By Eugene Platt
Published in The Post and Courier

The tragic fire that took the lives of nine Charleston firefighters on the night of June 18 left a dark cloud over the Lowcountry. Even those who did not personally know any of the fallen, feel a deep sense of loss for all of them.

But that dark cloud has a silver lining, and the spirits of a standing-room only crowd were lifted by beautiful music, poetry, touching eulogies, and a message of hope powerfully delivered by the Rev. Hercules Champaign at the funeral Monday of his nephew Melvin Champaign. People of faith left Emmanuel Baptist Church reassurred that, while Melvin will be sorely missed, he has indeed gone to a better place. In all my years on James Island, I have never witnessed a greater occasion of joy, grief, pride, and hope so divinely intertwined.

The deaths of all those courageous firefighters were equally tragic; each, no doubt, will be missed in his own neighborhood and beyond. Melvin, however, was one of us, a fellow James Islander, and his death leaves a particular void in our tight-knit community. Coming home from his funeral, I pondered that memorable passage from one of John Donne’s sermons:

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Eugene Platt

(Eugene Platt is a member of the James Island Public Service District Commission and was the first Poet Laureate of the Town of James Island.)

By Eugene Platt
Published in The Post and Courier

Your June 4 editorial titled “Clear need for underground wiring” was well received here on James Island. As the author of the resolution, which was unanimously passed by the James Island Public Service District Commission, urging conversion to underground wiring in our service area, I was particularly gratified by The Post and Courier’s endorsement of our position on this critical matter.

For more than 40 years, the James Island PSD has provided basic services essential to the quality of life and safety of its constituents. In addition to providing these services, the commission has established itself as a true champion of the environment, taking bold positions on a variety of issues, not the least of which was a resolution imploring Charleston County Council to enact a moratorium on development. (Unfortunately, the council lacked the courage to act on it.)

In terms of services provided, as well as its public positions on relevant issues, the commission enjoys an enviable degree of confidence among James Islanders. This confidence, along with their desire for local self- determination, explains the aversion most of them have to being annexed into the city of Charleston.

EUGENE PLATT

734 Gilmore Court James Island

Eugene Platt is a member of the James Island PSD Commission.