FRIENDS&NEIGHBORS It was perfect weather and smooth sailing at the annual Beaufort Water Festival Fishing Tournament this past weekend. page 6
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The Island News
COVERING NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY
Learn to Swim Program benefits from 3-Mile Race
By Bob Sofaly
Eighteen year old James Hammond, of Hilton Head Island, won the 9th Annual Beaufort River Swim last Saturday. This is a repeat for Hammond as he also won it last year. The Beaufort County YMCA sponsors this race to raise money to support their scholarships in their Learn to Swim Program. The 3-Mile Race starts at the Port Royal Landing Marina. The course winds through boats, buoys, and paddle boarders in open water and ends at the Downtown Marina’s boat ramp at the end of the Henry C. Chamber Waterfront Park. Race officials said there were 155 contestants for this year’s race plus a dozen more intrepid swimmers registered for the 1-Mile Fun Swim, a non-competitive race which allowed wet suits, swim fins and snorkels. The Fun Swim started at the Beaufort Memorial Hospital dock when all of the 3-Mile racers had passed. Participants started the race at dead low tide and enjoyed an outgoing tide for some of the race. However, as later swimmers neared the finish line the current proved too much and pushed them toward the boats tied at the marina. In the end, everyone made it safely to the finish line.
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JUNE 11-17, 2015
WHAT’S INSIDE?
Charles Wood never saw it coming. By all accounts, the Naval Hospital Beaufort maintenance supervisor was a healthy 59-year-old man. “I took no medications whatsoever,” Wood said. “Except for the occasional cold, I was never sick.” So, when his right hand went numb one afternoon while he was working on his computer, he assumed it had just fallen asleep. Within minutes, the numbness had crept up to his elbow and then to his shoulder. “It was like my arm wasn’t there,” he said.“I thought, oh shoot, I’m in trouble.” Before he knew what hit him, his eyesight became blurry and his right leg went out on him, causing him to fall to the floor. Hearing him yell for help, his wife Chris
COMMUNITY
Beaufort thanks Alvin Settles for 30 years of dedication and service
see page 2 came into the room and immediately realized what was happening. She asked him to smile to see if his face was drooping—one of the signs of a stroke. “I couldn’t smile or stick out my tongue,” Wood recalled. “I was scared. I knew I was having a stroke.” Not 15 minutes after Wood arrived in Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, he was being virtually examined by a stroke expert from Charleston thanks to MUSC Health’s Telestroke program. The physician was able to ask Wood questions and see his symptoms via an oversized computer screen. After reviewing his brain imaging studies, the neurologist confirmed Wood was having an ischemic stroke. About 87 percent of all strokes are ischemic, caused when a blood vessel to the brain is blocked by a clot. According to current guidelines published by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association, clot-busting medication should be started within 180 minutes of symptom onset with a goal of 60 minutes from the patient’s arrival in STROKE continued on page 4
The 14U Badkatz came in 2nd place at the ASA Hall of Fame Qualifier in Spartanburg, SC on the weekend of May 30th. The team finished 3-2 for the weekend with both losses coming against the eventual tournament champions. With the 2nd place finish the team was awarded a berth to the ASA Hall of Fame National Tournament being held in Oklahoma City at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex. Standout performances for the weekend were Alexis Ortiz (.615 Avg., 1 HR, 2 RBI’s, 2 Runs), Emily Crosby (.500 Avg., 1 HR, 4 RBI’s, 6 Runs), Essence Champion (.455 Avg., 2 RBI’s) and McKenzie Young (.429 Avg., 1 RBI, 4 Runs). Congrats to Alisa Depew and Journeigh Doray for also hitting home runs out of the park!
SCHOOL NEWS
Dr. Benjamin Rollins named Head of School at Bridges Prep
see page 8
INDEX
Community 2 Health 4 Friends 6 Schools 8 Voices 10 Wine 12 Games 13 Directory 14 Classifieds 15