Lake Greenwood ‘heroes’ pull man from water



August 7, 2005
By GREG DEAL
Index-Journal managing editor


Several weekend boaters were called “heroes” Saturday after they dived into a wind-whipped Lake Greenwood and helped pull a seriously injured man to the shore.
The man, whose identity was not released by press time, had been ejected from his fishing boat by choppy waves fueled by a storm front that moved over the lake in the afternoon, officials said.
Several witnesses said they saw a “splash” in the water about 200 yards from Dock C, near the bridge at the Greenwood and Laurens county line.
The boat then began to spin, and the man was “seriously injured” by the propeller, S.C. Department of Natural Resources officer Travis Dudley said.
A helicopter landed near the dock about 6:30 p.m. and airlifted the man to Greenville Memorial Hospital. Because of patient privacy laws, his condition was not available.
Jerry Buice, who has a house at the lake, was preparing to take his sons and a friend out in a fishing boat when Hunter Buice, 7, saw a “big splash” in the water. Hunter’s friend, Brandon Brown, 12, also saw the splash and the circling boat.
Jerry Buice used his boat as a wedge to keep the unmanned craft from continuing to do damage, and then son Jeremy Buice, 20, jumped onto the injured man’s boat and stabilized it by putting it in neutral.
When no one is at the controls of a boat, it often circles, a DNR official said. That can be dangerous for someone who is in the water near that boat.
Randy Sinclair and Mica Massey, both of Union, joined the rescue efforts after Sinclair said he realized this wasn’t a case of someone doing circles and having fun. When the two saw the man in the water, they dived off their boat.
“I just grabbed him and saw that he was cut near his stomach,” said Massey, who is a lifeguard at the Union County YMCA. “I just held him.”
Danny Ponder, of Spartanburg, said he was coming under the bridge in his pontoon boat when he saw a boat “circling” in the water and knew something was wrong.
It was rope from his boat that was used to secure the injured man and keep him from going under while he was being pulled to the dock.
“It was all we could do to hold him up,” Ponder said. He said the wind made the rescue attempt difficult.
Ponder’s wife, Gina, called 911.
EMS workers attended to the man in an ambulance until a medical helicopter arrived.
Travis Davis, of Pelzer, was out of breath after helping pull the injured man to the shore.
“I’m about to have a heart attack,” he said as he sat on a picnic table near the dock.
Davis said life jackets and buoys were used, along with the rope, in the rescue.
Several witnesses praised the efforts of Davis and the Buices — particularly Jeremy, who was lauded for making the risky leap onto the out-of-control boat.
“They’re heroes,” Dudley said as he looked in the direction of those who assisted in the rescue.
Rhiannon and the Popsicle Factory

Abbeville girl’s dessert to tempt the world’s taste buds


August 7, 2005
By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer


Rhiannon Todd says she thinks she’s found her calling.
She wants to be a flavorologist when she grows up, and the 10-year-old is off to a good start.
The Abbeville native has been chosen as one of 10 grand-prize winners in the Nestle “Flavorologist For A Day” contest. The contest asked youths to create new flavors for the 100th anniversary of the frozen Popsicle.
Todd’s concoction is the Caramel Apple Carnival Pop and, as a winning entry, should hit stores in about six months. Todd designed the pop to be green, with apple flavoring on the outside and caramel swirl flavoring on the inside. She said she brainstormed for hours to come up with the flavor after having stumbled across the contest while surfing the Internet.
“I was up until 3 in the morning thinking about what flavors I could try,” she said.
Among her other creations were flavors such as butter popcorn, cotton candy and berry sno-cone.
Caramel apple, however, turned out to be the winner.
Todd said she often experiments with flavors and foods at home, mixing things or adding toppings in whatever combination she thinks might be tasty. She once even tried putting grape jelly in her grits, she said.
Todd said that maybe someday she will work for Nestle, putting her creative culinary abilities to good use.
In addition to having her idea turned into reality and sold on supermarket shelves around the world, Todd will receive: a one-year supply of Nestle Ice Cream Frozen Snacks; an ice cream party for her school; a $1,000 U.S. savings bond; and an all-expenses paid trip for four to visit the Nestle Ice Cream Factory in Bakersfield, Calif., where she will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the flavor lab.
Todd said she hasn’t decided exactly who will be accompanying her to the Nestle factory, but said she definitely will be taking mother Lorrie Walters.
Todd said she isn’t sure exactly what the Nestle factory will be like, but she does have some high hopes.
“It’d be really great if it was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” she said. “I always wanted to go to that place.”

Edmonds ‘Eddie’ Martin
VALE, N.C. — Edmonds “Eddie” Bishop Martin, 35, of Spike Lane, passed away Friday August 5, 2005 at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory.
Born July 20, 1970 in Ogden, Utah, he was the son of Larry and Dayna Bernardette Edmonds Martin. He served over 15 years in the L.P. Division of J.B. White/Belk Dept. Stores. He attended Living Word Church and formerly Forest Drive Baptist Church in Columbia.
He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Peggy Edmonds and grandfather, Arthur Martin.
Survivors include his wife: Stefanie B. Martin of the home; 1 son: Ethan Martin of the home; 1 brother: Artie Martin of Columbia, SC; 1 sister: Larrysa Martin of Spartanburg, SC; Grandfather: Bernard Edmonds of Columbia, SC; Grandmother: Frohnie Martin of Wisconsin.
A funeral service will be held on Monday, August 8, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at Living Word in Maiden with the Rev. Michael Ainsworth and the Rev. Brian Thomas officiating.
A graveside service will be held Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Columbia, SC.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 7, 2005 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Living Word in Maiden.
Memorial checks to: Pershing FBO Ethan Martin, Attn: Dianne P. Odom, One Harbinson Way Ste. 222, Columbia, SC 29212-3422.
Visit www.burkemortuary.com to share your condolences on-line.
Burkey Mortuary in Maiden is serving the Martin Family.
PAID OBITUARY


CORRECTION
In the obituary for Polly Wright, published Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005, incorrect information was provided to The Index-Journal. Survivors also include a sister, Myrtle W. Smith, of Greenwood.

Observations ... and other reflections
August 7, 2005
Property tax relief for South Carolinians? It’s something lawmakers have talked about for years. They’re talking again.
There are several ideas under discussion by a state Senate subcommittee looking into ways to keep property owners from being overwhelmed by rapidly rising taxes. It’s a problem for property owners all over the state, to be sure. Those along the coast, though, have been hit so hard it’s hard for the rest of us to even imagine.
Relief is needed, no question about it. Maybe some kind of solution will be found to the property tax puzzle. One thing’s for sure, though. If we continue expecting government to be all things to all people, somebody’s got to pay ….. one way or another.

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Judge John Roberts, U. S. Supreme Court nominee, has been praised and criticized, depending on who was doing the talking. There has been a lot of effort trying to determine his legal philosophy.
What should be the issue is not what he believes about abortion, civil rights, or anything else. What’s important is what he believes the role of a Supreme Court justice should be.
He answered that, too, although there will be those who purposely choose not to notice. He said flatly that judges must recognize that their role is “not to solve society’s problems.” It’s to interpret the law and let the chips fall where they may.
How much clearer can he be?

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The University of South Carolina athletic department has revised its drug-testing policy. It now gives athletes who test positive for “recreational” drugs, alcohol and anabolic steroids more chances to remain on their teams.
That’s a step backward. Athletes are role models for younger South Carolinians. They should set the proper example. Use of illegal drugs, in any form, doesn’t do that.
What the revised policy says is that using drugs is not all that serious ….. for a while. It all but invites taking a chance.