50th anniversary of nursing education

Lander University marks milestone for program that keeps growing

April 29, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Jean Sox was there at the very beginning.
She remembers when just three buildings — and a small apartment complex — comprised the the length and breadth of the Lander campus.
That was in 1957 when a younger Jean (Steele at that time) entered the inaugural class of nursing students at then Lander College.
“There were only three buildings here back then,” Sox said Saturday. “Things have sure changed a lot since those days.”
Fifty years later, graduates and current students alike gathered at Finis Horne Arena to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the school’s nursing program. Once offering two-year associate degrees to students, the newly named William P. Turner Department of Nursing (2006-07) now offers a baccalaureate nursing program (since 2001) — the seventh school to do so in the state.
However, all other Palmetto State schools took their initial cue from Lander, which was the first institution in South Carolina to offer a two-year associate degree program. In 1957 it was a mere pilot program.
In 2007, it has become so much more.
The program is scheduled to graduate 25 nurses in 2008.
“It’s just amazing to see what has happened here since those days,” Sox added. “It’s exciting to know that there was no nursing program at that time and that we happened to be the first ones. It was important that I be here to commemorate this event.”
Hugh Tucker — business manager at Lander from 1956-69 — remembers the genesis as well. There were dire nursing needs at then Self Memorial Hospital (now Self Regional Medical Center). The hospital needed a nursing program at Lander to fill the staffing gaps.
“I was here when it started,” Tucker said. “Self Memorial needed nurses. That was the whole reason behind the program. They were having a time finding nurses. It was a new concept at the time, but things have really worked out. It’s been a wonderful source of RNs since 1959.”
But in the days before the program became a reality, had Dr. William Preston Turner II not leaned on the ear of James C. Self — who founded Self Memorial Hospital after a terrible tornado destroyed the older hospital in the summer of 1944 — for much needed financial support, the nursing program would never have lifted off the ground.
“It’s a wonderful honor for my grandfather (Dr. William Preston Turner II) and my uncle (Dr. William Preston Turner III),” said Virginia Self of the Self Family Foundation. “Today is about the Turners. I hope this program will celebrate yet another 50 years.”
The school’s nursing program was recently named the William P. Turner Department of Nursing — honoring the sizable contributions of the Turner family to healthcare in Greenwood. Members of the Turner family were on hand Saturday to present the department with a framed portrait of Dr. William Preston Turner II. for whom the department is now named.
Delivering the keynote address was renowned nursing theorist, Dr. Betty Neuman, whose own theory of nursing is practiced at Lander.
“Wellness is about the health of the whole person,” she said. “Nurses help to sustain the highest level of health and wellness. During the last 50 years the program has shown continuous growth. The faculty has kept abreast of changes and the latest trends and that is very important. The nurses that leave here can work anywhere in the world.”

These students walk the (time) line

Geography class gets historical during city tour

April 29, 2007

By KENNY MAPLE
Index-Journal staff writer

Anyone who has ever been interested in the history of Greenwood would have enjoyed Saturday’s tour of the city with Greenwood High teacher Anna Michaelis’ Advanced Placement Human Geography class.
The tour emphasized the development and history of a town that has quite a past.
City Manager Steven J. Brown led the tour, with Michaelis haulting the procession of students to provide a few moments of history on certain buildings, streets and important locations.
But Brown and Michaelis weren’t the only ones doing the talking.
Students were responsible for making short reports along the way, stopping to speak when the location coincided with their assigned topic.
The tour stopped at The Museum, the Federal Building, the Railroad Historical Center, the Old Star Cafe, the Benjamin Mays site, the old Brewer School, Magnolia Avenue and many more places. Grant Stone, a 17-year-old senior, chose to speak on the educational aspect of the history of Greenwood; therefore, it was only appropriate that his talk be in the museum with a display of an old classroom. Even more appropriate was his reason for choosing education: Stone wants to be a teacher.
However, everyone was a teacher during the tour.
Xavier Carrol, a 16-year-old sophomore, stopped a couple of times to talk about roads and highways.
Likewise, 15-year-old Blake Neal, another sophomore, was in charge of discussing the Civil War and the World Wars and how they affected Greenwood. He was very knowledgeable on railroads, too.
“Railroads were important in shipping,” he said. “Ours was one of the few in South Carolina that was not blown up.”
Sarah Grace Murphy, 15, also was interested in the railroad; she even brought part of the old railroad with her as she passed around old railroad spikes to her peers.
All in all, the tour was full of history, but even the biggest history buff needs a lunch break.
“We’re going to eat sushi,” said 16-year-old Kelly Jackson. The sophomore said she actually likes sushi, but that students will get extra credit for trying it.
“We will also be going to Uptown Sushi at about 2 or 2:30 for a taste of newer culture in Greenwood,” Michaelis said.
“It makes me throw up,” said Ayla Pittman, another 16-year-old sophomore.
Maybe she should stick to the history.

Shooting for the stars

Abbeville resident honored for going extra mile
to help coach, team succeed

April 29, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

Clemson rifle team member Lyndsey Hall, of Abbeville, has overcome many obstacles, yet she remains unselfish and shows a willingness to lend a helping hand.
Her efforts have not gone unnoticed.
On Thursday, Lyndsey was awarded the Outstanding Service to Collegiate Shooting Sports Award from the National Rifle Association, the governing body for collegiate shooting sports for outstanding service to collegiate shooting/sports.
Although the award is traditionally reserved for coaches, Hall went the extra mile during the past season to receive the honor.
Hall’s coach, John Cummings, who also works in the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson, was forced to leave the team in September because of extenuating circumstances.
“My father had open heart surgery and my mother was dealing with Alzheimer’s,” Cummings said. “I had to leave with zero notice. I was expecting to be gone for two days but was gone for a much longer period.”
While her coach was gone, Lyndsey went into action to make sure the team stayed intact. Lyndsey said following surgeries to remove a brain tumor a few years ago, her coach and her teammates showed a great deal of support. She said this was her way of supporting her coach.
“Coach did a lot for me so I had to hold it together,” Lyndsey said. “I was having sight problems and coach really helped me. The complicated part was making sure that the paper work was taken care of. I had to organize the team’s travel arrangements and make sure that we competed in events.
“Honestly, there was no way I could have done it by myself.”
When Cummings returned to Clemson, he was in for quite a surprise.
“Ultimately, my mind started drifting to the rifle team,” Cummings said. “I came back to the team in January and was expecting the worst. When I got there, the team was intact. I was really surprised.”
Cummings said Lyndsey showed her true leadership abilities in his absence.
“Lyndsey worked with the team to make sure the range was open,” Cummings said. “She also worked with the new shooters. Because of that, we had a coachable team and had the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference’s most improved team and most improved shooter (Laura Berch) in the conference.

Obituaries

Mary Dornberg

DeBARY, Fla. — Mary Dornberg, 48, of DeBary, Florida passed away on Wednesday, April 25, 2006 at University Center East. The family will be receiving friends at the Baldauff Family Funeral Home, 1233 Saxon Blvd., Orange City on Sunday, April 29, 2007, from noon until 2 p.m., with a Celebration of Life at 2 p.m. She came to DeBary from Greenwood, S.C., 15 years ago. Mary was a registered nurse at University Center East in Deland. She enjoyed riding motorcycles and spending time with her children. She is preceded in death by her son Christopher W. Dornberg. Survivors include her companion, Ray Garber of DeBary; her three sons, Joseph R. Dornberg of Deland, Matthew R. Dornberg of DeBary and Jacob S. Dornberg of DeBary; and their father, Larry C. Dornberg of Sanford; her brothers, Stephen Palmberg of Stonybrook, NY, and Daniel Piselli of New Smyrna Beach; her sister Patricia Bernot of New Smyrna Beach; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions can be made in memory of Mary to Hospice of Volusia/Flagler, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129. Baldauff Family Funeral Home, Orange City in charge.

Opinion

Don’t fault the teachers for failures in education

April 29, 2007

Why is there turmoil in schools? Ask as many people as you want and you’re likely to get that many different answers.
Look at one. There has been much discussion about what people see as a serious lack of discipline in the public schools. They see it, or so it seems, as one of the major contributors to the overall problem of failing education, whether it’s in South Carolina or the rest of the country.
Indications are that many people blame teachers for this inability or reluctance to control their classrooms. The blame is aimed at the wrong target.
There has been so much grief coming from parents who object to anyone disciplining their children that teachers are indeed reluctant to do it. Naturally.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE teachers been threatened by students when they try to call them down?
Students glare menacingly at teachers and dare the teachers to touch them, even if it is to stop a fight or just tap them on the shoulder to get their attention. It’s not unusual, in fact, for some parents to side with the students. Often.
Then there are lawsuits. They have become such an integral part of “the system” that anyone, teachers included, would be foolish to attempt to make a belligerent student behave. And, heaven knows, there are plenty of belligerent students these days. There are, in addition, some who don’t hesitate to threaten bodily harm to the teacher who tries to do what the public expects and indeed wants. In too many cases, there is violence.
To add insult to injury, the lawsuits could cost teachers everything they have. Of course it’s not fair. Nevertheless, that’s the way it is and it hangs like the mythical sword of Damocles over every teacher’s head.

THEN, TO BE SURE, THERE are so many government regulations that go overboard to “protect” students and their “self esteem,” that you’d think there would be offsetting regulations to protect teachers. Good luck! It just ain’t so.
So, when the next complaint about failing education comes, put it in perspective, and put the blame where it belongs: On uppity parents, coddled youngsters (and worse), entrenched bureaucrats and misguided and timid lawmakers who knuckle under to the bullying tactics of education power brokers.
Blame teachers? Or administrators, for that matter? No, sir. Blame the arrogance that feeds on all of these things.