Poor planning yields poor results
A meeting was held in March 2023 at Scott Center on St. Helena Island as part of the consultants’ contract for a Parks and Recreation Master Plan for the county. The 1-acre Scott property has been owned by the same private owner(s) since 1976 and the building (Scott Center) was built in 1973.
Why didn’t the public make repairs or renovate the building? There was a lot of frustration that Beaufort County government did nothing on St. Helena Island and this frustration was voiced at the Scott meeting. The public can take action much faster than the Beaufort County government.
The Pine Island development has people not agreeing. Who trusts anyone anymore, and government?Forget it. Everyone wants their bread buttered.
There’s money for land to build a community center on St. Helena Island, just approve a golf course! This money for land would be another recreation disaster, fight, who knows what else. Someone would have to manage it, maintain it, etc.
Demand is stronger than ever for recreation on St. Helena Island, in Beaufort, in Port Royal, in Shell Point, etc. Piss poor planning yields piss poor results. Real leaders help solve issues not add to them and steal precious years from not only children, but people of all ages.
People are tired of the old playbook from Beaufort County government and their Parks & Rec Board, which doesn’t have an affinity for recreation. The last half century, the only new amenities are a path on the Old Bridge in downtown Beaufort, a skate park in Port Royal, and the paved 10-mile rail trail. Everything else seems repetitive. It shouldn’t be about influence on elected officials, who is friends with who, [but instead] whether smart planning is hashed out and acted on.
— Joe Mac, City of Beaufort Parks and Trees Recreation Commission member, Beaufort resident
A difference in facts
In the column “What a Great Country” by Louise Mathews in the Dec. 11-17 issue, she says “we cannot have our own facts, but we can have our own opinions.” During a conversation with another traveler, it became clear that their political opinions differed. Her seatmate objected to ICE members covering their faces. Ms. Mathews wanted to say “so does Antifa,” but instead, she said that she thinks the ICE agents are responding to so many threats against them.
The current government claims that threats against ICE agents have increased dramatically. But is this a fact? The Los Angeles Times published an investigative article on Dec. 1 titled “Attacks on ICE up 1000%? Trump Administration Claim Not Backed up by Court Records.”
The Trump administration did not respond to multiple requests from the newspaper to release a list of the alleged assaults. The Times reviewed cases filed against alleged assaulters in five different cities. The reporters found that that no convictions have been obtained to date, that many cases have been voluntarily dismissed, that agents were uninjured in the majority of cases, and that in a number of cases, defendants were charged after ICE agents initiated the physical contact. The investigation also found that “local law enforcement officers are far more likely to be attacked in the line of duty than immigration agents.”
Regarding Antifa, Michael Glasheen, the Operations Director for the FBI’s National Security Branch, recently testified before Congress. He claimed that Antifa poses the greatest internal terrorist threat to America. But Mr. Glasheen wilted under simple questioning by Rep. Benny Thompson. He was totally unable to state where this threatening organization was headquartered or how many members it has.
How can it be that the FBI knows next to nothing about this dangerous organization? It’s because a Google search reveals that multiple sources note that “Antifa” is primarily an ideology: opposition to fascism, authoritarianism, far-right beliefs, and racism, for example. There is no broad organization with leadership or membership.
There have obviously been some instances of violence by individuals with left-wing, “Antifa”-style views. However, data show that far-right extremists have been responsible for a significantly higher number of lethal attacks than far-left extremists.
In my opinion, ICE agents should not be permitted to wear masks, and Antifa is not the main threat to our domestic security. Why? Because I find the investigative reporting to be more factually credible than the current government’s reporting. Again, why? Because the Trump administration will not or cannot support its claims. Ms. Mathews seems to differ.
My conclusion is that, unfortunately, in this polarized environment, we do have our own facts. And that’s a huge problem.
— Carol King, Fripp Island
