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The Island News covering northern beaufort county
www.yourislandnews.com
A weekend in commemoration of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 12, 2012, Youth Night at the Technical College of the Lowcountry Auditorium 921 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 7 p.m.
JANUARY 12-18, 2012
WHAT’S INSIDE?
PROFILE
With a song in her heart: meet Dr. Melanie Williams see page 10
Jan. 13, 2012, Gospel Extravaganza New Hope Christian Church 67 Parris Island Gateway Burton, SC 7 p.m. Jan. 14, 2012 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 11th Annual MLK Unity Breakfast MCAS Officer’s Club 9 a.m., Tickets are $20 Jan. 14, 2012 21st Annual Banquet presents MLK Humanitarian Award Speaker Reverend Dr. Sam Spain, Beaufort High School 84 Sea Island Parkway, Beaufort SC 6 p.m. Jan. 16, 2012, Annual Parade (Rogers Street parade route) Beaufort, SC 10:00 a.m. Jan. 16, 2012 Closing Program and Keynote Address Speaker Fred Washington, Jr., Chairman, Beaufort County Board of Education USCB Performing Arts Center 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, SC 11:30 a.m.
WINE
Celia Strong reveals the science behind a Firehouse Red. see page 15 INDEX
News 2-3 Business 4 Art 5-6 Social Diary 7 School 8-9 Profile 10 Voices 12-13 Lunch Bunch 16 Games 19 Pets 20 Events 21 Directory 22 Classified 23
Don’t throw out your Christmas trees Let Christmas trees benefit fish and wildlife after the holidays Instead of letting your Christmas tree take up space in a landfill this year, state natural resources officials suggest giving it a second life by putting it to good use for fish or wildlife. In rural areas, discarded Christmas trees can be put to good use as erosion control or as brush piles to provide resting and escape cover for small animals. In addition to benefiting small game such as quail and rabbits, brush piles constructed of Christmas trees can help birds such as sparrows, towhees and wrens. “We’re getting to the time of year when the leaves are off, and evergreen cover is a pretty important part of a total wildlife management plan,” said Tammy Wactor, wildlife biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) based in Clemson. “Even though the needles of old Christmas trees will
brown and fall off in two or three months, if you get enough trees piled up they will make pretty good cover.” Brush piles are usually mound or teepee shaped, Wactor said, with the largest material forming the base and layers of small limbs and branches added as filler. The base should consist of sturdy trunks or limbs to allow adequate escape entrances at ground level. Fisheries biologists with the DNR Freshwater Fisheries Section use discarded Christmas trees to maintain many fish attractor sites, which are clearly marked by buoys, at all major reservoirs in South Carolina. Once on the lake bottom, Christmas trees and other suitable materials provide a surface where aquatic insects live and grow. These insects in turn attract small fish that are fed upon by larger fish. TREE continued on page 17