Restaurants admit sales tax mistake

Pending refunds, local stores could be subject
to S.C. Department of Revenue penalties

November 28, 2006

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

An illegal tax or not?
Such was the question facing area businesses this past weekend after the special one-time “sales tax holiday” went into effect beginning at midnight Nov. 24.
A question-and-answer section at the South Carolina Department of Revenue Web site (www.sctax.org) said Friday that: “There is no need to publish a list of items exempt from the state sales and use tax during ‘sales tax holiday’ set for November 24th and November 25th of 2006. This one-time ‘sales tax holiday’ applies to all purchases, except for purchases of accommodations or the payment of additional guest charges subject to the sales tax under Code Section 12-36-920.”
The exempted section speaks only of hotel charges for accommodations for transients, such as in-room movies or room service.
Calls made to The Index-Journal on Friday, as well as others on Monday, indicated several local businesses — including three McDonald’s restaurants, a Pizza Inn and the Furusato Japanese restaurant — charged the normal 7-percent sales tax during the tax holiday.
McDonald’s ownership and management confirmed this information Friday afternoon, admitting the tax was continuing to be collected at all Greenwood KB Mac Inc., McDonald’s locations (three stores), as well as one location in Abbeville.
Ken Whittington, owner of the local McDonald’s stores, told The Index-Journal on Friday that to his knowledge the “sales tax holiday” did not apply to quick-serve restaurants.
However, that claim was refuted on Monday by the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
“The food was still sales-tax exempt and that (tax) should not have been charged,” Adrienne Fairwell confirmed. Fairwell is the Department of Revenue’s press secretary.
“If they did that then (the restaurants) are in violation of the law. They may have been thinking of the sales-tax free weekends corresponding with back-to-school events. Those (sales-tax exemptions) do not apply to them. This weekend was different.”
Contacted again on Monday, Whittington admitted making the mistake, saying the stores altered the practice in time for the second day of the “sales tax holiday.”
“We changed it for the second day,” Whittington said. “It was confusing. We went back and looked at it (after being contacted by The Index-Journal) and tried to get it straightened out. We assumed that we were doing what we should have been doing.”
Whittington said the extra sales tax revenue will be sent to the Department of Revenue.
“We will send it to the state anyway, that’s the only thing that we can do,” he said. “We have had customers to come in with a receipt and we have refunded those customers, but we’ll send in the money just like we normally would.
“I really feel bad and am sorry that it happened, but it was confusing. We’ll contact (the Department of Revenue) and see what we need to do. There was no malice or intent on our part. We would have done it on the first day had we thought that it applied to us.
“For anyone with a receipt (from Friday) we would be happy to give them their money back.”
Whittington estimated the amount of tax collected erroneously on Friday to be $200 per McDonald’s store.
McDonald’s wasn’t the only local restaurant to make the mistake.
On Monday, receipts obtained by The Index-Journal also implicated the Pizza Inn and Furusato Japanese Restaurant, both off Highway 72 Bypass in Greenwood.
“We found that out today and we’ll be giving the money back to the customers that have their receipt,” said Kazuhiro Sato, owner of Furusato. “We didn’t know. It’s the first time for us. We called the Department of Revenue and they told us (the tax holiday) was for everybody. We’re very sorry.”
Pizza Inn ownership was not available for comment on Monday, but store management did admit to having charged the full 7-percent tax throughout the weekend.
Fairwell says these establishments — and others that were not reported — will be given the “good faith” opportunity to refund the money to customers. Violating establishments that do not issue refunds will be subject to penalties levied by the S.C. Department of Revenue.
The department Web site says, “The department may revoke any and all licenses issued by the department and held by a retailer if the retailer passes on sales taxes that are not legally due. In addition, the retailer may be held liable for a penalty equal to one hundred fifty percent of the amount of tax collected that exceeds the amount authorized or required to be collected from the purchaser under the sales tax or use tax. (Act No. 386 of 2006, Section 2.).”
“They are supposed to do what they can to rectify the situation and refund the customer,” Fairwell said. “If they don’t try to do that then they could be subject to penalties, including up to 150 percent of the amount of tax that was taken in.
“The local hospitality tax or local option tax still applies (a 2-percent tax in the City of Greenwood), but the (5-percent) state sales tax does not. If they’re not willing to issue a refund they could be held liable for the penalty.”
Fairwell said she could not confirm or deny the problem was a widespread one across the Palmetto State.
“I can’t say whether or not we have had a lot of calls on this issue,” she said. “The customers would need to have their receipt, but we give (businesses) the opportunity in good faith to make that refund to customers, due to say, a lack of knowledge.”
Fairwell added consumers with receipts should return to the store and request a refund from management.
“Contact the store manager and see about a refund,” Fairwell said. “Consumers may also contact our sales tax division for additional information, or to report businesses that were charging the tax.”
For information, visit www.sctax.org, or contact the S.C. Dept. of Revenue Sales Tax Division at (803) 898-5788. The office is open daily until 5 p.m.

Cards will give man joy

Grandmother has a wish for injured Marine’s birthday

November 28, 2006

By R. SHAWN LEWIS
Index-Journal managing editor

Marine 2nd Lt. Andrew Kinard, of Spartanburg, will turn 24 on Thursday.
Kinard, who was critically wounded in an Oct. 29 explosion in Iraq, remains in critical condition at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., said his grandmother, Bettye Kinard, of Greenwood. His grandfather is Dr. H.B. Kinard Jr.
Kinard was on patrol along with three other Marines in western Iraq when he either stepped on or was struck in the lower body with an improvised explosive device, or IED.
He is part of the 2nd Marine Division’s 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Kinard, a Naval Academy graduate, was six weeks into his tour.
His grandparents said they are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for Andrew, and they’re asking Lakelands-area residents to send the Marine birthday wishes.
“I’d sure like for him to get some cards,” Bettye Kinard said. “Even, if he’s not aware of them now, I’m sure he’ll enjoy them later.”
The address to send cards is: 2nd Lt. Andrew Kinard, c/o Dr. Harry Kinard, Navy Lodge Bethesda, 8901 Wisconsin Ave., Building 52, Bethesda, MD 20889.
“We appreciate all the interest that people are taking in him and all the prayers people are offering for him,” she said. “It’s amazing how all over the country they’re writing in. I just cannot believe it.”
Andrew has lost both of his legs and has a lengthy list of other maladies, perhaps the most serious of which involves his kidneys. Ironically, his father Dr. Harry Kinard, is a urologist — kidney specialist — in Spartanburg.
“He’s already on dialysis,” she said. “All of this kidney trouble Andrew is having is very hard for (his father) to observe.
“He’s having lung problems now, and the antibiotic they’re giving him to cure the lungs is affecting his kidneys. They took the ventilator out Thanksgiving morning, but they had to put it right back in because his lung collapsed. They were hoping to get it out so then maybe he could speak.”
His grandmother said Andrew “comes and goes” from consciousness, but added that’s to be expected with the growing number of medical procedures he’s undergoing.
“He goes to surgery every 48 hours so they have to keep him sedated,” she said. “He does wake up in regular intervals, but he cannot speak. They have to cure this infection completely before they can even close the wounds. It’s gonna be a long process. They said approximately a year, maybe (before Andrew can leave the hospital).”
The Kinards haven’t seen their grandson yet. They’re waiting until his condition improves.
“We’re not going unless he wakes up and really knows we’re there,” she said. “But his parents are there and his siblings have been up there. Every day we talk to our son. They have to keep their spirits up. They’re doing real well.”
Bettye Kinard is also keeping a positive outlook.
“The Marines are taking real good care of him up there,” she said. “They have excellent doctors. I’m sure he’s getting the best of care.”

Ninety Six school district moves forward with referendum

November 28, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

NINETY SIX — Greenwood School District 52 has taken the first steps of putting into taxpayers’ hands in March the decision to build and renovate school buildings.
The district’s board of trustees voted Nov. 14 for a referendum to ask for a possible $30 million in general obligation bonds designed to build a new high school and renovate Ninety Six High School for use as a middle school, said Superintendent Dan Powell. He said the vote had to happen, according to District 52’s bond attorney, as the starting point for the referendum process.
The new high school will cost about $25 million, while renovating the old high school is scheduled to cost $5 million, Powell said.
Ninety Six’s school board will meet today at Ninety Six Primary School to flesh out more about the bond process, Powell said. The board could decide that taxpayers can handle more obligation bonds — another $2 million worth — depending on what effect a state sales tax will have on the district, said board chairman Dr. William Long.
District 52 could ask for about $32 million in total bonds. If the board votes for the referendum, taxes will increase, Powell said. Ninety Six’s administration plans to give hypothetical figures today of how much taxes would increase, using a $100,000 house as an example.
No matter if the referendum is for $30 million or $32 million, the money is needed to build and renovate schools, Long said.
“We don’t have a whole lot of choice,” he said.
Ninety Six didn’t want to do the same thing as other school districts, namely the installment purchase bond plan planned by Greenwood School District 50 and other school districts across South Carolina. Board members talked about doing the installment purchase bond plan several years ago, but nothing came out of it, Long said.
Ninety Six is still negotiating with a property owner for land to use for the new high school, Powell said. The new high school will definitely not be next to the old high school, as was the district’s idea in recent months.
District 52 is also waiting for some legal notifications from the state Office for School Facilities and the South Carolina Department of Transportation about the land, Powell said.
The district might have the deal completed by today’s meeting.

Orlander Allen

Orlander Sheppard Allen, 76, resident of 1012 Northside Drive, husband of JoAnn Lusk Allen, died Nov. 27, 2006 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, April 29, 1930, he was a son of the late William O. and Callie Mae Still Allen. He was a US Army Veteran of the Korean War, serving in the 187th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, a former Deputy Sheriff for Greenwood County and retired from Parke-Davis/Professional Medical Products after 35 years of service.
Mr. Allen was a member of West Side Baptist Church where he served as Deacon, a member of the American Legion Post #20 and Jappa Masonic Lodge #387.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are a daughter, Joan A. and husband, Christopher D. Kirkland, and a son, Samuel Lander Allen, all of Greenwood; a sister, Ruth A. Godfrey of Ninety Six; five grandchildren, Christopher A. Kirkland, Nathaniel H. Kirkland, Thomas D. Kirkland, Joshua S.L. Allen and Duston R.J. Allen.
Funeral services will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at West Side Baptist Church with Rev. Hal Lane officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Otis Gray, Hoyt Hembree, Frank Wideman, Jr., Billy Watson, Henry Bishop, Gene Sargent, Smiley Bryant, Rauch Davis, Bill Ellenburg and Jack Proffitt.
Honorary escort will be Deacons of West Side Baptist Church along with David Weeks, Ray Brooks, Dewey Rearden, Smiley Bryant, Vernon Lathern, Charles Smith, Henry Hall, Raymond Davis, Doug Young, Bub Lollis, Preston Lollis, John Hastings, Tommy Buzhardt and Billy Whatley.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The family is at the home on Northside Drive and will receive friends at the funeral home from 7 to 9 Tuesday evening.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646 or to West Side Baptist Church Building Fund, 215 Bypass 225 S., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Allen family.

Margaret R. Gosnell

WARE SHOALS — Margaret Ricketts Gosnell, 83, wife of Wayne Gosnell, of 623 Smith St. Extension, died at her home Monday, Nov. 27, 2006. She was born in Honea Path, a daughter of the late Ernest and Carrie Lou Mattison Ricketts.
Mrs. Gosnell was retired from Riegel Textile Corp. after forty-six years and was a member of the Riegel Quarter Century Club. She was a member of First Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School for over sixty-five years. She began teaching Sunday School at Turkey Creek Baptist Church at the age of 14.
Surviving besides her husband of the home is a sister, Dorothy R. Page, Ware Shoals.
Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 2 p.m. at The First Baptist Church with Rev. Leon Jones and Rev. Dan Compton officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Jimmy Smith, Cecil Campbell, Greg Gosnell, Ken Burdette, Pete Luker and Tommy Gambrell.
Honorary escort will be members of the Dorcus and T.E.L. Sunday School classes and Rose Carver.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. 29646.
The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
The family is at the home of Furman and Dorothy Page, 619 Smith St. Extension and will receive friends Tuesday 6-8 p.m. at Parker-White Funeral Home.

Howard K. Hipp

NINETY SIX — Howard Kindler Hipp, 81, of 5803 Kinard Road, husband of Eunice Clemmons Hipp, died Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Asheville, NC, he was a son of the late James Howard and Carrie Capps Hipp. He was a WWII U.S. Marine Corps veteran, where he participated in action at Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. He was a plant manager for 42 years at National Linen Service and was a member of Temple Baptist Church.
Mr. Hipp was twice married, first to the late Dorothy Hensley Hipp.
Surviving are his wife of the home; two daughters, Charlene Pinnix and her husband, John, of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and Donna Smith and her husband, C.A., of Ninety Six; two sisters, Evelyn Evans and her husband, Claude, of Chapin, and Dorothy Hunter and her husband, Ed, of Columbia; two brothers, Gordon Hipp and Jimmy Hipp, both of Irmo; three grandchildren, John Pinnix of Matthews, NC, Tarah Graham and Paul Smith, both of Ninety Six; and two great-grandchildren, Garrett Graham of Ninety Six and Calli Pinnix of Matthews, NC.
Graveside services with Military Rites will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday at Oakbrook Memorial Park with the Reverend Chuck Sprouse officiating.
The family will receive friends after the service at Oakbrook Memorial Park in the office.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1942.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Mary A. Talley

McCORMICK — Mary A. Talley, 85, of 201 Shady Pine Lane, passed away Nov. 27, 2006 at the McCormick Healthcare Center. Born April 4, 1921 in Chicago, IL, she was married to Vernon S. Talley. She retired from United Airlines in 1976. She had one son, Edward S. Talley, who lives with his wife, Donna M. Talley, in McCormick. She leaves behind two grandsons: Dean S. Talley with his wife, Katherine and great-grandchildren, Grace and Sarah in Charlottesville, VA; and Alan J. Talley and his wife, Emily and great-grandchildren, Rachel and Alex, in Carrollton, GA.
Mary will be cremated and a memorial service will be held in Florida.

All about unity

Greenwood, Conway say it’s chemistry
that has helped teams get to title game

November 28, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Greenwood High School football coach Shell Dula, third from left, reacts to a comment made by Conway coach Chuck Jordan, second from right, during Monday’s Weekend of Champions press conference. Seated with Dula, from left, are: Senior fullback Zach Norman and senior linebacker Mackenzie Tharpe. Greenwood will face Conway in the Class AAAA, Division II state finals at 8 Friday night in Columbia.

COLUMBIA — Shell Dula and Chuck Jordan sat side-by-side and both high school football coaches credited team chemistry as the reason for their being at the head table.
Three days from now, Dula’s Greenwood Eagles and Jordan’s Conway Tigers will square off to determine the state’s Class AAAA, Division II championship at 8 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
But Monday’s jaunt to the capital city was for Dula, Jordan and the rest of the coaches whose teams will participate in the Weekend of Champions to meet with the state’s media.
“As far as Greenwood’s concerned, it’s the togetherness of our football team,” Dula said. “This is a group of young men who generally like each other. They just don’t want the season to end. They enjoy being around each other. I think when you get that type of unity then that becomes a very positive force in whatever you’re trying to do.”
Senior fullback Zach Norman confirmed his coach’s take on the 2006 Eagles squad.
“We call it ‘Team Unity,’ ” said Norman, who, along with fellow senior Mackenzie Tharpe, joined Dula for the media day event. “We’re not individuals. We do everything as a team. We lift each other up.
“People have stepped up and done a great job. We’re going to need the same in the championship game.”
Jordan countered with a differing, if not humorous, view at first before getting more to the point.“I think at Conway it’s just good coaching,” Jordan said, jokingly, which brought laughs from all across the room. “No. I’m kidding. I feel like we have great kids. And as any coach will tell you when it’s said and done, it boils down to chemistry and how much they care about each other and how much they’re willing to go through the wall for one another.”
But Jordan was quick to point out that his Tigers haven’t played like that cohesive unit all season.
Six weeks into the season a then-undefeated Conway team suffered a tremendous setback against West Ashley. A 12-7 loss made the Tigers one of only two wins the West Ashley Wildcats would enjoy on the 2006 season.
“We’ve had some times where we weren’t playing good team ball and we weren’t playing together,” Jordan said. “It is difficult to do through the entire course of the season, but we have begun to do that at the right point in time. About game nine or 10 we really began to gel and began to play as a unit.”
The Tigers have seven straight games since the lone loss to West Ashley, outscoring the opposition 248-113.
Like Jordan, Dula displayed his more jocular side during the press conference when a question was raised about watching the opposition’s game film.
“Somebody at church asked me, ‘How did you sleep after after looking at Conway on film Saturday?’ and I told him I slept just like a baby,” Dula said. “I woke up every two hours crying.”

Media day was was an eye-opening event for Tharpe.
“It’s sunk in a little, but I don’t think all the way. I was thinking about it on the way up here that I remember going to see other people play (in the state finals) when I was little, but now I’m going to be doing that,” the senior All-Lakelands linebacker said. “I didn’t really know what I was coming here for. But it’s been a good experience so far.”
Tharpe and the rest of the Eagles’ senior class were sixth-graders the last time Greenwood reached the state finals, as the 2000 team completed back-to-back AAAA, Division II titles.
“This was our goal that we set in January. The goal we worked toward in the weight room and on the practice field. It’s all what we worked for,” Tharpe said. “Some of the coaches have said to play for everybody who’s worn the G on their helmets that haven’t been here, and play for the guys beside you.
“We also want to play for coach. We want to give him another ring.”
While many in the program will be striving to be apart of their first championship team, including all the players and many of the coaching staff, Dula will be shooting for his sixth state title.
But despite winning one at Ninety Six and two apiece at Union and Greenwood, championships never get old.
“I don’t think it ever gets old,” Dula said. “It’s always exciting to be a part of a special group and I really do think we have a really special group at Greenwood, a special group of coaches and a very special group of players.”
Conway has reached the state title game three times in Jordan’s tenure — 2001, ’02 and ’03 — falling to Byrnes in the last two years. The Tigers, who defeated Greenwood in 2002 to reach the state finals, have yet to claim a football title, as the school also finished runner-ups to Rock Hill for the Class AA title in 1952.
“It’s always a privilege to be back. Once you’ve tasted it, you kind of want to keep taking a bite,” Jordan said. “Of course, we’ve been gone for two years and we’re just tickled to be back. It’s really a new experience for all of them.”

Ron Cox is the sports editor for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: rcox@indexjournal.com.

Family influence loses to changes in attitudes

November 28, 2006

There has been considerable commiseration in recent times that the country is going to you-know-where in a handbasket. One of the primary catalysts for that, without question, is the deterioration of the family as an American institution.
There’s more to that claim, to be sure, than just talk. There is ample evidence that the family unit has changed with increasing speed and intensifying pressures. The family historically has been the glue that kept us together. It has been the foundation we’ve leaned upon when everything else seemed to be overwhelming us.
There are a number of reasons for that, of course ..... reasons, not excuses.

CHANGES IN MORALITY is one, and whether we like it or not, it’s happening. That includes things we accept - let go by without protest - like gutter language and a whole range of anti-social attitudes, liberal sex practices ..... and the list goes on. All of these, and more,contribute to the reduced role the family plays in acting as the ties that bind.
Nothing could be more telling than a recent announcement by government health officials. That was that out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high. They accounted for nearly four in every 10 babies born last year. We see evidence of that everyday in schools here and elsewhere.
If that won’t eradicate the family as we have known it, what will?