AN EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR IMPROVED USE OF OUR LAND. HILTON HEAD ISLAND BREAKING GROUND MONDAY ON THE TAYLOR FAMILY PARK THAT WILL OFFER NEARLY FIVE ACRES OF RECREATIONAL SPACE IN THE SQUIRE POPE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A FISHING-THEMED PLAYGROUND WHILE STILL PRESERVING ITS LIVE OAKS AND MARITIME FOREST. MEANWHILE, BEAUFORT COUNTY’S RURAL AND CRITICAL LAND PROGRAM HAS CLOSED ON NINE MORE ACRES OF LAND NEXT TO THE CURRENT WIDGEON POINT PRESERVE YOU DRIVE BY ON HIGHWAY 170 ON LEMON ISLAND. THE 2.7-MILLION DOLLAR PURCHASE PROTECTS THE ISLAND CORRIDOR BETWEEN THE CHECHESSEE AND BROAD RIVERS FOR MIGRATING BIRDS WITH PLANS TO EVENTUALLY ALLOW PUBLIC ACCESS.
BACK AROUND LABOR DAY, IT WAS EASY TO IMAGINE CLEMSON AND PENN STATE’S FOOTBALL TEAMS MEETING IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS, MAYBE EVEN FOR A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. THEY WERE BOTH RANKED IN THE TOP 4 IN THE COUNTRY. THE SEASON DIDN’T PLAY OUT THAT WAY FOR EITHER SCHOOL, BUT THE TIGERS AND NITTANY LIONS WILL GET TO PLAY AT YANKEE STADIUM IN THE PINSTRIPE BOWL TWO DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS. CLEMSON COACH DABO SWEENEY SAYS HE’S EXCITED TO PLAY IN NEW YORK CITY IN FRONT OF A LOT OF TIGER ALUMNI IN THE NORTHEAST, AND TO FINISH A SEASON THAT DIDN’T GO AS PLANNED WITH A 5 GAME WINNING STREAK TO TAKE INTO NEXT YEAR.THE TWO SCHOOLS HAVE PLAYED ONLY ONCE BEFORE, IN THE 1988 CITRUS BOWL WON BY CLEMSON 35-10. BY THE WAY, ONLY MIAMI FROM THE A-C-C GOT INTO THE PLAYOFFS. 8-5 CONFERENCE CHAMPION DUKE WILL PLAY IN THE SUN BOWL IN EL PASO. VIRGINIA WILL PLAY IN THE GATOR BOWL.
THE RAINY WEEKEND WEATHER CAUSED THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD TO POSTPONE ITS CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY UNTIL WEDNESDAY AND CANCEL ITS WINTER WONDERLAND FESTIVAL AT SHELTER COVE PARK COMPLETELY. THE TREE LIGHTING EVENT WILL NOW START AT 5:30 WEDNESDAY WITH SANTA ARRIVING AT CELEBRATION PARK AT 5:45 AND THE LIGHTING OF THE TREE AT 6.
ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS IN THAT SEPTEMBER ALTERCATION BETWEEN A NOW-FORMER BEAUFORT COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF AND SOME TEENAGERS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND IS USING A CURIOUS DEFENSE STRATEGY, SAYING HE’S BEING ‘PROSECUTED BY TIK-TOK’ FOR THE SELECTIVELY EDITED VIDEOS THAT WERE SHOWN AFTER THE INCIDENT. BRIAN STAHLHEBER AND HIS LAWYER GREGORY GALVIN SAY THE VIDEOS WERE EDITED TO “CREATE MAXIMUM OUTRAGE’ AND DIDN’T SHOW THE BOYS CARRYING A WEAPON, AND THE INCIDENT REPORT SAYS NO GUN WAS FOUND, OTHER THAN THE ONE WAVED BY FORMER DEPUTY BILLY SQUIRES. STAHLHEBER’S COURT FILING TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, SAYING VIDEO NOT SHOWN ON THE TIK-TOK POSTS SHOW HE WAS CONFRONTED BY THE KIDS, WHO’D THREATENED HIM BEFORE, WITH A FIREARM, AND THAT HE PROPERLY REPORTED THE DANGER TO SQUIRES AND INTERVENED WHEN SQUIRES AND THE TEENS MET UP IN WHAT BECAME THE TIK-TOK VIDEO THAT GOT SQUIRES FIRED AND STAHLHEBER ALSO ARRESTED.