monarchs reign on folly · a bed of centipede grass is fronted with a prolific orange tree along...
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Volume 40:11 November, 2016 Volume 41:2 February 2017 Publisher: Folly Beach Civic Club, est. 1938 POSTAL PATRON Editor: Susan Breslin, [email protected], (843) 588-3026 FOLLY BEACH 29438
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Monarchs Reign on Folly Monarch butterflies love cool weather, so they are all over Folly and other barrier islands right now, especially near the marshes. They have a special mystique among butterfly fans because they’re beautiful, they’re smart, and they’re the subject of legends. And they’re threatened by development which is destroying their habitat.
For the past 21 years, there’s been a program throughout the east coast states to catch monarchs, tag them, and release them. If a tagged monarch is captured again, the location is recorded on a central registry. Billy McCord, a naturalist with the SC Department of Natural Resources, has been a tagger for 21 years. He tags about 1,500 monarchs a year, and estimates that he’s tagged 20,000 overall, mostly on Folly Beach (because he lives on James Island). He’s already caught and tagged 1,400 this year. (The tag is a tiny piece of paper gummed on one side to attach to the wing.) ,
One of the benefits of the program is the elimination of a legend about where monarchs migrate: that they all go to the top of a Mexican mountain which is threatened with development. McCord says of all the monarchs he’s tagged over the years, only one was recaptured in Mexico. Lately, several have been recaptured in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Some are caught over and over again – one of McCord’s tags was caught 17 times in 113 days.
Billy McCord in his monarch-hunting camouflage
McCord loved butterflies as a child, so he jumped on the chance to participate in the tagging effort. He is drawn to monarchs because they’re “the genius in the butterfly world. They’re most wary and hard to catch.” He wears camouflage when he sets out to capture them. He’s a familiar figure on Folly.
Monarch butterflies are bright orange with black and white wing tips.
What can we do to help monarchs along their way? One tactic is to plant or protect the plants they love to eat, like wild gaillardia and lantana, seaside goldenrod, viburnum, dandelions, bottle brush, henbit, and groundsel (they go for the male plant). Folly Green has planted groundsel and other plants in the Community Garden, with a plan to sell them when they mature.
One characteristic of monarchs is that they can go up to six months after fertilization before they deposit larvae. That can be a threat to the offspring, who need to get fat before they migrate, and need about six months to do that. Monarchs prefer to make milkweed their nursery, but at this time of year milkweed should be severely cut back, because any larvae deposited now will not get enough nourishment, and will die during migration. (The particular kind of milkweed that monarchs prefer is gulf coast swallow wort.)
The other critical thing that Folly residents can do is to leave wildflowers in place to feed the monarchs during their long stay here. Even better would be to plant some of the species mentioned here to replace plants lost to development.
McCord warns that the story and science of monarchs is “incredibly complicated.” But the bottom line is that they need our help.
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Folly Clubs and Organizations
Civic Club Folly citizens are invited to join us on Tuesday, February 21st at 7 pm. Fire Chief Steve Mims will be the Civic Club's guest speaker for February. He will provide Folly residents with information about his SAFE (Safety Awareness for Everyone) program. Don’t miss this informative and educational program designed for your safety.
Looking ahead, our March 21st program will introduce Mark Patrick who heads the Charleston Country Parks operations on Folly Beach. Mark will tell us about those operations and their plans for the Folly Programs going forward. 2017
The Civic Club’s 2017 calendar, and our new note cards with four different photos from the calendar, are on sale at City Hall and Bert’s. They make great gifts for a good cause. “D” Doyle Word 843-588-2297
Home and Garden Club February's Yard of the Month, 506 East Hudson, is the home of lifetime valentines Rhonda and Al Sanders. They came to Folly in '83, enticed by the naturalness and the quietness of their location. His vocation in natural history and hers as a science teacher enhanced their appreciation of Folly's environment. Rhonda even photographed and identified many of the wildflowers present on Folly.
They chose to protect the wildness in their backyard, adding only birdfeeders and baths. The front yard was ordered by brick pathways to nowhere laid by Rhonda on both sides below their entry, which is covered with Carolina jasmine. Large oaks are draped with ivy to the right. A fern garden rests below which 4 o'clocks take over in the spring. A tall palmetto and fig tree weight this side, which hosts a much-used retirement bench. A bed of centipede grass is fronted with a prolific orange tree along with crepe myrtle, live oak and a large sago palm. Al's favorite, gardenia, anchors the driveway with a stone inscribed "Grandma's Garden".
Bunnies abound because of our spring-like weather. Mexican petunias precede a symmetrical live oak and Sago palm in the front left bed. Boxed herb beds with petunias lie behind. A procession of azaleas follows the left side, with lantana in the lead. Purple Persian shield, a favorite of Rhonda's, is nearby. Potted europa stands with a yellow mosaic bird bath which Rhonda made. Quirky planters are created with an old plow and chair without a seat. Yaupon holly and asparagus fern hover near a l ily garden, while a colorful bottle tree given by their daughter accents this section with handmade mosaic stones.
Congratulations to the Sanders for savoring such an eclectic, natural landscape which permits the wild beauty to shine.
The garden club will meet at noon in the Community Center on Tuesday, February 28th. Laura Williams will speak about the master gardener program. All are welcome to attend.
Happy Valentine’s Day. Lynn Ray Smalley (843) 588-0093 [email protected]
Exchange Club Exchange had our holiday party in early January at Loggerheads and had a wonderful time. We also presented owners Ed and Yvonne Iames with an Exchange plaque for their continued support of Exchange. Not only did they host our holiday party and socials, but they also helped with our hut repair with donations, proceeds from events and more. Thank you, Ed and Yvonne, from all of us at Exchange.
We hosted our first golf tournament on January 31st with the Folly Association of Business. We had over 20 teams and a wonderful day at the Charleston Municipal golf course. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and participated!
Exchange will hold our annual Social at the Shack on Tuesday, February 7th 6-8pm in the raw bar. If you are interested in joining or just want to hang out, we would love to see you. Ron is an excellent host so please come join us for great food, drinks and conversation. DJ Rich (843) 475-9787
Senior Citizens Folly Beach Seniors will meet February 2nd at 11 am in the Community Center. All 55 and older are invited. Marie Lowther will provide lasagna for all. Others are asked to bring a dish (including dessert) to complete the meal.
Our speaker will be Marie Lowther. She will tell us about her recent trip to Europe. We thank our January speaker from the Charleston Water Keeper, Donna Prescott.
We gave money to the Folly Beach Baptist Food Pantry in January. We will give money to the Methodist Church Food Pantry this month.
Remember the sick and shut ins. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day. Pauline Ray (843) 588-9580
Green Team Our sixth water bottle refill station is up and running at Pirate’s Cove Park. Go by and check it out. Many thanks to Jason Travis and Kyle Chandler for all their help with this project.
The plastic and styrofoam ban is in effect. As a reminder, please make sure to pack it in and pack it out in paper when going to the beach.
We meet the first Thursday of every month – 6 pm at the Community Center. Everyone is welcome.
Teresa Marshall (828) 553-4690 [email protected]
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From the Desk of the Mayor We have reached another month, and with it has come winter! Fortunately, winter for us seems to be mild this year, with a couple of “cold snaps” thus far. Hopefully we can get through the next couple of months on the same plane.
We have just about completed Center Street revisions, with some further landscaping and brick work to come. But with the completion of the road, curbs, and lane changes, we have already seen a safer Center Street for pedestrian traffic. I am sure this will be even more evident as the tourist season comes into full swing this year. Once again “thank you” to the Center Street Committee, and all the City Staff who have worked so hard, and answered so many questions, to help make this transformation possible.
As we move into February, your City Staff is working on many varied projects. There are the continued efforts on our upcoming beach nourishment and the need to use the Folly River as the sand source for this project. They have also been diligently working on the strategic plan for the year 2017, to give City Council an overview of departmental needs to be incorporated into the upcoming 2017/2018 budget. This budget is scheduled to be delivered to Council by May 1st, so, for the next few weeks many hours will be spent in developing this budget to give us all the services we have come to expect from our City government with the best possible use of our tax dollars.
The City Administrator and I will travel to Columbia and Washington, DC to once again work on obtaining the funding necessary for our beach nourishment project. This seems to be an all-consuming never-ending day to day challenge. But if we don’t keep talking about how Folly is unique because of the Charleston jetties, and telling our story over and over, then we could easily get lost in the many, many requests for funding that hit our State and Federal Representatives every budget cycle. We keep telling our story with this in mind.
About 18 months ago, I ran into Congressman Mark Sanford. Before I could say a word, he said, “I know you need sand!” What a great thing to hear. It means he remembers our request without a reminder. So, if you see or talk to any County, State or Federal elected official, remember to remind them of Folly’s contribution to our local, state and Federal economy; and the fact we need sand to keep contributing to this economy!
As always, if you have questions, please call 843 729 0298 [email protected].
MayorTim
The Chief’s Corner Your public safety department has had a great year thus far and has used the lower call volume to work on these annual administrative and training tasks:
January saw 921 Calls for Service, 26 Arrests, 145 Citations, and 90 Parking citations issued (through 01/26).
We are finishing up these administrative tasks as well:
Review of Department Mission and Value Statements Staff Inspections
Annual Evaluations
Review of Effectiveness and Efficiency of staffing and position assignments
Inspections of City Buildings / Safety Inspections (quarterly OSHA safety)
Budget Prep
Policy and SOG manual review / updates Exploring Grant funding opportunities (in the process of
applying for $4,000 in body armor funding; others being researched for feasibility/applicability)
Officers working on in-service training classes that are required annually to maintain certifications.
The department is set to begin smoke alarm education and install program, please let us know if you need or want assistance or free smoke detectors.
Preparations for the following recent and upcoming events:
o Taste of Folly (1/28) o State Fire Memorial (1/28) o Save the Light Marathon (2/4) o Cupid Undie Run (2/11) o Folly Gras (2/25)
As always, feel free to contact us with any issues or concerns. We are happy to help in any way we can.
Andrew Gilreath, 843-588-7003 [email protected]
Hazardous Materials Clean-up
The Departments of Public Safety and Public Works are getting together to sponsor a Hazardous Materials Clean-up Saturday, February 25th from 9 am-noon. Bring your hazardous materials to the boat landing, and they will be safely disposed of. Direct questions to Dispatch at 843-588-2433. Hazardous materials include:
o Household cleaners and polishes o Pesticides and repellants o Automotive and other products o Paints and solvents o Electronic waste
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Folly Fun Stuff! OLGC Ladies Guild’s Annual Card Party is Thursday, February 16th from 10 am-2 pm in Fr. Kelly Hall, 105 West Hudson Avenue. Tickets ($20) can be
purchased from Marie Caines, 843-762-3169 or 843-860-0937.
☼ ☼ ☼ Folly Beach Baptist Church will hold their annual "Soup-R-Bowl"
gathering on Sunday, February 5th at 6 pm in the Fellowship Hall to watch the Super Bowl and enjoy fellowship. Soups and Desserts provided.
☼ ☼ ☼
. Fire Chief Steve Mims will be the Civic Club's guest speaker at its meeting on Tuesday, February 21st at 7 pm. He will provide Folly residents with information about his SAFE (Safety Awareness for
Everyone) program. Everyone is welcome.
☼ ☼ ☼
FOLLY GRAS is a week-long, beach-wide Mardi Gras style celebration culminating with live music, a Folly Gras parade and an all-day street
party on Saturday, February 25th.
FOLLY BEACH LIBRARY
We have Story time and a craft on Mondays at 10:30 am. Our After-School Club meets at 3:30 pm – this month, the Club will experiment with Snap Circuits. Come hang out with your friends, learn something new and enjoy snacks! On Wednesdays at 6 pm we have Knitting on the Edge. The Book Club will meet on Wednesday, February 8th at 2:30 pm to discuss The Color of Water by James McBride. We will be open Saturday, February 11th from 10 am – 2 pm. We will show Finding Dory and you can make a fun craft at 11 am. We will be closed Monday, February 20th for Presidents’ Day. For more information on any of these programs, give us a call or like us on Facebook. Mary Bushkar 843-588-2001
County Parks and Recreation
Folly Beach Bird Walks: Folly Beach County Park This walk focuses on the southern shoreline of Folly Beach. We hope to see a variety of shorebirds and seabirds such as Northern Gannets and Forster's Terns. A registered and paid chaperone is required for participants ages 15 and under. Feb. 10th Friday 8:30 -10:30 am. Course # 48612 Age: 12 & up Fee: $9/$7 CCR Discount/$5 Move IT Pass Holder
Folly Beach Bird Walks: Seawatch at Folly Beach Fishing Pier Help experienced birders scan the ocean ducks, seabirds, and shorebirds, and learn how to spot 'bunches' of Red Knots, 'rafts' of scooters, and much more. A registered and paid chaperone is required for participants ages 15 and under. Feb. 14th Tuesday 8:30 -10 am Course # 48615 Age: 12 & up Fee: $6/$5 CCR Discount/$4 Move IT Pass Holder
Publisher: Folly Beach Civic Club
PO BOX 884 – FOLLY BEACH, SC 29439 www.facebook.com/Folly Beach Civic Club
Printer: Print Shop of West Ashley
City web page: www.cityoffollybeach.com
City Radio Station: 1610 AM
LIBRARY HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY 10-6 WEDNESDAY 12-8
FRIDAY 10-6 2nd SATURDAY 10-2
CLOSED February 20th
CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY
Council Chambers 6th Planning Commission 7pm 14th Council meeting 7pm 20th Design Review Board 6pm
Clubs, Organizations & Committees 1st Save the Light 7pm 2nd Senior Citizens 11am 2nd Exchange Club Board 7pm
2nd Green Team 6pm 7th Art Guild 6:30pm
9th Folly Association of Business 6pm 16th Exchange Club 7pm 21st Civic Club 7pm 28th Garden Club noon
Library 5th, 12th, 19th Story Time, craft 10:30am
5th, 12th, 19th After-School Club 3:30pm 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th Knitting on the Edge 6pm 14h Book Club 2:30pm Elsewhere 10th Open Saturday 10am-2pm Finding Dory 11am
20th Closed for Presidents’ Day
Recycling 13th, 27th
Volunteer Fire Fighters 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd 6pm
Special Events 2nd Ground Hog Day 10th Bird Walk, County Park 8:30-10:30am 14th Seawatch at the Pier 8:30-10:30am 14th Valentine’s Day 20th Presidents’ Day 21st Rick Huff Day 22nd Washington’s Birthday 25th Folly Gras / Art in the Park 28th Mardi Gras