Chaplain asks students to surrender to Christ

Adrian Despres brings illustrated message to Greenwood

August 22, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

Which chair are you in? That was the question that guest speaker Adrian Despres asked a group of about 200 students who gathered for a back-to-school event.
Students assembled Sunday at Harris Baptist Church to hear the University of South Carolina chaplain speak about being completely surrendered to Jesus Christ and what it meant to love Him with all of your heart.
With energy and enthusiasm, Despres illustrated his point using four chairs that represented a surrendered Christian, a person with indeterminate Christianity, a person who did not care to be a Christian or care about doing wrong and a person who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ at all.
After the illustration, Despres asked audience members to decide what chair they were in.
He then asked if anyone in the third or fourth chairs wanted to be saved.
“The biggest thing I’d like to see kids get is a passion for Christ,” Despres said.
He said he wants to see children who are passionate about serving God and who are not ashamed to tell someone else about God.
“It’s more powerful when they can share with other students,” he said in an interview before the service.
Church Youth Minister Curt Hanna said the children in the church have been really excited about the event.
“I hope to see lives changed permanently,” he said.
Hanna said having the students make a commitment is important, but he hopes that they continuously live out that commitment.
Shanteria Hill, 17, heard about the event through her church.
The Emerald High student said she thought Despres’ message was very good.
“It touched me in a lot of ways because I’ve been going through a lot in life,” she said.
Hill said she was glad that she attended.
Edgewood Middle School student Casey Holmes, 11, attends Harris Baptist and said he too was glad he attended.
Holmes said he learned about confessing sins and the indicators that let him know he’s a Christian.
“I’ll walk away tonight knowing how good it feels to be a Christian,” he said.
Leigh Todd, 16, a student at Greenwood High, is also a member of Harris Baptist.
“I know that I need to work harder in my walk with God,” she said.
Todd said she invited a few friends to the service.
She said she hopes for those students who attended that they “really know God and are truly in love with him.”

Stratton ready for unfamiliar role as GHS volleyball coach

August 22, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

New Greenwood High School volleyball coach Shawn Stratton is getting familiar with the players on his team.
He’s also out to become acquainted with the sport as well.
Stratton, 26, a GHS and Lander University graduate, was tapped to lead the Lady Eagles earlier this month, despite having no experience playing or coaching volleyball.
Stratton replaces longtime volleyball coach Rebecca Anderson, who stepped down because of some health concerns, though she remains a member of the faculty at Greenwood.
“I accepted the job about two hours before the first practice,” Stratton said. “I don’t have any experience with volleyball, except for the past few weeks.
“I’ve learned a lot in a hurry, however.”
Stratton does have experience in coaching athletics. He served as an assistant coach on the Eagles’ jayvee baseball team last season. It was a unit that went a perfect 16-0.
Stratton said he hopes to instill the same winning attitude the jayvee baseball team had into the varsity volleyball squad.
“I want to be undefeated in the regular season,” he said. “These girls don’t believe, yet, but they will.
“When you start winning games and the streak gets rolling, winning becomes infectious. We just have to think positively.”
Stratton said his friends were in disbelief when they heard he had taken the job coaching the girls’ volleyball team, seeing as how he had never coached the sport or female athletes. However, Stratton looked at it as a very rare and special opportunity.
“Yeah, my buddies were like ‘You took that job?’” Stratton said. “My answer was ‘Absolutely.’
Look, this is my first year teaching. I thought it was a great thing to be the head coach of a (Class) AAAA varsity sport my first year. And it has, it really has. I believe this will be a great year.”
Stratton said his job has been made a little easier by Anderson, who has offered her assistance in many of the day-to-day operations.
Whether it’s washing uniforms or helping with scouting reports, Anderson has been ever present and has offered a helping hand to the new coach when needed.
Stratton said if it were Anderson’s choice, she would be out on the court coaching the Lady Eagles. However, doctors have advised her against taking on the rigors that come with leading the team this season.
“She hopes to be back for 2006,” Stratton said. “I really hope she can. She loves the game and she’s a great coach. We’ll see how it goes.”
Stratton said he has learned much about the X’s and O’s of the game over the last month. By his own admission, however, he still has much to learn about balancing the personalities of a team of teenage girls.
“I try my best to help them understand they need to leave outside issues at home and focus on volleyball when they’re in the gym,” he said. “And they’ve been working on it. But so many of them still concern themselves with things they can’t control when they’re on the court. I’m still getting a grasp on how to deal with that.”
Stratton uses one coaching tool the team wishes he wouldn’t: a whistle. According to the coach, the team hates his use of a whistle during practice.
However, he has found it to be an adequate attention-grabber during the up-tempo practice sessions.
Stratton said he has been pleasantly surprised at the effort and athleticism of the Lady Eagles.
“We have some good athletes out this year,” Stratton said. “We’ve worked hard on some discipline stuff and some conditioning. I like what I’ve seen so far. They’re complaining, and that’s good. As long as they’re complaining, I know I’m doing my job getting them in shape and ready for the season.”
The new coach is not shy about sharing his big expectations for the 2005 campaign.
“I really do think we can have a great season,” said the first-year coach. “I honestly believe if we work hard and believe in each other, we could go undefeated. The sky’s the limit for our girls.”

Opinion

World can’t allow terror to say how people live

August 22, 2005

Terror is associated in the minds of many Americans with Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel, with other places of the Middle East contributing factors. Terrorists, however, know no boundaries, and they spread their mayhem and murder all around the world.
We know, of course, about the violence and death in all those places mentioned. We also are aware of terrorist activity in England, Italy, Spain, and Russia, not to mention Colombia, Bolivia and other South and Central American nations, as well as the Sudan and several other African nations.
Religion is, to be sure, the basis for some terrorism, but it’s not the sole reason for it. There are other things, like drugs, politics and a melange of other assassinations and bombings that add to the troubles of people just about everywhere.

TERROR COMES IN MANY colors and causes. It is intended to destabilize civilized living. Take Thailand, for example. South Carolinians who have traveled and lived there might not recognize it because of terrorists at work. Muslim radicals, which are in the minority, are steadily killing Buddhists who are in the majority. Targets, particularly, are teachers, police officers, monks and farm workers, the people who undergird civilized society.
Then, in Sri Lanka, terrorists assassinated that nation’s foreign minister who had been working against terrorist rebels. Not too long ago, the Sri Lankan president was badly wounded in an assassination attempt.
In Bangladesh, too, Islamic terrorists are active.

MANY LEADERS AROUND the world are almost always in harm’s way as terrorists seek to destabilize one nation after another. When anarchy reigns, of course, the breeding grounds for terror expand and radicals multiply in direct proportion to the upheavals that violence brings.
The terrorism in these and other places should convince even doubters that no nation is immune to the killing and maiming that plays no favorites. Radicals can and do strike anyone at any time in any place. They have no need for stability. In fact, stable societies are the antithesis of terrorists everywhere. If they cannot create distrust and dissention with their bombs and bullets, they fail. It’s everybody’s fight. The alternative is to let terrorists make us live the way they want, not the way we want.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
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Obituaries

Pearl Brown

WARE SHOALS — Mrs. Clara Pearl Pitts Brown, 85, of 3 East Katherine Street, widow of William Adger Brown died August 19, 2005 at her home.
Born in Laurens County she was a daughter of the late John Acy and Brucie Helen Kellett Pitts. She was a member of Ware Shoals First Presbyterian Church, the Ladies Bible Class of the Church and the Riegel Quarter Century Club.
Surviving are one son; Bruce O. Brown and his wife Judy of Anderson, two brothers; Leroy Pitts of Ware Shoals and John Pitts of St. Cloud, FL, three sisters; Ruth Allen, Frances Smith and Margaret Harris all of Ware Shoals, two grandchildren; Amy Stamper and her husband Thayer of Goldsboro, NC and Michael Brown and his wife Vanessa of Anderson, four great-grandchildren: Julia, Bailey, Madison and Avery Stamper of Goldsboro. She was predeceased by one brother; William Pitts and three sisters; Lizzie Medlin, Lucille Bray and Nettie Pitts.
Funeral services will be 2 PM Monday at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Wayne Wicker and Rev. Thayer Stamper officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends from 1-2 PM Monday at First Presbyterian Church. The family is at the home.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Rachel Dobbs

GREENWOOD — Rachel Enloe Banks Dobbs, 78, resident of 148 Valley Road, wife of R. Wayne Dobbs, died Saturday, August 20, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Winnsboro, she was a daughter of the late Charles N., Sr. and Daisy Hughes Enloe. She was a homemaker for more than 30 years and was previously employed with Park Seed and Monsanto.
Mrs. Dobbs was a member of Laurel Baptist Church and the Fellowship Sunday School Class of the church.
Surviving in addition to her husband of the home are two sons, Boyce M. Banks Jr. and J. Ron Banks, both of Greenwood; one step-son, Rick Dobbs of Lanett, AL; two step-daughters, Tanya D. Olson of Carson City, NV and Tammy Dobbs of Montgomery, AL; ten grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren.
She was first married to the late Boyce M. Banks, Sr. and was predeceased by a son, Richard N. Banks, Sr.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Todd Johnson, Rev. Chuck Sprouse and Rev. Fred Smith officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Robert Burdette along with grandsons, Jeff Banks, Brent Banks, Tony Banks, Steve Hamilton and Trey Ouzts.
Honorary escorts will be Deacons of Laurel Baptist Church along with Joe Coker, Curtis Roland and Merle Swindler.
The family is at the home in Spring Valley and will receive friends at Blyth Funeral Home from 7 to 9 Monday evening.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
For additional information please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
BLYTH FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES IS ASSISTING THE DOBBS FAMILY.
PAID OBITUARY