POSTAL PATRON LOCAL
JANUARY 19–25, 2023
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
PRESORTED PERMIT NO. 97 BEAUFORT, SC 29902
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
BOE upholds book committee decisions
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
By Mike McCombs With little public discussion, the Beaufort County Board of Education on Tuesday night upheld the recent decisions of the first six Library Materials Review Committees to return to the shelves books that had been removed this past fall after complaints related to their appropriateness. The Board of Education was ruling on appeals from Mike Covert and Ivie Szalai, the two original complainants. Their nearly identical lists – Covert’s list was the same as Szalai’s, plus one ad-
LOLITA HUCKABY
Beaufort Co. landscape under attack once again
ditional book – are the basis for the 97 books removed from Beaufort County School District libraries and classrooms in October. The board voted 8-2-1 to uphold the decisions of the first six committees. Board Member Richard Geier (District 4) made a motion, which Earl Campbell (D-1) seconded, to “concur with the findings of the Book Review Committees” for the first six books.
The first four books had all been returned to the shelves in some fashion by the first four committees seated. These books were addressed first because of their use in Advanced Placement programs. Speak was returned to library circulation by a vote of 4-1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, The Kite Runner and The Handmaid’s Tale were all returned to circulation unanimously, 6-0, for Grades 9 through 12 only.
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Group to count county’s homeless
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BEAUFORT t’s ironic that two of northern Beaufort County’s prominent land protectors, both with the love of St. Helena Island in their veins, left this earth within a month of each other, just as the future of their beloved landscape comes again, under attack. Pierre McGowan, famous to locals for his books on the Lowcountry and his wonderful storytelling abilities, died December 26, six days after his 96th birthday. John Trask Jr., one of the three founders of the state’s first land trust, the Beaufort County Open Land Trust (OLT), died as the New Year was beginning on January 4. Trask was the last living member of the threesome that started the OLT in 1970, concerned about the impact of development on what they considered treasured open spaces that needed protection. The nonprofit OLT was started to protect a single lot on Bay Street overlooking the Beaufort River. Through the efforts of the staff and dues paid by its members, it’s grown to protect 25,682 acres in 150 different parcels. Just last year, McGowan gifted his 6.2-acre Dory Island, located in Station Creek on the south end of St. Helena Island, to the OLT to protect it from future development. Trask had already gifted his family’s Orange Grove Plantation, a total of 850 acres overlooking Wallace Creek also on the south end of St. Helena, to make sure those rural acres are protected. In total the OLT, according to its website, has preserved 1,700 acres on St. Helena but now the pressure is on to save more, specifically the 500 acres of Pine Island, off Dulamo Road on the north end of St. Helena. The island and its adjacent high ground have become the topic of considerable debate as
Books 5 and 6 were reviewed in the next group of committees. Committee No. 5 voted unanimously, 6-0, to return The Lovely Bones to the shelves for Grades 6 through 12, while Committee No. 6 voted, unanimously, as well, 4-0, to return Stamped: Racism, Antiracism And You to the shelves for Grades 6 through 12. Committee No. 6 was split, 2-2, failing to return Stamped to the shelves for Grades K through 5. Board members Rachel
The USTAF-certified 5K is hosted by the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association and the Riverview Charter School. Runners can
By Mike McCombs Homelessness is a problem in Beaufort County, just as it is nearly everywhere in the country. And many believe it’s getting worse. But just how big a problem is it? Turns out that’s a question to which nobody has the answer. But it looks like that’s about to change. Volunteers affiliated with a Beaufort County group called the Residential Empowerment Coalition will participate next week in a Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sponsored PointIn-Time (PIT) Count in an effort to establish a count of the Beaufort County homeless population. This will be the largest community-based primary data collection attempted in Beaufort County. Ana Ramirez is the Outreach Specialist for the Beaufort County Human Services Department. She’s also the PIT Count Coordinator for Beaufort County, working with the REC. As an illustration of how little real data there is to go on, Ramirez said the last time there was a count in Beaufort County was a number of years ago. And the total number
SEE OYSTER PAGE A6
SEE HOMELESS PAGE A6
Richard Bockman, center, checks a batch of oysters being fire roasted during the 2nd annual Beaufort Oyster Festival in 2022 at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, while festival sponsor Mike Sutton, right, of Sutton Construction Co., and Vonnie Griffin, left, look on. Sutton and his crew roasted oysters the old fashioned way – on a sheet of steel over an open fire. Sutton’s oysters were provided by Maggioni Oyster Company. File photo by Bob Sofaly/The Island News
Beaufort Oyster Festival is back
From staff reports After more than a week of Tides to Tables — Restaurant Week, Beaufort slides into the main event this weekend — the third annual Beaufort Oyster Festival.
Following an invitation-only VIP sponsor appreciation event on Friday night, he Festival kicks off at 8 on Saturday morning with the Oyster Boogie 5K race in downtown Beaufort.
Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort sold to Seascape
Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort has been acquired by Seascape Hospitality Group. Submitted photo.
By Mike McCombs Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort has been acquired by Seascape Hospitality Group. The resort announced the sale in a news release Thursday, Jan. 12. According to the release, Seascape founders Joe Guerra of Long Beach, Calif., and Adam Fuller of Atlanta will manage the
operations of the property moving forward through their management company. The property had been owned by the Wardle family since 2002. Prior to that, according to Director of Marketing Hannah Nichols, the Wardles had been heavily involved
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NEWS
ARTS
SPORTS
INSIDE
Schilling Nechtman: Destined to be a doc.
Show Your Love in February at the Beaufort Art Association.
Eagles, Dolphins keep up winning ways.
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Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–6 Legals A2, L1-12 Business A6 Arts A7 Health A8–9
Voices Faith Sports Education Local Events Military
A10 A11 B1–2 B2 B3 B4–5