New sheriff, new command

Wideman picks veterans to fight county crime

February 5, 2005

By WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal senior staff writer

Dan Wideman didn’t have to look far to find most of his command staff, but Mike Frederick might have blown the curve.
Combined, most members of the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office new command staff have almost a century of experience with the department. Wideman, elected sheriff in November, promoted many officers from within to fill most of these positions.
When Wideman offered the job of chief deputy to Frederick, though, he had to do so over the telephone in a call to Russia.
Frederick spent most of his 18 years in law enforcement as a police officer in Georgetown. A few months after Sept. 11, 2001, he opted for service as an intelligence operative with a federal counter-terrorism taskforce.
Joining Frederick are Maj. Phillip Anderson as the Detention Center’s new administrator, the sheriff’s Executive Assistant Donna Knight, Uniform Patrol commander Maj. Lonnie Smith and Maj. J.C. “Tic” Greer, commander of administration and support services.
Knight and Greer have been with the sheriff’s office for 27 years, while Smith and Anderson have been deputies for 23 and 15 years, respectively.
Today marks Frederick’s 35th day with the county.
Replacing departmental command is just the beginning of Wideman’s restructuring of the Sheriff’s Office. The Narcotics Unit has already been revamped to handle vice, illegal drug trade and organized crime.
“We’re looking at what we’ve got now, but we’re also looking at what we can do for this department to make things better down the road,” Wideman said. “We’re not going to sit back and let people take over our neighborhoods, take over our streets by selling illegal drugs. We’re going to go after them, we’re going to be aggressive.”
Some of the changes planned for the Sheriff’s Office are readily apparent — construction is taking place on the portion of the county’s law enforcement complex reserved for deputies. Wideman is also looking at constructing a new facility on the grounds of the complex to house more prisoners.
“We feel like we need some interview rooms,” Wideman said. “We’re trying to remodel and create some space so we have a place to take people to interview them. We don’t have that now. We’re trying to get all the space we can out of this building.”
Wideman’s goal for the department is direct, and could require something of present and future deputies that is difficult to pin down on a resume.
“I want our guys to get out of the car, I want our guys to know the neighborhood and know the people,” he said. “I want them to get out and talk. I want them to be involved, be out there and be seen — show leadership. I want our guys to be looked at as role models, as heroes.”
Their first priority is to protect the lives and property of the county’s residents, he said.
“We’re going to make this county a safe place to life, a safe place to raise your family and a safe place to retire,” he said. “I felt like I had to get a good command staff that could help me reach these goals.”

Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at 223-1812, or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com

Clyde Adams

Clyde Adams, 66, of 2620 Edgefield St., died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home.

Shirley Bryant

Shirley Bryant, of 410 Bond St., widow of David Bryant, died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home.

Juanita Chandler

Juanita Martha Chandler, 79, formerly of Jill Lane, Satsuma, Fla., widow of John Walker Chandler, died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 at National Health Care of Greenwood.
Born in Lovett, Fla., she was a daughter of the late William A. and Sammie Robinson Chandler. She was a graduate of Baxley High School, Baxley, Ga., and a former employee of Baptist Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla.
She was the last member of her immediate family.
Graveside services are 3 p.m. Monday at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, conducted by the Rev. Leroy F. Lewis.
Visitation is graveside, 2:30-3 Monday.
Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of San Mateo, P.O. Box 56, San Mateo, FL 32187.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Minnie Ruth Gray

McCORMICK — Minnie Ruth Gray, 67, of McCormick Health Care Center, died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005.
Services will be announced by Richie Funeral Home, Abbeville.

Betty Hitt

Elizabeth “Betty” Whilden McIver Hitt, 69, of 506 Marietta Drive, wife of Bobby J. Hitt, died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Visitation is 6-8 Sunday at Blyth Funeral Home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home.

Leroy Pinkney

Services for Leroy Pinkney, of 112 Gambrell St., are 3 p.m. Sunday at Holy Redeemer Church, conducted by Pastor Roosevelt Morton.
Assisting are the Revs. Yvonne Cheatham, Roosevelt Brooks, Doris Brooks and Carl Wells. The body will be placed in the church at 2.
Burial is in The Evening Star.
Pallbearers are Roy Parks Jr., John Theodore, Marion Martin, Danny Cain, Greg Syrkett, Patrick Bonds, Bobby Joe Brooks and Charlie Brooks.
Flower bearers are Kayla Smith, Mamie L. Duncan, Doris Louden, Loretta Brooks, Rose Pinkney, Maybelle Theodore and Kate Smith.
The family is at the home.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.

Julia Lena Ross

Julia Lena Ross, 70, widow of Guy Ross Sr., of 8-C Pineridge Apartments, died Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late George and Connie Reynolds Rapley. She was a member of Old Field Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Survivors include three sons, the Rev. Guy Ross Jr. of Hodges, Wiley Ross and John E. Ross, both of Greenwood; two daughters, Ida Gilliam and Annie R. Ross, both of Greenwood; three brothers, James M. Rapley Sr., Reynolds Rapley and Charles T. Rapley, all of Hodges; two sisters, Georgia Williams and Minnie Garrett, both of Greenwood; 19 grandchildren; and 36 great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home of a daughter Ida Gilliam, 1501 S. Main St. and a son, the Rev. Guy Ross Jr., 2417 Ridge Road, Cokesbury.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Vikes rout Rebels

February 5, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Special to The Index-Journal

The Emerald High School boys basketball team hammered Mid-Carolina 92-24 Friday night in a match-up of Region III-AA foes.
The Vikings put on an electrifying high-wire act, throwing down 11 slam dunks in the contest, including three by center Aaron Evans, who scored a game-high 15 points.
“We were able to create all that with our defense,” said Emerald coach Robin Scott. “We wanted to try a bunch of different things: traps, full court pressure, the works.”
The Vikings exploded in the first period, scoring 17 of the game’s first 18 points.
Time after time Emerald applied full court pressure, leading to steals and easy buckets.
Transition points came fast and furious, with all five starters scoring in the first period. The Vikings were up 20-4 heading into the second quarter.
The route continued in the second period, which started off with a rim-rattling two-handed jam from Emerald point Fred Johnson.
“That was Fred’s first dunk as a high school player. I was happy he got that one, because he thinks of everybody else first so often as the point guard,” said Scott. The Vikings went into halftime leading by a whopping 49-9 margin.
Hoping to turn things around, Mid-Carolina got a 3-pointer from Antwan Gibbs to open the second half. But the third quarter would hold no mercy for the Rebels. The Vikings once again began to swarm on defense, creating one costly turnover after another. The quarter was permeated with an acrobatic, “And-1” style alley-oop from Chris White to D.L Griffin, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Emerald headed to the final frame up 65-18.
The Vikings got scoring from several reserves in the final period, including six points from Darryl Wideman. Dallas Flynn also popped in six points in the period. When the final horn sounded the Vikings found themselves on top by a whopping 68 points, 92-24.
“We’re in a three way tie for first place in the region, so we really need to close this thing out strong,” said Scott.
Emerald (14-7 overall, 6-2 region) will travel on Tuesday to face Saluda.

Latham leads GHS girls to victory

February 5, 2005

By BRIAN HOWARD
Assistant sports editor

The Greenwood High School girls basketball team kept giving Ashley Latham the ball in the first half.
The senior guard scored 12 of her 18 points in the opening half as the Lady Eagles routed T.L. Hanna, 47-26, in a Region I-AAAA contest Friday.
“We have been shooting a lot more in practice and it has gotten our confidence up,” Latham said. “I think before the game, everybody was real confident and that helps. It (region record) has been a little discouraging, but were aren’t given up.”
Latham wasn’t the only Greenwood player to score in double figures. Jacena Thompson had a double-double, 12 points, 10 rebounds. Ashly Chandler didn’t have a point in the first half and finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Greenwood (8-9 overall, 2-6 region) opened the game with six straight points and maintained the six-point lead throughout the first quarter.
The Lady Eagles got their largest lead of the first half, 23-13, after Latham sank a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Greenwood put the game away during a two-minute stretch of the third quarter, using a 8-0 run, and turning a 29-18 lead into a 37-18 advantage after Chandler scored on a fastbreak layup.

Local children are proof good news is alive, well

February 5, 2005

Bad news! There’s never anything but bad news!
How many times has that same old complaint been heard? That’s a rhetorical question, of course, but that bad-news reference is an everyday occurrence, it seems.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad news these days, whether accidental, intentional or natural disasters. The very nature of bad news creates more interest and very often leaves a strong impression. That influences us subliminally, and we are prone to remember bad news, or so it seems.

THERE IS MORE GOOD NEWS than we might expect, though. All we have to do is pay attention to the pictures and articles that are printed every week about what our school children are doing. In public, private and parochial schools, there are always projects going on designed to help someone in need. Just consider how these children and others reacted to the recent tragedies created by the huge tidal wave (tsunami) that roared ashore in a dozen Southeast Asian nations. It killed more than 200,000 people. Greenwood children wanted to help, and they did. They did things to raise money for the cause. Others emptied their piggy banks and wanted to do more.

WHEN WE SEE OUR CHILDREN taking such interest it has to be gratifying for parents and teachers. But, it also should give each of us a feeling of pride. When there is bad news in the world, there’s no better news than to see children doing whatever they can to make a difference.
Good news? Look around. Check the paper. There will still be bad news. That’s how the world is. It might be surprising, though, to see how much good news there is. From what folks around here have seen, though, it won’t be surprising to see a lot of our children, with a little help from their elders sometimes, leading the way.