LOVE, RESPECT AND THE ART OF MARRIAGE

They met their first week as undergrads at Duke University. He was an engineering major and she was pursuing a career in nursing, and both were smitten from the start.

That was 46 years ago, but both Shirley and Joe Newton can tell you what they were wearing the day they met.They’ve learned a thing or two about what makes for a successful relationship and they’re not shy about sharing what they’ve gleaned along the way.

The Bluffton Police Department has implemented new security measures for all Bluffton Town Council meetings as part of an update to town policies and procedures. “We have an obligation to provide a safe and secure place for the public. We aren’t here to impose on anyone’s privacy; we just want to protect them,” said Bluffton Police Chief Joey Reynolds.

Sixteen-year-old Bluffton resident Lee Jean was featured in the premiere episode of the popular Fox TV reality series “American Idol.” Jean impressed judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr., receiving votes from all three for his performance of “I See Fire” and earning a golden ticket to the Hollywood round of the show.

A frontage road connecting Berkeley Hall, St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church and the Bluffton Township Fire District headquarters is now under construction. The long-debated project is expected to be completed by August. A new traffic signal and deceleration lane will be added to U.S. 278 in front of the fire headquarters.

A new technology to help identify stolen property was recently introduced by the Bluffton Police Department. The new technology is called Anti-Theft Dots, a special adhesive that can be applied to all types of property. Suspended in the adhesive are thousands of tiny microdots, smaller than the size of a grain of sand. Each microdot contains a unique PIN, which is registered and stored in a secure database.

A video recently posted on YouTube features 7-year-old Bluffton resident Cayden Sullard using a bow-and-arrow and a piece of string to remove a loose tooth. The 30-second video, titled “Kid pulls out his first tooth in the most epic way possible,” was recorded on his father’s cellphone in the family’s backyard.

For as many years as there has been a place called “school,” we’ve been seeking ways to fashion the best educational experience for our children – the place that would provide students with the best possible education and send them forth fully prepared to meet life’s challenges.

Any school can dazzle you with a sales brochure. It's standard practice to show you the well-manicured grounds of some hallowed school, across which walk the attractive smiling students on their way to become more well-rounded people.

On Nov. 19, something new went on display at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn.

But it isn’t among the other exhibits. Now hanging in the office of President/CEO Rex Garniewicz is a framed certificate that reads: “Smithsonian Institution Certificate of Affiliation: The Board of Regents and the Secretary of the Smithsonian is pleased to recognize Coastal Discovery Museum as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.”

A new ordinance aimed to curb an out-of-control pit bull population in Beaufort County shelters has owners angry and animal advocates defending the intent of the action.

Beaufort County Animal Services director Tallulah Trice has faced criticism since announcing an ordinance in October requiring pit bull owners in unincorporated parts of the county to spay and neuter their dogs.