By Margaret Toussaint

Editor’s note: The first in a

series of three articles

Like a sailing ship of yester-

year, Blackbeard Island’s histori-

cal manifest contains notable

entries that intrigue and inspire.

Add crisp seabreeze, lush and

verdant wilderness of an

unspoiled island maritime forest,

and an enduring allure of mys-

tery and pirate treasure, and it’s

no wonder this barrier island is

one of McIntosh County’s crown

jewels.

The island is comprised of

1,168 acres of freshwater

impoundments/marsh, 2,000

acres of saltwater marsh, 2,115

acres of pine and oak forests and

340 acres of sandy beaches to

yield a total area of 5,623 acres.

Of this, 3,000 acres are designat-

ed wilderness.

To ride along its single lane

trails is to step back in time, to a

landscape without dwellings,

without pollution, without the

noise of civilization. Shaded by

wide-spreading oaks and soaring

pines, bearded with spiky fringes

of saw palmetto, cross-hatched

with rollercoaster-like dune

ridges and swales, and adorned

with lilting birdcalls, this

National Wildlife Refuge on the

Atlantic Ocean side of the north

end of Sapelo Island puts one in

mind of Jurassic Park.

One never knows what will

be around the next bend.

Will it be George, the 12-foot

gator who has claimed owner-

ship of the island’s cotton savan-

na area? Will it be stunning

emerald vegetation as far as the

eye can see or delicate feathery

plumes of dog fennel? Will a

wading bird be fishing for his

dinner in a trailside pond?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service Refuge manager for

Harris Neck, Wolf Island and

Blackbeard Island is Kimberly

Hayes. Five years into her stint,

she’s ecstatic about her job.

“I do this because I love what

I do. My dad worked for the U.S.

Forest Service, and I was raised

with a conservation state of

mind.”

As we toured Blackbeard,

Hayes pointed out features of the

island, stopping to demonstrate

toothache tree leaves were a local

anesthetic and adding that the

plant species is host for the giant

swallowtail butterfly, among

other tidbits of island lore.

Two structures on the island

are outfitted for staff and volun-

teers, with bunks, a kitchen, a

dining room, bathroom, an

office, and even a laundry room.

One fireplace mantel allegedly

was salvaged from the quaran-

tine station’s doctor’s home.

Another mantel is chock full of

SU

BS

CR

IBE

R A

DD

RE

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:

Table of Contents High Tide LevelsMoon PhasesWeekly Bible Verse

Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Public Notices . . . . .9-12

Thursday, July 10

6:32 a.m., 7:12 p.m.

Friday, July 11

7:28 a.m., 8:06 p.m.

Saturday, July 12

8:23 a.m., 8:59 p.m.

Sunday, July 13

9:17 a.m., 9:52 p.m.

Monday, July 14

10:12 a.m., 10:45 p.m.

Tuesday, July 15

11:09 a.m., 11:41 p.m.

Wednesday, July 16

-----, 12:08 p.m.

Thursday, July 17

12:38 a.m., 1:07 p.m.

New Moon: July 26

First Quarter: July 5

Full Moon: July 12

Last Quarter: July 188 0 4 8 7 9 3 2 4 2 3 2

A man's pride brings him low,

but a man of lowly spirit

gains honor.

Proverbs 29:23

www.thedariennews.net

Darien NewsVOLUME 64, NO. 12 DARIEN, GEORGIA 31305 July 10, 2014 14 PAGES 75 CENTS

TheFacebook/TheDarienNewsOnline

By Anna Hall

In recent years, the canines and

felines served by the Humane

Animal Rescue Team of

McIntosh County have seen their

level of care raised to degrees

even the managers of the center

never quite expected. Response

from community members, offi-

cial boards and generous donors

has been close to overwhelming,

said Marion Cuttino, who, along

with a team of dedicated assis-

tants, worked to combine the

county’s animal shelter with a

no-kill Humane Society facility,

thus creating HART.

Today, the county can proudly

boast a no-kill shelter, which is

actively working to continue it’s

ramped up energy to move into

more modern technologies and

larger facilities.

“Spaying and neutering pets,

both feral and domestic, is our

point message,” Cuttino said.

“The most effective way to

decrease the feral animal popula-

tion, the best way to safe guard

against an increase in feral ani-

mal populations, is to follow

trap-spay/neuter, then release

tactics. We’re seeing it working.”

Recently, HART volunteers

and employees presented their

latest statistics to the McIntosh

County Commission, to show-

case the efforts and hard work

that has been activated behind-

the-scenes of the operation. In

May, the organization performed

403 spay or neuter operations for

canines and felines. All totaled,

HART conducted more than 400

spay/neuter surgeries, which

were paid for by a Department of

Agriculture grant. Additionally,

63 more surgeries- 39 canine

spays, and 24 canine neuters-

which were all paid for with

additional grant funding.

This interior trail on Blackbeard Island looks guarded with the toothy border of saw palmettos and invit-

ing with the dappled shade created by the vaulted oak canopy.

Daily, new pups such as this young lab, are dropped off at the

HART no-kill shelter, and all are found homes, either locally or

through adoption networks.

Wading birds delight in the interior freshwater ponds on

Blackbeard.

HART Thriving as Area’sNo-Kill Animal Shelter

See HART Thriving, Page 2

Blackbeard Island

See Blackbeard Island, Page 14

School Superintendent PleadsNot Guilty in Cover-up of

Teacher’s Alleged Child AbuseSee Page 3

16 Arrested and 7 Wanted on Charges of Distribution of

Drugs in Drug Sting OperationSee Page 5

Law enforcement officersknocked on doors inMcIntosh County searchingfor and arresting 16 oncharges of distribution ofcontrolled substances andpossession of controlledsubstances during the earlymorning hours of July 1.

The Red Star 2 opera-tion, comprised of officersof the McIntosh County

Office of the Sheriff andCity of Darien Drug TaskForce, as well as the U.S.Marshal’s Task Force andthe Georgia Department ofNatural Resources, paidhouse calls to residences inDarien and throughout thecounty making arrests of 16people, with seven stillwanted at presstime.

McIntosh County Sheriff

Steve Jessup said the RedStar 2 operation began inJanuary 2013, with under-cover law enforcementagents purchasing crackcocaine, cocaine, metham-phetamine, marijuana andprescription pills. Photosand charges of all 16people arrested and theseven wanted personsare included on page 5.

Red Star 2 undercover stingoperation nabs drug dealers

Law enforce-

ment officers

knock on a door

at a McIntosh

County resi-

dence in the

early morning

hours of July 1

during the Red

Star 2 drug sting

operation.