Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
LOCAL, COUNTY & STATE RACES
Local voters will help determine the outcome of a pair of races closely watched across the country on Nov. 3, as Sen. Lindsey Graham pushes to stave off Jaime Harrison. Congressman Joe Cunningham, who in 2018 became the first Democrat since 1981 to represent the 1st Congressional District, is trying to hold on to the seat in a contest with State Rep. Nancy Mace. Voters will also have a long list of state and local races to determine.
TCL CULINARY INSTITUTE RECEIVES $50,000 FROM PALMETTO ELECTRIC TRUST
The Technical College of the Lowcountry received a $50,000 gift from Palmetto Electric Trust to establish the Palmetto Electric Cooperative Lobby at the Culinary Institute of the South.
The Culinary Institute of the South is under construction at the Buckwalter Place Commerce Park in Bluffton. The 29,000 square-foot best-in-class culinary training facility will accommodate more than 300 student. The Foodseum, an interactive museum, will preserve and bring to life the true story of Southern food.
A 1,000-acre agribusiness cluster in Hampton County will employ more than 1,500 people, according to a news release.
The jobs will be in growing, packing and shipping tomatoes, leafy greens, blueberries and other fresh produce using a “cutting-edge” approach called Controlled Environment Agriculture.
The Beaufort County School District is set to resume face-to-face educational instruction in a hybrid model starting Oct. 5. Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said the district’s risk factors for COVID-19 published by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control had decreased significantly in recent weeks.
In a hybrid AA-BB model, half of the students who registered for face-to-face instruction will attend school on Monday and Tuesday and the other half will attend on Thursday and Friday. Students will have virtual learning on Wednesdays when the school is cleaned.
South Carolina and the state’s health department has sued Able Contracting after it said it spent $5 million to clean up the massive pile of trash that burned and smoldered for months, according to the Associated Press.
It took the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and the federal Environmental Protection Agency six months to completely extinguish the fire and clean the site in Jasper County, according to the report.
With the website wealreadypay.org, the Town of Hilton Head aims to update property owners on the ordinance passed by Beaufort County to impose a law enforcement charge and uniform user fee on island residents and business owners.
The town has filed an injunction with the state Supreme Court requesting that it prevent Beaufort County from adding the fee to island residents and said it filed a lawsuit against Beaufort County in the Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is celebrating the success of Theodora (Tedi) Light, who is the first USCB student to receive a Fulbright Student Award. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study and research projects abroad. Light (Class of 2020, B.A. in History and Spanish) will spend five to seven months in Spain researching the enslavement of indigenous people along the coast of La Florida in the 16th century.
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ALL SAINTS GARDEN TOUR 2020 CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITIES
Despite cancelling its May 2020 Garden Tour, the All Saints Garden Tour still made contributions to six charities. Twenty-four sponsors contributed $5,425. Fifteen people who purchased their tickets early contributed $700, and donations from parishioners and friends of All Saints contributed $4,900.
Thanks to the generosity of businesses and individuals, the board contributed $1,870 to Family Promise of Beaufort Co., Hilton Head Island Safe Harbour, The Hunger Coalition of the Low Country (HHI Backpack Buddies), Antioch Educational Center (Jasper Co. Backpack Buddies), Crossroads Community Support Services (BackPack Buddies of Bluffton), and St. Stephens UMC Outreach Foodbank.
Jonathan Griz of Hilton Head become the youngest champion of the 89th South Carolina Amateur Championship. Griz, 16, shot a 5-under-par 67 in the final round at Columbia Country Club. He finished 14-under par for the tournament. Griz is committed to compete in college at the University of Alabama.
Scott F. Wierman has been named president and CEO of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. He will start effective Jan. 1, 2021. Wierman is currently president of The Winston-Salem Foundation in North Carolina and will continue in that role until late fall of 2020. Wierman will replace Jackie Rosswurm, PhD, who has served as interim president and CEO since April. Wierman joined The Winston-Salem Foundation as senior vice president for donor services in 1988 and was named president in 1997.
Danielle Adams of Coastal Carolina Hospital has earned the Daisy RN Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Adams began her nursing career at Coastal Carolina Hospital in June 2018. She works in the Medical-Surgical Unit. Adams was nominated for the award by her colleagues.
The Town of Hilton Head was awarded more than $378,000 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist low- and moderate-income families affected by COVID-19. The funds are specifically earmarked to address the prevention, preparation, response and recovery efforts related to COVID-19. To receive funds, the town submitted its 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan for the Community Development Block Grant Program, which HUD accepted.
The Beaufort County School District will temporarily adopt a full-virtual educational model when the school year begins Sept. 8. Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said the decision is in response to the rise in coronavirus cases. Rodriguez said he hopes to return to face-to-face instruction. “But before that can happen safely, conditions must be safer than they are today,” Rodriguez said in early August. The final day of classes is set for June 17.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifted coronavirus business restrictions for cinemas in July, and Park Plaza Cinema on Hilton Head was ready last month to welcome patrons to its theater. The theater initially reopened with private screenings of DVDs brought from home, but on Aug. 21 the theater debuted four new movies. McMaster’s order requires 50% occupancy and face masks or coverings for admission.
With the November elections approaching, the Beaufort County election board is looking for 300 new poll workers. Workers would be paid $165 both for training and working the day. For more information, visit beaufortcountysc.gov/vote/.
