Bluffton News

Bluffton resident Mike Covert, a Republican, has filed with the South Carolina Federal Election Commission to run in the 2020 election. He aims to unseat Rep. Joe Cunningham, a freshman congressman and the first Democrat to represent District 1 in more than four decades. Covert is president and managing member of Covert Aire, LLC, a heating and air-condition business in the Lowcountry, and a member of Beaufort County Council.

The town of Bluffton is planning renovations at Oyster Factory Park in Bluffton. The boat ramp will close through mid-February as part of an effort to improve park drainage and walking accessibility, especially by paving over the gravel portion of Wharf Street. Access to the May River will be available at various locations throughout Bluffton including Alljoy Boat Landing as the renovations take place.

The owners of a Bluffton golf course are moving ahead with plans for a luxury recreational vehicle park – and it’s not the only one in the works for the Lowcountry.

Scratch Golf, LLC, wants to use nearly a third of the roughly 300-acre Hilton Head National Golf Club for the RV park, which spokesman Tom Gardo said will include up to 339 rental sites with parking pads for upscale vehicles — often worth anywhere from $250,000 to $2 million. The owner is looking for final approval before the end of the year so the park can open in spring 2020.

The All Saints Episcopal Church Garden Tour has awarded grants to the Antioch Educational Center, Backpack Buddies of Bluffton, Backpack Buddies of Hilton Head, Hilton Head Safe Harbour and St. Stephens’s United Methodist Church Outreach Foodbank. Net proceeds from the annual All Saints Garden Tours are donated to charities that focus on hunger, homelessness, literacy or aging with budgets of less than $650,000 in Beaufort and Jasper counties. The 32nd annual garden tour is scheduled for May 18.

The Don Ryan Center for Innovation broke ground Nov. 14 on its new facility in Buckwalter Place Commerce Park. The center’s mission is to build a business-friendly community for entrepreneurs and attract core target industries. The facility will house the DRCI business incubator, offer high tech co-working and meeting space, and serve as the Town of Bluffton’s economic development headquarters. Buckwalter Place Commerce Park includes eviCore Healthcare, Southeastern Development, Regency Centers, St. Joseph Candler, and Technical College of the Lowcountry Culinary Arts. The Don Ryan Center building will be adjacent to the new Kroger Market Place, which is under construction now.

Bluffton finally has a place for dogs to run free, socialize and play in a safe, enclosed area.

After 12 long years, the town finally has its first dog park, holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 7 at the park in Oscar Frazier Park — a ceremony attended by Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka, area residents and excited pups.

An agreement between the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Bluffton Police Department was approved by Bluffton Town Council in November, which allows Bluffton police to make arrests or give out tickets on the May River. The Marine Patrol Memorandum of Understanding gives Bluffton officers all powers and authority of law enforcement in waters adjacent to the town, which were previously considered out of their jurisdiction. Those waters include the May River, New River, Cauley’s Creek and parts of the Cooper River.

Society of Bluffton Artists and the Lowcountry Autism Foundation will offer free art therapy classes to Beaufort County children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The free classes will be held in the Center for Creative Arts building next to the SOBA Gallery in Old Town Bluffton. Art therapy pairs the creativity of making art with counseling to improve and to enhance physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Art therapy services are free for Lowcountry Autism Foundation members. For more information, go to www.lafinc.org.

Shaded by live oaks and nestled beside Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church, Bluffton Boundary celebrates the culture of Old Town Bluffton — the art and history that give the town its identity.

That culture is on clear display at the new center: A colorful mural stretches from the building almost to the street, painted at a paint-by-numbers party over the summer by local residents, and picnic tables dot the sandy yard for monthly gatherings that celebrate the region’s Gullah heritage.