Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Jackie Broach, and this is first Friday with Georgetown county. Thank you for joining us. We have a very special guest this morning. Beth Goodall, our director of parks and recreation, is with us. And this is, I think, your first time joining us for the podcast.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: This is my first time.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Welcome. And we have a very special occasion. That is the reason that you're here. And it is that July is national Parks and Recreation Recreation Month, right?
[00:00:33] Speaker B: That is true. That is true. But in Georgetown county, every month is parks and recreation month.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Well, you guys certainly stay busy enough for that to be true. Tell me a little bit about some of the things that we have going on with parks and Recreation right now.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: We do so in the summer we have lots of different sports activities for our kids because we don't have sports leagues going on. Booster club baseball's just finishing up, so they're going into playoffs and state championships and that kind of thing. We have a little bit of a loyal and organized sport. So each evening through the summer, we've got different sports programs going on Monday through Thursday nights at our different recreation centers. And then we just concluded four weeks of glow pickleball on Friday nights for all ages. So that was a lot of fun. A lot of folks came out, so you'll see that coming back. It was very popular. And July, then we transitioned with our youth into conditioning to get them ready for flag football and tackle football and cheerleading, which are all coming up starting in August.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: We have registration open for those right now, correct?
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Absolutely. Registration is open. With the new change. This being our second year of our year round school schedule, we've had to do some adjustments. So this year we're going to start flag football right around the 1 August, which is, it's a little, little earlier for us and for our kids to go back to school, but that is registering now and lots of kids have registered already. So we encourage people to go out and register if they're interested in that sport, especially now.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: I saw some video from the glow pickleball and that looked really cool.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: Glow pickleball is really cool. As you know, Pickleball is taken over the world pretty much. It is the fastest growing sport in the country. And it's, it was primarily a senior type activity a few years ago, but now it's all h is playing pickleball. So we actually tried glow pickleball a couple years ago for our youth, and kids weren't playing pickleball so much at that point. So the adults that play were all like, well, we want to do it. We want to play glow pickleball. So this summer we brought it out on Friday nights at each of our, we rotated around at each of our rec centers in each of our regions, and it was about a 50 50 split. Had all ages come out and play our active pickleball league folks. Some of them came and played, and our good pickleball players are always willing to introduce new players to the sport. So it was a lot of fun.
Great opportunity to try pickleball under the black light.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: So for those who missed it, when might we expect it to be back?
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Well, one of our challenges with blue pickleball is the majority of our regional recreation centers are built to have daylighting. Great in the daytime, great for, you know, conserving energy. But when you're trying to do complete darkness, you have to wait a little later than makes sense sometimes. So during the summer, as soon as the days get a little bit shorter, we're going to be bringing back low pickleball on a regular basis.
[00:04:00] Speaker A: So maybe more of a fall winter sport.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: Okay, so what else do we have going on? I know we're getting ready for football.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: You said cheerleading, those youth programs, you know, the customary seasonal youth programs, getting ready to do those in conditioning, but for all ages. We introduced our goat program at the beginning of the year. It's Georgetown outdoor adventure trails.
Because Georgetown county has so many wonderful natural resources. We have our rivers, we have our boat landings and bike paths and beaches and trails, and we really have used those to set us apart.
The counties around us don't really have as robust a slate of facilities, for lack of a better word, in our outdoors. So our goat program was brought forth just to be kind of a marketing arm to show people the natural resources and all that we have here. And that program really has taken off. There's. We've got several challenges going. TL Staub came to us retired from the sheriff's office a year or so ago and came to us part time as our outdoor program coordinator. And he is doing a phenomenal job.
He has introduced a monthly paddle. There are monthly meetups for hikes and for bike rides. And soon we'll be having some. The goat herd, as we call them, will be having some organized or sort of organized meetups, even for dinner or lunch or breakfast or just some social opportunities there too. The herd has continued to grow. We have several hundred people now that have joined the goatherd, and it's just been a whole lot of fun. Right now we've got a fit goat challenge going on. Youngest participant is seven and the oldest is 74 currently that have signed up for that program and it runs for the entire year. And you can earn some goat swag, goat herd swag for completing the challenge. I think we were up to this morning, 1313 hundred. And you can choose how you want to do it. Walk, you can run, you can hike, you can paddle, you can bike, you just keep up with your mileage. And we provide you some information on some tools to help you do that and report in to the herd leader and we'll track your progress and then you can earn some goat swag.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: So all the way back in January, we had TL lawn and he talked about the goat program and it was just starting up. And I am truly just amazed by how much it has grown and taken off and the time since then. He has got a goat herd Facebook page going on and I just love to follow it. People are posting their pictures from their paddles and their hikes and they're really just taken with this program. So good on you guys. This is awesome.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Well, all of us are really excited about how the goat program's going, and I think it kind of is a play off our forest, this world. You know, we introduced him during COVID and he's become kind of a local celebrity representing the department.
But, you know, forest is also an outdoor creature, so he's welcomed the goat into the program. And so they kind of tag team some things as, for example, our Halloween event out at Chupee has forest not so spooky Halloween trail that's coming up again this year. I'm looking forward to very popular, but we'll be combining that event with an outdoor recreation festival. So there will be things for the herd, things for the forest, friends, you know, all of those, those folks will be together.
But we were really excited about how well Forest has done it and really with the go program because we really don't have anybody to do marketing or really any funding to do marketing. So it's kind of a grassroots thing and just we sit around and brainstorm this stuff and try to try to get it out there and it's been embraced and we're really excited about that.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Let's talk numbers for a minute. Going back to, like, your youth programming and stuff, I think last year you guys hit a, like an all time high as far as participation, correct?
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Yes. All of our programs have been growing. You know, Covid did a number on youth sports and programs in general, but all of our programs have been growing. Our track, our spring track program had 70% increase in participants this year over last.
We just are seeing huge number, huge numbers coming. Not so much in our population because we really haven't had population growth.
And our segment of population that's growing the most, of course, has been our senior population. But we are getting a great, great numbers of youth. Even though our youth numbers are pretty static in the area, more are coming out and participating, which we love. We love kids getting out and doing sports and kids are coming out and doing our outdoor programs, too. Really excited about that.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: Now, since you mentioned seniors, let's talk a little bit about that. Parks and recreation is also over our bureau of Aging Services, which is senior centers and senior programming. So you all have a lot going on there, too. Tell me about the senior programs. Yes, we do.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: So we actually are aging services as well. And we run six senior centers that have Monday through Friday programming, serve a hot meal Monday through Friday, also have a variety of programs going on as part of that, that congregate dining program.
In addition to that particular program, we also do the meals on wheels, or we call it home delivered meals. So we handle home delivered meals across the county. And then this year we really made a huge push to do more with our evidence based health programming.
Those are our walk with ease programs. We do a bingo size program and we've started a tai chi program for four seniors specifically, or you can bring folks to join, but the 55 plus, which doesn't sound very old, but that's all it takes to be in these programs. 60 for our congregate dining programs. But we've also combined our recently combined our walk with ease program, which is an evidence space program with outdoor recreation. So TL has come together with Angie Weaver, who's our aging programming coordinator. And they started on a trail that TL developed that was a mile through the historic district, kind of our urban opportunity for folks to get outside. And ten folks started most in their seventies, sixties and seventies. But most in their seventies started in November and did a ten week program where they hiked that mile. When they started, they could make the mile in about an hour. So that program then went from the historic district to our trails to Rocky Point and eight oaks. And the group had others joined.
They were meeting then for a ten week program out on the trails. And when they finished that next ten weeks, they were doing two and a half miles in their hour.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: A number of those folks are also taking the Tai chi class.
They've brought other friends. It has been amazing to see the difference that program and just getting folks moving has made in their lives. They're kind of our ambassadors now and are bringing other folks and just the improvements in their lives, just their balance, their stability, their fitness levels. So many of them are now saying, you know, this is a lifestyle. And that's exactly what we're trying to get people to realize. It's a lifestyle.
A few of our folks couldn't swim when they started the program. They all became goats. You know, on that first program, they joined the herd. Several have taken swimming lessons. They're now going to go do the paddles.
So we offer opportunities for all abilities to get out and any of our goat activities, any of our recreation programs, we can start where you are and bring you along with the rest of the class. We've got great instructors who really are able to help bring you, bring you up and bring you into the program and get you where you want to be.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: I get to go visit with our seniors at our senior centers occasionally to take pictures and things, and they really do just have a great time. I'm counting down the days until I retire and I can go hang out with them. They dance. They, they have lunch together. They talk. They, they are always doing fun things. They've even been taking trips. They went on a cruise recently, right?
[00:13:21] Speaker B: No, we went to Charleston for an overnight, so we did some, some cool stuff down there. They have done a couple a day casino trip at Cherokee, and I miss that one. But I've heard wonderful stories and they're planning a cruise for fall, so they also do some fun day trips. They just recently went to Myheritage Farm over in Horry county and had a wonderful time kind of reminiscing with the back in the day farming stuff. I think a few of them even got to plow with a horse, so they were having a good time. But they go and shop, they go out to eat. They do really, really fun things. It's not the senior center of yesterday where folks sit around and watch tv and sew.
No, we've got great seniors, very active folks. We've got folks that are teaching chess. We've got a senior that taught himself to play chess so he could teach the other guys at the center how to play. So we've got some wild card playing seniors. We've got dancing and crafting and just really a fun place to be. And then a lot of our pickleballers. Our Walkama rec center has a huge number of folks that play pickleball five days a week, soon to be six days a week, and some of them are now coming in and joining and having lunch and then, you know, playing pickleball. So it's. It's just really a fun, fun place to be, and we encourage anyone to come check it out or call us if you have a family member that. That might want to come out, just come visit. You'll see the difference. It's a lot of fun.
[00:15:02] Speaker A: Well, you mentioned, you know, programs for all ability levels, and that is a perfect lead in to something that happened just this week at our beach. Tell us about the new beach mat at the south end of Polly's island.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: Yes. So, again, we. We can't. We don't have the budget or the personnel to do all the things we want to do, so we are. We look for partners anytime we can find folks that want to partner with us to make wonderful things happen. And the adaptive surf project is a really cool group of surfers and outdoor recreation folks, and they recently wrote a grant and got funding for some of the Moby mat systems. And so they came out yesterday.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: And now for anybody who doesn't know what a mobimat is, can you just.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: So it's. It's a heavy duty mat system that can go over sand or over dirt, over, you know, turf to give a more stable surface for a wheelchair, for a walker, for. For anybody that has a mobility challenge, even if you have a cane or you've had an injury or whatever, it gives a much more stable surface, especially over sand. And so the volunteers from adaptive surf came out yesterday morning real early to beat the crowd and installed a mat where? At the south end of Poly's island. That is the county's parking lot there. And we actually have an ad. Well, we had an Ada landing there that was destroyed a couple years ago, so it had just become just a kind of a flat, large dune. And they've installed the mat over that. We will be pulling up the mat this fall and have a complete renovation of that landing. And then the mats hopefully will go back down. It will replace the Ada landing or access that used to be there. But in the interim, this is really a game changer for folks. It goes out to the parking lot, right? To the handicapped parking spaces or the Ada parking spaces. And the same group a couple of years ago donated a beach wheelchair, which also resides in a little shelter at the same parking lot. So game changer for folks that have limited access to get to the beach.
[00:17:26] Speaker A: And I think you said that after this project, they expressed some interest in partnering with us for a couple more things.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Yes, they did. They actually want to work with us to do a couple more beach accesses, which is something we really, really, really want to do. And they are going to donate a wheelchair paddle board. So we're super excited about getting that in our program because these paddles that we have monthly, someone who is in a wheelchair will be able to join the, our paddles or, you know, go out and, and use the, the paddle board for, for other activities, too.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: So that's really just wonderful.
[00:18:09] Speaker B: Very excited.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: So earlier this week also, we were supposed to have had our second annual wave, that flag event, and it was canceled or postponed due to weather. So we are planning to have that again. I think you said around Labor Day.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Yes. So we, we were so disappointed because that was, that is a huge fun event that the first year was wonderful. Second year was shaping up to be even better. The weather didn't cooperate, but our wonderful partners and sponsors were all in the conversation on Sunday and Sunday night until we finally made the call. And I think it was the right one because we did have lots of storms yesterday. So, yes, that event's coming back. It will have a September date. We're still kicking around exactly when that's going to be, what day that's going to be. But stay tuned because it is coming back in September.
[00:19:02] Speaker A: Okay. Great. So what else can you tell us about parks and recreation before we wrap up here?
[00:19:09] Speaker B: We just, if you haven't come out and experienced our programs, our facilities in a while, come back and check us out. If you never have come to one of our facilities or joined a program, you're missing out. We'd love to have you. No matter what your interest is, we believe we have something for just about everybody. And if we don't have it and there's interest, then we'll try to figure out a way to offer it. So all of our regional centers have programming going on all the time throughout the week. We have evening programs going on. We just have so many opportunities to get folks together and get them active. Just please come and try us out.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: Beth, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: And happy parks and Recreation month.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:20:06] Speaker A: So for our next segment, we have two guests with us today. We have Brent McClellan, Midway fire rescue chief, and Chuck Weaver. Chuck, remind me what your title is.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Captain in charge of the detention center and beach patrol, marine patrol for the sheriff's office.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: That's a mouthful. No wonder.
[00:20:25] Speaker C: Yeah. And training. Yes, many ads.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Many ads.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: So today, Brent and Chuck are going to talk with us a little bit about their department's respective beach patrols, as well as just some summer safety we do. If you've been to the beach lately, you know, it is crowded out there. It is beach season. So who wants to go first? Rock, paper, scissors?
[00:20:50] Speaker C: Chief got higher rank.
[00:20:52] Speaker D: I guess it'll be the.
[00:20:54] Speaker A: So talk with us a little bit about what your beach patrol does out there from day to day. And just if you have some tips for people to have a safe, enjoyable time on the beach this time of year.
[00:21:05] Speaker D: Absolutely. So when we do beach patrol, we usually stick with the holiday weekends, the busy holiday weekends when we physically have people on the beach. You may see us out there several times each day, even on non holidays. And that's because we're either training or we're going to an active response.
Very rare this time of year. If you see us out there, the training is already taking place, so we're actually on an active response. But when it comes to actual beach patrol on the holiday weekends, we utilize our atv. It's the easier piece of equipment to actually get out on the beach.
It's easier to navigate through the crowds, and it's equipped to transport a passenger or a patient should we have an illness or any kind of injury to respond to. Our people are just actively just trying to be out in the community and spread, you know, beach safety and water safety messages and to be close if we do get that call. But for midway fire rescue to have an actual pickup truck or any other kind of vehicle on the beach, then it's there because it's pulling a jet ski or it's actually going to an active response. So that's. That's our biggest tasks during the holiday weekends. And, you know, we get. We get a lot of questions. We always get the questions that we have to refer to the sheriff's office of the glass on the beach and the things of those natures. But, you know, most of the time, it's a really good pr standpoint from our people because we get a lot of interaction with both locals and people that are visiting. And, you know, we have beautiful beaches. We like to keep them that way and keep them safe, and it's always a good opportunity for us to get out and do so. If you see our people, flag them down, say hi, they are more than ready to speak and to be, if they're needed, that that's what they're there for.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: Okay, great. Chuck, what do you guys do?
[00:22:59] Speaker C: Well, pretty much the same as well.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Are you also mostly restricted to holiday weekends.
[00:23:04] Speaker C: No, we're full time. We're year round, especially in the busy time seasons. Usually you'll see the beast patrol guys out there seven months out of the year, patrol them on ATV's side by sides. You'll see them fully equipped with rescue boards, cans. They are lifeguard certified, advanced for ocean rescues.
They do have a little bit of advanced CPR, first aid to control the scene until midway gets there to take over in case something was to happen. They also do the law enforcement aspects of it, too, like chief was talking about. They covered the glass on the beach, dogs off leash, general information that's asked about there. They're also informing and paying attention in case we have any rib currents or rip tides. Hand out the information for that as well, too. And then one thing they do a lot of is hand out the little stickers and the Beanie babies, dollar kids that are out there, but that's pretty much what they're out there doing every day.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Okay, so it sounds like you also find a good opportunity out there to interact with the public and get across that public safety messaging.
[00:24:16] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:24:17] Speaker C: Because, like I say, there's a lot of people that come to visit that have questions and want to know what they can and can't do, so we're glad to give them that information. I know we've got it posted, the county posted at all the public accesses, but, you know, when you're, when you're going to the beach, you're excited. You're getting there. You walk right by, you know what I'm saying? So they're there to answer any general questions that they have for the public as well.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: Okay, so what are some of the most common violations you guys see that you kind of have to shake your finger at people for?
[00:24:48] Speaker C: The most ones that we see that brings a lot of attention to us is the glass products on the beach. Glass could be any kind of a drinking bottle, like a picante sauce. You know, you bring stuff out on there. But any type of a glass product, the other one is dogs off the leash. Dogs have to be on the leash from 09:00 a.m. to 07:00 p.m. in the evening. And we understand people have control of their dogs, but you have visitors and they don't know that. And, you know, we don't want them to run up, scare the dog or anything else as well. So that was another one that we have issue.
Other than that there's not a whole lot of things that, you know, that we have any problems with out there? I mean, everything else pretty good. I mean, some of the things that we've been asked about is the fishing on the beach, and that's pretty much first come, first serve. But we try to be respectful, too, because you got families renting these nice houses. They want to be able to go out. So, you know, they, they talk with fishermen and they may move to the side so they can enjoy the beach around the residents as well. But that's pretty much all we see after.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: So what about holes on the beach? That's when I see complaints about a lot on social media, and that's one of the newer laws. And I know Brent may have some safety remarks about that one.
[00:26:04] Speaker D: Safety. Fill the holes in, please, please, please.
The next person coming out, obviously, you know, for the sea turtles and the natural aquatic life and everything over there, but just for the safety, everybody, you go out at the beach this time of year after dark, you're going to see many, many, many folks out there and small children. And when they take off running and find that hole that someone left behind, it doesn't work out good. So please be mindful and fill your holes in when you leave.
[00:26:33] Speaker A: Well, they can also be dangerous when you're digging them, though, right? I think I know a story out of Florida about a couple of kids who were killed earlier this year because the hole collapsed on them.
[00:26:43] Speaker D: Yep. And that's a whole nother sand. Sand has some weight to it when you dig that hole too big and everybody's seen the photos of them buried in it. Yeah. It safety wise, you know, let's just, let's just have a good time and not dig a hole.
[00:27:00] Speaker C: And if you do feel it back ease.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: So what other things can you tell us? Do you have any safety tips? Obviously, we've been having some hot days out there.
[00:27:13] Speaker C: Stay hydrated. Make sure that you got proper sunblocks, everything from there.
Pay attention to what the weather's doing because we've been getting some pop up storms offshore coming in pretty quick.
We've got some other storms that are brewing out there, and people don't realize the effects that it can have even on our coast, even though it's several miles away, the undertows and the currents as well. So be mindful. When you're walking out there in the water, you know, pay attention what the waves are doing.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: All right.
[00:27:46] Speaker D: And something that I would like to add, that we talk about the water safety, and obviously, please, the beach is not a place, the ocean is not a place to learn how to swim, please, you know, know how to swim already, just as Captain Weaver said, you know, his people, my people are certified as well, but we're not. We can't be everywhere at all times. So please make sure that you're not learning how to swim when you arrive at the ocean. Be mindful of the local announcements. Just as he said, you know, if there's rip currents that day, just know what you're getting at. And one of the biggest things, there's no shame in having a personal flotation device, you know, if you're not familiar with it, that, you know, there's no, nothing wrong with having a life jacket on while you're out there. But another big, big, big thing, two things I wanted to bring up that we hardly ever touch on. Water safety, you know, absolutely as a must. But the next thing is, know where you're at. Know something to be familiar with. We have numerous calls for missing children, and it's just a five year old can amaze you how quick they can move.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: We've gotten almost two year old. And, lord, their legs go.
[00:28:56] Speaker D: They go fast. And when they come out of that water, even if there's just a slight bit of a wind direction, and, you know, you never come out the same place you go in.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: And.
[00:29:06] Speaker D: And know when you arrive, when you're setting up your little camp and getting everything ready, take some time with your children, even if they're teenage children, because I'm telling you, some of the 17 year olds can really make some speed.
Familiarize yourself where you're at. Local access, whatever the number is or the animal that's on the local access. If there's nothing really immediate, look at the house that you've set up in front of. Does it have blue shutters? Does it have green shutters? Most of the houses over there are pretty unique. You can find a landmark that way. We all know we meet back here if we get, you know, a little bit. But keep your eye on your children. Keep your eye on your friends, your loved ones, whomever you're with. Know where everybody's at at all times, but have a familiarity of the area before you just take off and jump into the water. Know where you're at. And the other thing is you was kind of hitting on is the heat, hydrate water, get in the shade, all those things. And remember, even if you're that person that wants to sit under the tent the whole time but never consume water, that wind coming off the ocean is evaporating you and dehydrating you as quick as being out in the sun. So, you know, we always get numerous. We've already had several heat related calls this year. So please make sure you're hydrated, make sure you get yourself into some shade and know your surroundings, know how to swim. Watch for the water risks and things that come out. And, you know, if you're, if you're not sure, then, then flag down one of us and ask, please.
[00:30:33] Speaker A: So if somebody does maybe see somebody who is in distress in the water, what is the appropriate thing to do? I know we've had instances in the past where the person trying to do the rescuing of somebody who is in danger ended up in danger themselves. And, you know, that obviously is not something we ever want to see.
[00:30:54] Speaker D: Please call 911 immediately.
[00:30:56] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:30:58] Speaker D: You know, and I know Cap's going to agree with me. I mean, we know people are going to do what, what they feel like they have to do in that time frame.
Grab a flotation device and take with you, grab a boogie board. You know, that's your chance to make, make sure you're safe before you do anything. We never would tell somebody to enter an unsafe environment, so that's not going to come from, from, from us, but dial 911 immediately, get professional help there as fast as possible. And, you know, there's been a couple people like, well, I couldn't tell if they were in distress or not. Dial 911, and a second later they make it in, call back and say they've made it in. We're still going to come and check. We're still going to come and make sure that everybody's okay, but there's no harm in calling early and getting us on the way.
[00:31:45] Speaker A: Yeah, that's definitely better. Definitely a case of better safe than sorry.
[00:31:49] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: Well, gentlemen, what else can you think of to tell us today?
[00:31:55] Speaker C: We want everybody to enjoy the county beaches. And like chief said, we got a beautiful place here. And let's talk about the evening when we're getting ready to go home. You know, we're calling today. We're just asking that you clean up after yourself, remove anything that you brought to the beach, off the beach, take it back with you, because we don't know what the evening the tide is going to be and you want to come out and find your beach chair missing or even washed down the beach somewhere else. And especially, like chief said earlier, the aquatic life, the turtles. This is big season for turtles this year. And then coming up on the beach, they don't need to be getting caught up in any of the canopy tents and chairs as well. So we remove them from the beach and take them back to the residence. That helps out a whole lot better with us.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: I will mention Georgetown county does have an ordinance that requires people to take your stuff in after sunset when you leave the beach. Anything that you do leave can be considered abandoned and is a hazard for nesting sea turtles. They bump into that stuff and head right back out into the ocean without laying their eggs.
Now, when you say take your stuff back in, does that also mean litter?
[00:33:02] Speaker C: Litter too? Yes. Yes.
[00:33:04] Speaker D: We have trash cans everywhere.
[00:33:06] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: And yet I still find beer bottles and beer cans and cigarette butts every week.
[00:33:13] Speaker C: What is it like the campground say pack it in, pack it out?
[00:33:16] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:33:16] Speaker A: Yes please.
Well guys, it is going to be a busy holiday weekend. We will look forward to seeing your people out there. Thank you all so much for what you do.
[00:33:27] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you for having us.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: Yes, if you're interested in finding more information on beach regulations in Georgetown county, those are located on our website, gtcounty.org dot. As usual, as we wrap up this podcast, I'm going to go over a list of important dates coming up this month. On July 22 at Chappie Regional Recreation center, the recreation commission will have its quarterly meeting in open house. Members of the public are welcome to go and attend that. It will be from 530 to 07:00 p.m. the following day on July 23, county council will meet at Howard Auditorium.
We have moved the meeting to Howard again this month in anticipation of a large crowd as council is scheduled to give bird reading to the land use element of the comprehensive plan. There is also a council workshop scheduled to happen immediately before the council meeting. I don't have a time on that meeting yet, but it will probably be at either 04:00 or 430. As we get closer to the meeting date, we'll post the details, including an agenda on our calendar on the website, gtcounty.org dot. So go and check for that. On July 30, we will have a special program at the Georgetown Library Auditorium that will focus on sustainability goals in Georgetown county and will feature guest speaker doctor Pamela Martin, who is a professor at Coastal Carolina University and that is part of the library's 225th anniversary speaker series, which will be happening throughout the summer here at the Georgetown Library Auditorium.
Also at all five of our library branches throughout the summer, we will be having summer reading programs. Check our online calendar to find specific events, dates and details about what's happening at your local branch. Lastly, August 1 is going to be a big day for the Georgetown library. After being closed for an extensive period for renovations, the library is officially going to reopen on August 1. So mark your calendar. Calendars come in and see all the wonderful improvements that they have made. Thank you again for joining us for first Friday with Georgetown county. We'll see you next month.
