Dear Island Neighbors,

Forget Andy Williams and his perennially popular Christmas song. For my nickel, here on the Island we are entering what is truly The Most...Wonderful...Time...Of The Year. (Sorry for the ear worm!)

With the temps all declining, and sunsets all shining, and marshes ablaze with the sun, would you dare ask for refunds?

We’ve got a variety of items in this episode, but to make it easy to get going, some reminders prompted by Town Administrator Andy Benke:

• This is the peak of hurricane season for the South Atlantic.  Keep your eyes on the Weather Channel or your favorite weather website, and have a plan.  
• Police, Fire and Water & Sewer departments can be contacted for NON-EMERGENCIES through Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch at 843-743-7200. (This is much more likely to get a response than comments to Facebook or NextDoor.)
• The Town has now returned to the regular collection schedule for household garbage every Tuesday and yard debris on Wednesday.

PLEASE HELP THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE IDA!

As you know, Hurricane Ida slammed into South Louisiana and destroyed homes, businesses and infrastructure there. Recovery will be slow, halting and painful.

Those of us who went through Hurricane Hugo here will recall the acute need we felt and the outpouring of generosity our region received from across the nation. But whether or not you did experience Hugo, we have all seen enough evidence in the media’s coverage of Ida’s devastation to understand that folks in South Louisiana have suffered life-altering losses. The damage, destruction and dislocation outside of New Orleans are even worse than what you’ve seen in the heavier coverage of New Orleans.

This is an ideal time to show solidarity with residents of those other coastal communities, many of whom are much less able to muster resources than we are.

Below are two charitable agencies that are very local to South Louisiana and offering donation-specific services to folks most in need there. Please consider making a contribution to either or both of them. These are non-profit agencies where you can be assured your Ida donations will directly and specifically help Ida victims, without getting diverted to other purposes. Or if you prefer another South Louisiana charity helping Ida victims, please give to them.

Bayou Community Foundation: This group serves as a conduit to local agencies who provide direct assistance to residents of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and the town of Grand Isle. bit.ly/IdaHelp1

Catholic Charities of Houma-Thibodaux Diocese

Your contributions to this group will be directed to people impacted by Ida with NO LIMITATIONS at all based on religious affiliation. But in a heavily Catholic area, they have an existing network to get your donations out to anyone who has needs.bit.ly/IdaHelp2

Disclosure: As some of you know, I’m from “down dere” in Thibodaux (Lafourche Parish). So I cop to being biased, but I do not have any relatives likely to benefit from either of these agencies.

Merci Beaucoup!

WANT TO REPRESENT YOUR NEIGHBORS IN LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL MATTERS?

As you may know, in addition to the countywide Charleston County School District Board, which has overall responsibility for the County’s public schools, there are a number of Constituent District School Boards which have input on certain important matters within their smaller geographic areas. These matters include school attendance zones, student transfers, discipline matters, and annual general recommendations to the County Board.

Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms, most of Mt. Pleasant, and parts of Awendaw are under the Moultrie Constituent District No. 2 Board. Each of the several seats on this Board is reserved for residents of specific areas, and there is one for a Sullivan’s Island resident.

Our Sullivan’s Island seat has become vacant, and applications are solicited for the remainder of its term which ends in 2024. Ordinarily there would be an election for this seat, but since it is opening up mid-term, the seat will be filled via appointment by the County Board with preferences submitted by the remaining members of the Constituent Board. If you are a Sullivan’s Island resident who has an interest in our immediate area’s schools, please consider applying for this position. You can get more information here: bit.ly/SIBoardSeat

LIVE OUTDOOR DRAMA AT BATTERY GADSDEN!

In October, Battery Gadsden Cultural Center (BGCC) will continue its collaboration with PURE Theatre, the theatrical company that in October of 2019 presented Osceola's Muse. This year's "Fall Nights" series will feature two consecutive weekends of theater staged at Battery Gadsden. On October 15th and 16th the company will present Constellations, a one-act drama written by Nick Payne. On October 22nd and 23rd, PURE will offer Buyer and Cellar, an outrageous comedy written by Jonathan Tollin.

Says Mike Walsh, BGCC President: “BGCC is thrilled to once again have our historic facility used as the stage for these outstanding productions by PURE Theatre. The Washington Post has noted that PURE Theatre is "where theater gets real in Charleston," and now that includes Sullivan's Island! The plays included in this year's Fall Nights series have something for everybody, from drama to comedy. We hope everyone will enjoy what is sure to become an annual tradition.”

For tickets and more details, watch for further information from Battery Gadsden Cultural Center.

See you around the Island!

 

Pat O’Neil
Mayor
843 670 9266
Twitter: @oneilpm1
oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov