<strong>Follow the unofficial rules of boat landings</strong>
Being a frequent user of our county boat landings, of which there seem to be fewer and fewer,I have noticed a whole new group of users who need some schooling.  When you plan on putting your boat in the water at one of our county boat landings, be ready when you get there, have the boat loaded, especially this time of year when usage is heaviest. Don’t pull into the landing and block access while you socialize with other yuppies. Get it in the water and out of the way.  And kayak guy and paddle board guy, I don’t like the fact that you run your business from a public boat landing, but at least get your clients to double park, or better yet park offsite, and leave the parking for a vehicle with a trailer attached. And finally, when pulling the boat out of water, get it on the trailer and get out of the way.

<strong>National Cemetery improves appearance</strong>
Yea for the VA. Since the posting in Lowcountry Broil, the offensive roll-around former grave covering 20x20 foot “sheds” at the front entrance to our National Cemetery, although have not been moved, but they are now covered with natural ground cover to camouflage and/or to  extenuate their natural beauty, one with a lot of Spanish moss (could not ask for a better Lowcountry foliage!) and the other appears to be seeded and 5/10/10 added for a nice botanical garden type of effect.

<strong>Problem with littering made worse by mowing</strong>
Some days I wake up and wonder how some folks can possibly merit their salary and nice government benefits.
Witness Salem Road in Burton, the roadway leading from S.C. 170 to the entrance of Battery Point. This is maintained by the city of Beaufort since Battery Point was annexed when developed.  It is really kind of difficult to properly explain how this scenario can really happen, but let me try:
There are “a few” individuals who live on this route who daily dine at one of our fine fast food restaurants on Highway U.S. 21 and must deposit the half dozen food containers (bags and cartons) from their tasty meal out of their auto window and on to the usually pristine roadway lined on both sides by nice stands of woods.
For the city’s credit, they do dispatch city employees to clean up after these individuals perhaps every week or two.  Some good neighbors (as I have done in the past) try to help keep this roadway clean from litter. Well, it is no fun, (bless the fine local Rotarians and other civic-minded groups that do this task regularly all over Beaufort County), having to do this particularly after all and all and all the educational talks and literature produced to educate our citizens that this is just not the right thing to do.
So now, the rest of the story.  Some pea-brain supervisor in the big shed back in town (with abundant benefits) directs some poor underling (with full benefits) to drive his big yellow mow machine (better referred to as a paper shredder with wheels) down both sides of this road, and I mean mow not only the grass and weeds but a week’s accumulation or more of trash.
OK.  Let us try to adjust our thoughts and common sense. Now, instead of having 150 pieces of full size litter to police, now we must expend a lot more labor and costs to pick up 3,000 pieces of trash. Does anyone in City Hall have any idea what is happening?  I doubt it because we have all seen this all over the city and county. Pitiful does not fully describe this travesty.

<em>Sound off: Did you get a parking ticket downtown or would you like to thank a stranger for a random act of kindness? Here’s your chance to sound off about what you love or hate or want to see improved in our community. Send your comments to LowcountryBroil@gmail.com and you could see them in the paper. Don’t worry: They’re all anonymous!</em>