Failed switch leaves 791 in Greenwood in dark

February 15, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

Crews with the Commissioners of Public Works labored in the rain Monday to restore power to nearly 800 customers who were without service in Greenwood.
CPW General Manager Steve Reeves said an insulator on a switch failed and a crew replaced it.
There were two affected circuits — one on the northeast side of Phoenix Street that left 317 customers without power for about 30 minutes and the other left 474 customers in the downtown Greenwood area without power for about 20 minutes, Reeves said.
Area business owners who were without power coped the best way they knew how.
At H.H. Turner Jewelers, owner Chip Turner improvised by using a flashlight to shine on jewelry as customers shopped.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said, “The power was out for about 15 minutes.”
“The power was out about 30 minutes,” said April Bowick, an events coordinator for Inn on the Square. “The computers messed up and we couldn’t receive or make phone calls.”
Bowick said a few guests inquired about the outage, but most didn’t really seem fazed by it.
Bank of America was without power two times, said teller Jackie Mobley.
“All of the computers were out. We were without power for five minutes and then they were back on and then out again for 15 minutes,” she said.
The bank manager had to lock the door since all of the bank’s lights were out.
“Some customers were let in one at a time and we had to do the transactions manually,” Mobley said.
Along Seaboard Avenue an in-line switch burned, Reeves said.
The switch enables the company to transfer power from one line to another. The power can either be shut on or off through the switch.
Two crews worked simultaneously on lines where Seaboard Avenue and Pressley Street intersect. Smoke could be seen billowing from an area where a line fell onto the railroad crossing. The smoke disappeared shortly, and no one was injured.

Shavonne Potts covers general assignments in Greenwood and the Lakelands. She can be reached at 223-1811, ext. 3306, or: spotts@indexjournal.com.

Eugene Etheredge

SALUDA — Eugene Etheredge, 78, of 508 E. Butler Ave., died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005 at Saluda Nursing Center.
Born in Saluda County, he was a son of the late Ned and Sallie Abney Etheredge. He was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Lawrence Etheredge of Tampa, Fla., and Larry Etheredge of High Point, N.C.; a daughter, Betty Ann Etheredge of Goldsboro, N.C.; 18 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Wednesday at Bethlehem Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Calvin Robinson, pastor, with the Rev. Quincinia Davis assisting. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews.
Flower bearers are nieces.
The family is at the home of a daughter-in-law, Nella Etheredge, 106 East End Drive, Saluda.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home is in charge.

Doris H. Hicks

Doris Virginia Higginbotham Hicks, 75, of 1408 E. Cambridge Ave., widow of Arthur Griffin Hicks, died Monday, Feb. 14, 2005 at the National Health Care Center in Greenwood.
Born in Stevens County, Ga., she was a daughter of the late George Washington and Pearl Bailey Higginbotham. She retired from Oxford Industries and was active in city league and Oxford softball. She was a member of Crossroads Baptist Church, Hartwell, Ga.
Survivors include a daughter, Deborah Lucas of Hartsville; a sister, Sarah Ertzberger of Hartwell; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday at Harley Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Michael Lewellyn.
Burial is in Crossroads Baptist Church Cemetery, conducted by the Rev. Ben Coleman.
Pallbearers are John Timmerman, Griffin Fender, Michael Guest, Jamie Grubbs, Tom Fender, Jeff Hanley and Jon Lucas.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to the Greenwood Humane Society, P.O. Box 242, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Hoyt E. Morris

NORWAY — Hoyt E. Morris, 89, of 498 Judyville Road, widower of Margaret Bowers Morris, died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005 at the Bamberg Hospital.
Born in Newberry, he was a son of the late B. Joe and Mary Cotney Morris. He was a retired employee of Joanna Mills and a member of Colony Lutheran Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Betty Jean Brunson of Norway; two sons, Max E. Morris of Myrtle Beach and James R. Morris of Leavenworth, Kansas; a sister, Azilee Smith of Newberry; a brother, Joe E. Morris of Columbia; 13 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday at Whitaker Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Jerry Trantham. Burial is in Colony Lutheran Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers are Wayne Brock, Michael Morris, Randy Brunson, Robbie Rivers, Curtis Bowers Jr., Johnny Bowers and James Osborne.
Honorary pallbearers are David Osborne, Kenny Osborne and Chad Brunson.
Visitation is 5-7 tonight at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Colony Lutheran Church, 48 Colony Church Road, Newberry, SC 29108.
Whitaker Funeral Home, Newberry, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at notes@whitakerfuneralhome.com

Gene D. Redden

Gene Davis Redden, 76, of 208 Jebosha Drive, died Monday, Feb. 14, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Ware Shoals, he was a son of the late Davis and Inez Taylor Redden. He retired from Greenwood Mills, Harris Plant, where he was a member of the Quarter Century Club.
Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. George David (Linnie) Bell of Joanna, Lillie Nichols and Sandy McAlister, both of Greenwood; four sons, Tommy Redden of Ware Shoals, Robbie Gene Redden of Waterloo, Mike McKelley and Phil McKelley, both of Greenwood; a sister, Cynthia Webber of Spartanburg; a brother, Jimmy Redden of Greenwood; 12 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Harley Funeral Home.
Family members are at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

James E. Turner

GREENWOOD – James Ellis Turner, 86, of 161 Pin Oak Drive, widower of Ruby Walker Turner, died Sunday, February 13, 2005 at Lau-rens County Hospital.
Born in Lincolnton, GA, he was the son of the late Gideon Heard and Mary Jessie Brown Turner. He was retired from Greenwood Mills, Durst Plant and was a US Navy veteran of World War II. He was a member of Harris Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Ella Mae Brown.
Surviving are two daughters and sons-in-law, Darlene & Watson Goldman of Greenwood and Marilyn & Jimmy Campbell of Honea Path; three grandchildren, Candace Lynn Goldman of Greenwood, Deborah Renee Campbell and Angela Joy Campbell, both of Honea Path; a step granddaughter, Nancy Carol Jepson of Greenville; a step great grandson, D. J. Price of Greenville and a special friend, Sara Carroll.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Marvin Dangerfield and the Rev. E. Howard Steen officiating. Burial, with military rites, will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Tommy Pruitt, Bobby McCraw, Ronnie Goard, Dewey Sprouse, Jerry Sprouse and Jamey Hardick.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
The family is at the home of his daughter, Darlene Goldman, 221 Kingston Road.
PAID OBITUARY

Joshua Young

TROY — Joshua Lee Young, 6, of Route 1, Box 63-A, Eden Hall Road, son of James A. “Jamie” and Christine Parsons Young, died Monday, Feb. 14, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, he attended Lower Long Cane A.R.P. Church in Troy.
Survivors include his parents of the home; a brother, James Travis Young of the home; maternal grandmother, Patricia Ann Parsons of McCormick; paternal grandfather, James T. “Bud” Young of Troy; paternal step-grandfather, Ricky Edmunds of McCormick; maternal great-grandmother, Mildred DeFoe of Mobile, Ala.
Services are 2 p.m. Wednesday at Lower Long Cane A.R.P. Church, conducted by the Revs. Mike Horne and George Boyd. Burial is in Troy Cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 1.
Pallbearers are his uncles and cousin, Steven Parsons, Johnny McGaha, Dwayne Scott and Robert Young.
Honorary escorts are elders and deacons of the church.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646, The Ronald McDonald House, 706 Grove Road, Greenville, SC 29605, Greenville PHOC Group, 900 W. Farris Road, Greenville, SC 29605 or to www.caringbridge.org
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Final phase set to begin

Area teams make push toward state championship

February 15, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

As spring draws near, eight high schools from Greenwood and the Lakelands area can indulge in a little more winter fun.
Fourteen boys and girls basketball teams will suit up for the first round of the 2005 state playoffs today and Wednesday.
Calhoun Falls leads a pack of six Lakelands high schools that will have both its boys and girls teams participating in postseason play.
The girls open action today, while the boys kick off the first round Wednesday.
Along with the two Calhoun Falls teams, the boys and girls squads from fellow-Region I-A rivals McCormick and Ware Shoals and Class AA Emerald, Abbeville and Saluda will join the Dixie and Ninety Six girls teams in the first round.
The Lady Blue Flashes play host to Whitmire at 7 tonight. At the same time, Emerald plays host to Keenan, while Ware Shoals travels to Southside Christian, Dixie heads to defending Class A Upper State champion Christ Church, Saluda goes to Swansea, Abbeville visits Broome and the Lady Wildcats play at defending AA state champion Columbia.
The McCormick girls play host to Landrum at 6 p.m.
The Calhoun Falls, Emerald and Abbeville boys teams are all at home Wednesday. The Flashes have Blacksburg, while the Vikings and the Panthers take on C.A. Johnson and Woodruff, respectively.
McCormick, Ware Shoals and Saluda are all on the road Wednesday in the first round. The Chiefs travel to Christ Church, while the Hornets and the Tigers head to Jonesville and Columbia, respectively.
Calhoun Falls High School matched its football success, of reaching the Class A state title game, when for the first time in more than 10 years its two basketball teams won Region I-A titles in the same year.
And both Flashes teams had to hurdle coaching obstacles to earn their successful seasons.
The Flashes gave head coach John-Mark Scruggs his first region title in his first year.
The Lady Flashes worked through the mid-season resignation of their coach Marcia Wideman to claim its first region title since 1992 by going a perfect 12-0 in Region I-A play.
“We are really excited here about our basketball programs,” Calhoun Falls athletic director and interim girls coach Eddie Roberts said. “The girls did a great job of overcoming some adversity. It speaks highly of their character that they were able to persevere. At the same time, the boys have played very well all year long.
“It’s been an exciting time here at Calhoun Falls.”
Junior Ki-Key Norman has been driving force for the Lady Flashes undefeated region run. The all-state forward is averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game this season.
Norman has put up 31, 30, 26 and 26 points over the last four games.
While it has been more than a decade since the two Calhoun Falls teams accomplished its feat, Dixie girls coach Steve Ravan said that’s about the same time the Lady Hornets were last in the playoffs.
“The first step was a big one for us,” Ravan said. “We’ve already achieved two of our preseason goals: finish with a winning record and make the playoffs.
“Deep down the girls are excited and proud of what they’ve accomplished.”
Juniors Melinda Canfield and Jasmine Smith, who averaged keyed this year’s Dixie team to a 7-5 finish in Region I-A play, averaging 15 and 10 points, respectively.
But Ravan said that junior Stephanie Lowe has come up big at the close of the season. Lowe averaged 12 points a game over the Lady Hornets final three games.
Like the Dixie girls, the Ware Shoals boys and girls have spent some time apart from postseason play.
The Hornets, led by second-year coach Billy Traynham, and the Lady Hornets and first-year coach Kem Gambrell, the team’s third coach in three years, are making their first playoff appearance since 2002.

How long will nominees go on before saying ‘no’?

February 15, 2005

There are those in and around politics who have a tendency sometimes, as the old saying goes, to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Or, another way of saying the same thing is “throwing out the baby with the bath water.” That seems to be happening more than ever these days.
Many South Carolinians will remember when this modern day exercise in character assassination began. They remember South Carolina Judge Clement Haynsworth well, and the verbal bashing he underwent because of politics pure and simple.
For those who don’t remember, Judge Haynsworth was nominated to the U. S. Supreme Court by then President Richard Nixon. Haynsworth was a most capable judge and would have been an outstanding member of the Supreme Court. It was never to be, however.

IN THE SCREENING PROCESS in the U. S. Senate, Haynsworth fell victim to partisan politics that was more a negative reflection on those who targeted the judge than the judge. It was more about Nixon than Haynsworth, but Haynsworth paid the price. After all the demonizing, Haynsworth was defeated by a Democratic Senate.
Judge Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court took much the same battering. In fact after his political crucifixion (he was a conservative, nominated by a Republican President Ronald Reagan), his name became a verb ….. as in “someone was Borked.”
The advise and consent responsibilities of the Senate thereafter turned into a process used for political battering instead of what it was intended to be.
That was obvious more recently when Senate committees “examined” Condoleezza Rice as nominee for secretary of state and Judge Alberto Gonzales for attorney general.

BOTH WERE EVENTUALLY approved, of course, but not before they were subjected to harsh political rhetoric that demonstrated once again how the process has spiraled downward.
We may not have seen anything yet. The sad part is the Rice/Gonzales brouhahas just may have been the good news. Look for the bad news part when President Bush nominates other candidates to the Supreme Court, which is sure to come in the not too distant future. Whoever might be nominated can expect the worse.
All of this, of course, has to have serious ramifications. With candidates undergoing such brutal treatment, how long will it be before no good candidate will even consider serving.
That’s something everyone should take to heart ….. regardless of political affiliation.