Walk In My Shoes

Event focuses on efforts to inform local residents about sexual assault

April 15, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal staff writer

Every 90 seconds, somewhere in the United States, a man, woman or child is sexually assaulted.
It is a crime that affects each state, each county and each neighborhood across the nation – including Greenwood and the Lakelands.
Thursday afternoon, more than 400 pairs of shoes – one representing each case of sexual assault reported in Greenwood, Abbeville and Laurens counties last year – lined the steps and sidewalks in front of the Greenwood County Courthouse for the Walk In My Shoes march to end sexual violence.
The event, organized by the Sexual Trauma & Counseling Center and The Child’s Place, is part of the local organizations’ efforts to raise awareness of the problem of sexual assault and how it affects the community, said STCC Training Director Susan McGinnis. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“As witnessed by the show of shoes, it does happen here,” McGinnis said.
According to data from the STCC, 429 cases of sexual assault were reported in the three-county area in 2004. McGinnis said a majority of those cases were children.
“These shoes tell the stories and represent the diversity in the community of those who have suffered the devastating effects of sexual victimization. They represent the paths of victims looking for some kind of recovery, justification or escape from the memories of sexual abuse,” STCC Executive Director Martha Busterna told the crowd that gathered in front of the courthouse.
“We are here to bring awareness about the people who have walked in these shoes. We believe that community education is essential in reducing the risks of sexual violence and empowering victims to report,” she said.
Only a small percentage of sexual assaults are ever reported, and 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace told listeners that events, such as the Walk In My Shoes, may persuade some people who have been too ashamed or too embarrassed to report a sexual assault to seek help.
“The sad part is that we have 429 pairs of shoes here, but what about the ones that aren’t here,” he said. “It is up to us to have functions like this to publicize this terrible crime so that (victims) have the courage to come forward.”
State Rep. Gene Pinson and Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson also addressed the crowd, stressing the importance of community involvement in the crusade to end sexual violence.
“As a community, we need not only to be outraged, but we need to take responsibility for educating our children about sexual abuse,” Nicholson told the crowd. “We need your support to continue providing help and services to survivors. Today, we walk in survivors’ shoes.”
Standing in the crowd was one such survivor, whose personal story of abuse was written in a card and attached to a pair of the shoes on the courthouse steps.
The 39-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said male family members sexually assaulted her from the time she was two years old until she was 16. Guilt and shame kept her from coming forward for help until she was 34 years old.
“It was the shame that kept me from telling – it was degrading. But I was at the end of my rope. I was suicidal, and all hope was lost. I thought I was either going to kill myself or see if someone could help me,” she said.
The woman said she called the STCC, which agreed to counsel her immediately, and she has been receiving treatment for the past five years – and she said that treatment has likely saved her life.
“I think counseling is very important, and it has really helped. They explain to you that it is not your fault, and they help explain some of the feelings you have that are hard to deal with,” she said. “You shouldn’t feel ashamed.”

Turning things around

Greenwood baseball making remarkable strides during season

April 15, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

What a difference a year makes.
The Greenwood High School baseball program has made remarkable strides this season after suffering through an unsuccessful 2004 campaign.
The Eagles varsity and jayvee teams combined for nine total victories a year ago.
Fast forward 365 days, and the Greenwood varsity team has earned that many wins on its own, going 9-8 with one game remaining on the regular-season schedule.
“They have bought into what we’re trying to do here,” Eagles second-year varsity coach Stanley Moss said. “Bottom line is the guys work hard. We play the game the way it was meant to be played, and when we go out and play our game, we can play with anybody.”
But not to be outdone, the Eagles jayvee team realized a goal that every team opens the season with: going a perfect 16-0.
“We feel very pleased and very fortunate to accomplish this feat, but it was what we set out to do at the start of the season,” Greenwood jayvee coach Brad Richardson said. “We talked about it from the onset of the season.
“We talked each game about going out there expecting to win and have that kind of attitude.”
Richardson returned to the Greenwood baseball program this season after a year off. The current jayvee coach was the skipper for the varsity squad for seven seasons.
When Richardson stepped down after the end of the 2003 season, the reins were handed to Moss, then the jayvee coach.
Moss inherited a team with only one returning starting position player, but his first varsity squad was full of ballplayers he coached the previous year on the jayvee team.
“Varsity is a whole different level than jayvee,” said senior Austin Addison, a two-year varsity player. “Everything was faster than what we were used to. I thought it was going to be the same when I first came up to varsity, but it is a lot different.”
The team finished with a 3-19 record and won only one Region I-AAAA contest, splitting the series with T.L. Hanna.
But instead of becoming discouraged by the trying 2004 season, this year’s Eagles used it as a driving force.
“It was disappointing, but we knew it was going to be a rebuilding year of sorts after the team just lost like 15 seniors from the year before,” said senior Kyle Behrendt, who leads Greenwood with a .353 batting average. “It was tough that year, but it’s paid off. It’s given us great motivation for this season.”
Moss credits Behrendt and the other nine returning players from last season with the team’s quick turnaround.
“It was real key for us to get those guys back for another year,” the coach said. “Because they know what to expect.
“Last year, our coaching staff had to maybe stand right over them, telling them what to do. Now, they know what to do to get ready, whether at practice or a game. That’s been one of the biggest things we’ve improved on.”
But Moss’ second season didn’t get off to the solid start he and his players were hoping for.
The Eagles followed up their tough season-opening defeat at the hands of city-rival Emerald with a loss to Westside.
The 0-2 start left many Greenwood players looking back to last season.
“After the first two games, my first thought was that this might be another year like last year,” Addison said. “I was thinking we were just going through the motions and not play our game.
“But after our first win, the guys were excited and we went out and practiced hard the next game and we went out and won again. We were on top at 2-0 in the region and we felt good about it.”
In fact, after the poor 0-2 start, the Eagles won nine of their next 16 contests, and the team has assured itself of a spot in the Class AAAA state playoffs, going 5-4 in region play with only Friday’s matchup with Laurens remaining.
But looking at Greenwood’s statistics, especially those on the offensive side, the team is the epitome of the phrase “finding a way to win.”
As a team, the Eagles are batting .231 and they have only outscored opponents 75 to 73. While Behrendt may be the only hitter with a batting average over .300, there are 10 Greenwood sluggers that have a .300 or better on base average.
But the numbers on defensive side of things have been quizzical as well.
The Eagles’ pitching staff has an amazing team ERA of 2.71, but the Greenwood hurlers have only struck out 42 batters in 111 innings of work. And opposing hitter have a better batting average (.274) against the Eagles’ pitchers than the Greenwood batters possess (.231).
“We’re not a team that can come out offensively and thump it all over the park,” Moss said.
“Normally, we go base to base and score a couple of runs here and there. Defense and pitching has been our key all year.
“The biggest difference this year is that we’ve found a way to win.”
Like the varsity squad, the Greenwood jayvees also found that way to win. And they did so each and every time they laced up their cleats. In 16 wins, the Eagles’ jayvee team committed only 23 errors, while outscoring opponents 131-47.
Freshman Drew Willingham led the jayvee pitching staff with seven victories and a team-low 0.88 ERA, while fellow freshman Brad Dorn went 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA. Dorn also batted .431 from the plate, scoring a team-high 22 runs.
Northside Middle eighth-grader Christian Powell led the team in batting with a .509 average and knocked in a team-high 11 RBIs, while freshman Corey Lloyd hit .404.
“The future of the Greenwood baseball program looks very positive,” Richardson said. “I think the kids we have on the younger level are going to come in next year with a great deal of confidence and that should carry them over. It all goes back to the kids. We don’t have per se the great star athlete. We just have a bunch of scrappy kids that work hard and play hard.”

Opinion

Observations ... ... and other reflections

April 15, 2005

Today’s the day. That day. It’s time to file income tax returns. No one needs a reminder of that, of course, but there are bound to be some taxpayers who will not send in their returns because they owe money and cannot pay.
They should file anyway. They’ll pay a penalty, perhaps, but it won’t be nearly as much as it would be for not filing. It’ll show good intent, anyway, and that stands for something.

* * * * *

Greenwood has a park ….. the West Cambridge Street Park. If there were any concerns before it was built that it would not be used enough to justify building it, forget it. It has been very popular. As the weather gets warmer it will draw even more visitors … old and young.
For one thing, it’s a strong indication that parks are welcome additions to any community. Now, all this community needs are parks in south and north Greenwood, If one is good, three would be that much better.

* * * * *

Eric Rudolph has pleaded guilty to setting off bombs at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and at three other places. Two people were killed and at least 120 others were hurt. He said he picked the Olympics to embarrass the U. S. government in front of the world “for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand.”
He also said, “Because I believe that abortion is murder, I also believe that force is justified.”
Regardless of how anyone feels about abortion, how can killing innocent people to make a point about personable beliefs about abortion be justified?
Rudolph worked out a plea bargain to spare him from the death penalty. He’ll serve life without parole. It’s a good thing, for him, that judging is not done on a biblical eye-for-an-eye basis.

* * * * *

The U. S. House of Representatives has voted to eliminate estate taxes in 2010 and beyond. It may, however, face stronger opposition in the Senate.
Democrats, generally, oppose the measure, arguing that it would reward the richest families.
That’s contrary, to be sure, to the whole idea of the American Dream, where anyone can “make it” if he is willing to work. Estate taxes penalize initiative. They are, in fact, a disincentive. It stifles enterprise and that, in effect, is what the “American Dream” is all about.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

William A. Alexander

Services for Deacon William Allen Alexander, of 825 Brewer Ave., are 2 p.m. Sunday at Morris Chapel Baptist Church, with the Rev. Ricky V. Syndab officiating and the Rev. Jonathan Greene presiding. Assisting are Minister Krystal Bryant and the Revs. Dorann White, Ernest Jefferies and Thessa Smith. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in The Evening Star cemetery.
Pallbearers are church deacons and trustees.
Flower bearers are church deaconesses and granddaughters.
Visitation is 6-8 Saturday at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Marjorie Allen

WARE SHOALS — Marjorie Louise Miller Allen, 79, widow of John A.D. Allen, formerly of 138 W. Main St., died Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at Forest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Born in Somerville, Mass., she was a daughter of the late James H. and Atta Pender Miller. She was a member of Turkey Creek Baptist Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Claudia Louise Carr of Lumberton, Miss.; three sons, John Albert Allen of Ware Shoals, Richard Wayne Allen of Honea Path, Ricky James Allen of Greenwood; a brother, Donald Miller of Oklahoma; a sister, Jerri Watkins of California; 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Saturday at Turkey Creek Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Rod Carver. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Visitation is 7-9 tonight at Parker-White Funeral Home.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

Mary Lue Cromer

Mary Lue Cromer, 84, of 210 Cromer Lane, widow of Frank Cromer, died Thursday, April 14, 2005 at her home.
Born in Abbeville, she was a daughter of the late Richard and Annie Adams Cullens. She was a member of Rose of Sharon Holiness Church, where she was a Senior Choir member. She retired from Self Regional Health Care.
Survivors include four sons, Nathaniel Howard of Greenwood, Marvin Cromer of Hodges, Larry Cromer of the home, Bobby Cromer of Columbus, Ohio; a stepson, Charles Cromer of Columbus; two daughters, Edna Cromer and Wilma Edmonds, both of Hodges; 12 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Jamie Killingsworth

ATLANTA — Jamie Deshun Killingsworth, 25, of 1333 Kimberly Way, died Thursday, April 14, 2005 at Atlanta Medical Center.
Born in Abbeville, S.C., he was a son of Alice Killingsworth and James and Octavia Killingsworth. He was a member of Mulberry A.M.E. Church, Abbeville and a graduate of Abbeville High School, Clemson University and Georgia State University.
Survivors include his mother of Abbeville; his father and stepmother of Greenwood; two brothers, Derrick Killingsworth of Abbeville, Deondre Killingsworth of Greenwood; a sister, Cherralle Killingsworth of Abbeville.
The family is at the home of his mother, Alice Killingsworth, 136 Dutchman Road, Abbeville.
Services will be announced by Abbeville & White Mortuary, Abbeville.

Joe Clarence Louden

Joe Clarence Louden, 77, of 110 Watson St., husband of Mary Ruth Mathis Louden, died Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Ninety Six, he was a son of the late Joe Lewis Louden and Parnee Fortune Louden. He was a forklift operator with Parke-Davis. He was a former member of Poplar Springs A.M.E. Church, Laurens, and member of Ebenezer C.M.E. Church, Greenwood.
Survivors include his wife of the home; his stepmother, Susie Louden of Greenwood; a brother, William Louden of Greenwood; a sister, Lillie Louden of Greenwood.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@emeraldis.com

Annie Lee Martin

ABBEVILLE — Services for Annie Lee Martin are 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Goodwill Baptist Church, Troy, conducted by the Rev. J.F. Williams and Bishop Emanuel Spearman. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews, and flower bearers are nieces.
The family is at the home of Eula Mae Cade, Route 1, off Highway 28, Troy.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Isabella Denise Mills

Isabella Denise Mills, infant daughter of Stephanie Mills, of 219 Jackson Ave., died Thursday, April 14, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Survivors include her mother and a maternal grandmother, Bettie Mills of Seneca.
Graveside services are 11 a.m. Saturday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. Ron Taylor.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Dr. J.W. ‘Bill’ Morris

Memorial services for Dr. James William “Bill” Morris are 3 p.m. Friday, April 22 at Wesley Commons Asbury Hall in Greenwood and at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 23 at First Presbyterian Church in Aiken.
Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1131, Fairfax, VA 22038-1131 or the Forrest F. Blankenship Memorial Engineering Scholarship, c/o PJC Alumni Association, 2400 Clarksville St., Paris, TX 75460.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Mr. Keith Ridlehoover

SUWANEE, GA – Mr. Keith Ridlehoover, age 47, of Suwanee, GA, passed away on April 14, 2005. Surviving are his wife of 15 years, Katie McCarty Ridlehoover, Suwanee, GA; parents, Evan and Doris Ridlehoover, Modoc, SC; sister and brother-in-law, Elaine and Charles Bridges, Greenwood, SC; father-in-law, Ray McCarty, Suwanee, GA; several brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews.
Mr. Ridlehoover was born in McCormick, SC. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He was employed as a Senior Software Engineer with Gainco of Bettcher Industries in Gainesville, GA. He was a graduate of Greenwood High School, Greenwood, SC, and a 1984 graduate of the University of North Carolina where he received his Electronic Engineering Degree. He was of the Baptist faith. He was a wonderful husband, son, brother and uncle. He will be greatly missed. He was an avid Corvette car fan.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Flanigan Funeral Home with Rev. Steve Wood officiating. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. at the Plum Branch City Cemetery, Plum Branch, SC with Strom Funeral Home in McCormick, SC in charge. The family will receive friends at Flanigan Funeral Home on Friday from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Arrangements by Flanigan Funeral Home & Crematory.
PAID OBITUARY

Bobby Taylor

Bobby Taylor, 67, of 206 Fuller St., died Thursday, April 14, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
A son of the late Wesley and Bessie Simon Taylor, he was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include a daughter, Connie Rice of Greenwood; a brother, Moses Taylor of Columbia; four sisters, Gladys Love and Willie Myers, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., Elevette Clark and Mildred Collington, both of New Jersey; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.