ISLAND GIRLS NIGHT OUT
1002 Bay Street • BEAUFORT • (843) 379-3565
“Beaufort” and Coastal Christmas Ornaments, Women’s Apparel and Accessories, Decorative Flags and Chimes, Men’s Hats and Socks, “Mudpie” Infant Clothing, Arts, Crafts and Gifts, Wildbird Feeders and Houses, Toys, Games and Puzzles.
OCTOBER 12 - 18, 2017
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
SHRIMP FEST Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park was the backdrop for the popular Beaufort Shrimp Festival on Oct. 6-7 in downtown Beaufort. There was live music, children's activities, an abundance of SC fresh wild caught shrimp, an arts and craft market and more. There was also a shrimp peeling competition for the kids.
Local restaurants competed with each other by putting their unique spins on fresh local shrimp. The winners of this year’s competition were The Cottage in Bluffton for the Best Shrimp Recipe and Southern Graces of Beaufort was named the People’s Choice/Silver Cup winner. Meanwhile, the Sea Island Rotary Club hosted its annual
Charity Shrimp Race, where 5,000 floating rubber shrimp were dropped in the Beaufort River adjacent to Waterfront Park. There was also the Run Forrest Run 5K bridge run/walk. Stephen Noble won the race with a time of 00:17:36.6 The Beaufort Shrimp Festival is produced by Main Street Beaufort, USA.
A string of toxic emails between board of education members over comments made by the chairman that critics of the board will “die and go to hell” also revealed that one had told another that she hoped “she would die or fall off a cliff.” The exchange started when local activist and former school board member Jim Bequette emailed members of the media and school board members that Beaufort County School District board of education Chairman Earl Campbell, who represents District 1 in Northern Beaufort County, should resign from his post on the board. At an Oct. 3 board meeting, Campbell, who has served on the board for more than 20 years, said, “Sometimes people get their blood pressure up staying negative, but you will die and go to hell and Earl Campbell these kids will still be here and some of us will still be here.” He appeared to be targeting Citizens Advocating Responsible Education (CARE), a group of local activists who have been critical of the board and the district administration. “I let my statement stand,” said Campbell. “I am a school board member and represent District 1, but I also represent every student in this county. People only want to talk about the negative and I can’t just sit back and let that happen. “We have good teachers, good students and good staff and the negativity affects some of our employees. "It’s kind of funny that people want to criticize but can’t take criticism. We have a lot of good things going on in our district,” said Campbell CARE members have said the board is dysfunctional and that Superintendent Jeffrey Moss should step down from his post due to ethics issues, including a past incident of nepotism. Moss received his annual evaluation on Oct. 9 and was given a “satisfactory” grade in a 6-4 vote by the board. After Bequette sent his email on Oct. 9, in which he said, “If (Campbell’s) statement was sent or made publicly, he should re-
Above from left: Blackened grilled shrimp was among the variety of shrimp dishes at the Beaufort Shrimp Festival; a little boy named Flynn reacts to winning the Shrimp Peeling Contest in the 3-6 age group.
Runners and walkers take off at the start of the Run Forrest Run 5K. See page A5 for more photos.
PAGE B1
CYAN-AOOO
MAGENTA-OAOO
YELLOW-OOAO
CONROY'S STORY "Conrack," a play based on Pat Conroy's "The Water is Wide," opens at the USCB arts center. PAGE B2
BLACK
012908
IFTS
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
By Sally Mahan
As the sun sets, the crowd dances to Deas-Guyz at the Beaufort Shrimp Festival. Photos by SK Sigs & Designs.
FAITH AND HOPE A Lady's Island woman fights breast cancer with humor, courage.
G
School board, local activists go on attack
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER FUN Staff reports
For E v ing
yone er
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
presents
Someth
Thursday, October 19th, 5:30-7:00 pm at
INSIDE Lowcountry Life A2 Business A3 In Other News A4 From The Front A5 Health A6-8 Community B1
B4 Schools Sports B5 Voices B6 Events B7 Directory B8 Classifieds B9
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION Former Beaufort County School District board of education member Patricia Felton-Montgomery was elected to represent portions of Bluffton in November 2016 and was subsequently named chair of the board. However, she resigned in June. A special election will be held Tuesday, Oct. 17, to fill her seat. Only voters in that district can cast a ballot. The candidates are John Dowling and Susan Gordon.
sign immediately,” a chain reaction of back-and-forth emails among local activists and board members got underway. JoAnn Orischak, who represents District 11 on Hilton Head Island, responded to Bequette, saying, “And I thought my public comments raised eyebrows. …” Evva Anderson, who represents District 6 in the southwest Beaufort County, took offense, writing back to Orischak, saying, “You are quick to criticize … yet you sit by and allow your friend (Richard) Bisi (a member of CARE) to curse in our meetings and say nothing. That says volumes.” Orischak wrote back, “Just a little humor, Evva. Trying to lighten the mood a bit. … As a reminder, our board policy does not permit board members to directly respond to, or have exchanges with, speakers during public comment. No matter how spirited a commenter may be, I try to follow this rule; however, there have been many times when I would have liked to respond. ... “While we are at it, and what is even more disconcerting than the use of the ‘Hell’ word, is that YOU were overheard saying that you'd wish I would ‘die or fall off a cliff.’ It's one thing to think this, but it's quite another to utter it aloud. “One might consider this a threat to one's personal safety. But I'll bet you were just interjecting a bit of humor,” Orischak wrote. Meanwhile, activists and CARE members were not amused. Bisi wrote, “You have a lot of See ATTACK, page A5