JANUARY 30–FEBRUARY 5, 2025
WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
Joint sit-down kicks off new year for county, municipal leaders
P
BEAUFORT rior to the arrival last week of Winter Storm Enzo, local political leaders sat down together for a little brainstorming which generated something of a warm, fuzzy experience. Not that the group of 10 elected municipal members plus staff accomplished much, but there was a feeling of comradery and hopefulness one doesn’t often get while watching their government at work. The City of Beaufort and Town of Port Royal officials were joined by the Beaufort County female triumvirate – newly elected County Council Chairman Alice Howard and Vice-chair Tab Tabernick, plus Councilwoman Paula Brown who came all the way from her district south of the Broad River to participate in the talks and listen. Also present was newly elected school board Chairman Dick Geier who expressed his appreciation for being included since municipal issues such as development impact school issues. Again, the topics of conversation in the one-and-a-half hour session varied but it was, as these dinner meetings often are, an opportunity for each elected official to voice what’s on their mind, or troubling their souls. A central topic, at this meeting, first of the year, was housing, both the “affordable” type and the homeless issue. The elected guys – and women – want to do something to relieve the need but they, like their counterparts across the country, know it’s not easy. Beaufort, working with Jasper County, has established the Lowcountry Housing Trust which works with developers to bring more “affordable” homes into the area. And the Beaufort Housing Authority provides shelter for more than 800 families on fixed incomes with a waiting list of hundreds more. The elected folks said all the right things about “working together” and “serving the people” knowing that budget sessions are looming and the need for money to fulfill the promises – and make repairs like the city’s Waterfront Park project – will be great. But the Thursday night session, which included a fish and chicken dinner, “set the table” for the year’s actions, as Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips said.
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A4
South Carolina State Representative Shannon Erickson stands on Bay Street after the rare Beaufort snowfall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
A Lowcountry Winter Wonderland Rare snow causes schools, businesses to close for several days
By Delayna Earley The Island News Thanks to an atypical winter storm that hit the Lowcountry on Tuesday of last week, Beaufortonians woke up to snow for the first time in seven years. Winter Storm Enzo blew into South Carolina late on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and led to school and business closures for most of the week and dangerous road conditions that lasted for days as the snow would begin to melt during the day and then would refreeze at night due to freezing temperatures. Beaufort got 3 inches of sleet and snow and Port Royal got 2.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service Charleston Temperatures overnight plummeted into the low 20s, which lead emergency officials in the Lowcoun-
try to request that residents stay home and off the roads due to the ice. A cold weather shelter was open during the week for those in need at Sea Island Presbyterian Church and they provided showers, dinner and breakfast in addition to a warm place to sleep. According to a spokesperson from the church, as many as 30 people sought shelter in a night. Beaufort County School District (BCSD) had students attend for half a day on Tuesday and then they had an e-learning day on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to the number of days students have had to miss this year due to weather, they have now exhausted all their e-learning days and can no longer use them for this school year.
This snowman is about 10 feet tall and sits off Cherokee Road, just outside of Habersham. It was built by an unknown person who had been using a small tractor to clear the road of snow. SEE WINTER PAGE A6 Jeff Evans/The Island News
No more monkey business
All escaped monkeys recaptured after 3 months on the loose By Delayna Earley The Island News The last of the 43 escaped monkeys has been captured after nearly three months on the run from a research facility in Yemassee, according to an update put out by the Yemassee Police Department. The update was made to the Yemassee Police Department’s Facebook page on Friday, Jan.
24, after Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard confirmed that all of the monkeys have been recaptured and also all appear in good health. “It was a real team and community effort,” Westergaard said in the release. The female adolescent rhesus macaque monkeys first escaped from the Castle Hall Road facility on Nov. 6 after two doors were
left unsecured after a routine feeding and cleaning. Originally, Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center reported that “several primates” had escaped from the facility. Later in the day they were able to confirm that 40 primates had escaped and the next day that number rose to 43. The monkeys spent several days playing and hanging around
in the trees surrounding the facility before any were apprehended, but by Nov. 11, 30 primates had been recaptured. Before the update on Friday, the last update made was on Nov. 18, stating that all but four monkeys had been recaptured. It is not clear how the last of the monkeys were captured.
SEE MONKEYS PAGE A5
NEWS
HEALTH
STATE NEWS
INSIDE
USCB Center for the Arts announces 2025 Fin Festival.
Local nurse practitioner shares tips on managing seasonal depression.
Ex-school board member, Courtney Waters, wins primary election for SC House.
PAGE A6
PAGE A9
PAGE A11
Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–6 Health A8–9 State News A10–11 Sports B1 Voices B2–3
Military B4–5 Directory B6 Classifieds B7 Games B7 Cartoon B7 Legals A2, L1–20