‘Simply amazing,’ SC Red Cross CEO says of those who helped in 2022 in letters to editor

Red Cross: Thanks

2022 has been a year of crisis — both seen and unseen — for families and communities The big crises we’ve seen on TV included extreme climate disasters such as Hurricane Ian, severe floods in Kentucky, western wildfires, the conflict in Ukraine, and the first-ever national American Red Cross blood crisis in January 2022.

There were personal crises too — unseen to many beyond those experiencing them: the neighbors who lost everything in a home fire, the person who needed CPR during a cardiac arrest, the family who needed to contact a deployed service member during an emergency, and the hospital patient who needed a lifesaving blood transfusion. For all these crises, people from South Carolina stepped up to help through the Red Cross. In fact, 125 volunteers from the SC Region deployed across the country following multiple large-scale disasters, several of them numerous times, to provide relief to countless families.

Our volunteers — who comprise more than 90% of Red Cross’s workforce — along with our donors, are simply amazing. Although they’re ordinary individuals, their gifts make a difference in people’s dire moments. As crises continue to upend lives every day, join us to give help and hope by visiting redcross.org to make a financial donation, schedule a blood or platelets donation, or become a volunteer. On behalf of those we serve, we thank you for your support in 2022.

Rod Tolbert, CEO, American Red Cross of South Carolina

Clearing up ACE

In his opinion piece “SC’s ACE Basin is a model for conservationists everywhere,” Evan Patrohay’s use of terms probably left a lot of readers confused. The ACE Basin is the first of 12 Focus Areas in South Carolina established by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The ACE Basin includes 1.4 million acres drained by the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers, hence the term “basin.” The ACE Basin Reserve is a shortened form for the ACE Basin NEER (National Estuarine Research Reserve). This is a federal program, including 30 reserves nationwide. Estuaries are where fresh water in rivers and salt water from the ocean mix. The ACE Basin Focus Area includes rivers that begin well inland of the coast and are not part of the NEER. The ACE Basin NEER is in the lower basin, and makes up only part of the Focus Area. There are two designations in South Carolina: The ACE Basin NEER at 99,308 acres and the North Inlet/Winyah Bay NEER in Georgetown County at 18,916 acres. The other data in his article (total acres in the ACE Basin, acres under conservation easements, and percent of land protected by private landowners) are out of date. The boundary of the focus area enlarged over the years and the number of protected acres in public and private ownership also changed as new properties were added. But this doesn’t take away from the premise of the article: The ACE Basin project is indeed a model for conservationists everywhere.

Sally R. Murphy, Retired SC DNR biologist, Sheldon

Headline irony

I find it very ironic that on page 5A of the December 4 Beaufort Gazette the article describing the process for reviewing banned books in Beaufort County Schools was directly above the headline “Longtime partner of murdered Hilton Head woman . . . dies by suicide.” Yes, bad things happen right here in Beaufort County. Let’s ban books that describe bad things because we can just read the headlines – it’s faster! I wish all Beaufort County parents trusted teachers and librarians to help students learn about, process and understand the real world in part by offering reading materials that describe sensitive and difficult issues in an age appropriate way. All students not locked in a closet will be exposed to challenging ideas and situations, maybe just by reading the local paper. Remember any Beaufort County parent can already request their child not be given any book they deem inappropriate. Banning books is not the answer.

Kate Joy, Beaufort