Thank you for your continuing support of our vets
A note of appreciation to The Island News and contributor Larry Dandridge.
My cousin, a 96-year-old Korean War veteran, is in the process of dying, and his family reached out to me re: VA benefits. Having read The Island News and knowing Larry Dandridge, I reached out to [Dandridge] knowing he’s an expert re: veterans affairs/benefits.
[Dandridge] instantly responded with the current information concerning veteran’s benefits and how to
access them. I’m sure I could have obtained required information otherwise, but the fact that I recognized The Island News as the vehicle via which Larry has over time conveyed this info made the search so much easier.
I clearly appreciate [Dandridge’s] expertise and commend The Island News for being the vehicle by which this vital information has been/is being conveyed to veterans. Thank you for your continuing support of our vets and the local facilities which are tasked to support them.
Thanks to Larry and The Island News for being there when I needed to obtain this information.
— D. E. Farley, Cmdr., U.S. Navy (ret.)
Stay the course on protecting the St Helena CPO
We are once again defending the St. Helena Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) for the third year in a row.
The developer of Pine Island originally purchased it being well aware of the rule of no gates and no golf courses. Then he proceeded to employ a scare tactic believed by many prominent people of the community, including various County Council members, that there would be [more than] 100 houses and docks built, disrupting St. Helena’s environment, increasing traffic, polluting the water, disturbing the fishing businesses, etc., unless he is allowed to be excused from the CPO and build a golf course.
There is a reason why the CPO is in place, which is to protect the Gullah culture and resources, and as the governor previously stated, once we let one developer in, we open the gates for more.
Pine Island golf course supporters are all using the term downsizing or downzoning, which an artificially created term. It was the developer that told the story and threatened to do the upsizing of over 100 homes and docks. Is DHEC ready to approve 100 docks if it could negatively impact our fishing and shrimping industry?
And now the developer states that his revised plan includes a community center and a sweet grass farm. The children of St. Helena deserve a recreational facility and we should not be at the mercy of a rich developer to implement it. Philanthropy should be from the heart and not from self interest as a quid pro quo.
The county was clear with the majority voting “No” to exclude Pine Island from the CPO. I understand this matter is still being litigated, so why are we bringing this up again?
Why don’t we shift our time and energy as a community to create a safe and sustainable future for the St. Helena children and let the golf developers go someplace else. Please stay the course, county council, and continue to honor the CPO.
— Jane Caffrey, St. Helena Island
