Welcome Sign Returned to James Island

Welcome sign returned to James Island

By: DENESHIA GRAHAM    Of The Post and Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 01/02/03

     PHOTO: This sign from the previous town of James Island was found recently at a West Ashley apartment complex. Lee Kline, the volunteer office manager at Town Hall, said the sign will be used by the current town.


     It was Dec. 17 when Lee Kline received a phone call that a former town of James Island sign was found at a West Ashley apartment complex.
     Coincidentally, it was the same day that Mayor Mary Clark was taking the stand in court, defending the reincorporated town's right to exist.
     Kline, the volunteer office manager at Town Hall, decided to head "right over" to Plantation Apartments on Carriage Lane and rescue the blue-and-white highway sign used by the former town.
     Incorporated in 1993, the town of James Island was dissolved in 1997 after a city of Charleston lawsuit successfully challenged the town's boundaries. It reincorporated in May and was challenged shortly thereafter by another city lawsuit aimed at the town's dissolution.
     The sign bears the circular emblem used by the town and the words, "Welcome to the Town of James Island." "I don't know where it came from," said Cheryl Bloodworth, property manager at the apartment complex.
     Bloodworth, who grew up on James Island, became property manager in November. She found the sign propped against a fence while walking the property. While the complex is home for a number of longtime residents, Bloodworth suspects the sign may have belonged to a short-term student resident who left the sign behind.
     "I knew all the battles they (the town) had been through and that they were on a tight budget," Bloodworth said of deciding to contact the town. "Lee seemed very appreciative."
     Kline said the S.C. Department of Transportation will reinstall the sign the first week in January, just in time for a planned 10-year anniversary celebration of the town's initial incorporation on Jan. 8.
     Although the court ruling on the town's fate isn't expected until February, Kline believes the sign's timely discovery hints at a favorable outcome. "Maybe it's an omen," she said with a smile.
     Deneshia Graham can be contacted at 937-5744.