Bixby case judge killed

Marc Westbrook dies in two-vehicle wreck

September 15, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

EDGEFIELD — Eleventh Circuit Judge Marc Westbrook was killed Wednesday in a two-vehicle wreck at the intersection of U.S. Highways 378 and 25 in Edgefield County.
He was the judge assigned to the double-murder case involving Steven, Arthur and Rita Bixby, of Abbeville.
Westbrook, 58, was a passenger in a car driven by his law clerk, James Randall Davis Jr., 27, of Lexington.
The vehicle, which had been traveling eastbound on U.S. 378, was stopped at an intersection and pulled out into the path of a tractor-trailer, driven by Robert Robichaud, 62, of Quebec, Canada, said state Department of Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden. The vehicle was struck on the driver’s side.
Westbrook died at the scene, said Edgefield County Coroner Thurmond Burnett. Davis was flown to the Medical College of Georgia, where he later died from injuries.
Robichaud was not injured in the accident, and all three were wearing seat belts, Gaulden said. An investigation is continuing.
Westbrook had served as judge for the Eleventh Circuit Seat 2, in Lexington County, since 1994.
In July, Westbrook was assigned to preside over the Steven Bixby capital murder case and mother Rita Bixby’s capital accessory case.
The state has not announced a decision on seeking the death penalty for Arthur Bixby, Steven Bixby’s father, also charged with murder.
The Bixbys are in custody in connection with the Dec. 8, 2003 shooting deaths of two Abbeville law enforcement officials regarding a right-of-way dispute.
Westbrook ruled on Aug. 2 that the jury to hear Steven Bixby’s case would be impaneled in another county. That jury would either be brought to Abbeville County, if adequate security could be provided at the courthouse there, or would hear the case in their home county.
No date for that ruling had been announced. Westbrook had earlier said that the Bixby trial could take place between mid-February and mid-March.
It is unclear what effects Westbrook’s death will have upon the Bixby trial.
Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace said he was “sickened” by the news of the wreck.
“We are all shocked and saddened by Judge Westbrook’s death. This is really a loss to the South Carolina judiciary,” Peace said. “He was an outstanding jurist and a fine gentleman. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family in their time of grief.”
The Lexington County judge was chairman of state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal’s Committee on Circuit Court Technology. The improvements that came from the group’s work have made South Carolina the envy of other states.
Before the Bixbys’ hearing in August, Westbrook’s assistant took the e-mail addresses of reporters, and the judge said they would be notified electronically of developments in the case and upcoming hearings.
Toal was attending a court technology conference in Seattle on Wednesday and was not immediately available for comment.
The Bixby trial was not Westbrook’s only case to garner statewide attention.
One of Westbrook’s highest-profile trials involved David Mark Hill, who gunned down three state Department of Social Services employees at the agency’s North Augusta office in 1996 after the agency took custody of his quadriplegic daughter and twin sons. The Supreme Court upheld Hill’s death sentence last year.
Westbrook was married and has two sons. He “was just a terrific family man,” Supreme Court Associate Justice Costa M. Pleicones said.
“Marc’s legacy will be multifaceted,” Pleicones said.
Westbrook “was the guiding light” for Lexington County’s new judicial complex. He was known as the “face of Lexington County.”
In 1976, Westbrook won election to Lexington County Council and served as the council’s chairman.
Two years later, Westbrook was elected to the South Carolina House and served there until he was appointed as a Family Court judge in 1983. The Legislature elected him to the Circuit Court in 1994.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, recalled Westbrook’s service in the House, saying he had a powerful intellect.
“It’s a terrible loss,” McConnell said.
Westbrook’s seat will remain vacant until the Legislature elects judges next year.

Local restaurant destroyed

Civic Center Café owner calls building a total loss

September 15, 2005

By SHAVONNE POTTS
Index-Journal staff writer

It was a complete loss for business owner Tommy McCutcheon as he watched along with wife Carolyn while their restaurant, the Civic Center Café, went up in flames Thursday.
McCutcheon said he’s trying to cope with the loss of a business he’s run for more than 25 years.
“I’m glad nobody was hurt,” he said as he watched firefighters put out hot spots.
There were a few customers in the restaurant having breakfast.“It just happened,” McCutcheon said.
He said he thought it might have been a fryer that started the fire, but he had not gotten official word from the fire department.
Before the building housed the café, it was another restaurant called Safari.
The building has been there for more than 60 years.
McCutcheon also owns a car dealership on S.C. 72/U.S. 221.
Scotty Owensby, with the Coronaca Fire Department, said he did not know the cause of the fire.
“There may be a few things to salvage, but it’s pretty much a total loss,” he said.
Firefighters did recover a few pictures that McCutcheon had on his office wall.
Sherena King, of Greenwood, had been working at the restaurant since 1999. King was inside the business when the fire began, she said.
“When it started, I ran out the side door,” King said.
When no one else followed King out the door, she said she went back inside to tell the people once more there was a fire.
On her way out, King said she grabbed the phone and called 911.
“It started in the kitchen,” she said.
King said she thinks it was probably a grease fire.
Emergency personnel responding to the fire included the Lake Greenwood, Hodges-Cokesbury and Northwest fire departments and the Greenwood County EMS.
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol assisted. Traffic was routed for a time behind the Civic Center.

Heading in different directions

Emerald riding two-game winning streak
while Abbeville trying to get right after two losses

September 15, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

Plenty can change in a week or two.
Take for example, what’s happened with the Emerald and Abbeville high school football teams from Week 1 to 3.
Since their shutout loss to Greenwood in the season-opener, the Vikings have won a pair of games and scored 79 points.
The Panthers, meanwhile, have dropped consecutive games, giving up 79 points after their big win over Ninety Six in their opener.
Abbeville and Emerald, heading in seemingly opposite directions, meet up for the 11th time in a decade at 7:30 Friday night at Frank Hill Stadium.
Emerald (2-1) enters this non-region contest after a 35-28 victory in double-overtime over Chapman. The Vikings followed that up with a 30-point blowout of Woodruff, 44-14, last week.
“I think we’ve gotten better every week,” Emerald coach Mac Bryan said. “It’s a matter of getting used to the game speed and getting used to our pace of the game. I think we’re a better football team than we were in that first game.
“I think we’re getting more and more comfortable in the system, but at the same time, through repetition, we’re executing better. I think that’s the key.”
The Panthers (1-2) dropped their last two, but the skid might be a little deceiving.
After blowing out rival Ninety Six, 49-18, in the season-opener, Abbeville lost its next two to ranked opponents, falling to Class AAAA No. 3 Greenwood, 40-0, and AA No. 7 Batesburg-Leesville, 39-14.
“Greenwood is one the top football teams in the state. Batesburg-Leesville has the capabilities of being a very good football team,” Abbeville coach Jamie Nickles said. “But so do the next two teams we play, and so does the team we beat.
“I think it (tough competition) has to factor in there somewhere, but I still think you have to cut your own grass first. We still see things that we can do better.
“We hate to lose, but are not one bit scared of it. That’s not to say that we’re going to lose, but we’re going to try to do what’s right in every circumstance.”
The fact that the Panthers’ two losses came against stiff competition is something that isn’t lost on the Emerald coach.
“They did a tremendous job against Ninety Six,” Bryan said. “They controlled the game, were able to run the ball effectively, did some nice things defensively and forced some turnovers. Really a great performance.
“Playing Greenwood is tough and then last week against Batesburg, they had some turnover issues and when you turn the ball over it’s hard for any football team to overcome it.”
Against Ninety Six, the Panthers got a big game from sophomore halfback Toquavius Gilchrist, who had 225 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
“Gilchrist is a great talent and if he gets rolling, you’ve got your hands full,” Bryan said. “He can change the complexion of the game.”
Because of that performance, Gilchrist became the focus of attention for the next two defenses. The sophomore gained 77 yards against Greenwood and with his halfback cohort Dexter Starks out because of an illness, Gilchrist finished with just two yards (along with two fumbles) against B-L.
However, Gilchrist won’t get the chance to affect this game. The sophomore was suspended for three days because of a disciplinary problem at school and must sit out all sporting events for the week, Nickles said. The coach said Gilchrist would be eligible to return next week.
Nickles will look to fill the void left by Gilchrist with junior William Peterson, who rushed for a team-high 66 yards subbing for Starks in last week’s loss to B-L.
Starks, who has 70 rushing yards on 19 carries in two games, and fullback James Moore, who has 100 yards on 31 carries, are expected to pick up some of the slack, along with junior quarterback Mack Hite, who has passed for 167 yards and two scores this season.
Despite all the recent turmoil, Nickles expects his Panthers to use those recent setbacks to draw the squad closer as a unit.
“I think you’ll see us come together as a team,” he said. “You’ll measure it this week and next week, in small gains, things you’ll see in people, playing hard for 48 minutes. I think you’ll see down the line that this will pay off for us.”
While Nickles looks for his team to come together, the coach already sees that in watching game film of his opponent.
The Vikings, led by senior quarterback Dan Wideman, gained 447 yards of offense against the Wolverines and 473 total yards in the double-OT win over Chapman.
“What I saw them do last week from looking at the film was they put on a football clinic,” Nickles said. “How to play offense, defense and special teams. And that’s what they’ve done the last two weeks, been a football machine.”
Wideman, in his first season as a spread quarterback, is second among Lakelands quarterbacks with 625 passing yards, completing 54 of 80 attempts and four touchdowns to 11 different receivers. The senior QB also has added six scores rushing.
Senior Demarco Anderson leads the Vikings and the Lakelands with 19 receptions for 191 yards. Preferio Strong and Tavares Gilliam are next on the team with nine catches for 116 yards and eight catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns, respectively.
“Dan is playing extremely well, making very good decisions, but I think the key last week was we really caught the ball well,” Bryan said. “When you do that, you’re able to convert third downs, you’re able to make plays, you’re able to keep the ball.”

Opinion

Fair hearings for Roberts asked ... but aren’t likely

September 15, 2005

When Senate hearings began on the nomination of Judge John Roberts for chief justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee holding the hearings, promised Judge Roberts a fair hearing. It soon became obvious, though, that other senators would have a self-serving political agenda.
“We’re not here to debate how to solve all the nation’s problems,” Graham told the judge. “We’re not here to talk about liberal philosophy versus conservative philosophy …”
Graham made a recommendation that not only should suit his constituents, it should be what every American wants.
“Let’s get back to the good old days where we understood that we were looking for well-qualified people to sit on the highest court of the land … not political clones of our own philosophy.”

THAT, TO BE SURE, WILL not please everybody, especially some of the other senators doing the questioning. Nevertheless, Supreme Court justices are no different than all judges in lower courts. They should base their decisions on the law, not politics. Repeat that. They should base their decisions on the law, not politics.
It has become all too apparent through the years that political philosophy has too often been the determining factor in too many court decisions.
There’s no better evidence to show that’s true than the U. S. Constitution’s definition of the relevant rights of the federal government and the respective states. It says simply that the rights not specifically granted to the federal government are left to the states.

MANY COURT DECISIONS have been handed down that violate that provision. Under the circumstances, is there any real doubt why the present hearings on Judge Roberts and the next nominee are and will be so important?
Hearing some of the questions directed to Judge Roberts by some senators, it’s abundantly clear that some do indeed want clones of their political selves on the court.
Let’s hope for the sake of all Americans that Senator Graham’s plea for fairness will ultimately carry the day. History tells us, though, that’s not likely to happen with anyone President Bush nominates.

***

In Senate hearings when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was nominated for the Supreme Court, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, advised her not to answer some of the questions. Nevertheless, as hearings on John Roberts got underway, that same Biden was highly critical of Roberts when he didn’t answer the same kind of queries Biden had advised Ginsburg not to answer. Go figure!

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

Obituaries

John ‘J.W.’ Adams

SPRINGVILLE, Tenn. — John William “J.W.” Adams, 89, of 5065 Elkhorn Nobles Road, widower of Mary Katherine Cowan Adams, died Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 at Paris Manor Nursing Center.
Born in Buchanan, he was a son of the late Herbert and Grace Adams Adams. He attended UT Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University and graduated from Bethel College. He did graduate work at Memphis State University, worked for TVA during the Kentucky Dam building, and taught school at Springville High School and E.W. Grove School. A Masonic member for 50 years and an Eastern Star member, he was a Methodist. He was on the board of directors of the Henry Farmers Co-op and Henry County Farm Bureau.
Survivors include two daughters, Janice Adams Wheatley of New Albany, Miss., and Mrs. Maurice (Nancy Adams) Scott of Greenwood, S.C.; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and 2 step-great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 11 a.m. Friday at Elkhorn Cemetery, conducted by Brother Randy Stephens.
Pallbearers are Vic Adams, Marty Allison, George Milam, Dan Dziekonski, David Clendenin and Paul Clendenin.
Honorary pallbearers are Gerald Bomar, Beau Adams and Ray Adams.
Visitation is 5-7 today and after 10 a.m. Friday at McEvoy Funeral Home.
McEvoy Funeral Home, Paris, Tenn., is in charge.

Matilda Wardlaw Caldwell

Services for Matilda Wardlaw Caldwell, of 708 Gray St., are at noon Saturday at Mount Tabor Baptist Church, conducted by Bishop Emanuel Spearman, assisted by the Revs. Ulysses Parks, Ricky V. Syndab, Queen Hagood and Hattie Weaver. The body will be placed in the church at 11. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Reco Morgan, Mike Spearman, Kelvin Christian, Clyde Cunningham, June Goodman and David Sanders.
Flower bearers are nieces and friends of the family.
Visitation is 7-8 Friday at Robinson & Son Mortuary.
The family is at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Lee Martin

WARE SHOALS — Lee Edward Martin, 89, formerly of Ware Shoals, widower of Sara Mundy Martin, died Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 at his home in Houston, Texas.
Born in Laurens County, he was a son of the late Ellie Lee and Nettie V. Honicutt Martin. He was a retired textile supervisor and a member and former deacon of First Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Edward Harrison Martin of Houston; a brother, Louis Ray Martin of Panama City, Fla.; five grandsons; and four great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, conducted by the Revs. Leon Jones, Clyde Wright and Floyd Parker. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Grandsons are pallbearers.
Honorary escorts are Mattison Baracca Sunday School Class members.
Visitation is 7-9 Friday at Parker-White Funeral Home.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

Amos Pinson

ABBEVILLE — Services for Amos Pinson, of 105 Pettigrew St., are 2 p.m. Friday at Brown and Walker Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. M.L. Taylor. Burial is in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
The family is at the home.
Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Laura Ridlehoover

McCORMICK — Annie Laura Tuck Ridlehoover, 73, resident of 103 Spring Song Drive, wife of Thomas Eugene “Gene” Ridlehoover, died September 13, 2005 at University Hospital in Augusta, GA, Born in Laurens County, December 6, 1931, she was a daughter of the late Claude Murray and Annie Ruth Mize Tuck. She was a 1949 graduate of Greenwood High School. Mrs. Ridlehoover was formerly employed by McCormick Mill, Millway Lumber Company and other local companies. She enjoyed her family, friends and gardening.
A longtime and faithful member of Horeb Baptist Church, Bradley, she was also a member and volunteer at the McCormick County Senior Center where in 1999 she was named Volunteer of the Year.
Surviving in addition to her husband of 55 years are her children, Mr. and Mrs. Ron (Nancy) Simpson of Buford, GA, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ridlehoover of Laurens, a daughter-in-law, Sandra Bennett of Baldwin, GA; grandsons, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ridlehoover, Alex Simpson, Daniel Ridle-hoover, John and Chris Ridlehoover; sisters, Mr. and Mrs. Harold (Helen) Creswell of Bradley, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene (Betty) Gentry of Red Oak, TX, Mr. and Mrs. Tom (Anne) Clegg of Greenwood and Mr. and Mrs. Zeke (Charlotte) Alford of Cheraw; a brother, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Murray Tuck, Jr. of Bradley; many loving nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Ridlehoover was prede-ceased in death by a son, Thomas E. “Tom” Ridlehoover, Jr.
Graveside services will be conducted at 2 pm Friday in Overbrook Cemetery in McCor-mick with Rev. Bennie Ridle-hoover officiating.
Pallbearers will be George W. Patterson, Jr., grandsons, Michael, Alex, Daniel and John Ridlehoover and nephews, Hal Creswell, Jonathan Creswell and David Tuck.
The family is at the home and will receive friends at Blyth Funeral Home from 11:30 to 1 Friday.
Memorials may be made to Horeb Baptist Church, c/o Debbie Dillashaw, PO Box 75, Bradley, SC 29819 or to the American Diabetes Association, PO Box 10794, Greenville, SC 29603.
For additional information please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
BLYTH FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES IS ASSISTING THE RIDLE-HOOVER FAMILY.
PAID OBITUARY