June 26 edition by The Island News

Rowing for a cause

DragonBoat Beaufort ready for 2025 race day Saturday in Waterfront Park

By Delayna Earley

Island News

The

An annual event that brings in money to assist local cancer patients will take place in Beaufort once more on Saturday.

DragonBoat Beaufort is hosting its 12th Annual DragonBoat Beaufort Race Day on Saturday, June 28 at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort.

According to Christine Jones, Paddle Program Coordinator with DragonBoat Beaufort, 28 teams have registered for this year’s event.

“We have some new community teams and new out-of-town teams, so we’re excited about that,” Jones said. The event will begin at 8 a.m. with a drummer’s parade that will begin about 15 minutes prior to the races.

The paddlers will be competing for Team Spirit Award, Best Decorated Tent, Best T-shirt Design, Best Drummer Costume and Team, Drummer and Individual Fundraising awards.

This year will feature a few changes from previous years, with a special scavenger hunt

for children called Tale of the Dragonheart. “I don’t want to say too much about it,” Jones said. Additionally, DragonBoat Beaufort will be awarding a special award called the Kelsey Kup, which is given in honor of the daughter-in-law of member T-Bone Taylor who recently “lost her battle” with cancer. The award will be given out for team spirit.

Race Day is the biggest fundraiser for DragonBoat Beaufort, which uses the proceeds to

Just by the hair on his chin

2nd Battle of the Beards fought for a good cause

By Amber Hewitt The Island News

Although Geoff Cunningham claimed the Viking Helmet as the champion of the Helianthus Project's 2025 Battle of the Beards at Brody’s Bar & Grill On Lady’s Island, he didn’t stop there. In a surprise display of generosity, Cunningham went on to shave his beard as well after raising an additional $400 in donations from the audience.

Together, the courageous beard sacrifices of Cunningham of Hail Logistics, Isaiah Martinez with Landscape Workshop, and Jesse Klausman with Jesse’s Tree Service, helped raise $8 000 in support of The Helianthus Project’s Esther’s House initiative, a safe house for child victims of human trafficking. The Helianthus Proj-

ect has a goal to reach a $120,000 fundraising goal by June 2026

The Helianthus Project is a Latina and Veteran founded 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that faces the evil of human trafficking head on and strives to give a voice to those whose voices were taken.

The second annual event was put on by The Helianthus Project and Power Washing Man (2024 contestant Connor Cave). The concept is the contestant who raises the most money winner of the event gets to keep their beard, but the losers have their beards shaved right then and there. But this is the second straight year the winner has shaved, as well, in return for additional donations.

In the 2024 event, John Hazel won over Cave and Tim Green with ServPro at the Fillin’ Station.

The Helianthus Project's 2025 Battle of the Beards contestants pose for a "pre-shave" photo prior to the second annual fundraiser on Friday, June 20, 2025, at Brody’s Bar & Grill on Lady’s Island. From left are event sponsor and 2024 contestant Conner Cave, contestant Jesse Klausman, The Helianthus Project founder Rachel McBride, contestant Isaiah Martinez, and contestant Geoff Cunningham. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

2 years old.

Charges filed in missing persons case

Man arrested for murder, kidnapping of Beaufort woman, child missing since 2023

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

A former Beaufort man was arrested last week in Sumter and charged with the murder of a woman and the kidnapping of her 2-yearold son in 2023

Washington

Jonas Jerry Washington Jr., 26, was arrested by the Sumter Police Department in Georgia, and according to a press release from the department, he is being held locally at the county detention center.

He was serving a sentence for an unrelated charge in Georgia when Sumter police arrested him and brought him back to South Carolina.

Washington faces a murder charge for allegedly killing Sophia Van Dam, who was 20 years old when she was reported missing, and is accused of kidnapping her 2-year-old Matteo.

Van Dam and her son Matteo, from Beaufort originally, were reported missing in Sumter, S.C., by her mother, Theresa Van Dam, of Beaufort, in June 2023, after she had not heard from them for a few days.

Theresa told law enforcement in October 2023 that Van Dam, who was the youngest of five children, was a leader who loved to take charge and make people laugh.

Her grandson, Matteo, was described as full of energy and a lover of the outdoors.

“He just always had a spark in his eye,” Theresa said before adding that she misses watching him grow. “There is an empty hole there.”

Van Dam was living with in

Sophia Van Dam and her son Matteo in a photo provided by law

Paddlers compete in the Beaufort River near Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park for Dragonboat Race Day 2022. Photo courtesy of Steve Tate/file

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

submit a Lowcountry

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 PATRICK PYLANT

American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Patrick Pylant, 63, who joined the United States Navy in Charleston in 1979. After Boot Camp in Great Lakes, Ill., and machinist mate school, he was assigned to USS Brumby (FF-1044) homeported in Charleston. While aboard he made two deployments to the Mediterranean and helped fight the fire aboard the Army Corps of Engineers dredge McFarland in Charleston harbor earning a Coast Guard Unit Commendation. He was also on station off Beirut when the U.S. Embassy was destroyed by a suicide bomb-

Patrick Pylant

er; he helped with the recovery efforts ashore. He was next assigned to the submarine tender USS Hunley (AS-31) deployed to Scotland. While there he crosstrained as a radiological controls worker, working in the reactor rooms aboard the submarines.

ON THIS DATE

June 26

1891: The first detachment of U.S. Marines comes to Parris Island when the U.S. Navy begins construction of a dry dock facility. First Sgt. Richard Donovan and 10 privates are charged with keeping order among the construction crew.

2019: Republican Nancy Mace, the first female graduate of The Citadel, announces she is joining the race for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Joe Cunningham.

June 27

2019: Capt. Anneliese Satz, USMC, becomes the first female Marine to complete the F-35B training at MCAS Beaufort.

2019: Beaufort weightlifter C.J. Cummings, 19, sets 15 records in the 73kg weight class at the Junior Pan-Am Games in Havana, Cuba. Cummings won gold in the Clean and Jerk and Overall categories and silver in the Snatch.

2016: Beaufort weightlifter C.J. Cummings, 16, wins the 69kg weight class at the IWF Junior World Championships in Tblisi, Georgia, becoming the first American to win Junior Worlds since two-time Olympian Oscar Chaplin III did it in 2000 in Prague,

PAL PETS OF THE WEEK

Cat of the Week

Ace isn’t the kind of guy who demands the spotlight. He's a gentle cat who prefers calm energy and quiet moments. He loves to gaze out the window as if contemplating the future or watching the world go by in peaceful reflection. Ace is a steady companion looking for someone who understands and appreciates the soulful purr of a rescue cat who has found his home. He is neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

In 1986 he returned to Charleston Naval Base working both on ships and shore facilities. His next duty station was aboard the submarine tender USS Holland (AS-32) first in Charleston and then as she was reassigned to Guam. While in Guam he experienced the Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines (his family was denied housing in Guam and he completed that tour unaccompanied) and a major earthquake on Guam causing much damage. He next returned to Charleston Naval Base for four years before assignment to the ammunition

ship USS Santa Barbara (AE-28), which deployed to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. He retired in 1997 having earned the Enlisted Surface Warfare Pin. He spent nine years in Alaska working for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Alaska maintaining their facilities statewide. He moved to Beaufort in 2023 and lives at Laurel Bay.

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

Czech Republic. Cummings also became the first American to break a youth world record, doing so three times. He first broke the youth world record with a 175kg clean and jerk, broke it again with a 180kg lift, and then claimed his third youth world record by lifting a total of 317kg.

June 29

1948: William D. “Billy” Keyserling is born in Beaufort to Dr. Ben Herbert and Harriet H. Keyserling. An aide to U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings, Keyserling represented Beaufort in the S.C. House in 1993-94. Eventually he would serve 12 years as the Mayor of The City of Beaufort.

2020: After an emergency meeting, Beaufort City Council enacted a mask requirement in all public buildings within the city limits in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19

June 30

2019: Beaufort weightlifter Dade Stanley sweeps the 81kg weight class, winning three gold medals, at the USA Weightlifting Youth National Championships in Anaheim, Calif.

– Compiled by Mike McCombs

to be a lovable lapdog. When you show Turk affection, he leans in gently as if he never wants it to end. This young pup longs for a forever home where someone loves him best of all. He is neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped.

For more information about Ace, Turk, or any of our other pets, call PAL at 843-645-1725 or email Info@ PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.

– Compiled by Lindsay Perry

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

Donations gratefully accepted at www.yourislandnews.com or The Island News, PO Box 550, Beaufort, SC 29901

Beaufort’s J. Mark Daniel took this photo of an early summer bounty of hand-picked heirloom tomatoes from Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island. To

Life photo, you must be the photographer or have permission to submit the photo to be published in The Island News. Please submit

Dog of the Week This handsome fellow is Turk. He just turned a year

and he's incredibly sweet and playful. At 65 pounds, he wants

City Council passes $73 million budget in Beaufort despite split vote

By Delayna Earley

Island News

The

Beaufort’s City Council has passed a $73 million budget for 2026 with a 3-2 split vote after a councilman proposed cutting $77 000 from the budget last minute during the June 10 City Council meeting.

In the proposed budget, the city tax rate is not increasing, and the overall millage will remain flat at 73 9 mills.

The city will, however, collect $370,000 in additional taxes because the single mill value is increasing by $5 431 to $131 885 because of the value and number of properties that have been improved or added since 2025

The $7 5 million budget increase

is expected to be offset by the projected increases in business license revenue of $1 1 million and additional property taxes due to growth.

The annual garbage collection fee, with is currently set at $270, for residents will not increase even though there was a $75 000 increase in the city’s contract with its hauler.

Street; $250,000 to study the underground infrastructure at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park to try and stabilize it; and $2 2 million for improvements to Washington, Southside and a new Boundary Street park meant to honor the 1st South Carolina Volunteers who were the first Black troops to fight for the Union during the Civil War.

The city is also doing a compensation study that may recommend additional increases, so to prepare for that the city is setting aside money to possibly implement an additional 2 7% pay increase if it is found to be necessary.

During discussions about the budget, Councilman Josh Scallate moved to amend the budget by cutting $77,000 from the budget.

Scallate cited concerns about three spending priorities and fiscal responsibility when proposing the amendment.

The City is allotting $28 5 million for 15 projects in 2026, including $21 million to fix stormwater drainage issues at Charles and Craven Streets, Port Republic and Carteret Streets and King

City employees will also get a 3% cost-of-living adjustment that will begin on July 1 in addition to a one-time merit-based bonus of up 2 5%

Sumter with Matteo and Washington when they were reported missing.

Washington was expected to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon before Circuit Court Judge R. Ferrell Cothran, Jr. at the Sumter County Judicial Center. According to Ernest Finney, the Third Judicial Circuit solicitor, the charges were brought against Wash-

ington based on evidence that was found at the home that they shared in Sumter. There is not strong enough evidence that Matteo was killed, but law enforcement believes it allegedly has enough evidence to prove that he was taken from his home without permission, hence the kidnapping charge that was brought against Washington.

ment Division (SLED) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spent months searching for Van Dam and her son after they were reported missing.

In August 2023, law enforcement turned their attention to a residence on Rerock Road in Burton looking for connections to Van Dam and Matteo’s disappearance. The property was the residence of Washington’s father, Jonas Jerry Washington Sr.

law enforcement entities announced that a multi-agency investigation was continuing as they were “conducting various law enforcement activities throughout Beaufort County” while searching for the missing Sumter woman and her son.

by calling 803-436-2700

Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer agreed with Scallate on cutting the money from the BCEDC and voted with him to not pass the budget. Cromer serves on the BCEDC board of directors.

Councilmen Mitch Mitchell, Mike McFee and Neil Lipsitz disagreed with Scallate and voted in support of passing the budget, ultimately leading to its approval.

and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

The cuts proposed by Scallate included $42,000 in the budget for the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. (BCEDC), $30 000 for a downtown master plan and a $5,000 contribution for a statewide nursing retention initiative.

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. Charges from page A1

The Sumter Police Department along with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, State Law Enforce-

In early September 2023 a joint press release among

TAs of Tuesday, June 24 the bodies of Van Dam and Matteo have not been found. This is an ongoing investigation and any information from the public that could help in the investigation can be submitted to the Sumter Police Department

Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, online at P3tips.com or by using the P3tips app for Apple or Android devices. Tips can also be submitted to SLED at tips@sled. sc.gov.

Matteo Van Dam was 2 years old when he and his mother, then 20-year-old Sophia Van Dam, went missing from their home in Sumter in June 2023. Jonas Jerry Washington Jr. was recently arrested and charged with Sophia’s murder and kidnapping Matteo

Cory A. Messerschmidt, M.D., FAAOS

BOARD-CERTIFIED, FELLOWSHIP-TRAINED ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON

o further enhance orthopedic options for patients throughout the Lowcountry, Beaufort Memorial has added an experienced surgeon to its team at Beaufort Memorial Orthopaedic Specialists.

Dr. Cory A. Messerschmidt brings his expertise in joint preservation, replacement and robotic surgical techniques to the practice, seeing patients in both Port Royal and Okatie. Fellowship-trained in sports medicine, he also performs minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures such as ACL repairs, meniscus preservation and shoulder arthroscopy for both adult and pediatric patients.

Dr. Messerschmidt joins the practice from his role as an orthopedic surgeon at Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic in southern Georgia. His interest in medicine developed in high school, when he volunteered at a hometown emergency room in Virginia with his father.

Board-certified Orthopedic Surgery

Fellowship Training

Sports Medicine

Emory University Atlanta, Ga.

Residency

Orthopedic Surgery

Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, S.C.

Doctor of Medicine

During his sports medicine fellowship at Emory University, Dr. Messerschmidt worked with professional sports teams such as the Atlanta Falcons and NCAA collegiate teams including Georgia Tech. In recent years, he has worked closely with local high school athletes, helping them recover from sports-related injuries and make a confident return to activity.

Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, Va.

Dr. Vandit Sardana

Dr. Messerschmidt joins boardcertified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon Vandit Sardana, M.D., MSC, FRCSC

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

Man arrested after firing gun at Waffle House

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

A 45-year-old Georgia man was arrested early Friday morning after firing several shots at the Beaufort Waffle House.

Leon Rivers faces charges of discharging a firearm in the city limits and public drunkenness.

Just after 2:15 a.m., Friday, June 20, City of Beaufort Police officers answered a shots fired call at the Waffle House restaurant at 2344 Boundary Street.

According to Beaufort Police Chief Stephanie Price, customers reported “a male in his 40s had fired several rounds into the air outside the business.”

The man fled the scene but returned a short time later, and police took him into custody. A search of the suspected revealed revealed a firearm.

According to Price, Rivers was upset because of an unrelated family matter. Rivers said there were no injuries and no property damaged.

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

Row from page A1

provide necessities not covered by insurance for people in the community who are battling cancer.

“We’re helping with things like rent that can’t be paid because someone isn’t working because of their illness,” said Jones. “We give people gas cards so they can get to treatment, grocery cards if they need that and other things that come up that you may not expect.”

This year, the nonprofit organization’s goal is $80,000. As of press time, it had raised just more than $79,000

Sparking Embers

Their goal in 2024 was also $80,000, and the event raised more than $90 000

The event is co-sponsored by the City of Beaufort and presented by Modern Jewelers, which is the event’s Platinum Sponsor.

The race day is expected to last until 4 p.m. with the award ceremony directly following the races. For more information about this year’s event, visit www.dragonboat-raceday. com/2025/.

DaviD James Bussing

February 4, 1959 –June 12, 2025

savannah, ga

David James Bussing, 66, of Savannah, passed away Thursday, June 12 2025. He was born Feb. 4 1959, in Everett, Wash., son of James Lewis Bussing and the late Bernice Van Wormer. He was a retired U.S. Marine with 24 years of service and was an active member of the V.F.W. During his time in the military, he was affectionately known by many as “Clyde,” a nickname that stuck with him throughout his life and reflected his big personality and loyal spirit.

Following his military retirement, David spent the second part of his career dedicated to working with metal at D. Russett Company, where he took great pride in his craft. He was also a regular golfer at Hunter Golf Course, where he volunteered his time and found great joy in the community. In addition to his time on the course, David dedicated himself to serving others — regularly volunteering to bring meals and basic necessities to homeless veterans, always ensuring they were cared for and never forgotten.

David was a genuine man who cared deeply for others. He was a dedicated father who would do anything he could to provide the best life for his family, and his

love, generosity, and selflessness left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Michelle Leech; daughter and son-in-law, Brandy and Patrick Dennis; and two grandsons, Jack Dennis and James Dennis. He is also survived by his father, James Lewis Bussing; four brothers, Ron Bussing, Rick Bussing, Ken Bussing, and Dan Bussing; foster brother, Ed John Tollard; and three half-sisters, Lynn Weishaar, Billie Walters, and Leona Benson. He also leaves behind the Leech family. He is lovingly remembered by his daughter’s mother and stepfather, Kathy and Chuck Spencer, who cared for him deeply.

David was preceded in death by his stepson, Tyler Sommers.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to VFW Post 660 in Savannah, Ga.,, or to Adaptive

Golf Experience at The Legends of Parris Island.

James L. (Jimmy) smithson

September 7, 1938 –May 12, 2025

James L. Smithson (Jimmie), 86 passed away unexpectedly on May 12, 2025 in Charleston, S.C.

James L. Smithson, known affectionately as Jimmie, was born on Sept. 7 1938, in Quincy, Mass. He lived a full and impactful life, leaving behind a legacy of love, generosity, and dedication. Jimmie made his home in both Cambridge, Mass., and Dataw Island, S.C., where he touched many lives.

He was the beloved husband of Lois Gagne Smithson for 63 years, a union marked by deep love and unwavering partnership. Jimmie was a devoted father to his three daughters: Elisa Smithson Frederick and her husband Erik of Massachusetts and South Carolina; Andrea Smithson Dargie and her husband William of Massachusetts; and Melanie Smithson-Hayes and her husband Robert of Florida. He was also a proud grandfather to six cherished grandchildren: Colin and Michael Hayes, Maddie and Chrissy Frederick, Kyle and Aaron Dargie.

Jimmie was the oldest of four siblings. He was predeceased by his sister Arlene Raftery (Joe) and

is survived by his brother Arthur Smithson (Denise) of California and his sister Marilyn Borrelli (Steve) of South Carolina, as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews, all of whom he adored.

A graduate of Duxbury High School, Bentley University, and New England School of Law, Jimmie had a remarkable career. He served as a senior partner for over 50 years at Tyler & Reynolds P.C., one of Boston’s oldest law firms, specializing in probate law. He found great fulfillment in helping others navigate the complexities of law with kindness and integrity. Beyond his professional life, he was a veteran of the United States Army. He volunteered in many organizations. Jimmie was passionate about many things. He and Lois traveled the world together, embarking on more than 10 world cruises and countless

other adventures. A former 4H farmer, Jimmie raised and showed many animals with great pride. He also had a lifelong love of gardening, cultivating both beautiful flowers and bountiful vegetables. His passions extended to golfing, sailing, and attending concerts, where he enjoyed the joy of both art and nature.

Jimmie’s generosity was boundless. He supported many local charities, both in Massachusetts and South Carolina, and was deeply involved in the communities he called home. Known for his kindness, thoughtfulness, and warm spirit, he was someone who many people looked up to and admired.

Jimmie is deeply missed by all who knew him. His memory will live on through Lois, his daughters, his grandchildren, and the countless lives he touched. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations: Bentley University (Massachusetts)

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Massachusetts) Beaufort Memorial Hospital (South Carolina) Beaufort Symphony Youth Orchestra (South Carolina) A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Francis Church, Charlestown, Mass., on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10 a.m. The family will have a private burial later in the year.

David James Bussing

James L. (Jimmy) Smithson

Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department’s Deputy Chief of Administration Ross Vezin, brings Beaufort’s Natalyn Farrow up in the bucket on the fire truck during the fist day of Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department’s Sparkling Embers Program. This program is an opportunity for young community members to learn about fire safety, teamwork, and what it takes to be a firefighter. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Drummers pound out the pace while their team members pull hard on their paddles during one of the races on DragonBoat Beaufort 2024 Race Day on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Bob Sofaly/File/The Island News

Staff reports

HBF buys century-old Greene Street house

Revolving Fund helps reinvest in Historic District properties

More than 15 years of conversations and friendship led to the acquisition and planned preservation of a 115-year-old Greene Street structure listed as contributing to the city’s National Historic Landmark District, according to a news release from the Histoic Beaufort Foundation.

The purchase is an important step forward in HBF’s continuing efforts to preserve and protect Beaufort’s cultural and architectural history through use of its Revolving Fund, HBF Chair Rob Montgomery said.

“Beaufort has grown attractive to many folks, and that equates to escalating prices for properties,” he said. “This puts pressure on properties like 1001 Greene Street to be lost to someone who wants to make ‘highest and best use’ of a parcel. And with construction costs at an all-time high, it is difficult for families to rehabilitate buildings like this that have been out of service for some time and have fallen into disrepair.

“HBF hopes to help save historic structures in any way we can,” he said. “We are excited that the City is initiating a program to subsidize current owners who take on the job of restoring the buildings, but we also

welcome opportunities like this where we can actually take on a project with our Revolving Fund and save it for a new life.”

Built in 1910, the property at 1001 Greene Street changed hands some six times from 1917 until 1962 when Mary D. Dunbar of Hampton, S.C., bought the house from Viola M. Priester. She founded and opened Dunbar Florist in Beaufort, where she worked until she retired. Dunbar Florist had two locations in Beaufort,

one of which was located at 911 Charles Street, diagonally across from 1001 Greene Street. Dunbar was 100 years old when she died in 2019 In 2016, Mary Dunbar and her niece Dr. Kathy Bass, visited HBF and met then-director Maxine Lutz. At that time, Dunbar was in her 90s.

The three women formed a strong relationship bound by their mutual interest in restoring and preserving the property. During their time

together, Dunbar shared many stories about her time in Beaufort.

Lutz, now an HBF board member, guided the family to find resources and ways to protect the Greene Street house until it could be restored. Sadly, preservation efforts didn’t start before Mary Dunbar died.

“This is wonderful for the family to see their aunt’s memory honored and it’s a great day for Beaufort to see the home protected and soon actively contributing

to the Historic District,” Lutz said.

In early May 2025, Bass emailed Lutz to let her know the Greene Street house was for sale and to inquire if HBF might be interested in buying it from her and her husband, Will. Lutz put Bass in touch with HBF’s new Executive Director, Lise Sundrla, and the relationship sprang forward.

“I was glad I got in touch with them. I was first inquiring if they knew of a local antiques buyer. Then we started talking about the house,” said Bass, assistant pastor of a Florida church.

“We wanted to be sure the house was taken care of the right way, and now we are sure that’s going to happen,” she said.

The sale closed June 18, but it was the friendship, connections and common goals that sealed the deal.

“Kathy and I had an immediate connection when we first spoke. We shared lots of family stories and stories of Beaufort and its history. Kathy shared memories about Mary and her desires to see the Greene Street house restored,” Sundrla said.

“Charles Street historically and today is an important neighborhood commercial corridor. It prospered in the early to mid-1900s with

a mix of residential, retail and restaurants. By 1924, Charles Street and its commercial district supported Beaufort’s African-American middle class as well as a broad mix of the Beaufort community,” Sundrla said. Bass said her aunt had a strong work ethic from an early age. “She started working when she was 11 years old and she loved flowers,” she said. “She started her florist shop with just two plants and built it from there.” The acquisition of 1001 Greene Street follows other properties improved along Charles Street with HBF assistance and the use of its Revolving Fund. The special fund began in 1971 when the ca. 1800 Anchorage was threatened with demolition. A small group of HBF members and friends raised money to buy the building, then found a preservation-minded buyer. The sale included restrictive covenants to ensure the structure’s protection. That project launched one of the Foundation’s most important roles, creating a dedicated fund to preserve Beaufort’s architectural and cultural heritage. Over the decades, the HBF Revolving Fund and Easement Program have preserved and protected dozens of historic structures in Beaufort.

Built in 1910, the property at 1001 Greene Street changed hands some six times from 1917 until 1962. Photo courtesy of Historic Beaufort Foundation

Beaufort

Detention

Center booking page down due to update

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

The public index showing people who have been arrested and booked at Beaufort County Detention Center has been down since this past weekend due to an internal update, according to Cpl. Anderson with the Beaufort County Detention Center.

Anderson said that while the public cannot see the information regarding who has been recently arrested and booked at the detention center, internally they are still able to input inmates’ information to the system.

While he was unsure as to how long the public database on the website would be unavailable, he said that the issue is expected to be fixed once the update is complete.

Anderson was unsure about the exact date that the information went offline publicly, but he stated that when he arrived at work on Sunday it was no longer working.

The last publicly visible booking is from 4:37 a.m., Tuesday, June 17. There are no releases visible since Monday, June 16

Beaufort County Council approves $199 million budget

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Beaufort County Council has passed the 2026 budget for the new fiscal year to begin on July 1

During their meeting on June 9, council members unanimously voted to pass the $199 million budget, which is more than $34 million more than 2025’s budget.

The budget raises the starting salary for deputies in the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, sets aside millions of dollars for capital improvement projects and adds a fourth shift for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers to help with staffing.

One major difference in the final draft of the budget was a move made to improve transparency for

NEWS BRIEFS

United Way of the Lowcountry offers additional free tax prep days

United Way of the Lowcountry's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offering additional free tax preparation days to help qualifying residents of Beaufort and Jasper counties file their federal and state tax returns accurately and efficiently.

taxpayers – future tax bills are to include a breakdown that will show where taxpayer’s money is being used.

Revenues are projected to grow by about $40 million with most of the additional revenue coming from collections of property and personal taxes, amounting to about $24 million.

The county plans to keep the tax rate flat which means that the millage rate is not increasing overall.

Despite the tax rate not changing, taxpayers could receive a higher tax bill if their property was assessed at a higher amount.

The total millage is not changing, but the county is distributing funds differently.

One mil used to fund the Beaufort County Economic Develop-

The program – a collaboration between the IRS, Beaufort County Human Services Alliance, and United Way of the Lowcountry (UWLC) – is designed to assist low-income individuals and families, non-English speaking taxpayers, people with disabilities, and seniors with their tax filing needs. In Beaufort, the service is available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, August 25 at the United Way of the Lowcountry Beaufort Office at 1277 Ribaut Road.

ment Corp. (BCEDC) will be redirected back to the county. County operations will receive 4 2 mils more than they did last year, which is equal to $12 million.

General tax revenues are expected to bring in more than $140 million in the 2026 fiscal year including $1 4 million from tax penalties, $9 9 million from vehicle taxes, $126 2 million from property taxes and $3 1 million from delinquent taxes.

Beaufort County’s fund balance will pay out $15 million that will be used to complete capital projects that are unfinished.

The county has allocated $36 million to put toward 92 capital improvement projects for the new fiscal year, including replacing turf in kennel yards for the county’s animal

Limited spots are available, and in-person appointments are required. Visit www.uwlowcountry. org/VITA to reserve your spot, check for eligibility requirements and to find a list of necessary documents to bring.

Poll workers needed; training available

The Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Beaufort County will be holding 10 new poll worker

services department facilities, Wimbee Creek fishing pier replacement, interior renovations to the Beaufort County detention center, improvements to the Ribaut Road and Lady’s Island Drive intersection, building a new laboratory facility for Mosquito Control, replacing the HVAC at St. Helena Library on St. Helena Island and re-roofing the Hilton Head Island Library.

There will also be $11 million rolled over from last year’s budget that were approved for projects that have not been started.

training classes. All of the classes will be held at the main office, located at 15 John Galt Road, Beaufort, S.C. 29906

The classes will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the following dates: Wednesday, July 16; Saturday, July 26; Wednesday, Aug. 20; and Wednesday, Sept. 17

To sign up for a class, visit https://beaufortsc.easypollworker. com/home.

– Staff reports

The community is invited to learn more about the upcoming plan for USC Beaufort's Sand Shark 20/20 initiative to create a multi-purpose arena and sports complex on USCB’s campus.

Date Time Event Location

Thursday, June 26 | 5:30 p.m.

The Heritage Classic Foundation Hall, Room 156 in the Hargray Building on USCB’s Bluﬀton campus

NEWS

St. Helena terrapin survey yields interesting findings

By Carol Weir Special to The Island News

A group of scientists, students, and conservationists waded into a creek full of pluff mud this month for two days of diamondback terrapin research on St. Helena Island. It was the second time the team has come together to monitor this unique species.

Often overlooked, Diamondback Terrapins live in brackish water, including salt marshes. Studying them offers a unique window into the health and dynamics of Beaufort County's most dominant ecosystem.

"Monitoring these turtles helps us deepen our understanding of the Port Royal Sound and observe trends as different anthropological pressures influence this habitat,” said Jake Zadik, co-founder of the South Carolina Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SCPARC) and one of the organizers of the terrapin survey.

Held Thursday and Friday, June 5 and 6, the second annual terrapin survey involved catching the animals with a seine net and weighing and measuring them before releasing them. It was organized by the Port Royal Sound Foundation and the University of South Carolina Beaufort with help from the Turtle Survival Alliance, Fripp Island Naturalists, South Carolina State Parks, Sewanee University and Lowcountry Ecological.

The survey was conducted under Scientific Collection Permit #SC-170-2025, issued by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).

Terrapins are turtles that live in brackish or freshwater environments, while "turtle" is a broader

term encompassing all members of the chelonian family. Diamondback terrapins can live for more than 40 years, and individuals can be found in the same area year after year.

“Their longevity, paired with their fidelity to specific creeks in the salt marsh, make them a great study subject,” said Chris Kehrer, Science Program Manager at the Port Royal Sound Foundation and one of the survey’s organizers.

After a safety briefing and training, participants wade into thick mud with seine nets. They didn’t catch any turtles in the first hour, but things picked up once they moved upstream. That’s where the

“sandwich seine” technique — using three nets to corral turtles — proved effective. By the end of the first day, the group had captured 20 diamondback terrapins: six females and 14 males.

Male diamondback terrapins are about half the size of females and in the summer, most females are pregnant or have recently laid eggs. The researchers aren’t sure why they caught many more males than females; perhaps females are better at evading capture, or maybe threats including road mortality are affecting females more.

Like all turtles, terrapins lay their eggs on land, making them

vulnerable to vehicle strikes. This study may reveal how the busy roads surrounding the survey site may impact terrapin populations in Beaufort County.

On the second day, the team went by boat to explore other creeks. They saw heads popping up in the narrow, muddy channel— and spotted some terrapins basking on the banks. A final sandwich seine there captured three females and one male, wrapping up the day.

USCB student interns helped catch the terrapins, measure and weigh them. They also recorded the water temperature — in the 80s throughout the survey — and

“Field experiences like this give students a firsthand look at how science and conservation really happen. This project is a great example of what we can accomplish when universities, students, and local conservation groups come together with a shared goal,” said USCB assistant professor of Ecology and Evolution Ryan Hanscom. The team said future studies will look more closely at where the terrapins live, how they travel, and what might be affecting them. Future efforts will likely include a deeper look at male/female habitat use, gear improvements, and new study locations, including USCB-owned Pritchards Island.

Traveling Through Time

Worship in the Early Church

About the year 150, Justin wrote to the Roman Emperor. Justin Martyr was a renowned Christian author and teacher in the second century. Seeking to end the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians, Justin wrote an open letter to the emperor explaining and defending the Christian faith. Although he was eventually beheaded for refusing to renounce Jesus, Justin’s letter allows us to travel back in time and see a fascinating glimpse of Christianity in its early years.

Justin describes the Christian worship and practices of his day. He writes that they gather together every Sunday, for “Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead on the same day.” There are readings from “the memoirs of the Apostles and the Prophets.” The leader verbally instructs those present, “exhorting the imitation of these good things.” Then bread and wine are brought forward, and the leader prays over them at considerable length, using the words of Jesus at the Last Supper. The bread and wine are then given to the people to receive. Afterward, deacons take a portion of this bread to those who are too sick to come to the worship.

Justin explains, “This food is called among us the Eucharist.”

Not everyone is allowed to receive the Eucharist, he explains, but only those who share their beliefs, have been baptized, and are living a holy life. This is because they do not receive the bread and wine “as common bread and common drink,” but rather they have been taught that when this food is “blessed by the prayer of his word,” it “is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”

The worship Justin describes is very familiar to Catholics. Each Sunday, Catholics around the world experience what Justin outlined. After we are nourished by God’s word in Scripture and preaching, we are nourished by Jesus himself in the Eucharist. Like the Christians of Justin’s day, we believe that Jesus works a miracle and becomes truly present in Holy Communion. He nourishes us spiritually and allows us to be united with him, body and soul.

Justin is one of many authors known as the “Early Church Fathers.”

Many were taught by the apostles themselves, or by someone who learned directly from an apostle. As one read their works from the first and second centuries, one recognizes beliefs and practices that are still associated with the Catholic Church today. This shows that the Catholic faith was not invented sometime along the way, but stretches all the way back to the first generations of Christians. The Eucharist, for example, is reflected in John 6 and other writings of the New Testament, and can be traced clearly through each century of Christian history.

Our Catholic faith unites us with the people of Justin’s time. In the previous message, we explored how the Catholic Church is a worldwide family of faith. Catholics can travel anywhere in the world and, even if we don’t understand the language, we can feel completely at home. Similarly, if we had an opportunity to travel back in time and join Justin’s congregation for a day, we would feel completely at home. It would be the same worship, the same Eucharist, and they would be our brothers and sisters. Jesus unites us as one beautiful family of faith, stretching across the centuries.

One can read Justin’s letter by searching online for “The Apology of Justin Martyr.” (“Apology” here means “explanation.”) He describes Sunday worship in paragraphs 65-67.

salinity,

and dissolved oxygen. USCB students and recent graduates who participated in the survey included Madeline Jones, Cassidy Hutto, Makayla Brown, Matthew Richmond, Abby Odom, Caroline Parker, Maria Carolus and Gray Ward.

Local scientists and conservationists, aided by USC Beaufort student interns, conducted the second annual survey of diamondback terrapins on St. Helena Island. Photo courtesy of Ryan Hanscom

Diamondback terrapins live in brackish water including the salt marsh of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Carol Weir/USC Beaufort

BMH Heart Specialists add board-certified NP

Staff reports Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists have added a new nurse practitioner with over two decades in healthcare, expanding access to cardiovascular care for patients in the Lowcountry.

Nicole Gray, MSN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC, is board certified as both a family nurse practitioner and an adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner. She

will see patients in the practice’s Okatie and Beaufort locations, and in the main hospital.

The U.S. Navy veteran and Buffalo, N.Y., native has a varied healthcare background, ranging from trauma care, forensic nursing to general cardiology. She has held

roles not just in acute care, but administrative and director positions, too, and has experience as a clinical instructor for various graduate programs and as an educational speaker.

In 2023, Gray established a new heart failure clinic as a part of her work with the Department of Veterans Affairs in New York. She said that cardiovascular medicine can be a stressful experi-

ence for patients, and she likes to use her sense of humor to connect with patients and make them feel more comfortable.

“I treat all of my patients like they are members of my family,” she explained. “Having a sense of humor is key; I like to make them laugh and put them at ease.”

The acute care specialist will treat common cardiovascular conditions as a part of the Heart

Specialists practice, including hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, cardiogenic shock, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias and wealth of other cardiac conditions.

Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists is located in Beaufort at 300 Midtown Drive and in Okatie at the Okatie Medical Pavilion (122 Okatie Center Blvd. North, Suite 300; 843 770-4550).

Penn Center Juneteenth Celebration

LEGAL NOTICES

COUNTY OF BEAUFORT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CASE NO.: 2023-CP-07-01349 (Non-Jury)

DATAW ISLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.,

Plaintiff, vs. DERRIN FERGUSON;

Renisha Hendrix performs a Praise Dance on stage during the second annual Juneteenth Celebration at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah-Geechee Nation, addresses attendees during the second annual Juneteenth Celebration at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Nicole Gray

STATE NEWS

Two GOP candidates officially enter SC governor’s race

By Jessica Holdman SCDailyGazette.com

The race to be South Carolina’s next governor has officially begun.

Two Republicans — Josh Kimbrell, a state senator from the Upstate; and Alan Wilson, South Carolina’s longtime attorney general — formally announced their bids Monday in what promises to be a crowded run for the Governor’s Mansion in 2026

Hours before Wilson was scheduled to make his formal announcement at an event in his home county of Lexington, Kimbrell made his campaign official in an e-mail blast. The Boiling Springs Republican will follow up with a launch celebration Saturday.

The pair of announcements comes a little less than a year ahead of the GOP primary, in a state where Republicans occupy all statewide offices, six of seven U.S. House seats, and a supermajority in both chambers in the Legislature. It’s been almost 20 years since a Democrat won any statewide office in South Carolina: Jim Rex narrowly won his bid in 2006 to become state superintendent of education.

Filing for the June 2026 primaries is still nine months away.

At least four other Republicans could launch a bid for governor before then.

They include U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, of the coastal 1st District, who has been bashing her potential gubernatorial opponents for months, as well as Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, who is expected to make a decision within the next month, according to a consultant working with the Travelers Rest Republican.

Former state treasurer and reality TV star Thomas Ravenel announced a bid in early February but jumped back out four days later.

State Sen. Sean Bennett also continues to weigh a run. The Summerville Republican told the S.C. Daily Gazette he intends to evaluate the field of candidates “to see if the race needs me or if it doesn’t need me.” And U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman has told reporters he’ll make an announcement July 27

Should Norman enter the governor’s race, state Sen. Wes Climer, R-Rock Hill, told the S.C. Daily Gazette he would consider a bid for to replace him in the 5th District, which includes the suburbs of Charlotte, N.C., and stretches from Spartanburg County southeast to Sumter County.

So far only one Democrat, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, of Columbia, has said he is considering a run.

Who’s in

Of the two officially in the running, Wilson has spent that last 14½ years as South Carolina’s top prosecutor, making him the nation’s longest-serving attorney general.

When first elected to the job in November 2010, he replaced his former boss, then two-term Attorney General Henry McMaster, who made an unsuccessful bid for governor that year.

Supporters, including Lexington County politicians and several state legislators from across the Midlands, stomped the wooden floors of Hudson’s Smokehouse as Wilson took the platform with his family.

Addressing the crowd packed shoulder-to-shoulder inside the small Lexington County barbecue restaurant, he leaned into his military and law enforcement background, telling the group the story of a case involving abuse of a teenage girl he took on during his years as an assistant county prosecutor.

“I was able to be a voice for a person who had no voice,” he said.

“This is the moment when I became committed to dedicating my life to public service. That same commitment to service is what led me to run for attorney general, and it’s what drives me today.”

During his tenure, the 51-yearold has challenged the Obama and Biden administrations in numerous federal lawsuits, to include multistate actions in his twice-elected role as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association. Those challenges have included vaccine mandates, environmental regulations, transgender issues, student loan cancellations, immigration and the Affordable Care Act. At the state level, he has defended multiple challenges to the state’s six-week abortion ban. He pushed to create the state Human Trafficking Task Force, which he leads. And he has championed legislation criminalizing artificially generated child porn, which became law earlier this year, and sought protections for victims of sex crimes.

In 2013, Wilson launched an investigation into then-House Speaker Bobby Harrell but then handed the case to 1st District Solicitor David Pascoe in 2014, citing an unspecified conflict of interest, who later turned out to be his political consultant. Pascoe, who recently announced a party switch to Republican, expanded the case to other GOP legislators despite Wilson’s attempt to fire him.

If elected governor, Wilson promised to continue pushing for changes to the state’s judicial system and to advocate rolling back regulations on business.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished, the fights we’ve taken

on and the results that we have delivered,” Wilson said. “But today marks the beginning of a new fight, a fight to lead South Carolina into the future with the energy of a new generation and unwavering respect for our South Carolina values.

“We have already delivered meaningful results for the hard-working people who power our state, but we cannot stop there,” he continued. “We have not come this far only to go this far.”

Wilson, the son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s 2nd District, lives in Lexington with his wife and two children. He has served for nearly three decades in the Army National Guard.

Kimbrell, who got his start as host of the conservative Christian talk show “Common Cents” on an Upstate radio station, has made his brand as a social conservative.

In 2020, he ousted state Sen. Glenn Reese, a Democrat who had held the seat for three decades.

In the Senate, he’s been a proponent of the state restrictions on abortion. He pushed to insert rules into the state budget banning books with sexual content from children’s sections in public libraries and withholding funding from the city of Columbia unless it repealed its law banning licensed therapists from offering so-called conversion therapy to LGBTQ+ minors.

He also authored the 2022 budget clause that banned the Medical University of South Carolina from

providing gender-transitioning treatments for children under 16

The next year, he sponsored legislation to expand the ban statewide for anyone under 18

The bill Kimbrell supported that became law last year has been blocked in court. It’s not yet clear whether that case will continue following last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a similar, but less expansive, law in Tennessee. If elected governor, Kimbrell pledges to “champion policies that promote God, family, and faith, ensuring South Carolina remains a beacon of traditional values.”

Other priorities, according to his campaign website, include making K-12 scholarships for private tuition available to all children, prioritizing mental health care for veterans, and using artificial intelligence to sort through and sunset state regulations within 100 days.

The 40-year-old father of two easily won a second, four-year term in November.

He can run for governor without risking his spot in the Senate next year, since he doesn’t face re-election to the Statehouse seat until 2028

Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

SC DMV announces new security features for drivers’ licenses

By Skylar Laird SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — Starting this fall, the Department of Motor Vehicles will no longer issue day-of driver’s licenses in a shift to make state IDs more secure, the agency announced Friday, June 20

Residents with current licenses don’t need to get theirs updated until the expiration date on it. The new licenses, beginner’s permits and identification cards will be made of stronger material and use laser engraving that makes them more difficult to counterfeit, according to a Friday news release.

“First and foremost, these updates will better protect South Carolinians from becoming victims of identity fraud,” agency director Kevin Shwedo said in a news release. “Additionally, they will provide a more secure and reliable credential for law enforcement, merchants, retailers, and other parties who count on the authenticity of the licenses and identification cards we issue.” The cards will also look different, using a to-be-announced new design that more prominently features Palmetto State imagery, according to the agency.

The changes involve centralizing the production of driver’s licenses, permits and ID cards.

Unlike the current system, in which a person visiting the DMV can get with a license or ID before walking out the door, the state DMV

will start mailing the cards out. In the meantime, people will receive a temporary certificate that serves the same purposes as the card for which they applied, according to the DMV.

Because receiving a new card could take up to two

weeks to arrive in the mail, the DMV encourages people not to wait for the expiration date on their license to renew it. Their local branch will be able to return the older license or ID with a hole punched in it so people can continue using it until their new one arrives in the mail, according to a news release.

At least 45 other states already use this process, according to the DMV.

The agency does not have a timeline for when the change will take effect. There is no additional charge for the new licenses.

Two branches in Columbia and Lexington are expected to make the switch first to work out any kinks, followed by the remaining 63 offices across the state two weeks later, said agency spokesman Mike Fitts.

Responding to concerns about mailed licenses reaching the appropriate destination, Fitts said the DMV will

require customers to verify their addresses when they apply for a driver’s license or identification to ensure the card is sent to the correct address. Additionally, the temporary certificate customers leave with will include a QR code that can be used to track the processing of a license or ID card.

Outfitting all 65 DMV offices statewide with the equipment needed to produce the new cards just isn’t feasible, he said. He noted the vast majority of states already use similar central processing for licenses, as does the federal government for other identity documents, including U.S. passports.

Skylar Laird covers the

Sen. Josh Kimbrell, pictured at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, and Attorney General Alan Wilson, pictured at a Republican Party election night watch party, both announced they were running for governor on Monday, June 23, 2025. Kimbrell photo by Travis Bell; Wilson photo by John A. Carlos/ Both Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette

Scheper Tennis Academy hosts tennis party

Event celebrates breaking of tennis’ color barrier by SC’s Althea Gibson

ers of color.

Staff reports

Scheper Tennis Academy held a fundraiser Saturday -- sponsored by The American Tennis Association (ATA) in conjunction with Bricks on Boundary and Maryland Fried Chicken -- at the Beaufort Tennis Courts to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Althea Gibson’s breaking the color barrier with the U.S. Lawn and Tennis Association -- now the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA).

Gibson would go on to become a world class tennis player and open the door for other people of color to compete on the national level such as Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, Coco Gauff and many more play-

The party, free to the public, featured food and beverages, and of course, tennis. Founded in 1916, the American Tennis Association (ATA) is the oldest black sports organization in the U.S. promoting a vibrant tennis community. Initially the only platform for Black players to compete nationally, the ATA now drives growth and inclusivity in the sport. The ATA has been a prolific pipeline for some of the greatest players, coaches, and contributors in tennis history.

The annual ATA National Tournament in Orlando gathers hundreds of African American players, celebrating athletic excellence and

Black history in tennis. In 2025, the ATA will launch the Black Tennis Experience, featuring the National Tournament, an Awards Gala, and a Celebrity Pro-Am, with an economic impact nearing $1 million. The ATA boasts more than 4,000 members.

The ATA National Championships is an annual historic tennis tournament that brings hundreds of players of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities to compete on a national stage. The first National Championships began in 1917 with only three events. Today the Championships have five Major Events

The theme of this year’s tournament is “Honoring Legacy, Building the Future.”

SCHSL adjusts NIL policy to comply with state budget

More than 40 states allow “name, image and likeness” deals in high school athletics

By Shaun Chornorbroff SCDailyGazette.com

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s governing body for high school sports altered its bylaws this week to ensure it can keep functioning amid legislators’ efforts to ban “name, image and likeness” deals for pre-college student athletes.

The approved new wording in the South Carolina High School League’s bylaws says students “may not earn compensation” for their sport.

The bylaws previously said students “may earn compensation” as long as it’s not tied to their athletic performance and does not involve school or league logos, to include an incentive to enroll at a certain school.

It wasn’t meant to be a policy for or against NIL, and the slight shift in wording doesn’t change that, said league Commissioner Jerome Singleton.

Rather, the phrase is part of the rule that students must maintain amateur status, meaning they can’t be paid for playing a sport. The previous wording reflects the league’s inability to control anything beyond sports, he said. It still can’t. But the league wanted to make clear it was not condoning NIL deals after the Legislature inserted a clause in the state budget banning public school districts from joining any athletic association that permitted, allowed or authorized such compensation.

State Sen. Sean Bennett, who authored the budget clause, said it was absolutely directed at the High School League, an independent, dues-paying organization that sets and oversees the competition rules for participating middle and high schools.

“I hope everybody involved with high school athletics realizes they are extracurricular activities, and they are no place for the ugliness or business activities ruining college athletics,” Bennett, R-Summerville, told the S.C. Daily Gazette. The league’s executive committee unanimously approved the wording Tuesday, two weeks from the ban taking effect with the July 1 start of the fiscal year. The overwhelming majority of the league’s more than 400 members are public schools that potentially faced not being able to participate in league-organized athletics in the coming school year.

Singleton said the altered word-

ing changes nothing in terms of the rule’s intent.

If a student uses school or league logos or clothing as part of an endorsement deal, or receives money for their participation, they are still violating the league’s amateur policy, he said.

Punishment on a first offense is a warning. The second time it’s a one-year suspension from High School League competition. Each additional violation would result in at least another one-year suspension, with the exact period of ineligibility “based on the nature of the violations.”

“From the very beginning … the league does not support NIL for athletic purposes. That’s the only authority we have the right to reject,” Singleton said. “You can change the wording, but you can’t change the intent.”

In total, more than 40 states allow NIL deals for high schoolers, according to Opendorse, an athlete marketing firm.

NIL is only one example of how changes in college sports, where it’s become routine for players to transfer to another school and receive large paydays, have seeped into high school athletics.

In March, the league changed its longstanding transfer policy to allow student-athletes one penalty-free transfer.

When the NCAA first permitted personal branding and sponsorship deals in 2021, it provided few guidelines, leaving lawmakers around the country grappling with how to handle them.

South Carolina legislators initially responded by simply suspending state law prohibiting the deals. Then last year, the head coaches of Clemson and South Carolina’s football programs asked legislators for clarity with a bill allowing them to represent student athletes. After getting briefly held up by a gun debate, the bill became law in May 2024

It was approved as a way to help students navigate contracts and not get swindled. But legislators still didn’t like the idea of NIL deals. Senators who complain the transfers and million-dollar payouts have ruined college sports include Bennett.

The avid Gamecocks fan vowed to keep it out of high school sports.

The league’s prior wording wasn’t strong enough: Giving NIL “a wink or a nod certainly invites it,” he said.

Recent examples of high-dollar influence in college include an $8 million offer for South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers to leave the Gamecocks, according to an article published Monday by the Athletic. The offer depended on him playing for two more years for the unnamed school, his father told the publication. Sellers, however, declined. He’s staying in Columbia.

Scott Earley, president of the South Carolina Coaches Association, said he’s against high school athletes getting paid, though he says it is happening.

The league is doing all it can to control the influence of money in

high school sports in South Carolina, he said.

Singleton said the league can’t legally do anything more.

During an interview with the S.C. Daily Gazette, he used the example of a musical prodigy who happened to be a high school softball player.

If somebody wants to offer that athlete a contract to play the violin, the High School League has no right to stop it, he said.

“If you aren’t using the intellectual property of the school, which is the name, the mascot or the logo, why can’t you be an accomplished violinist who is playing on a team?” Singleton asked rhetorically.

Bill Carter, the head of Student-Athlete Insights, an NIL consulting firm that has worked with many high schools, colleges and high school athletic associations, called the proviso “pretty extreme.”

“The other states don’t get into very aggressive language of what they are going to fund,” he said.

Carter said it could also lead to a legal challenge.

Should that happen, recent examples signal courts will side with the youth.

“It’s the playbook that’s been run from the NCAA on down,” Carter said. “What we’ve learned is that the courts are never going to accept there’s an impediment to a young person’s ability … to earn income by way of their name, image and likeness.”

In 2021, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said the NCAA’s restrictions on providing non-monetary compensation for academics, like free laptops or paid post-grad internships, violated antitrust laws. That decision paved the way for NIL.

Earlier this month a judge approved a settlement that ended three separate antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA, allowing schools to spread $20 5 million, a figure that will grow annually, to its athletes.

And last year in North Carolina, a judge sided with a star quarterback when his mother sued the state Board of Education on his behalf, making it so high schoolers in the Tar Heel State could profit from NIL.

“The court says, ‘You are overreaching your authorization or jurisdiction that would allow their young person’s right to earn income,’” Carter said.

Rep. Jackie “Coach” Hayes, a member of the House budget-writing committee, led his teams to seven state championships during his nearly 30 years as the Dillon Wildcats’ football coach.

Prior to coaching, he played high school football, as well as baseball and running track. He’s among the contingent against NIL in high school sports.

“If you pay them in high school, they are going to worry about how many times they run the ball, how many catches they get or how many touchdown passes,” Hayes told the S.C. Daily Gazette. “We got enough ‘me’ in this world. We need to get everybody working together for a common cause.”

As for the league’s wording change, Bennett said Friday he hasn’t had a chance to review it yet.

However, “as long as the High School League is acknowledging we shouldn’t be participating in this mess,” he’s satisfied that it’s meeting the intention of the budget clause he proposed.

And the possibility of a lawsuit doesn’t surprise him: “Anything done from a regulatory standpoint invites a legal challenge.”

But he said that can’t deter lawmakers from making policy in the best interest of the state and children. “Sometimes you just have to take a stand,” he said.

Shaun Chornobroff covers the state legislature for the S.C. Daily Gazette.

Janice Johnson and Coach Larry Scheper pose for a photo in front of the fence with Althea Gibson’s memorial backdrop during the Scheper Tennis Academy Tennis Party and Fundraiser honoring South Carolina’s Althea Gibson on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Beaufort Tennis Courts. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

An illustration of the S.C. House of Representatives chamber with a football play in the foreground. Photo illustration by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CREATIVE/Special to the S.C. Daily Gazette

SPORTS & ARTS

Lowcountry Regatta set for this weekend

Staff reports

The Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club is hosting the 58th annual Lowcountry Regatta this Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29 on the Beaufort River.

Warning for the first race starts between 12:30 and 1 p.m., Saturday and between 10:30 and 11 a.m, Sunday.

The event is open to one-design dinghy sailboats with sailors of all ages. Invited classes include: Highlander, Melges 15, MC Scow, Lightning, SIOD, Y Flyer, Snipe, ILCA (Laser) 4,6 & 7, VX Evo, Flying Scot, Thistle, C420, JY15, Sunfish, Optimists and O’Pen Skiff. Additional dinghy classes are welcome. Three class boats are required to constitute a class and be able to start.

Juniors and Seniors are eligible to compete using SAYRA age guidelines.

Eligible boats not already registered may enter by completing a registration for the regatta as well as reservations for all meals online before the cutoff time of 10 a.m., Saturday, June 28 at https:// www.regattanetwork.com/ event/29676 or at byscnet. com (which will connect you to Regatta Network).

Competitor’s meeting is at 11 a.m., Saturday. The race course will be on the Beaufort River between Mark G “41” and Mark G “241A.” There will be three race circles, with classes assigned to circles based on their sailing characteristics. Classes will race separately. PRO may combine class starts if circumstances dictate. All guests will become temporary members of BYSC upon registration.

The Commodore’s Welcome Reception is set for 6 p.m., Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be a complimentary continental breakfast for guests, and box lunches are available, as well ($12).

Beginning at 6 p.m., Saturday, the local band “Cluster Shucks” will provide live entertainment. The famous Lowcountry Boil ($30 for adults; kids 13 and younger are $12) begins at 7 p.m.

Reservations for meals for guests must be paid for through the online registration. There will be no live cash transactions.

In addition, there will be complimentary T-shirts for all registered sailors; a swimming pool; tennis; pickleball; Bocce; showers and rest rooms; and on-site camping under the live oaks.

Holy Week

Holy Communion 10 a.m. Sundays

@ 7:30 p.m.

Holy Week @ 7:30 p.m.

Good Friday, Apr. 18 @ noon

Easter Vigil, Apr. 19 @ 7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays

1104 11th St., Port Royal stmarksportroyal.org A Service of Hope & Healing Noon on

Easter Vigil, Apr. 19 @ 7:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday

All welcome!

Apr. 20 @ 9 & 11 a.m. 1104 11th St., Port Royal stmarksportroyal.org

live on stage for a crowd during Listen on the Lawn on Sunday, June 22, 2025 at the USCB Center for

Listen on the Lawn Gullah Traveling Theater to again preview latest work

‘Da’ Gullah American Revolutionary Experience’ a celebration of unsung Gullah heroes, their role in America’s fight for independence

Staff reports

The Gullah Traveling Theater, Inc. (GTTI) will be presenting another free snippet of its newest original production, “Da’ Gullah American Revolutionary Experience,” written by acclaimed storyteller Anita Singleton Prather and performed by the beloved Gullah Kinfolk ensemble, at 4 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, at the USCB Center For The Arts in Beaufort. The event will include play excerpts, commentary from Aunt Pearlie Sue, artisan demonstrations, and a rice tasting.

The play premiered with a “sneak peek” during the 40th Annual Original Gullah Festival on Sunday, May 25 2025, with the full-stage production scheduled for July 19, 2025, at the May River Theater in Bluffton.

Presented as part of GTTI’s Circle Unbroken series, this new work invites audiences to gather with the unforgettable Aunt Pearlie Sue and explore the often-overlooked contributions of Gullah men and women during the American Revolution. Through stirring vignettes, music, dance, and dramatic storytelling, the production unveils how Gullah

‘Da’ Gullah American Revolutionary Experience’ invites audiences to gather with the unforgettable Aunt Pearlie Sue and explore the often-overlooked contributions of Gullah men and women during the American Revolution. Photo courtesy of Gullah Traveling Theater

expertise in rice farming — especially the lucrative Carolina Gold Rice — became a catalyst for colonial wealth and revolution. The play also highlights Gullah mastery in blacksmithing, indigo dyeing, sugar production, and carpentry — skills that were vital to both Loyalist and Patriot causes.

“Many know the wealth of the colonies was built on rice, but few know the Gullah hands and minds behind that story,” said Prather.

“This play brings that truth to life — joyfully and powerfully.”

Audiences will be moved by the Gullah Kinfolk’s signature foot-stomping, hand-clapping energy as they illuminate the stage with soulful rhythms and historical insight.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP *2nd Wednesday, monthly • 6-7 p.m.

CANCER SUPPORT GROUP (all cancers) *4th Wednesdays, monthly • 1-2 p.m.

The Southern Heat Band play

the Arts. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

VOICES

Editor’s

Let’s not make S.C.’s child poverty rate worse

Arecent report on child poverty in South Carolina showed the rate dropped slightly – from 20% of the state’s children in poverty in 2019 to 19% two years ago. On its face, that sounds promising.

But storm clouds are on the horizon with tight-fisted federal fiscal policies from a Trump administration that seems to want to make the rich richer at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Threatened are the very kinds of government programs that reduced child poverty from about one in three kids two decades ago to one in five now – food stamps, special tax credits for the working poor, housing subsidies and the dread of the Republican Party –Obamacare.

If federal safety net programs are cut in South Carolina – and all over the country – tougher, hungrier days are ahead for too many families. The new KidsCount report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found 215,000 children under 18 are in poverty in the Palmetto State. The study found South Carolina ranked

ANDY BRACK

38th in child well-being, a slight improvement over previous years.

“With too many children lacking health insurance and too many living in areas of concentrated poverty, children and their families are vulnerable in our state,” said Sue Williams, CEO of Children’s Trust of South Carolina, in a statement earlier this month.

During the Obama administration, there was a big statistical drop in what was considered the number of children in poverty because analysts reframed how they measured it. As highlighted in a 2015 Statehouse Report column, the feds implemented the new measure to more accurately reflect reality of the safety net –but all of this came with a caveat:

The

Let’s take a look at what our country is facing today. Sorry to be redundant, but once again a song comes to mind. This is one I heard sung in person by the Kingston Trio when I was in college. That was 1961 I may have referenced it in another column, but it seems appropriate once again, simply because the passage of time doesn’t seem to diminish that which happens repeatedly on the world stage. At the risk of exceeding my word limit, I am going to include the lyrics of “The Merry Minuet” as evidence that 60 plus years hasn’t changed the dynamic much. Now I agree that they may not be starving in Spain. As for rain in Texas, lately you can substitute just about any state in the union. But I digress.

They’re rioting in Africa. They’re starving in Spain. There’s hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain. The whole world is festering with unhappy souls. The French hate the Germans. The Germans hate the Poles. Italians hate Yugoslavs. South Africans hate the Dutch. And I don't like anybody very much!

But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud For man's been endowed with a mushroom shaped cloud.

And we know for certain that some lovely day Someone will set the spark off and we will all be blown away. They're rioting in Africa. There's strife in Iran. What nature doesn't do to us will be done by our fellow man.

There is the war in Ukraine for starters. I assume you do remember that, dear reader, despite all that has happened in the interim. You know, the one where Putin decided for no apparent reason other than greed and power to march west and try to annex Ukraine. That he has found success to be much more difficult than anticipated is a topic for another time. What needs to be noted here is 47’s promise that once elected, he could bring this fighting to a halt in a day’s time. We are still waiting.

Then there is the Middle East situation and all that entails, namely Israel and Iran lobbing missiles at the other. (And now us dropping bombs … but more on that later.)

“The lower number, it seems, reflects the impact of state and federal intervention programs on the poverty rate. In other words, it shows that programs like food stamps, housing assistance, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit for working families and other social interventions are working. Without them, the true child poverty rate would be about one in three kids [in South Carolina] — approximately the same level as has been reported for years.

“‘Tax credits alone have decreased the child poverty rate by nearly one-third. Social Security, SNAP (food stamps) and housing subsidies also have contributed to significantly fewer children living in poverty,’” the report said.

What brought all of this on is that the standard, outdated Federal Poverty Level (FPL) used for years as a basis for distributing aid came under fire when conservatives complained that the nation’s 50-year battle with poverty had done little to cut the poverty rate. So in 2011, the Obama administration set out to measure the impact of assistance

And let us not forget what confronts us right here in our own country. Millions of people are taking to the streets to be part of the peaceful demonstrations regarding their disapproval of 47’s policies, especially the illegal deportation of those who are here legally.

Los Angeles in particular is targeted with the deployment of U.S. Marines after the President deployed the National Guard, something that usually happens upon the request of a governor.

One has to wonder if in two weeks those same Marines will suddenly disappear from L.A. streets to be sent abroad.

It’s hard to keep track of all the fires 47 has managed to ignite. I haven't included the on-again off-again tariffs that rock the Dow Jones on a daily basis.

So let’s get to the point, although this backdrop isn’t digression.

On Friday, June 20, Trump called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election, saying it was marred by widespread fraud.

Yes, you read correctly. With the world, including the United States, going to hell in a handbasket, the so-called leader of the free world brought into play his petty thought process and focused on retribution by deciding to revisit his baseless claim.

“Biden was grossly incompetent, and the

programs on people receiving help. This new measure, called the Supplemental Poverty Measure, found that aid programs really do make life better for people — not by giving them cell phones or microwaves, but by providing help with housing or food or credits for working.

But then as now, what all of this means is that today’s policymakers need to understand that what’s slowly working – the intervention programs – don’t need to be cut.

In fact, child poverty likely would be reduced more if the state would expand Medicaid, build more affordable housing and boost nutrition programs.

The clear warning here is that if the Trump administration cuts safety net programs that impact more than 200 000 children in South Carolina, more will go hungry and live in poverty.

Fighting poverty in America isn’t easy. And to implement policies that will encourage it to expand would be fiscally and morally wrong.

Policy actions have impacts. Let’s not go down any path that

“... if the Trump administration cuts safety net programs ... more will go hungry and live in poverty.

ANDY BRACK, on threats to programs that reduce child poverty in South Carolina.

cuts the safety net more. Investments in anti-poverty programs are smart over the long run, not a waste of taxpayer money like some of the talking heads claim. If you can’t get past the notion of keeping and expanding anti-poverty programs based on your checkbook, take a look at the good book and see what it might suggest.

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

2020 election was a total FRAUD!” Trump said in a social media post in which he also sought to favorably contrast his immigration enforcement approach with that of the former president. “The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!”

Unbelievable, given all that is happening across the globe. Let’s remember that it was a Trump attorney general from the first administration who found no fraud that could have affected the election.

Earlier this month, he directed his administration to investigate Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides

masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline.”

You must forgive me if I allude to the old saying regarding the pot and the kettle. One only has to listen to the rambling incoherence that is put forth on a daily basis. Now THAT, dear reader, is digression, albeit necessary.

Of course, Attorney General Pam Bondi must decide whether or not to heed her master’s call. Given her history, I find it difficult to think she will let common sense rule the day.

When does it end and even more troubling, “how” does it end? From Day 1 of the second administration, we have seen nothing but chaos. Sadly, what we are seeing was promised and yet there were enough of those

who chose to buy into that promise, and here we are.

While Mr. Slash and Burn himself seems to have been escorted off the White House stage, there are others waiting hungrily in the wings for their chance to “shine.” We need only look at the cabinet members, RFK, Jr, Noem, Patel, Hegseth, Gabbard, each a greater buffoon than the last, to see that our chances for redemption don’t lie there.

To paraphrase Robert Frost, we have “miles to go before we sleep.” I would add “soundly” to that quote.

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.”

CAROL LUCAS

VOICES

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

This one I’ll save

It is Tuesday, early, and cool enough to sit on the deck and contemplate the river. This morning I have my Eight O’Clock Medium Roast and an orange.

Last week my wife’s sister arrived with a box of photographs, letters and deeds. When she arrived she said, “Someone needs to look through these papers and decide what’s worth keeping, …”

Over the years I have, from time to time, been given this kind of job and have reluctantly gone through hundreds of photographs trying to determine what should go into the dumpster and what should go into the attic.

The photos usually have three or four people — stiffly standing and well dressed — sometimes there are names of those people and a date on the back of the photo. But for the most part these black and white photos had no names, no dates and one could only surmise that a particular photo was taken at a wedding, a family reunion, although an old automobile sometimes helped with a date.

As I worked my way through the photographs a mild depression kicked-in. None of these people were still living; no bridge or airport was named for any of them; South Carolina’s Department of Archives would not be interested.

This box, however, also came with a thin notebook crammed with yellow-brown, disintegrating

T(newspaper) clippings.

I was drawn to a headline:

“MOST HORRIBLE! President Lincoln Assassinated. (Second Dispatch)

Washington April 14 —

President Lincoln and wife, together with other friends this evening visited Ford’s Theatre for the purpose of witnessing the performance of ‘American Cousin.’ It was announced that General Grant would also be present, but that gentleman, instead, took the late train of cars to New Jersey …”

The typescript was fading and I got out my magnifying glass, ...

“The President is still breathing, though quite insensible … breathing slowly, the blood oozing from a wound at the back of his head.”

The clippings then described the arrest of Mary E Surratt and her hanging, ...

“She ascended the scaffold, and was led to an

armchair, in which she was seated. An umbrella was held over her by two holy fathers, to protect her from the sun, whose rays shot down like blasts from a fiery furnace. She was attired in a black bombazine dress, black alpaca bonnet, with black veil which she wore over her face till she was seated in the chair.”

Later we got a description of John Wilkes Booth, ... “His hair, jet black and glossy, curled slightly, and set off in fine relief a high, intellectual forehead, and a face full of intelligence. Both chin and nose were remarkably prominent, and the firm set lips and line about the mouth indicated a firmness of will, decision and resolution. He was scrupulously neat in his dress and selected his habit with a rare perception of what was becoming to his figure and complexion. He would pass anywhere for a neatly,

and not overly, dressed man of fashion.”

The clippings continued, ...

“Of his political views little is known. He kept a still tongue on the subject so far as we have heard. Being of southern birth and education, it was presumed that his sympathies tended in that direction; but he exhibited no particular warmth or zeal for the rebellion, and nothing to indicate the remotest desire to further the cause by so much as giving pecuniary aid much less personal assistance.”

My first reaction was, “Wow! these people knew how to write. This is not your terse, what-when-where reportage we often see today.”

But my thoughts soon shifted to the person who clipped, then pasted these newspaper accounts into this thin, marbled-cover notebook. Who was he or she?

Why was she doing this? Did she know that 160 years later

a slightly annoyed, retired lawyer would be going through a box of documents? Did she know that he would be making decisions about what to keep and what to destroy? Did she want to say, “Hey Scott, we’ve had a little excitement here in Virginia this past week; and I wanted you to have a little background on Mary Surratt’s fashion statement. Enjoy!” So I went back into the box looking for a face that might make such a comment — a person who instinctively knew that someday, someone would want to know that Mary Surratt was wearing bombazine when she was executed.

I settled on a young woman — the photo brittle, undated, the person unnamed. “This one I’ll save.”

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

The fine (lost) art of porch sitting

here was a time in America when baseball was thought to be “The Great American Pastime,” and at the risk of having baseball fans storm my house with torches and pitchforks, I am going to differ.

I think that the once great art of porch sitting was America’s favorite pastime. In the days before air conditioning and television, if you were lucky you had a front porch, and on that front porch were porch rockers. And when the heat of the day was done and the cool of the evening was at hand everyone moved to the rockers on the front porch.

If you were extra lucky you had porch fans which cool things down and keep the bugs at bay. This was the time of the day when little kids sat and listened to the stories that their grandparents told about when they were young and rode a horse to school, held in a one-room schoolhouse with 15 other kids of all ages. There was

JIM DICKSON

no electricity, or refrigerators, and they had to do their school work by the light of a kerosene lamp, and you sat there thinking no one can be that old.

If your house was in a city on the street, people would walk by on the sidewalk and say, “Hello, how are you doing? I saw Johnnie hit a home run in the Little League game last night and I bet you were so proud. How is your mother getting along with her new glasses? I hope she is able to see well enough to read. I know that she has missed that. I hope that your son Bill doesn't have to

go to Korea. It seems like that is getting pretty ugly.” The events and the news of the day were passed on and discussed, and everyone knew everyone.

For those people who didn’t have a front porch, and sometimes those who did, there was the front lawn, and on the front lawn there were “lawn chairs.” Lawn chairs were usually made from metal with a metal seat and a metal back mounted on two metal tubes that would sort of rock back and forth. They were painted green, red, and sometimes orange.

On cool summer nights, everyone would get out of the house and sit on the lawn and look up at the dark back sky that was so full of stars that it hurt your eyes to look at them. Your uncle Bill who knew almost everything would point out the Big Dipper, The Little Dipper, other constellations, and planets, and tell you stories about his adventures.

Your mother would have a big

pitcher of lemonade and maybe some homemade peanut butter cookies. When you were a little older, you would end the evening by “camping out” on the lawn with an old bed sheet for a tent and a Boy Scout bed roll to keep you warm, going to sleep with your head full of Uncle Bill’s stories. That all came to an end with the advent of air conditioning and television. Don’t get me wrong. I am all in favor of being cool and having 500 streaming channels to watch, because I am now not much interested in sleeping out in a Boy Scout bed roll in a tent made from an old sheet. But I know this, kids today are missing out on something very special, and people who are inside their houses watching TV in cool air conditioned comfort are missing out on the best part of living in a community of friends.

I am happy to say that we have a great front porch with porch rockers where I read my morning

newspaper and wave at my neighbors as they pass by. We also have a wonderful screened in back porch where we have dinner and watch the birds and the critters, and at that point, I don’t miss the A/C or the nightly news at all. We are lucky people! We live in a complicated world today, but the world has always been complicated. And we have some fences that need mending in this country. Maybe what we need is to sit on the porch and appreciate the world and the friends that we have. Could it be just that simple?

Born, raised and educated in the Southwest, Jim Dickson served in the U.S. Navy Reserve in Vietnam before a 35-year business career. Retired to St. Helena Island, Dickson and his wife are fiscally conservative, socially moderate and active in Republican politics, though they may not always agree with Republicans. Having lived around the country and traveled around the world, Dickson believes that the United States truly is the land of opportunity.

Episode 3: Where is the civility now?

My opinions first started running in The Island News about a month ago. As I said in my first piece, I was torn between opening myself up to the attacks from the left; the doubts of the right that I didn’t go hard enough to the right; and yes, the endlessly pessimistic center. What I have begun to see from the hundreds of interactions on social media, emails and even personal texts I have received is that our Lowcountry is starved for conservative voices. Even the most radical right-handed rants are lauded and gobbled up by the majority of locals who sift through left-skewed stories to data mine the nuggets of truth. What has been absent is a narrative that condenses, explains or puts the words

to the music of what is going on. The facts are the facts, immigration numbers are precise, but the ramifications they held were so blurred in the past they existed without context. Everything had that tint of blue, required that one-eyeclosed squint and asked you to make a wild-ass guess toward the truth you wanted. I have to appreciate The Island News for even daring to include a conservative lens to bring the world into focus for the majority of our neighbors. Of course

we still have to contend with stories from outlets with a 70/30 conservative to liberal population ratio slanted to include 80% liberal interests to 20% conservative points of view, but thankfully some news outlets are now seeing the folly of limiting themselves to a minority of its potential readers.

Conservatives watch protesters we think are wasting time as sore losers occupying corners waving flags of other nations, holding signs with ludicrous slogans, blocking traffic for left or right travelers, and yelling catchphrases that we know they don’t even understand. I have seen signs demanding criminal illegal immigrants already deported be returned and freed back into the country to resume their human trafficking. I have seen signs

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

demanding we deport legal citizens who volunteered to help our government eliminate trillions in fraud. I have heard screams about kings regarding a president legally elected twice who knows how to both win and lose. I have seen signs against guns, pro-abortion, advocating men in girls locker rooms, supporting open borders, opposing accountability, demanding reparations and praising USAID in its mission of funding every worthless project and shadow government action and literally paying for both sides of conflicts and battles worldwide.

Sadly, my hatred of stupid signs pales when I see the ones saying “ACAB” (All Cops Are Bastards) attacking our men and women in uniform who wear badges and body armor protecting

Thank you to the Beaufort Police To Chief Stephanie Price, Beaufort Police Department: As the main organizers of the No Kings Rally on Saturday, June 14, we want to express our gratitude to you and

the communities they love.

When I see these signs it becomes personal, like when a patriot watches radicals burn our flag.

When I see the blanket labeling of my heroes (cops and public servants) as bastards, murderers and more, it stirs my rage. It makes me realize how misguided and ignorant the lemming waving that cardboard insult is.

I realize they must harbor the worst case of “daddy issues” on earth. To attack the men and women who keep them safe is stupid and personally evil. To think that some of those could even be the children of brave and heroic cops is even sadder. To think that a son or daughter could be so damaged or unstable to turn against both family and protector is disgusting.

But I digress and again wonder where is the civility

now that the shoe (left or right, pick one) is on the other foot)? Conservatives sat back and watched a bumbling basement president and cackling VP waste American treasure on imaginary causes, work to defund our peacekeepers, try to destroy women’s sports and normalize burning and looting our communities. Now, conservatives are in power and again watching the radical left turn courts into voting booths and corners into fencelines. If civility isn’t coming back, where is it going? ACAH ... heroes.

Tim Newman is a S.C. native, U.S. Marine, law enforcer, international law enforcement trainer, PTSD specialist and advocate. Tim lives with his wife Beth on Lady’s Island and can be contacted at sctopcop@gmail.com.

respect, and protection you provided to the people protesting and marching. With

we appreciate that you have set a tone of respect for the First Amendment right to gather and voice opinions

and appreciate that your leadership helps ensure that events remain peaceful. Thank you for helping us be proud

Respectfully,

SCOTT GRABER

TIM NEWMAN

ART Budding Artist After-School

Art Club

4 to 5 p.m., or 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesday/Thursdays, Happy Art Studio, 10 Sam’s Point Way, Beaufort. Ages 8 to 13. Painting, drawing, clay or crafts. Visit www.happyartstudio.net.

CALENDAR

Beaufort Lions Club Water Festival Pancake Breakfast

8 to 11 a.m., Saturday, July 12, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady's Island Drive, Beaufort. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits/gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee, tea, juice. For more information, email beaufortlionsclub@gmail. com or follow us on Facebook/ instagram/Nextdoor.

May River Shrimp Fest Sunset Party

5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, July 25, Oyster Factory Park, Bluffton. Featuring live music by “Cristaldi & Stiltner” and “Vanna & The Rump Shackers.” Enjoy a festive atmosphere with local seafood, food trucks, craft beers, boutique wines, and family-friendly fun. Kids and leashed pets are welcome. Tickets are $11 in advance, $15 at the door, with children under 12 free. Group discounts are available online. All tips collected from beer and wine sales support local charities. For tickets and more information, visit www. blufftonsunsetparty.com or call 843-757-8520.

Yemassee Shrimp Festival

Friday, Sept. 19 & Saturday, Sept. 20, 101 Town Circle Yemassee. Live music includes the East Coast Party Band (8 p.m., Friday), sponsored by Comcast; and Funk Factory 5 (8 p.m. Saturday). Ore details to come.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to midnight, Mondays, Tomfoolery, 3436 17 Market, Habersham, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Karaoke with Ali

9 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort. With DJ Ali.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Rosie

O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with either Parker or Eric.

Trivia with Tom –Bricks On Boundary

7 p.m., Every Thursday, Bricks on Boundary, 1422 Boundary St, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash and Beer Bucket prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

7 p.m., Thursdays, Amvets Post 70, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free. Public is welcome. Enjoy Karaoke. Dinner will be available.

Karaoke at Willie’s

8 p.m., Thursdays, Willie's Bar and Grill, 7 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Saint Helena Island. Come and showcase your singing talents or just enjoy the performances. For more information, visit www.GullahLove.com.

Bluffton Night Bazaar –

a Lowcountry Made Market

5 to 8 p.m., first Thursday of each month, Burnt Church Distillery, 120 Bluffton Road. A highly curated selection of accessories, clothing, home goods, custom gifts and more by local artists and makers.

Habersham Farmers Market

3 to 6 p.m., Fridays, Habersham Marketplace. Vendor roster includes B&E Farm, Cottonwood Soap, Flower Power Treats, Hardee Greens, Megs Sweet Treats, Vitamin Bee, Lady’s Island Oyster Company, Pet Wants.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9 p.m., Fridays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Lt. Dan.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Fridays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Parker.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Fridays, R Bar & Grill, 70 Pennington Drive, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Port Royal Farmers Market 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, year round, Naval Heritage Park, 1615 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Rain or shine. You will find fresh, local, seasonal produce, shrimp, oysters, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, bread and cheese, as well as plants, ferns, camellias, azaleas, citrus trees and beautiful, fresh cut flower bouquets. There are prepared food vendors serving barbecue, dumplings, she crab soup, crab cakes, paella, coffee, baked goods, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. No pets allowed. For more information, visit http:// www.portroyalfarmersmarket. com/, visit @portroyalfarmersmarket on Facebook or call 843295-0058.

Slip and Splash Saturdays 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays, Battery Creek Pool, 1 Blue Dolphin Drive, Beaufort, and Bluffton Pool, 55 Pritchard Street, Bluffton. $5 per person. Stay busy for hours climbing on our inflatable challenge track.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 7 p.m., Saturdays, The Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd., Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Lt. Dan. Come early at 6 p.m. for Steak Night.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9:30 p.m., Saturdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Eric.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud 9 a.m. to noon, 1st Saturday each month, Port Royal Farmer’s Market, Corner of Ribaut Road & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal. Free. DAYLO Students and other volunteers will read to young children, who are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animals.

Karaoke with Melissa 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, Peaceful Henry’s Cigar Bar, 181 Bluffton Road, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

CLASS REUNION

Beaufort High School Class of 1975

Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, 2025, Beaufort. 50th Class Reunion Celebration. Request that graduates of this class contact the class Community Outreach Representative Barbara Gardner Hunter at 347-497-9326 or email gardnerbarbara991@gmail.com to provide current contact information.

DANCE

Lowcountry Shaggers

6 to 9 p.m., Mondays, Holiday Inn, 2225 Boundary Street. Shag lessons with Tommy & Sheri O’Brien and others. Occasional ballroom and once-a-monh line dancing. Biginner, intermediate and advanced lessons. Open dancing after lessons. Visit www. lowcountryshaggers.com of email lowcountryshaggers@aol. com.

The Beaufort Shag Club

6:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays, AmVets Club, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free lessons for members from 6 to 6:30 p.m. We also host a dance the second Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. Lessons will run September through May only. Visit our FaceBook page (beaufortshagclub) for current events.

GOLF

4th annual Stingray Scramble

Saturday, Sept. 20, Ocean Creek Golf Course, Fripp Island. Proceeds benefit Riverview Charter School. Early bird pricing is $650 for team of four through July 1. After July 1, $700 for team of four. Register online at https:// bit.ly/4kTF4br. Visit https://bit. ly/4mWQ7ls for sponsorship opportunities.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Rooted Beaufort Yoga classes

5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Thursdays, Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal; 9 to 10:15 a.m., Whitehall Park or Pigeon Point Park. Rooted Beaufort is a collective of local Yoga teachers who host outdoor yoga classes and donation-based events with proceeds being donated locally on a rotating basis.

BEMER Circulation Therapy

10 to 11 a.m., Fridays via Zoom. Already own a BEMER? Never heard of it but curious? Join to ask any questions about this leading-edge German technology that enhances blood flow 30% in 8 minutes. Sessions are designed to support those who have their own unit but everyone is welcome. Brought to you by BEMER Specialist -- Human & Equine, Elizabeth Bergmann. Text

410-212-1468 to get the Zoom link. Free.

HISTORY

Beaufort History Museum at the Arsenal 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays, 713 Craven St, Beaufort. General Admission for Adults $8, Seniors $7, Active Duty Military and College Students with ID $5. Children/Teens younger than 18 Free. Explore and experience more than 500 years of Beaufort History with knowledgeable docent guided tours.

The Historic Port Royal Museum 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or upon request, Thursdays through Sundays, The Historic Port Royal Museum, 1634 Paris Ave. The museum features the turn-ofthe-century businesses and industries of Port Royal: Shrimping, crabbing, oystering, the railroad, the school and the mercantile. Great gifts featuring local artists are available. For more information. visit www.portroyalhistory. org, email historicportroyalfoundation@gmail.com or call 843524-4333.

Tour Historic Fort Fremont Dawn to dusk, Monday through Sunday, The Fort Fremont Preserve, 1124 Land’s End Road, St. Helena Island. Free and open to the public. The History Center is open Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m., Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can learn about the fort’s history during the Spanish-American War through interpretive signs, self-guided walking tours with a smart phone, exhibits in the history center, and docent-led tours. For more information visit www. fortfremont.org or contact Passive Parks Manager Stefanie Nagid at snagid@bcgov.net.

LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

“Hidden Gems” Book Club

3 p.m., third Monday of each month, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island. Free. So many books, so little time. St. Helena staff have uncovered some great titles to get you started on your “hidden gem” journey. Join us for lively discussions and coffee or tea. No registration required.

Career Navigator

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Tuesday, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Free one-on-one resume writing and job application assistance with a Career Navigator from Palmetto Goodwill. No appointments necessary. For more information call 843-255-6458.

Bridge Club

10 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Join us if you want to learn a new game, practice your skills, or need more players. Call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458 for more information.

Mahjong Club

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fridays, Beaufort Library, 311 Scott Street. All levels of players are welcome. Feel free to bring your own mahjong sets. Plan to meet every week. For more information, call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458.

MEETINGS

Beaufort Lions Club

6 p.m., first and third Monday of every month, St John's Lutheran Church, 157 Lady's Island Drive, Beaufort. For more information, visit thebeaufortlionsclub@gmail. com or follow on Facebook/Instagram/Nextdoor.

PFLAG Savannah –

Beaufort Peer Group

6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of every month, Fellowship Hall, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort (UUFB), 178 Sams Point Road, Beaufort. Free. The group will be moderated by Rick Hamilton and Kay Carr. The provides advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, family, peers, and allies in the Lowcountry. The peer group provides a safe and strictly confidential environment for LGBTQ+ individuals, their families, friends, and allies to discuss the challenges faced in coming out or being out in neighborhoods, the workplace, school, or church. The organization offers resources for counseling, educating, and advocating to achieve an equitable, inclusive community where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved. Minors under the age of 18 are required to come with an adult parent, guardian, or mentor. Additional information about peer

Habersham Third Fridays

groups, membership, donations, and volunteering is on the website www.PFLAGSavannah.org and on Facebook.

Beaufort Chapter of America’s Boating Club 6 p.m., 2nd Tuesday of most months, at various Beaufort/Port Royal venues. Regular meetings begin with a Social, followed by Dinner and often include an exciting Guest Speaker from the Lowcountry. For Meeting Information or Educational Opportunities, please contact Paul Gorsuch, Administrative Officer at admino@ beaufortboatingclub.com . Boat ownership is not required, however a passion for safe responsible boating is mandatory.

Zonta Club of Beaufort 6 p.m., 4th Tuesday of each month, Smokehouse, Port Royal.

Rotary Club of Sea Island lunch meeting 12:15 p.m., 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Social gathering every 3rd Tuesday at 5:30 pm, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary. org.

Rotary Club of Sea Island social gathering 5:30 p.m., 3rd Tuesday of each month, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary.org.

Beaufort Rotary Club Noon, Wednesdays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Catered buffet lunch, followed by a guest speaker. Prospective members welcome. For further information and upcoming speakers, please visit website www.beaufortrotaryclub.org.

The Beaufort Trailblazers –A Volunteer Group 8 a.m., first Thursday each month, University Bikes, Beaufort. Anyone interested in supporting or building off-road/ dirt/wilderness mountain biking/ jogging/walking trails near is encouraged to attend. For more information, call 843-575-0021 or email universitybicycles@hotmail.com.

Emotions Anonymous International local group meeting 4 p.m, Thursdays, via Zoom. Emotions Anonymous International, (EAI), is a nonprofit program designed to help people with emotional difficulties. It has a chapter in the Lowcountry and members want others who feel the need to know they are welcome to participate. There is no charge to participate. They are based on the 12 steps and 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and follow a specific format designed to provide the support and tools for navigating life’s painful difficulties. All are welcome. Anyone interested in participating may contact the group via email at EALowcountry@ gmail.com or call or text Laurie at 252- 917-7082. For more information on EAI visit www.emotionsanonymous.org.

Al-Anon Beaufort County

7:30 p.m., Thursday, 80 Lady’s Island Drive in Beaufort. “Do you worry about how much someone drinks? Is it affecting your life? You are not alone. Al-Anon Beaufort Serenity Group offers help and hope. Join the group in Beaufort, or visit the Lowcountry page at https://bit.ly/3HvksaF for more times and locations.

Rotary Club of the Lowcountry 7:30 a.m., Fridays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady's Island Dr., Ladys' Island. Catered breakfast from local chef. Speakers weekly. Occasional social events replace Friday mornings, but will be announced on our website, www.rotaryclubofthelowcountrybeaufort.org.

MUSIC Distant Sounds

6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 8, Another Slice Pizza, Harbor Island. Something for everyone, from the 60s to the 10s. David Ayres on guitar & vocals, Richard Knieriem on drums & vocals, Eric Roberts on bass, Paul Butare on guitar & vocals.

Live entertainment 7 to 11 p.m., Wednesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

Chris Jones

7 to 11 p.m., Thursdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

Music on Market

5 to 8 p.m., third Friday of the month, Habersham Marketplace.

Live entertainment 9 p.m. to midnight, Fridays & Saturdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

OUTDOORS/NATURE

Free boating inspections

Get a free vessel safety check by local members of the America's Boating Club of Beaufort. If your boat passes, you will receive a VSC decal to mount on your boat that will be visible to other boaters and maritime law enforcement personnel. Email Safety@beaufortboatingclub.com .

The Beaufort Tree Walk

Lady’s Island Garden Club invites you to take a meandering walk through the Historic “Old Point” and enjoy some unique and noteworthy trees. The “Walk” takes about an hour, is a little over a mile starting at the corner of Craven & Carteret streets in Morrall Park and concluding in Waterfront Park. Booklets with map and information about each tree are available free at the Visitors Center in the historic Arsenal on Craven Street.

Tours of Hunting Island

Every Tuesday, Hunting Island State Park, 2555 Sea Island Pkwy. Free, park entry fees apply. Sponsored by Friends of Hunting Island Keeper Ted and his team. For more information call the Hunting Island Nature Center at 843-838-7437.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Wild Bees photography exhibit Through Sunday, August 17, Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island. A photography exhibit by Paula Sharp and Ross Eatman. A public opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, May 15 at Coastal Discovery Museum. Sharp and Eatman will conduct a tour of the exhibition before the reception at 4 p.m.

RUNNING

Sunset 5K -- Hawaiian Shirt Run 7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 24, Oyster Factory Park, Bluffton. The route takes participants through the charming streets of historic Old Towne Bluffton. The event is perfect for both runners and walkers. Come dressed in your brightest Hawaiian shirt or shorts — prizes will be awarded for the most colorful outfits! All participants will receive a themed T-shirt, lei, post-race refreshments during our lively Post Race Celebration. Strollers & Leashed pets welcome. Registration is open at bearfootsports.com.

SEWING/QUILTING

American Needlepoint

Guild Meeting 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1st Tuesday each month. The Hilton Head Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in needlepoint to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at hiltonheadislandchapter@needlepoint.org.

Embroidery Guild of America Meeting

Second Tuesday of every month, Palmetto Electric Community Room, Hardeeville. The Lowcountry Chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in any type of embroidery including needlepoint, cross-stitch, surface and beaded embroidery, hardanger, bargello, sashiko, etc., to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at lowcountrychapter@egacarolinas.org.

SPORTS/GAMES

ACBL Duplicate Bridge Club

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Tuesdays, Carteret Street. Events will be held weekly. Contact Director and Club Manager Susan DeFoe at 843-597-2541 for location.

Bridge Club

Beaufort Masters Swim Team

6 to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, Wardle Family Port Royal YMCA. Coached practices. Ages 18 & older, all skill & speed levels, no prior swim team experience needed. Visit lowcountryswimming.com for more information.