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MARCH 25–31, 2021 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Commodore says 65th Water Festival on for 2021 LOLITA HUCKABY
Got your decal? New fee may be coming soon
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BEAUFORT ounty public relations folks have been working hard to notify taxpayers as of April 1, the new windshield decal system implemented last year is "going live." This means those inspectors at the county's nine public convenience centers are gonna get tough on those who try to sneak into the gated sites to dispose of their garbage. For those who STILL haven't gotten their decals … and yes, there are some folks out there who HAVE applied and not received any decals … be prepared. And … no surprise ... the County Council is already talking about Phase 2 – imposing a new fee to support the solid waste program. Council gave the first of three readings to the ordinance this week, although a lot of details haven't been ironed out. A cost of $194 annually was thrown out, but staff was directed to figure out how much that cost compares with the taxes paid by property owners for garbage disposal. As a lot of ideas to raise money, this proposal may not pass, but you might want to pay attention. You could zoom watch the County Council meetings on the county's Facebook page if you're so inclined or go to the County Council meeting agendas and read the background report. Or you can just wait until the idea is adopted, the elected officials bless the idea and it shows up on your tax bill.
By Mike McCombs “Upcoming event details coming soon!” As of Tuesday, that lone sentence was still floating in a sea of empty white space on the Beaufort Water Festival’s web page. Though the page still lists this year’s festival dates as July 16-25, 2021, the events of the last year make it easy to believe that disappointment might not be far away. That’s not going to happen, Beau-
Like the Spring robins, cruise ships are back BEAUFORT – After a year's absence, a cruise ship was tied up to the downtown seawall this past weekend.
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fort Water Festival Commodore Erin “Tank” Morris said Tuesday afternoon. “We are having a festival,” Morris confirmed. “The opening ceremonies will still be held July 16.” In late February, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster removed the mandate against gatherings of 250 or more people. That paved the way for organizers to continue planning for the 2021 Water Festival with relative confidence their work wouldn’t be a
waste of time. “Once the Governor lifted the mandate, that sprung things into action,” Morris said. “We had been handcuffed. The community is ready for an event. We immediately started an open dialogue with the city. They have been a great partner. It will be good to try and return to normal and bring life back to downtown and to Beaufort. It will be a real shot in the arm.” The 65th Beaufort Water Festival
was originally scheduled for July 17 through 26, 2020. But in early May, with the COVID-19 pandemic growing, the event’s Board of Directors made the decision to bite the bullet. At the time, the Beaufort Water Festival Board of Directors wrote: “Our Water Festival crew has spent many months planning the 65th Annual Beaufort Water Festival for
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A local group has plans to convert the former Beaufort Bible Chapel on West Street into a “learning center.” Photo by Mindy Lucas.
A chapel reborn Former downtown church site to become ‘learning center’ for Reconstruction Beaufort
By Mindy Lucas A half-acre piece of property in a residential section of downtown Beaufort could soon become the home of the city’s newest history and interpretive center. Planners for the Second Founding of America: Reconstruction Beaufort received approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals on
Monday, March 22, to turn an empty building at 913 West Street in the Old Commons neighborhood into a “learning center.” The 3,100 square-foot building was formerly the home of Beaufort Bible Chapel, which closed earlier in the year after its membership began to dwindle, said Reconstruction Beaufort’s founder, former Beaufort
Mayor Billy Keyserling. Keyserling’s brother, Paul, plans to purchase the property and the grassy lot next door, and will lease the property back to the organization. The center will in turn work with the National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Historical Park and its network of sites, Keyserling said.
In 2017, the Keyserlings donated the former Beaufort firehouse on the corner of Scott and Craven streets to the park service to use as the new park’s visitor center and headquarters. In addition to changing the building to a learning center, planners at
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Beaufort avoids ‘dangerous’ weather; Mossy Oaks drainage system passes test
Beaufort Elementary School Principal Melissa Holland, far left, and Jamey Porter make sure their students stay together and get on the right bus during early dismissal on Thursday, March 18. Holland said of the 367 students registered at the school about a third are still virtual, leaving about 70 bus riders on any given day. Dangerous weather was forecast for Thursday afternoon prompting early dismissal for all Beaufort County Schools, including cancellation of high school athletic events. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
By Mike McCombs If any Beaufort County students had tests scheduled for Thursday afternoon, they got a reprieve, at least for a day, when the Beaufort County School District scheduled an early dismissal in anticipation of a dangerous weather system hitting the Lowcountry. Beaufort itself got a reprieve, as well, when the system which was responsible for tornadoes and flooding across the Deep South left the area soggy but safe after heavy rains early Thursday evening. But there was one big test Thursday evening, and the City of Beaufort passed with flying colors. According to a release from Col.
Neal Pugliese, USMC (Ret.), Chairman of the Mossy Oaks Multijurisdictional Drainage Task Force, “Beaufort received about 3 inches of rain in 55 minutes with the bulk of the rain falling within a 25-minute period, which is an astounding amount of water. Despite an enormous amount of water falling within a very short period of time, the new drainage system in Mossy Oaks operated as designed.” According to Pugliese, the stormwater was gathered from more than 550 acres, directed to drainage ditches, and then moved to and through tidal gates at the Spanish Moss Trail via two major water outfalls. And everything worked like a charm.
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Parris Island Gateway BiLo reopens as Food Lion.
Beaufort Memorial honors 2 RNs with DAISY Award.
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At dawn on Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had issued a rare “high risk” level warning for dangerous weather for parts of the Southeast. The last such “high risk” warning by the SPC came in May 2019 when tornadoes ravaged the Midwest plains region. There had not been such a warning as early as March since 2012. As of Wednesday night, the storm had already “generated several tornadoes across portions of the South,” according to AccuWeather. The SPC said that the system
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