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The Island News
COVERING NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2015
WHAT’S INSIDE?
Never underestimate the power of prayer. Sending lots of prayers from Beaufort to Charleston. PROFILE
The Board of Education recently endorsed the school district’s plan to phase in random drug testing of student athletes, students who participate in extracurricular activities and students who have school parking permits. In addition, individual parents can elect to have their children participate in the program. Random testing of student athletes and parent’s requested testing will begin in August 2015. Others will be phased in over the next two years. “This is focused more on helping students rather than punishing them,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “Student health and safety is our No. 1 priority. Substance abuse damages the physical and emotional health of students as well as their academic performance. And in
my experience, school districts that have implemented this type of policy have seen positive results in reducing abuse and in creating a school culture that is more resistant to it.” Moss noted that school systems nationwide face challenges from alcohol and drug abuse. “Beaufort County is certainly not immune from those challenges,” he said, noting that more than 100 of the district’s 10,400 middle and high school students faced disciplinary action for alcohol and drug-related violations during the 2014-15 school year. Moss, who meets regularly with high school students for extended conversations, said they have consistently supported the idea of random drug testing. “Students realize that an alcohol- and drug-free school is a safer and more
productive place,” Moss said. “Our goal will be to work with students – and with parents and health professionals – to create the safe and healthy learning environment that students say they want. Parents, in particular, will play key roles in this process.” Drug testing will be performed by an independent private-sector company that will randomly select students to be tested. The testing process will be supervised by a licensed physician. School district personnel will not assist with testing or have access to test samples. Identified students will proceed directly from TESTING continued on page 12
David Painter makes a splash at the 2015 YMCA Masters National Swimming Championship
David Painter proudly shows his four gold medals.
The thrill of competitive swimming does not fade with age. Just ask Beaufort resident, 76 year-old David Painter, who broke the National YMCA masters record for his age group in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 27.70 seconds at the 2015 YMCA Masters National Championship held in Sarasota, Florida in May. “Mike Bostwick made arrangements for me to practice at the Y pool, practicing both starts from the starting block and race pace sprints with one of the lifeguards,
David Dietz, timing me,” David commented after a workout at the YMCA of Beaufort County pool. “I trained like this during 5 sessions over the two weeks leading up to the meet. It was the best training I’ve had in years. When it came to race time, I had a very good start and fast swim and I attribute much of this to the assistance I received at the Y,” he added. Not only did David break the national SWIM continued on page 7
Making a difference in the lowcountry environment
see page 9
SPORTS
Teeing off at the 2015 Water Festival golf tournament
see page 15 INDEX
Community 2-7 Awakenings 7 Profile 9 Real Estate 10 Business 10 Schools 12 Sports 14 Wine 16 Dine 17 Voices 18 Games 19 Pets 20 Events 21 Directory 22 Classifieds 23