‘Space station’ docks at Greenwood Mall

Partnership with Discovery Place brings exhibit here for six months

October 22, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

To get a closer look at this equipment, you’d have to leave the planet.
Starting today, curious youths and adults won’t have to get onboard the next space shuttle to see the International Space Station — they can just drive to Greenwood Mall.
“International Space Station: The Earth Tour,” a 5,000-square-foot exhibit developed by Discovery Place in conjunction with NASA and U.S. Space Enterprises, has traveled to five cities across the country since its premiere at the Discovery Place in 2001.
The owners of Greenwood Mall partnered with Discovery Place to bring the exhibit to Greenwood for a six-month stay.
The International Space Station, the largest international peacetime project in the history of the world, involves 16 nations and is being assembled piece-by-piece while in Earth’s orbit.
The project, costing $35-37 billion, is scheduled to be completed in 2010 and will be the second brightest object in the sky.
The International Space Station exhibit features a variety of hands-on displays and interactive activities related to the space station and NASA.
Visitors can walk through a scale model of one of the space station’s units, view live feeds from NASA Centers receiving real experiment data from the space station, and even use simulators to practice working in a weightless environment and “capturing” satellites in space.
Crew Systems displays throughout the exhibit give visitors a glimpse of the tools and equipment needed by astronauts to live, eat, sleep, shower and work on the space station.
The exhibit also features a Space Shuttle Theater — located inside a scale model of a space shuttle flight deck — that shows a short video about the space station.
Though the exhibit opens today, organizers will be celebrating an official grand opening and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 28, with a special guest appearance and book signing by author and former NASA employee Ed Buckbee at Waldenbooks following the ceremony.
Buckbee, founder of the U.S. Space Camp and Aviation Challenge programs and director emeritus of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, co-authored the book, “The REAL Space Cowboys.”
“This is going to be a tremendous opportunity for people of all ages to see this once-in-a-lifetime exhibit in our area,” said Rhonda Ervin, senior property manager at Greenwood Mall. “This will draw people (to the Greenwood area) from all over South Carolina as well as surrounding states.”
Organizers currently are looking for sponsors for the exhibit, which will be housed at the Greenwood Mall until April 30, 2006.
Ervin said organizers hope to use the exhibit to conduct a variety of special programs and events.
“International Space Station: The Earth Tour” is open Monday – Thursday, 3-8 p.m., Friday – Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1:30-5 p.m., with daytime hours by private appointment. Admission is $4 per person.

Information in this article was obtained from a Greenwood Mall press release.

Wideman makes bid for All-Star recognition

Vikings QB throws for 342 yards and two touchdowns as Emerald beats Saluda

October 22, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

SALUDA — After being left off the Shrine Bowl roster for two other Lakelands’ quarterbacks, Emerald’s Dan Wideman did his best to prove this area deserves a third all-star bound QB.
Wideman issued a dominating performance in the Vikings’ 42-7 blowout victory over Saluda Friday night at Bettis Herlong Stadium with North All-Star selections less than a week away.
With his defense in complete control of the Tigers’ offense and his receivers catching everything in sight, the senior quarterback completed 26 of 34 passes to nine different receivers, himself included, for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
“At first, I thought I was going to have a rough night out there, but my line held my back tonight,” said Wideman, who now has 2,469 yards and 22 touchdowns passing.
“I hit my comeback routes, my underneath routes, and just took what they gave me.”
With the victory, the Vikings locked up a spot in the Class AA playoffs. But thanks to a Ninety Six win over Newberry in overtime, Emerald can claim their first-ever Region III-AA title with a win over the Wildcats next week at Frank Hill Stadium.
“This was a big win for this program,” Emerald first-year coach Mac Bryan said. “We started out when we got here in February talking about nothing but getting to the state playoffs.
“Home field would be a great thing for us. We’d love to have that. We look forward to playing a great program next Friday night and we hope to have a packed house, and we think we will.”
After taking a somewhat comfortable 14-7 lead into the halftime break, the Vikings blew the game open with a two-touchdown explosion in a two-minute stretch early in the third quarter.
Saluda was saddled with a fourth-and-40 from its own 6-yard line on the opening drive of the second half.
Emerald’s Peferio Strong fielded Derek Hipp’s punt and ran left, stopping in front of a wall of players. The senior then sprinted to the right side of the field and ran, virtually, untouched for the 33-yard touchdown.
Emerald blasted a line drive drilled on the ensuing kickoff a line drive and Josh Boville recovered for the Vikings.
And after a Saluda personal foul was walked off, Emerald had it first-and-10 from the Tigers’ 26.
A 10-yard run by Wideman, plus another 15-yard personal foul, set up Boville’s second touchdown run of the night. This one for 5 yards, giving Emerald the 28-7 lead.
“You feel very uncomfortable only up 14-7 and in the second half, we played much better,” Bryan said. “We have the ability to be explosive, and our special teams certainly has been a help to that.”
The quick-strike scoring was two of four straight touchdowns by the Vikings’ offense.
Wideman connected with Tony Rapley on a 46-yard touchdown pass.
That six-play scoring drive was highlighted by a crucial third-down conversion.
On third-and-8 from the Emerald 18, Wideman dropped back and launched a deep ball to his top target, Demarco Anderson, who made the diving grab for a 34-yard pickup.
The Vikings followed up the Saluda’s fifth punt with an 8-play 49-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run from Brandon Davis. Sophomore kicker Joseph Taylor booted home his sixth extra point to give the game a 42-7 score.
As dominating as Wideman was through the air, the Emerald defense was equally as impressive.
The Vikings’ D allowed Saluda only 83 yards of total offense, with 50 of that coming on a hook-and-lateral play, which resulted in the Tigers’ lone touchdown.
Saluda quarterback Ryan Nichols spent the entire game being hounded by the ever-blitzing Vikings defenders. Emerald linebacker Terrance Rapley accounted for two of the team’s six sacks.
The Tigers had six first downs, with four coming on Emerald penalties, and three of those were on roughing-the-quarterback flags.
“I think our defensive line did a great job of putting pressure in the backfield,” Bryan said. “They just kept coming. I think our front seven really controlled the game.”
The Saluda defense came out with its defensive backs offering seven to 10 yards cushion on the Emerald wide outs, and Wideman took advantage.
With plenty of room to throw, Wideman completed each of his first 11 passes. However, one of those catches was actually an interception by Saluda’s Trevor Deloach, off a tipped pass to Strong.
But Wideman’s first three passes, which accounted for 60 yards, set up the Vikings’ first score. A 31-yard pass to senior Justin Calhoun gave Emerald a first-and-goal from the Saluda 9.
Three rushing plays set up a fourth-and-goal from the 4. Electing to go for it, Emerald lined up in a power-running formation.
Boville got the handoff and ran up the middle for the touchdown.
After the interception, Wideman then completed five straight passes. The fifth, which was the first play of the second quarter, was laser strike to Anderson on second-and-14 from the Saluda 17. Anderson caught the pass in the middle of the field, then made a complete 360 and dashed to the left pylon for the 14-0 lead.
That two-touchdown lead didn’t last long. On the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, Nichols hit Deloach for an 11-yard pass. Deloach then underhanded it Michael Burton streaking down the left sideline. The freshman sprinted 49 yards for the touchdown.

Greenwood blows out Green Wave

October 22, 2005

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

EASLEY — Another week, another homecoming demolished.
The Greenwood High School football team swamped Easley 59-13 Friday night in Easley. It marked the second straight week the Eagles have defeated a Region I-AAAA team on its homecoming, following their win over T.L. Hanna a week ago.
The 59 points also marked the most Greenwood has scored during coach Shell Dula’s tenure.
“That’s a testament to our offensive coaches and players and our gameplan,” Dula said. “We felt like we needed to come out and get points early and that’s what we were able to do.”
Greenwood (6-3 overall, 2-1 region) was led by quarterback Armanti Edwards, who was named to the Shrine Bowl team Thursday. Edwards was 11 of 16 passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 169 yards with a 94-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter.
Edwards’ favorite target was Reggie James, who caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. James did not play last week because of unspecified reasons.
“I was happy to be back out there playing,” James said. “It was tough not being out there last week.”
The Eagles wasted little time beginning their scoring barrage.
After forcing the Green Wave (6-3, 2-1) to a punt, Greenwood took possession of the ball on the Easley 49.
A 28-yard run by Zach Norman was the catalyst on the drive, which ended in when Robert Robinson plunged in from three yards out to put the Eagles up 6-0 with 8 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Robinson, who gained 110 yards on the night, scored again on Greenwood’s next possession.
The shifty tailback capped a 3:44, 69-yard drive by powering his way into the end zone from the 2. The touchdown run and Edwards’ two-point conversion run gave Greenwood a 14-0 lead with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
Greenwood continued to score with remarkable ease on its next possession.
After a Marcus Carroll interception, the Eagles set up shop at the Green Wave 36. Edwards, operating out of the shotgun, took the snap and drifted to his right. Spotting James running a post down the center of the field, Edwards tossed a perfect spiral to the senior, who flopped across the goal line after catching the ball.
The hook-up gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
The change of quarters didn’t provide Easley any respite from Greenwood’s wrath.
After tacking on another touchdown to go up 28-0, Greenwood started its next possession at its own 6. That’s when Edwards executed the play of the night.
The left-handed quarterback ran a draw play straight ahead, and was apparently stopped for an 8-yard gain.
However, Edwards improbably burst from the arms of multiple defenders and burst down the left sideline, evading another wave of would-be tacklers. He then separated from the Green Wave and darted for a 94-yard touchdown, sending the Greenwood crowd into fits of cheers. The run put Greenwood up by five touchdowns at 35-0 with 6:12 remaining in the first half.
Easley scored its first touchdown of the night on the ensuing possession, courtesy of a 25 yard scoring pass from Colt Shope to Chris Talley. Shope finished with 219 yards passing.
The Edwards-James connection struck again for Greenwood on the very next possession.
The Eagles used a mix of passes and runs by Robinson to work their way from their own 25-yard line to the Green Wave 36-yard line. In a play that nearly mirrored their earlier score, Edwards again lofted a high lob to James, this time on a fade route. James was wide open for the over the shoulder touchdown grab, putting Greenwood up 42-7 with 1:55 left in the first half.
“I was excited,” James said. “Those two (scoring) plays were designed specifically for me and Armanti to hook up.”
Easley scored for the last time with 48 seconds remaining in the half, and probably expected they would be able to escape another Eagles’ score before heading to the locker room.
If so, their expectations were wrong.
Starting at their own 35-yard line, the Eagles began to move the ball down the field with a combination of sideline passes, crossing patterns and timeouts in between. With three seconds left in the half, Greenwood kicker Clay Baldwin jogged on for a 35-yard field goal try.
The kick was high and straight down the middle, giving the Eagles a whopping 45-13 lead heading into halftime.
“We were able to get them into a bunch of three-and-outs in the first half,” Dula said. “That enabled us to gain an advantage in field position.”
Next Friday, the Eagles will return home for a game against Region I-AAAA rival Wren.

Opinion

Some coaches are leaders in dealing with ‘problems’

October 22, 2005

Every football fan in South Carolina is familiar by now with the trials and tribulations of new Gamecock football coach Steve Spurrier. For those few who may not be aware of the situation, he’s lost several players because of their run-ins with the law. Others, though, have been kicked off the team for violations of the law and team rules.
Since some of those dismissed players were some of the best athletes the team had, dropping them, the coach had to know, would have a negative effect on the won-lost record. Anyway, it didn’t take long for that to become evident. At least, it has appeared obvious in games thus far.
Give Spurrier credit. He made hard, but right, decisions that some coaches would avoid because making them might hurt their chances for a winning season.

SOMETIMES THE EXAMPLE is emulated, and that is a positive reaction. Whether it’s relative or not, another football coach at a Palmetto State college has just made his case.
Coach Jay Mills, of Charleston Southern University, dismissed four of his players for violation of team rules, although the school would not say what rules were violated. It doesn’t matter what they were. What matters is that those players were wrong. Their apparently thoughtlessness hurt the rest of the players who stay in bounds. Not only that, it reflects poorly on the university.
There have been other colleges where coaches have dealt firmly, but fairly, with players who went astray. Some have relieved themselves, their teams, and their schools of a few problems.

OTHERS, HOWEVER – TOO many others – have simply heaped on the troubles by letting players ignore the rules, and sometimes laws.
In fact, experience provides plenty of evidence to show that too much permissiveness can lead to bigger problems. If more coaches like Spurrier, Mills, and Clemson’s Tommy Bowden would stop tolerating thugs, or if fans would stop treating thugs like heroes, the whole picture might clear up.
Most athletes, by far, are good citizens. The few, though, spoil it for the rest.
Coaches can clean up their sports. They have good examples to follow. The rules and the law tell them how. All they have to do is uphold them.

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

Obituaries

Bill Leagon

Ernest William “Bill” Leagon Jr., 58, of 581 Burnett Road, died Thursday, Oct. 20 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of Roxie Leagon Riddle and the late Ernest William Leagon Sr. He was a Navy Vietnam War veteran, serving as a helicopter rescue medic. He was formerly employed as an EMS technician with Tampa, Fla., Fire Department and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include his mother of Greenwood; a daughter, Heather Leagon of Temple, Texas; three sisters, Vickie Rickett, Sandra Moore and Darlene Clegg, all of Greenwood.
Graveside services with military honors are 2 p.m. Monday in Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. Craig Hughes.
Honorary escorts are Frank Malone Sr., Frank Malone Jr., Willie Hill, Jerry Beacham and Tim Brown.
Visitation is 3:30-5 Sunday at Blyth Funeral Home.
Family members are at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made in memory of Ernest William Leagon Jr., c/o Blyth Funeral Home, PO Box 6, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Lela M. Quarles

NORTH AUGUSTA — Lela M. Quarles, 70, of 1200 Talisman Drive, died Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005 at University Hospital in Augusta.
Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of the late C.J. and Willie M. McAdams Gray. She was a member of Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church. A 1954 graduate of Brewer High School, she received a bachelor of arts degree from Allen University. She was formerly employed with McCormick County School District, New York City school system and General Motors Division, Buffalo, N.Y., and retired from General Motors Division, Albany, Ga.
Survivors include three sons, Vincent Quarles of Rochester, N.Y., Baron Quarles of Oklahoma City and Alvin Quarles of Amherst, N.Y.; two brothers, Clyde Gray and Tom Gray of Greenwood; three sisters, Doris Foggie and Angela Wideman of Greenwood and Joyce Walker of Clarksville, Tenn.; six grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Larry Treadwell

WARE SHOALS — Larry Dean Treadwell, of 901 Smith St. Extension, husband of Willie Williamson Treadwell, died Friday, Oct. 21, 2005 at National Health Care in Greenwood.
Born in Abbeville County, he was a son of the late Howard and Nina Mae Kerr Treadwell. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church and Ware Shoals Masonic Lodge No. 306 and retired from Riegel Textile Corp.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a son, Tony Dean Treadwell of Belton; two daughters, Sheila T. Walters and Cheryl T. Vanadore, both of Ware Shoals; two sisters, Savannah Martin of Ware Shoals and Shelby Hendrix of Cleveland, Ga.; and three grandchildren.
Services are 3 p.m. Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church, conducted by the Revs. Buddy Wiles and Billy Slatten. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Kenneth Earl Martin, Gerald Hendrix, Jack Graves, John Lindley, Bill Smith and Bobby Osborne.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Parker-White Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church, 5551 Highway 252, Ware Shoals, SC 29692.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

James Clarence Waller

YORKTOWN, Pa. — James Clarence Waller, 82, widower of Delores Wells Waller, died Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005 in Philadelphia.
Born in Greenwood County, S.C., he was a son of the late James and Sarah Brooks Waller. He graduated from Brewer High School and received a degree in mechanical engineering from South Carolina State College. A member of Bright Hope Baptist Church, Philadelphia, he was a Navy veteran.
Survivors include a daughter, Dana Clarice Beckton of Philadelphia; two sons, James Frederick Waller and Michael Vaughn Waller of Philadelphia; a brother, Thomas Waller of Greenwood; and two grandchildren.
Services are 10 a.m. Oct. 28, at Bright Hope Baptist Church, 1601 N. Broad St., Philadelphia.
Burial is in Westminster Cemetery.
Harpers Funeral Home, 2241 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, is in charge.
Announcement courtesy of Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home, Greenwood.