Greenwood County to use incentive plan more this year

April 12, 2005

By WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal senior staff writer

A little-used economic incentive program in Greenwood County will get a bit of a workout in the coming year.
The Commercial Incentive Development Program is available throughout most of the county as a tool to develop the county’s eight retail centers. It’s been in place for a few years, but only used a handful of times, said Partnership/Alliance CEO Jeff Fowler.
“We’re looking at empty boxes and non-developed commercial retail areas to encourage growth, to encourage people to come in, hire more people, build-out their business — without having a big jump in their tax bill,” Fowler said.
Tax increases can sometimes discourage growth, since property owners often pay higher property taxes as a response to expanding their businesses, he said.
“Most economic development groups are set up primarily to help new industrial recruitment,” he said. “Commercial and retail projects have been generally viewed as non-growth projects. They don’t really increase the tax base over and above expenses.”
This is not a view shared by county and city government, or the Partnership/Alliance, he said.
“Most of your commercial and retail guys are going to be local owners,” he said. “As you help them grow and help them become more profitable, it increases the amount of wealth in the area — which allows them to re-invest that wealth into other areas.”
To be eligible for the program, properties must be located in one of the county’s eight shopping districts: Greenwood Mall, Greenwood Plaza, Kmart Plaza, Northgate Plaza, Piedmont Plaza, Uptown Greenwood, and main streets in Ninety Six and Ware Shoals.
Owners must invest a minimum of $1 million to recoup redevelopment costs. Credit is received annually for a maximum of 15 years, and the total credit cannot exceed the cost of redevelopment. Gary Russ Chevrolet is one business looking to put these inducements to work. The business is planning to move from the corner of S.C. 72 and Durst Avenue to the former location of Lowe’s.
During its next meeting, Greenwood County Council is expected to consider an ordinance allowing Gary Russ Chevrolet to receive these benefits.
To protect local entities that exist on revenue from property taxes — such as school districts and local government — the base value of property will not be affected by these initiatives.
“If a building is valued at $500,000 when they buy it, the incentives don’t really apply to that base,” Fowler said. “That way we make sure the schools get their portion.”
The incentives are applied to “improved” investments in business property. If expansions or renovations made to a retail space boost the property’s value, then tax rebates are offered for the difference.
The Partnership for a Greater Greenwood County & Economic Alliance is a public/private partnership that provides leadership and financial support to improve economic growth and educational achievement in order to enhance the quality of life in Greenwood County.

Mr. Olin ‘Gene’ Bates

BEECH ISLAND, SC – Mr. Olin “Gene” Bates, 69, husband of Donna Bates, of Lamar St., entered into rest Sunday, April 10, 2005, at University Hospital.
Graveside services will be held Wednesday April 13, 2005 at 11:00 am at Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Bath, SC, Rev. Nathan Neighbors officiating.
Mr. Bates was born in Anderson, but had resided in Beech Island for the past 22 years. He was the former owner/operator of a boat storage facility at Lake Murray, and was a member of the Lake Murray Power Squadron.
Additional survivors include a son, Allan Bates and a daughter, Kellie Bates both of Columbia; One sister, Joann Bates Babb of Greenwood; two nephews, Tyler Babb of Charleston, and Matt Babb of Greenwood; and two grandchildren, Dustin Bates and Jake Bates.
Memorials can be made to the American Diabetes Association, 2711 Middlebury Dr., Suite 205, Columbia, SC 29204.
Rowland Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Scurry Harrison

AUGUSTA, GA – Scurry Harrison, 75, widower of Annie Jean Harrison, of 1200 Talsiman Drive, formerly of 452 Vaughn Street, died April 8 at University Hospital, Augusta, GA. Born in Greenwood County Dec. 15, 1929, a son of the late Claude Harrison and Thomasena Harrison. He was a self employed Brick Mason and of the Methodist Faith.
Surviving are two sons, Claude Harrison and William Scurry Harrison of Greenwood; a daughter, Tammy Cain of Greenwood; 12 grand-children; two nieces, Tonya Backus and Claudia Louden and a nephew, John Louden, Jr., all of Greenwood.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
PAID OBITUARY

Nyla Breshay Wilson

Services for Nyla Breshay Wilson are 1 p.m. Wednesday at St. Goodwill Baptist Church, Abbeville, conducted by Pastor Frank Williams, assisted by Pastor Rod Schultz. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Johnny Wilson, Durrell Wilson, Michael Robb and Maurice Robb.
Flower bearers are Liza Mitchell, Shunda Cloud, Georgia Cloud, Toneka Wimms, Shonda Caldwell and Lizzie Mae Davis.
Visitation is 5-8 tonight at the home, 109 Thornbrook Court.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.

The upper hand

Dixie’s Milford, Canfield dominating opponents

April 12, 2005

By BRIAN HOWARD
Assistant sports editor

Dominating pitchers usually have an edge on their opponent before even stepping onto the mound.
The Dixie High School baseball and softball teams have two pitchers that opposing batters fear — Nick Milford and Melinda Canfield.
Milford, who played for American Legion Post 20 last season and plans to play again this year, isn’t your everyday pitcher.
The senior is a utility player and has played every position on the field, with the exception of catcher, Dixie baseball coach Todd Brown said.
“He’s a big asset,” Brown said.
“The one thing is that he can play any position. He’s gradually improved over his career each year. This year, I think he is second on the team in batting.
“He’s going to be a hole that I don’t think I’ll be able to fill. Most coaches have something coming up and it’s going to be a while before I can fill the void when he graduates. He’s a major part of this team.”
Milford’s numbers at the plate have gone up since his freshman year, while his ERA has steadily declined.
During his freshmen year, Milford batted .278 with an ERA of 5.30. In his sophomore season, he batted .327 with a 4.69 ERA. Last season, Milford allowed four earned runs and had an ERA of 0.63, while batting .400.
Heading into this week, he has batted .466 with a 6-1 record on the mound, one save, 80 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.89.
Although his numbers are impressive, Milford never seems to get unraveled while pitching and goes out and pitches his ‘A’ game.
“Most times you can pretty much count on your defense out there,” Milford said.
“Coach tells me to go out and pitch your game. I like to pitch them quick and go out there and shut them down, and get the momentum on our side.”
But what separates Milford from other pitchers is that he has the opposition out before he takes the mound, Brown said.
“I can see it in the other coaches,” Brown said. “When he steps on the mound, the air of the other team goes out of them. When he got the save, the coach just shook his head and went down and put his hand on his knees, shaking his head.
“I think Nick struck out six of the seven batters he faced in that game. He’s just a dominate force. When he steps on that mound. The other teams stop what they are doing just to watch him.”
Brown said that with all the good players in Greenwood and the Lakelands area, no one has offered Milford an opportunity to play college baseball.
Besides playing baseball, Milford was the starting quarterback for the Hornets’ football team the past two seasons.
Canfield is also an intimidating pitcher for the Lady Hornets softball team, who are the defending Region I-A champs.
She is a big reason why the Lady Hornets are the defending region champions, coach Steve Dunlap said.
“She has been with us since the seventh grade,” Dunlap said. “She was ready to start varsity in the seventh grade. I had so many older players that she had to wait her time and she really didn’t get a whole lot of playing time until last year, her sophomore season.
“It’s obvious, last year we had a very good season, finishing up as Upper State runners-up, and she was one of the main reasons we did that, not only pitching in the circle, but swinging the bat. She has the potential at time to pick the team up or get them started when we need it.”
Canfield is 5-2 this season with 57 strikeouts. When not pitching, she plays shortstop and has a pretty productive bat.
She has five doubles, four homers, three triples among her 16 hits, boasting a .457 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .561. She has also scored 19 times.
But it is on the mound where Canfield is the most dominate.
“What goes through my mind, is that you have your defense behind you,” Canfield said. “And you know you have your defense behind you if someone does hit the ball. But as a pitcher, you think to pitch to get them out. You try to strike them out, but if you can’t, you got your defense to pick you up.”

What would consumers say on offshore drilling for oil?

April 12, 2005

No newspaper or television network has to report on the constantly rising price of a gallon of gasoline. Pull up to any pump at any station anywhere in South Carolina and it’s obvious. It has been that way for some time, too.
In the last three weeks, particularly, gasoline prices have increased an average of 19 cents a gallon. That’s attributed to higher crude oil prices, higher refining costs, and a growing demand. It’s simple: supply and demand. It doesn’t matter what the reasons, consumers are being hit hard. It’s almost impossible to do anything these days without having to buy gasoline. Trips, mowing lawns, and a variety of other activities keep the pressure on everyone’s pocketbook, not merely those on fixed incomes.

IT’S A PROBLEM FOR everybody. And, according to analysts, it’s going to stay high in the months ahead, and more likely years.
With that as backdrop, it seems we’d be looking for new oil fields to tap to help ease the pressure of the ever-increasing costs of importing so much of the oil we use. However, while energy companies would like to see restrictions eased on oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of South Carolina and other states, some environmentalists oppose that idea totally.
Some experts, however, expect there could be black gold under the ocean floor. No one knows, though, whether there are oil and gas deposits along the Palmetto State.

IF THERE ARE, NO ONE knows whether it would be feasible to get the oil and gas out.
The crunch is such, though, that it seems foolhardy to fight against exploring the possibilities. Opponents, though, argue there is no way to avoid environmental problems in drilling for oil and gas. However, the fact that Congress this year voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling has been encouraging to those who want to explore other land now off-limits.
One way to proceed is to ask consumers how they feel. They, after all, are paying big bucks to fill up. Any guesses on what their approach would be?