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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Beaufort County measles case linked to exposures at graduation, Publix, Dataw Island Identified exposure sites include Beaufort High’s June 3 commencement By Delayna Earley The Island News A newly confirmed case of measles in a Beaufort County adult has prompted state health officials to identify several public exposure sites, including Beaufort High School's graduation ceremo-
ny, Publix at Lady's Island and the Dataw Island Community Center. The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) announced Thursday, June 11, that
an adult Beaufort County resident has been diagnosed with measles. The individual sought treatment from a local healthcare provider on June 6, and laboratory confirmation of the disease was received June 10. According to DPH, the person's vaccination status is unconfirmed, and the individual did not have immunity from a previous measles infection. Health officials have not identified the source of exposure and said there is no
known connection between this case and another measles case reported in the Lowcountry on June 3. Notifications to identified potentially exposed individuals are currently underway, according to DPH. As part of its investigation, DPH identified several locations where exposures to infectious measles may have occurred. Potential exposure locations
Beaufort High School graduation BHS Football Stadium, 84 Sea Island Parkway, Beaufort • June 3 Publix Super Market at Lady's Island 61 Lady's Island Drive, Beaufort • June 1, 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. • June 2, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. • June 4, 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. • June 5, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SEE MEASLES PAGE A5
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
Tuesday’s primary confirms 5 new faces for council
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Beaufort County Council District 5 will decide a runoff between Joshua Hower and Mary Jeans Otto. Hower received approximately 41 percent of the vote in the June 9 primary, while Otto received about 34 percent. Because neither candidate received the majority required to secure the nomination outright, the race advanced to a runoff.
BEAUFORT eaufort County Council’s June 8 meeting lasted more than four hours and covered a diversity of subjects from a business license for a Catholic thrift store to stricter regulations for plastic bags. But four of the 11 council members who sat on the dais and participated in the discussions must have been contemplating their political futures which would be determined the next day, primary election day. Unfortunately, two of them – Tom Reitz and Paula Brown, both Republicans from south of the Broad River – didn’t fare well with their voters and they won’t be coming back in January. The other two – Vice Chair Tab Tabernick and Mark Lawson – won their party’s nomination but still face Democratic opposition in November. Another three – Chairwoman Alice Howard, Joe Passiment and Larry McElynn – got to sit there, knowing they wouldn’t be facing such weighty government problems much longer because they’re not running for re-election. Councilman Logan Cunningham, of District 7, which is pretty much Bluffton, wasn’t up for re-election to his council seat but he WAS on the ballot as one of 11 Republican candidates running for the party’s nomination to the 1st Congressional District. Coming in third, with 15.5 percent of the vote, looks like Cunningham
SEE RUNOFF PAGE A3
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A3
Green Pond Community Center is seen Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Green Pond. The community center served as a polling location during South Carolina's June 9 primary election and was the site of an incident in which Rep. Michael Rivers is accused of pointing a handgun at Oliver Francis, the uncle of Democratic House District 121 nominee Shannon DeLoach, while in the parking lot. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the allegation. Delayna Earley/The Island News
Rep. Rivers accused of pointing gun at opposing candidate's uncle SLED opens active investigation into alleged Election Day confrontation at Green Pond polling place
By Delayna Earley The Island News An alleged confrontation at a Colleton County polling location on Election Day has prompted an investigation by the
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division after Democratic House District 121 nominee Shannon DeLoach claimed that incumbent Rep. Michael Rivers pointed a handgun at DeLoach's uncle, Oliver Francis, during an encounter outside the Green Pond Community Center. The incident allegedly occurred Tuesday, June 9, at the polling place on Ivenia Brown Road in Green Pond while voters were casting ballots.
On Wednesday afternoon, SLED Public Information Officer Renée Wunderlich confirmed to The Island News that the agency has opened an investigation into the matter. "Following a review of the request, SLED has opened an investigation into the matter below," Wunderlich wrote in an email. "SLED's investigation is active
SEE RIVERS PAGE A6
Primary runoff election scheduled for June 23
County Council District 5, 1st Congressional District races headline Beaufort County ballot
By Delayna Earley The Island News Beaufort County voters will return to the polls Tuesday, June 23, to decide several races left un-
resolved after the June 9 primary election. The Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections has announced that the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and polling locations will remain the same as those used during the June 9 primary. Early voting was to be available Wednesday, June 17, and Thursday, June 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
four locations throughout Beaufort County. Those locations are the Main Voter Registration Office, 15 John Galt Road in Beaufort; St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road; Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way; and the University of South Carolina Beaufort's Hilton Head campus, located at 1 Sand Shark Drive. Locally, Republican voters in
NEWS
EDUCATION
HEALTH
INSIDE
Seifert wins the Republican primary for Sheriff
Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence first SC school to earn Boeing certification.
Heartburn, acid reflux and GERD can be a pain.
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