Women's Clothing Boutique Near Me Port Royal, SC

Standing on four beefy legs made of hefty shrimp boat anchor chain, a 7 1/2-foot-long and 2 1/2-foot-wide alligator sculpture weighing 125 pounds and made mostly of metal now greets visitors to Port Royal’s Cypress Wetlands.

With its large tail that’s slightly curved, the toothy and bumpy backed replica is poised near the entrance to the swamp where real alligators live, literally greeting visitors with a steely stare and a grin revealing a mouthful of teeth fashioned from bicycle chain.

But the new greeter is not art for art’s sake alone.

It’s a statement, too: Don’t be a slob and toss litter into the waters of the world-class wetlands and rookery.

To drive home the point of the harm that garbage can have on wildlife, the innards of the alligator sculpture are stuffed with metal cans and plastic bottles.

“Litter endangers our alligators, turtles, birds and our entire ecosystem,” a sign near the garbage gator reads.

Metal artist Cathy Pender Emmert created this unique sculpture.

“It’s definitely a piece of art,” Pender Emmert said moments before the town’s latest piece of artwork, hidden under a green tarp, was unveiled before a curious crowd that gathered at the amphitheater on Thursday. “I really like it. It surpassed my expectations of what I thought I would create.”

The metal artist spared no details trying to get the gator just right, studying information about the specifics of the apex predator’s toes and eyes. Sharing a fun fact she learned in her investigation, the length in inches between an alligator’s nostrils and eyes is approximately the same as the animal’s total length in feet.

She made the sculpture using mostly metal chains of various sizes and some rebar.

The eyes are made of steel orbs with a slash of copper to mimic the slits. The rebar was chosen because it’s rough, like an alligator’s texture, while the chains recreate its bumpy and bony exterior.

Friends of Cypress Wetlands asked Pender Emmert to create the public art.

The not-for-profit group advocates on behalf of the wetlands, which attracts thousands of great egrets, snowy egrets, tri-color herons, little blue herons, black-crowned night herons, green herons and white ibises that roost and nest in the trees.

Scot Clark, the president of the board, says Cypress Wetlands draws some 210,000 visitors a year, which is “pretty amazing.”

But Kat Bray, a Friends board member, also noted that she and others have been pulling trash out of the swamp for years.

She recommended a public service-type of public art after she saw a large dolphin sculpture filled with litter while visiting St. Simons Island.

“We wanted to make a statement,” Bray said.

A welder by trade, Pender Emmert manages the welding department at Pender Brothers Inc. in Port Royal. About 6 years ago, she started creating art from metal. The beer tap handles at Shellring Ale Works are just one of her projects.

After hours, Pender Emmert and her father enjoy father-daughter time doing “blacksmithing” projects.

“I tell everybody, ‘He didn’t have a boy, so I had to man up,’” she says with a laugh.

The alligator sculpture project contained a lot of firsts for her: It is the first animal she has created and her first three-dimensional project. It is also the largest.

At the close of the unveiling of the sculpture, somebody asked about the name of the alligator. Clark says that’s still to be determined, but Pender Emmert’s father has an idea.

“I’ve been referring to it as ‘him,’” she said of alligator sculpture, ”but my dad says it should be Ally the Gator.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2023, 12:30 PM.

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

Port Royal took steps to shine a light on a glaring issue facing veterans in America on Friday.

Local military leaders, Port Royal Town Council members and a veterans group met on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, to unveil a new speed limit sign on Paris Avenue in front of Port Royal Elementary School that they hope brings awareness to the large number of veterans who commit suicide every day in this country.

“22 veteran suicides per day is 22 too many,” is written on a sign below the speed limit sign.

The speed limit sign lowers the limit to 22 mph, which represents the number that is often cited as the number of veterans who commit suicide every day in the United States.

Lowering the speed limit from 25 mph to 22 mph was decided on in July 2023 with a 5-0 vote when former Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito brought forward the proposal after being encouraged to do so by members from the local AMVETS, a nonprofit organization that serves veterans.

DeVito said that a conversation with a member of AMVETS about the number of suicides and continuous complaints from members of the community about drivers speeding down Paris Avenue gave him the idea to lower the speed limit to 22 mph.

“I’m not a vet, but this was very important to me,” DeVito said of the sign being unveiled. “I didn’t know the number; I had no idea that the number was that high.”

DeVito said reached out to his connections at AMVETS with his idea, and he was happy when Janice Shelton, head of the Port Royal AMVETS, and John Norman drafted a letter to him about lowering the speed limit.

The speed limit was applied to all of Paris Avenue, but the speed limit signs in front of Port Royal Elementary School explain why the speed limit is 22 mph.

Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips said that Port Royal is a military town, and it is built on the military, with Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Naval Hospital Beaufort, and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort not far away.

“Usually when we get together, we are cutting a ribbon and celebrating something,” said Mayor Phillips. “This isn’t something to really celebrate, but it’s still important and we wanted to bring the awareness.”

He said that this is a small gesture, but anything that the town can do to bring awareness to the situation will help.

Phillips said that about 50 people came out to the unveiling on Friday, which made him so happy to see so many people show their support for the active and veteran military community.

Representatives from both MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island were in attendance at the event.

Col. Mark Bortnem, the commanding officer of MCAS Beaufort, said that this area is very significant to the military.

During World War II, 250,000 recruits went through Parris Island in their training just as he did many years later.

Also, like he did, many of the Marines who train at Parris Island make their way back to this area following their time in the service or in their retirement, leading to many veterans living in the area.

“On par with other cities like Norfolk, Va., or San Diego, Calif., Beaufort is a military town,” Col. Bortnem said. “And the Beaufort and Port Royal area, so many folks were either raised in the military or are deeply connected to it.”

Col. Bortnem said that anything we can do to bring attention to the fact that we are losing veterans at an “alarming rate” and to get the community together to prevent it is something that they are in support of.

“Seeking help is a sign of strength,” said Sgt. Major Joshua Toles of the support battalion at Parris Island. “This sign is going to serve as a visual reminder of how important it is to take advantage of the resources that we have available for us so that we can prevent the suicides that we are experiencing.”

Sgt. Major Toles continued to say that the local communities, such as Port Royal, are vital in the support that they provide to veterans in the area.

“Thank you for your recognition,”Sgt. Major Toles said at Friday’s event.

Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

Port Royal mayor, town officials discuss concerns with port developer

The Island News

PORT ROYAL – A long-anticipated “sit-down” between Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips and officials from Safe Harbor Marinas finally happened Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Town Hall in Port Royal.

It appears the conversation was a productive one.

Vice President for Construction and Development Peter Clark and attorneys John Ray and Nicole Scott were in attendance on behalf of Safe Harbor. Phillips was joined by Town Councilman Jerry Ashmore, Town Manager Van Willis, and his staff.

According to Phillips, Safe Harbor arrived with its own agenda — an agenda that did not include the “build-to-rent” item that has become a flash point with town leadership, as well as its residents. Phillips indicated to Safe Harbor that this item should be on the agenda and it should be dealt with first.

Phillips said Safe Harbor said it had no contract with The Beach Company — the Charleston construction firm that presented the “build-to-rent” concept to the town.

“Furthermore,” Phillips said, “Safe Harbor indicated to us that the ‘build-to-rent’ option was not a forgone conclusion.”

“John Ray (attorney for Safe Harbor) said that he would take the Town’s concerns back to Safe Harbor headquarters where they would discuss the Town’s position. And I said, ‘You’ve got to figure out another way,’” Phillips said.

Town officials characterized the meeting as positive.

“I think it went well,” Willis said of the exchange. “There were a number of topics that we wanted discussed and they were. … Also, we got some sort of sense where they may be in the permitting process and the master planning efforts.”

According to Phillips, Safe Harbor said it was close to getting its permit to start with construction of the docks and piers connected to the Marina. It was his impression that they would have their permit within two months, and that construction itself would take five to nine months.

But Willis agreed, clearly, the most important topic was where Safe Harbor stands on the Bluff neighborhood. They appear not to be married to the build-to-rent neighborhood.

“Obviously, the majority of people in town are opposed to it,” Willis said.

Safe Harbor purchased the 317-acre Port of Port Royal site along Battery Creek more than two years ago, in several transactions, for a total exceeding $20.5 million, according to county records, from Grey Ghost Properties, LLC.

The overall development plan involves a residential component. The Beach Company was hired to complete this part of the development.

It was at an Aug. 9, 2023, Town Council meeting that The Beach Company first divulged plans for a build-to-rent neighborhood with 205 townhouses and 34 single-family homes.

Phillips has said that proposal took the Town Council by surprise. He told the Post And Courier in January that, he hadn’t “met a single person in Port Royal that thinks the plan is a good idea.”

The concern over Safe Harbor’s development and the build-to-rent proposal by the Beach Company were a major part in Phillips’ campaign for Mayor in the fall. Phillips, an attorney himself, repeatedly made the assertion that if Port Royal didn’t say no to the “build-to-rent” neighborhood now, that legally they might not have the ability to later.

Phillips was elected mayor in November.

After an executive session at the Dec. 13, 2023, Town Council meeting, the Council announced that it had authorized a letter to Safe Harbor, but the contents of the letter were not immediately made public.

Phillips’ Dec. 14, 2023, letter was a lengthy one and cited a long list of the Town’s concerns about the development. But the “build-to-rent” neighborhood was not the only concern.

Willis emphasized that only the development of the neighborhood and the marina had been discussed, while there were numerous town projects planned in conjunction with those developments that town officials had no way of assessing, such as the commercial dock, a seafood processing plant and the extension of the Spanish Moss Trail through the Port property.

Phillips set deadlines for Safe Harbor’s responses to various part of the letter, and he said publicly and in the letter that despite the concerns outlined, his goal was a good relationship with Safe Harbor. The letter resulted in the Feb. 1 meeting.

While no distinct promises were made by Safe Harbor regarding the Neighborhood Bluff in the Feb. 1 meeting, Phillips said, “They clearly want a good working relationship with the Town, and everyone in the room felt good about what had been said during the meeting.”

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.

The smiles, handshakes and words of encouragement that marked Kevin Phillips' brief inauguration ceremony were immediately followed by a motion to move the Town Council into executive session.

The session's purpose, as indicated in the meeting agenda, was to receive legal advice regarding the controversial Safe Harbor development underway in the town that sits wedged between Battery Creek and the Beaufort River.

Less than 30 minutes later, Council emerged from the behind-closed-doors session and newly re-elected Councilman Jerry Ashmore offered a motion.

"I would like to make a motion to direct Mayor Phillips to submit a letter to Safe Harbor advising of our council's concerns and feedback to items related to the Port of Port Royal development," Ashmore said.

The motion passed unanimously.

The contents of that letter have not yet been made public. The Post and Courier has requested a copy of the letter under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and is awaiting the town's response.

Phillips defeated incumbent Joe DeVito in the Nov. 7, 2023, election for the town's top elected spot. DeVito had served one term as mayor. The margin of Phillips' victory — he garnered 60 percent of the 1,041 votes cast compared to DeVito's 39 percent of the vote — surprised even Phillips.

"I was shocked by that. I thought it would be a lot closer than that," Phillips recounted.

If there was one issue that distinguished Phillips from DeVito, it was Safe Harbor. And, as Safe Harbor's development plans became public in the late summer and early fall, it was almost certainly a deciding factor in the election.

"That was something that was different between me and Joe," Phillips said.

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The Port of Port Royal has for years been a point of unrealized potential. Phillips said that residents have long been frustrated by plans that announced and never come to fruition. The South Carolina Ports Authority sold the port to a private developer in 2017, Grey Ghost Properties LLC.

They made some good progress, according to Phillips, including getting two restaurants opened: Shellring Ale Works and Fishcamp on 11th Street. But in 2021, they sold to Safe Harbor Marinas, a national chain with facilities across the U.S. with a heavy East Coast concentration.

In August, Safe Harbor presented their development plan, and nearly everyone was caught off guard. It was, according to Phillips, the first time the public and the council had heard anything about plans for Safe Harbor. Communication with the company was, he said, lacking.

"It was just completely different from anything that anyone had conceptualized. They just came out of left field," Phillips said, adding that all hell broke loose after the plans came to light.

Safe Harbor's plan, as described by Phillips, calls for a boatyard "larger than anyone ever thought" and the construction of approximately 230 build-to-rent housing units. The new homes could add as many as 400 cars to downtown.

"It's gorgeous out there, and we're just going to build 230 build-to-rent townhomes in the middle of that? Nobody saw that coming," Phillips said. "If Port Royal knew that was the plan originally, I don't think there's anybody on Council that would've made that deal."

Phillips characterized his response to the plan as more confrontational than DeVito's. Phillips made it clear, he said, that he was prepared to take on Safe Harbor, while DeVito's approach was perceived as more cooperative.

"When you're dealing with something this special, this important, you've got to stand up for it and you've got to fight for it," Phillips said. "That's what I plan to do, and I think Council is behind it, too."

The willingness to take on Safe Harbor appears to have resonated with voters. The issue is almost certain to be a defining issue during his term as mayor.

DeVito was presented a key to the town and a plaque honoring his term as mayor that included a gavel. He noted the irony in the gift because during his entire term, he never used a gavel.

"I do not believe you need a gavel to run a meeting," DeVito said. "We ran the meetings together as a team and we did it because we all love Port Royal. We did it for one reason and one reason only, the betterment of Port Royal."

Reach Tony Kukulich at 843-709-8929.

The smiles, handshakes and words of encouragement that marked Kevin Phillips' brief inauguration ceremony were immediately followed by a motion to move the Town Council into executive session.

The session's purpose, as indicated in the meeting agenda, was to receive legal advice regarding the controversial Safe Harbor development underway in the town that sits wedged between Battery Creek and the Beaufort River.

Less than 30 minutes later, Council emerged from the behind-closed-doors session and newly re-elected Councilman Jerry Ashmore offered a motion.

"I would like to make a motion to direct Mayor Phillips to submit a letter to Safe Harbor advising of our council's concerns and feedback to items related to the Port of Port Royal development," Ashmore said.

The motion passed unanimously.

The contents of that letter have not yet been made public. The Post and Courier has requested a copy of the letter under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and is awaiting the town's response.

Phillips defeated incumbent Joe DeVito in the Nov. 7, 2023, election for the town's top elected spot. DeVito had served one term as mayor. The margin of Phillips' victory — he garnered 60 percent of the 1,041 votes cast compared to DeVito's 39 percent of the vote — surprised even Phillips.

"I was shocked by that. I thought it would be a lot closer than that," Phillips recounted.

If there was one issue that distinguished Phillips from DeVito, it was Safe Harbor. And, as Safe Harbor's development plans became public in the late summer and early fall, it was almost certainly a deciding factor in the election.

"That was something that was different between me and Joe," Phillips said.

Today's Top Headlines

The Port of Port Royal has for years been a point of unrealized potential. Phillips said that residents have long been frustrated by plans that announced and never come to fruition. The South Carolina Ports Authority sold the port to a private developer in 2017, Grey Ghost Properties LLC.

They made some good progress, according to Phillips, including getting two restaurants opened: Shellring Ale Works and Fishcamp on 11th Street. But in 2021, they sold to Safe Harbor Marinas, a national chain with facilities across the U.S. with a heavy East Coast concentration.

In August, Safe Harbor presented their development plan, and nearly everyone was caught off guard. It was, according to Phillips, the first time the public and the council had heard anything about plans for Safe Harbor. Communication with the company was, he said, lacking.

"It was just completely different from anything that anyone had conceptualized. They just came out of left field," Phillips said, adding that all hell broke loose after the plans came to light.

Safe Harbor's plan, as described by Phillips, calls for a boatyard "larger than anyone ever thought" and the construction of approximately 230 build-to-rent housing units. The new homes could add as many as 400 cars to downtown.

"It's gorgeous out there, and we're just going to build 230 build-to-rent townhomes in the middle of that? Nobody saw that coming," Phillips said. "If Port Royal knew that was the plan originally, I don't think there's anybody on Council that would've made that deal."

Phillips characterized his response to the plan as more confrontational than DeVito's. Phillips made it clear, he said, that he was prepared to take on Safe Harbor, while DeVito's approach was perceived as more cooperative.

"When you're dealing with something this special, this important, you've got to stand up for it and you've got to fight for it," Phillips said. "That's what I plan to do, and I think Council is behind it, too."

The willingness to take on Safe Harbor appears to have resonated with voters. The issue is almost certain to be a defining issue during his term as mayor.

DeVito was presented a key to the town and a plaque honoring his term as mayor that included a gavel. He noted the irony in the gift because during his entire term, he never used a gavel.

"I do not believe you need a gavel to run a meeting," DeVito said. "We ran the meetings together as a team and we did it because we all love Port Royal. We did it for one reason and one reason only, the betterment of Port Royal."

Reach Tony Kukulich at 843-709-8929.