It’s what’s on the inside

Efficiency key in changes at Greenwood jail

March 17, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

One look at the exterior of the Greenwood County Detention Center and observers would assume that it’s the same. But once on the inside, they would see that subtle changes have made quite a difference.
“The most important change we made was organizational,” explained Sheriff Dan Wideman. “The jail now operates as one of our four divisions within the sheriff’s office, as opposed to a stand-alone agency.”
Wideman said the change more closely integrates the jail function with day-to-day law enforcement operations.
As the Detention Center Division Commander, Maj. Philip Anderson has worked to implement some changes to the jail to improve efficiency.
His first challenge was restructuring the staff since he wanted to increase the safety level for officers and inmates.
“We reorganized the shifts to use all of our manpower where we can have the maximum security on shifts,” Anderson said.
Chief Deputy Mike Frederick said with this change the office hasn’t hired any new employees, but it has utilized the half dozen it currently has by reassigning some duties.
Frederick and Anderson have completed a review of the detention center operations. Although the review continues, improvements already have been made to the physical plant. Those improvements include repairing and replacing state-required fire doors and adding access doors to improve environmental control as well as security upgrades to the visiting area.
Another improvement has been to the radio and surveillance equipment that has been repaired, updated or expanded. Newer, more powerful radios have been ordered and will provide for more reliable communication between detention officers, especially while patrolling the cellblocks.
“We can observe the movement of the inmates. It gives us perspective of the behavior of the inmates,” Anderson said. Many areas throughout the jail have cameras installed for the first time while other cameras have replaced older models. “Some we had you could only see from a certain distance,” he said.
Within the next fiscal year, which begins in July, Anderson will replace detention officers’ uniforms with clothing that not only differentiates detention officers from deputies, but also requires no metal pin-on accessories such as badges.
“A lot of uniforms have name badges that can be used as weapons. The new uniforms are more for comfort and safety,” Anderson said.
All the upgrades have been funded through shifting existing budget line items and using funds already budgeted for the current year. The revisions cost about $17,000.
The jail also is recruiting candidates for officer positions. For information, call Maj. Philip Anderson at 943-8058.

Shavonne Potts covers general assignments in Greenwood and the Lakelands. She can be reached at 223-1811, ext. 3306, or: spotts@indexjournal.com.

Local veteran still dreaming of horrific days

March 17, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal staff writer

Nearly 60 years after being discharged from the United States Marine Corps, Greenwood resident I.J. Roland still dreams about his horrific experiences during his tour of duty in the Pacific in World War II.
Only 17 when he entered service, Roland would learn that no amount of training could prepare him for “hell” of the world’s most violent war.
Roland, now 81, a Hartwell, Ga., native, moved to Anderson in 1940. Just a teenager at the time, Roland began to attend a trade school to gain the skills he would need to enter the workforce.
“I had been doing odd jobs, and I wanted something that would help me make a career,” he said.
By the time he graduated from the school, Roland had learned how to read and draw blueprints and scale drawings, and he was soon offered a job in Long Island, N.Y.
Before Roland could accept the job, however, he began talking to his neighbor, who happened to be a Marine recruiter.
“He convinced me that the Marine Corps was the future. That’s why I joined,” he said, laughing. “Being only 17 years old, I had to get a parent’s consent to join. I got my sister to sign for me, and in three month’s time, I was at Parris Island.”
Roland arrived at Parris Island for basic training in late 1941. He said going from a comfortable lifestyle at home to the vigorous exercising and training at the boot camp was a tough transition for most of the men, and an impossible one for some.
“The biggest thing you learn at boot camp is discipline. Some people couldn’t take it, and they had to send them back home,” he said.
At first, Roland thought many of the drill sergeants were overbearing. “But when I finished basic training, I realized what they were trying to do,” he said. “They were trying to make a man out of you.”
According to the World War II 60th Anniversary Committee, prior to the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor, the United States’ troop commitment to the war had been somewhat small, with less than 500,000 men and women serving as active military personnel. In 1942, the number of active military personnel skyrocketed to nearly 4,000,000. Men were needed quickly, and Roland said a sense of urgency could be felt at his camp after the attacks.
“At that time, they were trying to push us through as fast as they could to get us overseas,” he said. “The whole mood at camp changed, and they cut several weeks off of my basic training. They knew what was coming up after Pearl Harbor, and they were getting (as many men) in as they could.”
In mid-1942, Roland finished basic training, and he was ordered to report to Norfolk, Va., where he boarded a converted Dutch freighter headed for the Pacific Theatre.
After traveling through the Panama Canal, the men pulled into port at Pearl Harbor. Roland said destruction and debris still covered the area.
The troops picked up a convoy in Hawaii before heading to New Zealand, where more ships joined the convoy. Roland’s ship next headed to Tulagi Island, a small island near Guadalcanal in the Southwestern Pacific.
Tulagi was the site of heavy Japanese attacks, and when Roland arrived that August, he and the troops got their first real taste of the war.
“The first night we were there, the Japanese dropped bombs, and the night after, they tried to invade the island,” he said. “It was a small island, and you could hear everything. It was at night when they tried to bomb us, and all you could do was lie in your foxhole and hope they wouldn’t hit you.”
Roland said his first experiences on Tulagi were “really scary for a young boy, but it wasn’t anything compared to what we got into later on.”
The men soon received word that the Japanese troops were trying to invade Guadalcanal, and he and the other Marines were pulled off Tulagi.
When they arrived at Guadalcanal, Roland said combat became even more dangerous, as Japanese troops carried out ambush attacks on unsuspecting Marines.
“If you ran up to a bunch of Japanese (soldiers), they would hold their hands up in the air like they would surrender. But when some of our guys would jump out there, the man in the middle would bend over, and he would have a machine gun strapped to his back,” Roland said. “They killed a lot of Marines that way.”
Roland said enemy fire wasn’t the only danger Allied soldiers faced on the island. The warm, humid environment caused health problems for the men, and Roland suffered from a case of “jungle rot,” a fungus that causes the skin to darken and peel away, as well as malaria while he was stationed on the island.
Roland and the men spent their time on Guadalcanal working to secure the island’s airbase, which Japanese bombers and fighter planes were trying to capture on a regular basis.
In March of 1944, Roland and the men were ordered to report to the island of Emirau. Roland said the troops were able to move through the island quickly, adding that the hardest part of his duty there was climbing down the side of the main troop ship to the smaller vessels waiting to take the men to shore.
“They would throw the nets over the side, and you had to go down those nets with your heavy pack on your back, and you had your rifle, bayonet and pistol – you had everything with you,” he said, laughing. “You just prayed you were going to make it down that net and into the (small) boat. Then when we got ready to leave, we had to climb back up that net to get onto the ship.”
In August of 1944, Roland’s unit was ordered to report to Guam, where he said he witnessed the most violent combat during his tour of duty.
“That’s where the hell started,” he said.
“We landed amidst mortar shells, rifle fire and land mines. The first thing I saw was a young kid – he looked 17 or 18 years old – and he came running back from the front lines down to where we were. A mortar shell had hit him, and from (his shoulders to his arms), nothing was hanging but bones. The foreman filled him full of morphine and we bandaged him up. We put him on a boat to send him back out to the ship. I never knew if that lad survived or not.”
As darkness closed in on the troops, they were forced to dig foxholes to serve as their only protection until dawn arrived.
“We got in the foxholes, and it started to pour down rain that first night. The only way to keep dry was to take our helmets off and sit on them, and to cover ourselves with ponchos until the rain stopped,” he said.
The next day, the soldiers tried to advance to the town of Agana, but they were met with heavy resistance from Japanese forces.
“The town had a hill where we landed, and we had to go over the hill to where Agana was. We ran into heavy mortar fire, so the colonel called back and told them to send the dive-bombers over to see if they could stop that fire,” he said. “There were planes flying everywhere, and there was a lot of confusion. This one (pilot) came in, and the guy on the ground told him to pull out, but he never heard it. He dropped a bomb right in the midst of the whole division, and it killed about 40 Marines. It was friendly fire.”
When the troops thought they had secured the hill, they began to advance closer to Agana. On their journey, they came upon a cave where a Japanese soldier was standing outside of the entrance.
“We could hear noise going on inside of the cave, so the colonel called for an interpreter. He asked him to call into the cave and tell them to surrender – that we had them surrounded,” he said. “About eight of them came out with their hands up. We had been through this before and we knew what was about to happen, so we let down on them.”
Roland said the other Japanese soldiers in the cave refused to surrender, and the colonel ordered the cave to be hit with a flame-thrower. He said the sounds and smells coming from the cave after it was lit on fire are memories “that will live with you forever.”
Roland remained on Guam for guard duty until early 1945, when he was finally shipped back to the United States. Once at home, he married his sweetheart while on a short break, and then reported to a base in Virginia for guard duty on German POWs.
He was discharged from duty in early 1946, and he returned to his home in Anderson. He moved to Greenwood soon after, and eventually opened his own roofing business.
Although nightmares of his experiences still haunt his dreams today, Roland considers himself fortunate not to have suffered any serious injuries while in service.
“I’m here by the grace of God,” he said. “I was lucky.”

Gators make big splash

Greenwood YMCA swim team competing in Southeast Regional

March 17, 2005

By MICHAEL STONE
Index-Journal sports editor

Five years ago, Greenwood’s Henry Spruill made a deal with his father.
If Spruill joined the Greenwood Gators swim team at the YMCA and stay with it for two years, dad would allow him to get scuba diving lessons.
The Greenwood High School freshman is still waiting for his scuba lessons.
But he hasn’t given up on swimming, and this weekend, Spruill is one of nine Gators who will compete in the Upper Southeast Regional Short Course Championship Meet at Rock Hill.
Teams from seven different states — Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — will compete in the three-day meet.
“As far as I know, this is the first time the Gators have made it to the regional meet,” swim coach Tom Karel said.
“It says a lot about the kids we have on the team and all the hard work they have put into the season.”
Competing with Spruill in Rock Hill for Greenwood will be Douglas Brandon, Erika Danks, James Festa, Autumn Finney, Diana Rodriguez, Marco Rodriguez, Katelyn Simpson and Matthew Van Swol.
Most of the swimmers will be looking to finish the spring by posting their best times of the season.
Simpson, a sixth-grader at Northside Middle School, will compete in the 100-yard individual medley, 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly and 50 backstroke, said her goal was to break 32 seconds in the butterfly. Her best time this year is 32.64 seconds.
“I’ve been swimming since I was 8 years old,” Simpson said. “I’ve just always liked it (the butterfly).”
Simpson isn’t the only one looking for a good time in the butterfly. Van Swol is swimming in the 50 and 100 frees, 100 IM and 50 back, but is looking forward to improving his time in the 50 fly, where he has a season-best time of 41.79.
“I like butterfly because it relies a lot more on strength than the other strokes,” said Van Swol, who turned 11 Wednesday.
Like Simpson and Van Swol, Diana Rodriguez will be doing a lot of swimming over the weekend.
The fifth-grader at Lakeview Elementary will compete in the 100 IM, 50 and 100 frees, 50 fly and 50 back.
Rodriguez said her main goal is to break her qualifying time of 33.63 in the 50 free.
“It’s cool to be in the water,” said Rodriguez, who has been swimming since she was 4. “But I’m really nervous when I get on the (starting) blocks.”
Spruill, Danks and Finney will compete in one individual event each – Spruill will swim in the 100 breaststroke, with Danks and Finney going in the 100 free.
Festa will swim in two individual events, the 50 and 100 frees.
Marco Rodriguez won’t swim in any individual events, but will team with Festa, Spruill and Brandon on the Gators four relay teams – the 400 and 200 frees, and the 400 and 200 medleys.
Brandon is swimming in the most events of any of the Gators, as he will compete in six events – the 200 IM, the 50 and 100 frees, the 100 back, 100 fly and 100 breast.
And the eighth-grader at Westview Middle School may have a little more riding on the meet.
Brandon is close to qualifying for this summer’s zone meet in both the 100 fly and the 100 free.
The zone meet, in August in Houston and sponsored by USA Swimming, brings together to top swimmers in all the regional meets.
His time of 53.31 in the 100 free is just 0.12 seconds off the qualifying mark, and his time of 58.67 in the 100 fly is 0.58 seconds off the qualifying mark.
Brandon’s goal is to break 58 seconds in Saturday’s 100 fly and plans on visualizing the race on Friday night.
“I really get nervous the night before,” he said. “I just imagine my race in my head and try to plan out what I want to happen.”
No matter how the Gators do over the weekend, Karel said he’s been very pleased with the direction the team has gone.
“Last year we had sixteen (swimmers) when swim season started and by the end of this season we had fourty-seven,” Karel said. “Hopefully we can continue to get kids interested in the sport.”

Michael Stone is the sports editor for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: mstone@indexjournal.com

Opinion

Unity and open-mindedness needed for oil production

March 17, 2005

So you’re driving around Greenwood and you notice your fuel gauge indicates you’re short on gasoline. You pull up to a pump and the price has risen to well above $2 a gallon.
You maybe cuss a little and wonder how much more your pocketbook can stand. After all, it hasn’t been all that long since you were paying 20 or 30 cents less per gallon.
That’s bad enough, of course, but it’s even worse, considering the fact that you live on a fixed income. It also means that the price of fuel curtails your activities or forces you to choose between buying gasoline or some other essential.
So, you wonder. Does this country have access to more of its own petroleum? Are there more reserves to tap that would help ease the strain that comes from OPEC’s roller coaster, with prices of gasoline fluctuating wildly and more and more putting pressure on you?

OF COURSE THERE IS. WE know there are petroleum deposits in an Alaskan wildlife refuge where we could be drilling for oil and natural gas. Apparently, there also are indications of oil along our coasts.
President Bush has proposed drilling in Alaska, but so far, Senate filibusters have blocked his efforts. Also, some environmentalists have managed to block drilling in Alaska and along the coasts.
There is a new effort, however, to win approval of drilling in Alaska. It has a better chance this time around since four new senators, including South Carolina’s Jim DeMint, replaced senators who opposed Alaska drilling. That doesn’t mean, though, that opponents of drilling will go away. To the contrary. They will oppose new drilling in every way possible.

THE OPPOSITION IS BASED ON “saving” animal habitats. They say drilling would destroy them and have a huge negative impact on various species. However, there has been oil production in Alaska for years, and as far as it’s known, that drilling has had no adverse effects.
Unless something is done, though, the motorists in Greenwood will continue to pay higher prices at the pump. Those who can afford it least will continue to be the hardest hit. It’s not likely that opponents will “explain” to those on fixed incomes why such things command more concern than poor or elderly people. Despite everything, though, there has to be a way to balance the concerns without penalizing vulnerable people. There must be open minds to do that, though. There’s the rub.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

Ruby Bowie

ABBEVILLE, SC – Ruby Holmes Bowie, 94, formerly of 212 Marshall Ave., widow of John Bowie died Wednesday, March 16, 2005 at the home of her grandson, Tommy Winn in Murrells Inlet, SC.
Born in Abbeville Co, SC, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Leila Ashworth Holmes.
She was a homemaker and retired from Milliken Textiles. She was a faithful and loyal member of the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Survivors are: 2 sisters, Lorena Corley of Greenwood, SC and Helen Compton of lva, SC; a grandson, Tommy Winn and his wife, Judy, with whom she made her home, of Murrells Inlet; a brother, Junior Holmes of Newbern, NC.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Mary K. Winn.
Funeral services will be conducted Friday, March 18, 2005 at 2:00 PM from the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church with the Rev. Ray Massey officiating. The burial will follow in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
The body is at the Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home. The family will be at the home of Mrs. Leila Campbell, 510 Marshall Ave., where the family will receive friends Thursday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church, 109 Barnett St., Abbeville, SC 29620, or to Incare Hospice, 4685 Hwy. 17 By-Pass, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577.
THE CHANDLER-JACKSON FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF THE ARRANGEMENTS.
PAID OBITUARY

Roselene Gilchrist

MARIETTA, GA – Roselene Gilchrist, 59, passed away March 12, 2005 in Marietta, GA. She was born in Callison, SC to Ethel L. Palmore Gilchrist and the late Joe L. Gilchrist. She was a member of Southside Church of Christ in Greenwood, SC. She is survived by a son, Ralph Gilchrist and daughter-in- law Peggy Gilchrist of Duluth, GA; three sisters, Annie (Hosie) Byrd of Hodges; Juanita and Viola Gilchrist born of Greenwood; two brothers, Luther Gilchrist and James (Beverly) Gilchrist, both of Greenwood; a granddaughter. Savannah Gilchrist and a grandson, Miles Gilchrist.
Service 12pm Saturday, March 19, 2005, Southside Church of Christ, 222 Old Mount Moriah Road, Greenwood, SC. Remains will lie in state at the church from 11:AM until 12:PM for viewing. Goolsby Mortuary of Atlanta and Percival-Tompkins of Greenwood.
PAID OBITUARY

Eugene Jones

SALUDA — Eugene Jones, 59, of 302 Waters Ave., died Saturday, March 12, 2005 at The University Hospital in Augusta, Ga.
Born in Saluda County, he was a son of the late Mack and Chester Bell Jones. He was formerly employed by The Flower & Gift Shop and The Saluda Nursing Center. He was a member of Rock Hill Baptist Church.
Survivors include two brothers, Johnnie Jones of Saluda and Ricky K. Jones of Batesburg; three sisters, Dorothy Rice, Shirley Burnett and Lorain Lee, all of Philadelphia, Pa.
Services are at 1 Friday at Rock Hill Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Raymond Adams. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at noon.
Pallbearers and flower bearers are family and friends.
The family is at the home of a brother, Johnnie Jones, 300 Waters Ave., Saluda.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home, Saluda, is in charge.

Betty Jean Lurk

WASHINGTON — Betty Jean Abney Lurk, 61, died Friday, March 11, 2005 at Howard University Hospital.
Born in Saluda County, S.C., she was a daughter of the late Ira and Myrtle Lee Dunn Abney. She was a former member of Mt. Enon Baptist Church in Saluda, and was a 1961 graduate of Riverside High School. She was a licensed practical nurse.
Survivors include four brothers, Johnny B. Abney, Samuel Abney and Lee Ira Smith, all of Saluda, S.C., and Thomas Abney of Lowell, Mass.; two sisters, Annette Cherry of Jacksonville, N.C., and Pearl Abney of Brooklyn, N.Y.; a nephew, Cedrick Griffin, reared in the home; and a niece, Patsy D. Abney, reared in the home, both of Washington, D.C.
Services are at 1 Saturday at Mt. Enon Baptist Church in Saluda, S.C., conducted by the Rev. Johnny C. Gantt. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at noon.
Pallbearers and flower bearers are family and friends.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home, Saluda, S.C., is in charge.

Nettie Mae Smith

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Nettie Mae Williams Smith, 78, died Tuesday, March 8, 2005.
Born in Greenwood County, S.C., she was a daughter of the late James William Sr. and Susie Mae Booker Williams.
Survivors include a son, Walter Williams of Greenwood, S.C.; a daughter, Sheila (ShirleyAnn) Gault of Greenville; three brothers, James Williams Jr., and George Noble, both of Greenwood, and Jesse B. Williams of Newark, N.J.; a sister, Janie Lee Carter of Greenwood; six grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and five great-great grandchildren.
Penwell-Gable Funeral Home is in charge.
Announcement courtesy of Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home, Greenwood, S.C.

Carrie Stewart

MADISONVILLE, Ky. — Carrie Lacy Stewart, 91, died Sunday, March 13, 2005 at National Health Care in Mauldin, S.C.
Survivors include three daughters, Catherine Eulalia “Layle” Luckett of Honolulu, Hawaii, Sandra Lyle “Sandy” Morgan of Beaufort, S.C., and Carrie Elizabeth “Libby” Beam of Fountain Inn, S.C.; and two grandchildren.
Services are at 2 Friday at Barnett-Strother Funeral Home in Madisonville. Burial is in Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Barnett-Strother Funeral Home, Madisonville, Ky., is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.barnettstrother.com.

Tommie Williams Sr.

WARD — Tommie Williams Sr., 75, of 138 Winn St., husband of Eva Culbreath, died Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at the Aiken Regional Hospital.
Born in Edgefield County, he was a son of the late Jonah and Susie Anna Whitlock Williams. He was a member of the Rock Hill Society, and a retired welder from Tranter-Edgefield. He was also a member of the Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Survivors include his wife of the home; four sons, Tommie Williams Jr. of Ward, Willie James Williams of Trenton, Ernest Williams of Columbia and Donald Williams of Johnston; three daughters, Ruth W. Jones of Batesburg, Doris Williams McNeely of Atlanta, and Lesa Jones of Suitland, Md.; a brother, Johnnie Williams of Saluda; a sister, Ellie L. Miles of Waynesboro, Ga.; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Services are at 3:30 Friday at the Church of God in Johnston, conducted by Bishop Charles Booker, assisted by Bishop Grady Cook, Bishop William Frazier and Elder Henry Leysath. Burial is in The Sunset Memorial Garden in Edgefield.
The family is at the home.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home, Saluda, is in charge.