NEWS
HH RECEIVES ARMY CORPS PERMIT TO BUILD PIER AND DOCK
W PHOTOGRAPHY
Hilton Head Island has received the eagerly-awaited permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build the pier and dock at the new rowing and sailing center being developed on Skull Creek off Squire Pope Road. Bryan McIllwee, the town engineer in charge of the project, said the permit arrived on Sept. 30. It is the final permit that was needed to move ahead. The town originally set Oct. 15 for the submission of bids to build the pier and dock, but postponed the date to Oct. 25. McIllwee said he put off the date because he had received so many queries from prospective bidders. He said 12 potential bidders showed up at a mandatory pre-proposal meeting. McIllwee also said the length of time needed to review the bids that are received may take
longer than the usual two weeks. “Judging by the questions I’ve gotten, we’re going to get a wide variety of alternates” offered in the bids, he said, requiring more study. The town had hoped to be able to award a contract for the work by mid-November, with construction beginning in early December, when the bid opening date was Oct. 15, according to McIllwee. But with the new bid opening date moved to nine days later, he said a contract may not be awarded until the end of November. Nonetheless, McIllwee said he still hoped construction might begin by early December. He said the town is specifying the work be completed in 120 days. — Sherry Conohan
BLUFFTON ARTIST HAS 3 NEW CHRISTMAS PUZZLES ON NATIONAL MARKET Bluffton resident Richard Coyne started constructing Christmas villages in 1986, creating landscapes with miniature buildings, trees, trains and figurines. Every year he builds a new landscape to celebrate the holiday season. In 2011, one of his villages was on display at Pineland Station. Photographer Jean-Marie Cote took a picture of the display and Coyne decided to send it to Ceaco Puzzles, a national puzzle company. The company liked the photo so much, it turned it into a 350-piece puzzle. The popularity of that puzzle has led the company to secure the exclusive rights to produce a series of new puzzles based on Coyne’s idyllic
Chrismas villages. “We started with one image in a holiday series last year and the public made it clear that Richard Conye’s artwork was a standout,” said Donna Webster, Ceaco’s vice president of licensing. “Each diorama is beautifully crafted to scale and is clearly labor intensive. Looking at them you are transported into a winter wonderland. I’m sure that each puzzle will be a treasured holiday memento.” The release of Coyne’s holiday puzzles consists of the three titles — Village Square, Home for Christmas and Christmas in the Park. The 750-piece puzzles retail for a suggested $10.49 and are available in stores now.
FORMER SINGER OF THE DESIGN FEATURED ON THE VOICE Fans of the Hilton Head Island live music scene may notice a familiar face on season 5 of NBC’s The Voice. Raleigh singer Kat Robichaud had coaches of the show fighting over her in the season premiere after a rocking version of “I’ve Got the Music in Me.” Robichaud has played Hilton Head’s Wild Wing Cafe many times with her former band, The Design. You may also remember the group from their spirited 12 hiltonheadmonthly.com
St. Patrick’s Day performance here in 2011. Following her debut on the The Voice, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine dubbed Robichaud, “Raspy McRasperson.” Christina Aguilera, meanwhile, tried to appeal to their shared passion for performing. Blake Shelton campaigned for her to make “the unlikely choice.” But it was CeeLo Green, ever a “lover not a fighter,” who won the rocker over. The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
NEW AREA CODE MAY BE COMING TO LOWCOUNTRY The Lowcountry may get a new telephone area code under a proposal being considered by the state’s Public Service Commission. Officials expect that by late 2015, there will be no more number combinations available under the current 843 area code. Unlike years past, when area codes are depleted, state government doesn’t simply wipe the slate clean and assign new numbers to the whole geographic area. The last time the state went from one area code — 803 in the late 1990s — it added 864 and 843 and gave everyone in the Upstate and Lowcountry a new area code. Now, the preferred practice is to overlap the area codes. That allows telephone users the convenience of keeping their current numbers, but it requires everyone to dial 10 digits when making a local call. In the era of cell phones, when most folks don’t actually dial entire numbers, the practice just seems more practical. The Public Service Commission will vote on the proposal December 3.