Half-rubber tournament brings back memories

As indigenous to the low country as palmetto bugs and shagging on the beach, half-rubber is a game that resembles baseball but is played with half of a rubber ball and a broomstick. The game can be played anywhere, but everyone agrees the beach is best. (Italics?)

Nine years ago Brian Koster organized the first Folly Beach “Man of the Sand” Half-Rubber Tournament. A friend with an autistic child told him about Camp Good Times, the only camp in the low country for autistic children, and Koster decided to help. “It was a no-brainer,” he said, “Half-rubber is synonymous with Folly Beach. The tournament links this timeless low country tradition to a good cause.” There are other tournaments, but the Man of the Sand is widely acknowledged as the most popular and regularly raises $5,000 or more each year for Camp Good Times.

Half-rubber has been around the low country since the 1920s and while there are differences of opinion as to when and where it all started, everyone agrees the game is in a league of its own and nothing else is quite as challenging or more fun to play.

Now

Modern half-rubber teams consists of a pitcher, catcher and one or two fielders. It’s a game that demands intense concentration and excellent hand-to-eye coordination. The relationship between the pitcher and the catcher is the backbone of the team. A pitcher and catcher who have played together for a long time are hard to beat.

“It’s not easy to pitch half of a rubber ball,” said David Smith, who pitches for Old School, “but good pitchers can sling a ball side-armed and get that ball to do what they want. It whizzes through the air, twisting and spiraling its way to the batter, and man is it fast.”

The catcher snags those rockets bare handed (gloves are for sissies) and it’s not unusual to break a finger, but any catcher worth his jockstrap just  tapes it to a good one and keeps on playing, according to Old School catcher Eddie Cornwell, who waved a few misshapen fingers in the air.  Smith has been playing with Cornwell for 30 years and calls him “the best catcher I ever knew.”

Hitting half a ball with a broomstick is no small feat, either. With baseball, you swing at the ball. With half-rubber, you swing where you think the ball is going to be, according to Smith.  A good pitcher can fool you most of the time, although experienced players eventually learn to read the ball. “I never could get interested in playing baseball,” Smith said. “It’s no challenge. How could you miss? You may as well put the ball on a tee.”

Then

Half-rubber conversations inevitably turn to whether the game was first played in Charleston or Savannah.  “I don’t want that question ever answered,” said Koster. “Let it be the million dollar question that never gets answered. What matters are the challenge and the camaraderie.”

J. G. Braddock is 80 years old and has been playing half rubber since he was ten or twelve. “I don’t know where the game originated,” Braddock said. “It’s been around so long there is no one left alive to say with certainty where some genius first razored a rubber ball in half and swiped the handle off his mother’s broom.”

Braddock remembers half-rubber played in his native Jacksonville when he was six years old and in Savannah, where his family moved when he was ten. In 1941 he moved to Charleston and by 1945 he was playing half-rubber most very day between the ends of two apartment buildings in the Robert Mills Manor housing project. His most memorable game was in the early afternoon of August 15, 1945.  As he was waiting his turn at bat, someone threw open an upstairs window and yelled “The Japs have surrendered” and the half-rubber players left a ball hanging in the air to join the crowd surging towards King Street to celebrate the end of the World War II.

Reverend Robert P. Dukes said he knows for a fact half-rubber was played in Charleston back in the 20’s. He learned to play in 1939 from his brother-in-law, who had been playing for 15 years. It was an easy pickup game because back then all you needed was a pitcher, catcher and two pieces of equipment.  “I played my first game with a rubber ball cut in half that I bought at the Kress store on King Street and a handle cut from my mama’s broom.”

The rules have remained pretty much the same, according to Dukes. The hitters don’t run bases and their score is determined by how and how far they hit the ball. “Three strikes you’re out. Hit the ball on the ground, it’s a single. Hit it in the air across the street, it’s a home run.”

Braddock agreed with that. “Three strikes or 10 or 20 or even 100 didn’t count as long as the catcher missed the pitch and there were only three ways to make an out – a tip or fly caught by a fielder or a swing and miss caught by the catcher.”

Both men were lifeguards at Folly Beach in the late 40s and have fond memories of playing half-rubber on the beach. According to Braddock, the two most popular places were in front of Rainbow Corner, which he called the “shag capital of the world” and the old pavilion, site of the present Holiday Inn.

Braddock said when he was chief lifeguard for the Township of Folly Beach in 1950, the game was outlawed in front of the pavilion after several beachgoers “came dangerously close to being decapitated” by broom handles slung from sweaty hands, but games were in progress up and down the rest of the beach from daybreak to sunset.

Man of the Sand 2010

Now it’s three and four-man teams, fancy aluminum or laminated bats and pre-cut balls from sporting goods stores, but it’s still a game that gets the juices flowing and brings back memories (or aspirations) of youthful exuberance and stamina, sun and sweat and good friends out to have a good time.  This year’s tournament was held on June 10 and 11 in front of the Folly Beach Holiday Inn.  Koster says he doesn’t have a final figure yet but estimates that Man of the Sand 2010 raised approximately $7,000 for Camp Good Times.  This year’s was organized by Koster, Stephen Slaughter, Wayne Turner, Jimmy Mazyck and Bruce Inabnett, who regularly raises the most money for Camp Good Times. This year’s winning team was The Capones -one Charlestonian and three players from Savannah.

The Capones might have taken home the trophy, but everyone was a winner. “Everyone walks away from the table happy,” Koster said. “We get to play half-rubber, drink cold beer, check out the girls in bikinis, and help the kids. That’s what it’s really all about. We do it for the kids.”

You can catch a game of half-rubber most Sundays from mid-April through October on Folly Beach in front of the Holiday Inn parking lot. (Italics)

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By Lauren Dean

Planning Commission – June 7

Vacation Rental Management Strategy

The Planning Commission is getting ready to tackle an issue many people say is long overdue – a revamp of trash and noise issues related to vacation rentals at Folly Beach.

When the Planning Commission met on June 7, Chairman LaJuan Kennedy “introduced” the subject of nuisance behavior at rentals to get commissioners “thinking about” the problem before it comes up for serious discussion at the July 5 meeting. Kennedy wants to use business license applications as the vehicle to shift responsibility for ordinance compliance to property owners or their rental agencies.

She said it makes sense to link the two because, although Charleston County is tasked with collecting fees and issuing business licenses, Marlene Estridge at City Hall still collects about 2/3 of the Folly Beach business license revenues.

In addition to posting the ordinances in the rental houses, Kennedy wants to require owners to designate a representative who could be on the scene within 30 minutes to handle nuisance calls. She pointed out that police officers are not permitted to enter a residence without probable cause unless the owner or his agent is present.

“Yeah,” quipped Kirk Grant. “He’s using you as a shield.”

Millard Smith suggested designating an alternate to act as point man when the designated representative was out of town. Mary Cunningham said if neighbors are having problems with activity at rental houses, they can call 588-7003 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

“That’s about when the trouble starts,” Carl Hally said.

Grant thought the representative should be a resident of the City, but Hally said the more important criteria was having someone who could physically respond to calls within an agreed upon time, answer the complaints, and help resolve the issues.

Business licenses are renewed each December and Kennedy said Council should have a plan in place by that time so trash and noise issues related to rental properties can be addressed when owners come to City Hall to renew their applications.

Kennedy said the Isle of Palms enforces occupancy rules, setting the limit as two people per bedroom plus two additional people per night. “You can have as many as 25 or 30 people in one house overnight, provided they are related to one another,” she said, “but 30 kids with alcohol is not a family.”

Kennedy was on a roll. “Let’s not overlook the business license fees and accommodations taxes the City loses when people advertise their vacation rentals on the internet,” she said. “If you put a ‘For Rent’ sign in your yard Eric (Lutz, the building inspector) will get you,” she said, adding that no one at City Hall has time to roll through VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) to catch the sneaky little tax cheats.

Grant agreed that time was of the essence and wondered if City staffers could prepare some proposals for the Planning Commission to consider at their next meeting so they could get a quick recommendation to City Council.

Sam Robinson said he would like to see the most important rules posted in a concise form close to the front door so renters can’t say they didn’t see them. “It’s an education thing,” he said. “There won’t be any excuse for them not knowing.”

Grant suggested that owners of rental properties be given a list of the rules when they apply for a business license. Robinson said make the rules look official by calling them “The City of Folly Beach Ordinances.”

“Do you think people really know what an ordinance is?” Grant asked, suggesting it be labeled “Folly Beach Laws” instead.

“Yeah,” Kennedy said, “We’re not playing little games here, these are the laws.”

Ha! Ha! Ha!

“Yeah, and have it signed by the Mayor and every member of City Council,” Grant said.

“And include their phone numbers,” Hally said.

“You will discourage anyone from running for public office,” retorted Kennedy.

More laughter.

All fun aside, the Planning Commission will debate the issue at its next meeting on July 5. Whether absentee landlords or residents matter most is at the very heart of where we go from here as a community, and may well be our next battleground. Those affected by the noise and litter created by rental houses – and who isn’t? – are encouraged to attend the meeting to voice their concerns and offer suggestions.

Official Zoning Map & Comprehensive Plan

In other business, the Official Zoning Map of Folly Beach was sent to City Council for final approval. The Comprehensive Plan, which Planning had worked on for more than a year, was fine-tuned again when Mike Richard discovered in the teensy weensy print provisions for building a fine arts center, an idea vigorously voted down in a 2007 referendum. Kennedy struck that reference from the plan, which was sent to City Council for final reading.

Vagrancy ordinance?

Hally brought up the people camping on the beach, not out-of-towners but what he described as “permanent campers who were former residents of the FBI who do not have the best interests of the other residents at heart. I feel sorry for them, but . . . ”

It’s a “sad situation,” someone else said. Folly Beach at present has no vagrancy ordinance and the lingering feeling that Folly accepts people warts and all may be on the line since the Front Beach Inn shut down and released a group of jobless panhandlers to prey on residents and visitors.

City Council Special Meeting – June 8

Vagrancy ordinance

The City Council meeting the next evening took up where the Planning Commission left off when Folly Beach resident Jamie McDonell asked City Council to consider a vagrancy ordinance to address the increasing problem of jobless, homeless people who he said are creating problems in the community.

Eddie Ellis said “I’m glad you’re coming here and saying this,” but reminded McDonell that when he had pointed out the problem several years ago, he was met with skepticism and derision. Ellis pointed out that it was not a matter of being hard-hearted. “When you help them, you are enabling them,” he said.

10-11 Budget

The budget for the up-coming year was passed 5-1, with Ellis casting the dissenting vote. Pennell Clamp led the discussion on a budget he described as “well prepared and workable” and only three percent higher than last year. “We need to be proactive rather than reactive though,” he cautioned. “Council needs monthly reports from each department head regarding their demands on the budget.”

He said Council needs to build a reserve fund and there are three ways to do it – reduce services, raise the millage rate, or do a better job of controlling and managing the City’s assets – and nobody wants the first two. “We were hired by the City of Folly Beach to manage their money. Let’s make them proud of us,” he said.

“We’re in an odd situation,” Clamp continued. “The Council that was here before approved doing a number of things we didn’t have the money for . . . like using a credit card. We will pay as we go.”

City Hall Expansion

Clamp had concerns about staying within the budgeted $30,000 for the temporary relocation of the fire department. Mayor Tim Goodwin said, “We’ll work it every day not to exceed that amount.” Goodwin said he had appointed City Building Inspector Eric Lutz to oversee all aspects of the job and Comptroller Charlie McManus told him Lutz was doing “an absolutely fantastic job. He nails them to the wall on everything.”

New Bridges

Council revisited the proposal made at the last meeting to budget $10,000 to hire an engineering consultant to act as a go-between with the SC Department of Education.

Sam Robinson, representing the Planning Commission bridge committee, said none of them were engineers and the Planning Commission needed someone with expertise to explain and negotiate issues between them and SCDOT. He said they were not getting appropriate responses to their questions.

Mayor Goodwin said larger cities have engineers on their staff and Clamp thought the $10,000 was “a small price to play for satisfaction.” Paul Hume was not so sure. “Is it normal for us to have to hire people to protect us? I thought this was our bridge,” he said. “We’ll get an engineer, then we’ll need attorneys . . . Are you sure this is the direction we want to go?”

“Why are we getting pushed?” Ellis asked. “Why aren’t we doing the pushing?”

In the end, the resolution to hire an engineer to represent Folly Beach vs. SCDOT passed unanimously. As Mayor Goodwin said, “This bridge is something we’ll have to live with for the next 40-50 years. We need to get the bridge we want.”

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By Dave Rauschkolb, Founder

On June 26 at 12:00 noon Americans and the world will have an opportunity to join hands on our beaches and draw a line in the sand against expanded offshore oil drilling in our waters.

This is an opportunity of national and global importance, an opportunity for any individual to go to their beach or city and join hands in the protection of our coastal economies, marine environment and wildlife.

This isn’t about politics; it’s about protecting all we hold so dear. Despite our differences, we are all Americans and world citizens who value our coastal heritage and encourage everyone on Folly Beach to participate for this cause.

We are joining hands to say NO to offshore oil drilling and Yes to Clean Energy from 12 to 12:15 but the event lasts from 11 am to 1 pm. There will be speakers, t-shirts, and more. Refreshments will be available at Blu – Holiday Inn.

In Florida on February 13, 2010, over 10,000 people joined hands on nearly 100 beaches along the entire coastline, gathering in order to stop the expansion of oil drilling in our coastal waters. Now, just a few months later our entire Gulf of Mexico marine environment and coastal economy is at risk from the very thing we tried to stop: offshore oil drilling off our coast.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster is a wakeup call. Even as the Gulf disaster grows, British Petroleum and other oil companies continue to push for new offshore drilling anywhere oil might be found regardless of the risks they pose. The offshore drilling industry is a dirty, dangerous business and no one industry should be able to place entire coastal economies and marine environments at risk, so why is this allowed to happen?

America could be, and should be, one of the world’s leaders in expanding cleaner energy sources yet our political process is paralyzed by oil, money and influence. It is time for our leaders in all countries to take bold, courageous steps and open the door to clean, renewable energy and finally extend a hand to free our countries from our addiction to oil.

Together we have an opportunity to change America and the world on June 26. This is a critical turning point in finally changing our prehistoric energy policy towards the light of clean energy. Let us work together and share our passion and energies to protect our coastal economies, oceans, beaches, waterfowl and marine life.

On behalf of those who have been and continue to be affected by this disaster of epic proportions in our Gulf of Mexico, we extend our deepest appreciation to all of you for Joining Hands across America and the world on June 26.

It is simple. Any person can go to the handsacrossthesand.org website and sign up to organize a beach or city. Downloadable tools are also available on the website: free posters, T-shirt designs and newspaper ads.

For more details about the upcoming efforts at Folly Beach, view the Facebook event or contact toni@cleanenergy.org.

Dave Rauschkolb is a surfer and the owner of 3 restaurants on the Beach in Seaside,

Florida, located on the northern Gulf Coast between Pensacola and Panama City.

Contact: Dave Rauschkolb 850-865-1061

Email: dave@handsacrossthesand.org

www.handsacrossthesand.org

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By Lauren Dean

Free rent

At about 8:30 a.m. on May 14, Public Safety was dispatched to a rental unit in the 1600 block of East Ashley when a neighbor called to report a bicycle in the yard that had not been there the night before. All the doors were locked but the officer could hear someone inside When he checked the back door a second time a man on the deck told the officer he was homeless and just needed a place to stay for the night and he figured the back door would be unlocked. The suspect had not taken or damaged anything, so the officer secured the residence and issued the man a summons for trespassing and he was released.

It’s a one-way street

Public Safety was dispatched to the 500 block of East Arctic about 11:00 p.m. on May 18 for a hit and run accident that occurred in the 700 block when the suspect vehicle, which was travelling down East Arctic in the wrong direction, struck another car. A witness was following the car as it sped down the road.  When police arrived on the scene, the suspect had pulled his car off the road and was walking around in circles. He stated he and a buddy had drunk a six-pack of beer, and as he was unable to perform the field sobriety tests in a satisfactory manner, the suspect was arrested for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. He was transported to CCDC, where he refused a breathalyzer test.

Goodbye Folly, Hello Virginia

Public Safety Officers investigating a report of fireworks on the beach at 111 East Arctic around 2:30 a.m. questioned two men sharing a can of beer. A criminal check revealed that one of them was wanted in Virginia on a prescription drug charge. He was issued a Folly Beach citation for open container and transported to CCDC to await extradition to Virginia on the drug charge.

What about destruction of property?

A panicked 10-year-old child ran into the Kangaroo about 3:30 a.m. on May 20 and told an officer who was in the store that her mother was being beaten by her boyfriend. The officer followed the child outside and the mother stumbled into the parking lot begging for help. She had an obvious bruise on her forehead and said her boyfriend had hit her in the face with a closed fist.

When asked where she lived, the woman pointed to a near-by house on Huron Avenue and the officer observed a man run from the residence. Seconds later a pickup truck backed out and ran over some trash cans. Another officer arrived on the scene and the first officer pursued the boyfriend as he attempted to leave the island. He pulled the suspect over at Center and Indian, removed him from the truck at Taser point, and handcuffed him.

Both the suspect and the victim had been drinking and the suspect claimed the woman had spit on him and punched him in the eye. The officer photographed the injuries of the victim and the suspect and the man was taken to CCDC and booked on a charge of criminal domestic violence.

Bad Camping Experience

Just after midnight on 5/21, an officer observing a wooded lot on 3rd Street East for an individual who was camping illegally saw the subject staggering down the road. He wandered into the wooded area and sat down in the bushes. The officer approached to check his status and found the man in a state of gross alcohol intoxication, making him a danger to himself and others, and he was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct. A marijuana pipe with a residue of recently burned marijuana was found on his person and he received an additional charge for drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Charleston County jail on both charges.

Bad day fishing

While working off-duty security at the Folly Fishing Pier at 5:30 p.m. on May 23, a Public Safety Officer was approached by a man who reported his backpack and fishing pole had been stolen when he went to use the bathroom.  The backpack contained the victim’s Visa and passport, an adaptor for foreign electrical outlets, a small red light and an iPod with attached Bose headphones. The contents of the backpack were valued at more than $500. The man had purchased the fishing pole at Wal-Mart earlier in the day for $30.

That’s the guy who hurt me right there

A Public Safety Officer was flagged down On May 23 around 7:00 p.m. and told there was a woman down the street who needed help. When the officer caught up to the victim, who was distraught and crying, she said she was fine then suddenly pointed to a man in a truck and shouted “That’s the guy that hurt me right there. Stop him. Stop him.”

The officer stopped the suspect, who denied hitting the woman. He said they came to Folly to get drunk and were arguing because he was looking at another woman’s breasts. The officer could tell they had both been drinking heavily. The victim said the suspect had hit her repeatedly in the face in their hotel room and he could see and feel two large swollen bumps on her head. The victim was treated by EMS and the man was transported to CCDC and booked on a charge of criminal domestic violence.

Slap happy

On May 25 at about 7:00 p.m. a Folly Beach Public Safety officer was dispatched to 13th Street West to meet with a man who said a friend who had been drinking heavily became loud and obnoxious and slapped him on the neck and cheek and he had had enough of this and wanted to press charges. After talking to the suspect and running his identification, it was discovered that he had two outstanding warrants through the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. He was placed in custody for simple assault and transported to the CCDC in regards to the warrants.

How to ruin your own life

While working the beachfront on May 30th at 4:45 p.m. a Public Safety Officer observed five young males, two of whom were drinking from red plastic cups. He approached the group and asked them how old they were. All five said they were 21. The officer told them he would run their information through DMV and if it came back clear they would get a ticket and if it was found they were lying, they would go to jail. Suspect #1 then stated none of them were 21, but it was the store that sold them the beer that should be getting the tickets, not them. When the officer asked him the location of the store, he didn’t want to say the name.

The officer told the young men they were going to be ticketed for minor in possession of beer and let go. Suspect #2 asked how much the fine was and when told it was $1,092, he said the officer had ruined his life and he couldn’t pay that much. The officer asked him how his decision to buy beer and come to the beach and drink it in public and get caught was his fault. Meanwhile Subject #1 was on the phone with his Mommy speaking in a very distorted and alcohol confused way. The officer spoke to Subject #1s mother and explained that he was going to receive a ticket and that his excuses were a pathetic attempt to blame someone else for his own actions.

The citations were issued and all parties were told to leave the beach. For some unknown reason, Subject #1 began to play “You can’t tell me what to do” and sat down on the ground and called his Mommy again. This time his stepfather picked up the phone and the officer made arrangements for him to pick up the suspect. As the group was leaving the beach, Suspect #1 attempted to flee. After a short foot pursuit, Subject #1 was apprehended and taken to the sand where he was handcuffed. During the pursuit, the officer’s ticket book fell to the ground and Suspect #2 walked over to the ticket book and kicked it, tearing five citations from the book, then wadded up his ticket and threw it on the ground and walked away.

The two suspects were placed into custody and taken to City Hall. Subject #1’s stepfather arrived and said none of this surprised him as he and the suspect’s Mommy had been having trouble with him for some time. It was explained that due to the circumstances since the officer had spoken to him on the phone, the boys would be transported to the Charleston County Detention Center.

Subject #1 was charged with minor in possession of beer and disorderly conduct.

Subject #2 was charged with minor in possession of beer, disorderly conduct, and littering.

Memorial Day car thefts

The Memorial Day weekend saw another rash of vehicle break-ins. Four of the six reported thefts took place in the 500 and 600 blocks of East Arctic overnight on May 30.  Items of choice appeared to be Garmin NUVI GPS systems and Alpine stereos. Public Safety asks that all residents lock their cars and report any suspicious activity to Charleston County Dispatch by calling 588-2433.

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By Jamie McDonell

In the old days Folly Beach had one vagrant. We all knew him and he was pretty harmless at first, but eventually he was not allowed back on the island because so many people had “no trespassing” orders against him that he couldn’t come across the bridge without being arrested.

Now we have at least eight vagrants camping illegally on the beach, with more coming all the time. They sleep on the beach, under unoccupied houses and in wooded lots. Last week I saw two of the more notorious vagrants crawling out from under the Tokyo Crepes building on East Ashley. When Public Safety finds them they are arrested for “illegal camping” and in the rare cases where they are arrested, they are back on the street the next day. Police have busted up several camps in wooded lots, but the vagrants just find a new place to set up camp.

They can usually be seen panhandling in front of Bert’s or other downtown businesses or drinking on the beach, and it’s getting worse. Recently Bert’s had to install six new security cameras to deal with the thefts that are occurring there and I am sure other businesses have been affected as well. It is not known whether the vagrants are responsible for the recent surge of thefts from cars parked on the right of way and under people’s houses, but it’s not hard to imagine a connection.

Public Safety Officers have told me their hands are tied. Issuing a citation for “illegal camping” is the only instrument that can be used to control the situation and that doesn’t get them off the beach and it doesn’t protect our businesses.

As a community we need to come together and say “If you’re not an asset to the beach, if you’re just here to leech off of us, you have no place on the beach.” We need to send the message that they are not welcome here. Give them bus fare for a one-way ticket and tell them not to come back.

Why should we as residents with homes and jobs be expected to endure this? Is this the image we want visitors to see when they walk around Folly Beach? We need a vagrancy ordinance with some teeth in it that will protect residents, visitors and businesses and allow our Public Safety Officers to do their job.

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Holiday Inn Folly Beach To Be Renamed The Tides Folly Beach

Guestrooms to be renovated this November

FOLLY BEACH, SC (June 14, 2010) –

1 Center Street, LLC (1CS), the owner of the Holiday Inn Folly Beach, announced that beginning in November 2010, the hotel will end its affiliation with Holiday Inn Hotels and be renamed The Tides Folly Beach. Additionally, the hotel announced Phase II of its renovation plan that includes a complete update of the guestrooms. The hotel, which is managed by Avocet Properties, reopened in March of 2009 after a $5.5 million renovation that focused on the lobby, meeting space, a specific portion of the sleeping rooms, and the creation of BLU Restaurant and Bar. The new rooms package will capitalize on the hotel’s oceanfront location by featuring natural colors and elements. The renovation will include new furnishings, bedding, flat screen televisions and local art. “The guest feedback has been that they really like the renovation we did to the public areas and BLU, but that they wanted the guestrooms to be brought up to date and have that same beach feel. We worked with local designer, Beverly Bohan of Haute Design and believe we have designed a great oceanfront room,” said Ken Merkel, hotel General Manager.

Relative to the decision to operate independent of a franchise agreement, Jonathan Weitz, President of 1CS explained, “The folks at Holiday Inn thought that our renovations and the food and beverage experience at BLU were great and unique, but different from what guests expect from a typical Holiday Inn hotel. In their words, ‘We were no longer a Holiday Inn’. As our franchise agreement is set to expire in November of this year, it was perfect timing to launch our new name, The Tides Folly Beach, along with the complete refurnishing of our guestrooms.” Once the hotel was informed that they no longer fit the mold of a typical Holiday Inn, it’s management explored several options and quickly determined that going independent was the best decision for them and the City of Folly Beach.

Mr. Weitz continued with saying, “In our opinion, Folly Beach is all about independent and free-spirited thinking. It is completely fitting that the island’s only oceanfront hotel also embrace independence and break free from a national chain.”

As The Tides Folly Beach, the management is hopeful that it will be able to push the envelope further to “the Edge” in terms of eclectic design in the new guestrooms and the atmosphere in the lobby and restaurant. “We truly want to create an experience you cannot get anywhere in Charleston. Many people have already commented that our hotel has the feeling of something out of South Beach in a Key West-like location” said

Ken Merkel.

One Center Street

PO Box 68

Folly Beach, SC 29439

Main 843.588.6464

Fax 843.588.2500

www.follybeachhotel.net

Media Contact:

Jonathan Weitz

843.588.6699 Office

843.670-9195 Mobile

jweitz@avocetproperties.net

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 14, 2010

About The Tides Folly Beach

The Tides Folly Beach is Folly Beach’s only oceanfront hotel and opened as a Holiday Inn in 1985. It contains 132 oceanfront guestrooms, a full service restaurant and Bar named BLU and over 4,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel was purchased by 1 Center Street, LLC in March of 2008 and closed its doors in November of that same year for a major renovation. The hotel reopened in March of 2009.

About BLU Restaurant and Bar

Few restaurants in Charleston offer oceanfront dinning, none offer the unique experience you’ll find at BLU.

Set alongside the beach, BLU combines indoor and outdoor seating while Executive Chef Jonathan Hagins serves up fresh local seafood showcasing the finest in coastal cuisine as well as an eclectic assortment of tapas perfect for sharing. BLU is certified Platinum by The Sustainable Seafood Initiative and the South Carolina

Aquarium.

About Avocet Properties

Avocet Properties is a premiere full-service real estate firm focused on Folly Beach. Avocet manages 185 vacation rental homes and 42 long-term leases, in addition to engaging in real estate brokerage. The company was formed in July of 2006 when it acquired Islands West Real Estate. Avocet Properties has managed thehotel since its purchase in March of 2008.

About Folly Beach, South Carolina

The City of Folly Beach is a barrier island, six miles long and the closest beach to historical Charleston, South Carolina, only 9 miles away. Folly Beach is the home of sea, sand and surfing, historical and cultural sites; a maritime forest; Morris Island Lighthouse; gourmet food, endangered species of birds; and southern hospitality. Locals refer to Folly Beach as the “Edge of America”.

If you would like more information, photos, or to schedule an interview, Please contact Jonathan Weitz at, 843.588.6699

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By Ralph Bryan, Folly Beach Animal Control Officer

It is that time of year again when Animal Services receives numerous calls about nuisance, injured, and orphaned animals. These calls include everything from song birds, to fawns, foxes and raccoons just to name a few.

If you see small deer fawns, please leave the fawn where you found it. The adult deer knows where she left the fawn and she hid it there for a reason. Another typical call this time of year is the observance of foxes and raccoons during the daylight hours. This is not unusual behavior in that the mother has to find extra food in order to feed her young and this means she has to forage in the daytime rather than just during the nighttime as she usually would. Some of these animals look thin and poor due to the fact that they are feeding what they catch to their young and not consuming it all themselves. They are not sick or rabid, just in poor condition (just as most human parents are with a new born in the house).

As for small birds that are found on the ground and appear to have fallen out of the nest, please either place them back in the nest if possible. If that is not possible, you should leave them on the ground where you found them. Birds are taught to fly by the adult pushing them out of the nest and encouraging them by calling to them to make attempts to fly. They will spend some time on the ground until they learn how to fly.

Concerning young fox and coyote pups, please be aware that if they are trapped and removed, state law requires that they must be euthanized due to disease concerns. If you do observe these animals please be patient for a few days and the mother will take her young away to a wooded area just as soon as the pups are big enough to follow her.

Bats are also another animal that the public will see more of during the summer months. May through August is when bats will be nursing their young. South Carolina’s bats feed only on insects. Since they navigate and locate prey using sound waves (sonar), they all have a large gap between their incisors (front teeth). That gap makes it impossible for bats to create holes in structures to gain access (but an excellent way to eat insects). These bats can only use existing gaps or holes; they do not create them. An excellent website on how to deal with bats in a building or ways to keep them out but keep them in your neighborhood (to eat insects) is www.bci.org. Because of the conservation value of these animals and the rare or endangered status of some bat species, the SCDNR does not recommend lethal removal unless absolutely necessary. Note there are no effective repellants and no chemicals/pesticides for use on bats, although some products may be marketed as such.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has two websites that are helpful. One site list wildlife control operators (WCO), by county, who will remove nuisance animals (www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/nwco.html). The other site is a list of rehabilitators, by species, that will accept animals that need rehabilitating (www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/rehab.html).

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Some folks say excessive and abusive noise is something residents are expected to endure as the price of living in paradise. Those folks must not live within blasting range of the Center Street drinking establishment or scrunched between two rental houses regularly occupied by hordes of college kids who come to town to party down.

Folly Beach has a noise ordinance. Here’s a novel idea: post the ordinance in bars and rental houses and, hey, here’s another novel idea: enforce the ordinance. Ah, if only it were that easy. Hear me out.

Sunday night over Memorial Day weekend, I called the cops twice to the rental unit next door where a three-day party was in full swing. Nine cars that didn’t move the entire weekend were parked at rakish angles all over the yard. The cars that came and went, came and went day and night, spilling their screaming, swearing occupants across the yard like marbles tumbling from a sack. My cat, a quiet, timid loner of a cat who likes to hunt mice and lizards in the wooded lot next to the rental, was frightened by the continuous activity and didn’t come home for days.

Some people complain that it takes Public Safety too long to respond to complaints of excessive noise. That’s not true, and that’s not the problem. I have called the cops on two previous occasions. The first was a rowdy affair across the street where fresh meat was still arriving at 2:30 in the morning. Public Safety was there in less than 10 minutes and 15 minutes later the party was shut down. Most of the partygoers were under-age and were quickly rounded up and transported from the premises. The second time was about a raucous party next door where my neighbor had told me her twenty-something son would be “having some friends over for the weekend.” It became a joke between us from that point on whenever her son planned to stay there for the weekend. “Are you going to call the police?” she would ask. “I will if things get out of hand,” I would respond. It didn’t interfere with our friendship and I never had to call the cops on her son again.

When I called last week, Public Safety came right away. I called promptly at eleven o’clock. The noise ordinance says it “shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or commit any of the following acts: Make or utter any loud hollering, loud laughter, whistling, singing or shouting or other loud language or sound in such a manner that it creates a noise disturbance between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.”

Some folks would wonder why I couldn’t cut the revelers a little slack – folks expect to party when they come to the beach – but I had already endured an entire day of thumping rap lyrics, unintelligible yelling and shrieking, heard all about the “f—ing” this and the “f—ing” that, and now I was being subjected to what sounded like a striptease act with “take it off, take it offfffff, Mary” accompanied by loud clapping and hooting. All this in my little corner of paradise.

“Take your party inside,” the nice Public Safety officer told them and, surprisingly, they did. I opened the windows again and lay down to savor the breeze blowing in from the ocean and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Ah, paradise. It had been a long three days.

Then suddenly there it was again – the yelling, the shrieking, the cursing. I lay in bed for some time pondering the situation. “It’s not as bad as it was. Surely it will wind down soon.” When I finally got up to close the windows, I checked the time. It was 2:46 a.m. I didn’t want to close my windows and turn the air-conditioning on. I wanted those people next door to shut the f— up so I could go back to sleep! I hesitated, and then I picked up the telephone again.

The same nice Public Safety officer showed up again, but this time he was more explicit. “Last time I asked you to take it inside,” he told them. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. This time I’m telling you to go inside. It’s time to go to bed.” He also told them boisterous noise at that time of night was against the law.

There are specified consequences to violating the noise ordinance, but there is one small caveat that has thus far made the ordinance virtually impossible to enforce. It doesn’t fine the people making the noise, it fines the “owner of the establishment or his agent.” Until the City can figure out how to hold bars and rental agencies accountable for excessive and abusive noise, we who call this little island our home will have to close the windows, get a prescription for sleeping pills, and invest in some good ear plugs. Or move. Paradise lost.

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The conditions on Folly Island were deadly in 1863, and when the 55th Massachusetts African-American regiment arrived on the island, they found out how deadly it actually was. While encamped they were under constant threat by Confederate artillery shells being hurled at them from Morris Island, and diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and others were taking more lives than the enemy. All troops, black and white, were vulnerable and they died by the hundreds.

Every one of the 19 soldiers found in 1987 were victims of diseases contracted on Folly, though the main cause was found to be dysentery according to accounts by the 55th. These soldiers did not die easily. They withered away, slowly and painfully, under the pines and palmettos of their sea island field hospital. There was no “glorious death” by an enemy bullet and the disease spread like wild fire amongst the troops. One can only imagine their last thoughts while dying for their country in such a pitiful manner, but die they did, and for a cause in which they believed.

The City of Folly Beach’s public officials have been a huge help not only in helping to raise money for the Historical Marker for these soldiers, they have also helped to organize an unveiling ceremony of the first of hopefully many markers commemorating activities on the island during the Civil War. I am indeed forever in their debt for their generosity.

But try as I have to involve our public officials from the State of South Carolina and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I have yet to have one politician answer countless emails and phone calls to attend the unveiling ceremony. I have spent months trying to persuade Governors, Senators, Congressmen, State Senators and House members to attend and honor those who gave their lives for our country so long ago. Maybe I am alone in thinking that the sacrificing of one’s life for their country no matter what war or what the race would merit the attention of our politicians. But maybe I am just naive.

But what I have found to be true is this: I have been contacted by hundreds of people from across the United States willing to donate money and their time in remembrance of these fallen soldiers of the Union. Their sentiments for these soldiers have been that they did not die in vain, that their sacrifices should be honored and acknowledged by any means possible, and that they should not be forgotten again.

The date for the unveiling ceremony will be July 17, 2010, with or without the support of our State’s politicians. The deeds of these brave souls of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry will be forever told on a small rectangular piece of aluminum here on Folly Beach.

Any help in getting the attention of our elected officials before the July date would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me via the Folly Current (email info@luckydognews.com)

“Less we forget”.

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Yes, the Mayor met with CPR officials. Yes, the possibility of kicking in Folly’s miniscule share of the half-cent Greenbelt funds came up. No, the Mayor did not discuss these meetings with Council members and some high-ranking City Hall staffers. That’s the part I don’t understand. When you’re not open and up-front with people, they fear the worst. Now some people question whether the Mayor had something to do with getting the Front Beach Inn condemned, which put them in a vulnerable position and left them wide open to an offer from PRC.

The front-page article in the Post & Courier seemed to catch everyone by surprise and made it look as though the Mayor had been making end runs around Council. Is it because the Mayor has decided that’s the only way he can get anything done? How hard would it have been to say “Hey, guys, what do you think about this?” But the relationship between Mayor Beckmann and Council has been so contentious that a mediator was hired (at a cost of $11,000) to hold hands with Council members and try to get beyond the sticking points.

It didn’t work. Nobody trusts anybody anymore. Many folks are saying we don’t need the new park, that it will exacerbate traffic problems and cause loss of revenue. Both of those things are true, but it’s unclear to me at this point whether residents really don’t want a County Park or just don’t want the Mayor brokering deals behind their backs.

The park could be a good thing for Folly Beach, and it would be sad to see the opportunity to have a centrally-located beachfront park slip away just because some folks are mad at the Mayor. The alternative is ten (the properties are all zoned R-2) rental units that would likely obliterate what’s left of our ocean view.

I think County Council made a wise decision when they granted a two-week delay so Folly Beach could get its ducks in a row, but buying two weeks’ time won’t do us much good unless we put all our cards on the table and bring the Mayor back into the picture as the leader of the team. Let’s have less ego and more we-go. If Folly can put a package together as a team and present a united front, maybe we can get the park and the use of the parking lot across the street for general Folly Beach parking. The lot is zoned R-2. To my knowledge, there’s no law against parking on an R-2 property. It doesn’t become commercial, for which City Council would need to grant a variance, until you start charging folks money. The County is giving us free lifeguards. Maybe Folly Beach could pitch in and help them maintain the park to help offset the loss of parking revenue.

This could be the goose that laid the golden egg. Or just a goose egg. Isn’t it possible that both Council and the Mayor have acted badly and to the detriment of Folly Beach? Isn’t it time to make amends?

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