Beaufort County celebrated the groundbreaking of two new community centers

Tim Scott and Joe Wilson push for a Coast Guard training base in Beaufort

And Beaufort Veterans affairs will host a symposium for Healthcare/Social Work professionals

All this and more coming up on Beaufort County This Week!

STORY 1

Last week, Beaufort County celebrated a pair of groundbreakings at Parks & Recs locations in the Beaufort County. On January 7th, ground was broken for the Wesley E. Felix Community center located at 179 Ball Park Road on St. Helena Island. The speakers included County Council member York Glover, who spoke about the importance of baseball to St. Helena’s community and history. Again on January 9th the county broke ground on the Agnes A. Major Community center at 21 Agnes Major Road in Sheldon. Council member Gerald Dawson was amongst the speakers and highlighted the accomplishments of Ms. Major’s life and her impacts on the community. You can watch the groundbreaking ceremony on Youtube.com/@BeaufortCountyTV and on BCTV.

Story 2

From the Island Packet

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and Congressman Joe Wilson are on board with a new Coast Guard training base in Port Royal, which a new report says would generate $300 million in revenue and more than 2,000 jobs. In November, the Coast Guard announced it was seeking a location for a second boot camp to train some of the 15,000 additional personnel expected to join the military branch over the next few years. The Coast Guard issued a solicitation for potential locations for the new facility, with a deadline set for Dec. 7. The Beaufort County Economic Development Corp (BCED), Beaufort Area Chamber of Commerce and Beaufort Defense Community Partnership Task Force applied for consideration, saying Naval Hospital Beaufort could be a perfect fit. The hospital grounds are located between the Beaufort River and Ribaut Road in Port Royal. Gov. Henry McMaster and Congresswoman Nancy Mace previously announced their support for the application.

The Naval Hospital’s access to the Intracoastal Waterway is one reason it is an ideal location for a new Coast Guard training facility, local officials say. Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. Now Scott and Wilson have added their names to the growing list of local, state and federal officials backing the proposal. On Monday, Scott and Wilson sent a letter of support to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. John O’Toole, who heads the BCED, said the letter from Scott and Wilson is a welcome addition to the application, which is under review by the Coast Guard and Homeland Security. Over the weekend, BCED officials also were busy working on a report on the economic development impact the training base would have on the area. That report was requested by Gov. Henry McMaster’s office to be forwarded to the federal officials for consideration, O’Toole said.

“It is my understanding we made some sort of first cut by the Department of Homeland Security on the training facility,” O’Toole said. “I don’t know how many communities are still standing.” The economic impact report said a training facility at the Naval Hospital would have an economic impact on the region in excess of $300 million and create 2,200 direct and indirect jobs, O’Toole said. The established military community in Beaufort and Port Royal, which includes Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, makes it ideal for the Coast Guard base, the letter from Scott and Wilson says.