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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
You’ve got to pay attention and not just complain
A
BEAUFORT n interesting headline recently in The Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette summarized a not-so-unfamiliar feeling being experienced in the Lowcountry. “700 homes being planned on two Beaufort County Islands. Is Anybody Listening?” read the headline about the ongoing development on Upper and Lower Cane Island but again, the question as to “anybody listening” seems almost colloquial. Local citizens have been complaining for at least the past decade about the deteriorating state of our local roads and intersections and their apparent failure to keep up with the traffic demand. But yet, wooded acres keep getting cleared, houses keep getting built and people to live in them keep moving here.
Keith Rupert, a Lady’s Island resident, holds two pieces of wood to show what he says the difference of one day sitting outside close by the landfill makes during SCDES community meeting about the Lady’s Island landfill odor on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2026, at Coosa Elementary. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Raising a stink
Residents press for faster action at odorous Lady’s Island landfill; officials outline monitoring, enforcement By Delayna Earley The Island News State environmental officials and representatives of Coastal Waste and Recycling met with Lady’s Island residents Monday night, Jan. 26, at Coosa Elementary School to explain operations at the con-
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A3
struction and demolition landfill on Third Point Road, review air-monitoring data and respond to ongoing odor complaints residents say have worsened in recent years. The meeting drew a large turnout and, at times, tense exchanges as residents pressed for clearer time-
lines, stronger enforcement and a faster, larger-scale response to what many described as a quality-of-life crisis — not simply an inconvenience. “They’re calling it an odor — it’s
SEE STINK PAGE A4
The honor for a Lifetime Beaufort icons honored by Foundation for Leadership Education with 2026 Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards
Sarah Edith Martin “Edie” Rodgers, a 2026 Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, laughs during the Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards gala on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2024, on Dataw Island. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
The Island News “Could you please speak into the mike?” That was one of a few pieces of advice former state Rep. Edie Rodgers offered to Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer and two of his fellow City Councilmembers Saturday night, Jan. 24, during the annual Foundation for Leadership Education’s (FLE) awards banquet. Rodgers, who also served on the Beaufort City Council as
well as a long list of community activities, was presented one of the Foundation’s 2026 Lowcountry Lifetime Achievement Awards along with six other community leaders who were recognized at the banquet at the Dataw Island County Club. Rodgers was repeating her admonition to the City Council, which she has given at frequent council meetings, that the microphone system in the meeting
room does not adequately magnify council deliberations for the audience. Her comments were met with applause and laughter from the audience of 263 attendees. FLE Board of Directors President Charles Tumlin welcomed the crowd which gathered to pay tribute to past award winners and the 2026 Lifetime Achievement honorees, which included
SEE HONOR PAGE A5
NEWS
ARTS
HEALTH
INSIDE
Re-opening of intersection of Bay, Charles streets delayed.
Grainger Hines to receive Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s: know the signs and symptoms.
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