Visitors Center in Ninety Six could be expanded,
made available to house the Chamber of Commerce

April 19, 2006

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

NINETY SIX — Visitors to the town and its nearby historic attractions could be getting a bigger welcome in the future.
Enlarging the Ninety Six Visitors Center to house the homeless Chamber of Commerce is being explored by local officials. Greenwood County is working with the town and the local Chamber to possibly secure a $100,000 grant that would allow the Chamber to have a permanent home.
Mayor Tim Griffin said that with the town council’s blessing, the Chamber could have the Visitors Center as its potential home. Without that blessing, the Chamber would have no option but to look into buying a building somewhere in town, possibly spending the $100,000 on the purchase and remodeling, Griffin said.
Town council authorized the possible use of the Visitors Center for Chamber housing at its Monday meeting.
Now, if the money the county is working on comes through, a major expansion of the Visitors Center could be financed with the $100,000.
Town council was told the only stipulation with the county money is that it must be spent on a brick-and-mortar project. Griffin also updated council on an effort to establish a historic preservation district for Ninety Six.
He provided members a large amount of information from state agencies that assist with these designations and said that Abbeville officials are willing to offer their expertise.
“In Abbeville it started with a committee of 50 people and a large area to be designated. It ended up with the Square designated as historic,” he said.
“Abbeville’s ultimate goal is to have the whole area on the National Register of Historic Places. That may be 10 years down the road.”
Ninety Six’s historic designation work is not that ambitious, but even a scaled-down project will take work, Griffin said.
“It’s something I think we need,” he said, “but it will take time and dedication from a lot of people.”
Town council also gave its approval to a suggestion from Griffin that the town’s sanitation department install curb-side garbage pickup.
Council already has given the idea the first of two required ordinance readings, but public opposition at a hearing put the idea on the back burner.
Now, Griffin said, savings from not filling one vacant position in sanitation, plus some long-range financing by the town, could make curb-side pickup possible. “There is a way to do it without putting a burden on the taxpayer,” he said. Another public hearing was suggested, but no timetable was discussed about when the ordinance would come to the council for a final vote.
Ninety Six resident Molly Harts told council that she is a member of the Beautification Commission for Greenwood County and will be working on several town projects. She said red, white and blue flowers are envisioned for plantings leading up to the May 19-21 observance of the 225th anniversary of the siege at the Ninety Six Historical Site.
Veterans Monument organizers Dean Goldman and Phil Lucas also updated the council on the ongoing project to locate the monument to honor veterans of all wars from Greenwood County in the town.
A campaign to approach major donors is planned to secure about three-quarters of the money to build the monument, Lucas said, and the rest will come from smaller donations. About $23,000 has been pledged of the expected $120,000-$125,000 cost of the monument, he said.
“There will be a patriotic and an educational component to it,” Lucas said of the proposed monument, featuring stone markers for each war dating to the American Revolution and a gallery of military service, South Carolina and American flags. Marble, similar to stone used in the Tomb of the Unknown in Washington, will be used in the construction of the monument in Ninety Six.

Effie Adams

Effie Ariail Adams, of Emerald Gardens, formerly of 447 Grace St., widow of Edgar D. Adams, died Monday, April 17, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Ernest Jackson

Ernest W. Jackson, 59, of 112 Eagle Trace, husband of Barbara Jackson, died Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Visitation is 7-9 tonight at the funeral home.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home & Crematory.

Grace Elizabeth McCombs Shealy

SENECA — Grace Elizabeth McCombs Shealy, 91, formerly of Walnut Street, widow of Edwin A. Shealy Sr., died Monday, April 17, 2006 at the home of son in Moore.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late Robert C. and Alice Pinson McCombs. She was a homemaker and a member of St. Mark United Methodist Church, Seneca.
Survivors include four sons, Edwin Shealy Jr. of Asheville, N.C., Mack Shealy of Moore, Donald Shealy of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Steve Shealy of Tampa, Fla.; two brothers, Bob McCombs of Anderson and John McCombs of San Luis Obispo; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 4 p.m. Friday at Oconee Memorial Park, Seneca, conducted by the Rev. Jeff Childress. Visitation is graveside 3:30-4 Friday.
Family members are at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made to Collins Children’s Home, 110 Collins Home Drive, Seneca, SC 29672.
Sandifer Funeral Home, Westminster, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.sandiferfuneralhome.com

Leo Bernard Talbert

Leo Bernard Talbert, 65, of 1004 Magnolia Drive, husband of Jannie N. Talbert, died Monday, April 17, 2006 at his home. Born in McCormick County, he was a son of the late Jasper and Lillie Kelly Talbert. He was a former police officer and a retiree of Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department. He was a member of Tranquil AME Church and a former member of Magnolia Community Club.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a son, Stacey Bernard Talbert of Greenwood; a daughter, Chloe Shantell Talbert of the home; a brother, Walter Talbert of McCormick; three sisters, Jeanette Griffin and Mary Moss, both of Greenwood and Celie Talbert of McCormick; a grandchild reared in the home, Jerferron Talbert.
Services will be announced by Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Area teams begin title run

Abbeville County trio leads five Lakelands softball squads into playoffs

April 19, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

The time has come for five Lakelands area high school softball teams to take the first step toward a state championship. The South Carolina High School League softball playoffs begin Thursday in all four classifications. This year’s Class AA and A tournaments are set to have a Lakelands area flavor.
Similar to the baseball playoffs, teams will compete in a double elimination mini-tournament to determine district champions. Those winners will move on to compete for Upper State and state titles.
Region I-A is well represented, with three of the area’s five qualified teams coming from the league.
Dixie, one of three Abbeville County teams in the playoffs, is the area’s only top seed. The Lady Hornets were champions of Region I-A, earning them the top slot in District I. The team squares off with Blacksburg, the No. 4 seed out of Region II-AA.
Ware Shoals finished second in Region I-A, and also will be at home in the first round. The Lady Purple Hornets host Whitmire Thursday.
Calhoun Falls join the Region I-A postseason party. The Lady Flashes secured a No. 4 seed in District II by defeating Thornwell, 25-8, in a play-in game Monday. Calhoun Falls travels Thursday to Greenville to meet Southside Christian, the top seed out of Region II-AA.
A pair of area AA school also will be in the postseason mix.
Saluda’s 16-3 regular season record was the best in school history. That was good enough for a No. 2 seed in District II. The Lady Tigers host Pelion, the No. 3 team out of Region IV-AA, Thursday.
Abbeville will represent Region I-AA as third seed in District III. The Lady Panthers hit the road Thursday for a tough first game match-up with Region II-AA No. 2 seed Broome.
Saluda coach Allison Stribble said her team has been goal oriented all season, and is looking to take the next step. “We won more games than any softball team in school history this season, and that was a goal of ours,” Stribble said. “Now we want to focus on the district championship.
Though the Lady Tigers pitching staff has been bolstered by Spartanburg Methodist commitment Jessica Shaw, Saluda’s No. 2 starter Colby Martin will get the nod against Pelion Thursday.
Stribble said Martin will be pitching for the most part because of an 18-strikeout performance she had against Pelion earlier this season.
Stribble also said freshman centerfileder Kayla Price will be a major facto in the Lady Tigers’ postseason plans. Price is batting .379 and has committed only two errors this season.
Ware Shoals coach Billy Traynham said he expects the Lady Purple Hornets to be ready for a solid postseason run. “We’re doing the same things we always do to get ready for games,” Traynham said. “The girls have been swinging the bats well coming out of spring break. We like the district we’re in, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Lady Purple Hornets rely on the solid pitching of Lindsey Traynham. She carries an 11-5 record into the playoffs, having pitched every game for Ware Shoals.
Calhoun Falls coach Gerald Gates said the Lady Flashes relish the opportunity to take on highly-regarded Southside Christian.
“It will be a good opportunity for this young team,” Gates said. “We had a good game in qualifying for the playoffs, now we just want to stay aggressive and keep going. Our girls have done much better lately on defense and in terms of pitch selection.”
Gates said Alexious Brown will get the start against Southside Christian.
“Alexious has a little more velocity than our other pitchers and her control has been good,” Gates said. “We’re going ride with her as long as we can in the playoffs.”
Dixie has had a solid recent history in softball, and the Lady Green Hornets hope to continue the trend this year. Pitcher Melinda Canfield will certainly play a role in the team’s success, both in the circle and at the plate. Laurie Devore will almost certainly log some innings at pitcher as well.
Abbeville will likely turn to pitcher Heather Richey to help guide that way. Richey has recorded a 10-4 record on the year, and has shown good velocity on her fastball.

Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

Commend city’s manager for highlighting problem

April 19, 2006

No matter which side of the illegal immigration debate anyone is on, it’s hard to deny it presents a tough challenge for those who must wrestle with the problem. And, no matter what anyone might say, a problem exists.
Many officials in South Carolina apparently don’t want to get involved in the debate for a number of reasons, with politics being high on the list. Some fear that if they speak up they’ll be accused of prejudice. Still, somebody has to call a spade a spade and generate action to find a solution. There are an estimated 8,000 people living “unofficially” in the City of Greenwood alone. They are unreported and some are possibly living here illegally, according to City Manager Steve Brown.

GIVE BROWN A PAT ON THE back and credit for putting the situation into the public arena, for it is pregnant with problems that heavily impact taxpayers. The primary problem? “Much of the funding we (city) receive from other sources (outside the city budget) to pay for services is determined by population. So, when a group of people resides within the city, but is not counted as part of our population, there’s a loss of funds that could assist us in covering the cost of additional services,” Brown says.
That’s a consideration for all of South Carolina, of course, not just Greenwood and other Lakelands communities. Unreported people squeeze the taxpayer, in that health care, education, welfare in general and law enforcement have to take up the slack without receiving funding to handle it all. That, naturally, impacts all taxpayers.

IT’S NO SLAM AGAINST ANYONE to talk about a problem that exists, whether anyone likes it or not. It’s a subject that has insinuated itself into the public’s obligation in every possible way. Steve Brown has done the people of Greenwood a great service by publicly recognizing the immigration problem. As strange as it might seem to some people, he has also broached a predicament that cannot be solved by pretending it’s not there. Until and if government officials at all levels, along with state and community leaders tackle a difficult problem, it can only get worse.
Forget politics. Forget finger-pointing - from any direction - and face the issue head-on.
No matter what anyone says, something’s wrong. It must be corrected or it will become unmanageable ..... if it isn’t already.