STORY 1

County Council Vice Chair Anna Maria Tabernik (District 6) and Council Members Lawrence McElynn (District 10), Paula Brown (District 8), Thomas Reitz (District 11), Joseph Passiment (District 5), Logan Cunningham (District 7), and Mark Lawson (District 9) will host a community meeting with guest Sheriff P.J. Tanner.

The meeting will be 5:30-6:30
p.m., Tuesday, July 22, at Beaufort County Library Bluffton Branch, 120
Palmetto Way (map).

Sheriff Tanner will answer
questions on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program. The forum will be
question and answer only.

For questions and more
information, please contact Council Vice Chair Tabernik at 843-986-7380 or anna.tabernik@bcgov.net.

Story 2

The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed that a raccoon found near West Cedar Road and Oakland Drive in St. Helena Island, S.C., has tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. One dog was exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.

The raccoon was submitted
to DPH's laboratory for testing on July 10, 2025, and was confirmed to have
rabies on July 11, 2025. If you believe you, someone you know, or your pets
have come in contact with this raccoon or another animal that potentially has
rabies, please call DPH's Beaufort office at (843)
525-7603during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or after hours and on holidays at (888)
847-0902 (Select Option 2).

It is important to keep pets up
to date on their rabies vaccination, as this is one of the easiest and most
effective ways to protect against the disease. This raccoon is the first animal
in Beaufort County to test positive for rabies in 2025. There have been 43
cases of rabid animals statewide this year. Since 2002, South Carolina has
averaged approximately 144 positive cases a year. In 2024, two of the 81
confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina were in Beaufort County.

Contact information for local
Public Health offices is available at dph.sc.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies
visit dph.sc.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.