Barbs & Bouquets

A little rain never hurt anyone

BOUQUET: It's a good thing that the Beaufort Water Festival doesn't last 40 days and 40 nights, or we might be trading in the family Buick for an ark. It seems that with Water Festival came rain — and lots of it — this week.

About 4 inches have fallen on Beaufort during the Water Festival, and most of that precipitation struck as the marquee events for the day were set to go.

But Beaufortonians are a tough lot, and the hordes of people who have come out and celebrated the area's watery heritage have done so rain or shine — and with little complaint, if any.

The fact is, the big storm clouds blocked the sun's rays at the hottest part of the day, so it was a mixed blessing.

Despite what organizers had in mind 53 years ago when finding the right moniker, "Water" Festival sure is fitting this year.

Worldwide AIDS program is a priority

BARB: No politician should play follow the leader just because his or her party tells them to, but when common sense prevails, those renegades need to think twice. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint urged the Senate on both sides of the aisle to vote against expanding President George Bush's global AIDS initiative to dozens of countries beyond Africa.

The U.N. estimates that about 45 million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus. Approximately 26 million people have died from AIDS, and estimates show that unless industrialized nations help, by 2020 more than 70 million people could die from HIV/AIDS.

For DeMint to argue that the AIDS spending is being done "with no thought" is mind-boggling. The senator should think about this: So far, Bush's initiative, begun in 2003, is estimated to have saved some 2 million lives.

There was a lot of thought in the measure, after all.

We have to step up for humanity, worldwide, and Bush's plan to provide $48 billion to fighting the epidemic does just that. DeMint wanted to cut that cost to $35 billion, removing funding for malaria and tuberculosis. His amendment was squelched 64-31.

Skate park gets a facelift

BOUQUET: Bring a guest past Port Royal's Anchor Park, and the first thing they'll say is, "Wow, that's quite a skate park!"

Of course, they are referring to the Port Royal Skate Park, which resides in Anchor Park, which sits in front of Naval Hospital Beaufort on Ribaut Road. The ramps are impressive, and the roof over the ramps is first-rate — something you might find in a bigger or more wealthy town. Hilton Head Island's skate park can't even boast a roof.

But the park and the skating area have shown signs of wear and tear over the years, which is natural for a heavily used park. The park also is used for the Saturday farmers market.

So to spruce up the joint, a group of about 70 volunteers from Bat Cave Baptist Church in North Carolina and Port Royal Baptist Church teamed up to replace old wood gazebos, repaint the skate ramps and clean up the park. The Bat Cave church raised about $100,000 for the community service project.

The skate park is a great venue to keep kids safe and healthy while having good fun doing what kids do — playing. Sure, their skate-punk clothes and blank stares might tell you otherwise, but these kids are doing good things for themselves, and the volunteers have done a great thing for the community.

Now, how will we return the favor?