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...
Editor’s Note: March 2022
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Education
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.
A Strong Doctor-Patient Relationship Can Help You Feel Your Best
As COVID-19 swept across the country, the demand for accessible healthcare increased. Not just emergency room medicine, but primary care as well. Telemedicine, urgent care clinics, and pop-up centers made healthcare accessible to more people, but, in the long term, is this the kind of personalized care that Americans, particularly seniors or those juggling chronic conditions, want and need?
Bike Walk Hilton Head Island
Since Hilton Head Island Bicycle Advisory Committee’s (BAC) formation in 2011, the volunteer organization has focused on promoting cycling, improving the town’s bike-pedestrian infrastructure, and...
8 Faces of Summer Fun
Of course, you came to Hilton Head Island for the beach and maybe golf, tennis or pickleball. But what else is there to do? Plenty! Whether it’s tooling around town on a bike, flying through the trees on a zipline, racing a go-kart, reeling in your supper, dolphin watching, kayaking, paddle boarding, playing putt-putt golf, or riding a horse … beyond the beach, a colossal outdoor playground awaits.
Passing Along Financial Literacy Could be Your Most Valuable Legacy
I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of young investors, and it’s been exciting to see them learn the investing basics, and importantly, become successful savers and investors.
Over Yonder and Back Again: My life in Southern cities
Growing up, my immediate family did not seem overwhelmingly Southern. We were Catholic, after all, and we never cooked traditional Southern food at home, preferring Lebanese, our ethnic cuisine. We also did not plant window boxes full of flowers or sit on the porch at twilight, drinking sweet tea with lemon slices. Being young and unaware for the most part about what “Southern” even meant, I had to rely on the stereotypes I gleaned from pop culture—that is, until the day I left South Carolina and lived in a few other cities in the South.
Two-Wheelin’ Fun: Ride your bicycle on Hilton Head Island without taking an unscheduled tour of the ER.
Summer has arrived! Grab the sunscreen, hit the beach, light up the BBQ grill, fill the cooler, or hop on your bike—all things we do to celebrate the days of summer without even thinking. Actually, though, we do need to put some thought into biking safely, sharing the space and showing courtesy to others on our leisure paths and roads.
Summer Camps!
*Pricing changes and human error occurs. Please see camp listed for final pricing on all activities.
Gotcha Covered: Lots of options for new roofs
When you are in the market for a new roof, too few options to consider will not be a problem. There are lots. New technologies and innovations in the industry now make it possible to have just about any look you desire no matter where you live. Plus, a new roof will add value to your home and upgrade the overall exterior appeal in terms of look, style, and color.
The Thin Blue Line: Meet the men and women behind the badge who are keeping the streets of Beaufort County safe.
As you make your way around Beaufort County, their reassuring presence is everywhere. Not just behind the wheel of a police cruiser, you’ll find the men and women of law enforcement walking the streets, engaging the community and fulfilling their promise to protect and serve.
Sure, you may not be so glad to see them when you get caught playing fast and loose with the speed limit; we’ve all been there. But when you need them the most, it’s comforting to know how seriously our police officers take their sworn duty.
And for them, that’s exactly what it is. Not just a job. Not just a calling. Theirs is a vow to guard over our community, risking life and limb every day they walk out the door. On behalf of our entire community, it is a privilege to spotlight a few of our finest.
Don Ryan Center for Innovation Launches New Program to Help the Lowcountry’s HEROES Become Entrepreneurs: With grant from the SC Department of Commerce Office of Innovation, DRCI “gives back” to those who give so much to the community
Every day, the heroes of the Lowcountry give tirelessly of themselves while giving back to all those in our community. Now the Don Ryan Center for Innovation, with a grant from the South Carolina...
How to Get Divorced
Though I have never sought a divorce, several friends and family members have, and each have shared insights into their experience both during and after their divorce. Whether it was an “amicable” Gwyneth Paltrow-Chris Martin consciously uncoupling divorce, or it was more of a Kathleen Turner-Michael Douglas in War of the Roses divorce, undoubtedly one distinct fact remained: Divorce is hard. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said one friend, who in addition to being a competitive mountain biker, also survived thyroid cancer prior to his divorce.
A Note from Mayor Sulka
Get in the Loop: Join the Don Ryan Center for Innovation
Palmetto Dunes Brings Virtual Golf to the Driving Range
The new Toptracer Range offers a high-tech way to improve your game and enjoy a competitive night out with friends.
Heritage Academy: New Owner, Same Commitment to Excellence
Amanda Williams-O’Nan was grateful for the oppor-tunity to return to educating youngsters at Hilton Head Island private school Heritage Academy last summer. Just four months later, she got an oppor-tunity she never imagined possible. “I bought the school,” said Williams’-O’Nan, the school’s new owner and Head of School.
You Are Not Alone: Meet the mental health professionals who can help you navigate the “new normal.”
If there is a silver lining in the dumpster fire of a year that was 2020, it is this: all of us have gained a deeper appreciation for our own mental health. Even the most steadfast among us had their cages rattled this year, leading to the widespread popularity of the notion, “It’s okay to not be okay.”
Moving Forward: Perhaps no field has been rocked by the pandemic as much as education. But at Hilton Head Prep, a swift response and an emphasis on safety has helped keep standards high.
It can be a little tricky to take the long view these days, with so much still so uncertain about what the next few months or even the next year will bring. But one thing is certain: each of us is going to have a “where I was when the pandemic broke out story” that we’ll carry around forever. Much in the same way you may remember where you were when you heard Kennedy had been killed, you’ll be able to recall exactly what those first few weeks were like. For educators, those stories will be particularly harrowing.