Hunting Island park won’t get lifeguard until June

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) - A lifeguard will be posted at Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort County, but not in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism spokesman Marion Edmonds told The Beaufort Gazette (https://bit.ly/1lLPrrY ) that the park wanted to have a lifeguard in place for the holiday weekend, but the full-time person hired did not have the proper certification.

Edmonds says a part-time lifeguard has been hired, but can’t start working until June.

There have been six drownings off Hunting Island State Park in the last four years. The park hasn’t had lifeguards since 1998, in part because it is in a remote location.

The state parks department and Beaufort County are splitting the cost of the lifeguard.

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Information from: The Beaufort Gazette, https://www.beaufortgazette.com