Abbeville discussing teacher diversity

Concerns raised about shortage of black educators

January 28, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — Creating a common dialogue between the individual and an elected body is often difficult.
Within the boundaries of many an education-based scenario, friction is the common result, most especially when race is introduced as a possible factor in the discussion.
A resident spoke to the Abbeville County school board during Tuesday’s meeting on this very subject, addressing what she sees as a severe shortage of black teachers working in Abbeville County.
She spoke, for just more than five minutes, and members of an attentive board listened to her.
Regina Lee might have brought forth uncomfortable details for some, but her address to the eight-member board was welcomed by school officials with open arms.
Lee ran for a position on the board last year, losing by fewer than 100 votes to Tim Rhodes.
“Even though I lost that election, I know that I have support in the community,” she said. “We get equal opportunity to go to Iraq and die, but it’s like (blacks) have been systematically weeded out of the (school) system.
“I don’t want to see the white teachers out of there or anything like that. But here it is in 2007 and it does not look good. I think that the facts speak for themselves.”

By the numbers
What are those facts?
Following are samples of information provided by the Abbeville County School District:
*Of district teachers, 14 are black.
*An additional five blacks hold “professional” positions within the district, such as supervisors, speech therapists, specialists or teacher’s assistants.
*The district office itself has added two black employees over the last year, moving the total to four.
*The total number of blacks working in “professional” positions is 23, which is an increase of one such employee from a year ago.
*There are no black teachers at Dixie High School, which has about a 17 percent population of black students.
*There is only one black teacher at Diamond Hill Elementary School, which has about a 12 percent population of black students.
*There is only one black teacher at Long Cane Elementary School, which has a 47 percent population of black students.
*The Abbeville County Career Center has one black person in a “professional” position — an increase from zero black employees in such a position from one year ago.
The school district does not deny a problem exists.
Officials say they are proceeding in every way imaginable in an attempt to draw minority candidates.
“(Ms. Lee and I) talked for about an hour and a half and we had a good conversation, both before and after the meeting,” Abbeville School District Superintendent Ivan Randolph said. “We were already very much aware of the need for African-American role models in our schools, and we will continue to be cognizant of that.
“We have been, and will continue to be, aware of that with regards to employment decisions.”
School board Chairman Douglas “Buster” Taylor said it’s something that is being countered as aggressively as is possible.
“We’ve tried everything from mailing out letters to posting letters, and the response has just not been good,” he said.

‘A lot of lip service’
Still, while Lee says she felt welcomed by school officials, she added she thinks there has been too much “lip service” paid to the problem in the past.
“Dr. Randolph was very nice and accommodating, and he is new to the school system and has basically inherited this problem,” she said. “I do not feel that this is an accident. I know of several people that would like to return and teach in Abbeville County.
“I know of one that is working in a (neighboring) county now that applied here, but was not hired. It stops with the board. This problem was here long before (Randolph) got here. The tone at the bottom is set at the top. This thing didn’t happen overnight.
“There has been a lot of lip service. When they tell me they have a diversity committee (the Diversity Recruitment Task Force) — one that’s responsible for recruiting and bringing in minority teachers — that doesn’t mean anything to me.
“Where are the results? They didn’t need a committee to bring any of the white teachers in here.”

‘The pool is getting smaller’
Taylor said several factors could have come into play, and each applicant has to be looked at separately.
“Without looking at the actual applications it’s hard to say why (a particular applicant was not hired),” Taylor said. “There could be a number of reasons. The position applied for may not be open or the applicant may not be qualified.
Limitations placed upon school boards in recent years by President Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation also play a key role.
“It used to be that we could work folks in (toward certification in a particular field) over a couple of years and the state would work with us,” Taylor added. “But now they have to be fully qualified in that field before they can even enter the classroom.”
A stark decline in the number of available black teaching candidates has limited the pool from which school districts might even draw new employees.
“We’ve contacted universities and held job fairs trying to recruit, but one thing that’s hurting everyone is that the number of African-Americans graduating with teaching degrees is way down,” Taylor said. “That number was 32 percent in 1975 and now it’s 17 percent in South Carolina. Other districts are also out there and actively looking too, so the pool is getting even smaller.
“We have some incentives that are already in place, like sign-up bonuses and things of that nature. This subject has always been a concern of the board. Everybody’s in the same situation. All school districts are recruiting African-Americans.
“People need to know that we’re sensitive to it and that we have been sensitive to it. It’s been hard, and it’s very frustrating. Any time a citizen or group of citizens has a concern, you need to listen to it. But sometimes we can do something about (a problem) and sometimes we can’t.”
Though Lee was not aware of it at the time, the school district has since reported the hiring of a new speech therapy supervisor (who is black) following its closed meeting on Tuesday.
“Our numbers have actually increased,” Randolph added.
In what the district calls “classified” positions, which are teacher’s assistants, secretaries, lunch room personnel and custodial staff, blacks hold 64 of those jobs as opposed to 57 district-wide last year.
The district also has initiated a collective effort with Erskine College, a Teacher Assistant-to-Teacher Program, that aids prospects financially.
“The teacher’s assistants are very visible people,” said Assistant Superintendent Kathy Stevenson. “Those are key positions within the district.”

‘Aggressively seeking’ candidates
Stevenson — the originating force behind the district’s Diversity Recruitment Task Force — has her own set of numbers that she is forced to work with.
For instance, during one of numerous efforts the district has made to stem the tide — an attempt to host a Diversity Recruitment Day — the district sent out nearly 150 invitations to potential teaching candidates at Anderson University, Lander University, Erskine, Presbyterian College, Newberry College and S.C. State, as well as community AME churches. Follow-up phone calls also were made.
Only two people bothered to respond.
“Despite the odds, the Abbeville County School District is committed to aggressively seeking highly qualified African-American candidates,” Stevenson said. “We are making progress, however small it may seem, toward increasing our African-American representation.
“In all, very few districts within our consortium are placing the kind of emphasis that we place on recruitment. We are building a foundation that will produce results in years to come.”
Then Stevenson received even more bad news on Friday, when she learned S.C. State will not sponsor a teacher recruitment fair this year.
The reason cited by S.C. State officials: a considerably lower number of teacher education graduates.
The reason the news is so devastating lies in the fact that of other state colleges/universities, no other school has provided as many black teacher education applicants.
“It’s just one more challenge,” Stevenson said.

Paper or plastic?

Cash might be endangered species

January 28, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Swipe, swipe, swipe.
It has become a sound more and more common in places of business these days, as the “paper or plastic” debate shifts from filling grocery bags to the method you choose for paying that grocery bill.
Couple the increasing popularity and use of credit and debit cards with a base of consumers who are more oriented to convenience than ever, and it adds up to perhaps a shorter-than-ever lease on life for paper money.
Some local businesses report nearly three-quarters of their daily transactions take place with the use of some type of card, be it a debit or credit card.
“It’s around seventy percent, as far as people that are using cards,” Shermekia Elmore, an employee with Foot Locker, said. “Around Christmas we hardly got any cash, just some checks and cards. The purchase amounts varied.”
Jean Whatley, an employee with Walden Books, reported much the same for business at her location.
“We’re seeing more cards (being used),” she said. “I use a debit card myself. We get very few checks, and some cash but mostly cards. They are just easier to use — unless the register goes down or the power goes out. Then we can only take cash.
“I’d say the transaction percentage for cards is around seventy percent, that sounds about right.”
Still, cash is not dead.
Not quite yet.
A new nationwide consumer payment preferences study, “Cash is King — But for How Long,” conducted by the American Bankers Association and Boston-based consulting group Dove Consulting, found “most of the measurable erosion of paper-based payments has come at the expense of checks.”
Surprisingly, the study also learned “cash has maintained its share of transactions at 33 percent of consumers’ in-store transactions since 2001.”
It’s in the spending habits of consumers where the study found the most utilized avenues of change.
A full “45 percent of consumers report using cash less often than they used to. In place of cash, those consumers are primarily substituting card-based payment methods.”
Out on the streets and within communities, merchants and businesses — those entities with consumers on their mind — have long since shifted with the growing trend.
Mort Walston is an operating partner with the Greenwood Fatz Cafe. His restaurant no longer accepts personal checks.
“My time is better spent here than down at the police station chasing down money,” he said. “It’s just not worth it.”
These days, the horrifying alternative to progressive thinking in consumer spending is a business being relegated to a life (and likely a short one at that) spent in commercial exile.
“It’s been a long time since we started accepting debit and credit cards,” Walston said. “There are just so many more transactions by card than check these days it’s ridiculous.
“And there’s no way we could operate with just cash. It would be impossible for us to do that.”
Faced with the proposition of having to locate an ATM and withdraw cash, consumers are more likely to simply travel to the nearest competitor offering pay-by-card options.
“It’s so tough for folks to have to go find an ATM,” Walston said. “It’s just too inconvenient for them.”
Fatz Cafe is experimenting with what Walston says could be the next “big thing” in convenient payment options for consumers — especially for the restaurant business.
It’s called “Pay at the Table,” and is the restaurant industry’s version of a gas station’s “pay at the pump.”
“It’s the next big thing for consumers in convenience and security,” Walston said. “Within the whole community (in Winder, Georgia, where the new machines are located) there was a buzz about it. Your card never leaves your hand, you can pay and leave when you’re ready and there’s even a tip calculator already there for you.
“I hope that it’s going to be expanding. In the future that’s going to be the way to go.”
At the end of the day, research says the use of cards as payment — be they of the debit or credit variety — will only increase, while the use of cash continues to decline.
“Cards are becoming the preferred means of payment for a growing number of consumers, as plastic continues to displace cash and check,” said Trish Preston, senior vice president, Americas Debit Product Management and Development, MasterCard, in a comment on the new ABA study.
“This trend is likely to continue as new payment innovations make paper payments obsolete and consumers come to rely on the convenience that credit, debit, and prepaid can provide.”

$4,000 collected for shock victim

Jason Burden left burn center Friday

January 28, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

A benefit that recently took place for a local electric shock victim was a huge success, according to the event’s organizers.
A local group, the Friends of Jason Burden, held a hot dog plate benefit for Greenwood’s Jason Burden Jan. 20 at the South Greenwood Pentecostal Activities Center on South Main Street. The group, which raised $4,000, sold hot dog dinners and raffle tickets and took donations.
All proceeds went to Burden’s family.
Burden, 31, received severe electric shock Dec. 21 as he was working in his yard. He was attempting to knock pecans out of a tree when the metal pole he was using touched a power line. Burden was eventually jarred loose from the current by his brother-in-law, Josh McGuire, but he then suffered a 20-foot fall off his ladder.
Burden, a self-employed, married father of three, was rushed to the Augusta Burn Center. There he was treated for third- and fourth-degree burns on his hands and legs. Burden stayed in Augusta from Dec. 22 until Friday night.
According to family members, Burden underwent extensive treatment in Augusta, but he also had a steady recovery that surprised some of his doctors.
Scott Russ, who helped organize the hot dog benefit, said the event was a success.
“We had a good crowd there,” Russ said. “And the hot dogs we had left over were donated to the Faith Home. They were donated to us, so we passed it on along.”
Jeff Graham, another event organizer, issued a release thanking all businesses, individuals and churches that helped make the benefit possible.
Graham said it was lifelong friendship that spurred the group to have the benefit.
“We’ve been friends with Jason since kindergarten,” Graham said. “He is just an all-around good guy. He would do anything for you. He would have done the same for us if we had been in this situation.”
Graham estimated that 500 people attended the benefit.
Anyone wanting to contribute to Burden’s recovery fund may donate to the Jason Burden Fund at The Palmetto Bank of Ninety Six at 207 Cambridge St. N., Ninety Six. Also, the South Greenwood Pentecostal Holiness Church, at 17 First St. in Greenwood, is taking donations for a Jason Burden Fund.

A Living Legend in Calhoun Falls

For Nield Gordon, age not keeping him from sidelines

January 28, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

CALHOUN FALLS — Blue Flashes coach Nield Gordon is a living legend to say the least. The fact that Calhoun Falls Principal Tommy Hollingsworth and then-athletic director Kenneth Sanders were able to bring him in as varsity boys basketball coach is considerable given his history at the collegiate level.
Gordon coached at four colleges over a 30-year period including Newberry College, Furman University, Belmont-Abby College and Winthrop University.
He was Winthrop’s first men’s basketball coach (1978-86) and had the most wins (161) in school history until Gregg Marshall passed him during the 2005-06 season.
Winthrop became just the third team in South Carolina collegiate history to win 30 or more games in a single season when Gordon guided the 1980-81 team to a 31-8 record.
While at Newberry College, Gordon coached the Indians to the NAIA National Championship game in 1976-77.
“My first job was at Belmont-Abby College. I was 26 years old and I had just come back off a tour with the Globetrotters that summer,” Gordon said. “I spent 14 years at Newberry and had really good teams there. We went to the national tournament three years in a row. My first year at Winthrop, we didn’t even have a team.”
Gordon’s efforts as a player and coach are well-recognized. He was a member of Winthrop’s 2005 Hall of Fame class and has also been inducted into the Furman University Hall of Fame. As if that isn’t enough, he also is a member of the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Gordon coached against former Erskine coach Red Meyer and Lander’s Finis Horne while they were in their primes.
“Red Meyer, to me, was the most fundamental coach that I ever played against. He was the toughest guy in the world for me. He could take your team and beat you and he could take his team and beat you,” Gordon said. “Finis is one of my best friends that I ever coached against. I remember when our teams played at Northside Junior High. When we were coaching, there wasn’t a lot of coaching changes like there is now.”
It’s not a surprise that Gordon, now 75, was willing to return to the sidelines and be involved in a sport he loves and have another opportunity to work with young players.
Although Gordon retired from coaching following the ‘86 season at Winthrop University, he wasn’t totally out of the loop.
“I’d been coaching the Methodist church team over in Hartwell,” Gordon said. “We won the league the last two years and I thought I was a pretty good coach. So I thought I ought to get back into coaching.”
In today’s sports landscape, it’s common for coaches and players to use an agent when going through the hiring process for a possible position.
The Calhoun Falls job isn’t one of those.
Gordon stumbled upon the job the same way most folks find jobs.
“Coach Gordon saw an article in the paper this summer about how we had a shortage of coaches,” Hollingsworth said. “He wrote us a letter saying he was willing to help out with basketball. He said he would do boys or girls, seventh and eighth grade, jayvees or whatever we needed him to do.”
Hollingsworth said he had never met Gordon so he invited him in to talk. After their conversation, he knew that Gordon was the person to run the boys program.
Gordon’s enthusiasm, his love for the game and seeing the way he cared about the kids were major factors in Hollingsworth’s decision.
“One reporter asked if I had any concerns about having a 75 year old coaching our team. Until he said that I didn’t have a clue how old he was,” Hollingsworth said. “He has been a very positive plus for our school and our team. He brings things to our team that goes far beyond what happens on the court.”
Gordon, who stays active, said that he has enjoyed the season and will just see how things go as far as the future.
“As long as I feel good and they want me to come back, I’ll come back,” Gordon said. When you start working with a bunch of kids like I have, you want to see them come along. My wife has encouraged me. Believe it or not, I play golf twice a week with a group of guys I went to school with at Furman back in the ‘50’s. Mr. Hollingsworth never asked me how old I was, so I didn’t tell him.”
Assistant coach Ricky Holland said that Gordon brings a wealth of experience to the Blue Flashes team and he thinks it will pay off.
“The transition was real easy because of the experience that coach Gordon already has,” Holland said. “It wasn’t hard for him to come in and just pick up. I just gave him an idea of the ability that each kid had. Once we knew what they had, it was easy for coach Gordon to come in and decide the plays and positions that he wanted them to be in and run because of his experience coaching.”
Gordon and Holland said that the current goal is to still make the playoffs this season. Hollingsworth, meanwhile is busy juggling calls and enjoying the experience of having Gordon on the sidelines.
“I get calls and emails daily asking how we got the living legend, Nield Gordon, to coach at Calhoun Falls,” Hollingsworth said. “I guess it was just fate or luck. This school, players, and community need to realize and appreciate what we have.”

Opinion

Law officers deserving of our respect, support

January 28, 2007

A speeding automobile blasts down Highway 25 just north of Greenwood. A Highway Department Trooper gives chase.
Greenwood County deputies knock on the door of a suspected “meth” lab in the southern part of the County. A couple of Greenwood City Policemen approach a house in the City in answer to a domestic abuse call. There’s one thing all of these law enforcement agents have in common. They could be killed at any moment.
Every law enforcement agent in South Carolina puts his or her life on the line every day, even in situations where danger might not be expected. Some are slain. It happened in Abbeville where two were shot to death and, not too long ago, a State Trooper was killed when he made a stop along Interstate 95. There have been others.

THESE TRAGIC EVENTS GET the big headlines in all newspapers and lead the news programs on TV. They should. There are many other incidents, though, that don’t always get the attention they should ..... incidents that always have the potential for unhappy endings.
Tragedy could strike at any time in almost any circumstance. Yet the dedicated law officers are always around us, on the job, even when we don’t see them. They spend their time doing the many things in round-the-clock efforts to keep us secure in all we do and in every place we go. From the mundane to the outrageous, they are there, looking out for us.
Everyone knows that, to be sure, but sometimes we all forget. We very often take our safety for granted, and along with that safety, those who provide it.

SOMETIMES, UNFORTUNATELY, those who are on the frontlines in the never-ending war against illegal drugs, kidnapping, rape, murder and all the other criminal activity that define so many communities get little respect. They are even criticized for doing what they are elected or hired to do. And, to add insult to injury, some of them do it on less than respectable pay. Sometimes, too, they are expected to perform their duties but aren’t given the equipment to make a difference.
There have been improvements, though, as we’ve too often learned the hard way that fighting crime demands commitment from us all. And that requires that we not continue to take our law officers and their needs for granted.

Obituaries

Edna Childs

Edna Watkins Childs, 89, resident of Magnolia Manor and former resident of 803 Ninety Six Highway, widow of Eugene Fields Childs, died Jan. 26, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Saluda County, Jan. 10, 1918, she was a daughter of the late Pressley D. and Inez Jones Watkins. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and Peterson’s Business College. Mrs. Childs retired as co-owner of Childs Furniture Company.
A member of South Main Street Baptist Church, she was also a member of the Faith Sunday School Class of the church.
Surviving are a daughter, Kay Childs Tuck and son-in-law, Howard J. “Sonny” Tuck Jr. of Verdery; a daughter-in-law, Kae Harper Childs of Isle of Palms; a sister, Lucille Collins of Belvedere; five grandchildren, Lisa Tuck McCutcheon, Laurie Tuck Radke, John Tuck, Brad Childs and Harper Childs Steele; seven great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Childs was predeceased by a son, Pressley Don Childs.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday at South Main Street Baptist Church with Rev. Richard McWhite officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Melvin Foshee, Ralph Swygert, A.P. “Sonny” Meadors, Roy Wilbanks, Ernie Sumner, Bill Sease and Dr. Giles Schanen.
Honorary escorts will be members of the Faith Sunday School Class.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The family is at the home of Sonny and Kay Tuck, 304 Cedar Springs Road, Bradley, and will receive friends in the connecting place at South Main Street Baptist Church from 2-3 Sunday afternoon.
For online condolences, please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Childs family.

William A. Lewis

ABBEVILLE — William A. “Willie” Lewis, 68, resident of 788 Central Shiloh Road, husband of Sharon J. Lewis, passed away at his home on Friday, Jan. 26, 2007, after an extended illness.
Born in Greenwood, he was the son of the late James Jefferson and Dorothy Yates Lewis. William was retired from Greenwood Packing Plant and was a member of Gilgal United Methodist Church, Abbeville.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are four sons, William A. Lewis Jr. and Larry Christopher Lewis, both of Greenwood, David Wayne Lewis of Mauldin, and William Tyler Lewis of Greenville; a daughter, Janice Motte and husband Robbie of Greenwood; six grandchildren, Melissa and Richard Motte, Kevin, Stephen, Timmy and Carter Lewis; two great-grandchildren, R. J. and A. J. Watson; three brothers, Vernon Lewis of Greenwood, Wilson Lewis of Gravois Mills, Mo. and Bobby Lewis of McCormick; two sisters, Virginia Hollingsworth of Greenwood and Carrie Stevens of Gravois Mills, Mo.
He was preceded in death by a brother, James J. “Junior” Lewis and two sisters, Ester Kirkland and Ola Mae Darnell.
Services will be 4 p.m. Sunday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Les Shattuck officiating.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Sunday from 2:30-4 p.m. prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to Gilgal United Methodist Church, PO Box 451, Due West, SC 29639.
The family is at the home.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Pearl Lindsey, 102

ABBEVILLE — Pearl Fuller Lindsey, 102, of 751 New Zion Road, Promised Land, widow of Leo Lindsey Sr., died Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007, at her home. She was the daughter of the late John Fuller and the late Tommie Fuller Wideman. She was a member of Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church and served on the Gospel Chorus. She was a member of the Women Aide Society #69, OES #419, and was a volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels for numerous years.
Survivors include two sons, Ralph Lindsey of Somerset, N.J. and Leo Lindsey Jr. of Pamphno Beach, Fla.; four daughters, Susie (Joseph) Moore of Eggharbor Township, N.J., Tommye Alice (Alton) Carter of Canton, Ohio, Lila Jackson of Newark, N.J. and Lilla Daniels of Orange, N.J.; ten grandchildren, four reared in the home, Diane Lindsey of Irvington, N.J., Sanette L. Campbell of Columbia, Chris Lindsey of Newark, N.J. and Ra-Shan Lindsey of Ninety Six; twelve great-grandchildren, three reared in the home, Latoya Lindsey of Greenwood, LaKiesha Lindsey of Bradley and Jamal Lindsey of Columbia; ten great-great-grandchildren, one reared in the home, Raquan Leak of Greenwood.
Services are 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, 2007 at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church, conducted by Pastor James E. Speed Sr., assisted by the Revs. Joseph Caldwell, Gracie Smith, Norris Turner, Bernard White and Krystal Bryant. The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m.
Pallbearers are Mt. Pisgah Lodge #419; flower bearers are OES #419.
Visitation is 6-7 Sunday at the funeral home.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is assisting the Lindsey family.

June Parks

Lois June Buckner Parks, 78, resident of 108 Cessna Ave., died Jan. 27, 2007, at her home.
Born in Pruden, Ky., she was a daughter of the late Henry and Sophia Rose Buckner. Mrs. Parks attended Pruden High School in Pruden, Ky. and was a member of the Greenwood Community Church of the Nazarene.
Surviving are four daughters, Vicky Sowders and Melody Parks, both of Greenwood, Jennifer Davis of Clairfield, Tenn. and Mary Lamdin of Wake Forrest, N.C.; seven sons, Larry Parks of Sumerset, Ky., Gary Parks of Tazwell, Tenn., Pat Parks of Morristown, Tenn., Timmie Parks of Clairfield, Tenn., Brian Parks of Wake Forrest, N.C., Bruce Parks of Greenwood, and Terry Parks of Ware Shoals; six sisters; a brother; nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by a son, Steven Douglas Parks; a brother and two sisters.
Memorial services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Greenwood Community Church of the Nazarene with Rev. Robert Albert and Rev. George Gardner officiating.
Burial will be Wednesday in the Parks Family Cemetery in Clairfield, Tenn.
The family is at the home on Cessna Ave. and will receive friends at the church from 1:30-2 Sunday afternoon.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Greenwood Community Church of the Nazarene, 2022 Cokesbury Road, Greenwood, SC 29649.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Parks family.

Helen Taylor

GREENVILLE — Helen Louise Lowery Taylor, 69, widow of Charles Dee Taylor, of 18 West Gantt Circle, died Friday, Jan. 26, 2007.
Mrs. Taylor was the daughter of Bertha Brooks Lowery and the late Glynn Lowery. She was a member of West Gantt First Baptist Church.
In addition to her mother, she is survived by two daughters, Teresa Jackson and her husband, David of Hodges and Vanessa Hood and her husband, Sammy of Greenville; four grandchildren, Kristi and Brandon Hood and Taylor and Kelly Jackson; a brother and sister, Harold Lowery and Jeanette Bridges, both of Greenville.
Funeral services are 1:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 at West Gantt First Baptist Church. Burial is in Graceland Cemetery, West.
Visitation is 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007 at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown.