Successful PGA Tour at Congaree Golf Club beginning of exciting future for Jasper Co.
Jasper County’s future
We’ve just completed a wonderfully successful first for Jasper County — hosting a PGA tournament at Congaree Golf Club and bringing millions of television viewers into our backyards. The benefits of this golf tournament will ripple through Jasper County and the Lowcountry for months and maybe years to come.
According to the PGA Tour, the Palmetto Championship at Congaree is expected to have an estimated $50 million impact on the South Carolina economy, plus a $54 million value in media coverage. I hope many of you were able to see some of the tournament on TV or in person so you have a feel for how important this media coverage is to our county.
Working with partners big and small, this community pulled together a major tournament in a matter of three months — something that usually takes a year or longer to organize.
To everyone involved, I share a heartfelt thank you from Jasper County Council.
As our airport continues to expand and improve, as our roads and highways are upgraded, as our economy grows, I see exciting things in the very near future for Jasper County.
Barbara Clark, Jasper County Council
Charleston church shooting
Here in South Carolina we must never forget the tragedy that occurred at Mother Emanuel AME Church six years ago. In spite of this horrific act, the state legislature and our current governor have not addressed the cause of this tragedy. Thankfully, we have a candidate for governor who is willing to take on this challenge. Joe Cunningham spoke in Charleston on the anniversary of the shootings at Mother Emanuel AME Church. He outlined his plan to stem gun violence, which includes closing the “Charleston Loophole,” universal background checks (which Americans overwhelmingly support) and funding a statewide violence prevention plan. The people of South Carolina deserve sensible leadership who knows pro-2nd amendment and pro-gun control are not mutually exclusive.
Melissa Bernardi, Beaufort
The problem
In response to the Op-Ed, “Another Murdaugh tragedy. Another reason to lose faith in the criminal justice system.”
I think I’m among millions of other Americans who have lost much confidence in not only our justice system, but also in our political system and in the objectivity of the media. These problems, as frustrating as they are, will not be fixed until the root problem has been corrected. It’s taken a very long time to get where we are. The failures of our justice system, our political system and our national media are barometers of the decline of our culture into an ever-deepening and widening moral, social and spiritual decay.
Our nation was founded on the principles of objective, self-evident truth that served as a moral compass gifted to us by our creator. Without our creator’s moral compass, we are left to “reimagine” justice, politics and media for ourselves. In his letter to the Massachusetts Militia dated 11 October 1798, John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” This has proven to be true.
William Brown, Bluffton
Come together
“How America came together a century ago and how WE can do it again,” is the description of Robert Putnam’s new book, “Upswing.” The book recasts a history of our country from Golden Age to Progressive Era to the present.
Historians generally agree that life today presents a deep, accelerating inequality, unprecedented political polarization, individual narcissism and vitriolic discord. In fact, many Americans today seem to agree on only one thing — that ethically and morally, this is the worst of times.
Putnam reminds us that as individuals seeking upward mobility and success, we must not make the same mistakes of the past. Rather, we must recognize the needs of everyone in a democratic society both economically and socially, merging “I” and “WE” goal-setting together.
To summarize, there must be a way to protect the interest, rights and freedom of each person while maintaining a strong sense of unity, shared purpose and a common destiny.
The point of all this is found in a quote from President Teddy Roosevelt: “The fundamental right of our natural life, which underlies all other, is that, on the whole and in the long run, we shall go up and down together.”
Earle Everett, Hilton Head