COASTAL OBSERVER Vol. XL No. 9 Pawleys Island, South Carolina ~ August 12, 2021 $1.00 New delay for federal flood maps By Charles Swenson jor revision to the maps since the 1980s, “They want to start the whole pro- The maps COASTAL OBSERVER and it has already been delayed sever- cess over,” said Ryan Fabbri, the Paw- determine al times since the new maps were first leys Island town administrator. “That’s It will be another year before presented in 2015. a big deal. A lot of property owners the elevation Georgetown County can adopt feder- Georgetown County is the only were waiting on that.” of houses in al flood maps that officials expect will county in the state without updated The county and local governments flood zones. lower insurance premiums for many flood maps, according to state Rep. Lee expected the new Flood Insurance Charles Swenson/ oceanfront homes. This is the first ma- Hewitt. See “Maps,” Page 2 Coastal Observer ROADS | Willbrook Boulevard EDUCATION Cyclist’s suit challenges golf carts on bike path Students return for By Charles Swenson COASTAL OBSERVER ‘unfinished A cyclist who was injured in a collision with a golf cart claims learning’ Georgetown County bears re- sponsibility because it fails to en- force an ordinance against mo- By Chris Sokoloski torized vehicles on bike paths. COASTAL OBSERVER The accident occurred last sum- mer on the bike path that runs School Superintendent Keith along Willbrook Boulevard, the Price has lingering concerns one section of the Bike the Neck about how far behind some stu- route where golf carts are al- dents still are after missing one- lowed. third of the 2019-20 school year, Angela Conrad was riding her A flag draws and other students who have not bike east on the Willbrook path been inside a classroom since just before 5 on a July afternoon attention to March 2020 because they were in 2020. She collided with a 2015 rules for golf enrolled in virtual learning. E-Z-Go golf cart driven by Larry carts using “We know we’ve got work to Ben Houck, injuring her right an- the path in do,” Price said. “We’re up for the kle, according to the complaint. Willbrook. challenge because that’s we do.” Conrad sued Houck, the The district is using the term Charles Swenson/ county and the Willbrook Planta- Coastal Observer “unfinished learning.” tion Road Maintenance District, “We want to help our stu- which maintains the path. She is dents grow and prosper and seeking actual and punitive dam- carts on the path in spite of the The Willbrook bike path con- tion, Ketron said. flourish. But we’re going to have ages. county ordinance, it claims. nected with portions of the Bike The Willbrook Boulevard a lot of students that are in differ- While the suit filed in Cir- The path along Willbrook the Neck path that ran paral- path was deeded to Georgetown ent places,” Price said. “Our chal- cuit Court last month claims that Boulevard was built by the Litch- lel to Highway 17. Eventually the County by the road maintenance lenge this year is to really tackle Houck was driving recklessly, it field Co., which developed the Bike the Neck route shifted west district along with the road itself students who aren’t where they also claims he was violating the former Willbrook Plantation. to Kings River Road and Waver- in 2005. The district retained an should be and help them contin- county’s ordinance that prohib- “They wanted to be able to ly Road, where a new phase is easement to maintain the bike ue to learn on grade level.” its golf carts on bike paths. sell lots and tell people they had planned to reconnect with the path, landscaping, signs and Price’s second school year as Allowing golf carts on the beach access without driving,” bike path along the highway in street lights. superintendent is starting the bike path created an “unsafe and said Linda Ketron, a founder and Pawleys Island. “They stipulated that was same way his first one did: try- hazardous condition,” the suit long-time head of Bike the Neck. Golf carts are not allowed on grandfathered in because it was ing to figure out how to keep stu- claims. The nonprofit started planning the Bike the Neck path. That was private and they had paid to put dents and staff members safe in The road maintenance dis- and raising funds for a bike path a condition of funding from the it in,” Ketron said. the midst of a pandemic. trict posted signs allowing golf along Waccamaw Neck in 1994. state Department of Transporta- See “Path,” Page 3 See “Schools,” Page 4 HIGHWAY 17 GEORGETOWN COUNTY Litchfield Development director intersection leaving for Myrtle Beach job needs works, By Charles Swenson of Economic COASTAL OBSERVER Development residents say the next year. A new firm is coming to the “Econom- Andrews industrial park with a ic develop- By Charles Swenson $15 million investment and 34 ment is about Charles Swenson/Coastal Observer COASTAL OBSERVER jobs. That’s only the start. the creation A member of the corridor study steering committee has pro- “The next five years in of wealth. You Litchfield Country Club res- posed a new signal to help traffic get out of Litchfield Country Georgetown will be the best five create it by idents would like to see some- Club. Mark Hoeweler, below, says traffic engineers don’t think years Georgetown has ever seen giving people thing done to improve access to that will help. in economic development,” said Brian Tucker good jobs,” he Highway 17 from Country Club Brian Tucker, the director of Eco- said after be- Drive, but they aren’t sure the conflict intersections” that re- nomic Development for the last ing named to proposal contained in a recent- duce the severity of accidents by seven and a half years. the position. “It’s just a matter of ly completed traffic study is the eliminating left turns, said Mark He will be watching from a perseverance and maybe some best solution. Hoeweler, the executive director distance. Pollyanna thoughts.” “There are a lot of seniors of GSATS. Those are proposed at Tucker will start work Sept. 1 Among the projects Tucker who live in our community that several places along the corridor as assistant city manager in Myr- undertook in Georgetown Coun- are deathly afraid to get on 17,” by the engineering firm AECOM, tle Beach. ty was the creation of a new in- said Susan Gasque, one of over which conducted the study. “For all the potential I see dustrial park on 948 acres of for- 100 people who attended a pro- Tom Stickler, president of in Georgetown County, there’s mer timber company property gram on traffic organized by the the Waccamaw Neck Council of more in Myrtle Beach,” he said. on the Sampit River. The Pen- citizens group Keep It Green. Property Owners Associations, Tucker will have responsibil- nyroyal Industrial Park has rail, The traffic study is an up- served on the steering commit- ity for the city’s economic devel- road and barge access. Last year, date to a 2003 study by the tee for the study. He called the Li- opment, planning and zoning, the first prospect took an option Grand Strand Area Transporta- tchfield intersections “the most and public works. That will in- on 50 acres. tion Study, an intergovernmen- problematic.” clude implementing the down- The pandemic caused com- tal group that allocates federal Georgetown County has town master plan the city adopt- panies to reassess their supply transportation funds to projects sought to realign Country Club ed in 2019. chains, and the county was in in the region. Drive and Litchfield Drive, but “That’s the part that really in- a good position to attract firms Among the $53.3 million at Crooked Oak Drive and at the wasn’t able to acquire the rights trigues me,” he said. that wanted to diversify, he said. work of projects proposed for the entrance to Salt Marsh Cove, of way. Tucker came to Georgetown “We’ve set the dominoes in next 20 years is one that would where signals would stop oncom- “There is a solution that could County in 2012 to take over as place. They are just starting to close the median of Highway 17 ing traffic. Signals would also cre- be done next week if they wanted president and CEO of the Cham- tip,” Tucker said. “The worst at the Litchfield Drive intersec- ate breaks in the traffic for right to do it,” Stickler said. ber of Commerce. He had held thing that could happen would tion. Drivers entering the high- turns from Country Club Drive He proposed adding a traffic the same position in North Au- be: the dominoes still be stand- way would have to make a right and Litchfield Drive. signal just north of Country Club gusta and worked in mortgage ing a year from now.” turn. They could make U-turns The design uses “reduced See “LCC,” Page 3 lending. He became the director See “Economy,” Page 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Comp plan: Obituaries ......................................2 Commission Crime ..............................................5 will get prog- Opinion ..........................................6 ress report Crossword ....................................10 on overdue Classifieds .....................................11 update. Property transfers ....................... 12 Page 2 Online Guilty: Gun- coastalobserver.com man enters Jump start: A summer tradition re- plea in 2019 turns to Pawleys Island Community murder of De- Environment: Student collects data Church with a new name. ondre Brown, along with mosquito bites in Clem- Second Front right.