Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS ALWAYS A PRIORITY AS SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY GROWS
Newcomers often sense the difference when they visit southern Beaufort County for the first time. The development ambience of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton has a different feel from other places. Most can’t put their finger on the difference, but they know it’s real.
The land itself is similar to other locations along the Carolinas and Georgia coast, but there is something special here.
USCB STUDENT FROM HILTON HEAD JOINS SHARK RESEARCH TEAM
Could bacteria on the skin of sharks be a source of new antibiotics for humans? The answer to this and many other questions may come from research conducted by scientists affiliated with OCEARCH, including the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Dr. Kim Ritchie and her student assistant, Lincoln Fuller of Hilton Head Island.
VILJAC SPEARHEADS BLUFFTON’S FARMERS MARKET
Kim Viljac’s love of community and talent for connection lends perfectly to her position as executive director of the Farmers Market of Bluffton.
Viljac lived for a time in the south of France which helped foster her lifelong affinity for great food and outdoor activities.
“I spent a lot of time at open air markets with all the beautiful colors, fragrant aromas, and friendly people,” she said. “I guess that’s where it all started.”
CLASSIC CAR OWNERS ARE AMBASSADORS FOR BELOVED HOBBY
Automobiles are the backbone of life in the United States. Outside of a few large cities, they are needed for our everyday lives. For some they are a utility, just transportation. But others become attached in an emotional way, they become enthusiasts.
Their cars are a part of their lives. They treat them like family. They join clubs of like-minded people. But some further evolve.
There are car guys, then there are car guys.
And then there is O.C. Welch.
Welch, who turns 65 in October, is moving full-speed into a fifth decade of dealing with cars, from teenage years in his father’s auto detailing shop to decades as a true-blue Ford dealer.
HILTON HEAD CHURCH LIVE STREAMS, HOLDS INDOOR, OUTDOOR SERVICES
Since its founding in 1986, Providence Presbyterian Church’s mission has been to “cause God joy.”
The Rev. Dr. William Ward, a fourth-generation Presbyterian minister for the past 27 years, said his church has caused God great joy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adopt them at: Hilton Head Humane Association.
NO AGE GROUP IS IMMUNE TO DECEPTION
According to the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion a year to con artists perpetrating scams.
But older Americans aren't the only ones susceptible to scams. The percentage of millennials who are victims of scams is nearly double that of seniors. The Federal Trade Commission reported in 2018 that 40% of millennials surveyed ages 20-29 said they had lost money to fraud, as opposed to only 18% of seniors over the age of 69.
TO PEAK QUALITY OF LIFE
Bluffton’s path to a more livable, walkable town with plenty of green space and water access is moving forward thanks to its multi-year plan for capital improvement projects.
The projects are an effort to enhance the quality of life for residents with such things as new sidewalks, better lighting and the installation of sewers for properties outside of planned communities. Environmentally, the sewer projects remove the problem of failed septic tanks, which can pollute the town’s and region’s natural resources.
State Rep. Jeff Bradley (R-Hilton Head) unveiled a proposal during a news conference Aug. 24 to preserve the existing Hilton Head bridge spans from the mainland to the island and transform them into an elevated, linear “skyway” promenade park that would stretch 1.2 miles.
Bradley’s concept is not an alternative to the nearly $300 million U.S. 278 Corridor Improvements Project that has been in the planning stages for more than two years for the gateway to Hilton Head Island.
