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JUNE 26–JULY 2, 2025
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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Sophia Van Dam and her son Matteo in a photo provided by law enforcement following their disappearance in June 2023. Van Dam was 20 when she went missing, and Matteo was 2 years old.
Charges filed in missing persons case
Paddlers compete in the Beaufort River near Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park for Dragonboat Race Day 2022. Photo courtesy of Steve Tate/file
Rowing for a cause
Man arrested for murder, kidnapping of Beaufort woman, child missing since 2023
DragonBoat Beaufort ready for 2025 race day Saturday in Waterfront Park
By Delayna Earley The Island News An annual event that brings in money to assist local cancer patients will take place in Beaufort once more on Saturday. DragonBoat Beaufort is hosting its 12th Annual DragonBoat Beaufort Race Day on Saturday, June 28 at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort. According to Christine Jones, Paddle Program Coordinator with DragonBoat Beaufort, 28 teams have registered for this year’s event.
“We have some new community teams and new out-of-town teams, so we’re excited about that,” Jones said. The event will begin at 8 a.m. with a drummer’s parade that will begin about 15 minutes prior to the races. The paddlers will be competing for Team Spirit Award, Best Decorated Tent, Best T-shirt Design, Best Drummer Costume and Team, Drummer and Individual Fundraising awards. This year will feature a few changes from previous years, with a special scavenger hunt
for children called Tale of the Dragonheart. “I don’t want to say too much about it,” Jones said. Additionally, DragonBoat Beaufort will be awarding a special award called the Kelsey Kup, which is given in honor of the daughter-in-law of member T-Bone Taylor who recently “lost her battle” with cancer. The award will be given out for team spirit. Race Day is the biggest fundraiser for DragonBoat Beaufort, which uses the proceeds to
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Just by the hair on his chin 2nd Battle of the Beards fought for a good cause
By Amber Hewitt The Island News Although Geoff Cunningham claimed the Viking Helmet as the champion of the Helianthus Project's 2025 Battle of the Beards at Brody’s Bar & Grill On Lady’s Island, he didn’t stop there. In a surprise display of generosity, Cunningham went on to shave his beard as well after raising an additional $400 in donations from the audience. Together, the courageous beard sacrifices of Cunningham of Hail Logistics, Isaiah Martinez with Landscape Workshop, and Jesse Klausman with Jesse’s Tree Service, helped raise $8,000 in support of The Helianthus Project’s Esther’s House initiative, a safe house for child victims of human trafficking. The Helianthus Proj-
ect has a goal to reach a $120,000 fundraising goal by June 2026. The Helianthus Project is a Latina and Veteran founded 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that faces the evil of human trafficking head on and strives to give a voice to those whose voices were taken. The second annual event was put on by The Helianthus Project and Power Washing Man (2024 contestant Connor Cave). The concept is the contestant who raises the most money winner of the event gets to keep their beard, but the losers have their beards shaved right then and there. But this is the second straight year the winner has shaved, as well, in return for additional donations. In the 2024 event, John Hazel won over Cave and Tim Green with ServPro at the Fillin’ Station.
The Helianthus Project's 2025 Battle of the Beards contestants pose for a "pre-shave" photo prior to the second annual fundraiser on Friday, June 20, 2025, at Brody’s Bar & Grill on Lady’s Island. From left are event sponsor and 2024 contestant Conner Cave, contestant Jesse Klausman, The Helianthus Project founder Rachel McBride, contestant Isaiah Martinez, and contestant Geoff Cunningham. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
By Delayna Earley The Island News A former Beaufort man was arrested last week in Sumter and charged with the murder of a woman and the kidnapping of her 2-yearold son in 2023. Jonas Jerry Washington Jr., 26, was arrested by the Sumter PoWashington lice Department in Georgia, and according to a press release from the department, he is being held locally at the county detention center. He was serving a sentence for an unrelated charge in Georgia when Sumter police arrested him and brought him back to South Carolina. Washington faces a murder charge for allegedly killing Sophia Van Dam, who was 20 years old when she was reported missing, and is accused of kidnapping her 2-year-old Matteo. Van Dam and her son Matteo, from Beaufort originally, were reported missing in Sumter, S.C., by her mother, Theresa Van Dam, of Beaufort, in June 2023, after she had not heard from them for a few days. Theresa told law enforcement in October 2023 that Van Dam, who was the youngest of five children, was a leader who loved to take charge and make people laugh. Her grandson, Matteo, was described as full of energy and a lover of the outdoors. “He just always had a spark in his eye,” Theresa said before adding that she misses watching him grow. “There is an empty hole there.” Van Dam was living with in
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HBF buys century-old Greene Street house.
Two GOP candidates — Josh Kimbrell and Alan Wilson — officially enter SC governor’s race.
Scheper Tennis Academy celebrates breaking of tennis’ color barrier.
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