Helicopters brought in after wreck

Three people injured in Greenwood

November 2, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

A two-vehicle wreck Tuesday at the intersection of the U.S. 25 Bypass and Sweetwater Road in Greenwood left two adults and one child injured.
Greenwood police and sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and emergency medical technicians responded to the wreck, which occurred just before 5 p.m.
Lt. Sam Watts, with the Greenwood Police Department, would not release any details about how the wreck occurred or the identity of the people involved.
Bystanders and nearby residents lined the roadside as emergency personnel worked to clear the vehicles and debris from the bypass.
Ambulances carried two wreck victims — one adult and one child — to the parking lot of the Greenwood Learning Center, where they were loaded into two helicopters and taken to a hospital in Greenville. One wreck victim was taken by ambulance to Self Regional Medical Center.
The condition of the victims was not available at press time.
Bystanders on the scene said the intersection, which has stop signs for Sweetwater Road, needs to have a traffic light or a reduced speed limit.
One bystander, Billy Loftis, whose house on Sweetwater Road is only feet from where Tuesday’s wreck occurred, said he and his wife had a wreck at the intersection earlier this month.
He said he wasn’t surprised to see another serious accident in the same spot.
“It’s a bad intersection,” he said. “People don’t slow down. They need a red light or a caution light. They need to do something because people come through here just flying.”

Megan Varner covers general assignments in Greenwood and the Lakelands. She can be reached at 223-1811, ext. 3308, or: mvarner@indexjournal.com

Mary A. Belcher

ABBEVILLE — Mary A. Belcher, 99, widow of the Rev. James Belcher, died Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005 at Abbeville Nursing Home.
Born in Abbeville County, she was a daughter of the late Howie Anderson Martin. She was a homemaker and a member of Washington Street Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include a son, John Wesley Anderson of Easley and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services are 1 p.m. Friday at Washington Street Presbyterian Church, conducted by the Rev. Alice Ridgill. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in Harbison Cemetery.
Visitation is 6-7 Thursday at Brown and Walker Funeral Home.
The family is at the home of a Goddaughter, Mary A. Smith, 1101 Secession Ave.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

James ‘Horace’ Griffin

James Hards “Horace” Griffin, 59, of 301 Beechwood Circle, husband of Essie Burton Griffin, died Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of Rosa Lee Palmore and the late Jessie Griffin. He retired from NSO Resins and was a former member of Old Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Survivors include his mother of Greenwood; his wife of Greenwood; three sons, Jessie James Griffin Jr., Mark Griffin and Travis Griffin, all of Greenwood; five daughters, Linda Griffin Barr of Newberry, Sherry Griffin Booker, Angel Griffin, Mamie Griffin and Lisa Griffin, all of Greenwood; two brothers, James Palmore of Greenwood and Robert Lee Palmore of North Carolina; five sisters, Ella Julia Chambers, Shirley Nance, Brenda Pain, all of Greenwood, Lona Hackett and Gladys Palmore, both of Cross Hill; 15 grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Thursday at Dunham Temple C.M.E. Church, conducted by Pastor James McKee. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in Ninety Six Community Cemetery.
Pallbearers are Eddie Lee Chambers Jr., Ricky Griffin, Darryl Booker, Kenny Carroll, Dennis Barr and Curtis Griffin.
Flower bearers are Kimberly Griffin, Tomika Anderson, Avis Simon and Janice Woods.
Visitation is this evening at the home of a sister Julia Chambers, Apt. 4, Gilliam Court.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.robson@nctv.com

Thomas Nichols Jr.

Thomas Homes Nichols Jr., 83, of 252 Deer Run Lane, husband of Eyra Kent Nichols, Monday, died Nov. 1, 2005 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Visitation is 10-11 Thursday in the church parlor at First Baptist Church.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Facing familiar foes

Ware Shoals, Calhoun Falls, Dixie open state playoffs with rematches

November 2, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

Familiarity is the theme for the three Class A playoff teams from Greenwood and the Lakelands area.
Ware Shoals, Calhoun Falls and Dixie, which finished first, second and third in Region I-A, respectively, start the opening round of the state playoffs Friday night by facing opponents they have already seen at one time during the season.
Region I-A champion Ware Shoals (8-2), which has home-field advantage through to the state finals, plays host to Blacksburg (1-9), the fourth-place team from Region II-A, at 8 p.m.
At the same time, Calhoun Falls (8-2), the Region I-A runners up, has Jonesville (3-7) at Fulmer Stadium, while Dixie (5-5) travels to Simpsonville for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Christ Church (4-6).

WARE SHOALS VS. BLACKSBURG

Class A No. 5 Ware Shoals, which won its second Region I-A title in the past three season, first faced Blacksburg back in Week 5. The Hornets won the original meeting, 56-20, at Riegel Stadium.
Despite having first-hand knowledge of his team’s first-round opponent, Hornets coach Jeff Murdock isn’t quite sure it will come in all that handy.
“We’re a little different team than we were when we played Blacksburg the first time, and Blacksburg’s a little different as well,” Murdock said. “It’s the same team but it’s a different look. It won’t be the exact same thing from either side.”
One thing that’s changed for the Cavaliers is the team’s increase in the use of the running game.
“They run the ball a good bit more,” Murdock said. “They do all of those multiple formations, but they’re mainly a run team right now.”
The shift to a more run-oriented team has put the ball in the hands of Marvin Ford. The tailback leads the team with 509 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including a 200-plus yard and two-TD performance last week against Thornwell.
The Wildcats picked up their first and only win against Whitmire.
Since then, the team has dropped games against Landrum, Jonesville and Thornwell. The last two contests by a combined score of 16 points.
“I think we’ve gotten better over the last two weeks, especially moving the football on offense,” Blanton said. “But on the down side of that, Ware Shoals has had shutouts the last two weeks. They’re defense is playing much better.”
The Hornets’ defense has been dominating as of late, keeping opponents off the scoreboard for the past 10 quarters of play. That streak includes shutouts over Dixie and Region II-A champion Landrum along with a second-half blanking of Calhoun Falls.
Murdock credits his defense’s resurgence to a change in temperament.
“I think a lot of that right now is attitude,” Murdock said. “The kids are taking a lot of pride in it. We’re running pretty much the same stuff, but they’ve got a nasty little attitude. And I think that’s the force behind it.”
The Hornets’ offense has been more balanced this season than it has ever been. Quarterback Keith Stewart has led a passing game that has racked up 963 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Wingbacks Patorious Leverette and Tony Lomax guides the running game. Leverette has a team-high 768 yards, while Lomax, limited by injuries this season, has 612 yards on 76 carries.
Freshman Lance Richardson has come on strong the last few weeks of the season. The freshman wingback has 333 yards on 49 carries.

CALHOUN FALLS VS. JONESVILLE

It’s been almost two months since Calhoun Falls came away with a 28-14 win at Jonesville.
This time, the two squads meet up at Fulmer Stadium, a place where the No. 10 Blue Flashes rarely taste defeat.
That is one reason, Jonesville coach David Lipsey isn’t too excited about facing a familiar opponent.
“It’s all according to who it is,” Lipsey said. “If it’s Calhoun Falls, there isn’t any benefit to playing them again. If it’s some other team, we wouldn’t mind playing them again.”
It’s been a struggling season for Jonesville, which lost standout quarterback Jare Gault to graduation last season. The Wildcats’ loss to the Flashes was the third in a four-game losing streak to open the 2005 season.
In fact, Jonesville needed last week’s 24-3 win over Whitmire to lock up the third-place finish in Region II-A.
“We’re going to have to do a good job of letting them know about Jonesville,” Calhoun Falls coach Eddie Roberts said. “Yeah, Jonesville is 3-7, but they’re the best 3-7 team I’ve seen. I think they have better talent among teams in the region, but injuries have really hurt them. They could have very easily have won that region.”
Blacksburg’s Dwight Brannon has had the unenviable task of filling in for Gault at quarterback. Brannon has completed 85 of 182 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns, but has 14 interceptions.
Brannon also has a team-high 555 yards rushing, while teammate Chris Glenn has 324 yards and four touchdowns.

DIXIE AT CHRIST CHURCH

Dixie and Christ Church not only met twice during the preseason – once in a scrimmage and another in the Region I-A Jamboree – but the two squads also shared five similar opponents.
However, Dixie coach Steve Dunlap doesn’t think either aspect gives either of the teams an advantage in this first-round meeting.
“You probably learn more from film swapping then you would from remembering preseason stuff because it’s been 10 or 12 weeks,” Dunlap said. “Teams change quite a bit in that length of time. And if they’re anything like us, they weren’t showing anything in the region jamboree. They stayed pretty basic.”
It didn’t take the Hornets coach long to see on film that the Cavaliers have made some changes over the course of the season.
“They have opened up their offense a little more,” Dunlap said. “They use a combination of offensive sets. They will use the spread, sometimes they have an empty backfield and then they come at you with the power I.
“They’re kind of like we are. We go from the spread one minute to the wishbone. They go from the spread to the I.” The Christ Church offense begins and ends with quarterback Rick Furman. Despite using the spread and empty-set formations, the junior isn’t primarily used as a passing quarterback.
Instead, Furman has been a major running threat, rushing for almost three times as many yards, with 800 yards rushing and 300 passing.
Like the Cavaliers, the Hornets’ offense turns to a quarterback. Eric Gladden has thrown for 766 yards on the season. The 5-foot-6 quarterback is also a threat to run. Gladden, along with Paco Pruitt and Matthew Graham, provide the bulk of the Dixie running game.
Dixie opened the year with a 1-3 record, but the team turned things around in the middle of the season, going on a four-game winning streak, including wins against a pair of Region II-A opponents (Whitemire and Jonesville).
“Gaining those early wins really added to our guys confidence,” Dunlap said. “We had a spell there where we were 4-0, and all of those wins we’re come-from-behind wins.”

Starting date for schools deserves separate debate

November 2, 2005

The best time to start school is something that ought to be given the benefit of public debate. It’s an important issue for a lot of South Carolinians and deserves airing thoroughly, in Greenwood as well as all over the state.
That hasn’t happened, although some might argue that folks in School District 50 areas had opportunities to bring it up at public “Your Turn to Talk” sessions held by District trustees. At the sessions, the subject apparently didn’t elicit much commentary, if any.
It was on a list of discussion topics given to those in attendance. However, they were asked to choose their top five priorities from the list. The list, unfortunately, had 42 suggested topics, with school start date listed as number 31, and it was labeled School calendar-start date.

SINCE THE LIST INCLUDED many of what some might prefer to designate as crucial and important topics, it likely was a foregone conclusion that start dates would never fit into any time frame or come before some other topics, like high graduation rate, for example, or small class size, teachers who communicate effectively with parents and other class-related, teacher-related or parental involvement subjects.
Starting dates is an emotional but important item for many parents, students and employers all over South Carolina. It is worthy of earnest and honest debate on its own merits. Lumping it in with tens of other subjects with limited time for discussion, doesn’t do the question justice. Neither is it fair to a lot of people.
That should be remedied. They are, after all, public schools. That includes all the public and all the public has a right to a fair hearing. So far, that portion of the public that wants to talk about school start dates hasn’t been able to do that.