sunny day and eat fresh oysters beside a fire?”
Country star Atkins to headline Concert in the Park By Mike McCombs Country star Rodney Atkins will headline this year’s Beaufort Water Festival concert July 18 at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Atkins, the 2006 Academy of Country Music’s Top New Male
Vocalist, has sold more than 13 million albums and produced six No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot Country 100 charts (If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows, 2006; Watching You, 2007; These Are My People, 2007;
GIVING A HOOT!
Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy), 2008; It's America, 2009; and Take a Back Road, 2011). His single Watching You was the No. 1 Song of the Decade according
SEE CONCERT PAGE A4
‘HEARTS OF WARRIORS’ Volunteers with the Gullah/ Geechee Initiative Foundation pick up trash and debris at the Martin Luther King Park.
Whale Branch boys come up short in title bid in Columbia.
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Davis will run again
OYSTER ROAST
An army of volunteers is needed to make sure the 16th annual Beaufort Charities Oyster Roast goes off without a hitch. Here a volunteer hoses down a small batch of fresh, local oysters destined to be steamed for some of the several thousand people Saturday at Live Oak Park in Port Royal. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
recent months. At February’s meeting Covert said he had received countless anonymous letters and phone calls on the chairman’s harassment of the county administrator, county employees, vendors and other members of political bod-
SEE SENATE PAGE A4
Rodney Atkins
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