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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
LOWCOUNTRY LOWDOWN
LOLITA HUCKABY
Are we seeing a trend? County says ‘NO’ to Pine Island
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BEAUFORT t may go down as the longest meeting in recent Beaufort County government history. Reference last week’s Beaufort County Council meeting which lasted a total of 7 hours, 6 minutes with Pine Island development as the major item of interest. And, as everyone in this little pierce of paradise knows the results of that marathon meeting were a resounding NO vote to those latest development plans. After a four-hour public hearing, which followed three-anda-half hours of “regular” council business, the 11 members, by a vote of 9-2, rejected the motion to continue negotiations to remove the Pine Island property from the Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) map for construction of an 18-hole golf course and 49 homes. More than 50 individuals rose from the over-packed Burton Wells Recreation Center to speak, some telling the council it was a terrible proposal, one that would destroy the surrounding Gullah-Geechee community, while others supported the plan which they noted allowed less development with only 49 homes. Going into the meeting, which was the latest step in a threeyear process, it appeared to be anyone’s guess on how the vote would come out. When the council voted 5-4 during special meeting Aug. 20 to hire outside attorneys and continue discussions on a development agreement with the Pine Island representatives, there was genuine concern among those opposing the plans, that vote indicated some support for an amended agreement.
Tyger Snell, owner of Belly Full By Tyger, holds up the first two of many freshly fried baskets of crab on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, during the 30th Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival. Amber Hewitt/File/The Island News
It’s eatin’ time! Beaufort Shrimp Festival back for 31st go round
Staff reports The Beaufort Shrimp Festival returns to downtown Beaufort for its 31st anniversary on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, 2025, promising two days packed with fresh shrimp from our local waters, live music, family activities,
and a vibrant Art & Craft Market. Festival-goers can kick off the weekend Friday evening with live performances by the Threshold Party Band at 5:15 p.m. and Billy and the Jets at 7:15 p.m., while savoring mouth-watering shrimp pre-
pared by local chefs and exploring handcrafted items from talented artisans at the Art & Craft market, open from noon to 6 p.m. Seafood lovers can join the fan-favorite Shrimp Showdown, a partnership between the City of Beaufort and the Beaufort Area Hospitality
SEE SHRIMP PAGE A6
BCSO deputy suspended without pay after pointing gun at unarmed teenagers Incident happened over weekend on Hilton Head Island
SEE LOWDOWN PAGE A4
By Delayna Earley The Island News On Monday, Sept, 29, many in Beaufort, S.C. woke to a now-viral video being shared across social media that, for many in the comments, caused shock and anger. The video showed a man, who we now know is an off-duty deputy with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), approaching several young teenage boys
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BC, Mother Nature get best of Whale Branch.
Beaufort Memorial breast cancer support group to hear beauty tips, tutorials.
USCB gets $3.8 million federal grant for Nursing Workforce Development.
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while pointing his gun at them and screaming for them to get on the ground. He is dressed in civilian clothing, shorts and a dark shirt with dark slip-on shoes, his BCSO tactical vest, and has his weapon holster on his hip. When they do not immediately comply, he proceeds to grab one
of the boys by the shirt and tries to kick his legs out from under him, as the boy and his friends scream in fear and yell for someone to help them and to call the police. At one point, one of the boys can be seen attempting to push the deputy while the deputy holds his friend, at which point
the deputy draws his weapon again, points it at the boys and says, “I will shoot you.” The video ends with more screaming from the boys as they yell for their moms, for help and a question that was asked several times during the video but never answered, “What the [expletive] did we do?”
SEE DEPUTY PAGE A4
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