June 11 edition

BAKERY rises in Beaufort New

The Market at Herban can do a whole lot of tasty

By Luke Frazier

The Island News

If you’re strolling west from downtown Beaufort along Bay Street for a half mile or so and can pull your gaze from the magnetically stunning river views, you’ll see Herban Café sitting on the corner off to the right.

Not being in the populous business district, it has functioned since 2019 as a sort of classy outpost for gourmet coffee, vegan and other breakfast and lunch fare, and a handy meeting

spot for a certain kind of crowd that demands access to real croissants and other sweet and savory fare. In pleasant weather there is usually a patio crowd that includes a few pooches.

Herban Café was sold last year and the new owners, Erich and Trish Fuldner, started running it in November. They are veterans of the restaurant and catering scene in Washington D.C., where they ran multiple enterprises, including what Erich claims was the first authentic New York Deli

SEE BAKERY PAGE A3

and Trish

INSIDE THE MARKET

May

Sourdough & specialty breads

Cakes, scones & sweet treats

Gourmet market & local goods

Pastas, prepared foods & more

Sergeant recovering; firearm discharge at Police Department believed to be accidental

By Delayna Earley The Island News

An officer with the Port Royal Police Department accidentally shot himself on Thursday afternoon, June 4

According to a release from the Port Royal Police Department, Staff Sgt. Steven Colson was injured at approximately 2 p.m., on June 4 while cleaning his department-issued pistol at police headquarters. Colson sustained injuries to his hand and thigh when the firearm discharged.

Colson was transported by Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

In an interview with The Island News, Port Royal Police Chief Jeffrey Meyers described the incident as a "very, very unfortunate accident."

Meyers said officers had participated in firearms training earlier in the day and that Colson was cleaning his service weapon in his office when the weapon discharged. The bullet struck Colson in his left hand before entering his

OFFICER PAGE A7

Sweet memories return as The Chocolate Tree prepares to reopen

Tim, Deanna Green prepare to reopen family-owned institution

By Delayna Earley

Island News

The

For generations of Beaufort residents, The Chocolate Tree has been woven into the fabric of life in the Lowcountry. It is the chocolate-covered strawberries that signal spring has arrived. The Tiger Paws tucked into Christmas stockings. The caramel

apples that mark the beginning of fall. The truffles purchased for anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions. The field trips, the allyou-can-eat chocolate nights and the family traditions passed from one generation to the next.

For more than 40 years, the small candy shop on Carteret Street was a place where memories were made.

When its doors closed last year, many Beaufort residents feared those traditions had come to an end.

This fall, The Chocolate Tree is preparing to prove otherwise.

The beloved candy shop is expected to reopen this fall under the ownership of Tim Green and his wife, Deanna Green, returning the

business to the family that founded it more than four decades ago.

A new chapter begins

The reopening comes after a difficult chapter in the business's history. After Pat Green stepped away

SEE CHOCOLATE PAGE A6

EDUCATION

Schools around Beaufort hold commencement ceremonies; celebrate Class of 2026.

PAGES A9–11

Former owner Pat Green stands for a 2011 portrait with a tray of chocolates at The Chocolate Tree in Beaufort. Submitted Photo

Owners Erich

Fuldner stand in front of Herban Market & Cafe on Thursday,

21, 2026. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

Beaufort’s John Miller took this photo of a tricolored Heron and chick at the Port Royal Bird Sanctuary, before the rain moved in the last few weeks. To submit a Lowcountry Life photo, you must be the photographer or have permission to submit the photo to be published in The Island News. Please submit high-resolution photos and include a description and/or names of the people in the picture and the name of the photographer. Email your photos to theislandnews@gmail.com.

VETERAN OF THE WEEK KEVIN CANNON

American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Kevin Cannon, 64, who joined the U.S. Army Reserve in Norwalk, Conn., in 1979. After Basic Training at Fort Sill, Okla., he trained in field artillery and was assigned to the Norwalk Armory for duty. He separated in 1985 and moved to

Delaware where he worked in construction and then began a 20-year career in cooking, restaurant management and hotel services. In 2012 he moved to Beaufort and continues to work in hotel services at our Hampton Inn. He has seven children, four of which are on active duty,

two in the Navy, one Marine and one in the Army. One daughter in the Navy retires next month.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.

NEWS BRIEFS

Public invited to comment, share priorities on County Comprehensive Plan

The Beaufort County Planning Department is inviting the public to attend informational meetings about the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and to share their priorities on the actions proposed within the plan.

The meetings will be:

Thursday, June 11 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way

Thursday, June 18 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., County Council Chambers, 100 Ribaut Road

Both meetings will be an informal format so people can drop in at their convenience. The factors the public is invited to review and prioritize include: Economy, Culture, Housing, Mobility, Natural Environment, Community Facilities, and Built Environment (Development).

To help attendees understand

and prioritize each action item, there will be a station with someone available to answer any questions. With new action items being added, these meetings will help planners understand the public's vision for the future so they can adjust priorities accordingly and better reflect the public's thinking. Read the complete outline of each action item at https://bit.ly/4e6ex9T.

From the 2040 Comprehensive Plan: Beaufort County has created a vision and the regulatory tools it needs to balance economic development, resource protection, and growth in a form that creates quality places. With the Comprehensive Plan, Greenprint Plan, transect based zoning, cultural overlays, and various small area and corridor plans, it has a healthy toolbox from which to guide the growth of its built environment."

For more information, please contact County Long Range Planner Kristen Forbus at 843-255-2147

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

June 11

1562: Huguenot Jean Ribault leaves Charlesfort, and the 26 men occupying it on Parris Island in the Port Royal Sound, to return to France. The fort was occupied for less than a year.

June 12

2020: Bob Bender, local environmental activist and founder and curator of the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal, dies at home of complications from throat surgeries.

June 14

2019: Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke visits

Madison to speak to North of Broad Democrats

Jared Madison, a candidate for Beaufort City Council, will be the guest speaker when the Northern Beaufort County Democratic Club meets at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 18 2026, at Grace AME Chapel at 502 Charles Street in Beaufort.

The meeting is open to the public. There will be no July meeting.

Attorney Roessing will speak at Indivisble Beaufort meeting

Attorney Chuck Roessing will be the guest speaker at the next Indivisible Beaufort meeting at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 20 at the St. Helena Branch Library at 6355 Jonathon Francis Sr. Road.

The topic will be “The Supreme Court in Crisis.” The

event is free and open to the public.

Sen. Scott accepting U.S. service academy nomination applications

The Office of U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is accepting U.S. service academy nomination applications for the class of 2031

Sen. Scott is able to nominate a limited number of students in South Carolina for attendance at the following U.S. service academies: the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (the U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a congressional nomination).

Students who are interested in applying for a nomination should apply by 11:59 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16 2026. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/49Aoaeh. – Staff reports

Beaufort. At a roundtable discussion at Tabernacle Baptist Church, O’Rourke answers a diverse collection of questions, mostly posed by leaders of the Black community, including Queen Quet of the Gullah Geechee Nation and Rev. Kenneth Hodges.

June 15

1943: Naval Air Station Beaufort is commissioned for advanced training operations of anti-submarine patrols during World War II. 1976: Joe Frazier loses to George Foreman by TKO in an NABF heavyweight title fight in Hempstead, New York. It would be Frazier’s last fight for more than 5 years.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

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

CORRECTIONS

May

was misstated. The correct total is $1 6 million.

Kevin Cannon

Sheriff candidates offer competing proposals inspired by Hollis family’s advocacy

‘Break the Label’ advocacy sparks debate over language, alerts, public response to missing child cases

Education and alerts

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

A local family's effort to change how missing children are described by law enforcement has become an issue in the Beaufort County sheriff's race, with Republican candidates Doug Seifert and JoJo Woodward proposing different reforms inspired by the experience of Emily Hollis and her family.

At the center of the discussion is Break the Label, an advocacy effort launched by Autumn and Kiel Hollis after their daughter was publicly identified as a runaway when she disappeared in February 2025

The Hollises argue that the term "runaway" can unintentionally diminish the urgency with which the public responds to missing child cases. Instead, they advocate for describing juveniles as "missing" or "endangered" in public-facing communications.

That advocacy recently entered the sheriff's race after the Hollis family endorsed Woodward and released a campaign video announcing what he calls "The Hollis Standard."

Breaking the Label

When Emily Hollis disappeared at age 12, her family says they quickly learned how much influence a single word can have.

In the endorsement video, Autumn Hollis said the family did not fully understand the impact of the term "runaway" until it was used to describe their daughter.

"The word runaway changes how people respond," Hollis said in the video. "People hear that word and think the child chose to leave. That maybe they're not really in danger. Maybe they don't need the same urgency as a missing child."

The Hollises said their organization, Break the Label, focuses specifically on changing public perceptions surrounding missing children who are classified as runaways.

"Our main focus at Break the Label is just that, breaking the label of the term runaway when it comes to social media," Kiel Hollis said.

The family emphasized that their concerns are not aimed at changing state reporting requirements or law enforcement classifications used during investigations. Instead, they are focused on how missing children are presented to the public.

"It doesn't change the NCIC. It

Bakery from page A1

in the city. Erich grew up in San Francisco and earned a finance degree years ago but decided he didn’t want to sit at a desk his whole life. Trish was born in New Orleans, went to school in Mississippi and ended up in D.C., where she met her future husband over a turkey sandwich.

After a couple of months to catch their breath, Erich and Trish initiated changes that now include a second entrance around the back that offers a portal into the newly christened “The Market At Herban.” It’s a whole other world of tastes and smells that seek to satisfy not only those same discerning Herban Café acolytes but attract a new crowd too.

The “new crowd” will

doesn't change any of that," Kiel Hollis said. "It's just changing the posting on social media. Instead of posting as a runaway child, posting as a missing child."

The family endorsed Woodward after concluding that his proposal most directly addressed their primary goal of eliminating the word "runaway" from public-facing communications involving missing juveniles.

The experience behind the advocacy

The Hollis family's advocacy stems from their experience after daughter Emily Hollis disappeared in February 2025 Emily, then 12, was publicly identified as a runaway after leaving Beaufort with an older juvenile she had met online. After she was found safe several days later in Florida, the family began publicly questioning how the case had been handled, including the decision not to issue an Amber Alert.

The Hollises have long argued that the runaway classification contributed to that decision and reduced the urgency surrounding the search for their daughter.

Autumn and Kiel Hollis described a confusing and frustrating process as they worked with multiple law enforcement agencies while trying to locate their daughter. They said they became increasingly concerned with how the word "runaway" influenced public perception and the urgency with which missing child cases are viewed.

The family said those experiences ultimately led them to launch Break the Label, an advocacy effort focused on encouraging trauma-informed language and greater public awareness surrounding missing youth.

The Hollis Standard Woodward's proposal centers on a draft general order known as “The Hollis Standard.”

Under the proposal, every public communication involving a missing person under the age of 18 would begin with either a "Missing Juvenile" or "Endangered Juvenile" classification. The policy would apply to social media posts, press releases, public alerts,

be those interested in a Bonafide, non-grocery store bakery that produces sourdough loaves, baguettes, focaccia, multigrain and specialty breads that the owners boast are “made with intention.” These customers might also delight in the variety of cakes, scones, and treats that await them in what is currently the only freestanding bakery business in Beaufort. Erich and Trish have an effortless way between them that was probably developed through years facing the fast paced, high-pressure, and low-profit margin restaurant business together. As far as their vision for the place Erich points out that, “Any restauranter has this idea of what they want [but] you have to let the customer driv e…” and Trish finishes the thought, “…it’s what they want, not necessarily what you want.”

Trish says she likes talking to the customers,

missing person flyers and other public-facing communications.

The draft order specifically states that it would not alter National Incident-Based Reporting System classifications, SLED reporting requirements or internal law enforcement records. Instead, it would govern only how the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office communicates with the public.

In the endorsement video, Woodward pledged to implement the policy immediately if elected.

"On day one, as your sheriff, I will issue a general order called the Hollis Standard," Woodward said. "Every missing child in Beaufort County will be treated exactly like that, a missing child. Not a runaway, never again."

Woodward praised the Hollis family for continuing to advocate for other families after their daughter's return.

"The Hollis family didn't have to do this," Woodward said. "They've already fought the hardest fight a parent can fight. The fact that they are standing up again for every family in this county, that tells you everything about who they are."

The policy proposal was drafted in honor of Emily Hollis and references her disappearance in February 2025 as the inspiration behind the changes.

For the Hollis family, the proposal represents the most direct response to the issue they have spent more than a year advocating to change.

"This is one thing that we know is an easy change for law enforcement," Autumn Hollis said. "JoJo is making a change that is automatic."

Beyond the policy itself, the proposal carries a personal connection. The draft order is named in honor of Emily Hollis, whose disappearance inspired the family's advocacy efforts.

The first page of the proposal recounts Emily's story and states that the order is intended to ensure that "no other family would face what they faced." For the Hollis family, that recognition was significant because it transformed their experience into a proposed change designed to help future families facing similar situations.

either repeat visitors or fresh faces. One thing that she absolutely loves is when people gush upon first discovering the Market, like a recent woman from the area.

“She just kept saying ‘thank you so much, somebody gets it, this is what we need here.’ It just makes you feel so good when someone actually thanks you for the work you’re doing, when someone is so genuinely thrilled to find you.”

The Fuldners themselves were thrilled to find Beaufort and make their home in what they consider such a beautiful place. Instead of sitting in an office, Erich arrives in the early morning and watches the sun rise over the Beaufort River.

As Erich enjoys the view, the two main bakery employees are busy creating deliciousness. Cowan Miller is the baker and presents in a humble and attentive fashion, which has to be good for someone in the

While the Hollis family ultimately endorsed Woodward, they also praised many aspects of Seifert's proposal. According to the Hollises, Seifert spent considerable time discussing their experience and potential improvements to missing child investigations.

"Education is super important, and we truly believe what Doug wants to do is very important," Autumn Hollis said. "I do believe he does want to have change when it comes to these kind of things."

In a statement provided to The Island News, Seifert said one of the most valuable ideas to come from those conversations was the opportunity for law enforcement, investigators and families who have lived through these situations to work together to educate the public about missing child cases.

Seifert's proposal focuses heavily on public education, family preparedness and the aggressive use of notification systems during missing person investigations.

"My expectation would be that the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office moves so quickly and aggressively that we're already utilizing every tool available to us while an AMBER Alert determination is being made," Seifert wrote.

His proposal calls for immediate use of Everbridge, Nixle alerts, reverse 911 systems, social media, media partnerships, automated license plate readers and notifications to neighboring agencies while investigators pursue leads.

Seifert also advocated for educating parents about technology, emergency resources and practical steps they can take before a child goes missing.

Seifert's proposal also includes educating families about how search and rescue operations work. He pointed to the use of bloodhounds in missing person cases, noting that some children may be afraid of police dogs and hide from search teams rather than seek help.

"Bloodhounds are used in missing person searches," Seifert wrote. "They're gentle dogs with an extraordinary sense of smell, and if one finds you, it's much more likely to cover you in kisses than anything else."

Seifert said helping families and children understand those resources before a crisis occurs

precise craft of baking. Cowan says he has been a home baker throughout his life and doing it professionally for six years, most recently in Savannah. He is emphatic about what he enjoys about his work.

“I’m really into the science of how it works, why it works, and why it makes [baked items] taste good. The instant gratification is [also] fairly good, you get to see your work pretty immediately.”

Or, he says, figuring out what happened when it tastes bad.

Cowan says he has kept the same sourdough levain, or “starter,” going for five years, which yields quality results.

“You feed it and maintain it, kind of like keeping a pet,” he explains, “You take care of it but if you neglect it it’s going to show up in your work.”

Working alongside Cowan is pastry chef Olga Castron-

could make searches more effective and reduce fear during an emergency.

At the conclusion of his proposal, Seifert wrote that families should never question whether enough was done to find their loved one.

"That commitment should never depend on a label, and it never would under my leadership," he wrote.

Different approaches, shared goals

While the Hollises ultimately endorsed Woodward, they stressed that both candidates listened to their concerns and proposed changes aimed at improving outcomes for missing children.

They described Woodward's proposal as an immediate change focused on public-facing language, while Seifert's proposal centers on education, community awareness and the rapid deployment of investigative and notification tools. During their conversations with the family, both candidates expressed support for improving how missing child cases are handled and communicated to the public.

"We respect both candidates and we respect both candidates' positions, and we look forward to working with whomever wins," Kiel Hollis said.

The Hollises also said they have not yet met with Democratic candidate Alphonso Small Jr., but plan to do so after the Republican primary. They said they intend to continue advocating for changes regardless of who ultimately becomes Beaufort County's next sheriff.

As voters head to the polls, both candidates are offering different approaches to a problem highlighted by the Hollis family's experience. One focuses on changing the language the public sees. The other focuses on education, technology and rapid deployment of resources.

Both are rooted in the same goal — ensuring missing children receive the urgency and attention their families believe they deserve.

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.

ova, with a bright smile and demure manner. Originally from Chattanooga, Tenn., she has been a baker for friends and family for 10 years and a professional for three. She moved to Beaufort in February and has a simple explanation about why she loves what she does.

“The best thing is getting to be part of people’s celebrations, everybody needs desert for a celebration, and I love getting to provide that.” Olga says it doesn’t hurt that she also has a sweet tooth herself and likes to discover new recipes to make, including while traveling. She references one example in the nearby bakery case.

“The Greek orange cake is something that I tried in Greece on my honeymoon and I brought that recipe back … so, incorporating stories from life into what I do is really fun.”

What is also fun is that before you even get to the

fully stocked bakery case you’ll pass by artist Amy Whitehouse’s lovely Lowcountry watercolor scenes, 50-pound sacks of flour, shelves filled with jars of lemon marmalade, candied jalapenos, pickled peaches, and southern caviar, as well as refrigerated cases of premade pastas like garlic and chive gnocchi and Cacio e pepe tagliolini. It all leads to Trish’s declaration to the community.

“We want to see you, introduce ourselves, and show you what we can do!” If a recently consumed baguette and blueberry scone (and a couple of bites of a lemon square) are any indication, The Market at Herban can do a whole lot of tasty.

Luke Frazier is a writer and award winning media producer who moved to the Lowcountry in 2024. He runs NOW Communications and can be reached at nowandfuturecomms@gmail.com.

Doug Seifert

JoJo Woodward

County council advances expanded plastic ordinance

Proposed changes add Styrofoam restrictions and shift enforcement to civil penalties

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Beaufort County Council vot-

ed May 26 to advance amendments to the county's existing plastic bag ordinance, moving forward a proposal that would expand restrictions on single-use plastics and Styrofoam products while changing how violations are enforced.

The ordinance, which passed second reading following a public hearing, would broaden the county's current regulations to include thicker plastic carryout bags and expanded polystyrene food-service ware, commonly known as Styrofoam.

The proposal would also require plastic straws and plastic utensils to be provided only upon

request or made available through self-service stations.

County officials said the amendments are the result of a multiyear review process that included public surveys, stakeholder meetings and presentations to local governments throughout Beaufort County.

What would change

Under the proposed revisions, businesses would no longer be permitted to provide certain plastic bags or Styrofoam food-service products in unincorporated Beaufort County.

The ordinance would also require customers to specifically request plastic straws, forks, spoons and knives rather than having them automatically included with

meals or orders.

Supporters of the changes argued the revisions strike a balance between reducing plastic waste and allowing businesses flexibility in serving customers.

One speaker noted that the ordinance does not ban plastic straws or utensils outright but instead changes how they are distributed.

"All it's doing is having people ask for those straws and plastic utensils," the speaker told council during the public hearing. "That's all it's doing."

Changes to enforcement

Before approving the ordinance, council amended the enforcement section to replace criminal penalties with civil fines.

Under the revised language,

Two displaced in Burton house fire

Staff reports

Tuesday morning, June 2, the Burton Fire District, MCAS Fire and Emergency Services, Beaufort County EMS and Sheriff’s Office, responded to a house fire which displaced two adults.

Just past 9 a.m., emergency crews were dispatched to a reported house fire on

Lemon Lane in Burton after the resident stated she came home to find it full of smoke.

Firefighters arrived on scene and found smoke coming from a single-wide mobile home. Fire crews entered the home, extinguished the fire, and while they were told no one was

inside, completed a search of the home in an abundance of caution.

The home sustained heavy damages displacing the two adult residents. The Red Cross has been called to assist.

No injuries were reported. The fire remains under investigation.

businesses would first receive a written warning. Subsequent violations could result in civil penalties of up to $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within a 12-month period and up to $500 for additional violations.

Council also amended the ordinance to clarify that the restrictions would apply at county facilities, county-sponsored events and events held on county-owned property located in unincorporated Beaufort County.

Public input

The ordinance drew comments from residents and environmental advocates during the public hearing.

The proposed amendments build on Beaufort County's existing plastic bag ordinance and follow similar discussions taking place in municipalities across the county.

The measure now moves to County Council for a third and final reading. If approved, the revised ordinance would take effect in unincorporated Beaufort County, while municipalities would continue to determine their own regulations within town and city limits.

Supporters cited concerns about litter, impacts on waterways and the growing presence of plastic waste throughout the region.

ADVANCED CANCER CARE CLOSE TO HOME

Beaufort Memorial is your connection to state-of-the-art cancer care.

At our Keyserling Cancer Center in Beaufort and New River Cancer Center in Okatie, our oncology team combines compassion and support with leading edge radiation oncology, chemotherapy and immunology services, targeted and hormone therapies, as well as surgical consultations—all delivered under one roof and close to the ones you love.

In addition, our Cancer Centers offer:

• A team of dedicated oncology nurse navigators who guide you through the journey—diagnosis through survivorship

• Core and ancillary services, like lab, imaging, and breast health, all in the same building

• A team approach to developing survivorship care plans

• Genetic counseling and high risk assessments

• Access to promising clinical trials

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.

Just past 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 2, emergency crews were dispatched to a reported house fire on Lemon Lane in Burton. Photo courtesy of Burton Fire District

Historic Beaufort

Foundation

HBF celebrates retiring local historian Wise

Historic Beaufort Foun-

dation’s 2026 Annual Membership Meeting on Tuesday, June 2 spotlighted retiring local historian Stephen Wise, the longtime Parris Island Museum Director and Cultural Resources Manager and an acknowledged expert in 300 years of South Carolina and Lowcountry history.

Wise is part of HBF’s acclaimed annual Winter Lecture Series along with John McCardell and Larry Rowland, and since 1983 has led the museum at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The 59th annual meeting of Historic Beaufort Foundation showcased the impact of more than 400 volunteers who help with educational programs and events large and small, and recognitions of leaders of the May 2026 Lafayette Soiree. But the night’s spotlight was on Wise.

Organization seats new members of Board of Trustees

Foundation,” she said at the ceremony.

“It is only fitting that an award bearing his name goes to someone who shares that same devotion to our shared past,” Sundrla said.

“It is my honor, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of Historic Beaufort Foundation, to present to you today our highest recognition — the Howard Danner Lifetime Achievement Award for Historic Preservation.”

It is the first time the Danner Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented since 2019, when Rick Wightman received it.

Beaufort Foundation helps preserve this remarkable legacy while advocating for thoughtful growth and community livability.”

Special recognition at the meeting went to 2026 Soiree hosts May 16, Denny and Sandy Wiener.

The new board

As part of the annual session, members elected new board members and officers. Re-elected as chair was Rob Montgomery. Donna Dehncke will serve as vicechair with Marshall Bassett as treasurer. Larry Haskell rounds out the board officers as secretary.

eloe, who has served on the Lafayette Soiree Committee the past three years after relocating here from Virginia where she taught school and volunteered, including a decade with George Mason University's Arts Gala Committee. Each will serve a three-year term.

“Dr. Wise has devoted more than 40 years to sharing and preserving the military history and legacy of the US Marine Corps and the Lowcountry,” HBF Executive Director Lise Sundrla said. “His passion and dedication to ‘telling Beaufort’s story’ has enriched the community’s knowledge and appreciation of Beaufort’s unique history and ensured its preservation for future generations.

Chocolate from page A1

“Beaufort is a better place

from day-to-day operations, ownership of The Chocolate Tree passed to her sister and Tim's brother, who operated the business as partners. Following the death of Pat's sister, ownership passed to her two sons. The store ultimately closed in 2025, leaving many longtime customers wondering whether the beloved candy shop would ever reopen.

Over the past year, Tim and Deanna Green have worked through the legal and business matters necessary to bring the company back under the Green family's leadership and prepare it for a new chapter. With those issues now largely resolved, attention has turned to renovating the building, updating equipment and preparing for a fall reopening.

"We've been waiting," Pat Green said, while describing the months spent organizing inventory, sorting supplies and preparing equipment for the move and renovation.

From a home kitchen to a Beaufort institution

Long before The Chocolate Tree became a downtown landmark, it began in the Green family's home on Southside Boulevard.

According to Tim Green, the business started when Pat Green began making candy for local teachers. Before long, those teachers wanted to learn how to make candy themselves, and Pat Green started holding candy-making classes in her home. What began as a hobby eventually grew into a storefront on Port Republic Street before becoming the Carteret Street shop that generations of Beaufort residents came to know and love.

Over the next four decades, Pat Green built more than a successful business. She built a community institution.

Tim Green noted that his mother was named South Carolina Business Person of the Year and was later inducted into the International Candy Hall of Fame, an honor that placed her alongside some of the most recognizable names in the confectionery industry.

"Here you've got Pat Green from Beaufort in this little chocolate store that has done so much, not only for the chocolate business, but the community," Tim Green said.

because Dr. Wise has willingly shared his knowledge. In 1944, a visionary group of citizens led by Howard Danner stepped forward to save the historic John Mark Verdier House from demolition — a monumental rescue that sparked Beaufort’s preservation movement and the formation of this

A family legacy continues For Tim Green, reopening The Chocolate Tree represents a full-circle moment.

He watched the business grow from its earliest days and has spent more than 30 years building a career in food service management and culinary operations.

He believes that combination of business experience and family history puts him in a unique position to lead the next chapter of the company.

His wife, Deanna, will help oversee the business side of the operation, bringing her background in accounting and food service management to the venture.

Pat plans to remain involved as an adviser as the business transitions into its next chapter.

"I'm going to help," Pat Green said. "I'm going to be consulting, I guess."

Tim Green said customers can expect one thing above all else.

"We're not changing the candy."

Made in Beaufort

One of the things Tim Green says will not change is the shop's commitment to quality ingredients and traditional techniques.

The Chocolate Tree's chocolate-covered strawberries will continue to be made using berries from Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island. Tim said the partnership makes the product uniquely local, with the strawberries grown in Beaufort County and dipped by hand in Beaufort.

"All of that is now from Beaufort," Tim Green said.

The same philosophy applies to the chocolate itself.

Both Tim and Pat Green emphasized that The Chocolate Tree uses real chocolate, which requires more care and attention than many products used in largescale candy production.

That choice comes with challenges. Real chocolate is sensitive to temperature and humidity and requires careful tempering and handling throughout the production process. Pat described chocolate as finicky, requiring experience and attention to detail to get it right.

Many of the shop's signature products continue to be handdipped, including truffles, apricots and a variety of clusters.

"All of our nut clusters and coconut and Rice Krispie clusters are all done by hand," Pat Green said. "So we need hand dippers."

The meeting and presentation by Sundrla reaffirmed HBF’s mission and ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the architectural, cultural, and historical treasures that make the Beaufort community unique.

“From centuries-old homes and churches to streets lined with live oaks and historic neighborhoods, Beaufort's National Historic Landmark District reflects nearly 300 years of architectural and cultural history and the people who shaped it,” Sundrla said. “Historic

New appointments to the board include Rob Wynne, who with his wife Meg were chairs of the Soiree this year with Margaret and Sherwood Miler. The Wynnes also chaired the sponsor committee for the Soiree in 2025. Wynne owns Sea Island Insurance Group.

Also appointed were Lloyd Williams, who has served on HBF’s preservation committee for more than five years and is a broker with Lowcountry Real Estate; and Margaret Kinch-

The use of real chocolate is also why, Pat Green noted, the candy featured in the famous box of chocolates scene in Forrest Gump could never have actually appeared on screen.

"Because our chocolate melts," she said.

Along with longtime favorites such as Tiger Paws, truffles, creams, English toffee, peanut brittle and caramel apples, Tim Green also hopes to introduce a few new offerings, including gourmet popcorn and other specialty items.

Before reopening, the building itself will undergo renovations aimed at improving energy efficiency and modernizing the space while preserving the character customers remember.

More than a candy store

For many Beaufort residents, The Chocolate Tree has always been about more than chocolate.

Over the years, the shop became part of the downtown Beaufort experience. Carriage tours regularly stopped at The Chocolate Tree, where visitors could step inside, cool off with a bottle of water and enjoy a piece of chocolate before continuing their tour through the historic district.

The shop also welcomed generations of local schoolchildren, who visited on field trips to learn how chocolate was made. For many Beaufort families, a trip to The Chocolate Tree became a childhood memory later shared with children and grandchildren of their own.

Others remember stopping in with parents or grandparents for a special treat, picking up chocolates for birthdays and anniversa-

ries, or waiting each year for the appearance of the shop's famous strawberry sign.

"The strawberries and the caramel apples," Tim Green said. "It is one of those things that people look forward to."

Some of the shop's most popular seasonal offerings reflected its Lowcountry roots.

"We would sell as many alligators as we did bunny rabbits," Pat said. "Well, they said we can get bunnies anywhere."

The chocolate alligators became a favorite among tourists and locals alike, offering a uniquely Beaufort twist on a traditional holiday treat.

Pat said one of the greatest joys of operating The Chocolate Tree was watching families return year after year.

"Then brought their children and now their children bring their children," she said.

When the store closed last year, the community response underscored just how much the shop meant to Beaufort.

"The last few days, the customers were crying," Pat recalled.

Hollywood's sweet tooth

The shop's reputation extended far beyond Beaufort.

Over the years, The Chocolate Tree became a favorite stop for actors, filmmakers and production crews working in the Lowcountry.

During the filming of Forrest Gump, the shop supplied chocolates for cast and crew members who became regular customers.

Tim said the store provided pounds of candy every few days while filming was underway.

While many visitors assume the famous box of chocolates featured

Conway Ivy, past chairman of HBF, a preservationist and longtime HBF supporter, returned to the Board of Trustees in July 2025 to fill an unexpired term. On June 2, the board approved him for a three-year term. Ivy owns the William Wigg Barnwell House, one of the houses the Foundation saved from demolition and assisted with relocation to current site on King Street. Appointed to lead committees were: Rob Montgomery, Preservation Committee; Marshall Bassett, Finance Committee; Drew Scallan, Operations Committee; Ivey Savage, Development Committee; Sarah Dyson, Verdier House Committee; and John McCardell, History Advisory Committee.

in the movie came from The Chocolate Tree, Pat said that was never the case. The chocolates would not have held up under filming conditions, and the production used an empty box for the iconic scene.

The shop also became a favorite of visiting celebrities.

Pat recalled delivering chocolates to Sally Field while she was staying in Beaufort during filming. She also shared stories about Barbra Streisand, who personally called to thank the shop for its service after staying in Beaufort during the filming of The Prince of Tides. Pat also maintained a friendship with Beaufort author Pat Conroy, for whom the shop created a signature truffle.

Still, both Tim and Pat Green say the heart of The Chocolate Tree has always been the local community.

"Everybody has a story connected to The Chocolate Tree," Tim said.

Looking toward the future

While the reopening is rooted in nostalgia, Tim Green says the goal is to ensure The Chocolate Tree remains part of Beaufort's future as well as its past.

For a business that began in a Beaufort kitchen more than four decades ago, that possibility feels fitting.

Just as Tim grew up watching his mother build The Chocolate Tree from a home-based hobby into a Beaufort institution, he hopes the business will continue for generations to come. One of his daughters is already a professional chocolatier, and he would love to see her become part of the business one day.

This fall, when customers once again walk through the doors of The Chocolate Tree, they'll find many of the same handmade treats they remember, from Tiger Paws and truffles to peanut brittle and English toffee.

They will also find something else – a family determined to preserve one of Beaufort's most beloved traditions while building new ones for the generations that follow.

For longtime customers, the reopening is a chance to revisit cherished memories.

For the Green family, it is the beginning of the next chapter.

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.

A June 8, 2026, exterior photo of The Chocolate Tree, which has been closed since May 2025. Delayna Earley/The Island News

Executive Director Lise Sundrla presenting the Danner Award to Stephen Wise at the Historic Beaufort Foundation Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 2 at Lowcountry Produce in Beaufort. Photo courtesy of Historic Beaufort Foundation

Neighbors Night Out

Record number of ballots cast early for SC primary

By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — More

South Carolinians turned out to vote early this year than in any previous statewide primary election.

Nearly 319 000 ballots were cast during the two weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election, according to the State Election Commission.

That’s more than double the number of people who voted early in the 2024 primary, and more than triple the turnout two years before, following the law establishing no-excuse-needed early voting.

Early voting lasted two weeks, beginning May 26 and running every weekday through last Friday. Day one drew the highest number of voters, with 56 407 ballots cast.

Many of those voters showed up in a successful effort to quash debate in the Senate over redrawing the state’s congressional maps, which would involve pushing back that primary and discarding already-cast ballots.

Nearly 64% of ballots cast as of last Tuesday, the most recent data available, were for the Democratic ticket. Voters don’t register by party in South Carolina. When they get to the polls, they request to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary.

Officer from page A1

Early voting ran from Tuesday, May 26, through Friday, June 5, 2026, and drew nearly 319,000 voters. Jessica Holdman/ File/S.C. Daily Gazette

Another 11 000 people voted absentee, according to the election commission.

Voters will decide the nominees for governor, along with statewide constitutional officers, and both congressional and state representatives.

Primary runoffs, as needed, are set for June 23. In South Carolina, if no candidate gets at least 50% plus one vote in a primary, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

The nominees advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.

S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest statefocused nonprofit news organization.

Voters in one party’s primary can’t switch to the other party’s runoff ballot. They must stick with one party for the primary and runoff. In other words, people who vote a Democratic primary ballot can’t vote in the Republican runoffs two weeks later, and vice-versa.

Colson serves as a staff sergeant with the department and is a military veteran. Meyers said Colson has worked for the Port Royal Police Department for approximately 10 to 11 years. The incident remains under investigation, and the department is conducting an internal affairs review. Meyers said an outside agency was not requested because investigators believe the shooting was accidental and no criminal

activity is suspected. The Island News has requested additional information regarding Colson's condition and expected recovery timeline. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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.

Michael Andersen speaks with supporters during the Neighbors Night Out with Michael informal meet and greet on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at Carolina Tavern in Port Royal. Andersen is a Republican candidate for Beaufort County Council District 4. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

County Council approves independent inquiry into county operations

Third major outside investigation in three years follows departure of county CFO

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Beaufort County Council voted unanimously June 1 to authorize an independent inquiry into county departments and personnel overseen by County Administrator

Michael Moore, launching what will become the third major outside investigation commissioned by county government in the past three years.

The decision came during a special called County Council meeting following a closed executive session that lasted approximately two and a half hours.

According to the meeting agenda, council entered executive session to discuss matters covered by attorney-client privilege and issues related to the employment of a person regulated by council. Under Beaufort County's form of government, the county administrator is the only employee directly hired by County Council.

Following the executive session, Councilman Joe Passiment made a motion directing the county to engage an outside firm to conduct an inquiry into departments and personnel overseen by the county administrator. According to the motion, the inquiry will evaluate compliance with county policies

and procedures, relevant laws and county ordinances.

The motion passed unanimously.

County officials have not publicly identified the firm that will conduct the inquiry, how much the investigation will cost, who will select the firm or which departments will be examined.

The vote came just days after Beaufort County Council's Executive Committee met in executive session May 29 and subsequently voted to call the special meeting. No public action was taken following that executive session.

Departure of CFO remains unanswered

The inquiry comes amid continued questions surrounding the departure of former Chief Financial Officer Pinky Harriott, who left county employment in May during the county's annual budget process.

While county officials have not publicly stated whether Harriott resigned or was terminated, multiple sources familiar with the situation told The Island News that Harriott was terminated from

her position. County officials have declined to publicly discuss the circumstances surrounding her departure.

Harriott's departure followed a May 11 executive session during which council discussed a workplace management letter and what was described on the agenda as a whistleblower complaint related to fund allocations.

County officials have not publicly linked the newly approved inquiry to Harriott's departure, the whistleblower complaint or any other specific issue. However, the timing has fueled speculation among residents and county employees about whether the events are connected.

A pattern of outside investigations

The latest inquiry is the third major outside investigation commissioned by Beaufort County government in the past three years.

The first involved an independent review of procurement and purchasing practices under former County Administrator Eric Greenway. The review examined whether county staff had followed procurement policies and procedures and ultimately found widespread

failures to comply with the county's procurement code. Investigators concluded many of the issues stemmed from a poor organizational culture that originated with county leadership.

The findings led to a series of policy changes and additional financial controls following Greenway's departure.

The second investigation began in 2024 when county officials hired Bettis Law Group to investigate allegations that confidential information was being improperly disclosed from county government. The inquiry was later reopened and continued into 2025 County officials ultimately reported that the investigation failed to identify the source of the leaks or produce conclusive findings despite costing taxpayers approximately $60 000

The newly approved inquiry differs from those previous investigations in scope. Rather than focusing on a specific issue such as procurement practices or alleged information leaks, the motion approved June 1 calls for a review of departments and personnel overseen by the county administrator and their compliance with county policies, procedures, laws and ordinances.

Questions remain

Several key questions remain unanswered.

County officials have not disclosed what specific concern prompted the inquiry, whether it is connected to Harriott's departure, the whistleblower complaint or another issue entirely. Officials also have not announced how much the investigation is expected to cost taxpayers, when a firm will be selected or when findings could be released.

Council has likewise not indicated whether the review will focus on financial management, personnel issues, workplace culture, policy compliance or other operational concerns.

County officials have not announced a timeline for selecting a firm, beginning the inquiry or releasing any findings to the public.

The June 1 vote authorizes the county to move forward with the process of engaging an outside firm to conduct the review.

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.

Teens Shave, Lucas repeat as Beaufort River Swim champs

By Mike McCombs

Island News

The

Been there, done that.

A year after sweeping the Beaufort River Swim as 14-year-olds, 15-yearolds Jack Shave and Piper Lucas repeated as Men’s and Women’s champions at the 2026 Beaufort River Swim on Saturday, June 6 in Beaufort.

Bluffton’s Shave, who won in just his second open-water swim last year, was the Overall and the Male champion, shaving almost 20 seconds off his time of a year ago with a 52:36 51 finish.

Lucas claimed the Female crown with a time of 53:33 94

Richard McIntyre of Cary, N.C., was the Overall and Male champion of the 1-mile swim with a time of 27:22 16 On the Female side, Dona Mcilvain of Saluda, N.C.,

Minna Reynolds, 11, exits the Beaufort River at the Downtown Marine boat ramp after finishing the 1-mile swim at 20th Annual Beaufort River Swim on the Beaufort River. Amber Hewitt/The Island

Overall champion with a time of 1:16:49 33

Finishing second with a 56:27 swim time, a 26 31 run time, and a total time of 1:22:57 86, Beaufort 13-yearold R.J. Schmitt was second in the 3 2 Swim/5K Run Single Participant race.

finished first with a time of 27:30 97 With a 26:01 swim time, a 27:20 run time, and a 53:21 59 chip time, 11-yearold Minna Reynolds places

first in the Female 1-mile swim/5K Run Single Participant Overall race.

“Well, I didn’t die, that was my main goal,” she said. “I want to thank God for giving

me this ability to swim well, and to run well, and I hope he shines through all that. Thank you to my friends for encouraging me, and my coaches, and my parents.”

On the Male side, Ashton Arvin of Nashville, Tenn., finished with a total time of 51:56 22 to win.

In the 3 2 Swim/5K Run Single Participant race, 35-year-old Yorlliry Moreno of Bluffton was the Male and

“Thank you to my coaches and all my fellow swimmers for teaching me that no matter what the challenges, as long as you have a positive outlook and you put in the most effort, you can that you can conquer it,” he said. On the Female side, 17-year-old Christina Gluck of Bluffton was first with a time of 1:29:41 14 Complete results can be found at https://bit. ly/3RZN7cY.

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

Staff reports 100 Women Who Care Beaufort has awarded a $10 600 charitable contribution to Beaufort Community Sailing & Boating (BCSB), a local nonprofit dedicated to teaching seamanship skills and providing sailing and boating instruction to youth and families throughout the Beaufort community.

BCSB supports more than 20 regular sailors and is preparing for six weeks of summer camp, during which it expects to serve approximately 115 individual sailors. The donation from 100 Wom-

en Who Care will directly fund safety equipment and essential replacements for the organization’s well-used fleet; certification and training for high-school students who serve as youth instructors; and outreach and scholarships to welcome new families and expand access to sailing

BCSB emphasizes that sailing should be accessible to all, regardless of privilege, yacht club membership, or financial means. With this funding, the organization hopes to invite up to a dozen new families to experience the joy of sailing while also addressing

urgent boat-repair needs to ensure safety on the water.

For more information about Beaufort Community Sailing & Boating, visit www.beaufortsailing.com.

With this latest contribution, 100 Women Who Care has now donated more than $575,000 to nonprofit organizations in Northern Beaufort County. The group’s next quarterly meeting will be held on July 13 at First Presbyterian Church Hall in Beaufort.

To learn more about 100 Women Who Care Beaufort, visit www.100wwcbeaufort.org.

Michael Moore

100 Women Who Care Beaufort awarded a $10,600 charitable contribution to Beaufort Community Sailing & Boating (BCSB). Submitted photo

Pictured at far left, 16-year-old Cass Tokarski of Hilton Head Island, second-place Overall Male and first-place Male 15-19; second from left, 15-year-old Jack Shave of Bluffton, first place Overall and Overall Male; second from right, 17-year-old Olivia Johnson, second-place Overall Female and first-place Female 15-19; and at far right, 15-year-old Piper Lucas of Hilton Head Island, first-place Female Overall at the 20th Annual Beaufort River Swim on the Beaufort River. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

News

TCL names Boeding as new president

Staff reports Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) has announced the appointment of Laurie A. Boeding as its next president, effective July 1, according to a TCL media release from last week.

Boeding brings more than two decades of higher education experience and a record of expanding student access, strengthening workforce pathways, and driving measurable improvements in student outcomes.

Boeding joins TCL from Trident Technical College in Charleston, where she serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs. In that role,

she has led initiatives to align academic programs with regional labor market needs, streamline curricula, and expand stackable credential opportunities.

She has also championed high-quality online learning and data-driven approaches to student success.

“I am honored to join the Technical College of the Lowcountry and serve the students, faculty, staff, and communities of Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, and Colleton counties,” Boeding said. “TCL has a strong

reputation for student success, workforce development, and community partnership. I look forward to building on that foundation, listening to the community, and working together to expand opportunities that strengthen lives, businesses, and the region’s economy.”

Boeding holds a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration, a Master of Science in Information Systems Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She is a current Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow, a nationally recognized leadership development program for community college presidents

committed to student success. Prior to serving as chief academic officer at Trident Technical College, Boeding held multiple leadership positions including campus dean, academic dean, associate dean, department chair, and faculty member. She also brings professional experience as a Department of Defense contractor and in federal civil service.

Active in regional and national leadership, Boeding serves on the Board of Directors and Associate Degree Board of Commissioners for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the American Technical

Education Association (ATEA), and the Charleston Regional Development Alliance's Economic Leadership Council. She has also served on the Lowcountry STEM Collaborative board.

“We are pleased to welcome Boeding as TCL’s next president,” said Randy Dolyniuk, Chair of the TCL Area Commission. “Her experience, leadership, and commitment to student success make her the right person to build on the college’s momentum and strengthen TCL’s impact throughout the Lowcountry.”

Boeding succeeds Richard Gough and becomes TCL's fourth president.

Lowcountry Montessori School celebrates Class of 2026

The Complete Student celebrates Class of 2026

Commencement ceremony held at independent Port Royal school

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

The Complete Student celebrated its Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 30, recognizing graduates during a commencement ceremony held on the school's campus.

Family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered to honor the graduates as they completed their high school careers and prepared for the next stage of their lives.

Founded in Port Royal in 2015, The Complete Student is an accredited independent private school serving students in Grades 5 through 12. The nonprofit school focuses on individualized instruction, small class sizes and a multidisciplinary approach to learning designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of students.

According to the school's mission, The Complete Student seeks to provide a challenging and enriching learning environment for students with a variety of academic strengths and challenges while encouraging skill development, empathy and preparation for life after graduation.

The school's educational philosophy empha-

Bella Seanz celebrates her graduation from The Complete Student in Beaufort on Saturday, May, 30, 2026, surrounded by family members following commencement ceremonies. Seanz completed her studies as part of the Class of 2026 and joined fellow graduates in marking the milestone achievement. Asa Aarons Smith/The Island News

sizes teaching students how to think rather than what to think, with a focus on problem-solving, creativity, personal growth and collaboration. For the members of the Class of 2026, commencement marked the culmination of years of academic work, personal growth and perseverance. As graduates received their diplomas, they joined the ranks of The Complete Student alumni and prepared to pursue opportunities in higher education, ca-

reers, military service and other endeavors. The ceremony served as a celebration of both achievement and possibility, recognizing the journeys that brought students to graduation and the opportunities that await them beyond high school.

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.

Graduates receive diplomas during commencement ceremony at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park

By Delayna Earley The Island News

Lowcountry Montessori School celebrated its Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 30, during commencement exercises at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort.

Surrounded by family, friends, faculty and staff,

graduates marked the completion of their high school careers and the beginning of a new chapter. The ceremony recognized years of academic achievement, personal growth and community involvement while highlighting the school's Montessori philosophy of independence, responsibility and lifelong learning.

School officials congratulated the graduates, describing them as leaders prepared to make a positive impact in their communities and wherever their futures may lead.

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.

Founded in 2014, Lowcountry Montessori School is a public charter school serving students from preschool through high school. As members of the Class of 2026 received their diplomas overlooking the Beaufort River, they joined the ranks of the school's alumni and prepared to pursue opportunities in higher education, the workforce, military service and beyond.

John Paul II Catholic School celebrates Class of 2026

Graduates receive diplomas during May 28 commencement ceremony in Okatie

By Delayna Earley The Island News

John Paul II Catholic School celebrated its Class of 2026 on May 28 during commencement exercises held on the school's campus.

Family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered to recognize graduates as they completed their high school careers and prepared for the next stage of their education and professional lives.

John Paul II Catholic School, located in Okatie, serves students in grades 6 through 12 and draws families from across Beaufort and Jasper counties. The school opened in 2013 and is the only Catholic

middle and high school serving the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The commencement ceremony marked the culmination of years of academic work, extracurricular involvement and service for members of the graduating class. As graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas, they joined the ranks of John Paul II alumni and prepared to pursue opportunities in college, the workforce, military service and other endeavors.

The Class of 2026 leaves behind a legacy shaped by academics, athletics, fine arts and community involvement while looking ahead to the opportunities that await beyond high school.

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.

The Lowcountry Montessori Class of 2026 poses for a photo just before the graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

The Class of 2026 at John Paul II Catholic School crosses the graduation stage this year with distinction, as more than 60 students are recognized for earning a broad slate of scholarships and academic honors during commencement exercises at the school on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Ridgeland. Asa Aarons Smith/The Island News

Laurie Boeding

By James Jolly USC Beaufort

USCB professor wins award for reef research

University of South Carolina

Beaufort marine biology professor Kim Ritchie has won the 2026 Eminence in Research Award from the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS). She was also selected to be a Fellow of the ICRS.

“Kim’s research career has been marked by exceptional impact,” said Mónica Medina, professor of organismal biology at UCLA. “At a time when coral disease research largely focused on identifying pathogens in isolation, she introduced a transformative conceptual shift: corals must be understood as complex biological systems whose health is governed by dynamic microbial communities.”

According to Medina, Ritchie was one of the first researchers

Ritchie

to demonstrate that corals are protected by beneficial microbes that actively suppress disease. This breakthrough lay the foundation for what is now widely known as coral probiotics.

“This paradigm-shifting insight has since influenced countless studies and inspired novel, nature-based approaches to coral conservation and restoration,” Medina said.

Ritchie directs research on USCB’s Pritchards Island and is an associate professor of genetics and prokaryotic cell biology in the Department of Natural Sciences.

She also leads the Sea Turtle Patrol on Pritchards Island with a team

of student interns and community volunteers.

In addition to coral reefs, Ritchie’s research also focuses on the role beneficial bacteria may play in wound healing in sharks, skates and rays and their potential as a source for new antibiotics.

Ritchie joined the USCB faculty in 2016

The ICRS is the world’s principal association for coral reef scientists, managers, students and enthusiasts in more than 65 countries. Founded in 1980, its mission is to promote the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge to secure coral reefs for future generations.

Ritchie will accept her award and give a presentation at the 16th annual ICRS Symposium in Auckland, New Zealand, in July.

Bridges Preparatory School celebrates Class of 2026

Graduates reflect on growth, community, future during commencement ceremony

By Delayna Earley The Island News

Bridges Preparatory School celebrated its Class of 2026 on Friday, May 29, honoring graduates for their academic achievements, perseverance and contributions to the school community during commencement exercises.

The ceremony brought together family members, friends, faculty and staff to recognize a graduating class whose members arrived at Bridges at different points in their educational journeys but ultimately shared the same destination.

During his commencement address, Bridges Preparatory School CEO Gary McCulloch reflected on the diverse experiences that shaped the Class of 2026. Some graduates attended Bridges from kindergarten through high school, while others joined the school later in elementary, middle or high school.

Michael Trimmier shows his excitement ahead of the 2026 Bridges Preparatory School Graduation on Friday, May 29, 2026. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

encouraged graduates to recognize how far they had come since entering high school. She reminded classmates that difficult moments do not last forever and that every member of the graduating class has the potential to make a meaningful impact in the future.

high school years.

McCulloch encouraged graduates to carry forward the lessons they learned at Bridges, emphasizing the importance of character,

"This graduating class represents something incredibly special because your journeys were very different, but your destination became shared," McCulloch said. "Together, you became one class, one family and one legacy."

empathy and community. He reminded students that success is not defined by where they began but by who they choose to become.

Student speakers also reflected on the significance of graduation and the experiences that shaped their

Salutatorian Anna Rackett spoke about the uncertainty that often accompanies major life transitions, encouraging classmates to appreciate the people who supported them along the way. She thanked family

members, friends, teachers and mentors who helped guide students through challenges and milestones during their time at Bridges.

Valedictorian Alexis Jones reflected on the personal growth experienced by the Class of 2026 and

The ceremony marked another milestone in the history of Bridges Preparatory School, which celebrated its 31st graduating class this year. School leaders noted that many graduates had spent their entire academic careers at Bridges, helping shape the traditions and culture of the school along the way. As graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas, they officially joined the ranks of Bridges Preparatory School alumni and prepared to begin the next chapter of their lives.

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 High graduates 280 seniors

Class of 2026 earns more than $4 million in scholarships

By Delayna Earley The Island News

Beaufort High School celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2026 on Wednedsay, June 3, as 280 seniors crossed the stage at Beaufort High School Athletic Stadium. The graduating class leaves behind an impressive record of academic achievement, service and extracurricular involvement. Together, the seniors earned $4 037 002 in scholarship offers and completed more than 12 600 hours of community service.

Among the graduates were 74 honor graduates and 124 students who participated in Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment coursework. The class also included 116 student-athletes and students representing 27 clubs and organizations across campus. Following graduation, 92 seniors plan to attend college, 35 will enter technical or trade programs and 23 have committed to military service.

Beaufort High School Principal Ryan Walsh praised the graduates for their accomplishments and the impact they made during their time at the school. "The Class of 2026 has been an excellent group of students," Walsh said. "They have accomplished a lot during their time at BHS. I look forward to seeing what they will do in the future. Go Eagles!"

For many graduates, commencement marked the beginning of a

new journey. "Moving on from Beaufort High to the University of Chicago will be an exciting yet challenging transition," one graduating senior said. "So many of the unique experiences, lessons and opportunities I have gained in high school will surely stay with me as I participate in research, internships, volunteer work and study abroad programs in college while studying biology and political science on my path to becoming a doctor. I am excited

to continue growing academically and personally while using what I have learned to make a meaningful impact on the world around me."

As family members, friends, faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the graduates, the ceremony recognized not only academic accomplishments but also the leadership, service and perseverance demonstrated by the Class of 2026 throughout their high school careers.

Known as the Eagles, the gradu-

ates now move on to colleges and universities, technical and trade programs, military service and careers, carrying with them the lessons and experiences gained during their time at Beaufort High School.

USC Beaufort professor Kim Ritchie diving with Caribbean reef sharks at Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen), Cuba. Submitted photo

Kim

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.

After receiving his diploma, a Beaufort High graduate excitedly leaves the stage during the Beaufort High School’s graduation on Wednesday, May 4, 2026. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Nicholas Griffin signs a yearbook as students prepare for the 2026 Bridges Preparatory School Graduation on Friday, May 29, 2026. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Students patiently wait for the Beaufort High graduation ceremony to end on Wednesday, May 4, 2026, at Beaufort High School. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Whale Branch Early College High School celebrates Class of 2026

Class of 2026 earns $2.1 million in scholarships, completes more than 1,000 hours of community service

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

More than 100 Whale

Branch Early College seniors crossed the stage Monday, June 1 as the school celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2026 at the Earl Campbell Athletic Complex.

The 108-member graduating class leaves behind a legacy of academic achievement, service and leadership. Together, the graduates earned more than $2 1 million in scholarship offers and completed more than 1 000 community service hours through the school's various service organizations.

Among the graduating class were 13 honor graduates, 19 students who participated in Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment coursework and 24 student-athletes.

Following graduation, 46 seniors plan to attend college, six will enter technical or trade programs and four have committed to military service.

Whale Branch Early Col-

lege Principal Freda McCanick praised the graduates for the character and determination they demonstrated throughout their high school careers.

"This class proves that strength lies not only in achievement but also in

character and purpose," McCanick said. "They leave not just ready for the world — but prepared to shape it."

The Class of 2026 was also active beyond the classroom, with seniors participating in 11 different clubs and organizations while bal-

ancing academic and extracurricular commitments.

As the graduates turned their tassels and celebrated with family and friends, they joined the ranks of Whale Branch Early College alumni and prepared to begin the next chapter of their lives.

Known as the Warriors, the members of the Class of 2026 leave Whale Branch with accomplishments that extend beyond test scores and scholarships, carrying with them the lessons learned through service, leadership and perseverance.

Delayna Earley,

worked as a

for The Island Packet/The Beaufort

as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

Lowcountry Music Festival

the electrifying energy that has become a hallmark of the band’s live performances. Breakfield has performed at major festivals including Bonnaroo, headlined iconic venues such as the Grand Ole Opry, and shared stages with artists including

Hank Williams Jr. and Old Crow Medicine Show. Their live performances are known for their unforgettable atmosphere that blends professional musicianship with genuine fun.

“We always have a lot of fun onstage,” said vocalist Barton Davies. “I think that energy translates to the audience and allows us to put on a show that takes people out of reality for a moment, so that we can all have a good time together.”

who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly

photojournalist

Gazette,

Students anxiously wait for the Whale Branch Early College graduation ceremony to begin on Monday, June 1, 2026, in Seabrook. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Credence Revived, a Credence Clearwater Revival tribute band, was the headliner at the Music Festival of the Lowcountry on Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Five-year-old Scarlett Philyaw, visiting from Greenville, S.C., dances to the live music during the Music Festival of the Lowcountry on Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

VOICES

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

We can’t get to it — we’re full up, boys

It’s Tuesday, early, cool and wet in Port Royal.

This will be a “bonus day” — a day when we won’t get the debilitating, innervating heat that is customary on June 2

This morning I have a copy of “Windows on Washington Square, a Memoire by Joe Riley.”

Joe Riley was Charleston’s Mayor for 40 years serving from 1975 to 2016 During his tenure he took a small, water-logged, largely overlooked South Carolina city turning it into the No. 1 vacation destination in the United States.

Riley did this by rebuilding Charleston’s often-flooded, sewer-scented downtown — opening a wharf-side aquarium, an African American-themed museum, an expansive waterfront-hugging park that connects with a waterfront promenade giving pedestrians access to most of Charleston’s eightmile-long waterfront.

I confess that I did not know this remarkable man.

SCOTT GRABER

I did, however, know many of his friends — Sister Mary William, Harriet Keyserling, Bill Regan, Francis Cantwell and Billy Keyserling. Of these Riley-orbiting personalities, Sister Mary William required, in Riley’s book, more than passing comment.

“The Catholic nuns were splendid teachers and my days at Cathedral Grammar School were a very important life experience. I especially liked Sister Mary William, my eighthgrade teacher who was also the school principal. She was young and wore the prescribed black habit. … She was beautiful, wise, kind and joyful.”

“Author Pat Conroy, who grew up in Beaufort, was also a student of Sister Mary William’s. He included her as a character in one of his novels. ‘Joe this is the best love story,’ he told me.

‘My favorite love story.’

“Sister Mary William eventually left the convent, returned to her given name, Dorothy, and married Walter Gnann, who taught math at Beaufort High School.”

Dorothy “Dot” Gnann would go on to play a large role — a much larger role — in Beaufort County’s own development.

Of the various chapters in Riley’s memoire, I was drawn to “Growing the City” wherein Mayor Riley tells the story of Charleston’s growth to the South and West.

“A city must grow its tax base to maintain its longterm financial viability. This was a tough assignment since more than 40% of the property in downtown Charleston was tax exempt.”

Riley’s first annexation

opportunity involved the huge, inclosed Citadel Shopping Mall which was seeking a permit from the U.S. Coast Guard. Mayor Riley saw this opportunity and requested a delay in that permit. Then he went to the mall owners asking that they petition (the City) for annexation.

The owners resisted but Riley was determined and soon “added $40 million to Charleston’s tax base.” After that he turned his focus on Daniel Island calling this 4,000-acre annexation his “Louisiana Purchase.”

I can’t really take issue with Joe Riley’s museums, hotels and slate-paved promenades, but I do question the use of annexation to balance the books.

Let me explain.

In the late 1990s the City of Beaufort was trying to cross-over the Beaufort River and annex parts of Lady’s Island — David Taub was then our Mayor.

One evening David and I were in Newport News,

Va., — I was helping Taub sell his monkey-breeding business — and we got into an argument over Beaufort’s effort to “bring Lady’s Island, Burton and the Marine Corps Air Station into the City.”

The discussion got heated; the bartender saying, “Take it outside boys!”

Later, David and I agreed our friendship was too important to destroy on the question of annexation and “from here on, we will talk of annexation no more.”

About the same time, Sister Mary William (now known as Dot Gnann) and I were working on Beaufort County’s Comprehensive Plan.

Councilwoman Dot Gnann and Council Chair Emmett McCracken were especially focused on a 18 800 acre tract of land called “Palmetto Bluff” located on the May River near Bluffton.

Dot and Emmett — natives of southern Beaufort County — wanted Palmetto Bluff to remain rural; but

Kudos to those who found their moral core

So much has been happening on the national level that I fear we may have lost track of a significant event in May in South Carolina. That James Clyburn was the target was evident. The attempt to redraw the voting districts of our state met with defeat, however, thanks to a crossover by five senators. But more on those heroes later. Perhaps a little history is called for to fully understand the process used by politicians today. Gerrymandering or redrawing voting districts to suit (“favor” is perhaps a better word) one political party over another has a long history. The first recorded instance that gave the name to this political cudgel occurred in 1812 in Massachusetts when Gov. Elbridge Gerry noted after reviewing the proposed new map that one of the districts looked like a mythical salamander. Thus his name and the notion of a salamander were combined to produce the notion of “Gerrymander” and the term stuck, according to Wikipedia.

In the United States, redistricting takes place in each state about every 10 years, after the decennial census. It defines geographical boundaries, with each district within a state being geographically contiguous and having about the same number of state voters. Where the issue becomes

blatantly political is when electoral interests are set up by those with the power to produce and promote.

In most states, it is controlled by state legislatures and sometimes the governor. In some states the governor has no veto power over redistricting legislation, while in others the veto override threshold is a simple majority. Other states may have an independent commission that is tasked with drawing district boundaries.

Let’s be very clear. This is a tactic that has been used by both parties to establish an advantage.

Recent activities in this arena, however, have escalated to a tension-filled level. In 2025, it began in Texas at the behest of 47

He declared that because he had won Texas, he was “entitled” to five more seats, and so Gov. Gregg Abbott accommodated this request.

This was followed by California’s Gavin Newsom who declared they would do the same as a response to Texas. And so the tidal

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Is this what passes for justice in America?

In most respects, Trump’s Iran war has been a debacle. Fuel prices have risen by nearly 50% since the start of the war, and the costs of other goods are climbing rapidly. Iran now has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes. It also appears to retain whatever stockpile of enriched uranium it had before the war. Now Trump is talking about pursuing a deal very similar to the 2015 nuclear agreement he withdrew from in 2018. He appears to have no coherent strategy for what was supposed to be a quick and easy victory. However, the war has achieved one notable success: it has largely pushed the Epstein files out of the headlines. Many people have already forgotten that Todd Blanche, the Acting Attorney General, argued that there should be no further releases of the Epstein files, even though nearly 3 million pages have yet to be made public. The Epstein Transparency Act, signed into law last November, requires

wave began to gather in intensity and speed.

The scoreboard in this game of chess has mostly favored the GOP. Tennessee adopted a new map that gives Republicans control while Rep. Steve Cohen who represents the lone majority-Black district has said he will challenge this in court

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey called for a special primary election in August in the four altered districts. Louisiana’s Gov. Jeff Landry delayed the May 16 House primaries to give the GOP-controlled legislature time to reshape the lines. Republicans there are aiming to erase one or both of the state's two Black-majority House seats.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new congressional district map into law adding four more right-leaning seats by eliminating districts currently held by Democrats. Republicans already controlled the state's House delegation, 20-8

In Virginia, the state Supreme Court issued a ruling invalidating a ballot measure that Democrats said would have given their party an additional four left-leaning House seats. This is currently under appeal, according to Sadie Smith, American Almanac.

But back to what happened in S.C.

Five Republican state senators

broke with their party and joined Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have kept congressional redistricting alive, handing the President a setback in his nationwide push to redraw House maps before the 2026 midterms. They were Shane Massey, Sean Bennett, Greg Hembree, and our own Chip Campsen and Tom Davis.

The South Carolina Senate voted 17-29 to block the measure, falling two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to allow a redistricting vote after the legislative session closes. The proposal had already advanced through the state House and was widely expected to target the district held by Rep. Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat in South Carolina's seven-member congressional delegation.

This occurred despite pressure from the White House. Hours before the vote, 47 warned, “GET IT DONE” followed by, “I’ll be watching closely!”

He watched. And the legislature said no.

Gov. McMaster could call the legislature back into session and try again. Thus far, that hasn’t happened.

The most prominent Republican to lead the dissent was South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who argued on the chamber floor that follow-

the release of all the files, yet Blanche is suggesting that the public should be satisfied with the release of only about half of them.

In effect, this is the message the Trump administration is sending to Epstein’s victims: “The rich and powerful men who sexually abused you when you were still children will never see a courtroom or a day in prison. They are, after all, rich and powerful men, and you are, after all, nobodies who have absolutely no value to us.”

Is this what passes for justice in America?

– Peter Birschbach, Port Royal

We have been warned*

A recent letter to this paper thought “conservative” voices were not represented herein. I beg to differ. This paper deals in the truth, first, and offers plenty of space to opposing viewpoints.

But, if by conservative that writer meant bowing in unfettered homage to the myth of unlimited growth (spelled money), then we have a problem. Just read “The Thirty

Union Camp was insisting on 8 800 homes which would average one house per 2 1 acres. Those long ago, difficult negotiations would fail because the Town of Bluffton came on the scene saying if Union Camp would petition for annexation Bluffton would give them a much better deal on density than Dot, Emmett and Beaufort County. This technique — offering developers density for annexation — became the accepted norm in coastal South Carolina. Today the principal problem in these parts is the fact that roads, bridges, sewer capacity cannot keep up with the growth. Now we sit — stationary in our idling SUVs — wondering what has happened to this stunning, pristine place. We’re “Full up.”

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

ing Trump's redistricting lead would weaken the state's political standing. Massey told colleagues that South Carolina "has always punched above their weight" and that the redistricting gambit would "diminish that influence."

He did not pretend the decision would come without a cost. He acknowledged the political risk plainly:

"There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now. I'm comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I'm comfortable with it ... My conscience is clear on this one."

“We are the most gerrymandered Republican state in the country already,” he added.

Redistricting has always been a questionable exercise in American politics; both parties know it, both parties do it. The real test is not whether lawmakers can resist pressure from the top. It is whether voters reward independence or bury it. South Carolina's five dissenters just bet their careers in the Palmetto State.

Kudos to those GOP senators who dug deep and found their moral core.

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.”

Year Update” (2004) to the 1972 book “Limits to Growth.”* Now, in 2026 54 years have passed, and just like it was ignored and panned by economists back then, today we (and especially our current political leadership) ignore the obvious, are going in reverse, and race pell mell toward climatological uncertainty.

Here in the Lowcountry, I remember the cabins on Hunting Island — all gone, along with hundreds of feet of beach. Our ocean rises and land subsides. Yet, a County Council member spoke the other day about spending penny tax transportation money (and hoping to renew it) on expanded highways to the beach — just what developers want to hear!

Looking at traffic alone, better that the Council — not in isolation, but together with regional partners all along the coast — consider a moratorium on the truly unsustainable development juggernaut. Well, at least, read the book noted, and look at your 2026 Midterm candidates of all stripes, and demand to know their position on environment and climate!

– Timothy Dodds, Lady’s Island

CAROL LUCAS

VOICES

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

My real concerns with artificial intelligence

First, I don't hate artificial intelligence.

I have to remind myself and others of that from time to time. A look at my social media posts would imply otherwise.

Across platforms, I share articles and short videos of people describing how A.I. is ruining our ability to think and evaluate, cheating us of the discoveries we can make while trying to create things, and generally making our brains as flabby as the rest of too many of our bodies.

But no, I don't hate artificial intelligence. I use it too often to reject it entirely.

Everything I write is the product of a drawn-out process, the speed of which is dictated by my inability to type worth a darn. Hunt-and-peck is a generous description for the labored way I type, type, type, pause, review, delete, re-type and repeat until I finish or get tired of trying.

In high school, typing class was on a track that conflicted with AP English (ironic, isn't it?), so I never learned. I was despon-

dent about it until I found out a former boss of mine, Corinne Holt Sawyer, was able to earn her Ph.D. and become a successful crime novelist without ever learning how to type conventionally.

My thoughts, words, and the ways I construct them to share with others are all mine, though I use A.I. to catch and correct errors. I like Grammarly because, unlike some other software, it points out my mistakes without suggesting wholesale rewrites of what I am trying to communicate.

I use artificial intelligence when editing photos I take on my digital cameras. I generally adhere to the stance of not doing anything in Adobe Photoshop

South Carolina lost more than 20,000 people to COVID-19

A tragedy of that scale should have strengthened respect for public health expertise.

Instead, in some quarters, it inspired political backlash against the very officials charged with saving lives.

Dr. Brannon Traxler and Dr. Edward Simmer have been treated as convenient targets.

Both are physicians. Both are highly trained. Both stepped into leadership roles at the state’s public health agency during a once-in-a-century public health emergency.

And both faced blistering political attacks, including calls for removal, that had far more to do with the critics’ ideology than with the doctors’ performance.

Let’s be clear about what that means.

It means public health leadership is being judged less on evidence and expertise than on perceived political alignment.

It means that in the middle of a deadly pandemic, some were more interested in scoring political points than evaluating outcomes honestly and supporting best practices to save lives. Criticism of pandemic policy is legitimate. No serious person denies that.

Schools were disrupted. Hospitals were overwhelmed. Guidance changed as science evolved.

People paid real costs — especially families with

children.

But what followed went further than criticism. It became scapegoating.

Simmer, who senators confirmed in February 2021, was later criticized merely for following federal health guidance.

Since becoming interim director last month, Traxler has been targeted for a few past political actions in her private life.

That is where the problem begins.

Ask a simple question: Would anyone demand to know a surgeon’s party affiliation before a major operation? No. Because it would be irrational.

What a patient wants in a doctor is competence and rigorous training: the traditional values of American meritocracy. Not ideology.

Public health is no different — even if some politicians pretend otherwise. Viruses don’t care about party affiliation.

President Ronald Reagan once joked before surgery that he hoped his doctors were Republicans. It was funny precisely because everyone understood the point. Politics does not belong in the operating room.

that I couldn't have done in the darkroom days (crop, exposure adjustments, dodge-and-burn). I can still manually select a texture from one part of a photo to cover up an unwanted intrusion in another, but it is a lot quicker to let A.I. tools do some of that for me.

I warn subjects I am not in the business of making everyone who sits in front of my lens look like a beauty pageant contestant, but the "Enhance Portrait" preset in Lightroom establishes a good starting point for retouching photos. It does, though, have an annoying habit of making people with pretty teeth look like they are wearing dentures they bought from Temu.

This is why human intervention is needed, and intervene I do.

I use A.I. as a shortcut to getting definitions or for pulling bits of trivia. Alexa is a whiz at telling me WNBA player Satou Sabally played college basketball at the University of Oregon before I can even remember how to spell her name or type it into Google on my phone or laptop. It also can tell

What matters is expertise.

South Carolina’s COVID record makes the cost of forgetting that obvious.

The state endured repeated surges. Hospitals strained. Health care workers burned out.

The Omicron wave hit hard even after vaccines were widely available. And vaccination rates lagged behind national leaders.

Life-saving vaccines

The state’s lower-than-average COVID vaccination rate likely contributed to South Carolina having the nation’s 10th-highest COVID death rate in 2021 the pandemic’s deadliest year.

Those statistics were not abstract. They showed up in hospital admissions. They showed up in preventable deaths. They showed up in exhausted ICUs trying to absorb yet another wave.

One criticism leveled against Traxler and Simmer is that they strongly promoted vaccination. Some anti-vaxxers falsely claimed that the COVID vaccines were ineffective and even harmful.

Vaccines, of course, were not perfect. But the core finding of modern medicine remains intact: higher vaccination rates were associated with fewer severe outcomes and fewer deaths.

The point bears repeating: Consistently across the nation, states with higher vaccination rates experienced fewer COVID hospitalizations and deaths.

me she shaved her head as a gesture of solidarity with a loved one undergoing cancer treatments, which is pretty noble.

I think Siri was behind the door, as my mother likes to say, when they were giving out advanced skills at virtual assistant school, but she's trying hard. At the very least, she's good for a timer here or there, and a quick set of directions, though she’s no Waze.

Beginning with the previous paragraph, I am using artificial intelligence to finish this column. I really do type that slowly, and using voice recognition on my laptop will help me get to the finish line. I still have to review everything, but that one little assist can make a big difference between finishing now or having to come back after I do my laundry. So no, I don't hate artificial intelligence for what it is.

I hate how it's being sold to us, as if making caricatures of ourselves on Facebook doesn’t have the same environmental impact as scientists trying to battle HIV or world hunger.

I hate how big data centers are being forced on communities populated mostly by minorities and poor white people.

I hate how billionaires try to convince us it is a replacement for human productivity, so it's OK for the billionaires to lay off hundreds of thousands of real people from real jobs they really need.

I hate how young people are giving up embracing the discipline it takes to read and learn and create and share their unique perspectives on the world.

I hate how its supporters have told everyone homogeneity is fine.

I hate we are told all this is inevitable, and there is no going back. Nothing is inevitable in life except death, which is a terrible association to make for something you want people to like. Maybe they should ask A.I. for a better sales pitch. p.s. Grammarly found only one mistake. Gold star for Terry!

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

States with lower vaccination rates, like South Carolina, saw higher rates of COVID mortality.

That is not interpretation. It is empirical evidence.

Let’s be clear: Elected officials and candidates who promote vaccine skepticism in South Carolina are playing with public trust in ways that can prove dangerous — even deadly.

Vaccination is among the most successful public-health interventions in human history.

Smallpox is gone. Polio is nearly gone. Measles was driven to the edge of elimination.

Now measles is returning in the United States, including outbreaks in South Carolina and other communities where vaccination rates have fallen.

That is not a mystery. That is math.

And it is preventable.

Public health officials are not saints. They are not infallible. But honest criticism is not the same as delegitimization.

The next crisis will come.

Another virus. Another outbreak. Another unknown.

When it does, South Carolina will again need qualified professionals willing to step forward.

The question is whether we will have made that job politically toxic.

State officials, for their part, must turn back the tide of disinformation and restore trust in science, vaccination, and public health institutions.

With disinformation rampant, elected officials must be the adults in the room.

We only hurt ourselves when we turn public health into a political weapon.

South Carolina can debate masks, mandates and pandemic policy for years. But no state can afford to punish expertise and expect better outcomes the next time crisis arrives. More than 20 000 South Carolinians died of COVID. If that did not teach us the value of evidence-based public health, the next lesson may come at an even higher cost.

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 Journal-Constitution and Classical Voice North America.

TERRY MANNING

PAUL HYDE

Dr. Edward Simmer, interim agency director for the Department of Public Health, speaks at a press conference on the launch of the new department on Monday, June 24, 2024.

Photo courtesy of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

Hold on tight for results of oddball primary elections

It has been a strange, atypical election season.

That’s all there is to it.

Heading into the June 9 primaries, more voters have cast ballots early than ever before since 2022 when early voting started. In fact, this year’s total — 235 778 voters over seven days through June 3 — is more than the totals for 10 days of early voting in 2022 (100 990 voters) and 2024 (120,178 voters).

That’s pretty amazing and, as we’ve written, reflects a growing dissatisfaction with the current crop of politicians in Washington and Columbia who aren’t effectively dealing with the affordability issues (rising costs for food, gas, health care and daily living) that people are demanding.

But putting that aside, the election is just weird. In the two major parties, there are eight candidates who want

Sto be governor. And in the First Congressional District, there are 17 candidates.

Most aren’t getting out messages effectively — or are using nontraditional methods because the traditional method — television advertising — is waning. Still, based on expenditures at one Charleston television station, some candidates are reaching out, blasting televised news programs with advertising.

Among Republicans for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and rich guy Rom Reddy of Isle of Palms spent

in the low six-figures over the last few months, while Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson spent at $63,082 and $94 025 respectively since the beginning of the year.

What all of this means is that Norman and Reddy have likely spent more than $2 million each on traditional advertising statewide, while Evette and Wilson have spent more than $1 million each.

Among the three Democrats running for the state’s top spot, only Greenville businessman Billy Webster, a political unknown to many, has burned up the airwaves, with more than $270,000 spending at the station since mid-April. Webster, who needs to spend to build name recognition among Democratic voters, likely has burned at least $4 million on primary

television ads across the Palmetto State.

It’s pretty amazing that the other two Democratic candidates — S.C. Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Hopkins and Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod — have spent little, if anything.

To add another twist, look at what’s going on in television spending in the First Congressional District. At two Charleston stations we checked, only three candidates spent any money — former GOP Gov. Mark Sanford, who dropped out, Democratic candidate Nancy Lacore of Mount Pleasant and Republican

Charleston Dr. Sam McCown.

What’s odd is that the other 14 candidates, including the purported GOP frontrunners, don’t seem to have spent a dime on paid television media. Instead, they seem to be relying on other less expensive outlets — direct mail, internet ads — and free stuff like public appearances. They also seem to be relying on more retail politics to get out a broad message in a year where voters are irked.

Two other things about this year’s oddball primaries make it difficult to use past elections as harbingers for the future — independent voters and turnout.

It’s unclear where independents will go in the primaries since both teams have several candidates.

Independents may steer toward the GOP to vote against someone — or they

may head to the Democratic primary to cast ballots in frustration. Or they may stay home, which also puts a twist on things. Second, it’s unclear what’s going to happen with election day turnout. If trends continue, a lot more people will vote in the Democratic primary, which could dampen the impact of Black voters and help Webster. But if more people head to the GOP primary on the day of voting — which generally happens — Republican incumbents could face some bad news at the polls. Only two things are clear this year: The primaries matter like never before and nobody knows what’s going to happen.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.

School’s out for the summer

chool has been out for about two weeks, and I bet almost all parents have heard “I’m bored!” at least once already this summer. I have a hard time relating with bored children as I grew up in a household where my mother was certain to find a vile task for us to do if we foolishly announced that boredom had set in.

Short of telling kids to clean the commode and mop the bathroom floor, I have a few suggestions to make. Some of the things you can do with your children over the summer might actually help them when they return to school in (gasp!) August.

First, families can make sitting still and paying attention to something other than video games interesting or at least necessary to their continued existence. Several years ago, Technical College of the Lowcountry held a faculty in-service day with neuroscientist Dr. Janet Zadina who illuminated how the human brain works when learning occurs. She stated that she could walk into any first-grade classroom, and within 10 minutes she would know which students would not graduate from high school based on their ability to sit still and pay attention. This statement haunted me throughout the past year I volunteered in a first-grade classroom. In the first weeks of school,

LOUISE MATHEWS

6-year-old children typically have the attention span of gnats. Throughout the year, I noted that almost all of the children developed the capacity to sit down, be quiet, and pay attention when asked to do so. A few did not. This concerned me, as I am sure it did their teacher because the brain cannot learn unless a person — child or adult — first pays attention.

Helping a child sit still and pay attention may be as simple as having a family dinner hour. My generation had advantages many children today do not enjoy. In our neighborhood, all children went home for supper around 5:30 p.m. Most sat at a table with the family. We could not leave the table until excused. This meant we had to a) eat, and b) converse when asked to speak, as in “what did you do today?” Dinner time didn’t always happen calmly, particularly if two or more of us were engaged in an argument, which was quickly terminated by a rap on the table

with a wooden spoon.

We also learned to sit still and be quiet at church. I find it sad that so many families do not have a church. Other than missing spiritual growth, they do not experience the social benefit of the “village raising the child.” We learned at an early age that making noise in church could result in being “given something to cry about.” In these gentler, kinder times, churches often have a cry room to which those who cannot hush their youthful complaints are removed. Still, as time goes by, with repetition, even the loudest members of the baby choir learn to quietly sit relatively still. Secondly, children can play games with parents and other children. Board games are an excellent learning tool for the easily bored. There is a reason why Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Clue, Monopoly, Go Fish and Concentration are still around. They reinforce reading, counting, critical thinking, and life skills such as how to keep going even after you have to start over because you landed on the longest chute in the game. In our house, Concentration, played with a deck of regular cards, was often set up on the coffee table with several children trying to remember exactly where they saw a jack or a seven in order to match the one they had just picked up. It exercises the brain

in a way that many video games cannot.

Games also teach children how to play fair with others. Kids are really good at spotting cheating and calling out each other. Parents or older siblings sometimes need to referee until younger children can handle this task themselves.

When my mother didn’t have an age-appropriate task to dole out, her response to kid boredom was “Read a book!”

I was a very fortunate child; we were surrounded by books in the living room (fine editions Dad collected before marriage), kids’ books in the sunroom, chapter books in the bedrooms, and novels in the attic. We went to the library at least once every two weeks. We also had a variety of comic books found at yard sales or bought with allowance or traded with neighbor kids once ours were read.

In my early community college career, I worked with a family literacy program and visited students’ homes. I vividly remember the shock I experienced the first time I walked into a house in which there was absolutely nothing to read.

Reading engages the brain in ways that watching videos does not. Reading improves focus and concentration. It helps children develop skills in visualization,

imagination, connecting ideas, and improving information retention.

Parents and grandparents can take children to the library. They can let them choose something of interest as long as it is not too old for them. At home, if a child doesn’t pick up the book within a few days, a family member can offer to read it with him or her.

Children crave adult attention, and a parent’s interest in their book may renew their curiosity. Readers of this essay may already be doing these activities. They may know of many more projects to do with children to help them “stop the summer slide” in their learning. Numerous websites such as raisecuriouskids. com or magrid.education/summer-learning-activities also feature abundant ways parents and grandparents can help their children stay on track with learning. If, like me, you are retired and could benefit from spending a few hours each week sharing your knowledge with children while experiencing their joy and love, contact the United Way of the Lowcountry. They have a program and a classroom just for you.

Louise Mathews retired from a career in community colleges, and before that, theater. A 13-year come-by in Beaufort, she has been a dingbatter

LWV thanks those candidates who took the time

The League of Women Voters of Beaufort Area and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton would like to recognize the Beaufort County candidates who have submitted their VOTE411.org responses to questions prior to the June 9 primary races.

VOTE411.org is an online resource provided by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters (LWVUS) which provides voters with information submitted by candidates. Voters can compare candidates’ positions as well as find answers to other voting questions.

All candidates in Beaufort County primary races were invited to submit their answers to VOTE411.org. Unfortunately, not all candidates took the opportunity to respond. Those that did include:

Jay Byars (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Francina Dantzler (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Mac Deford (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Max Diaz (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Matthew Fulmer (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Nancy Lacore (US House of Representatives, District 1)

Mayra Rivera-Vasquez (US House of Representatives,

District 1)

Shannon DeLoach (State House of Representatives, District 121)

Korey William (State House of Representatives, District 122)

Ann Shippy (State House of Representative, District 123)

Michael Andersen (Beaufort County Council, District 4)

Thomas Grygowski (Beaufort County Council, District 4)

Joshua Hower (Beaufort County Council, District 5)

Mary Jeans ‘Otto’ (Beaufort County Council, District 5)

Joe Maiorano (Beaufort County Council, District 5)

Bill Beltz (Beaufort County Council, District 8)

Trey Judy (Beaufort County Council, District 8)

Kraig Gordon (Beaufort County Council, District 8)

Beth Gillespie (Beaufort County Council, District 9)

• Elizabeth Galloway (Beaufort County Council, District 11)

Tommy Reitz (Beaufort County Council, District 11)

If you do not see a candidate's name on the list below, please contact them and ask them to participate — let them know that their responses help Beaufort County Voters become better informed.

A BIG Thank You to these candidates who HAVE taken

the time to submit their responses to VOTE411.org. And go to VOTE411.org and get informed.

– Catherine Forester, LWV-BA, Beaufort

Know the whole truth

I feel like I know a little about the position of Sheriff after marrying a former deputy of 26 years with the Sheriff's Department. Starting with Sheriff Morgan M Cutcheon, followed by Lukas, McCleod and then Tanner. This position is extremely important for the future of Beaufort County to control ongoing growth, development and traffic. It takes a well-seasoned individual to handle the most serious of any possible event. Certain recent articles make me think of "All is fair in Love and War" where normal rules of morality and fair play do not apply in matters of passion or conflict. Articles like those recently printed are often used when people are desperate to defeat a rival.

It is up to us to select and vote for the very best candidate for this position. It is not necessary to discredit anyone, especially if you don't have ALL the information regarding an issue. Bits and pieces of an event do not mean it is the truth. Please make sure you investigate all the details regarding both candidates to satisfy any concerns you might have.

– Pat Harvey-Palmer, Beaufort

ANDY BRACK

in North Carolina and an upstater from New York.

HEALTH

Make the most of your 1st plastic surgery consultation

By Dr. Heidi Harrington Beaufort Memorial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics

After thinking it through, you’ve decided that you are ready for your first cosmetic surgery procedure.

Before you head to the operating room, there’s a very important step, both for you and for your potential plastic surgeon: a consultation.

Most patients come to us unsure what to expect before, during or after their procedure.

Dr. Heidi Harrington

The initial consultation is an ideal time to ask all your questions so that you feel confident every step of the process.

This plastic surgery consultation is a face-to-face meeting with your potential surgeon. You’ll meet the individual who will augment your breasts, or perform cosmetic procedures involving your face, buttocks, stomach or other areas.

This meeting is a valuable time and a great opportunity to ask questions and get to know your surgeon.

Your consultation will include the following:

Goal discussion — You talk about your hopes and goals for surgery.

• Physical evaluation — The

Special to The Island News

Now that Memorial Day has passed, summer travel plans are in full swing.

It’s the time of year for vacations — think cruises, beach houses, timeshares, resorts and cross-country adventures. But just because there’s “PTO” and “OOO” on your schedule for the summer doesn’t mean that all your healthy habits from home should be thrown out the window.

Traveling — whether it’s the traveling itself or how you spend your vacation — can affect your stress levels, sleep pattern and diet.

So, how can you relax, unwind and make the most of your trip without sacrificing your health?

Keep stress to a minimum

Before you even board your plane this summer (and maybe even before you buy your ticket), feelings of stress might trickle into your travel plans.

“Traveling and changes to our regular routines can cause us to feel stressed, which can impact ourphysical health — especially for individuals with cardiovascular conditions,” said Tara Kay, PA-C, who sees patients with Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists.

surgeon examines the surgical site to determine what options fit your body and goals.

Planning — Your surgeon explains the pros and cons of available surgical options and walks you through the surgical process.

While you can do a lot of research from home, your plastic surgery consultation gives you the chance to get information directly from the surgeon. Asking the right questions can help you determine

if a specific surgeon or surgery is right for you.

I encourage patients to go into consultations like interviews. Remember — the surgeon is working for you, so you want to make sure the surgeon is the right person for the job. You want to feel comfortable with the surgeon and ensure the surgeon has the background to provide the results you desire.

Questions to ask include:

Are you board-certified? If so, by what organization?

• Do you feel I am a good candi-

date for the surgery I desire? If not, are there other procedures that could achieve my desired result?

What are the potential benefits and risks of this procedure? How do these compare to other options?

How many times have you performed this specific surgery, and have you performed it on patients with my body type and skin color?

What anesthesia will I receive during surgery? Who will administer the anesthesia, and what are their qualifications?

Do you have before-and-after photos of other patients I can review?

What is recovery like for this procedure? How long does it take to see results, and how long do the results last?

Have you ever experienced an emergency during surgery? If so, how did you respond, and what was the outcome?

How much does this procedure cost, and what financing options do you offer?

Along with these questions, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery encourages you to make note of how the surgeon makes you feel. Are you comfortable and confident that the surgeon understands your goals and has the skills to per-

form surgery successfully? If so, you may be ready to move forward.

Our staff goes out of our way to make every consultation a success, but you can help make the most of our meeting. Prior to your consultation, research surgery options so you can ask the best questions possible.

On the day of your plastic surgery consultation, bring the following with you:

Comfortable clothes — Wear clothing that is easy to remove so the surgeon can more easily view the surgical site.

• Medical history — Document any health conditions you’ve experienced, types of surgery you’ve undergone and medications you currently take.

• Pictures — To help your surgeon visualize your end goal, bring photos that show the size and shape you hope your breasts, arms or other body parts will have after surgery.

• Questions — Write down the questions above and any others that will help you move forward with confidence.

Heidi Harrington, M.D., is a boardcertified and fellowship-trained plastic surgeon with two decades of cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery experience. She sees patients at Beaufort Memorial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics in Okatie.

Feel your best on vacation by prioritizing wellness

Stress can lead to high blood pressure, too. If you are taking medication for a heart condition, make sure to bring your medication and all related information when you travel.

If you’re feeling stress start to take over, take a few minutes to breathe deeply. Deep breaths can lower stress levels and blood pressure in the body and slow your heartbeat.

“Deep breathing techniques are a great way to lower stress levels in the moment,” Kay said. “If you’re traveling and feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to recharge.”

Mind your overindulgence ...

Vacations are about getting away from your everyday routine, but that doesn’t mean completely forgoing your healthy habits when it comes to your diet.

On vacation, you may be eating foods that aren’t in your regular rotation — and you may be eating a lot more of them, too.

Plan ahead as much as possible; don’t plan to eat at restaurants every day for every meal. Not only does that make it hard to keep portion sizes in check and moderation at the forefront of your

dietary choices, but it also may get expensive.

You’ll save money in the long run — and make healthier choices overall for you and your family — by planning to cook meals while on vacation.

… and your underindulgence

One of the most common illnesses to develop on vacation is dehydration.

It’s easy to lose track of your water intake while lounging in the sun on the beach or while navigating a bustling airport, but symptoms of dehydration can sneak up on you, such as:

Thirst and dry mouth

Headache

Muscle cramping

Fatigue

Dizziness

Depending on where you are traveling — and your mode of transportation — you may be at a higher risk of being dehydrated. A vacation where you’re spending ample time in the sun or consuming higher-than-normal amounts of alcohol can put you even more at risk.

Air travel is commonly known to cause dehydration, too, due to lower humidity levels in airplane cabins, which can add to changes such as avoiding drinking

fluids to reduce bathroom trips. Prepare by packing a refillable water bottle, hydrating snacks (like fresh fruit or vegetables) and by taking advantage of any inflight beverage services.

Sleep it off

A wide variety of factors may contribute to an off-kilter sleep pattern during your trip.

Your routine may be affected by factors such as jet lag, new or uncomfortable sleeping arrangements (for example, a smaller or more uncomfortable bed than you’re used to), diet changes, alcohol consumption,

stress or anxiety. If you’re traveling to a different time zone, consider training your body three nights before your trip by adjusting your bedtime to reflect your destination’s time zone. This can help combat jet lag upon your arrival. Melatonin, a hormone produced by your body to regulate sleep, can also be used sparingly as a useful tool in giving your body the bedtime nudge it needs. If your schedule is haywire, taking this over-the-counter sleep aid can help your body produce natural melatonin and prepare your

body for rest. Use it carefully, though, warned Dr. Joseph DiMaria, a family medicine physician who sees patients at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group Primary Care.

“For adults, the usual recommended dosage is 0.5mg to 3mg, taken about one to two hours before bedtime,” he said. “But it can make you feel groggy the next morning, which isn’t ideal for vacation — effects vary by individual, but for some people, it can provide a little push when taken at the appropriate time to help you overcome jet lag.”

H&HS Squadron formation and award ceremony

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anthony A. Parker, right, commanding officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, presents an award Friday, May 22, 2026, to Sgt. Lauren N. Millerbernd, lead firefighter, Marine Wing Support Squadron 273, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. Millerbernd was awarded for her distinguished service as the lead firefighter with Marine Wing Support Squadron 273. Pfc. Carl J. Walters/ USMC

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anthony A. Parker, left, commanding officer, Headquarters and headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, and Sgt. Maj. Samuel A. Howard, right, sergeant major, Headquarters and Headquarters squadron, MCAS Beaufort, speak Friday, May 22, 2026, during a liberty brief at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. This mandatory safety brief reminded Marines of rules, expectations, and how to stay out of trouble during their liberty. Pfc. Carl J. Walters/USMC

Every eligible veteran needs to enroll in VA Healthcare (Part 1)

This is the first of four articles on why every eligible veteran should enroll in VA Healthcare. This article is based on my extensive experience as a patient and volunteer at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center & Healthcare System (RHJVAMC&HCS).

Articles 2 through 4 will be factbased and supported by scientific references.

I recommend VA Healthcare

As a Wounded Warrior and a service-connected 100% combat disabled veteran, I am fortunate to be in the highest priority group of veterans eligible for VA Healthcare. I am not fortunate to have been wounded three times in Vietnam and to have had a dozen Traumatic Brain Injuries, three in combat and nine in the line of duty training. This columnist is a disabled veteran who uses VA Healthcare for most of my healthcare needs, including Primary, Orthopedic, Urology, Nephrology, Pain Management, Cardiac, Electrophysiology, Cardiology, Neurology, Mental Health (PTSD), and Dental care. However, because I am also a retired soldier and a 79-year-old, I also have Medicare and Tricare for Life Insurance that I can use instead of the VA.

Enroll in Medicare

I urge every veteran to enroll in Medicare when they become eligible, because VA benefits can change at the whims of an unreliable Congress and equally unstable Presidents, and if you wait to enroll after you become eligible, you will pay huge fines. There have been times when I used Medicare and Tri-Care for Life to obtain care from a civilian

doctor and a private healthcare system. A veteran may also need a second, independent opinion to challenge a VA decision regarding service connection or other claim denial. Veterans may also wish to obtain an independent NEXUS letter to support a service-connected disability claim. More on this later.

Enrolling is easy I found out that I could enroll in VA Healthcare by phone, by mail, in person at my local VA Medical Center or Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, online, and with the help of a VA-accredited VSO.

Use a VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO)

I started by reading the information at the VA “How to apply for your healthecare” webpage, asked my VSO to help me, and made an appointment with the Five-Star-rated Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s Eligibility and Enrollment Office, where I signed up for VA healthcare.

After signing up for VA Health Care and receiving a white background VA Identification Card with a bar code, my picture, and a member ID number, I made an appointment with my VA Primary Care Provider, who was the leader of my Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

PACT Teams are great

I found out that my PACT Primary Care Provider could be a Physician, a Physician Assistant (PA), or a Nurse Practitioner (NP). My PACT Team consisted of (1) a Primary Care Provider, (2) a Clinical Pharmacist, a Registered Nurse (RN) Care Manager, (3) a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Medical Assistant (MA), (4) a Social Worker, (5) an Administrative Assistant/Clerk, and (6) me. I have had both Physicians and PA’s as my VA Primary Care Provider for 22 years now. They have each been highly skilled, knowledgeable, polite, understanding, kind, compassionate, patient, timely, and dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare.

Know your PACT Team members/social worker

It is important for veterans to know the name and contact information of their PACT Team members, especially their provider, RN, and social worker. The key role the PACT Team social worker played became evident to me quickly when I needed to help an elderly veteran’s spouse and family obtain a referral to the Fisher House Charleston while their loved one was an inpatient at the VA medical center. The elderly veteran’s PACT Team social worker was also needed to help the veteran understand the robust VA benefits available to elderly veterans, including Aid and Attendance, Housebound, Geriatrics, Long-Term Care, Home-Based and Community Services, and Nursing Home and Residential Care.

Summary of my experience

In summary, I have found VA Healthcare to be second to none at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical

Center and Healthcare System (RHJVAMCHCS) and its North Charleston Community-Based Outpatient Clinic. My appointments were always scheduled within 30 days, often much sooner, and my doctors were always on time. If the VA could not see me in a timely fashion, I was offered to see a Civilian Doctor through the Community Care Program. And I got a phone call, a letter, a phone message, and a My HealtheVet message reminding me of my appointments. From 2004 to 2026, I was not only a patient there but also a volunteer Patient Advisor.

As a Patient Advisor, I served on the Customer Service Council (later Patient Experience Council), the Patient and Family Centered Care Committee (PFAC1), the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC2), the High Reliability Council (Lean Six Sigma Black Belt), and the Stakeholders’ Committee. I have also served as an Employment Assistance Advisor and a Continuous Improvement Advisor to the RHJVAMCHCS and as an Ambassador of Goodwill for Fisher House Charleston.

In these roles, I saw my primary job to be a “junk yard dog” looking for veterans and their family members and other customers who were unhappy with the services of the Ralph H. Johnson Health System and latch on to the problem (like a junk yard dog and not let go), help identify the problem, find the root causes of the problem, find counter measures (fixes) for the problem, help the RHJVAMCHCS implement the fixes/countermeasures, and then hold on to those fixes so that the problem does not come back.

I played a small role in solving the huge, frustrating parking

problem (Parking garage, valet parking, parking near Porter-West Ashley, moving clinics off campus, after-hour services, etc.), the terrible lack of lodging/transport for families (Fisher House & Friends of Fisher House Charleston), the awful lack of funds/jobs for OIF/OEF veterans (Establishing Employment Assistance Officers, Establishing the AUSA Wounded/Injured Fund, Giving same-day grants, Job Assistance Programs, etc.), and hundreds of other mostly small problems. So today, the Coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia have a VA Medical System that is a world-class operation and team. Yes, like all big operations, it still has problems, bottlenecks, phones that are not answered fast enough, phones that veterans have to leave messages at (rather than talk to a real person), and staff shortages, but for the most part, it is perhaps the best medical system in the world.

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

LOCAL MILITARY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, 12 June 2026

Recruit Training Regiment • Commanding Officer, Colonel A. P. Bariletti

1st Recruit Training Battalion • Lieutenant Colonel G. T. Moynihan Commander of Troops, Captain W. T. Barnes • Parade Adjutant, Second Lieutenant D. B. Bivins Company “D”, 1st Recruit Training Battalion • Captain W. T. Barnes Drill Master • Staff Sergeant D. M. Brodie, Staff Sergeant R. T. Frye

PLATOON 1024

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt J. L. Myers

Pvt Aguirrecastillo, Luis E.

PFC Bailey, Luke H.

PFC Balde, Ahmadou

Pvt Beaulieu, Markus A.

Pvt Bornioszagal, Michael R.

Pvt Bowen, Greyson E.

Pvt Bragg, Dawson L.

Pvt Bullard, Jonmichael T.

PFC Chretien, Joe M.

Pvt Claudio, Xavier J.

Pvt Davidson, River

Pvt Helm, Michael A.

Pvt Hernandez, Jared A.

PFC Hernandez, Yahir

PFC Leon Jr, Alain A.

PFC Liu, Keynes

Pvt Maldonado, Christian A.

PFC Marshall, Owen L.*

Pvt Meier, Caleb W.

Pvt Moore, Daniel J.

Pvt Moore, Dylan T.

PFC Nguyen, King D.

Pvt Parker, Ethan J.

Pvt Poole, Henry D.

PFC Reid, Timothy J.*

Pvt Rivera Jr, Carlos A.

Pvt Robinson, Davian L.

Pvt Rodriguez, Eli E.

Pvt Rodrigueztaramona, Alex J.

Pvt Romero, Josue D.

Pvt Ross, Daniel N.

PFC Rubioreyes, Christopher J.*

Pvt Shah, Jaden S.

Pvt Thomas Ii, Robert D.

PFC Tiller, Kollen M.

Pvt Todd, Jaden J.

PFC Veronsilva, Alexander

Pvt Ward, Bailey P.

Pvt Whiddon, Walker B.

PFC White, Tavion H.*

PLATOON 1025

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt E. Bautista-Quezada

PFC Amayacruz, Maria E.

PFC Anderson, Jakiria L.

Pvt Bejarano, Yocelyn

PFC Buchholz, Jaelyn L.

Pvt Callahan, Trinity A.

Pvt Carmenate, Marcela

PFC Carris, Elyssa J.

Pvt Daleneysells, Lindsay J.

PFC Diazpozo, Alanis L.

PFC Donahue, Mary E.

PFC Earhart, Mekinley M.

PFC Fouse, Alissa L.*

PFC Garro, Yazmin

PFC Gaudin, Marcelle*

PFC Gonzalezramos, Damilyis

Pvt Hargrove, Saniyah A.

PFC Jackson, Zariyah H.

Pvt James, Janyia L.

Pvt Jimenezpalacios, Genesis I.

PFC Karssen, Charlee J.

PFC Lafranca, Angela M.

PFC Lazarozarate, Joscelin

Pvt Leos, Silvia R.

PFC Lobo, Jenna I.

Pvt Lujanluis, Rubi

Pvt Marinzamorano, Jenny

Pvt Martinez, Sarah G.

PFC Mendezduarte, Emily

PFC Munozarias, Genesis D.

Pvt Ogunyankinnu, Eniola R.

Pvt Paucar, Karen D.

Pvt Pena, Oceanika

PFC Penner, Nadia J.*

Pvt Powell, Dasanie T.

PFC Ramirezrivera, Nadya J.

PFC Reaves, Rikenzie R.

PFC Robinson, Addison D.*

Pvt Robinson, Brean N.

PFC Rodriguez, Joselyn

Pvt Rueda, Ingrid M.

Pvt Santiagoreyes, Jaquelyn

Pvt Scott, Nhyla T.

Pvt Turner, Heaven L.

Pvt Villafuerteluna, Alexa

PFC Wallace, Jhunel A.

PFC Weaver, Jewel C.

PFC Wiggan, Keriann R.

PLATOON 1026

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt A. S. Williams

Pvt Ali, Zaid R.

Pvt Angelramirez, Sven E.

Pvt Berry, John M.

Pvt Bond, Caden I.

PFC Campbell, Brendan P.

Pvt Campbell, Jacob A.

Pvt Campbell, John T.*

Pvt Childers, Dravin M.

PFC Clanton, Olen T.

Pvt Diazjimenez, Oliver C.

Pvt Doan, Patrick J.

Pvt Dolan Iv, Robert M.

Pvt Evans, Curtis J.

Pvt Fritsche, Hayden L.

PFC Foskett Jr, Ron M.

Pvt Garciahernandez, Edinson

Pvt Gengler, Ian H.

Pvt Getchel, Beau W.

Pvt Gilliland, Brian I.

PFC Hamblin, Connor E.

Pvt Hernandezlorenzo, Alexander D.

Pvt Holley, Pierre E.

PFC Jarrells, Benjamin C.

Pvt Jones, William C.

Pvt Kargbo, Solomon S.

Pvt Leathem, Nicholas D.

Pvt Litts, Johnathan B.

Pvt Martin, Russell L.

Pvt Martin, Talon C.

Pvt Measel, Garrison C.*

PFC Miguel, Giovany C.

Pvt Moreno III, Manuel

PFC Pope Jr, Christopher D.

Pvt Riveranevarez, Luis A.

Pvt Rodriguezjimenez, Sebastian

Pvt Saintyl, Jamal R.

Pvt Stephens, Shavar S.

Pvt Sprinkle, Garrett T.

Pvt Surpris, Dimitri

Pvt Tyler, Edward J.*

Pvt Vega, Marcos G.

Pvt Whittington, Brody W.

Pvt Williams, Ezra J.*

PLATOON 1028

Senior Drill Instructor

Sgt K. N. White Jr.

Pvt. Adedeji, Oluwatimileyin J.

PFC Baker, Michael O.*

PFC Casey, John R.

Pvt. Caster, Allen J.

Pvt. Castleberry, Julien B.

Pvt. Cho, Peter J.

PFC Clark, Dominic J.*

Pvt. Coelho, Kyle P.

Pvt. Cruzreyes, Bryan

PFC Delgado, Christopher

Pvt. Dodge, Lethan B.

Pvt. Esler, Raffael J.

PFC Falcon, Kevin

Pvt. Flynn, Joshua A.

Pvt. Gamboa, Abel

Pvt. Gooden, David S.

PFC Hailu, Daniel H.

Pvt. Harris Ii, Billy J.

Pvt. Hendricks, Christopher A.

Pvt. Hope, Hunter N.

Pvt. Karsten, Brandon M.

PFC Khudabaksh, Afrad A.

Pvt. Klomparens, Jacob B.

PFC Levasseur, Tucker W.

Pvt. Miller, Anthony A.

PFC Neal, Adin J.*

Pvt. Olding, Jonah F.

Pvt. Orozcoorozco, Branley K.

Pvt. Oxborough, Mason W.

PFC Parker Iv, Robert D.*

Pvt. Remy, Keny

Pvt. Riveracollazo, Ryan Y.

PFC Riznyk, Gage

Pvt. Rodasperez, Joseph A.

PFC Simmons, Dylan

PFC Snodgrass, Samuel D.

PFC Sotogiraldo, Juan E.

Pvt. Stamper, Jayden Z.

Pvt. Tucker, Patrick W.

PFC Valladaresoakley, Jose A.

Pvt. Williams, Cayden J.

Pvt. Williams, Ethan L.

Pvt. Winter, Gage C.

PLATOON 1029

Senior Drill Instructor SSgt A. S. Adetona

Pvt Armao, Carmine A.

Pvt Awator, Joseph S.

Pvt Baker, Wyeth C.

Pvt Bangura, Akmed A.

PFC Bryant, Daison A. *

Pvt Butler, Mason J.

Pvt Coffman, Dawson M.

Pvt Durey, Benjamin A.

Pvt Esteves, Ivan A.

Pvt Gardner, Shane C.

PFC Gonzalezortega, Felix E.

Pvt Grogan, James T.

Pvt Hansel Iii, Gene P.

PFC Larry, Jeremiah D.

Pvt Mendezhidalgo, Alexis J.

Pvt Milligan, Leland T.

PFC Munozmoquete, Jahddai I.

Pvt Neisser, Derek M.

PFC Nelson, Javon D.*

Pvt Ortega, Cole C.

Pvt Ortega, Elijah A.

Pvt Parejagarcia, Christ J.

Pvt Reeves, Jahden J.

PFC Riosquinones, Xayd Y.*

Pvt Robinsonjones, Charleston M.

Pvt Rodgers, Theojames

Pvt Ruffell, Andrew F.

Pvt Russell, Logan J.

Pvt Scott, Preston J.

Pvt Shipp, Caleb E.

PFC Shipp, Whisper C.

Pvt Sholin, Bryce E.

Pvt Slone, Trent A.

PFC Smith, Nicholas D.*

Pvt Steiner, Austin A.

Pvt Tamayo, Jonathan A.

PFC Taylor, Gabriel D.*

PFC Terrell, Jalen J.

PFC Tiban, Alexander X.

Pvt Toussaint Jr, Rhubens F.

Pvt Villafuerteluna, Ossiel

Pvt Wimberly, Dasean L.

PFC Yunghans, Dean A.

Pvt Zinn, Tristan A.

PLATOON 1030

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt A. A. Harewood Jr.

Pvt Altman, Brandon A.

Pvt Arandagarrido, Ivan

PFC Arcentales, Haidyn G.

Pvt Avila, Dakota M.*

Pvt Brister, Jason A.

Pvt Chichaycohetero, Danny S.

Pvt Clary, Finnian E.

PFC Crouch, Wyatt C.

Pvt Deane, Matthew R.

Pvt Diaz, Andrew D.

Pvt Dorsey, Alexander M.*

Pvt Emanuele, Salvatore D.

Pvt Erasgonzalez, Bryan Z.*

Pvt Febus, Jayden A.

PFC Gaughranluna, Stefan O.

Pvt Gebhardt, Devin W.*

Pvt Hawes, Ramal

Pvt Hutchinson, Ian J.*

Pvt Jaramillo, Joshua E.

Pvt Jarrett, Branden D.

Pvt Jasinski, Edward V.

Pvt Johnson Jr, Aaron L.

Pvt Jovel, Emerson S.

Pvt Judware, Michael J.

Pvt Laguerre, Winsley

PFC Martinez, Hunter A.

Pvt Martinezromero, Ivan

Pvt Matos, Yandel

PFC Mccombs, Elijah X.

Pvt Murphy, Nathaniel E.

Pvt Page, Hunter E.

Pvt Provenzano III, Briant A.

Pvt Ramirez, Anthony G.

Pvt Santos, Mason D.

Pvt Simmons, Bryce R.

Pvt Smith, Seth M.

PFC Sopp, Isaiah N.

Pvt Stein, Benjamin J.

Pvt Thompson, Hunter M.

Pvt Toe, Siemo S.

Pvt Vasquezterron, Jose C.

PFC Vazquez, Jhon B.

Pvt Waller, Joshua J.

PFC Wheeler III, Randolph W.

Pvt Young, Nathan C.

*Denotes Meritorious Promotion

CLASSIFIEDS & GAMES

CARTOON

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AUCTIONS

PUBLIC AUCTION. Surplus Government Vehicles and Equipment. CITY OF ROCK HILL, SC. Saturday, June 20 at 10am. 757 South Anderson Rd. Rock Hill, SC. Selling Police Cars, Tahoes, SUV’s, pickup trucks, UTV’s, garbage trucks, mowers and more. www.ClassicAuctions.com. Tony Furr. NCAF5479/5508/ SCAL2893R. 704-791-8825

PUBLIC AUCTION. Sat., June 20 at 9:30 am. 510 Stoller Rd., Bamberg, SC (Hwy 301S, half mile from Dukes BBQ). Selling for Bamberg County Office on Aging, Barnwell County Local Motion, local estate, contents of restaurant, consignments, including 10 transit buses/vans, cars, pickups, trucks, 53 ft. semi-trailer, golf carts, ATV’s, shop equipment, tools, lawnmowers, much more! Call 803-860-0712 to consign. Accepting consignments June 15th thru June 19th (9am – 6 pm each day). Browse web: www.cogburnauction.com

ADVERTISE YOUR AUCTION in 80 S.C. newspapers for only $375. Your 25-word classified ad will reach more than 1 5 million readers. Call Randall Savely at the S.C. Newspaper Network, 803-750-9561

HELP WANTED – DRIVERS ADVERTISE YOUR DRIVER JOBS in 80

S.C. newspapers for only $375. Your 25-word classified ad will reach more than 1 5 million readers. Call Randall Savely at the S.C. Newspaper Network, 803-750-9561

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE

Audien Hearing. The world’s first hearing aid with touchscreen controls. No tiny buttons, apps or prescriptions. 45-day risk free trial. Free shipping. Lifetime support. More than 1 5 million happy customers. Call Audien 1-855-620-9614

Prepare for power outages today with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 5-Year warranty with qualifying purchase. Call 1-844-775-0366 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.

TELEVISION & INTERNET SERVICES

DIRECTV OVER INTERNET – Get your favorite live TV, sports and local channels. 99% signal reliability! CHOICE Package, $84 99/ mo for 12 months. HBO Max and Premium Channels included for 3 mos (w/CHOICE Package or higher.) No annual contract, no hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-855-237-9741

DIRECTV- All your entertainment. Nothing on your roof! Sign up for Directv and get your first three months of Max, Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, MGM+ and Cinemax included. Choice package $84 99/mo. Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV 1-844-6241107 Get DISH Satellite TV + Internet! Free Install, Free HD-DVR Upgrade, 80,000 On-Demand

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Criminal Defense & Civil Litigation

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

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

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 www.thebeaufortsound.com | 843-522-0655

CHIMNEY SERVICES

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

Donate now at SCIndependentJournalism.org

CancerSupport

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

Second Wednesday of the Month | 6 – 7pm*

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

To RSVP for a free Support Group, scan our code or visit: BeaufortMemorial.org/CancerSupportGroup

*Meeting schedule subject to change and may be impacted by holidays.

QUESTIONS?

Call Kianna Brown, LMSW • 843-522-7328

Truth Matters

Lost in the Woods

Can we know truth or not?

Is truth dependent on our feelings?

Imagine that a group of friends are lost in the middle of a vast wilderness. They know that heading north is the only way for them to survive. Although they have a compass, they decide to toss it into the woods, saying, “No need for that! North is whatever direction each of us wants it to be!” Everyone scatters in their own direction, and most end up hopelessly lost.

Does truth change from person to person?

Clearly, it wouldn’t make sense for hikers to act this way in real life. But isn’t this how our culture now expects us to act when issues of faith or morality are raised? When discussing God or what is morally right, we are told that there is no true answer; it all depends on our personal feelings or opinions. People will say things like, “What’s true for you is true for you, what’s true for me is true for me.” This way of approaching truth—that moral and religious truth changes from person to person—is called relativism.

We are lost without truth.

Relativism may seem sophisticated or “nice,” but it actually keeps us from pursuing truth together. If religious and moral truth changes from person to person, then we can have no common ground to explore together the most important questions of human life. Instead of searching together for truth, each of us is left to wander alone in the wilderness, guided only by our individual feelings and opinions.

Truth is “that which is.”

In our example, when a hiker points in a direction and declares, “North is that way!”, the statement either corresponds to reality or does not. Traveling in that direction will either bring one closer to the north pole, or it will not. When a statement corresponds to reality, we say that the statement is true. Truth is “that which is.”

The location of the north pole doesn’t depend on our feelings and preferences; such realities are the same for everyone.

We can know truths about faith and morality, too. In the same way, there are realities of faith and morality that do not depend on our feelings or opinions. If God exists, for example, he exists for everyone, whether people believe in him or not. If attacking innocent students at school is wrong, it is wrong for everyone. This is the traditional, common-sense way of approaching truth: religious and moral truth can be known, and such truths apply to people of all cultures and time periods.

Truth is ours to discover!

When we recognize that there is truth outside of ourselves, it is good news! It means that we can discover answers to the most important questions, such as the meaning of life and the existence of God. We can have meaningful discussions with others who disagree with us, seeking the truth together in an atmosphere of mutual respect. In this message series, we will be exploring these beautiful aspects of truth.