Gas prices keep many area residents
lingering close to home on Labor Day

September 6, 2005

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

Karen Lewis-Traynham and her family usually spend Labor Day weekend at the mountains. This year, soaring gas prices kept them at home.
Instead, they spent Labor Day boating on Lake Greenwood, and even that excursion was a pricey one, because of the cost of fuel. It cost $61 to fill up the tank on the boat she boarded Monday with friends, she said, a serious drain on her wallet.
“It’s just ridiculous,” she said of the prices, which have risen more than 50 cents a gallon during the past week.
Gas was selling Monday for about $3.29 a gallon for regular unleaded, and gas tanks on most boats call for a higher grade.
“It was disappointing that we didn’t get to go out of town this year, but we had heard that (gas prices) were extremely high everywhere, so we just decided to stay home,” Lewis-Traynham said. “We’re trying to make the best of it, but I don’t know what we’re going to do if gas prices keep going up.”
Todd Rexrode, park manager at Baker Creek State Park in McCormick County, said he speculated that a lot of area residents had chosen to stick close to home because of the cost of gas.
Rexrode said he expected a drop in the park’s regular Labor Day crowd because of gas prices, but said the opposite actually seems to have happened.
“We’re full,” he said. “I thought the turnout would suffer a little, but it hasn’t. We’re as full as we’ve ever been and, actually, we have more campers than ever.”
Rexrode said the park usually doesn’t fill up on Labor Day, but this year was been an exception, as people have been trying to cut down on travel. He said most of those who turned out for Labor Day weekend are from McCormick, Greenwood, Abbeville, Saluda or Edgefield counties.
Rexrode said the park did receive a number of calls Friday requesting information about gasoline in the area. Most still chose to keep their reservations once they found out that gas was in supply, he said. The park did have two campers reschedule reservations to October.
“They said they were hoping gas would be a little cheaper by then,” Rexrode said.
Lake Greenwood also reported a good turnout for Labor Day and said campsites at the park were “completely booked.”
“We did have a few who called Friday to cancel their reservations, but those sites were re-booked within 30 minutes,” Park Manager David Drake said.
Drake said he was uncertain if those cancellations had been related to gas prices.

William W. Benbow Jr.

SUMTER — William Washington Benbow Jr., 84, husband of Gertrude Watt Benbow, passed away Sunday, September 4, 2005 at the Tuomey Regional Medical Center.
Born in Sumter, he was a son of the late William Washington Benbow Sr., and the late Gladys Cuttino Benbow.
Mr. Benbow was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church where he was a member of the Triune Sunday School Class and was retired from Mills Electric Company with 30 years of service.
Surviving are his wife of Sumter; three daughters, Trudy Troublefield and husband Eddie of Greenwood, Nancy Richbourg and husband George of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Jan Riddle and husband Ned of Edisto Island, S.C.; a brother, David Joel Benbow and wife Geneva of Sumter; 6 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Eugene Cuttino Benbow.
Funeral services will be held at 3 P.M. Wednesday in the Chapel of the Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home with Rev. Ryan Pack officiating.
Burial will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be grandsons, Craig Troublefield, Gee Richbourg, Jay Richbourg, Elliott Riddle, Mark Williams, and Tim Parnell.
Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Triune Sunday School Class.
The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 P.M. Wednesday at the Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and other times at the home.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church Vision 2000 Building Fund, P.O. Box 867, Sumter, SC 29150.
Online condolences may be sent to www.sumter funerals.com.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory, 221 Broad Street, Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Lewis M. St. Clair

GREENWOOD — Lewis M. “Poppa” St. Clair, 74, of 509 Marshall Road, husband of Mary Carolyn Williams St. Clair, died Sunday, September 04, 2005 at Hospice House.
Born in Rutherford County, NC; a son of the late Forest M. and Blanche Coffey St. Clair. He was retired from both Duke Power and the Charleston Navy Yard where he was a welder. He was a U.S. Army Korean Conflict Veteran and a member of Laurel Baptist Church where he attended the Sr. Mens Bible Class.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are a son, Stanley L. St. Clair of Tustin, CA; three stepsons Rothrop Lynn Sutton of Denver, NC, Alva Johnson Sutton of Cornelius, NC, and Jason Richard Sanders of Chappells; two brothers James Leon St. Clair of Union Mills, NC and Charles Eddie St. Clair of Forest City NC; one grand-daughter Heather Pina of Las Cruces, NM; three step grandchildren Kenzie and Graham Sutton both of Cornelius, NC and Lexis Michelle Sanders of Chappells; two great grandchildren Cherisk and Ezekel Pina of Las Cruces, NM.
Services will be 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Todd Johnson and Rev. Billy Huff officiating. Burial will follow in Oakbrook Memorial Park.
Pallbearers will be Brian and Matthew McCarty, Mark Chichester, Skip Davis, Nelson Smith, and Houston Matthews.
Honorary escorts will be the Mens Sr. Bible Class of Laurel Baptist Church, Dr. Surdurski, Gary Russ and Ms. Judy Robinson.
The body is at Harley Funeral Home where the family will received friends Wednesday from 2:30 until 4:00 p.m.
Memorials may be made to Laurel Baptist Church, 330 Sample Road, Greenwood, SC, 29646 or to Hospice House of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC, 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.
PAID OBITUARY

Damion A. Turner

Damion Austin Turner, infant son of Angela Cockrell Weeks and Larry Turner Jr. died Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005.
Survivors include his parents; three sisters, Destiny and Emma Leah Cockrell, both of the home, and Brittany Weeks of Newberry; grandparents, Jo Ellen Morris of Greenwood, Nancy Harter of Greenwood, and Lewis Cockrell of Ninety Six.
Graveside services are at 11 Wednesday at Oakbrook Memorial Park.
The family is at the home, 682 Grier St.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Mary Frances Williams

Services for Mary Frances Williams of 520 Milwee Ave., are at noon Wednesday at Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Johnathan Greene, assisted by the Rev. Ricky Syndab. Burial is in Evening Star Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are friends of the family.
Flower bearers are friends of the family.
The family is at the home of a brother, Joe Speach, 658 Gilliam St., Greenwood.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.

CORRECTION

In the obituary for Mary Frances William that was published Monday, Sept. 5, 2005, information provided to The Index-Journal was incorrect.
Survivors also included a sister, Carrie Lee Calhoun of Greenwood.

Good news and bad news for parents and the Net

September 6, 2005

Modern influences on children –media, peers, music, etc. – have made parenting a lot more difficult than ever. Sometimes parents are put in positions where it seems there’s no way out.
Despite all that, though, there’s good news and bad news for parents, whether in South Carolina or elsewhere. For example, a new survey shows that the youth market for the Internet is fertile ground. It found that nine out of every 10 young people, ages 12 through 17, have online access, and that number is growing.
The good news, of course, is that all these youngsters have a world of helpful information at their fingertips, something most parents did not have.
The bad news is that just about every kind of pornography known to man is also available for these young people unless something has been done to block it out.
That, as much as anything, is a viable argument for better laws dealing with the Net. Still, neither laws nor regulations are substitutes for parental involvement.