March 2 edition

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And finally, I’ve stopped laughing

WALTERBORO

Lately I can’t stop laughing.

This is a murder trial.

Murder trials are inherently sad and serious affairs.

Two people were brutally killed and might not see justice for their deaths.

But every day — at least for the past week — I have found myself shaking my head, unable to form words and compensating for that silence with uncontrolled laughter.

It is highly unprofessional.

A source called me over the weekend to tell me about the next set of charges to expect in one of the many cases connected to Alex Murdaugh.

I had nothing to say. No response.

And the more I had nothing to say, the more the laughter came.

Not joyful laughter, mind you. Not the kind that boosts your spirits and has you searching for eye contact so you can share the moment.

The kind of laughter where you briefly step outside of your body and take a pause to reflect not just on the absurdity in your life but on life itself.

It is “Peggy Lee”-like laughter. “Is that all there is?”-type laughter.

Like the song.

The house has caught on fire. The whole world has gone up in flames. We’re at the circus. Is that all there is to love?

The trial of Alex Murdaugh is now in its sixth week.

Don’t worry. I’m not losing it. But do help me with this one: How many lies is too many lies?

Let me rephrase that.

How many lies can a powerful man tell before he loses credibility?

So far — for some — that answer seems to be “an infinite number.”

Here is a comment that gets relayed to me at least a few times a day: “I think he did it but if I were on the jury I’d have to say Not Guilty.”

You … think he did it? But … not guilty?

Is it because they think the

SEE FARRELL PAGE A4

Plans to develop 12 acres surrounding the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak were scuttled last fall, and now the property owner is seeking a conservation solution that would preserve the land and the oak, the oldest and largest in Beaufort County, seen here in Port Royal, Wednesday, Feb. 22. The 350-year-old behemoth has a circumference that is reported to be a few inches larger than the iconic Angel Oak in Charleston. Tony Kukulich/The Charleston Post & Courier

A near miss

After narrowly avoiding development, oldest and largest

in Beaufort County on the path to preservation

By Tony Kukulich tkukulich@postandcourier.com

BEAUFORT

For nearly four centuries, the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak, which rivals Charleston’s beloved Angel Oak in both size and age, stood while its contemporaries fell victim to storms or the ax.

Then, late last summer, the giant oak faced its own existential threat: a developer announced plans to build approximately 200 apartments and six townhomes on the 12-acre site surrounding the tree.

The zoning for the property, which is off Oak View Road sandwiched between Parris Island Gateway and the marshes on the west bank of Battery Creek, allows a maximum of 2½ stories. Spartanburg-based Johnson

Development Associates wanted to build three-story buildings.

The developer appeared before the Port Royal’s design review board in September to request a building variance.

After enthusiastic public opposition, the board voted unanimously to deny the request, which the developer subsequently withdrew.

“It’s definitely a near miss,” master arborist Michael Murphy said.

Murphy contended that the

SEE TREE PAGE A6

BA gets $40 million from USDA

Loan will help school enhance facilities, leadership education programs

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

Beaufort Academy announced

Thursday night, Feb. 23, that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved a $40 million loan to the school which will be used to completely transform Beaufort Academy’s programs and facilities for the benefit of students, educators, and the community.

The announcement that the loan was officially a “done deal” was made by Beaufort Academy Board President and Chair of the USDA Application Committee Katie Huebel in front of a small gathering of alumni, parents and friends of BA in the gymnasium.

“It’s transformative,” Huebel said after the reception. “It immediately changes the trajectory of our school.”

In a statement released by the

school, Huebel lays it out.

“In an ever-changing, fastpaced world, Beaufort Academy is committed to developing well-rounded, open-minded critical thinkers that are prepared to be the problem-solvers and leaders of the future. To do that, we must continue to foster worldclass education, inclusion, and collaboration. The USDA Loan

SEE MILLION PAGE A8

MILITARY

USS Chancellorsville renamed for Robert Smalls

PAGE B8

Beaufort Academy Board President Katie

speaks with a woman on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the school. Mike McCombs/The Island News

LIZ FARRELL

live oak

Huebel

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

Lori McGee caught this sunrise over the Beaufort River.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 ANTHONY JONES

Beaufort’s Anthony Jones, 37, attended the United States Marine Corps’ Officer Candidate School in 2016. He later trained in Combat Logistics at Camp Lejeune before being assigned to the Landing Support Company in Savannah. His service with the USMC

OBITUARY

Lewis V. AdAms

February 29, 1948 –

December 28, 2022

United States Marine Corps

Lewis V. Adams passed away at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Jefferson City, TN on December 28, 2022. Survivors include; wife, Vera Adams, daughters; Heather Adams (Andre) Southern Pines, NC, Elizabeth Adams (Randy) Fort Walton, FL, and Courtney Adams (Ryan) Pigeon Forge, TN, seven grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and one sister, Brenda Jacoby (Jeff) Wabash,

IN. Preceded in death; Father, Lewis V. Adams, Burlington, IA, an infant brother Johnny, first wife, Sue Payne, Beaufort, SC, stepfather Allen Rogers of Beaufort, SC and Mother, Vicki Rogers of Beaufort, S.C. Lewis

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

re: Terry Manning’s op-ed

Reserve included numerous active periods with duties in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. He has managed loading combat equipment into ships, slung under helos, and onto rail cars, plus directing the logistics during amphibious landings.

married Sue Payne in 1975. They resided for a short time in Greentown, IN and later moved to Beaufort SC. Later, Lewis married Vera Brown of Beaufort S.C. where they resided until moving to Sevierville, TN. Lewis had various hobbies. As a teen he loved to play the guitar and was in a band in AZ. Other hobbies included drawing superhero figures. He once won an art contest. He was very proficient in gaming and computer programming. Lewis was a loving father who taught his children love for art and nature which they carry

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After seven years, he is still serving with the Marines as a Captain.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 9. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com

OBITUARIES

The Island News will publish obituaries up to 300 words for no charge. This service also includes a photograph. The Island News will have a charge of .25¢ per word of obituaries beyond 300 words. Please contact jeff.theislandnews@ gmail.com for more information.

on today. Lewis served two tours in Viet Nam. He received Presidential Unit Citation and rifle Sharpshooter. Semper Fi, our Marine. A private family service was held February 28, 2023, at the Beaufort National Cemetery.

I read with great interest Terry Manning’s op-ed in the February 21-March 1 edition of The Island News. I must admit that I was shocked to find out that Fox News was biased and often manipulated the news to fit their point of view. I would never have suspected it in a thousand years. I am sure that most viewers of Fox News were equally surprised. Thanks to Terry for bringing this to the public’s attention, and I can hardly wait for the next op-ed that will disclose if there is any bias at MSNBC and CNN. I know that Terry will want to be “Fair and Balanced.”

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ON THIS DATE

March 2

1975: Joe Frazier (32-2) defeats Jimmy Ellis by TKO in Melbourne, Australia for his final professional win.

March 4

2016: Donald Patrick “Pat” Conroy, an author for whom Beaufort plays a prominent role both in his works and his life, dies

NOTICE OF APPLICATION

Notice is hereby given that Truffles Belfair, LLC intends to apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for a license and/or permit that will allow the sale and on premises consumption of beer, wine, and/or liquor at 91 Towne Drive Bluffton, SC 29910. To object to the issuance of this license and/or permit, you must submit Form ABL-20, postmarked no later than 3/4/2023. Submit protests online at MyDORWAY. dor.sc.dov, or email ABL@dor.sc.gov.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION

Notice is hereby

of pancreatic cancer at age 70. Among Conroy’s works were The Water Is Wide, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini.

March 7

2022: S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster is the keynote speaker as the first South Coast Cyber Summit is held at Tabby Place in downtown Beaufort.

PAL PETS OF THE WEEK

Cat of the Week: Dumplin is one of our longest resident cats, as she has taken some time to come out of her shell. She is a very sweet and inquisitive girl who now loves treats and pets. She has spent more than 400 days at our adoption center and would love to celebrate her second birthday in a home. She is 1.5 years old, spayed, up to date on vaccines, and microchipped.

March 8

1971: Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden in New York City to improve to 27-0, win the vacant The Ring world heavyweight title and retain the WBA and vacant WBC world heavyweight titles.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

Sports Editor Justin Jarrett LowcoSports@ gmail.com

Videographer Delayna Earley delayna. theislandnews@ gmail.com

SALES/BUSINESS

Advertising Sales Director Amanda Hanna 843-343-8483 amanda@ lcweekly.com

Accounting April Ackerman april@ aandbbookkeeping. com Billing questions only.

Dog of the Week: Lola arrived with her eight beautiful puppies several weeks ago, and she has watched her babies find their new homes. She is a spry and energetic dog who is the perfect size for an adventure buddy. She would do well in a home by herself since she has shared her space with her puppies for so long. Lola is 4 years old, up to date on vaccines, and microchipped.

If you are interested in adopting Dumplin, Lola or any of our other pets, call our adoption center at 843-645-1725 or email us at info@ palmettoanimalleague. org to set up an appointment.

CONTACT US PO Box 550 Beaufort, SC 29901 TheIslandNews@gmail.com www.YourIslandNews.com facebook.com/TheIslandNews

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All content of The Island News, including articles, photos, editorial content, letters, art and advertisements, are copyrighted by The Island News and Island News Publishing, LLC, 2022, all rights reserved. The Island News encourages reader submissions via email to theislandnews@gmail.com. All content submitted is considered approved for publication by the owner unless otherwise stated. The Island News is designed to inform and entertain readers and all efforts for accuracy are made. Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Island News, its publisher or editors. Content published from Care Magazine® is intended as a reference and options source only, not as a guide to self-treatment or substitute for profession medical advice. It is provided for educational purpose only. Readers assume full responsibility for how this information is used. The Island News reserves the right to refuse to sell advertising space, or to publish information, for any business or activity the newspaper deems inappropriate for the publication.

Anthony Jones

– Jim Dickson, St. Helena Island

Anyone keeping track of how many ‘tourists’ become new residents?

BEAUFORT

In case you missed it somehow, there was an international film festival in town this past weekend plus South Carolina’s first-ofthe-season sanctioned barbecue competition which drew hundreds to the streets of Port Royal.

The Beaufort International Film Festival, which was celebrating its’ 17th year brought filmmakers and film lovers from all over the nation plus representation from five different countries. The annual Bands, Brews & BBQ, celebrating its 13th year, is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Friends of Caroline Hospice.

The two attracted diverse crowds and it’s difficult to determine which drew more “out of towners.”

But regardless of where they came from, the number of people who showed up, as with the other community festivals, increased the number of those who fell in love with the place and now want to move here.

Another reason why real estate companies and financial institutes are such big supporters of such attractions, bless their hearts.

Town retreat includes reminder of future growth

PORT ROYAL – The Port Royal Town Council spent part of their weekend “retreating” into the local fire station to talk about the future and how to attack next year’s budget.

Planning Director Noah Krepps set the tone for the two-day session by reminding the elected officials there are already at least 1,600 new residential units “in the pipeline,”

aka, permitted but not yet under construction.

That doesn’t include the changes that are eventually expected on the Safe Harbor property which are still in design stages. Initial plans for that property includes a 250-slip marina plus up to 575 homes and townhouses along the two mile waterfront property.

The town council is also getting glimpses of proposed renovations along the Ribaut Road section through the town which are also under study by the town.

Residents are still waiting to hear how the proposed tree protection ordinance will be approved once the council meets later this month.

Bring on the ‘Yankee tax’

COLUMBIA – Just a brief reminder the S.C. General Assembly is still in session and those elected officials are coming up with all kind of interesting new ideas to raise money.

One of the latest is being called a “Yankee tax” although the sponsors are quick to point out it’s a “fee,” not a “tax” and it’s aimed at all incoming residents, not just “Yankees.”

Senate Bill 208, which has made it out of a subcommittee into full

committee, proposes an additional $250 fee on driver’s licenses plus an additional $250 licensing and registration vehicle fee for out-of-state residents moving here. The additional revenue could be used for road repairs – say no more! – or green space –always a winner here in Beaufort County!

One caveat: as written, the bill allows county councils to hold referendums on whether the new fees will be passed or just pass it by ordinance.

been reached and the most recent price tag – for the “average new homeowner” which varies from location, size of home, number of residents, etc. was estimated at one point to be a monthly increase of $100 on one’s mortgage.

The county’s proposal initially included school impact fees. In fact, a school impact fee was enacted in 2021 but then abolished a year later when the majority of County Council felt like the school board wasn’t supporting their efforts.

books began in October, when individuals concerned about the appropriateness of certain library books came to the school board with their complaints, the review committees have met and discussed 26 of the 97. Of that number, the school board agreed with the committee recommendations to return all but two of the 26 to the shelves.

Local landmarks aren’t only buildings razed to make way for hotels

BEAUFORT – The county seat isn’t the only Lowcountry municipality seeing buildings demolished to make way for visitors.

The city of Charleston’s review board last week gave final approval to developers to knock down part of the historic Rainbow Market Shops property on North Market Street to make way for a hotel project.

If the legislation does pass – and who knows what the chances of that are – it will be interesting to see how Beaufort County Council would respond.

The Council is in the process of giving third and final approval to a long-debated development impact fee schedule which will be added to new residential and non-residential construction. The fees will be used for fire protection, parks and recreation projects, new libraries and transportation. The impact fees have been discussed for more than a decade with the largest hold-up being the municipalities and the county being on the same page.

That agreement appears to have

School impact fees are not on the proverbial table at the present.

Banning books comes with a cost

BEAUFORT – We now know the dollar cost of the on-going debate before the Board of Education about “controversial” books on school library shelves.

Thanks to a report in The Beaufort Gazette the cost of buying copies of the 97 books being reviewed by citizen-teacher committees plus sheriff’s deputies who monitor the review meetings is close to $8,500. That’s money that otherwise would be spent on supplies or teachers’ salaries.

Since the process of reviewing

to our VALENTINE BALL

Than k you Thank you

While the façade, which faces the City Market, is to be incorporated into the rest of the hotel’s design, according to a report in The Post and Courier, the majority of the structure was built before the 1886 earthquake and rebuilt around 1905.

Clearing the old to make way for the new… sound familiar?

Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com

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LOLITA HUCKABY

...the number of people who showed up, as with the other community festivals, increased the number of those who fell in love with the place and now want to move here.”

Beaufort hosts event to address public safety concerns

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

The City of Beaufort hosted an event honoring the life of Tyre Nichols and addressing concerns public safety concerns in the community on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Downtown Beaufort.

Nichols died from injuries sustained after five police officers beat him in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023.

The police officers involved in the event have been fired and charged with second-degree murder, among other felonies.

The event – Tyre Nichols & Our Commitment to Responsible Public Safety – featured remarks from Beaufort City Councilman Mitch Mitchell, Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray, Port Royal Mayor Joe Devito and Beaufort Police Chief Dale McDorman.

“I’ve had several community members reach out to me concerned that this could happen here,” said Mayor Murray said. “As mayor, I believe the City of Beaufort’s

primary job is to ensure that everyone in our special corner of the world feels safe.”

Mayor Murray went further to discuss the sense of community that he feels exists in Beaufort and that while there are challenges, he hopes that the bonds of

the community continue to shine through.

Councilman Mitchell said that his stomach was churning when he heard what had happened to Tyre Nichols and he felt that they city needed to do something to honor Nichols and to start

a conversation about what happened and how we can try to prevent it from happening in Beaufort.

“It is our hope in the aftermath of Mr. Nichols’ death, that our citizens, our law enforcement officers, will have a closer, more reliable rela-

tionship,” Mitchell said.

Mayor Murray said that he believes that the vast majority of those in law enforcement are good people and want to do their job with integrity, and we should not tolerate officers who abuse their authority and badge.

“They are a stain and an embarrassment to a noble and necessary profession,”

Mayor Murray said, “and they should be held accountable for their actions.”

Beaufort Police Chief Dale McDorman took to the podium to explain the efforts that the police department takes to try and ensure that this will not happen here.

“There are no guarantees when it comes to human behavior, however I sleep very well at night and I’m very comfortable in the feeling that this is not something that would happen in the Beaufort Police Department,” Chief McDorman said.

Councilman Mitchell concluded the hour-long event by saying he hopes that ev-

CHILL WITH A COP

eryone in attendance is reassured, like he is, that the City of Beaufort and the Beaufort Police Department are doing everything that they can to ensure that this does not happen in Beaufort.

Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She spent six years as a videographer and photographer for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette before leaving the Lowcountry in 2018. After freelancing in Myrtle Beach and Virginia, she joined The Island News when she moved back to Beaufort in 2022. She can be reached at delayna. theislandnews@gmail.com

Free Fiesta Fun Tax Education Day set for March 18

Spanish-speaking interpreters available to prepare taxes, answer immigration questions

From staff reports

A free Fiesta Fun Tax Education Day, featuring IRS-certified tax preparers, Spanish speaking interpreters, food and music, is set for Saturday, March 18 in Hardeeville.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program, a collaboration with the IRS, Beaufort County Human Services Alliance and United Way of the Lowcountry (UWLC), will host the Fiesta Fun Tax Education Day from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hardeeville Recreation Center. The recreation

Farrell

from page A1

state hasn’t proven their case?

Nope.

It’s because of the mucus.

They can’t reconcile the facts of the case — the lies, the timeline, the bullet shells matching the family’s gun, the missing clothes, the more lies, the financial pressures, the luring of Maggie and Paul to Moselle, the attempts to get others to lie for him, the lack of fear, the no calls for justice, the unproven threats against Paul, the lies, the lies, the lies — with the visual of Alex Murdaugh’s wet face and shaking shoulders as he

center is located at 285 John Smith Road in Hardeeville. VITA volunteers and Spanish speaking interpreters will be on site to prepare federal and state taxes for free and answer tax, financial and immigration questions. Representatives will be available from PASOs, Lowcountry Immigration Council, Lowcountry Council of Government’s Agency on Aging and Bluffton Self Help. There will also be a food truck, kids’ activities, music and a live broadcast by La Pantera Radio. Taxes will be prepared on a

told the jury about how he’d never hurt Paul Paul or Mags.

Again, “he loved them so he couldn’t have.”

For more than a year and a half, Alex Murdaugh has held firm in his conviction. He did not see his wife and son after dinner. He did not go down to the kennels before leaving for his mama’s house. He was napping.

Even after investigators found “the video” on Paul Murdaugh’s phone last March, Alex and his team continued to hold fast to the story of his alibi. He wasn’t there. He didn’t do it.

And if he got confused on some details, his team said, big deal, he was in shock.

But then — with the benefit of

first-come, first served basis.

Staffed by local volunteers, VITA provides free preparation and electronic filing of income tax returns for individuals and families with annual incomes of less than $60,000; anyone with a physical disability; non-English-speaking citizens; and people older than 60. Last tax season, a team of 49 volunteers saved 1,797 Lowcountry residents more than $450,000 in tax preparations fees alone and placed more than $2.6 million in refunds back into residents’ pockets.

five weeks of testimony, nearly a dozen positive identifications of his voice on that video and SLED’s updated timeline — Alex Murdaugh “came clean.” He was there.

Minutes before his wife’s and son’s murders, he was there.

Nearly everything he had told investigators — as well as his family, friends, colleagues, the court and the world — about that day and night was a lie.

The admitted liar admitted to lying but is now admitting to the truth, which might also be a lie.

The new story is that he didn’t trust SLED.

This longtime volunteer badge-carrying, blue lights-flashing member of the 14th Circuit

“Even modest tax refunds can be a significant boost to household budgets,” UWLC President and CEO Dale Douthat said in a news release. “By seeking free tax prep assistance from a trusted local program like VITA, Lowcountry residents have the best likelihood of getting their taxes done on time, correctly and hassle-free.”

VITA’s free preparation sites are open through April 15 at 11 locations in Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties. The sites include Voorhees College in Bamberg County and Blackville

Solicitor’s Office — surprise! he was the No. 2 guy at the Solicitor’s Office, according to the credentials Duffie Stone signed for him — who handled five cases over 15 years, didn’t trust law enforcement.

In a perverse way, that actually tracks.

I don’t believe him for one second. But it tracks.

Why would a man who was, for all intents and purposes, allowed to impersonate a law enforcement officer for so long trust the very same system that gave him those basically fraudulent privileges?

Why would Alex Murdaugh trust a system that has so many people in it who have been willing to look the other way for him for so long? People who have lied for

Community Development Corporation in Barnwell County; the Beaufort, Bluffton, Lobeco and St. Helena public libraries and The Deep Well Project in Beaufort County; Lowcountry Community Action Agency in Colleton County; and the Agape Family Life Center and Hardeeville and Ridgeland public libraries in Jasper County. After work and Saturday hours are available at some locations. For more information about VITA services, site locations, dates, times and required documents, visit www.vitavolunteers.org

him? Who were willing to do him and his family endless favors? Who allowed him to interfere with cases?

People who didn’t speak up when it mattered.

And who continue not to speak up. Why would he trust that system?

More importantly, why would we?

And now I’ve stopped laughing.

Liz

has

in the Lowcountry

City of Beaufort Police Chief Dale McDorman speaks during the event hosted by The City of Beaufort to discuss Tyre Nichols and the City’s commitment to public safety on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Downtown Beaufort. Delayna Earley/The Island News

Farrell

lived

since 2003. She is an award-winning journalist and co-host of Murdaugh Murders Podcast and Cup of Justice podcast. Liz has been investigating the Murdaugh story for four (very strange) years. You can reach her by going to murdaughmurderspodcast.com

Staff Sgt. Hope Day, right, co-pilot of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s helicopter, chats with Addison Ortiz, 4, as she sits in the cockpit of the Bell OV-58 “Kiowa” on Monday during Chill With A Cop at Southside Park. In the background is Col. Neil Baxley of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Baxley is the pilot of the helicopter. Photos by Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Kandace Joy Palmer, left, owner of Southern Palette Art Studio in Beaufort, paints a police badge onto the cheek of Kamari Haynes, a 1st grader at Mossy Oaks Elementary School, during the Chill With A Cop event Monday afternoon at Southside Park. More than 50 school children took part in the event which included face painting, baseball with a soft foam ball and chance to sit in the cockpit of Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.

in the Park

Beaufort Charities

Oyster Roast explodes into Palooza In The Park

From staff reports

It’s time for Palooza in the Park, The Beaufort Charities new two-day event at Live Oaks Park in Port Royal. The event simply adds a Friday night concert to the traditional Saturday Oyster Roast, making it a two-day festival.

Friday night is 21-and-up with live music from Walker

Dean at 7 p.m. and the Eagles Sunrise Band at 8 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m., and there will be food trucks. Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 at the gate. On Saturday is the traditional Oyster Roast from 1 to 10 p.m. There is a free kids zone, and the whole family is welcome. There will be a Shag D.J. from 1

to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6:30 p.m., and then Deaz Guys will take the stage from 8 to 10 p.m.

There will also be live auctions at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the gate. Advance tickets are available at http://bit.ly/3IIA1IK

No coolers or dogs are allowed.

H.L. Hunley Traveling Exhibition coming to Beaufort

From staff reports

The Beaufort History Museum will be hosting the H.L. Hunley Traveling Exhibition March 17 and 18 at the Carteret Street United Methodist Church parking lot at Craven and Scott street in Beaufort.

This entertaining and educational exhibit features a full-scale replica of the Civil War era submarine CSS H.L. Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, along with other interesting displays. Reenactors will be on hand to tell the unique story of this vessel, from the first launch to the tragic end. The exhibit will be led by its General Manager, Al Couch, who is a seventh generation Charlestonian. His forefathers fought in the Revolutionary War with Francis Marion, as well as

The Beaufort History Museum will be hosting the H.L. Hunley Traveling Exhibition which features a full-scale replica of the Civil War era submarine CSS H.L. Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, along with other interesting displays. Photo courtesy of Beaufort History Museum.

numerous battles during the Civil War. Couch has been affiliated with the exhibit since 2010, teaching history and education. He’s had the honor and privilege of playing a small role in the latest movie about the Hunley, “Submerged.” The exhibit was used in the filming of that movie, as well. The event begins runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fri-

day, March 17 and Saturday, March 18. With a limit of 20 students per tour slot, school group tours must be pre-arranged through Info@ beauforthistrymuseum.org.

The Beaufort History Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Its mission is to preserve, promote and interpret the experiences of our past that influence us now and in the future.

Lowcountry Job Fair set for March 21

Yemassee man who trafficked guns into Connecticut sentenced to 8 years

From staff reports Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Marquis Jerome Pollard, 42, of Yemassee was sentenced Monday, Feb. 27, by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 96 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for firearm offenses related to an illegal gun trafficking operation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the spring of 2021, ATF Task Force officers learned that Pollard used straw purchasers to obtain firearms in South Carolina, and sold the firearms in Connecticut. On April 19, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of a 9mm Glock handgun and a drum magazine from Pollard and Quinn Mooring

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in New Haven in exchange for $1,500.

The firearm was one of five 9mm handguns that had been purchased by an individual at a pawn shop in Port Royal, in the month prior to the transaction in Connecticut.

On May 3, 2021, investigators surveilled the firearm purchaser as he picked up two additional handguns from the Port Royal firearm dealer and traveled to a restaurant parking lot in Beaufort, where he transferred them to Pollard.

When law enforcement attempted to arrest Pollard, he fled in his vehicle at a high rate of speed. Pollard drove on sidewalks and over curbs during the pursuit, and was eventually apprehended in a residential neighborhood after abandoning his car and attempting to flee on foot.

developer’s plan to save the tree by preserving a plot measuring one-tenth of an acre around its base was inadequate.

“When you have the oldest and largest live oak in the county, you don’t want anything to compromise that root system,” he said.

He added that had the developer not needed a variance, the outcome might have been very different.

With development plans shelved, the property owner, Merry Land Investments LLC, shifted gears and began to consider a conservation solution for the property. The corporation turned to Beaufort County’s Rural and Critical Land Preservation Program.

Raising the oak’s profile

The large live oak on the former Cherry Hill Plantation was never a secret, but it wasn’t widely known either.

Then in 2009, as the city of Beaufort was preparing to celebrate its 300th anniversary, Murphy was asked to participate in a project to find the oldest tree in the county. The hope was to find a tree that might have existed at the city’s 1711 founding.

The search was quickly expanded to find the largest tree in Beaufort County, and after a little bit of publicity, the calls came rolling in.

“Our phone was ringing off the hook,” Murphy said. “Everybody thought they had the biggest tree in Beaufort County.”

So many calls came in that the search team stopped looking at trees with less than a 60-inch diameter, which, Murphy said, “is a pretty big tree.”

A number of callers referenced a live oak on land that was previously part of the Cherry Hill Plantation.

Murphy is careful not to say that he discovered the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak, noting that people were aware of its existence.

Beaufort Mayor Pro Tem Mike McFee is one of those people. His family owned land adjacent to the oak, and he spent a lot of time as a child climbing its branches.

“The oak tree was always huge part of my childhood,” McFee said. “It was always there. We thought it was always going to be there.”

The team went to check the tree out and were surprised by what they found.

“Our goal was to find a tree that would be like the Angel Oak is to Charleston County for Beaufort County,” Murphy said. “We found it.”

Comparisons to Angel Oak

First encountering the tree, Murphy had no idea it was even close in size to Angel Oak.

“I got the tape around it, and

Investigators recovered three firearms from his vehicle, including the two handguns that he received in the restaurant parking lot, and a loaded .40 caliber pistol with a 30-round magazine.

The investigation revealed that Pollard paid two separate straw purchasers to acquire at least 17 firearms for him. In addition to the two handguns that were seized from Pollard’s vehicle and the 9mm handgun that investigators purchased from Pollard in New Haven in April 2021, five additional firearms have been recovered by law enforcement.

One was recovered from a felon in New Haven in June 2021; one was recovered from the scene of a shooting in Hamden; one was recovered after it was used in a shooting in New Haven; one was recovered from a juve-

nile in South Carolina after it had been used in multiple crimes; and one was recovered earlier this month in Hamden from an individual who was fleeing from law enforcement in possession of the firearm and a distribution quantity of crack cocaine. Nine firearms have not been recovered.

Pollard’s criminal history includes multiple felony convictions. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Pollard was charged by indictments in both the District of Connecticut and in the District of South Carolina. The South Carolina case was transferred to Connecticut for further prosecution. Pollard has been detained

since his arrest. On Oct. 28, 2022, he pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

On January 13, 2022, Mooring, of New Haven, pleaded guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon. He awaits sentencing. The individuals who purchased firearms for Pollard in South Carolina were charged and convicted in the District of South Carolina.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), West Haven Police Department, New Haven Police Department, Beaufort Police Department, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin

Lantsman. The South Carolina case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carra J. Henderson in the District of South Carolina.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

the property. In addition to the centerpiece oak, 32 other landmark trees are scattered about the lot.

Kate Schaefer, director of land protection for the Open Land Trust, said there is a lot to like about the property, including the opportunity for passive recreation. Passive parks in that part of the county are in short supply, she noted.

“It’s more than the oak tree,” Schaefer said. “The whole property has some attractive features.”

Since it was originally authorized in 1999, the Rural and Critical Lands program has protected nearly 24,000 acres at a cost to taxpayers of about $135 million.

In October, the site’s landowner applied to the Rural and Critical Land Preservation Program for a fee simple purchase of the property, meaning the county program would purchase the land outright. The property owner did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

then I measured it again,” he explained. “I came back a couple of weeks later and measured it again because I needed to be sure. Nobody would believe that it was bigger than the tree we look up to.”

When the final measurements were complete, the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak was determined to be about 5 feet shorter than the 65-foot-tall Angel Oak, but its 113-inch diameter is 5 inches larger than Angel Oak. Its 30-foot circumference bests Angel Oak by 2 feet.

Murphy estimated the age at 350 years, slightly younger than the 400-year-old Charleston icon.

The Angel Oak gets the edge when it comes to the measurement of its canopy. The tree in Port Royal has smaller canopy that could be due to the somewhat crowded conditions in which it grew.

“We don’t know what was happening here,” Murphy said. “There might have been a lot of pine trees. You can see a lot of pine trees around here now. There was definitely something that suppressed part of this tree.”

Another factor is that roughly half of the Cherry Hill oak is missing.

Hurricane Gracie claimed a sizable piece of the tree in 1959. It lay on the ground and hardened until 2009, when it was hauled away and used to make bowls and other decorative items.

Murphy admits that the tree lacks the stately appearance of Angel Oak. The smaller canopy, crowded conditions and thick undergrowth in need of trimming diminish some of the tree’s the visual impact.

“This tree’s been hidden and needs to be rediscovered,” he said.

Despite these issues, the

tree was designated the 2013 Heritage Tree by Trees SC, a fact commemorated by a plaque at the oak’s base.

Mary Pope’s grave

If there’s one unique aspect of the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak, it’s the presence of a grave at its base.

According to the gravestone, which is believed to have fallen from its original upright position and now rests face up in the grass, Mary Pope was born in 1796 and died in 1848 at the age of 52.

Lore has it that Pope was an enslaved person from the Cherry Hill Plantation, but why she was buried in this particular spot is something of a mystery.

It’s known that Pope was a member of the Baptist Church

of Beaufort, and volunteers from that church have maintained her grave for as long as anyone can remember. Currently, that responsibility rests with Chuck Yahres, a man with a close connection to the property.

Yahres is a direct descendent of the Ellis family. The Ellis family acquired the Cherry Hill Plantation at some point prior to 1860. By 1860, the plantation included 671 acres. It’s sometimes referred to as the Ellis Cherry Hill Plantation to distinguish it from another plantation of the same name located on St. Helena Island.

According to research that Yahres has done, Pope was baptized at the Baptist Church of Beaufort the same day as his great-grandmother, great- grandfather and great-great grandmother in 1832. Yahres said it’s unlikely that the timing of that baptism was just coincidence, but the nature of Pope’s relationship to the family remains unclear.

The Ellis family did own slaves, he said. He added that it’s also possible that Pope was a family friend, noting that there are other Popes in his family tree.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the graves of the great-grandparents who were baptized along with Pope have never been located, leading him to speculate that they may also be buried under that tree.

“I just can’t believe that’s the only grave there,” Yahres said. “I’m having a difficult time with that.”

in

for

Preserving Cherry Hill Today, the 12-acre site is still in a remarkably wild state. A sandy spit that extends into Battery Creek is crisscrossed with animal tracks, and the calls of any number of bird species can heard on

The program’s board voted to recommend that the county authorize an appraisal of the property and conduct the standard due diligence before a purchase decision is made. The Beaufort County Community Services and Land Use Committee is expected to consider that recommendation on March 13.

If the recommendation is adopted, the board will determine if it will recommend the purchase of the parcel. Any such recommendation will go back to the Land Use Committee before County Council makes the final decision.

According to Schaefer, the board is looking for partners to share the cost of the acquisition.

“Every property has a potential for partnerships and it’s going to be project specific what partners are going to be able to come to the table,” she said.

Hope Cunningham, who spoke during September meeting in Port Royal and lives close to the Cherry Hill Plantation property, hopes to contribute to that partnership by raising funds to care for the oak.

“I’m going to have to figure out how to rally the neighbors to establish some sort of trust fund or a 501(c)(3) or something dedicated to care for this tree,” she said. “If you look at this tree, it really needs some love. There’s got to be some fund to clean it up, feed it and maintain it.”

If the Rural and Critical board recommends the purchase of the Cherry Hill Plantation, and County Council approves it, the process could be completed before the end of the year.

Murphy, advocating for the purchase, called the Cherry Hill Plantation land the most important parcel in the county for the preservation of trees.

From Beaufort to Bluffton and Hilton Head, The Post and Courier covers news impacting your community. Subscribe for more local coverage at postandcourier.com/IslandNews

The grave of Mary Pope, who died in 1848, is located at the base of the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak in Port Royal, as seen Thursday, Feb. 9. Lore has it that Pope was an enslaved person on the Cherry Hill Plantation, but research has failed to definitively determine that to be the case, and the reason

the grave’s appearance

close proximity to the tree is still unknown. Tony Kukulich/ The Charleston Post & Courier

Master arborist Michael Murphy stands in the shade of the Cherry Hill Plantation live oak in Port Royal, Thursday, Feb. 9. The tree, believed to be the largest and oldest in Beaufort County, was documented in 2009, and now efforts are underway to preserve the surrounding 12 acres. Tony Kukulich/The Charleston Post & Courier

Bands, Brews and … not quite enough BBQ

By Delayna Earley

The Island News PORT ROYAL – Beautiful weather and the promise of good food and music brought thousands of people out to the Bands, Brews & BBQ event hosted by Friends of Caroline Hospice (FOCH) in Port Royal on Friday and Saturday.

So many, in fact, that the event sold out of wings and barbecue a lot earlier than they anticipated on both days.

“We sold out of everything!” said LaNelle Fabian, the Director of Community Engagement with FOCH. “We sold out of barbecue on Saturday, a little earlier than we anticipated, but you can’t control when people show up.”

The event, which benefits FOCH, featured a barbacue and wing competition, with the wing competition on Friday, Feb. 24, and the barbecue competition taking place on Saturday, Feb. 25, along with live music by Mike Ponder, Steel Rail Express, Chris Jones, The Bull Grapes and The Chiggers.

“[Selling out] has happened in past events, just not so soon,” Fabian said.

Fabian said that while the weather ended up being beautiful, the forecast for the weekend when they were

placing the order for the meat showed a lot of rain.

“We don’t want to end up with a lot of food at the end of the event either, so it is hard to figure out what the demand is going to be,” said Fabian.

The meat is provided to each of the barbecue cook teams by the event in accordance with the South Carolina BBQ Association.

Each team had 40 pounds of wings, and they had eight Boston butts.

Fabian said they have been talking about bringing in more food next year, but she said that it cannot be through the competition teams.

“While some of the teams have rigs that could handle more meat, not all do, and it would be unfair to allow some teams to have more options to choose from to

turn in for the competition,” Fabian said.

On Saturday, 2 oz. barbecue samples were sold to customers who had purchased food tickets.

The tickets could also be used to buy beer and other concessions such as hot dogs and hamburgers sold by FOCH and French fries sold by the Boy Scouts.

Fabian said that the Boy Scouts went through 600 pounds of potatoes during the event and that the FOCH sold out of hot dogs and hamburgers on Satur-

day before the event was even half over.

They did offer refunds for people who had purchased tickets but were not able to use them due to food availability, but Fabian said that there were quite a few people who only requested a refund for half of their tickets because they understand this was a fundraiser event for FOCH.

She said there were people disappointed that they couldn’t get any barbecue, but mostly people were understanding.

Looking forward to next year’s event, Fabian hopes to provide more food options for people to enjoy once the competition barbecue is gone.

Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She spent six years as a videographer and photographer for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette before leaving the Lowcountry in 2018. After freelancing in Myrtle Beach and Virginia, she joined The Island News when she moved back to Beaufort in 2022. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com

National Historical Park invites public input

Preliminary General Management Plan includes Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve

From staff reports

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park announced an opportunity for the public to comment on preliminary management concepts that will guide the new national parks’ operations. Included in the management plan is Beaufort County Passive Park Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve.

Located in Port Royal, Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve is 6 acres of forested habitat along the Beaufort River in Port Royal adjacent to the Naval Hospital. Half of the Preserve contains the colonial British tabby ruins of the original 1730’s Fort Frederick, which is thought to be the oldest tabby structure in the State of South Carolina and is owned and maintained by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Heritage Trust Program.

The other half of the Preserve

NEWS BRIEFS

Scott seeking interns

is owned by Beaufort County and provides public access, parking and a picnic pavilion for visitors to enjoy the river views, bird watching and access to the historic tabby ruins.

The initial 30-day public comment period on draft concepts for the park’s general management plan (GMP) is open through Friday, March 17 and includes opportunities to submit written comments and participate in public meetings.

The park was to hold three public meetings in the Beaufort area to discuss preliminary ideas about the GMP. The two remaining meetings are at 1 and 5:30 p.m., Thursday March 2, at USC Beaufort.

During the meetings, National Park Service staff will explain the plan process, showcase methods for public comment, and answer

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is now accepting applications for internships in his Washington, D.C., North Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville offices for the summer of 2023. The internship program offers undergraduate and graduate students the chance to work with public service professionals and gain practical experience in constituent services, government policy, and more. Students of all majors, particularly those studying governmental affairs, public policy, or communications, are welcome to apply.

Internship hours are flexible to accommodate students’ course schedules but generally run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Students may also gain course credit for completing the internship program. Interested students can apply at http://bit.ly/3xJYF6Y. For additional questions, contact the internship coordinator at internships@scott.senate. gov or call 202-224-6121.

Zonta thanks Beaufort after breaking collection record

With the community’s generosity and support, Zonta of Beaufort broke its 2021 collection record in a big way by donating more than 1,200 bras to its “Free the Girls” campaign in 2022.

participants’ questions. Each meeting’s presentations will offer the same information.

Written comments may be submitted online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/REER_GMP (select “Open for Comment” on the left menu bar) or by mail to:

National Park Service Denver Service Center

Attn: REER GMP / Charles Lawson

12795 West Alameda Pkwy Denver, CO 80228

Written comments on the initial phase of the plan must be submitted online or postmarked by Friday, March 17 to be considered. Additional opportunities for commenting and public engagement will be offered over the course of the project. More information about the meetings and planning process are available on the project web-

Zonta member, India Dickinson, collected more than 400 bras alone. These bras are sent to Mozambique, El Salvador and Costa Rica to enable women rescued from human trafficking establish themselves back into their communities by selling the bras in the local markets to make a safe and sustainable income.

Zonta would like to offer a special thank you to Tanger Outlets who graciously ship the bras collected for this worthwhile project from participating Zonta Clubs around the country. For more information, visit freethegirls.org. Thank you, Beaufort.

Power Of The Purse set for March 9

Beaufort Memorial Hospital and United Way of The Lowcountry are hosting the Power Of The Purse at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 9, at Saltus River Grill.

The event features heavy hors d’oeurves, an open bar and a silent auction. Tickets are $100, $180 per couple. Tickets are limited, please purchase soon by visiting https://bit.ly/3Yc1nNh Proceeds benefit United Way of the Lowcountry Women United’s Breaking Barriers to Education Fund.

– From staff reports

site at https://parkplanning.nps.

gov/REER_GMP

About the General Management Plan A GMP is a broad document that identifies a national park’s long-term goals and guides visitor experience, management, park facilities development and park operations for at least 20 years.

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park was designated as a national monument on Jan. 12, 2017, by Presidential proclamation to recognize the role Beaufort County played in shaping the historic period of Reconstruction.

In March 2019, Public Law 1169 redesignated the park from a national monument to a national historical park, expanded the park boundary and created the park-administered Reconstruc-

tion Era National Historic Network. The Reconstruction Era National Historic Network includes a nationwide collection of public and private sites and programs associated with the Reconstruction era. The park’s GMP will include guidance for the future management of the redesignated national historical park and criteria for future boundary expansions.

The National Park Service has limited land ownership within the park boundary, and partnerships are critical to sharing the story of the Reconstruction era. Consultation and coordination among partner organizations and key stakeholders are important to this planning process, and successful implementation of the park’s future general management plan will depend on continued coordinated efforts with partners.

County purchases all-terrain wheelchair for Passive Parks

From staff reports

The Beaufort County Passive Parks Manager recently announced the availability of an all-terrain wheelchair to the public. Purchased with County funds, the wheelchair cost approximately $4,000 and will be available free of charge for anyone wanting to visit the County’s Passive Parks.

Beaufort County purchased this all-terrain wheelchair from the GRIT company, who are a small group of MIT engineers that designed the trail wheelchair as a mix between a manual wheelchair and a trail bike. This trail wheelchair is lever-driven and can be used on earthen nature trails, boardwalks, or other uneven surfaces where traditional wheelchairs are not able to go.

Watch at short video at http://bit.ly/3IHZuC4 on the versatility and mobility when people get out on the trails.

Six unique design features include axles that are twice as strong as traditional wheelchairs, suspension built into the frame and wheels, easy ability to change “gears” by simple hand placement on levers, large front wheel for a comfortable ride, easy to repair, and a lightweight steel

frame.

The trail wheelchair can be reserved by contacting the Passive Parks Manager at snagid@bcgov.net or 843-255-2152.

The reservation and liability waiver form also requires a credit card number in order to reserve the trail wheelchair.

For information and a list of all Beaufort County Passive Parks, visit http://bit.ly/3IHbfc8

For more information about the trail wheelchair, visit the GRIT website at http://bit.ly/3ktTZz6

Sammie and Luke Hume found the perfect place to play as Kirk Dempsey and the Bull Grapes entertained the crowd during the annual Bands, Brews and BBQ on Saturday in Port Royal.

Photos by Bob Sofaly/The Island News

VIDEO For a video related to this story, follow this electronic link or visit https://youtu. be/3-zkBR3zKCY.

Chip Peterson, center right, of Riverside Smoke BBQ from North Augusta, helps a woman with her barbecue sauce Saturday during the annual Bands, Brews and BBQ in Port Royal as John Johnson, also of Riverside Smoke BBQ looks on. Thousands of people converged onto Paris Avenue for the event.

Chamber’s Economic Forecast set for Thursday

From staff reports

From 8 to 10 a.m., Thursday, March 2, leaders from around the region will gather at the USC Beaufort Center for the Arts for the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual Economic Forecast – a special networking event that shares the latest data about our region, bright spots in our local economy, and insight from an expert on today’s most pressing issues.

This is a great opportunity to gather information, make connections and have the knowledge to position your business for success in 2023.

The keynote speaker is Laura Ullrich, the Senior Regional Economist with Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, who impressed last year with her research on economic trends, labor force, housing, and how policy affects prosperity.

The event includes a breakfast and a prosperity report with ticket purchase. Visit https://bit.ly/3xAh9GV to register.

More free entertainment coming to Waterfront Park

From staff reports

Get ready for lots of fun, free and family events at Waterfront Park in 2023.

The City of Beaufort will sponsor free concerts and other entertainment offerings from once to twice a month at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park pavilion beginning in March. Most events, but not all, will take place on Saturdays and the start times may vary.

This will kick off at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, March 11 with a combined concert by the Parris Island Marine Corps Band and the 282nd Army Band from Fort Jackson.

Here is the 2023 lineup, which is subject to change:

March 11: Combined concert, Marine and Army bands

April 15: Lowcountry Symphony

May 17: Beaufort High School Band

May 21: Lowcountry Community Band

June 3: Beaufort Dance Academy

June 29: USCB Children’s Theater

Sept. 23: Sons of Maestro

Oct. 28: Halloween Movie in the Park

November (date to come):

Combined Parris Island Marine Band and Navy Band

Dec. 9: Parris Island Marine Band Christmas Concert

Dec. 16: Savannah Ballet Theater

Lowcountry Market

hosting Food Truck Market

From staff reports

The Lowcountry Market is hosting its first Food Truck Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 11, at the Hwy 21 Drive In at 55 Parker Drive. The event will be fun for the whole family with food truck vendors from all over the area, local artists and crafters, kid’s craft stations, a cornhole tournament and more.

Cornhole Tournament contestants will compete for a prize pack and the option to be called back for our championship game near the end of the year. Participants must register in advance. Cost to enter is $10 each. Winner takes half the registration pot.

Food trucks and vendors are coming from all over the Lowcountry, and Lowcountry Flea Market is accepting more applications. Anyone wishing to participate, please email lowcountryfleamarket@gmail.com.

Future events include a Spring Easter Market on Saturday, April 1 where Mr. Pup-

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gives us the opportunity to become a state-wide leader in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) learning and a national model for leadership education.”

“It allows us to completely refurbish our campus,” Huebel emphasized. “A state-of-the-art multipurpose building with STEAM classrooms, a new security system, a 100-bed high school dormitory,” she added. “The multipurpose building means a new practice gym, a performing arts center. (The building) opens up to a green space that feels like a college campus. A whole new front office building. Our Pre-K building will be completely refurbished.

“And then just the offerings of the amount of faculty and staff that we’re going to be able to garner from around the United States and abroad to enhance our academics.”

The 100-bed dormitory will facilitate a new boarding component of the school, which Huebel maintains will help stave off any potential rise increase in tuition.

Construction is planned to begin in late Fall of 2023. Beaufort Academy hopes to open the doors and welcome students to the new en-

pet will host and MC the Easter Egg Hunts with a fun and interactive puppet show proceeding each hunt. For more information on Mr. Puppet, please visit his website at https://www.mrpuppet.com

The Egg Hunt will be separated into three age groups. Children attending will have the option of bringing their own baskets or decorating a bag before their hunt. The Easter Bunny will be on site for photos as well. For more information on these events or any other in the future, contact Stefny Ankney at lowcountryfleamarket@gmail. com or by phone at 843-605-3092.

production of “The Nutcracker”

The events are being organized by Andrea Hackenberger, downtown events coordinator for the City of Beaufort. Other entertainment will be confirmed later, she said.

“Our focus is to bring free educationally focused events to high-

light the importance of the arts,” Hackenberger said. “We have a lot of talent in Beaufort, and a beautiful outdoor venue at Waterfront Park to showcase that talent.”

The City of Beaufort will share upcoming events with correct times and dates through social media and on its website calendar.

Trash fire ignites shed, endangers home

From staff reports

On Monday, Feb. 27, just before 5:30 p.m., Burton firefighters responded to a reported shed fire in Grays Hill that was threatening a home closer than five feet away.

Firefighters arrived on scene and were able to halt the fire’s spread as it began to damage the side of the residence.

Firefighters extinguished the fire which also contained propane tanks.

No injuries were reported. The fire caused extensive damage to the shed but only minor damage to the home. A nearby power pole was also damaged.

The fire started in a near-

Early Monday evening, Feb. 27, the Burton Fire District responded to a rapidly spreading fire threatening a home in Grays Hill. Photo courtesy of Burton Fire District.

by trash pile, which spread to the shed and was extending to the home.

Last year the Burton Fire District responded to approximately 40 illegal trash fires, and three so far in 2023. It is illegal to burn

trash in Beaufort County. Fire officials state that beyond the fire hazards of burning trash, the generated smoke contains toxins which can be carcinogenic, and can cause or exacerbate respiratory ailments.

and, of course, COVID-19. Nothing came easy. Huebel descibed the experience as being like “birthing an elephant with four on your back while scaling Mt. Everest. We would be midway through construction or done by now had COVID not hit.”

On January 17, Huebel got the call from USDA’s South Carolina’s Director Saundra Glover informing her BA had been approved by the national office for the $40 million.

“This is monumental, historic,” Huebel said Thursday. “It was tough. I had to wait until now to share the news, even though I learned funds were there in early February.”

In the immediate future, BA Roundtables will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 22 in the BA Library for parents, faculty, staff, and community members to learn more about the plans and their next phases, how to get involved, and to ask any questions or voice any concerns.

Project updates can be found online at BuildingBA. com.

hancements in Fall of 2025.

The USDA Rural Development program

According to its website, “USDA Rural Development supports rural prosperity in South Carolina by investing

in modern infrastructure such as high-speed internet and water and waste treatment systems. We help eligible rural South Carolinians buy or rent affordable housing, and we can partner with you to build or improve es-

sential community facilities such as hospitals, libraries, and schools.” Normally, obtaining a loan like this might take roughly two years. But for BA, this was closer to a 5-year process.

“This process has been overwhelming to say the least,” Huebel said.

In the weeks and months immediately after the application process began, there were administration changes, the death of two students,

“This is going to present some unbelievable opportunities for our kids,” Huebel said. “It’s an amazing thing, not having a ceiling.”

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at

The Parris Island Marine Corps Band performs in December 2022 at Waterfront Park. Photo courtesy of City of Beaufort.

Cardiology PA, Tara Kay, practices what she preaches

By Cindy Whitman Special to The Island News

When Tara Kay slips out of her white coat after a day of seeing patients at Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists, you’ll most often find her outside walking her three rescue dogs (and getting in some steps), working in her gardn harvesting veggies and herbs for the healthy meals she and her fiancé, Michael, love to prepare together, or heading over the creek and through the marsh to visit her parents on St. Helena Island to soak up some Lowcountry sun and sea air on their boat.

Basically, when she’s not inside helping her cardiology patients learn how to live heart healthier and happier lives, Tara is happiest and her heart most full when she’s outside and moving.

This is nothing new. The board-certified physician assistant and newest member of the cardiology team at Beaufort Memorial came by her love of exercise, heart-healthy eating and the South Carolina Lowcountry honestly – and early. Growing up an only child in Dover, Del., Tara’s path to a career in cardiology was inspired by her active and athletic parents and summer vacations spent at Myrtle Beach.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to live in coastal South Carolina one day. I had my heart set on it,” Tara remembers. “Being able to do the work I love and live in a place I love is a dream come true.”

Growing up, she loved watching football and basketball with

her dad, but discovered volleyball in high school, and that pretty much became her life. She excelled at the sport, which led to summer camps where she met professional trainers, watched them work, and started thinking about a career in exercise science and sports medicine.

“I had a science brain to begin with, and the thought of combining science and sports was cool.”

When she arrived two years later at College of Charleston – she applied only to South Carolina and North Carolina schools, always chasing that Southern Living dream – Tara had her mind set on a career in sports medicine. After earning her bachelor’s degree in exercise science, she headed back north to Delaware to pursue her master’s degree in physician assistant studies.

And that’s when Tara had a change of heart.

One of her clinical rotations was in cardiology, and much to her surprise Tara fell in love with it.

“The cardiologist I followed was a very holistic practitioner, and watching him talk to his patients about nutrition and fitness (as it related to heart health) just made so much sense to me,” she said. “I realized that sports medicine was more than muscles and bones. Cardiovascular health is vital. It all begins with a healthy heart. And that requires more than medicine: aerobics, nutrition, a balanced lifestyle. Basically, exercise science!”

After graduating and working with her cardiology mentor for a few years, Tara and Michael, who recently completed seven years in the Air Force, decided it was time to follow her dream – and her par-

ents, who had already relocated –to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

“The stars just aligned from there,” she recalls. “I started a job search a year ago this month, and immediately saw the posting at Beaufort Memorial. I applied, came down to interview while Michael looked at houses, was offered the job and we made an offer on our house that week.”

It was a perfect fit.

“I love the hospital and the people I work with – it’s a real family feel,” she said. “It’s just everything I was looking for personally and professionally.”

Healthy heart

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” –Hippocrates

The above quote by Hippocrates, the ancient Greek father of medicine, is one of Tara’s favorites, and one that she consciously lives by. When she’s not enjoying the great outdoors, you’re apt to find Tara in the kitchen with Michael, whipping up something fresh and heart healthy with ingredients from their own garden and/or a local farmers market.

Inspired by the nutrition courses required in her undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Tara is fascinated by how nutrients and minerals can both fuel and heal the body.

“Let thy food be thy medicine,” she quotes. “I love that. And it’s so true when it comes to cardiology and heart health. I like to incorporate as many plants and herbs as possible when I’m creating a recipe, both for the nutritional benefits and to enhance flavor. Eating well should taste good, too!”

In honor of heart month, here are two healthy, tasty and Lowcountry-inspired recipes from Tara’s kitchen.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP (4-6 servings)

Ingredients

5 cups butternut squash, diced

2 large carrots, diced

1 yellow onion, diced 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 cups vegetable broth (depending on desired consistency)

1/2 can organic coconut milk

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or ground ginger, teaspoon)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (for serving)

• Sauté chopped onion and garlic in a large pot with a pinch of sea salt until translucent (approx. 3-5 minutes). Add

vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

Tara Kay and her fiancé, Michael, with their dogs. Photo courtesy of Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

What is choline and what does it do?

Choline is a nutrient that is found in many foods. Your brain and nervous system need it to regulate memory, mood, muscle control, and other functions. You also need choline to form the membranes that surround your body’s cells. You can make a small amount of choline in your liver, but most of the choline in your body comes from the food you eat.

How much choline do you need?

The amount of choline you need each day depends on your age and sex. Average daily recommended amounts are listed below in milligrams (mg).

Life Recommended Stage Amount

Birth to 6 months 125 mg

Infants 7–12 months 150 mg

Children 1–3 years 200 mg

Children 4–8 years 250 mg

Children 9–13 years 375 mg

Teen boys 14–18 years 550 mg

Teen girls 14–18 years 400 mg

Men 19+ years 550 mg

Women 19+ years 425 mg

Pregnant teens and women 450 mg

Breastfeeding teens and women 550 mg

What foods provide choline?

Many foods contain choline. You can get recommended amounts of choline by eating a variety of foods, including the following:

Meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and dairy products

Potatoes and cruciferous vegetables such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower

Some types of beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains

What kinds of choline

dietary supplements are available?

Some multivitamin-mineral dietary supplements contain choline, often in the form of choline bitartrate, phosphatidylcholine, or lecithin. Dietary supplements that contain only choline are also available.

Are you getting enough choline?

The diets of most people in the United States provide less than the recommended amounts of choline. Even when choline intakes from both food and dietary supplements are combined, total choline intakes for most people are below recommended amounts.

Certain groups of people are more likely than others to have trouble getting enough choline:

Pregnant women

People with certain genetic conditions

People who are being fed intravenously

What happens if you don’t get enough choline?

Although most people in the United States don’t get recommended amounts of choline, few people have symptoms of choline deficiency. One reason might be that our bodies can make some choline. However, if a person’s choline levels drop too low, he or she can experience muscle and liver damage as well as deposits of fat in the liver (a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease that can damage the liver).

What are some effects of choline on health?

Scientists are studying choline to better understand how it affects health. Here are some examples of

what this research has shown.

Cardiovascular disease: Some research shows that getting enough choline might help keep the heart and blood vessels healthy, partly by reducing blood pressure. Other research suggests that higher amounts of choline might increase cardiovascular disease risk. More research is needed to understand whether getting more choline from the diet and supplements might raise or lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Neurological disorders: Some studies have found a link between higher intakes of choline (and higher blood levels of choline) and better cognitive function (such as verbal and visual memory). However, other studies have shown that choline supplements do not improve cognition in healthy adults or in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s dementia, or other memory problems. More research is needed to understand the relationship between choline intakes and cognitive function as well as to find out whether choline supplements offer any benefit to patients with dementia.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: There may be a link between low intakes of choline and the risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

(NAFLD). NAFLD is a condition in which fat builds up in the liver of people who do not drink excessive amounts of alcohol. It is a common liver disorder, especially in people who are overweight or have obesity. Getting enough choline is necessary for proper liver function and to prevent NAFLD. But more research is needed to better understand how choline might help prevent or treat NAFLD.

Can choline be harmful?

Getting too much choline can cause a fishy body odor, vomiting, heavy sweating and salivation, low blood pressure, and liver damage. Some research also suggests that high amounts of choline may increase the risk of heart disease.

The daily upper limits for choline include intakes from all sources—food, beverages, and supplements—and are listed below.

act with any medications. Tell your doctor, pharmacist, and other health care providers about any dietary supplements and prescription or over-the-counter medicines you take. They can tell you if the dietary supplements might interact with your medicines or if the medicines might interfere with how your body absorbs, uses, or breaks down nutrients such as choline.

Choline and healthful eating:

People should get most of their nutrients from food and beverages, according to the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Foods contain vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other components that benefit health. In some cases, fortified foods and dietary supplements are useful when it is not possible to meet needs for one or more nutrients (for example, during specific life stages such as pregnancy). For more information about building a healthy dietary pattern, see the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate. Where can you find out more about choline?

For general information about choline:

» Office of Dietary Supplements Health Professional Fact Sheet on Choline

For more information on food sources of choline:

» U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FoodData Central

» Nutrient List for choline (listed by choline content), USDA

• For information about building a healthy dietary pattern, visit:

» https://www.myplate.gov

» https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov

Teens

Adults

mg Does choline interact with medications or other dietary supplements?

Choline is not known to inter-

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) provides information that should not take the place of medical advice. We encourage you to talk to your health care providers (doctor, registered dietitian, pharmacist, etc.) about your interest in, questions about, or use of dietary supplements and what may be best for your overall health.

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ Choline-Consumer/

What can you do for an overactive bladder?

By Robyn Bernett, PA Urology, Mayo Clinic staff

Overactive bladder, or OAB, is a condition that causes a sudden urge to urinate. It affects both men and women. The urge may be difficult to stop, and overactive bladder may lead to the involuntary loss of urine, known as urge incontinence.

If you have overactive bladder, you may feel embarrassed, isolate yourself or limit your work and social life. The good news is that a brief evaluation can determine whether there’s a specific cause for your overactive bladder symptoms.

Is an overactive bladder common?

Overactive bladder affects over 34 million U.S. adults. Urge incontinence is the most prominent form of incontinence among women in the U.S., where 1 in 4 women over 18 experience episodes of leaking urine involuntarily.

What causes an overactive bladder?

Pregnancy, childbirth and menopause all are major reasons for the increased prevalence of incontinence in women compared to men. When your bladder is full of urine, the brain usually signals the bladder to empty. Your bladder muscles contract and force urine out of the bladder. When the bladder is not full, your bladder is relaxed.

With a healthy bladder, the brain signals that the bladder is getting full, but there is time to wait to go to the bathroom. With an overactive bladder, there is no waiting. People often feel a sudden urge to urinate. This also can happen if the bladder is not full.

If the nerve signals between the bladder and brain do not work properly, an overactive bladder can result. Overactive bladder also can occur when your bladder muscles are too active, causing the bladder muscles to contract and

pass urine before the bladder is full. This sudden, strong urge to urinate is called urinary urgency.

When is it important to talk to a health care provider?

An overactive bladder can get in the way of your work, social life, exercise, and sleep routines. It’s important to discuss a variety of treatments with your health care provider, as overactive bladder symptoms can make daily life difficult.

What can you do to reduce your risk of overactive bladder?

These healthy lifestyle choices may reduce your risk of overactive bladder:

Maintain a healthy weight.

Drink enough water. Get regular, daily physical activity and exercise.

Limit consumption of caffeine and alcohol. Quit smoking.

Manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes, that might contribute to overactive bladder symptoms.

How do urology providers help you manage your OAB symptoms?

A combination of treat-

ment strategies may be the best approach to relieve overactive bladder symptoms. There are a variety of treatments for managing overactive bladder, and a combination of treatment strategies may be the best approach. Depending on your situation, options may include simple behavioral modifications, physical therapy, oral medications,

or outpatient procedures.

Scheduling an appointment with your health care team is the first step. Discuss your medical history and current symptoms so they can develop an individualized treatment plan for you.

Source: https://newsnetwork. mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-canyou-do-for-an-overactive-bladder/

Save a life with CPR

By Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News

When a heart stops, seconds matter. But too often, when someone has a cardiac arrest away from a hospital, people in a position to help don’t.

Misunderstandings about CPR can keep people from acting. That costs lives. We asked experts to help clear things up.

You can’t wait.

If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call 911 and don’t wait for professional rescuers, said Dr. Jose Cabañas, chief medical officer for Wake County, North Carolina. Each minute that CPR is delayed decreases the odds of survival by about 10%, research has shown. But having a bystander perform CPR doubles or triples the chances of somebody surviving, said Cabañas, who helped write the American Heart Association’s 2020 CPR guidelines.

The steps for responding to a cardiac arrest, according to the AHA, are:

• Check for responsiveness. Call 911 or, if other people are on hand, have a second bystander make the call. 911 operators can guide rescuers through CPR.

• Begin CPR while a second bystander retrieves an automated external defibrillator (AED), if one is nearby. Do not stop CPR to go look for an AED.

To perform CPR, place the heel of one hand in the center of the chest. Place the other hand on top and interlock the fingers. Push straight down hard and fast at 100 to 120 beats a minute.

(That’s the rhythm of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.”

You can also have someone search Google for “metronome” and enter “110.”)

NOTE: The AHA still recommends CPR with compressions and breaths for infants and children and victims of drowning, drug overdose, or people who collapse due to breathing problems.

You don’t need certification.

Training is great, and refresher courses are important, said Dr. Elizabeth Hunt, a professor of pediatric critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. But you “absolutely” do not have to have a card to perform CPR.

“I advocate getting training,” said Hunt, who helped write a 2022 AHA scientific statement on lay responders and CPR. “But it is not necessary to save a life.”

Don’t waste time checking for a pulse.

If you see someone collapse, Hunt said, shake the patient gently and ask, “Are you OK?”

If they are not breathing or are

breathing with “agonal breaths,” when breathing is abnormal or it appears the person is gasping for air, start CPR.

People used to be told to check for a pulse. “But lay providers don’t need to do that,” Hunt said. Find the spot in the middle of the chest – “essentially, between the nipples” – and start pressing hard and fast.

Don’t be squeamish.

Roughly 350,000 U.S. adults experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually in the United States, according to AHA statistics. But bystanders, or lay rescuers, administer CPR in only about 40% of cases. Research shows people in low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods are less likely to receive bystander CPR than those in predominantly white neighborhoods with higher income, and women are less likely to receive CPR than men.

Chest compressions might require opening or cutting away someone’s bulky clothing or removing a bra to reach the middle of their chest or apply AED pads.

“It is important that people also have an image of how they would

do that,” Hunt said, because even though it may be a little uncomfortable, they can save a life.

Don’t fret about mouth-tomouth.

If you’re wary of breathing into a stranger, don’t, Cabañas said. These days, training emphasizes hands-only CPR for the first few minutes, which has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR with rescue breaths in the first few minutes after cardiac arrest in adults and teens.

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation –give two rescue breaths after every 30 compressions – is important, however, for infants and children and if someone’s heart stopped because of choking or drowning, Hunt said. “But if you don’t know how to do it, compressions-only is still great,” she said.

Don’t worry about hurting someone.

One of the biggest misconcep-

tions about CPR, Cabañas said, is that you can harm someone in cardiac arrest.

“The biggest risk is not doing something,” he said. Whether it’s concerns about legality, propriety, or breaking bones, “I would emphasize that there is actually more potential harm by not doing or participating in providing bystander CPR when somebody collapses in front of you.” Good Samaritan laws protect people who step in to provide lifesaving care.

Hunt puts it this way: If someone’s heart has stopped, “they’re already dead.” So, any problems caused by CPR are not as bad as not doing CPR. Don’t be afraid to move them.

If someone falls in a twisted position, you might have to straighten them out to get them on their back, Hunt said. If they are on a bed or couch, it is best to lower them to the ground so that CPR

can be performed on a firm surface.

You’re likely to use it on someone you know.

Some people think they’ll never need to use CPR, Cabañas said. They’ll say, “My family’s healthy,” or they think it’s unlikely they’ll encounter anybody who needs help. “And that is not the case.” Research shows more than 70% of cardiac arrests happen in a home or private residence. So, learning CPR should be part of any family’s safety plans, Cabañas said.

Learning can be simple.

Taking a CPR course will help people know how to respond, Cabañas said.

“There’s multiple ways to learn CPR these days,” he said. You can learn the basics from a free AHA video and get hands-on training through a community center or fire department. (Some airports and medical centers have hands-only training kiosks.)

You’re qualified to use an AED.

AEDs can shock a heart back into rhythm but, as with CPR, need to be used quickly. You should scout out where to find one in places you frequent.

If a place you visit lacks one, Cabañas recommended talking with the manager. If you acquire one for your own facility, register it with the local EMS system so that 911 dispatchers know where to direct people.

Some AEDs might say they are for trained personnel only. Ignore that, Hunt said. With voice and visual prompts “they were designed to be used by someone who’s never seen them before,” from sixth graders to senior citizens. It’s not all on you.

Saving people from sudden cardiac arrest takes a community effort, Cabañas said. “When we see jurisdictions and cities and countries that have a higher survival rate, it’s because the community engages, and the community is participating in those efforts.”

That also means you don’t face an emergency alone, he said. Other lay responders, 911 dispatchers, first responders and medical workers all are part of the chain.

“You’re not alone,” he said. “There’s going to be other people that will be around to support you in that mission of trying to save somebody’s life.”

Sources: https://www.heart.org/en/ news/2023/02/01/11-things-to-knowto-save-a-life-with-cpr; AmericanRedCross, https://www. redcross.org

Who cares about public

You have the right to know what’s happening in your community.

Public notices – information local governments are obligated to provide citizens – are required to be published in local newspapers to provide a public record that’s accessible to everyone.

Public notices keep you informed about your government. But, in some states legislators are trying to keep public notices from appearing in local newspapers. This severely impacts government transparency and, in turn, limits the public’s right to hold them accountable for their actions.

Let your state legislators know that you value being able to access notices in your newspaper and that they are worth the investment.

SPORTS&RECREATION

Phares goes out on top; DeGroat also wins gold

LowcoSports.com

The trend of Beaufort High multisport standout Colton Phares’ senior year continued on Saturday. After coming up short a year ago, Phares finished on top.

After helping lead the Eagles to their first football state title in 77 years this fall, Phares capped off his sensational wrestling career with an elusive state title at 182 pounds after a pair of runner-up finishes and a fourth-place showing as a freshman.

Phares was joined on the top of the podium by Battery Creek junior Gunnar DeGroat, who won the 152-pound title after placing

HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP

fourth a year ago. The Dolphins had two other placers — Elmer Linares was the runner-up at 120 pounds and Anthony Phelan finished fourth at 285 — and Beaufort’s Tayriq Legree rounded out the local wrestlers who brought home hardware, placing third at 113.

Phares finished off a perfect senior season with a dominant run through the 182-pound bracket, pinning his first opponent in the first period before earning an 8-1 decision to reach the finals and controlling his last match from the outset in a 10-2 win over Hanahan’s Austin Guerrero.

DeGroat won three decisions to claim his crown, edging WestOak’s Cael Davis 3-1 in the finals.

SCHSL State Wrestling Championships

Placers from northern Beaufort County

Champs: Gunnar DeGroat, BCHS (3A 152); Colton Phares, BFT (3A 182)

2nd: Elmer Linares, BCHS (3A 120)

3rd: Tayriq Legree, BFT (3A 113)

4th: Anthony Phelan, BCHS (3A 285)

Cathedral blasts BA in final

LowcoSports.com

By the time the Beaufort Academy girls basketball team settled in Saturday at the Sumter Civic Center, it was already too late.

Cathedral Academy splashed 11 3-pointers, including six from Jalyn Almeida, as the Generals jumped out to a quick lead and never let up, blasting BA 68-33 in the SCISA 2A state championship game.

Almeida scored 22 points and Claire Griffin added 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the charge for Cathedral, which won its three playoff games by an average of 42 points. Coker College signee Tahleea Heyward scored 11 points and Mike’Ala Washington added 10 in the dynamic duo’s final game for the Eagles. BA (16-11) reached the final with a 41-26 win over Patrick Henry, the Eagles’ fourth win in as many meetings with the Patriots this season. Washington scored 14 points and Kamirah Freeman added 10 in the semifinal win.

Weightlifters competing at The Arnold

By Mike McCombs The Island News

Bucs boys, Dolphins girls win tourney

LowcoSports.com

Battery Creek’s girls and Bridges Prep’s boys earned the titles at the Warriors Cup preseason soccer tournament hosted by Whale Branch last week.

The Dolphins were dominant in the girls bracket, outscoring their opponents 29-0 with shutouts of Bridges Prep (7-0), Groves (8-0), and Whale Branch (14-0).

The Bucs opened with a 2-1 win over Groves before playing St. John’s to a 1-1 draw and beating Battery Creek 2-1 to reach the championship game, where they blasted Beaufort Academy 5-0. Timothy English scored three goals and Til Bieniek added two in four games to lead Bridges, and Darick Fisher stopped 14 of 15 shots on goal in the tournament with two of the Bucs’ three goals allowed coming on penalties.

THURSDAY, FEB. 23

GIRLS LACROSSE Beaufort 22, Ashley Hall 10

(1-0): Megan Alvarez 7G; Sophia Pellegrino 5G; Liz Livesay 5G; Lillian Carr

4G, 1A

SATURDAY, FEB. 25

GIRLS LACROSSE

A.C. Flora 19, Beaufort 3

BFT (1-1): Sophia Pellegrino 2G; Lillian Carr 1G

MONDAY, FEB. 27

BOYS SOCCER

Whale Branch 5, Colleton Co. 1

WB 2-2; CC 1-1

GIRLS LACROSSE

HHIHS 18, Beaufort 4

BFT (1-2): Megan Alvarez 2G; Sophia Pellegrino 1G; Lillian Carr 1G

TUESDAY, FEB. 28

GIRLS

Four weightlifters representing Beaufort’s Team Divergent will compete this week at the 2023 North American Open Series 1 – at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Beaufort’s C.J. Cummings, 23, who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, will compete in the Open Men’s Division in the 81kg class. His entry total was 330kg. His group lifts at noon on Friday.

Ian Graham, 19, is also competing in the Open Men’s Division in the 109kg class. His entry total was 260kg. His group lifts at 10 a.m., Sunday.

Graham and Cummings are being coached by Ray Jones.

Malory Medaglia, 26, is competing in the Open Women’s Division in the 71kg class. Her entry total was 128kg. Her group lifts at 10 a.m., Saturday. She is being coached by Jesse Sanborn.

And Tristan Mueller, 17, is lifting in the Men’s 16-17 Division in the 67kg weight class. His entry total was 156kg. His group competes at 10 a.m., Thursday.

The competition will take place at the Columbus Convention Center. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3J2hHvC

Tayriq Legree and Colton Phares

Gunnar DeGroat and Elmer Linares

Battery Creek’s Isaac Vega heads the ball in for the second of his three goals against St. John’s during the Whale Branch Soccer Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 23. Vega scored three of five total goals helping the Dolphins win their first game of the tournament, 5-0. The Dolphins were also victorious over Groves High School from Garden City, Ga., 6-3, but lost to the Buccaneers from Bridges Prep, 2-1, on Saturday. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

Hilton Head Island’s Olivia Costello, left, has to pass the ball as Beaufort’s Emma Hooper and Lillian Carr put on the pressure during their lacrosse game Monday night at Beaufort. The visiting Seahawks beat the Lady Eagles, 18-4. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

TCL seeks community input for mascot EDUCATION

From staff reports The Technical College of the Lowcountry is seeking ideas for a mascot it plans to create and unveil later in the year.

The college recently kicked off the process by enlisting the help of faculty, staff, students and alumni and is now seeking input from the community.

As TCL President Dr. Richard Gough related, while TCL does not currently have a mascot, the idea has come up from time to time.

“Particularly since TCL has

grown and expanded in just recent years,” he said. “I believe that’s why we’re hearing more and more from our students, faculty and staff and those in the community. Now and quite often, I get asked, ‘When is TCL going to get a mascot?’”

The college – which now includes four campuses, including a stand-alone culinary school – can trace its history back to the historic Mather School, formed in 1868 for the daughters of newly freed enslaved people. In 1968, it was given to the state of South Carolina as a

EDUCATION BRIEFS

Medicine degree.

2 BOE members recognized for state-level training

Two Beaufort County Board of Education members earned recognition by the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA) for achievement in the association’s 2022–2023 Boardmanship Institute (BI).

Established in May 1982, SCSBA’s BI offers a year-round training program to help school board members better understand and more effectively act upon issues related to governance for their local schools. Training is required by state law only for new school board members.

Board Chair Dr. Christina Gwozdz and six others from districts across the state have earned Level 6 recognition in the BI sponsored by SCSBA. It is the highest level of distinction for school board training. Level 6 recipients received a pin and plaque at SCSBA’s Annual Convention held Feb. 17-19 on Hilton Head Island.

Board Secretary Angela Middleton reached Level 1 and will receive a certificate.

SCSBA is a non-profit organization serving as a statewide voice for boards governing the state’s 73 school districts.

Beaufort’s Mutz graduates from University of Tampa

Beaufort’s Daniel Mutz graduated from The University of Tampa on Saturday, Dec. 16. Mutz earned a Physician Assistant

trade school and eventually went on to become part of the state’s technical college system.

“It’s perfect timing since it happens to coincide with our 55th anniversary,” Dr. Gough said.

Have an idea?

To share your idea, go to www.tcl. edu/mascot and complete a brief survey. The deadline for responses is March 24. The best ideas – or those that will be given more weight – will be those that relate to the region, said

The commencement ceremony included 985 undergraduate and graduate candidates. The ceremony included remarks by Kim Morris, assistant professor of health sciences and human performance, and the student challenge speaker.

The University of Tampa is a private, comprehensive university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University has about 200 programs of study and serves about 11,000 students from 50 states and most of the world’s countries.

College of Charleston announces Fall 2022 President’s List, Dean’s List

College of Charleston congratulates more than 2,280 students who were named to the President’s List and the Dean’s List for Fall 2022, including 16 students from Beaufort.

• Kathryn Bendle (29907) was named to the President’s List.

Addison MacPhee (29907) was named to the President’s List. MacPhee is majoring in Computer Science. Emily Stacks (29906) was named to the President’s List.

• Julye Scheper (29907) was named to

TCL’s Assistant Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations

Leigh Copeland.

“Potential areas of inspiration could include the history of the area or the college, significant people from the region, animals or natural elements from the Lowcountry or other things that make residents proud to be from our region,” she said.

Ideas will be narrowed down to a small group of finalists. The college and the community will then have an opportunity to vote for their fa-

the President’s List.

Alex Barradas Perez (29906) was named to the President’s List. Barradas Perez is majoring in Electrical Engineering.

• Sarah Norwood (29906) was named to the President’s List. Norwood is majoring in Professional Studies.

Margaret Armes (29906) was named to the President’s List. Armes is majoring in Chemistry.

Lydia Mahan (29902) was named to the President’s List. Mahan is majoring in Spanish and Psychology.

Josephine Quade (29907) was named to the President’s List. Quade is majoring in Special Education.

Cadence Gillaspie (29906) was named to the President’s List. Gillaspie is majoring in Public Health.

Jacob Rye (29906) was named to the Dean’s List. Rye is majoring in Marine Biology.

• Mason Monti (29906) was named to the Dean’s List. Monti is majoring in Theatre.

• Jayne Trumps (29907) was named to the Dean’s List. Trumps is majoring in Communication.

• Phoebe Trainum (29907) was named to the Dean’s List. Trainum is majoring in Exercise Science.

• Shannon Smith (29907) was named to the Dean’s List. Smith is majoring in Exercise Science.

• Frederick Scheper (29907) was named to the Dean’s List. Scheper is majoring in Marine Biology.

Located in the heart of historic Charleston, the College of Charleston is a nationally recognized public liberal arts and sciences university. Founded in 1770, the College is among the nation’s top universities for quality education, student life and affordability.

Beaufort’s Estell named to Radford’s Fall 2022 Dean’s List

Beaufort’s Alyssa Kaitlyn Estell has been named to the Fall 2022 Dean’s List at Radford University.

Appearing on the Dean’s List is the most prestigious academic recognition Radford University students can receive for their performance during a semester.

Students are placed on the Dean’s List if they meet four specific criteria. They must have 12 semester hours of coursework graded A-F; earn GPA’s of at least 3.4 for all courses not graded on a pass-fail basis; obtain no grade lower than “C”; and receive no incomplete grades.

Radford (Va.) University is a comprehensive public university of 7,718 students that has received national recognition for many of its undergraduate and graduate academic programs, as well as its sustainability initiatives.

13 cadets, students named to The Citadel’s Dean’s List

The Citadel’s dean’s list is a recognition given to cadets and students who are registered for 12 or more semester hours and whose grade point average is 3.20 or higher, with no grade of I (Incomplete) and no grade below C for work in a semester.

Beaufort cadets and students who were named to the dean’s list include Ryan Brozek , J oseph Combs Brock Durham Henry Manley , Edward McCormick , Ethan McKenzie Alma Orozco-Rico Matthew Polk Reed Reichel Christopher Rohrer , Elliott Ruoff , Clayton Vande Burgt and Thomas Conrad

The Citadel, with its iconic campus in Charleston offers a classic military college education for young men and women focused on leadership excellence and academic distinction.

8 Beaufort students named to UMGC

Dean’s List

More than 9,800 University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) students were named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester, including eight from Beaufort. To be

vorites beginning this spring.

TCL expects to unveil the new mascot later in the year, after the process is completed and everyone has had a chance to weigh in, Copeland said.

“Ultimately, we want our new mascot to provide a sense of pride and connection for our students, their families, alumni, faculty, leaders and our community of donors, supporters and influencers,” she said. “We’re excited to have the community to be part of it.”

eligible for the honor, a student must complete at least six credits during the term, earned a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the term, and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 at UMGC.

The eight from Beaufort included Narina Aladinova (29904); Timber Barnes (29906); Adam Bowers (29906); Mackinzie Cruz (29906); Morgan Shattuck (29906); Edward Smith (29906); Destri Stemme (29906); and Teaannie Woods (29906).

UMGC was established in 1947 to serve adults in the workforce. Today, the university enrolls some 90,000 students annually, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, as well as certificates in more than 125 fully online, hybrid and face-to-face programs and specializations.

Beaufort’s Wilborn named to Coastal Carolina

President’s List

More than 1,100 students were named to the President’s List at Coastal Carolina University for the Fall 2022 semester, including Christian Wilborn , from Beaufort (29906). Students who made the President’s List have achieved a 4.0 grade point average during the semester.

Coastal Carolina University is a dynamic, public comprehensive liberal arts institution located in Conway, located just minutes from the resort area of Myrtle Beach. CCU offers baccalaureate degrees in 104 major fields of study. Among the University’s graduate-level programs are 27 master’s degrees, one educational specialist degree, and the doctorates in education and in marine science: coastal and marine systems science.

9 Beaufort students make

Fall 2022

Dean’s List at CCU

More than 2,700 undergraduate students at Coastal Carolina University were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2022 semester, including nine students from Beaufort. Students who make the Dean’s List have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher (3.25 for freshmen) for the semester.

Dean’s List students from Beaufort include Logan Adkins (29902); Kimberly Chisholm (29906); Damaris Hurt (29906); Michael Martello (29902); Joseph Mooney (29902); Grace Richa (29907); Amyah Todd (29902); Michael Walker (29907); and Tess Yazvac (29907).

Coastal Carolina University is a dynamic, public comprehensive liberal arts institution located in Conway, located just minutes from the resort area of Myrtle Beach.

Beaufort’s Campbell graduates from Miami (Ohio) University

Beaufort’s Samantha Campbell was among students from Miami (Ohio) University who received degrees during the fall commencement Dec. 9, 2022.

Campbell graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, majoring in Biological Science.

Nationally recognized as one of the most outstanding undergraduate institutions, Miami University is a public university located in Oxford, Ohio. With a student body of nearly 19,000, Miami effectively combines a wide range of strong academic programs with faculty who love to teach and the personal attention ordinarily found only at much smaller institutions.

Beaufort’s Deason on President’s List at USC

Peter Nash Deason of Beaufort has been named to the Presidents Honor Roll List at the Honors College at University of South Carolina Columbia. The Presidents award is the highest semester honors ranking reserved for full time undergraduates who have earned a GPA of 4.0. Deason has now received this award for four straight semesters.

– From staff reports

ARTS

Fractals: Mathematics and Science as Art Exhibition Member Preview

6 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 9, Morris Center For Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland. Free for members only. Where does Math plus Science equal Art? At this exclusive Member Only Sneak Peek of our newest exhibition Fractals: Mathematics and Science as Art. Enjoy mingling with Morris Center members and touring the exhibition with our curator. It all adds up to a memorable evening. Register at https://www.morrisheritagecenter. org/event-5086727.

Printmaking Workshop: Linocuts

11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 18, Morris Center For Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland. Ages 16 and up. $31.50 for Heritage Members, $35 for all others. Create cutting edge art! This hands-on workshop will introduce you to the art of linocut printmaking which involves carving into linoleum plates and then printing with ink and paper. Artist and educator Ian Welch will guide you through every step. Purchases are non-refundable. Register at https://www.morrisheritagecenter. org/event-5155744.

Fractals: Beautiful Geometry

6 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, Morris Center For Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland. Mesmerizing math? It may sound like a contradiction, but when the math involves fractals (never-ending patterns), you’ll be drawn into their intricate beauty. Learn more about these stunning creations with Dr. Manuel “Bud” Sanders, Professor of Mathematics at University of South Carolina Beaufort. Whether man-made, computer-generated, or found in nature, fractals are sure to fascinate. Register at https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/ event-5151660.

Lowcountry Glass Mosaics Workshop

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, April 22, Morris Center For Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland. Ages 16 and up. $55 registration fee. Create a luminous mosaic suncatcher in this 4-hour workshop led by glass artist Pat Stone. You’ll also learn how to safely cut glass, follow mosaic patterns, and grout pieces. Purchases are non-refundable. Register at https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/ event-5047016.

Gifts From the Boneyard

10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, through March 31, 2023, Port Royal Sound foundation (PRSF) Museum, 310 Okatie Highway, Okatie. The Friends of Hunting Island (FOHI) and The Port Royal Sound Foundation (PRSF) are hosting an art exhibit called, “Gifts From the Boneyard, Art Inspired by Hunting Island’s Landscape.” The featured artist is Barbara James, a local fabric artist. Photographers Joan Eckhardt and Andy Stephens are also contributing pieces. Proceeds from sales will go to FOHI and PRSF. Opening gala from 4 to 6 p.m., March 2, 2023.

CALENDAR

Karaoke with Melissa

8 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Trivia with Tom – Fat Patties

7:30 p.m., Every Wednesday, Fat Patties, 831 Parris Island Gateway, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with either Parker or Eric.

Trivia with Tom – Bricks On Boundary

7:30 p.m., Every Thursday, Fat Patties, 1422 Boundary St, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash and Beer Bucket prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 7 p.m., Thursdays, Amvets Post 70, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free. Public is welcome. Enjoy Karaoke. Dinner will be available.

Bluffton Night Bazaar — a Lowcountry

Made Market

5 to 8 p.m., first Thursday of each month, Burnt Church Distillery, 120 Bluffton Road. A highly curated selection of accessories, clothing, home goods, custom gifts and more by local artists and makers.

Rooted Beaufort Yoga classes

5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Thursdays, Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal; 9 to 10:15 a.m., Whitehall Park or Pigeon Point Park. Rooted Beaufort is a collective of local Yoga teachers who host outdoor yoga classes and donation-based events with proceeds being donated locally on a rotating basis.

Wet Willie’s Trivia Night

7 to 10 p.m., every Thursday, Wet Willie’s, Beaufort Town Center. Win awesome prizes while you sip the worlds greatest daiquiris and munch on delicious bites.

Wet Willie’s Bingo Night

7 to 10 p.m., every Friday, Wet Willie’s, Beaufort Town Center. Win free giveaways, merchandise, and more cool prizes.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9 p.m., Fridays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Lt. Dan.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Fridays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127

Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Parker.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Fridays, R Bar & Grill, 70 Pennington Dr, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

HIGHWAY 21 DRIVE-IN

The movies scheduled for this week (Thursday, March 2 through Thursday, March 9) at the Highway 21 Drive-In are Puss N Boots (PG, 7 p.m.) and Ant Man And Wasp

Quantumania (PG, 8:40 p.m.) on Screen 1; Creed III (PG, 7:30 p.m.) and M3gan (PG-13, 9:15 p.m.) on Screen 2; and Cocaine Bear (R, 7:30 p.m.) and Knock At The Cabin (R, 9:05 p.m.) on Screen 3 (Friday and Saturday).

Online ticketing is available at hwy21drivein. com on the Now Playing page. Patrons are asked to arrive early on Friday and Saturday nights. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.

“Our family at the Hwy. 21 drive in feel a responsibility to our community,” a statement from Highway 21 Drive-In management reads. “We are concerned about many things in these trying times and in making the right decisions. We are concerned with our employees, our patrons, our business, our community’s businesses, and the health and well-being of all.”

A reminder: no outside food or beverages can be brought into the drive-in. Upcoming movies include Shazam (March) and John Wick Chapter 4 (March).

Drum Circle

6:30 to 8 p.m., 2nd Friday of every month, Gazeebo, Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Beaufort. Free. Anyone welcome, no experience necessary. Eric Roy, a recent transplant from Connecticut with successful experience in leading drum circles, is our new facilitator. He will start sessions off with 15-20 minutes of instruction on djembe playing and teach a selected traditional rhythm & accompaniment for participants to play. In addition, there will be time allotted for spontaneous group drumming. Bring a drum, if you have one, a chair and a desire to have fun. The Drum Circle has several extra drums and many other percussion instruments that anyone can use. To receive updates on future events, send your email to lannyk13@gmail.com. This session will be on Friday, March 10.

Highway 21 Flea Market

9 a.m. to 4 p.m., every Saturday and Sunday, Highway 21 Drive-In. Sellers, vendors, handmade items, unique products and yard sale items. For information, email lowcountryfleamarket@ gmail.com.

Port Royal Farmers Market

9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, year round, Naval Heritage Park, 1615 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Rain or shine. You will find fresh, local, seasonal produce, shrimp, oysters, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, bread and cheese, as well as plants, ferns, camellias, azaleas, citrus trees and beautiful, fresh cut flower bouquets. There are prepared food vendors serving barbecue, dumplings, she crab soup, crab cakes, paella, coffee, baked goods, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. No pets allowed. For more information, visit http:// www.portroyalfarmersmarket.com/, visit @ portroyalfarmersmarket on Facebook or call 843-295-0058.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

7 p.m., Saturdays, The Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd., Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Lt. Dan. Come early at 6 p.m. for Steak Night.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Saturdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Eric.

Karaoke with Melissa

8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, Peaceful Henry’s Cigar Bar, 181 Bluffton Rd, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Karaoke with Melissa

7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, Latitude Bar & Chill, 3295 Latitude Blvd, Hardeeville.

Open to residents and their guests only. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Beaufort Republican Women’s Club

Membership Drive Luncheon

11:30 a.m., Saturday, March 4, The Carolina Room, Dataw Island Club, 123 Dataw Dr., St. Helena Island. The cost of the luncheon is $38 and is by reservation only. Xiaodan Li, Beaufort County Republican Party’s representative to the South Carolina Republican Party and member of Friends of Liberty, will be the featured speaker.

To reserve your seat, please mail your check with the names of those who will be attending to BRWC, P. O. Box 1835, Beaufort, SC 29901 before February 25. For further information, contact Diane Roney at 843-838-4972.

March Mingle Event Expo

2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 5, Morris Center

For Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland. Free. $500 Raffle Prize. Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage is pleased to announce its venue space is now managed by LJG Events, LLC. To introduce the partnership, the public is invited to an expo-style event which will celebrate Women’s History Month while highlighting the benefits of hosting an event at Morris Center. Event-related vendors will be on site and light refreshments will be served. Registration is not required, but RSVPs are encouraged at https://www. morrisheritagecenter.org/event-5163258.

Lowcountry Job Fair

1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 21, Beaufort National Guard Readiness Center, 1 Cavalry Ln, Beaufort. The fair is free and open to the public and will showcase more than 50 area employers and businesses that will share hiring preferences and career opportunities. For more information, please contact Melanie Gallion, Technical College of the Lowcountry Center for Business & Workforce Solutions, at 843-525-8224 or mgallion@tcl.edu.

YMCA Puppy Plunge

9 to 11 a.m., Saturday, March 25. Wardle Family YMCA, Outdoor pool, 1801 Richmond Ave., Port Royal. Well-behaved canines of all breeds and sizes are welcome. Cost is $10 per pup. All proceeds benefit the Y’s Learn to Swim program. Owners will be required to sign a waiver before entering the enclosed,

exterior pool area (use the side entrance gate), must be present with their pups at all times, and humans are not permitted to swim in the Puppy Plunge. The YMCA asks that pets be upto-date on all vaccinations. Event is weather dependent so check the YMCA social media or call the Y front desk at 843-522-9622 the morning of the Puppy Plunge to check any status update.

Memory Matters: Memory & Aging

4 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, Encompass Health Rehab Hospital, 107 Seagrass Station Rd, Bluffton. $20 for this session, or $40 for all Memory Matters sessions. Speaker: Dr. Paul Mazzeo, Coastal Neurology.

MCAS Beaufort Airshow

Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23, 2023, MCAS Beaufort. Visit BeaufortAirShow.com. General admission is free.

HISTORY

Beaufort History Museum at the Arsenal

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday;

10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays, 713 Craven St, Beaufort. General Admission for Adults $8, Seniors $7, Active Duty Military and College Students with ID $5. Children/Teens younger than 18 Free. Explore and experience more than 500 years of Beaufort History with knowledgeable docent guided tours.

The Historic Port Royal Museum

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or upon request, Thursdays through Sundays, The Historic Port Royal Museum, 1634 Paris Ave. The museum features the turn-of-the-century businesses and industries of Port Royal: Shrimping, crabbing, oystering, the railroad, the school and the mercantile. Great gifts featuring local artists are available. For more information. visit www.portroyalhistory.org, email historicportroyalfoundation@gmail.com or call 843-524-4333.

Tour Historic Fort Fremont

Dawn to dusk, Monday through Sunday, The Fort Fremont Preserve, 1124 Land’s End Road, St. Helena Island. Free and open to the public. The History Center is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors can learn about the fort’s history during the Spanish-American War through interpretive signs, self-guided walking tours with a smart phone, exhibits in the history center, and docent-led tours. For more information visit www.fortfremont.org or contact Passive Parks Manager Stefanie Nagid at snagid@bcgov.net.

LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

Law Talk

Select times and days, Lobeco Branch Library, 1862 Trask Parkway, Seabrook. To register, call 843-255-6479. Free. Brief topic overview with Question & Answer with volunteer attorney.

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 5 to 6 p.m., Landlord Tenant Law; Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 6 p.m., Wills, Estates, and Probate; Saturday, April 29, 11 a.m. to noon, Heirs Property; Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m. to noon, Starting a Business or Nonprofit.

Dungeons & Dragons

4 p.m., Mondays, Beaufort Downtown Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, 843-2556441. Ages 12 to 18.

Lego Club

4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Mondays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island, 843-255-6540. All ages welcome.

Law Talk

5:30 to 6:30 p.m., select Tuesdays, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. To register, call 843-255-6481. Free. Brief topic overview with Question & Answer with volunteer attorney. Jan. 24, Wills, Estates, and Probate; Feb. 28, Estate Planning; March 28, Advanced Health Care Directives; April 18, Starting a Business.

Teen Art Club

4 p.m., 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month, Beaufort Downtown Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, 843-255-6441. Ages 12-18.

Teen Anime Club

4 p.m., 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month, Beaufort Downtown Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, 843-255-6456.

Law Talk

5:30 to 6:30 p.m., select Tuesdays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, St. Helena Island. To register, call 843-2556540. Free. Brief topic overview with Question & Answer with volunteer attorney. Tuesday, Jan. 17, Starting a Business; Tuesday, Feb. 7, Expungement; Tuesday, March 7, Credit Card Debt; Tuesday, April 4, Social Security Disability; Tuesday, May 2, Getting Arrested.

Teen Video Game Club

4 p.m., 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of each month, Beaufort Downtown Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, 843-255-6441. Ages 12 to 18.

Law Talk Noon to 1 p.m., select Wednesdays, Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Rd, Hilton Head Island. To register, call 843-255-6525. Free. Brief topic overview with Question & Answer with volunteer attorney. Wednesday, Feb. 15, Cyber Security and Data Privacy; Wednesday, March 15, Wills, Estates, and Probate; Wednesday, April 19, Advance Health Care Directives; Wednesday, May 17, Real Estate and Foreclosure.

S.C. Works Job Coaching

2 to 4 p.m., Thursdays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island, 843-255-6540. Free help with job searches, interviews.

Chess Club

1 to 2 p.m., Saturdays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island, 843-255-6540. Ages 5 and older.

Chess Meet Up 11 a.m., 2nd Saturday of each month, Beaufort

Downtown Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, 843-255-6456. Instructor Henry Otto Seim will show beginners the basics or play a friendly game with more experienced players. All skill levels welcome. Extra boards will be set up.

Chess Meet Up

11 a.m., 3rd Saturday of each month, Lobeco Branch Library, 1862 Trask Parkway, 843-2556479. Instructor Henry Otto Seim will show beginners the basics or play a friendly game with more experienced players. All skill levels welcome. Extra boards will be set up.

LITERATURE

Books Sandwiched In – You’re Going to Be Somebody

12 to 1 p.m., Monday, March 6, USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St, Beaufort. Free. A thought leader in our community discusses a book that has had an impact on the presenter, with questions and discussion to follow. Light refreshments offered. This meeting’s book is You’re Going to Be Somebody by Helen Smith, presented by Carrie Major.

Books Sandwiched In – The Personal Librarian

12 to 1 p.m., Monday, March 13, USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St, Beaufort. Free. A thought leader in our community discusses a book that has had an impact on the presenter, with questions and discussion to follow. Light refreshments offered. This meeting’s book is The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray, presented by Wanda Mayse.

MEETINGS

Maye River Quilters

10 a.m., Saturday, March 4, Palmetto Electric Cooperative, 1 Cooperative Way, Hardeeville. To attend as a guest, RSVP at mayeriverquilters@ gmail.com. For Information and membership forms, call 843-705-9590.

The Beaufort Trailblazers – A

Volunteer Group

8 a.m., first Thursday each month, Herban Marketplace, Beaufort. Anyone interested in supporting or building off-road/dirt/wilderness mountain biking/jogging/walking trails near is encouraged to attend. For more information, call 843-575-0021 or email universitybicycles@ hotmail.com.

League of Women Voters

6 to 7:30 p.m., second Thursday of every month, Meeting Room, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Ladys Island Dr, Beaufort. Free. The Public as well as LWVB members are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be about the topics members have suggested as projects for 2023.

Zonta Club of Beaufort

6 p.m., 4th Tuesday of each month, Smokehouse, Port Royal. Until November 22, we are participating in a service project with a global organization called Free the Girls. We are currently collecting new and gently used bras to help women rescued from trafficking start their own businesses selling the bras. Last year our club collected more than 600 bras and we are hoping to beat that number this year. Our collection sites are Amy Bowman State Farm Agency, 1284 Ribaut Rd., Myrna B. Breland, CPA, 1 Professional Drive, Port Royal, and Nourishing Health Acupuncture and Herbs, 34A Savannah Hwy.

MUSIC

Fripp Island Friends of Music Concert Series

5 p.m., specific Sundays, Fripp Island Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Blvd., Fripp Island. Individual shows are $30. Consider becoming a member of Fripp Island Friends of Music (FIFOM). Membership gives you access to all five concerts, including the post-performance reception where you meet the musicians while enjoying delicious hors d’oeuvres prepared fresh by Harold’s Chef Services. It also helps fund FIFOM’s Music-in-the-Schools program. The basic FIFOM membership, $100, has not changed. To become a member, text or call Vanessa Peñaherrera at 704-807-0255 or email vandy116@gmail.com. Go to frippfriendsofmusic. com for more information. Schedule: March 26, Kim Richey (singer-songwriter).

Jevon Daly

4 p.m. & 8 p.m., Friday, March 10, Coligny Theatre, 1 N Forest Beach Drive, Hilton Head Island. $5 admission for 4 p.m. kids show, $20 admission for 8 p.m. evening show. Purchase tickets for kids show at shorturl.at/xGLQZ. Purchase tickets for the evening show at shorturl.at/dlCIT.

OUTDOORS

Port Royal Cypress Wetlands tours

4:30 p.m., Sunday, March 12; 9 a.m, Friday, March 24; 10 a.m., Saturday, April 8; 9 a.m. Friday, April 28; 9 a.m., Saturday, May 13; 9 a.m. Friday, May 26; Port Royal Cypress Wetlands. Bring your holiday guests to a free guided tour of the wetlands sponsored by Friends of Port Royal Cypress Wetlands and led by Master Naturalist Jill Moore. Moore is full of information about alligators, turtles, trees, plants, and the variety of birds that call the wetlands home. This is a great opportunity to learn about this magical place. Tours are limited in size so sign up now. Kat Bray, Tour Coordinator, info@foprcw.org.

RUNNING

Superhero Wellness 5K Fun Run & Walk

8 a.m., Saturday, March 4, 1015 Bay Street.

Dress in your best Super Hero costume.

Certified 5K course will run through downtown and across the scenic Woods Bridge. Race is part of CFA’s Women’s Wellness Retreat. Packet pickup will be at Grounded Running located at 2139 Boundary Street, Suite 108 (the Old K-Mart) on Friday March 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday morning at the starting line from 7 to 7:30 a.m. Event is pet and stroller friendly. For more information about all of the Women’s Wellness events, visit USCBCenterForTheArts. com. To register, visit http://bit.ly/3ZvG3Dn.

SPORTS Beaufort Masters Swim Team

6 to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, Wardle Family Port Royal YMCA. Coached practices.

Beaufort International Film Festival wraps with awards

From staff reports

The 17th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival wrapped on Sunday night with winners named in 19 different categories.

More than 12,000 people from five countries enjoyed six days of film screenings that also included workshops and special presentations.

The winners are as follows: Pat Conroy Lifetime

Achievement: John Bailey and Carol Littleton, Los Angeles

Santini Patriot Spirit Award: David C. Kniess Jr., Salt Lake City

Behind the Scenes Award: Dan Rogers, Irmo, SC

Best Screenplay: Orson, Written by Jared Egol, Winter Park, Fla.

Best Animation: Sonata

Directed by Madison Crisp, Abby Davenport, Fern Singleton, Vic Sosa, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Best Short Film: Captive Directed by Preston Pearson, Jason Boesch, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Best Documentary Feature: Storming Caesars Palace, Directed by Hazel Garland-Pooler, New York

Best Documentary Short: Veterans Journey Home: Kalani’s Story, Directed by Frederick Marx, Oakland, Calif.

Best Feature: Publish or Perish Directed by David Liban,

Centennial, Colo.

Best Comedy: Ms. Rossi 2: Ms. Rossi Takes the Cake, Directed by Pat Battistini, Santa Clarita, Calif.

Best Ensemble Cast: Ms. Rossi

2: Ms. Rossi Takes the Cake, Directed by Pat Battistini, Santa Clarita, Calif.

Best Musical Score: Composer Chris Kalafus, Past Prologue Stratford, Conn.

Best Actress: Karen Pittman, Toy Phone, New York

Best Actor: Timothy McCracken, Publish or Perish, Denver

Best Director: David Liban, Publish or Perish, Denver

Audience Choice: The Year of the Dog, Directed by Rob Grabow, Bozeman, Mont.

Susan A. K. Shaffer

Humanitarian Award: Waniyetu

Wowapi: Winter Count, Directed by Richard Steinberger, Beaufort

Volunteer of the Year Award: Stacy Applegate, Beaufort

The Beaufort International Film Festival is produced by the Beaufort Film Society. The Beaufort Film Society is a nonprofit, 501 (c) 3, member-supported organization dedicated to providing the highest levels of entertainment and education to the public from all areas of the film industry. For more information, visit http:// www.beaufortfilmfestival.com

Gifts from the Boneyard, a Fiber Art Exhibit

By Margit Resch

Special to The Island News Boneyard? What is a boneyard, you ask? Don’t feel bad that you don’t know. Most people I asked lately had no idea. No, no, don’t look up “boneyard” in the dictionary. Not only are the definitions depressing, they take you in the entirely wrong direction. Instead, ask an old Beaufortonian, or a nature lover, or a beachcomber, or, even better, go to Hunting Island and actually experience a boneyard: walk along the beach to the southern end of the island and, there, ahead of you: a boneyard!

A magical collection of expired trees. No leaves, no needles, no bark, some still standing, most of them totally uprooted, often intertwined in a close embrace, resting comfortably on the soft sand.

Nature’s work of art, created by the encroaching ocean waters and winds, constantly changing.

Gifts to those among the millions of visitors coming to Hunting Island every year, who can find beauty in this unusual display on our barrier islands, who can unhinge their imagination and imbue these intriguing arboreal exhibits with meaning. Some are even gifted with the abili-

ty to express their experience in works of art.

Three of these artists will share their gorgeous renditions with you in the Maritime Center of the Port Royal Sound Foundation — an event called Gifts from the Boneyard, Art Inspired by the Landscapes of Hunting Island.

The exhibit is the brain child of featured fiber artist Barbara James, who is the President of Art Cloth Network, founded 25 years ago, whose members from the U.S. and Canada are juried in. And she founded Fiber Artists of Beaufort.

A fiber artist, you ask?

Well, don’t feel bad. I had to ask, too. Basically, fiber art includes weaving, felting, basketry and surface design, among others. Fabric, so James says in her Artist Statement, “is endlessly fascinating. It excites our senses as it moves and pushes the artist, and the collector, to fully embrace the sight, sound, touch and even smell of the cloth; it is not passive.”

James expresses her creative self on pure white silk.

After clamping, stitching or folding the fabric, she immerses it in different colored dye baths to create, as she puts it, “depth and mystery. Then using any combina-

tions of personally designed silk screens, rubber stamps, stencils, brushes, paint rollers … I press, paint or roll color onto the fabric adding multiple patterns of interest. I often incorporate hand-stitching, transfer from original photos and beading. The result is a vivid original piece of art that combines representational and abstract imagery.”

James’ passion for “cloth art” goes back to her childhood, when she designed and sewed her own clothes, and was scientifically substantiated when she studied textiles and earned a BA and MA.

After her retirement from teaching at Ohio State University, she succumbed to her passion and started to create fiber art. Her work is inspired by her travels, current events, and by “the lush and exotic landscapes” of her home here in Beaufort. Nine of her unusual, gorgeous fiber art creations will be for sale at the exhibit.

The other two artists, also from the Lowcountry, are photographers Joan Eckhardt and Andy Stephens. They share with James their love for and support of Hunting Island. Both have helped illustrate Carol Corbin’s fabulous book on the history, ecology and physical beauty of Hunting Island State Park,

Wild Island Nature. Their pictures (in the exhibit on canvas, needless to say) capture the magic of the boneyard in so many unexpected and intriguing ways.

Eckhardt’s magical photographs reflect her passion for nature and creative portraiture. Her work has been juried into regional and national exhibits, including the South Carolina chapter of the National Association of Women Artists. She joined the Photography Club of Beaufort in 2007, was elected its president, and became involved in the book Beauty of Beaufort, the proceeds from which were donated to the Friends of Hunting Island, resulting in her intimate bond with the park.

In her words: “I joyfully spend many hours every year exploring the ever changing, intriguing, mysterious boneyard on Hunting Island and walking the beaches looking for shorebirds. Additionally, I have recently contributed all the images for a book for new gardeners in the Lowcountry. I always seek to evoke an emotional response and connection with the viewer which will encourage them to linger a bit longer at the print or canvas.”

So, when you come to see the exhibit, linger a while in

front of Joan’s photographs and pay attention to your response.

Stephens, after retiring to the Beaufort area 12 years ago from a career in financial services and technology, rekindled his interest in nature photography, which had begun in high school. He loves to travel with his wife and dog throughout the southeast, photographing the natural beauty of the region.

His pictures have been displayed and sold in local art and craft shows. He is passionate about Hunting Island and serves on the Friends of Hunting Island Board.

“I guess my fascination with the boneyard is that it is ever changing,” he said. “I have been visiting there since 2010 and have never found it to be the same.”

To this day, he is wondering what it might become.

“I like the fact that some trees are able to ‘hang on’ longer than others and remain standing even with the surf smashing around their trunk day in and day out. I remember my first visit. After crossing the bridge on the Nature Center Trail and walking a short distance through some trees, I reached the beach with maybe a 2-foot drop-off.

Today the path stays flat to the waters edge with no ele-

WANT TO GO?

What: Gifts from the Boneyard

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, beginning March 2; Opening reception is from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, March 2

Where: Port Royal Sound Foundation’s Maritime Center, 310 Okatie Highway Admission: Exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. More info: All exhibit pieces are for sale. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Maritime Center and the Friends of Hunting Island.

vation change. And the trees I previously walked through are now part of the boneyard.”

The Boneyard art exhibit will open March 2 and run for a month at the Port Royal Sound Foundation’s Maritime Center at 310 Okatie Highway, in Okatie. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opening reception is on Thursday, March 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. Both, the exhibit and the reception, are open to the public. Admission is free. All exhibit pieces are for sale. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Maritime Center and the Friends of Hunting Island.

Award winning cinematographer and editor, John Bailey and wife Carol Littleton, receive the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Winners of the Susan A. K. Shaffer Humanitarian Award for the short documentary “Waniyetu Wowapi Winter Count” take the stage.

Rebecca and Ron Tucker close the 17th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival’s awards ceremony.

David Liban was awarded Best Director for “Publish or Perish.”

The film was awarded Best Feature, Best Actor, and the Audience Choice Award.

David Kneiss, Jr. and members of Kilo Company receive the Santint Patriotic Spirit Award for the documentary “The Gift.” Photos by Jeff Evan/The Island News

Free read-aloud event set for Port Royal Saturday

From staff reports

Students from Beaufort Academy, Beaufort High School, and Battery Creek High School will be reading to their younger peers at a Teddy Bear Picnic from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 4, at the Port Royal Farmers Market at the Naval Heritage Park at 1615 Ribaut Road.

Free and open to the public, this special event is hosted by DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization and held as part of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center’s seventh annual March Forth.

Student volunteers from DAYLO and the National Honor Society will be on hand — and on the Farmers Market grounds near the gazebo — to read picture books to children (Kindergarten through 3 rd grade) and their families, accompanied by an audience of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. In collaboration with the Storybook Shoppe children’s book -

store of Bluffton, giveaways and readings will also be available honoring the annual Paper Bag Princess Day, celebrating the empowering message of Robert Munsch’s

children’s classic. Light refreshments (juice boxes and cookies) will also be provided for guests. Children are encouraged to bring their favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal to

join in the fun.

To learn more about the full schedule of free and ticketed events for March Forth, please visit https:// marchforth2023.eventbrite. com

Trio draws inspiration from art and culture

By Michael Johns

Special to The Island News

USC Beaufort Chamber Music

presents its final concert of the season at 5 p.m., Sunday, March 12, with works inspired by art, folk music, and refined genius. Artistic Director/pianist Andrew Armstrong, violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, and cellist Raphael Bell will dazzle with brilliant technique, entertain with penetrating musicianship, and reach across the footlights to share the joyful act of creation and performance.

The concert begins with “Suite for Violin and Piano” by William Grant Still. Acknowledged by his peers as “the Dean” of African-American composers, William Grant Still pursued a wide-ranging career that included jazz arranging, orchestrating for film and television, and composing more than 150 concert works and eight operas.

“Suite for Violin and Piano,” from 1943, is a musical impression of three artworks created during the 1930’s by African American artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. In Richmond Barthé’s sculpture, “African Dancer,” Still blends reflective, bluesy thoughts with forward-driving, assertive music, conveying a temporal dimension the sculpture is unable to express. The music for Sargent Johnson’s chalk drawing, “Mother and Child,” is a high-soaring, sentimental lullaby. In Augusta Savage’s “Gamin,” a whimsical bust of a young man, Still presents the figure’s nonchalance with syncopated rhythm and blues gestures.

Arno Babadjanian is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century Soviet Armenian

2nd annual Art Affair: An Evening of Culinary and Conroy

From staff reports Technical College of the Lowcountry and the Pat Conroy Center are teaming up for the second annual Art Affair: An Evening of Culinary and Conroy.

The event, on Thursday, March 9, features the Conroy Center and the Culinary Institute of the South. Checkin starts at 5:45 p.m., and the event starts at 6 p.m.

There will be Southern food and storytelling featuring Chef Miles Huff; local chef and cookbook author Debbi Covington; and Chef Sommelier Jacqueline Orak. They are joined by Jonathan Haupt, Executive Director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Tickets, which cost $125, include all food, wine and fun.

Proceeds benefit the students and academic programs at TCL. RSVP at www. tcl.edu/art. “Coastal dressy casual” attire recommended. Limited to 75 guests.

composers. A virtuoso pianist and respected teacher, his classical and popular compositions are instantly appealing. Babadjanian’s style was influenced by Armenian folk music, classical music, and Soviet and American popular music; he composed frequently for film and television.

“Piano Trio in F-sharp minor”

(1952) is characterized by a dramatic theme which runs across all three movements and Armenian folk elements evoked with lyrical, ornamented melodies and irregular rhythms.

The concert concludes with a single work, “Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor,” Opus 49, by one of greatest musical talents to ever grace a stage, Felix Mendelssohn. Raised in a literate household, home-schooled, exposed to the world of ideas and lessons of history, driven and filled with a zest for life, Mendelssohn became an accomplished painter, virtuoso pianist and organist, respected conductor, erudite man of letters, and visionary educator. As a composer he was able to combine classical-era sensibility — tuneful melodies, symmetry, and balance — with romantic-era self-indulgence — ardor, tension, and virtuosic exuberance. Balancing these polarities makes for a potent work that is satisfying for both head and heart.

Globe-trotting Artistic Director/ pianist Andrew Armstrong will continue to share engaging insights into whatever crosses his mind and leave listeners breathless with his brilliant pianism. Andy has regularly delighted audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States as a recitalist and

concerto-soloist, in chamber music concerts with the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, and as a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi, Boston Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti has a musical career of broad versatility and accomplishment. Former concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra and Oregon Symphony, in 2007 she was named inaugural Director of Mercer University’s McDuffie Center for Strings, a position she continues to hold and has led with distinction, guiding students to heights they might not have otherwise imagined. A frequent collaborator with violinist James Ehnes, their duo and string quartet chamber music performances and recordings have received critical acclaim.

Cellist Raphael Bell enjoys a varied career as a principal cellist, chamber musician, teacher, and festival director. He is currently principal cellist of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra (Belgium), founder and co-director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival (Virginia) and

WANT TO GO?

Who: Pianist Andrew Armstrong, violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, cellist Raphael Bell

What: USCB Chamber Music

When: 5 p.m., Sunday, March 12

Where: USCB Center For The Arts, 801 Carteret Street

Tickets: Go to www. uscbchambermusic.com or call 843-208-8246, Monday through Friday.

co-Artistic Director of La Loingtaine in Montigny-sur-Loing (France). A graduate of The Juilliard School, Bell has also performed internationally in major orchestras, festivals, chamber music ensembles, and with an impressive number of distinguished artists. Experience in-the-moment creativity with artists who have crafted major careers and arrive in Beaufort with the performance-earned recognition that they will deliver a memorable concert. Enjoy respected and lauded artists playing music for you as they create an encounter that is intriguing, soothing, probing, and joyous. If being in the hall on the 12th is impossible, join us virtually by Live-Stream and On-Demand. All virtual concerts are professionally produced, creating great viewing opportunities. On-Demand is accessible four days after the concert and available to view at your leisure for three weeks. For concert/ticket information, go to www.uscbchambermusic.com or call 843-208-8246, Monday through Friday. The concert is Sunday, March 12, 5:00pm at the USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort.

From staff reports

Nine local artists will be featured in the inaugural Home Studio Art Tour and Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 18 in the Freedman Arts District in Beaufort. The tour is free and open to the public.

Nestled among the residential streets of the historic Northwest Quadrant and Old Commons neighborhoods are the private studios of several artists who will open their doors to the public for one day. Visitors will have the opportunity to see some artists at work, and to view and purchase a wide range of original work directly from the artists. Tour maps will be available at each site.

Easily walkable, the self-guided tour will encompass private studios on Boundary, Church, Duke, and Greene streets, all part of Beaufort’s Historic District and the newly defined Freedman Arts District. The sites/artists are: 710 Boundary Street – Pat Carney and DuWayne Rude, photography; 1002 Church Street – Nina Snyder, oil painting; 912 Duke Street – Amy Minson, pastel and oil painting; 1210 Duke Street – Julie Roberts, shell jewelry and decor; 1409 Duke Street – Abraham Brown, mixed media; 1105 Greene Street – Linda Silk Sviland, Marc Sviland and Kathy Uzzle, handpainted silk apparel, woodturning and photography.

Mercy Me to host Mark Twain’s ‘The Diaries of Adam and Eve’

From staff reports Mercy Me Sober Living will host a production of Mark Twain’s “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” as a fundraiser dinner theatre on Saturday, March 11, at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 157 Lady’s Island Drive.

Written by one of America’s greatest storytellers, “The Dairies of Adam and Eve” tells the story of Adam and Eve from the perspective of each in the form of diary entries. The diaries are funny and clever interpretations of these classic biblical tales adapted for the stage by David Birney.

The show stars Tonya Martin as Eve, Eric Gibbs as

Adam, and Tammy Evans as The Serpent. It will be directed by Jon Sharp, former associate director of All in the Family, and director of Archie Bunker’s Place and other shows.

The mission of Mercy Me Sober Living is to assist people in their recovery from drugs and alcohol with safe, affordable housing, integrating 12-step recovery with comprehensive education, and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) or other medications as prescribed by their physicians. In 2021, Beaufort County reported 229 suspected overdoses of people of an average age of 34, an increase

since the beginning of the pandemic. Opioid overdose deaths in South Carolina increased by 13 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This follows a national spike in overdose deaths during Covid-19 of almost 50% during the period of February and May 2020.

Of the national overdose deaths in 2020, opioids reportedly accounted for about 75 percent of all overdose deaths. Approximately 80 percent of those deaths included synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. South Carolina experienced overdose death increases of more than 30 percent during the first

eight months of 2020.

Mercy Me Sober Living provides resources for survivors of substance abuse disorder which are elusive for many addicts. Safe housing for MAT has not been available anywhere in the county until now. Mercy Me has provided a starting point for survivors of Substance Abuse Disorder by offering safe, sober, MAT-friendly housing, and access to recovery programs. Dinner includes a choice of lasagna or vegetarian entrée with assorted desserts and beverages including iced tea, coffee, or water. Tickets are $40 at the door or $35 in advance and may

WANT TO GO?

What:

be made by calling 843-2632520. For more information about Mercy Me, visit www. mercymesober.org

From front to back, Tonya Martin, Eric Gibbs, and Tammy Evans.

1st Home Studio Art Tour to be held March 18

Scenes from a previous Teddy Bear Picnin at the Port Royal Farmer’s Market. Submitted photos.

Andrew Armstrong

Amy Schwartz Moretti Raphael Bell

Entrenched career politicians stagnating governance

I’ve recently read an extensive interview with President Biden’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain. The intuition I came away with from this interview was just how present day politics and politicians serving in the U.S. Congress have become some sort of a club, with leadership basically working within a Catch-22 (for us) election process involving career politicians and career lobbyists.

I’ll try explaining. Klain had become interested in politics since high school. At Harvard Law School he first came into Biden’s orbit in 1986 with work on Biden’s chaired Senate Judiciary Committee. This basically started Klain’s career interests as a Democratic strategist. He spoke of his career (to date) as splitting between the government and private sectors. That makes about 35 to 40 years of involvement of some kind in U.S. politics from college to now; he’s 61 years old. In reference to “old” teams working in the White House, he spoke highly of the importance of having an “experienced” staff (meaning decades in government) in order to get legislation pushed through our congress. I thought, “This is a real plug for career politicians! … Here I thought success was having partisan control of both the House and Senate!”

Presently, one should look at and study the struggles of our U.S. campaign finance laws and just how money is now playing

TIM WOOD

an exaggerated role in our elections. During my research, I ran across this quote from Abraham Lincoln from a Nov. 21, 1864 letter in which he warns colleagues of a crisis approaching: “As a result of the war, corporations have become enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong it’s rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is concentrated in few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”

I strongly related to that statement and it increased my respect for Lincoln even more, knowing we are, indeed, closer to this “state of the union” than ever before. Financial manipulation within elections in exchange for governmental influence has been happening within this country’s entire existence. One could have been optimistic with Roosevelt’s Tillman Act in 1907: a ban on bank and corporate political funding, but that law was and is largely ignored, and, it’s still on the books.

Then we have a progression of SCOTUS decisions and con-

gressional acts attempting to regulate the influence of money in elections summarized here: 1944 (PAC), 1950 (electronic campaigning), 1971 (FECA – too well intended to last). Then came Nixon’s exposed campaign corruption that helped establish the 1974 Federal Election Commission. … Can’t say we didn’t try.

Then along comes SCOTUS with the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision, forever linking campaign fundraising and spending with freedom of speech. Since that time there have been about 32 bills, amendments, or SCOTUS decisions that have continually undermined anti-corruption regulation for campaign finance, mostly lead by Republicans.

In 2012, we had Citizens United v. FEC and the birth of the super-PAC that opened the flood gates for financial (as well as power broker) shenanigans, now controlled by political operatives and lobbyists.

Anyone out there gullible enough not to realize that money and power (more often than not) corrupt people must be living in some kind of dream world. Mix that in with career politicians and you now have what we’re looking at in 2023: An elitists group of political operatives (most all career politicians, both left and right) that crave to hold onto their position of power and ideologies at what ever cost necessary.

Just as Lincoln predicted in 1864. And it is presently widening both the ideology and wealth gap between our countrymen and

countrywomen.

What you see now in our House of Representatives is a minority of extremists holding sway over a majority of congressional legislators. We are witnessing the ferality of non-regulated money flowing into our elections, along with the ferality of many politicians that regularly lie and purposely spread false information. To make matters worse, these political operatives form alliances with the owners of media companies that assist them in their grasp for power and authority by simply helping to divide the U.S. Citizenry; Just as Lincoln warned: “...preying upon the prejudices of the people.”

I’ve often wondered why, when given the chance, regulating campaign finance, making it easier to vote, living by majority rule, installing term limits, and making it a priority to create an election system that encourages noble and moral people to run for public office, never seems to gain ground in today’s world.

Now that I’m older and have a better sense of how our modern world works, I think it is because our leaders today are entrenched within a system of their own political creation during the last 60 or 70 years. I think we will start seeing politicians surviving in this system for decades, if they live long lives. God help us. Both Biden and McConnell each have been in politics for approximately 50 years. Operatives like Klain started in their 20’s.

We are now living in an era of

yearly, continual political fund raising, spending and campaigning. And like the social networking and nepotism of Hollywood, so goes our congressmen and women and our presidents. They are becoming entertainers. It may not be what we want, but it seems out of our control and influence now.

Since I personally think politicians today are nothing more than a subspecies in some distorted version of the entertainment world, this, at least, helps me process what never ceases to amaze me in today’s governance. An example is Ron DeSantis using his political authority to commandeer and completely reform the New College of Florida into his and his minions’ vision of conservative morality. Now that’s entertainment!

Trouble is, it’s our taxes that help to feed it, isn’t it? And just for the record, I believe that the SCOTUS is right up there with them. We need political leadership made up of fresh thinking activists and enforced term limits; Not the same old, entrenched, partisan, career politicians.

Tim and Kristy Wood moved to Beaufort in 1974. He worked as a carpenter in both restoration and new home construction, as well as operating a shop specializing in custom woodwork, Wood on Wood Specs. He is semi-retired, involved with fine woodworking and formerly sat on the City of Beaufort Zoning Board of Appeals.

too moral to be President

News of former President Jimmy Carter’s choice to spend his final days at home under hospice care came as a shock to many, despite the fact that we knew he is 98 years of age and had become very frail. The man had battled brain cancer eight years earlier and had won, so perhaps we were lulled into thinking that he might go on forever.

Certainly we had seen him any number of times with a hammer in hand, working on a project that came under the auspices of his favorite charity, Habitat for Humanity. And this was when he was in his nineties.

Until I became aware of this man’s devotion to the cause, I never thought much about Habitat, much less the name. But take a

moment and ponder the meaning: habitat for humanity, a dwelling or home for any and all humans. Is this too much to expect, that every person should have a decent place to come home to, to rest his or her head in bed at the end of the day?

Evidently our 39th President believed it is not, and he put his sweat and tears and who knows how much money into supporting that notion.

It’s easy to criticize a President, depending upon one’s party affiliation, and that has become an endless pastime for some. I’m the first to admit that I have been very overt about my disdain for No. 45; furthermore, one only has to access the Internet to see there was no lack of the same for Barack Obama or presently for Joe Biden.

Jimmy Carter was no exception to the barrage of insults from critics. But now as this ex-President enters the last weeks, maybe days of his life, perhaps we should take a look at him as a man and not a politician.

I can remember hearing about then-Gov. Carter when he made the decision to run for President, and thinking, “Who is this person? A peanut farmer from

Georgia?” And I admit to some skepticism regarding the individual my party was going to nominate for President.

There is no argument that his presidency was riddled with blunders, and one historian referred to Carter as “the John Quincy Adams of the 20th century – he had good ideas but lacked the political skills to get Congress to enact upon them.”

The relationship, bad blood if you will, between Carter and fellow Democrat Tip O’Neill was notorious. After all, Carter was an outsider, and O’Neill represented the political establishment. And yet another historian has cast James Earl Carter in this way: “no President has had a more successful post-presidency.”

As I was doing my research, I came upon this: This is Jimmy.

Jimmy is 95 years old.

Jimmy had brain cancer at 90.

Jimmy broke a hip at 94. Jimmy fell at home on a Sunday, requiring 15 stitches

and was back to “work” on Monday.

Jimmy is a Badass!

The above was accompanied by a picture of the president, face bruised, with a drill in his hand, working on a house.

It’s worth noting some additional information to make my point about President Carter. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to internal conflicts.”

He established the Carter Center for the advancement of human rights. He also published 40 books.

And under the heading of irony, there is this: the man who is very religious, (might I editorialize here and say he truly walked the walk all of his life), did not drink. Yet he took on many governmental authorized monopolies which included deregulating the beer industry, making it possible for craft breweries to exist today.

Yes, Jimmy admitted to “lusting in his heart,” but I will refrain from drawing any comparisons.

As I write this, President

Carter is still alive, having chosen to forego any more medical treatment. I can only wish that his passing is serene and painless when his time comes. And I would add, “God speed, Mr. President. You have provided a model for humility, integrity and empathy, character traits sorely missing in today’s political quagmire. When you stand before St. Peter, you will surely be judged by what you did for humanity, and not for a title you held.”

And for all of us who also hope to enter those same gates, perhaps it would be appropriate to take a page from the President’s book, and instead of clamoring endlessly about “wokeness,” strive to develop a bit of empathy for those less fortunate. I can tell you from my time volunteering, that there is no better feel-good experience.

An anthem for Black, white and everyone in between

Call me crazy, but someday I’d like to hear Chris Stapleton sing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”

For those who aren’t familiar with Stapleton, he’s an award-winning country singer who is rightly praised for stripping away some of the genre’s Nashville sheen and making music that sounds like the blues and rhythm and blues at its roots. His version of “Tennessee Whiskey” sounds like it’s been around forever, and it’s been embraced by audiences across the board.

He can take a throwaway track like Justin Timberlake’s “Say Something” and its muddled lyrics (“Sometimes, the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all”) and make it sound profound. Heck, his version of Al Green’s “I’m A Ram” from a Dodge commercial a little while back had me racing to buy it, an effort in futility since it’s not been released. But as a commenter

TERRY MANNING

wrote on a YouTube video of the extended commercial, “If he ever does a cover it would hit (Number One) ’cause this boy can sang!” I don’t know the commenter’s ethnicity, but Black people bestow no higher honor upon a singer: “Aretha didn’t sing that song, girl. She sang that song!”

As my friend Jill Wilks might say of Stapleton, “That boy bad.” Stapleton’s voice carries the wear and tear of a lifetime of hard-earned lessons, which I think makes him a perfect match for the song dubbed the Negro — and later, Black — national anthem.

Written by James Weldon Johnson, “Lift Ev’ry Voice

and Sing” debuted in 1900 as a birthday tribute to President Abraham Lincoln. It was performed by schoolchildren at the segregated school where Johnson served as principal.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native was Black excellence personified. He became a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance after moving to New York City with his composer brother to be a songwriter for musical theater. There he flourished as an author, diplomat, lawyer, poet and executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

His biography on the NAACP website states, “While [W.E.B.] Du Bois argued for steeping oneself in a liberal arts education and Booker T. Washington advocated for industrial training, Johnson believed Black Americans should produce great literature and art to demonstrate their equality to whites in terms of intellect and creativity.”

And that he did, especially with “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” He wrote the song as a reflection upon Black Americans’ status at the turn of the century, as they faced the rise of Jim Crow laws intended to roll back progress made during Reconstruction. But rather than becoming mired in the travails of the time, the song is hopeful.

It asks from the first verse that we lift our voices and sing “‘Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty.” The second stanza recounts the stony “road we trod” and “the chastening rod” endured before reminding “Have not our weary feet, Come to the place for which our fathers sighed.” It closes with a pledge: “Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.”

America was Johnson’s “native land,” since he was born here like most

Black Americans. So what God-fearing, self-proclaimed patriot could be mad at this song? But many people were, when the anthem was sung during the Civil Rights Movement, and most recently when the NFL said it would begin having it sung before professional football games.

These people protest the idea of Black Americans having their own national anthem, as if it somehow undermines “The Star-Bangled Banner.” The NAACP actually proclaimed the Johnsons’ hymn the “Negro National Anthem” in 1919, more than a decade before “The Star-Spangled Banner” was adopted as the national anthem by President Herbert Hoover.”

You could ask “who was trying to undermine whom?”

“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” has been acclaimed worldwide and adopted by other groups fighting for freedom and justice. Clark Atlanta University Professor Tim Askew told Smithsonian

magazine in 2020:

“It’s a song that speaks to every group that struggles … I see the struggles of Black people. But I also see the struggles of Native Americans. I see the struggles of Chinese Americans. I see the struggles of women. I see the struggles of gays and lesbians. I see the struggles of Jews. I see the struggles of the human condition.”

So sure, why not let Stapleton wrap that husky twang of his around it? If people teared up over his performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, can you imagine what the world would think of his singing the Black National Anthem on a stage that large?

And think of what it would tell us about what America was, is and still is fighting to become.

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

Mimi Herman has written a fine novel

It is Saturday, cold, but I’ve got a fire in the hearth and my

Eight O’clock coffee. Today we are without a newspaper although there is People’s Pharmacy to fill the void.

I have, however, chosen to stay with “Kudzu Queen” (a novel) and this morning will re-visit the world of Mattie Lee Watson — a 15-year-old girl living in Cooper County, N.C., in 1941.

Cooper County and North Carolina were still hard, rural places in 1941. Most of the residents were farmers focused on cotton, corn and tobacco. It was not entirely desperate, or completely racist, but life was a series of tasks — physically hard tasks involving chickens, hogs, goats and, importantly, coaxing the tobacco and the cotton plants to marketable maturity.

Reading this novel has been a voyage of discovery — actually metaphysical discovery that has taken me back into my own past.

Let me explain.

Twenty years ago, before my mother died, she called me one morning wondering if I would

SCOTT GRABER

drive her up to Plymouth, N.C.

“What’s in Plymouth?” I responded.

“Your mother’s family,” she replied. “Actually there’s a farm and a graveyard in Dardens.”

“Is there any barbecue nearby?”

“We’ll stop at the Skylight Inn at Ayden,” she said.

In the latter stages of her life, my mother became the keeper of her family’s history. In those days that meant going into county courthouses — mostly in North Carolina — and looking at deeds, mortgages and wills. It also involved talking to local historians who had written county-based histories in slim volumes that they published themselves. And it involved church records, family

Bibles and graveyards.

And so I fired-up my mother’s aging Mercedes and we drove north on U.S. Highway 17 into eastern North Carolina, passing through Wilmington, New Bern and Washington. Eventually we found ourselves standing in front of a sagging, two-story house that appeared to be deserted. Just beyond the derelict house was a field that extended for 200 yards to a tree-line. That neglected field had no crop and was entirely inconsistent with my mother’s stories about the sturdy, industrious folk who had worked this land — our ancestors. My mother, sensing my disappointment, said, “Let’s go over to the cemetery.”

As we walked through the overgrown, untended graveyard, she pointed to almost every grave saying; “tuberculosis;” “died in childbirth;” “pneumonia at Fort Fisher.” Beyond a remarkable propensity to die at a young age, I got no sense of who these people were. What they thought. Who or what they feared.

Those who write fiction have the singular task of getting the

reader into their story. Actually the job is getting the reader into the head of the protagonist. No, I take that back, the job is getting the reader to become the protagonist — a transfiguration that eludes all but the very best. But in “Kudzu Queen” Mimi Herman, the author, does this magic and one enters the mind and body of Mattie Lee Watson.

Mattie has always been precocious, but now her body is changing and she is experiencing a sexual awakening that has her confused. That awakening is triggered by Jim Cullowee who has come to Cooper County to sell its tobacco and cotton growing farmers on kudzu — a new, miracle crop that has USDA backing.

Although there is plenty of dialogue in this novel, most of the information and description comes to us from Mattie’s thoughts. It is reminiscent of Scout’s thoughts (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) that were done in voice-over fashion in the movie. Those thoughts give us wonderfully detailed descriptions of her best friend, Lynnette; her brother Danny; her mother

Lydia; her young girlfriends; and the people who populate Cooper County, N.C.

In order to get published in the U.S., one must speak of the racism in the South making certain that particular box is checked. Ms. Herman does this in a way that does not demonize the white folk; or canonize the Black farmers. Rather she gives us Rose — the Mayor’s servant — who maintains her dignity, forthrightness and sense of humor in spite of segregation.

As I read last night I couldn’t help but think these Cooper County people were actually my own tobacco-tending ancestors. I could see the stoicism that my mother often mentioned. I could relate to the fatalism, the sudden death, and believe that my ancestors were pretty much the same as those depicted in “Kudzu Queen”. Notwithstanding my connection, Mimi Herman has written a fine novel.

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

Kentucky is having amazingly warm weather for February and actually broke records the other day. My grass is turning green and soon everything will be budding and we will be out mowing.

Kentucky has also been in the news about having a spiritual revival at the Asbury College campus for the last several weeks. We are encouraged to see that many revivals are now happening around the nation.

I’ve written a couple of columns recently about spiritual awakenings, and that we do not need to wait for someone else to repent and cry out for God, we can do it ourselves anytime we want. Revival is a “personal” event that is ignited within the individual when we see our need to be filled with His Holy Spirit and we choose to draw closer to Him.

It is said the Asbury revival started with confessions of sin, sincere repentance, prayer, worship, and testimonies of God restoring and saving those who received Him by faith. This went on for several days and when the word spread to social media, hundreds of people began to come.

So what is at the core of a spiritual movement? Is it repentance? Is it being convicted of sin? Can we see the holiness of God at work?

Some might say these are emotional feelings, but when people testify

they were lost before they arrived, and they gave their lives to God and were saved and restored by His grace and love, we cannot deny the Lord was leading them to His salvation.

This week my wife and I, and a good friend, went to see the new movie, Jesus Revolution. I do not believe it’s a coincidence this is being released at the same time these revivals are going on across America. It’s about how Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa California began back in the late sixties and early seventies. Because of the obedience of a few people who felt the Lord leading them, that revival was one of the largest spiritual movements in history.

The basic theme of the movie is exposing the negative and condescending religious attitudes that have been around since the beginning. Has anyone out

there ever felt snubbed by the church? The spirit of religion relies on tradition and legalism that refuses to see that God loves everyone and is also inviting them to the banquet feast.

Many churches have closed their doors to people who do not look like them and do not fit the preconceived molds that religion requires in order to be included as a member of their clubs. Is this not the sin of prejudice and being judgmental, based on our political opinions?

When we read the New Testament, we see that Jesus also faced much criticism from the religious world because they wanted Him to act like them and support their haughty views. Instead, we discover that He wanted to mingle with the outcasts, the poor, the sick, and those who felt rejected. He ate with them, prayed for them, and em-

braced them as precious human beings whom the Father loved as much as anyone.

In fact, Christ came to sacrifice His life for all who would accept that He was the Father’s plan to save those who believe. He boldly rebuked the leaders of the church for being blind and refusing to understand spiritual truth.

The ones who thought they knew everything about God, actually knew very little. One problem with this arrogant attitude is that it tries to control instead of seeing others as God sees them. If Jesus were here today, sadly His teachings would not be welcome in many churches.

There is a huge difference between being religious and having a personal relationship with God. There are many divisions in the spiritual

realm, but this is the most deceptive.

God’s message to everyone including the religious is that He is pleased with consistent faith and obedience. There are many levels of commitment and dedication, but God is seeking those who want all of Him and are willing to give all of themselves to Him. Every person decides what percentage they will receive and how much they will give.

Many pretend to serve God by only attending church while living a spiritually lukewarm life. Mary was so desperately in love with Jesus, she anointed Him with costly perfume as a way to express her worship and adoration. When Christ becomes our Lord, we will live in the awareness of His presence.

Learn more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com

BILLY HOLLAND

God’s invitation is to the entire world

LIVING ON PURPOSE

Warship renamed for Robert Smalls

From staff reports

Stealing the Confederate ship Planter and delivering her to the U.S. Navy in 1862 made Beaufort’s Robert Smalls a hero.

Should the United States tangle with its modern-day foes in the Pacific, it’s possible Smalls’ name may again earn at least a mention.

On Monday, Feb. 27, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced that the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser formerly named USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) will be renamed USS Robert Smalls (CG 62).

The gesture didn’t come from out of the deep blue ocean.

The decision arrived after a congressionally mandated Naming Commission outlined several military assets across all branches of service that required renaming due to confederate ties. In September 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accepted all recommendations from the naming commission and gave each service until the end of 2023 to rename their assets.

“I am proud to rename CG 62 after Robert Smalls. He was an extraordinary American and I had the pleasure of learning more about him last year when I visited his home in South Carolina,” Del

Toro said Monday in a U.S. Navy release. “The renaming of these assets is not about rewriting history, but to remove the focus on the parts of our history that don’t align with the tenets of this country, and

instead allows us to highlight the events and people in history who may have been overlooked. Robert Smalls is a man who deserves a namesake ship and with this renaming, his story will continue to be retold and highlighted.”

The logistical aspects associated with renaming the ship have begun and will continue until completion with minimal impact on operations and the crew. CG-62 was commissioned in 1989 and named USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) to honor the Battle of Chancellorsville, a Confederate victory during the Civil War. CG-62 is currently assigned to Carrier Strike Group Five and is forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.

Robert Smalls (1839-1915) was born into slavery in South Carolina. He became a skilled sailor and was an expert navigator of southern coasts.

He was conscripted in 1862 to serve as pilot of the Confederate steamer Planter at Charleston. On May 13, 1862, he executed a daring

escape out of the heavily fortified Charleston harbor with his family, other enslaved people, and valuable military cargo onboard, and successfully surrendered Planter to the U.S. Navy.

Smalls continued as pilot of the ship, but also piloted ironclad Keokuk and other vessels. He ultimately became captain of Planter

An ardent advocate for African Americans, Smalls led one of the first boycotts of segregated public transportation in 1864. This movement led to the city of Philadelphia integrating streetcars in 1867.

After the Civil War, Smalls was appointed a brigadier general of the South Carolina militia, and from 1868 to 1874 he served in the South Carolina legislature.

In 1874, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served for five terms, advocating for greater integration. After his time in Congress, Smalls was twice appointed collector of the Port of Beaufort, S.C. He died at Beaufort in 1915.

VA Disability Compensation Boot Camp

For those veterans who are unfamiliar with VA Disability Compensation, this article will give them the basic information they need to answer the following questions:

1. What is disability compensation?

2. What is military service-connection?

3. How does the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) compute and assign a VA disability rating?

4. Where can a veteran get help with understanding their VA benefits and how to file for those benefits?

5. Where can I get more information on VA Disability Compensation?

What is disability compensation? According to the VBA webpage titled VA Disability Compensation, ( http:// bit.ly/3xU1QJj) and VBA

You Tube Video titled Compensation 101: What Is Disability Compensation? ( https://bit.ly/3xYtwNe), VA disability compensation offers a monthly tax-free payment to veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to veterans whose service made an existing condition worse.

Veterans may qualify for VA disability benefits for physical conditions (like a chronic illness or injury) and mental health conditions (like PTSD) that developed before, during, or after service. A veteran must also have separated or been discharged from service under other than dishonorable conditions to be eligible for disability compensation.

For a veteran to be eligible for Disability Compensation, the injury or disease must have been (1) sus-

tained in the line of military duty or (2) a pre-existing injury or disease must have been aggravated by military duty.

Read more about the following related subjects at https://www.va.gov/disability/: Eligibility requirements, how to file a claim, how to file a claim online using VA Form 21-526EZ, what happens after you file a claim, compensation benefits for a surviving spouse/dependents, and how to track the status of a claim or appeal.

How to file for worsening conditions, how to request a decision review or manage a legacy appeal, add or remove a dependent, upload evidence to support your disability claim, and file additional forms for your disability claim.

Change your VA direct deposit information, share your medical records, download your VA benefit letters, and view your VA disability payments history.

What is military serviceconnection?

As stated in VA You Tube Video titled Compensation 101: What Is Service Connection? ( https://bit. ly/3kwLGSW) and VA webpage titled Compensation, https://www.benefits.va.gov/ compensation/index.asp service-connection describes an injury or disease resulting in a disability linked to a veteran’s military service. The VA grants

service-connected disability when evidence shows a link between a claimed medical condition and military service.

To make this determination, the VA reviews all evidence, to include military personnel and medical records, VA medical records, medical examinations and opinions, and records such as private medical records, lay witness statements, line-of-duty investigations, accident reports, serious incident reports, officer and enlisted efficiency reports, photographs, and other corroborating information.

VA uses chronicity and continuity principles to evaluate claims for Service-Connected Disability Compensation Principles relating to VA service-connection are discussed in 38 Code of Federal regulations (CFR) 3.303. The VA uses two primary principles to evaluate evidence supporting a service-connected disability claim. The VA uses Chronicity to look for the combination of evidence to show the claimed condition has been medically diagnosed as chronic and not an isolated finding during military service. Examples of chronic diseases include Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis.

If chronicity cannot be established then the VA uses evidence showing Continuity of a disability or symptoms to help establish whether or not an injury or illness is service-connected. For example, a veteran named Danny files a claim for service-connected disability for a left ankle he injured, when he slipped and fell off of the top of a wet helicopter roof.

Danny may be able to show the VA that he complained of the left ankle

to his comrades after the injury and complained to his wife, civilian employer, and doctor of his ankle hurting for months after his military discharge. If Danny provides the VA with a current medical diagnosis from his civilian doctor of a left ankle injury and condition (along with any other evidence he has like Lay Witness Statements), he is almost certainly going to be able to prove continuity and military service-connection.

How does the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) compute and assign a VA disability rating?

According to the VA’s About Disability Ratings webpage ( http:// bit.ly/3N2Cnns), the VA assigns a disability rating based on the severity of the veteran’s service-connected condition. The VA uses the veteran’s disability rating to determine how much disability compensation the veteran will receive each month, as well as the veteran’s eligibility for other VA benefits.

If a veteran has multiple disability ratings, the VA uses them to calculate the veteran’s combined VA disability rating. Calculating a veteran’s combined disability rating involves more than adding up your individual ratings. That’s why the veteran’s combined rating may be different from the sum of his or her individual ratings.

The VA uses a concept called the “Whole Person Theory” to determine a veteran’s combined disability rating. This method ensures that a disability rating can never be greater than 100%, since a person cannot be greater than 100% able bodied. Veterans should watch the VBA You

Tube Video titled Compensation 101: How Did I Get This Rating? at https://bit. ly/3m1YEbG

Where can a veteran get help with understanding their VA benefits and how to file for those benefits?

Veterans can get help understanding their benefits and help with filing for those benefits from a VA-accredited representative (A VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer-VSO, a VA-accredited Attorney, or a VA-accredited Claims Agent). Veterans should read the information at the VA’s Get Help From An Accredited Representative webpage at http://bit. ly/3enmCdG

Veterans can go to eBenefits ( http://bit.ly/3eXpwpO) to find a local representative (a recognized VSO, attorney, or claims agent) by state/territory, zip code, or the organization’s name. Veterans can also access the VA Office of the VA Office of the General Counsel’s list at http://bit.ly/3QnCk5M to find VA-recognized organizations and VA-accredited individuals.

Last but not least veterans can find a list of SC County Veterans Services Offices at http://bit. ly/3qbLVSL

Where can I get more information on VA Disability Compensation?

Veterans can send a secure message to the VA through ASK VA at https:// ask.va.gov. They can also call the VA benefits hotline at 800-827-100 or call MYVA411 main information line at 800-698-2411.

Learn more about Disability Compensation by reading the information in:

2021 Version of the Federal Benefits for Veterans Dependents and Survivors Guide, at

http://bit.ly/3xUnOMe and https://bit.ly/3kyX5le, VA Welcome Kit, Chapter 4, at https:// www.va.gov/welcome-kit/, Eligibility and filing claims at http://bit. ly/3wYGMRJ http:// bit.ly/3enmCdG, and https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/ Forms needed at http:// bit.ly/3RrzmPi, http:// bit.ly/3XgpDxU Evidence needed at http://bit.ly/3CTtFV0, http://bit.ly/3Z7UGNg, How to file, when to file and evidence needed at http://bit. ly/3w6YGAN, http:// bit.ly/3m6K3M9

How to get service, medical records at http://bit.ly/41ydmaU, http://bit.ly/3kCgBgH • Disability effective date, compensation rate at http://bit. ly/3ZjtTxy http://bit. ly/3ZnUuu0 http://bit. ly/3IEQ8He, VA Disability Compensation Fact Sheet found at https://bit. ly/3Z62IX9 and much other information found at www.va.gov and https://scdva. sc.gov, Past articles in The Island News on Veterans’ Benefits at www. yourislandnews.com

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.

LARRY DANDRIDGE

Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) transits the Philippine Sea on June 8, 2022. The USS Chancellorsville has been renamed the USS Robert Smalls. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Justin Stack/U.S. Navy

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), pauses Sept. 29, 2015, to honor fallen service members from the Battle of Iwo Jima while underway off the island of Iwo To, formerly known as Iwo Jima. The USS Chancellorsville has been renamed the USS Robert Smalls. Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Paolo Bayas/U.S. Navy

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, 3 March 2023

Recruit Training Regiment • Commanding Officer, Colonel B. W. Ward

1st Recruit Training Battalion • Commanding Officer,

PLATOON 1016

Senior Drill Instructor GySgt J. W. Turner

Pvt Ambielli, S. M.

Pvt Baker, D.

PFC Brooks, C. T.

Pvt Burkhardt, J. L.

Pvt Byrd, J. A.

Pvt Case, J. M.

Pvt Casey, J. M.

Pvt Cash, W. G.

Pvt Pascastro, B. J.

Pvt Chen, B

PFC Coffen, V. J.

Pvt Cuyler, M. D. *

Pvt Davidson, C. G.

Pvt Davila, A. T.

Pvt Degroat, J. W. *

PFC Fesperman, C. A.

Pvt Gonyea, G. A.

PFC Harman, Z. T.

Pvt Ijames, I. R.

Pvt Jaime, J. M.

Pvt Johnson, P. A. *

PFC Niebel, J. T.

Pvt Odom, Z. H.

Pvt Pangle, G. A.

Pvt Pullman, M. N.

Pvt Reedy, J. A.

Pvt Rickman, D. W.

Pvt Robert, J.

Pvt Santana, J.

Pvt Seelos, D. T.

PFC Tinsley Jr. R. O.

Pvt Zmajevac, D.

PLATOON 1017

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt J. O. Whitmore

Pvt Ali, I. R.

Pvt Barnett, B. J.

Pvt Castro, J. C.

Pvt Chicaiza, A. S.

PFC Correasoto, S

Pvt Davis, C. N.

Pvt Dennison, S. A.

Pvt Fabian, M. A.

Pvt Fleming, A. M.

Pvt Gordon, T. C.

PFC Gutierrez, R. A.*

Pvt Hall Jr., R. A.

Pvt Kee, N.

Pvt Lefevre IV, R. C.

Pvt Norden, A. M.

Pvt Nutter, J. T.

PFC O’Connell, R. J.

PFC Otts, J. M.

Pvt Paige, J. D.

Pvt Rice, N. C.

Pvt Riveraortiz, J. C.

PFC Robinson, T. D.*

PFC Selitte, R. J.*

Pvt Sherman, M. E.

Pvt Spencer, P. R.

PFC Thomas, N. W.

Pvt Tirado, T. T.

PFC Usmanjunior, N.

Pvt Vong, Q. M.

Pvt Williams, J. E.

PFC Young III, K. A.

PLATOON 1018

Senior Drill Instructor SSgt C. J. Bohorquez

Pvt Almarazmorales, A .G.

Pvt Awe, A. O.

Pvt Bailey, C. A.

Pvt Barrett, J. T.

Pvt Bartolone G. J.

Pvt Campbell, K. D.

Pvt Chavez, A. L.

Pvt David, T. A.

Pvt Estevao, P. W.

Pvt Gonzalez, J. J.

PFC Gonzalezcardona, J. M.

PFC Greth, C. M. *

PFC James, A. A. *

Pvt Jigarjian, M. J.

Pvt Johns, B. M.

Pvt Lamott, C. J.

Pvt Livingston, C. C.

PFC Lowe, L. H.

Pvt Maldonadolopez, A. R.

Pvt Mclean, J. L.

Pvt Montanez, T. J.

Pvt Morochopenaloza, B. S.

Pvt Moxley, A. J.

PFC Nagy, J. R.

PFC Norris, J. P.

Pvt Ouk, J. P.

Pvt Pintoparra, I. D.

Pvt Rodriguez, E. M.

Pvt Taylor, C.

PFC Taylor, K. S.

Pvt Torres, A. J.

Pvt Wassum, A. J.

PLATOON 1020

Senior Drill Instructor SSgt A. Hidalgo

Pvt Akateh E. A.

Pvt Alanizagurcia D. A.

Pvt Amador C. M.

Pvt Avad W.

Pvt Baez C. M.

Pvt Barber G. R.

Pvt Barrios A. J.

Pvt Becker T. D.

Pvt Benjumerivera J.

PFC Bernal Jr. F. D.

Pvt Custer B. T.

PFC Dayss H. L.

Pvt Devlin D. J.

PFC Dodds P. C.

Pvt Edwards N. C.

Pvt Fiallo D. L.

PFC Figueredo Jr. R.*

PFC Garcia M. S.

Pvt Green Jr. E. D.

Pvt Green A. E.

Pvt Jones C. D.

Pvt Lee S.

Pvt Litalien J. T.

Pvt Louis L.

Pvt Mcbride K. D.

PFC Morris J. C.

Pvt Nestell C. J.

Pvt Ortiz D. R.

Pvt Phillips J. M.

Pvt Riverarodriguez R.

Pvt Rose A. J.

Pvt Vandyck C. G.

PFC Warrick B. C. *

PLATOON 1021

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt E. A. McPherson

Pvt Adams G. J.

PFC Breazeale C. M. *

PFC Bright M. C. *

Pvt Brown D. D.

Pvt Brown T. D.

Pvt Deavers D. A.

Pvt Dibernardino N. J.

Pvt Ferroni M. A.

Pvt Friel L. S.

Pvt Gaspardiego T.

Pvt Gonzalezloaiza D. A.

PFC Haynes A. G.

Pvt Herrera C.

Pvt Holland E.

Pvt Howe II J. S.

PFC Hsieh T. S.

Pvt Jones Jr. J. C.

Pvt Jordan J. J.

Pvt Landry D.

Pvt Lin S A.

Pvt Locke E. I.

Pvt Lorenzo Y. A.

Pvt Maloney K. M.

Pvt Owens C. J.

Pvt Pauldo III G. A.

PFC Perez D. O. *

Pvt Powellgordon B. A.

Pvt Ramos J. S.

Pvt Restorosa J. D.

Pvt Riverarugerio A. U.

Pvt Runions C. E.

Pvt Vazquez L. O.

PFC Wu B.

PLATOON 1022

Senior Drill Instructor SSgt B. M. Ryner

Pvt Adjaho, C.

Pvt Andrews, H. C.

Pvt Bonin, M. R.

PFC Campbell, I. S.

PFC Cappel, A. B.

PFC Castillopadilla, G. E.

PFC Castro, A. *

Pvt Chestnut, J. C.

Pvt Connorquiterio, H.

Pvt Echeverria, D. I.

PFC Elston, R. A.

Pvt Emmons, R. A.

Pvt Florida E. A.

Pvt Gehring, N. H.

Pvt Goggans, N. S.

Pvt Gonzalez, S.

Pvt Harris, S. H.

Pvt Hernandezcordova, A. F.

Pvt Herrerarau, C.

PFC Holly, N. D. *

PFC Lucas, C. J.

PFC Messick J. E.

PFC Mulvehill, N. P.

Pvt Ochat, D. P.

Pvt Orosz, K. B.

PFC Pedro, J. W. *

Pvt Pelle, A. J.

Pvt Powell, W. P.

Pvt Redifer, I. J.

PFC Roman J. W.

Pvt Sullivan, T. D.

PFC Tyndale, C.

Pvt Youseff, A. M.

*Denotes Meritorious Promotions

THURSDAY’S CARTOON

Read with caution; not necessarily the opinions of the editorial staff.

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Invisible

How does one find an invisible man?

In our previous message, we met Joe, a fictional man seeking the Church begun by Jesus. He wants to be part of the family of faith described in the New Testament. But such a quest assumes that the Church is actually a visible and identifiable group of people. This was the way that the Church was understood by Christians for the first fifteen centuries of Christianity: a visible family with members, leaders, teachings, and worship that can be clearly recognized.

In recent centuries, there arose a different view of the Church. When new churches were begun in the sixteenth century by the Protestant reformers, each with their own teachings and ways of worship, visible unity no longer seemed possible. It was proposed that the Church is actually an invisible union of all who believe in Jesus, regardless of religious affiliation. Thus, only God can identify the Church and its members, because only God can see into our hearts. If this is true, then Joe’s search for the Church started by Jesus would be impossible, as hopeless as finding an invisible man. But is this what Jesus intended?

Jesus used visible, concrete images for the Church. When Jesus spoke about the Church, he used images such as the light of the world, a flock of sheep led by a shepherd, and a city set on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Such images show that Jesus intended his Church to be visible and recognizable. His followers are to be united in his truth, reflecting the unity he shares with the Father. (John 17:21) Jesus gave his apostles authority and sent them out to continue his ministry until he returns in glory. (Matt 28:18-20)

In the New Testament, the Church can be clearly identified. The Church could be recognized by its teachings, which were the same everywhere. (Eph 4:4-6) It could be recognized by its worship, which centered around the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. (1 Cor 11) The Church could also be identified by its leaders, who taught and led with authority received from Jesus. We see this authoritative leadership throughout the Acts of the Apostles, and especially during the important theological deliberations of Acts 15.

The Church is the visible body of Christ.

One of Paul’s favorite images for the Church is “the body of Christ.” (1 Cor 12) By its very definition, a body is the physical aspect of us that is visible to others. Our visible bodies manifest our invisible souls. It is only because of your body, for example, that your soul can communicate and act in the world. Christians are indeed united spiritually in the Holy Spirit, but they are also meant to be united in a visible family of faith. In order to faithfully teach as Jesus taught and serve as he served, the Church needs to be visible, just as the Lord’s body was visible to his contemporaries.

We should expect the Church to still be recognizable today. It will have grown and developed over the last two thousand years, but the Church would still be recognizable as a visible family of faith, with the same essential elements it had in the time of the apostles. By looking for these essential elements today, one can still seek out the Church begun by Jesus.