Hilton Head Island Mayor John McCann was back on the (virtual) job Tuesday night after nearly a month out following a fall at home.
Wearing a sling on his right arm, McCann ran the Town Council meeting. He has not appeared at a meeting since his fall on July 19.
Per town code, Mayor pro tem Bill Harkins stepped in to run the July 21 Town Council meeting.
McCann, 79, fell at his Port Royal Plantation home and broke his right elbow and hip bone, he said. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery the following day.
He currently has no use of his right hand or leg, and said he is temporarily using a walker to get around.
The mayor said he underwent physical therapy for his injury at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Bluffton. He is now home and doing physical and occupational therapy there.
“I was down at town hall yesterday, and that was a long one,” he said with a laugh of the three-hour meeting. “It was good to come back.”
Hilton Head Island Mayor John McCann distributes free face coverings supplied by the The Hilton Head Island/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at the Kroger in Shelter Cove Towne Centre on Hilton Head Island. On Monday, Hilton Head leaders passed an ordinance that will make masks mandatory for customers in all commercial spaces beginning at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. The 500 masks were given away in about 30 minutes. Drew Martin dmartin@islandpacket.com
Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.
