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VOLUME 18 ISSUE 12
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
Seabrook Island Veterans Club Enriches the Lives of Ex-Military BY THERESA STRATFORD
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For The Island Connection
or many veterans – such as Andrew Grimalda, who founded the Seabrook Island Veterans Club – it is the bonds and kinship formed in the military that they miss the most after their time in the service concludes. Grimalda started the Seabrook Island Veterans Club in the spring of 2023 for the purpose of promoting “camaraderie and good times” among the veterans and their spouses living on Seabrook Island. “Despite the hardships, so many of us veterans remember the friendships we developed and the bond we felt during and after our time in service with fondness. Our club is simply an extension of that camaraderie,” he explained. The club is open to any veteran of a military branch of service, the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corp., plus spouses. The Seabrook Island Veterans Club has 130 members to date. The plan for this relatively new (continued on page 3) club is to have eight to 12 events
Wallace Creek.
Now Instead of Later
A L L I G AT O R S T U D I E S O N KIAWAH WILL PROVIDE I M P O R TA N T D ATA BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
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ate in the evening hours on July 29 and 30, you might have noticed trucks driving around with spotlights surveying the ponds. You might have wondered what they could have been looking for in the dark near ponds along roadways, leisure trails and golf cart paths. In a joint effort between the biologists for the Town of Kiawah Island and the Kiawah Island Community Association (KICA), these trucks were surveying the Island’s alligator population. Included in the survey were 48 ponds, which cover a majority of the Island. They were looking for dense areas of the alligator population, and they were estimating the size of the alligators, as well. This survey, which has been conducted annually since 2003, is done at night because that’s when alligators are most active, hunting at dusk or during the night. Shining a light along the pond water will help to illuminate their eyes as they sit still in the water waiting for prey. Although most alligators on (continued on page 2)
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C H A R L E S T O N C O U N T Y PA R K S A C Q U I R E S PROPERTY ON WALLACE CREEK BY SARAH REYNOLDS For The Island Connection
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he Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission recently acquired the Sea Island Small Farmers Cooperative property, a 19-acre property in Hollywood on Wallace Creek. Because of its association with the 1739 Stono Rebellion and a 20th century African American farmers’ cooperative, this property will now be planned as a public park able to highlight its historical and cultural significance. An event was held on August 27 to honor the transfer of the land to CCPRC. The property on Wallace Creek was originally acquired in 2022 by the Lacuna Corporation, which partnered with Lowcountry Land Trust to obtain funding from the Charleston County Greenbelt Program and place a conservation easement on the property. The Lacuna Corporation then donated the property to CCPRC. The conservation easement in place ensures that CCPRC can make improvements for future public access while respecting the site’s cultural and natural resources. A recent archaeological study was conducted, which indicated additional archaeological work should be done to ensure culturally significant areas are protected and preserved prior to the site being open to the public. In the future, the site will go through a master planning
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process that will include community engagement opportunities via surveys and public meetings to learn what residents want for the site. Possibilities include historical interpretation, water access for paddle sports, fishing, water views and access to the East Coast Greenway. As Wallace Creek is a tributary of the Stono River, the site could also be connected to other CCPRC facilities via a water trail for paddlers. CCPRC encourages community members who have information about the history of the site to contact the agency at 843-795-4386 or customerservice@ccprc.com. “Charleston County Parks is grateful to have received this site, which, in addition to being naturally beautiful, has national historical significance. We know there is still so much more to learn about it, and we look forward to working with the archeologists and our community members on that process,” said CCPRC executive director Kevin Bowie. “In the near future, this will be a place where our neighbors and visitors will be able to enjoy wonderful water access while learning more about our shared history.” “Lowcountry Land Trust is honored to partner with Lacuna Corporation and CCPRC on the permanent protection of ground that witnessed such important moments in (continued on page 3)
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