REFERENDUM WOULD FUND UPDATES AT SCHOOLS ACROSS BEAUFORT COUNTY
Beaufort County voters again will face a school bond referendum when they go to the ballot box in November. And after the past two proposals fell short, public school advocates say it is even more imperative that the latest one passes this time around.
A group of local citizens has formed the nonprofit group Better Schools Now! to promote passage of the referendum. The group has a broad-based steering committee with representatives in Port Royal, Sheldon, Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island, and two local public relations firms — the Williams Group out of Beaufort and the Denarius Group on Hilton Head — will provide strategic counsel, marketing assistance and media planning. The group has launched a website, www.voteyesbeaufortcountyschools.org, to provide information about the benefits of the referendum, voter information and how to volunteer and contribute financially.
A referendum in Sea Pines that would have raised property owners’ annual assessments by $450 to pay for critical infrastructure projects in the gated community on Hilton Head’s south end failed, according to an announcement by Sea Pines leadership.Although 72 percent of ballots were cast for the proposal, the tally didn’t meet the 75 percent threshold needed to pass, as outlined in the community’s covenants, written in 1974. The referendum was packaged as a way to address “Sea Pines Community’s aging infrastructure including roadways and stormwater ... deteriorating landscape and our traffic issues,” CSA president Bret Martin wrote in a statement about the results. 
Pressana Grant, known locally as “The Bluffton Song Bird,” has been inducted to the town of Bluffton’s Wall of Honor. Grant wowed audiences with her beautiful voice as a gospel singer. The Bluffton native said she had sung in every church on Hilton Head Island and many in Bluffton. She was a licensed Evangelical minister, a mother and a grandmother. She died in 2017 at age 61. 
Carolyn Vanagel, president of the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, will retire following the 18th annual event this fall. Vanagel has served as president for the last 16 years. Under her leadership, the event has grown from a twoday show with 6,000 attendees to a ten-day, internationally-recognized lifestyle event with over 20,000 guests from around the world. Lindsey Harrell, vice president of operations, will assume the role of president. The next Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring festival will be held Oct. 24 – Nov. 3. 
Atticus Enfinger, a first-grader from Bluffton Elementary School, was the national grade-level champion in the 2019 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. That means his print entry was the best among all first-grade entries from across the country. He was honored at a Beaufort County School District Board of Education meeting in May. 
