Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips, along with council members Jorge Guerrero, left, and Darryl Owens, right, discuss the settlement agreement approved on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, which permits Safe Harbor Marinas to move forward with the redevelopment of the Port of Port Royal.
Safe Harbor Marinas can move forward with redevelopment of Port of Port Royal
By Scott Graber The Island News
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Town of Port Royal announced that it had reached a settlement with SHM Port Royal aka Safe Harbor.
reached earlier this month after two marathon mediations in Columbia.
The disagreements between Safe Harbor and Port Royal officially began on Dec. 14 2023 when Mayor Kevin Phillips wrote a six-page, single-spaced letter to Peter Clark at Safe Harbor.
tion of the proposed easement for the Spanish Moss (Bicycle) Trail. On March 20 2024 the Town of Port Royal filed a Petition asking that the Court of Common Pleas grant a permanent and temporary injunction prohibiting Safe Harbor from using certain parts of its newly acquired property for “dock manufacturing.”
In it’s Petition, the Town alleged that the original Planned Unit Development Agreement dated Aug. 9 2017, and thereafter amended,
BEAUFORT
The 19th annual Beaufort International Film Festival began this week and once again, the community is asked to support a wonderful event in a town that has no film theater.
It’s been six years since the Beaufort Plaza closed its doors after 44 years in business, making way for a second Publix grocery store in Beaufort on Robert Smalls Parkway.
And the closest theater is the Cinemax Sea Turtle, 24 miles south, across the Broad River, in the ever-expanding limits of Bluffton.
True, we have one of the three drive-in theaters in South Carolina, the Highway 21 Drive-In, which has a long and “rich” history and, thanks to the owners, now is able to offer first-run movies on THREE screens. Hooray for them! But for those movie theater aficionados, who love sitting in the dark for their mental escape, with a bag of popcorn and perhaps a soda, there is no theater.
Bonnie Hargrove and the folks at USCB’s Center for the Arts experimented with a series of weekly movie offerings but response was limited, costs to rent
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A5
After an executive session that lasted 30 minutes, Town Council voted 3-0 to approve a settlement
The letter laid out the Town’s objections to the huge cranes and the fabrication of concrete docks then underway at the site. It also objected to the apparent decision to develop the Bluff Neighborhood as “build to rent.” There were also problems surrounding the loca-
Amber Hewitt/The Island News SEE
Carter Hoyt of Beaufort stands with a sign in front of the Beaufort County Administration Building on Ribaut Road as community members protest against the policies of Elon Musk and the Donald Trump Administration on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hoyt said she was thrilled with the turnout. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
‘Stand up, enforce the law’
Beaufort protest of Trump Administration doubles in size, coincides with protests in Bluffton, Columbia, nationally
By Mike McCombs The Island News
Around 250 people gathered at the intersection of Ribaut Road and Boundary Street in Beaufort on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, to protest against the policies of Elon Musk and the Donald Trump Administration in front of the Beaufort County Administration Building and Beaufort City Hall.
The protests were similar in nature to the rally the week before but with more than twice as many people in attendance. The event coincided with 50501 events — 50 protests in 50 states at the same time. There was a protest Monday at noon at the Statehouse in Columbia, as well as a protest in Bluffton at the same time as this one.
“What brought me out here today is I am sick of all the lies,” said Paula Guerry, who has lived in Beaufort for 37 years. It was her last duty station as a nurse in the U.S. Navy. “Our democracy has fallen apart, our president doesn’t lead. The people that represent us in Congress, they don’t do anything about it. It’s gotta be a grassroots effort or nothing’s gonna
SEE STAND PAGE A6
Cassandra King to receive Harper Lee Award.
LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS
photographed these flowering
a symbol of winter-weather beauty in the South, on Ribaut Road which still maintains elements of the multiple camellia bushes that were once grown there competitively. Former homeowners prided themselves in the varieties and February
are still common in some Southern communities. To submit a Lowcountry Life photo, you must be the photographer or have permission to submit the photo to be published in The Island News. Please submit high-resolution photos and include a description and/or names of the people in the picture and the name of the photographer. Email your photos to theislandnews@gmail.com.
VETERAN OF THE WEEK TRAVIS STOREY
American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Beaufort’s Travis Storey, 38, who joined the U.S. Navy through the Navy ROTC unit at the University of South Carolina.
Commissioned into the Nurse Corps in 2008, he first served for 3 years at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va. His next duty was at Naval Hospital Pensacola from which he deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. He next saw
duty at Camp Lejeune as a shock trauma nurse, deploying to Norway, the Middle East and Africa while aboard USS New York (LPD-21). Back to Virginia at Quantico, he was Officer in Charge of the clinic servicing the Marine OCS.
ON THIS DATE
February 20
1995: Dee Delaney is born in Beaufort. Delaney, a Seabrook native, was a star athlete at Whale Branch Early College High School, earning 14 total varsity letters in four sports – baseball, basketball, football and track. Delaney played college football at The Citadel, then the University of Miami (Fla.). Delaney played for five teams (Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in the NFL.
In response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico, he deployed aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort providing medical support to the island. He next attended Old Dominion University to earn a Masters in Education before he was assigned to the headquarters of Naval Medical Forces Atlantic in the Division of Education and Training for the Atlantic Region, including 21 hospitals and 64 op-
erational units. He was promoted to Commander (O-5) during this tour. He now serves as the department head for Education and Training here at Naval Hospital Beaufort and its clinics at Parris Island and MCAS Beaufort.
– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207 For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
February 23
1868: James Edwin McTeer, future Beaufort County Sheriff, is born.
1915: Robert Smalls dies. At the time of his death, he was suffering from malaria and diabetes.
– Compiled by Mike McCombs
SUMMONS: TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUM-
MONED and required to answer the Amended Petition in this action to determine the heirs-at-law of Elizabeth Newton Laurel a/k/a Elizabeth Laurel, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to the Amended Petition on the Petitioner’s undersigned Attorney at Heritage Law Firm, PC, 1011 Bay Street, Suite 2B, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29902, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service. If you fail to answer the Amended Petition within the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Amended Petition.
NOTICE TO UNKNOWN RESPONDENTS, MINORS, PERSONS IN THE ARMED FORCES INSANE PERSONS UNDER ANY DISABILITY: TO THE RESPONDENTS
NAMED ABOVE: And to any thereof that may be residents or non-residents of South Carolina, and to the natural, general, testamentary or other guardian or committee thereof, and to the person with whom they reside or whom they may be employed, if any there be, and to all other Respondents who whereabouts cannot be ascertained. TAKE NOTICE, that the Amended Summons, Amended Petition, Order Appointing Guardian ad Litem, Order of Publication, and Notice to Respondents Including Persons Unknown, Minors, Incompetents, and Disability were filed in the Office of the Probate Court of Beaufort County, South Carolina on January 21, 2025, and on January 31, 2025, Jodie A. Borger, Esquire, was appointed Guardian ad Litem, her appointment to become absolute thirty (30) days after the service of the Amended Summons.
NOTICE OF HEARING TO DETERMINE HEIRS-AT-LAW: TO THE RESPONDENTS
ABOVE-NAMED: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a hearing has been scheduled for April 24, 2025 at 10:30 am at Beaufort County Probate Court, Beaufort County Courthouse, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, South Carolina, for the purpose of determining the Heirs-at-Law of the Estate of Elizabeth Newton Laurel a/k/a Elizabeth Laurel. This action was commenced by the Petitioner on January
PAL PETS OF THE WEEK
Dog of the Week
Jolene is smiling because she knows her Valentine's photo is super cute! She hopes her soulmate will see her and change her life forever. She is loyal, respectful, caring, and playful. She enjoys the simple things in life like sitting quietly with those she loves best. Is it time for you to slow down and smell the roses? Jolene can help you with that. She is spayed, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped. All she needs is a loving home.
21, 2025 at the Beaufort County Probate Court to have the Probate Court declare that Bernice Forcer F/K/A Bernice Newton F/K/A Bernice Sylvia Laurel is the sole Heir-at-Law of Elizabeth Newton Laurel a/k/a Elizabeth Laurel upon her death on or about June 8, 2005.Any objections to the Petitioner’s right to commence this action, as the current owner of real property that was owned by Elizabeth Newton Laurel a/k/a Elizabeth Laurel at the time of her death, or to Petitioner’s prayer for relief declaring the aforementioned person to have been the sole Heir-at-Law of Elizabeth Newton Laurel a/k/a Elizabeth Laurel must be filed with the Beaufort County Probate Court on or before April 24, 2025 at 10:30 pm, or advanced in person at the scheduled hearing.
HERITAGE LAW FIRM, PC Cherese T. Handy, Esq. S.C. Bar No.: 103184 1011 Bay Street, Suite 2B Beaufort, South Carolina 29902 Phone: (843) 894-6998 Fax: (843) 962-5100 chandy@heritage-firm.com
ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER Beaufort, South Carolina February 5,2025
NOTICE OF APPLICATION
Notice is hereby given that Juicebox Wine Shop, LLC intends to apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for a license and/or permit that will allow the sale and on premises consumption of beer, wine, and/or liquor at 1266 May River Road, Bluffton, SC 29909. To object to the issuance of this license and/or permit, you must submit Form ABL-20, postmarked no later than February 27, 2025. Mail protests to SCDOR, ABL Section, PO BOX 125, COLUMBIA SC 29214-0907 or email ABL@dor.sc.gov
Cat Of The Week Zorro's cute mustache and dapper tuxedo had all the ladies swooning
at the kissing booth! He is an adorably curious, 9-month-old lad who can't wait to embark on a brand-new life in a real home. He is neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.
For more info on Jolene, Zorro, or any of our other pets, call PAL at 843-645-1725 or email Info@ PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.
– Compiled by Lindsay Perry
Columnist Lolita Huckaby
Camellias,
Camellia shows
Travis Storey
Port Royal inching closer to finalizing Sands Beach park
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A new park is coming to Port Royal, all that is left to decide is what it is going to look like.
The park will be situated on a parcel of land that is estimated to be about three acres located off of Sands Beach Road next to the marsh on the way to Sands Beach and is being designed by a task force of Port Royal residents that was selected in September 2024
The land is part of a land swap between the town and Safe Harbor Marinas in 2023
The task force is developing the park to be very passive and plan have the features of the park blend into the marsh.
During the meeting that they held on Jan. 30, the task force presented a preliminary concept map for the park showing what they are hoping the park will look like and what features it will have.
Some of these features are a pavilion, a trail that spans the length of the park, two overlooks to give those visiting the parks the best vantage point to view the marsh and the water, a split-rain fence along the edge of the park, picnic tables and benches and added parking along Sands Beach Road.
“Residents want to create a park that truly takes advantage of the views of the Port Royal Sound,” Town Manager Van Willis said.
He said that they plan to have a final design before the end of March that will be recommended
to council by the task force, and he hopes to have final approval for the park by April.
Additionally, residents could see some familiar and beloved sculpture work at the park as there is talk of potentially putting up a 12-foot-tall iron female sculpture of a woman called The Hag, which for years could be seen at the entrance to the downtown area of Port Royal.
The Hag statue was taken down
in 2021 and is being stored, but according to the task force, she could get another day in the sun as a new addition to the park.
Another sculpture that is being discussed for the park is the fish sculpture that appears to be moving through seagrass currently located behind town hall.
Residents were encouraged to submit name suggestions for the park by Feb. 14, and Willis said the town got about 50 of them.
The task force will go through the recommendations and then go to Town Council with their suggestion so that a final decision can be made, which should happen sometime in March or April.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
Bluffton man charged by SC AG charges in connection with
exploitation of minors
Staff reports South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest Wednesday, Feb. 12, of 62-year-old Joseph Richard Miller of Bluffton on four charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors.
Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.
Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Miller. Investigators claim Miller possessed files of child sexual abuse material. Miller was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. He is charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§1615-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
Preliminary map of the Sands Beach park. The concept is being revised to delete the observation tower and it will be replaced with another observation area. Photo courtesy of Town of Port Royal
Valentine Ball draws support for health care expansion
Staff reports
The Beaufort Memorial Foundation’s 36th annual Valentine Ball on Saturday, Feb. 8 brought the community together in downtown Beaufort for a night of celebration and support for lifesaving, innovative care.
The event, held at Tabby Place in downtown Beaufort, followed the long-standing tradition of pre-ball dinner parties beforehand. Ball attendees danced the night away to live music performed by Charlotte-based band “Color the Night,” while also enjoying cocktails, desserts and participating in a silent auction.
This year’s ball, co-
chaired by Becky and Patrick Cunningham and Drs. Jennifer Wallace and Aaron Sarathy, aimed to raise more than $200,000 for the Foundation’s Vision Campaign – a $10 million, five-year goal that will go toward advancements in three different areas: expanding access to quality health care, establishing innovative health care delivery systems through partnerships and growing a strong workforce.
“The Beaufort Memorial Foundation is so grateful for the support of the community and the generosity of its donors during this year’s Valentine Ball,” Beau-
fort Memorial Foundation Chief Development Officer Kim Yawn said. “We cannot thank our supporters enough for the role they play in shaping the future of health care throughout the Lowcountry.”
The Vision Campaign is a driving force behind several ongoing Beaufort Memorial expansion projects including the construction of the Bluffton Community Medical Campus (BCMC) in the southern part of the county, which will provide a full-service emergency department, imaging services like X-ray, MRI and CT technology, laboratory services and an outpatient surgery center
Four Sweethearts
Four sweethearts arrived at the Beaufort Memorial Collins Birthing Center on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day (pictured clockwise from top left). Born to Beaufort parents Arlette and Christian Jones, Aurelia made her first appearance at 1:07 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Kesley was born at 8:02 a.m. to Faith and Carter Payne of St. Helena Island, weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces. Lehlani made her entry into the world later in the afternoon at 3:27 p.m., weighing 6 pounds and 7 ounces. Her parents are Nakita Linnen and Kenneth Jenkins, also of St. Helena Island. Polly, born to Bluffton parents Hannah and Michael Wolf, arrived at 9:40 a.m., weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. The conversation heart rattles were made by Birthing Center nurse Donna Mixon, LPN, and the envelope cocoons were crocheted by Victoria Mayo, RN, and Merick Murdaugh, CST. The order of the group shot is, from left, Aurelia, Lehlani, Polly and Kesley. Photos courtesy of Charlotte Berkeley
Port from page A1
allowed commercial, retail, light industrial, among other uses, but the “Respondent began using the Property for the manufacture of large floating docks, an activity requiring large scale machinery and equipment …”
The settlement reached with Safe Harbor will give that company an 18-monthlong permit to build its docks (and related structures) on the site.
It will cap the rental units throughout the project, including the Bluff properties, at 15%. Also, “Rental Units shall not include multi-level apartments or condominium developments, which shall be prohibited in the Residential Areas.”
It will give Safe Harbor five “townhouse lots” adjacent the Shed in exchange for what is called the “Beer Garden property” adjacent Sands Beach which is currently being used as a parking lot.
Safe Harbor will sign and deliver a 16-foot-wide easement that will allow the Spanish Moss Trail to cross over Ribaut Road and extend south along the old railroad right of way to Ritter Circle.
Safe Harbor will be allowed to maintain eight “Conex boxes” that will be screened from public view in order to service large, ocean-going sailboats.
There is still lingering concern about some items — like where the waterfront promenade will begin and end — that have yet to be worked out. But Mayor Kevin Phillips confirmed that “there will be a promenade and Safe Harbor will produce a Master Plan detailing all of the intended improvements within six months.”
Dean Moss, Executive Director of the Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail, said he was happy about the settlement even though “the process had consumed five years.”
There was also discussion about the new dock that will service the seafood processing facility and the shrimp
complete with four surgical suites.
“It’s amazing to see the community support for both the Beaufort Memorial
Foundation and the hospital’s mission to deliver innovative health care solutions and improve accessibility to high-quality, patient-cen-
tered care,” Beaufort Memorial President and CEO Russell Baxley said. “This support is critical for Beaufort Memorial as a nonprofit hospital, and we’re extremely grateful for each and every one of our donors.”
Since the event began in 1989, the Valentine Ball has raised more than $10 million to support major hospital initiatives, such as the ongoing renovations to the Beaufort Memorial Surgical Pavilion, the establishment of a state-of-the-art education center at Beaufort Memorial and a revamp of the hospital’s Cochrane Heart Center, just to name a few.
Beaufort Police ask public’s help in location 2 teen runaways
Staff reports The Beaufort Police Department on Monday, Feb. 17, asked the public’s help in locating 12-year-old Emily Hollis and 16-year-old Chase Eskeets, who have been reported as runaways. Emily and Chase were last seen on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. They are believed to be in the Jacksonville, Fla., area and are traveling in a white 2008 Nissan Titan with South Carolina license plate 2716RZ.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Police Department have been notified.
Emily is described as 5-foot tall and weighing 120 pounds. Chase is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.
If you have seen Emily or Chase, had any contact with them, or have any information regarding their whereabouts, you are asked to call the non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777
boats in the area between the Fish Camp Restaurant and the Shellring Ale Works. This dock will be designed in a way that will allow the public to access the dock and, hopefully, to view a revitalized shrimp boat fleet up close.
Town Manager Van Willis also revealed the Town’s intention to extend the existing boardwalk that would effectively double its length and, perhaps, connect it with the so-called “Sands Park” located to the north of the Sands Beach Road.
Perhaps the most important item in the settlement agreement is the requirement that the Town and Safe Harbor meet every three months “to discuss the status of development.” As mentioned herein, there are unresolved items that will require discussion and resolution. Having a meeting every 90 days — and keeping the public informed — will help.
“A lot of hard work and productive compromise has produced a solid path forward where the Town of Port
development taking into account last week’s settlement between the Town of Port Royal and Safe Harbor Marinas. Amber
Royal and the Safe Harbor Marinas teams can work in unison on proposed development plans including providing an easement to extend the Spanish Moss Trail, a land swap to provide additional land to the Town, and residential de-
velopment concessions. If approved by the Port Royal Town Council, the proposed settlement agreement establishes regular, joint meetings between the
and Safe
are
to be
of the
and we look forward to working together,”
Ron Gift, Regional Vice President, Safe Harbor
Town
Harbor Marinas. We
grateful
part
Port Royal community,
said
Marinas.
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
A map of the proposed Port of Port Royal
Hewitt/The Island News
Beaufort Memorial Foundation Valentine Ball 2025 co-chairs Patrick and Becky Cunningham and Drs. Jennifer Wallace and Aaron Sarathy on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Tabby Place in Beaufort.
Photo courtesy of Beaufort Memorial Hospital
Stewart, Freese discuss investment in NW Quadrant, Old Common neighborhoods
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
A standing-room-only
crowd packed the Freedman Arts District Office on Thursday, Feb. 13 to attend a community meeting focused on investment in the NW Quadrant and Old Common neighborhoods.
Curt Freese, the Community Development Director for the City of Beaufort, and Dick Stewart, General Partner at the Stewart Family Office L.P., were featured speakers, though the meeting was clearly run by Stewart.
Mayor Phil Cromer and Mike Sutton, Chairman of the City’s Historic District Review Board, were among the attendees, as well.
The Historic Beaufort Foundation was invited, as well, according to Stewart, but no one from the organization was in attendance.
“I want us to all work together to come up with common solutions that will work for the community, and then move those solutions through the regulatory and financial process so that we can bring them to Beaufort,” Stewart said.
Stewart’s biggest objective, he said, was to hopefully secure the support of the City and residents in trying to simplify and navigate the processes needed to help individual homeowners in the historic distrct.
The “agenda” provided prior to the meeting was followed almost to the letter.
Topic discussed included: City processes for ap-
proving changes to buildings; Grants and tax incentives for property owners; Financial benefits of preservation easements for property owners, including a review of easements, and what’s needed to make this program more beneficial?; Revolving fund repair programs including what’s available and what’s needed?; Home repair programs including what’s available now and what are the requirements to qualify? and restrictions and requirements that discourage participation; and Heir’s Property Title programs and funding including what’s available and planned and what are the requirements to qualify?
Residents and others present asked questions, while Stewart, Freese and sometimes audience members answered the questions, while Stewart kept the meeting on track.
“There’s lots of resources circling around, and there’s lots of regulations circling around. And they don’t interact with each other very well in this neighborhood,” Stewart said. “They’re set up for the Point and for Bay Street. You get back in here, and those regulations can be very troubling.”
Stewart said that if they
could keep the processes simple in the City, the next step would be talking to legislators at the state and federal level to advocate for changes to policies that could hamstring homeowners in Beaufort.
“[State and federal lawmakers would] all be involved, Stewart said. “As well as a lot of private sector folks that aren’t in government.”
Stewart said the things that make Beaufort unique –it was one of the first places in the United States where home ownership became a
reality for Black Americans – should make it possible for government and the private sector to take a more specific, unique approcah to Beaufort and hold it as an example of what could be.
Stewart, Freese and Cromer said they were aware there were some discussions upcoming involving Beaufort Jasper Housing Trust that might result in some positive developments, and from there they’d determine the next step.
“(If a) house is important to this community enough to be in a historic district,
and it’s important enough to be a contributing structure, it should be important enough for us to reach out and try to do something for that house and for that family instead of to that family,” Stewart said, “and I’m hoping this organization, out of this office, in this location, can establish that relationship and that trust up and down this community to make that happen, ’cause nobody else has been doing it.”
At 6 p.m, Thursday, Feb. 20, the Old Commons Neighborhood Association
(OCNA) will hold its regular meeting at the Wesley United Methodist Church's Education Building, located in the 800 Block of Duke Street. Freese and Sutton will be the guest speakers, discussing the proposed changes to the City of Beaufort's Historic District Review Board (HDRB) process and how it may impact property owners in the City of Beaufort's National Historic Landmark District.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
City Council conducts interviews for Waterfront Advisory Committee
Staff reports
According to a media release, the City of Beaufort has completed the initial round of interviews for the Waterfront Advisory Committee, an initiative aimed at shaping the future of the City’s Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
On Tuesday, Feb. 11th, 18 appli-
Lowdown from page A1
a film were prohibitive and that alternative has gone by the wayside. Ironically, hundreds will occupy the CFA this week to view cinematic wonders offered by the BIFF. There will be popcorn, of course, and the opportunity to shake hands with those involved with making these productions.
BIFF is a blessing, to be sure, for the economy of this community. Last year, according to reports, attendees from 37 states and nine countries were present and that means, in tourism-industry lingo, “heads in beds,” not to mention additional diners in local restaurants. (Good luck getting a table – locals know all about that!)
There are apparently 12,000 film festivals in the world, Publisher Margaret Evans told readers last
cants presented their qualifications and motivations to apply during five-minute presentations to the City Council. The committee, once formed, will advise City Council on development, programming, and conservation efforts to ensure the park remains a vibrant and safe space for all residents and visitors.
week, and BIFF ranks near the top by a rating service, Film Freeway.
Wonder how many of those festivals don’t have a hometown movie theater?
Drama of Port Royal waterfront gets new chapter
PORT ROYAL – The citizens of Port Royal – who also don’t have a hometown movie theater – got some good news last week, hopefully.
After months of discussion, it appears the town council and representatives of Safe Harbor, the international marina development company which purchased 300 acres of waterfront property in 2021, have reached an agreement on development plans. At least that’s what Mayor Kevin Phillips announced at last week’s monthly council meeting. The two parties have agreed residential section of the property will include only 15 percent rental homes, rather than under
“This is a committee that will advise City Council on pivotal decisions impacting Waterfront Park, some of which will affect the viability of it for generations to come. City Council and Staff recognize that citizen involvement is essential to the success of this advisory committee,” City Manager Scott
some kind of rent-to-own agreement the Safe Harbor folks initially proposed.
And the popular Spanish Moss Trail will finally be allowed to cross Ribaut Road through the development.
An official masterplan to reflect all the agreements must be prepared by Safe Harbor and accepted by the town. In the meantime, it appears the two parties have managed to stay out of the courts, which is better than the county or other municipal leaders can claim.
If all goes as outlined, those who have been waiting years for Port Royal to change even more have their fingers crossed.
Oh yes, both sides agreed they have agreed to “keep talking.” Which we’ve also heard before.
City moving forward with waterfront panel BEAUFORT – Speaking of waterfront developments with Safe Harbor, city of Beaufort leaders are slowly
Marshall said in the release.
“Their passion for our waterfront and dedication to community engagement will be invaluable as we move forward,” Mayor Phil Cromer said in the relese. A second round of interviews is expected to be conducted by City Council in March. The final selec-
moving forward with plans to create a seven-member advisory panel to work on matters of the waterfront.
The panel, created last year when questions rose about the legality of the city’s 40-year contract with Safe Harbor, will include three full-time residents, a member of City Council, a member of the Historic District Review board (Chairman Mike Sutton has been recommended for the seat), a member of the city planning commission (Bill Suter has been recommended for the seat) and a member of County Council.
Eighteen citizens have volunteered for three citizens at-large seats and they were interviewed by the council last week. A second round of interviews is scheduled for March with completion of the selection process by April.
The panel faces a pretty stiff mission: come up with recommendations on how to proceed with repairs to the waterfront park which has
tion of committee members may be as early as April. The Waterfront Advisory Committee will be composed of three full-time residents, one member of City Council, one member of the Historic District Review Board, one member of the Planning Commission, and one member of Beaufort County Council.
major infrastructure needs.
They’ll probably be asked for input on the future of cruise ships using the seawall, cruise ships which have been stopping in Port Royal for the past months, and taking private busses into downtown Beaufort.
Whether the panel will be involved in the legalities of the five-year-old city lease contract with Safe Harbor, operators of the city-owned Downtown Marina, is to be seen. The nonprofit Protect Beaufort Foundation, Inc., which includes Graham Trask, George Trask, Catherine Scarborough, Paul Trask and Will Cook, as some of its founding members, is suing the city and challenging the lease.
Citizens asked to give their two cents BEAUFORT – Another reminder: county officials are currently asking the public to help plan for the future. Beaufort County’s recycling division is asking residents and business
owners to complete a survey outlining their thoughts on the 2018 plastic bag ban and the future efforts to reduce plastic pollution. The Council rejected a proposal to expand the ban last year to include plastic straws but supporters, including the Coastal Conservation League, are hoping that effort will be renewed this year. Deadline for the survey, Help Reduce Plastic Pollution in Beaufort County; Survey Now Open for Comment Until March 1 is March 1 so you’ve got time to respond…and share it with your neighbors.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
There was standing room only at the Community Meeting hosted by the Freedman Arts District on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, to foster discussion about the future of the Northwest Quadrant. Speakers included Dick Stewart, General Partner at the Stewart Family Office L.P., at left, and Curt Freese, the Community Development Director for the City of Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
City issues RFP for 1st SC Volunteers of African Descent Park planner
Staff reports
According to a press release, the City of Beaufort is seeking proposals from qualified master planners and landscape architects for the design and build of a proposed passive park commemorating the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent (1SCVAD) of the U.S. Army. The 1SCVAD was the Union's first-formed black regiment that went into service during the Civil War in 1862, influenced federal law that allowed men of
color to serve in the military, had some influence on Lincoln’s decision to emancipate the enslaved, and became the foundation for Black and African American military service in the United States.
“The history of the 1st S.C. Volunteers of African Decent Infantry Regiment is unique to our country’s history, our state’s history, and to the history of the Lowcountry,” Councilman Mitch Mitchell said in the news release. “Our planned 1st S.C. Volunteers of African De-
scent Park’s location along the gateway to our city on Boundary Street will set the tone for both residents and visitors alike as to historical significance of our city.”
“Our intention is that this park will be a fitting memorial to the courage, contributions and sacrifices made by these men and their families. There’s is a history that has been largely neglected,” City Manager Scott Marshall said. “Now, more than ever, it is a moral imperative to do all we can to en-
sure that the story of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent lives and that their legacy continues to thrive in perpetuity.”
The non-mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 21 in the Planning Department Conference Room on the first floor of City Hall.
Questions are due by 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26. Answers will be posted by 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28 Bids submissions are due on or before 2 p.m., Friday, March 21. A
public bid opening will be held in the City Hall Finance Department, Executive Conference Room 2 on that day and time. The RFP and additional documents may be accessed on the City’s website under current Bid Opportunities at https://www.cityofbeaufort.org/ 165 /Procurement or by contacting the Procurement Administrator at 843-525-7071, or by email to procurement@cityofbeaufort.org.
Bands, Brews and BBQ
Stand
from page A1
happen ’cause no one else is doing anything.”
She said the previous week had seen her first protest in her 73 years, and she intends to keep protesting until something changes.
“The day Trump got reelected I just, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I was like, how did this happen? How did people not see what happened in the first four years? How do you justify what happened in the first four years, and then say you wanna do it again? When they can’t make their payments on their $60 000 trucks they’ll understand. When they can’t go to the doctor ’cause Medicare is gone, they’ll understand. When they lose everything they’ve got, they’ll understand.”
Guerry says lawmakers are ignoring constituents’ complaints and hiding behind Trump.
“First of all, I’d say answer your phone. And listen to your voice messages,” Guerry said she’d like to tell her elected representatives. “And then I would say, you’re not representing me. You are … you are Trump’s bootlickers. And that’s all you’re representing, is him, because you want to save your own political careers, you don’t care a thing about the constituents.”
Gabriella Garcia, a 27-year-old USC Beaufort student from Bluffton who works on Lady’s Island, had more specific reasons for coming out. She is a member of VIVA, a group that is emphasizing “respectful and peaceful participation” in protests, especially against the immigration policy of
period in American history,” Mitchell said.
Michael Richardson, who has lived in Beaufort since 1979, is upset will the executive orders Trump is issuing.
the Trump Administration.
On Monday, she had just learned the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office had applied to participate in the Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The provision allows police officers and sheriff’s deputies to function essentially as agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Garcia said, “the community’s going to be impacted dramatically, and the relationship with law enforcement will be impacted dramatically, so that’s what has me out here today, to be the voice of others who can’t be out here today.”
Garcia was born and raised on Hilton Head Island by a Mexican father and Costa Rican mother. She first protested during the Black Lives Matter events several years ago.
“I feel like the first step right now is education, … educating people on what’s
going on in the [Trump] administration that could be affecting their day-today lives, because a lot of people, especially young people, kind of took this as a ‘I’m not gonna vote, it’s not gonna matter,’” she said. “When it does matter, it impacts your day-to-day life.”
Garcia would tell her elected officials, including those locally to, “Say no to 287G, you know, protect your immigrants that live here. You know, your citizens and noncitizens, black, brown, … 287G will impact us both, it’s basically racial profiling. It deputizes officers and allows them to act like ICE agents, they can stop you for anything. And more likely our white counterparts are not gonna be as affected as black and brown residents here, so I would tell them please say no to 287G as you did in 2017.”
Mitch Mitchell, a Beaufort City Councilman and retired U.S, Air Force Major General who spent 40 years in
uniform, including six in the Marines, was back to have his voice heard again this week.
“A lot has happened since last week, but a lot hasn’t changed,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell was concerned with a lot of what the Trump Administration has done, but specifically with the stripping of DEI from government and military programs and the attempted elimination of things like the story of the Tuskegee Airmen from history learned at the U.S. service academies.
“For a small period of history, basically from the Civil Rights [Movement] until now, that here has been some effort to tell that history that hasn’t been told. It’s not pretty history, I understand that, but it’s history nonetheless,” Mitchell said. “If they understand the gap between African Americans and Caucasians, African Americans have 10 percent of the wealth, those things [happened] because of laws that were put in place so that we couldn’t succeed. Now we’ve had some progress and we have a President and
a Secretary of Defense who are going to strip that progress out of the only place where we truly have a melding of our population, which is in the military.
“My hope was that if folks go in the military from Kentucky or California or South Carolina, and they come together at Parris Island or they come together at Fort Jackson, that when they leave, because we’ve had this opportunity to work together, maybe fight together or maybe save each other’s butt, then they’ll take that perspective back home. But if they don’t know the history, then they’re going to go back home and join the same tribe that they left, which is what’s happening. So that’s my problem with what the President’s doing.” Mitchell said without DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion), Jim Crow and the Black Codes kept history like his from being told. What’s impressive, he said, is that the Tuskegee Airmen and they Montford Point Marines, … they fought anyway.
“I have no doubt that history will not be kind to this
“(He’s) closing things, blaming things on DEI,” he said. “DEI obviously means you’re a black person. When the plane crashed in Washington, it had to be DEI, they said.”
Richardson is surprised that Congress allowed [Elon] Musk to disband USAID to all the countries the U.S. is assisting.
“The richest man in the world is taking food away from the poorest countries in the world … that is upsetting,” he said. “It’s also upsetting that Congress would roll over to allow [Trump] to do the things that he’s doing that are against the law. No one is above the law, and that’s what I’ve written our Senators and Congressional leaders about. Stand up and enforce the law. Don’t be subservient to anyone.
“Honor your oath of office. When you took that oath to be a Senator or a Congressman, you took that oath to protect the Constitution of the United States … and they’re not doing that.”
Allison Davidow of Beaufort stands with a sign in front of the Beaufort City Hall on Boundary Street as community members protest against the policies of Elon Musk and the Donald Trump Administration on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
The Albridge Family speaks with one of the barbecue teams while tasting a sample during the Bands, Brews and BBQ tasting in Port Royal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. The event was coordinated by Zonta Club of Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Port Royal Councilman Darryl Owens revives a barbecue sample during the Bands, Brews, and BBQ tasting in Port Royal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. The event was coordinated by Zonta Club of Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Djah Stiles and Phoebe Mills stand holding signs as they protest against the policies of Elon Musk and the Donald Trump Administration in front of Beaufort City Hall on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
SPORTS
Total of 35 area wrestlers headed to state
By Justin Jarrett LowcoSports.com
A total of 67 wrestlers from the LowcoSports coverage area — including 35 from schools in northern Beaufort County — qualified for next week's SCHSL state championships at Florence Center by placing in the top eight in their weight classes at their respective Lower State qualifiers. The Lowco will be well-represented in the Class 4A brackets with 32 wrestlers qualifying from May River (12), Beaufort (7), Bluffton (6), Hilton Head (4), and Colleton County (3). The dual state champion Sharks had four Lower State champions — Stephano Calderon (106), Marcus Foulk (120), Blake Butler (150), and Joshua Echeverria (175) — while Beaufort's Antonio McKnight (144) and Colton Freeman (190) and Bluffton's Gabe Fulton (165) also won gold.
Battery Creek led all Lowco squads with 13 qualifiers at the Class 3A Lower State meet at Aynor High School, as the Dolphins had top-eight finishers in every weight class except 175, though only 165-pound runner-up Chris Martinez reached the finals.
Bridges Prep will send eight wrestlers to the Class 2A/1A finals, including a
trio of champions in Kevin Summers (165), Ali Jenkins (175), and Jeremiah Chavez (285), while Whale Branch had six qualifiers and 126-pounder Bryan Sanchez became the first state qualifier for the first-year program at Hardeeville.
At the girls state qualifier at South Florence, Beaufort's Olesya Mullins won the 107-pound title, and Hilton Head's Jourdyn Mootry (132), Jada Lawrence (147), and Makayla Hinchey (157) also won Lower State titles.
The state championships will be held at Florence Center on Friday and Saturday.
Area State Qualifiers
Class 4A
113: Santino Communale, BFT (5th)
144: Antonio McKnight, BFT (1st)
150: Jessob Paris, BFT (8th)
157: Shuler Baggett, BFT (6th)
175: Chase Richardson, BFT (7th)
190: Colton Freeman, BFT (1st)
285: Jaden Priester, BFT (7th)
Class 3A
106: Anthony Perez, BCHS (5th)
113: Cayleb Boggs, BCHS (4th)
120: Nijay Wright, BCHS (6th)
126: Theo Johnson, BCHS (3rd)
132: Tyler Wright, BCHS (7th)
138: Elijah Shuler, BCHS (4th)
144: Ricky Najar, BCHS (3rd)
150: Nate Najar, BCHS (
157: Isiah Lee, BCHS (5th)
165: Chris Martinez, BCHS (2nd)
190: Khalil Myers, BCHS (7th)
215: Pharrell Myers, BCHS (6th)
285: Jordan Washington, BCHS (6th)
Class 2A/1A
106: Kainen Tuttle, BP (7th)
126: Javaree Bartley, WB (3rd)
138: Wesley White, WB (4th)
144: Trevor Jones, BP (7th)
150: Amari Bradley, BP (7th); Ra’Shawn Johnson-Reviere, WB (8th)
157: Khai Belanger, BP (4th)
165: Kevin Summers, BP (1st)
175: Ali Jenkins, BP (1st)
190: Malachi Heyward, WB (7th)
215: Malik Moultrie, WB (3rd); Byron Douglas-Jackson, BP (7th)
285: Jeremiah Chavez, BP (1st); I’veon Watson, WB (4th)
Girls All Classes
107: Olesya Mullins, BFT (1st)
BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Beaufort (1-19, 0-10 Region 6-4A)
Last week: L 38-64 at Hilton Head, 2/11; L 59-76 vs. Hilton Head, 2/13
Postseason: Did not qualify
Battery Creek (10-12, 2-6 Region 6-3A)
Last week: No games
scheduled Postseason: Class 3A 1st round, at Dillon, 2/18
Bridges Prep (17-7, 6-3 Region 5-2A)
Whale Branch (8-10, 4-4 Region 5-2A) Last week: W 52-39 at Barnwell, 2/11
Last week: L 44-69 at Hampton Co., 2/11; W 55-31 at Barnwell, 2/12
Postseason: Class 2A 1st round, vs. Timberland, 2/18
Postseason: Class 2A 1st round, at Andrew Jackson, 2/18
John Paul II (16-8, 6-4 SCISA 3-4A) Last week: L 58-68 vs. Trinity Collegiate, 2/11
Postseason: SCISA 4A 1st
round, L 28-45 vs. Heathwood Hall, 2/15
Beaufort Academy (4-14, 4-7 SCISA 3-2A) Last week: L 63-67 at Thomas Heyward, 2/11
Postseason: SCISA 2A 1st round, L 43-51 vs. Oakbrook Prep, 2/15
Holy Trinity (0-17, 0-10 SCISA 3-2A) Last week: L 38-51 vs. Cross Schools, 2/12
Postseason: Did not qualify
GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Beaufort (15-8, 8-2 Region 6-4A) Last week: W 51-43 at Hilton Head, 2/11; W 50-44 vs. Hilton Head, 2/13
2/17 Bridges Prep (4-15, 3-7 Region 5-2A) Last week: L 28-63 at Hampton Co., 2/11; L 25-53 at Barnwell, 2/12
5-2A)
(10-11, 6-4
Beaufort’s Antonio McKnight works for a pin during the Class 4A Lower State qualifier at Hartsville High School on Saturday. McKnight won the 144-pound title and was one of seven Eagles to qualify for the state meet. Photo courtesy of Joy Peeler
STATE
How SC Supreme Court defines ‘fetal heartbeat’ could reset abortion ban at 9 weeks
By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — What the state Supreme Court considers a “fetal heartbeat” will determine whether South Carolina’s abortion ban remains at six weeks or gets extended to nine.
The arguments of Wednesday, Feb. 12, marked the third time in three years the state Supreme Court heard a challenge to the state’s abortion ban. Unlike the past two cases, the latest one does not question whether the law is constitutional, but rather at what point in a pregnancy the ban begins.
The law has been commonly called a six-week ban, including by both sides in previous hearings before the state’s high court.
But attorneys for Planned Parenthood argued what matters in this case is the terminology, and what doctors consider a “fetal heartbeat” means the ban should reset at nine weeks of pregnancy. Nowhere in the law does it say six weeks, meaning the argument is really about the development that typically occurs around those points in a pregnancy, attorneys and justices said.
Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble ruled in May that the law could stand at six weeks. After Planned Parenthood appealed the decision, the case skipped the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court agreed to take the case it had originally declined to hear directly.
The state law justices held as constitutional in August 2023 bans abortions after a doctor detects “the presence of the unborn child’s fetal heartbeat,” which is defined as “the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart.”
Exactly what counts as a
This was 3rd time in three years state Supreme Court considered a challenge to state’s abortion ban
fetal heartbeat was central to Wednesday’s arguments.
Around six weeks of pregnancy, an embryo forms the organ that will become its heart. That organ pumps blood through the embryo’s body and makes the sound doctors refer to as a heartbeat when performing an ultrasound, argued Thomas Hydrick, a deputy solicitor for the Attorney General’s Office.
“It may develop, but the heart is performing its function,” Hyrdick said.
But that organ is not technically a heart, said Catherine Humphreville, an attorney for Planned Parenthood. At six weeks, the organ lacks the four chambers distinct to a heart, with the valves that open and close to create the sound of a heartbeat.
Pumping blood through the body is not enough, Humphreville said.
“There’s nothing in the act that says we’re talking about detecting blood flow,” Humphreville said.
Also in question is the Legislature’s use of the word “fetal” before heartbeat. At six weeks, what doctors are seeing is an embryo, not a fetus, Humphreville said.
When deciding whether an embryo has become a fetus, doctors look at the embryo’s size and the time since a woman’s last menstrual period. Typically, a fetus develops around nine or 10 weeks, Humphreville said.
“Simply put, you cannot have a fetal heart or a fetal heartbeat without a fetus,” Humphreville said.
That may be medically true, but when legislators wrote the law, they clearly meant for it to apply at six weeks, the state’s attorneys said.
During hours of debate, opponents and proponents alike referred to the bill as a six-week ban. If anyone had understood it to mean differently, they certainly would have gotten up and said so, said Grayson Lambert, an attorney for the governor’s office.
“You’ve got days of debate from the Senate and the House, and never a person says, ‘This is a nineweek, or this is a 10-week law,’” Lambert said. “Not a single person.”
Justice John Few noted that even Planned Parenthood argued before the
state’s high court in 2023 that the ban would apply at six weeks of pregnancy.
When pressed about timing, attorneys maintained that the law would begin at six weeks, he said.
“What you said set up a conversation that leaves a very clear impression that everybody’s talking about the event that occurs at six weeks,” Few said to Humphreville.
The reason for that was because doctors defaulted to enforcing the ban at six weeks out of fear of the consequences of violating the law, which could require paying a $10 000 fine, losing their medical license and/or spending two years in prison, Humphreville said.
It was justices themselves who opened the door to the
question of when the law would go into effect. In his 2023 majority opinion, nowChief Justice John Kittredge wrote in a footnote that “we leave for another day (in an as-applied constitutional challenge) the meaning of ‘fetal heartbeat.’”
On Wednesday, Justice George James said the question of defining the law at nine weeks versus six weeks is “quite arbitrary.” Specifics on the development of an embryo or fetus depends on a woman and her circumstances, so doctors should instead rely on a specific point in time. The question will then become what exactly doctors are looking for, he said.
“It seems to me that this focus on weeks ignores what really is going to happen,” James said. “What is the doctor going to detect? To me, that has nothing to do with weeks.”
Regardless of how the justices decide, representatives for Planned Parenthood said they would continue suing to expand abortion access under the law.
“We will bring many more” lawsuits, said spokeswoman Vicki Ringer. “We will fight every section of the code, every bill that’s introduced.”
The state’s attorney general also vowed to continue fighting those challenges to the law, saying legislators’ intentions in implementing a six-week ban were clear.
“I will always fight to uphold the sanctity of life,” state Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
SC senators advance DOGE plan
By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — A panel of senators advanced a resolution Thursday, Feb. 13, creating a commission proponents say aims to reduce burdensome regulations and cut down on government spending. After changing the commission’s name to the Delivery of Government Efficiency — or DOGE, to mirror the federal Department of Government Efficiency — the six-member subcommittee advanced the resolution without objection. House Republicans, including members of leadership, have made a nearly identical proposal, which has not yet had a hearing.
Like the name, the idea for the commission came from the federal initiative that has begun to slash government spending, said Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, chief sponsor of the legislation. If approved, it would create a 10-member commission tasked with combing through state spending and reporting its recommendations for potential savings by Oct. 1. The report would go to legislative leaders and Gov. Henry McMaster.
The commission would then spend the next year doing the same for the state’s regulations, looking for those that are duplicative or overly burdensome, said Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet.
He doesn’t expect commissioners to find a bunch of waste in agencies’ spending. The commission’s bigger impact, he said, will
come from examining state regulations on businesses.
No legislators would sit on the panel. Instead, the House speaker, Senate president and governor would each appoint three people, and a representative from the state Department of Administration would oversee the group.
The key will be to select people
who know the state’s processes and how they affect business owners, Goldfinch said.
“A lot of times, we hear from our constituents, but we’re insulated, and we don’t always know what the problems are out there,” said the attorney. “This is a great way to find out what the actual problems are.”
McMaster called for similar reductions in regulations during his State of the State address last month.
He specifically wants to examine whether to eliminate any of the more than 40 professional licensing boards, “run by 350 appointed board members, who license and regulate over 500 000 South Carolinians in the workplace,” he said.
“Each year, the licensing of these professions seems to become more complicated and burdensome,” McMaster said in his Jan. 29 speech.
“I agree with my colleagues that it’s time we pause, review the laws that created these boards along with their statutory requirements and determine whether they are necessary, effective, and balanced.”
The commission’s findings could also be a chance for legislators to reevaluate some of their own spending, Goldfinch said. For
instance, legislators could rein in the hundreds of millions of dollars they have spent on local projects annually through the last few state budgets.
“A little self-reflection is not always a bad thing,” Goldfinch said.
The state already has safeguards against unnecessary spending, other senators pointed out.
The Legislative Audit Council audits agencies and programs at legislators’ request. The Office of the State Inspector General examines agencies, colleges and school districts. And oversight committees in both the House and Senate investigate state agencies over a seven-year review schedule.
“I’m not seeing the necessity for it, if we can maybe expand the responsibilities of the oversight commission as it is,” said Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Walterboro.
But she didn’t vote against it. Skylar
From left to right, Taylor Shelton, the plaintiff in the case; Vicki Ringer, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic; and Catherine Humphreville, attorney for Planned Parenthood, stand outside the Supreme Court building on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Skylar Laird/S.C. Daily Gazette
Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet, during a Finance Constitutional Subcommittee meeting Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream
Hundreds attend Statehouse rally to protest Trump, Musk, more
By Shaun Chornobroff SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Hundreds of people who oppose the Trump administration gathered on the Statehouse lawn as part of a national Presidents’ Day protest in all 50 states.
At exactly 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, they started chanting in unison: “This is what Democracy looks like.”
Their complaints were many.
An estimated 400 people chanted, booed and flashed signs of numerous gripes with President Donald Trump, who was sworn into office four weeks ago. They included the influence of tech billionaire Elon Musk, the government-shrinking efforts of the temporary Department of Government Efficiency that Musk leads, Trump’s rollback of protections for transgender students and military personnel, and his numerous other executive orders.
They also faulted South Carolina’s Republicans on Capitol Hill for supporting Trump’s initiatives. South Carolina has just one Democrat in Congress.
While officers were on hand, they had no interactions with the peaceful protesters. And there were no counter-protesters.
“I just want to hold our elected officials accountable for what they pledge to do for our citizens,”
Amy Dupuis, a 40-year-old teacher, told the S.C. Daily Gazette.
Dupuis held a sign that read “so
bad, even the introverts are here.”
Her top concern was the access that Trump gave Musk. Her second was the future of education.
The Ladson native is a math teacher in Dorchester 2 School District. She worries about her job and K-12 education generally if Trump dismantles the U.S. Department of Education as he’s repeatedly said he wants to do, though that would require congressional approval. Like the vast majority of schools statewide, the
school where she works receives federal money to help educate students who live in poverty.
The Summerville-based district is slated to receive about $23 million this school year from the federal government, which amounts to 6% of its total revenue, according to the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
Dupuis said she is specifically worried about protecting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which makes it illegal for recipients of federal funding to discriminate against people with disabilities.
South Carolina is among 17 GOP-led states that sued last September seeking to declare unconstitutional the civil rights law as amended by the Biden administration to include “gender identity disorders.”
“It would be devastating to see that” thrown out, Dupuis said.
In a statement last week, Attorney General Alan Wilson said he fully supports Section 504 accommodations and wants only the part pertaining to gender dysphoria removed. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order that removed “gender identity disorders” as a disability. The case was put on pause following that order.
Awareness of the Statehouse event went out over social media and can be credited to two people who formed Peace and Progress in South Carolina. The protest
was part of a larger initiative dubbed “No Kings,” organized by a group that calls itself the 50501 campaign, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one movement.
A flyer that circulated on social media also advertised protests in Greenville and Myrtle Beach.
The protest marked the second at the Statehouse this month organized by Peace and Progress.
The first, on Feb. 5 — also as part of 50501 — was more specifically against Project 2025, a 900-plus-page book created by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation as a blueprint for overhauling the federal government.
Monday’s attendance dwarfed the gathering 12 days earlier. It helped that the latest was held on a state and federal holiday and happened to be a sunny day.
“It’s definitely a big gathering, many more than we expected,” Blake Justice of Columbia, the rally’s co-organizer, told the S.C. Daily Gazette.
Speakers included members of local political groups, religious leaders and one Richland County lawmaker.
Rep. Heather Bauer, D-Columbia, condemned the inner workings of the Statehouse, where Republicans control both chambers with a supermajority advantage. But that didn’t stop her from criticizing members of her own party.
“Not everyone with a ‘D’ beside
their name is great,” said Bauer, who ousted a Republican in 2022 and managed to hold on to her seat in a rematch last November.
The crowd included people who said they used to be Republicans.
Barbara Bates, a 78-year-old housewife from Goose Creek, was there with her husband Bill, also 78 and a former master chief in the Navy Submarines, as well as her daughter Stacie Arcomona, 54, and a pair of friends.
Barbara Bates held a sign Monday that read “Graham! Scott! Mace! You work for US!!” Bill Bates’ sign said “IMPEACH TRUMP!” And Arcomona’s read “DITCH D.O.G.E.”
The trio said they used to be involved with the Berkeley County GOP.
Barbara Bates voted for Trump in 2016, but did not vote for president in 2020. Bill Bates voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. “I was stupid,” he said. Arcomona didn’t vote for President in 2016 before voting for Biden in 2020
This year, the entire family voted for Kamala Harris. Bill Bates and Arcomona no longer identify as Republicans, they told the S.C. Daily Gazette. Meanwhile, Barbara Bates said she still is a Republican, just not one who supports the current president.
“The party left me,” she said.
Shaun Chornobroff covers the state legislature for the S.C. Daily Gazette, a part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest statefocused nonprofit
About 400 people gathered on the front lawn of the South Carolina Statehouse Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, protesting the Trump administration policies and the newly created Department of Government Efficiency Jessica Holdman/S.C. Daily Gazette
Rep. Heather Bauer. D-Columbia, speaks to a group of
ARTS
I. Pinckney
Simons Gallery hosting Bourbon and Bubbles
Staff reports
I. Pinckney Simons Gallery is hosting its annual Bourbon and Bubbles from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 27
Visit the gallery for a special evening celebrating its award-winning artists, presenting their newest creations — paintings, sculptures and jewelry — while enjoying finely curated bourbons and bubbly complemented by catering Lowcountry Produce.
RSVP at https://bit. ly/3X7etgS by Monday, Feb. 24 to attend.
I. Pinckney Simons Gallery is located at 711 Bay Street in downtown Beaufort.
Beaufort’s King to receive Harper Lee Award
Staff reports
Beaufort’s Cassandra King has been chosen as the 2025 recipient of the Harper Lee Award by the committee selected by leadership of the upcoming Monroeville Literary Festival, to be held Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, March 1, in Monroeville, Ala.
The Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer is awarded each year at the Monroeville Literary Festival, a project of the Monroe County Museum in Monroeville. The annual award recognizes the lifetime achievement of a writer who was born in Alabama or whose literary career developed in the state.
The Alabama Writers Awards — the Harper Lee Award, named after the author of the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” and the Truman Capote Prize — are the highlight of the Festival. King is the award-winning au-
thor of two books of non-fiction and five novels — “Making Waves,” “The Sunday Wife,” “The Same Sweet Girls,” “Queen of Broken Hearts” and “Moonrise” — as well as numerous short stories and articles. “The Sunday Wife” was a Book Sense Pick and a People Magazine Page Turner of the Week; on release, “The Same Sweet Girls” was the No. 1 Book Sense selection nationwide. “Queen of Broken Hearts,” was a Book of the Month Club and Literary Guild selection. Her latest book,” Tell Me a Story,” was named SIBA’s non-fiction Book of the Year.
A native of Alabama, Cassandra resides in Beaufort, where she is honorary chair of the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
“One of my most treasured possessions, literally under lock and
key in my desk, is my signed copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” King told the Festival. “As someone who came of age in rural Alabama during the time of the book’s release, I don’t just love and appreciate ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ I revere it. When Harper Lee told the story of Scout Finch, she was telling my story as well, and the stories of so many of us who grew up during that historic time.”
In expressing her gratitude for the award, King wished she had been able to speak to the late author herself to say, “Harper Lee, few writers have touched and influenced as many lives as you have. But please allow this Alabama girl to finally say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Your writing not only touched and influenced me, you changed my vision of the world.”
King grew up on a peanut farm in the rural community of Pinckard, Ala. As a child, she wrote stories to read to her friends at recess. King
attended Alabama College (now University of Montevallo) and graduated with a BA in English in 1967 In the late 1980s, King returned to the University of Montevallo, where she earned an MFA in 1988
After the end of her first marriage, King taught English and writing classes for several years at Jefferson State and Gadsden State Community Colleges and at the University of Montevallo. In 1998, King married Beaufort writer Pat Conroy, whom she had met in 1995 at the Southern Voices literary conference in Hoover.
After their marriage, King stopped teaching and began writing full-time. Her most recent book, “Tell Me a Story,” is a memoir of her life with Conroy.
For more on the Monroeville Literary Festival, visit www.monroevilleliteraryfestival.com. To register or buy tickets for this year’s events, go to https://bit.ly/42YZhpQ.
‘Tidal Treasures’ at Beaufort Art Association Gallery in March, April
Staff reports
The concept for the Tidal Treasures exhibit grew from a shared love, by three local artists, of the Lowcountry and the artwork it inspires.
The Lowcountry is known for its visual beauty, but it is also rich with the sounds and scents of our surroundings: incoming tides, rolling ocean surf, the waves of marsh grass, remarkable wildlife, shrimp boats on the horizon and, of course, our distinctive pluff mud. These scenes have inspired many creative souls for generations.
Art Rothenberg, Emily Styles and Gail Newton’s artwork all reflect their admiration of the Lowcountry. As active members of Beaufort Art Association’s Gallery Committee, their love of their surroundings gave birth to creating a joint exhibit called “Tidal Treasures.”
The exhibit opens on March 4 and runs through April 26 at Beaufort Art Association Gallery at 913 Bay Street in Beaufort. The open-
ing reception is Friday, March 7 and is open to the public. Stop down and meet the artists and see their exhibit as well as the work of more than 70 other exhibiting local artists.
Rothenberg, who serves Beau-
fort Art Association as the 3-D coordinator for the Gallery, has been crafting unique one of a kind creations for longer than 50 years. From toys for the kids, to kitchen gadgets to bedroom furniture. He and his wife moved to the
Printmakers Kolijn, Flanders present exhibitions at USCB
Staff reports The USC Beaufort Center for the Arts and Sea Islands Center Gallery will host two exhibitions of artwork inspired by our planet's waterways and oceans. Artists Eveline Kolijn and April Flanders will present "Tidalectics" and "Altered Environments," two curated printmaking portfolios, at the Sea Islands Center Gallery through Thursday, March 13; and their own work at the Center for the Arts in the exhibition "Fragile Oceans" from Thursday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, March 23
The public is invited to celebrate these exhibitions from 5 to 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28 at the Center for the Arts at 805 Carteret Street and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sea Islands Center Gallery at 1106 Carteret Street.
USCB will host exhibitions inspired by our planet's waterways and oceans
Lowcountry because they both loved walks on the beach, picking up driftwood, sunsets, and nature at its plainest and grandest. Walking on the beach inspires Rothenberg to dream and think.
Given his love for the arts, he found a way to marry nature with stained glass. Tidal Treasures is how he visualizes the Lowcountry.
Styles’ paintings are a mixture of palette knife, brush strokes, texture, and self-taught learning. Her favorite medium is oil and painting Alla Prima style or wet on wet.
She finds it truly exciting to see a painting take shape and come out of the canvas.
Styles’ favorite subjects are clouds, marshland, waterways, trees, boats, oyster shells, and sea birds. The beauty of the Lowcountry truly is her inspiration, and they speak to her creative soul.
For Styles, who serves BAA as the coordinator for the bi-monthly Featured Artist program, the Lowcountry is, beyond doubt, a magical place she feels privileged to
‘The Shark
Staff reports The USCB Center for the Arts and PURE Theatre invite audiences to dive into the drama behind one of the most legendary films of all time with “The Shark is Broken.” This critically acclaimed play offers a hilarious behindthe-scenes look at the making of the film Jaws and will be performed for two days only at the USCB Center for the Arts.
call home. Newton has been an artist for all her life. After her retirement from the South Carolina school system, she began her journey in art. In Charleston, she studied oil painting and discovered her love of painting the lush Lowcountry landscapes and fascinating wading birds.
A move to the Florida Keys with its vibrant colors inspired her to study acrylic painting and incorporate these bright colors into her paintings. Her art journey continued when she moved to Beaufort, and she began to expand her focus on its salt marshes, glorious sunrises and colorful birds. If painting weren’t enough, Gail manages BAA’s Gallery changeover every other month and is the secretary of the Gallery Committee.
The collaboration of these three fine artists creates an exhibit that reflects the beauty of the Lowcountry and will awaken your minds to the natural treasures that surround us every day.
The artists will be in Residence at the USCB Printmaking Studio (801 Carteret Street) from Monday, Feb. 24 through Thursday, Feb. 27, working with students from USCB's Studio Art and Marine Science programs, and the public is welcome to visit the studio from 1 to 4 p.m. to view the artists at work.
ington, D.C, the Center for the Book Arts, in New York, and the Global Print International, in Douro, Portugal. She is a Professor of Studio Art at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
Flanders is a studio artist living and making in the mountains of Western North Carolina. A keen naturalist, her work has been featured in solo and group shows at museums and galleries nationally and internationally, including the Katzen Museum in Wash-
Kolijn is a printmaker and installation artist living and working in Calgary. Eveline received a MA in cultural anthropology from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 1986 and a BFA from the Alberta College of Art+ Design in 2008 including the Governor General’s Award for academic achievement.
Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, “The Shark is Broken” transports audiences to 1974 , when delays, mechanical failures, and clashing personalities plagued the production of Jaws. The play reveals the off-camera antics of the film’s three lead actors — Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw — as they are stranded on a boat, waiting endlessly for the notoriously unreliable mechanical shark to work. Tensions rise, egos clash, and whiskey flows as they navigate personal insecurities, Hollywood pressures, and the unexpected camaraderie that emerges in the process.
“This play is a must-see for film buffs, theater lovers, and anyone who enjoys a mix of comedy and drama,” USCB Center
for the Arts Director Bonnie Hargrove said in a media release. “PURE Theatre is known for their bold and intimate storytelling, and we are thrilled to bring this popular production to Beaufort.” With “The Shark is Broken,” audiences will experience a blend of humor, nostalgia, and human vulnerability, all wrapped in a fascinating look at cinematic history. Performances will take place at the USCB Center for the Arts on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available now at uscbcenterforthearts.com — Adults $30, Seniors/ Military $25,
Cassandra King
Feelin'Crabby by Gail Newton
by printmakers Eveline Kolijn and April Flander. Submitted photo.
Editor’s
VOICES
Trump cuts will shut down academic medical research
Last week, the Trump administration announced that it is cutting $4 billion from the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), claiming that this money is being wasted on administrative costs. Specifically, the funding cuts being mandated by the administration relate to “indirect costs,” which it wants to reduce or eliminate.
Most Americans don’t understand how biomedical research carried out in university laboratories is funded, and, up until now, there was no reason why they should. But these cuts, along with other funding cancelations that have just been implemented, have the potential to have a large impact on the health of Americans.
What are these “indirect costs” and what exactly do they support? Before I delve further into this topic, let me say that I spent 40 years as a biomedical research scientist who ran research laboratories at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and, most recently, the Medical University of South Carolina.
It is important for people to understand that biomedical scientists like me working in a university laboratory, particularly a medical school laboratory, where the lion’s share of the research and training of future scientists is carried out, actually operate like a small business. The university provides me with laboratory space in a building that it built, and it is outfitted with infrastructure, laboratory furniture, and equipment. When I write grant proposals to the NIH, I include a budget that covers both my salary and the salaries of my research technicians who do the day-to-day work in the lab. I also budget for the tuition, fees and benefits of the graduate students I train, and the salaries of the post-doctoral fellows who work with me.
Beekman Lee WeBB Jr.
Beekman Webb of Beaufort, S.C., a beloved husband, father, and grandfather passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, February 5 2025
Beekman Lee Webb, Jr. "Beek"was born in Beaufort, S.C. on May 18 1947. His parents were Beekman Lee Webb, a Beaufort native, and Margaret Ashley Stansell Webb, of Barnwell County, S.C. Beek attended public schools in Beaufort and, although demonstrating very little interest in scholastics after learning to read in first grade, he graduated from Beaufort High School in 1965. He continued his formal schooling at the University of South Carolina until pressure from Uncle Sam during the Vietnam War forced him to drop out and join the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Encouraged by his maternal grandfather, Leon Stansell, Beek developed an early and lasting interest in mechanical contrivances of all kinds, and in natural history ... especially birds. By the time he became a teenager, he was deemed a "bird expert" in his small town and had the good fortune to be hired for two summers by a group of scientists from Yale University to catch and identify birds in the Beaufort area for their study of equine encephalitis.
The most formative period of his life began at age 14, when he and a small group of boys his age decided to build a camp on Bay Point Island. With scrounged
In addition, I budget for every piece of equipment, every chemical reagent, and every test tube we require to carry out the research projects. These are the direct costs. Thus, I run my lab like a small business, as I am responsible for salaries and supplies for everyone in my lab. The products that we generate in this business are the peer reviewed publications that result from our work. It is these publications that help to push our field forward.
What does not go into my budgets is the money used to pay for the electricity, the phones, the internet, the plumbing, the housekeeping and all of the capital costs required to keep the lights on in my laboratory. When the elevator breaks down, I don’t have to pitch in to pay for that. Neither did I have to pay to build the building my lab is in.
Where does that money come from? The answer is indirect costs. These are the funds that the administration wants to cut or eliminate. The indirect costs of biomedical research are covered by money that the university gets from the
materials and no adult assistance they constructed a dock and a tworoom cabin on a small hummock behind the main island. Hauling all the materials in their small boats, and eschewing schoolwork, sports, girls and almost everything else, Beek and his friends completed their camp within a year and enjoyed it most weekends during their high school years and for weeks at a time during summers and holidays. They had, almost entirely to themselves, what was at that time an idyllic wilderness in which to hunt, fish and explore. He always felt that his childhood years 'down the river' gave him the knowledge, independence and selfconfidence to make his way and support his family for the rest of his life. He credited his parents for trusting his judgment and allowing him the freedom to go when many of his peers' parents would not. For a few years in his 20s Beek lived in the North Carolina Outer Banks where he worked in boatyards
NIH when my laboratory grant is funded.
A typical laboratory like mine has a research budget of about $250 000 per year, per grant. Most labs run on two to three grants. This money covers all of the direct costs of running my research operation.
For every $250,000 that comes directly to me to run my operation, approximately $125,000 per year in indirect costs goes to the university. Indirect cost rates are negotiated by each university with the NIH.
The university uses this indirect cost funding to keep the lights on in the labs and to keep the research buildings fully operational. When I have a grant, I’m not only funding my own research operation, I am essentially paying rent to the University for the space I am using. The rent money comes from the indirect costs that I generate with my grants.
Since the research that we do is paid for by our NIH grants, which is funded by your tax dollars, we are required to make public the results of our work. We do this by publishing papers, and presenting our research
and at commercial fishing. During this time he had the good fortune to meet his future wife and life partner, Cathy Wolfe. They moved to Beaufort and built their house on Coosaw Island where they lived happily for 45 years, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. Just as Beek's grandfather introduced him to the wonders of the natural world, so did Beek with his own beloved grandchildren, Baylen, Hunter, Corinne and Ryder, in a setting nearly as idyllic as that of the cabin days back at Bay Point Island.
In 1983 Beek and Cathy formed Beekman Webb Construction Company, which they operated for 35 years specializing in historic stabilization, restoration and preservation. He and his team, consisting of some of the area's most accomplished craftsmen, were privileged to perform extensive work on many of Beaufort's most historic structures. In 2015 he received Historic Beaufort Foundation's Danner Award for lifetime achievement in historic preservation.
Beek served on the Beaufort County Board of Adjustments and Appeals, the board of the Historic Beaufort Foundation, as chairman of the Beaufort County Historic Review Board, as chairman of the Port Royal Historic Review Board, on the Beaufort County Rural and Critical Lands Board, and many years on the board of Beaufort County Open Land Trust, including a term as its president.
findings and discoveries at local, regional, national, and international conferences.
As a result, discoveries made in academic research laboratories become the medicine of tomorrow. Every single drug used to treat disease and every type of medical device or equipment used to treat patients are the result of basic research findings from academic labs.
When you consider the scope of the biomedical research operations in American universities and medical schools, the hundreds of research buildings fully outfitted with stateof-the-art equipment and highly trained scientists and the future scientists we are training, it is clear that research universities cannot operate without this indirect cost funding.
Universities, and especially public universities, simply don’t have the resources to cover those expenses. The buildings that are used for biomedical research cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and maintain. When the indirect costs funding dries up, the university has no choice but to close laboratories.
Along with those many distinguished and important duties and titles, Beek described himself thus: "He was a lifetime birder, performed regularly throughout his life on banjo, guitar, fiddle and mandolin, and was a student of many subjects." a perfect example of his selfeffacing lack of pretension, and wry humor.
Going back to that boyhood idyll and the group of friends he gathered for its creation — several of whom came from afar to visit Beek during his final illness — and forward through the decades, Beek was a friend and mentor to multitudes. Always cheerful, steady, smart, practical and reliable, he was the person those who knew him went to for sure advice and kind comfort. His Jam Sessions at various settings on the Coosaw homestead were a musician's delight, his oyster roasts outstanding, his many interests inlay, antique fire irons, Beaufort history, archaeology, fiddle making on Cape Breton Island, Bluegrass, ancient technology ... whatever! always fascinating. Cooking for small and large dinner parties, as well as for fishing and other boat trips, Beek also entertained before or after the meal with live music, which often led to dancing. Cathy, his adored and adoring wife, shared in all of his projects and passions. Together they created delicious, magical, amusing, and loving occasions with the many friends, children, grandchildren,
Please don’t be fooled by the idea that indirect costs fund unnecessary “administrative” costs. Indirect cost funds are a vital part of America’s medical research apparatus. Without them, the system will collapse.
Stephen P. Ethier
Ph.D. is Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston. Before joining MUSC in January 2012, Ethier was the Associate Director for Basic Research and Deputy Director of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute (an NCIdesignated Comprehensive Cancer Center), and Professor of Oncology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. Prior to that, Ethier was a member of the University of Michigan Medical School faculty and over 17 years rose through the ranks to become Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and was named the Ruth Tuttle-Freeman Research Professor of Radiation Oncology in 2002. While at Michigan, Ethier was the co-leader of the Breast Oncology Program of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Ethier has spent his career studying the biology of breast cancer. In recent years, his work has been focused on the genomic alterations that drive cancer development and progression.
OBITUARIES
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dogs (and snakes, frogs, birds, etc.) who graced their home and life. Beek was always ready to lend a helping hand and shared his knowledge freely. His life graced ours', and he will be sorely, sorely missed.
Beek is survived by his wife Cathy, their daughter Maggie Webb Hartl (Brad), grandsons (Baylen, Ryder and Hunter), son Arnot Wolf Hulth, granddaughter, (Corinne) and sister Martha Evelyn "Hi" Webb Williams (Jim). He was predeceased by his parents and his sister Frances Gray Webb Hurt.
Friends wishing to memorialize him in some way may consider joining and contributing to Open Land Trust.
Burial will be private. A memorial gathering is planned for later.
God is love, and science is real.
Copeland Funeral Service is assisting the Webb family with arrangements.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Beekman Lee Webb Jr, please visit our flower store at https://bit. ly/3Qonoqu.
STEPHEN P. ETHIER
Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island
‘Dark Enlightenment’ found a powerful audience
The past three weeks have been tumultuous to say the least. But then, we cannot say we weren’t warned. Warnings aside, the reality was, as so many said, “shock and awe.”
I don’t think anyone foresaw the deluge of so-called legislation being brought forth. Of course the word legislation is a misnomer, given not one congressman or woman had any say-so to what was thrown against the wall in hopes of sticking.
So, as I waded through the quagmire once again in an effort to gain perspective on a topic, I stumbled upon a name that I had never encountered before. Maybe this person’s anonymity is purposeful, although I can’t believe this is true since what follows is a rundown of a person who was invited to Trump’s inauguration as well as the “Coronation” Ball. Let the implications of the name of this event sink in.
The glitzy gala was hosted by the ultraconservative publishing house, Passage Press and took place in the ballroom of the Watergate Hotel (just a little irony). It was designed to celebrate the new conservative counter-elite that was swept in by Trump’s reelection.
The name of the man to whom I referred earlier is Curtis Yarvin, and what I discovered is this: Yarvin has done more to shape the
thinking of Passage Press and the Trumpian far-right than perhaps any other person. So who is he?
Yarvin, an ex-computer programmer-turned-blogger, has argued that American democracy is irrevocably broken and ought to be replaced with a monarchy styled after a Silicon Valley tech start-up.
According to Yarvin, the time has come to jettison existing democratic institutions and concentrate political power in a single “chief executive” or “dictator.” These ideas — which Yarvin calls “neo-reaction” or “the Dark Enlightenment” — were once confined to the fringes of the internet, but now, with Trump’s reelection, they are finding a powerful audience in Washington.
Additionally, Yarvin alludes to the “revolutionary vanguard” of young conservatives who grew up reading his blogs and are now entering the new administration.
While Yarvin is skeptical that Trump is able to bring about the kind of regime change that he (Yarvin) envisions, he is
Ihave been following closely our country’s bird flu crisis and am especially concerned about the recent revelation that a second type of bird flu has been detected in dairy cows in Nevada and a new strain of the bird flu virus, H5N9, was found in California. These developments are precisely what many public health officials have been most concerned about as it means that bird flu is transforming in a way that could allow it to spread more easily in humans.
For this reason, I was disheartened when I read the news that the new administration has halted the release of public health information related to the study of bird flu virus, including knowledge that could help reduce the risk of contagion.
I call on South Carolina’s senators and representatives in Washington to do what they can to reinstate communication and information that will help solve our nation’s bird flu virus epidemic.
Just a few weeks ago, 490 quail, pheasants, and ducks were destroyed on a commercial gamebird facility in Spartanburg County after bird flu was found. I
pleased to see that the new administration is seeking to concentrate power in the executive branch.
I found the following from a conversation between the interviewer, Ian Wood of Politico, and Yarvin. To start, Yarvin asserted that there is a newfound confidence and aggressiveness in “Trump’s GOP.”
“Every time the old Republicans wanted to do something, it was like the nebbish guy asking the hot prom queen out for a date — they were just terrified that they were going to ask and the answer would be ‘no,’” he said. “That attitude does not seem to be present here.”
The interview continued with Yarvin being asked, “You were in Washington during the inauguration. How was the mood?
“You’re definitely dealing with a lot of people who have spent the last four or eight years thinking about why the first Trump administration basically did not achieve anything for its supporters as opposed to its lobbyists. I’m not talking to the high strategic command or whatever, but just my impression from my connections among low- and mid-level people is that they’ve figured some things out.
The first and most important thing they’ve figured out from a political standpoint is that the situation that Trump is in is
a little like Duke Leto and Arrakis.”
Now I admit you could place my knowledge of Dune in a thimble and still have room for your finger. But I went down the rabbit hole of research. “Volumes” doesn’t begin to describe it, but I pulled what I feel is sufficient information for this piece.
Arrakis is a harsh desert planet located on the far edge of the Old Imperium in the Canopus star system. It is the most important planet in the universe, as it is the only source of the drug melange, an essential spice and valuable commodity that makes interstellar travel possible.
As for Leto, he inherited the dukedom where he became a just and respected leader. I know, I know — if you choose to stop reading here, I will understand. According to Reddit, he was the romanticized ideal of masculine leadership — a man who genuinely cared for his subordinates, wife and son, a man of strong moral convictions.
I should have stopped right there and chosen another topic for this week, but …
My point in using Yarvin’s analogy is to make a point. How can we possibly accept a thought process such as that which has influence over the leadership of our country?
That said, I feel a need to go back and parse some of the words of the Yarvin
“analogy.”
First, we are hardly Arrakis … yet! And secondly, please check his attributing the personality traits of Leto to Trump. Cares for his subordinates? His wife? His son? Get real. A man of moral convictions? You have to be kidding.
The interviewer continued. “We’re talking Dune here, right?” Yarvin responded positively. He continued, “Yeah. There’s a little bit of landing on the mostly enemy planet, DC. You’re landing there, and one of the general assumptions of the controlled opposition — the old Republican establishment — is that this is not really a symmetric political system.
“Instead of a left party and a right party, we have an inner party [a bipartisan elite] and an outer party [the anti-establishment insurgents]. This outer party is basically the party that exists to collect and market the votes of unfashionable America.”
He went on to say, “The way that I think metaphorically about the problem of what can be done with the powers of the presidency is untangling the Gordian knot. I often say, ‘Look, DC is run by Congress, not by the president.’ The president stands in front of it and waves his hands and watches the system go, but the real decisions are ‘funding decisions,’ and those kinds of decisions are made by Congress or the agencies. Actually, if the White House didn’t exist, America would still work.”
Shifting toward SC crops and orchards could help curb bird flu crisis
support the state veterinarian, Dr. Michael Neault, for helping to quickly isolate and test the birds.
Healthcare professionals are monitoring this situation and remain hopeful that South Carolina does not join the list of states in which human cases of bird flu have been detected. I applaud our public health officials for doing what they can to keep the bird flu from spreading but the reality is that the virus has sickened dozens of people, decimated poultry populations, and infected dairy cows.
Now is the time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick birds and cows, the “standard American diet” that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.
From a doctor’s perspective, shifting food production away from intensive
animal agriculture can benefit public health.
Facilities with large numbers of animals in a small amount of space are a concern for public health because they provide ideal conditions for viruses to spread, evolve, and possibly acquire the ability to more easily infect people. Intensive animal agriculture was implicated when influenza viruses H1N1, H5N1, and N7N9 jumped from animals to people, according to research published in “Frontiers in Microbiology.”
It may surprise some to learn that South Carolina ranks 13th and 17th in our country for egg and broiler chicken production, respectively. That is a lot of opportunity for spread of bird flu virus.
The life of a contract chicken grower can be challenging, and some of them are repurposing their chicken houses to grow crops. Poultry farmers Dale and Paula Boles in neighboring North Carolina switched from chickens, converted their 500-footlong poultry barn to a greenhouse, and now grow organic vegetables.
They are not alone. In southwest Arkansas, farmers Jennifer and Rodney
“Now is the time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick birds and cows, the “standard American diet” that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.”
DR. BETH MOTLEY, on the need to shift away from intensive animal agriculture to improve public health and prevent the spread of bird flu.
Barrett are transitioning from raising poultry and cattle to growing mushrooms. These farm transitions aren’t easy.
The government should provide financial and technical support.
South Carolina could
help its farmers with a program like the one established by lawmakers in Vermont who provide grants to farmers who wish to diversify or transition from one type of farming to another.
Fortunately, South Carolina is full of opportunity for poultry and dairy farmers who want to transition to crops or orchards.
After all, not every state can lay claim to the annual Okra Strut, World Grits Festival, and the Colleton County Rice Festival. Plant-based foods like beans, legumes, veggies and delicious fruits grown in South Carolina can help people improve heart health, prevent diabetes, and maintain a healthy weight, among other benefits.
Shifting away from animal agriculture helps our environment and improves worker safety as well. Large-scale poultry operations produce huge amounts of waste and contribute to waterways overloaded with phosphorous, and other pollutants. Poultry farms are a primary source of water, air, and land pollution.
My personal experience and the experience of my patients is that removing
When asked what he (Yarvin) would do, he said, “I would cut the Gordian knot. For example, a straightforward way to cut the knot is to say, ‘Look, the [Federal Reserve] is clearly under executive authority.’ It’s clearly not part of the legislative branch, it’s clearly not part of the judicial branch, so it’s clearly part of the executive branch. And because the Fed actually controls the monetary system, I can order it to mint the trillion-dollar coin, or more to the point, I can basically order the Fed to buy assets. And because I can order the Fed to buy assets, I can order the Fed to buy notes issued by new institutions. Cutting to the chase, it’s all about what we already knew … power and money. When the remainder of the interview continued with Yarvin alluding to the populace as the elves and the hobbits, I gave up. You decide, dear reader, what you think of this new vision for our country.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
animal products from the diet improves health, and the scientific literature tells the same story.
A recent study with 22 pairs of identical twins found that a plant-based diet improves heart health in as little as eight weeks. The twins following a plant-based diet experienced lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and they lost more weight than the omnivore twins.
In the short term, let’s allow our public health officials to communicate in order to stop the spread of this virus.
Taking a long view, government grants and other assistance should be available if South Carolina poultry farmers or egg producers would like to switch to growing crops and planting orchards, which will also benefit human health and the environment.
Dr. Beth Motley has earned designations as a fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and a diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. She is a family physician and lifestyle medicine physician in Greenville and a member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a public health advocacy nonprofit.
CAROL LUCAS
DR. BETH MOTLEY
Editor’s
Gaither got things done in Beaufort County schools
On Dec. 23, 2024, Thomas Gaither died in Prospect, Penn. He was 86
In 1961, Thomas Gaither was one of nine young men who decided to take their lunch at McCrory’s Department Store in downtown Rock Hill. In those days McCory’s only served white people and Gaither was asked to vacate his revolving stool. He refused.
Thereafter Gaither was arrested and awarded a month in jail.
Some will remember that Thomas Gaither chose to serve his 30 days in jail rather than seek bail.
A few Beaufort folk know that Thomas Gaither was the brother of Herman Gaither — who is very much alive — and recall Herman Gaither’s time as Superintendent of the Beaufort County School District.
Although it has been 30 years and multiple superintendents since Gaither’s time, I sat down with Gaither and we talked about his life.
“When I was growing up in Great Falls, I went to a one-room school where my mother was paid $50 (to teach) each month by the
county. We used text books that had been previously used by the white students — they were battered and worn-out. In those days the school building was provided by a black church but there was no indoor plumbing.”
In 1960, Gaither matriculated at Claflin College at the same moment when Black students were trying to integrate a “white’s only” luncheon counter at Kresge’s in downtown Orangeburg, S.C.
“We would wait until 2 or 3 in the afternoon when the store was mostly empty, occupy several stools and wait for the manager to tell us we had to leave. Shortly thereafter, the Sheriff would arrive and detain everyone in a stockade,” he said.
“Later we went before the judge.”
Some years later the dime store protests moved to a bowling alley and a confrontation on Feb. 8, 1968. That night a rock was thrown and the Highway Patrol opened fire, killing three students.
Gaither arrived at Robert Smalls High School in 1970 when integration (of the public schools) had finally made its way to Beaufort County.
While Gaither was at Robert Smalls, he knew Beaufort’s black schools were falling apart.
“I had taught at Robert Smalls and knew 1/3rd of the windows were broken or missing.”
After being named Superintendent in 1994, he embarked on an effort to renovate and expand old schools and build additional schools that were desperately needed in the County. He knew that getting money from the General Assembly was unlikely, and so, working with District’s Chief Financial Officer, they devised a plan to borrow the needed money through the issuance of general obligation bonds without a property tax increase.
The millions needed to fund
his capital school plan required a voter approved referendum as the needed dollars exceeded the state statute for borrowing.
For a referendum to be successful Gaither had to figure-out how much money was needed, when it was needed and how to spread out the bond issues to meet the lengthy construction schedule.
The bond issues and their debt payments were structured to factor in the growth of the mill — how much property values were increasing each year — so repayment would be within the limits of the additional revenue realized from the growth of the mill.
“We devised a plan where we would borrow, say $120,000,000 with interest-only payments for the first three years. We would spread out the remaining payments with a balloon at the very end,” Gaither said.
Gaither also insisted on a “construction manager” who was assigned to monitor the construction, making sure the work was on schedule and on budget. In addition to this person he formed an “oversight committee” to work with the construction manag-
er and to report, to the School District, the good, bad and ugly events that usually flow from a project of this size.
Every year during construction, the District published an article in the Beaufort Gazette that outlined what was happening with the building project. In this manner he kept the public aware of what was happening with the millions of dollars being spent by the District.
Throughout his years as Superintendent Gaither repeatedly appeared before a County Council that was skeptical about whether Gaither could handle millions of dollars pouring into the District from the sale of bonds.
Before Council embarks on another “penny sales tax” referendum it might want to ask Herman Gaither how he raised $330 000 000 and rebuilt the schools.
Gaither also re-imagined the District’s curriculum, which will be discussed in another column.
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
Term limits are solution in search of a problem in SC
Arecent comment from a reader came in with a popular notion from a few years back when Republicans weren’t totally in control of S.C. politics: term limits. The reader said, “It is time to remove career politicians from all parties. Term limits would provide a natural barrier to long term corruption that is rampant in our system today.”
As much as many of our current state legislators may need to go because of continuing bad policy choices related to everything from exacerbating strife through culture wars to not dealing well with poverty, education and health care, term limits still are not the answer. If South Carolina had term limits like a handful of other states, things could
ANDY BRACK
actually get worse with even less qualified newbie legislators who don’t know how to run government and who would have to rely on unelected veteran staff members, whose behindthe-scenes power would grow.
Furthermore, the suggestion that term limits are needed to “inject new blood” into the system fails if you look at what has happened in our regular system of elections. Sure, there are some veteran legislators around who are
Open letter to Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott and Congresswoman Nancy Mace
In my 77 years, I have seen a few things. Today I have never been so afraid for this nation and the generations following me. I owe them the good world granted to me by the sacrifices of those before me.
Here is a difficult challenge for you. Stand up and defend the separation of powers so wisely framed by our founders and take back the power due you as my elected representative. Put loyalty to the constitution over loyalty to party, person and career.
We are at the intersection of constitutional order and an authoritarian executive regime that has pardoned violent people and withdrawn protection from former government officials who face credible death threats. A green light for some to choose the violence lane thinking they, as many others will not be held accountable.
Further, political loyalty is being demanded of federal workers and DOJ officers are targeted for following lawful directives. President Trump, who per the Supreme Court is above the law in the execution of his duties, was elected promising retribution. So is retribution accepted policy? If you don’t want to be on the receiving end, just keep in line with a smile?
Maybe that looks good if the current president is your man. But what of the next and the next …? Can any human be worthy of such power? Please point me to an example of a nation where such a concentration of power has been
in top positions because of seniority – positions they’ve earned for years of service in learning how to make the system work pretty well. They seek office, term after term. Examples: Republican S.C. Sen. Harvey Peeler of Gaffney first was elected in 1980, and the next two in seniority, Democratic Sen. Darrell Jackson of Richland County and GOP Sen. Luke Rankin of Horry County, joined the state Senate in 1992, the same year Bill Clinton became president.
But look at how many new senators we’ve elected in the past few years. Of the state’s 46 senators, 14 were elected in 2024. Another seven were elected since 2016. That means 21 state senators – almost half of the chamber – have fewer than eight years experience
and many are brand new. If that’s not turnover for a fresh start – using the power that voters have to elect who they want to serve –what is?
The story is more dramatic in the 124-member South Carolina House of Representatives. There are two vacancies now and 14 new members joined the body after the November elections. In the 2022 elections, voters elected 26 new House members. In 2020 they elected another 10. So since 2020, South Carolina voters have elected 50 new members of the House –and two special elections are still on tap. Fifty-two House members of 124 is a whopping 42%! And that’s without a constitutional change to take away freedom for voters to pick the person they want to serve for one term or many.
just and successful.
Perhaps you are happy with the seeming unlimited power of the Musk-Trump regime. Maybe you believe that the richest, most powerful, most free nation we share is really, as alleged, a total mess. One that must be remade from scratch. Maybe that view looks bold and brilliant. But remember that dismantling things is the easy the short cut. Building and thoughtful reform are the truly demanding and worthy tasks. Remember Humpty Dumpty?
Please stand up and do the really hard work. Protect the rights of all our people by exerting the proper authority of congress to control funding, create or remove agencies, and assure the rule of law under the executive whose power you are charged to check.
This can be your moment. We are all depending on you.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Before it’s too late
– Tim Joy
Since 1980, more than $50 trillion has been transferred from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%. If we do the math, this means every man, woman, and child in the bottom 90% has seen approximately $140 000 of its wealth stolen by the top 1%
While Republican politicians attempt to divert your attention with DEI and transgender issues, their wealthy donors have essentially picked your pockets. This is why you need a second job while they are shopping for a
In recent years, all of this volatility in our general political environment that’s more polarized than ever has changed the legislature. There are fewer deep thinkers. There are fewer people who understand nuance. Debates are rushed as lawmakers spend fewer weeks in Columbia – which many Democrats and Republicans are probably thankful for.
As we wrote in 2016 in another column related to the down sides of term limits, systemic changes at the Statehouse are most obvious in the state Senate: “Once the domain of where some ideas just went to die or to be talked to death, it also once served as a check to the hot-headedness of the S.C. House of Representatives and often made other ideas better and more stable. These days, it has become more like the House
of old, moving forward with less reflection, more reaction.”
Automatically throwing out seasoned veterans who still want to serve and are doing a good job is not in South Carolina’s best longterm interests. Arguments about term limits will not solve any problems in our General Assembly, as witnessed by the huge turnover in recent years. What will work, however, is if Republicans and Democrats really try to work together for the common good of South Carolinians instead of showing up to score political points while looking ahead to the next election.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@ statehousereport.com.
bigger yacht with a heliport. And meanwhile, these same Republican politicians are abolishing the Consumer Protection Agency and anything else that might give you a small measure of protection against their predator-class donors.
I hope we still have free and fair elections in 2026. You may have voted Republican your entire life but I would encourage you to look at the damage they have done to the middle class and reconsider your choices, before it's too late.
Various thoughts
– Peter Birschbach, Port Royal
I enjoy reading Margaret Evans articles. The BIFF Vibe. I've long heard of Cannes and Sundance film festivals, but her article shows that our own film festival is in the same league. The breakfast at Blackstone boys was excellent. I was amazed what the Tuckers have done over the years to make the festival a poplar and huge success.
Carol Lucas: I love you! Mariann Edgar Buddle Prayer service I watched. This woman is a brave, courageous, and emphatic soul. For Donald Trump and his MAGA Loonies to fly into outrage for what she said is preposterous! She speaking God's words!
Republicans continue to try and steal lottery profits from public schools to fund scholarships to private education even though it has been struck down by the supreme court. They should be ashamed!
– Don Cass, Beaufort
SCOTT GRABER
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Recognize signs of a heart emergency
February is American Heart Month and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has tips to help you spot signs of a heart attack and know when it is time to go to the emergency department.
“Never ignore the warning signs of a heart emergency or wait until symptoms become unbearable to seek medical attention,” said Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP, president of ACEP. “Quick action can be the difference between life and death.”
The signs of a heart attack may include some, but not all, of these symptoms: Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing sensation or pain in the center of the chest, lasting more than a few minutes, or going away and coming back.
• Pain, numbness, or uncomfortable prickling sensations spreading to the shoulders, neck, jaw, arms or back.
Chest pain, pressure or tightness accompa-
nied by lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath.
The less common signs of a heart attack should not be ignored, especially when they accompany any of the above symptoms. These can include abnormal chest, stomach or abdominal pain, nausea or dizziness, unexplained weakness or fatigue, palpitations, cold sweat, or paleness.
Some of the warning signs may be different for women. Chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack for men and women. However, women are more likely to experience upper back or neck pain, which may initially seem unrelated to a heart attack.
If someone is potentially having a heart attack: Call 911 immediately. Stay with the person until the ambulance arrives. It is better to call for an ambulance than drive yourself. EMS
professionals can begin treatment as soon as they arrive, allowing for more timely medical attention. Heart attack symptoms can quickly escalate and may include loss of consciousness. That is not a time when anyone should be behind the wheel. If the person is conscious, help them into a comfortable position. Loosen clothing around
the chest area and remain calm until the ambulance arrives. If the person becomes unconscious, help them lay on their back, loosen clothing at the neck, chest, and waist. Check for breathing and pulse; if absent, and if trained to do so, begin CPR.
Chest pain accompanying a heart attack can feel similar to discomfort associat-
ed with anxiety, heartburn, lung issues and other medical conditions. A person with no medical training is not expected to be able to diagnose whether their chest pain is a heart attack. Anyone who thinks they are having a medical emergency should not hesitate to seek emergency care. Federal laws require anyone who comes to the emergency department to be
treated and stabilized. And, insurance providers are required to offer coverage based on presenting symptoms, not final diagnosis.
Recognizing the signs of a heart emergency and seeking help immediately can dramatically increase the chances of survival and recovery.
“Chest pain should always be taken seriously and minutes matter in an emergency,” said Dr. Haddock. “If something does not feel right, you should seek medical attention. An emergency physician is ready to help you 24 hours a day, every day of the year.”
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is the national medical society representing emergency medicine. Through continuing education, research, public education, and advocacy, ACEP advances emergency care on behalf of its 40,000 emergency physician members, and the more than 150 million people they treat on an annual basis. For more information, visit www.acep.org and www.emergencyphysicians.org.
Five steps to a healthy heart
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of death in our country—on average, someone in the United States dies of CVD every 34 seconds, reports the American Heart Association. These diseases include heart attacks, stroke, congestive heart failure, heart rhythm disorders, sudden cardiac death, coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease and vascular diseases.
Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists cardiologist Francis O’Neill, M.D., board-certified in internal medicine and fellowship-trained in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology, noted that there are five simple ways to dramatically reduce your risk of
Dr. Francis O’Neill
cardiovascular diseases.
Know your family history. There is an old saying: “you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.”
“A strong family history of CVD, especially at a young age (earlier than age 60 for women and 50 for men), is a major warning sign that you are at high risk for CVD,” Dr. O’Neill said. “Understanding that history can help guide lifestyle changes to reduce your risk.”
Know your risk factors. Beyond family history, it’s important to be aware of risk factors you may have.
If you catch a cold or upper respiratory infection and it lingers long enough, it may turn into a sinus infection known as sinusitis. Symptoms can include a runny nose and nasal congestion accompanied by pain, swelling, and pressure around the eyes, nose, cheeks, or forehead that gets worse when bending over.
A sinus infection is inflammation of the sinuses—the spaces inside your nose and head. When the sinuses are swollen, they can't drain, causing mucus to build up.
"A typical sinus infection is caused by the common cold, or most common viruses out there, typically lasting anywhere from three days to seven days. And it typically goes away on its own," says Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family physician.
He says there are some simple home treatments you can do to ease the symptoms, such as drinking plenty of fluids, taking over-the-counter pain relievers and decongestants, and using a saline nasal
“Do you have diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol or obesity? Do you smoke or have a chronic inflammatory condition such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or other autoimmune disease?” Dr. O’Neill asked. “If so, you’re at higher risk for CVD.”
Smoking is a major risk factor, too, he pointed out. You can reduce your risk of CVD by a significant amount in just a year’s time by quitting (plus, think of the money you’ll save by not buying all those cigarettes!).
Exercise on a regular basis. The importance of regular exercise can’t be overstated.
“Whether you have risk factors or not, this will dramatically re-
duce your risk of hypertension, diabetes and CVD,” Dr. O’Neill explained. “Thirty minutes three to four times a week is all it takes.”
Eat a healthy diet. Obesity is a major epidemic in this country and significantly increases the risk of CVD.
The Mediterranean diet is recommended by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology and includes lots of heart-healthy foods.
“It’s great for people with hypertension, diabetes, CVD and those who want to lose weight and keep the weight off,” Dr. O’Neill said. “Plus, it’s simple and easy to follow.”
Know the symptoms. Symp-
toms of CVD include chest pain or discomfort, especially with activity, shortness of breath, unexplained fatigue, arm pain with exertion, back pain with exertion or jaw pain.
Other symptoms may include dizziness, palpitations, and leg pain.
“If you have a family history, other risk factors, or have any of the above symptoms, please see your primary care physician as soon as possible to address these issues,” Dr. O’Neill said.
If you take these five simple steps, you are on your way to a much healthier lifestyle and a dramatic reduction in your risk of developing CVD.
Heart Matters: What high triglycerides mean
By Deb Balzer
rinse or nasal spray. When it comes to sinus infections, in general, he says time is often the best medicine. "But if somehow you start getting better and then start getting worse and feel more facial pressure — can be teeth pressure, fever, lot of facial pain, fatigue—after a period of a week, you should seek care and get evaluated by a clinician," says Dr. Bracamonte.
You may be familiar with high-density, or good cholesterol; low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol; and their connections to heart health. But what about triglycerides? Often that word gets skimmed over when talking about cholesterol levels.
Dr. Regis Fernandes, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says triglycerides provide the body with energy from food. High levels can indicate signs of other conditions, like diabetes or prediabetes, that can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Triglycerides, the main kind of fat in your body, store extra energy from the food you eat.
"It's an energy source. It's like a little battery used for energy. But too many triglycerides can also cause heart disease," says Dr. Fernandes.
People who are overweight, in general, have high triglyceride levels and good cholesterol levels that are low.
"They may get heart disease not because their LDL is high, they get heart disease because the HDL is low and the triglycerides is high," he says.
And this is significant for people in their 30s and 40s.
So, what can you do? Reducing simple carbohydrates, such as refined sugars and flours, can help lower your weight and improve your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. And you can back that up with exercise.
"One of the best ways to lower triglyceride levels is to exercise. Also, exercise helps to lose weight. And when you lose weight, your triglycerides improve a lot," says Dr. Fernandes.
Tips to lower triglycerides Aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days. Cut sugar and refined carbs. Lose weight and focus on reducing calories. Choose healthier fats like olive oil and fish that are rich in omega-3 Limit alcohol, which can be high in calories and sugar.
Medications, including statins, may be prescribed if lifestyle modifications don't help.
Kids have a lot to learn in their first five years of life. They learn to walk, talk, and eventually to start reading. But while kids can pick up walking and talking naturally, they must be taught how to read. Children who struggle with the building blocks of reading may be at risk for developing dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a reading disorder in which people find it hard to link speech sounds to letters and words. They also have trouble with spelling and recognizing words. These issues make reading difficult.
“To develop reading skills, your brain has to reorganize itself,” says Dr. Jack Fletcher, a neuropsychologist at the University of Houston. “It takes brain areas that are built for language and for visual attention and repurposes them for reading.”
But everyone’s brain is different. These differences can make it harder for certain people to learn to read. Your genes can affect your chance of developing dyslexia. The disorder tends to run in families. Environmental factors, like not having access to quality instruction, can also raise your risk.
“We can lessen that risk with instruction on reading and on how language works and other approaches,” says Fletcher. But early intervention is key.
“We want to identify kids who are at risk for dyslexia and intensify their instruction early on to try
Options & References for a Healthier Life
Decoding Dyslexia
Helping kids who struggle with reading
and keep them from developing dyslexia,” Fletcher explains. Kids who struggle to keep up with classmates are also at risk for developing mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. “We know that in first grade in particular, kids are very aware of how well they’re reading, and who in the classroom is not reading well. That is troublesome to lots of kids,” Fletcher says. Decades of research has identified the best way to teach most children to read. Kids must first
learn what’s called “phonemic awareness.” This means they understand that words are composed of distinct sounds, or “phonemes.” Then they have to apply this knowledge to printed text and understand that the letters represent the structured sounds of speech. If they don’t gain these skills early on, it can affect their progress in learning to read as they get older. If your child has trouble reading, talk with their teacher and their doctor. Health professionals can help rule out certain other is-
sues, like hearing or vision problems, that may underlie reading problems. An evaluation for dyslexia may involve visits to specialists such as speech-language pathologists, psychologists, or a reading or education specialist. If your child attends public school, you may be able to request a free evaluation.
Children with dyslexia sometimes have other learning problems, too, such as difficulties with writing or reading comprehension. These problems can be caused by
dyslexia or by separate learning disabilities. Many kids with dyslexia also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is not a learning disability. But it can interfere with learning because it disrupts attention span and the ability to organize. ADHD requires its own treatments. There is no cure for dyslexia. But early recognition of the condition, and support at home and school, can help set kids with dyslexia on the road to success.
When a child is always on the go with sports and other after school activities, it could put them at risk for hurried child syndrome. A psychologist explains why.
If it feels like your child always has something going on after school, whether it’s sports or other activities, it may be time to scale back their schedule.
As Kate Eshleman, PhD, psychologist with Cleveland Clinic Children’s explains, when a child is too busy, they’re at risk for something called hurried child syndrome.
“Hurried child syndrome
is described in popular media as a way that we interact with our children. Day-to-day, our children are involved in so many activities that we are hurried all throughout the day to get from one thing to the next,” said Dr. Eshleman. “And that's in the broader concept of really hurrying our children to develop more quickly than is really appropriate for their age.”
Dr. Eshleman said when a child is constantly on the go, they may start to feel stressed, anxious, or even exhausted. Be very mindful as a par-
ent that if a kid is staying up late because they've been at practice, and they need to shower, and then they need to do their homework, and they're not getting enough sleep, that could impact mood, concentration, interactions. Especially since being that active requires a lot of focus.
It can also impact their home life since they don’t have the time to sit down for family dinners or take part in unstructured play and unstructured play is an important part of a child’s development. What can parents do to
prevent hurried child syndrome?
She recommends talking to your child about their schedule and figuring out what activities are most important to them. Then determine if that fits with your family’s time, finances, and values.
Dr. Eshleman also notes that social media can also play a role in causing hurried child syndrome and suggests limiting access.
Penn Center offering local option for Modjeska Simkins School class
The Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights is accepting students to its spring session, markingthe school’s 10th year of teaching civics, organizing strategies, and a people’s history of South Carolina to students of all ages and backgrounds.
This year, the school is partnering with Penn Center on St. Helena Island, which will be operating a satellite classroom from its campus for students in the area to attend the session live.
The 2025 session runs from March 3 through June 23, with classes meeting Monday evenings online and in-person at GROW in Columbia.
“It is an honor to partner with
such an historic institution,” S.C. Progressive Network Executive Director Brett Bursey said in a media release. “We hope this will become a model for collaborating with allied groups across South Carolina.”
The S.C. Progressive Network launched the school in 2015. This is a full-circle moment for the Network, which held its first organizing meeting at Penn Center in 1996 and has returned there over the years for its statewide conferences.
“The Penn Center’s partnership with the Modjeska Simkins School continues Penn’s enduring legacy of providing educational and self-empowerment opportunities for the Carolina Lowcountry,” Penn Center Executive Director Robert
L. Adams said. “Informed citizens, who are the cornerstone of American democracy, are nurtured by the rich intellectual experience and critical thinking skills offered by the Modjeska Simkins School. We are proud to extend the reach of such an important program.”
Bursey said, “We welcome anyone interested in understanding and better navigating our state’s social and political landscape.
Whether you are a lover of history, an activist seeking ways to be more effective in your work, a retired person wanting to get involved in your community, or a transplant who wants to know the peculiar history of South Carolina, this course will benefit you.”
Robert Greene II, a professor of
history at Claflin University who has served as the Modjeska School’s lead instructor since 2019, said, “The school remains a bulwark for truth against disinformation. At the Modjeska School, we believe in not only learning history for the sake of knowing our past, but learning how to think critically and how to think democratically. Contrary to popular belief, there is a tradition of human rights — exemplified by Modjeska Simkins herself — in South Carolina.
The curriculum, reflecting the Network’s state-based strategy, focuses on South Carolina, which continues to play an oversized role in our nation’s politics. The course material is ever-evolving to include the latest research and his-
torical analyses. There is nothing like it, not just in South Carolina but nationally.
As a service to the larger community, the school also offers Deep Dive programs on Sunday afternoons during the session that are free and open to the public.
The course includes 16 evening classes, Sunday afternoon Deep Dives, and in-depth study guides. Tuition is based on a sliding scale, and limited full scholarships are available.
Classes meet Monday evenings on Zoom and in-person at GROW at 1340 Elmwood Avenue in Columbia.
For details about the school, the 2025 class schedule, or to apply, go to https://bit.ly/3CR0CEJ.
School District hosting “Building a Brighter Future” hiring event
Staff reports Beaufort County School District principals, curriculum coordinators, and lead teachers will be uniting for the “Building a Brighter Future” in-person hiring event to interview qualified candidates for classroom teaching jobs.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Bluffton High School located at 12 H.E. McCracken Circle in Bluffton. Interested candidates can register online at https://tinyurl. com/8nfjeabt. Beaufort County School District boasts one of the highest starting teacher salaries in the state of S.C.
EDUCATION BRIEFS
TCL offering Law School For Non-Lawyers
While you may not be a lawyer, it is important to understand the law and how it affects you. The South Carolina Bar is sponsoring Law School for Non-Lawyers, an eight-week course designed to provide an overview of the S.C. legal system and insight into common legal issues.
Technical College of the Lowcountry is offering this course at its New River Campus in Bluffton from 6 to 9 p.m., on Mondays, March 3 through April 21. All classes are taught by licensed attorneys and judges.
The total cost is $99 and includes textbook. Register by Tuesday, Feb. 25, at https://www.tcl.edu/ law-school-for-non-lawyers/.
Topics include: Overview of State Courts; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Juvenile Justice; Overview of Child Protection Hearings; Family Law; Real Estate & Landlord/Tenant Law; Wills, Estates & Probate; Health Care & Elder Law; S.C. Workers’ Compensation; Employment Law; Bankruptcy Law; Consumer Law & Debt Collection; Criminal Law; Torts; and Immigration and Education.
For questions, email cewd@tcl. edu or call 843-525-8205
St. Helena Smith graduates with honors from James Madison
Avery Smith of St. Helena Island graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from James Madison University during commencement exercises in December 2024 Smith was among more than 1 000 students who received undergraduate and graduate degrees. Smith was also named to the president's list at James Madison University for the fall 2024 semester. Students who earn president's list honors must carry at least 12 graded credit hours and earn a GPA of 3 900 or above.
Founded in 1908, James Madison University is a public university located in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
Beaufort’s Taylor among Mississippi State's fall 2024 graduates
Eric Taylor of Beaufort is among approximately 1 500 students who graduated from Mississippi State University in fall 2024, with commencement in December. Taylor received the Bachelor of Science from MSU's College of Arts and Sciences.
Mississippi State University is a national STEM-focused, doctoral degree-granting, land-grant university offering a wide range of educational experiences for learning and growth to a diverse student body of more than 23 000 students.
7 from Beaufort graduate at College of Charleston Winter 2024 Commencement
The College of Charleston recently awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees during the Winter 2024 Commencement ceremony.
The following local students earned degrees: Collin Sullivan of Beaufort (29906), Political Science; Lydia Mahan of Beaufort (29902), Summa Cum Laude, Spanish, Psychology; Isabel Vega of Beaufort (29907), Cum Laude, Political Science; Catherine Webb of Beaufort (29907), Cum Laude, Integrated Studies; Nelicia Brown of Beaufort (29907), Business Administration; Cole Smith of Beaufort (29907), International Studies; and Charles Jindrich of Beaufort (29907), Cum Laude, Electrical Engineering.
The College of Charleston also named more than 3,750 students named to the President's List and the Dean's List for Winter 2024
The following are local students: President’s List: Margaret Armes of Beaufort (29906), Chemistry;
Emily Bennett of Beaufort (29907), Studio Art; Catherine Cozad of Beaufort (29902), Communication; Lydia Mahan of Beaufort (29902), Spanish and Psychology; Connor McCombs of Beaufort (29902), Historic Preservation/ Commercial Planning; Jacob Rye of Beaufort (29906), Theatre; Emily Stacks of Beaufort (29906), International Studies and Spanish; Isabel Vega of Beaufort (29907), Political Science; Charlotte Vyge of Beaufort (29907), Psychology. Dean’s List: Nelicia Brown of Beaufort (29907), Business Administration; Riley Cowan of Beaufort (29902), Psychology; Kairington Franklin of Seabrook (29940), Biology; Cadence Gillaspie of Beaufort (29906), Political Science and Public Health; Emma Jansen of Beaufort (29907), Archaeology and Anthropology; Charles Jindrich of Beaufort (29907), Electrical Engineering; Rainee Kearney of Beaufort (29907), Professional Studies; Lucie Makar of Beaufort (29907), Geology; Tyler McGuire of Beaufort (29907), Computer Science; Zelie Plair of Beaufort (29907), Psychology; Ava Ratcliff of Beaufort (29902), English; Reagan Sandstrom of Beaufort (29907), Early Childhood Education; Anthony Szczepek of Beaufort (29907), Exercise Science; Ella Wedgewood of Beaufort (29907), English; Anna Wolfe-Gay of Beaufort (29907), Public Health.
Located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina, the College of Charleston is a nationally recognized, public liberal arts and sciences university.
Fields named to Kennesaw State's Fall 2024 Dean's List
Donovan Fields of Saint Helena Island has been named to Kennesaw State University's Fall 2024 Dean's List in recognition of academic achievement. Majoring in Biology, Fields is among more than 9,000 students named to the Fall 2024 Dean's List. To qualify, students must earn a semester
For more information about BCSD recruiting events, see https://bit. ly/4gKmBLp or email bcsdrecruiters@beaufort.k 12 sc.us.
“Our teacher recruitment events are the perfect opportunity to connect with school leaders, explore career opportunities, and learn how you can make a meaningful impact in the classroom,” Talent Acquisition Specialist Monique Brown said in a news release. “Join us and take the next step in your teaching journey!” Educators who aren’t able to attend the event can complete an online application to be considered for employment by visiting the district’s website (beaufortschools.net) and clicking on the orange “CAREERS” icon.
grade point average of 3 5 or higher while completing a minimum of nine credit hours.
2 distinguished cadets from Beaufort named to The Citadel Fall 2024 President's List
The President's List is one of the most distinguished cadet awards presented by The Citadel. It indicates excellence in academics and military duties.
Thomas Purdy and Tyler Reichel of Beaufort were named to Fall 2024 President's List at The Citadel. Purdy and Reichel also earned gold stars.
Gold stars are awarded to cadets and students at The Citadel who achieve a 3 7 grade point average or higher in the fall 2024 semester.
Cadets and students who achieve gold star recognition are also placed on The Citadel's dean's list.
Eight from Beaufort, in addition to Purdy and Reichel, earned gold stars. They were Joseph Combs, Brock Durham, Clayton Lohr, Paul Scarpa, Micah Schaeffer, Caleb Stone, Alexander Tielens and Clayton Vande Burgt.
A dozen cadets from the Beaufort area — Janeya Cox of Seabrook; Gunnar DeGroat of Beaufort; Braydon Dineen of Beaufort; Jack Henrickson of Beaufort; John Hewlett of Beaufort; Benjamin Kahler of Beaufort; Tucker Mickel of Beaufort; Gavin Midyette of Beaufort; Samuel Moore of Beaufort; John Pridgen of Port Royal; Justin Spencer of Beaufort; and John Sumner IV of Beaufort — were named to The Citadel’s Dean’s List, not including the cadets who earned gold stars.
The Dean's List is a recognition given to cadets and students who are registered for 12 or more semester hours and whose grade point average is 3 20 or higher, with no grade of I (Incomplete) and no grade below C for work in a semester.
The Citadel, with its iconic campus located in Charleston, offers a classic military college educa-
tion for young men and women focused on leadership excellence and academic distinction. The approximately 2 300 members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets are not required to serve in the military, but about one-third of each class earn commissions to become officers in every branch of U.S. military service.
Codding named to Ole Miss Fall 2024 Dean's List
Cherity Codding, of Beaufort, was named to the University of Mississippi's Fall 2024 Honor Roll lists.
Codding, in the B.S. in Integrated Marketing. Communications program, was named to the Dean's Honor Roll, which is reserved for students who earn a semester GPA of 3 50-3 74
To be eligible for honor roll designation, a student must have completed at least 12 graded hours for the semester and may not be on academic probation during the semester.
The University of Mississippi, affectionately known as Ole Miss, is the state's flagship university. Recognized among the nation's most beautiful, Ole Miss' main campus is in Oxford, which is routinely acknowledged as one of the country's best college towns.
Tran earns Faculty Honors at Georgia Tech
Nathan Tran of Beaufort earned the distinction of Faculty Honors for Fall 2024 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This designation is awarded to undergraduate students who have earned a 4 0 academic average for the semester.
The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is one of the top public research universities in the U.S., developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.
According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) website “Alaska Native Vietnam-era Vets Land Allotment Program,” (https://bit. ly/3CSH0jy) and the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) website “Other Programs for Native American Veterans” (https:// bit.ly/4gMKJgg), the BLM is still seeking contact information for Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs who may be able to select up to 160 acres of free federal land in Alaska.
All eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs may apply. The Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment Program of 2019 is open to all eligible Alaska Natives who served in the armed forces between Aug. 5, 1964, and Dec. 31 1971
Eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs may apply. Veterans and their heirs should contact BLM Alaska Land Transfer Resolution Specialist Mike Everett at meverett@ blm.gov or call the Alaska Public Information Center at 907-2715960 to see if they or someone they know meet the requirements for the Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment Program of 2019. Everett is attending training and BLM’s Lisa Hart — at 907-271-3244 and email LHart@ blm.gov — can answer questions. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 29 2025, for the Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment Program of 2019. The program provides the opportunity for eligible Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs to select 2 5 to 160 acres of Federal land in Alaska under the 2019 Dingell Act. The program is open to all eligible Alaska Natives who served between Aug. 5 1964, and Dec. 31 1971, and “it removes the requirement” for personal use or occupancy mandated under previous
laws. Those receiving allotments under previous programs are ineligible.
What to do if not notified of eligibility
The BLM website tells veterans, and their heirs previously notified of eligibility will receive application materials in the mail. Veterans and their heirs should read the program’s “Final Rules” in the Federal Register in 43 CFR Part 2560 LLAK940000 L 14100000 HM0000 20X RIN 1004-AE66 at https://bit.ly/3CJMCg5 for details.
Veterans not notified can take the following actions and consult the Final Rules for instructions to apply.
1. Update your mailing address and phone number with your U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs Tribal Services Provider at https://bit.ly/4gJfoLx and the BLM Program Lead Mike Everett at meverett@ blm.gov or his Associate Lisa Hart at 907-271-3244 and email Lhart@blm.gov.
2. Get a copy of your DD214, or print a VA Service Verification Letter from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) webpage “Request Your Military Servcie Records (including DD214),” at https://bit.ly/41ydmaU. The VA Service Verification Letter gives dates of service and the character of discharge. Veterans can also get required documents:
By phone: Veterans can also request the documents they need by calling the VA benefits hotline at 800-8271000
In person: Veterans and family members can also book an appointment online for in-person meeting at the Anchorage Regional VA Office at https://bit.ly/41loTMH or any Veterans Benefit Administration Regional Office or other VA Benefits Office to discuss getting a copy DD-214 copies or a VA Service Verification Letter. Veterans can find the nearest VA Regional Office and other VA Benefits offices at the VA’s “Find VA Locations” webpage https:// bit.ly/3CRv3uv. The Columbia South Carolina VA Regional Benefit Office is located at 6437 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, S.C. 29209, phone 800-827-1000. The Winston-Salem, N.C., VA Regional Benefit Office is located at 251 N. Main Street Winston-Salem, N.C. 27155 phone 800-827-1000
Other online: Visit the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Office of Veterans Affairs webpage at https:// bit.ly/41lleOI or the VA webpage “Request Your Military Service Records” at https:// bit.ly/41ydmaU to request your DD-214
* If the VA does not have a copy of your DD-214 because you have never filed a claim with them, request your DD-214 directly from the National Personnel Records Center. This can be done by faxing a Standard Form-180 found at https:// bit.ly/3QnqtqQ to NPRC at 314-801-9195 or complet-
ing the form online at the eVetRecs site https://bit. ly/4b3r5KD and mailing or faxing the signature page as instructed on that website. Veterans can also print a Service Verification Letter right from the VA's website. Ask your VSO for help.
*Find a VSO. Your local VA benefits office or a Veteran Service Organization (VVA, VFW, American Legion, etc.) VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) can help you navigate the process. Veterans can find S.C. County VSOs at https://bit.ly/3qbLVSL or https://bit.ly/3qbLVSL. Find Georgia VSOs at https://bit. ly/44KMVA7 or https://bit. ly/44KMVA7. N.C. County Department of Military and Veteran Affairs Veterans Benefits Specialists and N.C. County VSOs can be found at https://bit.ly/4ghZqHW or https://bit.ly/4ghZqHW.
3. Coordinate a “personal representative” appointed by an Alaska State Court by following the instructions at Alaska Law Help’s “Online Probate Forms for Heirs applying for the Alaska Native Veterans Allotment Program” at https://bit. ly/3CWePAc, if needed.
4. Review the BLM interactive map of currently and potentially available lands for selection by eligible individuals at https://bit.ly/3X60ism. It will be updated regularly to account for changes as more lands become available and once allotments are applied for over the course of the program.
Recommendations once you update your contact information and receive your DD214 Record and share with your next of kin where you are
keeping those documents. Record in your will and in other personal records who you want to represent you and inform the representative (and get his or her agreement) that you want them to represent you. Select and record what lands you want to select under this program.
Contacts for the BLM Alaska Native Vietnam-era Vets Land Allotment Program
Contact with questions at 907271-3786 or meverett@blm.gov. Mail applications to Bureau of Land Management, ATTN: Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment Section, 222 West 7th Avenue, Mail Stop 13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513–7504
The bottom line
This is another complicated process that requires the help of a VA-accredited VSO, Attorney, or Claims Agent. If you know an Alaska Native who served in the armed forces between Aug. 5 1964, and Dec. 31 1971, or an heir, please tell them about this generous program. Eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs may apply. Veterans and their heirs should contact the BLM Alaska Land Transfer Resolution Specialist Mike Everett at meverett@blm.gov or call the Alaska Public Information Center at 907-271-5960
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164
LARRY DANDRIDGE
Marines, sailors and civilians from across the Tri-Command area gathered for the annual Christmas tree bonfire on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on Jan 31, 2025. The annual event affords personnel the opportunity to come together and build camaraderie while watching a bonfire lit using a WWII era flame thrower. Photo by Cpl. Dakota Dodd/USMC
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Living & Growing the Jesus Way
Sunday Morning Worship at 8:30 & 10:30
81 Lady’s Island Drive
Pastor Steve Keeler • (843) 525-0696 seaislandpresbyterian.org
Did George Washington Exist?
Jesus as a Historical Figure
We know with certainty that George Washington existed. Even though we were not alive over two hundred years ago to see him with our own eyes, there is no doubt that Washington is a historical figure. We can read his writings, view his portraits, and visit his estate at Mount Vernon. But even if he had not left behind such items, we could still know of his existence due to the testimony of his contemporaries and by his impact on history.
Similarly, we know with certainty that Jesus existed. We were not alive two thousand years ago to experience his ministry or hear his preaching, but there is no doubt that Jesus is a historical figure. Unlike our first president, Jesus did not leave behind letters or a number of personal belongings. But we can still be certain of his existence, thanks to the testimony of his contemporaries and his tremendous impact on history.
Those who knew Jesus recorded their memories of him. Matthew and John were both apostles, men who had spent three years with Jesus and observed every aspect of his ministry. Mark is believed to have written his Gospel in Rome, recording the memories of the apostle Peter. Luke wrote his Gospel from eyewitness accounts. Thanks to the four Gospel writers, we have four portraits of the life, words, and actions of Jesus, all written within the lifetime of those who knew him personally.
In Paul’s letters, we have very early testimony about Jesus. Paul was a Jewish leader who persecuted the first Christians. After having a conversion experience, he became convinced that Jesus truly was God and became a Christian himself. Although he never met Jesus during his ministry, he personally knew many of the apostles and other eyewitnesses. Many of his letters are preserved as part of the New Testament. These are some of the earliest writings about Jesus, beginning about twenty years after his death and resurrection.
Even without Christian writings, we’d know much about Jesus. The Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus both make important references to Jesus in their works, written in the late first century and early second century respectively. From such nonChristian sources alone, we could identify key aspects of his life: Jesus was a Jewish teacher with a large following; many considered him to be the messiah; he was crucified by Pontius Pilate at the instigation of Jewish leaders; worship of him began to spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire.
There can be no doubt that Jesus truly existed.
His life is not vaguely placed, as in a children’s tale, “a long time ago in a land far away.” He lived in first-century Israel, every bit as real as George Washington. His brief life caused a great number of people to leave behind their traditional religious beliefs and start to live as Christians, even in the face of persecution and martyrdom.
