MARCH 14 - 20, 2019 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
911 call leads to arrests
Living History
Union troops invade Beaufort … again
Above: Richard Williamson cleans a pipe near the Beaufort Museum’s Dahlgren naval 12-pound gun. Williamson was on hand to explain to visitors how the artillery piece worked and some of its history during the Civil War. Left: Lou Evans, left, of Senoia, Georgia, commanding officer of Union Company F, 48th New York, chats with wife Dena, a civilian re-enactor, during Saturday’s encampment at the Arsenal. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
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eaufort was invaded by the Yankee army again as Civil War re-enactors with the Union’s Company F, 48th New York, converged on
the Arsenal on Saturday and set up camp during the fourth annual Living History Encampment. The encampment, sponsored by the Beaufort History Museum and the
National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Monument Visitors Center, gives visitors a rare chance to see what 19th-century military life in Beaufort might have been like.
Boat ramp project to be completed by April 1 By Bob Sofaly The Lady’s Island boat ramp is getting a facelift, and it took the collaboration of three engineers and construction companies to get it done efficiently and quickly. The landing was last renovated about 1992, according the Duncan O’Quinn of O’Quinn Construction, prime contractor in the venture. O’Quinn said the other companies involved are McSweenie Engineering in North Charleston and Andrews Engineering, also in Beaufort. O’Quinn said the group poured a 40-foot by 45-foot concrete slab eight inches thick above the ramp. After curing for 11 days it took four
Duncan O’Quinn, of O’Quinn Construction, guides the heavy earth movers into position and gets them ready to push the 40-foot by 45-foot slab of concrete into position on Tuesday, March 5, at the Lady’s Island boat ramp. O’Quinn said the new ramp will give boaters 35 feet of boat ramp under water at mean low tide. Photos by Bob Sofaly. heavy earth movers, each with another piece of heavy machinery pushing from behind, to push it 35 feet into
ABOVE AND BEYOND
the water at dead low tide on Tuesday, March 5. “This is biggest boat ramp in Beaufort County,” O’Quinn
said while standing on the concrete, directing the machine operators as it was being pushed into place.
BUILDING BRIDGES
Beaufort Memorial’s April Jacobs honored with DAISY Award.
Hundreds of people made their way to the sixth annual Block Party and Shrimp & Grits Cook-Off fundraiser.
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O’Quinn said the cost of the project is $1.3 million. Target date for completion has been set for April 1.
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Thursday, March 21st, 5:30-7:00 pm at
presents
ISLAND GIRLS NIGHT OUT
The Retreat at Lady’s Island with cohost
Long Term Planning Consultants
9 Sunset Boulevard • LADY’S ISLAND • (843) 379-9502 delectable appetizers, free libations, fabulous door prizes
A 911 call from a home on St. Helena Island led Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies to arrest two men on kidnapping and assault and battery charges on Monday, March 11. Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Sheriff’s Office deputies Justin responded to Granet an open 911 line coming from a home on Chaplin Drive. When deputies arrived, they heard what appeared to be a violent confrontation inside the home. When deputies announced their presence, the sounds from inside the home went quiet. Deputies entered the home and discovered a man and woman bound with rope and duct tape, and the man was seriously injured. Deputies continued to clear the home and found two men inside — the homeowner, 41-year-old Justin Granet, and his guest, 41-yearold Don Bliss of Beaufort. Deputies called for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to respond to treat the injured man and summoned investigators. EMS transported the injured man to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment and, based on the severity of his injuries, he was later taken by ambulance to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Granet and Bliss were interviewed by investigators, while a search warrant was obtained to search Granet’s home. Granet and Bliss admitted binding the man and woman and beating the man. It was learned that Bliss struck the injured man with a blunt object during the assault, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Granet was charged with Kidnapping and Assault and Battery 1st Degree, and Bliss was charged with Kidnapping, Assault and Battery 1st Degree, and Possession of a Weapon in the Commission of a Violent Crime. Following their arrests, Granet and Bliss were transported to the Beaufort County Detention Center and incarcerated. During the search of Granet’s home, Sheriff’s Office investigators recovered the blunt object believed to be used in the man’s beating, two firearms, and approximately four pounds of marijuana. The incident is still under investigation and additional charges may result. There was no update on the injured man's condition at MUSC as of press time Tuesday.