Unless you’ve been living in a tree stump, you may have noticed the island has been rather … ahem … congested these past few months. How often does one muse, “Where are all these people coming...
Ciao, Lowcountry!
read more
Education
2022 Men Behind the Business
Dave Miller Superior Services 36 Persimmon St #202, Bluffton, SC 29910 (843) 682-2665 gotosuperior.com What services does your business provide? Whole-house service solutions, AC repair, plumbing,...
We caught up with Randy Rose to find out a thing or two about a condition that plagues 15 percent of the population as they age: Hearing Loss
What typically causes hearing loss, and is it preventable? Sensorineural Hearing Loss is the most common type of hearing loss. It can be a result of aging, exposure to loud noise, injury, disease,...
Plugged In: Is an electric vehicle in your future?
If electric cars could talk, they would tell you they feel misunderstood. And those who love them would give them a big hug and a “there, there,” while advising them to be themselves, dare to be...
The Top Shots at First Tee
Meet the men behind the life skills and expert instruction that are changing children’s lives at First Tee — The Lowcountry.
‘Unofficial Mascot of Hilton Head Island’
Sea Turtles spotlighted on national television
That is a Big Deal: How a little podcast about some notorious Lowcountry residents became one of the biggest things streaming.
It’s hard to believe it’s been just under a year, but so it was that on June 7, 2021, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were found dead. The layers of intrigue, scandal and deception that have been peeled...
Public or Private? Choosing the best school for your child
If you are the parent of a school age or soon-to-be school age child, you have your homework cut out for you. The assignment: selecting a school. Both public and private schools offer excellent...
A+ Local Educators
If you ask anyone to name the person who had the biggest impact on their life, nine times out of 10, you’re going to hear about a teacher. And that’s because changing lives is the single most...
Beyond the Classroom: Lowcountry Tutoring & Test Prep
For students who need that extra helping hand to reach their academic goals, Lowcountry Tutoring & Test Prep is head of the class.
Let’s talk to our children about sex
If you’re a parent, you’ve been there. You know … those moments when it’s time to address a topic with your child that is more “birds and bees” than you want it to be. Eek. Awkward. Maybe your child...
Feeling Better, Whatever it Takes
There is more than one approach to treating pain and getting you moving and feeling your best. At CORA Physical Therapy, you’ll find all of them.
Creativity Starts Here: Bluffton Academy for the Arts provides unique educational opportunity for performing arts students
Bluffton is known as a mecca of cultural and artistic activity, even named a Cultural District by the S.C. Arts Commission. Now there’s an educational opportunity for students wishing to pursue...
‘Ain’t Misbehavin’: Local educational consultant offers advice for shaping behaviors that lead to learning
Whether it’s your child, your puppy, or your spouse, behavior is always a verb, according to Dr. Sheryl Kaufman, aka “Dr. K,” retired principal and founder of Educational Journeys, LLC. “Behavior is...
A Parent’s Guide to Bullying
How’s this for irony? The word “bully” was first recorded in around 1530 from the Middle Dutch word “boele” or “lover,” and it was not until the 1700s that bully came to mean a “swaggering coward.”...
You Are Not Alone: How the new short film “6:22” is shining a light on the invisible struggle faced by so many.
Nearly every day, you cross paths with someone who is at their lowest moments, but you’ll never know it. While presenting a brave face to the outside world, they mask a seemingly inescapable darkness within. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there were an estimated 1.38 million suicide attempts in 2019. Of those, more than 47,000 succeeded.
Editor’s Note: March 2022
Let’s Talk About Snakes Once the weather consistently hits about 60 degrees, I am on the lookout for snakes. Perhaps it is because I live in a neighborhood surrounded by pine trees and ponds where I...
Landscape Maintenance Calendar
After the wrath of winter, many homeowners look forward to getting outside to begin caring for their lawns. Check out this landscape maintenance schedule we’ve compiled to assist you: March Lawns:...
Bug Off!! Getting rid of creepy critters
Combating pests in the Lowcountry is a fact of life, and most of us aren’t really interested in co-existing with pesky critters; we just want them gone! There are options to consider when it comes...
Walter Czura: Hilton Head Island businessman steps into motion picture industry
Hilton Head Island businessman Walter Czura has stepped into the movie industry with his first feature length, independent film, Sherman’s March to the Sea, a historical drama which premiered recently at the Poison Peach Film Festival 2022 in Augusta, Ga.
Pet Health and Medications
Did you know that half of all pet poisonings involve human medicines? Many commonly used meds, both OTC and prescription, can be harmful or even fatal to your fur babies. The top 10 unsafe classes of meds are likely in our homes or brought in by household guests. The top two offenders are pain meds ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve). Next is acetaminophen/Tylenol. This includes combo products, such as Lortab or Sinus Advil. One or two Advil can cause stomach ulcers or kidney issues in dogs and cats, and even one tablet of Tylenol can dangerously affect oxygen-carrying ability of red blood cells in cats and could be fatal.
BenchMark Sets the Bar: Lowcountry physical therapy clinics remain the standard for rehabilitation
Chances are that if you’ve been diagnosed with an accident-related injury or a disability or disease affecting your body’s ability to move or function properly, then you’ve visited a physical...
Hear Well Again: Rose Hearing Healthcare Centers offers two pathways to better hearing.
It was supposed to be just another day at the office for Steve Krehbiel. A 35-year veteran of the hearing aid industry, he had spent the last 15 or so in the Lowcountry. Before that, he’d amassed a reputation within the business, based on the strength of a 20-year stint in Roanoke, Virginia, building one practice into nine offices.
Why Jiu-Jitsu is for You (and your daughter)
When you read national statistics about violence and sexual crimes against women, it is like a punch to the gut. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, in a 2018 report, studies found that one in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime; 81 percent of women (43 percent of men) reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime; and one in three female victims of completed or attempted rape experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17.
Treatment Tips from a Friendly Pharmacist for Common Colds in Adults
Article by Sandra Harley Counts, PharmD I’ve just retired to Hilton Head Island after 38 years of teaching drug therapy to family medicine doctors in training. I miss sharing information, so CH2...
Getting Back in Touch: The return of the hug
On the Friday after Thanksgiving 2018 (pre-pandemic) my mother-in-law celebrated her ninety-seventh birthday. So, while most everyone else was out searching for Black Friday deals, our family gathered at a nursing home in Lyons, Georgia to honor her and show her some love.
Tina Simmons’ Story: Putting the Self Help in Bluffton Self Help
The mission of Bluffton’s storied charity organization, like Bluffton itself, has evolved.
The Next Step for Prep: New programs add to 56-year legacy of preparing students for the future at Hilton Head Prep
Ever since it first opened its doors in 1965, Hilton Head Preparatory has operated under one guiding principle: always look to the future. Preparation is right there in the name, and it’s a...
A Neighborhood with Purpose
With the amount of the rapid development and burgeoning municipal growth in Bluffton and the surrounding area, there’s a particularly bright spot of city planning that reads like a “restoring faith...
Destination: Wellness
Hilton Head Island chef Amanda Russ Cifaldi is ready for her closeup. Get ready, world.
Dividend Growth Investing: The benefits of reinvesting your dividends if you do not need the income
A dividend growth investment strategy is one that only invests in companies that increase their dividends to shareholders each year. A diversified portfolio of these companies can produce a growing...
From the Roots Up: For more than a century, Bartlett Tree Experts have shown that you can see the forest for the trees.
In case you weren’t aware, we take our trees very seriously in the Lowcountry. There are ordinances galore, on both sides of the bridge, telling you what you can and can’t cut down, what trees need...
A True Lowcountry Treasure: Maria Walls
Can government bureaucracy and innovation ever truly co-exist? Just ask Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls.
Clearing the Air: A few new additions to the décor at Rockfish Seafood & Steaks might just hold the key to getting back to normal.
Step in the wayback machine with us for just a moment as we journey to the year 2018. Can you remember what life was like pre-COVID? Do you recall how you could pack yourself into a tight elevator...
With a Straight Face: Jim and Meredith Bannon bring their lighthearted approach to the serious business of the law.
If you’ve ever been on the megapopular website Reddit, you know that Redditors, as they are called, love to disagree on things. You can post something as innocuous as a picture of a piece of bread nailed to a tree (and someone has) and expect a full-blown brouhaha to break out. Which is what makes it so weird when they all find something they agree on.
The Sandbox: Children’s museum fosters discovery, encourages play, and offers community
The Sandbox Children’s Museum opened its doors on Hilton Head Island in 2005 with a mission to provide inclusive and safe environments for children to learn and explore with their peers and caregivers through hands-on discovery and imaginative play. The driving force behind the mission is to cultivate the physical, social, and cognitive development of the island’s children as well as the thousands of children from around the world who visit here each year.
The True Spirit of the Community
Let it never be said that the Lowcountry doesn’t know how to give back. Ours is a community built on a spirit of volunteerism, where any need that needs filled will soon find itself with a small army of helpers at their disposal. When we set out to spotlight a few of the legion of selfless locals who call our area home, we knew the hardest job would be in limiting our search. While the volunteers you see here are to be lauded for their generosity and spirit, know that for every face you see here, there are hundreds more ready to make life a little better in our community.
The Wealth Edit: A community where talking about finances is no longer taboo
Two months ago, I lost my job of 16 years. I had done the same thing for 195 months, and suddenly I was faced with the question of what’s next? Fortunately, my concerns were not related to how I would survive financially because I had a plan. But that wasn’t always the case.
Streaming the Truth
Since the beginning, FITSNews.com’s Mandy Matney has been knee-deep in the most explosive case to ever hit Beaufort County. Her new podcast digs deeper into the facts.
An Eternal Evolving Equation:Achieving work/life balance
Female entrepreneurs and women in the workplace impact the world in far-reaching ways. Many, too, are caring for our families or loved ones. Women constantly juggle personal and professional commitments and responsibilities, which makes finding balance difficult.
Side Hustles Are ‘The New Black’: What you need to know about putting your passion to work
Everyone knows someone (either in real life or online) who seems to have it all—and just a little bit more. In addition to holding down a day job, she spends weekends “researching” fabulous destinations, earning passive income while sitting on the beach, or posting about the lux PR pages she gets in the mail. How does she do it? A side hustle.
A Note from Mayor Sulka: August 2021
Support for Small Business. As the mayor of Bluffton along with our town council, we have always supported our local businesses in many ways. The Don Ryan Center for Innovation (DRCI) is one of the most visible ways we demonstrate this local business support.
Teach Them Well and Let Them Lead the Way: For the last 54 years, the Children’s Center has been quietly leading a revolution in early childhood development.
Ask any business owner you know, particularly anyone who owns a restaurant, and they’ll tell you in no uncertain terms: We are in the midst of a labor crisis on this island. Companies can’t find workers, because workers can’t find the support they need to work here. There are no easy answers, either, making this crisis one that may take years to solve. And while the debate rages over things like affordable housing and fair wages, one aspect of this crisis has been overlooked: the children.
A Flocking Good Time: The biggest event you probably haven’t heard of, Pledge the Pink, returns
There are some events that dominate the calendar here on Hilton Head Island. Sure, the usual run of things has been disrupted over the last year or so, but as we return to normal, we know exactly what to look forward to in any given month. You know exactly when your favorite food festivals are, when you’re going to get to check out some classic cars at the Concours and when your opportunity to get some PGA autographs will be.
Negotiating and Networking: Strategies to find your voice and be seen
Career success is increasingly defined not just by how many hours you spend at your computer, but also your ability to advocate for yourself and to connect to others. Respectfully pushing back, incorporating outside perspectives, and navigating groups are essential skills in today’s ultra-connected society. It’s up to you to connect the dots between self-worth, ideas, businesses, and people. If your goal is to have a seat at the table where your ideas can be heard, it’s not enough to simply be successful and sociable. Instead, you must be deliberate in your efforts to advocate for yourself and grow your sphere of influence.
Far More Than a Crowning Achievement:A budding leader hopes her Miss South Carolina win is just the beginning of a lifetime of impacting social change.
Julia Herrin is the crown-wearing embodiment of taking advantage of opportunity. At age 13, the shy piano-playing middle child of Lowcountry musical entrepreneurs Jeff and Jennifer Herrin decided to forge a completely foreign path by trying to become Miss Teen Hilton Head Island.
“My best friend, my mom, convinced me to try. I laughed it off at first. Me in pageants? I would never win, so why even try?” said the now-19-year-old Bluffton resident.
Gaurdians of the Shore: Meet the men and women who make sure every day at the beach is… well, a day at the beach.
NOT All heroes wear capes. Some wear SPF-40, sunglasses, and a smart-looking red swimsuit and carry a rescue can. And sadly,it can be easy to forget these heroes are even there. The biggest disaster we’ll usually ever face during a beach day is a sunburn or a punctured football. However, “usually” doesn’t mean “ever.”
Heather Price: The Community Connector
Heather Price isn’t running a typical business. For most of her life, she has been in the business of helping people and connecting folks both with each other and with resources to make their lives better.
A New Program Giving Hope Through Exercise: Island fitness guru turns attention to battling debilitating disease
Fitness is personal. It’s the one thing above all that Heath Babb has learned in his three-decade journey in the fitness industry. There has to be a drive, an inner reason, and any program that truly achieves results tailors the plan specifically to a client’s needs and goals.
Upkeep Your Abode: A calendar for home maintenance
While most people are aware of the financial responsibility that homeownership requires, many don’t think much about the time and labor required to maintain a home. Regular home maintenance will ensure that your home stays healthy and happy and that you avoid frustration and wasted money.