Ott
Elect Experience
David
Four Decades of Service In Beaufort County
Election Day June 9th, 2020
WWW.OTTFORCORONER.COM
MAY 21–27, 2020 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Beaufort students protest peacefully for graduation
Graduating Seniors from Beaufort and May River high schools make their feelings known as they hold signs protesting the decision to hold “virtual commencement ceremonies” offered to them. The seniors and their parents, along with other supporters, marched Saturday through the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
By Mike McCombs Many Beaufort County high school seniors and their parents are unhappy there will be no traditional outdoor graduation ceremonies this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And some of them came together in Beaufort’s Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park on Saturday to voice their displeasure, peacefully of course. The Beaufort County School District has allowed for each school to plan and hold virtual indoor ceremo-
nies. The individual INSIDE ceremonies are being Beaufort filmed by the school Academy plans to hold district with the in- in-person, tent of putting them outdoor graduation on social media. Class of All this because for 2020, A11 the district deems outdoor ceremonies in football stadiums to be unsafe. Jamie and Liz Bodie, parents of a May River High School senior, started a Facebook group, “Beaufort
County Class of 2020 needs a proper graduation,” which now has more than 900 members. One of those members, Beaufort High School’s Heather Butler, was responsible for Saturday’s protest. “I saw the emails (in the group) that people said they got and that nothing was changing,” Butler said. “And I thought what about a peaceful protest about this … the schools,
SEE PROTEST PAGE A2
Bay Point project moving forward
American Legion National Vice Commander Paul Espinoza places a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans memorial as a part of the Memorial Day Observance on May 29, 2017 at the Wall in Washington, D.C. Photo by Lucas Carter/ The American Legion.
Beaufort County planning officials reverse earlier decision on development, allow planning to move forward for ecotourism-styled resort By Mindy Lucas Reversing its earlier decision, Beaufort County’s planning department has given the go-ahead to developers wanting to build an ecotourism resort on Bay Point Island. After receiving a newly submitted application, members of the county’s Staff Review Team (SRT) gave approval to a conceptual plan for the high-end resort at their most recent meeting, saying the project now satisfies the county’s definition of ecotourism. “The decision today … is not any type of endorsement of the development of the special use on the island,” Beaufort County’s Community Development Department Director Eric Greenway said. Greenway went on to say planners would still have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals and a public hearing on the project. The “virtual meeting” aired on The County Channel and the county’s Facebook page on Tuesday, May 5.
Remembering those who sacrificed for us By Bill Oxford
E
very crisis has new heroes. During the 9/11 attacks, they were the first responders running into burning and crumbling buildings as others ran out. Now, during the Coronavirus pandemic, the most visible
EDITOR’S NOTE
Bill Oxford is the National Commander of The American Legion.
heroes are the health care professionals, who are saving others and risking their own lives while
doing so. These heroes have much in common with the people that we honor today – America’s fallen veterans. They are men and women who have sacrificed their own lives so others could live. They are both elite and ordinary. They are elite in the sense of character.
Giving your life so others could live is the ultimate definition of selfless. They are ordinary in the fact that they represent the diverse fabric of our country. They are rich and poor, black and white,
SEE HEROES PAGE A3
Barber shops, salons open again in Beaufort By Mike McCombs and Bob Sofaly John Harvey was getting his own hair cut Monday at the end of his first day back at work at Harvey’s Barber Shop on Bay Street. For seven weeks, the shop was dormant as close-contact services, such as barber shops and salons had been closed by order of South Car-
olina Governor Henry McMaster as the state tried to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. “I had customers mail me money,” Harvey said. “They said this is for the haircut I missed. “Then they mailed me another check another two weeks later. This time they wrote, ‘This is for the hair-
cut my wife wouldn’t let me get because she likes my hair longer.” John and his brother, Ray, were busy Monday but happy to be back at work. “It’s good to be back, good to see faces, good to see people, good to
SEE OPEN PAGE A4
Right: The Beaufort Day Spa was back and open for business on Monday, May 18 after being closed for two months because of the coronavirus. Co-owner Janet Poole gives fellow co-owner Christina Byrne a facial to see how latex-free gloves were going to work before working with clients. Both said they couldn’t feel any appreciable difference. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
SEE PROJECT PAGE A4 We are. Accreditation
BEER GARDENING
SECRET WEAPON Customers enjoy dining by the creek.
Beaufort Memorial’s disinfection robot effective on COVID-19.
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