John de la Howe official asks
school superintendents to encourage more referrals

November 15, 2005

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor
Mark Williamson’s title is “superintendent.” But he quickly acknowledged he is not like the other superintendents with whom he met recently.
Williamson took his “mission to share the good news” of John de la Howe School in McCormick County to the public school superintendents of the Lakelands districts in the Western Piedmont Education Consortium.
A licensed social worker with a master’s degree in business administration, Williamson has been on his job about half a year, coming from Indiana. He lives on the 1,200-acre de la Howe campus.
“People know when they hear about us that we work with bad kids. They have that much knowledge,” Williamson said. “Our mission is to strengthen children and families. We work with kids separated from their families and communities. We do not raise children. The ‘orphanage’ concept is pretty much gone nationwide.”
Children, mostly middle school and high school age, who come to de la Howe stay an average of 12-18 months, receiving counseling, getting skill-development training, including job skills, and participating in recreational therapy, including athletics and art. They work with livestock, built a log cabin and, in the process, develop an “amazing” sense of pride, Williamson said.
John de la Howe School is funded by the state government, but Williamson said he is looking to bill Medicaid more often for the children whose families are Medicaid-eligible and seek other alternative sources of funding. The school also is working toward accreditation, he said.
With increased funding, programs that had “disappeared” over the years — notably wilderness camps, a farm and equine instruction — could make a comeback.
Williamson specifically asked for the superintendents’ help with one problem that he said de la Howe has: a lack of referrals from school districts in the Lakelands. The school is licensed for 120 children and has about half that number now as its enrollment.
Williamson said most of the children come from outside this area; just two children at de la Howe School are from Greenwood County.
The superintendents suggested a gathering of guidance counselors at which Williamson could make a presentation. That would keep him from having to travel school-to-school.
“It would be wonderful to have an interest meeting. But there is an advantage to visiting (school) buildings, to get to know people one-on-one,” Williamson said. He said he was asking the superintendents’ permission to make the necessary contacts.
It’s “unfortunate,” Williamson said, that most people are familiar with de la Howe because last year Gov. Mark Sanford said it should be closed to save the state money, a move defeated by school alumni and lawmakers, and not because it is a “valuable resource.”
Williamson said de la Howe School is designed to assist children who, because of abuse and neglect, are behind grade level. It doesn’t serve violent children or sex-offending children. The facility is able to treat elementary-age children but its programs are geared mostly to middle and high school age youth. Families can participate in the treatment process.
The programs are designed for “a child (who) if there is no intervention out of the home will fall further behind. On a scale of 1-10, with one being the least, our kids are 6, 7 and 8 in terms of behavioral health and failure in school,” Williamson said. “It’s voluntary, not typically court-ordered but it can be.”

Inez Brown

Services for Inez Moore Brown are 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. Paul FBH Church, conducted by Pastor Lela B. Breeze. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in Evening Star Cemetery.
Pallbearers are grandsons.
Flower bearers are granddaughters.
The family is at the home, 118 Tompkins Ave.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Dwight O’Neal Fox

AIKEN, SC — Dwight O’Neal Fox, 62, of Aiken entered into rest Monday, November 14, 2005 in Lexington Medical Center.
Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M. Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at Earle Church of God in Aiken with the Rev. Tony Garrett officiating. Burial will be in Ridge Spring Cemetery.
Mr. Fox was born September 10, 1943 in Aiken County, the son of the late Mark OâNeal Fox and survived by his mother and step-father, Lula Mae and John Albert Bearden. He was a member of Bethel Baptist Church.
Surviving are his two daughters and sons in law, Angela Fox and James Cecil Ivey of Charlotte, NC, Lisa Fox and Jimmy Whetstone of Salley, SC; two grandsons, Jody Darren Whetstone, and Jameon Kyle Whetstone, both of Salley, SC; brother and sister in law, Mark and Teresa Fox of Greenwood, and a sister and brother in law, Donna and Harry Rankin of Aiken, SC.
Visitation will be 6-8 P.M. Tuesday ay Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home 715 East Pine Log Rd.
Memorials may be made to Earle Church of God Youth Ministry, 341 Earle Church Rd., Aiken, SC 29805.
Please sign the online registry at www.shellhouseriversfuneralhome.com
Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home, 715 East Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC 29803
PAID OBITUARY

Tommy Haire

NINETY SIX — Thomas Samuel “Tommy” Haire, 40, of 602 McKenzie Road, died Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005 in Edgefield County from injuries received in an automobile accident.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Betty Jean Waters

CALHOUN FALLS — Betty Jean Rudder Waters, 74, of 601 Barnwell St., died Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005. Survivors include her husband, Rayford C. Waters of the home; four children, Linda Waters Cheek of New Smyrna, Fla., Richard G. Waters of Willard, Mo., Joyce Elaine Hall of Lowndesville and Stephanie Waters Copelan of Abbeville; 12 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandchild; a brother, L.V. Rudder and a sister, Mildred Wiley, both of Calhoun Falls.
Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday at Calhoun Falls Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Jerry Dalton. Burial is in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Calhoun Falls Funeral Home is in charge.

Pope helps Blue Hose shine

November 15, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

CLINTON — A native of the Lakelands area has been an integral part of an exceptional college football team in 2005.
Chris Pope, a Ninety Six High School graduate, is a starting wide receiver at Presbyterian College. The Blue Hose are 10-1 on the year and face Central Arkansas Saturday in the NCAA Division II playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1987.
Pope has had a stellar year for the Blue Hose. The junior has caught 53 passes for a team-high 642 yards and a touchdown, averaging 12.7 yards per reception.
His longest reception this season is 60 yards and he leads the Blue Hose with 58.4 receiving yards per game. “All of that goes back to our quarterback Zach Ellis,” Pope said. “He’s tremendous. And the coaches give us a good gameplan every week. I just play my role in whatever the coaches do for us.”
Presbyterian was South Atlantic Conference champions this season, the first time the Blue Hose have won the title since Pope arrived at the school.
The sure-handed wideout said a conference title has been the team’s goal since day one.
“The SAC is an unbelievable conference,” Pope said. “We were very fortunate to win a couple of the games we did. The competition level is high.”
The Blue Hose’s season has the Clinton campus buzz with excitement about a possible national championship run. Pope said the fact the Blue Hose will be hosting a home playoff game Nov. 19, after a bye week this Saturday, has the student body more amped up than it would have been if Presbyterian had to hit the road.
According to Pope, the bye week could not have come at a better time.
“We did not get a bye week during the regular season,” Pope said. “We’ve got guys that are banged up. We’ve been focusing on fundamentals this week in practice, rather than going full contact. We’ll get more in depth once we find out who we’re playing on the 19th.”
The Blue Hose will be playing the winner of the Central Arkansas-Albany State game.
Pope noted one major highlight from the regular season: Presbyterian’s 38-7 win over Newberry. The game, long dubbed the Bronze Derby Game, pits the two rivals in a yearly grudge match.
“I told the freshmen this year to take their biggest rivalry in high school and multiply it by 10. That’s how big this one is,” Pope said. “The fans really get into it. The score of this year’s game doesn’t indicate what a good game it was. Newberry played well.”
The winner of the annual game gets to keep the actual bronze derby on its campus for the next calendar year. Pope said the Blue Hose and the Presbyterian student body take great pride in having the derby in their trophy case.
Ellis has thrown for 2,478 yards this season in Presbyterian’s pass happy offense. That suits Pope just fine. In fact, he said it comes natural to him after playing in Mike Doolittle’s wide-open scheme at Ninety Six.
“Oh yeah, as a receiver, I love it,” said Pope with a laugh. “We work hard all week and then get to show out on Saturday. Passing is the core of our offense. Again, that falls back to our coaches, who are some of the best around.”
The playoff system in Division II is a far cry from the seemingly arbitrary “poll and bowl” system employed by Division I-A, the highest division in college football. Pope said he doesn’t see the Division I system changing anytime soon because of politics and corporate sponsorships.
As it is, Pope extols the virtues of the Division II playoff format.
“It’s decided on the field, like it should be,” Pope said. “Our academics won’t suffer because of playoffs. We take great pride in our schoolwork here. We’ll handle our business in the classroom, just like the regular season.”
As Pope and the Blue Hose wait for their opening round game, the wide receiver makes it clear what the team’s goals are.
“From day one we’ve talked about a national title,” Pope said. “We have to take each game as it comes. For that three-hour period, that game is all that matters. We can’t wait.”

Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

Public business in secret a threat to every citizen

November 15, 2005

It probably didn’t come as a surprise to some South Carolinians that about a fourth of the elected officials in the state have violated the law. Specifically, they have held closed meetings to discuss public business contrary to the Freedom of Information Act. Likewise, some law enforcement officials have violated the law by not providing the public with reports that are public by law.
In fairness, there are reasons some of them don’t follow that law ….. reasons, not excuses. New privacy laws have created conditions that leave some officials unsure of what they can and cannot do. Then, of course, there is ignorance of the law, which is no excuse. If they are working in a public job, they should know the law.

THEN, TO BE SURE, THERE are some who purposely go into executive session to avoid doing the public’s work in public view. Whether they are afraid of demonstrating their inability, level of intelligence or something else, the practical effect is that it denies the public opportunity to see firsthand how their “public servants” are doing the job they were elected or hired to do.
Some on various councils and school boards, it appears, go behind closed doors to discuss business that the law says must be done in open meetings, all the time knowing they are breaking the law.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster left no doubt about what the law means. Public bodies must be specific when they go into executive session ….. and they must vote to go behind closed doors and announce what they will discuss. If they discuss anything other than that, they are breaking the law. Furthermore, they cannot vote on the specific issue until they go back into open session. If they vote in secret, they also violate the law.

McMASTER SAYS OPENNESS is part of building and keeping public trust. If officials break that trust, he says, “the public loses all confidence in the public body.”
It does that, yes. But, it also undermines the very foundation of government that keeps our nation, states and communities viable. Worse, when the people who are elected or charged with making and/or upholding the law violate the law, whether intentionally or inadvertently, they do the biggest damage of all to the trust that binds all of us together. They should be models of how to serve, not scofflaws.
It’s amazing, though, how candidates seeking office will promise open and accountable government, and then hide from public view when they get into office.
The public needs to know that and act accordingly. It is, after all, government of, by and for the people. Too many who should know better too often forget ….. on purpose.