One killed in wreck

2 others injured; helicopter brought in

November 13, 2005

From staff reports

One person was killed and two others were injured Saturday night in a two-vehicle wreck near the intersection of S.C. 34 and E. Kirksey Drive.
The wreck happened about 6:45 p.m., and S. Main Street and S.C. 34 near the scene were cordoned off and traffic was rerouted.
Officials with the Greenwood Police Department, fire department and EMS responded within minutes and set up a perimeter, blocking traffic on both roads.
One vehicle flipped onto its side, and emergency workers had to be brought in to cut through it.
No details were available about the person who was killed. The Greenwood County Corner’s Office said it would be today before the identity could be released.
A night manager with Self Regional Medical Center confirmed that one person was treated at the hospital and one was taken by helicopter to an out-of-town hospital.
The emergency transport helicopter landed in a field at the corner of S. Main Street and S.C. 34, near a cell phone tower, and pedestrian traffic was also blocked as the helicopter attempted to land in the dark.
“Any power lines we need to be aware of, sir?” a member of the helicopter team could be heard asking over a police scanner.
The helicopter team wanted to know the size of the landing area and said it was having difficulties finding the location. Local authorities shined lights on the area to assist in guiding the helicopter’s decent.
The helicopter landed about 7:30 p.m., and emergency officials remained on the scene for at least half an hour after the helicopter left.
There was a smell of gas in the air with reports of a possible gas leak, but Commissioners of Public Works General Manager Steve Reeves said a gas leak was “not an issue.”
Reeves said a “farm tap” was damaged, and officials turned off the tap after the wreck. He said the tap fed only one building on W. Kirksey Drive.
City police officials would not provide details about the wreck Saturday, and one police official asked an Index-Journal reporter to leave the scene after the reporter had been granted access by another.
Police officials also did not respond to Index-Journal requests for information about a Friday wreck involving a Woodfields Elementary teacher. The information the newspaper obtained about the wreck came from a school district official.
The newspaper faxed a Freedom of Information Act form to the police office but received no information about the Friday wreck.

Going the extra Miles

Greenwood's Stuart Miles completes Appalachian Trail

November 13, 2005

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

In an age when most people scoff at the idea of walking to the store on the next block, it’s hard to imagine someone walking nearly 2,200 miles, from Georgia to Maine.
It’s even harder to imagine someone would do it for fun, forsaking soft beds and hot showers to roam around in the wilderness for six months.
Yet, that’s exactly what Stuart Miles, of Greenwood, did this year, and he calls it one of the best experiences of his life. In fact, he said he enjoyed it so much that he often wishes he were back on the Appalachian Trail, away from modern society and all its “conveniences.”
“You know what I really hate,” the 25-year-old Greenwood native asked. “I hate alarm clocks. For six months I didn’t have one. I just woke up when my body was ready to get up. There were no schedules. Now when my alarm goes off, it’s just like ‘uhhh.’ It’s the most annoying sound in the world and it just makes me wish I was back on the trail.”
Miles said that longing to be back in the wilderness is offset by many things in his day-to-day routine and he often has to talk himself out of going back to that existence.
Miles was on the trail from March 9 to Sept. 18, often traveling alone. During that time, he hiked the entirety of the 2,160-mile trail. Running through the Appalachian Mountains, the trail is a continuous marked footpath that begins in Springer Mountain, Ga., and leads all the way to Katahdin, Maine. It runs through 14 states in all.
It’s not an easy trail, to which Miles will attest, and there are stretches of extremely rough and rocky terrain, accounting for why only about 15 percent of the 2,000 people who begin the trail every year actually finish.
“It’s like being on a stair-stepper at the gym all day in 100-degree weather and with a pack on your back,” he said of his experience on the trail.
Miles had been warned about the difficulties of the trail and of dangers that range from run-ins with bears and water-borne diseases to stress fractures and dehydration. Like many other hikers, however, he hadn’t been deterred.
Miles said he had been interested in the trail for several years before deciding in 2004 to make the trek. He took a job that summer with an outfitter to gain knowledge the knowledge he would need for a successful trip and to get discounts on the equipment he would need on the trail.
When it came time for the trip, he quit his job and set out with two friends and about $2,000. While there is no cost for using the trail, hikers do have to pay for food, as well as occasional lodging or restaurant meals if they choose. For Miles, the total cost was about $1.50 per mile, but it differs from person to person, depending on their needs, he said.
While Miles did check into the occasional hotel, he said most of his nights were spent at camp or in hostels, described as primitive communal structures set up along the trail to house hikers. In the hostels are logbooks where hikers can write entries about their travels.
Some hikers write actual accounts, but most tell preposterous tales about taking on bears by the dozen, Miles said. It gives hikers staying in the hostels a bit of entertainment and gives them a connection to other hikers they haven’t met.
Miles said he read there was a hiker from Ninety Six on the trail this year but they never crossed paths, and since hikers use “trail names” in the logs, he never learned the other hiker’s real name.
When Miles did need to leave the trail to go into town for a hotel room or a visit to a grocery store, he had to hitchhike. It’s common in the areas around the trail, he said, and motorists aren’t as wary of picking up strangers there as they are in other places.
“There’s a certain technique to it,” Miles said. “You have to learn how to work your thumb and wave just right.”
Miles got rides from a number of people during his months on the trail. Only once did he encounter a problem. He said one woman who offered to take him and a couple of others into town had to stop the car a few miles into the ride and ask them to get out.
“She said she was sorry, but she couldn’t handle the hiker stench,” Miles said. “She was gagging.”
After days of walking and few opportunities to shower along the trail, hikers are well known for having a very particular smell, according to Miles. Hikers also are known for their hearty appetites. They burn about 12,000 calories a day, so they look for high-calorie foods, such as peanut butter, frosting or honey.
On a typical day on the trail, Miles said he would eat four packages of oatmeal and a Pop Tart for breakfast, then at dinnertime he would have macaroni and cheese, Romane noodles and Lipton rice sides.
On the occasions when Miles would venture to a restaurant, he would eat a large pizza first, he said, so as not to clean out a restaurant buffet or order multiple entrees.
At the 1,000 mile mark of the trail, hikers take on the half-gallon challenge, in which they try to eat a half-gallon of ice cream as fast as the can. The record is four minutes, set in the 1980s. Miles’ time was 17 minutes. About two hours later, he tried again but took 18 minutes.
In Hanover, N.H., Miles took ill. He was about to drop, he said, when a family he met on the street invited him to dinner at their home, then offered him a room until he recovered.
He calls it “trail magic,” a phenomenon that occurs along the trail where people come together and help each other. He said strangers often offer hikers food or set up shelter for them, knowing the hikers can’t give them anything in return.
Miles still stays in touch with the family in New Hampshire.
“Hiking is a full-time job,” Miles said. “Day in and day out, every day, you have to keep going through the rain, snow, injuries, wild bears or whatever. It’s a test of commitment.”
He said he encountered eight bears on the trail.
By the end of the trail, six months of walking had started to catch up with him and he was weary. Being so near the finish line was exciting, he said, but he also was filled with sadness at the thought of returning to the real world. It hasn’t been easy readjusting, he said. For example, now that he’s back in society, staying in Greenwood with his parents, Curtis and Barbara Miles, he’s always hungry. His body had become accustomed to a regular supply of high-calorie foods.
Now, Miles is trying to get back into the swing of things and is looking for a new job. Prior to taking off for his hike, he taught eighth grade earth science in Helena, Ark. He said he’s trying to find a job in environmental education but isn’t sure what part of the country that may lead him to.
He’s also planning new adventures. He won’t hike the Appalachian trail again, but there are a couple of others he’s interested in and he’d also like to either kayak or canoe the Mississippi River.
Though Miles says he’s missing the simple life, he also admits he’s enjoying hot showers and warm beds.

Paul Banes

NORTH AUGUSTA, SC — J. Paul Banes, 89, resident of 822 W. Woodlawn Ave., widower of Mildred Taylor Banes, died November 12, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, September 26, 1916, he was a son of the late Henry Clyde and Mary “Willie” Little Banes. He was a US Army Veteran of World War II and was retired from DuPont ENI, Savannah River Site. He was of the Methodist faith.
Surviving are a daughter, Nancy B. Deen and husband, Van of North Augusta; three grandchildren, Chuck Deen of N. Augusta, Michael Deen of Martinez, GA and Paula Deen of Aiken.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel in Greenwood with Chaplain Dexter Lambert and Carl Brown officiating.
Entombment will be in Oakbrook Memorial Park Chapel Mausoleum in Greenwood.
Pallbearers will be Carl Brown, Larry Ware, Bobby Walton, Doug McLean, Jimmy Kirby, Barry Boggero, Eddie Banes and Brian Brown.
Family and friends may call at the home of Van and Nancy Deen, 912 Fairwood Ave., in North Augusta and at the funeral home from 6 to 8 Monday evening.
Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Hospice, 2260 Wrightsboro Rd., Augusta, GA 30904-4726 or to National Parkinson Foundation, Inc., c/o Mary Ann Sprinkle, 1501 NW 9th Ave, Bob Hope Rd., Miami, FL 33136-1494.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
BLYTH FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES IS ASSISTING THE BANES FAMILY.
PAID OBITUARY

Everette E. ‘Tine’ Bolejack

KING, NC – Mr. Everette E. “Tine” Bolejack, 90, died Wednesday, November 09, 2005, at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home. He was born in Forsyth County to Joseph E. and Virginia Griffin Bolejack on October 18, 1915. He was married to Margaret Watts Bolejack for 65 years and lived all of his life in Rural Hall. He retired from Kraft Foods and later was happily employed at Germanton Elementary School. He was a lifelong devoted member of Poplar Springs Church of Christ in King. Mr. Bolejack was preceded in death by his parents; five brothers; and six sisters.
Surviving are his wife, Margaret Watts Bolejack; three daughters. Jenny Webb, Greenwood, SC, Karen (E.G.) Parks and Donna (Hal) Ward-law; and four granddaughters, Brooke Gordon, Jennifer Webb, Lindsey Webb and Stephanie (Keola) Elobt.
A funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 P.M. Friday, November 11, at Poplar Springs Church of Christ in King, with the Rev. Ralph Sproles, the Rev. Don Wallace and the Rev. Chuck Bower officiating.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. today, November 10, at Hayworth-Miller Rural Hall Chapel. Memorials may be made to Poplar Springs Church of Christ Building Fund, 7120 NC Hwy. 66 South, King, NC 27021.
PAID OBITUARY

David Michael Grimes

David Michael Grimes, 28, of 303 Blyth Road, died Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005.
He was a son of Raymond and Laverne Grimes.
Survivors include his parents of Greenwood; two sisters, Diane Grimes Martin and Denise Yeager, both of Oklahoma.
Memorial services are 3 p.m. today at First Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, Hightway 25 South, conducted by the Pastor David Milcher.
Burial is in Oklahoma.
Palmetto Cremation Services, Pickens, is in charge.

Maggie Jenny Horne

AIKEN — Maggie Jenny Horne, 54, of Pepper Hill Nursing Center, died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 at Aiken Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late Marvin Edward and Kate Bandi White Horne. She was retired from IHOP of Anderson.
Survivors include a son, Tony Witt of Anderson; a sister, Linda Heckman of Sanford, Fla.; and two grandchildren. No services are planned.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.

Bob Owens

Robert Andrew “Bob” Owens, 86, of 412 Bond Ave., widower of Mary Smith Owens, died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenville County, he was a son of the late Robert A. Sr. and Annie Louise Craig Owens. He was a Navy veteran of WWII and was retired from Greenwood Mills Service Dept. He was a member of the Second Baptist Church in Greenville and a member of the Greenwood Mills Quarter Century Club.
Survivors include three sons, Robert B. Owens of Jacksonville, Fla., Norman D. Owens of Abbeville and Aaron D. Owens of Concord, N.C.; a sister, Frances Wilson of Denver, Co.; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. No funeral service is planned.
Visitation is 3-5 today at Blyth Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Assoc., PO Box 6604, Columbia, S.C. 29260-6604.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.

Mary Elizabeth Phillips

ABBEVILLE, SC — Mary Elizabeth Phillips, 89, formerly of 201 Pineview St., died Friday, November 11, 2005 at Abbeville Nursing Home. She was the wife of the late James Pruitt Phillips. Mrs. Phillips was born in Lowndesville to the late Mason and Maude Parnell. She retired from the Abbeville Milliken Plant after many years and was a life long member of the Lowndesville Baptist Church.
Surviving Mrs. Phillips is her son, Jimmy Phillips of Abbeville, a niece who was raised in the home, Elizabeth A. Davis, a grandson, Alton P. Phillips and his wife, Mary and two great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and James A. Phillips.
The family will receive friends from 1:00PM to 2:30PM Sunday, November 13, 2005 (TODAY) at Harris Funeral Home. Graveside services will be at 3:00PM on Sunday, November 13, 2005 in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lowndesville Baptist Church PO Box 70, Lowndesville, SC 29659 or to a charity of one’s choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the Phillips family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com
HARRIS FUNERAL HOME, of Abbeville, is assisting the Phillips family.
PAID OBITUARY

Lander and Erskine men have lofty goals for 2005-06

With all five starters back, Flying Fleet
want to make run at CVAC title

November 13, 2005

By JIM JOYCE
Special projects editor

DUE WEST — The men’s basketball team at Erskine College has been ranked in the top five in the preseason Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) poll.
That is something quite out of the ordinary for the Flying Fleet, who have recorded 14-15 records the last three seasons. But, the ranking can serve as a motivator for a team that has a roster filled with juniors with experience.
“For us, it’s like uncharted waters,” coach Mark Peeler said. “It seems like we’ve started every season having to count on new people, and have freshmen help us through the year.”
Erskine has its top six players back, plus another that red-shirted last year but practiced with the team.
“It’s a strange place to be,” Peeler said. “Last year, we were a team that could beat everybody in our conference at any place. We’ll be looking upon this season a whole lot different than we have our previous six (seasons).
“We’ve always been trying to climb the mountain, but while we haven’t gotten to the top, it seems we’ve had to overachieve to get where we needed to be during the season, I think we’ve been decent three years in a row.”
He added, “I wouldn’t say we were good, but we were decent. We should be much better than decent. It’s a good place to be and we’re probably more anxious about this season than ever before. We should be one of the top four teams in the league.”
However, with that, he said, “You don’t know how the kids will react. And the coach doesn’t know how he will react.”
Peeler said reaction will vary though.
“Being picked third puts a lot more pressure on you,” he said. “I know we have a better team than we’ve ever had, and we expect to finish higher than third. It’s better than being picked seventh, because there you have very little expectations. Third gives you something more to shoot at.”
The ability to keep a lead, or stay in a close game at the end, has presented problems. However, Peeler said last year’s playoffs could be a key toward improvement.
“We played at Barton and had beaten them twice during the regular season,” he said. “We fouled with six second to play, then we missed two free throws that would have tied the game. That was a heart-breaking experience — except for the fact that we learned. If that happens again this year, we won’t make the same mistakes.”
Another big problem, Peeler said, was not beating the teams at the bottom of the conference — indicating inconsistency.
“Certainly, there were a lot of aspects last year that were disappointing, but I think we have different expectations now,” Peeler said. “We believe we can go into any place and win. The reality of it is, we haven’t had a winning record at Erskine since 1993. That’s 13 years ago, and, while we’ve been close the last three or four years, we haven’t won.”
The question that arises is, he added, “Can we go from where we are, having three OK seasons, to compete for the conference championship?”
With a large number of players back, Peeler said there are no major changes on the horizon.
“We’ve always played pretty well with the same defense, and we’ve been pretty successful with the personnel we have,” he said. “On offense, we’ll run a mini-version of what Princeton runs. A benefit for us this year is that we’ve got so many guys back who have been running this offense. They are starting to play instead of thinking so much about what’s going on.”
Returning, and expected to help carry the bulk of the offense, are last year’s top leading scorers — 6-7 Craig Williams who averaged 17.9 points per game, 6-5 Reed Long who averaged 16.7 per game, and 6-5 Matt Odom, with an average of 11.2 points a game. Williams also led the board play with 7.4 rebounds a game.
“Hopefully, we can take advantage of what others give us,” Peeler said. “Matt, Reed, Jay (Waring), T.J. (Taylor) and Jason (Winecoff) are pretty good perimeter shooters, and Williams and Lindo (6-7 Lindokuhle sibankulu) can score inside.”
Peeler said Mt. Olive, Pfeiffer and Queens are always teams to beat in the CVAC, but, this year, he puts Erskine right up there with them.
“Mt. Olive is picked fifth in the country by Street and Smith, and Pfeiffer is ninth,” he said. “But, Erskine won’t take a back seat. I don’t think we fear any team — probably what it’s been in the past. We believe we can beat those teams, and I think our kids expect to win. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
The season opens Thursday at Montreat.

Bruce Evans and Bearcats looking to build on last year’s turnaround

November 13, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

It is amazing how much perception and expectations can change in a year’s time.
After more than doubling its win total in 2004-05 from the previous two seasons, going from seven victories to 17, the Lander men’s basketball team looks to build on what it started in coach Bruce Evans’ first year.
The Bearcats, who were picked 11th out of 12 teams in the Peach Belt Conference before last season, have been picked fourth in the PBC preseason coaches poll. They received two first place votes. Clayton State is favored to win the league.
With the loss of only one starter from a year ago, Lander would seem to be set for another solid run. However, senior point guard Jahi Rawlings said the team should be careful to guard against any overconfidence because of preseason expectations.
“That’s the main thing we have to understand,” Rawlings said. “We haven’t earned that praise; it was given. We have to keep our heads down and work.”
Evans expressed similar concerns.
“Now we’re the one that will have a target on us,” Evans said. “We won’t be able to creep up on anybody. We’ve known since last spring that people were going to be gunning for us.”
Evans said the strength of the team lies in the backcourt.
The guards will be an upperclassman-laden bunch that features Rawlings and junior Jason Davis, a player who Evans notes as being very adept at running the offense. Senior J.T. Greene will be a contributor off the bench, as will Michael Griffin, a speedy ball-handler.
Perhaps the most dangerous guard in Lander’s lineup is 2004-05 All-PBC selection Jarred Jackson. Jackson, a Columbia native, averaged 14.4 points per game a year ago. However, Jackson, who is 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, may see time at forward as well.
“Jarred will be in the lineup somewhere, definitely,” Evans said.
Evans said the team would lean heavily on the backcourt if it hopes to play a more up-tempo style in 2005-06. The Bearcats plan on applying more full court pressure defensively this season, hoping the increased pressure will lead to increased steals and thus more points.
“We had a bunch of guys averaging seven or eight points per game,” Evans said. “We need these guards to help us get some turnovers and get us into our offense quickly so we can get those points up.”
Evans has also been impressed with the Bearcats’ frontcourt this preseason, despite some nagging injuries.
Scottie Smith, a 6-foot-7, 215 pound sophomore from Durham, N.C., has been angling for a starting position at power forward. However, a high ankle sprain has hampered him.
Likewise, 6-foot-8, 230 pound senior center Zoran Jelenic suffered a hamstring pull at the end of major conditioning earlier this fall and has been extremely limited in practice ever since.
“We’ll surely need those guys back as soon as possible,” Evans said.
Junior Emmanuel Hodrea and senior Joe McEachern will also lend a heavy hand in patrolling the paint. McEachern received extended playing time a year ago, and has proven his ability to rebound and score tough put-back baskets. Hodrea, at 6-foot-8, 220 pounds, is a rangy post player who can step out and nail a 15-foot jumper, but can also drive the lane and finish the fastbreak with a slam.
“We have to have guys step out and hit that jumper,” Evans said. “They need to fill the lane, but at the same time, if they step out and hit the jumpers, we can stretch opposing defenses.”
Evans is pleased with the depth of his team overall.
“We can go 10 or 11 deep, at least,” Evans said. “There will be times when I’ll bring in a completely fresh five players.”
The Peach Belt has adopted a new policy upon which all the teams in the conference play each other twice, therefore ratcheting up the pressure to win in an already hyper-competitive conference.
“I love playing in this conference,” Rawlings said. “Players know that this is the best Division II conference in the country. Most of the guys in the Peach Belt could be D-One basketball players.”

Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

There are teacher sources that could end shortages

November 13, 2005

There’s some good and bad news in the latest report card on how the state’s schools are doing. In some Greenwood schools, District 52 in Ninety Six, for example, there is great joy over getting higher grades. Others, though, aren’t showing a lot of progress. In fact, if the scores are true, too many schools across the state are going in reverse.
Statewide, public school ratings have declined for the first time since South Carolina adopted new accountability standards five years ago.
It could be that the whole experience is a work in progress. However, it wouldn’t be difficult to convince some people that results don’t equal the effort, particularly as far as spending is concerned. When they keep paying and see little improvement, they have a point.

THERE’S ALSO ANOTHER problem, one that some people don’t want to admit or face. It’s a situation where the few drag down the many. Too many unqualified “teachers” are reflecting poorly on education all over the state. The few bad teachers hurt the big majority of good ones. There may be a shortage of teachers, as some say. That, however, is no reason to keep teachers who aren’t capable of doing the job and doing it right.
At various times in South Carolina, there has been some talk about hiring teachers who have college degrees in specific subjects. They may be outstanding in the classroom, but are not certified to teach. For some reason, though, the talk has never developed into anything else. The same goes for enlisting teachers from the business world. We know that works because colleges have benefited from their experience.

CONSIDERING EVERYTHING, test scores included, maybe it’s time for the Legislature to act. Why couldn’t a process be set up to determine if there are people who might be excellent teachers, and would do it, but don’t have the certification. Organized opposition to such out-of-the-box thinking would, no doubt, be formidable. Nevertheless, it’s obvious that the business-as-usual way of doing things in public education has left too many of our children wanting.
Some problems many of us don’t want to tackle. Until we do, though, the solutions will continue to be just so-so, and little more.