Local families trying to adjust
following Regency Park fire

March 28, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

From the balcony of his new apartment, Regency Park resident Michael Brandt has a view that is a constant reminder of a nightmare that happened just more than a week ago.
Just yards away stand the charred remains of Regency Park Building 127, which was severely damaged by fire in the early morning hours of March 20.
Brandt, 34, wife Lisa and 2-year-old daughter Hailey were in their apartment in Building 127 when the fire began.
The family was awakened just after 1 a.m. by the sound of someone pounding on their front door.
“A man told us the building was on fire,” Brandt said. “I woke up my wife and dressed my daughter. We walked out of the building and it was on fire.”
Brandt said he knew the man who alerted the family but he did not know the man’s name. Because the family did not exit the apartment immediately, Brandt said the man came back to their door. “He probably got everybody out,” Brandt said. “He’s a great guy. He made sure we all got out.” About that time, Lander University student Jessica Epps also heard a cry from outside her apartment.
“The first thing I heard was someone outside yelling ‘Fire, fire, it’s real, get out,’” said Epps, who will graduate in May. “That’s how I knew. And, of course, the alarms.”
Epps and Brandt were among about 20 people who were displaced by the fire, which caused damage to eight units in the building and forced residents in four other apartments to relocate because of safety reasons.
The fire began on a third-floor balcony of Apartment 9 and then spread to the attic area and the rest of the building, according to a Greenwood Fire Department incident report.
No one was injured in the blaze.
Firefighters were on the scene for nearly seven hours, and Regency Park community owner Doug Collins said the fire department’s quick response, coupled with the building’s sprinkler system, helped save lives.
“When the (Regency Park) community was built, code did not require sprinkler systems. It was something we decided to do on our own,” he said, adding that it was an invaluable tool in giving residents time to get out of the building safely and keeping the fire from spreading to other units. He said a separate computer in each building monitors the fire system, and the computer notified the fire department at the same time residents were calling.
“The computer was simultaneously calling the fire department and the sprinkler system was kicking in,” he said.
Brandt’s second-floor apartment suffered severe smoke and water damage.
“We have yet to sort through everything, but I feel sure with the way things smelled, especially our clothes, we wouldn’t be able to salvage a whole lot,” Brandt said. “As we were watching the fire, I was thinking that we just lost everything. I was standing out there barefoot in a T-shirt and shorts, and I knew we had to figure out what we were going to do.”
Because some apartments in the community were vacant at the time of the fire, Collins said many of the residents affected, including Epps and Brandt, were able to be placed in those apartments.
Residents from two units were Lander University students, and Collins said the school was able to place those residents in empty dorm rooms. The American Red Cross also responded to the scene to provide emergency assistance for the affected residents.
For those residents who weren’t able to salvage many belongings, Collins said furnished apartments — with items such as furniture, linens, kitchen wares and televisions — in the Regency Park community were provided.
“It’s been an adjustment, but we’ve had help from family and friends,” Brandt said, adding that North Side Baptist Church, Greenwood Masonic Lodge 91, his employer, Terminix, and his wife’s employer, Greenwood Genetic Center, have helped the family get other necessities. He said the support from Regency Park and the Red Cross has been “incredible.”
Epps added that Lander also has been a source of support for the students who were affected. “(My roommates and I) are doing pretty well. We’ve been pretty fortunate. The Red Cross has been wonderful. The nursing department has taken care of us, and Phyllis and Doug (Collins), the landlords at Regency, have been great,” she said. “The community has been great.”
Lander’s Director of Counseling Joe Franks said the school provided counseling for students and has been able to help with meal services and books replacement. She said some groups on campus have been conducting fundraisers for their affected classmates.
“Anything they can do — they said they’d do something to take care of things,” Epps said.
Demolition of the building is scheduled to begin this week, Collins said, but he added that no other residents will be affected by the construction.
Though he is still awaiting the official cause of the fire from investigators, Collins said some residents said they had been smoking on the balcony about an hour before the fire began.
Though the view from his balcony is one that serves as a reminder of the fire, Brandt said it is also one that teaches a “valuable lesson.”
“It was a life lesson,” he said. “We didn’t have renters insurance, but after we rebuild, we are going to get it.”

Dominating the courts

Bearcats tennis team back on track with 12-1 record, No. 11 ranking

March 28, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

The Lander University men’s tennis program is back in familiar territory.
The Bearcats, a longtime national power in the NAIA and NCAA Division II with numerous national championships to their credit, suffered a down season last year, going just 3-11. The team is back on track this season, however, holding a record of 12-1 overall and 4-0 in the Peach Belt Conference. The Bearcats are ranked No. 11 nationally in Division II.
“I think a lot of people feel like this is where Lander tennis is supposed to be,” said Bearcats coach Brett Simpson of the team’s national ranking. “That says a lot about the quality of the program over many years. We’re not going to surprise anybody. Lander stopped being able to surprise people in tennis 20 years ago.”
Nevertheless, the team is off to a particularly stellar start. The team even recently strung together a series of five consecutive wins-against North Greenville, Barton, Columbus State, Georgia College and Pembroke, respectively — in which it won all five matches 9-0. In fact, Lander’s individual match record for the season is 102-14.
Simpson said Lander’s winning ways haven’t necessarily been a shock to him.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been surprised,” Simpson said. “We started about as well as could possibly be expected. We have talent, it’s just a matter of applying it.”
Junior Nicolas Legros said he is encouraged by the team’s continued improvement.
“Everybody on the team knows we have the potential,” junior Nicolas Legros said. “It feels good that we are turning it into something true. This season we have had consistency.”
Two players that have enjoyed particularly solid seasons are freshman Joakim Karlsson and senior Stefen Tewes. Each player is holding an 13-0 record on the year. Both players are new additions to the team this year.
“I would say those two have been particularly strong for us in singles,” Simpson said. “To make it to this point in the year without a loss is extremely difficult.”
Part of the Bearcats’ success has also comes from the mixing of solid doubles play with singles. Legros has combined with sophomore Boris Simic to form a lethal duo at No. 3 doubles, a spot where Lander had trouble a year ago.
Simic said the newfound doubles success has been critical to the Bearcats winning ways.
“Doubles is crucial at the moment,” Simic said. “We expected a good start, but I believe the success in doubles has given us consistency.”
Simic also said the team has been riding somewhat of an emotional high. The sophomore from Brisbane, Australia lauded the spirit of the squad and said belief is at a season-high.
Simpson agreed the team seems to be confident and genuinely believes it has a chance for victory each time it steps on the court. The coach pointed to a 5-4 win over USC Upstate on Feb. 28 as a sort of catalyst for the Bearcats fortunes thus far.
One upcoming match that seems to be looming large on the Bearcats minds is the April 8 match-up with PBC foe Armstrong Atlantic State. The Pirates are ranked No. 9 nationally in Division II. Both Simic and Legros counted AASU as perhaps Lander’s biggest rival.
“We are kind of looking to that one as the big match of the year,” Legros said. “We are looking at making it to nationals, so that one will be important.”
Simpson said his team would be remiss to overlook its opponents between now and the April 8 showdown.
“We’ve got some tough matches between now and then,” said Simpson, flashing his trademark Aussie grin. “But the players are looking at that one. They are definitely a very talented team and in order to win the Peach Belt we will likely have to get past them. When that match comes, we will certainly need to raise our level of play to meet theirs.”
Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

Opinion

Control of travel costs could save taxpayer $$

March 28, 2006

Times are tight in the Palmetto State. At least that’s the message that comes from the Statehouse in Columbia. It’s clear from the continuing arguments among some lawmakers over spending and the state budget. There always is debate, of course, but these days it seems the bickering is more intense ..... especially between the Legislature and Gov. Mark Sanford.
That’s a bit unsettling to many South Carolinians, particularly since the governor is Republican and Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate and House.
Be that as it may, though, many taxpayers look at spending for some things and wonder why.
There is one area of spending where taxpayer money could be saved.
That’s travel costs.

THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES of questionable spending documented by the Legislative Audit Council ...... like very expensive hotel rooms.
That is, certainly, an extreme example that is the exception rather than the rule. Nevertheless, there is routine travel that often appears unnecessary ..... that is, travel expenses for a variety of meetings add up, especially when many of those meetings could be conducted by telephone or information could be distributed by mail or fax ..... or not held at all.
That’s not to say, of course, that some travel is not both necessary and productive. Over all, though, tighter controls on travel expenses should not even be discussed. They simply should be.


FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH

If seeing isn’t believing, maybe hearing is.
There has been little doubt in recent times that a lot of the Hollywood crowd is politically far to the left of many, if not most South Carolinians. In case anyone had reservations about that, though, one well-known left-leaning actress has removed all doubts.
Speaking at an anti-war benefit concert that featured anti-Bush demonstrator Cindy Sheehan, actress Susan Sarandon set the record straight. She said artists were playing their part in the anti-war effort by attending the concert and through the movies Hollywood is producing. She mentioned ‘Syriana,’ and ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ as two that have an anti-Administration political agenda. Both were up for Academy Awards this year. Both lost. Does that tell us something?

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

Obituaries

Horace E. Brooks

Horace E. Brooks, of 210 McKee Road, widower of Sara Elise McGee Brooks, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at University Hospital, Augusta, Ga.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home & Crematory.

Mary Coursey

GREENWOOD – Mary Eleanor Coursey, 84, resident of Eden Gardens, died March 27, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Greenwood County, March 23, 1922, she was a daughter of the late Watson Dean and Agnes McKeller Coursey. She was a 1939 graduate of Greenwood High School and graduated from Lander College in 1943. She did post graduate work at Winthrop, the University of South Carolina and Clemson College. Ms. Coursey retired in 1980 from Pelzer Primary School after a 37 year teaching career in the public school system.
She was a member of South Main Street Baptist Church where she served as director of the Junior High School Sunday School Class. She was also a member of the Alpha Delta Kappa Sorority and the Lander Alumni Association.
Ms. Coursey was predeceased by two sisters, Helen C. Rodgers and Grace E. Coursey and was the last member of her immediate family.
Surviving are a niece, Cathie and husband, Melvin Calliham; nephews, James E. Jr. and wife, Kim Rodgers, John D. and wife, Christy Rodgers and Jeffrey A. and wife, Melinda Rodgers, all of Greenwood; a brother-in-law, James E. Rodgers, Sr. of Greenwood; seven great nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 am Wednesday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Ryan Eklund officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be nephews along with Billy Coursey, William Coursey and Calvin Coursey. The family is at their respective homes and will receive friends at the funeral home from 10 to 11 Wednesday morning.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to South Main Street Baptist Church Building Fund, PO Box 1093, Greenwood, SC 29648 or to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Coursey family.
PAID OBITUARY

Willie Lee Davis

DONALDS — Services for Willie Lee Davis are 2 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, Hodges, conducted by the Revs. Clinton J. Hall II, Jerry Aiken, Bernard White, Jerome Nance, Melton Aiken, Auther Kemp and Ray Prigram. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 1.
The family is at the home.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Treva Motte

GREENWOOD – Treva Moss Motte, 77, of 755 Truett Avenue, died Sunday, March 26, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Abbeville County, she was a daughter of the late Benjamin Gibson and Josie Harrison Moss. She was retired from Actaris Metering Systems, Neptune Liquid Measurement Division and was a member of Emerald City Church of God.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Fred William Hopkins and two children, Dorothy Lynn Motte and Martin Keith Motte.
Surviving are four sons, Fred Hopkins and his wife, Shari, Mike Motte and his wife, Susan, and Darrell Motte, all of Greenwood and James Motte and his wife, Sherryl, of Johnson City, TN; grandchildren, Lisa Julian, Ronda Brown, John Hopkins, Tara Hopkins Brown, Chris Motte, Casey Motte, James L. Motte, Jennifer Motte Sherman, Jason Motte and Justin Motte; great grandchildren, Jasmine Brown, Milton Brown, Michael Brown, Josh Julian, Thea Hopkins, Kristen Motte, Nicole Motte, Jenna Motte, Maebry Motte, Jonathan Motte, Joel Sherman, Haiden Motte and Ashton Motte.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Tim Taylor and Mr. Butch Carithers officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be grandsons.
Honorary escort will be the men of Emerald City Church of God.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m.
The family is at the home.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Nick E. Rickenbaker, Sr.

NEWNAN, GA – Mr. Nick E. Rickenbaker, Sr., age 90, of Newnan, died Sunday, March 26, 2006 at his residence. Mr. Rickenbaker was born Novem-ber 15, 1915 in Cameron, South Carolina in the home of his late parents, Frederick Norris and Maybell Tululha Avinger Rickenbaker. He served for five years and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant in the United States Army Air Corp. during World War II. He was married to Dorothy Gentry and she preceded him in death in December 2001. Mr. Ricken-baker was one of the charter members of Unity Baptist Church and had served as a deacon and President of his Sunday School Class. His Masonic affiliation was with Coweta Lodge #60 and he had attained his 50-year status. A well-known businessman and farmer in this area, he owned and operated Coweta Farm Supply, Inc. Surviving Mr. Rickenbaker are his children, Nick Rickenbaker, Jr. and his wife, Sue; Patricia Ann Rickenbaker and her husband Frank Williams; and Mary Margaret Rickenbaker. He was the proud grandfather to Garrett Rickenbaker and Mindy and their children Timmy, Kristen and Jessica; Michael Ricken-baker and his children Liz, Drake, and Grayson; Anna Williams Walker and husband, Brad and their sons William and Robert; Kevin and Caroline Williams and their children Rutledge and Caroline; Nicholas Williams; and Abby and Megan Dahm. Funeral services are being conducted by McKoon Funeral Home at 38 Jackson Street where the family will receive friends on Tuesday evening,March 28th between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM. The funeral service will be on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 2:00 PM in the McKoon Chapel with Pastor Danny Wilson officiating. Interment will be in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Serving as pallbearers will be Wayne Courtney, Bill Cline, Nicholas Williams, Garrett Rickenbaker, Michael Ricken-baker and Heywood Evans. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Mr. Rickenbaker’s memory to The Unity Baptist Church Building Fund, 311 Smokey Road, Newnan, GA 30263. Online condolences may be expressed at www.mckoon.com
PAID OBITUARY

CLARIFICATION

For the obituary of Jimmie Doyle Stewart in Monday’s paper, it should be clarified that services are 1:30 p.m. today at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home Chapel, North Main Street, Greenville. Burial is 3:30 p.m. in Oakbrook Memorial Park, Greenwood.