Hilton Head News

Southwest Airlines plans to begin service at Savannah/Hilton Head International in 2021. The addition of Southwest Airlines means nine airlines at the airport will operate with non-stop service to more than 28 destinations. No launch date or destinations have been announced. Last year, more than three million passengers flew in and out of the airport. 

A Beaufort woman won $2 million after she bought a lottery ticket after voting. The South Carolina Education Lottery said after casting her ballot, the woman stopped at the Parkers #58 on Savannah Highway in Beaufort with the intention to buy a drink. She also decided to play some numbers. 

The next day, she checked her Mega Millions ticket and thought she won $1,000. But her husband looked at the ticket and disagreed, according to the S.C. Education Lottery. 

The Beaufort County School District will resume face-to-face instruction five days a week beginning Jan. 4, a news release said. 

The district said it decided to return to face-to-face instruction after reviewing COVID-19 infection rates in other South Carolina school districts that have resumed face-to-face instruction. 

Eric Greenway is Beaufort County’s interim county administrator. 

County Council and Greenway agreed to a contract which will keep him at the position until June 30, 2021. 

“I appreciate Council’s confidence in me and am pleased to have this opportunity to further serve the citizens of Beaufort County,” Greenway said. 

INTERACTIVE MUSEUM COMING TO CULINARY INSTITUTE OF THE SOUTH

The Culinary Institute of the South at Technical College of the Lowcountry, set to open next year, will also be home to the Foodseum, an interactive museum experience dedicated to Southern food.

The Foodseum will showcase immersive educational exhibits, tasting events, guest lecturers and chefs, and hands-on seminars.

Hilton Head Island has been named the top island in the U.S. according to the Condé Nast Travelers’ Readers’ Choice Awards. It is the fourth consecutive year the island has been ranked No. 1.

The GFWC Woman’s League of the Lowcountry filled Pink Bags of Hope last month in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Members filled the bags with items for women undergoing or recovering from surgery for breast cancer. This year more than 50 bags were filled. Distribution is through a local medical facility.

Hilton Head Town Council planned in late-October to name Deputy Town Manager Josh Gruber as its interim town manager.

Current Town Manager Steve Riley plans to retire at the end of the year.  

Antonia Quintero of Hilton Head Island recently became a U.S. citizen and is now immersing herself in national politics. Quintero, who was born in Colombia and grew up in South Carolina, is spending a semester working for U.S. Congressman James Clyburn in Washington, D.C.  A senior at University of South Carolina Beaufort, she participated in a highly competitive selection process to become a congressional intern.  After graduation, Quintero, 21, plans to pursue a master’s degree in public administration with concentrations in advocacy and public policy. The personal connections she is making in D.C. “could really help me in the future,” she said. 

A $2 million ticket in  a Mega Millions drawing was purchased at a Beaufort convenience store, according to the S.C. Education Lottery. The store is the Parker’s on Savannah Highway in Port Royal.

The ticket matched all five white ball numbers drawn. The odds of winning $2 million are 1 in 12,607,306. The winning numbers were 5-11-25-27-64.

Gov. Henry McMaster pledged to do what the Marines need to keep open the training base at Parris Island, the Associated Press reports.

Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger had mentioned the possibility of closing the base and building a new one elsewhere during an interview published on the Military.com website.

Planning for the second phase of the U.S. 278 Corridor Improvements Project plan has begun, the Town of Hilton Head said.

The phase will include discussions of architectural elements, landscaping, signage, lighting, and similar areas of design. S.C. Department of Transportation is in discussions with Creative Design Resolutions, a leader in infrastructure design for highways and transportation projects, to provide project leadership, the Town said.

Beaufort County Administrator Ashley Jacobs resigned at the Oct. 19 County Council meeting.

The Island Packet reports the council accepted her resignation in an 8-2-1 vote. Jacobs had been administrator since 2019.

Eric Greenway was named acting  county administrator.

The Beaufort County Board of Education approved construction contracts for the next two major projects funded with proceeds from the November 2019 bond referendum.

The board approved a $53 million contract with Kansas City-based JE Dunn Construction to build a new Robert Smalls International Academy and demolish the existing facility. It also approved a $46 million contract with Columbia-based M.B. Kahn Construction to completely renovate Battery Creek High School’s academic and athletic facilities, according to a news release.

Megan DeWeese, a first-grade teacher at Okatie Elementary, was named the Beaufort County 2020-2021 District Teacher of the Year.

“She is a perpetual learner; she has completed her doctoral studies over the last year,” Okatie Elementary Principal Jamie Pinckney said. “She’s only been at Okatie Elementary for five years and she’s already accomplished more in her five than I have in 39.”