Greenwood council OKs 5-mill tax hike

July 19, 2005

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

Greenwood taxpayers will be seeing an increase in their next tax notices from the city.
The increase is needed, city officials say, to keep up with the rising costs of keeping vehicles running and because of pass-along costs from state government.
Approving the tax increase Monday on the first of two required readings, the council voted unanimously in favor of the recommended tax hike. The 5-mill increase will cost the owner of a $100,000 home in the city about $20 per year more in taxes.
City Manager Steve Brown said when the council adopted its current $12 million municipal budget it agreed to take a look at expenses and revenues again at mid-year.
That examination shows a substantial increase in costs for diesel fuel and gasoline, Brown said. “There is no way we’ll be able to live within our budget,” he said.
Also, state government added to the city’s costs by increasing the amount the city must pay into employees’ retirement accounts, Brown said.
There also has been an increase to the city in worker’s compensation premiums, he said.
The additional tax will generate about $160,000, Brown said, and that money will be applied to the amount called for in the budget to be taken from the city’s reserves. About $1 million is called for to come from reserves, and the tax increase should decrease that amount to the $800,000 range.
“If we continue to spend our reserves,” Brown said, “cash flow will be critical.”
In other action, the council split on a rezoning request involving businesses on Enterprise Court.
These businesses had originally been zoned general commercial, then designated neighborhood commercial when the new zoning maps were adopted in August, and were before council for a change back to general commercial.
Residents on the neighboring Woodcrest Drive opposed the rezoning, saying that general commercial zoning is less restrictive than what the businesses operate under now.
But Brown said general commercial is more in keeping with the zoning of other businesses on the S.C. 72 Bypass.
“If there’s any general commercial properties in this community,” he said, “it’s these properties.”
Council members Linda Edwards and Herbert Vaughn voted against the rezoning of the properties to general commercial on the first of two required readings of the ordinance.

Mozella Brunson

Mozella Brunson, of 211 Watson St., died Sunday, July 17, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
The family is at the home of a sister Edith Jackson, 643 Giles St.
Services will be announced by Parks Funeral Home.

Paul Dean Cleveland

GREENWOOD — Paul Dean Cleveland, 69, of 1413 Ninety Six Highway, son of the late Paul and Lucille Cleveland entered into heaven July 15, 2005 after a long illness. He is survived by a sister, Frances Whatley of Greenwood, three nieces and several nephews. He was an eighteen year veteran of the U.S. Army. His caregivers were Keith Newman and Lucy Newman Edwards.
Services will be Thursday 2:00 p.m. at Greenwood Memorial Gardens with the Reverend Mac McLellan.
Honorary escorts will be John and Donna Greenway, Jimmy Haynes, Roy Walker and Hospice House Staff. The family would like to express a special thanks to these people.
Harley Funeral Home will be in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Kenneth Cox

WARE SHOALS — Carl Kenneth Cox, 65, husband of Martha Sue Abrams Cox, of 9548 Highway 252, died Monday, July 18, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Services will be announced by Parker-White Funeral Home.

Deatra Evelyn DeGeeter

Deatra Evelyn DeGeeter, of 109 Second Ave., Route 84, Carbon Cliff, Ill., a daughter of Evelyn DeGeeter and Brad DeGeeter, died Monday, July 18, 2005.
The family is at the home of an uncle, Sammy Harvley, 107 Circle St., Ninety Six, S.C.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home, Greenwood, S.C.

George Freeman

Services for George Freeman, of 106 Richard St., are 3 p.m. Thursday at Springfield Baptist Church, Edgefield, conducted by Bishop Emmanuel Spearman, assisted by the Revs. Clyde D. Cannon and Annette Edwards. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 2.
Pallbearers are Charles Christopher, Billy Gilchrist, Lawrence Griffin, James Freeman, Robert Freeman and Antonio Holmes.
Flower bearers are Tasha Roundtree, Deirder Wright, Brenda Christopher, Mable Coates, Sanieka Gilchrist and Londa Jackson.
Visitation is Wednesday evening at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Calvin Kinard Jr.

Calvin Kinard Jr., 73, of 108 N. Bethune St., husband of Mary Alice Kinard, died Monday, July 18, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late Calvin Kinard Sr. and Mamie Wimes Kinard. He retired from Greenwood Industries-Nantex and was a member of Jacobs Chapel Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two daughters, Linda Jean Kinard and Deborah Kinard Holmes, both of Greenwood; two brothers, Isaiah Kinard and Samuel Kinard, both of Greenwood; five sisters, Lucille Turner, Lillie Mae Fisher, Mamie Helen Higgins, Iola Crawford and Viola Cannon, all of Greenwood; four grandchildren, one reared in the home, Crystal Kinard; and two great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Linda B. Lagroon

Linda B. Lagroon, 67, of National Healthcare, died Monday, July 18, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home.

Ruth D. Ramhurst

ABBEVILLE, SC — Ruth D. Ramhurst, 69, of 205 Magazine St., died Sunday, July 17th at her residence. She was born in Newark, NJ to the late Samuel J. and Elizabeth Hanson Keller. She has been a resident of Abbeville since 1982. She was very involved with the Tracy Jackson Program of G.I.F.T. of Abbeville and was a member of the Toxaway United Methodist Church in Anderson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Ramhurst and son Arthur Ramhurst.
Surviving Mrs. Ramhurst is a sister, Evelyn Crockett of Georgia, a brother, Samuel Keller of California, her daughter, Ester Soriano and her husband Greg, a son, Richard Ramhurst and his wife Shelley, and five grandchildren, all of New Jersey. A Memorial Service will be held 4:00PM Thursday, July 21, 2005 at the Haigler St. Church of Christ. The family will receive friends from 3:30PM to 4:00PM prior to the service on Thursday. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the Ramhurst family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com
HARRIS FUNERAL HOME, of Abbeville is assisting the Ramhurst family.
PAID OBITUARY

George Simpkins

CALHOUN FALLS — George Simpkins, 77, of Heardmont Nursing Home, Elberton, Ga., formerly of 411 Lee St., died Sunday, July 17, 2005 at Elbert Memorial Hospital in Georgia.
Born in Calhoun Falls, he was a son of the late Butler and Eliza Raindrop Simpkins. He was a retired sanitation employee with the Town of Calhoun Falls and a member of Glovers A.M.E. Church in Calhoun Falls.
Survivors include a brother, Edward Simpkins of Florida; three sisters, Lucille Simpkins of Charlotte, N.C., Carrie Griffin of Washington, D.C., and Dora Williams of Abbeville.
Graveside services are 1 p.m. Wednesday at Glovers A.M.E. Church, conducted by the Rev. Larry Merrill, pastor.
The family is at the home of a niece Liza Cade, 122 Seneca Circle.
Friendly Funeral Home is in charge.

Brenda Gail Walker Weaver

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Brenda Gail Walker Weaver, 55, of 2427 Brookshire Drive, widow of Bobby Weaver, died Sunday, July 17, 2005 at Chesapeake General Hospital.
A daughter of the late Prue and Leila Walker, she was a graduate of Greenwood High School, Greenwood, S.C., and was employed at Lawrence Pharmacy. She was a member of Brentwood Baptist Church in Chesapeake.
Survivors include a son, Kenneth Bagwell of the home; a sister, Judy Stevenson of Greenville, S.C.; two brothers, Donald Walker of Greenwood and Warron Walker of Jesup, Ga.; and three grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Wednesday at Harley Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Stanley Sprouse.
Visitation is 12:30-1:30 Wednesday at the funeral home.
Harley Funeral Home, Greenwood, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Rain continues to thwart Post 20’s postseason run

July 19, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

IRMO — Mother Nature just will not cooperate with the Greenwood American Legion Post 20 baseball team’s playoff schedule.
In a scene not at all uncommon in this 2005 postseason campaign, a storm cloud washed away any hopes of Post 20 and Irmo playing Game One of their second-round, best-of-five series Monday night at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo.
The game has been rescheduled for 7 tonight at Dutch Fork.
The rainout was eerily similar to Greenwood’s series last week against Spartanburg. That waterlogged playoff showdown took six days to play four games, with several other contests played under threats of bad weather.
Post 20 is looking to reach the state tournament on its own. The team will play host to the tournament, which will be played July 26-30 at Legion Field, and will get an automatic bid into the tourney.
However, in recent weeks there has been much talk among Post 20 players about earning their ticket into the tournament. If they are victorious in the series with Irmo, they will accomplish that goal.
They also wished to avenge a regular-season loss to Post 174 that came last month at Legion Field.
At approximately 6:20 Monday night, conditions at Dutch Fork were pleasant. However, a treacherous dark cloud was steadily approaching from the Southeast.
The rain arrived in full about 6:40.
Post 20 continued to take infield as the cloud hung overhead, all the while assistant coach Nate Hamilton continued to bang out grounders.
When a bolt of lightning and subsequent thunder clap resounded seemingly right on top of the stadium, shorting out the scoreboard and shutting off the field lights, Post 20 players scattered.
Players, umpires, fans and coaches huddled under the concession stand overhang as the storm raged. The coaches and umpires gathered to discuss the possibilities of playing the contest.
About 7:20, Greenwood coach Billy Dean Minor turned and provided the inevitable verdict.
“The game’s called,” Minor said.
Post 20 had, for seemingly the umpteenth time this season, been rained out.

Loss of textile jobs adds to credit rating problem

July 19, 2005

South Carolina recently lost one of its top-rated AAA credit standings. Standard and Poor’s Rating Service lowered it to AA-plus. Two other rating services kept it at AAA.
Some legislative members of his own Republican Party put the blame squarely on Gov. Mark Sanford. Heading the list is new Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell. He says he’s not picking on Sanford, but …
Most of Sanford’s critics agree with S & P that it’s high unemployment in the state that causes the problem. In short, they say it’s a lack of jobs. They blame the governor for not doing enough to attract new industry and create new jobs. Standard and Poor’s doesn’t like tax cuts, either, something that Sanford has proposed.

LIVING IN A COMMUNITY that historically has depended on the textile industry to supply the most jobs, it would seem that the decline in the domestic textile industry is one of the major culprits. With factories that produce textiles moving abroad, there’s not much that any governor can do. It’s clear, too, that legislators can’t do anything, either. They are, after all, in a state where the legislature is the dominant power. They are in a far better position to do something to help offset the tremendous loss of textiles jobs, not to mention other industries that have also been negatively affected by the emerging global economy.
You expect the opposition, in this case Democrats, to point the finger at a sitting Republican governor. You don’t, however, expect the leaders of his own party to berate him as a major cause of state worries.

LIKE IT OR NOT, SANFORD is a governor who seems to be trying to keep the bond he made with voters. He campaigned on tax cuts. He also promised to work to make state government more efficient and productive through challenging the way business has always been done in Columbia. Considering that the Legislature has always been the power in South Carolina, it wasn’t likely that it would relinquish any government reins without putting up a fight. Whether anyone expected it to be as contrary or antagonistic as it has become, though, is hard to say. Maybe it is simply a product of the times, when nitpicking, back-biting, character assassination and worse have become the rule instead of the exception.
Whatever, the whole attitude thing is a drain on civility almost every which way you turn. There’s no wonder that voters get fed up with government. They don’t have much of a choice.