Hilton Head News

STEWART CINK AIMS TO WIN A FOURTH RBC HERITAGE CROWN

BY ANTHONY GARZILLI | PHOTO SUPPLIED

The most important shot during Stewart Cink’s quest for last year’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing championship wasn’t a soaring final-round drive or a calm putt. 

For Cink, the crucial moment on the journey to the crown happened on the tournament’s first hole.

HERITAGE CLASSIC FOUNDATION AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS

BY ANTHONY GARZILLI | PHOTO SUPPLIED

Eleven outstanding Beaufort County seniors were named Heritage Classic Foundation scholars for the 2021-2022 school year at a March 14 luncheon at Harbour Town Clubhouse.

RBC HERITAGE FUELED BY DEDICATED VETERAN HELPERS

BY MARK E. LETT | PHOTOS BY RITTERBECK PHOTOGRAPHY

From tee to green, inside the ropes and behind the scenes, an army of volunteers is key to the success of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

They come to enjoy an oceanside course, they come to see some of the world’s greatest players, and they come to savor one of golf’s most delightful events.

WAHHI AWARDS EIGHT GRANTS TO NONPROFITS

The Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island awarded eight $1,500 community grants to nonprofit organizations. WAHHI awarded the following grants: The Children’s Center; Hopeful Horizons; Love House Learning Academy; Lowcountry Alliance for Healthy Youth; LowCountry Legal Volunteers; NOC; Sandalwood Community Food Pantry; and Pregnancy Center. Since its founding in 1961, WAHHI has donated thousands of dollars to projects that benefit local charitable organizations.

COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FACES RAPID GROWTH, POPULATION SHIFTS

STORY AND PHOTOS BY TONY KUKULICH

There are any number of challenges that school district administrators face every day and chief among the issues facing the Beaufort County School District is accommodating the explosive growth that has taken place in the county in recent years. Matching the district’s capacity to educate students to the number of students enrolled is a careful balancing act.

Skylar Smith and Tamya Hutchinson each scored 13 points to lead Hilton Head Christian Academy’s girls basketball team to a 45-34 win over Orangeburg Prep to secure the school’s fourth straight SCISA Class AA state crown. The Eagles pulled away in the second half, outscoring Orangeburg Prep 20-4 in the third quarter.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko of Canada won the 2022 Hilton Head International Piano Competition held March 7-14. Izik-Dzurko, 22, took first prize ($15,000) and receives a recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on Oct. 14, a CD recording on the Steinway & Sons label and a return engagement with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and music director John Morris Russell.

Southern Living magazine has named Hilton Head Island as the best beach town in the South. Praising the island for offering the opportunity to “enjoy the sun and the sand,” the magazine said Hilton Head’s richness of the town “wins the day.” Tybee Island ranked No. 2. Readers voted on their favorite spots.

The South Ca rolina House unanimously passed a $600 million income tax cut. The House plan cuts the state’s top income tax rate from 7% to 6.5% next year and will reduce it to 6% over the next five years. About 1.1 million of the state’s 2.6 million eligible people pay that rate.

All other taxpayers would be combined into a 3% bracket, according to The Associated Press.

Hilton Head Island Town Manager Marc Orlando has proposed a public-private partnership strategy to develop workforce housing on more than 12 acres of Town-owned property. The town said the proposal will help address the island’s need for more housing for its workforce. The vision includes efficient use of land, energy and water resources, environmentally responsible building materials, and edible landscapes. The site is close to the Hilton Head Island Recreation Center and Hilton Head Island public school campus.

JoJo Woodward announced last month his plan to run for Beaufort County Sheriff. Woodward, who ran in the 2018 primaries, has more than 35 years of experience in law enforcement. He has served as captain of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. He will challenge incumbent P.J. Tanner. The primary is June 14.

A marine military plane (F/A-18D Hornet) crashed in the Lobeco area near Half Moon Island Road and Coosaw Plantation Drive. The pilot and co-pilot were not injured, officials said. The area where the plane went down is uninhabited. According to militarymachine.com, each F/A-18 Hornet costs more than $34 million.

The Technical College of the Lowcountry’s paid tuition program will continue through the summer of 2022 offering S.C. residents the opportunity to further their education – for free. The program is available to South Carolina residents, including: adults with some college; adults with no college; and recent high school graduates.

Breeze Airways has added five new routes from Savannah- Hilton Head International Airport, including a non-stop flight to Los Angeles. Other flights include those to Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; Columbus, Ohio and Norfolk, Va. The flights to Hartford and Providence begin June 3. The Columbus routes launch June 4. Norfolk and L.A. flights begin July 1.

A Bluffton lottery player asked for a quick pick and it won him $200,000, the South Carolina Education Lottery said. The winning ticket was purchased at Blue Water, a gas station in Bluffton. The winner doubled his Palmetto Cash 5 winnings when he decided to “Power Up.” The odds of winning $200,000 playing Palmetto Cash 5 are 1 in 878,399.