Abbeville Nursing Home garners patriotic award

December 1, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

ABBEVILLE — It’s not every day that a nursing home receives an award from the U.S. Department of Defense.
This week, Abbeville Nursing Home did just that.
The facility and its administrator were nominated for the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s Patriotic Employer certificate by an employee who was called up for duty overseas.
Matthew Scruggs, 29, has worked at the nursing home for about two years, serving as a nursing assistant and a LPN as he works his way through nursing college.
In September, Scruggs, a specialist in the National Guard, received active orders for duty, forcing him to leave his job in Abbeville and eventually landing him in Kuwait, said mother Cheryl Scruggs.
Cheryl Scruggs said her son nominated Alan Hughes, administrator at Abbeville Nursing Home, and the facility because Matthew was grateful for the facility’s efforts to support his schedule as he worked his way through college and for its pledge to hold his job until he returns from duty.
“He wanted to do something nice for them,” Cheryl Scruggs said.
“My boss deserves an award because of his strong support for the military and his willingness to support me due to my leave of absence … With the short notice I had to give, he helped me by giving me the time off that I need,” Matthew wrote in his nomination letter.
Hughes said he wasn’t aware he had even been nominated until Cheryl contacted him earlier this week to tell him that the award had arrived in the mail.
“I was shocked,” he said, though he added that others at the facility, including assistant administrator Cecile McFarland, who counseled Matthew about renewing his nursing license during his deployment, also deserved credit for the award. “We tried to partner with him (Matthew) and assist him in whatever way to support his efforts and his responsibilities.”
Hughes, who described Matthew as a “very compassionate, very caring” employee, said Matthew’s job is secure while he is away.
“He has a job when he returns,” he said. “That’s a commitment we made, and we await his return.”
Hughes said he plans to have the certificate framed and copies placed in locations where all of the nursing home’s employees can view them.
Though Matthew doesn’t yet know that his employers were selected to receive the award, Cheryl Scruggs said she plans to tell him the next time she and Matthew speak.
“He’ll be surprised,” she said, laughing.

Family enjoys holiday roadtrip

Sauls traveled with Falcons to Detroit for Thanksgiving Day game

December 1, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

An NFL Thanksgiving tradition now has connections with Greenwood.
The Saul family, which consists of Dr. Robert Saul, wife Jan and son Ben, traveled to Detroit for the Detroit Lions-Atlanta Falcons football game. The Lions play on Thanksgiving annually, though their Turkey Day opponent varies.
The Sauls are Falcons season ticket holders, and attend every home game. For the last two years, they have also participated in a special event organized by the team.
The Falcons arrange flyaway trips for fans, where they can fly to an away game on the team’s charter plane, stay in the team hotel, watch warm-ups from the sidelines, and sit in lower deck seats during the game.
The Sauls took the trip to Tampa Bay in 2004.
“We thought last year was a once in a lifetime event,” Robert said. “But then when we heard about the big Thanksgiving game in Detroit we decided to do it one more time.”
On Nov. 23, the day before the game, the family arrived at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta and proceeded to a special designated parking lot. They were shuttled by bus to the Falcons’ charter jet, where they filed in before the players.
When the team boarded the plane, the players and coaches walked directly through the Sauls’ section.
“Some of my friend’s wanted me to get autographs,” Ben said. “But we weren’t allowed to get them on the plane. It was cool to see the players go right past us, though.”
When they arrived in Detroit the temperature was five degrees below zero with the wind chill. Luckily, the family and the team were shuttled directly to their hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, in a suburb outside the city with little outdoor interaction.
That night, the Sauls had dinner at Kiernan’s Steak House with members of the Falcons staff, including general manager Rich McKay and executive vice president Ray Anderson.
“(Anderson) is a very, very nice man,” Jan said.
Robert said he thought Ford Field, where the Lions play, was a tremendous facility. However, Ben didn’t think much of Detroit fans.
“They weren’t nearly as loud as the fans in the Georgia Dome,” said Ben, a student at Emerald, of the crowd of 62,500 at the Thanksgiving game. “In the fourth quarter, there were only about 5,000 fans left, and many of those were Falcons fans.”
Ben did concede the reason so many Lions fans left was probably because the Falcons were hammering the home team 27-7.
Both Ben and Robert commented on the quirky nature of the on-field atmosphere before an NFL game. From the sidelines, the father and son remarked they could hear players joking around and being jovial with one another. The laid back nature of the pre-game stands in stark contrast to the violent and precise environment of the contest itself.
The family got another thrill on the field before the game. They were standing just feet away from Falcons owner Arthur Blanks and chairman of Ford Motors, Henry Ford.
During the game, a man approached Ben and Robert and told them Archie Manning and his wife, along with Peyton Manning’s wife, had been sitting in the Saul’s 50-yard line seats last Thanksgiving for the Colts-Lions game.
“We figured the Lions must provide that particular section of seats to the visiting team to distribute,” Ben said. “It was interesting.”
Being part of the team charter, the Saul’s were bussed to the airport directly after the game, where the Falcons players and coaches met them after they were done with all their media and post-game obligations.
“We left the stadium at 3:30, lifted off at 6 and were back in Atlanta by 8,” Robert said. “When we got back to Atlanta we got a room for the night because we were whipped.”
The family is, obviously, fanatical about the Falcons. In their home they have a virtual Falcons museum, including numerous helmets, jerseys, photos and other memorabilia signed by various falcons such as Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn. They even have a Falcons soda vending machine in their game room.
“We’ve made a whole year out of it,” Robert said. “We went to the Fox Theater in Atlanta in the spring and watched a premiere of the team video yearbook on the big screen. Then we went to several practices they had before they headed to the preseason Tokyo Bowl. And of course we’ve got the season tickets.

“We love the Falcons.” Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

Opinion

Why should Saddam have a fair or any kind of trial?

December 1, 2005

One phrase fits the wacky doings in the trial of former dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq. That is “Theater of the Absurd.” The entire episode is simply outrageous.
As the trial continues, Saddam is acting as if he’s still the Butcher of Baghdad, complete with absolute power. The blood – innocent blood – continues to flow and he’s mouthing off at the authorities who are bending over backwards to be fair.
The trial, in itself, is out of place. There should be no fairness for a man who doesn’t know the meaning of the word and who has made fear and killing into an Iraqi science. Just Monday Saddam arrogantly lashed out at his treatment by what he calls American “occupiers and invaders.” He also lectured the chief judge about leadership.

THERE IS NO DEFENSE against the truth for Saddam. He’s guilty of the worst kinds of human rights violations and “ethnic cleansing.” He should not even be allowed to have a fair trial. In fact, the opinion of one Greenwood man is probably illustrative of a lot of South Carolinians, not to mention people all over. His view is that Saddam should have been shot when they found him in his rat hole. It would, he says, have saved a lot of time and effort had Saddam been “eliminated” when he was captured. And, he said, it’s not too late to do just that.
That’s not the only opinion noted, either. Shiite politicians are complaining that the court is trying too hard to accommodate the ousted dictator who, they say, should have already been convicted and executed.

THEY’RE RIGHT, NO question about it. There are no grounds for leniency of any kind for this hateful and hated mass murderer of innocent people ….. even some in his own family.
Stop the histrionics. Stop trying to pacify the critics. Saddam has already been given more consideration than he deserves. Make him watch the gallows being built …… then use it.
If that sounds blood-thirsty, so be it. That’s what a blood-thirsty assassin deserves. The biblical notion of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth couldn’t be more fitting where Saddam Hussein is concerned.

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

Obituaries

Sonny Cullens

SALUDA — Carl E. “Sonny” Cullens, Jr., 69, of 507 Andrew Coleman Road, Saluda, died Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at his home.
Born in Wrightsville, GA, he was a son of the late Carl E. Cullens, Sr. and Lennie G. Veal Cullens. He was formerly employed with Ballentine Ford and retired from Dorn’s Siding & Gutters. He was a US Air Force veteran of the Korean Conflict and was a member of Emory United Methodist Church in Saluda.
He was preceded in death by a son, Carl Edward Cullens, III.
Surviving are two daughters, Carla Edwards of Saluda and Barbara Ann Lewis of Waterloo; a sister, Jean Rambo of Greenwood; two brothers, Wayne Cullens and Albert Cullens, both of Greenwood and six grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Joyce Murphy and the Rev. Larry Smith officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Bill Rambo, Joe Rambo, Kevin Cullens, John Lodge, Doug Cullens, Casey Hallman and Truman Lake. Honorary escort will be Michael Blackmon, Jamie Blackmon, William Rushton and Jason Dilleshaw.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to the Sonny Cullens fund, c/o Harley Funeral Home, PO Box 777, Greenwood, SC 29648 or to Hospice Care of South Carolina, 404 Batesburg Highway, Saluda, SC 29138.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Bill Hazel

GREENWOOD — William R. Hazel, 81, widower of Virginia Rodgers Hazel, died Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at Trinity Mission Health & Rehabilitation Center, Edgefield.
Born in Edgefield, he was a son of Ruth Timmerman. He was retired from Yeargin Construction and was a US Army veteran of World War II. He was a member of Emerald Baptist Church.
Surviving are nieces, Christine Holmes of Greenwood and Beverly Worthington of Centerville, AL; and great nieces, Allyson Johnson and Michelle Yingling, both of Greenwood and Heather Duncan of Centerville, AL.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Curt Eidson officiating. The family members are at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made to Emerald Baptist Church, 110 E. Laurel Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Blanche McKee

ADVANCE, N.C. — Blanche Mooring McKee, 93, widow of Robert P. McKee, died Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005 at Vienna Village.
Born in Pitt County, she was a daughter of the late James S. and Lizzie Mayo Mooring. She was a first grade teacher for more than 30 years and a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Agnes M. Venable of Advance; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 3 p.m. Friday at Greenville Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Donalds, S.C., conducted by the Rev. George Wilson.
Memorials may be made to Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27605.
Announcement courtesy of The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, S.C.

Earl Herbert Monroe

NINETY SIX — Earl Herbert “Uncle Earl” Monroe, 56, of 3502 Highway 246 S., died Sunday, Nov. 27, 2005 at the VA Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of James Monroe and the late Catherine Carroll Monroe. He was a 1967 Edgewood High School graduate and a self-employed painter. Joining the Marine Corps in 1968, he served for four years including two years during the Vietnam War.
Survivors include his father of Ninety Six; a daughter, Mrs. Randall (Trixie) Williams of Augusta, Ga.; five sisters, Mrs. Earl (Carolyn) Warren, Betty Hill and Eula Hill Thompkins, all of Greenwood, Marilyn M. Martin and Barbara M. Williams, both of Ninety Six; two brothers, James Henry Monroe of Columbia and Sammy Hill of Greenwood; and three grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Friday at Mount Tabor Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Ulysses Parks, assisted by the Revs. Thomas Duncan and Bruce Norman. The body will be placed in the church at 10. Burial with military rites is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are John Belien, Jimmy Hill, Eddie Harris, Carl Thompson, Tony Mathis and Alexander Bland.
Flower bearers are Tonya Hart, Wanda Logan, Bessie Griffen, Emma Nicholson and Jo Ann Callaham.
Honorary escorts are members of Edgewood High School Class of 1967.
Visitation is 7-8 tonight at Parks Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of a sister Barbara Williams, 3502 Highway 246 S.
Parks Funeral Home, Greenwood, is in charge.