Fast-moving storm pummels Greenwood

July 3, 2005

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

Downed trees and power lines left some Greenwood residents in the dark Saturday after the city was hit with a severe thunderstorm that brought wind gusts of more than 60 mph.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Greenwood at 6:32 p.m. Minutes later, storm damage, flooding and power outages were being reported.
Capt. Mike Martin, of the Greenwood Police Department, said a large tree was reported down on Phoenix Street. Another tree fell on a vehicle at a residence on Dallas Court.
“It developed quickly, and so did the severity of the storm,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Wayne Jones. “It didn’t offer much time for preparation.”
By 7:30 p.m., the Commissioners of Public Works had received about 50 calls about power outages and more were coming in, said Benny Webber, of CPW.
About half of the outages were repaired by 8:30 p.m., Webber said, adding that workers would be out most of the night, and possibly into the early morning hours, working on the problem.
Duke Power reported normal operations in Greenwood but had 750 reported power outages in Anderson.
The storm in Greenwood brought heavy rains, leaving many streets flooded. Edgefield Street, near Self Regional, was impassible. In a span of 45 minutes, about 2 inches of rain fell directly on the city, according to the National Weather Service. In comparison, only a trace of rain was recorded at the Greenwood County Airport, just a few miles away from Uptown.
Throughout its duration, the storm stayed centered over the city.
“It’s stationary, so it’s just going to have to rain itself out,” Jones said during the storm.

Julia Stokes

Julia Harvin Weeks Stokes, 95, of Wesley Commons, Greenwood, SC died Friday, July 1, 2005, at Self Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Stokes was born in Newberry, the daughter of the late C.D. and Nancy Pool Weeks. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Greenwood and the Benson Sunday School Class.
Mrs. Stokes is survived by two sons, Douglas Weeks Stokes of Rock Hill and Dr. James Kenneth Stokes of Greenwood; five grandchildren, Dr. Douglas Weeks Stokes, Jr. of Greenville, Ashby Weeks Stokes and Taylor Tenison Stokes both of Greenwood, Dr. Mason Boyd Stokes of Saratoga Springs, NY, and Benjamin McCulloch Hord Stokes of Taylors; and seven great grandchildren, Douglas Boyd Stokes and GraceAnne Cheney Stokes both of Greenville, John McHardy Stokes and Barbara Reid Stokes both of Greenwood, Ashby Weeks Stokes Jr. and Morgan Dahlberg Stokes both of Greenwood, and Virginia Tenison Stokes of Taylors; and a niece, Nancy Weeks Padget of Bethesda, MD.
Graveside funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM Tuesday in Rosemont Cemetery in Newberry.
Memorials may be made to Gambro Healthcare, Greenwood Division, 109 Overland Drive, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Notes to the family may be sent via email at notes@whitakerfuneralhome.com.
Whitaker Funeral Home, 1704 College St., Newberry is in charge.
PAID OBITUARY

Ethel Stuart

COLUMBIA, Md. — Ethel Duncan Stuart, 93, of 9563 Angelina Circle, formerly of Coronaca, S.C., widow of Thomas H. Stuart, died Saturday, July 2, 2005 in Ellicott City, Md.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home, Greenwood, S.C.

Greenwood Hall of Fame getting bigger

Second class features 8 new members

July 3, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

The wall in the foyer of the Greenwood High School gymnasium will soon be adding eight more hall of fame plaques.
The Greenwood Athletics Hall of Fame, which includes players, coaches and administrators from Greenwood High School and the former segregated Brewer High School, will have eight inductees in its second class.
This year’s group includes former Greenwood and Brewer high school greats from a much wider base.
Many of the eight will easily ring a bell to the average Greenwood or Brewer fan.
The eight inductees were graduates from six different decades, with two in the 50s and 60s, and one from the 40s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
The 2005 class includes the first female inductee: former Greenwood and Furman University tennis great Erin Powell Williams.
The eight inductees will be honored Aug. 26 at J.W. Babb Stadium during a special halftime presentation of the Greenwood-Emerald football game. Each person will be individually introduced and presented a plaque.
Easily, Johnson’s is most notable name from the second class.
The chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club is the second hall of fame selection from the 1940s, joining backfield mate Sonny Horton, who was inducted in the inaugural class.
The former “Mr. Inside,” to Horton’s “Mr. Outside,” was the co-captain of the 1948 state championship team.
Johnson finished his four-year career second in the school’s football record books in career points (262) and career rushing touchdowns (41).
After leaving Greenwood, Johnson, a 1949 Greenwood graduate, was a three-year letterman at the University of South Carolina, where he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as a senior.
John Gilliam, a 1963 Brewer graduate, had the most notable professional athletic career of the second hall-of-fame class, spending 11 seasons playing in the NFL.
Gilliam was the New Orleans Saints third-ever draft pick, going in the second round in the 1967 draft.
The South Carolina State all-conference player scored the Saints’ first touchdown, running back the opening kickoff of the 1967 season against the Los Angeles Rams.
Gilliam ended his pro career with 490 receptions for 7,650 yards and 49 touchdowns and made two Super Bowl appearances with the Minnesota Vikings.
Joining Gilliam in the 2005 Greenwood Hall of Fame is his nephew, Larry Ryans, a 1989 Greenwood graduate. Ryans, like his uncle, parlayed his high school playing days into a successful professional career, spending seven seasons playing in the NFL and NFL Europe.
But while Ryans’ professional career occurred on the gridiron, much of his high school accolades came on the track. Ryans was an All-American track selection in 1989, was named the state’s most outstanding track athlete and was chosen by Gatorade as the state’s most outstanding overall athlete. He was a two-time state champion and a five-time All-American while at Clemson University.
While Ryans becomes the second inductee from the 80s, joining former Eagles teammate Robert Brooks, Erin Powell Williams not only is the first female to go into the hall, but she is also the first 90s graduate.
Williams was a highly honored tennis player for the Lady Eagles, spending most of her seven-year high-school career playing No. 1 singles and doubles. She got her start in the seventh grade at No. 2 singles.
Williams was selected all-region numerous times and was highly ranked in the state and the Southern region.
She played for the Furman University women’s team, guiding the squad to four Southern Conference championships. During that time, Williams was selected all-conference each year in singles and doubles.
Cleveland Spencer is the first inductee from the 70s and the first whose primary sport was basketball. Spencer, a 1972 Greenwood graduate, averaged 24 points and 22 rebounds in his junior year, and followed that with a 27 and 20 average as a senior.
Spencer was selected to the all-state team and played in the ’72 North-South All-Star game. He went on to play college ball at Florida A&M University, where he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in his 101 games.
Ted Wingard, a 1963 Greenwood graduate, used his flourishing high school sports career to procure himself an athletic scholarship to the University of South Carolina. Upon graduation from USC, Wingard turned his football uniform in for medical scrubs, becoming a successful cardiovascular surgeon in Jacksonville, Fla.
During his time at Greenwood, Wingard quarterbacked the team to two state championships, in 1961 and ’62. He was named to the Shrine Bowl and the North-South All-Star game. He still has the school record for pass completion percentage and ranks third in career passing touchdowns.
Bill Hughes, a 1956 Greenwood graduate, had as much success, if not a little more, on the track as he did on the football field. Hughes, while co-captaining the 1955 state champion Greenwood football team and an all-state selection, was a two-time state champion in track, taking first in the long jump and the 110-yard hurdles. Hughes was also second in the 100 dash.
In college at The Citadel, Hughes was second team all-state in football and was the Southern Conference long jump champion.
Hughes remains a key figure in the Lakelands. He helped found the Greenwood Touchdown Club, becoming its first president.
Ronnie Aughtry, a 1954 graduate, also played in both the Shrine Bowl and the North-South All-Star game. Aughtry was the co-captain of the 1953 Greenwood state champion football team.
Aughtry, who spent three years in-between college in the U.S. Marines Corp, turned to coaching after his playing days, assisting 2004 inductee Pinky Babb for a season before becoming the athletic director and head coach at McCormick High School.
Aughtry was selected as one of the Lakelands’ greatest football players of the 20th century.

Graham’s crusade shows a positive religious trend

July 3, 2005

Maybe it’s wishful thinking. Hopefully, it’s a sure sign that the moral pendulum is swinging back to a national environment where religion is a vital and integral part of our daily lives.
There are indeed signs, in South Carolina and all across the nation, that religion, particularly in some denominations, is on the upswing. However, increasingly religious tendencies in general are becoming more perceptible across the board. That was evident in the Rev. Billy Graham’s revival last weekend in New York.
Thousands upon thousands crowded into a park on two days to hear Mr. Graham bring his eternal message of faith. Then on Sunday, the third day, 90,000 worshippers packed the park to hear what may have been the evangelist’s final sermon ….. in America.

HE SAID HE’D NEVER SAY NEVER, however, so the book hasn’t necessarily been closed for good.
Whether it was the “star” power of Billy Graham that attracted the multitudes is, perhaps, debatable. Still, or so it appears, they came to hear what he had to say more than they came to get a glimpse of him.
Whatever the motivation, they came, they heard and they demonstrated their convictions as thousands accepted Mr. Graham’s call to come forward and profess their faith.
There have been false evangelists who have confused the religious status quo, perhaps. Billy Graham, though, has established his credentials in the Christian world with his 60 years of ministry to millions all over the world.
Therefore, to see so many demonstrate their faith now, is encouraging. In a mixed up world, it couldn’t come at a better time.