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VOLUME 18 ISSUE 19
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Seabrook Council Denies Support for the Avian Conservation Center
Fishing for Answers
BY THERESA STRATFORD
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DECEMBER 13, 2014
For The Island Connection
eabrook Island’s North Beach is recognized as a critical habitat for shorebirds. Among the species that live, nest and feed on Seabrook are the Red Knot, Piping Plover, Wilson’s Plover and the Least Tern. For an island with a habitat so important to shorebirds, it may have come as a surprise to some that the Seabrook Island Town Council unanimously decided not to approve a $2,500 grant to the Avian Conservation Center at the regular Town Council meeting on November 19. The Avian Conservation Center, which encompasses the Center for Birds of Prey, SC Oiled Bird Treatment Facility and the Avian Medical Clinic, is whom everyone calls when they encounter or need to report a sick or injured bird. On their website, the mission is stated simply, “To identify and address vital environmental issues by (continued on page 2) providing medical care for injured
Exchange Club donates $3 million to local community BY LISA MCDONALD
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For The Island Connection
ince the launch of the Exchange Club of KiawahSeabrook in 1982, members have been working quietly and steadily to raise funds and improve the lives of people on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands by supporting local child abuse prevention Loretta Stanley of New Webster Food Pantry, left, with Thad programs, youth/ Peterson, President of Exchange education initiatives Club of Kiawah-Seabrook. and community outreach services. The club also honors America’s veterans and, specifically, South Carolina fallen heroes with flag displays around the community for national holidays. Through yearround educational dinners, community service projects, fundraising activities and social events, the Exchange Club has donated over $3 million to the community. Included in that amount is $178,200 awarded on November 6 to 40 local service providers. This annual event is the culmination of work by committee members to analyze and vet dozens of requests for assistance. Residents of Johns, Wadmalaw, Kiawah and Seabrook Islands are invited to help make a difference by joining. For more information visit ks-exchangeclub.com.
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PHOTO: BY THERESA STRATFORD
GUIDELINES AND ORDINANCES CONFLICTED AT R E C E N T C O U N C I L M E E T I N G BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
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here are rules, there are regulations, and then there are guidelines. Sometimes it’s a blurred line on what a town jurisdiction can enforce when it comes to guidelines. Seabrook Island Town Council Member Gordon Weis, who is also the chair of the Town’s Environment and Wildlife Committee, recommended that the Town adopt the Seabrook Island Property Owner Association’s (SIPOA) fishing guidelines. He presented a short version of the guidelines and a long version at the November 19 Town Council meeting. Basically, Weis explained that the guidelines would be for educational purposes for any member of the public wishing to fish on Seabrook Island. Town Council Member Darryl May pointed out the guidelines are similar to a pamphlet with educational information, but not really something that a Town Council would adopt. He added that the guidelines do
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not have legal recourse. Seabrook Island Town Administrator Joe Cronin said that some of the information in the SIPOA fishing guidelines are already in the Town’s ordinance on fishing, like the DNR fishing rules. He went on to say that councils normally do not create guidelines, unless they are further enhancing or clarifying. He used the example of guidelines for approving grant applications. “Those are tools so that each committee can use the guidelines to make recommendations, but they don’t have the force of law,” Cronin said. The guidelines could be posted on the Town’s website, but Seabrook Island’s Mayor Bruce Kleinman noted that some of the information in the guidelines could conflict with their current ordinance, even though he said that normally posting something like this on their website would be fine. (continued on page 3) “There is plenty of stuff on
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