BOYS & GIRLS CLUB NAMED OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATION

The Boys & Girls Club of Hilton Head Island is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, so it’s only right the group recently was recognized for its longstanding community impact. 

In February, the club was honored as Organization of the Year, the top honor given by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce at the chamber’s annual ball. 

LOWCOUNTRY EXAMINES REDUCING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

Plastic is everywhere. Many people aren’t even aware of how much of it they use in a day: A straw for their drink at lunch, a bottle from the vending machine, disposable utensils in a bag of takeout food. 

REFERENDUM’S DELAY MAY AFFECT PACE AT HISTORIC MITCHELVILLE FREEDOM PARK

The plans were finalized, the meetings had been held, the committees had all approved everything. The only step left was final approval from the Town of Hilton Head Island before Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park’s executive director, Ahmad Ward, and its board could begin the arduous task of fundraising. 

Road improvements to re-route the flow of traffic in the Shelter Cove corridor are underway. The work was triggered by public safety concerns after an increase in traffic accidents at one of the island’s most popular shopping and dining centers. The $1.45 million project will add turning lanes and traffic signals at three intersections on U.S. 278 and eliminate two acceleration lanes that were criticized as too short to match the speed of oncoming traffic. More than 100 crashes have been documented in the Shelter Cove corridor since 2015, including three that were fatal. The most recent fatal wreck occurred in January. 

Billy Fink, owner of Bicycle Billy’s Bike Rentals, died Dec. 23 and was honored by the Lowcountry community in a memorial service Feb. 28. He is survived by his wife, Nikki, and their 5-year-old daughter, Emma. Fink was an avid outdoorsman, adventurer and athlete who enjoyed skiing and sailing. Laid-back and helpful, he was known and loved by many; his friends described him as great fun. His shop near Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island was a gathering place where those who stopped in always knew they would be welcomed. 

Barry Lowes, Hilton Head’s best-known birder for about 30 years, died Feb. 8 at the age of 93. Lowes led the Audubon Christmas Bird Count for more than a quarter-century and acted as an environmental conscience for the Lowcountry, warning that development needed to leave habitat for birds and other animals. Hilton Head Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, which includes the Bluffton area, has the third-highest number of participants in North America, local organizers report. Lowes travelled the world watching birds and was a photographer, author and owner of a children’s summer camp in his native Canada. 

Join millions around the world for Earth Hour 2020 and raise your voices for nature. Switch off your lights for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. March 28. Earth Hour is the world’s largest grass-roots movement for the environment, inspiring communities around the world in more than 180 countries and territories. 

A large solar energy facility in northern Beaufort County will be permanently protected from major development, a first for South Carolina. The 628-acre property was a former tomato farm and is now owned by an affiliate of Adger Solar. Dominion Energy will begin operating on the land this year and is expected to power 9,000 homes for the next 25 years. 

Yemassee, a small town in the center of the South Carolina Lowcountry, is currently zoned for Hampton County. Town leaders want to secede from Hampton County in favor of joining Beaufort County to lower taxes and receive more efficient emergency services. The proposal is still in the discussion phase and Yemassee town leaders plan to host educational town hall meetings to inform residents of what the annexation would mean.