‘Good’ job by Dist. 52

Ninety Six schools outshine neighbors on state report card

November 15, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Ninety Six schools have made Good again in the academic field.
Superintendent Dan Powell announced Tuesday that Greenwood School District 52 was one of seven districts to make a Good rating on its South Carolina School Report Cards. No school in the state made the best rating, Excellent, this year.
“Every year, it gets harder and harder to achieve at those levels,” Powell said, adding he doesn’t know what the district can do to continue with a Good rating.
“There’s not a whole lot we can do,” Powell said. “We’re working hard as we always do.”
Programs to help students are being tried at different schools, including the Measures of Academic Progress program to get immediate feedback.
That’s something the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests don’t do.
The MAP test can be administered several times to help target students’ weak points, rather than a “one snapshot” test like PACT, Powell said.
The five other school districts in the Lakelands — Greenwood School District 50, District 51, Abbeville County School District, McCormick County School District and Saluda County School District — didn’t make more than Average this year.
Each school and district received a rating from one of five categories: Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or Unsatisfactory. The ratings were based on student test scores, according to a state Department of Education news release.

Scores go down statewide
Ninety Six has done well in a year when most districts have show declining ratings. State Department of Education officials said the ratings declined for the only second time since state and federal accountability laws were enacted.
Sixty-five percent of the state’s 1,109 public school report cards received ratings of Excellent, Good or Average, down from 74 percent in 2005.
Unsatisfactory ratings increased from 6 percent last year to 13 percent this year, the release said.
The report cards show state and federal ratings required by the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998, including PACT, and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which includes Adequate Yearly Progress; student-teacher ratios, dollars spent per student, absentee rates for students and teachers, amount of instructional time, socio-economic status of students’ families and average teacher salaries.
Complete rates for each district can be found at the state Department of Education’s Web site at http://ed.sc.gov/topics/researchandstats/schoolreportcard/2006/.

Greenwood District 50
District 50 rated Average in report cards this year with a Below Average improvement rating for 2006 and failed to achieve AYP. The district made a Good rating last year with a Below Average improvement rating for 2005.
East End, Mathews and Woodfields elementary schools were Below Average, while Hodges, Merrywood, Oakland and Springfield elementary schools were Average in 2006.
Lakeview and Pinecrest elementary schools were both Good, while Emerald and Greenwood high schools fared likewise.
Brewer and Westview middle schools were both Below Average, while Northside Middle School was Average.
Superintendent Darrell Johnson didn’t want to comment on the district’s report cards until today, but said at a specially called meeting Monday night that there were some errors in the state’s report cards, affecting possibly as many as 13 districts.
“Those errors were not ours,” said Pat Ross, assistant superintendent of instruction at District 50.

Greenwood District 51
The Ware Shoals school district has been given an Average rating in its report cards with an Excellent improvement rating. It also failed to achieve AYP.
District 51 increased its improvement rating from Average last year while its Absolute rating stayed the same. Ware Shoals Elementary School scored Average, while Ware Shoals Primary School also was graded Average.
Ware Shoals High School made a Below Average for its middle school component and an Average for the high school.
“The district maintained its Average Absolute rating even though the targets were more difficult to achieve,” Superintendent Fay Sprouse said via e-mail. “We will continue to use additional assessments, like Measures of Academic Progress, to determine student needs and to guide our instruction.”
Ware Shoals teachers and administration are dedicated to providing a good learning experience for students, she added.

Greenwood District 52
The Ninety Six school district scored Good this year with an Unsatisfactory improvement rate. It also failed to achieve AYP.
District 52’s grade was even better last year, with an Absolute Excellent and a Good rating.
Ninety Six Elementary had a Good rating, Edgewood Middle School had an Average score and Ninety Six high and primary schools had an Excellent rating.
Superintendent Dan Powell said the district obviously wants to do better on report cards next year.

Abbeville County
The district gained an Absolute rating of Average for the year and failed to make AYP. Abbeville also had an Unsatisfactory improvement rating for 2006, slightly less than the Absolute rating of Good and an Average improvement rating last year.
Cherokee Trail, Diamond Hill, and Long Cane elementary schools all made Good ratings on the report cards, while Westwood Elementary School received an Average rating and John C. Calhoun Elementary School got a Below Average.
Cherokee Trail also took home a Good rating for its middle school component, while Diamond Hill’s slumped to a Below Average rating for its middle school component.
Wright Middle School rated Average, while Calhoun Falls High School was Below Average for its middle school section. Abbeville and Dixie high schools both had Excellent ratings, while Calhoun Falls was Average.
Kathy Stevenson, assistant superintendent for the Abbeville County School District, acknowledged the Absolute rating for 2006 was lower than last year’s. She added she would have preferred last year’s score this year.
Stevenson said the scores are lower because the state has raised the bar for student performance again.
On a positive note, she said all Title One schools in Abbeville made AYP. Children who receive free or reduced lunches go to Title One schools, Stevenson said.
The district plans to make curriculum changes to improve test scores, including building more consistency into the curriculum department, Stevenson said.
She wants to best meet students needs in programs like Gifted and Talented.
“We’re continuing to make progress in a lot of areas,” Stevenson said.

McCormick County
McCormick scored a Below Average rating on report cards, even thought every school in the district made AYP this year.
The district’s improvement rating drastically changed from last year, from Excellent to Below Average.
McCormick made a Below Average last year on its Absolute rating, as well. The district failed to make AYP this year.
McCormick Elementary School had an Average rating for this year, while McCormick Middle School was demoted to Unsatisfactory in its Absolute rating in 2006 after having a Below Average rating last year and a Good improvement rating this year.
McCormick High School scored Below Average on the report card.
Superintendent Sandra Calliham said it’s hard to explain to parents and the public that while all schools made AYP, the district itself got an Unsatisfactory on its report card. The district obviously doesn’t feel positive about the results, but report cards themselves are a patchwork of numbers and figures.
“It’s a hodgepodge,” Calliham said.
Schools met their individual standards, but were lumped together into sub-groups, which diluted the results.
Calliham commended the schools for doing well and said they will continue to work on math and English/Language Arts while doing additional work on science and social studies. The district plans to use TestView and the MAP computer programs, which are not funded by the state, to help teachers with assessment of student learning.
The PACT test doesn’t give that kind of diagnosis, Calliham said.
“You don’t get those results until the children have moved on,” she said.
The benchmark for school is moved by the state every year.

Saluda County
Saluda made a Below Average rating for report cards this year while making a Below Average improvement rating, as well.
The district scored the same way last year and also didn’t make AYP this year.
Saluda Primary School rated Excellent, Hollywood and Saluda elementary schools made Average, while Saluda Middle School made Below Average and Saluda High School made Good.
Superintendent Pete Stone declined to talk about Saluda’s report cards, but commented on report cards in general. “I’ve told my board over and over again,” he said. “The report card is pretty invalid.”
Report cards show details such as how much money is spent per student, but some children with extreme conditions can rack up thousands of dollars by themselves, Stone said. The report card only displays district results in comparison to the 2010 timeline and goals for the state.
South Carolina should be concerned with kids doing better on the test than last year and nothing else, Stone said.
As for how Saluda schools are doing, the district was ranked No. 1 from 2001-05 in South Carolina. EOC called to congratulate Saluda, Stone said.

Oversight board discusses ways to fix school systems

November 15, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Lander University President Daniel Ball thinks getting rid of the HOSTS program in Greenwood was a mistake.
Having 1,500 volunteers helping students was what the school system needed, and “you cannot put a price on that,” Ball said.
Ware Shoals still has the Helping One Student To Succeed program and likes it, said Janice Walpole, assistant principal at Ware Shoals High School. The one-on-one mentoring program targets students at risk.
But more needs to be done to alter attitudes in the community, said Janell Alston, director of curriculum services for Greenwood School District 50.
“Change is not in the picture for this community,” she said.
Teachers, administrators and business leaders sought hard answers about how to improve education Tuesday morning during a meeting sponsored by South Carolina’s Educational Oversight Committee at District 50’s administration office. The committee is a legislative agency composed of 18 educators, business people and elected officials appointed to enact the 1998 South Carolina Education Accountability Act, said Wally Hall, principal at Edgewood Middle School in Ninety Six and an appointee to the committee.
The act set standards for grades K-12 to reach, including having South Carolina student achievement in the top half of the nation by 2010. Hall said that to achieve this, the state will have to become one of the five fastest-improving education systems in the country.
Part of reaching that goal involves bringing together local officials to try to find a solution.
Groups were set up Tuesday to brainstorm good programs, barriers and answers to the problems plaguing South Carolina schools. Alston included a resistance to change on the list of things holding back Greenwood County. A lack of money for education and a breakdown in some family lives also were high on the list.
Ball speculated students would do better in school if they were allowed to come in later, get more sleep and eat a proper breakfast.
“We need to look at what we can do simply,” he said.
Improvements do need to be made, Hall said. More students must make Proficient, the third-highest of the four Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test scores, in the upcoming years.
South Carolina also has an achievement gap, Hall said. There is disparity in achievement between majority and minority groups and between economically advantaged and disadvantaged groups.
“We would love for all of these to be equal,” Hall said, pointing to a bar chart highlighting the differences between the groups.
South Carolina’s graduation rate is one of the lowest in the nation.
The state has made changes for the better in some areas, Hall said. South Carolina was one of nine states to see improvement in science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test. But the state saw decreases in the reading section for the fourth and eighth grades.
When presenting their findings at the end of the meeting, the four groups had different answers and problems, but some overlapped.
Becky McIntosh, vice president of student development at Piedmont Tech, also said the ending of the HOSTS program was a loss for the community.
The EOC’s Common Ground program is part of South Carolina’s answer to the education connundrum, said Paul Horne, director of curriculum and program review for EOC.
Common Ground’s key goals include getting pre-kindergarten through grade 20 (college and beyond) education dedicated to every student’s success; recruiting educators to guide students to the highest possible achievement level; placing students at the center of education and respecting their culture; fostering the role of family as the primary influence in students’ lives; and providing facilities and technology that affirm education as the cornerstone of a community’s strength.
Educators also must be prepared to think outside the box, Horne said.
For example, a South Carolina school gave all its students laptop computers but couldn’t run them off the school’s power grid. Educators solved the problem by giving each student laptop batteries that could be recharged at home and used at school, Horne said.

Walking tall

Local company has large stake in world’s tallest structures

November 15, 2006

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Even before it is completed, sometime in the fall of 2008, the Burj Dubai will be the most imposing structure ever constructed on the face of the Earth.
Standing at an unbelievable 2,313 feet, it will dwarf the world’s current tallest building — the Taipai 101 in Taiwan — by an amazing 648 feet. The building could contain as many as 200 floors, some residential and some for business use, and will feature an observation deck somewhere near its pinnacle high above the Persian Gulf. It will be the ultimate expression of man’s ambition to build bigger, larger and, most importantly it seems, higher.
But the Burj (meaning “Tall Building”) Dubai -- located on the Persian Gulf in Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates -- would never have taken a step off of the pages of the numerous “artistic impressions” floating around on the Internet if not for an innovative product produced just off of Maxwell Avenue right here in Greenwood.
It’s a product that allows developers the freedom to build even higher and faster.
Mark S. Mull is the Eaton product line manager of the company’s Busway production facility off Maxwell Avenue (one of several facilities the company operates here.)
He has been to Dubai and seen for himself the scope and scale of the construction.
“It’s very rewarding to be associated with a project of this size and prestige,” Mull said Tuesday. “Being able to be recognized as a supplier there will help us down the line as a reference, for when this (tower) gets beat by the world’s next tallest building.”
A Busway is an electrical product that is similar to electrical cables used to distribute power throughout commercial and industrial buildings. By using epoxy-coated copper bars -- rather than cables -- Eaton is able to minimize the product size while maximizing its efficiency.
“It’s a replacement for electrical cables,” Mull said. “Instead of multiple wires you have one bar. For bigger power systems you need multiple bars. You can also plug in protective devices, like a circuit breaker or a fuse, and tap into power sources much like an electrical outlet would do.”
As a result, developers are able to build their towers even faster and to much greater heights. The first Greenwood-produced pieces for the Burj Dubai project shipped last week.
“It saves space and saves installation time,” Mull said. “The big thing is that you can effectively distribute power up through the building and tap off power much easier than with cables.”
Eaton also supplied Busways for the world’s current tallest building, the Taipai 101 in Taiwan. That success gave the company more viability in its competition overseas.
“Our customers view an American-made product to be of better quality,” Mull said. “We were able to provide the large amount of product they required, and at a competitive price.”
The Burj Dubai -- already 75 stories high -- is a massive project in and of itself, but it is just one of the many large-scale constructions in the burgeoning development going on in Dubai City, Dubai.
Eaton itself has already completed several huge orders, including the Jumeriah Beach Towers (30 high-rise hotel structures, each reaching 40 stories high), with numerous others in the planning phase (among them the Burj Mall Hotel, Al Bassam Tower, the Dubai Airport Expansion and Dubai Festival City).
There are even plans for an underwater hotel in the Persian Gulf near the other already-completed aquatic developments such as “The World” and the three man-made Palms-shaped resorts (Jumeirah, Jebel Ali and Deira).
With all the construction, there are rumors that somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 percent of the world’s large construction cranes now call the Middle East home.
“Everywhere you look there are cranes,” Mull said. “It’s different over there. Over here the airport vehicle might be an old Chevrolet something or other. Over there it’s a BMW 7-Series.”
Eaton’s electrical division has reaped the benefits of being in the right place in the right time, and with the perfect product. A portion of the company that once brought in somewhere around a half-million dollars worth of business now hauls in amounts in excess of $5 million.
One of the little-known facts about Dubai is that less than 20-percent of its overall revenue is generated from the sale and production of oil. Instead, the tiny emirate has looked to tourism and economic avenues to bolster its growth. The results speak for themselves.
“We went from about $500,000 to about $5 million this year in just the United Arab Emirates alone,” Mull said. “That’s just something that we would typically have just looked at opportunities here in the United States. We had to go outside to look for greater growth opportunities. There are just areas springing up wildly over there.”
For additional information on the Burj Dubai construction and other projects in Dubai, travel to www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com or www.emaar.com.

Fujifilm learns to waste not, want not

Company’s sludge will be turned into profitable chemicals

November 15, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal Senior staff writer

In a step to preserve the “green” in Greenwood and other communities around the state, Fujifilm Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. unveiled a new facility Tuesday that will transform some of the company’s waste byproducts into marketable chemicals.
Company officials cut the ribbon on the aluminum sludge and waste conversion facility at Fujifilm’s Greenwood complex, which will convert aluminum sludge — a waste byproduct of the pre-sensitized printing plate manufacturing process — into sodium aluminate and aluminum sulfate.
Fujifilm and its partner company, the Georgia-based C&S Chemicals, will be selling those chemicals for use in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, Fujifilm officials said. C&S Chemicals is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of aluminum sulfates and sodium hydroxide products.
“As we’ve produced the (pre-sensitized printing) plates, we’ve always been thinking about how to convert the sludge into a more meaningful product,” said Johnny Udo, director of the Medical Imaging and Screen Products Division, as well as environmental, health, safety and regulatory compliance with Fujifilm.
“C&S Chemicals Inc. has been in business since 1980 and is a very successful business, having dedicated over 20 years to providing its customers with quality aluminum products,” Udo said. “We are looking forward to many years of success with C&S Chemicals as our business partner in this venture.”
The aluminum sludge, a chalk-like substance, will go through a series of chemical treatments at the conversion facility to become sodium aluminate or aluminum sulfate.
Officials estimate that treating 3,000 tons of aluminum sludge will yield about 2,000 dry tons of aluminum sulfate and about 2,500 tons of sodium aluminate.
“C&S and Fuji have worked together for the past five years in recycling efforts. With this on-site facility, we’ll be able to maximize our recycling potential here in Greenwood,” said Rob Chandler, president with C&S Chemicals.
Chandler said C&S and Fuji have a “strong commitment” to recycling and protecting the environment, adding the conversion facility is in line with those values.
“The facility will recycle aluminum sludge into aluminum sulfate, which has many environmental uses in the water and wastewater treatment industry,” Chandler said. “Local municipalities can use aluminum sulfate produced here to remove phosphorus from municipal wastewater streams.”
Fujifilm-South Carolina President Nick Sekiguchi added that recycling the sludge also keeps the product out of local landfills.
“We avoid sending 3,000 tons per year of aluminum sludge to the Greenwood County landfill, the county landfill cells last longer and our partner company, C&S Chemicals, has increased business,” Sekiguchi said. “In this case, everyone wins.”
Sekiguchi said the Fujifilm Global organization in 2002 instituted a “Green Policy,” which has a fundamental focus on “sustainable development.”“(It is) something we consider a most important issue for our planet, the human race and all business entities in the 21st century,” he said. “This means that in product development, we must consider the product’s entire life cycle, from raw materials to final disposition.
“The Aluminum Sludge Conversion Facility is a prime example of our approach to sustainable development.”

Bobby R. Bailey

Bobby Rudolph Bailey, 74, of 726 Fairforest Drive, died Monday, Nov. 13, 2006.
Born in Laurens County, he was a son of Olivia Cooper Bailey and the late Rudolph Land Bailey. He was retired from Moore Business Forms and was a US Navy veteran of the Korean Conflict. He attended Sandridge Baptist Church.
Surviving is a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Freedman of Mountain City, GA; two sons, William Rudolph Bailey of Mountain City, GA, and Robert W. Bailey of Lakemont, GA; a sister, Gwendolyn Bailey Saylors Adams of Greenwood; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A private memorial service will be held later.
Harley Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Billy Creswell, Jr.

McCORMICK — William Marshall “Billy” Creswell, Jr., 74, resident of 302 Virginia Street, died Nov. 14, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in McCormick County, Dec. 30, 1931, he was a son of the late W. Marshall and Parrie Watkins Creswell. He was a graduate of Lander College.
Billy was active in his father’s business, W.M. Creswell Garage and formerly worked in real estate. He also served as Clerk of Court of McCormick County and was retired after 33 years of service from the S.C. National Guard.
A member of Pressly Memorial Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, he was an Elder and former Deacon of the church.
Being an avid bridge player, he was a member of Savannah Lakes Wednesday Night Bridge Club and the Thursday Night Bridge Club.
Surviving are three brothers, George N. and wife, Betty Lou Creswell of Greenville, S. Reid and wife, Donna Creswell of Callison and Patrick W. Creswell of McCormick; nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted at 4 p.m. Friday at Pressly Memorial Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church with Rev. Eldredge Kelley officiating.
Burial will be in the McCormick City Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Jeffrey Creswell, Richard Creswell, Reid Creswell, Thomas Martin, Todd Wall, William Crowell, Brad Kay and John Hofman.
The family is at the home on Virginia Street and will receive friends at the church from 3 to 4 Friday afternoon. The body is at Blyth Funeral Home in Greenwood and will be placed in the church at 3 p.m. Friday.
Memorials may be made to McCormick County Senior Center, PO Box 684, McCormick, SC 29835 or to Pressly Memorial ARP Church, c/o Wilma Flanagan, 213 Holiday, McCormick SC 29835.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com. Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Creswell family.

Patricia Ann Dunlap

ABBEVILLE — Patricia Ann Dunlap, 41, of 7017 Pisgal Drive, Columbia, SC, died Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006. She was the daughter of Lucious and Geneva Dunlap of 17 Taylor Town Road, Abbeville, SC.
Visitation is Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006, at the Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Services will be Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006 at St. Peters A.M.E. Church, Abbeville, SC, at 2 p.m. with Reverend Ray Hoskins officiating. Interment will be at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
The family is at the home of her parents.
Online condolences can be made awmort@wctel.net.

Judy Gambrell

HODGES — Judy Kirkland Gambrell, 54, of 401 Due West Road, wife of Tommy Gambrell, died Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 at Hospice Care of the Piedmont in Greenwood.
Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of Katherine Mitchell Kirkland of Hodges and the late Arthur Clarence Kirkland. She was a member of Providence Baptist Church and attended Southside Baptist Church of Honea Path. She was a former employee of Kemet Industries and Grimes Aerospace.
Surviving are her mother of Hodges; husband of the home; two brothers, Jerry Kirkland of Gray Court and Charles Kirkland of Abbeville; three sisters, Myra K. Brown and Janet Kirkland, both of Greenwood and Kathy Pate of Wilmington, NC; and several nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens with Rev. Kile Antone and Dr. Byron W. Jones officiating. The family will receive friends at the graveside immediately following the service. Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646. The family is at the home of her mother, 309 Due West Road, Hodges. Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Odessa H. Manley

Odessa Hastings Manley, 76, formerly of Wisewood Apts., widow of Marvin Dewitt Manley, died Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 at NHC Health Care Center.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late William H. and Lillie Belle Cannon Hastings. She was retired from Greenwood Mills, Durst Plant and was a member of Augusta Highway Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Senior Ladies Sunday School Class.
Surviving is a daughter and son-in-law, Wanda and David Vaughn of Waterloo; a stepdaughter, Linda Collier of Greenwood; a stepson, Charles Putnam of Greenwood; and a granddaughter, Jennifer Vaughn of Washington, DC.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. E.A. Cooper and the Rev. Kenny Griffith officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Arthur Radcliffe, Russell Brewer, Ray Holladay, Richard Brown, Jerry Baker, Mickey Boland, Milton Golden and Glen Kingsmore.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Wanda Vaughn, 997 Ridgewood Harbor Road, Waterloo.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Phyllis Porter

Phyllis Jean Williams Porter, 76, formerly of 107 Devon Court, Wellington Green, widow of Gene E. Porter, died Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 at Ormond Memorial Hospital, Ormond Beach, FL.
Born in Dayton, OH, she was a daughter of the late Daniel M. and Audrey Moore Williams and was retired from Self Memorial Hospital Credit Union.
She was preceded in death by a son, Steven Porter.
Surviving is a daughter, Linda Bouffard of Ormond Beach, FL; a son, Gary Porter of Loveland, OH; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Oakbrook Memorial Park Chapel Mausoleum.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, Memorials & Tributes Processing Center, PO Box 5216, Glen Allen, VA 23058-5216.
Harley Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Marvin Kenneth Rogers

MOUNT CARMEL — Marvin Kenneth Rogers, age 43, of 142 Ike Road, Mt. Carmel, SC, died Nov. 11, 2006 in Mt. Carmel. He was born in Abbeville County and was the son of Gennie Rogers Middleton. He was a member of Spring Grove Baptist Church, attended McCormick High School and was a logger.
Surviving in addition to his mother are his stepfather, Isaac Middleton of the home; four sisters, Mable Harris, Jackie Middleton and Belinda Middleton, all of Mt. Carmel and Mary Middleton of Calhoun Falls, SC.
Services will be Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006 at 2 p.m. at Spring Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Roy Andrews officiating.
Burial will be in the church cemetery. The family is at the home of his mother, Gennie Middleton, 142 Ike Road. Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CORRECTION

For the obituary for John Paul Rush Jr. in Tuesday’s paper, surviving siblings were omitted from the information given to The Index-Journal. Survivors include a brother, Marvin Rush and a sister, Wygenia R. Moore, both of Greenwood.

Greenwood’s Josh Norman has done it all
to help get his team to playoffs

November 15, 2006

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

If you go to the Class AAAA Division II playoff game between the Greenwood Eagles and the Ridge View Blazers Friday night at J.W. Babb Stadium, no, that’s not Mr. T playing five different positions on the field.
Josh Norman, a senior on the squad, has shown off his talents and his creative hairstyle throughout the season for the Eagles.
“I can’t say enough about Josh and the job that he’s done for us this year,” Eagles coach Shell Dula said. “He’s played the vast majority of offense and defense, returned punts, kickoffs and plays on our kickoff coverage team.
“Our coaches have done an outstanding job of getting him some rest on offense and defense. If you play a guy both ways and coaches are selfish, then you really get into a problem. Josh has done a great job because he has gotten plenty of rest.”
Selected to play in the North-South game at the end of the season, Norman is a solid contributor on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and a defensive back.
“Josh plays full speed. He’s a hard worker and he works hard while providing excellent leadership by example by playing the majority of the game,” Dula said.
Although he spent his junior year on one side of the ball, being a dual threat is nothing new to Norman.
“I played both ways on JV in 10th grade,” Norman said. “I missed it during my 11th-grade year, but this year, we switched up the scheme and coach Dula liked me going both ways, so we started doing that.”
Offensively, Norman said he has worked on his drive and getting off the ball to help the Eagles.
“I’m really facing a lot of jams, so I’m just using quick moves to get off the ball,” Norman said. “If the team is looking for me to make a play in a big area, I’ve got to come out and do it for them.”
Some defenders try to line up tight and get a hand on him when the ball is snapped, but Norman said he actually has an advantage by playing defensive back as well.
“It’s a big advantage because if you stand somebody up, then you know which way their hips are going to go,” he said. “And if you get their hips turned, then you’ve got them beat.”
As far as which side of the ball he prefers, Norman is more inclined to being physical on the defensive side. “I like to be aggressive and go downfield and be physical and see what kind of hit I can get,” Norman said. He’s one in a line of family members to suit up for the Eagles.
If you’re looking for Josh on Friday night, he wears the No. 6 jersey. His brother Phillip wears the No. 2 jersey, while his cousin, Zach, wears the No. 30 jersey. It’s pretty clear that football is a family affair when you also toss in cousin T.J. Baylor.
“Yeah, we’re deep,” Norman said. “Basically all my brothers and some of my cousins played when they went to school here.”
If you still have trouble finding Josh on the sidelines during the game, just look for the guy with the mohawk with the designs in it.
“I’m the only one with this style, but to tell you the truth, I sMid if I was going to do it then I had to go all out,” Norman said. “It’s really just us as a senior class being crazy and I think every senior has one, and if they haven’t gotten one, then they’re going out to get one this week. Basically, we’re just having fun.”
Dula has no problem with his Eagles having a little good-natured fun, especially when they go hard every play. As far as his personal take on the mohawk, Dula laughed when saying he had no idea about it. He compared it though to other cuts he’s seen throughout his years of coaching.
“To me it’s a little bit a sign of unity and camaraderie. Of course, everybody’s not doing it,” the coach said. “I think for our football team and from our perspective, it’s just the fact that our kids enjoy each other so much and its them sticking together, you might say.”

Parties, not the raids should be big concern

November 15, 2006

When a Greenwood party was raided in August and several teen-agers and adults were arrested on alcohol and drug charges, the strangest thing happened. At a time when you’d think parents would be happy that somebody was looking out for the welfare of their youngsters. the opposite occurred. Some of them - and other adults - blamed the sheriff’s office for raiding the party and the newspaper for printing the news about the raid and the charges.
Since that time there have been at least a couple of other situations where arrests have been made in similar circumstances. The latest was last Friday night where nine persons were arrested and at least half of them were juveniles, some intoxicated.

THEY ARE FACING ALCOHOL and drug charges. Deputies say they encountered 15 to 20 teens and noticed a very strong smell of marijuana in the home.
These recent raids could lead some to think that alcohol and drug violations among teens is rising in Greenwood.
Chances are, though, it’s nothing new. There have been indications of this kind of activity around town for a number of years.
Sheriff Dan Wideman, in fact, said, “You have to be careful when you analyze statistics like arrest rates. Although the numbers may appear to indicate that our teen drinking and drug problem has shot through the roof, it’s more likely that we’re just getting better at locating alcohol and drug abuse and intervening.” That’s good.
Everyone in Greenwood should be supporting the effort of the sheriff’s department to solve the problem instead of pointing fingers.

IT’S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE to censure the sheriff’s office for doing what it should be doing. It helps keep youngsters from hurting or killing themselves - or someone else - while they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, not to mention long-term trouble with the law and/or health.
One thing that should have gotten everyone’s attention about the most recent party and raid. That was one sentence in the report: No parents were at home at the time of the party .....”
The overall situation in Greenwood is a sad commentary on us all. Everyone here should be concerned, not that the sheriff is doing his job, but because such parties are being held in Greenwood in the first place. Add to it that so many underage kids participate and it becomes that much more worrisome. Or should.