Finding their way

GHS cadets learn how to orient themselves to terrain

May 18, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

Greenwood High JROTC students spent the afternoon navigating at Greenwood State Park —not on water but on land. Ten cadets participated Tuesday in an orienteering course.
The objective of orienteering is to teach students how to locate control points by using a map and a compass to navigate through the woods.
“It’s a service learning project that’s taken two months to put together,” JROTC instructor Sgt. Neal Longmire said.
Students first brainstormed, coming up with a plan of action that included the course map and materials needed.
Longmire said students worked hands on with the project from choosing what type of signs they would use to what the colors would be and the lettering that would be used.
“They learn better by doing, and this will build their self-esteem,” Longmire said of the student’s participation.
It was the first time on the course for Cadet Anna Birchfield and partner Breanna Nicholson. Both said they were a little anxious at first, but by the end, the two were noticeably excited that they had completed the course.
“It was fun. I thought we’d get lost,” Birchfield said as she and Nicholson rushed to complete their second course.
Students were given courses to navigate with varying degrees of difficulty.
It was easy for an orienteer to get lost if he or she were off the coordinates by even a few meters. The students worked in pairs so that they could help each other keep track of the distance covered using the compass as well as counting paces.
Students learned how to maneuver through the course so when they attend summer camp they will have orienteering experience.
The top 10 students who are chosen from the class will go on to summer camp where they will participate in a lengthier course, in which they will cross over roads, mud and ravines and through wooded areas, said Cadet Kristin Clausburch.
“We use the same tools but this is smaller and compact,” Cadet Kerry Cooper said of the park course.
Several factors determine if a student is eligible to go on, including a physical fitness test. Fifty percent is determined by their grades, Longmire said.
It was also the first time on the course for Cadet Jermaine Connelly.
“It went OK, it was better than I’d expected,” he said after completing the course.
Connelly said he expected the course to be a little easier, but it helped that his partner, Cadet Cory Cheshire, had already been on an orienteering course.
“It helped keep me on track,” Connelly said.
Before tackling the course at the park, students completed a mini-orienteering course on the school’s football field where they learned how to count paces and use a compass along with other skills.

Back to Lakelands News

Lander adding pair to Hall of Fame

May 18, 2005

By BRIAN HOWARD
Assistant sports editor

Two former Bearcats will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Lander University this fall.
Claes Persson, a native of Sweden, and Chris Coutal, a native of France, are members of the third class of inductees and will join 16 others in the hall of fame, Bearcats athletics director Jeff May said Tuesday.
The date for the induction has yet to be determined.
Persson played for the Lander tennis teams from 1994-97 and is the most decorated player in Lander’s history.
“He followed his brother from Sweden to Lander,” former Lander tennis coach Joe Cabri said. “After his first season, he moved to the number one position and had a hard time. But he became one of the top players in school history.”
A member of four national championship teams, Persson was a NCAA Division II All-American three times and academic All-American twice while playing No. 1 singles. A Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, Persson was also a two-time Lander Male Athlete of the Year, and a four-time All-PBC recipient.
In 1997, Persson was selected as a member of the Rolex/Tennis Magazine Collegiate All-Star team and won the national Arthur Ashe Award.
He was the National NCAA Senior of the Year and became the only non-Division I player to win the prestigious Dan Magill Award, which is given to the athlete in all of NCAA tennis who best exhibits athletic ability, sportsmanship, academic success and concern for others.
Persson will join other former Lander tennis players Lee Holyoak, Niclas Nilsson, Peter Pristach and Brett Simpson in the hall.
Coutal was one of Van Taylor’s first recruits at Lander and played for the Bearcats from 1985-88.
“Chris was a foreign exchange student at a high school I was at in Phoenix,” Taylor said. “I recruited him and the following year, he came with me to Lander. Chris was an exceptional player.”
“He had great vision and was a very good passer.”
Coutal was an NSCAA All-American in 1986 and ’87, a member of the NAIA Area 7 All-South team in ’88 and the NAIA All-District 6 team from 1985-88.
Coutal is third in points scored (158), shots taken (274) and goals scored (60) at Lander. He also holds the single-season assist record of 20, set in 1987, and ranks fifth in points in a season, 56 in 1987.
Coutal is just the second soccer player to be selected to the hall of fame. Stilian Shishkov is the other.
Other members inducted into the hall of fame include:
Clinton Cobb and Jeff May in men’s basketball; Luanne Wentzky, women’s basketball; Kim Harper, softball; coaches Joe Cabri (men’s tennis) and Finis Horne (men’s basketball); Dr. Walter G. Bishop, Dr. Joe V. Chandler, Dr. James A. Cheezem, Dr. Larry A Jackson and Dr. Mel Wimmer for the service award.

Opinion

Security the main factor in realigning of military

May 18, 2005

South Carolina came out better than expected in the latest round of military base closings and realignments. In fact, this state gained, giving the economy a boost when it’s needed most by adding jobs overall.
A combination of factors have been cited as contributing to the positive outcome. They include such things as cooperation by South Carolina’s Republican and Democrats in the U. S. House and Senate, citizen involvement in demonstrating support for the military in the communities affected, and an organized effort by federal, state and local officials.
No doubt all of these things played an important role in the months and weeks leading up to the recent announcement by the Pentagon to make cuts to save money.

FROM ALL INDICATIONS, though, the number one priority in deciding what installations to close and which to expand, and rightly so, was the military worth of the bases and agencies involved.
That logic surrounding the decision-making seemed obvious. It had to take into consideration the savings, certainly, but it also had to factor in the security of the American people at the present. What happens five, ten, and more years down the road had to be the primary consideration, though.
The world changes, technology changes, and attitudes around the world change. Alliances change. That demands one thing of us. We have to change, too, if we are to survive. We have to continue to speak softly, maybe, but there should be no question about continuing to carry a big stick.

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

Obituaries

Bobbie J. Brewington

LAURENS — Bobbie “Jewell” Brewington, 74, of 315 Bobcat Drive, died Tuesday, May 17, 2005 at National Health Care of Laurens.
Born in Laurens, she was a daughter of the late James Benjamin and Ora Baldwin Chumley. She was a retired textile employee and attended Northside Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Mike Chumley of Laurens; three daughters, Jane Brewington, Mrs. Vernon (Liz) Self and Robin Dees, all of Laurens; two brothers, Leonard B. Chumley of Laurens and Harvey W. Chumley of Keysville, Va.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Thursday at Kennedy Mortuary, conducted by the Revs. Charlie Short and Joe Baldwin. Burial is in New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery.
Visitation is 10-11 Thursday at the mortuary.
The family is at the home of a daughter, 3171 Highway 49.
Memorials may be made to Northside Baptist Church, 856 Northside Church Road, Laurens, SC 29360.
Kennedy Mortuary is in charge.

Mary Ellen Calhoun

McCORMICK — Services for Mary Ellen Calhoun are 2 p.m. Thursday at Tranquil A.M.E. Church, Troy, conducted by the Rev. Derrick Scott, pastor. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Tracy Martin, Antonio L. Murray, Johnny Lee Murray, David Patterson, Rent Martin and James Martin.
Flower bearers are Gail Martin, Gretta Franklin, LaFonda Sibert, Teresa Martin, Linda Freeman and Bernice Anderson.
The family is at the home, No. 18 Willow Creek Apartments.
Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Phyllis M. Johnson

CALHOUN FALLS – Phyllis M. Johnson entered into eternal rest Monday, May 16, 2005 after a short illness. Born October 4, 1924, Mrs. Johnson was 80 years old. She enjoyed working and was the plant nurse at West Point Stevens in Calhoun Falls. Phyllis Johnson was a Patriot and loved America. She was an active member of the Democratic Party and lived her life by the values the party stood for. Mrs. Johnson believed in working people, civil, human, and women’s rights, the environment and respect of all people and cultures.
Phyllis Johnson was married to the late Charles A. Johnson. She is the Mother and best friend of Michael A. and Deborah Johnson, both of Calhoun Falls. Mrs. Johnson leaves behind a daughter-in-law, Remle Johnson; grandchildren, Christina Johnson Trainor and her husband Christopher, Charlie, Callie and Jessie Johnson. Mrs. Johnson also leaves behind three sisters, Sis McGee, Vivien Haynes and Ada Griffin, all of Charlotte, NC; a brother, Buzz Mullins of Altoona, Florida. Mrs. Johnson also had a host of nieces and nephews that she loved.
Visitation will be at the family home Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00PM, 1001 Charlie Johnson Road. Funeral Services will be Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 11:00AM in the Chapel of Calhoun Falls Funeral Home.
Calhoun Falls Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Lillian R. Kearney

MODESTO, Calif. — Lillian Rayford Kearney, 83, of 3157 Flushing Meadows, widow of Robert Kearney, died Monday, May 16, 2005 at the Memorial Medical Center.
Born in Ninety Six, S.C., she was a daughter of the late Jim Rayford and Jewel Blocker Forest. She was a former member of Old Mount Zion Baptist Church, Epworth, S.C., and a member of Modesto Christian Center.
Survivors include a daughter, Dana Marsh Kearney of Modesto and a sister, Julia Butler Goodwin of Ninety Six.
The family is at the home of her sister, Julia Goodwin, 210 Little Mountain Road, Ninety Six.
Franklin and Downs Funeral Home is in charge.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc., Greenwood, S.C., is in charge of local arrangements.

John ‘Hookie’ Lott

SALUDA — John Henry “Hookie” Lott, 79, of 554 Medical Park Road, husband of Evelyn Jenkins Lott, died on Sunday, May 15, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in Saluda County, he was a son of the late Sheard and Annie Lee Gibson Lott. He was a member of the Rock Hill Baptist Church, where he was a member of the Trustee Board, Usher Board, Men’s Choir, Musical Choir, Rock Hill Burial Aide Society and a former sexton. He was an employee of Piggly Wiggly.
Survivors include his wife of the home; five sons, Henry Oneal Lott, Carzell Lott, Sherman Lott and Oscar A. Lott, all of Saluda and Andrew P. Lott of Greenville; two brothers, Henry Lott, Saluda and Olin Lott of Washington, D.C.; six sisters, Carrie Graham of Saluda, Viola Butler of New York, Julia Brooks, Dorothy Johnson and Josephine Gray, all of Ridge Spring and Ora M. Norris of Washington, D.C.; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Friday at Rock Hill Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Calvin Robinson, assisted by the Revs. Herbert Martin and Johnny C. Gantt. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are grandsons.
Flower bearers are nieces and friends of the family.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Rock Hill Baptist Church, In Memory of John H. Lott, Henry Oneal Lott, 407 Old Gassaway Road, Saluda, SC 29138.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home is in charge.

Ellen Robinson

ABBEVILLE — Ellen Robinson, 96, of 94 Maggie Lane, died Tuesday, May 17, 2005 at her home.
Services will be announced by Richie Funeral Home.