Dear Island Neighbors,

Well, ready or not, here are the holidays! I hope all of you and your families have a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hannukkah (which commences the evening of December 25 this year).

HOLIDAY FIRE SAFETY TIPS
The last thing anyone wants at any time of the year, but especially this time of year, is a fire.  Fire Chief Anthony Stith wants you to be aware of seasonal problems to avoid:

• Keep your Christmas tree “well-hydrated”. Check the water level in the stand regularly.
• For trees and other things you put lights and other electric items on: Check for frayed wires (and replace them!). Make sure that potentially  hot bulbs do not make contact with flammable materials.
• Keep flammable trees, presents and other decorations away from open flames. And make sure they are not somewhere where a pet could knock them into the flames.
• Check your smoke detector, and check that your fire extinguishers are charged. And keep them very handy even if offends your sense of holiday design...c’mon, they’re red, so just stick a couple green bows on them and they’ll fit right in with everything else.
• And this one from me: As a proud native of South Louisiana, which introduced the world to the concept of turkey-frying-house-fires...if you want to fry a turkey for any holiday celebration, do it well away from your house, and not under it or any other structure (or low-hanging tree). Make sure the level of oil in the pot can accommodate the turkey without spilling over and causing a conflagration. Check that the turkey is fully defrosted before adding it to the oil, otherwise the water released when it quickly defrosts will cause an instant boil-over. Do not try any of this without watching several turkey-frying-safety videos and having that fire extinguisher nearby. And NEVER leave the setup unattended once the heat is on.

HOLIDAY HOME SAFETY TIPS
Chief of Police Glenn Meadows has other important suggestions for your home safety during the season, especially if you’re travelling:

• Don’t have packages spending the holidays on your porch or steps. This is both bait for porch pirates and an announcement that no one is home. Ask a neighbor to check for your packages and move them to somewhere more secure, or try to schedule your deliveries for dates when you’re home.
• If you’re traveling, avoid other advertisements that you’re away, like accumulating mail or newspapers. Try to schedule holds for both of those. Ask a neighbor to keep an eye out in case your attempts to stop the daily paper are unsuccessful.
• Also if you’re traveling, consider getting your place put on house watch by our police. You can do this in any of three ways:
  1. Download the form here, fill it out and drop it off at Town Hall during regular business hours https://bit.ly/SIHouseWatch
  2. Fill out the form and email a photo or pdf of it to Chief Meadows at gmeadows@sullivansisland.sc.gov
  3. Photo or pdf your completed form and send it via text to Chief Meadows at 843-834-4298.

Chief Meadows assures you that he will make sure all your house watch requests are handled. How’s that for service, folks?

STITH PARK MASTER PLAN UPDATE
At our meeting on November 19, Council approved the proposed park Master Plan  with several changes to the overall concept. We removed from consideration the proposed observation tower on top of the mound as well as potential swimming pool or community center at the park.  

The Recreation Committee will resume discussion of phasing improvements for the park on Tuesday December 17 at 10 am, based on identifying the most pressing issues at the park.

NEW YEAR’S DAY POLAR PLUNGE!
The 30th Annual Polar Plunge event, originated and promoted continuously by Dunleavy’s Pub, is now a treasured Island New Year’s Day tradition for the entire Island. The actual Plunge into the water is 2:00 PM on  Wednesday, January 1, but folks will begin gathering and celebrating hours before that. The slow trek to the beach will begin around 1:30; don’t underestimate how long it will take.

Many of our Island restaurants will be participating with special outside service for food and beverage. Please be careful driving through the commercial district, and remember that many more folks than usual will be milling about very close to Middle Street. Station 22 ½ seaward of Middle Street will be closed to vehicular traffic most of the day.

Please recall that the “Reason For The Freezin’” is to raise funds for the
Special Olympics South Carolina. Come out to celebrate with neighbors and strangers, enjoy food and beverage. PLEASE BRING CASH to contribute to the many Special Olympics volunteers. If you can’t attend, you can contribute by visiting https://bit.ly/2025SIPolarPlunge or you can drop off a check to “Special Olympics South Carolina” at the pub.

If you plan to actually join (vs. watch) the plunge, here is a tip from painful personal experience: Wear some kind of dunkable footwear. Running barefoot over hard-packed little sand ridges gets painful quickly, especially in the cold.

Wear your wackiest costume (even you, Tom P...I guess!). Come on out to see hundreds of your neighbors go off their meds all at once, at a great family event.

And with that, Happy New Year!

See you around the Island!

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