NEWS: City begins to hold in-person Council, board meetings. PAGE A4
MAY 13–19, 2021
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
A day in the life of Robert Smalls
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sually, you don’t hear about 159th anniversaries. Wedding anniversaries are only named through the MIKE MCCOMBS 80th. And 159 is not a a widely remembered remarkable year. Also, aside from a few date throughout Amerbirthdays, May 13 isn’t ican history.
But May 13 should be a big day in Beaufort. It was 159 years ago (give or take a few hours), in the early morning hours of May 13, 1862, that Robert Smalls, born into slavery in 1839 in Beaufort, sailed the Planter, a
Confederate transport ship out of Charleston harbor, past Confederate checkpoints and into the waiting arms of the Union blockade. And into the waiting arms of freedom. SEE SMALLS PAGE A5
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
An abortion ban, looser gun laws, firing-squad executions A few of the things our state Legislators did for us this year
Adams Outdoor was recently issued a stop work order by Beaufort County for work conducted on two billboards, like the one seen here, along Trask Parkway. The company has also sued other municipalities in South Carolina and in other states over billboard ordinances that do not allow for digital billboards. Photo by Mindy Lucas.
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BEAUFORT y the time you read this, the closing gavel probably will have banged on the 2021 state legislative session. But in case you missed it or just chose to block it out, let’s look a few of the highlights our elected state officials enacted by May 13. – Early in the session, they passed a “fetal heartbeat” ban on abortions, legislation that is expected to be tied up in the courts for some time. – They passed a bill improving in-state tuition assistance to military retirees and their dependents. The bill removes the time limit for retirees to file for the program whereas previous legislation required them to apply within three years of leaving the service. Supporters contend the assistance will increase the number of military folks moving to the state although it’s not a requirement that they live in South Carolina. – They appear to have added firing squads to the acceptable method of state-sanctioned executions since the option of lethal injection has vanished because of drug shortages. As of this writing, specifics of the bill are going back and forth between the House and Senate, but Gov. McMaster has said he’s ready to sign a bill to get the proverbial ball rolling on executions. – Also as of this writing, the Legislature appears to be on a fast-track with a bill to make it easier for gun owners with permits to carry those guns in the open. McMaster says he’s ready to sign this one as well. – We didn’t get the right to use medical marijuana for debilitating illnesses. Our Sen. Tom Davis’ proposal to legalize medical marijuana made it through Senate committee, but yet again, the law enforcement
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A5
2 Billboards in Beaufort County Is an outdoor advertising company using a recently amended ordinance to skirt Beaufort County’s billboard ban? Are they now gearing up to sue? By Mindy Lucas Is a national billboard company using a recently amended local ordinance to skate around a ban on new billboards in Beaufort County? An upcoming hearing to decide the fate of two billboards along Trask Parkway (U.S. Highway 21) may take up that question after Beaufort
County issued a stop work order on the signs recently. The billboards are owned by Adams Outdoor Advertising, a privately held company which has been called the fourth largest out-of-home advertising company in the United States. Beaufort County issued the stop
work order on April 12, the county’s administrator Eric Greenway said by phone on Monday, and has taken a “citations code enforcement action” for violation of the ordinance. A hearing will be held in Beaufort County Circuit Court on June 9 and
SEE BILLBOARD PAGE A5
“Ancestor of the Land” spotlights life and times of black farmers New exhibit also pays tribute to artist’s father and family farm
A new exhibit at the Mather School will depict farm life of rural Black farmers and the artist's father, Rufus Daniel Mitchell. Photo provided.
By Mindy Lucas The year was 1976 and Bernice and Andy Tate, who lived in New York City at the time, were visiting Bernice’s father on the family farm in Sheldon. Wanting to try out his new automatic camera, artist and illustrator Andy Tate took some impromptu photos of his father-in-law, Rufus Daniel Mitchell, working in his fields. But an interesting thing happened. The film from that day somehow was never processed and
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SC marks first sea turtle nest of the year on Seabrook Island.
Holy Trinity wins both boys and girls soccer state titles.
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WANT TO GO? “Ancestor of the Land” opens Thursday, May 20 with an opening night event from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Mather School Museum, at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, 921 Ribaut Road, Building 1, in Beaufort. The event is free and open to the public and the exhibit will run for a minimum of three months. For more information call 842-379-2787.
wound up in storage, all but forgotten, until 30 years later when the old roll was re-discovered. The husband-wife artist team had moved back to the Lowcoun-
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SEE FARMERS PAGE A4