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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Republican JoJo Woodward files to run for Beaufort County Sheriff on Monday, March 23, 2026, at the Beaufort County Elections Office. Asa Aarons Smith/The Island News
2 file to run for Beaufort County Sheriff
Chuck Elias, left, is congratulated by Chuck Norris after receiving his rank of ninth-degree black belt in 2021. Photo courtesy of Chuck Elias
His awesomeness was contagious
Staff reports Republican JoJo Woodard, a longtime Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy and investigator for the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, filed Monday to run for Beaufort County Sheriff. Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner announced earlier this month he would not seek re-election and would retire when his term ended in early 2027. Woodard is the second to file to run for Tanner’s position. Longtime BCSO deputy Doug Seifert filed the day after Tanner’s an-
Club Karate owner reflects on decades alongside Chuck Norris
By Delayna Earley The Island News
L
ong before the internet turned Chuck Norris into a punchline, he was something else entirely to the people who worked alongside him. For Chuck Elias, who owns and operates Club Karate on Lady’s Island and has spent decades training within Norris’ system — including helping to run one of his international tournaments in Las Vegas — that version of Norris never quite matched the largerthan-life image. “He never was on a pedestal,” Elias said. “He was one of the gang.” Norris, the martial artist and actor best known for Walker, Texas Ranger, died March 19 at 86 after
Chuck Elias, right, stands for a picture with his daughter Mandy, 2, and Chuck Norris after Elias made black belt in 1983. Photo courtesy of Chuck Elias a medical emergency in Hawaii, prompting tributes from fans
SEE SHERIFF PAGE A4
around the world. He rose to fame through a string of action films in the 1980s before becoming a household name on television, where his stoic, disciplined persona helped define an era of action storytelling. But in Beaufort County, the memories are more personal and in at least one case, a little misunderstood. Despite a long-standing local belief that Norris once trained or operated a school in Beaufort, Elias said that’s not the case. “He’s never owned a school in Beaufort,” Elias said. Norris did visit the area once in the late 1960s for a demonstration at Beaufort High School and
St. Helena man arrested in connection with 2024 murders in Burton Marktazius Smalls was already in the Beaufort County Detention Center for other charges
SEE KARATE PAGE A5
Time, again, to Chalk It Up!
Lowcountry Weekly Beaufort is about to burst into color, and the excitement is building. On Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, Chalk It Up! returns as a joyful celebration of creativity, community, and the power of art to bring people together. Hosted by the Freedman Arts District, this free, family-friendly festival transforms ordinary pavement into an extraordinary canvas, inviting residents and visitors alike to witness imagination come alive in real time. Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and continuing through 5 p.m. Sunday, nationally recognized
chalk artists will spend two inspiring days crafting breathtaking, large-scale works of art directly on the pavement beside Tabby Place on Port Republic Street. Guests will not only see art unfold before their eyes, they will experience the creative process, meet the artists, and feel the energy that happens when a community gathers around beauty and expression.
The People’s Choice first-place adult winner, Nicole Von Kuhl of Alexandria, Va., works to complete her chalk art at the Tabby Place on Port Republic Street during the second annual Chalk It Up! Festival hosted by the Freedman Arts District on March 28-30, 2025. Amber Hewitt/File/ SEE CHALK PAGE A2 The Island News
Staff reports A St. Helena Island man, already in custody for other charges and a person of interest in the October 2025 St. Helena Island mass shooting at Willie’s Bar & Grill, has been arrested and charged in Smalls connection with an October 2024 shooting in Burton. According to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) release, as part of an ongoing investigation into a shooting that occurred on County Shed Road and Parris Island Gateway in Burton on Oct. 23, 2024, the BCSO Northern Investigations section has arrested 23-year-old Marktazius Jovan
SEE ARREST PAGE A10
NEWS
HEALTH
ARTS
INSIDE
Beaufort County gun ordinance sent back to committee after debate over enforcement, penalties.
More young adults seeing signs of liver damage.
Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum hosting Floyd Gordon exhibit.
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