SALES TAX REFERENDUM AIMS TO MANAGE DEVELOPMENT

BY MARK E. LETT

A penny doesn’t get you much. But put enough pennies together — and maybe, just maybe — you can amass a pile to protect and preserve precious swatches of Lowcountry land.

Such is the thinking of Beaufort County Council members asking voters to approve a proposed “Greenspace” sales tax to purchase land, establish conservation easements and limit density and development.

Bluffton’s Anne Fernandez shot a 4-under par 206 to win the Jimmy Self Invitational hosted by the Palmetto Dunes George Fazio Course. Fernandez won the girls 13-18 division. Fernandez won by 28 shots.

Susan Zellman, Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority board member and former chairperson, died Aug 13. Zellman, a Sun City resident, represented Beaufort County on the LRTA Board since 2016. Under her leadership, LRTA and Palmetto Breeze Transit achieved many milestones, including launching two new transportation services (the seasonal Breeze Trolley service on Hilton Head Island and the Bluffton Breeze service in Bluffton), a Palmetto Breeze news release said.

The Moss Creek Charitable Fund is requesting grants for 2022. The deadline is Sept. 15. An application can be downloaded at: https://mosscreek-hiltonhead.com/mosscreek- charitable-fund. Last year the fund gave 15 grants to local charities.

A proposal for a large pickleball facility in Bluffton was tabled by the Bluffton Planning Commission. The commission cited parking and traffic concerns. The planned 10-acre Lowcountry Pickleball Club would include six indoor courts, six covered outdoor courts and six uncovered outdoor courts.

New grants totaling $11.6 million will go toward the Hilton Head Island Airport Terminal Upgrade project. The airport has received $33 million overall. The approximately 43,000-square-foot project will likely begin this winter. Other airport funding includes the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration awarding $275,000 to remodel the control tower. This tower-improvement project will replace outdated equipment with energy-efficient equipment and systems.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said a Hilton Head Island resident lost almost $130,000 in a scam when she hand-delivered money and also withdrew cash and purchased gift cards. The scammer claimed to be from Amazon and transferred the woman to “CIA Agent William Nelson.” She was told her social security number had been compromised and was involved in payments to foreign nations. She was advised to withdraw all her money for it put into “Federal Protective Custody.” Contact local law enforcement if you believe you might be victim of a scam.

A pilot was taken to a trauma center after a plane crashed in Jasper County. The plane had gone missing from air traffic control at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. First responders found the pilot, who was hospitalized.

After 34 years of service, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue Chief Brad Tadlock announced his retirement, effective Oct. 3. Tadlock arrived on the island in 1988 from Illinois. He served as a firefighter, EMT, station captain and deputy chief of operations. He became fire chief in June 2014.