Fire Chief Kline, BJWSA discuss fire hydrant issues
County Council member York Glover, Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District Chief Bruce Kline, and representatives from Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority held a public meeting Wednesday, May 18, at St. Helena Elementary School to discuss fire safety and issues with fire hydrants.
“First and foremost, my prayers go to the community member who lost his house to fire,” said Glover. “Chief Kline and I will work hard to ensure BJWSA follows through with a good hydrant maintenance plan and attempt to secure funding for upgrades to the water lines on the Island.”
Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District was called to a fire earlier this month where the nearest fire hydrant failed. The fire crews continued to engage the fire while others ran hose to the next hydrant. It was determined that an internal coupling had failed.
“We will never know if this contributed to the challenges of putting out this particular fire,” said Chief Kline. “I know my firefighters gave everything they had to try to save that house.”
BJWSA uses a third-party contractor to inspect and flush fire hydrants on St. Helena.
Lady’s Island-St. Helena Firefighter Anthony Roberts, Public Education Coordinator, also informed residents of the importance of checking smoke detectors and offered free checks and installation.
“We installed approximately 200 smoke detectors last year, said Roberts. “Smoke alarms save lives and alert citizens to fire, saving critical seconds needed to fight fires.”
The meeting concluded with residents providing information on fire hydrants hidden in brush or possibly damaged. Glover and Kline agreed to identify ways to bring more hydrants and upgrade water lines to serve the citizens of St. Helena more effectively.
League of Women Voters Beaufort holding annual meeting
The League of Women Voters Beaufort (LWVB) will hold its annual meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9 at the Sea Island Presbyterian Church Meeting Room.
The first part of the meeting will include dinner for $40 per person (reservations are required and can be made at lwvbeaufort@gmail.com). The special guest will be Marie Smalls, Director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections. Student Challenge Winners will be announced at the Challenge Awards Presentation, as well.
The second part of the meeting, starting at 7 p.m., will be open to LWVB members and will include votes on the LWVB budget, the bylaw amendments and the voting for new members to the Board of Directors.
Beaufort Indivisible’s June meeting set
Beaufort Indivisible will hold its June meeting at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, June 18, at the St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Senior Road.
Featured speakers will be Marilyn Harris and York Glover Sr. Harris is a 2022 Democratic candidate for Beaufort County Council District 2 (MCAS/Beaufort/Lady’s Island/Fripp Island). Glover represents District 3 (Beaufort/Lady’s Island/St. Helena Island/Parris Island) on the Beaufort County Council. His term expires in 2024.
The event is free and open to the public.
LowCountry Habitat for Humanity holding wall raising
LowCountry Habitat for Humanity is nearing completion of the flooring system at its Fripp 2 House located at 3004 Walnut Street in the Shell Point neighborhood and will hold a wall raising from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, June 2.
Twenty volunteers will join in a full day of construction to celebrate the milestone. We will be providing lunch for the media and for the construction team to thank them for their support.
The Fripp Island community’s ongoing support has made it possible for Habitat to continue its work of providing safe, decent and affordable housing with hard-working families in our community, just like the Ramirez family. Ana and Jesus Ramirez and their family will be moving into the Fripp 2 House once it is completed.
Beach Walk benefits CAPA of Beaufort
On March 19, Low Country Kappa Delta Alumnae Chapter was joined by the Hilton Head Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter in hosting the Second Annual Beach Walk to benefit CAPA (Child Abuse Prevention Associates) of Beaufort County at Coligny Beach on Hilton Head Island.
On April 11, a check was presented to Charmian Hedrick, Director of Operations for CAPA, in the amount of $2194.73. Additional proceeds from the walk totaling $768.68 also benefited Kappa Delta Foundation for Children.
CAPA is a local non-profit organization that offers a variety of programs to the community to help raise awareness about child abuse and its effects on the community, including community and school-based outreach programs, safe sleep education, home visitation, and foster care.
This local fundraiser is part of National Kappa Delta’s Shamrock Project initiative in support of Prevent Child Abuse America. To date, Kappa Delta’s nationwide have donated more that $26 million to prevent child abuse in our country.
Sea Island Rotary hosting blood drive June 14
Sea Island Rotary Club will stage its quarterly Community Service blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, June 14, at the Hilton Garden Inn on Boundary Street in Beaufort, in the Big Red Bloodmobile.
All donors will receive a $20 eGift card and a OneBlood gift along with a wellness checkup that will include blood pressure, temperature, iron count, pulse and cholesterol screening. All time slots are currently available. Sign up online at https://donorportal.oneblood.org/donate-now or call 843-321-0196 for assistance registering.
OneBlood takes care to ensure that the donation process is safe and secure from the COVID virus, seasonal influenza and other illnesses, and makes extra cleanings, sterilization, wearing masks and similar precautions, standard operating procedure.
SC Shrimp harvest fully open
Officials at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) gave the go ahead for shrimp season to open in full, and commercial shrimp trawling opened in all legal South Carolina waters at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1. The trawling season in Georgia waters opened at the same time.
Shrimping season in South Carolina typically starts in spring with the opening of a small subset of waters, called provisional areas, that allow shrimpers to take advantage of the harvest offshore while still protecting the majority of shrimp that have yet to spawn. South Carolina’s provisional areas opened on April 18 this year. The remainder of the harvest area is much larger.
SCDNR officials set the opening date for shrimp season each year based on the conditions of the shrimp themselves. Aboard both commercial and agency vessels, biologists sample and study white shrimp frequently in late spring. One of the things they’re looking for is evidence that a majority of female white shrimp have already spawned at least once before the season starts. Opening the season too soon – and allowing trawlers to catch females that have not had an opportunity to spawn – could reduce the size of the fall white shrimp crop, which are the offspring of the spring white shrimp.
CCF launches Culture of Care to support mental health needs of nonprofit grantees
The Coastal Community Foundation is launching the Culture of Care pilot program aimed at addressing mental wellness in the nonprofit sector throughout nine-county service region of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry and Jasper counties.
The Culture of Care pilot program’s goal is to address the needs of nonprofit grantees in coastal South Carolina by providing access to virtual therapy, emphasizing the importance of self-care and normalizing the conversation about mental health for those working in the regional nonprofit sector.
The foundations will distribute 1,000 one-year licenses from Talkspace to nonprofit grantees at no cost to them. Through the app, staff and volunteers will have access to mental health services via text, audio and video. The Talkspace app is completely confidential, HIPPA compliant, secure and clinically proven.
