Roof Repair in Bluffton, SC

Beaufort County residents were surprised to see a giant, glowing orb hovering in this sky this morning.

A fish-shaped orb appeared to be moving through the sky above Bluffton and Hilton Head about an hour before sunrise.

Some assumed it was a plane taking off from the Hilton Head Island Airport. Others questioned whether it was extraterrestrial in origin.

In reality, the spectacular glow appears to have been the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flying overhead, carrying Starlink satellites into Earth’s orbit. Residents spotted the glow between 5:50 a.m. and 6 a.m., which aligns with the timeline of this morning’s SpaceX rocket launch.

What to know about the Falcon 9

The Falcon 9 rocket is the world’s first orbital class rocket capable of reflight, according to SpaceX’s website.

It has a reusable design, which drives down costs by allowing SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket.

Orbital class rockets are powerful enough to transport people and objects into Earth’s orbit and beyond.

The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010. Since then, Falcon 9 has completed 608 missions, 562 total landings and 528 reflights, according to SpaceX.

At 5:52 a.m., the Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The station is nearly 300 miles south of Hilton Head as the crow flies. It’s located just beside the Kennedy Space Center, east of Orlando, Florida.

The rocket consists of three key components: a first stage booster, which launches it off the ground, a second stage booster, which delivers the payload into the Earth’s orbit and the payload, which holds the cargo — in this case, 29 Starlink satellites.

Starlink is the name of a satellite network developed by SpaceX to deliver high-speed internet from space.

About two and a half minutes after launching, the first stage booster separated from the second stage and began its descent back into Earth’s atmosphere.

The bright glow Beaufort County residents saw would have been the first-stage booster burning up because of extreme heat from atmospheric drag, based on when photos were taken and SpaceX’s timeline. The booster landed around 6 a.m. on an autonomous droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, according to SpaceX.

Coastal residents of Georgia and Florida also spotted the bright glow in the sky this morning. From Florida, the descending rocket created what some news reports described as a “space jellyfish.”

The Wednesday morning rocket launch is also not the first rocket to be spotted from Hilton Head recently.

Linda Smith shared photos of a rocket in the sky on Sunday at 10:01 p.m. from Port Royal Plantation. According to SpaceX, the Sunday launch also delivered 29 Starlink satellites into Earth’s orbit.

Bluffton basketball’s historic season ended one game shy of a state championship appearance.

North Augusta was too much for the Bobcats late in the second half of the 57-38 win Friday in the Class 4A Lower State championship at the Florence Center.

North Augusta moves on to the championship game for the second straight year and will face the Lancaster/South Pointe winner in the title game at 6 p.m. March 9 at Colonial Life Arena.

The loss snaps Bluffton’s 19-game winning streak and ends the year at 24-5. The Bobcats have won 47 games over the past two seasons and were making their first Lower State championship appearance.

Bluffton coach Bradley Gabriel emerged from the Bobcats’ locker room about 20 minutes after the game ended, reflecting on what an experience this run has been.

“We were right there, especially in the third, but just kind of fell apart,” Gabriel said. “I told the guys in the locker room, it wasn’t a bad year and nothing to hold your head about. We won 24 games, went 10-0 in the region and made it to this point. It has been a special year. The kids worked really hard, bought into everything I was selling. It just didn’t work out tonight.”

Gabriel had high praise for his team, especially guard Harry Skinner. The senior led Bluffton with 20 points and has been one of the centerpieces for the past two years. Skinner left the program briefly for a few months to attend Moravian Prep (NC) but returned in the fall.

Skinner did his best to keep the Bobcats close, scoring eight straight points at one point to get them within 28-24 with 4:05 left in the third.

“When Harry got us back in the game, I felt like we had a chance,” Gabriel said. “We were down nine to Wilson (third round) in the third quarter and willed ourselves back.”

Trailing 33-24 entering the fourth, Bluffton made one final run. Ethan Foster’s three-point play got Bluffton within 39-34 with 3:36 left. Foster finished with 14 points.

But the Yellow Jackets’ zone offense and ability to get out in transition helped them close on an 18-4 run and head back to the title game.

Quh’mareon Webb led North Augusta with 21 points and Tristan Anderson added 13. Toian Nabriat had 10 points. The Yellow Jackets knocked off top-ranked Gray Collegiate on the road to make it to the semifinals.

“We started working soon after last year’s championship loss and had this circled on our calendar. We wanted to get back,” North Augusta coach Tony Harrell said. “… We didn’t finish the drill last year, and we want to finish this year.”

The owner of a popular event venue in the Bluffton area pleaded guilty to operating without a business license following her arrest last fall.

Bethany Boles Hewitt, 49, was fined $50 for the conviction after entering the plea on Tuesday, according to Beaufort County judicial records.

Hewitt Oaks, the namesake of its owner, is a 25-acre “all-inclusive” venue near Pritchardville that offers catering and event planning services. The site is a popular choice for weddings, and is known for its peaceful countryside views and a ceremony space under a live oak tree draped in Spanish moss.

Hewitt was arrested Sept. 24 as the South Carolina Department of Revenue accused her of continuing to host weddings and events without a retail license. That license was revoked in early February due to approximately $148,000 in unpaid business taxes, according to an arrest warrant.

The business’ license was renewed shortly after, according to Hewitt, who attributed the issue to a “filing error.”

“It was due to a filing error by an employee, but ultimately, I am responsive (sic) for everything that happens in the company, so I accepted full responsibility,” Hewitt said in an email on Thursday.

She said the licensing issue did not affect their ability to host any events, including a wedding that was scheduled for Sept. 26. However, organizers at the Bluffton Self Help nonprofit decided not to host their October gala at the venue, according to Hewitt.

“While this decision was disappointing, I am so deeply grateful for all the clients who rallied around me, steadfastly believing in us,” Hewitt wrote to The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette, adding that she was “excited” for the over 50 events the venue has booked for 2026.

Hewitt Oaks traces its roots back to 2002, when Hewitt founded her event planning and catering company, Southern Graces. The Hewitts met in 2005 at a catering conference in Las Vegas and opened the venue in 2018.

Company faced tax liens, past and current lawsuits

Records and legal filings show the recent licensing error was not Hewitt Oaks’ only financial issue. An SCDOR database search shows the company has had 35 tax liens filed against it since 2019. About half were listed as resolved.

“I am confident and thankful for my right standing with the state,” Hewitt wrote in response to a question by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette about the tax delinquencies.

Hewitt, her husband Christopher and landowner Wanda Wetherington were sued last year by Bluffton-based Shoreline Construction and Development, which alleged it was not paid in time for work performed at Hewitt Oaks last year.

The Hewitts and Shoreline were also jointly sued by Virginia-based Eagle Fire Inc. for failure to pay after Eagle Fire installed a fire system. Liens for both lawsuits against the Hewitts have since been released, documents show.

As recently as Jan. 15, Hewitt and Hewitt Oaks were sued by Bluffton-based landscaping company The Greenery, Inc. for allegedly failing to pay almost $216,000 owed for maintenance services performed at the venue. The lawsuit remained pending in Beaufort County civil court as of Friday.

Next up on Hewitt Oaks’ calendar is a Burgundy wine-tasting experience Jan. 29 and the opportunity to pick up a ready-made Super Bowl party meal on Feb. 7.

Beaufort County awoke to a layer of frozen snow on rooftops, yards and parked cars, but the winter storm warning that was in effect was cancelled, signaling the end to the threat of more snow.

Starting shortly after 2 p.m., snowfall mostly ended around 11 p.m. Accumulations ranged from 1½ to 3 inches across the region, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter weather advisory issued in the predawn hours of Feb. 1 warned of hazardous travel conditions due to slick roads. Bridges and overpasses are especially susceptible to icy conditions. The advisory was lifted at 10 a.m.

An extreme cold weather warning remained in effect until 1 p.m. Overnight temperatures dipped below 20 degrees, but with winds gusting in excess of 30 mph at times the wind chill reached the single digits.

“That’s pretty representative of conditions across most of the South Carolina Lowcountry this morning,” said Neil Dixon, a Charleston-based NWS meteorologist. “Wind chills currently range anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees.”

With clear and sunny skies expected today, the temperatures will climb back into the upper 30s, leading to melting snow throughout the day.

A cold weather advisory will take effect at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1. Overnight conditions are expected to be cold once again, though not quite as cold as last night, with temperatures falling into the 20s.

“The winds will be quite a bit less tonight, between 5 and 10 mph. That will push wind chills back down into the mid-teens tonight,” Dixon said.

A bumpy start to the week

With the worst of the weather out of the way, impacts to the upcoming work week are becoming apparent as a wave of cancellations were announced early in the afternoon of Feb. 1.

The Beaufort County School district will conduct eLearning classes, and staff will work remotely on Feb. 2. District buildings and offices will be closed. Any change to the school’s schedule for Feb. 3 will be announced Feb. 2.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will be closed on Feb. 2. Residents in need of assistance can call the non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777. Residents should call 911 in the event of an emergency.

Likewise, Beaufort County government offices will be closed Feb. 2. The Community Service and Public Safety Committee, Natural Resources Committee and Planning Commission meetings will all be rescheduled for Feb. 3.

The county’s convenience stations will remain closed on Feb. 2. Traveler’s hoping to use the county’s Daufuskie Island Ferry Riders should be prepared for changes to the boat’s schedule. Operation of the ferry is at the discretion of captain.

Municipal government offices in Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head will all be closed Feb. 2, and all meetings rescheduled.

Anyone with air travel plans is likely looking to rebook. According to the website Flight Aware, there have been 18 cancelled flights scheduled to depart from Savannah/Hilton Head International airport as of 9:51 a.m. on Feb. 1, as well as six flights destined for the airport that have also been nixed. There are five flights that have been delayed from the Savannah airport, according to the website.

Storm impacts

There was least one major accident in Beaufort County, which occurred at around 8 p.m. on Jan. 31 on Shell Point Road near Broad River Road, according to S.C. Highway Patrol Cpl. Nick Pye. A 2022 Dodge Ram pickup truck struck two pedestrians while it traveling east on Shell Point Road. The car fled the scene and was later located by law enforcement, Pye said.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - The Lowcountry is bracing for the possibility of a winter storm that could shake up weekend plans.

People are already heading to stores to stock up on supplies, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation says they are prepared and ready to go when called.

From salt to plant blankets, people are trying to get a hold of whatever they can to prepare for what could be a wintry weekend in the Lowcountry.

“I did the best I could by buying this little handy shovel here,” Bluffton resident Thomas Rowe said. “If we do get some heavy snow, I am going to be sore for many days.”

A winter storm could bring heavy snow and ice to different parts of the state.

“Travel conditions, if we do see that type of snow falling, would become hazardous,” Secretary of Transportation for SCDOT, Justin Powell, said.

With that in mind, some people are ready to take the recommended approach of staying inside.

“If it gets icy, I’m not going anywhere,” Bluffton resident Mike Nolte said. “I’m staying home, I got a nice fireplace, so I’ll just build a fire and stay home and relax.”

And while some people are planning to stay home.

SCDOT says they already have crews out pretreating major roadways, interstates, and bridges across the state by spraying brine ahead of the storm.

That brine is made using salt that SCDOT says has been restocked after using some last week.

Officials say it will help keep the roads open as long as possible, but also help SCDOT clear the roads later.

If the need arises, SCDOT says they are ready to go into 24-hour operation starting on Friday.

That means the 3,000 employees in the department will be working around the clock in shifts, and that their 1,200 pieces of equipment will be spread out across the state to respond.

“We are prepared, we are actively working to get ready for this storm, we work through the duration of this storm, and when it is over, we will continue to work until the roads are reopened and cleared,” Powell said.

WTOC spoke with officials from Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties, who told me that right now they are just monitoring the storm and are getting together potential plans that will be used if the need arises.