Runners put back on team

Ninety Six cross country coach says 14 boys will have alternative punishment

October 13, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

NINETY SIX — It’s official: The Ninety Six High School boys cross country runners who were dismissed from the team a week ago have now been reinstated.
Fourteen members of the Wildcats’ team were dismissed last week by Ninety Six athletic director Chuck Burton. Burton had learned the runners were skipping portions of their recovery day runs to hang out at a local church before running back to the school.
However, after a lengthy discussion at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, the board decided the runners’ fate should be reconsidered by Burton and Ninety Six cross country coach Sandi Zehr. It was suggested they come up with an alternative punishment.
Zehr said Thursday that she and Burton had reached that agreement.
“At the request of the board, Mr. Burton and I have reconsidered the situation,” Zehr said. “We have compiled a list of eight things the runners must complete if they wish to stay on the team.
“They must follow these eight guidelines and their parents are required to sign off on and comply with them. But the young men are reinstated.”
Zehr said she respected Burton’s authority and said she understood the initial decision was a tough decision for him to make.
She said one factor that played heavily in the initial decision was the fact the 14 runners had been engaging in the recovery day loafing for more than a year.
“This had been going on week after week,” Zehr said. “That was a big part of what went into Mr. Burton’s decision.”
Zehr said she was in no way trying to undermine Burton’s authority throughout any of the proceedings regarding the situation.
The coach, whose team is having an exemplary season and is an overwhelming candidate to send several runners to the State Championship meet Nov. 4, said it is up to the runners to get back into her and Burton’s good graces.
“Cross country is a sport where you trust that your athletes are doing what they are supposed to be doing,” Zehr said.
“These guys are being punished, I assure you. But they also have bright futures ahead of them and I want to help them achieve their goals.”
The Wildcats will be back in action next Wednesday in the Region III-AA meet at Batesburg-Leesville High School.

Books keep these kids company after school

Guest readers add fun to literacy program

October 13, 2006

By BOBBY HARELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Greenwood children spent Thursday afternoon traveling with Clifford the Big Red Dog and meeting his large, extended family.
While the second-graders at the Greenwood YMCA didn’t physically travel with the colossal crimson canine, their imaginations and a book called “Clifford’s Family,” read by Amy Tyler, a deputy with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, helped them tag along.
Tyler and others read children’s books from the YMCA’s KidsLit Literacy program to after-school children as part of the Lights on Afterschool program, said Denise Manley, marketing director for the YMCA.
Children in the program ranged from kindergarteners to fifth-graders, said Gray Stallworth, CEO of the Greenwood YMCA. Second-grader Merry Lu Han said she liked “Clifford’s Family.”
What was her favorite part?
“That Clifford jumped over the barn so the bull wouldn’t get him,” Merry said.
Mayor Floyd Nicholson, Greenwood School District 50 Superintendent Darrell Johnson, Greenwood County Manager Jim Kier and other community leaders read to the children.
Lights on Afterschool, an Afterschool Alliance project, is a national program promoting after school services for every child, Manley said.
The rally is one of more than 7,500 events celebrating Lights on Afterschool in the United States this year.
Nicholson announced at the rally that Thursday would be proclaimed as Lights on Afterschool Day in Greenwood.
Tyler said she liked reading to the after-school kids.
She’s had experience reading for church groups and preschoolers as part of her duties as a deputy.
Reaching out to children helps them overcome any misconceptions them might have about law enforcement, Tyler said.
“We help them to know we can be their friends,” she said.
The children also asked interesting questions about police officers.
Some wanted to know why she had a flashlight.
Other children asked questions about things they had seen on the TV show “Cops,” like how pepper spray works.
Second-grader Rachel Knight said she usually reads to herself, but she enjoyed Tyler reading on Thursday.
“Clifford’s Family” is her favorite book about Clifford.
Second-grader Caleb Boatwright is a Clifford fan, but also likes the Junie B. Jones book series.
Second-grader Emily Corriher said she thought Tyler was nice to the children.

2 more arrested for fight

Altercation outside local Wal-Mart led to arrests

October 13, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal Senior staff writer

Authorities have made two more arrests in connection with a fight that took place last week in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Greenwood.
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office has charged Marvin Lewis, 19, of 807 Carter Road, Ninety Six, and John Thomas Belote, 23, of 212 Rushville Road, Bradley, with assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
An incident report gave this account: Deputies responded about 10 p.m. Oct. 6 to the Wal-Mart parking lot, where they found a 19-year-old with a large cut on the left side of his face.
The 19-year-old told authorities that another teenager, whom he knew from an earlier incident, approached him and pulled a knife, cutting the 19-year-old’s face and provoking a fight. He said the other teen ran from the area following the fight.
The 19-year-old was sent to the hospital for treatment, and the deputy searching the Wal-Mart parking lot near where the fight occurred, finding three knives.
According to the report: While authorities were still at the scene, a person pulled into the parking lot and told deputies the other teenager, also 19, involved in the fight had been taken to the hospital with a stab wound to his side. When interviewed by authorities, the teenager who had been stabbed told police the 19-year-old had approached him in a vehicle and then started an argument without provocation.
He said when the verbal fight had almost ended, two unidentified males approached and he saw the 19-year-old and the males pull knives and threaten him.
When he could not back away from the fight, the teenager said, he pulled a box cutter from his own pocket as the males began swinging their knives in an attempt to cut him.
The report said the teenager told authorities he did swing his box cutter, striking the 19-year-old in the face, and he was then forced to the ground while the males and the 19-year-old began to kick and hit him. He said he was able to run from the fight after removing his shirt, and he got into a vehicle driven by a friend.
While in the vehicle, the friend noticed the teenager was bleeding from the left side of his back, and the teen was taken to Self Regional Medical Center, where he received treatment for a stab wound near his left shoulder blade, which punctured his lung.
According to the report, when authorities spoke a second time with the 19-year-old, who had suffered a cut on his left cheek from his ear to his chin, he said the other teenager approached him, pulling a knife from his pants. The 19-year-old said he then pulled his own knife to defend himself, adding that, when the two males pulled their knives, he told them to put the knives away.
The 19-year-old said he was then cut in the face, at which time he began to hit the other teenager with closed fists.
He said he saw the other two males hitting the teenager, adding that they stopped when he asked them to.
According to the report, a witness from the hospital told authorities that he overheard the 19-year-old talking with another person about the incident, adding he heard the 19-year-old say, “Me and my boys jumped him, and then he got me.”

The name’s the thing

Ware Shoals Hornets monickers help keep game fun for players

October 13, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

WARE SHOALS — What’s in a name?
It is a question often asked, especially among followers of high school football in the Lakelands area. Many fans like to keep up with their favorite players across the area, coming to know them by their first and last names.
At Ware Shoals, however, fans of the Hornets have a a third name to keep up with: the nicknames carried by many of the team’s key players.
Nicknames have long been a tradition at Ware Shoals. One former player, Jeremy Jordan, was called “Fruit Loop.” Another pair of graduated Hornets’ gridiron standouts, brothers Ronald and Ron Todd, were “Stank” and “Tank.” Ron was Stank and Ronald was Tank.
The nickname tradition is still alive and prospering in Ware Shoals, where the Hornets are enjoying a solid season with a record of 6-1 and a No. 5 ranking in Class A.
“Some of them come to us with nicknames,” Ware Shoals coach Jeff Murdock said. “Others, we give them one. Eventually everybody gets one.”
The alternate monikers are wild and varying on the Hornets squad.
Some seem completely appropriate, such as Stewart Cobb’s. Cobb, who stands about 5-foot-6, is called “Squatty.” Justin Coker’s nickname is “Onion,” as many of the players and coaches say his shaved head resembles the odiferous veggie.
Lineman and kicker Tommy Walker was dubbed “Pooh” when he was just a youngster.
“I used to love honey in my grits,” Walker said. “So, they call me “Pooh.”
Still, many of the Hornets’ handles don’t seemed to be tied to any real origin or basis.
Take quarterback LaDarius Hawthorne, for instance. His nickname is “Tank.” With that name, you might expect a monster of a young man, 300 pounds at least. However, Hawthorne stands about 5-foot-9, weighing maybe 165 pounds.
“They call me Tank because I turn into one on the football field,” Hawthorne boasted.
Murdock and Ware Shoals athletic director Vic Lollis, who were standing nearby listening to Hawthorne’s comments, had a hearty laugh at Hawthorne’s quips and added he has been called Tank since he was 2 years old.
Hawthorne is part of an offensive backfield quartet in which each player carries a nickname. Besides Hawthorne, there is wingback Tony “Moon Pie” Lomax, wingback Patorious “Buddha” Leverette and fullback Lance “Boomer” Richardson.
Lomax, a senior who has been one of the standout running backs in the Lakelands for the last three years, was less than forthcoming about the origins of his dessert-oriented nickname.
“I can’t say where it came from,” Lomax said.
Murdock has his theories.
“I think its because when he smiles, his face looks like an ol’ Moon Pie,” Murdock joked.
That comment drew laughs from many of Lomax’s teammates.
For one Ware Shoals lineman, one nickname is not enough. Offensive and defensive lineman Santonio Mays has three: “Big ‘Un,” “Big Juicy” and “Charlie Murphy.” Mays openly admitted all three of the monikers have been given to him in the last couple of years by teammates and coaches.
Murdock said the alternative handles are all part of keeping the game enjoyable for his players.
“We work these boys hard and we expect a lot out of them,” Murdock said. “But, at the same time, the goal is still to win and for the kids to have fun. So, the nicknames are a fun thing these guys like to do.”

Opinion

Taxes should be the key to the elections of 2006

October 13, 2006

A lot of issues interest voters in South Carolina, naturally. None, however, draw more attention than taxes, whether they are property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes or some other kind.
Taxpayers are no different in the rest of the states, either. Taxes are priorities for them, too. That’s why Republicans would be making a terrible mistake by not making taxes one of their top campaign issues ..... maybe the number one issue. Other issues cannot be ignored, of course. Iraq, immigration and several others are important, but taxes determine winners and losers.
If Democrats take control of Congress, as some people keep saying, taxpayers can expect higher taxes.

IT SHOULD NOT COME AS a surprise, either. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California would likely become Speaker of the House, and she has said up front that tax increaes are high on her agenda. So has Rep. Charles Rangel of New York,who is likely to be the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Voters have been told what to expect. It’s their decision. If that’s what they want, it’s their prerogative, of course. Republicans have been given the same message, yet they have yet to make any campaign use of taxes, at least to any extent. They have been arguing that Democrats don’t have a plan. Well, they do, and they’ve said what it is.
Republicans apparently are the ones who are just not getting it.
Oh, well. They have no excuse. Democrats have made no bones about taxes. They plan to raise them if they take control in November. They know what they want. Do Republicans?

Obituaries

John B. Carroll

John B. Carroll, 56, of 625 B Evans Street, died Oct. 10 at the home of his mother, Alice Carroll, 622 Edgefield Street. Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of Alice M. Ross Carroll and the late James Carroll. He attended Greenwood Public Schools and was a member of Flint Hill Baptist Church.
Surviving is his mother of Greenwood, two daughters, Angela Carroll of Anderson, Tonya Coats of Greenwood, seven sisters, Alice Williams, Rosa (Bobby) Murray, Nona (Anthony) Wardlaw, Barbara Carroll, Vivian Carroll, Mattie (Donnie) Aiken of Greenwood, Jeanette Wideman of Callison, two brothers, Willie (Peggy) Carroll of Bradley, Early (Shirley) Carroll of Greenwood, three grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday at 2:30 at Pine Grove A.M.E. Church with Rev. Kenneth Aiken officiating, assisted by Rev. Guy Ross. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at the home of his mother, 622 Edgefield Street from 7-8:30 Friday evening.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Ray Davenport

Harold Ray Davenport, 84, resident of 508 W. Laurel Ave., widower of Mildred Lagrone Davenport, died Oct. 12, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Greenwood County, May 20, 1922, he was a son of the late Joe and Nora Butler Davenport. He was a US Air Force Veteran of WW II and was retired from Aldrich Machine Works.
Mr. Davenport was a member of Lowell Street United Methodist Church and a member and teacher of the Men’s Bible Class of the church.
Surviving are three sons, Dennis and wife, Sandra Corley Davenport and Harold and wife, Susan Corley Davenport, all of Greenwood and Rick and Marcelle McMahan Davenport of Aiken; a sister, Mildred D. Reid of Greenwood; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lowell Street United Methodist Church with Rev. Dick Waldrep officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Dennis Davenport, Harold Davenport, Rick Davenport, Jason Davenport, Brad Davenport and Richard Gates Davenport.
Honorary escort will be members of the Men’s Bible Class of Lowell Street United Methodist Church. The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The families are at their respective homes and will receive friends at the church from 1 to 2 Saturday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to Lowell Street United Methodist Church, 300 Lowell Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Davenport family.

Vikki T. Gowan

Vikki T. Gowan, 46, of 127 Richardson Dr., wife of J. Allen Gowan, died Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006. She was born Dec. 18, 1959 in Greenwood, SC, the daughter of Gary Teseneer and the late Shirley Neal Teseneer. She attended Mt. Calvary Presbyterian Church in Roebuck.
Surviving in addition to her husband and father, are her sister, Gina Schmitz and her husband Steve of Juneau, Alaska, and a brother, Stan Teseneer and his wife Judy of Greenwood, SC.
The family will receive friends from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006 at the Mt. Calvary Presbyterian Church. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. conducted by Mr. Fred Thraikill. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Mt. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1399 Walnut Grove Rd., Roebuck, SC 29376. The family is at the residence of Mrs. Elizabeth Gowan, 3990 Stone Station Rd., Roebuck.
Online condolences may be sent to the Gowan family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com.
Harris Funeral Home in Abbeville is assisting the Gowan family.

Ruth Hair

Ruth Quarles Hair, 82, formerly of Greenwood, widow of Olga Vernon Hair, died Oct. 11, 2006 at Laurel Crest Retirement Center in Columbia.
Born in Edgefield, she was a daughter of the late John W. and Fannie Strom Quarles. Mrs. Hair was a graduate of Lander College where she was the recipient of the Thayer Medal for Highest Average Scholarship. She retired as a middle school teacher from Greenwood School District #50.
An active member of First Baptist Church, she was also a former president of the Ruth Class and served as a teacher in the children’s department. As a volunteer with Self Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, she was recognized for more than 3000 hours of volunteer service. Mrs. Hair was a former member of the Greenwood Woman’s Club and the Lander Alumni Association.
Surviving are two daughters, Miriam Hair and Nancy Lambert and son-in-law, Lanny Lambert, all of Columbia; three grandchildren, Grayson, Bryant and Caroline Lambert; two sisters, Mrs. R. Earl Coleman of Pacolet and Martha Pearl Quarles of Edgefield.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Greenwood, with Rev. Tony Hopkins officiating.
Burial will be in Edgewood Cemetery.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 10 Saturday morning.
The family will receive friends at First Baptist Church from 6 to 7:30 Friday evening.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 722 Grace Street, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to Laurel Crest Retirement Center Endowment Fund, 100 Joseph Walker Drive, West Columbia, SC 29169-6926.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Hair family.

Kindral M. Scott

BRADLEY — Services for Kindral Michelle Scott of 102 Matthews Ave., Bradley, are 1 p.m. Saturday at Springfield Baptist Church in Edgefield, conducted by the Reverend Joseph Caldwell. The body will be placed in the church at noon. Burial is in the church cemetery. Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge. The family is at the home.