Detention Center just another County headache
By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
Who knew that bringing a cell phone into the Beaufort County Detention Center (BCDC) while visiting an inmate was against the rules, even though the Detention Center’s online webpage does state only “authorized and cleared infant and/or healthcare items” are allowed for inhouse visits?
That’s probably the heads-up County Councilman Tom Reitz missed a couple of weeks ago when he was “outed” for bringing a cell phone into the center for a visit with one of his Hilton Head Island constituents. Not only did he bring the contraband, aka cellphone, in for the visit, a selfie was taken with said constituent which was quickly circulated among certain circles.
That “certain circle” happened to include his fellow councilmembers, Chairman Alice Howard and Vice-Chair Tab Tabernick, who immediately saw the legal conflict and reported it to the county’s top law enforcement officer, Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
Reitz’s identity was acknowledged at the Sept. 8 County Council meeting by citizen critic Skip Hoagland, the Hilton Head constituent Reitz paid a visit. Hoagland, a community critic known for his vocal attacks at County Council meetings, at the time of Reitz’s visit was in the detention center on a trespassing charge at a county Republican Party meeting.
Tanner has confirmed that an investigation is being conducted into the incident which included an in-cell visit by Reitz with Hoagland. No word yet on what that “investigation” will produce.
There have been a number of “investigations” into the Detention Center’s operations, including a recent personal report from The Island News columnist Scott Graber who wrote about his own overnight experience there in the Aug. 28 edition. Graber, a local attorney, got an up-close view of the operations after being placed there by the Port Royal police back in June when he blew a .03 blood-alcohol count after dinner out with his wife.
Yes, FYI, South Carolina law says if the alcohol concentration is .05 or less, one is presumed not to be under the influence of alcohol. None the less, Graber spent the night in the Detention Center with several others and admitted after the fact, when the charges were dropped, it was not his finest hour.
All that being said, the Detention Center, which Sheriff Tanner is quick to point out is NOT under his direction, has had its’ share of challenges of late.
For about 30 days, in mid-June, information on the BCDC’s inmate was not available to the public, a violation of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. The blame was called an “IT problem” by county officials and eventually updated after The Island News Editor Mike McCombs wrote about the situation in the July 23 edition.
The county already is in court defending the BCDC from a class action lawsuit challenging a policy that apparently required all female inmates to be strip-searched but not necessarily all males.
Merits of the suit, which was filed on behalf of 3,100 female inmates in the BCDC between 2015 and 2020, were heard recently in federal court in Charleston. The judge’s ruling will eventually determine if the county was liable for the policy, which would mean the plaintiffs would receive damages and taxpayers would pay.
In March, the BCDC made TV news after inmates complained about dust and noise conditions while interior renovations were being made. Reportedly at least two dozen inmates had to be transferred to a Charleston facility while the work continued.
At least the inmates aren’t still being housed in the 87-year-old concrete jail on King Street that used to hold local lawbreakers. Hardly anyone would want a selfie taken there even if it IS slated to, one day, become housing with condo-townhouses and more than two dozen “workforce” houses … some day.
County Council says ‘no’ to a developer
Speaking of housing development, Beaufort County Council did say “no” last week.
The county officials were asked to approve a zoning change for 86 acres near Battery Creek High School where Pulte Homes proposed to build 244 homes, far more than the 27 homes the current zoning allows.
With recommendations for disapproval from the county Planning Commission and the County Council Natural Resources Committee to reject the request, the full Council last week voted 9-1 to follow suit and reject the request.
Opponents of the proposed Pine Island development plans on St. Helena are hoping the Council will do the same next week, Sept. 22 when they will be asked to approve a zoning change.
The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Burton Wells Recreation Center (1Middleton Recreation Drive, Burton) and guaranteed to draw a crowd.
And as has been said before, the fate of Pine Island’s future, under debate for the past two years, is more than likely going to be settled in court.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
