By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
It’s Water Festival … in case you’re new in town or living under a rock, oblivious to all but the heat.
And, as we’re being reminded on every Water Festival post, this is the 70th year of what is billed as “South Carolina’s premiere outdoor festival.”
Seventy years since the festival was launched as a nonprofit entity organized by community leaders to include a weekend sailing regatta and beauty pageant … and of course the Lions Club parade.
In those 70 years, the numbers of volunteers have grown the event into a 10-day full schedule with nightly band performances, a local talent show, air shows, ski shows, a kids day, the much-anticipated bed race down Bay Street, fishing, bocce tournaments and still, the sailing regatta and parade.
(The beauty pageant, which elected the Queen of the Sea Islands was dropped in the mid-1980’s and replaced with a more inclusive talent show.)
And while the threat of r-a-i-n (there’s a running joke that the organizers no longer acknowledge that four-letter word during the week) can still be an issue, the show does go on.
(Although events have been canceled in past years when rainstorms include dangerous lightning.)
Many of the individuals who helped grow this community event as a summer attraction for locals and visitors alike, are no longer with us. They’re probably watching the activities from afar and thanking their lucky stars their days of organizing in the sweltering heat are behind them.
Past Commodore Erin Dean (2007 and the first female in that position since 1959 when Mazie Terhune was at the helm) had an interesting online post this past week, putting in perspective the philosophy she, and the other volunteers, try to adhere to. It’s worth sharing:
“… I am hopeful that the sense of community that comes every July in Beaufort, with friends old and new, will carry forward into the future. Find an organization that speaks to your heart and do what you can to support them – either through acts of service or monetarily if able.”
She goes on to remind us how many local nonprofits exist in this community and they all constantly look for “volunteers, resources and contributions to carry on their good work.”
Well said, Commodore.
Happy Water Fest.
Beaufort County has no data center proposals … yet
WALTERBORO — Much has been said, and written in recent months about growing public concern of data centers, those huge users of water and electricity resources that are linked to the production of artificial intelligence services.
Online sites such as datacenters.com, lists between 20 and 30 data centers already operating in South Carolina.
To date, there appears to be no data center projects proposed for Beaufort County, but there are certainly no guarantees as the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation continues to bring new industrial prospects with vague names like Project Cloud or Project Lasagna. Since so many of the details are shared with county government leaders behind closed doors, it’s hard to tell what could, or could not be coming our way.
Until earlier this month, there was growing concern about a proposed 859-acre data center project in neighboring Colleton County, south of Walterboro on the edge of the environmentally protected ACE Basin — the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers drainage basins.
The proposed development made it past the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals before the public got wind — thanks largely to concerned citizens and groups like the Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
With the threat of lawsuits, they were able to convince their county leaders to impose a six-month moratorium on the project.
Mother Nature hurts Witness Tree while Dominion’s damage is more widespread
BEAUFORT– One of Beaufort’s historic landmarks took a hit over the weekend from Mother Nature.
The live oak, estimated to be more than 300 years old, is nicknamed the Witness Tree by the good folks at the Pat Conroy Center who help maintain tree in the small park on Bladen Street, adjacent to the center.
The dry weather stresses that have been impacting trees throughout the Lowcountry this summer, stimulating interior rot, took their toll and split the lovely oak down the middle.
The hit was just the latest on local trees which have been vandalized during recent weeks by the Dominion Energy maintenance crews who specialize in sheering the leafy canopies in the name of safety.
The utility representatives, who opted not to accept the invitation from city officials two weeks ago to attend a council meeting to discuss their latest program of destruction, scheduled a public “informational workshop” for Tuesday, July 22, to talk about their policies.
It will be an opportunity for those concerned about what the utility company is doing to our resources.
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.