January 22 edition

Second week of 2026 brings oysters, politicians, General Assembly

What a weekend. Hundreds of oyster-lovers turned out Saturday for the 6th Beaufort Oyster Festival, probably to enjoy the sun and mild weather as much as the succulent seafood.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) was doing some political “stumping” in Beaufort on Sunday afternoon as part of a two-day tour of the Palmetto State. His appearance is indicative of the national media attention being paid to South Carolina, which may or may not be the first state to have this year’s Democratic presidential primary in the spring.

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day when the legacy of the slain civil rights leader — who actually spent time here in the Lowcountry at Penn Center in the 1960’s where he and his team planned strategy for the battles ahead — was honored with a parade and speeches. And the S.C. General Assembly is back in session up in Columbia, ready to do who-knows-what to our way of living.

St. Helena Island remains in the news

ST. HELENA ISLAND — In case you missed it, Elvio

SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A6

Two killed, teen critically injured in Lady’s Island crash

By Delayna Earley The Island News

Two people were killed, and a teenager was critically injured in a head-on crash late Sunday night on Lady’s Island that caused one vehicle to catch fire.

The collision occurred at approximately 10:49 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at the intersection of Sea Island Parkway (U.S. 21) and Eustis Landing Road, according to

the Lady’s Island–St. Helena Fire District. Officials said a Honda and a Subaru collided headon, causing the Subaru to burst into flames.

Louis Carbonneau, 54 -yearold man from St. Helena Island, was driving the Subaru and was pronounced dead at the scene, along with Amya Fields, a 17 -year-old female from Beaufort, who was a passenger in the Honda. A 17-year-old male who was also in the Honda was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with critical injuries.

Emergency crews responded to the scene and worked for several hours as investigators examined the wreckage. Sea Island Parkway was closed in both directions during the response and investigation and later reopened after the scene was cleared. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by law enforcement.

6TH ANNUAL BEAUFORT OYSTER FESTIVAL

of

in a pan for fire roasting during the 6th annual Beaufort Oyster Festival on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Senator Booker rallies

Beaufort Democrats

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

More than 300 people attended a town hall-type meeting with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Holiday Inn in Beaufort. Booker was in Beaufort as part of the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “On the Road With Senator Cory Booker” tour, which included roughly a half dozen stops over three days, mostly in the rural

Lowcountry. During the tour, Sen. Booker, who joined state and local Democratic leaders, focused on the challenges facing most Americans, in particular, the rising cost of health care.

Attendees turned in handwritten questions on index cards and he answered many over about an hour and a half during his roughly twohour appearance. He encouraged the crowd to stay orderly because

he wanted to answer as many as he could.

“I hope you understand that the richest nation in the world should not have the most expensive health care and the worst outcomes for a developed nation. That the wealthiest nation in the world shouldn’t [be among] developed nations that have the highest … infant mortality rates, and the

LOWCOUNTRY LIFE & NEWS

Tom and Nancy Hutchison captured this image of the day dock in downtown Beaufort with the Woods Memorial Bridge virtually invisible in the fog in the background on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. To submit a Lowcountry Life photo, you must be the photographer or have permission to submit the photo to be published in The Island News. Please submit high-resolution photos and include a description and/or names of the people in the picture and the name of the photographer. Email your photos to theislandnews@gmail.com.

VETERAN OF THE WEEK DUANE TWENGE

American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Duane Twenge, 82, who joined the U.S. Air Force in Minneapolis in 1963. After Basic training at Lackland AFB we was assigned to duty in Thule, Greenland at the weather detachment. His next tour brought him to Duluth AFB where he provided administrative services to fighter squadrons. After three years he was reassigned to a ra-

dar site at Finland AFS in Minnesota. He next was assigned at Ramstein AFB in Germany before being transferred to a communication activity at Richard Gebaur AFB in Missouri. He then transferred to an Air Force Station at Araxos, Greece.

Twenge returned to the States to Luke AFB in Arizona with administrative duties for the teams providing missile maintenance. Moving east, he served with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB in Virginia. Then he served back at Richard Gebaur AFB as an advisor to the Reserves before his final tour at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. He retired in 1989 as a Master Sergeant with

26 years of active service. He and Jane, his wife of 50 years, settled in Florida and traveled extensively in their motor home. They moved to Beaufort in 2023; he is a member of DAV and AMVETS.

– Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207 For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.

County Council hosting ‘Chat With Council’

Staff reports Beaufort County Council is hosting another "Chat With Council" as an opportunity for members of the public to get to know Council members and ask questions. The chat will be held Thursday,

Jan. 22, from 6 until 7:30 p.m., at Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way.

The chat will be informal and registration is not required. There will be a sign up sheet for those interested in speaking however no minutes will be tak-

en, the meetings will not be televised, nor will County staff be on premises.

All Council members may be in attendance, however even if it's a quorum, Council will not hold any votes or conduct any official business as part of this

community meeting. Council members are encouraging all members of the public to attend and ask questions on any topic of concern to them. For more information, please contact the Clerk to Council's office at 843-255-2180

Accounting April Ackerman april@ aandbbookkeeping. com Billing questions only.

RobeRt beattie

Feb. 3, 1946 – Jan. 16, 2026

Beaufort

Robert Beattie passed away peacefully on Jan. 16, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. Bob was born and raised in Brooklyn to Canadian immigrants, Gerry and Letty Beattie. He was a proud graduate of St. John’s University and fan of its basketball team (go Red Storm!).

Bob and Linda, his wife of over 50 years, built a life, a family, and a small farm together in the hill towns of Albany County, N.Y., until 1987, when they moved to Beaufort, S.C. in search of warmer weather and to help care for his mother-in-law.

January 22

Robert Beattie

Bob worked as a teacher, an investigator for the N.Y. State Liquor Authority, and finally retired at 70 after a 30year career with the U.S. Postal Service.

But he was really born to be a dad. He gave his whole heart to his wife and four kids, sacrificing himself to make sure they had everything he could provide. Much to Linda’s chagrin, he also gave his kids his sarcastic sense of humor, which meant nightly family dinners were laughter-filled, and entertaining for the many friends who were al-

ways welcome to pull up a chair or piano bench. He will be remembered for his wit and intelligence, encyclopedic memory, but mostly he will be missed for his seemingly endless patience, kindness, and love.

Bob is predeceased by the love of his life, Linda, who passed just 10 months prior. He is survived by their four children: Dawn Beattie Randel [Bryan Randel, children Pearce Randel, Andrew Randel] who has been his caregiver and gave their home over to his care; Jeanne Beattie Shannon [Neil Shannon, children Amelia and Robert Shannon] who was, by his own admission, his favorite; Robert E. Beattie

OBITUARIES

The Island News publishes obituaries, including a photo, free of charge. Please contact theislandnews@gmail.com for more information.

[Riann Chapman, children Noah and Isla Beattie] his namesake and pride; Linda J. Beattie, who was and still is his baby girl. He is also survived by his sister, Marilyn Jaycox.

A graveside service for Bob will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, at Beaufort Memorial Gardens. Copeland Funeral Service is assisting the Beattie family with arrangements.

1973: Beaufort native Joe Frazier loses by technical knock-out to George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica — his

to fall to 29-1 and lose the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles. January 28

1974: Beaufort native Joe Frazier loses to Muhammad Ali by unanimous decision in a NABF heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. – Compiled by Mike McCombs

Do you value your free hometown newspaper – made by locals, for locals? Free news isn’t cheap. Please help support The Island News!

Donations gratefully accepted at www.yourislandnews.com or The Island News, PO Box 550, Beaufort, SC 29901

Cookin’ in the New Year

Bellyfull by Tyger closes restaurant, picks permanent locations until summer

The Island News

The new year is bringing a fresh start for Tyger Snell, owner of Bellyfull by Tyger, a popular local food trailer. His food trailer also shares the name of his brick and mortar restaurant in Yemassee … for a couple more days at least.

The 46-year-old Snell, originally from Sheldon, cut his culinary teeth in local restaurants, as well as Technical College of the Lowcountry’s program, bouncing around as kitchen worker, a chef and sometimes manager for 22 years before being fired from a job.

It was then Snell decided to take a chance at doing his own thing.

Snell spent about $4 000 on a tent, a table, a deep fryer and a 6-foot-by-12-foot trailer. And Bellyfull by Tyger was born.

“I was scared to go out on my own,” Snell said. “That was really scary stuff. ... COVID had just hit.

… All I knew was that my food was good. My food was good, but I had to figure out how do I get my food out to the people.”

Snell first set up his trailer in a relative’s yard on Hwy. 21 in Lobeco.

He said the road hasn’t been easy; there were rough patches (fires, leagal issues, etc.). But he learned during his time in the local restaurants, that if you made good food, the community would support you.

Two years ago, Snell came full circle, opening a restaurant in Yemassee. While successful, Snell said it’s become uncomfortable simply because, between the restaurant and his extremely popular food trailer, he has been work-

ing seven days a week. It’s time to stop, he said The last day his restaurant, located at 59 Salkehatchie Road, will be open (from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) will be Saturday, Jan. 24

“People have told me they are

disappointed, but they understand,” he said. “I’ll be around, though.”

Snell said he made good money on the weekends, but he has decided he’d rather spend those days traveling. He wants to take his truck and test the waters in other towns and other states.

He’s taken the truck to Columbia a couple times, and he’d really like to try Florida. But he thinks he won’t really dive into traveling until the summer.

In the meantime, Snell will continue to work most of the festivals in the area — Taste of Beaufort, Soft Shell Crab Festival, Gullah Festival, the Black Food Truck Festival, and the Shrimp Festival again next fall.

During the week, his new regular location will be at Winlectric at 245 Robert Smalls Parkway. And on Sundays, he’ll be at Farmers Furniture at 2421 Boundary Street.

And Snell wants to remind people, his catering business will continue, even though the restaurant is closed. He can be reached on Facebook at Belly Full by Tyger or by phone at 843-321-5343

BCSO arrests St. Helena man in connection with Burton murder

Staff reports

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 21-year-old St. Helena Island man in connection with a September murder in Burton. Tyre Joe Atkins has been charged with Murder,

Attempted Murder, Felon in Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime, and Aggravated Breach of Peace. Atkins was identified as the subject in the murder of

20-year-old Ty Haskell Jenkins IV, of St. Helena Island. The shooting occurred in Independence Mobile Home Park at 60 Shanklin Road in Burton, on Sept. 10, 2025

The circumstances that led to that incident are still

under investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the lead investigator, Master Sergeant Duncan, 843-255-3418

The Sheriff’s Office appreciates the assistance of South

Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in this case. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office encourages the community to report suspicious and criminal activity by calling our non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-

2777. If wishing to remain anonymous, tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County via the P3 Tips app on your mobile device, online at tipsbft.com, or by calling 844-TIPS-BFT (844-847-7238).

Maurizio Buscarini, M.D.,

Beaufort Memorial Urology Specialists proudly welcomes Dr. Maurizio Buscarini, a board-certified, fellowship-trained urologist, to its Beaufort and Okatie locations. With decades of experience, Dr. Buscarini specializes in robot-assisted surgery and advanced treatment for urological cancers, offering patients cutting-edge care close to home.

An internationally recognized leader in his field, Dr. Buscarini comes to the Lowcountry from his most recent roles as Regional Director at Mount Sinai Queens and Professor of Urology at both Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and University Campus Biomedico in Rome, Italy.

He has established state-of-the-art robotic surgery programs across the U.S. and Europe, trained more than 100 physicians worldwide, and authored over 160 scientific publications. In addition, he has participated in more than 50 medical relief missions with Doctors Without Borders over the past 25 years.

Board Certified – Urology

American Board of Urology

European Board of Urology

Doctor in Medicine

Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Residency – Urology

University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Fellowship – Endourology/Laparoscopy/Robotics

Oregon Health & Science University, Portland

Fellowship –

Dr. Buscarini remains at the forefront of innovation, treating conditions such as adrenal, bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers with leading-edge techniques. Beyond his surgical expertise, he takes a holistic approach to care, ensuring patients understand every step of their treatment. Now, he brings his world-class expertise to the Lowcountry, combining advanced robotic procedures with personalized, compassionate care for every patient.

F.

Dr.

and board-certified physician assistants Kristin S. Callaghan, Nancy Thomas and Matthew Baker at Beaufort Memorial Urology Specialists.

Pedestrian killed by tractortrailer

Monday

By Delayna Earley The Island News

A pedestrian was killed Monday night after being struck by a tractor-trailer on U.S. 17 in Beaufort County.

The collision occurred at approximately 8:11 p.m. near River Road, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. According to the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, Scott McKeever, a 48-year-old male from Bluffton, died on scene from blunt force injuries.

Troopers said a Peterbilt tractor-trailer was traveling northbound on U.S. 17 when it struck McKeever, who was in the roadway. The incident remains under investigation, authorities said.

Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

Grays Hill house fire displaces 8; 1 sent to hospital

Staff reports On Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 13, the Burton Fire District, MCAS Fire and Emergency Services, and Beaufort County EMS responded to a reported house fire that resulted in eight people being displaced and one person being transported to the hospital by EMS.

Just before 3 p.m., emergency crews responded to a reported house fire on Deepwood Lane in Grays Hill after a resident, who was in the home with children at the time, reported a fire in a bedroom. Everyone was able to evacuate the home prior to the fire department’s arrival.

Firefighters arrived on scene within four minutes and found smoke coming from a single-family home.

Fire crews entered the home and brought the fire under control within five minutes confining fire damages to the bedroom; however, there was smoke damage throughout the home.

One adult female was transported to the hospital by Beaufort County EMS as a precaution. Four adults and four children were displaced. Red Cross was notified and is assisting.

The fire is under investigation but believed to be caused by an electrical issue. It is not believed the home had working smoke alarms. Burton fire officials remind residents who need smoke alarms or need assistance with the smoke alarms they have to contact their local fire department.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade

Board of Elections hosting community forums

The Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Beaufort County will be hosting several Community Forums in the months leading up to the June Primary Elections. These meetings will be open to the public and are held at locations across Beaufort County. Topics include: How to Register/Who Can Register to Vote

Upcoming Elections

What is on the Ballot

What voters can expect at the polls

Absentee Voting

Early Voting

Sample Ballots

Poll Workers

And More

Dates and Locations of Forums:

• Thursday, January 22 6 p.m., Main Voter Registration Office, 15 John Galt Road Beaufort, S.C. 29906

• Thursday, February 19 6 p.m., Bluffton Library, 120 Palmetto Way, Bluffton, S.C. 29910

• Thursday, March 19, 6 p.m., St. Helena Library; 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island, S.C. 29920

• Thursday, April 9 6 p.m., Hilton Head Island Library, 11 Beach City Road Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926

For more information, please contact Jean Felix at 843-255-6954 or via email at jean.felix@bcgov.net.

Friends of Fort Fremont meeting, lecture to be held

Jan. 23

Col. Seanegan Sculley, Professor and Director of West Point's Digital History

Nine year old Natalie Kata, a third-grade student at Riverview Charter School, sits behind Port Royal Police Chief Jeff Myers’ desk on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. Natalie was officially introduced as the Town of Port Royal’s Honorary Mayor for the Day after winning a bid for the role during Riverview’s Empty Bowls Fundraiser. Amber Hewitt/The Island News

Center, will give a talk titled "Creating the Interactive Digital History of Fort Fremont," at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 23 at the St. Helena Branch Library. The event is free and open to the public. Following a short business meeting, Col. Sculley will discuss the study's progress following a cadet and faculty visit to Fort Fremont in July 2025 and subsequent research which focused on homeland coastal defense at Fort Fremont at the turn of the 20th century. The end product will apply state-of-the-art technology to bring history

to life through digital animation. Beaufort TEA Party meeting

Jan. 26

South Carolina GOP Chair Drew McKissick will be the guest speaker when the Beaufort TEA Party meets from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 26 at Bricks on Boundary at 1422 Boundary Street.

As we kick off the 2026 Election Season, McKissick will outline what to expect in the months ahead.

Candidates for office, and their representatives, have also been invited to attend with their promotional materials. The public is invited to join, mix and mingle as they meet these individuals and learn their platforms

Tax season opens Jan. 26

The SCDOR will begin accepting 2025 Individual Income Tax returns on Monday, Jan. 26 2026, consistent with the date announced by the IRS. Returns are due April 15, 2026. For your South Carolina return, if you both file and pay electronically by May 1 2026, you will not be subject to penalties or interest.

Questions about how South Carolina conforms with the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act? Refer to https://bit.ly/49yzdDJ. The SCDOR will begin processing returns Feb. 2 2026 to allow employers time to meet the Jan. 31 W-2 submission deadline.

Beaufort Republican Women’s Club holding luncheon Feb. 7

The Beaufort Republican Women’s Club will hold its Annual Membership Recruitment Luncheon at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 7 2026, in the Carolina Room at the Dataw Island Club at 123 Dataw Drive on St. Helena Island. Kevin Hennelly, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, will speak about “Why Unity Matters.”

The cost of the buffet luncheon is $40 per person and by reservation only. To reserve your seat, please mail your check to BRWC, P.O. Box 1835, Beaufort, S.C. 29901 by Jan. 28 2026. Please join us to hear how you can become involved. For further information, please email Kim Handy at handyabc@ gmail.com.

– Staff reports

Junior Service League seeks dress donations

Staff reports

The Junior Service League of Beaufort (JSLB) is calling on the community to help make prom dreams come true for local high school students. Donations are now being accepted for the 2026 JSLB Prom Boutique, an annual initiative that provides prom dresses and accessories at no cost to high school students.

Community members are encouraged to donate new or gently used formal dresses in all sizes, along with accessories such as jewelry, shawls, and handbags (excluding shoes). All donated items should be clean and free of visible stains.

Prom Boutique serves high school students from Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties, offering them the opportunity to select a dress and accessories in a welcoming, boutique-style setting — completely free of charge. Since its inception, Prom Boutique has helped hundreds of students experience the confidence and

joy that comes with finding the perfect prom look.

Donation locations include: Beaufort Chiropractic (22 Professional Village Circle); LUX – A Medical Spa (350 Fording Island Road, Suite 101); LUX – A Medical Spa (24 Shelter Cove Lane, Suite 50); and Rooted Clothing (917 Bay Street).

Donations will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

Founded in 2005, the Junior Service League of Beaufort is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and enriching the lives of women, children, and families throughout Beaufort County. Through hands-on volunteerism, community partnerships, and signature programs like Prom Boutique, JSLB works to create meaningful impact across the Lowcountry.

For more information about Prom Boutique or the Junior Service League of Beaufort, please contact communications.jslb@ gmail.com.

Cunningham addresses Republican women

The Beaufort Republican Women’s Club held its First Quarter Members Meeting at the Red Rooster Restaurant at 2045 Boundary Street in Beaufort on Saturday morning, Jan. 17, 2026. Beaufort County Councilman Logan Cunningham, a candidate for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, was the guest speaker. His goal locally is to slow growth and development, and he strives to protect the Lowcountry, put America first, strengthen the economy, and encourage common-sense leadership in Washington. The quarterly meetings are casual, informative, and fun; no reservation is required. Members order off the menu, and each is responsible for her own meal. The Annual Membership Drive Luncheon is February 7 at Dataw Island Club. Anyone interested in joining BRWC is welcome. For more information about the club, go to www.beaufortrepublicanwomensc. com or contact Kim Handy at handyabc@gmail.com.

FWDG concludes 35th annual Coat Drive

Staff reports

FWDG proudly concluded its 35th Annual Community Coat Drive on Dec. 31, 2025, a heartfelt initiative aimed at providing warmth and support to neighbors in need throughout the Lowcountry. Throughout the drive, FWDG — along with other local businesses—served as convenient drop-off locations, welcoming new and gently used coats and cold-weather items for adults and children. The response from the community was overwhelming, resulting in more than 550 coats and winter items collected and

distributed to those in need during the colder months.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support we received,” said Donna Seneca, CEO of FWDG. “This coat drive is about more than winter clothing—it’s about neighbors helping neighbors and coming together to care for our community.”

All donated coats were distributed locally to organizations and individuals who need them most, helping ensure that members of the community stay warm and protected throughout the winter season.

FWDG has long been

committed to giving back to the Lowcountry through community-driven initiatives, and the annual coat drive remains one of the company’s most impactful outreach efforts. By partnering with customers, local businesses, and community organizations, FWDG continues to reinforce its mission of supporting the community it proudly serves.

For more information about FWDG and future community initiatives, visit the showroom at 745 Robert Smalls Parkway in Beaufort or follow FWDG on social media.

Staff reports

Free tax assistance available in Lowcountry for qualified residents

VITA program returns, sponsored by IRS, Beaufort County, Beaufort County Library, United Way of the Lowcountry

Tax season is just around the corner, and there’s no need to stress. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is once again serving the Lowcountry, providing free IRS-certified tax preparation to qualified residents. VITA helps taxpayers maximize refunds and achieve financial self-sufficiency at no cost.

A collaboration between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Beaufort County, the Beaufort County Library System, and United Way of the Lowcountry (UWLC), VITA offers services beginning the first week in February. Whether you’re a working family, college student, or retiree, VITA ensures you claim every deduction and credit you deserve, including any of the new tax updates.

“With ongoing changes to federal tax policy, it’s more important than ever

for families to have access to reliable guidance,” said Dale Douthat, President and CEO of United Way of the Lowcountry. “VITA helps residents understand how cur-

rent tax laws affect them and ensures they file accurately while claiming every credit they’re entitled to.”

During the last year’s tax season, nearly 90 IRS-certi-

fied VITA volunteers assisted more than 2 400 Lowcountry residents, securing more than $2 million in refunds. Those dollars helped families pay bills, save for

the future, and improve their overall financial well-being.

VITA services available

Appointment scheduling available at www. uwlowcountry.org/

VITA; 14 VITA sites are located throughout Beaufort, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, and Jasper counties; and Bilingual assistance is available at all sites through over-the-phone interpreters.

Special Tax-A-Thon event

VITA will host a Tax-AThon on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hardeeville Recreation Center. This free community event includes free tax preparation services, bilingual interpreters, a community resource fair (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), giveaways, a food truck, kids’ activities, and music. Appointments

strongly encouraged and walk-ins welcome. Rain or shine.

Who is eligible for VITA services?

VITA is available to:

Individuals and families with household incomes under $75 000 Non-English-speaking taxpayers.

• Individuals with disabilities. Adults age 60 and older.

Make the most of tax season Visit www.uwlowcountry. org/VITA to find a VITA site near you, schedule an appointment, and download a checklist of required documents. File your taxes accurately, efficiently, and completely free. For more information, visit www.uwlowcountry.org/ VITA, email lowcountryvitacoalition@gmail.com, or call 843-321-9071

Sparklight gives $7,500 grant to Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation

Staff reports Residents across the Lowcountry will soon have access to a new community podcast studio thanks to a $7 500 grant awarded to the Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation by Sparklight through its Charitable Giving Fund. The grant will support the launch of a professionally equipped studio to help residents, small businesses, non-

profits and students build digital skills and amplify local voices.

During its recent grant cycle, Sparklight awarded more than $125 000 in grants to 25 nonprofit organizations across the cities and towns it serves. From child and family support to hunger relief to education and vital skills training, the funding is helping enhance communities and uplift lives.

“At Sparklight, we believe strong communities are built through meaningful connections,” said Jane Shanley, Sparklight Senior Regional Director, Southeast.

“By investing in the Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation’s community podcast studio, we’re helping strengthen community connections and expand opportunities across the Lowcountry.”

Beaufort Digital Corridor Foundation Executive Director Jess O’Brien expressed appreciation for the grant.

“We are thankful for Sparklight’s partnership,” said O’Brien.

Staff reports

Beaufort Memorial is strengthening access to cardiac care in the Lowcountry with the addition of an experienced cardiologist to its team. Dr. Terry Grainger, board-certified in cardiovascular disease and fellowship-trained in cardiology, has joined Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists and is seeing patients in both Beaufort and Okatie. With

Lowdown from page A1

Dr. Terry Grainger

more than 30 years of experience, he brings a knowledgeable, compassionate approach to diagnosing and treating acute and chronic heart conditions, including congestive heart failure, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Dr. Grainger earned his

medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, then completed an internal medicine residency at Pitt County Memorial Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at East Carolina University of Medicine, both in Greenville, N.C.

Specializing in preventive cardiology, Dr. Grainger partners closely with his patients to support healthy lifestyle habits and

existing Community Preservation Ordinance.

The SRT action does not require County Council approval.

Tropeano, the determined spokesman for the development of Pine Island, got approval from the county earlier this month to move forward with building homes on the isolated 500 acres of land which have preoccupied county officials and citizens worried about development for the past several years.

At the Jan. 7 meeting of the county’s Staff Review Team, Tropeano was given conditional approval to build 20 waterfront homes within the next two years.

It’s far less than the 240 homes the developer originally proposed and does not include the 18-hole golf course which would have required a variance from the

The Pine Island legal team is still challenging in federal court the County Council’s decision not to grant a variance to allow rezoning of the property to allow a golf course. A second lawsuit, in state court, was withdrawn late last year.

Opponents of the proposed development, including Gov. Henry McMaster and environmental groups like the Coastal Conservation League, have argued the CPO variance would negatively impact the Gullah culture and history of St. Helena Island.

Home to the Penn Center and one of the least developed areas of Beaufort County, St. Helena has been the target of development projects which supporters

“By giving residents, small businesses, nonprofits and students access to professional tools and training, we’re lowering barriers to storytelling and participation in the digital economy. Sparklight’s support allows us to build stronger connections across Beaufort by empowering people to share ideas, preserve local culture and tell the stories that matter most to our community.”

For more information about the Sparklight Charitable Giving Fund, please visit www.sparklight. com/charitablegiving.

BMH adds experienced cardiologist

reduce the risk of heart disease.

“I treat patients the way I want my own family to be treated,” he said, noting that building strong relationships with patients is one of the most rewarding aspects of his work.

In addition to coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure, Dr. Grainger’s clinical experience includes sleep and obesity medicine. He joins

contend will bring a new revenue taxes and job opportunities.

The County Council in December also rejected a proposal to accept a $600,000 federal grant for construction of a multi-million-dollar cultural center and entrepreneurial market which supporters also argued would be economic growth to St. Helena area.

And on a much smaller note, but indicative of things happening on St. Helena, at least one local business — Willie’s Bar and Grill — has been closed by the property owners after the location was the scene of a mass shooting in October in which four individuals were shot to death.

News came last week that the property owners have closed the brick building at the corner of Sea Island Parkway and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and Willie Turral, as one might expect, has filed a

lawsuit.

Beaufort Memorial from Prisma Health in Columbia, S.C., where he treated patients with a wide range of heart conditions and sleep disorders, including sleep apnea.

Providers at Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists focus on cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology, offering a broad range of services, including angioplasty and pacemaker placement. These providers

Turral had already had his liquor license withdrawn at the request of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

County discusses former Hardee’s site behind closed doors PORT ROYAL – For those who are still lamenting the closure of Hardee’s fast-food restaurant on Ribaut Road, may you draw some comfort in knowing that you are not alone. At least 75 franchises across the country closed their doors this month. Apparently, it’s not only Hardee’s connoisseurs who suffering.

Eight Whataburger establishments in three Southern States — Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee — also announced closures this past week.

But Beaufort County Council

also help patients manage heart disease risk factors such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and high cholesterol. At the practice, Dr. Grainger joins board-certified interventional cardiologists Drs. Stuart Smalheiser and Francis O’Neill, as well as physician assistant Tara Kay, MMS, PA-C and nurse practitioner Nicole Gray, MSN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC.

has been having closed-door discussions about the former Hardee’s location on Ribaut Road, at the foot of the McTeer Bridge, actually in the town of Port Royal. Their conversations also, reportedly include the vacant lot — formerly a Parker’s gas station — on the other side of Ribaut Road. Whatever their plans may be for that property, it’s probably not a fast-food restaurant … maybe a Mexican restaurant.

Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but

STATE NEWS

SC Lawmakers open with attention to abortion measures

By Jack O’Toole StatehouseReport.com

For the second time in two months, Republicans in the state legislature have blocked legislation that would treat abortion as homicide and ban the procedure from conception, without exceptions for rape, incest or fetal anomalies.

But in keeping with past sessions that used the cultural issue as a wedge, they also introduced a relatively new facet of the debate with a bill to further regulate abortion drugs.

As members of a S.C. House Judiciary subcommittee effectively killed the proposal to treat abortion as homicide on Jan. 14, the GOP majority also voted to move forward with a bill that would place strict new access restrictions on the “medication abortion” pills used in 84% of S.C. abortions, according to state statistics.

A spokesman for Gov. Henry McMaster on Jan. 15 confirmed that the governor continues to believe the state is in “a good place” with its current ban on abortion after six weeks, while noting that McMaster hasn’t yet commented on the bill restricting medication abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.

Doctors raise concerns House Judiciary Committee Chairman Wes Newton, R-Beaufort, sponsored the legislation restricting access to two abortion medications. It would reclassify both as Schedule IV drugs, making possession illegal without a prescription. Current S.C. law defines Schedule IV drugs as those with a legitimate medical use, but that “may cause physical or psychological dependence,” such as Ativan or Xanax.

Supporters argue the bill will help state officials en-

force the six-week ban, which they say some other states are working to undermine by shielding doctors and pharmacies that send the drugs through the mail.

But critics, including doctors like Columbia-area OB-GYN Patricia Seal, warned committee members that both medications are life-saving drugs in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices when pregnancies go wrong — and that rescheduling them would limit doctors’ quick access when women’s lives are at stake.

For instance, Seal said, she would normally have immediate access to misoprostol when needed to treat heavy bleeding after a delivery, but that under the bill, she would have to wait 10 to 15 minutes to have it delivered to the operating room as a Schedule IV controlled substance.

“During that time,” she noted, “the patient would be continuing to bleed.”

Planned Parenthood

South Atlantic’s Vicki Ringer echoed those concerns in a Jan. 15 interview, pointing to a New Orleans Health Department study which found that a similar 2024 law in Louisiana made “misoprostol and mifepristone difficult to access for routine, legal and medically necessary use.”

“This bill slows down doctors’ ability to provide care,” Ringer said.

A stricter ban?

Despite the governor’s opposition, some pro-life Republican lawmakers told Statehouse Report this week that they will continue to push for a complete ban on abortion from conception, reflecting their view that the fetus is an unborn human life.

“Life begins at conception,” said Rep. Jordan Pace, chairman of the hard-right S.C. Freedom Caucus, in an

interview. “And from a constitutional perspective, the 14th Amendment should apply to everyone, regardless of their age or location — in the womb, out of the womb, wherever.”

In contrast, the ACLU of South Carolina’s Courtney Thomas argued that in her view, the moves to ban all abortions arise primarily from religious convictions about when life begins.

“A lot of the fervor for these bans is coming from the Christian right,” she said in a Jan. 16 interview. “We’re seeing the intrusion of the church into what should be decisions based on good science and policy.”

While that debate is likely to continue in committee rooms throughout the session, most Statehouse observers say a stricter ban is unlikely to reach the floor of either chamber this year.

Staff reports

The former chief of Navy Reserve is joining at least 14 other candidates running for South Carolina’s coastal 1st Congressional District.

Retired-Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, who spent 35 years in the Navy, announced Tuesday that she’s running as a Democrat for the seat held since 2020 by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for governor. Lacore told the S.C. Daily Gazette that she was removed from her leadership role last August by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. She said she was given no reason why she was fired and declined to speculate.

The Associated Press reported at the time that the firing was among

Booker

from page A1

highest paternal mortality rates, that we should be outliers,” Booker said. Booker pointed out that unlike the United States, last year the populations of Germany, England and Canada had no “people declaring bankruptcy because they can't afford

a series of moves targeting perceived critics of President Donald Trump.

Lacore said she and her husband, also a Navy helicopter pilot, moved to Mount Pleasant in October after buying a house there last spring.

A native of Albany, N.Y., she moved frequently while in the Navy. She spent the first 10 years of her Navy career on active duty. As a reservist, she was deployed twice: in 2011 to Afghanistan and 2017 to Djibouti, a small country on Africa’s northeast coast.

The mother of six said she decided to make her first run for elected office Dec. 1, the same day she officially retired from the Navy, because she worried about the country’s direction.

their medical bills. [But] we have thousands of people here in the United States of America. I ask you to refocus yourself on those words of our founding [fathers] -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You cannot have any of those if you don't have access to healthcare.”

Bluffton’s Sarah McCarty said she came out to hear what Booker had to say mostly for inspiration.

“I've heard Senator Booker

“My opinion is we’ve already gone too far,” Beaufort Sen. Tom Davis said in an interview. “I’m of the opinion it should be first trimester, with exceptions for rape, incest, fetal anomalies and the health and life of the mother.”

He added, “I am diametrically opposed to anything that would make it more stringent. I would do whatever I could do procedurally to prevent it from passing.” The bill rescheduling mifepristone and misoprostol will next go to the full House Judiciary Committee, where it’s expected to pass before heading to the House floor.

Published in coordination with StatehouseReport.com with assistance from the S.C. Institute for Independent Journalism.

What’s more, at least one influential GOP senator says he’s prepared to use the filibuster if necessary to stop any bill to shorten the current six-week ban.

Former Navy Reserve chief announces bid for SC’s 1st District

The 10 Republicans and four Democrats who have already announced runs to replace Mace include five other military veterans.

“I think our military is being politicized,” Lacore told the Gazette. “I think our democracy’s at risk, to be honest, and I want to be a part of the solution.”

While a fairly new South Carolina resident, Lacore said her ties to the Palmetto State include a daughter and her husband graduating from the University of South Carolina. They live in the Lowcountry, and she’s been vacationing in the Lowcountry for a decade, she said.

Lacore led about 59 000 sailors as chief of the Navy Reserve, a job she held for a year. She relieved Vice Adm. John Mustin in August

speak before, and I think he's very inspiring,” McCarty said. “And of course, like many Americans, I'm really worried about what's going on. And I was hoping to get a little bit of inspiration to keep going forward with optimism that there really might be some improvement in the future.

McCarty said she likes what Booker has to say about Americans all being “in this together.”

2024. Her successes included working with Congress to secure new airplanes for the reserve, she said.

The job is an appointed position, filled by a president’s nomination and the Senate’s confirmation. Voters last elected a Democrat to the 1st District in 2018. Joe Cunningham flipped the seat blue for a single term before Mace flipped it back.

Adrian Ashford covers campaigns and elections for the S.C. Daily Gazette. Before moving to South Carolina, he covered faith and religion for The Dallas Morning News. He studied religion and politics at Harvard and wrote a thesis about evolving interpretations of the First Amendment. The S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

“I think as a nation, we may have lost our [sense of] being one people trying to work together,” she said.

“And I hope that that will happen in the future, that we'll join together to try to help out each other, our neighbors, our friends, our community.”

As a retired physician and medical educator, health care is a hot topic for McCarty.

“I'm very concerned about what's going on both with

Nancy Lacore is a Democrat running for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Photo courtesy of the Lacore campaign

RFK Jr. and with people losing their health care.” Dr. Remy Olodum, also from Bluffton, is retired from the U.S. Army and owns his own business. He is also a Veterans Service Officer who assists veterans with their VA benefits.

Olodum just wanted to hear Booker speak and get a sense of the direction of the Democratic Party.

He agreed with with Booker that if Democrats actually turned out to vote, they could win. When asked what Booker could talk about that would interest him, he said the “most important things that everybody's concerned about right now. That is the economy, the availability of health care, [and the cost of] food.”

Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

By Justin Jarrett LowcoSports.com

It’s already become a foregone conclusion that the Beaufort High girls basketball team is poised to run away with the Region 6-4A title, and the Eagles likely represent the area’s best chance at a deep run in the SCHSL girls playoffs.

The Eagles had a major bounce-back season a year ago on the strength of a talented young nucleus and a handful of veteran role players, and the addition of former Bluffton standout Amirah Brown as a secondary scoring threat to sophomore sensation Jania Hayward has elevated coach Reggie Jones’ team to a new level.

The Eagles (12-4) have won six straight since being humbled by Class 5A power Goose Creek, and they’ve rolled their first three region opponents by 28 points or more. The region slate won’t provide much of a test the rest of the way, and a region title would afford the Eagles a top-three seed in the Lower State bracket, making a deep run more realistic.

Creek boys start region strong

Region wins have been hard to come by for Battery Creek’s boys in recent years, and with powers Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Oceanside Collegiate in Region 6-3A along with North Charleston and Hanahan, every night figures to be a battle again this year.

But the Dolphins seem to be turning a corner.

Coach C.J. Brown’s squad knocked off Oceanside Collegiate 7158 in triple overtime on Jan. 9 and held on for a 50-45 at Hanahan on Friday to start 2-0 in region and match last season’s region win total. The Dolphins were slated to host North Charleston on Tuesday and travel to Oceanside Collegaite for a rematch Jan. 27

Beaufort boys stun Sharks

Beaufort girls rolling through region

After dropping 11 of their first 12 games, many in lopsided fashion, Beaufort High’s boys stunned the region — and the state — on Friday, building a 21-point halftime lead and hanging on for a 64-62 home win over May River. The Sharks won their first 17 games of the season and were ranked third in Class 4A by the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association before suffering their first defeat Tuesday against Hilton Head, and the Eagles made it two straight losses with Friday’s upset. Freshman guard Keaton Layman scored 20 points to lead Beaufort, while

SCORES AND SCHEDULE

6 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL

Bluffton at Beaufort, 7:30 p.m.

North Charleston at Battery Creek, 8 p.m.

Bridges Prep at Hampton Co., 7:30 p.m.

Barnwell at Whale Branch, 7:30 p.m.

John Paul II at Camden Military, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 21

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

May River at Whale Branch, 6:15 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL

May River at Whale Branch, 7:45 p.m.

Eagles limited May River

John Paul II at Hilton Head Prep, 6 p.m.

Thursday, January 22

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. Andrew’s at John Paul II, 6 p.m.

Friday, January 23

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

Beaufort at Hilton Head,

Cross

Saturday, January 24

COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

USC Aiken at USCB, 1:30 p.m.

COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

Aiken at USCB, 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 27

HS GIRLS BASKETBALL

Beaufort at Bluffton, 6 p.m. Battery Creek at Oceanside Collegiate, 6 p.m.

Whale Branch at Bridges Prep, 6 p.m.

HHCA at John Paul II, 6 p.m.

HS BOYS BASKETBALL

Beaufort at Bluffton, 7:30 p.m. Battery Creek at Oceanside Collegiate, 7:30 p.m.

Whale Branch at Bridges Prep, 7:30 p.m.

HHCA at John Paul II, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 28

COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

USCB at Augusta, 5:30 p.m.

COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL USCB at Augusta, 7:30 p.m.

Bobcats edge Creek in JPII Duals final

By Justin Jarrett LowcoSports.com

Battery Creek’s wrestling team had a stellar day at the John Paul II Warrior Duals on Saturday, securing four convincing wins before falling, 42-41, to Bluffton in the championship match.

The Dolphins rolled into the finals, including lopsided wins over rivals Beaufort and Bridges Prep, and jumped out to a lead against Bluffton before the Bobcats rallied back to take the title.

Host John Paul II rallied after falling to eventual champion Bluffton in the first round, winning its next four duals, including a 4432 victory over Beaufort to secure third place. Bridges Prep defeated Hardeeville in the fifth-place match.

MS wrestlers earn trip to state Four area middle school wrestlers punched their tick-

ets to the state tournament on Saturday by placing in the top four in their weight classes at the Coastal Sectional Green and Gold Classic at Summerville High School. Bridges Prep 108-pounder Camdon Russom captured the sectional title, while teammate Nico Mercado placed second at 102 pounds. John Paul II’s Nick Kessinger was the runner-up at 114, and Robert Smalls Leadership Academy’s Nick Lanz placed third at 145 All four will compete in the Carolina Invitational — the de facto middle school state championship on Saturday at Lexington High School. The girls middle school division will be wrestled at Gilbert High School on Saturday, with a number of local wrestlers competing, including phenom Summer Estrella from Lady’s Island Middle School.

Girls qualifier up next

The high school girls are up next in their journey to the state tournament, competing in the SCHSL Lower State qualifier Saturday at South Florence High School, where the top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the state championships Feb. 20-21 at Florence Center.

Among the top contenders is Beaufort’s Olesya Mullins, who missed nearly a month with a knee injury before returning to the mat this weekend at the John Paul II Warrior Duals. Mullins is the top-ranked girl in the 105-pound weight class and a favorite to contend for a state title.

Mullins, who surpassed 100 career wins earlier this season, has already committed to wrestle for Southwestern Michigan College next season.

Sand Sharks sneaking up on PBC leaders

By Justin Jarrett LowcoSports.com

After a scorching start to the new year, both USC Beaufort basketball teams have worked their way closer to the top of the Peach Belt Conference standings.

The USCB men ran their winning streak to five games with a 77-75 win over No. 10 North Georgia on Saturday in The Cove, pulling within a half-game of league leader Lander after Dominic Eason’s game-winner stunned the Nighthawks.

The Sand Sharks had their win streak snapped Monday, falling 114-112 to visiting Fayetteville State in a non-conference matchup that featured eight ties and 12 lead changes.

The Sand Shark women improved to 10-7 overall and 7-3 in PBC play with a 68-64 win over North Georgia on Saturday in The Cove, pulling USCB within a half-game of the Nighthawks and Columbus State. The Sand Sharks went 5-13 in league play in their inaugural season and 4-14 a year ago, falling short of qualifying for the eight-team PBC Tournament each year, but they are in

position to secure a first-round home game this year, if they can keep up their winning ways.

USC Aiken visits The Cove on Saturday with the women’s game tipping off at 1:30 p.m. and the men’s game to follow. The Sand Shark women beat the Pacers 72-64 in Aiken on Dec. 3, while the men dropped a 74-73 heartbreaker in a rematch of last year’s PBC Tournament championship game.

Bowman named PBC Player of the Week

After leading the USCB women to wins over Georgia Southwestern and North Georgia last week, Taniyah Bowman was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday, her second such honor this season.

Bowman averaged 24 points, 5 5 rebounds, two assists, and a steal in a 74-66 win at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday and a 68-64 victory over North Georgia on Saturday in The Cove. Bowman scored a team-high 26 points and drained six straight free throws down the stretch to help USCB knock off the first-place Nighthawks.

Tabby

Friends of the Beaufort Library hosting Books Sandwiched In

Staff reports

Once again this year, as is has since 1987, The Friends of the Beaufort Library is hosting Books Sandwiched In, a lunchtime, multiweek series featuring each week a community leader discussing a book that has been meaningful to him or her, with questions and discussion to follow. Thanks to the generosity of community sponsors, these discussions are free and open to the public. All are warmly welcome, light refreshments are served, and raffle items are available for bidding each week.

“Books Sandwiched In is the

perfect spot to connect with fellow book lovers,” says program co-chair Melanie Jarvis. “Each week brings something new, whether it’s a fresh book, thought-provoking idea, or unique perspective brought to life by a different speaker. There’s no need to read the book in advance and many attendees choose whether to dive into it based on the discussion they hear at BSI. Simply show up, bring a friend, or come ready to make new ones.”

For those interested in joining the Friends to support the work they do in enhancing library services, an annual membership can

‘The

be purchased at the door or on the Friends website — $25 per household, $15 per military household. For further information, contact Jarvis at bsi@friendsofthebeaufortlibrary.com.

2026 Books Sandwiched In Schedule

• Jan. 26: “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter. Presented by Frank Rodriguez, Superintendent, Beaufort County School District.

• Feb. 2: by Dan Ariely. Presented by Capt. Tracy R. Isaac, Commanding Officer, Navy

show will go on’ again

Dueling Pianos Dinner Theatre returns to Beaufort

Special to The Island News

The dueling piano show hosted by Alzheimer’s Family Services is coming back for yet another encore performance. Marty Richardson and Greg Cloninger (aka El Grego) will once again be bringing a night of music, laughter, and fun and hopefully a bit of charitable giving to Tabby Place in Beaufort on Feb. 14 2026

Dueling Pianos — sponsored by Beaufort Charities as the “Concert Grand Sponsor” and the “Baby Grand Sponsors” Oyster Cay Collection and Paulick Law — is Alzheimer’s Family Services’ annual dinner theatre and its major fundraiser of the year. The agency, a local nonprofit, provides education, support and respite to area caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Not to cast a shadow on such a fun and lively evening” says Arlene Heape-Hull, the agency’s director, “but if you haven’t been touched by this terrible disease or seen it first-hand, you might not realize how devastating it is and the toll it takes on the caregivers.” Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States and is the only one with no cure. The agency relies heavily on support from the community and their fundraisers to provide the services they do to caregivers.

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, the doors at Tabby Place on Port Republic Street in

ARTS BRIEFS

UUFB celebrating Great Scottish Bard Robert Burns

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort (UUFB) will celebrate the life and works of the Scottish Bard, Robert Burns, at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 23 at the UUFB Fellowship Hall at 178 Sams Point Road on Lady’s Island, one mile north of Harris Teeter. For more information regarding this event, please contact William Griffith at 864-363-0743. Reservations are required. UUFB is a sanctuary for spiritual and intellectual growth based on principles of love, equality and justice for all. To join Sunday services via Zoom visit www.uubeaufort.org.

Wine Dinner to support Beaufort Film Society

The Beaufort Film Society is hosting the

Beaufort will open for a night of fun, food, music and memories, “A Valentines Night to Remember.” The evening offers complementary beer and wine, dinner from local chefs, a live auction, and as much music and fun that can be packed into the evening. The live auction will offer items to include a package with two all-event passes to this year’s Beaufort International Film Festival, tickets to the Beaufort Charities Oyster Roast, and gift certificates from local establishments. Also in the auction will be certificates for Cocktails at Sunset at a private waterfront home, Cocktails and Conversation with local historian Larry Roland and a handmade demilune card table crafted by Dr. Steve Lanier.

This table is a rare and unique piece of furniture with special embellishments linking it to Alzheimer's Family Services. Around the edge of the tabletop is a strange sequence of small white dots and longer dashes embedded in a band of black ebony. Yes, those dot-dash sequences are Morse Code that spell out AFSGB. This piece of furniture will forever be linked to Alzheimer's Family Services and their mission of helping caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Tickets for the event are $90 and can be purchased online at www.afsgb.org or by calling the office at 843-521-9190

2026 Beaufort International Film Festival Wine Dinner from 6 to 9 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at Saltus River Grill in downtown Beaufort

Guests are invited to sip exquisite wines and savor a beautifully curated menu while celebrating and supporting the Beaufort Film Society. Tickets for the dinner are $160 per person (gratuity and tax included), include a four-course dinner and wine pairings, and are available at https://bit.ly/4jPaXSF. Cocktails will served on the waterfront patio by the fire at 6 p.m., and dinner begins at 7 p.m. Space is limited. A portion of the proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Beaufort Film Society. For more information about the 2026 Beaufort International Film Festival, visit https://www.beaufortfilmfestival.com.

– Staff reports

Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Beaufort; Commanding Officer, Naval Support Facility Beaufort; Director, Naval Hospital Beaufort. Feb. 9: “Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History” by Beverly Bowers Jennings. The book’s author will join Captain Craig Reaves, commercial shrimper and owner of CJ Seafood, to discuss the featured title and its related topics. Book signings will follow the session. Feb. 16: “The Empty Space” by Peter Brook. Presented by Lib-

by Ricardo, MFA, University of South Carolina at Beaufort Associate Professor of Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies; Program Coordinator for Interdisciplinary Studies. Feb. 23: “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. Presented by Andrew Bridges, President and CEO, NEMOURS Wildlife Foundation. March 2: “Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline” by Loretta Lynn. Presented by Amanda Brewer Dickman, Director, Beaufort County Library.

Appalatin on Fripp — again!

By Margit Resch Special to The Island News

Last time I introduced Appalatin to our Beaufort community, I asked my readers what Appalatin could refer to: South American food? Art? Clothing?

Well, you probably know now — it’s music, because you heard the band in 2022 on Fripp. And if so, you will want to hear Appalatin again, because they are fantastic, which is why the Fripp Island Friends of Music asked them to return.

Appalatin, from Louisville, Ky., whose name is a portmanteau of Appalachia and Latin, is a band whose music is a mixture of Appalachian and Latin American tunes of all kinds, and bluegrass. The band is composed of six musicians hailing from three Central and South American countries: Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, and from Kentucky.

Kyle Long from NUVO, an Indianapolis publication dedicated to art and leisure, describes Appalatin’s musical art like this: “Appalatin have reinvented traditional Appalachian music by infusing Latin rhythm and song into the rural folk form. It's a surprisingly seductive blend of bluegrass bolero and countrified cumbia.”

Laura Shine from WFPK Radio Louisville calls Appalatin “unique,” and she just raves about them: “… We are so lucky to call them ours even though they belong to the world at large. They are also one of the best live bands I've ever seen!”

Well, we here in Beaufort are so lucky that Appalatin is going to play on Fripp Island again at 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 1, so we can all enjoy this unique blend of Southern and South American music, this intriguing, wonder-full demonstration of international creative collaboration.

The six Appalatin musicians play an amazing number of different musical instruments: harmonica, mandolin, guitar, upright bass, and charango, which is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family. Some of them you may never have heard, such as the indigenous Andean flutes: the quena, akin to the pan flute, the bamboo flute; the tarka, which resembles a recorder; and percussion instruments such as bongos, guiros, congas, cajóns and the Brazilian bass drum surdo.

“Our shows are almost like a Smithsonian Institute exhibition of musical

Appalatin, from Louisville, Ky., whose name is a portmanteau of Appalachia and Latin, is a band whose music is a mixture of Appalachian and Latin American tunes of all kinds, and bluegrass. Submitted photo

instruments,” Kentucky native and string-player Yani Vozos said. And let’s not forget their voices. They sing beautifully — in a number of languages, no less.

Needless to say, each member of the group took a different path to Louisville before the turn of the aughts. String player Yani Vozos, Kentucky-born, learned Spanish in Honduras during a Peace Corps trip. His lingual education is similar to that of Marlon Obando, who was raised in Nicaragua. They have both written songs with Spanish and English lyrics.

Percussionist Steve Sizemore said that living in South America for two years just molded his soul. Now he is almost fluent in Spanish and more than fluent in a variety of percussion instruments.

Fernando Moya had already performed with the traditional Andean group Andes Manta before he developed his skills on wooden flutes and charango as a member of Appalatin. Louis de Leon is the one you hear wailing on harmonica, a skill he picked up while living in Guatemala. He also plays a number of African percussion instruments, which he pulls out of a sticker-plastered suitcase. You tell me what kind of stickers after you’ve seen Appalatin play on Fripp.

The original band members all crossed paths in 2006 in Louisville. Given their backgrounds and passions, their love for the rich Afro-Cuban music of the Buena Vista Social Club, it seemed destined that they merge. Their original bassist, Luke McIntosh, observed perceptively: “I definitely see parallels between roots music and the kind of Latin music we play. It’s really not quite as strange a fusion as people think.”

The band has performed at some of their region’s most prestigious venues and in many different radio shows. Since the release of their first album in 2011, they shared the stage with Red Baraat, Sam Bush, Claire Lynch, The Black Lilies, La Santa Cecilia, and

WANT TO GO?

Who: Appalatin

What: Fripp Island Friends of Music Concert

Series When: 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 1

Where: Fripp Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Boulevard, Fripp Island Tickets: $30 for adults, free for students at the door. Visit www. frippfriendsofmusic.com for more information.

Ben Sollee. Their next album in 2013 features original music and interpretations of traditional songs from their native regions in Kentucky, Central America and the Andes. On this recording, the musicians express their many talents with a bilingual shift between languages, styles, and vibes. The band released its third studio-recorded album in 2018, engaging acoustic sound that inspires audience participation, e.g. dancing, singing, hand clapping and foot stomping. The band members talk in detail about the instruments they play, the rhythms, the culture they come from, and the meaning and message in their songs.

Appalatin will entertain us on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 5 p.m. in the Fripp Community Centre, 205 Tarpon Boulevard. But come and join us at 4:30, when a group of little musicians from St. Helena Elementary School will play and sing their hearts out for us. Both shows are sponsored by Fripp Friends of Music and supported by the SC Arts Commission. Tickets at the door are $30 for adults $30 (credit cards accepted) and free for students thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. Stay after the performance for a complimentary reception, catered deliciously by Harold’s Chef Services, and help us celebrate Appalatin’s 20th anniversary. For more information, go to www.frippfriendsofmusic.com. For FIFOM membership, concert reservations, or questions, contact Rebecca Climer at 615-5941552.

By Tara Kay, MMS, PA-C Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists

High blood pressure: a ‘silent killer’

High blood pressure is known as a “silent killer” because it can damage your health without you ever realizing it. The good news is that you have the power to control high blood pressure, provided you identify it early enough.

Blood pressure is the force of circulating blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. High blood pressure is considered a 'silent killer' because, most often, it may not show any obvious symptoms. However, over time it causes significant stress on other organs, including the heart, brain and kidneys, and eventually lead to debilitating conditions such as heart failure, kidney failure and strokes.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, and only one in four has it under control. By controlling high blood pressure, you can reduce your risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

What is a ‘normal’ blood pressure?

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers represented as a fraction. The top number, systolic, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.

The bottom number, diastolic, measures the pressure between heart beats.

A normal blood pressure reading is less than 120/80 mmHg. Since high blood pressure can go so easily unnoticed, it is important to establish a relationship with a primary care provider for annual wellness visits to monitor these key vital signs. Your primary care pro-

vider is the first line of defense for detecting or managing high blood pressure before it can cause more severe and potentially life-threatening disease processes.

I always encourage all of my patients to take an active role in their health care — ask your primary care provider how to take the necessary steps to lower your risk for these preventable chronic diseases.

6 ways to control your risk of developing high blood pressure

You have a lot of control over whether you develop high blood pressure. You don’t even need medication. Start with these six tips:

1 Choose healthy foods that are low in sodium and saturated fat and rich in protein, fiber and potassium.

2 Maintain a healthy weight.

3 Exercise for 150-plus minutes per week — that’s 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week. Exercise helps lower blood pressure, lose weight and boost your mood.

4 Quit smoking.

5 Get good-quality sleep. Lack of sleep on a regular basis is linked with a higher risk of high blood pressure, as well

as heart disease and stroke.

6 Limit alcohol consumption.

Living with undetected high blood pressure can have serious

health effects. Talk with your primary care provider about the best way to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease.

Stroke recovery: what to expect on the road ahead

Special to The Island News

Stroke recovery — and post-stroke care — are the longest phases of the journey after you or a loved one has had a stroke. These phases are different for everyone. Many people achieve a near-total or partial recovery, while others experience permanent side effects. For everyone who lives through a stroke, survival offers the opportunity for a new beginning.

Whether you survived a stroke or are caring for a survivor, patience, support, high-quality care and commitment to the recovery plan are essential to helping you thrive.

Taking stock of stroke’s (potential) toll

A stroke happens in this country every 40 seconds, according to the National Institutes of Health, and it can happen to anyone.

In most cases, a stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel to the brain, halting blood flow. This is known as an ischemic stroke. Sometimes, however, a blood vessel in the brain breaks and causes bleeding in what’s known as a hemorrhagic stroke.

No matter what type of stroke occurs, swift diagnosis and treatment are important. They help determine:

The amount of damage the brain sustains

What deficits, if any,

stroke patients are left with (which also depends on what part of the brain is affected)

The nature of the challenge that lies ahead during stroke recovery

“A stroke can cause a variety of physical, mental and emotional changes,” says Matt D’Antonio, a physical therapist in the Beaufort Memorial Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. “Some patients may experience paralysis on one side of the body. Others may develop chronic pain, problems with their sense of touch, loss of bowel or bladder control,

difficulty understanding language, speech or swallowing problems, difficulty with thinking and memory, and personality changes. It’s important to remember that the effects of stroke vary widely from person to person.”

What does stroke recovery look like?

Recovering from a stroke is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. A variety of factors influence recovery, from age and the degree of brain damage a stroke causes to a person’s health and support system. Young stroke patients

tend to recover more lost function than older adults because young brains are better able to adapt to the effects of stroke. Overall, 10% of stroke patients make a nearly complete recovery, according to the AHA. Twenty-five percent have only slight impairments following recovery, and 40% are left with moderate to severe deficits.

The timeline of stroke recovery varies — each person recovers at a different pace. Some people regain lost function quickly, but for others, recovery is gradual and can take years. According to the AHA, when progress

happens quickly, it’s usually within three to four months after a stroke.

Rehabilitation: the heart of stroke recovery

Stroke recovery starts in the hospital with rehabilitation to help you begin rebuilding strength and functional abilities.

Like many people who’ve had a stroke, you’ll likely attend outpatient rehab. Think of post-stroke rehab as the heart of stroke recovery.

“Your therapists will tailor the rehabilitation plan to your needs and abilities,” D’Antonio says. “Physical therapy will help you

strengthen your muscles and improve balance and range of motion. In occupational therapy, you’ll work on motor skills and learn to adapt to any potential deficits by practicing new ways to perform everyday tasks. If you have difficulty speaking, you may benefit from speech therapy with a speech-language pathologist.”

Prioritizing prevention

Rehab therapy is just one element of stroke recovery. Twenty-five percent of stroke survivors have another stroke within five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your primary care provider (PCP) and stroke rehab team can help you create a plan to reduce your risk.

Your plan may include healthy lifestyle changes, such as exercising, eating healthily and taking medications to manage high blood pressure and other health conditions that can increase your stroke risk.

It’s also important to take care of your mental health. Up to half of stroke survivors develop depression, which can hinder recovery. Tell your PCP if you experience persistent sadness, hopelessness or other depression symptoms. Consider joining a stroke survivors’ support group to connect with others who understand what you’re going through. KNOW THE CLASSIC STROKE SYMPTOMS WITH

VOICES

Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island

Thank you, Edie, for the walkway money

Igot myself into a mess recently.

Readers may recall a column I wrote a month or so ago about how the surface of the Broad River Bridge could be refashioned to accommodate not just cars, but runners, walkers, and bicyclists too. In the column, I noted that a similar refashioning of the Woods Bridge surface some 20 years ago had been obviously successful as exhibited by the many runners and walkers we see who use it every day.

I also wrote that it was my recollection that it had been thenState Senator Scott Richardson who had gotten the SCDOT to go along with the change, and who had also successfully lassoed up there at the Columbia rodeo, and trucked home to Beaufort, the funds necessary to close the gap and get the walkway job done.

Mayors spend a lot of time putting together funding packages for the improvements that are necessary to move forward

the town they represent. You go to Washington with hat in hand. You go to Columbia with hat in hand. You make nice with the County Council. You go to the School District. You go to the Water Authority. You go to the Council of Governments. And you go wherever else your resourceful mind suggests to you there may be some dollars on the loose.

I put together a bunch: the $7.5M Waterfront Park upfit; the Pigeon Point Park upfit; the Bay, Port Republic and Charles Street streetscapes; the Woods Bridge walkway; the initial Southside

Park upfit; the Municipal Complex; the Third Crossing Study; and TIF1 and TIF 2 for starters. Putting together funding packages is at the very heart of mayoral politics. City managers help a lot. Sometimes City Councilpersons help. But mayors and the voters both know getting in the money is at the top of every mayor’s job description.

A couple of days after the column appeared, I ran into my friend Edie Rodgers who said she would be presenting a photo to the city “for safe keeping” at the Beaufort City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting, on Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. The photo, she said, had to do with the Woods Bridge walkway package.

Hmm, I thought, that’s not a coincidence. Edie never said she had been the one to lasso the money, nor that Scott Richardson had not been the one to do that. However, I reflected, it takes the whole Beaufort County legislative delegation – led by the Repre-

sentative in whose district the money will be spent -- to sign off on a one-off check like that.

Although I had the whole family home for dinner, I figured the right thing would be to go to the meeting and cheer for my friend Edie. Before the meeting began, Edie showed me the photo which shows then-S.C. House Rep. Edie Rodgers, who represented Beaufort, standing with then-SCDOT Commissioner John Hardee and some of the then-members of the Beaufort City Council gripping and grinning over an oversized check in the amount of $200,000.

To accommodate the public, the Beaufort City Council’s public comment period has been, of course, traditionally always at the beginning of their meeting, so I figured I’d be out by 6:30, at the latest.

Wouldn’t you know, they’ve changed the order of march at Beaufort City Council meetings?

Now, only the public who wish to comment on matters that appear

on that meeting’s agenda are permitted to speak at the meeting’s outset. Everybody else has to wait for the end of Council’s regular business. This, of course, discourages the public from coming in to speak to their elected representatives because there’s no telling when Council’s regular business will be concluded. It could be a half hour. It could be a couple of hours. I don’t care if the Supreme Court mandated it, the change is a bad and undemocratic idea. It certainly discouraged me. I headed for home … but not before thanking Edie for her pivotal role in securing for Beaufort the Woods Bridge walkway money. I would have said the same to the City Council in the public comment period, but I had to get home for dinner.

Bill Rauch was the Mayor of Beaufort from 1999 to 2008 and has won multiple awards from the S.C. Press Association for his Island News columns. He can be reached at TheRauchReport@gmail.com.

To discuss or not discuss — that is the question

This afternoon I was sitting at my computer, trying to come up with a topic for the upcoming edition of The Island News. In the morning, I had attended a memorial service for a good friend, the second in a week’s time, so I wasn’t feeling exactly energetic or up to the task at hand.

I picked up this past week’s edition, which I hadn’t had time to read, and began to scan. I thoroughly enjoy reading what my fellow op-ed writers contribute, although I do admit to gritting my teeth sometimes.

I then moved to the letters to the editor and I was drawn to the heading “Isn’t there something worth writing about besides Trump.” As I began to read, I saw my name, and my first thought was, “Here we go.”

I went to the name of the contributor of this piece, and while I am adamant about not naming names,

Ishould I choose to respond, I will say simply that this gentleman contributes on occasion as a writer himself. Furthermore, despite our different takes on politics, I feel he is comprehensive about what he presents, and as I have said before, I will defend anyone’s right to do so. Interestingly enough, as I read his commentary on my last article, the light bulb came on, and I knew I had been presented with my material. So here we go!

Please know, sir, that I appreciate your suggestion that I have a rich history of accomplishments and wonderful memories of my students. With no small

t’s been a sad year for America. Since Jan. 20, 2025, we’ve had a president actively working to impede — some would say destroy — our democracy.

It’s hard to understand how a president who incited hundreds of Capitol insurrectionists in 2021 and then pardoned them for their protests can now be sending armed federal thugs into cities to assault protesters of a different ilk. How hypocritical.

It’s hard to understand how the very same president can support an ICE crackdown in Minneapolis where agents killed a suburban mom in a van when he is threatening Iran with bombs for using government thugs to kill thousands of protesters. How sanctimonious.

It’s hard to understand how a president can pick a former heroin addict and vaccine denialist to run a national health agency that has weakened recommen-

amount of deference, I will tell you that upon retirement, I was given an award by the state of Pennsylvania for my contribution to education. Within my own district, I accrued “The Extra Mile Award” for going over and above my classroom duties.

As for my former students, I avoided Facebook for years until I finally gave in to my granddaughter’s nagging. There is much I detest about the venue, but what I do love is having reconnected with well over a hundred former students. To see them as thriving successful adults is heartwarming. And good grief, many are grandparents. I don’t know how that could happen since I am only 39!

(Thank you, Jack Benny.)

But let’s get to the question that was posed, and that is “Isn’t there something worth writing about besides Trump? The short answer is, “Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Considering “worth” as

the focal point, I can guarantee you that I could rattle off at least 20 much more worthy subjects.

But you see, sir, I am driven by fear, which has a lot of impact behind it. I fear, first of all, for our country and where it is headed. I had the privilege of growing up in a small town and at a time where there was little to fear. I’d leave my house in the morning to go out and play. Maybe my friends and I would pack sandwiches in a paper bag (no plastic thermal packs then) because we planned to be out all day.

Yes, the sixties brought about turmoil, but not what we are seeing today with masked men throwing people to the ground, spraying them with God-knowwhat, and yes, murdering them. Men who have been recruited from the ranks of white supremacists.

Secondly, certainly every bit as important, and tied to the first, I fear for

my daughters, my granddaughters, and now my two great grandchildren. I worry what kind of world will exist 10 15 20 years from now.

I am concerned about the environment and how our present administration is ignoring it, opting out of any group that might bring about a bit of sanity to the topic. What will their world look like?

I am horrified by 47’s rush to antagonize those countries that have been our allies for decades. If we escape without a war on multiple fronts, it will be a miracle.

And will that war be brought to our own country? Are the nuclear codes in the hands of a madman who has shown disrespect for so much of what our democracy stands for?

Has that man purposely squandered our reputation throughout the world to the point we are either laughed at or pitied? Sadly, the answer to all of those

America’s tumultuous year

dations that have kept American children healthy for decades. And now thanks to anti-vax denialism, vaccination rates are below herd immunity levels in South Carolina, where the Upstate has become the nation’s measles outbreak hotspot. How stupid. It’s hard to understand how a president who cozies up to authoritarian leaders from Russia to China had the audacity to shut down the Voice of America, a global radio network that pushed the principles of freedom and helped foster democracy. How undemocratic.

It’s hard to understand how a president has the gumption to accept the world’s largest bribe – a $400 million jet – from Qatar when his family is making millions in business from oil gazillionaires all over the Middle East. How corrupt.

It’s hard to understand how a president who so covets a Nobel Peace Prize bombed seven countries in 2025 without congressional authority. And he then suckered a Venezuelan to give him her Peace Prize medal. Seems authoritarian and misleading.

It’s hard to understand how an American president who holds big grudges can turn the U.S. Justice Department into an agency that targets and prosecutes people who he perceives as political enemies. How unjust.

It’s hard to understand how the president can’t understand basic economics, how tariffs are paid by American consumers, not foreigners, and how businesses

and farms are forced to shutter because they can’t afford inflated prices caused by the president’s tariff policies. How idiotic.

It’s hard to understand how too many Americans put up with a president who is a convicted felon and continues to run from his involvement in a scandal blooming from his sex predator buddy. And how the president constantly tries to skitter away by making grand pronouncements, like a need for taking Greenland, or deadly action, like bombing Venezuela, just to deflect attention from the Epstein scandal. How criminal.

It’s hard to understand how Republicans in Congress put up with all of this scandal, nonsense, misinformation, disinformation, lying and corruption.

And yet, the dysfunction that’s drowning democracy continues. Fortunately, protesters aren’t giving up. Fortunately, more people are speaking out, just like

questions is, “yes.” Understand, sir, that I don’t worry for myself. My four score plus three years doesn’t give me a lot of wiggle room. But you need to know that I pray nightly for our situation to somehow right itself in what I perceive is a country on the precipice, indeed a world brought there by the election of one person and the evil with which he has surrounded himself. So yes, I will continue to do what I consider to be my contribution to help rectify the present situation. I like to think of it as further educating folks. Perhaps, sir, you and I can sit down sometime over coffee (or something stronger) and discuss “the bard.” I promise not to drag you screaming.

Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”

former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did this week when they explained why they wouldn’t testify before a rigged congressional committee. In a personal note to U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., they wrote:

“Continue to mislead Americans about what is truly at stake, and you will learn that Americans are better at finding the truth than you are at burying it. … Continue to abet the dismantling of America, and you will learn that it takes more than a wrecking ball to demolish what Americans have built over 250 years.”

Yes, it’s been a sad year in America. But true patriots who believe in democracy and freedom will not let either die.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.

VOICES

Editor’s Note: The opinions of our columnists in the Voices section are not necessarily the opinions of The Island News

Pope Leo determined to complete Pope Francis’ work

It is Friday, early, and frigid. This morning

I’m sitting in my graypainted library; a fire in my small hearth; Eight O’Clock Hazel Nut coffee in a small mug. This morning I also have The Post and Courier, digital version, and the Jan. 12 New Yorker Magazine cellulose version. The New Yorker gives us a profile on Leo XIV a/k/a “The American Pope.” Robert Prevost came of age in the suburbs of Chicago, a fan of the Chicago White Sox and thin-crust pizza. Apparently he remains faithful to the White Sox, and to thin crust pizza, and regularly completes the Times’ Wordle puzzle every morning.

When Prevost was young, Chicago had a huge immigrant population and most of those immigrants were Catholic. The New Yorker also tells us that the Polish, Hungarian, Irish and Italian immigrants had their own

TSCOTT GRABER

churches that provided for the religious, educational and recreational needs for their own people. And for most of these folks getting their son into a seminary — or a daughter into a convent — was akin to winning the lottery.

In Prevost’s case, it was an Augustinian seminary at a time when the order was focused on Peru with the goal of getting “Peruvians into the order at a time when few young American men were joining in.”

“If you’re a true missionary you want to put yourself out of a job,” said Father William Lego in The New Yorker. “You are helping the

Church reproduce.”

In fact, there was a growing diaspora of young men and women away from Catholicism in the United States and in Western Europe.

It may have been the vow of chastity, the prospect of lifelong denial, or perhaps it was the fact that drinking and recreational drug-taking were sweeping through the high schools in America in the 70s and 80s. Or, perhaps, it was a growing, widespread skepticism about the rules, regulations and theology of Catholicism itself.

When the newly-ordained Prevost went down to Peru in 1983, these and other issues were unsettled; and the future clouded with regard to the Third World; and there were revolutionaries like a Western-trained Peruvian priest named Gustavo Gutierrez who called upon the Catholic Church to join in the fight to liberate the oppressed and their exploit-

ed land throughout Latin America.

This call to action excited many young priests, but it did not excite the moneyed elites who ran the banks and the business interests in Peru — they saw Gutierrez as a threat to themselves and to capitalism. Some other priests also saw this as a Marxist threat to Catholicism and they gravitated into the ranks of Opus Dei.

Opus Dei founded by a Spanish priest in 1928 put all of it’s well-funded energy on reinforcing the ancient catechism and “rightest doctrine” of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who, himself, would become Pope Benedict XVI in 2005

Beginning with Pope John Paul in 1978 and then stretching through Pope Benedict’s Papacy “progressive” bishops throughout the world were systematically replaced by more conservative men. Eventually all but one of the seven

archdioceses in Peru would fall into conservative, Opus Dei hands.

But when Jorge Bergoglio, a/k/a Pope Francis, got his mitre and his slippers in 2013, he changed the Vatican’s focus back to the poor — appointing like-minded Cardinals and, parenthetically, electors — thus setting the scene for Robert Prevost’s transformation into Pope Leo in 2025

“The Catholic right in the US had set itself against Pope Francis throughout his pontificate, seeing him soft on doctrine, hostile to capitalism and anti-American,” says Paul Elie in his New Yorker piece. Vice President J. D. Vance, a Catholic convert, went after Catholic bishops saying they operated “charitable-works programs in order to make money via federal aid.”

(Thereafter this accusation was disproved).

But if there was a flashpoint it was the current Administration’s mass

Boring and meaningless

he movie “A Christmas Story” contains a scene in which young Ralphie eagerly holds the hubcap while his father removes lug nuts to change a flat tire. The hubcap falls out of Ralphie’s hands, and the bolts fall into the snow.

Ralphie exclaims, “Oh, … fudge” and then notes he didn’t say, “fudge.” He said the worst of the worst cuss words, which he had heard his father say innumerable times. When his dad told Ralphie’s mom, she washed Ralphie’s mouth out with soap. When asked where he had heard that word, Ralphie lied and said, “Schwartz.” Mom called Mrs. Schwartz, and through the telephone, we can hear screaming, then a slap, then more screaming, “Ma, whaddiii do?

I never tasted Palmolive for using that word; however, other words did warrant a soapcycle. I relate to Schwartz as on an idyllic summer day, on a tiny beach on 4th Lake in the Adirondacks, I innocently asked my mother, “Mom, what does f*** mean?”

WHAAPP! I can still feel the slap on my left cheek. “But Chuck and Jane (brother and cousin) are singing ‘the name game,’ using Chuck’s name, and they’re laughing,” I sputtered through tears. My mother retorted, “Your little brothers are on the beach, and

Tlittle pitchers have big ears!”

Later, in private, my mother told me the meaning. She did not explain an acronym for fornication under consent of the king, but she did say fornication and other formal terms. Mom said I should never under any circumstances use that word.

Once I went to college, there were circumstances when I used that word. That was in the early 1970s, when common usage often called for the word “mother” in front of it with an “er” on the end. We seemed to like to use it a lot for President Nixon. During protest marches, it was expected along with “pigs!” There was a certain satisfaction in making the sound. We thought we were so cool and adult.

Even in college and after, none of us used any swear word at home. My father once stated that if we needed to describe anything using vulgar language, particularly as adjectives, we were just

showing how ignorant we were because we could not think of a precise descriptor.

My father had spent almost four years in the Army Air Corps in World War II, and I am sure he had heard every profanity in the English-speaking world. He never used them and would not tolerate his children using them either.

From 1960 until the late seventies, Dad was elected Town Supervisor, or mayor, and later a County Legislator in Monroe County, New York. He was a Democrat with a family background in unions. Dad was always my model on how an elected official should behave: honest, appropriately dressed for every occasion, well-spoken, and always polite to everyone.

I am not now and never have been a Disney princess, but I find the use of gratuitous cussing offensive, particularly when it comes from people who put “Honorable” in front of their names. Certainly, the explosion of the “F-bomb” by so-called public servants from the President to the Minneapolis mayor underscores how coarse and crass our culture has become. It also tells me that folks just don’t know enough of the 250 000 commonly used words in the English language to make better choices.

When a word that once had a specific meaning now shows up in

almost every context, does it have any meaning at all? Is it supposed to indicate how angry or serious the speaker is?

The chief public official, President Trump, made headlines in June when he used it during a press conference. Allegedly, this week he said it twice to a heckler.

Many other politicians have used it as well. Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) stated during a rally, “I don’t swear in public very well, but we have to f*** Trump,” which I am sure she did not mean literally.

Strangely, people who abhor the President sometimes scream “F*** Trump!” If they thought about the historic meaning of the word, they would shudder and gag.

Professionally printed signs used at anti-ICE demonstrations exclaim that the bearer wants to do the same thing to ICE. What could that possibly mean? Are they planning to do something weird with frozen water or take on the whole cohort?

Many people use FAFO, which treats the big bad word as a verb. However, the action in this acronym could mean anything, as in “just go ahead and do whatever you’re thinking about, and you’ll find out how bad the consequences are.” I understand there is a new AF designation creeping into everyday usage. It comes from that shorthand, texting, and

deportation policy.

So far, all early indications paint Leo as being determined to complete Pope Francis’ work of giving preferential treatment to the poor and Leo himself urging his American bishops to “speak out” on the subject of deportation.

This refocus on the world’s desperate, migrating poor may just get the Catholic Church past the horror of pedophilia; its obsession with male-only priests; and dusty doctrine formulated 1 300 years before the enlightenment. It may give young men and women — perhaps American men and women—the motivation to back into the seminary and spend their lives doing good things in Congo, Sudan and Nicaragua. Or maybe not.

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

I expect that it, too, could mean almost anything or nothing at all.

In The Hollywood Reporter, James Hibbard wrote, “… there have been countless hand-wringing essays written about ‘the coarsening of our language’ over the past few centuries or so.” He went on to note that in 2024, 116 F-bombs appeared in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the second highest-grossing movie at the box office; Disney released it. He noted that another Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves did not contain the profanity and bombed at the box office.

While I believe other reasons caused Snow White’s failure, I agree that our culture is saturated with the nefarious word. Hibbard penned, “It’s supposed to shock, to titillate, to inflame. Now it’s workmanlike. Boring.”

If the shocking word is meaningless and boring, maybe it’s time to give it a rest. For 2026, we could all start “swear jars” and put a quarter in them every time we slip and use vulgarity. Think of the windfall that could produce for the charities of our choice at the end of the year.

Louise Mathews retired from a career in community colleges, and before that, theater. A 13-year come-by in Beaufort, she has been a dingbatter in North Carolina and an upstater from New York.

Political parties’ right to associate

he most important thing that a political party can do is choose candidates to represent them on the ballot who are likely to support that party’s agenda once elected to office. Why then, when carrying out that most important responsibility, should Republicans be forced to allow participation from those who oppose us?

Unfortunately, that’s exactly the case here in South Carolina. Voters are not allowed the freedom to choose a political party when they register to vote, and parties aren’t allowed to decide who picks their nominees or who qualifies to be their candidate.

The simple fact is that in America we’re entitled to Constitutional rights, and

among those is the right of individuals, organizations and political parties to enjoy freedom of association. For decades the South Carolina Republican Party has pushed for partisan voter registration in South Carolina in order to have more control over how our Party is required to nominate candidates for office.

Our State Party Platform supports it. Our State Executive Committee

has passed at least three resolutions in favor of it over the past three years. As South Carolina Republican Party Chairman, I have put this question to Republican primary voters four times, (2018 2020 2022 and 2024), with an average of 82% support and more than 1 5 million favorable votes.

It's past time to make a change, and House bill 3643 was written with generous input from our Party to do just that. It allows Republicans to keep Democrats out of our primaries — and lets Democrats keep Republicans out of theirs.

It gives voters the option to affiliate with a political party when they register to vote, or remain “unaffiliated” if they wish. When the primary elections come,

only voters registered with that political party and unaffiliateds can vote in that primary, but once they do, they automatically become registered with that party. Going forward, they would need to change their partisan affiliation at least 45 days prior to participating in another party's primary. This avoids an unnecessary drop in participation, while keeping hard core members of either party from "crashing" the other party. That's fair.

When it comes to candidates, parties would only have to certify candidates that have 1) registered with that party and 2) have voted in two of the last three of that party's statewide primaries, (demonstrating some actually loyalty to

that party). Failing that, a party could decide to grant a waiver if they still want that candidate on their primary ballot. That’s also fair. And it avoids the trap that current law (and some competing legislation) puts parties in: having to certify a candidate to the ballot who clearly supports another party. We actually had such an example in the 2018 primaries. An avid Bernie Sanders supporting Democrat filed to run in the Republican Primary for the 1st Congressional District. The law left us no recourse, but the SCGOP passed a unanimous resolution pointing out that current law makes a mockery of the nomination process with such requirements.

The facts are simple. Republicans have a right to freedom of association. That means the right to decide who we associate with to pick our candidates and to decide who should qualify to be our candidates. Period. Current election law in South Carolina violates that freedom. And H3463 is the best shot we've ever had at fixing that problem. Should this legislation fail, our State Committee has voted unanimously to file a federal lawsuit to compel the legislature to act. I encourage all Republicans (and even Democrats) to reach out to your legislators and ask them to support it.

ART Budding Artist After-School

Art Club

4 to 5 p.m., or 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesday/Thursdays, Happy Art Studio, 10 Sam’s Point Way, Beaufort. Ages 8 to 13. Painting, drawing, clay or crafts. Visit www.happyartstudio.net.

BOOKS Books Sandwiched In Noon to 1 p.m., Mondays, Jan. 26, 2026 through March 2, 2026, USCB Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret Street, Beaufort. An active community leader discusses a book that has had an impact on the presenter, with questions and discussion to follow. Free to attendees through generous community sponsorships. Free parking. Our 39th season will showcase the following six experts and notable community leaders speaking about books that inspire them:

• Jan. 26: “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter. Presented by Frank Rodriguez, Superintendent, Beaufort County School District.

Feb. 2: by Dan Ariely. Presented by Capt. Tracy R. Isaac, Commanding Officer, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Beaufort; Commanding Officer, Naval Support Facility Beaufort; Director, Naval Hospital Beaufort.

Feb. 9: “Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History” by Beverly Bowers Jennings. The book’s author will join Captain Craig Reaves, commercial shrimper and owner of CJ Seafood, to discuss the featured title and its related topics. Book signings will follow the session.

Feb. 16: “The Empty Space” by Peter Brook. Presented by Libby Ricardo, MFA, University of South Carolina at Beaufort Associate Professor of Theater and Interdisciplinary Studies; Program Coordinator for Interdisciplinary Studies.

• Feb. 23: “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. Presented by Andrew Bridges, President and CEO, NEMOURS Wildlife Foundation.

Mar. 2: “Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline” by Loretta Lynn. Presented by Amanda Brewer Dickman, Director, Beaufort County Library.

CALENDAR

Beaufort Charities Annual

Two-Day Oyster Roast

5 to 10 p.m., Friday, March 6 and noon to 10 p.m., Saturday, March 7, Live Oak Park, 904 14th Street, Port Royal. Friday’s ticket price ($40) includes live entertainment, Frogmore Stew, steamed oysters, plus unlimited beer and wine souvenir cups available for purchase. Saturday’s ticket price ($50) includes live entertainment, the annual oyster roast, unlimited beer and wine souvenir cups available for purchase, two live auctions (3 and 6 p.m.) and a free kids zone. A two-day ticket is available for $85. Purchase tickets at https://bit.ly/ 49jecyd.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to midnight, Mondays, Tomfoolery, 3436 17 Market, Habersham, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Karaoke with Ali

9 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort. With DJ Ali.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd, Beaufort. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Wednesdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with either Parker or Eric.

Trivia with Tom –

Bricks On Boundary

7 p.m., Every Thursday, Bricks on Boundary, 1422 Boundary St, Beaufort. Free. Team trivia event, win house cash and Beer Bucket prizes! For more information, visit https://rb.gy/o9nhwe.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

7 p.m., Thursdays, Amvets Post 70, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free. Public is welcome. Enjoy Karaoke. Dinner will be available.

Bluffton Night Bazaar –a Lowcountry Made Market

5 to 8 p.m., first Thursday of each month, Burnt Church Distillery, 120 Bluffton Road. A highly curated selection of accessories, clothing, home goods, custom gifts and more by local artists and makers.

Habersham Farmers Market

3 to 6 p.m., Fridays, Habersh-

WHAT’S HAPPENING

am Marketplace. Vendor roster includes B&E Farm, Cottonwood Soap, Flower Power Treats, Hardee Greens, Megs Sweet Treats, Vitamin Bee, Lady’s Island Oyster Company, Pet Wants.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9 p.m., Fridays, Highway 21 Bar, 3436 Trask Pkwy, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Lt. Dan.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew

9:30 p.m., Fridays, Rosie

O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy Karaoke with Parker.

Karaoke with Melissa

7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Fridays, R Bar & Grill, 70 Pennington Drive, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

Port Royal Farmers Market

9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, year round, Naval Heritage Park, 1615 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Rain or shine. You will find fresh, local, seasonal produce, shrimp, oysters, poultry, beef, pork, eggs, bread and cheese, as well as plants, ferns, camellias, azaleas, citrus trees and beautiful, fresh cut flower bouquets. There are prepared food vendors serving barbecue, dumplings, she crab soup, crab cakes, paella, coffee, baked goods, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. No pets allowed. For more information, visit http://www.portroyalfarmersmarket.com/, visit @portroyalfarmersmarket on Facebook or call 843-295-0058.

Slip and Splash Saturdays 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays, Battery Creek Pool, 1 Blue Dolphin Drive, Beaufort, and Bluffton Pool, 55 Pritchard Street, Bluffton. $5 per person. Stay busy for hours climbing on our inflatable challenge track.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 7 p.m., Saturdays, The Beaufort Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd., Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Lt. Dan. Come early at 6 p.m. for Steak Night.

Eric’s Karaoke Krew 9:30 p.m., Saturdays, Rosie O’Grady’s, 2127 Boundary Street, Suite 2, Beaufort. Free. Enjoy karaoke with Eric.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud

9 a.m. to noon, 1st Saturday each month, Port Royal Farmer’s Market, Corner of Ribaut Road & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal. Free. DAYLO Students and other volunteers will read to young children, who are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animals.

Karaoke with Melissa 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, Peaceful Henry’s Cigar Bar, 181 Bluffton Road, Bluffton. Enjoy food and drinks during Karaoke with Melissa.

DANCE

Lowcountry Shaggers

6 to 9 p.m., Mondays, Albergotti Grill, Holiday Inn, 2225 Boundary Street. Shag lessons with Tommy & Sheri O’Brien and others. Occasional ballroom and once-a-month line dancing. Beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons. Open dancing after lessons. Visit www. lowcountryshaggers.com of email lowcountryshaggers@aol.com.

The Beaufort Shag Club 6:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays, AmVets Club, 1831 Ribaut Road, Port Royal. Free lessons for members from 6 to 6:30 p.m. We also host a dance the second Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. Lessons will run September through May only. Visit our FaceBook page (beaufortshagclub) for current events.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

BEMER Longevity Technology 9 a.m., Wednesdays via Zoom. Seen the buzz on “life span VS health span?” Want to grow better, not older? Haven’t heard of BEMER yet? Come for Q&A about how this longevity-enhancing medical device can enhance your health, fitness and overall well-being in just 8 minutes, 2 times a day. Offered by BEMER Specialist - Human & Equine, Elizabeth Bergmann. Text 410-212-1468 to get the Zoom link. Free.

Rooted Beaufort Yoga classes

5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Thursdays, Cypress Wetlands, Port Royal; 9 to 10:15 a.m., Whitehall Park or Pigeon Point Park. Rooted Beaufort is a collective of local Yoga teachers who host outdoor yoga classes and donation-based events with proceeds being donated locally on a rotating basis.

HISTORY Beaufort History Museum at the Arsenal

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturdays, 713 Craven St, Beaufort. General Admission for Adults

$8, Seniors $7, Active Duty Military and College Students with ID $5. Children/Teens younger than 18 Free. Explore and experience more than 500 years of Beaufort History with knowledgeable docent guided tours.

The Historic Port Royal Museum 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or upon request, Thursdays through Sundays, The Historic Port Royal Museum, 1634 Paris Ave. The museum features the turn-of-the-century businesses and industries of Port Royal: Shrimping, crabbing, oystering, the railroad, the school and the mercantile. Great gifts featuring local artists are available. For more information. visit www. portroyalhistory.org, email historicportroyalfoundation@gmail. com or call 843-524-4333.

Tour Historic Fort Fremont Dawn to dusk, Monday through Sunday, The Fort Fremont Preserve, 1124 Land’s End Road, St. Helena Island. Free and open to the public. The History Center is open Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m., Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can learn about the fort’s history during the Spanish-American War through interpretive signs, self-guided walking tours with a smart phone, exhibits in the history center, and docent-led tours. For more information visit www. fortfremont.org or contact Passive Parks Manager Stefanie Nagid at snagid@bcgov.net.

LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

“Hidden Gems” Book Club

3 p.m., third Monday of each month, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island. Free. So many books, so little time. St. Helena staff have uncovered some great titles to get you started on your “hidden gem” journey. Join us for lively discussions and coffee or tea. No registration required.

Career Navigator

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Tuesday, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Free one-on-one resume writing and job application assistance with a Career Navigator from Palmetto Goodwill. No appointments necessary. For more information call 843-255-6458.

Bridge Club

10 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Join us if you want to learn a new game, practice your skills, or need more players. Call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458 for more information.

Mah Jongg Open Play

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursdays, St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road, St. Helena Island. Already know the basics of this fun and popular tile game? Join others for open play –all materials supplied. Cards may be purchased at nationalmahjonggleague.org.

Mahjong Club

9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Fridays, Beaufort Library, 311 Scott Street. All levels of players are welcome. Feel free to bring your own mahjong sets. Plan to meet every week. For more information, call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458.

MEETINGS

UAP/ET/Experiencer

Weekly discussion Group

7 to 8:30 p.m., 2 Habersham Park House, Habersham, Beaufort. Free and open to the public. Questions? Please email ncloring@ icloud.com.

Beaufort Lions Club

6 p.m., first and third Monday of every month, St John's Lutheran Church, 157 Lady's Island Drive, Beaufort. For more information, visit thebeaufortlionsclub@gmail. com or follow on Facebook/Instagram/Nextdoor.

PFLAG Savannah –Beaufort Peer Group

6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of every month, Fellowship Hall, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort (UUFB), 178 Sams Point Road, Beaufort. Free. The group will be moderated by Rick Hamilton and Kay Carr. The provides advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, family, peers, and allies in the Lowcountry. The peer group provides a safe and strictly confidential environment for LGBTQ+ individuals, their families, friends, and allies to discuss the challenges faced in coming out or being out in neighborhoods, the workplace, school, or church. The organization offers resources for counseling, educating, and advocating to achieve an equitable, inclusive community where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved. Minors under the age of 18 are required to come with an adult parent, guardian, or mentor. Additional information about peer

groups, membership, donations, and volunteering is on the website www.PFLAGSavannah.org and on Facebook.

Beaufort Chapter of America’s Boating Club 6 p.m., 2nd Tuesday of most months, at various Beaufort/Port Royal venues. Regular meetings begin with a Social, followed by Dinner and often include an exciting Guest Speaker from the Lowcountry. For Meeting Information or Educational Opportunities, please contact Paul Gorsuch, Administrative Officer at admino@ beaufortboatingclub.com . Boat ownership is not required, however a passion for safe responsible boating is mandatory.

Zonta Club of Beaufort 6 p.m., 4th Tuesday of each month, Smokehouse, Port Royal.

Rotary Club of Sea Island lunch meeting 12:15 p.m., 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Social gathering every 3rd Tuesday at 5:30 pm, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary.org.

Rotary Club of Sea Island social gathering 5:30 p.m., 3rd Tuesday of each month, locations vary and posted on our website. For more information, visit www.seaislandrotary. org.

Beaufort Rotary Club Noon, Wednesdays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 81 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island. Catered buffet lunch, followed by a guest speaker. Prospective members welcome. For further information and upcoming speakers, please visit website www.beaufortrotaryclub.org.

The Beaufort Trailblazers –A Volunteer Group 8 a.m., first Thursday each month, University Bikes, Beaufort. Anyone interested in supporting or building off-road/dirt/wilderness mountain biking/jogging/ walking trails near is encouraged to attend. For more information, call 843-575-0021 or email universitybicycles@hotmail.com.

Parents Alienated By Their Adult Children 10 a.m., Thursdays & 6 p.m., Fridays, Lowcountry Outreach Center, 80 Lady's Island Drive, Beaufort. This is a 12-step support group for Parents Alienated By Their Adult Children and is based on the international group, Parents Alienation Advocates (PA-A). Contact Marye Jo Hartley or Greg Hartley at 703-966-2014 for more information.

Emotions Anonymous International local group meeting 4 p.m, Thursdays, via Zoom. Emotions Anonymous International, (EAI), is a nonprofit program designed to help people with emotional difficulties. It has a chapter in the Lowcountry and members want others who feel the need to know they are welcome to participate. There is no charge to participate. They are based on the 12 steps and 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and follow a specific format designed to provide the support and tools for navigating life’s painful difficulties. All are welcome. Anyone interested in participating may contact the group via email at EALowcountry@gmail.com or call or text Laurie at 252- 917-7082. For more information on EAI visit www. emotionsanonymous.org.

Al-Anon Beaufort County

7:30 p.m., Thursdays, 80 Lady’s Island Drive in Beaufort. “Do you worry about how much someone drinks? Is it affecting your life? You are not alone. Al-Anon Beaufort Serenity Group offers help and hope. Join the group in Beaufort, or visit the Lowcountry page at https://bit.ly/3HvksaF for more times and locations.

Rotary Club of the Lowcountry

7:30 a.m., Fridays, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, 81 Lady's Island Dr., Ladys' Island. Catered breakfast from local chef. Speakers weekly. Occasional social events replace Friday mornings, but will be announced on our website, www.rotaryclubofthelowcountrybeaufort.org.

MUSIC

Campfire Tyler

11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sundays, The Fillin’ Station, Lady’s Island.

Lowcountry Wind Symphony rehearsals

7 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays, Beaufort High School Band Room. The Lowcountry Wind Symphony, a 65-member concert band, invites new members. Woodwind, Brass, Percussion. Open to adults and talented high school youth. For

more information, email director@ lowcountrywindsymphony.com or call 843-304-0543.

Live entertainment 7 to 11 p.m., Wednesdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

Chris Jones 7 to 11 p.m., Thursdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

Habersham Third Fridays Music on Market 5 to 8 p.m., third Friday of the month, Habersham Marketplace.

Live entertainment 9 p.m. to midnight, Fridays & Saturdays, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, 910 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort.

OUTDOORS/NATURE

Free boating inspections

Get a free vessel safety check by local members of the America's Boating Club of Beaufort. If your boat passes, you will receive a VSC decal to mount on your boat that will be visible to other boaters and maritime law enforcement personnel. Email Safety@beaufortboatingclub.com.

The Beaufort Tree Walk Lady’s Island Garden Club invites you to take a meandering walk through the Historic “Old Point” and enjoy some unique and noteworthy trees. The “Walk” takes about an hour, is a little over a mile starting at the corner of Craven & Carteret streets in Morrall Park and concluding in Waterfront Park. Booklets with map and information about each tree are available free at the Visitors Center in the historic Arsenal on Craven Street.

Tours of Hunting Island

Every Tuesday, Hunting Island State Park, 2555 Sea Island Pkwy. Free, park entry fees apply. Sponsored by Friends of Hunting Island Keeper Ted and his team. For more information call the Hunting Island Nature Center at 843-838-7437.

RECYCLING

Computer recycling program

St. Andrew by the Sea Methodist Church, 20 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head Island. St. Andrew by the Sea has started a program where your trashed computer is wiped clean of all data and recycled to Missioncentral.org — a 100% charity cause.

SEWING/QUILTING

American Needlepoint Guild

Meeting

10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1st Tuesday each month. The Hilton Head Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in needlepoint to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at hiltonheadislandchapter@needlepoint.org.

Embroidery Guild of America

Meeting

Second Tuesday of every month, Palmetto Electric Community Room, Hardeeville. The Lowcountry Chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America welcomes anyone, beginner or experienced stitcher, who is interested in any type of embroidery including needlepoint, cross-stitch, surface and beaded embroidery, hardanger, bargello, sashiko, etc., to join us for stitching, learning and fellowship. For more information, please contact us at lowcountrychapter@ egacarolinas.org.

SPORTS/GAMES

ACBL Duplicate Bridge Club 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Tuesdays, Carteret Street. Events will be held weekly. Contact Director and Club Manager Susan DeFoe at 843-597-2541 for location.

Charity card game

3:30 p.m., first Tuesday of each month, Mangiamo‘s Pizza, 2000 Main Street, Hilton Head Island. The Hilton Head liberal men’s group is sponsoring a free social/ charity event with a fun, easy to learn card game. A percentage of the money spent on food and drink goes to the charity of our choice. Come socialize, have fun, and support a good cause. Reserve a spot by texting Dave Desjardins at 202460-5286.

Bridge Club

10 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays, Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort. Join us if you want to learn a new game, practice your skills, or need more players. Call the Beaufort Branch Library at 843-255-6458 for more information.

Beaufort Masters Swim Team

6 to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, Wardle Family Port Royal YMCA. Coached practices. Ages 18 & older, all skill & speed levels, no prior swim team experience needed. Visit lowcountryswimming. com for more information.

LOCAL MILITARY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, 23 January 2026

Recruit Training Regiment • Commanding Officer, Colonel A. P. Bariletti

2nd Recruit Training Battalion • Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel A. Yang Commander of Troops, Gunnery Sergeant Bretton A. Gross • Staff Sergeant Ethan C. Herron Company “H”, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion • Captain N. A. Ewing Drill Master • Staff Sergeant Efren Sarmiento, Staff Sergeant C. Garcia

PLATOON 2000

Senior Drill Instructor

Sgt S. S. Slaiw

Pvt Barton, Jordan N.

Pvt Brown, Terell, J.

LCpl Byrd Jr, Lorenzo D.

PFC Cadet, Gregory R.

Pvt Chappell, Elijah J.

PFC Christopher Jr, Travis M.*

Pvt Counce, Tyler J.

Pvt Diaz, Jayden

Pvt Dilorenzo, Gian L.

Pvt Dossou, Grayson J.

Pvt Duran, Kenneth I.

PFC Facey, Davon A.

PFC Fleming, Elijah M.*

Pvt Florence Jr, Selwyn J.

Pvt Flores, Mason D.

PFC Fox, Aiden R.*

PFC Galashev, Samuel N.

Pvt Gay, John D.

PFC Gonzales, Jett J.

Pvt Goodwin, Colton J.

PFC Guin, Steven C.*

PFC Haddock, Shaquille D.*

Pvt Hayes, Cameron E.

Pvt Hernandezherrera, Ivan

Pvt Hewitt, Johnel A.

Pvt Holcomb, Dylan M.

Pvt Hults, Gaven L.

Pvt Johnson, Shannon M.

Pvt King, Kenziah M.

PFC Krause, Ethan A.

PFC Lawson Iii, Patrick M.

Pvt Locklear, Artemus D.

Pvt Long, Jeremiah J.

Pvt Lopezzavaleta, Omar

Pvt Manneh, Noah A.

Pvt Manning, Ethan C.

PFC Martin, Jason L.*

Pvt Martinezromero, Anthony

Pvt Matthews Ii, Aaron A.

Pvt Mccreerymonroy, Diego G.

PFC Metzler, David G.

PFC Morenofigueroa, Brandon

Pvt Munozgonzalez, Gerardo A.

Pvt Newkirk, Erik R.

Pvt Nipper, Gavin T.

Pvt Noel, Peyton C.

PFC Odaniel, Aidan B.

Pvt Ortizlopez, David N.

Pvt Palomino, Danny

Pvt Peeler, William C.

Pvt Rea, Christian S.

Pvt Reed, Tyree R.

Pvt Restorosa, Jesus J.

Pvt Richardson, Logan P.

Pvt Rodriguezdominguez, Kevin

Pvt Rodriguezescandon, Angel D.

Pvt Rozengota, Regan J.

Pvt Salcedogonzalez, Jose A.

PFC Sanlorenzoturco, Saverio A.

Pvt Say, July

PFC Siler, Dominic C.

Pvt Skory, Artem

PFC Stone, Basil J.

Pvt Stump, Evan C.

PFC Swarbrick, Blake T.

Pvt Tolley, Christopher P.

Pvt Torres, Brandon J.

Pvt Vasquez, Preston P.

PFC Vaughn, Bryson D.

PFC Vega, Joshua

Pvt Wallace, Jacob J.

PFC Williams, Ethan D.*

Pvt Wright, Brayden C.

Pvt Zermenomireles, Axel E.

PLATOON 2001

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt Z. T. Sieber

Pvt Adamo, Robert C.

Pvt Aloisi, John J.

Pvt Arboleda, Shane T.

Pvt Badger, Jayden M.

Pvt Bartobnney, Brockston J.

Pvt Bracho, Giovanni A.

Pvt Brooks, Tucker B.

PFC Caballerofernandez, Kevin J.

Pvt Callejagomez, Eduardo

PFC Campbell Jr, Nicholas S.*

Pvt Casson, Azekeial P.

Pvt Chamness, Joshua R.

Pvt Chavez, Tyler J.

PFC Civil, Holdy

Pvt Correia, Wyatt R.

Pvt Crowe, Matthew W.

Pvt Cruz, David A.

Pvt Curry, Matthew W.

Pvt Dalman, Giannizyan I.

PFC Dixon, Adrian P.*

Pvt Downey, Andrew J.

Pvt Dyer, Cyrus W.

Pvt Fulton, Torin J.

Pvt Germain, Josiah J.

Pvt Gienger, Parrish J.

Pvt Greisdoff, Hanania P.

PFC Harris, Vincent M.

Pvt Hicks, Evan W.

Pvt Hill, Corbyn N.

Pvt Holmes, Teigan W.

Pvt Hudson, Cody L.

PFC Krebs, Cody A.

Pvt Lanyon, Thomas W.

PFC Lawrence, Tyler I.

Pvt Linder, Augustin M.

Pvt Lonia, Anthony R.

PFC Mahoney, Matthew J.

Pvt Marino, Joseph T.

Pvt Martinezmartinez, Mario E.

Pvt Matthews, Fynnlee P.

PFC Mccorkle Iii, Chris M.*

PFC Mceldowney, Dylan S.*

Pvt Mcneely, Logan P.

Pvt Mora, Rodney

Pvt Moreau, Cuauhtemoc J.

Pvt Morrison, Brian A.

Pvt Oliver, Daniel H.

Pvt Palma Jr, Noe

Pvt Patrick, Luke A.

Pvt Perezguzman, Joseph A.

Pvt Portermelrath, Jaden A.

PFC Potter, Kingston L.

Pvt Randall, Dawson S.

PFC Rhodes, Brendan T.

Pvt Rojasraymundo, Margarito

Pvt Sanchez, Richell A.

Pvt Sanderlin, Kyre D.

Pvt Segarra, Tristan E.

Pvt Seymour, Andrew D.

Pvt Shiflett Jr, Anthony N.

Pvt Smith, Elijah D.

Pvt Speight, Camren J.

Pvt Stevens, Kirk W.

Pvt Townsend, Chandler J.

Pvt Vasquez Jr, Julio A.

Pvt Vazquezbarberan, Yaniel A.

Pvt Vazquezladrondegueva, Julio C.

PFC Vinnett, Prince E.

Pvt Vuncannon, Peyton J.

Pvt Watson, Asher R.

Pvt Welker, Austin O.

PFC Williams, Bryan L.*

PFC Wilson, Matthew T.

PFC Wolfe, Joshua M.

Pvt Zaldivar, Joshua I.

PLATOON 2004

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt D. Martinez

Pvt Addair Jr, Jerrod L.

Pvt Alvarado, Cristian V.

Pvt Baldwin Jr, Willie S.

PFC Barney, Dylan S.

PFC Barretoperez, Armando.

Pvt Bibbee Jr, Thomas W.

PFC Butler, Rayshawn L.

Pvt Colemanpadilla, Jacob J.

PFC Cooper, Samuel D.

Pvt Culver, Shane B.

PFC Dambrosio III, Frank.*

PFC Davis, Zachary K.*

Pvt Delgadorodriguez, Denzel J.

Pvt Dunbar, Hunter D.

PFC Favret, Jacob N.

Pvt Ferreiradossantos, Arthur

PFC Gambrell, Christian X.*

Pvt Gauthier, Aemon

PFC Goodin Jr, Jacob D.

Pvt Gurganus, Philip R.

PFC Hall, Steven V.*

Pvt Hamryszak, Charles J.

PFC Harris, Shaun A.

PFC Herbert, Hector

Pvt Hodge, Cameron R.

PFC Hudgins, Gabriel J.

Pvt James, Jahiem D.

Pvt Jean, David C.

Pvt Jenkins, Noah R.

Pvt Jennings III Rodney L.

PFC Kelley Jr. Michael L.

Pvt Krzyzak, Devin W.

PFC Lai, King J.

Pvt Lopez III, Antonio

PFC Lopez, Hector G.

Pvt Mackewich, Samuel D.

Pvt Maffioletti, Bryan

Pvt Maldonadocastro, Doel D.

PFC Maldonadorodriguez, Melvin Y.

Pvt Manny, Jacob A.

Pvt Mcgann IV, Peter J.

Pvt Mcintyre, Jason N.

Pvt Mobley, Kivon M.

Pvt Padillahernandez, Matthew

Pvt Palacio, Nicolas A.

PFC Payne, Elijah A.

PFC Perezreyes, Jasiel A.

LCpl Pride, Rico A.

Pvt Rangel, Erin J.

PFC Raslowsky, Gabriele P.

Pvt Rice, Nicholas R.

Pvt Rissman, Aidan N.

Pvt Robinson Jr, Antonio O.

Pvt Rodriguez, Nestor

Pvt Russell, Remington C.

Pvt Sajko, Dakota R.

Pvt Scott, Sedrick D.

Pvt Selph, Christopher K.

Pvt Slawinski, Mason C.

PFC Staehle, Michael F. *

Pvt Stair, William J.

PFC Taylor, Dominic R.

PFC Thomasbutler, Zion S.

PFC Toledososa, Brayan

PFC Treadway, Connor P.

Pvt Tyree, Tate R.

Pvt Vargaslugo, Diego

Pvt Vasquezargueta, Leonel A.

PFC Velezperez, Xavier

Pvt Washburn, Matheu L.

Pvt Whited, Jeremiah E.

Pvt Wiita, Isaiah D.

Pvt Wright, Jacob D.

Pvt Yocum, Eian L

PLATOON

2005

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt A. S. Claxton

Pvt Abdullahi, Hashim I.

Pvt Aribjanov, Temur

Pvt Belgrave Jr, Cameron D.

Pvt Bowe, Gavin A.

PFC Breeden, Chevy C.

Pvt Buchanan, Elijah J.

Pvt Chinlund, Caleb P.*

Pvt Cissell, Tyler A.

Pvt Clutter, Ty S.

PFC Cole, Austin L.*

Pvt Conteh, Joshua

Pvt Cortezmendez, Rogelio Z.

Pvt Dobrockewillis, Isaiah J.

PFC Drew, John V.

Pvt Dunn, Jordan A.

Pvt Dunn, Xzavier M.

PFC Edmister, Ethyn D.

PFC Esan, Oluwagbemileke

PFC Felipevasquez, Beli S.

Pvt Fry, Braydon J.

Pvt Garciablinderman, Ian O.

Pvt Garvin, Matthew A.

Pvt Gomezvasquez, Brayan W.

Pvt Gonzalezgarcia, Anderson D.

Pvt Haigis, William T.

PFC Harris, Jordan L.

PFC Heidt, Chase H.*

Pvt Hernandezsanchez, Angel M.*

Pvt Hobart, Rykin L.

Pvt Jackson, Carter M.

Pvt Jimenez, Yair S.

Pvt Keller, Ayden L.

Pvt Laczo, Sean A.

Pvt Lebron, Jullian A.

PFC Lewis, Matthew D.

Pvt Lincourt, Brandon J.

Pvt Long, Brian G.

PFC Lopezlopez, Jun A.

Pvt Mahannah, Sabyn T.

Pvt Mccauley, Aaron J.

PFC Melendezmartinez, Jordan O.

Pvt Moore, Aiden J.

PFC Niemeyer, Isaac J.

PFC Nieveszayas, Lian C.

Pvt Novoa, Javier A.

PFC Ogletree, Kenneth A.

Pvt Olney, Aidan R.

PFC Ortegalopez, Junior J.

Pvt Paige, Damon R.

Pvt Patinoflete, Diegoonell

Pvt Patterson, Liam D.

Pvt Pledger, Donovan A.

Pvt Pointer, Jacob B.

PFC Quintanacruz, Adrian D.

Pvt Rodriguezamaya, Jose A.

PFC Romshe, Joseph E.*

PFC Rosales, John A.

PFC Severe, Andrew N.*

PFC Snodgrass II, Marwan A.

Pvt Snyder, Dylan J.

Pvt Soper, Colin T.

Pvt Spina, Carmelo A.

Pvt Stambaughshank, Kayden M.

Pvt Stevens, Kane R.

Pvt Sypherd, Camden M.

Pvt Tibor, Nathaniel E.

PFC Vets, Thomas M.

Pvt Vinyard, Nicholas B.

PFC Wright, Joshua D.

PFC Zahn, Cameron R.

Pvt Zwierko, Joshua A.

PLATOON 2006

Senior Drill Instructor

SSgt D. Q. Hall

PFC Anderson, Dayton Z.

Pvt Arteagaruiz, Jorge D.

Pvt Baez, Dioneuri A.

Pvt Bennettwoon, Errol A.

PFC Bonham, Zakary R.

Pvt Brown, Jevon C.

PFC Butcher, Jude L.

Pvt Chajkowski, Eric E.

PFC Chapa, Ayden C.

Pvt Cicerale, Logan A.

Pvt Cintron, Messiah C.

PFC Clark, Trystan L.*

Pvt Contreras, Kevin S.

Pvt Delanuez, Luis S.

PFC Desir, Darrel R.

PFC Dick, Dlouis A.*

Pvt Dignan, Nicolas D.

PFC Estevez, Julian F.

Pvt Fertil, Devin E.

Pvt Finegan, Daniel P.

Pvt Funesfunes, Kenneth J.

Pvt Gaburo, Jesse R.

Pvt Gironcarias, Christopher A.

Pvt Giza, Louden D.

PFC Gross, Donovan L.

Pvt Gurung, Sarlav

Pvt Ishman, Zane N.

Pvt Klincko, Zachary C.

PFC Kranyak, Luke M.

Pvt Lakomy, Mathew

Pvt Lapepalmer, Angel L.

Pvt Lechado, Bryan I.

Pvt Livingston, Tanner W.

Pvt Luceroaguilar, Jose G.

Pvt Maddox III, Phillip R.

PFC Martinez, Hugo

Pvt Mcconnell, Kyle J.

Pvt Mitchell, Bryson R.

PFC Myers, James J.*

PFC Nicholls, David B.

PFC Niyonkuru, Bienvenue*

Pvt Palmer, Aiden A.

Pvt Palush, William E.

PFC Penarandagarcia, Daniel

Pvt Penaripoll, Aldo F.

Pvt Perez, Michael A.

PFC Pham, Antonio B.*

PFC Pritchett, Daniel P.

Pvt Quinones III, Alan S.

PFC Ramsey, Deshiloh D.

Pvt Rankin, Wyatt J.

Pvt Rimpel, Sedrick O.

Pvt Rivasalejandre, Ricardo R.

Pvt Rivera, Johnnathon A.

Pvt Rodriguez, Jordan P.

Pvt Ruiz Jr, Donato

Pvt Ruiz, Miguel A.

Pvt Santanaurbaez, Tyrone

Pvt Santos, Angel M.

Pvt Santosortiz, Kelvin J.

Pvt Scarber, William H.

Pvt Seck, Malick

Pvt Sicard, Elijah W.

PFC Smith, Andrew R.

Pvt Sosamorales, Edgar

Pvt Stanley, Weston R.

Pvt Stoll, Aydyn J.

PFC Thomas, Bradley A.

Pvt Turay, Ibrahim Z.

Pvt Vilelasaca, Wilmer J.

Pvt Villanocano, Edwin

*Denotes meritorious promotion to current rank

LOCAL MILITARY

Joint combat search and rescue exercise strengthens readiness at Moody AFB

By Senior Airman Iain

Stanley U.S. Air Force MOODY AIR FORCE

BASE, Ga. — U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps units

conducted a joint Combat Search and Rescue Training Exercise (CSARTE) at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Jan. 12 through Jan. 16, 2026, strengthening joint interoperability and refining the skills required to recover isolated personnel in contested environments.

Hosted by the 74th Fighter Squadron, CSARTE is a week-long exercise designed to create realistic combat search and rescue scenarios involving joint and combined forces. Participating units included the 74th Fighter Squadron, 41st Rescue Squadron and 71st Rescue Squadron, alongside Marine Corps aviation units Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 312 and VMFA-533

The event evolved from a Republic of Korea-based combat search and rescue exercise originally focused on the A-10C Thunderbolt II, which is being phased out

in that theater. As a result, the training was relocated to Moody AFB to continue developing combat search and rescue proficiency across a broader range of platforms and joint partners.

“CSARTE is about improving joint U.S. combat search and rescue lethality,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Ferraro, U.S. Air Force 347th Operations Support Squadron, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape section noncommissioned officer in charge. “It sharpens pilot proficiency, refines joint planning and builds interoperability so these teams can operate together effectively in a real-world recovery.”

A key component of the exercise is the survivor role, which Ferraro emphasized as essential to meaningful training.

“The objective of combat search and rescue is the successful recovery of a survivor,” Ferraro said. “Without a real person on the ground acting as an isolated individual, the training loses its effectiveness and becomes just another sortie.”

By incorporating a live

survivor, aircrews must communicate and coordinate with a person on the ground for aid, treatment and recovery, while simultaneously executing multiple mission sets. These include close air support, suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses, rescue escort, rescue combat air patrol, and authentication, location, threat and condition procedures.

While air operations typically focus on air-to-air and air-to-ground threats, the survivor perspective introduces a different challenge. “On the ground, a survivor’s focus is to maintain life, maintain honor and ultimately return with honor,” Ferraro said. “That’s a significant shift from typical air operations.”

Survivors must manage health and welfare, personal protection, communication, navigation and sustenance while evading enemy forces. They also rely on resistance tactics, techniques and procedures learned during SERE training to endure until recovery forces can be employed.

Joint interoperability was a central theme throughout

the exercise, which integrated Air Force combat search and rescue assets with Marine Corps aviation units from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.

Maj. Patrick Ewald, VMFA312 F/A-18 pilot, said the training strengthened integration between services.

“The purpose of training with Moody is to get better integration between the Marine Corps and Air Force units,” Ewald said. “We’re combining Marine Corps and Air Force assets to execute combat search and rescue missions, as well as strike missions, and using each squadron for what they do best within a larger force exercise.”

The joint environment extended beyond flight operations to maintenance and logistics, where service members adapted to unfamiliar equipment and processes to keep aircraft mission ready.

Lance Cpl. Jonathan Wilfong, VMFA-312 airframes mechanic, said working alongside Air Force maintainers highlighted the importance of flexibility and

teamwork, particularly when using different ground support equipment.

“Working with the Air Force is a big thing because they have different ground support equipment than we do,” the Marine said. “Getting GSE out here can be tricky, but they really pulled through and helped us out.”

Ground support equipment, or GSE, includes tools such as nitrogen carts and generators used to service aircraft systems, including landing gear struts and auxiliary power units. Differences in equipment design required close coordination between maintainers from both services.

“They had rechargeable nitrogen carts that pull nitrogen from the air, while we’re used to using large nitrogen bottles,” the Marine said. “We couldn’t work that thing to save our lives at first, but they helped us through it. The logistics aspect was solid.”

According to Ferraro, this type of cross-service integration is essential to real-world recovery operations, where a single service

may not have immediate access to all required assets.

“Joint interoperability is critical because it allows us to integrate capabilities from across the Department of Defense, other government agencies and even international partners,” Ferraro said. “Exercises like CSARTE establish the relationships and procedures needed so a real-world recovery can happen without delay.” Ewald said the exercise also tested joint tactics, techniques and procedures in a near-peer environment, enhancing readiness and lethality by combining subject matter experts from multiple platforms and services.

“We really appreciate Moody Air Force Base hosting us,” Ewald said. “We’re looking forward to a lot more integration in the future.” Through unity of purpose, relentless joint training and operational focus, exercises like CSARTE ensure every sortie, launch and recovery effort contributes to real, measurable readiness to deter aggression, defend the homeland and decisively win when called upon.

A national tragedy: Elderly veterans missing out on VA, state veterans benefits

Icannot tell you how disappointed I am in the vast number of veterans and veterans’ family members who do not know what their veterans benefits are. I am especially concerned about our beloved elderly veterans who gave so much to our country in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts.

Daily cries for help

I get calls daily from elderly veterans, their family members, and their friends asking me to help them understand their federal (VA) and state veterans benefits, apply for VA health care, and apply for their benefits and VA services.

Many of these senior veterans have reduced cognitive powers, have done little end-of-life planning, do not have a power of attorney or will, or medical directive or living will, or living trust, do not have any relatives to advocate for them, and have never thought they would need the valuable VA and state benefits they earned with their blood, sweat, tears, and separation from family.

Elderly veterans at risk

Making matters worse, many of these older veterans believe in the myth that other veterans deserve their benefits more, and they should not apply, and therefore deny other veterans their benefits. Some veterans also do not own a computer, are not computer literate, do not text, do not have email, do not drive or own a vehicle, are suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental disorders that prevent them from applying for benefits and VA healthcare.

Good news

The good news is that there are county and regional VA-accredited

Veterans Service Officers (VSOs), Veteran Service Organization VSOs (American Legion, VFW, VVA, AMVETS, FRA, etc.), VSOs working in some VA Medical Centers, VSOs collocated with Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Headquarters, and VSOs working at State Veterans Service Organization Headquarters, ready and willing to help veterans. VA-accredited Claims Agents and Attorneys can help veterans, but they charge for their services. Learn more by reading Sep. 4 2024 The Island News article, “Things you need to know about VSOs” at https://bit.ly/3LA98wf.

More good news

There are also Veteran Service Organizations (VFW, AL, AMVETS, VVA, DAV, PAV, FRA, etc.) chapters, branches, and posts with Veterans Benefits Advisors who can help veterans find a local VA-accredited VSO, their VA Medical Center or Community Based-Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) Social Worker, their VA Medical Center or CBOC Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT Team), transportation assistance, and their local VA Medical Center and CBOC Patient Advocate’s Office. These advisors are not VA-accredited VSOs, but they have limited training, skills, and knowledge of VA benefits and services and of how to connect the veteran with a VA-accredited VSO, social worker, patient advocate, trans-

portation coordinator, or other VA professional.

How can you help elderly veterans? Here are some recommendations on how you can help elderly veterans.

• Check on the veteran. If you know an elderly veteran, check on them to see if they are safe, and do a safety check of their home for tripping and falling hazards, fire hazards, health hazards, insect infestations, pet care shortcomings, and proper nutritional support. Ask them whether they have fallen recently and whether they are experiencing any health or other problems.

• Ask if the veteran is vaccinated? Ask if they have had their immunizations for the flu, RSV, COVID, and shingles. Explain to them that if they are enrolled in VA healthcare, they can receive these lifesaving and sickness reducing immunizations at their local VA Medical Center or Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).

Ask if they are enrolled in VA healthcare. Ask if they are enrolled in VA healthcare. If they say no, encourage them to enroll either online, in person, by phone, or by mail. Learn how to enroll at the VA webpage titled “How to Apply for VA Health Care” at https:// bit.ly/3Z7OWFf. If they say yes, ask them whether they know who their VA Primary Care Provider (Doctor, Physician Assistant, or Nurse Practitioner) is, and whether they know the names, titles, and how to contact the members of their VA Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT Team). And remind

the veteran that if they do not make an appointment to see their primary care physician at least once a year, the VA may disenroll them in VA healthcare, and the veteran will have to re-enroll.

• Tell them about world-class VA healthcare and a PACT Team. Explain that when they enroll in VA healthcare, they are quickly assigned to a Primary Care PACT Team at their supporting VA Medical Center or Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). Tell the veteran that their PACT Team is led by a VA primary care provider (Physician, PA, or NP) and consists of a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse or medical assistant, a pharmacist, an administrative clerk, and a social worker. Other specialists, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, may also be assigned to the PACT Team as needed. Learn more about VA PACT Teams at the VA web page titled “Patient Care Services (Patient Aligned Care Team – PACT)” at https://bit.ly/3LVJnqf and the VA web page titled “Your VA Primary Care Provider and PACT Team” at https:// bit.ly/4pJDmuN.

• Ask the veteran if they need transportation help. Ask if they are having transportation problems. The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) provides free van rides to and from VA health care facilities for veterans without other transportation options. DAV

van resources work with county Veterans Affairs Directors to provide transportation for veterans to and from VA health care centers for scheduled medical appointments. Find South Carolina County Veteran Affairs Directors at https://bit.ly/3NCLsrw. These vans transport veterans throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Veterans can schedule a DAV van ride by contacting the Hospital DAV Service Coordinator for their county at least three days in advance. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center DAV Coordinator can be contacted at The Medical Center, 109 Bee Street, Charleston, S.C. 29401 or by phone at 843789-6555. Other veteran-specific transportation services, including buses, shuttles, and wheelchair-accessible transport, are available to patients. Contact the Ralph H Johnson VAMC Transportation Office at 843-789-6555 to schedule a ride. Learn more about transportation for veterans at the VA web page “DAV Vans: Transportation for Veterans” at https://bit.ly/49unjfr.

This concludes this series.

Larry

SERVICE DIRECTORY

ATTORNEY

Christopher J. Geier

Attorney at Law, LLC

Criminal Defense & Civil Litigation

2048 Pearl Street, Beaufort, SC 29902

Office: 843-986-9449 • Fax: 843-986-9450 chris@bftsclaw.com • www.geierlaw.com

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CHIMNEY SERVICES

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“Beaufort, the Cradle of Secession, 1790-1860" February 5 , 12 , 26 & March 5 th th th th

USCB - Center for the Arts

Tickets: www.historicbeaufort.org

Featuring: Dr. John M. McCardell

Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland

Dr. Stephen R. Wise

With support from:

By the Eucharist Alone

Eucharistic Miracles

Can a person survive on Holy Communion as their only food?

Jesus understands that it can be difficult to believe that he is truly present in Holy Communion. To help strengthen our faith, Jesus has allowed many Eucharistic miracles to happen throughout history. Some of the most common are those of miraculous nourishment, in which holy men and women have lived for months or even years with the Eucharist as their only food or drink. Of these, the most recent and best-documented is the story of Alexandrina da Costa.

Alexandrina was born in Portugal in 1904.

When she was fourteen years old, she shattered her back trying to escape from an attacker. Over the next six years, she gradually lost her ability to walk. She became completely bedridden at the age of twenty, with every movement causing her great agony. Alexandrina gradually came to accept these sufferings as an opportunity to grow closer to Jesus and pray for those in need of mercy. Though she was in such pain, she continued to fall more deeply in love with Jesus.

Alexandrina’s story shows the importance of the Eucharist. One can see photos of Alexandrina and read more about her online. Jesus worked this miracle in her life to remind the world that he is truly present in the Eucharist, and how deeply he desires to be one with each of us in this beautiful sacrament. If Jesus can choose to give a person physical nourishment in such a miraculous way through the Eucharist, how much more powerful must the Bread of Life be for your spiritual nourishment and growth? HISTORIC BEAUFORT

At the age of 38, she began to live on the Eucharist alone. Beginning on Good Friday in 1942, Alexandrina could not keep down any food or drink other than the Eucharist. At first she thought it was an illness, but Jesus revealed to her that he was allowing this as a miraculous sign for others. For the next thirteen years, Alexandrina’s only nourishment was a single host (wafer) of Holy Communion, brought to her every morning by her parish priest. Despite this, she was not hungry or thirsty. Other than the damage to her back, her health remained strong and she kept a joyful spirit.

Medical experts could not explain the phenomenon. As people began to hear about this miracle, some were skeptical. In 1943 at the urging of her family, Alexandrina consented to stay in the nearby hospital for a medical observation. She was under the constant surveillance of skeptical doctors and nurses for forty days. Afterward, they confirmed that she had received no food or drink whatsoever during all that time, yet her vital signs were strong, her weight stable, and her blood tests those of a well-fed person. They could offer no explanation for what they witnessed.

Alexandrina lived for thirteen years on the Eucharist alone. Until her death in 1955, Alexandrina lived on nothing more than Holy Communion each morning. She once asked Jesus in prayer why he was allowing this to happen, and she heard him respond, “You are living by the Eucharist alone because I want to prove to the world the power of the Eucharist and the power of my life in souls.”