Abbeville standoff has lead to tactical cross-training

December 8, 2004

By WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal senior staff writer

ABBEVILLE — SLED Chief Robert Stewart called it the “most horrendous gunfight” he’d ever seen, the culmination of a daylong standoff between dozens of law enforcement officers and a pair of alleged cop killers.
When the smoke had cleared, two men were dead — Constable Donnie Ouzts and Abbeville Sheriff’s Deputy Danny Wilson. Investigators subsequently charged a family of three in their deaths, a family angry that a state road project had expanded into their front yard.
When the smoke had cleared, one thing was apparent, Stewart said.
“It became obvious that there was a need for tactical units in the state to train together.”
The incident in Abbeville a year ago today, Dec. 8, 2003, was the last in a six-month string of violent conflicts that endangered the public and law enforcement, Stewart said. Like many other counties in South Carolina, Abbeville lacked the funding — and consequently the training and equipment — to handle these kinds of emergencies.
“Due to the length of time involved, the firepower that the units were up against or other reasons, one unit could not handle the situation by itself,” he said.
Law enforcement officials from SLED and surrounding agencies had to pitch in to maintain the situation, in some cases creating or modifying equipment on-scene.
“Due to the heavy weaponry in the house we couldn’t breach the door safely,” he said. “We had to have some welders come to the scene and mount a ram on the front of an armored vehicle for us.”
That was a year ago. Today, Stewart said, tactical units across the state meet regularly for cross-training. There are even state directories that illustrate the specialties and capabilities of various agencies in South Carolina.
“There is no routine police call,” Stewart said. “Sometimes we are lulled into a routine, and maybe more so in rural areas. Anything can happen at any time.”
“We have to be very careful in handling any situation that we might respond to,” agreed Abbeville County Sheriff Charles Goodwin.
Despite the loss of one of their own, local deputies have not flinched from their duties, he said.
“Nobody has left the agency and nobody has been reassigned to any other function,” he said.
Friends and family will have a ceremony marking today’s anniversary at 9:30 a.m. at the Abbeville County Law Enforcement Center.
“We miss him,” Goodwin said of his deputy. “We miss him very much, as a friend and as an officer.”
Meanwhile, the three people charged in the deaths of Ouzts and Wilson still await trial. Steven Bixby and his father, Arthur, were each indicted earlier this year on various counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping.
Steven Bixby’s mother, Rita, is also charged. Prosecutors have served notice on Steven and mother Rita of their intention to seek the death penalty in their trials.

Mary Katherine Adams

SPRINGVILLE, Tenn. — Mary Katherine Adams, 85, wife of John William “J.W.” Adams, died Sunday, Dec. 5, 2004 at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Survivors include her husband of Springville; two daughters, Janice Adams Wheatley of New Albany, Miss., and Mrs. Maurice (Nancy Adams) Scott of Greenwood, S.C.; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. today at Sulphur Well Church of Christ, and burial is in Elkhorn Cemetery, both in Springville.
McEvoy Funeral Home, Paris, Tenn., is in charge.

Woodrow Brown

Woodrow Brown, 75, of 647 Dean’s Alley, died Sunday, Dec. 5, 2004 at Self Regional Medical Center. Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late Sam Brown and Mattie Mae Morgan. He was a former member of Mount Olive Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Sammie Lee Brown of Greenwood; five daughters, Mrs. John (Willie Mae) Norman, Jannie Lee Webb, Amanda Wardlaw and Ethyl Mae Phelps, all of Greenwood and Joyce Ann Chamberlin of Columbia; a sister, Mrs. Curtis (Georgia B.) Harris of Greenwood; 41 grandchildren; 75 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Thursday at Robinson & Son Mortuary, conducted by the Rev. Frank Williams, assisted by the Rev. Sammie Lee Brown Sr.
Visitation is this evening at the home and at the home of Mrs. Curtis (Georgia B.) Harris, 111 McQuay Court.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Joseph Crawford

Joseph Preston Crawford, 69, of 649 Grier St., died Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2004 at his home. Born in Ware Shoals, he was a son of the late James Q. “Buddy” and Wadie Dower Crawford. He served in the Army and was employed by Daniel Construction Co. Survivors include his wife, Christine Wilson Hawkins of the home; a son, Harden Hawkins of Waterloo; two daughters, Belinda Roberts and Linda West, both of Greenwood; two brothers, James Crawford of Georgia and John Crawford of Ware Shoals; four sisters, Faye McCullough of Honea Path, Jettie Pitt and Rosa Lee Crawford, both of Ware Shoals and Nancy Whitt of Greenwood; and six grandchildren. Graveside services are 3 p.m. Thursday in Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. Joey Boggs. Pallbearers are Rayford Reynolds, Benny Bryant, Jamey Crawford, Vernon Padgett, Jimmy Wright and Frank Cooper. Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals. The family is at the home. Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

Mildred Davenport

Mildred Odell Lagrone Davenport, 81, of 508 W. Laurel Ave., wife of Harold Ray Davenport, died Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 at her home.
Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of the late Robert Yancey and Mary Esther Collins Lagrone. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and a homemaker. She was a member of Lowell Street United Methodist Church and the Cheerful Workers Sunday School Class of the church.
Survivors include her husband of the home; three sons, Dennis Davenport and Harold Davenport, both of Greenwood and Rick Davenport of Aiken; a brother, Hoyt Lagrone of Greenwood; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 3:30 p.m. today at Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. Dick Waldrep.
Pallbearers are Dennis Davenport, Harold Davenport, Rick Davenport, Jason Davenport, Brad Davenport and Richard Gaites.
Visitation is 2-3 today at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Lowell Street United Methodist Church, 300 Lowell Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at blythfuneralhome.com

Carlton E. Longus

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carlton Everett Longus, 37, husband of Penny Jones Longus, died Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 at Wake Memorial Hospital.
Born in Washington, D.C., he was a son of Rosa Middleton Elmore and the late Charles Longus. He was a graduate of S.C. State University and Howard University and a computer analyst. He was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church.
Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Robert Elmore, of Greenwood; his wife of Manassas, Va.; three daughters, Natalie Longus and Haley Longus, both of Manassas and Ashley Nickens of Norfolk, Va.; and a sister, Mrs. Tyrone (Monica) Moore of Greenwood.
The family is at the home of his mother and stepfather.
Services will be announced by Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Hollie Saxon

HONEA PATH — Hollie Saxon, 78, of 108 Brock Ave., husband of Barbara Ann Hall Saxon, died Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 at the Hospice House in Anderson.
Born in Anderson County, he was a son of the late R.L. and Grace Kay Saxon. He retired from Anderson Mill and was a World War II Army veteran. He was a member of the Princeton Masonic Lodge A.F.M. and Princeton Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a son, Gene Saxon of Hodges; two daughters, Melonie Lay of Princeton and Rhonda Garrett of Columbia; three sisters, Mary Hampton of Anderson, Virginia Ashley and Faye DeBlaker, both of Honea Path; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Thursday at Pruitt Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Brian Saxon. Burial is in the Garden of Memories.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621.
Pruitt Funeral Home is in charge.

Emily Sprouse

SALUDA — Emily Elvira Gardner Sprouse, 87, of 3280 Columbia Highway, widow of Sloan Sprouse, died Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 at Lexington Medical Center.
Born in Saluda County, she was a daughter of the late John Sheppard Gardner Sr. and Lizzie Bladon Gardner. She was a retired textile employee, working at Saluda Hosiery Mill, Milliken in Johnston and Greenwood Mills Ninety Six Plant. A member of Nazareth United Methodist Church, she was a member of the choir, UMW Sunshine Circle and the Mannie Black Sunday School Class. She was known as the “Mayor” of the Traffic Circle.
Survivors include two brothers, Jack Gardner and B.G. Gardner, both of Saluda; a sister, Margaret Randall McGowan of Woodruff; and a stepdaughter, Elaine Rhodes of Ninety Six.
Services are 2 p.m. today at Nazareth United Methodist Church, conducted by the Revs. Joyce Murphy and Harvey Peurifoy. Burial is in Elmwood Cemetery in Ninety Six.
Visitation is 1-2 today in the church social hall.
Memorials may be made to Nazareth United Methodist Church, 3139 Spann Road, Leesville, SC 29070.
Ramey Funeral Home is in charge.

Vikes tandem tops Panthers

December 8, 2004

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

The Panthers had no answers for D.L. Griffin and Dan Wideman.
The Emerald duo combined for 51 points to guide the Vikings to 85-56 rout of former Region III-AA rival Abbeville Tuesday night in the new Vikings gymnasium.
Griffin scored a career-high 28 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while Wideman added 23 points and two 3s.
“When you’ve got a few guys that can score, teams can’t key on one of them,” Emerald coach Robin Scott said. “Somebody keys on one person and it opens things up for somebody else.”
In a 6-minute, 45-second stretch during the second and third quarters, Griffin and Wideman combined to score 26 in the Vikings’ 28-10 run that pushed a tenuous 35-29 lead into a 24-point domination.
The only Emerald basket not scored by the pair came on a baseline layin from Matthew Herrin to make it 54-35 with 5:45 left in the third. Herrin was third on the team with seven points.
Abbeville’s Courtney Tate responded with a 16-foot turnaround jumper. Tate led the Panthers with 20 points, while Tyrus Suit added 14 for Abbeville.
Wideman and Tate then traded a pair of free throws.
Griffin followed that by draining his fourth 3-pointer, blocking a shot on the defensive end, and then going coast-to-coast for the driving layup for a 61-39 lead.
“That one stretch might have been the best little stretch down the floor that I’ve ever seen an Emerald player do,” Scott said. “It was like he was in a different zone. I would like to see that from him some more.”
Wideman capped the big scoring run with a short jumper to make it a 63-39 game with 3:32 left in the third.
After Griffin dropped in a pair of free throws, the senior small forward found Wideman, who was fouled on a layin. Wideman sank the free throw to put the Vikings ahead 70-44 with 54 seconds left in the third.
“It’s good to get that kind of scoring from so many people,” Griffin said.
“When we move the ball around, anyone can score. I was making threes and that left me open to drive to the basket. I started feeling it in the second quarter.”
The two teams went back-and-forth through most of the first quarter. But the Vikings closed out the quarter on a 12-4 run, getting scoring from four different players.
Wideman started the scoring run with a pair of free throws, followed by his first 3-pointer.
Chris White closed out the quarter with a penetrating layup with 10 seconds left to make it 25-16.

Intelligence failures show changes are long overdue

December 8, 2004

Regardless of the final form of the intelligence reform bill in Congress, some changes in the intelligence “community” are absolutely in order.
Sometimes you can go home again is what comes to mind in one situation. That is, once in a while you may be able to go back to the way things used to be. Most of the time, though, it’s a difficult proposition. There are ample examples.
Former U. S. Rep. Porter Goss is one. Goss had a long career as an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency. You’d think, then, that when he was named by President Bush to go back and head that agency he’d be given a huge welcome in his old neighborhood. Wrong!

GOSS APPARENTLY HAS TAKEN his new mission seriously: to reform and improve the intelligence-gathering arm of the United States. That meant, of course, that some old spies who were set in their ways would have to go. Some did voluntarily. Some went, but it wasn’t’ their choice.
There’s no doubt that improvements had to be made and that, to be sure, always involves change. Change, most of the time, is not met with open arms. Intelligence failures in recent times mandated changes, however. History proves that changes are an abomination to bureaucrats, and it has been obvious that too many CIA employees had long ago become part of the bureaucracy. Apparently, many have been happy just coasting along until retirement.

THE NATURE OF A BUREAUCRACY, with little exception, is to perpetuate itself and to do it by any means possible. That can only lead to one thing: staleness and inefficiency ….. which translate into mediocrity, if not downright incompetence.
Give Goss credit, and by all means South Carolina’s congressional delegation should give him support. He has run into opposition within the agency as well as in Congress. Making improvements won’t be easy. That’s obvious. Nevertheless, the CIA has been around for more than half a century. It’s past time to clean it up and clean it out.