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Councilman Gary Fordham

Beaufort City Councilman Gary Fordham, who battled multiple sclerosis for almost two decades, died Friday, April 22, in his home. A native Beaufortonian, Fordham served on Beaufort City Council since 1999 and also served for 16 years on the Beaufort County Council. The flag in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park was flown at half-staff in honor of his passing. Mayor Billy Keyserling said, “Gary Fordham was one of the most courageous human beings I have ever known. Though stricken for years with a deadly disease,  Gary moved forward with his head high fulfilling his responsibility to the City and the citizens who re-elected him overwhelmingly year after year. Gary attended council meetings, participated with vigor in his own way and was well studied on the issues.  He tenaciously embraced positions that mattered, had no fear for ‘telling it like it was’ and in doing so served the people very well. Gary leaves a legacy of dedication to public service and personal courage for many of us to follow and, notwithstanding his health handicap, he will be a very difficult act to follow.”

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort will host nearly 150,000 of its closest friends and neighbors at the 2011 Beaufort Air Show on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no cost for the general public to attend the show. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs to watch the performers, especially the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. There will be plenty of parking, and refreshments (including beer) will also be available at concession stands. This event is fun for the whole family.MCAS

The Fifth Annual Beaufort Memorial Cycling Classic will bring 200 professional cyclists to town May 3 for another hair-raising, heart-pounding race through the Historic District.

The 70 female and 118 male competitors participating in this year’s event will be riding a .6-mile course that begins on Bay Street, turns onto the one-lane Scott Street and continues around Craven and Newcastle streets. At top speed, the cyclists will hit 40 mph.

“It’s like NASCAR on bicycles,” said Joe DeVito, one of the race organizers. “They’re diving into turns at very fast speeds in a constant battle to stay in front. And they’re riding just inches from each other.”

The women will make 50 laps—the equivalent of 30 miles. The men will ride around the course 75 times or 45 miles. Averaging speeds of 25 to 30 mph, it will take the cyclists one and a half to two hours to finish their heat.

Unlike long, arduous road races such as the Tour de France, criterion racing involves short, fast courses in urban areas, providing cycling fans with non-stop excitement. Rather than see the riders cruise by them once, spectators are watching the pack pass them every 90 seconds.

They also are able to walk the course during the race to get different perspectives of the action. In the Beaufort competition, the first turn is one of the most harrowing as the cyclists come off Bay Street’s long straightaway onto the narrow Scott Street.

“They’re coming into a very tight turn at top speed,” DeVito said. “They don’t really slow down. They may ease up on the power, but they don’t hit the brake.”

This is the fifth year Beaufort Memorial has sponsored the event, part of the USA Crits Southeast series that includes seven races in nine days, each in a different Southeastern city. The Cycling Classic is the third race in the series.

“As the community’s primary healthcare provider, we are delighted to once again be a part of Beaufort’s pro cycling event,” said Beaufort Memorial Hospital President and CEO Rick Toomey. “The Beaufort Memorial Cycling Classic truly celebrates active, healthy living, and we always look forward to this event.”

Training year round, the professional cyclists are in top form as they enter the racing season. They typically ride six days a week, 40 to 80 miles a day, to prepare for the grueling competitions. At peak performance, their heart rates will accelerate to 150 to 200 beats per minute.

“It’s very exciting watching them race,” said DeVito, an avid cyclist. “The back stretch is where they make their moves. They’re jockeying for position on Craven. As they turn onto New Castle, they really pick up speed.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, will start with a kids’ race at 5 p.m., followed by the women’s race at 6 and the men’s heat at 7:30. Approximately 4,000 people are expected to line the streets for the Cycling Classic. Spectators are welcome to bring chairs to watch the event.

For more information, visit www.lowcountrycyclist.com.

Cycling Sunday

Young up-and-coming cyclists can sharpen their biking skills May 1 at the Cycling Sunday bike rodeo taking place from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Beaufort Memorial Hospital parking lot.

Members of Lowcountry Velo—the Beaufort-based cycling club organizing the Cycling Classic—will be setting up an obstacle course complete with small rolling hills, a figure eight track and traffic signs. Participants must have their own bicycles to ride the course. Helmets also are requited, but a limited number will be available for riders who need them.

To ensure maximum performance, experts will be on hand to pump up tires and adjust bikes to properly fit their riders. They’ll also help newbies navigate the course and instruct them on how to follow traffic signs.

“We want to make sure they know what to do when they get to a stop sign or yield sign,” said Joe DeVito, a Lowcountry Velo member and Cycling Sunday organizer.

The free event will end with a one-mile ride around a nearby neighborhood.

“We had 150 kids participate in this event the last time we had it,” DeVito said. “There were kids from 13 years old to little ones riding with training wheels.”

Please submit your story and a photo to theislandnews@gmail.com. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 27^th. The Top Five will be chosen and placed on our website, www.YourIslandNews.com on Thursday, April 28^th.  Readers will be able to vote for your Favorite Mom until Tuesday, May 3^rd. We will announce the winner in the May 5^th Issue, just in time for Mother’s Day. Good luck to all of Beaufort’s deserving moms!

Salon 10 – Cut, Color and Style

Aqua Med Spa – Makeup and Mani Pedi (includes gel nails)

Grace and Glory – Clothing
Palmetto Smiles – teeth whitening

The Beaufort Day Spa – massage

Hop on over to Hunting Island on Saturday, April 23rd at 11am for an Easter Egg Hunt. Please meet at the Picnic Shelter by the Lighthouse. There will be a hunt for children ages 5 and under as well as a hunt for children ages 6-12. Please register at the Picnic Shelter for both hunts. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the hunt. There will be a coloring contest as well.

Other Easter Events

Carteret Street United Methodist Church, at 408 Carteret St., Beaufort, will hold traditional Easter Worship with Adorning of the Altar at 9 and 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 24. Parishioners are asked to bring flowers to place on the Living Cross in front of the church. Easter breakfast will be served at 10 a.m. For more information, call 843-524-3841.

St. John’s Lutheran Church, at 157 Lady’s Island Drive, Lady’s Island, will have an Easter egg hunt at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23, for children of all ages. There will also be an Easter Vigil at 8 p.m. Saturday. Easter Day Festival Communion and Music will be at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 24. For more information, call 843-524-5993.

Servants of God International Outreach Tabernacle, at 2754 Trask Parkway in Grays Hill, is having Resurrection Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 24. For more information, call 843-846-6017.

Mrs. Easter Bunny is coming to the Storybook Shoppe at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23 for a special Easter storybook time. Mrs. Bunny will read Easter stories to children ages 3 and up. This will be a fun event for the children as well as parents and grandparents. Call 843-757-2600 for reservations. The Storybook Shoppe is located at 41A Calhoun St., Bluffton.

Please submit your story and a photo to theislandnews@gmail.com. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 27^th. The Top Five will be chosen and placed on our website, www.YourIslandNews.com on Thursday, April 28^th.  Readers will be able to vote for your Favorite Mom until Tuesday, May 3^rd. We will announce the winner in the May 5^th Issue, just in time for Mother’s Day. Good luck to all of Beaufort’s deserving moms!

Makeover Consists of:

Salon 10 – Cut, Color and Style

Aqua Med Spa – Makeup and Mani Pedi (includes gel nails)

Grace and Glory – Clothing
Palmetto Smiles – teeth whitening

The Beaufort Day Spa – massage

Some of the agencies attending are listed below:

Clemson Extension

Lowcountry Master Gardener Association

Beaufort County Solid Waste & Recycling

Beaufort Soil & Water Conservation District

Keep Beaufort County Beautiful

USDA Farm Services

Friends of Hunting Island

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Beaufort Jasper Water Sewer Authority

SC Dept of Health & Environmental Control

Beaufort County Open Land Trust

MCAS Beaufort Environmental Office

Hunting Island State Park

Parris Island Natural Resources

Lowcountry Estuarium

Another event taking place On Saturday, April 30 is the 2011 Earth Day-Beach Sweep at Hunting Island State Park.  There is a10:00 AM Registration at the Lighthouse Picnic Area.

Please join Friends of Hunting Island in helping to keep the park and beach litter free! A lunch of hamburgers & hot dogs will be provided by the Low Country Rotary around noon at the lighthouse picnic area.

Trail maintenance will be included in the sweep. If you have “Man-Tools,” blowers, shears, trimmers, etc., please bring along.

Bring drinking water, gloves and bug spray. 
Help beautify our park for the 2011 season and join the fun! For more information, please contact Vicki Anne Nestor, Litter Control Director for Friends of Hunting Island at (843)379-3389.

The moment Beaufort County has been waiting for has come! ABC television announced today that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Beaufort will air on Sunday night, May 1, 2011 at 8:00 pm. To celebrate the airing, H2 Builders is hosting a public Viewing Party Picnic from 6-9 pm at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in historic downtown Beaufort. The episode will be shown on the park’s big screen, and attendees are encouraged to bring pinic blankets and picnic items to enjoy before the screening.  The Dickinson Family and H2 Builders will be in attendance.

In January, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition joined forces with H2 Builders to build a dream home and renovate the lives of a deserving Beaufort County family. H2 Builders owner Todd Hawk then took his message “One heart. One home.” to the people and businesses of Beaufort County who responded with overwhelming heart, determination, generosity and amazing spirit to build a spectacular new home for the Dickinson family of Beaufort.

“This moment – and this party — belongs to the people of Beaufort County,” Hawk said. “We hope you will come out in droves, as you did in January, to see the home that your hearts built.”

India Dickinson and her children will be on hand for the screening, and in keeping with the EMHE spirit of doing for others, there will be no admission charge, but monetary and non-perishable food donations will be accepted at the door for one of the Dickinson family’s favorite causes, Praise Cares, a local charity that feeds the hungry.

Picnic food will also be available for purchase during the viewing party from local vendors.

About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition:

The Emmy award winning reality program ““Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” is now in its 8th season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It is executive-produced by Brady Connell and George Verschoor. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

About H2 Builders, Inc:

With more than 30 years of experience and a continual commitment to excellence, H2 BUILDERS is a custom home builder with a staff of professionals that offers its clients a multitude of services and cost savings unavailable from many other builders while also providing clients with unparalleled personalized attention.