Best Moving Company in Bluffton

Bluffton found its new football coach from a state championship program in the state of Georgia.

Collins Hill assistant coach Hayden Gregory was introduced as the school’s new coach on Friday. Gregory replaces John Houpt, who stepped down in November.

Gregory has spent the last five seasons as offensive line coach for his father Lenny Gregory at Collins Hill. The Eagles went 15-0 this year and won the Georgia Class 7A championship over Milton.

“The success that we had at Collins Hill did not happen by accident,” Gregory said.. “I believe I can take the same blueprint to build Bluffton to its highest possible potential.”

Collins Hill featured Travis Hunter, one of the top players in the country, who signed with Jackson State.

Hayden Gregory was a standout at Grayson High School and played college football at Mercer before joining his father’s staff at Collins Hill. At Grayson, he played for Mickey Conn, who built the program into a powerhouse before leaving for Clemson where he will be the team’s co-defensive coordinator this year.

Gregory said his experience working and playing for top programs will help with his first head coaching job.

“My experiences have given me invaluable lessons in how to run a successful program,” Gregory. “I look forward to taking Bluffton football to the next level.”

The Bobcats went 2-8 this season and lost in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs to North Augusta. The Bobcats had a good run under Ken Cribb from 2010-16 where they reaced the state championship game in 2011. The Bobcats have a strong group coming back with offenive players Jaylin Linder and Camauri Simmons and defensive standouts Jeremiah Curry and JaQuinn Williams.

“We searched for someone who cares about the well-being of student-athletes and will grow them in all facets, a high-energy individual that we felt would immediately gain player buy-in, has a proven record of success on and off the field, tremendous history of helping to get his players to the next level and an individual who understands the impact the team can have in the school and our community,” Bluffton athletic director Todd Stewart said. “We found our clear next head football coach in coach Gregory.”

School — Former Coach — New Coach

AC Flora — Dustin Curtis— TBA

Airport — Kirk Burnett — TBA

Batesburg-Leesville — Gary Adams — Gene Cathcart

Bluffton — John Houpt— Hayden Gregory

Boiling Springs — Rick Tate — Matt Reel

Dorman — Dave Guttshall — Dustin Curtis

Hilton Head Prep — Dave Adams — TBA

Lewisville — Will Mitchell — Leon Boulware

Newberry — Phil Strickland — TBA

North Augusta — Jim Bob Bryant — TBA

North Myrtle Beach — Matt Reel — TBA

Oceanside Collegiate — Joe Call — TBA

Stall — Joe Bessinger — TBA

Travelers Rest — Ray Gould — TBA

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) – In Bluffton, dozens of people came out to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words and legacy.

And the youngest generation took center stage at Monday’s event.

Kids from St. John the Baptist Church used puppets and music to get the point across, and keep the dream alive.

“For this generation, if we don’t leave a legacy, if we don’t train them and we don’t keep the story going then they won’t remember what we all had to go through,” explained Rev .Gwendolyn Green. “What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. went through to make this day a reality.”

“It’s very important to make sure we remember what happened so we don’t make the same mistakes that other people did,” said Xavier Copeland.

The 13-year-old stood tall in front of the crowd at the May River Theatre, reading his own speech about why Dr. King’s message resonated with him.

“Don’t look at how people look, pay attention to how they are. Get to know somebody,” said Xavier.

Naomi Campbell is quickly becoming someone to know — a fifth grader who believes her generation needs to step up.

“You really have to tell people that you can always do something to change your community, and if you see something wrong you should do something about it,” said Naomi.

The program then went to the streets where kids of all ages marched proudly.

“There are so many leaders that are this age,” said Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka. “And they have learned over the decades from my generation to them, that speaking up is OK.”

Marching through the streets, smiling and representing a generation that is starting to understand why Dr. King’s legacy was important then — and their work is still important now.

“If you are a young person and you start to change and you keep doing that your entire life, that’s a huge accomplishment,” said Naomi.

The entire event finished with food and a community celebration at Oyster Factory Park.

More than 100 people attended or marched during Monday’s festivities.

The Kneady Cat Books & Gifts, which sells used books and cat-themed decor and gifts, has opened in Bluffton’s Berkeley Place.

The name is a play on words and also reflects one of the shop’s missions.

“Helping the needy cats, bringing awareness to all the feral cats around here and the full shelters,” explained owner Carla Onofrio of Okatie.

Onofrio said she’ll donate a portion of her profits to Palmetto Animal League. In turn, as it did at the shop’s grand opening Dec. 11, PAL occasionally will be invited to visit with adoptable cats and kittens. Two cats were adopted at the grand opening.

“Our family’s worked with PAL for a long time,” Onofrio said. “We’ve fostered kittens from them. We’ve adopted cats from them. They rely on donations.”

The former stay-at-home mom of two children and owner of four cats said she originally wanted to open a cat cafe but wasn’t able to find an appropriate location. She had been collecting books to give her future cafe a library feel, so her new business idea materialized out of that.

The shop includes a wide range of genres, including cookbooks, gardening and sports.

“I’ve got all sorts of books,” Onofrio said, “a huge fiction novel section with lots of thrillers, crime, mysteries. A nice-sized children’s section.”

There are also gift ideas for writers like bookmarks and journals.

The bookstore is accepting donated novels and children’s books. Onofrio said she expects to have room to accept donations from other genres in the future.

Prices, in general, range from 95 cents for a children’s book to around $3 or $4 for a hardcover novel.

Onofrio hopes her customers will feel comfortable enough to linger in the store with a free cup of coffee or tea.

“If you want to have a cup and sit in chair and read a book or have a cup while you browse,” she said.

What: The Kneady Cat Books & Gifts

Where: 108 Buckwalter Parkway, Unit 2D, in Berkeley Place

Hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Phone: 843-540-0973

Website: www.thekneadycat.org

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kneadycatbooks

A winter storm moving over South Carolina might bring snow to the mountainous areas in the northern part of the state over the weekend, but not Beaufort County, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston.

As usual, Beaufort County, despite residents already donning their winter best, is not included in the areas expected to see any kind of snowfall.

The storm is projected to move up the southern tier of the Appalachian Mountains before heading north, according to Michael Stroz, a NWS meteorologist. The temperatures in Beaufort County, Stroz said, are just too warm. The area, however, has an 80% chance of rain over the three-day weekend.

“Late Saturday night into Sunday appears to be the time period with the greatest risk of rainfall,” Stroz said.

The forecast from the NWS estimates showers will begin around 8 p.m. Saturday and rain until 2 a.m. Sunday. After that, showers can be expected after 2 p.m. Sunday. Sunday night will be mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain.

The chance for flooding will be low as the area is estimated to see only an inch of rain, Stroz said. The worst of the storm is projected to be inland and in the northern part of the state, he said. Because of this, and the chance of ice on the roads in other parts of the state, the S.C. Department of Transportation is preparing for a “worst-case scenario,” Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said in a Wednesday press release.

The department plans to line the roads with salt and is preparing ice-breaking chemicals to protect drivers on interstate highways and roads closest to hospitals and emergency shelters. The department also has contracts with private towing companies to place wreckers on the interstate to “prevent lengthy backups” in case of a crash or a breakdown, the press release said. If possible, drivers should stay off the roads over the weekend.

“If you must drive, slow down and watch for crews performing de-icing and plowing operations,” Hall said.

Ice is not expected to be a problem on Beaufort County roads, Stroz said.

Friday is expected to be sunny with a high of 60 degrees and winds reaching up to 10 mph with 22-mph gusts. Friday night will be partly cloudy with calm winds and a low of 41 degrees.

Saturday during the day will have a high near 61 degrees and a low of 46 degrees at night.

During the day Sunday, the high will be near 63 degrees but may drop to as low as 38 degrees at night.

Monday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 53 degrees. At night, it will be mostly clear, and temperatures will drop to 34 degrees.

Happy 2022! Each new year brings brand new residents to our town. This means there is so much knowledge of how Bluffton came to be that needs to be written about. My goal this year is to write about topics of interest that will help new and old residents alike.

This past week, it came to my attention that many of our residents didn’t understand how the town publicizes meetings and agendas. It seems to be a perfect time to write about how to find our agendas and all packet information for committee, commission and Town Council meetings.

First, regarding publicizing meetings and agendas: State law is very clear on timing to publicly notice meeting dates and any agenda. You can read the entire ordinance on the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s website at https://www.masc.sc/Pages/resources/meeting_notice.aspx.

The section that talks about this is below:

“SECTION 30-4-80. Notice of meetings of public bodies. (A) All public bodies, except as provided in subsections (B) and (C) of this section, must give written public notice of their regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. The notice must include the dates, times, and places of such meetings. An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least twenty-four hours prior to such meetings. All public bodies must post on such bulletin board or website, if any, public notice for any called, special, or rescheduled meetings. Such notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than twenty-four hours before the meeting.”

We have been very careful to follow these guidelines and wherever possible go ahead and add any additional meeting dates on our website under the “Agenda Center.”

This is very easy to find if you go to www.townofbluffton.sc.gov and scroll to the bottom of the page. There you will see the link to “Agenda Center.” Once on this page, you can see all dates and agendas for all of our publicly held meetings.

One additional item is the ability to subscribe to our notifications. The “Subscribe” link is at the top right of the Agenda Center Page.

If you would like information on any other topics, please reach out and let me know. I would be happy write a column in the coming months.

If you ever have questions about our wonderful town, don’t hesitate to contact Town Hall at 706-4500 or email Lisa Sulka at [email protected]