Councilman: Postpone bond

Jennings joins growing list of officials with questions about Dist. 50’s plan

November 9, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

A Greenwood County Council member said Wednesday he will ask Greenwood County District 50 officials to postpone a controversial facility bond plan until he and other officials can talk with the board about their concerns.
Councilman Bob Jennings in a news release requested District 50 postpone the issuance of $150 million in bonds for a few weeks because Greenwood County taxpayers are being pushed to their limit. Jennings planned to call Superintendent Darrell Johnson this morning to ask for the delay so all parties can meet together and discuss the bond issue.

FOIA requests, lawsuit
The district’s bond plan has hit some snags in the recent months.
Dee Compton, county councilman and private attorney, issued 24 FOIA requests on Oct. 20 and gave District 50 15 days to respond. Compton gave five new FOIA requests to the district Oct. 27.
The requests seek almost all information about the bond plan, including e-mails and records from special unannounced meetings.
Compton and state Rep. Mike Pitts have expressed concerns that the district’s installment purchase bond plan is unconstitutional.
The district is considering leveraging as much as $145 million over a 25-year period to pay for construction of three elementary schools, and renovations and modifications to the rest of the schools in the district.
Bonds are typically sold by government agencies to the public and investors to fund large projects. The money derived from the bond sale is given to the issuing agency and paid back over an established amount of time.
District 50, along with Darrell Johnson and chairwoman Dru James, are also being sued by Henry Johnson, a Rental Center employee, over the installment purchase bond plan. Darrell Johnson and James were unavailable for comment about the proposed postponement before press time.

Fiscal responsibility
Jennings said he is asking for the postponement because he has a problem with the district maxing out the 8 percent spending cap laid out in the state constitution for 25 years without a contingency plan to back it up.
He thinks the plan is financially irresponsible, so he wants to sit down with the board to look at the situation again and to review the system’s true needs.
Jennings said the county can’t take on the burden of the bond issue. He said taxpayers are being asked to pay for a $30 million dam, a $10 million county library and the county is required to build a new detention center by state law.
Taxpayers in general wouldn’t have problems with the district dealing with issues that are critical.
Jennings said he realizes the district has some building needs and that he’s not opposed to them issuing bonds for them.
But he added, “Bricks and mortar do not educate kids.”
Jennings’ example of this is Springfield Elementary School. The district wants to spend $5 million on the school, even though it was built in 1994, he said.
Trustees say schools 25 years old or more need to be replaced, Jennings said. Yet Ware Shoals High School has been open since 1926. They don’t want a new school, he said.

Flawed resolution
Jennings said he waited until now to ask for the postponement to get more information about the bond issue from Compton’s FOIA request, but time is of the essence.
Compton said he supports county council and the board of trustees sitting down and talking — if the district is willing to do that.
He has talked with District 50’s attorneys about his FOIA requests and the lawsuit in detail. Compton said he has no connection to the lawsuit, other than his interest as a county councilman.
He said much of the information requested in the lawsuit is identical to what he requested in his FOIAs. Compton thinks there is no reason to duplicate the effort.
He said he’s spent about 60 hours of personal and professional time in the past three weeks reviewing District 50’s on-line documents about the bond issue, along with other laws.
Compton said the resolution for the bond issue seems flawed because it doesn’t create a distinct enough separation between the district and the bond issue’s non-profit corporation. If there is significant separation between the corporation and the district, it would probably be legal.
He also said the needs analysis for the district’s facilities was superficial.
Compton said he understands the urgency of getting the bond issue through to beat the deadline for the state’s tax reform legislation, but the analysis doesn’t show how critical the needs are. He said he respects Darrell Johnson and thinks it would be good for the district if he continued on as superintendent.
He didn’t want to give Darrell Johnson the impression that he wasn’t wanted in Greenwood.
“I don’t want anything in this process to give him buyer’s remorse,” Compton said.

Other views
Jennings’ is also asking other county council members, along with any members of Greenwood County’s legislative delegation, to join him in sitting down with the board of trustees.
Edith Childs, District 1 councilwoman, didn’t want to comment on Jennings’ announcement because she didn’t know enough about the bond issue. Ron Bussey, former District 2 councilman, said he was very interested in what the district’s plans are because school officials didn’t discuss them at length with the council.
The council was told by District 50 that the bond issue wouldn’t cause a tax increase. Bussey said the council should sit down with the board before the plan goes any fUrther.
Rhett Dominick, the newly elected District 2 county councilman, was unavailable for comment before presstime.
Patrick Moody, District 5 councilman, agrees with Jennings. He’s concerned about the bond issue because it was decided without a full board. Almost a third of the school system wasn’t represented when the vote was decided.
The last amount of money he heard during preliminary meetings with District 50 that was going to be used in the bond issue was $95 million.
“My concern is that this is getting out of hand,” Moody said, adding a slowdown of the bond process would give the public a better understanding of what’s going on.
Gonza Bryant and Robbie Templeton, county councilmen for districts 3 and 6, were unavailable before presstime.
State Rep. Ann Parks, Dist. 12, said she thinks it’s a good idea for the trustees and the council to get together and talk about the bond issue. State Rep. Gene Pinson, Dist. 13, said he doesn’t tell school boards and city and county councils what to do. If the school board wants to discuss it further, then its members should, he said.
Pinson added he’s sure Jennings has a good rational for his actions.
Pitts agreed with Parks that it was a good idea for the two entities to work together. Property taxes affect both of them, so one does touch the other, he said.

Phil Crawford

DUE WEST — Phil Hall Crawford, 91, resident of 262 Crawford Rd., Due West, died Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006 at the Hospice Care of the Upstate in Anderson.
Born in Due West, he was a son of the late Jesse Arthur and Lyda Hall Crawford.
He was a graduate of Erskine College with a AB Degree in Education and received his Master’s Degree at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.
Phil was a United States Army veteran where he was a 1st Lt. and served in overseas tours in North Africa and Italy for 21/2 years.
Phil was a retired educator in the public school system in Georgia for 34 years, having taught in Thomaston and Griffin, Georgia public schools. He lived in Yatesville, Ga., for over 40 years and served on the town council as town clerk for 34 years. He was a former member of Yatesville Baptist Church, where he served as Sunday School Director for 30 years. He was also Vacation Bible School Director for 26 years and a deacon for 22 years. He also served as the church clerk and treasurer during that period.
After retiring, he moved back to his home in Due West. He became a member of Little River Baptist Church for 22 years and was also a former deacon and served as a Sunday school teacher for the Men’s Bible Class. He also taught Sunday School at Quiet Acres Retirement Home in Hodges.
He is survived by: 2 daughters, Phyllis Dhuyvetters of Decatur, Ga., Sandra Collins of Due West and Tucker, Ga. and Remer Collins of Metter, Ga.; 1 sister, Frances Sloan of Due West; 3 grandchildren, Ben and his wife Jenifer of Decatur, Ga., Christian Collins and Bruce of Honolulu, Ashley and Jay Capri of Duluth, Ga.; 5 great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Andersen, Jubal, Anna and Lily.
Funeral services will be conducted Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 at 11 a.m. from Little River Baptist Church with the Rev. Jason Morrison officiating. The burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The body is at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 10 until 11 a.m. Friday morning at Little River Baptist Church prior to services.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, S.C. 29621 or to Little River Baptist Church, Little River Community Abbeville, S.C. 29620.
Online condolences may be sent to the Crawford Family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville is in charge of arrangements.

James F. Haralson

WEST COLUMBIA — Services for James F. Haralson, 76, will be held 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 in Grace Baptist Church. Officiating will be Pastor David Goforth and Dr. David Smith. Interment, preceded by visitation, is from 2:30-4 p.m. Friday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens Mausoleum, Greenwood, SC. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Thursday evening at Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington. Serving as pallbearers will be Everette Laird, Roy Whitt, Lynn Mc Dowell, Nolan Crowe, James Drake, Gary Watkins, Buddy Williams, and Darryl Hewitt. Memorials may be made to Grace Baptist Church, 416 Denham Ave., West Columbia, SC 29169.
Mr. Haralson passed away Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006. Born in Madison County, GA, he was the son of the late William Thomas and Alice Duncan Haralson. Formerly of Greenwood and a long time area resident, he retired from G. W. Dodge Division. He was a former member of Jamil Temple of Shriners. A loyal member of Grace Baptist Church, he was a member of the Senior Saints and served as Head Usher at the Church for many years. He was a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather and will be dearly missed.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, Betty Haralson of West Columbia; a son, Daniel Ward of West Columbia; sister and brother-in-law, Eva Sue and Jim West of Greenwood; brothers and sisters-in-law, Bill and Jane Haralson and Roger and Pam Haralson, all of Greenwood; grandchild, Logan Carter; niece, Amanda Rish of Hodges. Mr. Haralson was preceded in death by a son Dennis Allen Haralson and a brother Thomas Eldridge Haralson.
www.thompsonsfuneral.com

John Langford

SALUDA — John Heber Langford, 81, of 433 N. Main St., died Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006.
Born in Saluda County and a son of the late Heber Shuler and Oneita Crouch Langford, he was the husband of Ruth Porter Langford. He was a retired merchant marine, having served 23 years and a member of the National Maritime Union. Mr. Langford was owner and operator of The Saluda Motel & Restaurant. He was a Mason and a member of Travis Masonic Lodge #241, a member of the American Legion Post #65 and was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Surviving is his wife, Ruth Porter Langford, a daughter, Debra Langford Rhoden of Saluda, six grandchildren, Angie Langford Walker, Abby Langford, Andrew Langford, Ashton Langford, Jonathan Pridmore and Michael Pridmore, five great-grandchildren, and a brother, Wayne Langford of Batesburg.
A son, John Wayne Langford, a brother, Ralph Langford and two sisters, Dorothy Herlong and Floride Rhinehart, preceded Mr. Langford in death.
Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006 at St. Paul United Methodist Church with Dr. Tom Norrell officiating. Interment will follow in Travis Park Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to St. Paul United Methodist Church, 102 East Butler Ave., Saluda, SC 29138.

Mamie McCranie

WARE SHOALS — Mrs. Mamie Bratcher Magaha McCranie went home to be with the Lord on Nov. 1, 2006 at Kate B . Reynolds Hospice Home, Kernersville, NC, after a long courageous battle with cancer. She was born March 24, 1927 to the late Thompson and Lottie McCoy Bratcher and was married to the late Alton Magaha. She retired from textile work and continued to work as a sitter to care for others until her health declined.
Formerly of Ware Shoals, SC., she moved to Kernersville, NC, in 2003 to live with her daughter. Mamie was a member of Hodges Church of God, Hodges, SC. She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, 6 brothers and three sisters.
She is survived by her children, Daphne (Ron) Weathers, Kernersville, NC, Darlene (Mike) Smith, Henderson, NC, Randy Magaha, Ware Shoals, SC, eight grandchildren, Pam Gillespie, Jeff Weathers and Lindsey Weathers of Kernersville, NC, Cary (Janice) Gillespie and Tiffany Ellis of Henderson, NC, Allison (Tommy) McAlister and Chrystal Voiselle, Greenwood, SC, Brandy (Phil) Childress, Laurens, SC and twelve great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at Hodges Church of God on Nov. 11, 2006 at 1 p.m. The funeral service will follow at 3 p.m. with Rev. Charles Caldwell officiating. Entombment will be at Oakbrook Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 or Cancer Services of Forsyth County, 3175 Maplewood Ave., Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Parker-White Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Fannie M. Williams

BRADLEY — Fannie M. Williams, 70, of 503 Reedy Creek Road, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006 at Hospice Care of the Piedmont.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Running away with a win

Greenwood Christian School cross country teams celebrate victories at state meet

November 9, 2006

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

Hard work pays off in the long run. Literally.
Greenwood Christian School cross country runner Alex Thomas, who has participated on the Lady Hawks’ cross country team since the sixth grade, has the medal and trophy to prove it after winning the SCISA Class AA/A girls’ state championship at Heathwood Hall with a time of 20 minutes and 4 seconds. In the process, her time set the course record for Class AA/A girls.
“I felt pretty weird leading the pack because I’ve never really done that at state before. It was really a great experience and God was helping me through the whole way,” Thomas said.
Teammate Kristin Cain finished third at 20:48, while senior Isaac Stumbo finished second in the boys’ race, clocking an 18:04.
GCS finished second among boys as a team while the girls as a team finished third.
Thomas said a major factor in her success, as well as the rest of the GCS cross country program this season, was first-year coach Darren Ouzts and some of the training techniques he brought to the team, along with pushing the team harder.
“We started practicing way back in June to get ready for this year, and I introduced a lot of different running practices that they were not used to,” Ouzts said. “We didn’t just go out and run long distances. The things that we did, we did fast.”.
Thomas is appreciative of her coach’s philosophy and total involvement with the team.
“He just helped us a lot this year to drop our times, and he was always willing to work with us on the weekends to get better,” she said. “We used to do a lot of slow-distance running. Coach Ouzts said that we needed a lot of fast running because if you run slow, you’ll be slow. He gave us a lot of intense workouts.”
The extra work paid off for Cain, who showed a marked improvement after starting the season with times just over 24 minutes, as well as Thomas, who knocked 3:25 off her time between the first race of the season and her state championship finish.
“I don’t think it really sunk in. I was really shocked and hadn’t thought yet or realized it,” Thomas said. “My goal was to either get 19:00 or get first so I was happy to get that.”
Stumbo, a third-year runner who ran his final race for the Hawks, said he is happy to go out with a high finish although he thinks he could have run better after shaving almost one minute off his time this season.
“I finished with an 18:04 which wasn’t as good as last year’s time. The competition wasn’t as stiff this year so I was able to come in second,” Stumbo said. “It was a pretty good season overall. I had to get used to some new stuff under our new coach but it all worked out in the end and it was a good season.”
Thomas says she’ll be back next season and she has already set her sights on improving her time along with teammate Cain, a seventh-grader.
“We have a young team so the younger runners, when they get older, they’ll get a lot faster so I think we’ll have a pretty good team in the future,” Cain said.

Having to play without Quay?

Abbeville might have to rely on other feet to run the ball again

November 9, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Jamie Nickles has spent most of this season trying to explain to people that his Panthers’ offense is more than just a one-man show.
Last Friday night, the Abbeville High School football coach got to prove it.
But he might just have to prove it again this week when the Panthers (11-0) host Region IV-AA runners-up Columbia (9-2) at 7:30 Friday night.
Standout halfback Toquavius “Quay” Gilchrist, who has amassed more than 4,000 career rushing yards, went down with a groin injury in the first half of last week’s opening round matchup with Blacksburg.
But Nickles just turned to his other two running backs to carry the load in the Panthers’ 55-12 win over the Wildcats.
Senior fullback James Moore rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, while senior halfback Desmond Peterson had 79 yards and two scores in the win.
“It starts with our system on offense,” Nickles said. “When we practice, we try to include everyone. It was more of a show for (the media) to see, because we’ve always known that we have guys that can get the job done. We played Emerald without Quay, and Emerald has a heck of a defense.”
Gilchrist, who leads the Lakelands with more than 1,400 yards rushing, has been cleared to play against the Capitals, but is a game-time decision, Nickles said.
Even though Peterson and Moore have nearly as much in total yardage combined (1,300) as Gilchrist alone, don’t think Columbia coach Kemper Amick is looking past any Panthers’ backfield, with No. 3 in there or not.
Amick, a native of Ware Shoals who played for coach Tommy Davis, has been impressed with what he’s seen from all sides of the Abbeville offense.
“Their backs are exceptional. They’ve got one (Gilchrist) that gets all of the publicity, but any one of the other two would be a star on any other team,” Amick said. “They’re going to be tough to stop. And their quarterback (senior Mack Hite) impresses me a great deal. He’s a true field general.”
The hit to the Abbeville offensive attack, which has averaged 41 points in the last seven games, couldn’t have come at a more difficult time for Nickles. The Capitals have allowed 105 points in 11 games, including giving up seven in last week’s 14-7 victory over Ninety Six.
“The big thing that concerns me about Columbia is we can’t duplicate their size and athleticism,” Nickles said. “It will take 11 players working together to make one play work against that defense.
“They’re only giving up seven or eight points a game. So, we’ll have to measure success in yards and not points,” Nickles added.
Columbia trailed by a point, 7-6, at the half to Ninety Six last week, but overcame the deficit when tailback Cedric Jeffcoat crossed the goalline in the fourth quarter.
“It seemed like every game early in the year we were either tied or behind going in at halftime,” Amick said. “We’ve played exceptionally strong in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.”
The junior Jeffcoat rushed for 142 of his team-leading 1,281 yards rushing against the Wildcats. Sophomore fullback Chris Payne, who leads the defense with 112 tackles and nine sacks, and his older brother and starting quarterback Justin have combined for more than 1,000 yards rushing, while Justin Payne has nearly 600 yards passing.
“They’re going to try to pound the ball over and over and sooner or later, they’re going to break through,” Nickles said. “That’s when their athleticism takes over.”

Sanford’s ‘stewardship’ gets approval of voters

November 9, 2006

Some members of the South Carolina Legislature opposed Gov. Mark Sanford’s bid for re-election. In his first term he was not satisfied with doing things the way they’ve always been done. He looked for better and more efficient ways.
That didn’t always go too well. It was too much of a challenge to the historic power of the Legislature.
The taxpayers/voters of South Carolina must agree with Sanford’s way of looking out for their tax monies, though. They re-elected Sanford with room to spare. However, it appears Sanford learned a few things along the way. When asked after the votes were counted, he said he’d make adjustments based on experience. That’s the mark of a wise man. Cooperation bodes well for South Carolina.
There is another result of the election that should please Sanford’s supporters. The re-election of Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and the election of Thomas Ravenel as Treasurer gives Sanford two allies on the powerful State Budget and Control Board, something he has not had in his first term. That should translate into more benefits for taxpayers.
All in all, South Carolinians did pretty well for themselves. When you leave it to the people, they usually make the right choices.