No reason for children to be bored this summer

Activities for young people range
from outdoors to pottery to stories

May 22, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

As summer draws near and students take final exams, many parents might fear there will be little or nothing for their children to do this summer.
There’s a plethora of activities in Greenwood and the Lakelands area that range from painting and canoeing to dog training and more.
Along with its usual summer camp activities that include archery, canoeing and indoor rock climbing, the Greenwood Family YMCA has added new activities to its roster.
“We’ll have skateboarding camp where we’ll have people come in and talk to them about safety and do demonstrations,” said Mandrell Jones, YMCA site director.
The YMCA also has added fine arts camp, where children can create pottery and other arts and crafts.
An air-riflery class is optional and is designed to teach participants self-control and self-discipline through safe instruction using Olympic-style shooting. For information and to register for Y summer camp, call 223-9622.
Piedmont Agency on Aging will have Camp Discovery, a service provided by Lifetime Discoveries Daycare.
Camp Discovery is a summer program for youths ages 5-13. Children will have the opportunity to go on field trips to places such as Holly Wild Animal Park, the Peace Center, ice skating and more.
Piedmont Agency on Aging is at 808 S. Emerald Road in Greenwood. For information, call 223-0164.
The Burning Brush, a paint-your-own pottery studio, will offer Summer Camp Mondays from June 6-July 25.
In June, campers will create Father’s Day coffee mugs, clay basket weaving and trivet and coaster sets, as well as making a clay spoon rest and tile.
In July, campers will create stoneware wind chimes, bubble painting and flip-flop wall clocks.
Each camp is $25 per child, and lunch is included.
The Burning Brush is at 529 Bypass 72 NW in Greenwood, next to McAlister’s Deli. To register, call owner/artist Diana DeBoer at 223-4978.
The Greenwood County Library will have workshops, games, puppeteers and other special events this summer. June 6-7 at the Ninety Six, Ware Shoals and Greenwood branches, there will be magic shows with Tim Sonefelt.
A Meet and Greet with Arthur will be held from 10 a.m.-noon June 14. The event is part of the ETV Lower Piedmont Road Show.
Other summer activities include storytime at 10 a.m. Mondays at Magnolia Park, Toddler Tuesdays and Wednesday Drop Ins.
There is a registration for the workshops that are for rising first- graders through rising fifth-graders. To register or for information, call 941-4650 ext. 5.
The Laurens Family YMCA and the town of Ware Shoals will offer a Summer Youth Program May 30-June 30 and July 5-29.
The program is every Monday-Thursday at Ware Shoals Elementary School.
The YMCA has added a few new programs to offer Ware Shoals residents.
“We are offering a program in conjunction with the Ware Shoals schools. We will do a camp-like atmosphere at the elementary school,” Childcare Director Sally Strickland said.
The program will offer children a variety of sports activities, games, character building activities and substance abuse awareness programs.
In July every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the program will return to a three-day schedule. This session will include Monday movies at the Ware Shoals Library, Tuesday games and crafts at Young Park and Thursday sports activities at Young Park.
Family Night Outdoor Concerts will also be offered Friday evenings, July 8-29.
For information about fees and to register, call program coordinators Sally Strickland and Donna Arnold at 984-2626.
Clemson University will offer Camp Odyssey at its outdoor lab June 26-July 2 for children ages 6-12. The program will include hiking, fishing, canoeing, instructional swimming, boat rides and arts and crafts. There is a cost for the program, and for information, call the camp office at (864) 646-7502 or visit the Web site at www.clemson.edu/outdoorlab/ody.htm.
Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute, a division of Clemson Extension, will have various summer camps for children 8-16. The programs cover marine science, shooting sports and technology. A new camp, The Edge, will focus on building academic, physical and emotional stamina by teaching youth how to tap into and maintain peak performance at home, school and play.
The camps are in Pickens, the Clinton House hunting lodge in Clinton, the R.M. Cooper 4-H Leadership Center on Lake Marion and Sewee Coastal Retreat Center near Mt. Pleasant. For information, call (803) 878-1041.
The Humane Society of Greenwood will offer its first Camp Good Dog for Kids this summer. The first session is June 6-17 while the second session is June 27-July 8. The two-week camp is designed for children 10-16.
Each child will train a shelter dog during the camp by taking classes that will focus on basic dog obedience, dog grooming, dog care and nutrition. Also included as part of the camp will be classroom materials and guest speakers as well as snacks provided for the children.
The camp will be at the Humane Society of Greenwood Animal Shelter at 1616 Highway 72-221 East, Greenwood, behind the Greenwood Civic Center. For information on cost and to register, call 942-8558.
Girl Scout Summer Day Camp is being offered for girls 5-17. The first camp is from 5-8 p.m. July 14-15 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 16 at the Abbeville Civic Center. The second camp is from 5-8 p.m. July 18-22 at the Greenwood ARP Church. The third camp is from 5-8 p.m. July 28-29 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 30 at the Blue Hole Recreation Area, Calhoun Falls. There is a cost for the various locations.
For information, call Membership Marketing Director Wendy Cook at 227-2062.
New Hope International in Saluda County is offering a Cheerleading Camp to enhance progression and techniques for effective performance. The camp will cover motion drills, cheers and chants, dance, jumps, stunts, muscular and strength conditioning as well as a jump, motion and stunt contest. There will be a special appearance by a NFL Cheerleading and Dance Squad. The camp will be at the National Guard Armory 122D CSE, 107 Webb Street in Saluda. The camp is from 1:30-4:30 p.m. June 13-17. It is co-ed for ages 6-18.
There is a cost for the camp. For information, call organization president Marietta Williams at 445-8597.
Greenwood School District 50 is offering several summer programs this year for students of all ages and talents.
Reading Recovery Camps for selected first-grade students are scheduled in June at Hodges and Springfield Elementary schools. For information on dates and times, call Lori Cothern at 941-5430.
The Creative Artistically Talented Students’ (CATS) Program is one in which third- though fifth-grade students interested in music, dance and visual arts are taught by staff and visiting resident artists. For information, call Peggy B. Swofford at 941-5544.
Each year, area children attend Camp Walter Johnson in Denton, N.C., through The Salvation Army. Camp sessions are based on age categories for both boys and girls. Children must be between the ages of 6 and 12 and be members of a Salvation Army Greenwood Corps program. Each camp session costs $150, and The Salvation Army is asking for funds to sponsor 25 campers.
“It’s an experience no kid should go without. Time spent at camp can be a life-changing experience,” Greenwood’s Salvation Army Capt. Joseph May said.
To make a contribution, send it to Post Office Box 1453, Greenwood, S.C. 29648-1453. The Salvation Army in Greenwood County serves Greenwood, McCormick, Saluda, Edgefield, Laurens and Abbeville counties. For information, call May at 229-3407.

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

Greenwood adult education students
overcome obstacles to earn diplomas

May 22, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

The day finally came for Christina Beckham, who waited more than four years to receive her high school diploma.
She, along with 15 other students, participated Saturday in the Greenwood County Adult Education program graduation ceremonies.
Beckham, of Greenwood, was supposed to graduate in 2001, she said, but circumstances prevented it. “It was three weeks before I was supposed to graduate,” Beckham said.
The following year, she tried to get her diploma through adult education. “I got pregnant and had to quit,” she said.
After getting married and having a baby, Beckham enrolled in the adult education program once more.
“It feels good and I’m really glad to get this high school diploma. It’s something I’ve wanted so bad,” Beckham said.
Now that she’s received her diploma, Beckham intends to begin work at Fuji Photo Film Inc.
Before enrolling in the adult education program, Beckham applied with the Greenwood company and all but had the job except she did not have a diploma.
“I went and was sized for my uniform and everything and the guy said make sure you bring your diploma,” she said.
It was then that Beckham said she realized that without a diploma she wouldn’t get very far in life.
She later plans to attend Piedmont Tech to study dental hygiene, something she’s always wanted to do.
“I think it’s going to make me stronger,” Beckham said.
It was Beckham’s two-year-old daughter who inspired her to continue with the program and continue on to further her education.
“It hit me that I need to provide for her the way she needs to be provided for. She inspires me to go as far as I can go,” she said.
Heather Smith, of Ninety Six, had a delay in getting her diploma when she became pregnant in her junior year of high school.
Complications with her pregnancy meant that Smith would have to miss much of her classes.
It would take her two years to for Smith to get the necessary English credit to obtain her diploma.
“It was upsetting to watch everybody else graduate,” Smith said.
Since she only needed one English credit she worked during the day and took her class at night.
She plans to go to Piedmont Tech for the nursing program.
“They try their hardest to get you through to where you want to be in life,” she said of the adult education program staff.
When Greenwood resident Temarkus Williams dropped out of high school he delayed more than his diploma.
Williams had a plan, he said, to graduate high school and go straight to college.
“That was my goal to go to college. That set things back,” Williams said.
A friend told him about the adult education program and he soon enrolled.
“It taught me that if I wanted to do something in life I had to work at it and if I worked hard at it, I can achieve it,” he said.
His experience with the program was a positive one with teachers like Rose Milledge, he said.
“She saw what I was trying to do and she worked with me,” Williams said.
He will attend Aiken Tech this fall where he hopes to either study business management or interior design.
Adult education director Belinda Turner spoke of the collaborative partnership with Greenwood School District 50 in utilizing a grant that provided the children of students with childcare during class time.
“Allow this day to be a stepping stone to higher heights,” Turner said to the graduates.
Dr. Maria Pyles, 1990 South Carolina Teacher of the Year and former Greenwood High School teacher spoke to graduates about finding their voice.
“Practice those things that will help you to move to greatness,” she said. “It is the beginning of the rest of your lives.”
Pyles said she wished the graduates would become the people of the future that the staff had worked so hard to help.
Sixteen of the 40 students who received their diploma through the adult education program participated in the graduation exercises.

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

Harris M. Hall

WARE SHOALS, S.C. — Harris Marshall Hall, 82, husband of Mary Campbell Hall of 13 Hall Lane died May 21, 2005 at his home. He was born in Antreville section of Abbeville County, a son of the late Henry Marshall and Mary Lenford Hall.
Mr. Hall attended Donalds schools, served in the US Army Air Force during WWII. He was a farmer, received Tree Farmer of the Year Award, and was a member of the Abbeville County Cattleman’s Assn. He operated Hall’s Grocery Store for fifty nine years.
His church membership was at Welcome Presbyterian Church and he was a Mason and a Shriner and was on the DSS Foster Care review board.
Surviving besides his wife of the home are one daughter, Alice Faye Hicks and her husband Paul of Donalds, two sons: Robert Earl Hall and wife Pam, Ware Shoals, Charles Stanley Hall and wife Sandra, Donalds: Grandchildren Chad and Shea, Donalds, Mary Allison and Anna Katherine Hall, Ware Shoals, Mary Beth, John and Alizajane Hicks, Donalds: one sister, Grace Kennedy, Donalds.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday, 2 PM at Ware Shoals Presbyterian Church with Rev. Wayne Wicker and Rev. Tim Bailey officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Claude Brock, Stanley Hall, Robert Hall, Marshall Hall, Clyde Kirkpatrick, Danny Kennedy and Jerry Bedcheck.
The family is at the home and will receive friends at Parker-White Funeral Home, Sunday, 7-9 PM.
PAID OBITUARY

Gail Horton

NINETY SIX — Gail Smith Horton, 60, of 130 Peake Court, wife of M. Ramsey Horton, died Thursday, May 19, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
She was a daughter of the late Ann Smith Johnson. She was a realtor with Cambridge Realty Company and a retired school teacher in South Carolina. She graduated from Winthrop University with her master’s degree in education and Converse College with a Master of Arts. She was a member of the Greenwood Assoc. and National Assoc. of Realtors and was GRI and ABR certified. She was a charter member of the Refiner’s Fire Christian Assembly where she was a member of the Praise and Worship Team and active in the Women’s Ministry.
Survivors include her husband of the home; a son, Scott Wilson of Boiling Springs; two stepdaughters, Dr. Jamie Horton of Hawaii and Nicole Horton of New York; and a brother, Maxie Smith of Charlotte.
Services are 11 a.m. Monday at Blyth Funeral Home, conducted by Dr. Byron W. Jones. Burial will follow at 4 p.m. at the Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery in Forrest City, N.C.
Pallbearers are Tracy Harris, Brian Cooley, Willy Wilson, Keith Batson, John Gold and Clyde Weigel.
Visitation is 7-9 tonight at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to the Refiner’s Fire Christian Assembly, 509 Colonial Drive, Greenwood, S.C. 29649. Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.

Elizabeth Kennedy

DONALDS — Elizabeth Hensley Kennedy, 99, formerly of Route No. 2, died Saturday, May 21, 2005 at Azalea Woods Nursing Home in Aiken.
Born in Owen County, Ky., she was a daughter of the late John Robert and Mary Randsall Hensley. She was a seamstress and a member of Welcome Presbyterian Church.
She was the last member of her immediate family.
Survivors include 10 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 10 a.m. Monday at Parker-White Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Wayne Wicker. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Danny Kennedy, Danny Kennedy Jr., Tony Kennedy, Gene Holley, Steven Duboise and Claude Brock. The families are at their respective homes.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

Mary Martin Tolbert

Services for Mary Martin Tolbert are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Zion Temple Seventh Day Adventist Church, Greenwood, conducted by the Elder Patrick Carter. Burial is in The Evening Star.
Pallbearers are grandsons.
Flower bearers are granddaughters.
The family is at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Back to the beginning

Walt Roark returns to Cambridge to coach the game he loves

May 22, 2005

By MICHAEL STONE
Index-Journal sports editor

Walt Roark left Cambridge Academy in 2001 with a high school diploma in his hand and a SCISA football championship to his name.
So, when Roark returned to Greenwood with a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a desire to stay in contact with the game he loves, he went back to Cambridge.
Roark, who quarterbacked the Cougars to their first-ever SCISA championship in 2000, is back at the school, coaching the football team’s quarterbacks and wide receivers.
“The first 10 minutes I was out there (at practice), I wasn’t sure it was going to work,” Roark said. “But then it all came back.
“I saw all the kids going through the same things I went through, and I felt I was right at home.”
Roark is already a legend at Cambridge.
He played in school’s football program for six years, moving up to the varsity when he was in eighth grade and eventually taking over at quarterback.
Back then, the Cougars’ version of eight-man football followed the traditional “three yards and a cloud of dust” formula.
That changed when former University of South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill became head coach for Roark’s sophomore season.
With few tacklers in the eight-man game, Taneyhill wanted to spread opposing defenses out and take advantage of the field.
In his style of “run-and-gun,” Taneyhill let Roark throw almost at will.
“Taneyhill was more like a brother to me,” Roark said. “He put a lot of time and effort in, helping me be the best player I could be.
“In three years, I think we passed for like 10,000 yards. I had 52 touchdown passes as a senior and threw for about 4,000 yards.”
The team averaged more than 50 points a game by Roark’s senior season and beat Wardlaw in the championship game for the SCISA title.
Roark, now 6-foot, 205-pounds, wanted to play in college and signed with Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn. But after a year with the Pioneers, he transferred to Clemson.
While Roark began to concentrate on school, he didn’t leave football entirely.
Gaines Adams, a former of teammate at Cambridge, was playing for Clemson, and Roark found himself hanging out with members of the football team and began missing the game.
“Sometimes I think, ‘What in the world did I finish up early for?’” Roark said. “All of my best friends are still playing up there.”
While Roark was at Clemson, Cambridge was going through some changes.
When the academy dropped its high school, Taneyhill, who had led the Cougars to the SCISA title game three straight years — winning two – left to coach public school football.
Ryan Young, one of Taneyhill’s assistants, took over the program, coaching the middle school team in 2003 and the jayvee squad last year.
But Young has left, too, joining Taneyhill’s coaching staff at Chesterfield High School.
Cambridge’s new head coach, longtime athletic director Ray Tackett, was looking for an assistant who knew Taneyhill’s system and wide-open style of play.
Roark, who earned his bachelor’s degree in December and had his real estate license and was working at The Whitmire Agency, was a perfect fit.
“We still talk about Walter. We have his pictures up, and the guys all know what he did,” said Young, who stayed with the Cougars through spring practice before going to Chesterfield.
Hunter Davis, Drew Wolfe and Jack Timms are the three Cambridge quarterbacks Roark is working with.
Davis, who quarterbacked the Cougars last year, said he’s already become a better player under Roark’s tutelage.
Davis said the former quarterback is not only teaching him the physical fundamentals, but the mental fundamentals, as well.
“He has really helped me calm down and stay in the game,” Davis said. “My other coaches help me, too, but he was a quarterback here. He’s setting an example.”
As far as football, not too much has changed since Roark’s playing days at the academy.
To rein in some of the scoring, SCISA has made the eight-man fields smaller, trimming the width by seven yards on each side.
But the Cougars still run the same plays they did when Roark was quarterback, and most even have the same name.
And when Roark shows Davis, Wolfe and Timms the right way to grip the ball, the correct way to plant their feet and the proper arm angle to throw the ball, he’s passing along the same lessons that someone showed him not too long ago.
“I had a coach (Taneyhill) that knew what he was talking about, and the kids know I’ve been there and know what I’m talking about,” Roark said. “When we all watch film together and you can see them picking things up, that makes you feel good.”

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

‘Diversity’ and ‘tolerance’ and lessons for the young

May 22, 2005

It’s almost impossible to go anywhere or listen to anything these days without seeing or hearing about “diversity” and “tolerance.” There’s nothing wrong with that. Both are things we should teach our children. When our children hear us say one thing, though, and then see us do something to the contrary, it has to be confusing to young minds.
Teaching diversity and tolerance is a two-way street – or should be – although it doesn’t always work out that way. Take a recent example in Orlando, Florida.
When four public high schools planned to hold graduation ceremonies in a church, a student, her Buddhist father and an atheist parent sued in an effort to move the graduations from the church, or at least cover the church’s large cross. However, a judge gave the schools permission to go ahead. Nevertheless, he gave them a lecture about using religious sites for the events.

HOPEFULLY, THOSE STUDENTS graduating have learned enough so they understand about diversity and tolerance.
Surely they know that a variety of religions exist and that their places of worship have certain and different symbols displayed.
Surely they’ve seen and heard enough in their young lives to understand that people are different ….. they look different, speak differently, have different beliefs, come from different backgrounds, and more.
Surely they realize that while they see such differences all the time they haven’t been forced to change who they are because of them.
These everyday things are lessons on life. They are accepted parts of our world. We don’t try to ban them because we are of one faith –or no faith at all – and they are something else.

FORTUNATELY, WE HAVE the Constitution to make sure that we can’t. Still, we are tolerant and respect diversity every day of our lives. The way life was, is and will be in this country, that’s normal behavior for all of us, from childhood on.
So, then, what kind of lesson did the lawsuit against these graduations teach those children? Graduations may be held in basketball gymnasiums, but that doesn’t make graduates want to become basketball players. Graduation exercises in a Christian church wouldn’t force graduates to be Christians, no more than holding exercises in a Buddhist temple would force anyone to convert to Buddhism.
Tolerance and diversity should come naturally to American children ….. if we let them. When we do things artificially, though, we get artificial results.