ONLY ABOUT 5% OF 30-THOUSAND ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN BLUFFTON, PORT ROYAL AND YEMASSEE WERE MOTIVATED ENOUGH TO VOTE IN TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS THAT RE-ELECTED A NUMBER OF TOWN COUNCILORS BUT DID CHANGE THE MAKEUP OF YEMASSEE’S COUNCIL. INCUMBENTS EMILY BURDEN AND FRED HAMILTON WERE THE ONLY CANDIDATES FOR BLUFFTON TOWN COUNCIL. MARY BETH GREY HEYWARD AND DARRYL OWENS WERE RE-ELECTED TO PORT ROYAL TOWN COUNCIL SEATS IN A THREE-WAY RACE. IN YEMASSEE, MAYOR COLIN MOORE WAS RE-ELECTED, BUT WITH LESS THAN HALF THE VOTE IN A 3-CANDIDATE RACE, WHILE LORI GOODWIN POSTON AND JAY COOK WERE ELECTED AS NEW TOWN COUNCILORS IN A 5-CANDIDATE RACE, COOK EDGING ALFRED WASHINGTON BY 3 VOTES FOR THE SECOND COUNCIL SEAT. IN RIDGELAND, LINDA TENEROWICZ AND LEE GRAMLING ARE THE TWO NEW TOWN COUNCILORS AS TWO INCUMBENTS DID NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION.
AND IF YOU’VE BEEN WATCHING THE HULU TV SERIES “MURDAUGH: DEATH IN THE FAMILY”, IT DOES TELL YOU RIGHT UP FRONT THAT THE SERIES IS ‘BASED ON’ THE MURDAUGH MURDER CASE. YOU WONDER WHAT ALEC MURDAUGH HIMSELF THINKS OF IT? HIS LAWYERS HAVE RELEASED A STATEMENT CRITICIZING THE SHOWS FOR ‘NUMEROUS INACCURACIES AND MISLEADING PORTRAYALS’ OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS AND CLAIM THAT NO ONE FROM HULU EVER REACHED OUT TO ANYONE IN THE FAMILY OR THE LAWYERS TO HEAR THEIR PERSPECTIVE OR VERIFY THE FACTS. THE STATEMENT CONCLUDES BY ‘URGING VIEWERS TO APPROACH THIS DRAMATIZATION WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS NOT AN ACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF ALEC, HIS FAMILY OR THE TRAGIC EVENTS THAT IT SENSATIONALIZES.’
WE LOVE TO PASS ALONG RANKINGS OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES IN THE LOWCOUNTRY, HOW WE FARE AGAINST THE REST OF THE STATE, OR THE COUNTRY. MAYBE NONE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE RANKINGS OF OUR SCHOOLS. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPORT CARDS ARE OUT FOR THE LAST SCHOOL YEAR, GRADING 7 OF BEAUFORT COUNTY’S 34 PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS EXCELLENT AND 11 WERE RATED GOOD, WITH JUST THREE BELOW AVERAGE AND Non-UNSATISFACTORY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2018. THE SEVEN EXCELLENT SCHOOLS ARE BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN LADY’S ISLAND, OKATIE, PORT ROYAL AND BOTH RED CEDAR AND BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY. THE THREE BELOW AVERAGE SCHOOLS WERE BATTERY CREEK HIGH, WHALE BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ST. HELENA ELEMENTARY. BEAUFORT SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT FRANK RODRIGUEZ ALSO POINTS OUT THAT LANGUAGE ARTS PERFORMANCE IN THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS WAS THE HIGHEST EVER AND THE DISTRICT’S BI-LITERACY PROGRAM IS THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE STATE. YOU CAN DELVE DEEPER INTO YOUR SCHOOL’S RANKINGS AT SCREPORTCARDS.COM.