Dear Island Neighbors,

Served up this month, some upcoming Island events you won’t want to miss, and some important information about calling for police or fire assistance.

WEARIN’ O’ THE GREEN ON SULLIVAN’S ISLAND I: PADDY IN THE PARK
Bring the family out on Saturday, March 14, for our early St. Patrick’s Day celebration, in the Stith Park from 10-12. Lots of entertainment for young and old! Hazel Ketchem will be performing Irish music between 10-11 and No Sleeves Magic will be performing 11-12. There will be balloon twisters, face painters and a glitter tattoo artist, not to mention cookies, fruit, water and lucky lemonade. As always, this event is free!

WEARIN’ O’ THE GREEN ON SULLIVAN’S ISLAND II: PUBLIC PUB EVENTS
Starting at 11:00 AM the same Saturday, March 14, the whole family can enjoy food, drinks and other fun from our local pubs and restaurants in the commercial district. You’ll be able to enjoy food and beverages and entertainment outside of the establishments on the South side of Middle Street from the corner of Station 22 thru Station 22 ½. And also (as done traditionally), on Station 22 ½, which will be closed to vehicles for the block between Middle and I’On, but which will re-open to vehicular traffic no later than 6:30 PM. Middle Street is open to vehicles throughout all this.

MAKING SURE THE COAST IS CLEAN
Through a partnership of the Sullivan’s Island Park Foundation and the SC Aquarium, we now have a monthly community event to help clean up our beach, and at the same time contribute valuable data about the state of our beaches.

Our beach sweep is the first Monday of every month, so the next one will be March 2nd from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Everyone meets in the Bus Circle at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School to pick up gloves and bags.  We invite Islanders of all ages to come out and pick up trash, not only on the beach but in the parks and on the streets as well. (So, it’s really an “Island sweep”!)  

And it’s a valuable research project with local relevance. All trash picked up is recorded and goes into the Aquarium's database, so they can track the ongoing health of our beaches. For more info: http://bit.ly/SIBeachSweep      

WHO YA GONNA CALL?
We take it for granted that if we have an emergency when we’re on the Island, we can call 911 for a rapid response.

But suppose you’re not sure your situation qualifies as a 911-worthy emergency, or you are away but get a notice from a home security camera that you’ve got unwanted company back home?? These are understandable questions, recently posed by an Island neighbor.

First, you should understand that all 911 calls for fire, police or EMS, that are placed in Charleston County, go to the County’s Consolidated Dispatch Center.  That’s the case for nearly all the municipalities in the County.

So, if you’re in the County, do not hesitate to call 911 for exigent circumstances such as but not limited to the following circumstances:  house fire, medical assistance or emergency, swimmer in distress, automobile accident, power line down, robbery, suspicious activity or illegal activity.

Remember: calling 911 will only get you to the Charleston County Dispatch Center if you place the call from within the County.

If you need to contact the police or fire departments in other, non-urgent circumstances, call 843-743-7200, from anywhere. We often refer to that as the “non-emergency” number because people calling locally in a crisis should definitely use 911 for faster dialing and faster pickup. The “non-emergency” nomenclature is somewhat misleading, however, because if you tell the operator there that you need immediate assistance in Charleston County, they can summon it. Be aware that the summoning will take place via computer while the dispatcher is talking to you and asking a bunch of questions, and they may not let you know right away that help is on the way.  Unlike 911, you can call 843 743 7200 from anywhere.

So, if you’ve got a stand-alone security system that notifies you if your home alarm is triggered, but has no central 24/7 monitoring center (like providers such as Sonitrol or ADT have) you would use 843-743-7200 if you are away when notified.  

Here’s hoping you never need this info.

See you around the Island!

Patrick M. O’Neil
Mayor
843 670 9266
@oneilpm1
oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov