Local sheriff, area solicitor say database is important

April 21, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

In the early morning hours of April 16, two registered sex offenders were shot to death in their homes in two Maine towns about 25 miles apart, sparking a debate about the value of the registry, similar to one available online in South Carolina, that listed their addresses and other information.
Just hours before their deaths, a 20-year-old man from Canada, on a visit to Maine to see his father, apparently used the state’s online sex offender registry — which is available to the public — to search nearly 35 names before taking his father’s pickup truck and guns and killing Joseph Gray, 57, of Milo, and William Elliott, 24, of Corinth, according to The Associated Press.
The suspected shooter, identified as Stephen Marshall, of Nova Scotia, committed suicide hours later when authorities stopped and boarded a bus he was riding near the city of Boston, Mass., AP reported.
In the hours following the killings, the Maine online sex offender registry, with more than 2,200 names, was disabled as a precaution, though it was restored Monday afternoon, the AP reported.
In 1996, Congress passed “Megan’s Law,” which enabled all states to mandate that sex offenders register with law enforcement. The law, named after a 7-year-old New Jersey child who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1994, created the registries that law enforcement and the public use to keep track of sex offenders’ whereabouts. It was aimed to provide information that could keep the public safe from harm.
Every state has its registry online, including South Carolina, and the registries include information about offenders such as photos, names, addresses, the type of crimes and dates they were committed.

BUT THE SHOOTINGSs in Maine are raising questions about the safety of those who are required to register their information in a system that anyone can access, and the AP reported this week that some registered sex offenders and defense lawyers are concerned that the registry could be used to target sex offenders for attacks.
Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace said that the situation in Maine proves that vigilantism can occur, but that the importance of the registry as a public safety tool validates its existence.
“Situations like this are extremely rare,” Peace said. “But when you weigh the public’s safety against the safety of a sex offender, I think you have to come out on the side of the public. Society’s interests seem better served by having the registry to give folks the opportunity to know if they have one of these people living in their neighborhoods so they can take safety precautions to protect their children.”
Celeste Proffitt, assistant director of the crime information center with the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the agency that maintains South Carolina’s sex offender registry, said the registry was originally developed as an investigation tool for law enforcement that was later used to inform the public.
“(What happened in Maine) was a very bad situation, but by law we can display a sex offender’s information for the public ... and we hope that the public uses the Web site for information and education, and not for being judgmental,” Proffitt said.

SHERIFF'S OFFICES in each county send information about sex offenders living in their area to SLED, which, in turn, posts that information on the Internet at www.sled.state.sc.us.
Proffitt said that SLED never considered removing the sex offender registry or amending the information it displays following what happened in Maine, adding that the information — especially the offender’s address — is a vital part of public awareness. In January, the site also began to include information about the victims of the crime, such as their gender and age, Proffitt said.
“We want to educate the public and we think it’s very effective any time we can get more information out to the public about offenders,” she said. “We feel it is very helpful.”
And Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said because sex offenders are usually repeat offenders, it is necessary that as much information be available to the public as possible.
“Keep in mind that the state doesn’t just throw these names around lightly ... Because study after study has proven that these types of offenders recidivate at an extremely high rate, it is important for everyone to know where they are,” Wideman said in a statement.
“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t publish their names on a Web site. I would keep them in jail for a long, long time. That way we’d know exactly where they were and they would victimize no one.”

WIDEMAN SAIDhis office and deputies also use the registry as a tool, adding that the department has an aggressive program for keeping track of sex offenders’ whereabouts in the county.
“And we charge them when they don’t comply with the law,” Wideman said in a statement. “I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with the publication of these offenders’ names. I wholeheartedly support our state’s decision to do so because it provides my deputies and the public with an important tool with which to track these often dangerous and predatory criminals.”
Wideman said his department has received some complaints from sex offenders who think the registry is unfair, but he said that the department receives more calls from neighbors who have found out sex offenders live nearby.
“We even received a complaint a month or two ago that an offender had not been living at the address listed on the Web site for several months,” he said. “The complaint was partially valid. He was no longer there, but it was because we had locked him up again and he was living on Edgefield Street — in our jail.”

PEACE SAIDhe serves on a prosecutorial review committee each month that reviews sex offenders and their cases as they approach the end of their prison sentence. The multidisciplinary team sees anywhere from 12 to 15 cases at each review session to determine if they are dangers to the public.
“It is just scary to think that there are that many people out there (who have committed sexual crimes),” Peace said. “It makes your skin crawl to review some of those cases.”
According to The Associated Press, some states have proposed using more extreme measures for keeping up with sex offenders, including license plates that identify offenders and electronic monitoring devices, and Peace said that any effort lawmakers can take to protect the public — and potential victims — is a positive step.
“If it can save one child from going through the anguish a victim goes through, I think it is worth it,” he said.

Trivia question: Which middle school
won its first quiz bowl championship?

April 21, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

You have 10 seconds to answer the following question:
“The least common multiple of 25 and 40 is how much larger than the sum of 25 and 40?”
Is your heart beating faster and your palms getting a little moist as you think back to a sixth-grade mathematics quiz?
About 30 middle school students were in the same position on Thursday as they chewed their pencil ends and nervously bounced their knees under a table while they quickly recalled just about anything in a middle school textbook. The Greenwood School District 50 middle school quiz team competition was at the Piedmont Tech conference center.
Westview B team beat the Brewer B team by 45 points — the same team that had defeated it the day before in the preliminaries by 15 points.
“I had the lucky guess right at the end,” said 14-year-old Zane Vickery, captain of the Westview team. “They were asking about canned vegetables, and I accidentally buzzed in and guessed spices. I just let out a huge breath of relief and then laughed about it when I was right.”
Students who competed said that since September, they have practiced answering questions about history, literature, math and geography for about two hours a week with their team, while spending numerous hours at home memorizing the answers in quiz books. Event chairwoman Vicki Holliday said the students tend to have the best knowledge in the history and geography areas, while math is the hardest.
“This gives students the chance to study things they don’t necessarily cover in the classroom,” Holliday said.
Westview quiz team coach Sandra Gable nervously jumped and victoriously shook her fist with each correct answer as she sat in the audience watching her team. She said she knew the competition was down to the last question since she was keeping score on her own.
“I wanted to just yell out but I couldn’t,” she said.
Vickery said it was the last question and the lucky handshake that he and teammate Bradley Fuller do before each round that led the team to Westview’s first championship in the school’s history. He said it will be a relief to see the plaque hanging in the school trophy case.
“I thought the best we could do was second because Northside has a very good team,” he said.
“Now I’m just doing this a lot (shakes his fist). I do the fist.”
And for those of you still looking for relief from the question that has caused scratching to your head, the answer is 135.

Turner in hunt in McCormick

GHS grad fires 71 after fog delays opening round at Savannah Lakes

April 21, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

McCORMICK ­ A professional golf tour kicked off its first round in McCormick Thursday, with a Greenwood native having a solid showing.
The NGA/Hooters Tour made its way to the Lakelands with the Savannah Lakes Resort Classic taking place at the Monticello Golf Club at Savannah Lakes Resort in McCormick. The tournament will resume today and continue until Sunday.
Greenwood High School graduate Emmett Turner, who now lives in Augusta, is competing in the event. Turner fired an opening round 1-under par 71. Turner enters the second round seven strokes behind leader Ben Lammi, who shot an 8-under 64.
The first round was not completed, however, as seven groups will compete their first rounds this morning. The remaining groups ran out of daylight Thursday when all tee times were pushed back because of an early-morning fog delay.
“That’s just part of it,” Turner said of the foggy conditions. “That’s the first time I’ve come across the fog situation. A few weeks ago at the Hooters event in Atlanta we had some thunderstorms, but that’s been about it.”
Turner, who came into the Savannah Lakes event ranked 10th on the Hooters money list, played consistently throughout the round. The level-headed player, who started his first round on the 10th hole, was 2-under after the first seven holes, but had bogeys on 17 and 18.
On 17, a 393-yard par four, Turner’s second shot landed firmly on the front of the green, but then trickled back down and fell into the pond in front of the green. Turner took a drop and was penalized a stroke. Because of where his drop fell, Turner was forced to stand on the edge of the barricade over the pond for his fourth shot. The chip shot barely lipped out, and Turner had carded a hard-fought bogey.
“If there was ever such a thing as saving bogey, that was it,” Turner said. “It was an awkward stance, but luckily I hit a decent chip shot for the bogey.”
On his second nine, Turner continued to play steady and focused. He birdied his final hole ­— the 517-yard par 5 9th — and headed to the scoring tent with a 71.
“I thought I had a good start,” Turner said. “The competition out here is good, and it looks like everybody came to play.”
Turner had some direct competition from playing partner Hank Kim. Kim netted a 3-under 69, using his explosive distance off the tee to propel him to his low score. Turner said it was the second time he has played with Kim this season, and said he and Kim likely helped push each other toward solid first round scores.
With Lammi out to an early-tournament lead, Turner spoke about the psychology behind staying afloat in the tournament.
“You always want to keep an eye on who the leader is,” Turner said. “Even early on in the tournament.”
Turner, who is staying with his family in Greenwood through the duration of his participation in the tournament, said he has appreciated having a homecoming of sorts, saying it was good to go to a tournament and sleep in a familiar bed and have a few home cooked meals. On the first nine holes of the first round, Turner’s mother strolled down each hole, watching each of her son’s strokes, always staying well ahead of the action.
“She always likes to stay a hole ahead,” said Turner, with a smile. “It was nice to have her out here.”
Though the rain that came through the area Wednesday kept the greens slow in the first round, Turner said the players expect the speed to pick up if further precipitation holds off.
“Yeah it will pick up,” Turner said. “The pin placement will get tougher as well, some of them were a little generous (Thursday). It will really be interesting to see how things shape up the next couple of days.”
Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com.

Opinion

Data should offer a way to improve S. C. education

April 21, 2006

Generally, polls are valuable tools for gathering and processing information, whether it’s on education, politics, or anything else. There are some polls, however, that may be suspect in that they seek to paint a biased picture. Sometimes, though, a good one comes along to help evaluate a lot of things and, hopefully, create positive results. One has ..... or should.
A recent AP-AOL Learning Services Poll found that teachers are more pessimistic than parents about getting every student to succeed in reading and math as predicted by the No Child Left Behind Act. Although it left a big expectations gap between teachers and parents, it offers more to all of South Carolina.

THE POLL FOUND THAT nearly eight of ten parents are confident their local schools will have students up to state standards by the 2013-2014 school year target. Only about a half of teachers felt that deadline would be met, however.
All in all, this is one of the best polls undertaken thus far. It provides a basis for understanding the trials and tribulations of education and that, in turn, offers a basis for analysis that could lead to improvement all around. That should apply to parents, teachers, administrators, lawmakers and bureaucrats ..... not to mention the public at large. It also should make clear what the effects of race, ethnicity, and socio/economic status have on teaching and learning ..... and final results.
Of course, that all depends on attitudes and open minds. Sometimes those are the hardest obstacles to overcome.

Obituaries

Wilma Bannister

Wilma Jones Holsonback Bannister, 88, of 303 Draper St., widow of Manning “Smiley” Holsonback and Bradley E. Bannister, died Thursday, April 20, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center. Services will be announced later by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Margaret Bryan

GREENWOOD — Margaret Cogburn Bryan, 90, former resident of 308 Elliott Street, widow of Preston B. “P.B.” Bryan, Sr., died April 19, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Edgefield County, October 14, 1915, she was a daughter of the late Hugh A. and Maude Allen Cogburn. She was a graduate of Edgefield High School and Peterson’s Business College in Greenwood. Ms. Bryan was the first manager of the gift shop at Self Memorial Hospital and retired from Griffin’s Jewelers after 25 years of service.
A member of Callie Self Memorial Baptist Church, she was also a member of the Whitten Village Parent’s Club and served on the Board of Directors at Whitten Village. She was a former member of the Thrift Garden Club and the Camellia Garden Club. Mrs. Bryan also served on the Board of Education in Greenwood and worked with the Crippled Children’s Society of South Carolina.
Surviving are a daughter-in-law, Sandra G. Bryan of Green-wood; two grandsons, Preston B. Bryan, III of California and Brooks L. Bryan of Clemson; five sisters, Myrtle C. Mayson, Lou C. Dukes and Velma C. Robertson, all of Greenwood, Mary C. Waites of Lexington and Ann C. Grishaw of Daytona Beach, FL; a number of nieces and nephews, including Mar-garet “Beth” Hyman, her caregiver of Greenwood.
Mrs. Bryan was predeceased by a son, Preston B. Bryan, Jr. and a daughter, Joan A. Bryan.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 pm Saturday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Leland Scott officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be nephews.
Honorary escort will be Jimmy and Paulette Bannister, Gerald and Clydie Rauton, Earl and Tee Cowan, Matt and Louise Gleber, Wade and Helen Sanders, Mack and Elsie Partlow, Frances Meredith, Bill Thompson, Bob Moore, Cathy Sanders, Rhonda Childs and Linda Trott.
The family is at the home of her niece, Beth Hyman, 115 Brookwood Lane and will receive friends at the funeral home from 2 to 3 Saturday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to Hospice House, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Bryan family.
PAID OBITUARY

L.T. Harling

Services for L.T. Harling, of 710 White Oak Lane, are 2 p.m. Saturday at Holy Springs Baptist Church, with the Rev. William Moore officiating, the Rev. James Moss presiding and the Rev. Amos Harling assisting. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in Andrew Chapel Cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews, and flower bearers are nieces.
The family is at the home.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at pertompfh1@earthlink.net