OCTOBER 3 3
66TH ANNUAL
Fall
Bazaar
10 AM - PM
Craft Fair • Silent Auction • Greenhouse Plant Sale International Food Court • Beer and Wine Garden Sweet Shoppe • Kids Zone and Games • Petting Zoo
SEPTEMBER 10–16, 2026
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
Family Fun, Fabulous Finds, Food and Drink! 70 Lady’s Island Dr, Beaufort Across the Street from Publix
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
ELECTION 2026
The Art of Collaboration
BOE candidates outline priorities
King Street Arts Center welcomes the public
Candidates agree on teacher retention and student support, but differ on academics, discipline and district oversight
By Luke Frazier The Island News
I
f Cherimie Weatherford had her way, the hallways inside 1407 King Street in Beaufort would be talking. They would be chatting about the history of not just the county employees who worked inside this one story former county administrative building but abuzz with stories expressing the rich history of the community where it sits. This is the part of Beaufort where previously enslaved people settled and became homeowners during and following the Civil War. Weatherford is the Executive Director of the Freedman Arts District, where this newly christened King Street Arts Center is the first piece of an evolving arts and culture campus in the city. She is clear about the ultimate purpose of their effort. “We're trying to encompass history, culture, art, creativity, and community all in one place,” Weatherford insisted. “Art is clearly a connector. It connects people, experiences, and memories.” The public was recently welcomed inside the Center for a look at the main gallery and the nearly 20 working artist studios prior to the official grand opening. The hallways
Aubrey, who goes by “Marsh Girl Art,” displays a painting created as a tribute to America’s 250th anniversary during the soft opening of the King Street Arts Center on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/ The Island News
“Art is clearly a connector. It connects people, experiences, and memories.” — Cherimie Weatherford
SEE CENTER PAGE A5
By Delayna Earley The Island News Nine candidates seeking four seats on the Beaufort County Board of Education agree on many of the broad challenges facing Beaufort County schools, including keeping qualified teachers in classrooms, supporting students struggling academically or behaviorally and maintaining public trust. But their responses to a questionnaire from The Island News show differences in where they believe the district's most pressing problems lie and how the school board should go about addressing them. Some candidates focused heavily on achievement gaps and classroom discipline. Others pointed to early childhood education, teacher recruitment, multilingual learners or preparing students for life after graduation.
SEE ELECTION PAGE A9
The long and expensive road Dick Stewart’s lawsuit vs. Trasks still progressing
T
he city of Beaufort, incorporated in 1711 after a string of Spanish, French and British settlers, is still known for its history, and the preservation of that history has always been a matter of keen interest. Ironically, thanks to a slow-moving lawsuit that some say personifies the conflict between preservation and progress, local figures Dick Stewart and Graham and George Trask may play a part in making some more history. In August, 1971 when word got out that the William Elliott House
SCOTT GRABER
LOLITA HUCKABY
at 1103 Bay Street had been purchased and the new owners intended to demolish the three-storied tabby building which had been renamed “The Anchorage,” some folks were concerned. In those days, “preservation-
ists” in Beaufort could largely be counted on one hand and most folks believed that demolition of the Anchorage was inevitable, in the name of “progress.” There was no question that the Elliott house, circa 1770, was
historic and the preservationists rallied to get the building protected by adding it to the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Homes. But Beaufort was still, at that time, “invisible” to the tourism industry, not yet discovered by the waves of visitors who would flock to the area once movies like “The Big Chill” (1983) or “Prince of Tides” (1991) hit the screens and opened the doors to those wanting to see our beauty. Saved by the yankees Beaufort’s history was unique in that occupation early in the Civil
War left a number of architecturally significant antebellum structures. But the reality was that these large homes, like the Anchorage, were expensive to maintain and in many minds, expendable. The downtown business district, primarily the three blocks of Bay Street, for years was likewise static, consisting of small storefronts that sold shoes, ready-towear suits, seeds and nails by the pound to a population of city folks, shrimpers, tomato farmers and small-plot African American
SEE ROAD PAGE A4
HEALTH
VOICES
SPORTS
INSIDE
Beaufort Memorial adds urologist in Beaufort, Okatie.
The fallen Witness Tree inspires reflections on history, resilience and hope.
High School Football Roundup: Beaufort Academy earns its first win as teams battle through a busy week.
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News Health Voices Military Sports Directory
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