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  • Beaufort TIF part of carefully designed plan
    The city of Beaufort will continue to support the development that's already in place along the Boundary Street Corridor using all appropriate and available financing means. To ignore these opportunities is to reject our mission to provide efficient and economical services to our constituents.
  • Jasper port swimming against a stream of political challenges
    My law partner, former Lt. Gov. Brantley Harvey, once told me that politics in South Carolina was like a bucket of crabs. Each crab struggles mightily, without help, to climb out and if one finally reaches the top, the rest will collectively pull it back down.
  • Action on climate, energy security could mean jobs
    Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island recently hosted a town hall forum, where retired four-star Gen. Robert Magnus discussed the ways environmental conditions, such as climate change, create a threat to our national security. The military's solution to dealing with these threats, combined with a national commitment to clean energy, translates into potential jobs for Beaufort County and South Carolina.
  • District's reserve fund provides stability
    Much has been written in recent weeks about the Beaufort County School District's budget. At Monday's County Council meeting, it was stated that the district received $8 million more than needed.
  • Everyone benefits when students stay competitive in today's work force
    On the path to the American dream today, there is no detour around post-secondary education. Employers increasingly require their employees to have higher-level skills. Those without at least some education beyond high school find themselves at a serious disadvantage in the job market. Meanwhile, the ethnic and socioeconomic makeup of our citizenry is continuing to evolve across the country and here in the Lowcountry, and employers are relying more than ever on workers from the populations that are least likely to complete their education.
  • Obama's significance for South Carolina
    I won't be voting for Barack Obama for president. There are too many vital issues -- from taxes and spending, to immigration and national security, to traditional values -- on which we have fundamentally different points of view about the right direction for our country. However, as the presidential campaign trail now makes its turn toward this state, and as South Carolinians make their final decisions on whom to vote for, it's worth pausing to take notice of something important that the Obama candidacy means for our corner of America.


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Letters to the Editor

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Letters to the editor are welcome. Letters must be 250 words or less and signed with your first and last names. Include your street address and daytime telephone number so we can verify the letter before publication. You are limited to one letter per 30 days. Letters may be edited for length, style, grammar, taste and libel. All letters submitted become the property of The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette and may be republished in any format. The Packet and the Gazette do not publish endorsement letters on the editorial page. Thank you letters are published in the Monday Lowcountry Life section.

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Mail: P.O. Box 5727, Hilton Head Island, SC 29938
Fax: 843-706-3070
Hand-delivered: 10 Buck Island Road, Bluffton or 1556 Salem Road, Beaufort
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Your Elected Officials

U.S. Congress
State Government
  • Gov. Mark Sanford (R)
    Governor’s Office, State House, P.O. Box 12267, Columbia, S.C. 29211
    Office: (803) 734-2100 Fax: (803) 734-5167
  • Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
    P.O. Drawer 1107, Beaufort, 29901-1107
    (843) 252-8583
    602 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    Bus. (803) 212-6008
  • Rep. Curtis Brantley (D-District 122)
    194 Bees Creek Rd., Ridgeland, 29936
    (843) 726-5998
    314D Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-2965
  • Rep. Richard Chalk (R-District 123)
    326C Blatt Building, Columbia, S.C. 29211-1867
    Office: (803) 734-3067; Home: (843) 842-5985
    15 Goldfinch Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
  • Rep. Shannon S. Erickson (R-District 124)
    (843) 986-1090
    306A Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-3261
  • Rep. Bill Herbkersman (R-District 118)
    P.O. Box 11867, Columbia, S.C. 29211
    Office: (803) 734-3063; Home: (843) 757-5424
    151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
  • Rep. Kenneth F. Hodges (D-District 121)
    PO Drawer 355, Green Pond, 29446
    (843) 525-9006 Home (843) 844-8756
    434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-3062
Beaufort County
  • Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
    17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
  • Steven Baer (R-District 2)
    10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
  • Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
    27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
    Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
  • Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
    P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
    Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
  • William McBride (D-District 5)
    P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
    Fax:(843)838-8303
    Home:(843)838-2264
  • Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
    64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
    Fax:(843)846-4738
    Office:(843)846-4830
  • Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
    1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-7115
    Office:(843)379-7114
  • Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
    P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
    Fax:(843)846-3601
    Home:(843)846-2845
  • Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
    25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-9806
    Office:(843)379-9805
  • Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
    11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
    Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
  • Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
    166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-1380
    Office:(843)379-1367
Beaufort County School District
  • District Office: 1300 King St., P.O. Drawer 309, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
    Hilton Head Island office, 689-4635; fax: 689-4617
    • Beaufort County Board of Education members:
    • Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
      PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
      (C) 843-524-8404
    • Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
      198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
    • Joan Deery (District 1)
      5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8968
    • Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
      Home: 843-363-2113
    • Laura Bush (District 4)
      P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
      Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
    • Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
      734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
      (H) 843-838-2277
      FAX 843-838-1192
    • Earl Campbell (District 6)
      93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
      (H) 843-846-4531
      (C) 843-476-7512
      FAX 843-846-1373
    • Jim Bequette (District 7)
      4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
      (H/C) 843-263-8327
    • Herbert Burnes (District 8)
      95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
      (H) 843-846-445
      (C) 843-263-2776
    • Ronald Speaks (District 9)
      3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
      (H) 843-525-1163
      (W) 843-525-8277
      FAX 843-525-1163
    • George Wilson (District 10)
      20 Osprey Circle, Callawassie Island, S.C. 29909
      Home: 987-1234; cell: 812-9870
City of Beaufort
Town of Hilton Head Island
  • Town Hall: One Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; 341-4600
    • Town Council
    • Mayor Thomas D. Peeples
      4 Hartford Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928-3922
      Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
    • Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
      634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 686-2863
    • William Harkins (Ward 2)
      3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
      263-3261 - cell
    • Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
      5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
    • John Safay (Ward 4)
      19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
    • George Williams (Ward 5)
      8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 363-6601; fax: 363-6604
    • Ken S. Heitzke (Ward 6)
      3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 681-8182; fax: 681-9864
Town of Bluffton
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