Man killed in wreck

3-car collision occurs at S.C. 67/County Line Road

February 11, 2007

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

CALLISON — A Bradley man died in a three-car collision Saturday night at the intersection of S.C. 67 and County Line Road.
Jamie David Mars, 36, was pronounced dead at the wreck scene at 7:15 p.m., said Marcia Kelley, Greenwood County chief deputy coroner. She said Mars died of body trauma caused by the wreck.
Kelley said she doesn’t plan on doing an autopsy but will complete a toxicology report.
Mars was a passenger in a 1999 Ford two-door car driven by Barbara Nation, 30, of Bradley, when the wreck occurred at 7:03 p.m., said Lance Cpl. Dan Marsceau, of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Nation was driving on County Line Road and was attempting to drive west across S.C. 67 when she was struck by a 2006 Ford four-door car driven by Tonya White, 29, of McCormick, going south on S.C. 67.
Nation’s car then struck a 2000 Toyota SUV driven by Robert Puritt, 28, of Bradley, who had stopped on County Line at the stop sign going east, Marsceau said.
Puritt and his passenger, a 27-year-old woman, were not hurt in the crash. The three passengers in White’s car also were not injured, Marsceau said.
White’s passengers and Puritt and his passenger were wearing seat belts, while Mars and Nation were not wearing their seat belts, Marsceau said.
Nation was taken to the hospital, Marsceau said.
The crash was still under investigation.

Living with an uneasy calm

Abbeville residents still don’t know what Bixby trial will bring

February 11, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — The Vintage Plunderbox is a popular destination for Abbeville regulars and tourists alike.
The antiques offered inside are inviting.
But the conversation is unequaled.
Folks come by to take in the elegant atmosphere and soak in some of the old-fashioned Southern hospitality given out each day by owner Vivian Strange.
And they come to play with the cats.
But the talk around town these days doesn’t center around her precious felines, “Gracie” and “Madeline.”
Rather, it all has to do with what will soon take place across the town square — the double-murder trial of accused murder suspect Steven Bixby, of Abbeville.
“It’s just a wound that’s getting picked to death,” Strange said. “I can’t imagine what (the families) have gone through. My heart breaks for the families, but at the same time there’s nothing you can do. I’m sure they need that closure.”
Bixby has been charged in the Dec. 8, 2003, shooting deaths of Abbeville County Sheriff’s Sgt. Danny Wilson and Constable Donnie Ouzts. The shootings marked the beginning of a tense, 14-hour standoff that included a fierce gun battle with numerous law enforcement agencies at the Bixby home on Union Church Road.
Wilson had gone to the home to discuss the Bixby family’s anger over the widening of Highway 72 through town. He was shot on the front porch of the house, his body then dragged inside, according to authorities. Ouzts was sent to check on Wilson. He was shot as he stepped out of his patrol car and died on the way to a hospital.
Bixby’s father, Arthur, who was wounded in the shootout, is to be tried on murder charges separately. No trial date has not been set for him. Bixby’s mother, Rita, is charged with accessory before the fact to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and misprision of a felony.
As jury selection ­— which started Monday — continues in Chesterfield, many business owners don’t know what to expect once the trial swings into action at the Abbeville courthouse.
And as is the case with the impending presence of a capital murder trial that will decide accused murder suspect Steven Bixby’s guilt or innocence, the silence can be deafening.
“I’ve had some folks to come into the store and they don’t know what’s going to happen,” Strange said. “You hear rumors that there will be all kinds of protesters coming here, but the truth is that you have no idea who is going to come here. There’s a certain amount of uncertainty and anxiety.
“When you see (State Law Enforcement Division officers) walking around town it begins to make some of the business owners a little nervous. And then rumors fly and you get a little bit nervous yourself. (Law enforcement) is going to have their plan, but you don’t know what’s going to happen. I do know that they’ll be ready for whatever happens, I have no doubt about that whatsoever.”
Strange just hopes the same stereotyping that occurred during the fallout and media blitz that surrounded the December 2003 incident does not happen again.
“I worked at the (Abbeville) Chamber of Commerce back then when everything happened, and I kept hearing people say that Abbeville was a hotbed for extremists and that’s the kind of people that we have here,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. That was ridiculous. They had basically taken a situation and judged a whole town by it. That’s not what we’re about. There are good people here.”
Residents of the area have no better idea of what to expect from the trial than do the business owners.
Sue Parnell spent Wednesday talking with her customers at Savitz Drugs in the downtown square about an early morning fire that had to be extinguished at the Bixby dwelling. The speculation that someone might have wanted the house set aflame was causing them at least some amount of concern.
“They didn’t know why anyone would want to do that,” she said. “I makes things look bad, and it could make the people here even more nervous in the city.”
One thing, however, is quite clear.
For many Abbeville residents and business owners, the sooner the trial leaves town the better they’ll feel.
Patricia Pelfrey is one of them.
She works part time hours right across from the courthouse at the Dust & Rust Antiques.
“I think everyone here is just ready to move on.”

Lander splits series with loss to Pfeiffer

February 11, 2007

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

The Bearcats found themselves neck deep in a tremendous hole before they even got a chance to really do anything about it.
Pfeiffer scored six runs in the top of the first inning and rolled to a 13-3 victory over Lander Saturday afternoon at Legion Field to split the two-game non-conference series.
“We got absolutely dominated yesterday (in a 15-9 loss to the Bearcats Friday), and these guys come out and respond today. I think it says a lot about our heart,” Falcons coach Mark Hayes said. “It doesn’t matter what happened the day before or what happens earlier in the game, these guys play the game hard. Anytime you can get that kind of lead before your pitcher even gets on the mound is huge.”
Pfeiffer second baseman Ryan Brown led the Falcons at the plate with a 5-for-5 performance. Brown, the team’s eight-hole hitter, also provided a team-high three RBIs for Pfeiffer (4-3).
Brown was one of four Falcons to have multi-hit outings, as seven players combined for 19 hits off the three Lander (2-3) pitchers.
Jonathan Myers led Lander with a 3-for-5 showing, while Chris Munn and T.J. Guinan added two hits apiece.
Bearcats starter Derek Wilson had his second-straight rough outing. The first four Falcons to come to the plate made the necessary 360 feet around the basepaths to give Pfeiffer a 4-0 lead before Lander recorded its first out.
Then, after Wilson got designated hitter Kyle Pugh to ground out, he followed with two straight walks to Pfeiffer’s Zach Pou and Shawn Coke. Brown brought in Pou, while Coke scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
The Bearcats got half that deficit back in their half of the first, with all three runs coming with two outs. Jesse Barbaro drew a full-count two-out walk, and then Danny Morgan, Chris Munn and T.J. Guinan followed with RBI base hits to make it 6-3 after one.
The Falcons got those runs back at the top of the second. Jodie Groce led off the inning with a double and Bryan Braxton reached after being hit by a pitch. That ended the afternoon for Wilson, who allowed eight earned runs in one inning of work.
But the Pfeiffer batters didn’t treat reliever Evan Christian much different. Pugh crushed a one-out triple over the diving leap of Guinan in center, plating Groce and Braxton. Pugh later scored on a single from Coke for a 9-3 lead.
“When we came back and scored three, I felt pretty good about the game,” Lander coach Chris Moore said. “And then we go back out there and give up some more runs. It kind of gets you down. But we were right there, the breaks just didn’t go our way.”
After that first inning, the Bearcats got at least one hit in each of the next eight innings. However, only one — a bunt single by Myers — led off an inning, while five of those hits came with two outs. And none of those that reached safely managed to come around to score, as Myers was left stranded on third in the fifth.
The Falcons added another run in the fourth off Christian and three more in the ninth off reliever Daniel Hinchberger for a 13-3 score.

Opinion

Good education available to all in this state, but ...

February 11, 2007

Every public school in South Carolina has its share of problems. That’s no secret, of course. That being the case, though, the public education system absorbs its share of criticism. You’d think, perhaps, that would mean nothing ever goes right in education or that nothing is ever accomplished. Not so!
All of us have become so used to most things being right that we tend to focus on things that are negative or have negative implications. That’s human nature. That doesn’t mean, though, that the schools in the Palmetto State aren’t offering a good education to every child. They are. But, like the old story about leading the horse to water but not being able to make him drink. schools can provide all the elements of a good education but they cannot make students learn, behave or even go to school.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT’S ALL too obvious, not only in South Carolina, but in every school district in the country.
Ben Bernanke sees it. Bernanke, who grew up in Dillon, S. C., is the Federal Reserve Chairman who has considerable influence on the nation’s economy. He recently emphasized the importance of education. In fact, he believes that education is the one thing that makes a difference in lives ..... that education and training can narrow the gap between low-income and high-income workers.
It has long been noted that too many don’t take advantage of educational opportunities available to all. Actor/comedian Bill Cosby, for example, has been criticized by some black leaders for taking the black community to task for not focusing on education and advocating that black youngsters show more discipline in attending, behaving and learning.

BUT, THEN, SOME WHITE parents are no different, particularly where behavior is concerned.
There is no excuse for any student - black, white or anything else - not to learn. The opportunities are there, and there are any number of factors that help facilitate the process ..... at every level. In higher education there are Pell grants and other assistance that opens doors to college for almost every student. In between there are things like adult education classes that offer solutions to students who somehow fall between the cracks along the way.
Overall, schools do a good job, and they constantly strive to improve. Support by parents - or lack of it - affects both.
Don’t blame the schools. Students and parents who fritter away chances to learn, and then make excuses, are hurting themselves.

Obituaries

John W. Harris

McCORMICK — John W. Harris, husband of Mary P. Harris, was born in McCormick June 18, 1923, a son of the late Archie and Sallie Mae Harris Patterson. He departed this life Feb. 8, 2007 in North Augusta, SC.
He was a member of Little Mill Baptist Church and served on the Deacon Board. He was a retired construction worker. He attended McCormick County Schools, was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II and a member of the Sons of Aide Society No. 30.
Survivors are his wife of McCormick; two stepsons, Willie A. Perrin and Billy W. Perrin of McCormick, SC; two sisters, Mrs. Dominion Gunter and Ms. Wardell Patterson of McCormick, SC; a brother, James (Rebertha) Patterson of Parksville, SC; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews. Services are Monday at 1 p.m. at Little Mill Baptist Church in Willington, with the pastor, Rev. Paul Saunders, officiating and Revs. George Shell and Keith Cromer assisting. Friends may call at the home of his brother at 337 Washington School Road in Parksville. Walker Funeral Home, Directors.

Foster McLean

APOPKA, Fla. — John Foster McLean, 70, of Apopka, FL, formerly of Greenwood, husband of Mary Heinzen McLean, died Jan. 11, 2007 in Apopka, FL.
Born in Greenwood a son of the late Lacy Evans and Nancy Bradberry McLean, he was a US Air Force Veteran. Retired from Walt Disney World in Orlando, he was a member of West Side Baptist Church of Greenwood.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are daughters, Vickie McGill and husband, Thomas of Heathrow, FL, Frostee Flavin and husband, Tim of Geneva, FL, Tanja Ross and husband, Robin of Mt. Vernon, OH, and Kathryn Hancock and husband, Samuel of Apopka, FL; grandchildren, Rex Shawn Walker of Atlanta, GA, Tyler Flavin, Heaven-Leigh Flavin and Sara Flavin, all of Geneva, FL, Kendra Ross and Lacy Ross of Mt. Vernon, OH, Ceth McGill of Heathrow, FL, and Keeley Hancock and Kerrigan Foster Hancock, both of Apopka, FL; sisters, Ruth Snelling and husband, Ronnie of Greenwood, Turner Rushton and husband, Henry of Goldsboro, NC; friend and ex-wife, Patsy Williams Yarborough of Lake Mary, FL. He was preceded in death by brother, Gartrel McLean and sister, Mary Lou Keogh.
Memorial services were conducted Saturday at 11 a.m. at West Side Baptist Church, with Rev. Hal Lane officiating.
Private burial will be later in Greenville Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Those desiring may make memorials to Hospice of the Comforter, 480 West Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 in memory of Mr. McLean.
Announcement courtesy of Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.