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MARCH 30–APRIL 5, 2023
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Rally to ‘protect St. Helena’ set for Thursday Group seeks community support in fighting Pine Island development By Mike McCombs The Island News A community rally is being held at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 30 at St. Helena Elementary to “protect St. Helena.” The purpose of the two-hour
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rally, promoted by a group billing itself as Protect St. Helena, is to rally the community’s support for the “soul of the Sea Islands” by opposing any rollback of the CPO — the Cultural Protection Overlay, the community-driven zoning
laws written in 1999 which protect St. Helena from over-development — and fight a proposed gated community and golf course on Pine Island and St. Helenaville. According to Jessie White, South Coast Office Director for
the Coastal Conservation League (CCL), Protect St. Helena and the meeting aren’t a product of one particular group, rather a meeting of the minds of more than
SEE RALLY PAGE A5
Third-bridge crossing an idea that just won’t die
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BEAUFORT eaufort County Councilwoman Alice Howard is right: almost any governmental public meeting you attend these days, the subject of traffic control comes up. Howard reminded her colleagues of that over-riding topic of interest last week when the Beaufort County Northern Regional Plan Implementation Committee came back together after almost a year of inactivity. This community, like most growing areas, has a lot of planning meetings. It’s pretty obvious there’s a lot of “planning” to do although sometimes it seems like the governmental regulatory/ groups are playing catch-up to the developers who keep coming forth with more and more building plans. This particular planning group is held once a month for representatives of northern Beaufort County, Port Royal and Beaufort to sit down and get updates on issues of concern. And while last week’s meeting was basically brain-storming, the issue of traffic — and what to do about it — was on the table. Of specific interest, the decadesold topic about a third bridge crossing to Lady’s Island raised its aging head. Deputy County Administrator for engineering Jared Fralix, a man with many projects already on his desk, threw the “ball,” as they were calling it, out for discussion, reminding almost all those sitting at the table that the official Lady’s Island Development Plan in 2007 calls for a third bridge project to be “explored and evaluated.” The plan (which you can read for yourself at https://bit.ly/40E3ieX if you’re so inclined) outlines the latest plan on record, a crossing north of the MCAS Beaufort, bridging the Beaufort River near
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A5
West Point cadets visiting Beaufort for a history tour on March 7, look at a sign describing the forthcoming Harriet Tubman monument. Gavin McIntyre/Post And Courier
Tubman monument’s journey nears end
Sculpture meant to raise awareness of hero’s extraordinary exploits in Beaufort County during the Civil War By Adam Parker aparker@postandcourier.com
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BEAUFORT arriet Tubman was born into slavery in an unusual place: Church Creek, Md. This area in the early 1800s was different from most places where slavery was in
force because of its primary industry — shipbuilding — and its mixed population. About half of the Black people living in Maryland’s Dorchester County were free. Running eastward through the
SEE JOURNEY PAGE A4
WANT MORE? From Beaufort to Bluffton and Hilton Head, The Post and Courier covers news impacting your community. Subscribe for more local coverage at postandcourier.com/IslandNews.
Board to hear no book appeals next week
By Mike McCombs The Island News When the Beaufort County Board of Education meets Tuesday, April 4, it won’t be hearing any book review committee ap-
peals because they were late. The committees’ decisions on nine books from their March 15 sessions were emailed that evening to original complainants Ivie Szalai and Mike Covert, the two who orig-
inally requested the removal of fore won’t be considered. the books from Beaufort County In a statement given to The IsSchool District (BCSD) shelves. land News, BCSD Communications Szalai and Covert did file ap- Director Candace Bruder wrote: peals, but according to the school district, they were late and thereSEE APPEALS PAGE A6
VOICES
SPORTS
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Burton Fire works 5 car crashes over weekend.
Stephen Murray: Time always right to speak truth.
Beaufort High’s softball team bangs up Battery Creek.
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