Police chief reinstated

Ninety Six’s Pat Dixon must apologize to councilman, family

August 23, 2005

By VIC MACDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

NINETY SIX — A jubilant crowd was rewarded for its patience in waiting out a three-hour closed meeting Monday night as town council authorized Mayor Tim Griffin to reinstate suspended police chief Pat Dixon.
Council emerged from behind closed doors to take public action on Dixon’s suspension.
After five tense minutes, in which lawyers for the town and Dixon discussed one of the stipulations for reinstatement — a public apology — the crowd erupted with cheers and applause as Dixon said, “I’ll accept that, Mister Mayor.”
Griffin said the council agreed that in accordance with town policies, he could decide Dixon’s fate. The stipulations for reinstatement announced by Griffin were: six months probation, immediate discharge if similar conduct happens in the future, a public apology to Councilman Steve Turner and Turner’s family through the appropriate media, a written reprimand from the town council and sensitivity training.
What Dixon would be apologizing for was not made clear. Dixon said previously that his unpaid suspension last month stemmed from a “personal vendetta” against him by a council member and “a remark I made.” He said previously that he had ticketed Turner’s son and daughter-in-law for an expired license tag.
Turner has declined comment.
As supporters mobbed Dixon for hugs and handshakes, he turned to shake hands with Turner and had a private moment with Griffin.
“I had a chance to tell my side of the story,” Dixon said of the marathon closed meeting waited out by about 200 people at The Depot. “Justice was served.”
“I’m glad they reinstated him,” 40-year town resident Gene Williams said of Dixon. “He’s a super good fella. He will do anything in his power to help you.”
Williams said he thought townspeople who waited out the decision were generally happy with the outcome. “Everybody stuck it out for Pat,” he said. “He’s actually one of the best chiefs we’ve ever had in Ninety Six.”
Dixon’s daughters, mother and brother waited out the meeting, which started at 5:30 p.m. and finished about 10. They sat on the front row of a makeshift council chambers in the former rail depot. Unlike an impromptu meeting there in July, when Dixon’s unpaid suspension was upheld by town council, this time there was air conditioning.
But as the closed-door wrangling dragged on, people were getting more and more impatient, especially when they were denied access to the public restroom by a town policeman. The restroom was near the room in which the council, Dixon and lawyers were meeting.
Eventually, Chinese food was brought in by some hungry townspeople.
“It’s about ridiculous,” 33-year town resident Jimmy Brock said during the wait. “From the crowd, anybody can see we’re interested in what’s going on.”

Terry Lee Baldwin

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Terry Lee Baldwin died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005 following a sudden illness.
Born in Evanston, Ill., he was a son of the late Furman and Betty Jean Patterson Baldwin Sr. He was educated in the public schools of Evenston, Ill., and was of the Baptist Faith.
Survivors include a brother, Furman Baldwin Jr. of Des Plaines; a sister, Sheila Bryant of Dothan, Ala.; and paternal grandmother, Pensacola Baldwin of McCormick, S.C.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick, S.C.

Edward James Haglund

GREENVILLE, SC — Edward James Haglund died Sunday, August 21, 2005, in Greenwood, SC, at the age of 92. He was born in Muskegon, ML, the son of Andrew and Cora Haglund. He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Greenwood and a resident of Wesley Commons. He retired from K-Mart Corpor-ation in 1979.
Mr. Haglund was preceded in death by his first wife, Margaret, two brothers, William and Jack Haglund, and a sister, Carolyn Jaqua. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Compton Hag-lund, his son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Helen Haglund of Salem, SC, two grand-daughters, Dr. Kimberley Haglund of Oakland, CA, Cathleen Haglund and her fiance, Andrew Collison, also of Oakland, CA., and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at Asbury Hall in Wesley Commons at 2:00PM on Saturday, August 27. Donations can be made to the Tamassee DAR School, P.O. Box 8, Tamassee, SC 29686, or to the charity of one’s choice.
Woodlawn Funeral Home, Greenville.
PAID OBITUARY

Sarah O. Milford

ABBEVILLE, SC — Sarah O. Milford, 88, of 708 Brook St. passed away on Monday, August 22, 2005 at the Hospice House of Greenwood. She was born in Abbeville to the late Edward W. and Ludie Sharpe Milford.
After many years of service Ms. Milford retired from Abbeville Shirtmakers, and was a dedicated member of the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church. She was preceded in death by her two step-sisters, Pearl S. Williams and Lillian S. Mann.
Ms. Milford is survived by her step-brother, James R. Scott of Abbeville, and many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 6:00PM to 8:00PM Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at Harris Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 2:00PM Wednesday at the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church with the Rev. Ray Massey officiating. Honorary Pallbearers will be her Sunday School Class, the Ever Ready Class. Burial will follow in Long Cane Cemetery. The family is at the home of Jack and Frieda Newell, 205 Ferry St., Abbeville.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to the Abbeville Pentecostal Holiness Church, 109 Barnett St., Abbeville, SC 29620 OR to the HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander St., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the Milford family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com
HARRIS FUNERAL HOME, of Abbeville is assisting the Milford family.
PAID OBITUARY

Still the best deal in town

For most part, ticket prices for high school football remain affordable

August 23, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

Football fans from Greenwood and the Lakelands area prepare to purchase tickets for the Greenwood Jamboree last Friday in front of the Greenwood High School ticket booth.

In today’s world, it is becoming tougher than ever for a family to go out and have an affordable evening of entertainment.
People in Greenwood and the Lakelands area can easily find something that fits their needs on Friday nights.
That’s because admission to most area high school football games is still reasonably priced at just $5 to $6.
This means a family of four can head out to stadiums in the area and see quality football action for $24 or less.
With movie tickets at area theaters priced more than $7 and the average price of a ticket to a Carolina Panthers game being $57.50, paying $6 or less to watch high school football at places such as Emerald, Abbeville, Ninety Six and Greenwood seems like a steal.
“High school football is great live entertainment,” said Mac Bryan, athletic director and football coach at Emerald, where football tickets cost $6.
“You’re right there at the field with a great view of the action. Plus, when you come support your favorite team, you’re giving back to the community. The money goes back into the football program and into other sports programs.”
Emerald’s ticket price is set because of league-wide decision in Region III-AA that took effect in 2004.
Abbeville athletic director Phillip Boyles spoke about the advantages of keeping ticket prices low.
“Well, if we keep it at $5, then we don’t have to make change as much,” Boyles said, jokingly.
“But seriously, it’s important to us that we get the families out here and give them an affordable night of fun. In a small community such as ours, we want the kids to be able to come out and watch the games. Hopefully, we’ll make an impact on them and they’ll want to come out and play for the team when they get older.”
Greenwood athletic secretary Debbie Miller gave the same initial reasoning as Boyles as to why ticket prices to Eagles games remain $5.
“Our poor box-office workers would be worked to death dealing with all those ones,” said Miller, with a laugh. “It would be nice to have that extra dollar, but the lines would be tremendous!” Boyles said the home team usually keeps the gate proceeds of a game, unless there is some prior agreement.
During the playoffs, the South Carolina High School League takes a percentage of the gate, and the two participating teams split the rest.
With sky-rocketing prices of gas and inflation within the economy, schools may soon be forced to raise prices by a dollar. Ware Shoals has already done so.
“We took it to the school board last week and they approved it,” Ware Shoals athletic director Vic Lollis said. “With gas prices and equipment prices rising like they are, we felt we had to do it. We were at $5 for over seven years, and now we’ll be at $6. A couple of people said something about it at the jamboree last weekend, but for the most part the fans have been understanding about it.”
Lollis said the school participates in activities geared around bolstering fan support and morale. One such idea Ware Shoals is implementing is pre-game tailgate parties, which will take place on the front lawn of the school before games this season. The team will also have Elementary School Night, on which elementary school children can receive discount tickets.
According to Lollis, events like these are important at Ware Shoals, where gate receipts from football fund nearly the entire athletic program.
“Football money helps fund all the other sports,” Lollis said. “We’ve had good teams the last few years so it’s not like our attendance can go up much more. By raising the football price by just a dollar, we can raise revenues for our entire sports program.”
It’s a sentiment shared whole-heartedly by Bryan.
“Football attendance funds the whole thing, really,” said Bryan, who is in his first season with the Vikings. “It’s not a slight against any other sport. It’s just the way things are. That’s why we need fans of all Vikings sports to come out and support the football team this fall.”
Art Mann, athletic director and football coach at McCormick, where ticket prices for football are still $5, said high school football becomes an even bigger source of family entertainment in rural communities.
“In a small community such as this one, it’s the only thing to do on Friday night,” said Mann, who is in his second year at McCormick. “I’ve experienced it at Saluda, Strom Thurmond and now here. I think it’s great for families with young kids to be able to come out and enjoy the game of football in a safe atmosphere.”
At Saluda, where tickets are $6 under the Region III-AA guidelines, coach Wayne Bell said he appreciates the communal nature fans experience at high school football games.
“People come to our games who work together, go to church together and so on,” Bell said. “I think at $6 a piece we provide people very affordable and entertaining night out. More than anything, though, winning brings people out.”

Funeral comments carry couple of lessons for all

August 23, 2005

When delivering the eulogy at the funeral of former U. S. Rep. W. J. Bryan Dorn, at Greenwood’s First Baptist Church, former South Carolina Gov. Richard Riley noted a big change in American politics. It’s much different now than it was when Rep. Dorn made service the name of the game, he said.
However, Riley, who also served as U. S. Secretary of Education, also said he’s not sure politics has changed for the better. He alluded to the anger that permeates the national political scene and the meanspiritedness of politics in general.
He was right on the mark, too. Politics has taken a nose dive into the gutter in more recent times. No political party is free of the debilitating sickness, either.

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS alike, with a few others thrown in, have taken hurtful rhetoric to a new level.
It could be said that it is confined to national politics, but that would be wrong. Unfortunately, it’s a factor in South Carolina, too.
One thing seems obvious, though. People in general, regardless of party affiliation, have grown increasingly outraged at the practice. They’re getting to the point where they want to hear what’s right with one side, not what’s wrong with the other.
Politicians, most of the time, or their advisors, keep up with the attitudes of the voters. If they’re smart, they’ll all try tuning in a little more and turning them off a little less. More people-friendly political parties would be appreciated, no doubt about it;

* * * * *

The Rev. Dr. Tony Hopkins, pastor of First Baptist Church, also made a comment about Bryan Dorn that speaks to a subject often in the news these days.
Considering the First Amendment to the Constitution and the separation of church and state, along with the strong faith and the love of politics of Rep. Dorn, how did he balance it all? Dr. Hopkins put all of it in a perspective everyone can understand ….. and appreciate ….. maybe.
Bryan Dorn didn’t use one to benefit the other. In other words, he managed to practice them both while keeping them separate. And, he did both with grace and integrity. It’s a lesson that somehow escapes a lot of people.
Still, he lived his religious principles while practicing politics. That, perhaps, is an even harder lesson to learn.