Bauer’s speeding sends wrong message, some say

March 31, 2006

From staff reports

Slow down and live. Greenwood and Lakelands law enforcement officials preach it every day, but it’s difficult to reinforce the message when cases of high-profile people avoiding speeding tickets make the news, while “average Joes” go to court.
The latest incident involves South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, clocked at 101 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 77 in Chester County — but he wasn’t ticketed.
Bauer said he has “gotten several tickets,” so he says he hasn’t received preferential treatment. But, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said people breaking the speeding laws in South Carolina need to worry about their conduct.
“You need to worry about the fact that you get stopped. You get points off your license and points off your insurance. You need to be concerned about that,” he said. “But you also need to know that if you’re running down the road and hit something, your body is moving forward at the speed you were going. It is very, very dangerous for you and the people around you.”
Jimmy Reed, a driver’s education instructor at Abbeville High School and owner of Lakelands Driving Academy, said Bauer’s speeding sends a negative message to young people, such as those to whom he tries to teach responsible driving.
“It sets an awful example for South Carolina’s number two in charge to show such a lack of regard for traffic laws by driving that fast,” Reed said. “Speeding is a huge problem, and I’m always warning my students about it. He (Bauer) says he doesn’t usually drive himself to and from places. Maybe it’s a good idea he doesn’t drive himself anywhere.”
Reed says his students at Abbeville High are shown graphic videos to convey to them what happens in a car accident and how speed can effect the outcome of an accident. This school year, the assistant county coroner from Greenwood addressed the students, showing photos taken on the scenes of some fatal wrecks in the area.
“We do use some shock treatments to try to get their attention because safety on the road is such a serious and important issue,” he said. “Speeding is a real problem, especially with young males.”
According to information on the National Safety Council’s Web site, speeding is a contributing factor in wrecks that kill about 12,000 people each year. Every 10 mph traveled over 50 mph doubles the risk of death if a wreck occurs.
Speeding and tailgating are among the driving habits that cause more than 50 percent of wrecks, the Web site says.
South Carolina highways have seen a 15 percent increase in speed-related collisions over the past year, said Lance Cpl. Steve Sluder, with the S.C. Highway Patrol.
“Speeding is the primary contributing factor to collisions in the Lakelands area, and that has been proven year after year,” he said.
Though speeding is a habit seen among all ages, races and genders, teenage drivers are more likely to be at fault in their wrecks, and those incidents are more likely to involve speeding than those of older drivers, according to the S.C. Department of Public Safety.
Speeding gives drivers less time to react to drivers ahead or around them and gives them less room to stop, Sluder said. According to the Department of Public Safety, it takes a car traveling 55 mph nearly 150 feet to come to a complete stop if the driver locks down on the breaks. A car traveling 70 mph will slide up to 220 feet before stopping.
Speeding is a “concern” in the Greenwood city area, said Greenwood Police Department Capt. Sonny Cox.
Cox said the department’s goal is to reduce speeding through a combination of enforcement, public support and community education on traffic safety.
In 2005, the department issued more than 3,590 citations, Cox said, with 1,042 of those written for speeding. Speed also could have been a contributing factor for other citations, he added, and it is one of the most common reasons for a vehicle to be stopped by an officer.
The Greenwood Police Department uses radar speed detectors in patrol vehicles, and Cox said there are 12 radar units in operation.
Inside city limits, drivers can be fined $76 for traveling 10 mph or less over the posted limit, $128 for traveling 11-15 mph over the limit, $180 for traveling 16 to 25 mph over the limit and $440 for speeds above 25 mph over the limit.
Drivers also can get two to six points against their driver’s records for speeding violations, with their license being suspended once 12 points or more are accumulated.
Speed-monitoring radar trailers — mobile electronic devices that display drivers’ speeds as they pass — have “certainly made an impact on our communities,” Cox said.
Devices are usually placed in areas where the public or officers have expressed concerns about speed.
Alarmed by what he said was the highest per capita number of fatalities in the state and one of the highest in the nation for Newberry County in recent years, Foster charged his patrol officers with enforcing traffic laws. Four patrol officers per shift — 16 in all — man radars in their cars.
One main area of enforcement is S.C. 34, which runs in Newberry County from the Fairfield County line in the east to Greenwood County, at Buzzard Roost hydro-electric plant on the Saluda River, in the west. Drivers were flying through the town of Silverstreet and the crossroads community of Chappells, Foster said.
“We had an unusually high number of traffic accidents on that highway,” he said. “We had complaints from people in Silverstreet that they couldn’t go to the post office without getting struck or nearly getting struck. And there is a cut-through on Island Ford Road where we had a lot of complaints. We have a lot of accidents on that road.”
Traffic law enforcement “is not our primary mission,” but it was necessitated because, Foster said, the S.C. Highway Patrol “had completely evaporated.”
And that’s not the case just in neighboring Newberry County.
“We have a reduction in force with the state Highway Patrol to a real low number,” Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said. “It puts the burden on me to get out there on the rural roads and slow people down. If we can save one life, we will do what we need to do.”
The sheriff’s office is using grant funds to coordinate all law enforcement in this judicial circuit — municipal, county and patrol — into a concerted effort to work traffic.
Wideman said Bauer needs to know something that the sheriff tells his officers all the time: “Our guys, I let them know, you are held to a higher standard,” he said. “You’re not above anybody else.”
Local law enforcement might see a glimmer of hope for increased traffic enforcement coming from Columbia, but neither area sheriff is counting on anything just yet.
The state budget approved Thursday by the S.C. House adds money for 100 new troopers, a statement from the House Republican Caucus said. “They’ll say that,” Wideman said, “that they’re going to have two classes then they have one, and one gets cut out.”
Foster is skeptical of the proposed funding for more troopers helping his county.
“The chance of us getting one in Newberry County is slim,” he said. “They’re hurting everywhere.”

Vic MacDonald, Megan Varner and Jackie R. Broach of The Index-Journal staff contributed to this report.

Litter-free award sign taken
from entrance to local neighborhood

March 31, 2006

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

Will people steal anything that’s not nailed down — just for the “rush” of getting away with it? A day after The Index-Journal reported someone stole a donations jar for a cancer patient from a local store comes word that a thief robbed a neighborhood of its honor for cleaning its streets.
Someone took a large, white sign designating the College Heights Booker T. Washington neighborhood as winner of Greenwood’s Litter-Free Award Program. The award is sponsored by PalmettoPride, the “Pitch-In” Litter Prevention Task Force and the Neighborhood Development Office.
The statewide litter prevention effort, PalmettoPride, contributed $600 to the Greenwood Area Chamber of Commerce to underwrite the award. Judges from the local Pitch-In program named the winning neighborhood.
College Heights Booker T. Washington had the sign at its neighborhood entrance for 10 days.
“I’m very confident that the individual who took the sign is not going to read this article, but we want our communities to know we try so hard to honor them. Then somebody comes along and destroys that trust,” said Toni Able, director of neighborhood development for the Chamber. “I hope the individual who took it is not a member of that community.”
Mary Warren, president of the College Heights Booker T. Washington Neighborhood Association, said the group has 20 members active in its community enhancement projects. They also visit the sick and elderly in the neighborhood and give donations to families who experience the death of a loved one.
The neighborhood is in eastern Greenwood near East End Elementary School.
Able said the group has been a past winner of the Neighborhood of the Year Award, and residents there have been winners of Neighbor of the Year. These good neighbors are “very active and play a vital role in the neighborhood,” Able said.
The women agree that the neighborhood just wants the sign back — “no questions asked,” Able said. On Thursday, Warren received a replacement sign to take back to the neighborhood, but having to do that puts a dent in the Chamber’s pocketbook. Each award sign costs $50.
But beyond the cost, the theft shows an ongoing disrespect for the Greenwood community, Able said. The Child Health & Safety flag placed at East Cambridge Avenue and Main Street was stolen — “and that memorialized children who had died,” she said. Also, National Night Out and Litter Prevention banners have been taken from visible locations across the city, she said.
“And for what? Only the rush of ‘I’m doing something wrong,’” Able said.

Jackson 1st Super Viking

March 31, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

One year after installing a new weightlifting regimen for its football team, Emerald High School has its first Super Viking.
Junior Louis Jackson, a linebacker on the Emerald football team and a thrower on the track team, recently earned the honor. In order to be dubbed a Super Viking in the Emerald program, a lifter must accumulate more than 1,000 combined pounds in the bench press, squat thrust and power clean lifts.
Jackson is perched at the top of the Vikings’ list at 1,025 pounds. He recently maxed out in bench at 315 pounds, power clean at 255 and hoisted 455 in the squat.
“He has been working really hard,” said Emerald strength coordinator and track coach Zeke Goode. “And what’s impressive about Louis is that he comes in here and does his lifting after track practice, where as a lot of the football players have a weightlifting class. Louis comes right off the track and starts lifting.”
Emerald football coach Mac Bryan installed the Super Viking program — which has several levels preceding Super Viking, such as Iron Viking, Power Viking, etc. — when he arrived on campus last spring.
Jackson said he set a distinct goal for himself at that time.
“I was determined to be the first Super Viking,” Jackson said. “I was at the Iron Viking level at the time, at about 985 pounds. So it feels good to be the first.”
Jackson said getting to the milestone first can serve as motivation for teammates to get to the same level, and added that several teammates have said they are gunning for his mark.
Goode said Jackson’s work in the weight room has led to an increase in his performance on the track team, as well.
“He threw the discus 145 feet, 11 inches in a meet this year,” Goode said. “That’s his best distance and one of the best distances in the state this year. You can definitely attribute that to work in the weight room.”
Jackson, whose average throw in discus a year ago was 132 feet, said Goode has been diligent in making sure he is active in the weight room and pushing himself to greater physical dexterity. As such, the junior said he is not surprised his discus distance has increased.
Jackson said he considered himself “a little strong” through middle school, he said he realized when he enrolled at Emerald as a ninth-grader that he had a long way to go.
“I saw how big and strong some of the older guys were,” Jackson said. “I knew I had to get in the weight room to get up to their level. I just kept going from there.”
Goode corroborated Jackson’s account, saying he has seen a steady climb in Jackson’s strength since his freshman year. The coach said he believes Jackson’s totals will continue to rise.
Of the three lifts accentuated in the Super Viking program, Jackson said he has shown the greatest gain in squat.
“I felt like I needed to get that one up,” Jackson said. “So I just kept adding a little weight on the bar every time I came in the weight room. Now I’m at 455.”
As he approaches his senior football season Jackson has set a lofty ultimate goal for himself.
“I want to play in the NFL some day,” said the soft-spoken Jackson. “To do that I know I need to keep getting stronger and be in here working all the time. I’m prepared to do that.”
Jackson added he has been working diligently towards earning a college scholarship, though he said he hasn’t begun to narrow his decision as to which school he might attend in the fall of 2007.

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

Opinion

Talk about accountability in writing state’s budget

March 31, 2006

The governor of South Carolina presents his state spending budget these days, and it is a good idea. It provides a look at state budgeting that helps develop more taxpayers’ interest in what goes on in the taxing and spending process.
This year, for example, Gov. Mark Sanford wanted to give state taxpayers a $151 million tax rebate as part of his executive spending plan. He also proposed capping government spending at 5.5 percent, the rate of population growth, plus inflation. Had the Legislature agreed, the average South Carolina family would have received a one-time refund of about $150. Sanford’s budget included other items, naturally.

THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE that every average family in the state could have found a good use for that refund, too. But, alas, it didn’t happen. Lawmakers rejected that and a lot of what Sanford proposed.
The South Carolina legislature, to be sure, is pretty jealous of its prerogatives, with one of them being writing and approving the state budget. In fact, it’s no secret that lawmakers have always held the power ..... in budgeting and government in general.
That generates a good question. Every lawmaker, in the Senate and House, is accountable only to the voters in their respective districts. The governor is accountable to all South Carolinians. That being the case, wouldn’t it make more sense for the governor to have more input into the budgeting process than he does?

IN THE PALMETTO STATE that’s probably considered to be heresy. Nevertheless, it’s worth asking. There is one other item that still hasn’t received enough attention. That’s paying off the state’s deficit. That should be a standing priority. Is it?
It’s a shame that the state officers that have to present themselves to all the state’s voters don’t have more to say about what goes on. That likely would give all South Carolinians a better feeling of being pertinent. Too bad, though. The way state government is set up, with the Legislature wielding the most power, it will take a miracle to change it. That doesn’t mean, though, that more restructuring, which provides more overall accountability, can’t be talked about.

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

Obituaries

William Childs

William Childs, 87, formerly of Taggart Ave., widower of Annie Childs, died Thursday, March 30, 2006 at Elberton Memorial Hospital, Elberton, Ga.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of the late Pat and Emma Childs. He was a retired machine operator at Ninety Six Oil Mill and a member of Friendship Baptist Church.
Survivors include nephews and nieces.
Services are 2 p.m. Sunday at Friendship Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Anthony Sims, assisted by the Rev. Jonathan Greene. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m.
Visitation is Saturday evening at the home of a niece, Helen Calhoun, 608 North Church St. Extension, Ninety Six.
The family is at the home of a niece, Helen Calhoun.
Robinson & Son Mortuary is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Henry A. Fortune

CHARLOTTE — Dr. Henry A. Fortune, 58, died Sunday, March 26, 2006 at University Hospital.
He was a retired Captain of the U.S. Air Force and Associate Minister of Grace Memorial Missionary Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife; three children.
Services are 10 a.m. Saturday at Grace Memorial Missionary Baptist Church. Burial is in Evening Star Memorial Gardens, Greenwood, S.C.
Visitation is 9-10 a.m. Saturday at the church.
Alexander Funeral Home is in charge.

Rebecca W. Johnson

CLINTON — Services for Rebecca Williams Johnson are 3 p.m. Sunday at Rockford A.M.E. Church, conducted by the Rev. Fred Armfield. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 2.
Pallbearers are friends of the family.
Flower bearers are ushers and friends of the family.
The family is at the home of a cousin, Lawrence Rouse, Pine St., McCormick.
Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Mary Neal

NINETY SIX — Mary Frances Horton Neal, 80, of 122 Pine Lake Drive, widower of Charles Norris Neal, died March 29, 2006 at the Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Rutherfordton, NC, on July 29, 1925, a daughter of the late William Roy and Hester Sue Harton Horton. She was a graduate of Ellenboro High School in Ellenboro, NC. A member of Siloam Baptist Church where she was a Sunday school teacher and a member of the TEL Sunday school class. She loved to bake.
Survivors include a daughter, Susan and husband Jimmy Chambers of Ninety Six; son, Charles Douglas “Doug” and wife Betty Neal of Gray, TN; sister, Sue Jolly of Cliffside, NC; five grandchildren, Sandy C. and husband Max Warner of Greenwood, Tonya Chambers of Columbia, Michael and wife Angela Chambers of Ninety Six, Danny and wife Bronwyn Neal of Greenwood and Stephanie Brackett of Gastonia, NC; seven great-grandchildren, Kristen Warner, Kerrie Warner, Rachel Neal and Charlie Neal, all of Greenwood, Beth Yeargen of Greenville, and T.J. Chambers and Mickie Chambers, both of Ninety Six.
Funeral services will be conducted Saturday at 2 pm at Siloam Baptist Church with Rev. Mark Vickers officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Danny Neal, Max Warner, Michael Chambers, Eric Worthen, Rodney Smith, and Robert Wallace.
Honorary escort will be Deacons of Siloam Baptist Church, the staff of Station 1 at NHC, Terry Chastain, Mickey Goodman, Jimmy Boswell and Dr. Jed Graham.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 1pm Saturday.
The family is at the home of Mrs. Neal, 122 Pinelake Drive in Ninety Six and will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church.
Those desiring may make memorials to Siloam Baptist Church, P.O. Box 373, Ninety Six, SC 29666 in memory of Mrs. Neal.
For additional information and online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is serving the Neal family.
PAID OBITUARY

Elizabeth “Lib” Norris

ABBEVILLE, SC — Elizabeth “Lib” Buice Norris, 85, resident of 1502 Greenville St. wife of Hubert “Pete” Norris died Wednesday March 29, 2006 at Abbeville Co. Memorial Hospital.
Born in Gainesville, GA she was a daughter of the late D.T. and Lilly Godfrey Buice.
Lib was a retired Assistant Administrator at the Abbeville Nursing Home. She was also a member of the Entre-Nous Book Club. She was very active at the Heritage House in Abbeville, SC. Lib was also an avid bridge player loving to spend time with her friends during their playing time. She was also an active member of the Abbeville First Baptist Church. Lib will be remembered as a loving and devoted wife of over 64 years to her loving husband Pete and also as a loving mother and grandmother. She will be greatly missed by her family and her many friends.
Survivors are: husband Hubert “Pete” Norris of the home, 2 sons Harold Norris and his wife Ceilo of Tucker, GA, Ronnie Norris and his wife Pinky of Lincolnton, NC, a daughter Cindy Grodines and her husband Gary of Charleston, SC, her grandchildren Allison Norris, Shannon Norris, Brandon Norris, Hannah Nates, Zack Grodines and Emily Grodines, a brother DeWitt Buice of Chapin, SC. Funeral services will be conducted Saturday April 1, 2006 at 11:00 AM from the Abbeville First Baptist Church with the Rev. Reiny Koschel officiating. The burial will follow in Long Cane Cemetery.
The body is at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Friday evening.
Active pallbearers will be Mason Speer, Don Reese, Paul Davis, Robert Hawthorne, Joe Seawright and Allan Hughes.
Memorials may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
THE CHANDLER-JACKSON FUNERAL HOME, ABBEVILLE, SC IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
Online condolences may be sent to the Norris family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
PAID OBITUARY

Jane Ardella Sanderson

DARLINGTON — Jane Ardella Stricklen Sanderson, 80, widow of James Lawton Sanderson, died Wednesday, March 29, 2006.
Born in Florence County, she was a daughter of the late Corbett and Lovella Brown Stricklen. She was retired from James Rivers and a member of Central Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons, James “Jimmy” L. Sanderson and Leon A. Sanderson, both of Darlington; two daughters, Eva Jane Ammons of Florence and Elaine Sanderson of Greenwood; two brothers, Phillip Strickland and Beattie Strickland, both of Florence; two sisters, Lila Mae Griggs of Florence and Alene Miles of Darlington; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Belk Funeral Home, Darlington.
The family is at the home of a son, Jimmy Sanderson, 106 Spring Heights Circle, Darlington.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the PeeDee, 55 East Cheves St., Florence, SC 29506 or Central Baptist Church, 512 Spring St., Darlington, SC 29532.
Belk Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.belkfuneralhome.com

Wayne Sargent

Gaston-Graveside services for Everett Wayne Sargent, 48, will be conducted at 4 p.m., Saturday in Edgewood Cemetery, 772 Grace Street Greenwood with the Rev. Chris Garrison officiating.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Barr-Price Funeral Home Historic B-L Chapel.
Mr. Sargent died Wednesday March 29, 2006. Born in Greenwood, he was a son of Robert Eugene Sargent and Betty Joyce Proctor Oswald. He was a construction employee and was a Baptist.
Surviving are his mother, Betty Joyce Proctor Oswald and step-father, Sonny Oswald of Leesburg, FL; his father, Robert Eugene Sargent and step-mother, Lean Sargent of Homosassa Springs, FL; step-brothers, David, Brad and Rev. Bill Oswald. Online register at www.barr-price.com.
PAID OBITUARY

Elizabeth ‘Scoot’ Speed

ABBEVILLE — Elizabeth “Scoot” Speed, 85, of 614 Church St., died Thursday, March 30, 2006 at National Health Care, Greenwood.
Services will be announced by The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home.

Mildred Stewart

ABBEVILLE — Mildred Peterman Stewart, 86, of 2486 Highway 72 W., widow of Robert Russell Stewart, died Thursday, March 30, 2006 at Abbeville Nursing Home.
Born in Oglethorpe County, Ga. she was a daughter of the late Howard and Lee Clark Peterman. She was a retired textile employee with Bloomsburg Mills, Miliken Plant and Tasco Industries and a member of the Congregational Holiness Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Joyce Stewart Ferguson and Nancy Stewart Ashley, both of Abbeville; a sister, Newell Autry of Lilburn, Ga.; nine grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 4 p.m. Saturday at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Tye Sorrow. Burial is in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
Visitation 2-3:30 Saturday at the funeral home.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Robert (Joyce) Ferguson, 2486 Highway 72 W. Memorials may be made to A Place for Us Ministries, PO Box 797 Greenwood, SC 29648 c/o Tammy Price or to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Ave. Greenwood, SC 29646.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chandlerjacksonfh.com

William O. White Jr.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — William Odell White Jr., died Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at Brookdale Hospital.
Son of the late William H. and Charlotte Tompkins White, he was a former member of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, Parksville, S.C., a 1961 graduate of Mims High School and a Security Officer with the Brooklyn School System.
Survivors include a daughter, Hope Yvonne White of Greenwood, S.C.; two sisters, Mrs. Johnnie (Shirley) Briggs of Plum Branch, S.C. and Mrs. Willie (Mildred) Talbert of McCormick, S.C.; two brothers, Eddie White and Willie Pete White, both of McCormick; adopted sister, Sandra D. Johnson of Vilsec, Germany; two grandchildren.
The family is at the home of Shirley White, 683 Old Augusta Road, Plum Branch and Eddie White, Cedar Hill Road, McCormick.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.