Man sought in attempted robbery

Local hospital employee accosted by armed man

July 30, 2005

By GREG DEAL and MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal staff writers

Local authorities are searching for a man in connection with an attempted armed robbery Friday afternoon on the second floor of Self Regional Medical Center.
Police and hospital officials say a black man, described as being between the ages of 18 and 20, of thin build and between 6 feet and 6-foot-2, attempted to rob a hospital employee at gunpoint.
The Index-Journal is not releasing the name of the person accosted. The newspaper does not usually publish the names of crime victims, especially when a suspect remains at large. This decision is made in an effort to protect the safety of the victim.
Officials said the employee “thwarted” the attack and the assailant fled the hospital.
Dozens of Greenwood police and sheriff’s office deputies flocked to the hospital shortly after the attack, which happened about 4:30 p.m. in the second-floor lobby.
Authorities made several sweeps of the first and second floor and spoke with witnesses. They also dusted for fingerprints near a seating area in the second-floor lobby.
Hospital security officials and city detectives were analyzing hospital surveillance video in an attempt to capture an image of the assailant.
The attempted robbery took place near the administrative offices, located on the same floor as the transitional care unit, women’s center — which houses the labor and delivery area — and the laboratory.
“Everybody’s safe and sound,” hospital spokesman Dan Branyon said. “We’re working now to reassure employees that everything is okay and in control.
“Of course, everybody is a little shaken. I’ve been here 18 years and never seen anything like this.”
The investigation has been turned over to the Greenwood City Police Department. No arrests have been made.
Despite the hoard of authorities on the scene, hospital officials managed to maintain relative calm, as most employees and visitors went about their normal routines.

Index-Journal intern Kenny Maple contributed to this story.

Brooklyn L. Brooks

Brooklyn Lomant Brooks, infant son of Bracy Brooks and Lajoy Jennings, died Thursday, July 28, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Jay Hatfield

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Jay Jeffery Hatfield, 48, of 339 White Blossom Trail, formerly of Greenwood, S.C., and Atlanta, died Friday, July 29, 2005 at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville.
Born in Indianapolis, Ind., he was a son of Ancil Hatfield and Garnett Ison Hatfield Johnson. He was a graduate of Greenwood High School and the Miami College of Photography. Formerly a Realtor in Atlanta he was a member of First Baptist Church in Greenwood.
Survivors include his father and stepmother, Allene Hatfield of Columbia; his mother of Thomasville; a brother, Douglas Hatfield of Atlanta; three stepbrothers, Wayne Johnson and Mike Johnson, both of Greenwood and Ronnie Attaway of Missoula, Mont.; a stepsister, Julie A. Weatherell of Columbia.
Private graveside services are Sunday.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 6604, Columbia, SC 29260-6604.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Wilbur Dean Lane

GREENWOOD, SC — Wilbur Dean Lane, 81, of 155 St. Kitts Court, Greenwood, formerly of Seven Oaks Lane, Spartanburg, died Friday, July 29, 2005, at Hospice House of Greenwood. Born February 20, 1924, in Boiling Springs, SC, he was the son of the late Neal Clemons and Arpha Lands Lane. He was employed as a heating and cooling technician. He was a member of River Hills Baptist Church and a former member of Park Hills Baptist Church where he was a former Sunday School teacher and deacon at both churches. A U.S. Army Veteran of World War II, he was the recipient of the World War II Victory medal and combat infantryman’s badge, and served in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaign as a heavy machine gun squad leader. He then re-enlisted in the Army and served as a military police.
Survivors include his wife, Clara Poole Lane; a daughter, Paula Culbertson and her husband Ray of Greenwood; two grandsons, Kevin Dickey and his wife Toni, and Cameron Dickey and his wife Amy, all of Greenwood; three granddaughters, Jean Owens and her husband Keith of Lexington, Kerri Barbee and her husband John of Roanoke, VA, and Leigh Ann McMinn and her husband Earle of Sarasota, FL; three sisters, Orra Lee Wilson of Boiling Springs, Annie Belle Hall of Valley Falls, and Mildred Buzhardt of Greenwood; seven great-grandchildren; and his best dog, Pepper. He was predeceased by a daughter, Ann Zimmerman of Spartanburg.
Visitation will be 2-2:45 p.m. Sunday, July 31, 2005, at River Hills Baptist Church. Funeral services will follow at 3:00 p.m. at the Church conducted by the Rev. C. Kent Smith. Burial will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646; or to River Hills Baptist Church, 5762 Reidville Road, Moore, SC 29369.
An online guest register is available at www.floydmortuary.com
Floyd’s North Church Street Chapel
PAID OBITUARY

James Murray Scott

GREENWOOD — James Murray Scott, 88, of 321 Briarwood Road, husband of Mary Weeks Scott, died Friday, July 29, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of the late James William and Ivy Davis Scott. He retired from Greenwood Mills, Mathews Plant, in 1983 after 40 years of service, where he was a member of the Quarter Century Club. Mr, Scott was a dedicated farmer for the past 70 years, receiving the Conservation Farmer Award in 1988 from the Greenwood Soil & Water Conservation District and the Agriculturist of the Year Award in June of this year from The Rotary Club of Greenwood. He was a member of the Greenwood Cattleman’s Association and was of the Methodist faith.
Surviving is his wife of the home; two daughters, Glenda Young and her husband, Rollie, and Carolyn Mayfield, all of Greenwood; a son, Donald Scott and his wife, Jeanette, of Fountain Inn: four sisters, Louise Brown and Jean Watts, both of Greenwood, Lois Major of Warner Robbins, GA and Peggy Gardo of Cherryville, NC; three brothers, Ned Scott and his wile, Frances, Joe Scott and his wife, Nyda, Floyd Scott and his wife, Wilma, all of Greenwood; eight grandchil-dren, nine great grandchildren; five step great grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Roy Scott.
Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m., Sunday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Laurin Young officiating,
Pallbearers will be Tony Young, Roger Young, Barry Mayfield, Chad Scott, Steve Pressley and Jim Davis.
The family will receive friends at Harley Funeral Home on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The family is at the home of his granddaughter, Tammy Davis, 1079 Burnett Road.
It is respectfully requested that flowers be omitted and memorials made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to the charity of one’s choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Dr. Joel Townsend

RICHMOND, VA — Dr. Joel Ives Townsend, 84, died July 29, 2005 at Imperial Manor in Richmond.
Born in Greenwood, SC, August 20, 1920, he was a son of the late Joel Ives, Sr. and Emma Cothran Townsend. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of South Carolina in 1941. There after he taught school before entering the USNavy in 1942. He served as a Lt. on the USS Ingersol in the Pacific where he was in combat at several battles including Okinawa. After WW II, he studied genetics at the University of California, Berkley, CA, before obtaining his doctorate from Columbia University in 1950.
Dr. Townsend taught Human Genetics at the University of Tennessee before relocating at the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) in 1960 where he taught a significant portion of the human genetics curriculum to almost every medical and dental student for over three decades. He formed many strong personal relationships with his students.
Dr. Townsend was a forceful and articulate advocate of shared university governance and academic freedom for universities in general and for the Virginia Commonwealth, in particular. He participated in the founding of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Faculty Senate and served as it president. He was a driving force behind the VCU’s Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
He was active in the State of AAUP Conference and the formation of the Faculty Senate of Virginia. For 15 years he administered the awarding of AAUP’s Conference’s Jackson-Davis Award for service to higher education.
Dr. Townsend was an active member of the Sons of the Confederacy, S.C. Historical Society, The Hugenot Society of S.C., the Richmond Civil War Roundtable and the Richmond Coin Club. He traveled widely and was an avid and knowledgeable collector of a wide range of early American artifacts and prints. He established the Semi-Annual Townsend Lecture Series at the University of South Carolina honoring his parents featuring Biological Sciences on Humanities and Southern Heritage and Culture. In addition, Dr. Townsend established several scholarships at the University of South Carolina.
He is survived by a niece, Anne Breazeale Hadden and husband, Morris Hadden of Kingsport, TN; a brother-in-law, Thomas Clarence Breazeale of Clemson; a great-nephew, Robert Morris Hadden and wife, Shelley Hassell Hadden, of Charleston and their children, Emma Elizabeth, Evelyn Anne and Thomas Grant Hadden.
He was predeceased by a sister, Anne Townsend Breazeale of Knoxville, TN.
Funeral services will be held at Magnolia Cemetery, Greenwood, SC on Sunday, July 31 at 2 p.m. Following the service, there will be a reception at the home of Jack and Lydia Wofford, 312 Grace Street, Greenwood, SC. Also, a memorial service will be held in Richmond, VA on August 20 at 11 a.m. at Bennett Funeral Home, 3215 Cutshaw Avenue, followed by a Reception at the Jefferson Hotel.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the University of South Carolina McKissick Museum, 816 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29208.
For additional information please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
BLYTH FUNERAL HOMEIS ASSISTING THE TOWNSEND FAMILY.
PAID OBITUARY

Showers cut Greenwood’s practice short

July 30, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

Well, at least it wasn’t hot.
However, it did rain on the Greenwood High School football team’s opening-day parade.
Friday’s mid-afternoon thunderstorm and subsequent lightning that deluged Greenwood and the Lakelands area forced an early end to the Eagles’ first practice of the 2005 season.
The Greenwood football team made its first official visit to the practice field at 3 p.m. Less than an hour later, the Eagles felt the brunt of the heavy rain that inundated most of the county.
Eagles coach Shell Dula, who only days ago had to worry about a scorching heatwave, said he called off the session about 75 minutes into field work after lightning began to appear.
“If we had to practice in the same kind of weather that it was like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, that would have been a major, major concern,” said Dula, beginning his 29th season overall and ninth at Greenwood as a head coach. “But we didn’t have to worry about water. We had plenty of it. The Lord provided a lot of water for us.”
But the Eagles didn’t go home without getting any work done. The team started Friday with a 1 p.m. film session and a team meeting at 2, before taking the field an hour later. And Dula was pleased that his team was able to get in at least some time on the field.
“We got all of our fundamental work done, but we didn’t get our team work or our kicking in,” said Dula.
, whose Eagles will practice this morning.
But Dula wasn’t too concerned about missing out on the sentimentality of the first official practice ending up in a washout.
As high school football has evolved in recent years, with teams taking part in spring practices, competing in seven-on-seven passing drills and weightroom training during the summer, a coach’s view of the first day of practice becomes as cloudy as Friday’s sky.
“Football has changed so much in the last 10 years,” Dula said. “Ten years ago, I’d say ‘this was such a big day,’ but now everybody is doing it year-round.
“We’ve had passing leagues and our linemen have met and gone over blocking. So, it’s not like it used to be when you only saw them in the weightroom. It’s just like another day.”

Ron Cox covers prep sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ronc@indexjournal.com

Emerald takes the field with new coach

July 30, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

A new era began on a cool, crisp early Friday morning.
Mac Bryan became only the second head football coach in the history of the Emerald High School football program when he guided the Vikings in their first official practice of the 2005 season.
Bryan, who begins his first year taking over for longtime coach and athletic director Frank Hill, and his new team took the field at 8:30 Friday morning for the first of two practice sessions.
Even though it was his first official day, things weren’t all that new for the coach or the players.
Bryan came to the school not long after he was tapped as Hill’s successor in February to familiarize himself with the school, the students and the coaches. He even ran the Vikings’ spring practice.
However, Friday did have some special meaning for Bryan.
“The main difference in today was that I knew everybody,” he said. “I knew most everybody in the spring, because I’d been here. But now I’ve seen them play and I’ve had them in the summer, lifting and things.
“It was almost like I was bringing the team back out there.”
And Bryan — and his players — couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions for the morning practice.
The temperatures ranging in the high 70s to low 80s were a stark contrast to what the area experienced only days before.
“I was up in Greenville this week and I told our coaches that it would be awfully hard to get a lot done in this heat,” Bryan said.
“But it was really pleasant this morning.”
Emerald senior Emmanuel Smith agreed.
“It wasn’t that hot this morning,” Smith said. “We had us a nice little practice. It was nice out there.”
However, things were a little different in the afternoon session.
As the team was preparing to take the field for the 4 p.m. start, heavy rains began to fall, forcing a delay of the practice.
After a 40-minute wait, Bryan and the Vikings took the field for a watery two-hour practice.
“Once the rain stopped, the field held up well,” Bryan said. “The field was still sort of wet around where the offensive line was working.
“But we stopped around the time it started drizzling again.”

Commitment is expected from players and coaches

July 30, 2005

Some South Carolina High School League coaches, but not all, are calling Steve Spurrier unethical. They have taken him to task because the new USC football coach revoked the scholarships of a few players. Some of the organization’s members emphasize that a scholarship is a commitment that should be kept.
From all accounts, Spurrier didn’t think players involved were living up to their commitment by doing the things expected of them ….. on the practice field and in the classroom.
Anyway, scholarships are given on a year-to-year basis. That implies they have to be earned each year. If they aren’t, in the eyes of the USC coaches, they should go to others who have made the grade in all respects. Many students who get academic scholarships won’t keep them if they don’t do the work required. Why should athletes be any different?

IN SHORT, COMMITMENT is a two-way street. If coaches are expected to keep one, players should, too.
Spurrier is quoted as saying “we can’t let the high school coaches association run our program.” He’s right, and USC supporters should back him up. It’s simple, really. In life, you work hard to be a winner. Slackers ride a never-ending treadmill that leads to nowhere.
Throughout its history, the football program at USC has seldom gotten off that treadmill. It’s past time for someone to change the status quo. Spurrier is doing that. If recruits, parents or high school coaches expect less, that’s what they’ll get ….. including scholarships.
They don’t give medals to yesterday’s heroes. There are other ways to say it, too: You can’t rest on your laurels. Fish or cut bait. You reap what you sow.

NO MATTER HOW IT’S said, though, it means the same: make the effort and do what’s necessary, or say goodbye. It’s the same, regardless of the venue.
As the late Frank Sinatra sang, “That’s life, that’s what all the people say; ridin’ high in April, shot down in May.”
All of this has to make some people wonder. If players who blow it in college had learned anything about commitment in high school, they might still be around. Too many aren’t.
The way things are today, there ought to be more coaches with Spurrier’s philosophy coaching at colleges ….. not to mention high schools. Students who play for coaches like Shell Dula of Greenwood High School learn a lot more than how to play football. It stays with them, too, and benefits them long after football.
That’s commitment.