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FRE s Discounts & Door Prizes • Drawing Weber Kettle Grill ount• FREE Food from 11-2 eat atFREE c s Grfor i F F s D r O O DE Drawing for RooE E un D &F f ! DiscGDoroeoartnts Drawing for a FREE O r s F e om izO D EE &Discoeus!r a fPrOrR POSTAL PRESORTED 1 WEBER FREEfor F 1 o Drawing z o - 2 97 i m o Pr& D s! WEBER PATRON D PERMIT NO. KETTLE f1r1o-O a FREE e z i 2 m LOCAL r P t KETTLE GRILL BEAUFORT, SC 11-2 WEBER G r e a nt s FRE 29902 KETTLE GRILL ou
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WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
Beaufort F R E ECouncil City F O O toDtackle rf o mrules tree -11
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BEAUFORT he new Beaufort Square shopping center we’ve been watching come out of the dirt for the past two years? 972 trees were killed in that former forest at the corner of Paris Island Gateway and Robert Smalls Parkway to make way for the new Aldi, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, PetSmart, etc. And want to guess how much the North Carolina-based developers paid the city in fees for denuding the place? $82,000. And the tract across Robert Smalls Parkway, known as the Gray Tract A or Myrtle Bush Apartments, where 312 townhouses and apartments are being built? They removed 590 trees from that 37-acre tract and paid the city $67,582 in fees. One more piece of evidence: the Garden Oaks Apartments, under construction on Old Salem
t G r e a nt s s ta e r G u t o nuoc for c s i D Door Drawing s i D r & o r o f g n i wa r D o ! a FREE s D e z & i r P !s EERF a
FRE FO O E f ro mD 11-2
ez i r P WEBER KETTLE REBEW – Rashad Gadson and Ty Reichel – doesn’t hold anything back during their performance in the seventh annual Dancing GRILL E LTeam T3T EK
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A5
LLIRG
With Our Stars on Saturday, March 16, at the USCB Center for the Arts. Bob Sofaly/The Island News
The best nights ever CAPA’s Dancing With Our Stars raises record amount of money
By Delayna Earley The Island News The 7th annual Dancing With Our Stars event was the most successful one yet, according to Jessie Chapman, Director of Development at the Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA) of Beaufort. This year, their participants raised half a million dollars that will go to benefit CAPA and help to build and new facility that was announced last year. Participants, who are select-
ed for their contributions to the community and to CAPA, held fundraisers for several months to raise money in honor of the event for CAPA. The money raised from ticket sales will also be added into the count, said Chapman. This year, both nights were sold out. The event was held over two nights, Friday March 15, and Saturday, March 16, and will be available to view online at the Beaufort County Channel (BCTV).
The winners for 2024 are: People’s Choice: Jeff Vinney and Erin Hancock. Kid’s Choice: Jamie Achor and Skyeem Gardner. Judge’s Choice: Tim Gurley and Candace Dore. Alumni’s Choice: Douglas Cifranick and Lea McFadden. Best Costume: Ty Reichel and Rashad Gadson. Best Choreography: Rita Wilson and Erin Demers.
SEE STARS PAGE A4
The Island News brings home 30 SC Press Awards
The Island News Editor Mike McCombs, Assistant Editor Delayna Earley, Publisher Margaret Evans and Publisher Jeff Evans show off their hardware after the S.C Press Association Awards Luncheon on Friday, March 15 in Columbia. Linda Beattie/For the Island News
From staff reports For the fifth consecutive year, The Island News has bested its own record in the 2023 South Carolina Press Association’s (SCPA) yearly newspaper awards. Winning a total of 30 awards, the staff beat its total number from last year by six awards. “Jeff and I are so proud of our small but mighty team at The Island News,” said Margaret Evans, co-publisher of the paper with her husband Jeff Evans. “Thirty awards. Wow!” The SCPA held their awards luncheon in Columbia on Friday, March 15. The paper mostly completed
in the Weekly, 6,500-and-over circulation categories for reporting, page design, photography and videography. This year the staff collectively won nine first place awards. Editor-in-chief Mike McCombs took home a first-place award for Breaking News Reporting for his story about the loss and search for a missing F-35 based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in September 2023. Additionally, McCombs won second place in Breaking News Reporting, second place for Short Story, second place for Spot Sports Story, and shared a second-place Investigative Reporting award
and a third-place Breaking News Reporting award with Assistant Editor Delayna Earley. Earley won three first-place awards — Feature Video, Feature Photo and Spot News Photo — in addition to nine individual second- and third-place award and the two shared awards with McCombs. Columnist Terry Manning took home his first first-place award with The Island News for Column Writing. Photographer Bob Sofaly won first place for Sports Action Photo for a photo from the Beaufort
SEE AWARDS PAGE A2
NEWS
STATE NEWS
ARTS
INSIDE
Beaufort County elections chief Marie Smalls honored.
Clyburn makes reelection bid official during 2-week filing period.
Penn Center holding book event for editor/authors Ansa, Lloyd.
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Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–7 State News A8–10 Business A11 Health A12–13 Voices A14–15
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