Bluffton Packet

Bluffton Giant jaws from a hydraulic excavator sank into the fiberglass boat at Alljoy Boat Landing. It immediately listed from the violence and weight and the mast dropped into the water. Then Lacy Jefferson, who was at the controls, began dragging the vessel up the ramp, leaving a trail of cushions, propane tanks and musty smelling water. Derelict or abandoned vessels like this 30-foot sailboat pollute coastal waters of South Carolina.

Rick Toomey, chairman of The Technical College of the Lowcountry Commission, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and TCL President Laurie Boeding Monday in Charleston. Courtesy Bluffton The final piece of funding needed to finish construction of a new $27 million workforce training center on the Bluffton campus of the Technical College of the Lowcountry has been approved by the Trump administration.

Six Flock cameras were intentionally damaged or found unplugged along Buckwalter Parkway, according to a July 12 report from the Bluffton Police Department. Four cameras close to each other at the intersection of Bluffton and Buckwalter parkways had their power cords cut, the report said. Two of them are situated on both lanes of Buckwalter Towne Boulevard, leading to the housing development, “The Townes at Buckwalter.” Another is situated towards the north, aimed towards Buckwalter Parkway.

Sterling Helicopter is expanding in Bluffton. Sterling Helicopter/Facebook Bluffton Sterling Helicopter has selected a Bluffton site for its newest operation making and selling helicopter parts, the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. (BCEDC) said Tuesday. Sterling Helicopter is a helicopter repair, maintenance, and manufacturing facility based in Croydon, Pennsylvania.

The Bluffton Town Council recently doubled its own pay. Why? Sebastian Lee slee@islandpacket.com The Bluffton Town Council has more than doubled the annual salaries of its members over the past two years, according to data from Municipal Association of South Carolina. As of January 2026, Bluffton’s four town council members each receive $25,000 in yearly compensation, while the mayor receives $35,000, according to MASC.

Bluffton Tiny fish fly out of the water in a flurry of action along the shoreline before flopping onto the land. Four bottlenose dolphins were right on their tails. Soon, lunch was served on a Bluffton marsh bank for the crafty dolphins, who had teamed up to execute a complex and fascinating feeding tactic known as strand feeding that is peculiar to local salt marsh dolphins.

The BJWSA responded to a wastewater spill in Bluffton Saturday. BJWSA Bluffton A second major wastewater spill in less than a month has occurred in Bluffton. Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (BJWSA) estimates that 70,000 gallons of wastewater was released west of the intersection of Highway 170 and Bluffton Parkway on Wednesday. Previous damage to a force main resulted in a rupture, BJWSA said.

Bluffton Lauren Puryear, a Bluffton teacher, missed school Friday to hang out with Mickey Mouse and his friends in Florida at Walt Disney World Resort. She was joined by her fellow teachers from across the country. It was Puryear’s work in the classroom that earned her the trip to The Vacation Kingdom. The Bluffton Middle School science teacher was among 15 educators who were recognized at Disney World for their creative teaching methods.

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Staff and community members stepped in to keep the manatee stable when it was stranded at Hole 9 at Crescent Pointe Golf Club. Courtesy of Crescent Pointe Golf Club What started as a routine Saturday round of golf at Crescent Pointe quickly turned into a wildlife rescue story the community won’t soon forget. Two golfers, teeing off on Hole 9 on Nov. 22, spotted something no one expected to see beached along the shoreline: a manatee.