July 23 edition

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JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY

Seven indicted by grand jury in Coligny Beach shooting Prosecutors explain why attempted murder charges were dropped Sgt. Darilyn C. Duong

By Delayna Earley The Island News Seven people have now been indicted in connection with the July 4 shooting at Coligny Beach, as prosecutors revealed Friday, July

Second drill instructor dies in less than two months

17, 2026, while the attempted murder charges initially announced after the incident have been replaced with assault and battery charges under a legal strategy rooted in one of Beaufort County's most well-known homicide cases.

A Beaufort County grand jury returned indictments Thursday, July 16, against seven defendants in connection with the shooting, which left eight people wounded

after gunfire erupted during a holiday weekend confrontation on Hilton Head Island. Authorities said the investigation remains active and additional charges remain possible.

The indictments charge: • Jayden Lorenzo Hawes, 18, of St. Helena Island with two counts of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, four counts of Assault and Bat-

tery, Second Degree, Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.

• Quazeir Rashim Davis, 17, of St. Helena Island with two counts of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, four counts of Assault and Battery,

SEE SHOOTING PAGE A7

Loved ones gather to remember Beaufort County fisherman

Sgt. Darilyn C. Duong, 25, found dead Friday at her Port Royal residence

By Delayna Earley The Island News A Marine Corps drill instructor assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island was found dead Friday, July 17, at her Port Royal apartment, marking the second death of a Parris Island drill instructor in less than two months.

Sgt. Darilyn C. Duong, 25, of Winnebago, Neb., served as a drill instructor with the Recruit Training Regiment's 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at MCRD Parris Island.

Marine Corps officials announced Duong's death Saturday, saying at the time that the cause remained under investigation.

"The cause of death is currently under investigation. At this time, it would be premature to speculate on the circumstances or results of the investigation," 2nd Lt. Joshua Hartley, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said in a statement.

The Marine Corps has not released an official cause of death.

"The Marine Corps extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and fellow Marines affected by this loss," Hartley said.

Duong was single with no dependents. During her service, she earned the National Defense Service Medal,

During the Walk for Dominic Dasher at Tybee Island, Ga., on Sunday, July 19, 2026, the Dasher loved ones unites to support his mother and son. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Family and friends returned to the island to honor Dominic Dasher’s life

By Delayna Earley The Island News earing shades of blue beneath a bright Sunday morning sky, between 75 and 100 family members,

W

SEE DEATH PAGE A5

friends and community supporters gathered at the Tybee Pier and Pavilion on Sunday, July 19, to remember Dominic Lamont Dasher.

The group prayed, embraced and comforted one another before walking onto the pier with a blue-and-white floral wreath in Dasher’s honor.

The remembrance gathering, held from 11 a.m. to noon, was organized by Dasher’s son,

Dominic L. Dasher Jr., days after his father’s body was recovered following an extensive five-day search off Tybee Island, Ga. Dasher’s mother, Lillian Cohen Dasher, joined her grandson and other loved ones as the family remembered the 45-year-old Beaufort County fisherman.

SEE MEMORIAL PAGE A6

Water Festival hits home stretch

What you need to know as 70th Beaufort Water Festival heads into final weekend

By Delayna Earley The Island News The 70th Annual Beaufort Water Festival will head into its final weekend Thursday, July 23, with four days of food, live music, downtown traditions and events on the Beaufort River.

This year’s festival, themed “Sunny Days & Friendship Waves,” will conclude at 3 p.m., Sunday, July 26.

Here is what is happening during the final days of the festival and what attendees need to know before heading downtown.

Thursday, July 23 The Festival Arts and Crafts Market will be open from noon to 7 p.m., along the promenade at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

The Lowcountry Supper will begin Thursday evening in Waterfront Park.

Gates open at 6 p.m., and supper will be served from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The evening’s entertainment will include headliner Brian Moote with Bored Teachers, along with WGB, Katie Lynn and The Whistlers.

Children ages 5 and younger will be admitted free.

The 70th annual Beaufort Water Festival officially kicked off on Friday, July 17, 2026, with the Commodore and his family helping open this year's celebration. Amber SEE FESTIVAL PAGE A4 Hewitt/The Island News

NEWS

NEWS

ARTS

INSIDE

Beaufort day dock reopens after yearlong closure

Salvation Army welcomes Glen and Sarah Andress as new Corps officers.

Faculty, students create mural at Port Royal Police Dept.

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News Arts Voices Health Military Directory

A2–8, A8, A11 A9-10 A11 A12 A14

ISLAND NEWS PUBLISHING, LLC

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS Renee Balleu, left, helps 6-year-old Jahlia Burgess “dribble” the soccer ball through one of the courses set up for the Boys and Girls Club of the Lowcountry’s Soccer Fest day camp held Tuesday, July 14, at St. Helena Elementary School. The event, held nationwide, introduces K-through-5th Grade students to the game of soccer and lets them actually play instead of watching it. Tuesday’s event however had to be moved into the school’s gym because of bad weather. Bob Sofaly/The Island News

PUBLISHER Margaret Evans

EDITORIAL/DESIGN Editor-in-Chief

Mike McCombs theislandnews@ gmail.com

Assistant Editor Delayna Earley delayna. theislandnews@ gmail.com

Sports Editor

Justin Jarrett LowcoSports@ gmail.com

SALES/BUSINESS Advertising

Amanda Hanna

VETERAN OF THE WEEK American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Erik Blechinger, 61, who was a cadet in the Army ROTC unit at the University of Wisconsin – Madison from 1982 to 1987, when he graduated with a civil engineering degree and was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers (COE). He attended the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Va., before being assigned to a Combat Engineer unit at Uijeongbu, South Korea. He was next assigned as a General’s aide at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., before attending the Engineer Officer Advance Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

From 1990 through 1994 he served with the 84th Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. In 1994, he returned to Fort Leavenworth to work in Weapons Systems and Operations Development. From 1995 to 1997, he attended the graduate school at the University of Kansas, earning a Masters in Civil Engineering Degree. He was next assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers in San Francisco as Deputy District Commander, working extensively on navigation project for the Bay. He then returned to Fort Leavenworth to work with combat developments for engineers.

In 2001 he transferred to the

OBITUARY

Army Reserves but continued to work with the COE as a civil servant at the Command and General Staff ColErik Blechinger lege. In 2007, he was recalled to active duty and sent to Bagdad, Iraq assigned to the Multinational Security Transition Unit there providing construction for all the security forces; he was awarded a Bronze Star for that duty. He later used the GI Bill to earn a Master of Brewing Science and Operations degree.

In 2010, he retired from the Re-

serves as a Lieutenant Colonel with 23 years of service, transferred with the COE to the Savannah office and moved to Beaufort County. He retired from the Civil Service in 2024 as Deputy District Engineer with a total of 37 years of military and civilian service with the COE. All of those eight years of post-high school formal education were paid for by the military.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207.

For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.

July 11, 2026 Beaufort

Justine Q. Heyman

of Newnan, Georgia, and Courtney (Mike) McNerney of Paso Robles, California; and by her cherished grandchildren, Hannah, Ezra, Mairin, Zoe, and

Dennis.

Justine was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters, Eileen Clowry and Laurie Speight, both of Pawling, N.Y.. In addition to her family, she leaves behind many dear friends from the communities she called home, including Indianapolis, Indiana; Washington, Connecticut; and Beaufort, S.C.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

A loving and dedicated wife, mother, and homemaker, Justine created a warm and welcoming home wherever life took her. An accomplished artist, she filled every room with beauty and creativity.

Her warmth, grace, and unmistakable sense of style will be remembered by all who knew her. Nothing brought her greater joy than spending time with her grandchildren, who were the light of her life.

A Celebration of Life will be held this fall, when family and friends will gather on the beach where Justine spent so many happy days.

Her family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care provided by the wonderful staff of Agape

JereRusso@ gmail.com

Advertising and Digital Strategy Sasha Horne Hirshout

sasha. theislandnews@ gmail.com

Accounting

April Ackerman april@ aandbbookkeeping. com

The Island News publishes obituaries, including a photo, free of charge. Please contact theislandnews@gmail.com for more information.

Hospice, whose kindness and support brought comfort during her final days.

Justine lived a life of generosity and love. In keeping with her spirit, those who wish to honor her memory are invited to make a donation to the charity of their choice.

Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family.

1883: Hannah Jones Smalls, first wife of Robert Smalls, dies. She was about 58 years old.

1924: The “Marine Monument,” later nicknamed “Iron Mike,” is dedicated at the Hostess House on Parris Island. The keynote speaker at the dedication is USMC Commandant Maj. Gen. John A. LeJeune. It is the first war memorial specifically for Parris Island-trained Marines who fought during World War I. Brig. Gen. Eli Cole (1867-1929) had been the loudest voice for a monument to be erected that would honor the Marines who fought during The Great War. He also had the backing of highly decorated Lt. Col. Frank Evans and The National Academy of Design of New York City, as well as many other Marine Corps veterans who supported the project. The sculptor was Robert Ingersoll Aitken, Captain of a machine gun unit in the U.S. Army’s 306th Infantry Regiment during The Great War.

July 27 2019: Democratic Presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson shares her message on the campaign trail with approximately 130 people at Beaufort’s United Church of Jesus Christ.

PO Box 550 Beaufort, SC 29901 TheIslandNews@gmail.com facebook.com/TheIslandNews

1868: Military rule ends in South Carolina as Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, commander of the Second Military District, consisting of North and South Carolina, resigns his authority to the newly elected civil government.

July 25

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www.YourIslandNews.com

July 28 2021: Beaufort-born weightlifter C.J. Cummings competes for the United States in the Men’s 73-kilogram weight class at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Cummings made two of his six lifts for a total of 325 kg, finishing ninth.

July 29 1769: The General Assembly passes its second Circuit Court Act. The legislation created seven judicial districts. Charlestown (Charleston) was one district. Beaufort, Orangeburg and Ninety Six made up the Southern Circuit. Georgetown, Cheraw and Camden made up the Northern Circuit. British Authorities allowed the law to stand as the judges now served at the pleasure of the Crown. By direction of this law, courts and jails were constructed in the six outlying districts by 1772.

2019: Longtime Thomas Heyward Academy softball coach Bob Layman is named the new head coach at Battery Creek.

2020: Longtime City of Beaufort Police Chief Matt Clancy dies at age 56 from complications caused by neuroendocrine cancer.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

CORRECTIONS

• In a story about Mony’s summer camps in the July 16 edition of The Island News, the method of 36-year-old Ver’mon “Mony” Steve’s murder in 2015 was misstated. He was shot five times and his body was burned.

Do you value your free hometown newspaper – made by locals, for locals? Free news isn’t cheap. Please help support The Island News!

Donations gratefully accepted at www.yourislandnews.com or The Island News, PO Box 550, Beaufort, SC 29901 JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

Jere Russo

OBITUARIES

July 24

A2

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Billing questions only.

Justine Q. Heyman

Justine Q. Heyman, a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully at her home in Beaufort, S.C., on July 11, 2026, with her husband and daughters by her side.

Born and raised in Yonkers, N.Y., Justine was the daughter of Dr. Frances Queally and Justine Mulligan Queally. She dedicated her adult life to her beloved husband of 58 years, Charles Heyman from Norwalk, Ohio, and to their family.

She is lovingly remembered by her daughters, Kristin (Lee) Rubenstein

ERIK BLECHINGER

843-343-8483 amanda@ lcweekly.com

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DISCLAIMER All content of The Island News, including articles, photos, editorial content, letters, art and advertisements, are copyrighted by The Island News and Island News Publishing, LLC, 2026, all rights reserved. The Island News encourages reader submissions via email to theislandnews@gmail.com. All content submitted is considered approved for publication by the owner unless otherwise stated. The Island News is designed to inform and entertain readers and all efforts for accuracy are made.

Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Island News, its publisher or editors. The Island News reserves the right to refuse to sell advertising space, or to publish information, for any business or activity the newspaper deems inappropriate for the publication.

NEWS

Water Festival -- A 70-year labor of love I BEAUFORT t’s Water Festival … in case you’re new in town or living under a rock, oblivious to all but the heat.

And, as we’re being reminded on every Water Festival post, this is the 70th year of what is billed as “South Carolina’s premiere outdoor festival.”

Seventy years since the festival was launched as a nonprofit entity organized by community leaders to include a weekend sailing regatta and beauty pageant … and of course the Lions Club parade.

In those 70 years, the numbers of volunteers have grown the event into a 10-day full schedule with nightly band performances, a local talent show, air shows, ski shows, a kids day, the much-anticipated bed race down Bay Street, fishing, bocce tournaments and still, the sailing regatta and parade.

(The beauty pageant, which elected the Queen of the Sea Islands was dropped in the mid-1980’s and replaced with a more inclusive talent show.)

LOLITA HUCKABY

And while the threat of r-a-i-n (there’s a running joke that the organizers no longer acknowledge that four-letter word during the week) can still be an issue, the show does go on.

(Although events have been canceled in past years when rainstorms include dangerous lightning.)

Many of the individuals who helped grow this community event as a summer attraction for locals and visitors alike, are no longer with us. They’re probably watching the activities from afar and thanking their lucky stars their days of organizing in the sweltering heat are behind them.

Past Commodore Erin Dean (2007 and the first female in that position since 1959 when Mazie Terhune was at the helm) had an

interesting online post this past week, putting in perspective the philosophy she, and the other volunteers, try to adhere to. It’s worth sharing: “… I am hopeful that the sense of community that comes every July in Beaufort, with friends old and new, will carry forward into the future. Find an organization that speaks to your heart and do what you can to support them – either through acts of service or monetarily if able.”

She goes on to remind us how many local nonprofits exist in this community and they all constantly look for “volunteers, resources and contributions to carry on their good work.”

Well said, Commodore.

Happy Water Fest.

county’s Zoning Board of Appeals before the public got wind -- thanks largely to concerned citizens and groups like the Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

With the threat of lawsuits, they were able to convince their county leaders to impose a six-month moratorium on the project.

Beaufort County has no data center proposals … yet WALTERBORO -- Much has been said, and written in recent months about growing public concern of data centers, those huge users of water and electricity resources that are linked to

the production of artificial intelligence services.

Online sites such as datacenters.com, lists between 20 and 30 data centers already operating in South Carolina.

To date, there appears to be no data center projects proposed for Beaufort County, but there are certainly no guarantees as the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation continues to bring new industrial prospects with vague names like Project Cloud or Project Lasagna.

Since so many of the details are shared with county government leaders behind closed doors, it’s hard to tell what could, or could not be coming our way.

Until earlier this month, there was growing concern about a proposed 859-acre data center project in neighboring Colleton County, south of Walterboro on the edge of the environmentally protected ACE Basin -- the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers drainage basins.

The proposed development made it past the

supports local non-profit human service organizations in enhancing residents' quality of life.

All grant awards are contingent upon the availability of funding.

To be eligible for the Community Services Grant, organizations are required to meet specific criteria: • Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit or-

ganizations whose mission aligns with the program's goal of improving quality of life for Beaufort County residents with an emphasis on enhancing the well-being and self-sufficiency of vulnerable or disadvantaged populations • Agencies must directly serve Beaufort County and use all awarded funds for the benefit of its residents

• Only one application per organization (identified by EIN) will be accepted, and fiscal agents are not permitted Eligibility, criteria, application timeline and the application itself are all outlined at https://bit.ly/4f3eSck for interested groups.

Funds may not be used for: • Fundraising or capital campaigns

Mother Nature hurts Witness Tree while Dominion’s damage is more widespread BEAUFORT-- One of Beaufort’s historic landmarks took a hit over the weekend from Mother Nature.

The live oak, estimated to be more than 300 years old, is nicknamed the Witness Tree by the good folks at the Pat Conroy Center who help maintain tree in the small park on Bladen Street, adjacent to the center.

The dry weather stresses that have been impacting trees throughout the Lowcountry this summer, stimulating interior rot, took their toll and split the lovely oak

down the middle.

The hit was just the latest on local trees which have been vandalized during recent weeks by the Dominion Energy maintenance crews who specialize in sheering the leafy canopies in the name of safety.

The utility representatives, who opted not to accept the invitation from city officials two weeks ago to attend a council meeting to discuss their latest program of destruction, scheduled a public “informational workshop” for Tuesday, July 22, to talk about their policies.

It will be an opportunity for those concerned about what the utility company is doing to our resources.

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. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.

NEWS BRIEFS Beaufort County Community Services Grant Program accepting applications

Beaufort County is now accepting applications for the FY27 Community Services Grant Program. Applications

will be accepted until Friday, Aug. 28. Any applications received after that date will not be considered. Interested organizations may access the application at https://bit. ly/4wDFbwW. Funds for this grant program are provided by County Council of Beaufort County. Established in 2013, the Beaufort County Community Services Grants Program

• Endowments or scholarships • To reduce debt of any kind • Religious or political activities • Legal services.

For questions or more information, please call Beaufort County Finance Director Sandra Novak at 843-2552314.

— Staff reports

Saturdays ARE FOR

Screening Mammograms Appointment required • No physician order needed

Screenings available at the following dates and locations from

8a.m.-1p.m.

Aug. 15 – Beaufort Medical Plaza –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sept. 19 – Beaufort Medical Plaza –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Oct. 10 – Okatie Medical Pavilion –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Oct. 17 – Beaufort Medical Plaza –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Nov. 14 – Beaufort Medical Plaza

Beaufort Medical Plaza 989 Ribaut Road, Beaufort

Okatie Medical Pavilion

122 Okatie Center Blvd., North, Okatie

TO S C H E D U L E YO U R S C R E E N I N G M A M M O G R A M CA L L

843-522-5015

VISIT

BeaufortMemorial.org/MammoAppointment

S CA N

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

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NEWS

Festival from page A1

Friday, July 24 The Arts and Crafts Market will again be open from noon to 7 p.m.

Festivalgoers will have an opportunity to meet the pilots participating in Saturday’s air show during a free meet-and-greet from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Beaufort Executive Airport.

The annual Bed Race will take place at the corner of Bay and Harrington streets.

Check-in begins at 4:30 p.m., and the race starts at 5 p.m.

The entry fee is $25 per team, and same-day registration will be accepted if space remains available.

Friday night’s Rockin’ the River concert will feature the Hot Red Chili Peppers, a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band, with Chris Jones opening the show.

Gates open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m.

Rockin’ the River is restricted to people ages 18 and older, and attendees must bring a valid ID. A free shuttle will run approximately every 15

The 70th annual Beaufort Water Festival officially kicked off on Friday, July 17, 2026, with a spectacular fireworks display over the Beaufort River and the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Amber Hewitt/The Island News minutes from the Beaufort County Government Center, located at the corner of Boundary Street and Ribaut Road, from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m.

This is the only night during the festival’s final four days that shuttle service is scheduled.

Saturday, July 25 Saturday will bring several of the festival’s biggest free events to downtown Beaufort.

The Arts and Crafts Market will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Water Festival Grand Parade will make its way through downtown Beaufort from 10 a.m. to noon. The staff of Big D’s Royal Tees will serve as grand marshal.

The parade is free, but spectators should arrive early to find parking and a place along the route.

Drivers should also expect street closures, traffic delays and limited parking downtown.

Following the parade, the free Non-Profit Expo will be held from noon to 4 p.m. under the Waterfront Park

pavilion.

The festival’s air show will take place over the Beaufort River from 1 to 4 p.m. and will feature stunt planes. The show is free and can be viewed from Waterfront Park.

Boaters should be prepared for temporary restrictions on the Beaufort River during the air show and follow instructions from law enforcement and marine safety officials.

The Commodore’s Ball will close out Saturday’s events with music from The Catalinas. Gates open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m.

Children ages 5 and younger will be admitted free.

Sunday, July 26 The final day of the festival will begin with the Arts and Crafts Market from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The traditional Blessing of the Fleet and Parade of Boats will be held on the Beaufort River in front of the Waterfront Park seawall from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The event is free.

Boat registration is also free, but boats must be registered to be eligible for prizes. Applications must

be turned in at the judges’ table by noon Sunday.

The 70th Annual Beaufort Water Festival will officially come to an end at 3 p.m.

What to know before you go Tickets for ticketed festival events are sold online only and will not be available at the gate. Tickets are digital and are sent by email after purchase.

All ticketed events have a clear-bag policy. Attendees may bring one clear plastic bag no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches or a clear one-gallon freezer bag. A small clutch no larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches is also permitted.

Exceptions are available for medically necessary items and diaper bags for families with infants or toddlers. All bags are subject to search, and festival organizers recommend arriving at least 20 minutes early to allow time to pass through security.

Outside food and beverages, coolers and pets are not permitted at ticketed events. Professional photography equipment, drones, selfie sticks, weapons and several other items

are also prohibited.

Strollers will not be allowed during Rockin’ the River.

Food and drinks will be available for purchase inside the festival grounds.

Alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks must be disposed of before leaving the gated area.

Most musical performances will continue during light rain or drizzle.

Festival organizers do not issue refunds in the event of a rainout.

The Beaufort Day Dock has reopened, but the city is reminding visitors that the temporary gangway crossing the promenade is only for access to the dock. Members of the public should remain outside fenced or otherwise closed portions of the promenade.

For the full schedule, tickets and updates, visit bftwaterfestival.com.

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.

LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Grande Ocean Resort Owners’ Association, Inc. v.

Glenda S. Michio 61 OLD HICKORY LN POWDER SPRINGS GA 30127-4326 (“Owner”) Contract number 3082947.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that according to the Notice of Sale recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel C. Zickefoose, as Trustee/Attorney and Eck, Conley & Richardson, P.L.L.C, 4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300, North Charleston, SC 29405 (“Creditor/Lienholder”), will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, outside the Beaufort County Government Center, 100 Ribaut Street, Beaufort, SC 29902 beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21st, 2026, the following described Property: AS TO: Glenda S. Michio An undivided one fifty-first (1/51) fractional interest in Unit No. 8051, respectively, Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime, lying situate and being on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, and being more particularly shown and described by reference to the Master Deed, establishing the said Horizontal Property Regime, being dated May 25, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993 in Deed Book 626 at Page 2446; as amended by the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments to Master Deed recorded in said Office, on July 2, 1993 in Deed Book 635 at Page 39; on August 26, 1993 in Deed Book 647 at Page 651; on May 23, 1994 in Deed Book 706 at Page 639; on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1007, and on January 21, 1997 in Deed Book 916 at Page 603, respectively, as may be further amended from time to time, and by reference to that certain plat entitled “As­ Built Survey of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime” said plat prepared by Terry G. Hatchell, S.C.R.L.S. #11059 of Surveying Consultants, said plat being dated May 27, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Plat Book 46 at Page 102, said plat bearing last revision date January 7, 1997 and recorded in said Office in Plat Book 59 at Page 58, ae may be further revised from time to time.

AND ALSO, all of the rights, privileges, easements, and common areas appertaining to the above-described property as set forth in the Master Deed and By-Laws of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime.

AND ALSO, all right, title, interest and privileges extending to Timesharing Interest Numbers(s) 8051-G-36; in each of the respective aforedescribed Units, as contained in that certain Time Sharing Declaration dated May 25, 1993, recorded in the office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993, in Deed Book 626 at Page 2533, and amended by that certain Supplement to Time Sharing Declaration, dated December 12, 1995 and recorded in said Office on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1035, as may be further revised from time to time.

The total amount due as of the date of the Foreclosure Sale is $3,737.70. If additional costs and/or fees associated with the foreclosure and sale are incurred, such additional costs and/or fees shall be added to this amount on the date of the Foreclosure Sale.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Grande Ocean Resort Owners’ Association, Inc. v.

Elyse Rifkin 122 STERLING LANE WILMETTE IL 60091 (“Owner”) Contract number 13088501.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that according to the Notice of Sale recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel C. Zickefoose, as Trustee/Attorney and Eck, Conley & Richardson, P.L.L.C, 4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300, North Charleston, SC 29405 (“Creditor/Lienholder”), will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, outside the Beaufort County Government Center, 100 Ribaut Street, Beaufort, SC 29902 beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21st, 2026, the following described Property: AS TO: Elyse Rifkin An undivided one fifty-first (1/51) fractional interest in Unit No. 8931, respectively, Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime, lying situate and being on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, and being more particularly shown and described by reference to the Master Deed, establishing the said Horizontal Property Regime, being dated May 25, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993 in Deed Book 626 at Page 2446; as amended by the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments to Master Deed recorded in said Office, on July 2, 1993 in Deed Book 635 at Page 39; on August 26, 1993 in Deed Book 647 at Page 651; on May 23, 1994 in Deed Book 706 at Page 639; on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1007, and on January 21, 1997 in Deed Book 916 at Page 603, respectively, as may be further amended from time to time, and by reference to that certain plat entitled “As­ Built Survey of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime” said plat prepared by Terry G. Hatchell, S.C.R.L.S. #11059 of Surveying Consultants, said plat being dated May 27, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Plat Book 46 at Page 102, said plat bearing last revision date January 7, 1997 and recorded in said Office in Plat Book 59 at Page 58, ae may be further revised from time to time.

AND ALSO, all of the rights, privileges, easements, and common areas appertaining to the above-described property as

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JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

set forth in the Master Deed and By-Laws of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime.

AND ALSO, all right, title, interest and privileges extending to Timesharing Interest Numbers(s) 8931-P-29; in each of the respective aforedescribed Units, as contained in that certain Time Sharing Declaration dated May 25, 1993, recorded in the office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993, in Deed Book 626 at Page 2533, and amended by that certain Supplement to Time Sharing Declaration, dated December 12, 1995 and recorded in said Office on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1035, as may be further revised from time to time.

The total amount due as of the date of the Foreclosure Sale is $6,105.03. If additional costs and/or fees associated with the foreclosure and sale are incurred, such additional costs and/or fees shall be added to this amount on the date of the Foreclosure Sale.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Monarch at Sea Pines Owners' Association, Inc. v.

Mary Ann Leseberg C/O KELLEY KELLEY & KELLEY ATTORNEY 1536 WEST SCHAUMBURG RD SCHAUMBURG IL 60194 (“Owner”) Contract number : 452 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that according to the Notice of Sale recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel C. Zickefoose, as Trustee/Attorney and Eck, Conley & Richardson, P.L.L.C, 4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300, North Charleston, SC 29405 (“Creditor/Lienholder”), will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, outside of the Beaufort County Government Center Entrance, 100 Ribaut Rd, Beaufort, SC 29902, beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21st, 2026, the following described Property: AS TO: Mary Ann Leseberg Together with a remainder over in fee simple absolute as tenants in common with the other owners of all the unit weeks in the hereafter described Condominium Unit in that percentage interest determined and established by the aforesaid Declaration of Interval Ownership, Rights, Restrictions, Affirmative Obligations, Conditions, Etc. for the following described real estate located in the County of Beaufort, State of South Carolina as follows: UNIT WEEK 34 in UNIT NO 3844, in Monarch at Sea Pines, Horizontal Property Regime XXV, Phase XIX, according to the Master Deed of American Resort Properties, Inc., dated May 18, 1982, as recorded in the Beaufort County Records in Deed Book 347 at Page 346, et seq. and as amended

by Annexation Declaration of Phase XIX, recorded in the Beaufort County Records, and all applicable amendments thereto. The sale of the Property is to satisfy the past due obligations of the Owner(s) as evidenced by the Claim(s) of Lien duly recorded in the following Official Records Lien Book/Page: 4439/948 of the Public Records of Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Owner is currently in default under certain provisions of the Master Deed Establishing Monarch at Sea Pines, Horizontal Property Regime XXV, Beaufort County, South Carolina by MARRIOTT OWNERSHIP RESORTS INC. recorded in Deed Book 347 at Page 346, et seq. and as amended by Annexation Declaration of Phase XIX, recorded in the Beaufort County Records, and all applicable amendments thereto (the “Master Deed”). As provided for in the Master Deed, as amended, the lienholder has chosen to proceed with a non-judicial foreclosure procedure in accordance with Article 3 of Chapter 32 of Title 27 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina.

The total amount due as of the date of the Foreclosure Sale is $5,760.45 If additional costs and/or fees associated with the foreclosure and sale are incurred, such additional costs and/or fees shall be added to this amount on the date of the Foreclosure Sale.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Grande Ocean Resort Owners’ Association, Inc. v.

Kevin Tyrone Jackson Sr. and Patti S. Jackson 50 KILBRIDE DR PINEHURST NC 28374-8832 (“Owner”) Contract number 0100417261.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that according to the Notice of Sale recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel C. Zickefoose, as Trustee/Attorney and Eck, Conley & Richardson, P.L.L.C, 4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300, North Charleston, SC 29405 (“Creditor/Lienholder”), will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, outside the Beaufort County Government Center, 100 Ribaut Street, Beaufort, SC 29902 beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21st , 2026, the following described Property: AS TO: Kevin Tyrone Jackson Sr. and Patti S. Jackson An undivided one fifty-first (1/51) fractional interest in Unit No.8245 , respectively, Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime, lying situate and being on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, and being more particularly shown and described by reference to the Master Deed, establishing the said Horizontal Property Regime, being dated May 25, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993 in Deed Book 626 at Page 2446; as amended by the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments to Master Deed recorded in said Office, on July 2, 1993 in Deed Book 635 at Page 39; on August 26, 1993 in Deed Book 647 at Page 651; on May 23, 1994 in Deed Book 706 at Page 639; on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1007, and on January 21, 1997 in Deed Book 916 at Page 603, respectively, as may be further amended from time to time, and by reference to that certain plat entitled “As­ Built Survey of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime” said plat prepared by Terry G. Hatchell, S.C.R.L.S. #11059 of Surveying Consultants, said plat being dated May 27, 1993, and recorded in the Office

of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Plat Book 46 at Page 102, said plat bearing last revision date January 7, 1997 and recorded in said Office in Plat Book 59 at Page 58, ae may be further revised from time to time.

AND ALSO, all of the rights, privileges, easements, and common areas appertaining to the above-described property as set forth in the Master Deed and By-Laws of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime.

AND ALSO, all right, title, interest and privileges extending to Timesharing Interest Numbers(s) 8245-S-45; in each of the respective aforedescribed Units, as contained in that certain Time Sharing Declaration dated May 25, 1993, recorded in the office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993, in Deed Book 626 at Page 2533, and amended by that certain Supplement to Time Sharing Declaration, dated December 12, 1995 and recorded in said Office on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1035, as may be further revised from time to time.

The sale of the Property is to satisfy the past due obligations of the Owner(s) as provided for by the Mortgage for Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. duly recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Mortgage Book/Page 4321/ 2572, as amended.

The total amount due as of the date of the Foreclosure Sale is $2,104.62. If additional costs and/or fees associated with the foreclosure and sale are incurred, such additional costs and/or fees shall be added to this amount on the date of the Foreclosure Sale.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE Grande Ocean Resort Owners’ Association, Inc. v.

Kevin Tyrone Jackson Sr. and Patti S. Jackson 50 KILBRIDE DR PINEHURST NC 28374-8832 (“Owner”) Contract number 0100417214.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that according to the Notice of Sale recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, Daniel C. Zickefoose, as Trustee/Attorney and Eck, Conley & Richardson, P.L.L.C, 4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300, North Charleston, SC 29405 (“Creditor/Lienholder”), will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, outside

the Beaufort County Government Center, 100 Ribaut Street, Beaufort, SC 29902 beginning at 10:00 a.m. on August 21st , 2026, the following described Property: AS TO: Kevin Tyrone Jackson Sr. and Patti S. Jackson An undivided one fifty-first (1/51) fractional interest in Unit No.8046 , respectively, Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime, lying situate and being on Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, and being more particularly shown and described by reference to the Master Deed, establishing the said Horizontal Property Regime, being dated May 25, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993 in Deed Book 626 at Page 2446; as amended by the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Amendments to Master Deed recorded in said Office, on July 2, 1993 in Deed Book 635 at Page 39; on August 26, 1993 in Deed Book 647 at Page 651; on May 23, 1994 in Deed Book 706 at Page 639; on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1007, and on January 21, 1997 in Deed Book 916 at Page 603, respectively, as may be further amended from time to time, and by reference to that certain plat entitled “As­ Built Survey of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime” said plat prepared by Terry G. Hatchell, S.C.R.L.S. #11059 of Surveying Consultants, said plat being dated May 27, 1993, and recorded in the Office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Plat Book 46 at Page 102, said plat bearing last revision date January 7, 1997 and recorded in said Office in Plat Book 59 at Page 58, ae may be further revised from time to time.

AND ALSO, all of the rights, privileges, easements, and common areas appertaining to the above-described property as set forth in the Master Deed and By-Laws of Grande Ocean Resort Horizontal Property Regime.

AND ALSO, all right, title, interest and privileges extending to Timesharing Interest Numbers(s) 8046-S-10; in each of the respective aforedescribed Units, as contained in that certain Time Sharing Declaration dated May 25, 1993, recorded in the office of the Register of Mesne Conveyances for Beaufort County, South Carolina, on June 3, 1993, in Deed Book 626 at Page 2533, and amended by that certain Supplement to Time Sharing Declaration, dated December 12, 1995 and recorded in said Office on December 14, 1995 in Deed Book 822 at Page 1035, as may be further revised from

time to time.

The sale of the Property is to satisfy the past due obligations of the Owner(s) as provided for by the Mortgage for Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. duly recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for Beaufort County, South Carolina, in Mortgage Book/Page 4321/ 2556, as amended.

PLACE YOUR LEGAL NOTICE HERE Please contact ads. theislandnews@gmail.com for more information on placing your legal notice in The Island News.

The total amount due as of the date of the Foreclosure Sale is $2,104.62. If additional costs and/or fees associated with the foreclosure and sale are incurred, such additional costs and/or fees shall be added to this amount on the date of the Foreclosure Sale.

original of which has been filed in the Office of the Clerk of

Court for Beaufort County, South Carolina on March 6, 2024; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint on the COUNTY OF BEAUFORT undersigned subscriber at Heritage Law Firm, PC, 1011 Bay IN THE PROBATE COURT Street, Suite 2B, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29902, within FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT thirty (30) days after service hereof, exclusive of the day of CIVIL ACTION NO. 2026-CP-07-01099 such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within NON-JURY the time aforesaid, the Plaintiffs in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in said Complaint.

Melonie Quimbley, Willie Michael Darden, Ashely Thomas, TO ANY UNKNOWN DEFENDANT ADULTS, PERSONS UNDER Mikelle Darden, Michael Darden, Jeffrey Darden, Kenisha SOME LEGAL DISABILITY, MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS Jackson, OF AGE, AND/OR TO MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS Frednisha Morton, Freddie Morton, III, and Christopher OF AGE, AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) Morton.

RESIDES, ALL BEING A CLASS DESIGNATED AS JOHN DOE: Plaintiffs, YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED that Plainvs tiffs have applied for the appointment of a guardian ad litem The heirs and/or devisees of Freddie Morton,Sr., Pamela nisi to represent any unknown adults, said persons under Darden, and Freddie Morton, Jr. and As Adjoining Land some legal disability and minors; and if you fail to apply for Owners: Ruthie Lee Gadson, Demetrius Gadson, Brook the appointment of a Guardian ad Litem within thirty (30) Gadson, Beatrice Gadson, Patrick Young, Jr., Lauretta H. days after such service of this Summons and Notice upon Young, James Green, Sr., Victoria Frazier, Connie Washing- you, the Plaintiff’s appointment will be made absolute with ton, and Frank Washington, if living; and if not living, then no further action from the Plaintiffs. the heirs or devisees of all such persons named above; and HERITAGE LAW FIRM, PC all persons unknown having or claiming to have any right, title, interest in or lien upon the real property described in By: s/Cherese T. Handy the Complaint herein, being designated collectively as Cherese T. Handy, Esq. S.C. Bar #103184 JOHN DOE and MARY ROE; including all persons who may ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF be deceased, minors, in the Armed Forces of the United 1011 Bay Street, Suite 2B States, Non-Compos Mentis, and who may be under any Beaufort, South Carolina 29902 Beaufort, South Carolina disability, Phone: (843)894-6998 Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED AND REQUIRED TO AN- June 30, 2026 SWER the Complaint in the above-entitled action, the chandy@heritage-firm.com;

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES All persons having claims against the following estates, MUST file their claims on FORM #371 ES with the Probate court of Beaufort County, the address of which is 102 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902, within eight (8) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice to Creditors or within one (1) year from date of death, whichever is earlier (SCPC 62-3-801, et seq.), or such persons shall be forever barred at to their claims. All claims are required to be presented in written statements on the prescribed form (FORM #371 ES) indicating the name and address of the claimant, the basis of the claim, the amount claimed, the date when the claim will become due, the nature of any uncertainty as to the claim, and a description of any security as to the claim.

DECEDENT

PERSONAL PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE REPRESENTATIVE

PUB. DATE PUB. DATE

PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

PUB. DATE

JosephBozarth Frank Anastasia Loren 05/17/2025 Date of Death: 2/25/2026 2025ES0700899 Case Number: 2026ES0700381

Elisa O’Connor Deborah Bozarth 16 William Pope Drive, Ste. 202 C/O P.O. BOX 22230 Bluffton, SC Island, 29909 SC 29925 Hilton Head

08/21/2025 07/09/2026

Frederick Ray Liles Helen Connors Date of Death: 07/05/2025 4/1/2026 Case Number: 2025ES0700943 2026ES0700741

Melaine S. Smith John F. Boorack PO Box C/O 7511 Saint1107Andrews Road, Suite 3 Beaufort, SC 29901 Irmo, SC 29063

08/28/2025 07/16/2026

Jerry Joseph Geneva D. ColeDittle 03/01/2025 Date of Death: 5/16/2026 2025ES0700903 Case Number: 2026ES0700721

Lori R. Cullen Rhonda Cole Green 16 William C/O P.O. BOX 248Pope Drive, Ste. 202 Bluffton, SC 29909 Beaufort, 29901-0248

08/21/2025 07/09/2026

Alan JoelGerard Michaelson; Joseph Doherty,AKA Jr. Alan J. Michaelson Date of Death: 06/29/2025 3/30/2026 Case Number: 2025ES0700944 2026ES0700743

CatherineE.Grubell Suzanne Jacobson 16 William Pope Dr., Ste. 202 C/O P.O. BOX 22512 Bluffton, SC 29909 Hilton Head Island, SC 29925

08/28/2025 07/16/2026

Marguerite AnneConnor Ford Deborah Dickey 07/01/2025 Date of Death: 7/16/2025 2025ES0700906 Case Number: 2026ES0700702

Michael Ralph Ford Thomas Norman Connor, Jr. C/OUlmer PO BoxDrive 5098 66 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 Bluffton, SC 29910

08/21/2025 07/09/2026

John Edward Miracle; AKA John E. Miracle Audrey J. Glenn Date of Death: 04/05/2025 6/11/2026 Case Number: 2025ES0700932 2026ES0700740

Geraldine G. Miracle Sharon O. Hooper PO Box C/O P.O. BOX5098 882 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 Bluffton, SC 29910

08/28/2025 07/16/2026

AnnaD.Maria Wilhelmina La Haije Carl Crankshaw 07/21/2025 Date of Death: 5/22/2026 2025ES0700892 Case Number: 2026ES0700710

HelmaD.Franisca Cap Lea C. Attanasio Bruce Crankshaw, 17 Brams Point Rd. Linda C. James Hilton Island,Hilton SC 29926 C/O P.O.Head BOX 5098, Head Island, SC 29938

08/21/2025 07/09/2026

Raymond CarlCarlson Pettersen Shirley Rona Lambinon Date of Death: 06/09/2025 8/7/2025 Case Number: 2025ES0700929 2026ES0700733

08/28/2025 07/16/2026

Rita Marie O’BrienJr. Harold D. Depkin, 07/25/2025 Date of Death: 4/1/2026 2025ES0700913 Case Number: 2026ES0700712

John M.D.O’Brien, Isabel Wolf Jr. PO Drawer C/O 1533 Fording1107 Island Road, Suite 294 Beaufort SC Island, 29901 SC 29926 Hilton Head

08/21/2025 07/09/2026

CynthiaF.K.Lambinon Hutcheson Yvette Christina R. Lesher C/O P.O. BOX 3435 C/O 10 Hospital Center Commons, Ste. 400 Bluffton, SC 29910 Hilton Head Island, SC 29926 Charlene Matune Edward Harry7906 Tobergte C/O P.O. BOX C/O POHead Box 7906 Hilton Island, SC 29938 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 R. Duncan O’Quinn, III Louise C/O P.O.Brunson BOX 1107 C/O PO Drawer 1107 Beaufort, SC 29901 Beaufort, SC 29901 Wesley Hazelworth Lisa P.O. BrienBOX 2358 C/O C/O PO Drawer 1107 Beaufort, SC 29901 Beaufort, SC 29901 Jennifer C. Yeager Clara MarieStreet Emerson 511 Water C/O PO BoxSC3435 Beaufort, 29902 Bluffton, SC 29910 Mitzi T. Reid Daniel 319 OldGene BaileyFitzgerald Road 27187 Chippendale Okatie, SC 29909 Ter. Salisbury, MD 21801 Susan Fern Bender William C/O 1533 Myers FordingHoffer, IslandIIRoad, Suite 294 C/O 2015 Boundary #227 Hilton Head Island, St., SC 29926 Beaufort, SC 29902 Jack Alan Bernblum Melissa Davis BOX 2473 C/O POSTL.OFFICE C/O PO Drawer 1107 Beaufort, SC 29901 Beaufort, SC 29901 David Halsey Matthew J. Lieser C/O P.O. BOX 3885 C/O 112 Executive Bluffton, SC 29910Center 1 Corpus Christi Place, #112 Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 Eric Ligeikis C/O P.O. DRAWER 1023 Janese W.SCDavis Beaufort, 29901 180 Pearl Davis Road Springfield, GA 31329 Stephen D. Pedrotty 710 Bosley Road R. Willis PostMD 21030 Hunt Valley, C/O 17 Professional Village Beaufort,E. SC 29907 Charles Ryan 6 Dove Street JamesHead F. Holland Hilton Island, SC 29928 C/O PO Box 7906 HiltonMichele Head Island, SC 29938 Dana Bloodworth C/O P.O. BOX 8047 Deborah F. Kopp Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 C/O PO Drawer 1023 Beaufort, SC 29901

MarilynGeiger Kolbe Olsen Frank 05/30/2025 Date of Death: 3/3/2026 2025ES0700733 Case Number: 2026ES0700713 RobertAnn A. Parham, Kelia Head Jr. 07/09/2025 Date of Death: 4/6/2026 2025ES0700912 Case Number: 2026ES0700577 William M. Roberson, Jr. Thomas Richard Larsson 05/20/2025 Date of Death: 2/8/2026 2025ES0700645 Case Number: 2026ES0700708 Andrew Schiavone, III Kirt TravisGerard Lindeman 06/09/2025 Date of Death: 4/15/2026 2025ES0700751 Case Number: 2026ES0700724 Ronald Wilson Gene Tune Shirley Loggans 06/30/2025 Date of Death: 4/14/2026 2025ES0700914 Case Number: 2026ES0700700 Melva Jean Shelton Richard Joseph RyanWheeler 07/16/2025 Date of Death: 3/21/2026 2025ES0700893 Case Number: 2026ES0700636 CharlesMichael Fain Williams Albert Sramek 07/23/2025 Date of Death: 12/25/2025 2025ES0700889 Case Number: 2026ES0700716 DonaldTimothy SimeonThalman Zuidema; AKA Donald S. Zuidema Mark 04/29/2025 Date of Death: 3/25/2026 2025ES0700904 Case Number: 2026ES0700714 PatriciaS.Francis Ernest Ahr Crocco 07/29/2025 Date of Death: 6/8/2026 2025ES0700931 Case Number: 2026ES0700735 Charles Oliver Golson III Cassandra Elaine Campbell 09/28/2024 Date of Death: 6/7/2026 2024ES0701357 Case Number: 2026ES0700727 Gladys Kline LegareClarke AKA Patricia S. Clarke Patricia Sommers 04/27/2025 Date of Death: 5/23/2026 2025ES0700933 Case Number: 2026ES0700745

DECEDENT DECEDENT

James P. Matune Patricia Ann Wilson Date of Death: 4/10/2026 Date Death: 2026ES0700737 07/12/2025 Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700916 Connie L.Court Olsen 08/21/2025 Jennifer 07/09/2026 Robert Duncan O’Quinn, Jr. 112 Executive Center Drive, Suite 218 Mary Grey Boatwright C/O 121 Date of Death: 5/21/2026 1 Corpus Christi Place, #112 Date Death: 2026ES0700734 08/04/2025 Columbia, SC 29210 Case of Number: Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 Case Number: 2025ES0700963 V. Alex Dorobantu 08/21/2025 Timothy Lewis 07/09/2026 Trudi Lynn Peevey C/O 1110 Pocket Plantation Dr. Ste. A Francis Brien; AKA Francis C. Brien 1907 NewPick Mexico Street Date ofCharles Death: 4/28/2026 Beaufort, SCGA29902 Date Death: 2026ES0700631 07/11/2025 Savannah, 31404 Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700946 Lacey Michelle 08/21/2025 Catherine MaryGodec Copeland 07/09/2026 William Endicott Reed PO Drawer 1023 Plantation Drive, Suite A Arthur Emerson C/O 1110 Pick Pocket Date ofAndrew Death: 7/1/2026 29901 Date Death: 2026ES0700744 07/27/2025 Beaufort, SC 29902 Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700956 Melissa E.M.Lindeman Schiavone 08/21/2025 Andrea 07/09/2026 Mary Jane Evans Trent AKA Mary Jane Trent PO Drawer Ervin Fitzgerald C/O P.O. BOX 14 1107 Date ofGene Death: 5/28/2026 Beaufort, 29901 SC 29938 Date Death: 2026ES0700738 12/24/2024 Hilton HeadSCIsland, Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700948 Rodney A. Schaake 08/21/2025 Brian Catlin Martin Loggans 07/09/2026 Anita Benedict C/O PO BoxRoyal 22230Oaks Drive Robin 2842 West Date ofRaines Death:Hoffer 4/4/2026 Hilton Head Date Death: 2026ES0700753 04/27/2025 Beaufort, SC Island, 29902 SC 29925 Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700964 TeresaBell Lynn Anthony 08/21/2025 Kristi Ryan 07/09/2026 Daniel Benjamin Bernblum PO Box Stanley M. Lawson C/O P.O. BOX7906 7906 Date of Death: 7/20/2025 Date Death: 2026ES0700768 06/21/2025 Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700961 Laura Ann Richardson 08/21/2025 Albert Michael Sramek, III 07/09/2026 Alexander Van Rensselaer Halsey 2662P.O. Broad Joe Lieser C/O BOXStreet 3851 DateWilliam of Death: 3/5/2026 Beaufort,SCSC29910 29902 Date Death: 2026ES0700752 07/12/2025 Bluffton, Case of Number: Case Number: 2025ES0700857 Marianne Zuidema 08/21/2025 Paula R. Thalman 07/09/2026 Barbara Ann Ligeikis 3404BOX Salterbeck C/O P.O. 5098 Street, Ste. 204 Date of Death: 5/10/2026 Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466 Larry Cecil Millender Hilton Head Island, SC 29938 Case Number: 2026ES0700774 Date of Death: 02/19/2025 John F. Crocco 08/28/2025 Case 2025ES0700974 Theresa M. Ahr 07/16/2026 JudithNumber: Carol Pedrotty PO Box C/O 3600118Main Street, #400 Date of Death: 11/28/2025 Southport, 06890SC 29926 Suzanne Rekate2025ES0701387 Post Hilton HeadCTIsland, Case Number: Date of Death: 07/21/2025 Case Nancy L.Campbell Golson 08/28/2025 Juanita 07/16/2026 LetitiaNumber: Nanette2025ES0700962 Ryan C/O 16Seneca WilliamAvenue Pope Dr., Ste. 202 3408 Date of Death: 2/1/2026 Kelly Lynn Sullivan Bluffton, 29909 Aiken, SC SC 29801 Case Number: 2026ES0700359 Date of Death: 07/21/2025 Case Number: CharisseF.Parker 08/28/2025 Michael Clarke, Lisa C. Copeland 07/16/2026 Ramona Gloria2025ES0700954 Simmons PO Box 2478BOX 5098 C/O POST OFFICE Date of Death: 7/31/2023 James Franklin2026ES0700762 Willard Beaufort, 29901-2478 Hilton HeadSCIsland, SC 29938 Case Number: Date of Death: 07/02/2025 Heather R. Galvin, Probate Judge, Beaufort Case Number: 2025ES0700957 County, SC

Heather R. Galvin, Probate Judge, Beaufort County, SC

07/16/2026 08/28/2025

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09/04/2025

NEWS

Death

Recent deaths connected to MCRD Parris Island

from page A1 two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Recent drill instructor deaths Duong is the second drill instructor assigned to Parris Island to die in less than two months.

The first was Sgt. Albert R. Haynes II, 24, of Austin, Pa., who died May 30 while on temporary duty in Florida.

Haynes, a drill instructor with Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, was found dead in a hotel room in Starke, Fla., while assigned to Recruiting Station Jacksonville to help conduct a poolee event for future Marines.

Authorities initially said the cause of death was under investigation. His obituary later stated he died unexpectedly from a health-related illness.

Haynes graduated from Cameron County High School in 2020 before enlisting in the Marine Corps,

The following Marines and recruits assigned to, serving with or training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island have died since 2021.

The deaths occurred under different circumstances and are not known to be connected.

Lady's Island. His family later publicly stated he died by suicide.

Service Battalion's Regional Contracting Office. Found dead Dec. 18, 2025.

Sgt. Albert R. Haynes II, 24 Drill instructor, Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion.

Died May 30, 2026, in Starke, Fla., while on temporary duty with Recruiting Station Jacksonville. His obituary states he died unexpectedly from a health-related illness.

RECRUITS

DRILL INSTRUCTORS

Sgt. Darilyn C. Duong, 25

Pfc. Brandon Barnish, 19

Staff Sgt. Courtland Bateswind, 27

Drill instructor, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion. Died July 17, 2026, at her apartment in Port Royal.

Died Nov. 30, 2021, during recruit training.

Drill instructor, Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion. Found dead July 5, 2023, at his residence aboard Parris Island.

Cpl. Angel Acosta III, 25 Former drill instructor serving as a training clerk with Headquarters and Service Battalion. Died Sept. 20, 2023, at HarborOne Apartments on

fulfilling what his family described as a lifelong dream of becoming a Marine. He had recently married his wife, Kaitlyn, and the couple was expecting their first child, a daughter, in August.

Other drill instructors assigned to Parris Island have died in recent years, as well.

Staff Sgt. Courtland Bateswind, 27, a drill instructor assigned to Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, was found dead July 5,

Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19 Died June 4, 2021, during the Crucible.

Pvt. Anthony Muñoz, 21 Died Sept. 30, 2021, during recruit training.

Pfc. Noah Evans, 18

OTHER MARINES

Died April 18, 2023, after suffering a medical emergency during training.

Sgt. Yliana Hernandez, 25

Pvt. Marshall Hartman, 20

Water survival instructor assigned to Support Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment.

Found dead Sept. 22, 2023.

Died April 22, 2023, during recruit training.

Sgt. Cameron Thach, 26 Assigned to Headquarters and

2023, at his residence aboard Parris Island.

Cpl. Angel Acosta III, 25, a former drill instructor who was serving as a training clerk with Headquarters and Service Battalion at the time of his death, died Sept. 20, 2023, at HarborOne Apartments on Lady's Island. His family later publicly stated he died by suicide.

The deaths occurred under different circumstances, and authorities have not indicat-

Recruit Jason Tharp, 19 Died Feb. 8, 2025, during combat water survival training.

ed they are connected.

Other Marine deaths Other Marines assigned to MCRD Parris Island, but not serving as drill instructors, have also died in recent years.

Sgt. Yliana Hernandez, 25, a water survival instructor assigned to Support Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, was found dead Sept. 22, 2023, at her residence.

Sgt. Cameron Thach, 26, assigned to the Regional Contracting Office within Headquarters and Service Battalion, was found dead Dec. 18, 2025, aboard Parris Island.

The deaths involved Marines serving in different roles and occurred under varying circumstances.

Recruit deaths Recruit deaths are separate from deaths involving Marines serving in permanent assignments at Parris Island.

The most recent recruit death occurred Feb. 8, 2025, when 19-year-old Jason Tharp died during combat water survival training.

Five other recruits assigned to Parris Island have died since 2021.

Altogether, 12 Marines and recruits assigned to, serving with or training at MCRD Parris Island have died since 2021, according to a review of previous reporting by The Island News, Marine Corps announcements and other local reporting.

That total includes four current or former drill instructors, two other Marines serving in non-drill instructor roles and six recruits undergoing initial training.

The deaths occurred under a variety of circumstances and should not be interpreted as evidence that the cases are connected.

About MCRD Parris Island Located near Port Royal, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is one of the Marine Corps' two recruit training depots, along with Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Approximately 20,000 recruits complete training there each year.

Drill instructors are responsible for transforming civilians into Marines through rigorous training emphasizing discipline, physical fitness and the Corps' core values.

The investigation into Duong's death remains ongoing.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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.

Salvation Army welcomes new Corps officers to Beaufort

Staff reports The Salvation Army of the LowCountry Corps has announced Lieutenants Glen and Sarah Andress as its new Corps officers for Hampton, Colleton, Jasper and Beaufort counties.

The Andresses arrive in Beaufort with years of experience in pastoral leadership, social services, and community development through The Salvation Army. Most

recently, they served as lay leaders in High Point, N.C., where they led efforts to expand services for youth and bridging families experiencing homelessness, strengthen community partnerships, and grow opportunities for worship and discipleship.

"We are humbled with excitement to begin working alongside the great people in this community," Lt. Glen Andress said in a

news release. "From the moment we arrived, we have felt welcomed by this wonderful community. We look forward to building relationships and serving alongside the dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners who make such an incredible difference in the lives of others every day."

In their new roles, the Andresses will oversee all aspects of The Salvation

Army's ministry in the LowCountry, including worship services, youth programming, community outreach initiatives, and social service programs. These services include emergency assistance with rent and utilities, food assistance, seasonal programs such as Angel Tree and Christmas assistance, emergency disaster services, and support for individuals and families facing crisis.

"Meeting both the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ is at the heart of everything we do," Lt. Sarah Andress said in a news release. "First and foremost, The Salvation Army is a church. Whether you are looking for assistance, a place to serve, or a church family to worship with, our doors are open and there is a place for you here."

For additional information about The Salvation Army of the LowCountry, available programs and services, volunteer opportunities, or ways to support the mission, please visit the official website or contact the Beaufort office directly at 843-524-3727, visit https:// www.salvationarmyusa.org/ sc/beaufort/ or stop by 2505 North Street in Beaufort.

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JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

A5

NEWS

Memorial from page A1

Dasher Jr. had invited participants to wear blue or a blue ribbon to represent the love, memories and prayers surrounding his father. Family members also said blue was Dasher’s favorite color.

Many answered the request, arriving in blue shirts, dresses, hats and other clothing.

After the gathering, Dasher Jr. thanked those who came to stand with his family.

“I just want to thank everybody who came out today to remember my dad,” he wrote in a public Facebook post. “Seeing so many people show up, share love, and be there for us really meant a lot to me.”

He said each prayer, hug and kind word offered during the gathering brought comfort to the family as they continued grieving.

“Thank you for taking the time to come out and honor him with us,” Dasher Jr. wrote. “I truly appreciate all the love and support. Continue to keep me and my family in your prayers.”

A five-day search Sunday’s gathering brought the family back to the island where the search for Dasher had unfolded just days earlier.

According to information provided to The Island News by Georgia Department of Natural Resources Public Affairs Officer Mark McKinnon, the search began at approximately 9 a.m.

Saturday, July 11, after Chatham County Marine Patrol notified Georgia DNR game wardens that a vessel had overturned near the north end of Tybee Island.

Dasher was reported missing following the accident. At least one other man was aboard the vessel and was rescued.

Dasher’s family believes waves generated by a large cargo ship caused the vessel to overturn, according to WSAV-TV. Authorities have not confirmed that account, and Georgia DNR’s investigation into the accident remains ongoing.

The report of the overturned vessel launched a multi-agency search involving personnel and equipment from Georgia and South Carolina.

Georgia DNR game wardens, Chatham County Marine Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, Tybee Marine Res-

cue Squadron, Tybee Fire and Rescue, the Tybee Island Police Department and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources game wardens participated. Chatham County Aviation and Georgia DNR Aviation also conducted multiple aerial searches.

Strong winds and thunderstorms complicated portions of the operation, but crews continued searching for Dasher.

Local fishermen continue looking Members of the local fishing community also assisted and continued watching the water throughout the week.

Mary Cathryn Turner told The Island News that her husband, a charter fishing captain who operates out of Tybee Island, helped with the search Saturday.

On Wednesday morning, July 15, the captain and his first mate were returning from a fishing trip with clients when they encountered Dasher’s body approximately 3 to 4 miles offshore in the shipping channel, Turner said.

Her husband approached cautiously and visually confirmed that the person was wearing clothing matching the description provided for Dasher. He immediately contacted the Coast Guard by radio to report a person in the water.

Turner said Coast Guard personnel arrived approximately 20 minutes later, followed by Georgia DNR. After receiving permission from the responding agencies, the captain left the scene and returned to the marina.

Her husband had also recovered personal items during Saturday’s search and turned them over to Coast Guard personnel, Turner said.

“He has been in touch with Mr. Dasher’s family, and providing them the closure they needed in the midst of a terrible tragedy has been enough,” Turner said.

She said her husband did not want recognition for his role but believed the contributions of the local fishing community should be acknowledged.

“This recovery would not have been possible without the help of the local fishing community who have kept an eye out on the waters,” Turner said. “Mr. Dasher was part of that community, and perhaps it’s fitting that another fisherman was the one who brought him home.”

A son’s plea for prayers As the search entered its fifth day Wednesday, Dasher Jr. thanked the public for standing beside his family.

“Reading all of your messages and seeing the stories you’ve shared about my dad has brought me comfort during one of the hardest times of my life,” he wrote.

“It reminds me that he isn’t just loved by our family — he’s loved by so many.”

At the time, the family remained focused on bringing Dasher home and had not begun planning a gathering or memorial.

“Right now, we’re still searching for my dad,” Dasher Jr. wrote. “We haven’t given up hope, and we’re continuing to pray and trust God every step of the way.”

He asked the community to pray for his father, the family and the first responders involved in the search.

“Please continue to pray with us, believe with us, and keep my dad in your thoughts,” he wrote. “Please keep praying that my dad comes home.”

Within hours, the search reached its conclusion.

According to McKinnon, Georgia DNR game wardens and Coast Guard personnel recovered Dasher’s body at approximately 2 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, just south of the shipping channel offshore from Tybee Island.

McKinnon said Dasher had been in the water from approximately 9 a.m., Saturday, July 11 until his recovery July 15. Georgia DNR and the Coast Guard conducted the official recovery before turning his body over to the Chatham County Coroner’s Office.

In a public statement the following day, Dasher Jr. thanked everyone who had prayed, shared information, called, sent messages or kept the family in their thoughts throughout the search.

He then announced plans for the Sunday gathering, inviting the community to return to Tybee and walk in his father’s memory.

Remembering “Dash” Dasher had celebrated his 45th birthday in March, expressing gratitude for another year of life in a public Facebook post.

“What a day to be alive,” he wrote. “I want to thank God for allowing me to see the big 45. Happy birthday to me.”

In the days following his death, friends shared memories of the man they knew as “Dash.”

Lady’s Island man arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material charge

Staff Reports South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced in a media release the arrest of Gordon C. Fritz, 82, of Lady’s Island on one charge connected to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations, both also members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with this investigation.

According to the release,

investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Fritz. Investigators state Fritz distributed files of child sexual abuse material.

Fritz was arrested on July 9, 2026, and was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $25,000 surety bond just after noon on Tuesday, July 14. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. His bond has been set at $25,000.

The 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.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a term now commonly used instead of “pornography, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these crimes.

"Pornography" can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.

See Into The Future . . . . . . read Opinion, Arts, Culture, Lifestyle, Homes, Cuisine

Discover What You’re Going To Do Next More coverage and content at LowcountryWeekly.com

A6

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

Bernard Daise described Dasher as his brother, best friend and someone he could depend on through right or wrong.

“I keep hearing you asking me, ‘Man, High Roller, when you coming on the boat with me?’” Daise wrote in a public Facebook tribute.

“And every time I’d laugh and say, ‘Man, Dash, it’s too damn hot right now.’ If only I knew those moments would become memories I’d hold onto forever.”

Daise said Dasher would be remembered for his laugh, loyalty and the love he showed others.

“Life will never be the same without you here,” he wrote. “Your name, your laugh, your loyalty, and the love you showed will live with me forever.”

Four months after Dasher celebrated his birthday, those closest to him stood together above the water off Tybee, dressed in the color chosen to represent their love, memories and prayers.

Through their gratitude and grief, they remembered a man who made a lasting impact during his 45 years of life.

Memorial arrangements pending Chisholm Galloway Home for Funerals is handling the funeral arrangements, and services will be held there. The date and time had not been announced as of publication.

Dasher Jr. again thanked the community for its prayers, encouraging words, calls, messages and

support.

“It truly means more than I can put in words,” he wrote.

He asked for patience while the family works through the details of the memorial.

“Once everything has been finalized, we will share the information with everyone who would like to come and help us celebrate and honor his life,” Dasher Jr. wrote. “Thank you for continuing to keep my father and everyone who loved him in your prayers.”

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.

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NEWS

Shooting from page A1

Second Degree, Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature, Possession or Acquisition of a Handgun by a Person Under 18 Years of Age and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.

• Marcello Lopez Royal, 17, of St. Helena Island with two counts of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, four counts of Assault and Battery, Second Degree, Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature, Possession or Acquisition of a Handgun by a Person Under 18 Years of Age and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.

• Andre Nyciere-Richard Greene Jr., 20, of Ridgeland with two counts of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, four counts of Assault and Battery, Second Degree, Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.

• Jacob Malik Johnson, 22, of Beaufort with two counts of Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature, four counts of Assault and Battery, Second Degree, Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.

• Christopher Charles Capers II, 17, of St. Helena Island with Accessory After the Fact.

• Amarion Jameer Riley, 22, of Ridgeland with Possession of a Machine Gun and Breach of the Peace, High and Aggravated Nature.

The indictments are formal charging documents, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

'Every shooter, every bullet' During Friday's press conference, Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said the indictments reflect a

prosecution strategy his office has used for more than a decade in cases involving multiple shooters.

Stone traced that approach back to the 2012 killing of 8-year-old Khalil Singleton, who was struck and killed while caught in the crossfire during a gun battle on Hilton Head Island.

"Ever since the death of Khalil Singleton, which is now some 14 years ago, our office, working with the Sheriff's Office, has sought to hold every shooter in a situation in which there is a gun battle with multiple people who turn an otherwise peaceful environment into a battlefield," Stone said.

Stone said prosecutors charged not only the individual who fired the fatal shot that killed Singleton, but also the other people involved in the exchange of gunfire.

"The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed that in 2020, and it is a theory that we have been actively using," Stone said. "We will not limit charges to just those people who fire the fatal bullet or the bullet that causes the harm.

Again, in a gun battle with multiple shooters who turn an otherwise peaceful environment into a battlefield, we will attempt to hold every shooter accountable for every bullet."

Stone said he explains the concept to juries with a simple phrase.

"The way I've explained it to juries before is every shooter is responsible for every bullet."

Why attempted murder charges were dropped The announcement also answered a question many have had since the shooting – why attempted murder charges announced shortly after the incident no longer appear in the indictments.

Stone said South Carolina's attempted murder statute only applies to intended targets.

Because investigators determined the alleged shooters were firing at one another, prosecutors had to decide whether the alleged shooters would be treated as victims or defendants.

"They were," Stone said

when asked about the original attempted murder charges. "They're not, and we're not going forward on those, and here's why."

"The state statute on attempted murder is directed to vindicate only the intended targets of a shooting.

In this scenario, the only intended targets are other shooters."

Stone said prosecutors instead chose to pursue charges on behalf of the innocent bystanders struck during the exchange of gunfire.

"The sheriff and I discussed this from the very beginning," Stone said. "We had a choice. Call the other shooters victims or defendants, and we chose defendants. That's why you have the charges that you have for assault and battery for the true victims in this crime, who are the people who are the innocent bystanders who are not picking up a gun and being involved in the gun battle."

Stone said the legal limitation has prompted solicitors across South Carolina to seek changes to state law.

He said prosecutors worked with the South Carolina Senate last year on legislation that would have expanded the attempted murder statute to cover unintended victims struck during shootings like the Coligny Beach incident. The bill passed the Senate but did not clear the House before the legislative session ended.

Stone noted that under current law, prosecutors can charge murder if an unintended victim is killed but cannot pursue attempted murder when an unintended victim survives, calling it a gap in the statute that should be corrected.

Technology helped investigators move quickly Stone and Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner credited the Sheriff's Office's surveillance technology with allowing investigators to rapidly identify suspects and present the case to the grand jury less than two weeks after the shooting.

Stone said a Beaufort

County Sheriff's Office mobile Verkada camera trailer stationed at Coligny Beach captured much of the incident, while Hilton Head Island's Flock license plate reader system helped investigators identify a suspect vehicle shortly after the shooting.

"What has allowed us to go quicker in this matter is, again, the technology used by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office," Stone said. "It was the Sheriff's Office camera that was on the beach at the time and caught a good bit of everything on video.

That helps us not only move forward quicker, but most importantly, with certainty."

Tanner said investigators uploaded information about a suspect vehicle into the Flock system, which identified the vehicle on Pope Avenue at 9:02 p.m. Deputies stopped the vehicle on the Cross Island Parkway bridge five minutes later.

"We had six people in the vehicle, and we were able to take all six of those to the Hilton Head office. Out of those six, four were arrested that night," Tanner said.

Tanner said the investigation demonstrates the value of technology that has drawn criticism in the past.

"The camera that we had on the beach is amazing technology," he said. "The Flock system ... helped us identify a vehicle and make a traffic stop within minutes.

So, very, very important."

Investigators: Dispute started over a look For the first time since the shooting, Tanner also offered a more detailed explanation of what investigators believe sparked the confrontation.

"I've already said this in a previous press conference, but since that press conference, we know that this entire incident was a result of juvenile ego," Tanner said.

"It was a look. So one person got a look from another that he didn't like. He felt it disrespected him. And then from there it turned into a fist fight. And from the fist fight it turned into gunplay."

Tanner declined to say whether investigators have

determined the shooting was gang-related, saying it would be premature to make that determination while the investigation continues.

"There are things that we're looking at," Tanner said. "When you start making claims about this being gang-related or not gang-related and the investigation is still ongoing, it's premature to make those comments."

He added that additional arrests remain possible as investigators continue to develop the case.

Modified handgun led to machine gun charge Tanner confirmed investigators recovered a handgun that had been modified to function as a machine gun during the investigation.

He also said Riley, who was arrested in Jasper County, was found in possession of another modified handgun capable of automatic fire when he was taken into custody. Tanner said that weapon is unrelated to the July 4 shooting but resulted in the machine gun charge included in Riley's indictment.

"The one we recovered on the beach was modified into a machine gun," Tanner said.

Sheriff defends department amid police debate Much of Friday's press conference also focused on the Sheriff's Office's response to criticism following the shooting and renewed discussion about whether Hilton Head Island should establish its own municipal police department.

Tanner defended his deputies' response and investigative work, saying he believes the case demonstrates the effectiveness of the Sheriff's Office.

"I am very, very proud of the men and women of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office for how they handled this case and, quite frankly, how they handle all cases they work," Tanner said.

"They do an amazing job."

Stone echoed those remarks, calling the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office one of the top law enforcement agencies he has worked with during his career.

"There's not another law enforcement agency in the

state of South Carolina that I would rather work with than the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office," Stone said. "They do an outstanding job."

Tanner said the town has every right to pursue its own police department if residents support the idea, but argued the discussion should not be based on criticism of the Sheriff's Office's handling of the Coligny Beach shooting.

"What gets me about this incident on July 4, it gave them cause to have a special meeting to talk about law enforcement services," Tanner said. "They tried to use some of the best professional law enforcement reaction as a qualifier to getting their own police force. ... I don't care what police force you had, it could not have been done better."

What happened on July 4?

The shooting occurred shortly after 8:20 p.m., on July 4 when a fight between two groups escalated into an exchange of gunfire near Coligny Beach during one of the busiest nights of the holiday weekend.

Authorities have said eight people suffered gunshot wounds. Investigators have described the injuries as non-life-threatening and have said the victims included innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.

The incident prompted a multiagency investigation involving witness interviews, surveillance video, forensic evidence and social media, and reignited public discussion about safety at Coligny Beach during peak tourism season.

Bond hearings for Hawes, Davis, Royal, Greene and Johnson are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 22, at the Beaufort County Detention Center.

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.

Beaufort day dock reopens after yearlong closure

By Delayna Earley The Island News Boaters regained access to downtown Beaufort last week when the city reopened the day dock at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, nearly a year after structural concerns made it inaccessible.

The reopening was briefly interrupted Sunday, July 19, when the city temporarily closed the dock for the Beaufort Water Festival Ski Show.

The planned closure was related to the event and did not signal a new structural problem.

Access to the dock was restored Wednesday, July 15, two days before the 70th an-

nual Beaufort Water Festival began. The reopening reestablished a direct connection between the Beaufort River, Waterfront Park and downtown Beaufort in time for the festival’s opening weekend.

In his weekly Bridge Report, City Manager Scott Marshall thanked O’Quinn Marine for helping the city fulfill its promise to restore dock access through the park before the Water Festival.

“Reopening the Day Dock restores an important connection between Beaufort’s waterfront and those who enjoy it by boat,” Marshall said.

“We’re excited to welcome visitors back and appreciate

everyone’s patience throughout this process.”

The dock had been inaccessible since the summer of 2025, when an engineering assessment identified significant structural deficiencies in the relieving platform supporting the waterfront promenade. The city closed the promenade as a safety precaution, cutting off the park’s connection to the dock.

O’Quinn Marine helped restore access by installing a temporary gangway across the closed promenade.

Although boaters can use the gangway to enter and leave the day dock, the promenade remains closed to pe-

destrians. City officials said the crossing was installed solely to provide dock access. People who enter other portions of the closed promenade could face trespassing charges.

Four days after the reopening, the city closed the dock from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday to accommodate the Water Festival Ski Show on the Beaufort River. The city said in its public notice that the dock would reopen after the event.

The temporary closure kept dock and boat traffic away from the performance area during one of the festival’s signature waterfront

events. It was not a reversal of the city’s decision to reopen the dock.

Restored access allows boaters to reach Waterfront Park and downtown businesses during the 10-day festival, which brings thousands of residents and visitors to Beaufort for concerts, sporting events, community activities and other waterfront traditions.

The temporary gangway does not resolve the larger structural problems affecting the promenade. The city has advertised a request for qualifications from firms interested in providing design services for the Waterfront

Park relieving platform. Responses are due Thursday, Aug. 13.

That process represents the next step toward a longterm repair or replacement of the promenade. Until that work is completed, visitors using the day dock must remain on the designated gangway and outside the closed portion of the waterfront.

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.

USMC veteran, father of autistic child launches nonprofit to help Lowcountry families

Staff Reports A Beaufort Marine Corps veteran and father of a child with autism has launched a nonprofit organization aimed at helping Lowcountry families obtain autism evaluations and connect with critical support services.

The Lowcountry Autism Evaluation Fund (LAEF) was founded by Justin Palmer to address one of the most significant barriers many fam-

ilies face: obtaining timely autism evaluations that can open the door to therapies, educational services, and community support.

For many families, autism evaluations can involve long waitlists, financial challenges, and limited access to specialists. Palmer created the organization after navigating those challenges with his own family and recognizing that many other parents face similar obstacles.

“Every child deserves access. Every family deserves answers,” Palmer said in a news release. “An autism evaluation is often the first step toward helping a child receive the support they need to reach their full potential.”

The Lowcountry Autism Evaluation Fund works to reduce barriers to autism evaluations and raise awareness about the importance of early identification and in-

tervention. The organization also seeks to connect families with available resources while building partnerships with healthcare providers, schools, businesses, and community organizations throughout the region.

Palmer hopes the nonprofit will become a trusted resource for families across Beaufort County and the South Carolina Lowcountry, as well as coastal Georgia.

“Parents often know some-

thing is different long before they receive answers,” Palmer said. “Our mission is to help families take that first step toward understanding their child’s needs and accessing the services that can make a difference.”

The organization is currently seeking community partners, sponsors, donors, and volunteers to help expand its impact and serve more families.

For more information

about the Lowcountry Autism Evaluation Fund, visit laefsc.org.

Justin Palmer spent 11 years in the U.S. Marines and completed three combat deployments to the Middle East before being sent to MCRD Parris Island as a Marksmanship Instructor.

He holds a B.S. in Social Psychology and a M.A. in Applied Behavior Analyzation. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Beaufort County Department of Disability and Special Needs.

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

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NEWS & ARTS

West Nile virus detected in Beaufort mosquito samples

By Delayna Earley The Island News Beaufort County Mosquito Control has confirmed the first local mosquito samples to test positive for West Nile virus this year, prompting increased surveillance and plans for additional treatments in the City of Beaufort.

The samples were collected from mosquito surveillance traps located within the city and tested in Mosquito Control’s laboratory, according to a county announcement released July 15.

County officials did not identify the specific locations where the samples were collected or say how many samples tested positive. The announcement did not report any related human cases.

In response to the detection, Mosquito Control is increasing trapping in the affected areas and will schedule additional truck treatments aimed at reducing the number of adult mosquitoes.

West Nile virus occurs naturally in the area, although detection can vary from year to

year, according to the county.

Mosquito Control deploys as many as 80 surveillance traps each week throughout Beaufort County. Mosquitoes collected through the program are tested for West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis.

The department considers mosquito-borne diseases a public health threat and works with the S.C. Department of Public Health and other agencies to monitor disease activity in mosquitoes, birds, horses and people.

When a mosquito-borne disease is detected, the county can increase mosquito collection and testing, intensify mosquito-control treatments and monitor activity in neighboring Chatham, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties.

How the virus spreads West Nile virus circulates primarily between mosquitoes and birds. A mosquito can become infected after feeding on a bird carrying the virus and may later transmit

it to people, horses and other animals through its bite.

The virus is not spread through ordinary contact between people.

A positive mosquito sample confirms that the virus is present in the local mosquito population, but it does not mean that every mosquito in the area is infected.

According to the S.C. Department of Public Health, much less than 1% of mosquitoes are infected in areas where West Nile virus has been identified.

What residents should know Most people infected with West Nile virus do not develop symptoms. About one in five develops an illness that can include fever, headache, muscle or joint pain, nausea, vomiting or a rash, according to state and federal health officials.

Symptoms generally begin between two and 14 days after a bite from an infected mosquito.

Less than 1% of infected

people develop a serious illness affecting the central nervous system, including encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. Severe cases can require hospitalization and may result in permanent disability or death.

People with certain chronic health conditions and those with weakened immune systems may have a higher risk of severe illness.

There is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for West Nile virus in people.

Mild cases are generally treated with rest, fluids and medication to reduce pain or fever.

Severe cases may require hospitalization and supportive care.

Anyone experiencing a high fever, confusion, muscle weakness or a severe or unusual headache following possible mosquito exposure should seek medical attention.

Preventing mosquito bites County officials are asking residents to take several precautions: • Drain standing water that may provide a place for mos-

quitoes to breed.

• Avoid spending time outdoors around dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes associated with West Nile virus are generally most active.

• Wear long sleeves and pants when practical.

• Use an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellent.

• Make sure screens on doors and windows are in good working condition.

State health officials say mosquitoes can develop in water that remains standing for more than five days.

Residents should regularly empty water from flowerpots, buckets, toys, birdbaths, pet bowls, clogged gutters and other containers around their homes.

Dead birds can provide an early warning Residents can also help health officials monitor West Nile virus by submitting certain dead birds for testing.

The state accepts dead crows, blue jays, house sparrows and house finches

through its annual surveillance program, which operates from March 15 through Nov. 30.

An increase in infected birds can provide an early warning that West Nile virus activity is growing in a particular area, allowing state and local officials to consider additional mosquito-control measures.

Residents should consult the Department of Public Health’s instructions before handling or transporting a dead bird.

To report mosquito problems or standing water, contact Beaufort County Mosquito Control at 843-255-5800 or visit beaufortcountysc.gov/ mosquito-control. Residents can also register through the county’s website to receive notifications about aerial mosquito-control treatments.

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.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls Beaufort 'hidden gem' after getaway NASCAR legend, wife praise Beaufort's restaurants, welcoming residents, laid-back coastal charm on latest podcast

you'd want to go hang out.'"

She said the restaurant reminded her of "old Key West vibes," convincing the couple to pack up for a two-day getaway.

It turned out to be exactly what they were looking for.

By Delayna Earley The Island News For two days, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife, Amy, quietly explored Beaufort like any other visitors.

They wandered downtown without an itinerary, spent hours in local bars, ate at hometown restaurants, chatted with strangers, joined locals for a night of karaoke by singing along from the audience, signed memorabilia and discovered hidden corners of the city.

By the time they left, they weren't just talking about Beaufort with the people they met. They were telling millions of listeners why they should visit.

On the latest episode of Dirty Mo Media's Bless Your ’Hardt podcast, the Earnhardts devoted nearly 15 minutes to recounting their Lowcountry getaway, repeatedly praising Beaufort's people, historic charm and relaxed pace while encouraging others to make the trip themselves.

"Dale and I decided to go down the road just a couple hours from where we are and visit this tiny little town," Amy Earnhardt said. "I found a dive bar called the Fillin’ Station on my Instagram. I sent it to Dale, like, 'This looks exactly like the type of place

A trip inspired by a dive bar After checking into Anchorage 1770, the couple headed straight to The Fillin' Station on Lady's Island.

"The Fill-In Station did not disappoint," Amy said.

Dale agreed.

"The Fill-In Station was perfect. We hung out there most of the first day."

Staff and patrons shared photos of the visit online, while co-owner Shannon Love said the couple spent several hours at the restaurant talking with guests, taking photos and signing memorabilia before continuing their Beaufort adventure.

Even the drive into Beaufort made an impression.

"It's a beautiful drive ... the old Spanish moss hanging from the trees. It's just a really nice kind of experience to go there," Dale said.

The Earnhardts stayed at Anchorage 1770, the historic waterfront inn overlooking the Beaufort River, and praised both the accommodations and the staff.

"It's a 256-year-old house," Dale said. "The staff there was fantastic. Super nice. We had breakfast one morning. It was delicious. Everything about the experience at Anchorage was perfect. If we went back, I would stay there again."

From there, they explored

downtown on foot, ducking into shops, alleyways and tucked-away bars along Bay Street.

"You can walk and just kind of explore without a plan," Amy said.

The couple also praised Old Bull Tavern, where Dale encouraged listeners to stop for a meal.

"If you go to Beaufort downtown, Old Bull, that's a great place to eat," he said.

"The owner there was fantastic."

They also stopped at Hearth Wood Fired Pizza, where Jennifer Polk Mader found herself unexpectedly starstruck.

"I can honestly say that I don't get star struck often ... literally never!! But I just did.

Big time," Mader wrote on Facebook.

She later admitted she was so nervous after asking for a photo that she went back to apologize.

"They couldn't have been sweeter," she wrote of Dale and Amy.

A night at Luther's If there was one stop that perfectly captured the spirit of the visit, it was Tuesday night's karaoke at Luther's Rare & Well Done.

According to Beaufort resident Jayne Sadlon Violette, the Earnhardts spent hours talking with patrons, posing for photos and enjoying the atmosphere rather than making a quick appearance and leaving.

One of the night's most memorable moments came when Violette received a frantic text from former stu-

dent Carlo Perruzza, a lifelong Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan who owns one of Earnhardt's retired race tires.

Violette asked Earnhardt if he would mind waiting a few extra minutes.

He did.

Perruzza hurried downtown, rolling the full-size race tire through the restaurant and up to the bar, where Earnhardt happily signed it before posing for photos.

"These things happen in Beaufort, South Carolina!!

They really, truly do!" Violette wrote afterward.

The couple didn't head out after signing the tire.

Instead, they stayed to cheer on karaoke singers, sing along from the audience and enjoy the performances alongside everyone else.

Amy later recalled the evening as one of the highlights of the trip.

"Especially that last night at Luther's," she said. "We walked out and I feel like if we had turned around and said goodbye, the whole bar would have, in unison, been like, 'Goodbye!' It was such a cool place. Everyone was so friendly."

Jacob Mixson, another fan who met Earnhardt at Luther's, described the NASCAR legend as his "childhood hero" in a Facebook post.

"I remember as a kid watching NASCAR on TV and seeing him whipping around the track," Mixson wrote. "Great man to meet."

Similar posts poured onto social media throughout the week as residents shared photos and stories from chance

encounters across Beaufort.

Despite being one of NASCAR's most recognizable names, the Earnhardts blended into the community, lingering in conversations and treating each interaction as if they had nowhere else to be.

A 'hidden gem' More than any particular restaurant or attraction, Amy said it was Beaufort's people who made the biggest impression.

"The people there were so nice," she said. "Everyone around you was in a good mood. Everybody was talking to one another. Not everybody's just walking around looking at their phones.

People really are engaged with one another. Everybody knows each other."

She said everywhere they went, people wanted to share their favorite places and make sure they experienced the best of Beaufort.

"Everybody just wanted you to have their experience," she said. "It seems very much like a slow way of living down there. They're just very chill."

Dale said Beaufort reminded him of what many popular coastal towns have lost.

"Beaufort's kind of like ... that hadn't happened to Beaufort yet," he said. "So it's kind of still got this smalltown, very tight-knit community feel to it."

He went a step further, calling Beaufort "kind of a hidden gem" and encouraging listeners looking for a quieter alternative to Charleston to spend a day or two in Beaufort instead.

The couple said they re-

ceived countless recommendations from residents for family-friendly activities, hidden marsh walks and places to explore on a future trip, and they plan to return with their daughters.

For Beaufort, it was an unexpected endorsement from one of NASCAR's most recognizable figures.

For the people who met the Earnhardts, though, the lasting memory may be something much simpler.

They weren't remembered because they were celebrities.

They were remembered because they lingered.

They stayed for another conversation.

They stayed for another photo.

They stayed to cheer on karaoke singers and sing along from the crowd.

They spent two days experiencing Beaufort the way locals do.

And when they returned home, they did what millions of people do after a vacation they loved – they told everyone about it. Most people share photos with friends and family. The Earnhardts shared stories from Beaufort with millions of podcast listeners, telling them what residents have known for years – this small Lowcountry town is still, in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s words, "kind of a hidden gem."

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.

Penn Center to screen premiere of ‘The Art of Believing’

Staff Reports A new documentary, “The Art of Believing,” will screen from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 1 at Penn Center's Frissell Community House, highlighting the faith, artistry, and enduring legacy of three Sea Island artists.

The documentary is a collaboration between NOW Communications and Harden Creative that explores the connection between faith and art through the stories of three Sea Island artists: Rev. Johnnie Simmons, Susan Stone, and John M. Bradley.

The 30-minute screening will be followed by a Q&A and artist reception hosted by producer Luke Frazier and associate producer Sasha Horne Hirshout, which

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JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

WANT TO GO? Who: Producer Luke Frazier, associate producer Sasha Horne Hirshout, and Sea Island artists Rev. Johnnie Simmons, Susan Stone, and John M. Bradley What: A screening of the documentary “The Art of Believing” When: 1 to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026 Where: Frissell Community House, Penn Center, St. Helena Island More info: The screening is free and open to the public; a $5 suggested donation benefits the York W. Bailey Museum. For tickets or to RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/45bMsZd.

will also feature the artists Simmons, Stone, and Bradley.

The screening offers the Lowcountry community a rare chance to hear directly from three Sea Island artists whose deeply personal spiritual journeys, from Gullah pyrography to shamanic healing to spray-painted ministry art, shape every-

thing they create.

Simmons is a self-taught Gullah folk artist and ordained minister raised in the farming community of Frogmore on St. Helena Island.

He graduated high school in 1969 and served as a paratrooper with the Army's 173rd Airborne in Vietnam.

Years later, while working through PTSD in a treatment

program, he found an ordinary rock shaped like a lion's head, an encounter that sparked a new way of seeing the world around him. Soon after, an impulse buy of a wood-burning kit set him on a path as a pyrography artist.

Simmons now etches Gullah folk scenes and biblical imagery into wood, often painting in vivid color and captioning his work in the Gullah language. His art has been shown at Penn Center, Four Corners Gallery, and other Lowcountry venues.

Stone is a Port Royal-based artist, author, and healer. She holds an associate degree in commercial art and spent decades working in advertising, landscape design, and kitchen design while con-

tinuing to paint and teach.

In 2010, Stone was struck by lightning, an event that required eye surgery and, by her account, opened a deeper spiritual awareness that continues to inform her art today. She is a certified Crystal Healer, Reiki Master, and Initiated Shamanic Practitioner, and founded The Arts Port Royal, a school offering classes in fine, mystic, and healing arts.

Bradley has roots on St. Helena Island and is known for his large-scale, spray-painted tunnel installation at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, celebrated for its striking depiction of historic figures.

Bradley has since developed what he calls "Ministry Art,"

EDITOR'S NOTE Luke Frazier and Sasha Horne Hirshout, the producer and associate producer, respectively, of “The Art of Believing,” have prior working relationships with The Island News.

Frazier writes feature stories, while Hirshout contributes to the website while also selling digital advertising.

using bold spray-painted imagery paired with biblical passages to carry messages of faith, often inviting viewers to look beneath the surface for a deeper meaning.

Admission to the screening is free, though a $5 suggested donation benefits the York W. Bailey Museum.

For tickets or to RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/45bMsZd.

VOICES Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island News.

America’s common good is in crisis

T

o understand the erosion of how Americans interact these days, just look to our recent story of vaccinations.

For years, parents routinely got children inoculated so they wouldn’t get dreaded diseases like crippling polio or measles or diphtheria.

They understood vaccines would protect their kids and their communities. Then along came COVID-19.

Some 1.2 million Americans died – but many millions more didn’t die because they got a vaccine.

Unfortunately, anti-vaccine skeptics started moaning and groaning about the vaccine, which led to Americans questioning other vaccines that had been working for years. America, in fact, virtually erased the scourge of measles through a community-saving vaccine. But despite evidence, these folks looked away.

This year in South Carolina, particularly in Spar-

H

ow many fatal shootings does it take to finally melt the ICE and sweep the residual water out the door?

Make no mistake, dear reader. The moral rot within this group is surely becoming more and more apparent as the death count rises. And the circumstances surrounding these atrocities make them what they are -- murder.

What I intend to do in this piece is focus upon those deaths that were perpetrated within a sixmonth period, those that show a group of thugs, given sanction by the present administration, who have no sense of humanity or real duty. Those whose so-called masculinity is grounded in a piece of tin, a flack jacket, and a gun!

No testosterone needed here, Pete. But I digress.

Let me begin with the most recent incident and work backward. Johan Guerrero was still able to speak when they dragged him out, face down on the pavement, and put the bleeding man in handcuffs.

Daniel Boucher, 71, heard the shots from his apartment and went down to the

ANDY BRACK

tanburg County, too many decided they didn’t want their children vaccinated.

As a result, measles raged for the first time in years, sickening 997 people and causing a national panic.

In short, the story of vaccines shows the unhealthy pivot from an America strengthened by communities to a me-focused culture that, in one sense, puts America last. We’ve gone from a common good culture of shared prosperity to a country of personal belief systems that prioritizes selfishness. We’re more “me” than “we.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy,

D-Conn., outlines how this shift in the nation’s focus is dangerous in a new book: “Crisis of the Common Good: The fight for meaning and connection in a broken America” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $29).

He explores the disintegration of our communities and how the short-term focus on political and economic gain is threatening the strengths of the nation’s communities.

“Everything in America not nailed down has become a commodity – even middle school hockey,” Murphy writes. “Every minute of our lives is fodder for profit maximization. And when everything exists primarily for someone else’s gain – even your child’s Saturday-afternoon game – it breeds emptiness and resentment.

That discontent doesn’t stay contained. It spills, inevitably, into our politics.”

The book outlines why many Americans feel empty

and unsatisfied because they aren’t connected to neighbors as much as they were two generations ago.

“It is the story of how we came to worship a set of false idols, causing us to forget the bond between true happiness and a connected life full of shared purpose with people about whom you care deeply.”

Murphy, who will be in Charleston on Friday, July 24, to politick and talk about his book, noted that the country has gotten wealthier and more just over the last 50 years in many ways.

“But we have also retreated from shared prosperity, social contracts and small communities, building altars instead to profit, efficiency, consumer culture, technology, elite credentialism and winner-takes-all politics that consecrates corruption.”

After several chapters about various cults – the unhealthy focus on profit, technology, consump-

tion and more – that have infected the nation’s psyche, Murphy offers 30 political prescriptions to thwart this crisis of the common good.

Four examples: • Increase the minimum wage to a living wage.

Three in four Americans, he writes, support a $20 per hour minimum wage.

• Create a social capital fund. It would “support organizations, projects and ‘third places’ in communities that serve to connect individuals to one another.”

• Protect our spiritual health from poisonous technology. He recommends restricting children’s use of social media and holding social media companies liable for harms they cause.

• Require six months of national service for young Americans. Such a policy would restore the value of citizenship.

Five years ago, this space showcased how the nation of

An American Gestapo?

CAROL LUCAS

street.

"His face was bloody. His head was bloody," Boucher said, choking up. "I clearly heard the victim say, 'I tried to stop.' Clearly heard him say that."

Let this panorama expand to include a threeyear-old girl, still wearing her Bluey pajamas, crying -- Johan’s daughter. Sort of reminiscent of the little guy, Liam Ramos, in his blue-knit bunny hat, who was taken by ICE. Are you feeling a sense of pride yet?

The clincher in this story is that Guerrero wasn’t the intended target. Of course the same old excuse was put forth -- he tried to use his car as a weapon. That was quickly disputed by onlookers.

But this incident wouldn’t be complete without a look at the perpetra-

tor of this crime. His name is David Brouillette, and he is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood. Several of his close relatives reported this, and his ex-wife reported that he contacted her and asked her to lie for him regarding his past abuse that included throwing his 13-year-old daughter through a coffee table.

This, folks, is what the administration is recruiting to patrol our streets.

Just the week before the murder of Guerrero, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant living in Houston, Texas, was killed in similar fashion.

He had been living in the United States for 35 years at the time of his death.

Transparency mandates that Salgado did not have legal permission to live in the U.S., but had begun applying for authorization.

Just as important, he did not have a criminal record, something that flies in the face of the information this administration tries to use as justification.

These two killings were both committed under the

auspices of a so-called valid traffic stop; understand there was no validity involved with either one. And yet, when it was announced that ICE would suspend these, it was 47 himself who made it clear that he did not agree and that they must be continued.

Twice in six days, federal agents executing an arrest warrant stopped the wrong vehicle and killed the driver. Apparently that isn’t sufficient reason for the president.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti deserve to be mentioned in this piece as well.

Their deaths at the hands of ICE occurred in Minneapolis in close proximity; hers on Jan.7, 2026, and his on Jan. 24, 2026.

Again, Renee Good was in her car, and very distinct camera footage shows what happened. She was stopped sideways in the street, which led ICE agent Jonathan Ross to circle her vehicle on foot. Other agents approached, and one ordered her to get out of the car while reaching through her open window.

Good briefly reversed, then began moving forward and to the right, into the direc-

tion of traffic. At this point, Ross was standing several feet away at the front-left of the vehicle which was turning away, when he fired three shots, killing her.

(Wikipedia) Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old American intensive care nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs was filming law enforcement agents with his phone and directing traffic. At one point, he stood between an agent and a woman the agent had pushed to the ground, putting his arm around her. Six officers surrounded him when he was shot and killed.

Fair ratio, would you say?

As with the Renée Good case, state investigators were denied access to the shooting scene by the federal government. In both cases, 47 was quick to defend the shootings, saying the agents were acting in self defense.

It’s worth noting two things here. First, in February, Congress appropriated $20 million for ICE officers to wear body cameras.

Five months later, there were none used in Texas or Maine.

Second, the government

common good is built into America’s DNA to shrug off an oppressive system and take control of our destiny.

“The underlying principle generally was that people, not a king, would decide how to do things, which would benefit the majority.

In challenging times for the common good, people were to give a little to save a lot down the road. Give some in taxes to build a road to benefit all. Give a little to provide for the common defense, education, good working conditions and economic infrastructure.”

We need to get back to the business of bolstering the common good, not tearing down America from the inside.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment?

Send it to feedback@statehousereport. com.

has been accused of having “quotas.” which they have denied. Its own officers say otherwise.

"All that matters is numbers, pure numbers," one ICE insider told the New York Post. "Quantity over quality."

I will conclude with the following which struck me with its simplicity and its accuracy.

“You say you’re after criminals -- yet you come without warrants You call us lazy -- yet you arrest us at work.

You say we don’t contribute -- yet you track us through our taxes.

You call us illegal -- yet you seize us at our hearings.

Maybe this isn’t justice at all.

Maybe you are just white supremacists.”

These are not immigration agents! They are the President's thugs who get to carry their racism to the extreme!

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.”

Apathy biggest threat to our elections A t some point in any discussion about our national politics, you will hear America needs a third-party alternative to the Democrats and the Republicans.

Just recently, an acquaintance lamented on social media, “We need a third party that believes in the majority of our views. They would win in a landslide.”

Another person quickly responded, “I agree with that!

Neither side represents us anymore. Just their own agendas.”

Consider me less than persuaded. It’s not that I believe the current big political parties perfectly serve our wants or needs, but I’m dubious of the notion a third party would be an automatic solution -- or that they would win easily.

First, we already have alternatives to the major American political parties in the form of the Libertari-

TERRY MANNING

an Party and Green Party.

According to its website, the Libertarian Party was founded in Colorado in 1971 and has nominated candidates in the national presidential elections since 1972. In 1980, the party’s Ed Clark was the first Libertarian candidate to appear on the ballot in all 50 states.

The preamble to their mission statement reads, “We seek a world of liberty: a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and are not forced to sacrifice their values for the benefit of others.”

The Green Party de-

scribes itself as “grassroots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, nonviolent resisters and regular citizens who’ve had enough of corporate-dominated politics,” with their four pillars being peace, ecology, social justice and democracy.

The Green Party began in 1984 with the formation of a state-level party in Maine. Ralph Nader was their first national presidential candidate, running in 1996 to oppose Bill Clinton’s waffling on regulating telecommunications and securities fraud, among other issues.

Some of that can sound a little nebulous, but remember that while Clinton’s 1994 crime bill is credited for its ban on assault-type weapons, it is also blamed for helping ignite the explosion in the American prison population.

The Libertarian Party’s

Chase Oliver won 0.48 percent of the national popular vote and the Green Party’s slightly better known Jill Stein won 0.41 percent of the national popular vote according to Federal Election Commission data cited on The Green Papers web site.

A few random candidates pop up from time to time, but for the purposes of my argument we have four political parties, with two attracting nearly all the votes and a corresponding amount of the credit — or blame — for what happens in our country.

But what if there’s another third party that affects our elections? See, the more I think about it, the decisive battle isn’t always between Democrats and Republicans or liberals and conservatives. If you remove MAGA from the equation, the “agendas” the big parties have aren’t

always that different.

Let me be clear: Some of the differences are not insignificant. If any group wants to subjugate or eradicate another group, that’s no small matter and needs to be addressed.

Those with strident platforms whose goals can be achieved only by denying or taking away from others the same rights they enjoy must be relegated to the fringes of society, if they are allowed at all.

But the real three-party system I’m talking about comprises people who always vote; people who never vote; and people who only vote when they are extraordinarily motivated.

The last group are like the Obama voters who showed up because they wanted to be part of the election of the country’s first Black president, but didn’t turn out for Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.

Or they are like the Trump voters who wanted to kill Roe v. Wade or be part of rolling back the “hope and change” the Obama years — and to a lesser extent, the Biden years — represented, even when their votes imperiled their own lives and livelihoods.

Until we can find ways to motivate the unmotivated and, maybe, educate the uneducated on why they need to vote even when it feels like choosing between the lesser of two or more evils, the nonvoting bloc will continue to limit our ability to self-correct.

A nonvote is not a nonvote; it’s an explicit endorsement of the status quo, however lousy the status quo is.

Terry E. Manning is a Clemson graduate and worked for 20 years as a journalist. He can be reached at teemanning@gmail.com.

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

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VOICES Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island News.

Remembering two sides of Lindsey Graham: Gangster and American Dreamer

I

’ll remember Lindsey Graham as a gangster.

Not that kind of gangster.

The South Carolina senator, who died July 11 at the age of 71, belonged to two of Washington’s most famous “gangs”: the bipartisan Gang of 14 and the Gang of Eight.

Their mission wasn’t political warfare but political problem-solving.

They were groups of Republicans and Democrats who believed the Senate still had an obligation to work together rather than simply score points.

It’s an image worth remembering because it has become so rare.

Graham could be fiercely partisan, especially in recent years. He could also be fiercely independent. Those two qualities coexisted throughout a public career that lasted more than three decades.

The independent streak is the one I choose to remember.

At important moments, Graham showed a willingness to work with people who didn’t share his politics.

He joined the Gang of 14 to break a judicial nominations stalemate. He became part of the Gang of Eight in an ambitious, if ulti-

I

PAUL HYDE

mately unsuccessful, effort to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. That effort prompted Rush Limbaugh to label him “Lindsey Grahamnesty.”

Graham voted to confirm two of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominees: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

He collaborated with Democrats including Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton on national security and foreign policy, understanding that ideological opponents could still be governing partners.

Of Biden, Graham said in 2015 following Beau Biden’s death, “If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem.” He added that Biden was “as good a man as God ever created and we don’t agree on much, but I think he’s been dealt a really gut blow.”

Graham believed that trust was not the reward for bipartisan cooperation; it

was the prerequisite.

South Carolinians who remember only Graham’s recent partisan battles may forget that his independence once earned him official censures from some county Republican parties.

His willingness to cross party lines has become so rare that it now seems almost quaint.

Perhaps that’s why I find myself thinking about those times in his long career when Graham boldly reached across the aisle.

Those are inspiring memories for South Carolinians who have grown weary of bitter partisan rancor.

Equally inspiring is Graham’s own story. South Carolinians know it well.

Long before he became a familiar face on cable TV, Lindsey Graham was a boy growing up behind the family bar in Central. His parents worked long hours to keep the business afloat.

Then, while Graham was still in college, both parents died within months of one another.

Instead of simply finishing school, he became the guardian of his younger sister.

Many people would have concluded that their dreams had ended.

His were only beginning.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham gives a thumbs up while speaking to voters at a town hall meeting Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Anderson, S.C. Paul Hyde/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, served in the U.S. Air Force, practiced law, entered politics and eventually occupied the same Senate seat once held

by Strom Thurmond.

It is one of the most remarkable South Carolina stories of perseverance in modern political life.

Graham liked to joke about his modest height.

Physically, he was one of the smallest men in the Senate.

His ambitions were anything but small.

I first covered Graham 30 years ago, when he was a freshman congressman. Like many inexperienced politicians, he could seem nervous in front of a crowd. He had a habit of closing his eyes or blinking quickly when responding to questions, a

nervous tic that suggested a young politician still finding his footing.

But year after year, campaign after campaign, by sheer force of will, he grew into one of the most skilled politicians South Carolina has produced.

Watching that transformation was a reminder that confidence is often painstakingly earned rather than inherited.

When I last saw Graham at a campaign event in Anderson last summer, he worked a raucous crowd as skillfully as ever, not dodging the toughest questions.

No assessment of Graham’s career will ever satisfy everyone. He leaves behind the legacy of a lightning rod.

History will sort through his contradictions.

What history should

not overlook is something simpler.

A young man from behind a small-town bar, suddenly burdened with raising his teenage sister after the death of both parents, refused to let tragedy define his future.

He built a life of consequence through education, military service and public office.

That is an American Dream story.

There will be plenty of time to argue over Lindsey Graham’s politics.

I’ll remember the young man from Central who overcame enormous odds, and the senator who showed that public service is not simply about standing your ground but knowing when to cross the aisle without surrendering your principles.

Paul Hyde is a longtime journalist and teacher in the Upstate. He worked 18 years for the Greenville News as a columnist, editorial writer, education reporter and arts writer. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Clemson and Harvard universities.

He has written for the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News and USA Today, among other publications.

He currently is a regular contributor to the Greenville Journal, Atlanta JournalConstitution and Classical Voice North America. He lives in Anderson County.

How will we all contemplate wings, burritos, pick-up trucks?

’ve learned four things since I began watching the World Cup. The first of these revelations was the fact that our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” is not all that bad when compared with other national anthems.

Listening to Mexico’s young players sing — admittedly I don’t speak Spanish and didn’t understand the words — was painful and yet the underlying tune seemed to be the best of the lot.

I have, on occasion, wondered why “Oh say can you see” was chosen in the first place; and why we haven’t changed to something more tuneful, energetic, like, “Please Mr. Postman.”

Almost every time I swim, I encounter a water aerobics class at our own Wardle YMCA where at least 40 people are bending, bumping and bouncing their ancient anatomy to the lyrics of the Marvelettes.

Please Mr. Postman, look

SCOTT GRABER

and see (Whoa, yeah); Is there a letter in your bag for me? (Please, please Mr. Po-o-ostman); ’Cause its been a mighty long time for me (Whoa, yeah); Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine.

Yes, of course, we would change the Marvelette-made lyrics to something majestic — “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free” — but surely we can come up with a tune with more energy and electricity and get more excited about accompanying the mumbling teenager who wins the 200-meter freestyle in Los Angeles.

There is a second lesson I’ve learned since watching the World Cup. When one is tripped — intentionally or not — one should fall onto the ground and assume the fetal position; one’s right hand clutching one’s left knee. At the same time the left hand should be planted on one’s contorted face leaving room for the injured player to grimace and scream in pain.

As far as I can deduce, this on-the-ground, after-injury protocol is required if one wants to earn a penalty kick or see a colored card awarded to the transgressor.

The third lesson learned involves commercials.

Specifically how much foreign football can one watch without a commercial break informing one about chicken wings; beer-drinking; and the opportunity (at $70,000 a pop) to own a pick-up truck large enough to move that pesky, 2,000-pound safe that is currently cluttering-up one’s office?

These games prove one can watch at least 45 minutes of action — with one hydration break — without any medical consequences like stroke, vomiting or gum disease.

The fourth item is more of a mystery than a lesson learned — How, on God’s green earth, can the Cape Verde Islands be competitive on the same pitch with Argentina?

How does an indistinct speck in the Atlantic Ocean — home to 527,326 souls — compete with the Argentinian behemoth of 46 million people?

How does the diseaseand war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo compete with a well-adjusted, well-nourished United Kingdom?

How is Curacao Island allowed to be on the same field as Ecuador?

Years ago when I traveled in Africa — Congo, Senegal, the Kingdom of Biffeche — one would often see a dozen

shoeless, shirtless boys running around a patch of hard-packed dirt; the “pitch” often littered with hundreds of black plastic bags and, perhaps, a burnt-out APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) that had fallen victim to a long-ago RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) in a long-gone effort at regime change.

Sometimes there was a battered soccer ball in play; otherwise there was a rag and duct tape-made substitute with little bounce. But these dusty fields of dreams were everywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Well done, Councilman Bartholomew. We are grateful for your service to all citizens of Beaufort County.

making generous donations to him.

Medicare fraud is not a victimless crime

Medicare fraud is not a victimless crime. If you are a current or future Medicare recipient, these criminals stole money from you and from the program millions of Americans rely on. By granting these pardons, Trump also eliminated court-ordered restitution that were intended to help recover stolen funds.

Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco have recently turned-out some great players who have migrated to Europe and now play in the Premier League. I suppose these young men are proof-positive that one can grow up kicking a goat’s bladder in Bamako or N’Djamena; and then kick their way out of the Sahel on

onto field of actual grass in Manchester.

Notwithstanding the World Cup cost of late-stage tickets ($7,600-$20,000); and the arrival of Donald Trump as an appeals court referee; there is reason to believe that soccer will (one day) compete with the NFL for viewers. But how, we must ask, do Coca-Cola, Qatar Airlines and Aramco get to sell their products without more commercials during the game?

Will those folks be content with the electronic advertising that constantly races around the wall surrounding the pitch itself?

Or will FIFA stop the game every five minutes or so for some reason — hydration or urinalysis check — giving us more time to contemplate wings, burritos and pick-up trucks?

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Well done, Councilman Bartholomew!

In an extraordinary move by [Beaufort] County Council, a unanimous vote was recently made in favor of one of our many charitable nonprofits in Beaufort County, the St. Francis Center. Our District 2 Councilman, David Bartholomew, deserves recognition as a leader who exacts justice with common sense.

Many know that the St. Francis Center, which serves the needy on St. Helena Island and adjoining areas of Beaufort County, recently lost its only form of promo-

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JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

tion, a sign along Hwy. 21. In the process of applying for a new sign location, we were told that the Center, that operates on property owned by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese and is leased to the Congregation of the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, would be required to have a business license. This was unacceptable to the Sisters and to the Diocese.

At my request, Councilman Bartholomew toured the St. Francis Center during a food distribution and witnessed firsthand the generosity that flows into our community, led by Sister Canice Adams with about 80 volunteers.

In the Council Meeting on June 8, Councilman Bartholomew eloquently stated “When government requires a religious ministry to seek permission to operate, to apply for a license, to submit to the licensing power, to certify itself to the County under oath, government has placed itself between the faithful and their works of faith.” I agree.

He finished his statement with “St. Francis feeds the hungry, repairs the homes of our elderly and disabled neighbors, and asks almost nothing of us in return. The Constitution asks something of us: that we leave them to their work.”

These cases are part of a broader pattern: Trump has -- Shelley Gay Yuhas, Re- pardoned more than 20 peopublican candidate for S.C. ple convicted of Medicare House District 121 fraud involving more than $2 billion.

Who are Philip Esformes, Judith Negron, Lawrence Duran, John Estin Davis, and Salomon Melgen? They all have two things in common: each was convicted of major Medicare fraud, and each later received a pardon from Donald Trump after

If you support Trump,

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor should consist of fewer than 275 words and be emailed with a name and contact information to TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

I ask you to explain why these pardons are good for our country. Please explain why you do not find these pardons to be morally and ethically repugnant. (BTW, Hunter Biden and Nancy Pelosi had nothing to do with this so you can save your what-about-isms for another day.)

-- Peter Birschbach, Port Royal

ARTS AND HEALTH

SSTI brings classic musical ‘Oklahoma!’ to Beaufort High

By Addison Alberda Special to The Island News After opening its 19th season in Beaufort with the audience hit “All Shook Up,” the Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute (SSTI) now turns to one of the most beloved musicals in American theatre history.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” opens Sunday, July 26, at Beaufort High School, bringing SSTI’s signature production scale to a classic story of romance, rivalry, and life on the American frontier.

The production is directed

by Tony Award nominee and South Carolina native Jenn Colella, who makes her SSTI directorial debut after many summers teaching with the organization. Colella, known to Broadway audiences for her Tony-nominated performance in “Come From Away,” brings both professional experience and a personal connection to the material.

Gabriel Emery and Charlotte Dickens star as Curly and Laurey, respectively, in SSTI's ‘Oklahoma!’

Submitted photo “Oklahoma!” was one of the first musicals she performed growing up in South Carolina, making this production a meaningful return.

SSTI’s staging will lean into the sweeping imagery of the classic musical while

offering the large-scale theatrical design audiences have come to expect from the company. Set inside a giant barn, the production will fill the stage with 10,000 stalks of artificial wheat and feature a real surrey with the fringe

on top.

The show follows SSTI’s successful June production of “All Shook Up,” which welcomed enthusiastic audiences to the company’s new Beaufort home. After years of producing award-winning

musicals at Hilton Head High School, SSTI moved its season to Beaufort High School while its longtime venue undergoes construction.

For audiences seeing SSTI for the first time, the company’s scale can come as a surprise. Each summer, SSTI brings together performers and technicians from across the country, working alongside professional directors, designers, musicians, carpenters, electricians, costume artists, and stage managers. The result is a summer production model that blends education with professional-caliber theatre.

SSTI founder and director Ben Wolfe often describes the program as “the minor leagues of Broadway,” giving audiences the opportunity to see young artists at the beginning of careers that may one day lead to national stages.

With “Oklahoma!,” SSTI

WANT TO GO? Who: Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute (SSTI) What: “Oklahoma!”

When: Sunday, July 26 through Sunday, Aug. 2 Where: Beaufort High School, 84 Sea Island Parkway Tickets: Available at SummerMusicals.com or by calling 866-749-2228

closes its Beaufort season with a musical known for some of Broadway’s most enduring songs, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” and “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top.” “Oklahoma!” opens July 26 and runs through August 2 at Beaufort High School, 84 Sea Island Parkway. Tickets and performance information are available at SummerMusicals.com or by calling 866-749-2228.

Shore Notes invites women to discover joy of singing at camp Staff Reports Women throughout Beaufort County are invited to discover the joy of singing with Shore Notes, Beaufort's award-winning women's a cappella chorus, Shore Notes, is hosting a free summer camp this from Monday, July 27 through Monday, Aug. 24.

Shore Notes is an award-winning women's a cappella chorus and a mem-

WANT TO GO? Who: Women, 18 and older What: Shore Notes Summer Camp When: 6 to 8 p.m., Mondays, July 27 throuhg Aug, 25 Where: Church of the Palms in Okatie Cost: Free Register: www.shorenotes. com

ber of Sing United International. The chorus performs

throughout the Lowcountry and welcomes women from Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and surrounding communities who enjoy singing and lifelong learning.

Held over four Monday evenings, the summer camp offers women ages 18 and older an opportunity to experience the fun, friendship, and fulfillment of singing in four-part harmony. No audi-

tions or previous choral experience are required, just a willingness to learn and have fun.

Participants will rehearse alongside Shore Notes members, learn vocal techniques, build confidence, and prepare a song to perform during the final evening of camp. Whether you've sung in choirs before or simply enjoy singing along with the radio, Shore Notes welcomes

women of all musical backgrounds.

"One of the greatest joys of Shore Notes is watching someone discover they can create beautiful harmony," Membership Chair Christine Raetsch said in a news release. "Many women think they aren't experienced enough to join a chorus, but our Summer Camp is designed to show that anyone who loves to sing can be-

long."

Summer Camp will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., on four consecutive Mondays from July 27 through Aug. 24 at Church of the Palms in Okatie. The camp is free. To register, visit www.shorenotes. com.

For more information, contact Raetsch at 484-753-4947, info@shorenotes.com or visit www.shorenotes.com.

Art faculty, students create mural at Port Royal Police Dept.

University of South Carolina Beaufort Alligators, roseate spoonbills, fighter jets and the town's iconic observation tower are all part of a new mural created by University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) art faculty and students at the Port Royal Police Department.

The vibrant mural has transformed the police department's training room and public meeting space through art that celebrates the natural beauty of the Lowcountry and unique aspects of the Town of Port Royal.

Led by art instructor Emma Barnes McClure in collaboration with recent graduate Suzie Atkins and senior Sierra Culbertson, the USCB team designed and painted the large-scale mu-

Port Royal Police Sergeant Doug Kadas points out a fiddler crab in the Port Royal Police Department's new mural. Photo courtesy of USC Beaufort ral on the front wall of a large room that hosts staff training and meetings by community groups. The Beaufort Water Festival Committee is one group that meets in this room, and the police department hopes more community groups will utilize the

space.

Commissioning the mural was part of the police department's ongoing initiative to beautify its facilities. Leaders envisioned artwork that would immediately reflect the spirit of Port Royal.

The town of about 16,000

residents is a historic maritime village, located on a peninsula bounded by the Beaufort River and Battery Creek. The police department is off Paris Avenue, adjacent to the Cypress Woodlands boardwalk and rookery.

"We needed our mural to say Port Royal," Administrative Sgt. Kelly Mason said.

"We wanted a Lowcountry scene with marshes, birds, the observation tower and even alligators—they're the bane of our existence."

Mason said she contacted USCB's art department with the idea, and she and Barnes worked together to develop the concept.

"I reached out to the USCB art department, and Emma was amazing," Mason said.

"We shared the general idea, went back and forth on the

design, and she brought our vision to life. We are ecstatic with the result."

The finished mural captures the beauty that surrounds the Port Royal Police Department. Local wildlife, marsh grasses, native birds, and the Blue Angels flying overhead tell the story of the community, while police badges on either side of the mural symbolize the department's commitment to protecting and serving Port Royal.

For Atkins and Culbertson, the project offered an opportunity to create public art while collaborating directly with a community partner. Both students said they were thrilled to contribute to a project that will be enjoyed for years to come.

"This was my first mural, and I was happy to get this

experience," Atkins said.

The relationships that developed during the painting process became one of the project's most rewarding aspects. Officers and staff frequently stopped by the training room to check on the mural's progress, offer encouragement and get to know the artists.

Barnes McClure said she was grateful for their enthusiasm throughout the collaboration.

"I can't say enough about how kind the department was," she said.

Barnes McClure said she and her students are proud that the completed mural will serve as the centerpiece in a space that welcomes officers, town leaders and community organizations to gather and collaborate.

Heart attack recovery starts with cardiac rehabilitation

By Dr. Stuart Smalheiser Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists Compared to the 1950s, Americans today are more than four times as likely to survive a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. This means that for people of the same age, the annual risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is now just one-quarter what it was in 1950.

When new treatment options give you a second chance at life, heart attack recovery helps you make the most of the future. Cardiac rehabilitation can help you live a full, normal life on the other side of a heart attack.

People have much better opportunities to manage heart attacks and prevent future events than in years past.

As a result, they’re surviving their life-changing events and moving forward. Cardiac rehab then helps them make

Dr. Stuart Smalheiser the most of life after a heart attack.

Cardiac rehab & heart attack recovery A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is cut off. Without enough oxygen-rich blood, your heart muscle begins to suffer injury. The longer your heart goes without this blood, the more damage it sustains.

Proper treatment restores

blood flow to the heart. Once the immediate threat to your heart is stopped, it’s time to begin recovery.

To recover from a heart attack, you may need to do one or more of the following: • Adopt healthy eating habits • Lower your stress levels • Obtain a healthy weight • Strengthen your heart Through cardiac rehab, you learn to understand what a heart-healthy lifestyle is and regain the confidence to go move forward with life. Rehab basically jumpstarts your recovery process. It points you toward improved health and gets you moving in that direction.

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program that helps you recover from a heart attack. When you join a cardiac rehabilitation program, your care team first evaluates your needs.

They then develop a treat-

ment plan to address your needs and reach your goals.

To help you move toward good health as soon as possible, rehab begins while you’re still in the hospital. Rehab then continues in the weeks following discharge.

Throughout your rehab experience, your expert team works to help you return to work and life and prevent future heart problems through the following: • Counseling — It’s normal to feel depressed, angry or afraid after a heart attack.

Your care team can help you manage these feelings and refer you to an adult mental health specialist, if appropriate. They can also protect your heart by helping you identify sources of stress and learn healthy ways to reduce or manage it.

• Education — Knowledge is power and plays a key role in heart attack recovery. In rehabilitation, you learn skills

for preventing another heart attack and improving your overall health.

• Exercise — Physical therapists and other exercise pros guide you through specific physical activities. These aim to help strengthen your entire body, especially your heart.

After completing your official heart attack recovery program, you can continue your rehabilitation journey at the Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Center. By becoming a member, you can continue exercising in a safe environment where medical expertise is readily available.

Your role in heart attack recovery It can take a few weeks or months to develop a new baseline of activity. Your healthcare team can help you determine when it’s safe to go back to work, resume sexual activity and restart other activities. There are many

people who complete cardiac rehab that can do more after their heart attack then before.”

In the meantime, don’t limit your recovery efforts to rehabilitation sessions. Take control of your good health every day with these tips.

When working toward heart attack recovery, you are your greatest advocate, so speak up when something seems off and commit to making the suggested lifestyle changes. When you slip up, own up to your mistakes and start your healthy habits again.

Do this day after day, year after year, and you give yourself the best shot at a full recovery that lasts a lifetime.

Stuart Smalheiser, M.D., is a boardcertified interventional cardiologist with Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists, specializing in advanced heart attack care, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular disease.

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

A11

LOCAL MILITARY

A Final Flight

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Chapter 12, of Port Royal, S.C., celebrated its 75th anniversary with a commemorative dinner on Monday, July 13, 2026, at AMVETS Post 70 in Port Royal.

DAV Chapter 12 of Port Royal celebrates 75 years

Staff Reports The Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Chapter 12, of Port Royal, S.C., celebrated its 75th anniversary on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, marking three quarters of a century assisting veterans and their families.

The chapter held a commemorative dinner on Monday, July 13, 2026, to celebrate this significant milestone and to thank its members and their families for their selfless volunteer efforts.

Honored guests included Kevin Phillips, Mayor of Port Royal; Derwin Bradley, Department of S.C. Commander; and Henry Carson, District Committeeman.

Each offered congratulatory remarks.

This significant milestone was recognized at the local, state, and national levels. Chapter leadership previously accepted proclamations from Beaufort Mayor Phillip Cromer and Beaufort County Council Chair Alice Howard. At the dinner, Phillips presented the Governor’s Proclamation on behalf of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster. The mayor also delivered heartfelt words of thanks and appreciation for the chapter.

The Governor’s Proclamation read in part: WHEREAS, 75 years ago, on July 1st, 1951, a small group of just 45 dedicated veterans came together with a shared mission to support and advocate for those who served our nation, as DAV Chapter 12.

WHEREAS, through steadfast commitment, compassion, and service, the organization has grown from its original 45 members to more than 1,700 chapter members dedicated to serving veterans, their families, and the community.

WHEREAS, DAV Chapter 12 has worked tirelessly to ensure veterans receive the benefits, care, dignity, and respect they have earned through honorable military service.

WHEREAS, the organization has made a lasting impact through volunteerism, transportation programs, advocacy, community outreach, and countless hours of service to veterans and their families.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Henry Dargan McMaster, Governor of the great State of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim July 1st, 2026, as the 75th Anniversary of DAV Chapter 12.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, SC-1, forwarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition along with a congratulatory letter. In this letter, she stated, “Achieving seventy-five years of service is not an easy task; it represents the years of effort, leadership, and community service you have dedicated … Your success is an inspiration to us all, and our office wishes you continued growth and excellence in all that you do.”

After completing active-duty service, many veterans still desire to serve and assist fellow veterans and their families. The DAV motto remains as relevant today as ever: “Keeping our promise to America’s veterans.”

Those interested in joining or learning more are invited to attend the chapter’s monthly meetings, held on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m., at AMVETS Post 70, at 1831 Ribaut Road in Port Royal. The chapter offers free, walk-in assistance with VA benefit applications every Thursday morning from 8 to 11 a.m., at the same location. For more information, contact the chapter at davchapter12sc@ gmail.com.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William A. Mahoney, operations officer, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, taxis under the traditional “water salute” after his final flight Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. This milestone flight honors a distinguished career of dedicated service, representing the culmination of countless hours in the sky and an unwavering commitment to the mission. Cpl. Isabella Renaud/USMC

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William A. Mahoney, operations officer, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, is congratulated by his daughters after his final flight Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Cpl. Isabella Renaud/USMC

Who can answer your questions about VA Medical Center services and benefits? (Part 2)

T

he first article in a series of three explained that Veteran Service Officers, Social Workers, and Patient Advocates (VSOSWPA) can answer most of a veteran’s non-clinical questions and solve many of their problems with VA health care, services, and benefits.

That article also encouraged eligible veterans to: • Sign up for VA healthcare.

Learn more from your local VSO, VA Medical Center Eligibility and Enrollment Office, and at https:// www.va.gov/health-care/, https:// www.va.gov/health-care/eligibility/, and https://bit.ly/4whEauW. • Learn more about their Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) at https://bit.ly/4fLneac, https://bit.ly/459Xle6, and by calling the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s Patient Advocate phone 843-789-6066 for Charleston, N. Charleston, Goose Creek or phone 912-920-0214 Extension 412205 for Myrtle Beach, Savannah, Hinesville, Beaufort, and Brunswick outpatient clinics.

• Keep the names and phone numbers of the VA specialists on their Primary Care PACT Team. Get the names and phone numbers from the veteran’s assigned Primary Care Clinic and PACT Team.

• Make an appointment with the veteran’s local county (or regional) VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) and find out what their federal (VA) and state veterans’ benefits are.

• Learn more about their local VA Medical Center and Health Care System Patient Advocates Team at https://bit.ly/4yvLcxD, and by calling the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health System Patient Advocate office at 843-0843-789-6066, or by emailing vhachapatientadvocates@ va.gov.

A12

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

LARRY DANDRIDGE

• Use their local VA Medical Center Patient Advocates Team (Medical Center or Clinic Office) to help veterans resolve issues with their care. If the veteran experienced any problems that they haven't been able to resolve by talking with their care team, please reach out to one of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and HealthCare System (RHJVAMC&HCS) patient advocates.

• Find South Carolina County VSOs at https://bit.ly/4gJZ80B. North Carolina County VSOs at https://bit.ly/4fkPEGI. Find GA County/Regional VSOs at https:// bit.ly/4fMnQfC. • Use their VA PACT Team Social Worker or another Specialty Care Social Worker to answer any questions the veteran has about VA Healthcare services and benefits and to refer the veteran to any care or services they need.

This week’s article will explain why veterans should use a VA-accredited VSO to learn what veterans’ VA benefits and services they are eligible for, what benefits are available at their location, and to file claims for veterans’ benefits and services.

Veterans should use a local VA-accredited VSO VA-Accredited Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) should be veterans' first choice when trying to understand their veterans' federal (VA) and state benefits and when applying

for Veterans benefits and services because VSOs' services are FREE and VSOs: 1. Must be recommended to the Office of General Counsel by a VA-recognized Veterans Service Organization (also called a VSO).

2. Must have good character and a good reputation.

3. Must be capable of providing responsible, qualified representation.

4. Are police-background-checked and vetted by the Veterans Service Organization that sponsors and trains them.

5. Must swear to provide honest, free, and accurate veterans' services.

6. Must attend at least two days of initial training given by the VA, a Veterans Service Organization (American Legion, VFW, VVA, FRA, etc.), and the State Department of Veterans/Military Affairs. For example, I, W. Larry Dandridge, was sponsored by the Charleston County, SC, Veterans’ Affairs Office and the American Legion (AL), and sponsored by the Charleston County Veterans Affairs Office and the American Legion and trained in Columbia, SC, by the SC Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Legion, and the VA. And I (Dandridge) received additional training from the Charleston, SC, Veterans Affairs Office after completing the initial training and passing the initial comprehensive examination in Columbia, SC. 7. Must pass a comprehensive examination at the end of initial training.

8. Must take continuing education classes on federal and state benefits each year after initial training and examination.

9. Work for the veteran and the veteran’s family members and NOT the VA. But they do work with the VA whenever and wherever possible.

10. Can officially represent the veteran to the VA and the state the veteran resides in.

Each county in North Carolina and South Carolina (and most other states) has a Veterans Service Office (or Affairs Office) with VA-accredited VSOs to assist veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors with their benefits.

Warning 1: You need to call your local VA-accredited VSO and make an appointment. Ideally, you will need your veteran's full name, date of birth, and Social Security number.

Most VSOs are overwhelmed with calls for help. Be patient and polite.

Use only a VA-accredited VSO to help you.

Warning 2: The vast majority of Post, Chapter, Branch, etc. Veteran Service Organizations (VFW, AL, AMVETS, VVA, etc.) Veterans Benefits Advisors are NOT VA-accredited and have little training and knowledge in Veterans Benefits and how to apply for VA and state veterans’ benefits or appeal bad VA and state decisions! They should refer you to a VA-accredited VSO. Recommendation 1: Use a local and full-time VA-accredited VSO. I, Larry Dandridge, recommend you use a VA-accredited VSO who is paid to provide veterans’ services and who is closely supervised. I like to use County VA-accredited VSOs because they are paid, supervised, and do this important work fulltime, so they get plenty of practice.

Also, some VSOs specialize in the benefit or service you need. Volunteer VA-accredited VSOs and VSOs collocated at Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Offices may be many miles away from you, limiting how often you can meet face-toface with them. Normally, your local County VSO is close enough for you to meet face-to-face with them as

EDITOR’S NOTE

This article is the second in a series of three.

often as needed.

Recommendation 2: Do not give away your only copy of evidence. Keep the originals if possible, and do not give away the only copy you have of evidence you need to use. Evidence might be your DD214, military personnel records, military medical records, military dental records, line of duty investigation reports, accident reports, incident reports, efficiency reports, award citations/orders, pictures of crashed/ battle damaged equipment (vehicles, aircraft, buildings, etc.), pictures of wounds-injuries-symptoms-affects, lay witness statements, nexus letters from physicians (including physical-occupational-speech-other therapists), lists of medications, lists of treatments, lists/pictures of medical devices (wheelchair, scooter, crutches, cane, walking sticks, braces, aids, tens unit, traction machine, implants, pacemaker, heart valve, stent, etc.)

VA medical records, civilian medical records, and others.

Continued next week.

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 VA-accredited VSO, a Patient Adviser at Charleston and Durham VA Hospitals, a Fisher House Charleston/Friends of Fisher House Charleston Goodwill Ambassador, and the Veterans Benefits Adviser for his local Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Chapter and Cary, N.C., VFW Post 7383. Larry is also the author of the award-winning “Blades of Thunder (Book One)” and a contributing freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.

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THEME: CAMPING ACROSS 1. Soapy enemy 5. Architect's software, acr.

8. Professional number cruncher, acr.

11. Through, to a poet 12. Z, NATO phonetic alphabet 13. Garden pest 15. Chinese monetary unit 16. Sportscaster Andrews 17. Certain water birds 18. *Luxury camping 20. Scratch's target 21. Same as coho 22. DNA transmitter 23. Explanation backed by evidence 26. Gottfried ____, calculus cocreator 30. R in rpm 31. Er on Periodic table 34. Bowling ball path 35. Arabic VIPs 37. .0000001 joule 38. Financial woes 39. Cecum, pl.

40. "Et tu, Brute?" speaker 42. Food morsel 43. Siren, e.g.

45. *____ camping, or camping without shelter 47. Siesta 48. "There it is," ‡ Paris 50. Gold or frankincense or myrrh, e.g.

52. *Fire starter 55. American chameleon 56. Antioxidant-rich berry 57. New Mexico art colony 59. Nymph chaser 60. Nonclerical 61. Poet Pound 62. High school parent org.

63. Be off base 64. Ready for picking DOWN 1. Eye infection 2. College party chant 3. Russia's ____ Mountains 4. Western European city-state 5. Collectible in a cabinet 6. Skirt shape 7. Animal waste 8. Chocolate candy, to a Brit 9. Essence 10. Marketing creations 12. Gentle breeze 13. Raspberry drupelets

14. *Like drinking water 19. Customs and conventions 22. "Losing My Religion" band 23. *Leave no ____ 24. Egyptian falcon god 25. Put out on a curb 26. Totes or tugs 27. Orient's bigwig 28. Preface, e.g.

29. Piquant 32. *____ bag or ____ canister 33. Rage 36. *Waterproof cover (2 words) 38. Funny 40. Large edible mushroom 41. Of low pH 44. Serve food at events 46. Restaurant staff member 48. "The _____ of Wakefield" 49. On the radio (2 words) 50. *Annoying biting fly 51. Tiny quantity 52. Leafy green 53. Like Hitler's Germany 54. *Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts 55. Venomous snake 58. Greek letters on campus

LAST WEEK’S CROSSWORD & SUDOKU SOLUTIONS

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

A13

SERVICE DIRECTORY FURNITURE / HOME DECOR

APPAREL PRINTING

PET SERVICES

Furbulas Dog: Grooming, Boarding, and Pet Sitting

SCREEN PRINT EMBROIDERY CUSTOM APPAREL

Brittany Riedmayer

1001 Bay St, Beaufort, SC 29902 open Tues.-Sat. noon to 5pm, Sun. by chance

843-476-2989

furniture, home decor & more

Member of National Dog Groomers Association of America

(843) 379-4488

NEWSOUTHSHIRTS.COM

Allison & Ginny DuBose, Owners aldubose@yahoo.com

843-982-0170

POOL & FIBERGLASS REPAIR

MOBILE HOME INSURANCE

ATTORNEY

Christopher J. Geier

Attorney at Law, LLC Criminal Defense & Civil Litigation

John D. Polk Agency INSURANCE

Manufactured Homes • Cars • Boats RV's • Homes • All Commercial

2048 Pearl Street, Beaufort, SC 29902 Office: 843-986-9449 • Fax: 843-986-9450 chris@bftsclaw.com • www.geierlaw.com

AUDIOLOGY & HEARING

Beaufort Audiology & Hearing Care Monica Wiser, M.A. CCC-A Licensed Audiologist

843-524-3172 info@polkagency.com

CALL FOR A QUOTE TODAY!

PEST CONTROL

38 Professional Village West, Lady's Island monica@beauforthearing.com www.beauforthearing.com | 843-521-3007

REALTOR

Hear the Beauty that Surrounds You

The Beaufort Sound Hearing and Balance Center Dr. Larry Bridge, AU.D./CCC-A 206 Sea Island Parkway, Suite 31, Beaufort thebeaufortsound@gmail.com

residential commercial real estate

843-379-0185

www.BeaufortPestControl.com

YOUR AD HERE

www.thebeaufortsound.com | 843-522-0655 CHIMNEY SERVICES

Be Seen, Be Chosen!

Put your business in the spotlight by advertising in the Service Directory.

Connect with eager customers, showcase your expertise, and secure your space today!

Amanda Hanna – amanda@lcweekly.com | Sasha Horne Hirshout – sasha.theislandnews@gmail.com

E-Edition

Digital Newspaper

START READING

YOURISLANDNEWS.COM

TODAY

A customer favorite! Enjoy the classic newspaper format in a digital environment. Published every Thursday, the E-Edition is a digital replica of the print newspaper, with all of the same news issuu.com/theislandnews and advertising content, on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

Meet ATHENA! She truly is a goddess. Athena has the most kind eyes that stare into yours with pure love. She would love nothing more than a comfortable lap to lie in.

BEANS is a handsome 3-monthold gray, brown, and white tabby boy weighing just 3 pounds. With his highly playful personality, Beans is ready to bring plenty of fun into your home.

IRENE is an irresistible, adorable dilute tabby with the sweetest little face — and no eyes. But don’t let that fool you. Her blindness doesn’t slow her down or dim her spirit one bit.

BURKE is a wonderful 7½-year-old Yellow Lab mix weighing 52 pounds. With her beautiful golden coat and sweet, friendly demeanor, she is the perfect companion.

Burke is available for adoption right now.

KATARA is a gorgeous tabby girl with truly eyecatching markings — she’s the kind of cat you notice right away. Even better, her personality is just as lovely as her looks.

Meet CHICO! A handsome hunk with a heart of gold, this 5½-year-old, 56-pound Terrier mix is ready for a comfy couch. With his dashing black and white coat, Chico is the perfect size for being your loyal sidekick.

At 9 years old, LEXI is ready to settle in a home filled with love and cuddles.

She prefers a quiet home, with the softest blankets, and a nice long lasting bone to chew on.

This little 3-month-old brown tabby started life as a stray, but he is ready to find a real family. NUGGET is packed with kitten curiosity, playful energy, and very loud purrs. He just needs a safe home.

Meet MOLLY! This sweet and gentle girl was found as a stray, completely malnourished.

With the help of our staff, she has reached a healthy weight and is as happy as ever.

Meet ROSS! This 2½-month-old tuxedo boy was found outside a restaurant, but now he has traded burgers for belly rubs. He is curious, affectionate, and ready to turn ordinary moments into adventures.

ZADIA is a lovely young orangeand-white tabby who strikes that balance between social and independent. She gets along well with the people she meets.

Meet WILDER! True to his name, this 2½-month-old Lab mix is always ready for adventure. At 15 pounds, he is full of curiosity and love. Wilder needs a forever family to guide him.

All animals above are available at Hilton Head Humane’s Hilton Head campus at 10 Humane Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926. Open Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 843-681-8686 or email adoptions@hhhumane.org.

A14

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

EDUCATION

USCB collaborators featured in Science Advances paper University of South Carolina Beaufort A groundbreaking article on ocean conservation published in Science Advances, one of the world's premier peer-reviewed scientific journals, includes collaborators from the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB).

In the paper entitled "Communicating Coral: Art and Science for Global Reef Action," a coalition of leading coral reef scientists and artists inspired by the natural world advocates for a new approach to coral conservation.

They examine how creative expression can inspire public engagement, influence policy and mobilize conservation efforts for coral reefs and argue that art and science must work together to

protect coral reefs from accelerating decline.

This collation includes USCB marine biologist Kim Ritchie, Ph.D., associate professor of art Joanna Angell, and artists Eveline Kolijn and April Flanders, all listed as contributing members of the Coral Art–Science Consortium, in collaboration with lead authors Mónica Medina, Or Ben-Zvi and Oren Levy. The Coral Art–Science Consortium is an international nonprofit organization that unites scientists and artists to protect coral reefs through storytelling, collaboration and environmental awareness.

Ritchie is Associate Professor of Genetics and Prokaryotic Cell Biology at USCB and director of Pritchards Island Research. An-

gell teaches ceramics, drawing and printmaking and directs USCB's Sea Islands Center Gallery.

During residencies in 2025 on the university's Beaufort campus and Pritchards Island, artists Kolijn and Flanders presented exhibitions entitled "Fragile Oceans," "Tidalectics" and "Altered Environments."

Coral reefs face growing threats from climate change, pollution, overfishing and coastal development. Once-rare mass bleaching events now occur frequently worldwide, endangering ecosystems that provide food security, coastal protection, cultural identity and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people.

The publication argues that while science provides the data

and strategies needed to conserve reefs, art has the unique ability to make those findings personal and emotionally compelling.

"Scientific research tells us what is happening to coral reefs worldwide and why it matters," Ritchie said. "Art helps people connect with those findings on a human level. When people feel connected to coral reefs, they're more likely to support actions needed to protect them."

The article highlights art projects that have raised environmental awareness and suggests similar approaches to bring the underwater world into public view through sculpture, photography, film, fashion, graphic design, music, dance and immersive experiences.

Rather than simply documenting reef decline, the authors advocate artistic collaborations that make complex scientific concepts accessible to diverse audiences.

The publication also emphasizes including Indigenous communities and coastal populations whose cultures and livelihoods are deeply connected to coral reefs. By engaging local communities as collaborators rather than passive audiences, conservation efforts become more equitable, effective and sustainable.

Science Advances is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The full article is available at https://www. science.org/journal/sciadv.

r e c n a C t r o pp Su JOIN IN-PERSON OR ONLINE

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Second Wednesday of the Month | 6 – 7pm*

The SCIIJ supports the development and production of independent and nonprofit news in S.C. to promote democratic ideals.

ALL CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Fourth Wednesday of the Month | 1 – 2pm* Beaufort Memorial Medical and Administrative Center 990 Ribaut Road, Beaufort • Room 317, 3rd Floor

SCAN TO RSVP

To RSVP for a free Support Group, scan our code or visit:

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BeaufortMemorial.org/CancerSupportGroup

*Meeting schedule subject to change and may be impacted by holidays.

for generously sponsoring this ad.

QUESTIONS?

Donate now at SCIndependentJournalism.org

Call Kianna Brown, LMSW • 843-522-7328

Truth Matters

Come to the Feast!

Seeking the Fullness of Truth

Which table to choose?

An enormous banquet hall is filled with large tables, ready for a Thanksgiving meal. Some tables are overflowing with a turkey and a great number of side dishes. Other tables have a turkey but seem to be missing quite a few dishes. Many tables do not have a turkey, but they do have some of the side dishes. Wouldn’t you want to be with your loved ones at one of the overflowing tables?

This is an analogy for Christianity and other religions.

The turkey would represent belief in Jesus and having a living relationship with him. The side dishes would represent all of the other truths that God has revealed about himself, and all the gifts that he wishes us to have for our journey with him. So there are tables that do not have a turkey at all; these are the non-Christian religions. And there are tables with a turkey, but with more or fewer side dishes; these are the different Christian faiths.

Are all religions the same?

One often hears, “All religions are equal, so it doesn’t matter what faith a person is.” But since the major world religions make different claims about objective truth, they can’t all be equally true.

If Jesus is truly God who became man, then it matters whether one knows Jesus, and we would want to share him with non-Christians! But even the tables without turkey are not bare of all nourishment. This illustrates how Christians can recognize and appreciate that other religions can have certain aspects of truth, such as true moral teachings or insights into God.

Are all Christian faiths the same?

The different Christian churches all have a love for Christ, and share him in common. But there are also many areas of disagreement on important truths, such as doctrines of morals or salvation. This means that in such areas, some churches are mistaken and are unintentionally teaching error, and thus don’t have all of the “side dishes.” In other words, members are not receiving all the gifts and truths that God wants them to have on their journey with him.

Are you seeking the fullness of truth?

As with our banquet example, we want not only Jesus, but also all the other gifts and truths that he meant for us to have. This is what we mean by “the fullness of truth.” We can have many reasons to belong to a particular church, such as our upbringing or having friends there. But isn’t it even more important to search for the fullness of truth, and make sure that we are receiving all the gifts Jesus wants us to have?

Next Week The Four Chaplains

Truth Matters 7 of 8 LightForBeaufort.org 70 Lady’s Island Drive, Beaufort • 843-522-9555 • www.stpetersbeaufort.org • office@stpetersbeaufort.org

JULY 23-JULY 29, 2026

A15

820 Bay Street Beaufort, SC 29902

843.521.4200 $699,900

$350,000

$539,000

CAT ISLAND | MLS 197321

ROBIN WOOD | MLS 197283

BATTERY POINT | MLS 197128

$1,196,000

$119,000

$655,000

MIDTOWN SQUARE | MLS 196716

COTTAGE FARMS | MLS 197242

FOUR SEASONS @ CAROLINA OAKS

$649,000

$625,000

$6,000,000

$778,500

3BDRM | 3.5B | 2320sqft | F.R.O.G. Bryan Gates 843.812.6494

4BDRM | 3B | 2200sqft Julia O'Hara 201.456.8620

PIGEON POINT | MLS 195793

3BDRM | 2B | 1247sqft Donna Duncan 843.597.3464

.36 Acre Homesite | Pond Views Community Dock Lloyd Williams 843.754.4735

CENTER OF BEAUFORT

3BDRM | 2.5B | 1890sqft Amy McNeal 843.521.7932

MLS 195942 | 3BDRM | 2.5B | 2600sqft | 55+ Ashley Nye 561.350.8109

$5,250,000

DOWNTOWN BEAUFORT

MLS 196888 | 2BDRM | 2.5B | Elevator Penthouse | Panoramic Views Edward Dukes 843.812.5000

$599,900

NEW CONSTRUCTION

MLS 190471 | 3BDRM | 2.5B | 1885sqft Lady's Island Paige Walling 843.812.8470

MLS 196102 | 1BDRM | 2B | 1420sqft Ashley Nye 561.350.8109

MLS 193307 | 3 Acres | High Traffic w/ Great Visibility Trea Tucker 843.812.4852 Wayne Webb 843.812.5203

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY

HABERSHAM | MLS 194553

$543,500

$459,900

$2,389,000

$595,000

CALLAWASSIE | MLS 193885

DATAW ISLAND | MLS 195199

$1,250,000

$564,000

COMMERCIAL | MLS 192600

DEPOT AREA | MLS 195135

$500,000

$215,000

3BDRM | 2.5B | 1855sqft | OLREA Amy McNeal 843.521.7932

3BDRM | 2B | 1899sqft Golf & Waterfront Community Laura Blencoe 843.321.1615

3.16 Acres | 2 Buildings | OLREA Great Visibility & Location Scott Griswold 843.575.8700

MERIDIAN ROAD | MLS 196515 2.03 Acres | Beautiful Live Oaks Excellent Location Trea Tucker 843.812.4852

3BDRM | 2B | 1809sqft Bryan Gates 843.812.6494 Nancy Butler 843.384.5445

2BDRM | 2B | 1300sqft Lloyd Williams 843.754.4735

PORT ROYAL | MLS 195874 2BDRM | 2.5B | 1380sqft Shannon Denny 843.575.7055

NEWPOINT | MLS 195607

3BDRM | 2.5B | 1796sqft Amy McNeal 843.521.7932

DATAW ISLAND | MLS 197334

5BDRM | 5.5B | 5481sqft | Deepwater Dock Sara Miller 540.209.5434

3BDRM | 2.5B | 1982sqft | Lagoon & Fairway Views Paige Walling 843.812.8470 Trudy Arthur 843.812.0967

$3,100,000

$799,999

POINT | MLS 191868

4BDRM | 2.5B | 5758sqft | .9 Acres Edward Dukes 843.812.5000

PORT ROYAL | MLS 195945

3BDRM | 2B | 1700sqft Completely Renovated | Seller related to agent Shannon Denny 843.575.7055

$975,000

$364,000

LANDS END | MLS 192134

SPANISH OAKS | MLS 196904

18.13 Acres | Close to Beach Area Scott Sanders 843.263.1284

3BDRM | 2.5B | 1948sqft Lloyd Williams 843.754.4735

If you are thinking about selling, now is the time to consider your options!

Call us today to learn what your home could sell for in today’s market. www.LowcountryRealEstate.com