‘Behind the chair’

Retired Greenwood hairstylist helping cancer patients feel better

March 7, 2005

By CAROLINE KLAPPER
Index-Journal staff writer

Ann Reid-Long is a firm believer in using her skills to help others.
A hairstylist for 40 years, Long is retired and is now part owner of Salon 225 in Greenwood. But even though she is no longer, as she puts it, “behind the chair,” Long dedicates her time and experience as a cosmetologist to several worthy causes.
One of her favorite volunteer programs is Look Good…Feel Better, which is certified by the National Cosmetology Association (NCA), the Cosmetic Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
The program is aimed at helping people diagnosed with cancer learn about using makeup, wigs and other techniques to enhance their appearance and improve their self-esteem during the illness.
“When people first find out that they have cancer, we have a program at the hospital,” Long said. “What we do is we have these boxes full of makeup and things that are good for the face.”
The program has makeup for all skin types and shades, and it is made with materials that are beneficial and gentle on skin.
“We emphasize the fact that if they get up and put makeup on, they’ll feel better about themselves,” she said.
Long also helps patients pick out a wig before they lose their hair from cancer treatments. She consults with the person privately, and they go to a wig salon to pick out a color and style that best fits them.
She said some women have fun with it and change their hair color, while others don’t like the idea of wearing a wig and choose to explore other options such as head wraps or hats. Long will teach them about the different kinds of hats and how to wear a head wrap made from scarves or even old T-shirts.
Long is one of only four professionals in town certified for the Look Good…Feel Better program, and she says it is a wonderful experience.
“It’s the most rewarding thing that I have ever done,” she said.
Long also uses her salon business to promote good causes and encourages her employees to volunteer their skills and time.
Many of the stylists at Salon 225 are involved in a program called Wigs for Kids, which provides real hair to make wigs for children that have lost their hair, usually because of cancer treatments.
Those who volunteer to donate their hair to this cause must have at least 10 inches of untreated hair to be able to participate, Long said. A stylist gives volunteers free haircuts when they make the donation.
“Any of us will do that for free if they have long enough hair,” Long said. “We do that fairly often when we can find them.”
A more recently developed program that Long has become involved in is called Cut It Out: Salons Against Domestic Abuse.
The program is certified by the NCA, Clairol Professional and Southern Living at HOME, and it is based on the idea that salon professionals can help clients who may be victims of domestic abuse.
Stylists often develop close relationships with their clients. Cut It Out is designed to help salon professionals recognize the signs of abuse, both physical and mental, and it teaches them how to help.
Several of the stylists at Salon 225 have volunteered to work with abused women at MEG’s House, too.
“We have two (women) that we’ve worked with just recently, and it’s helped them get away from their abuser,” Long said.
In the restrooms and around the salon, Long provides pamphlets about the program, which tell women what to do if they are victims of abuse.
“We have women that come in that have been abused and they may not want to talk about it,” Long said, explaining that the booklets serve as a method of helping those too scared or ashamed to speak out.
She believes the booklets are helping because some will “disappear” every now and then.
Aside from her volunteer efforts, Long spends time teaching continuing education classes in cosmetology.
The classes keep cosmetologists up to date on proper tool safety, sanitation, sterilization and, of course, the latest styling techniques.
“To be an educator for the state I had to take a very hard exam, but I felt like if I passed that I could do anything,” Long said, adding that she enjoys helping other stylists learn more about their profession.
All of these activities center on Long’s idea that everyone can do something good for their community, and she plans to continue to help in every way she can.
“You know,” she said, “there’s always something you can do for somebody.”

For information on any of these programs, call Salon 225 at 227-9040.

Mayor Patterson still learning from ex-teacher in McCormick

March 7, 2005

By TASHA STEIMER
Index-Journal staff writer

McCORMICK – Mayor Miriam Patterson said she and her former teacher, Martha Patterson, have high expectations for the McCormick County Center of Piedmont Tech.
“We both live at the corners of the property where Piedmont Tech is now,” she said. “It’s a historical site so when we have to do something involving the property, I think about what she will see from her front door. We’re both very involved with that property because it’s in our neighborhood.”
Patterson said the retired educator, who taught high school history, has offered her advice and support.
“She not only taught me in school but she has taught me over the years,” she said. “She taught me so many life experiences.”
When Patterson decided to first run for mayor 17 years ago, she said Martha was excited with the prospect of having a woman in the office.
“She definitely contributed to my decision to run for mayor 17 years ago,” she said.
“I would often go to her and ask what she would do, and she was always so willing to give me advice.”
With her involvement in various organizations including the local garden club, national historical society and county historical commission, Mayor Patterson said Martha played an important role in the community beyond the classroom.
“She helped me as I tried to reconstruct the town like I remember it to be years and years ago,” she said. “As we have been planning the town’s revitalization, she has been involved with that process.
“She had done so much for history for the town of McCormick,” she said. “She always had a lovely personality.”
When she married into the Patterson family after college, the mayor said her former teacher lived on the same street and the two women became friends.
“My children grew up with her teaching history as well and they loved her too,” she said. “She taught Sunday School until about six years ago.
“She’s a true community leader as well as a teacher. She set a good example for so many young people who went on to accomplish great things.”

Basketball’s best honored

Calhoun Falls’ Tillman, Emerald’s Nicholson
selected Lakelands’ top players of the year

March 7, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

Even though they may only be high school juniors, Calhoun Falls’ Theo Tillman and Emerald’s Elizabeth Nicholson have a significant amount of varsity playing time on the basketball court.
The two juniors have a combined seven years of varsity experience, with six of those seasons coming from the starting lineup, including this year when the two guided their perspective teams to successful seasons.
The 6-foot-1 Tillman guided the Flashes to a Region I-A title, while the 5-10 Nicholson led the Lady Vikings to a second-place finish in Region III-AA. The two undersized centers are being honored for their performance this season as The Index-Journal’s Lakelands players of the year, as voted on by the newspaper’s sports department.
“It’s really exciting to get this honor as a junior,” Nicholson said. “I worked really hard over the summer. So, I’m really happy about it. I knew this year we were going to be kind of young, so I knew I’d have to step up more. And we had some injuries on the team. So, players like (2004 Lakelands player of the year) Domnick (Mitchell) didn’t get to play as much. So, I guess I had to step up even a little more.”
Mitchell and Tillman are both veterans of the All-Lakelands basketball team. Both players were second-team All-Lakelands as freshmen and then were named first-teamers last year.
“It means a lot to me,” Tillman said.
“What it says is that I’m doing my job, helping my team out. I’ve spent so much time out here that I don’t feel like a junior. Every game I go out and play I play like it’s my last game.”
This has been a celebrated junior year for the Flashes’ center. He was selected as the Region I-A player of the year and named to the Class A all-state team.
Despite squaring off against taller centers nightly, Tillman averaged a double-double for first-year coach John-Mark Scruggs, bringing in a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds a game and making 63 percent of his field goals.
“He’s got a great knack for the ball,” Scruggs said. “He’s one of those players that once the lights come on he’s always ready to play. He always seems to play at another level. He had a great start, but then teams started keying on him. But he learned to adapt to it and continue to lead the team.”
The Calhoun Falls standout, who was also named to the All-Lakelands football team earlier this school year, put up 27 points and 19 rebounds in a Dec. 17 win over Emerald.
Like Tillman, Nicholson was also good for double-digit numbers in both scoring and rebounding.
With Mitchell plagued with injuries throughout the season, Nicholson was often called upon to put the Lady Vikings on her shoulders.
The Emerald junior, who was named to the All-Region III-AA team, led the team in both scoring (15 points a game) and rebounding (13 a game). But the 5-10 center not only gave defenses trouble down low, Emerald coach Anarie Duckett said Nicholson was her best 3-point shooter.
“She worked hard over the summer. She played AAU ball last spring and summer and she’s planning on doing it again this year,” Duckett said. “She’s just a hard worker. She was the most consistent player on the team this year. There were very few games where she didn’t finish with a double-double.”
Mitchell was named to the girls’ All-Lakelands first team. Mitchell, who was the Lakelands player of the year last season, didn’t her injuries keep her from averaging 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists a game.
Joining Mitchell on the first team are Calhoun Falls’ Ki-Key Norman and Lauren Henderson, Greenwood’s Ashly Chandler and Lakia Bailey of Abbeville.
On the All-Lakelands boys first team are Tillman’s Flashes teammate D.J. Roundtree, Saluda’s Markese Holloway, Jake Letman of McCormick and Emerald’s D.L. Griffin and Fred Johnson, who were All-Region III-AA selections.
Norman returns to the first team after another double-double season, while Henderson, an honorable mention last season and member of the all-region team, was the floor general for the Lady Flashes, guiding the team to its first Region I-A title in more than a decade.
Chandler, an All-Region I-AAAA selection, led the Lady Eagles in scoring (11 points), assists (3) and steals (4) a game, while Bailey was one rebound shy of a double-double average for the Lady Panthers, providing 16 points and nine rebounds a game. Both Chandler and Bailey were second-team All-Lakelands last season.
Roundtree missed the early part of the season with a leg injury, but recovered to provide 15 points and 11 rebounds a game to go along with 40 percent shooting from 3s.
Letman and Holloway, both in their first varsity seasons, averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds and 15 and 10 a night, respectively.
Griffin, an All-Lakelands honorable mention a year ago, led the Vikings in scoring (17 points) and free throw shooting (73 percent) to go along with five rebounds and three assists a night.
Johnson, a first-teamer as a junior, guided the Emerald offense in his first year at point guard, pitching in 11 points and a team-high five assists an outing.
Griffin’s and Johnson’s teammate Dan Wideman heads up the boys’ second team. The junior forward, who was an honorable mention last season, was one rebound short of a double-double average in his second year in the Vikings’ starting lineup, bringing in 12 points and nine rebounds a night.
Joining Wideman on the second team are Holloway’s teammate Trevor Deloach, Letman’s teammate Recardo Bryant, Abbeville’s Elon Deveaux, Greenwood’s Armanti Edwards and Nick Lagroone of Ninety Six.
The girls’ second team is made up of six players from six different teams. Saluda’s Brooke Williams, Ninety Six’s Meagan Frazier, Greenwood Christian’s Jo Ellen Smoak, Melinda Canfield of Dixie and Dainese Roberts of McCormick.
Deloach, a first-teamer last year as a freshman, shared the wealth with Holloway this year, scoring 14 and pulling down seven rebounds a night. Deveaux, a senior, and the junior Lagroone, who are both three-year starters, put up 12 and 16 points, respectively.
The junior Edwards was the Eagles most consistent offensive threat along with being the team’s leading scorer, while Bryant put up 15 points and 11 rebounds a night as the Chiefs’ shooting guard.
Smoak, a senior, joined the Lady Hawks’ 1,000-point club, while averaging 15 points and eight rebounds. Williams, a senior, was the main threat for the Lady Tigers, with 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists a night. The Wildcats’ offense ran through senior point guard Frazier, who led her team in scoring to earn her third All-Lakelands selection.
Canfield, a second-teamer last year as a sophomore, brought in 14 points and eight rebounds, while Roberts, a first time All-Lakelands team-member in her junior year, led the Lady Chiefs in scoring.
The boys honorable mentions are: Ware Shoals’ Cameron Dorn and Charles Craighead; Saluda’s Montez Mathis and Rodrecus Tolen; Ninety Six’s Tyler Robinson; Greenwood Christian’s Ashby Hall, Tyler Leinbach, Jimmy Hinrichs and Joseph Bailey; Greenwood’s John Phelps and Alonzo Higgins; Dixie’s Jamal Mattison and Ajamal Davis; Emerald’s Aaron Evans; Calhoun Falls’ Monterrio Tatum and Jarrell Dennis; and Abbeville’s Courtney Tate and Jamar Washington.
The girls honorable mentions are: Abbeville’s Sasha Moss, Candace Franklin and Tecoya London; Dixie’s Jasmine Smith and Stephanie Lowe; Emerald’s Barbara Ligon; Greenwood’s Jacena Thompson, Ashley Latham and Vijya Corbett; Greenwood Christian’s Caroline Clarke; McCormick’s Whitney Smalls and Lateidrya Mims; Ninety Six’s Haven Jenkins and Asia Etheredge; Saluda’s Kimara Myers; and Ware Shoals’ Lauren Butler.

Opinion

Effort to protect teachers should get quick approval

March 7, 2005

Sometimes some school officials may not like to talk about it. That, however, doesn’t make it go away. “It” is the threat that is always present – implied or actual – that public school teachers face everyday in the classroom ….. anywhere on school campuses, really.
It can be seen at schools in Greenwood and all around the Lakelands area. Teachers are actually threatened with bodily harm by students who have little or no respect for authority or the rules. In fact, for some students, those things mean nothing.
With that as backdrop, a South Carolina Senate Judiciary subcommittee has approved legislation to increase the penalty for students who injure public school teachers. The legislation would make the offense a felony instead of a misdemeanor, as it now is. It now goes to the full Judiciary Committee.

PROTECTING TEACHERS SHOULD be a top priority, right along with teaching and learning. Increasing the penalty may help some, of course. It surely can’t hurt. But, nothing so far has done the job. Consequences apparently don’t matter to some students. They laugh at them. Calling them students may, practically speaking, be a misnomer. In reality, some of them, pure and simple, are thugs. And they act that way.
This bill should be approved by the Committee and the Legislature without a lot of debate. That, though, should not be the end of efforts to make teacher safety a continuing priority.
If this new and stronger penalty proves ineffective in eliminating the problem, do more. Make penalties for assaulting a teacher strong enough to be a real deterrent.

WHAT WE HAVE NOW ARE frustration and fear as overriding factors in the pitiful rates of graduation and just about every other thing that applies to a quality education.
Some will quibble with the very idea that teachers are, in a word, under the gun. They refuse to even consider that teachers face danger from “students.” Don’t be misled. Visit the schools. Be an unobtrusive observer. It’s an eye-opener.
Some parents add to the problem, too. They balk at having their child disciplined, regardless of reason or need. It’s easy to see. They, too, live in a make-believe world where everything is good and kind and gentle and no problems exist.
That’s not reality, though. Teachers need protection that is effective. If the Legislature does nothing else, do that. In the long run it’ll pay off for everyone.

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

Obituaries

Prudence Greer Frederic

ORANGEBURG, SC — Prudence Greer Frederic, 87, of 516 Tradewinds, widow of James C. Frederic, died Saturday, March 5, 2005 at her residence.
She was born October 30, 1917 in Union, S.C. the last of 10 children of the late Lester Greer and the late Martha Ann Vaughn Greer. She was a member of the Bethel United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Women and the Young at Heart Club. She was a previous employee of the Orangeburg Regional Hospital. She was preceded in death by a grandson, James Ronny Dantzler.
Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Jimmy (Betty) Dantzler of Orangeburg; two sons and daughter-in-laws, James C. Frederic Jr. and Sheryle of Greenwood, Ralph Frederic and Vivian Frederic of Little Mountain, S.C.; three grandchildren, Ann Hawkins, Ellisse Sorrow, and Lauren Frederic; four great-grandchildren, Jordon Heffelfinger, Eddie Dantzler, Allen Dantzler and Paton Sorrow; and two special caretakers, Jo Ann B. Thompson and Alice Geiger.
Services are 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at Bethel United Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev. Jimmy Smoak. The casket will be placed in the church one hour before the service.
Burial is in Memorial Park Cemetery in Orangeburg.
Pallbearers are Ramsay Hawkins, Greg Sorrow, Eddie Dantzler, Jimmy Barbrey, Bert Bozard, Ricky Cudd, Allen Dantzler and David Cudd.
Visitation is 6-8 p.m. tonight at Thompson Funeral Home, Inc. in Orangeburg.
The family is at the home, 516 Tradewinds, Orangeburg, S.C.
Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church, c/o Mary Arant, 3621 Charleston Highway, Orangeburg, S.C. 29115 or Hospice of T.R.M.C., 1324 Hutto St., Orangeburg, S.C. 29118.
Thompson Funeral Home, Inc., Orangeburg, is in charge.
PAID OBITUARY

Dr. J. Calvin Koonts

DUE WEST, SC — Dr. J. Calvin ‘Cal’ Koonts, 80, resident of 10 Haynes St., husband of Cortlandt ‘Corky’ Morper Koonts died Saturday, March 5, 2005 at his home.
Born in Lexington, NC he was a son of the late Harvey Hill and Elsie T. Koonts.
Dr. J. Calvin Koonts earned his AB degree Magna Cum Laude, from Catawba College and his MA and Ph.D. degrees from George Peabody College. After several years of teaching at Boyden High School, in Salisbury, NC, in 1949 he joined the faculty of Erskine College, where, in addition to holding various administrative posts, he was elected the first Chairman of the Faculty. Dr. Koonts received several fellowships and scholarships for postdoctoral study. They included study at Harvard, U.C.L.A., Oxford, and a Fulbright Grant to study education in Pakistan.
Dr. Koonts arrived in Due West in the fall in 1949 to begin a long and fruitful career as developer and head of the Education Department of Erskine College. He brought with him a strong belief in the worth of teacher education and determination to develop at Erskine a program for which it could be proud. During his 41 years of service to Erskine, he has seen this aim flourish, and graduates of “his” program have distinguished themselves in the teaching profession and in related administrative areas. “Teachers of the year,” college professors, college presidents, superintendents, principals, curriculum coordinators, and thousands of teachers dedicated to teaching young people have “sat at his feet.”
While directing the teacher education program at Erskine, he contributed to progress of the program in the entire state. He organized the ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT TEACHING (now the ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER EDUCATORS) in South Carolina, serving as its first and twenty-fifth president and State delegate to the National Convention on numerous occasions. He was an active member of the SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES OF TEACHER EDUCATION, serving as president and executive board member. He served on the State Board of Education and, in 1964, was one of 15 Americans chosen to study education in Pakistan. In addition to these contributions, he served on the Board of Trustees at Piedmont Technical College, the Board of Advisors for Gardner-Webb College and on the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, Catawba College, which conferred on him an honorary doctorate. Dr. Koonts is listed in WHO’S WHO IN AMERICA.
Though his life was dedicated to the teaching of teachers, he found time to excel in other areas as well. Most notable, perhaps, is his writing of poetry. His writing first attracted notice when he won the Frantz Essay Award as an undergraduate of Catawba College. Since then he published a number of books of poetry. A SLICE OF THE SUN, his fifth book of verse, was his contribution to the 1976 Bicentennial and includes poetry which won the William Gilmore Simms Poetry prize in 1973, the Unicorn Prize in 1974, the Lyric Poetry Prize in 1975, and in 1977 the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Award. These awards were made by the Poetry Society of South Carolina. Dr. Koonts is one of a number of South Carolina literary figures with connections to Erskine listed in a brochure called “ The South Carolina Literary Tour” and printed by the Palmetto Book Alliance, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. Dr. Koonts is also named several times in the INTERNATIONAL WHO’S WHO IN POETRY, Cambridge, England.
Dr. Koonts served on the town council of Due West and was a member of the Due West ARP Church where he served as deacon and an elder.
Survivors are: Wife – Cortlandt M. Koonts – of the home
Son – Carlisle Woodson Koonts and his wife Linda of Hartsville, SC
Daughter – Camille Koonts Stein and her husband John of Medford, N.J.
Grandchildren Taylor and Cameron Koonts and step-granddaughter Je Ne’ New
Grandchildren Christopher, Eric, Caroline and Will Stein
Sister – Mrs. Hilda Koonts Comfort of Gulfport, Mississippi
Niece – Mrs. Ralice Ostrom Gertz – Greensboro, NC and Nephew Ralph Kenneth Ostron of Irmo, SC
Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday March 8, 2005 at 11:00 AM from the Due West ARP Church with the Rev. Calvin Draffin and Dr. James Bell officiating. The burial will precede funeral services in the Due West ARP Church Cemetery.
The body is at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home. The family will receive friends Monday, March 7, 2005 at the residence 10 Haynes St., Due West, SC.
Memorials may be made to the J. Calvin Koonts Education Scholarship Fund at Erskine College in Due West, SC 29639, or to the Due West ARP Church, Building Fund, Due West, SC 29639.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home of Abbeville, SC is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Catherine B. Moore

MOUNTVILLE — Catherine Benjamin Moore, 85, of 1112 Teague Road, widow of Randolph W. Moore, died Sunday, March 6, 2005 at Laurens County Hospital.
Born in Mountville, she was a daughter of the late Irvin and Ina Coleman Benjamin, was a graduate and Valedictorian of Mountville High School, retired from J.P. Stevens Co., and was a member of Beaverdam Baptist Church. She was Church Clerk for over 40 years, active in W.M.U., a member and taught the Catherine Moore Sunday School Class.
Surviving are one son, W. Stan Moore and wife Judy of Greenwood; one daughter, Mary Lanford and husband Steve of Mountville; one sister, Rebecca Tingle of Mountville; three grandchildren, Mandy Grigsby and husband Eric, Ben Lanford and wife Allison, and Will Lanford; two great-grandchildren, John Patrick Grigsby and Catherine Grigsby. She was predeceased by a sister, Sara Palmer.
Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at Beaverdam Baptist Church conducted by Rev. Phil Bryson with burial in the Church Cemetery.
The family will be at the residence and will receive friends at Kennedy Mortuary, Laurens from 7:00 to 8:30 PM Monday.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Beaverdam Baptist Church, 1555 Beaverdam Church Road, Mountville, SC 29370.
Kennedy Mortuary, Laurens
PAID OBITUARY

Bill Morris

ABBEVILLE — William T. “Bill” Morris, 66, of 2529 Broadway Lake Road, died Saturday, March 5, 2005 at Anderson Area Medical Center.
Services will be announced by Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home.

Wayne Powell

Jesse Wayne Powell, 66, of 107 Mayapple, husband of Betsy Sikes Powell, died Sunday, March 6, 2005 at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Visitation is 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home.

Melvie Thomas

HODGES — Services for Melvie Thomas is 1 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Abbeville County, conducted by the Rev. Willie J. Fraizer, assisted by Minister Donnie Kennedy. The body will be placed in the church at 12.
Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews and other family members.
Flower bearers are nieces and other family members.
The family will be at the home of William C. and Jessie Lee Richardson, 103 Gregg Court, Hodges.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.