FREE
The Island News formerly Lady’s Island News
YOUR Local Newspaper
Bringing our community together
May 28 - June 3, 2009
Covering Lady’s Island, St. Helena Island, Dataw Island, Fripp Island, Port Royal, Beaufort
New McTeer Bridge span moving forward Continued on page 7
Beaufort’s Hayden Furman, 10, tours NYC on Google’s dime by John C. Williams
After an expenses-paid trip to tour New York City last week, including the FAO Schwartz toy store, it didn’t seem to matter so much that Mossy Oaks fourth grader Hayden Furman didn’t win Google’s national contest to draw his vision of “one wish for the world.”
The grand prize included a new laptop computer and $15,000 scholarship for the student and $25,000 to his or her school for technology purchases.
Furman, 10, was selected from a pool of 28,000 students to represent South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina in the annual Google contest that’s included as part of school writing assignments. He was one of 40 finalists flown to New York City, where he competed against finalists from the other 10 regions. “It was incredible,” said his mother, Deon Furman, one day after returning. “Google spared no expense in making this a special trip. It was Hayden’s first trip to New York and his first flight, so this is something he’ll always remember.”
Hayden said he found inspiration for his drawing from working with homeless families through his church. With his doodle, he wrote: “Always Having What You Need: My wish for the world is that everyone has what they need. This includes clothes, housing, medicine, food, money, and love. Too many people are living without these things and it makes me sad. I think if people had everything they needed we would have less problems in the world.”
found to help the Earth prosper once more.”
The grand prize winner was Christin Engelberth, a sixth grader at Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, Texas. Her doodle, “A New Beginning,” expressed her wish that “out of the current crisis, discoveries will be
To see her doodle and others, including Hayden Furman’s, go to http://www.google.com/doodle4google/ .
‘Critter Fest’ heralds re-opening of Estuarium in Port Royal by John C. Williams
Critters are the stars of Saturday’s grand re-opening of the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal as owner and curator Bob Bender welcomes back the shrimp, crabs and fish that make his wildlife center special.
renovation and expansion thanks for a $45,000 state grant. The unique center opened in its current location at the corner of Port Royal’s Paris Avenue and 14th Street in 2002 as a private, non-profit corporation.
The “Critter Fest 2009” promises kids activities, barbecue, music, a touch-tank filled with local animals, door prizes and free tours of the Estuarium. The event is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Since its first days, Bender and the Estuarium have provided educational programs on site, in the field and in the classroom for schools thought Beaufort County and in neighboring Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties. Thousands of children have learned about the life cycle of the marshes, creeks, rivers and sounds that make the Lowcountry coast such a vital part of the eco-system.
The Estuarium – so named to reflect that it includes aquariums filled with species found in Lowcountry estuaries – has been under
In This Issue NEWS
PROFILE
NEWS
Student art show
Josh Quesada
Coming soon Willy Wonka Jr.
SEE PAGE 11
SEE PAGE 14
SEE PAGE 17