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SEPTEMBER 16–22, 2021
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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Council removes Spalding from Election Commission By Mike McCombs By a unanimous 5-0 vote, Beaufort City Council voted to remove Helen Spalding from the city’s Election Commission at Tuesday night’s meeting. Spalding’s presence on the commission came into question with her involvement in organizing the Audit The SC 2020 Vote Rally held Aug. 30 at the Olde Beaufort Golf Club, as well as a Sept. 7 meeting in Hilton Head. She publicized the rally before and afterward on her social media pages, and her email address was listed on a flier advertising the event as the RSVP contact. Title 7, Chapter 13, Section 7-13-75
of the S.C. Code states, “No member of a county or municipal board of voter registration and elections may participate in political management or in a political campaign over whose election the member has jurisdiction during the member's term of office. No member may make a contribution to a candidate or knowingly attend a fundraiser held for the benefit of a candidate over whose election the member has jurisdiction. Violation of this section subjects the member to removal by the Governor or appropriate appointive authority.” After Councilman Neil Lipsitz moved to remove Spalding from the commission, and Mitch Mitchell seconded, City Attorney William Har-
vey addressed the Council. “I have reviewed the videos of the political event that occurred on Aug. 30 in which Lin Wood thanked Helen Spalding for organizing the event. We also have the advertisement for the political event on Sept. 7, once again organized by Helen Spalding,” Harvey said. “It is my opinion that these advertised political activities constitute political management, which is prohibited by state law to be conducted by a member of the Election Commission. No one is saying that Ms. Spalding cannot engage in these political activities and cannot
SEE SPALDING PAGE A4
Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray checks with other council members to see if they have any questions before moving on to the next topic during City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday night. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
Masks required in county buildings By Mike McCombs Even for a Beaufort County Council meeting, this one was out there. The end result Monday night was Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway announcing that Beaufort County employees and visitors would be required to wear masks in all county buildings beginning Tuesday before the Council had
SEE MASKS PAGE A6
Children of Beaufort and Port Royal first responders lead the assembled crowd of more than 1,000 people in the Pledge of Allegiance to kick off the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, on Friday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Photo by Bob Sofaly. See more photos from 9/11 on page A7.
LATEST COVID NUMBERS There were 4,269 new confirmed and probable COVID cases reported statewide on Tuesday, and the state’s rolling seven-day average sits at 4,443. There were 43 deaths.
A day of remembrance
There were 109 new confirmed and probable cases reported Tuesday in Beaufort County. Beaufort County’s seven-day average of new cases is 128.6.
Beaufort marks 20th anniversary of 9/11
From staff reports A large crowd was in attendance Saturday evening as the City of Beaufort marked the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people died in the
attacks. They remain the deadliest terror attacks in human history and the deadliest event for firefighters and law enforcement officers in American history. The ceremony honored those who lost their lives in the attacks and the families whose lives were forever altered.
Along with Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray, there were guest speakers, including USMC Col. Timothy R. Dremann, chief of staff at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Linda Self, a Beaufort resident who was working in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
There were nine COVID deaths in Beaufort County from Sept. 5 through Sept. 11. As of Tuesday evening, there were 58 COVID patients in Beaufort Memorial Hospital, down from an all-time high 60 on Monday. Just seven of those 58 are not vaccinated.
There were also performances by the Parris Island Marine Corps Band and the Beaufort Mass Choir. At St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Port Royal, there was a morning service and the bells were ring at 8:46 and 9:06 a.m., the times when the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York.
A dozen patients are in the ICU and a dozen are on ventilators. Only a single vaccinated patient is in the ICU and on a ventilator. – Staff reports
Whale Branch Middle School moves to temporary virtual instruction
Whale Branch Middle School has been forced into virtual leaning through Sept. 17. More than half of its student body is quarantined as of Thursday, Sept. 9. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
From staff reports With more than half of the student body in quarantine as a result of being deemed a close-contact of someone with COVID-19, Whale Branch Middle School (WBMS) will be temporarily shifting to virtual instruction this Friday for one full school week, according to a release from the Beaufort County School District (BCSD). This temporary, all-virtual, learn-
ing period is scheduled thru Friday, Sept. 17. Regular face-to-face instruction will resume on Monday, Sept. 20. The decision to change the mode of instruction was made to mitigate any potential spread of the virus and ensure the continuity of learning for all students. “The decision to transition an entire school to virtual learning, even temporarily, is not made lightly,” Su-
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Gubernatorial candidate Mia McLeod visits St. Helena.
American Legion honors local Boys State, Girls State students.
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perintendent Frank Rodriguez said in a release, explaining that each school’s situation is complex and unique to their circumstances. “As school and district administrators, we take many factors into consideration when analyzing the impact that COVID-19 is having on a school’s
SEE VIRTUAL PAGE A5
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