Lawsuit raises questions

School district, attorneys speak out on countersuit

December 9, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Greenwood School District 50’s $50 million countersuit against a Greenwood resident has left many questions unanswered.
Fallout from the district’s countersuit and claims filed by law firm Childs & Halligan Dec. 4 has only begun to spread, but district officials and attorneys spoke about their decision to go forward in detail.
Named in the countersuit are Henry Johnson, former owner of the Rental Center and plaintiff along with the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation in a lawsuit filed Nov. 3 against District 50, its bond plan, superintendent Darrell Johnson and former chairwoman Dru James. The district also has been plagued with mistrust about the bond plan by public officials, including Greenwood County councilmen Dee Compton and Bob Jennings and state Rep. Mike Pitts.
The school system’s countersuit asks for $50 million in damages to compensate for the amount District 50 and taxpayers will have to pay if the installment purchase bond plan doesn’t go through, said Childs & Halligan’s attorney Allen Smith.
The district’s attorneys denied most of Henry Johnson’s claims, including that District 50’s plan violates South Carolina’s 8 percent bond indebtedness limit. Childs & Halligan also claim Johnson and the foundation began the lawsuit to prevent the bond plan from being implemented.

Who’s paying?
Board of trustees chairwoman Debrah Miller said the district is paying for attorneys fees through money put aside in the budget for legal matters. Gary Johnson, assistant superintendent of business for District 50, said money from the district’s general fund will pay for Childs & Halligan’s fees, which are about $150 an hour.
He said there is no way of knowing the entire cost until litigation is completed.
Johnson said he didn’t know if defending the lawsuit would cost more than complying with Compton’s on-hold Freedom of Information Act requests because he didn’t know how much time it would have taken to complete the FOIAs.
Childs & Halligan’s fee for the FOIAs was $3,800 for 25 hours of work, said Suzanne McRorie, Gary Johnson’s administrative assistant.
Smith said the attorneys made the decision to file the countersuit to defend the district against false allegations and that no more district money will be spent on the countersuit.
District 50 won’t be spending more of taxpayers’ money on the countersuit because they’re spending money to defend themselves against Henry Johnson’s lawsuit already, Smith said.
The district’s bond attorney, Bill Hirata, was consulted about how the lawsuit and countersuit will affect the bond plan, but said Darrell Johnson told him to coordinate with Smith and not talk about the bond plan to anyone but himself and board members.
Smith was asked what would happen if District 50 went ahead with the bond plan and no one purchased the bonds because of the controversy surrounding the plan. He said that wouldn’t happen because the bonds wouldn’t be issued unless the district’s bond attorneys filed an opinion about the bonds, which would guarantee their authenticity.
“The risk wouldn’t be there,” Smith said.

Legal or illegal?
Investors also wouldn’t lose their money if they bought the bonds and then installment purchase bonds are declared illegal, because that wouldn’t happen unless the Supreme Court said the practice was illegal.
Greenwood taxpayers also wouldn’t pay to cover the investors’ losses, Smith said.
The Colleton County School District is currently being sued in the state Supreme Court by a group of Colleton County taxpayers led in court by attorney Jim Carpenter, who is also Henry Johnson’s attorney.
Smith said many of the issues raised in the lawsuit and countersuit have been raised in the Colleton County case. If the Colleton County bond plan is declared illegal, its effect on District 50 and other similar bond plans would depend on the language used in the justices’ opinion.
“We can’t predict what the court says,” Smith said.
Language also would be a factor in whether the outcome of the Colleton County case could stop the bond plan.
Board members James Williams and LeVerne Fuller again declined to discuss the countersuit Friday. Williams said he didn’t want to comment on the countersuit because it began before he became a board member in November.
He said his only information about the countersuit comes from The Index-Journal.

About the Plan
District 50’s bond plan would leverage as much as $145 million over a 25-year period to pay for construction of three elementary schools, and renovations and modifications to the rest of the schools in the district. Bonds are typically sold by government agencies to the public and investors to pay for large projects, where the money gained from the bond sale is given to the issuing agency and paid back over an established amount of time.

Is txting 4 U?

It might depend on your age

December 9, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

More than ever before, people are communicating and staying connected with one another.
The Internet has made gathering information from around the globe as simple as pecking out a few keystrokes. Almost everyone you meet today uses a cell phone at one point or another.
One form of communication has soared in popularity in the last three years, particularly among young people: text messaging.
Taking a trip to the local Dickinson Cinema on the weekend will provide a prime example of just how popular “texting” has become. It is common to see the blue glow of a cell phone light cutting through the darkness of a theater as the person in his teens or 20s taps out a message to friends.
According to a recent Pew Internet and American Life survey, 73 percent of people between the ages of 18-27 use text messaging, compared to 18 percent of people age 40-49. Many cell phones, such as T-Mobile’s popular Sidekick, come equipped with mini-keyboards, making it easier and more efficient to send a text message.
A stroll through the campus of Lander University Friday morning revealed a plethora of students texting away on their mobile phones. In fact, many students could be seen immediately pulling out their phones and firing off messages as soon as they walked out of the classroom.
“I love text messaging,” said senior Jacinthia Witherspoon, a 22-year-old Greenwood native. “I’m constantly sending them and getting them. I think it’s a great way of getting a short, concise point across.”
Witherspoon added that there are many spots on Lander’s campus where cell phone signals are weak, yet still work for texting.
While many students were observed sending texts after they exited, at least two admitted to using the technology during class.
“You don’t want to be rude during class,” sophomore Ashley Justice said. “If someone tries to call me I can text them and let them know I’m in class and will call them back.”
Sophomore Gina Williams, a New York native, said she uses text messaging in a similar fashion. She said she discreetly sends people messages during class, asking if friends want to meet for lunch or to study later.
Derrick Hopkins, 22, likens texting to something he and friends used to do when they were younger.
“It’s like passing notes,” Hopkins said. “Like passing notes back and forth. I don’t do it a lot, but it’s useful when you don’t want to carry on a whole conversation.”
Like any aspect dealing with cell phones, there is a cost to text messaging. Rates vary by company, but most have plans not unlike regular phone minutes. Customers get a certain number of messages allowed under a plan, and any message beyond that is an additional charge. Lander freshman basketball player Curtis Milner said he found this out the hard way.
“I got my phone and just started texting people,” Milner said, smiling. “When I got my bill, I was like, ‘Whoa, I better slow down on this.’”
Senior Sarah Crosby said she experienced something similar. After she and her siblings went well over their family’s planned number of text messages, Crosby said her father increased their plan and warned Crosby to keep an eye on her texting habits.
Witherspoon advised that people, especially students, should just be mindful of what their plan allows for texting.
“You just have to be savvy about these things,” Witherspoon said. “A lot of Joe Blows out there don’t know their plans well enough. If they do, texting charges won’t be a problem.”

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

Auxiliary’s poinsettia ‘tree’ is a labor of love

December 9, 2006

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

History leads the way.
As you enter the main lobby at Self Regional Medical Center and travel down its long corridor, years pass by in mere seconds.
Each step welcomes another era before quickly bidding it goodbye. Pictures of bygone decades — each honoring the many achievements of the hospital — light the hallway.
The pictures are nearly always of progress.
Eventually though, the hall’s natural momentum ushers you out of the past and directly into the present, where the new atrium explodes skyward into the bright sunlight.
It’s impressive stuff.
So is this huge, red “tree”-of-a-thing that greets visitors to the hospital’s newest expansion effort, which includes the atrium and new patient tower.
It’s imposing, as it pushes beyond the 10-foot plateau, while reaching more than 7 feet across at its base.
Upon closer inspection it becomes quite clear that it is no tree at all, but rather a collection of beautiful poinsettia plants formed as a representation of a tree.
Leave it to the Self Regional Healthcare Auxiliary, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that has donated in excess of $1.5 million to Self Regional projects and equipment, to be behind bringing this gigantic beauty to life.
It’s just the newest tradition of the “Lights for Love” program the auxiliary has sponsored for 28 years.
The individual plants can be purchased for $12 in honor or remembrance of a friend or loved one.
Proceeds from the sales will benefit the hospital. The funds from this initial “tree” will go to the Emergency Care Center.
Cleo Chamberlain is this year’s “Lights for Love” chairman. Along with help from volunteers such as Edna Culp (she will head up next year’s program), necessary funds are raised.
“When we bought the form we knew how many it would hold (185 plants), so we’ve been aiming for that many to be sold,” Chamberlain said. “We’re not there yet, so we’re still selling them. On Christmas Day, we’ll take the plants and give them to our patients here at the hospital.”
For anyone purchasing a poinsettia, the auxiliary will mail the honored person (or their family) a note informing him/her the memorial has been made.
The names also will be placed on the poinsettia scroll.
So, a living organism of this stature begs the question: How does one water a “tree” like this?
Chamberlain smiles sweetly, but not quite innocently.
“It’s a secret,” she says.
The plants can be purchased in the main lobby of the hospital. There are raffle tickets for sale as well, for numerous items donated by local businesses.
The items will be raffled Dec. 22.
Culp became a part of the auxiliary two years ago when her husband died.
“I have no family here so this is my family,” Culp says. “I spend three, four and five days a week here. (The ‘tree’ is) a beautiful asset to the atrium here, but we need to sell some more. It’s nice to just give back.”
The hospital appreciates auxiliary members’ sacrifices and the additional funding and revenue they’re able to generate.
“Not only is (the ‘tree’) something nice to look at through the holidays, but it’ll also be beneficial for patients of our Emergency Care Center in the future,” said Dan Branyon, Self’s public relations director.
“This is simply a new tradition that’s part of our ‘Lights for Love’ and does not include all the other things they do for us, making life better for our patients here. They really roll up their sleeves and do a great job for us.”

Overtime thriller

McIntosh’s 3 gives EHS win over rival

December 9, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Emerald junior Ben McIntosh picked the right game to hit his first 3-pointer of the season.
He picked an even better time to knock down his fifth.
McIntosh, who was 0-fer from beyond the arc in four games, drilled five 3s, including the one that put the Vikings up for good in a 74-71 overtime victory over crosstown rival Greenwood Friday night at Finis Horne Arena.
“I just thought it was going to be a matter of time, because I’ve always been a good shooter,” McIntosh said.
“Everybody just kept telling me ‘Just keep shooting and it will come to you.’ It came through tonight for me.
“It’s a big win. It’s always great to beat Greenwood. It’s a good lift for this team.”
Emerald senior Kadarron Anderson, who finished with a game-high 24 points, drilled a 3-pointer with 49.6 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Vikings a 63-61 lead. It was their first lead since early in the second quarter.
Eight seconds later, Greenwood’s Dexter Syrkett sank a pair of free throws for the sixth tie of the game. Both teams failed to capitalize in the final 41 seconds and the game went to overtime.
Back-to-back baskets by Greenwood sophomore D.J. Swearinger gave the Eagles the lead back, at 67-65, with 3:24 left in the additional period.
But Greenwood wouldn’t convert another field goal until there were seconds remaining.
On the Vikings’ ensuing possession, Anderson found 6-foot-8 forward Trey Woolridge open on an out-of-bounds play.
Woolridge spun and dropped in two of his 13 points, knotting the game at 67.
McIntosh followed with his final 3-ball of the night, taking a pass from Woolridge and launching a rainbow over the outstretched arm of the Greenwood defender. The 3-pointer gave Emerald a 70-67 lead with 2:11 remaining.
“Can’t say enough about Ben, being hot the way he was,” Emerald coach Robin Scott said. “I had a feeling coming into the game that as cold as Ben had been he was liable to light it up. A change of scenery might just have been what he needed.”
A 6-footer by Emerald’s Jeremy Eidson and 2-of-5 from the free throw line gave the Vikings a six-point lead (74-68), the team’s largest since it led 9-2.
But Greenwood’s Andre Day sliced that lead in half with a 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining.
The Eagles then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds. Day, who finished with 16 to lead the Eagles, then took Greenwood’s inbounds pass and was face guarded by Anderson. Day’s shot fell short. Day fell to the ground, but no foul was called.
Day led the Eagles with 16 points. Freshman Jarvis Rhode chipped in 11, while Swearinger and sophomore center Sam Montgomery added nine points apiece.
“We played with intensity tonight,” Scott said. “Hopefully, we’ll take from this and build on it. Winning this game is always big. It means a lot to our kids and a lot to our school.”

GHS girls overpower Emerald’s Lady Vikes

December 9, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Greenwood High School girls basketball coach Susan Thompson knows you can’t let up when you have a lead, especially not against a crosstown rival.
The Lady Eagles built a huge third-quarter advantage and escaped with a 52-42 win over Emerald. Friday night at Finis Horne Arena.
Behind second-chance scoring and an aggressive defense, Greenwood went from one point behind to a 19-point lead with just under 2 minutes to play in the first half. A 10-3 run to close out the final 5 minutes of the third quarter put the Lady Eagles up 44-20 heading into the final quarter.
“(The lead) was real important,” Thompson said. “We worked real hard on our press, trying to keep them from getting the ball up the floor. Again, when you let a team hang around, they can come back. I give Emerald credit, they fought hard.”
Vijya Corbett, Syteria Robinson and Jacena Thompson each finished with 11 points for the Lady Eagles (2-1). Robinson and Thompson also finished with double figures in rebounding, with 11 and 10, respectively.
The Lady Vikings got 18 points from senior Brittany Connor, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. A period in which Emerald scored more points in that 8 minutes (22) than it did in the previous three quarters (20).
“They lost their intensity for a while,” Emerald coach Anarie Duckett said. “We were up and then next thing you know it’s 28-9. They just lost their intensity and it was something we talked about at halftime. We got a little bit back in the second half. We kept plugging away a little bit here and a little bit there. But we were too far behind.”
Connor gave the Lady Vikings their only lead of the night when she hit the first of two free throw attempts, giving Emerald a 5-4 lead with 2:29 left in the first.
Greenwood soon responded by scoring the final eight points of the first quarter. Corbett provided the big points on the flurry on back-to-back 3s in the final 20 seconds, including at the buzzer.
In all, the Lady Eagles went on a 24-4 run over the next 8:54 of play.
The Lady Vikings cooled the Greenwood flurry with six straight points from four different players to close out the first half, trailing 28-15.
Greenwood’s lead ballooned to 24 behind an 8-1 run in the final 3:52 of the third.
The Lady Vikings responded in the fourth with a big run of their own. Connor scored three of the team’s first five points in the fourth and seven during the 16-3 run to pull Emerald to within 12, at 48-36 with 3:06 remaining. But that was as close as the Lady Vikings would get.

Northland customers left in dark by blackout

December 9, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports editor

Some Greenwood football fans who were looking for a little NFL action Thursday night were left wanting and watching a black screen.
The NFL Network’s game-night coverage package, a span of eight games which began Thanksgiving night and will run on specific Thursdays and Saturdays through the regular season, is not being shown by Northland Cable.
A spokesperson from Northland’s Greenwood office stated unexpected additional costs as the reason for the blackout.
“The NFL Network wanted an exorbitant amount of money to show the games and basically, Northland felt it was unfair to pay those costs,” said Derquis Mitchell, marketing coordinator for Northland Cable of Greenwood. “We’re not the only cable provider company to this. Time-Warner, a big cable provider, isn’t running the games either.
“We didn’t want to pass those extra costs onto every customer, even those that don’t watch football. That’s the reason.”
Mitchell said Northland will not broadcast the remaining games on the NFL Network’s schedule.
This is not a Greenwood-area blackout only.
All Northland Cable customers are affected.
“It’s not a local decision. It was made at the corporate level,” Mitchell said. “I’m a huge football fan and I’m disappointed that I can’t watch the games either.”
Mitchell said they have fielded several complaints from area customers.
“Of course, customers are unhappy about it,” Mitchell said. “When the NFL Network started it was just statistics and games of the week. We were excited when it was announced that they would be showing games. But we didn’t think there would be a charge to providers, especially with how big the network is. It’s asking for more than some of the top 25 networks were asking for.”
In a related story, a bitter dispute between cable and satellite TV over the broadcast of NFL games has intensified, with Time Warner Cable Inc. accusing DirecTV Group Inc. of deceptive trade practices.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan claims DirecTV lied about the accessibility of NFL broadcasts in an attempt to pry away customers from Time Warner Cable.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and a court order to stop DirecTV from saying in advertising that Time Warner Cable subscribers cannot watch their local NFL team play games when DirecTV is showing games on the NFL Network.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Opinion

Helping safety on roads should be favored by all

December 9, 2006

How many times do we have to be reminded that driving drunk or carelessly could be the last thing we do on earth?
Seemingly, it doesn’t matter. We keep thumbing our noses at the law and many times it’s fatal.
In fact, it’s reported by one organization that works to reduce the carnage on our roads that South Carolina is among the “Fatal Fifteen.” The physician-led advocacy group “End Needless Death on Our Roadways.” says, in fact, the Palmetto State is on the list of the 15 states with the worst highway safety records for the third consecutive year.
That should get the attention of all of us. But does it?

CONTRARY TO SOME ARGUMENTS, it would seem that any effort to promote safety would be welcome. It’s clear, however, that for some, gambling with their lives is more important than obeying the laws of the road.
Meanwhile, as we ignore the law, people keep dying. There’s another statistic, too. Innocent pedestrians, passengers and other drivers are put in harm’s way by drunks and fools behind the wheel.
Sometimes, it appears, history does teach some of us something. Unfortunately there are too many people who never learn. Therein lies the unexpected danger all motorists face. Death apparently doesn’t bother some drivers. They keep flirting with the grim reaper and in doing so, they are hazards to everybody they meet..... or pass.

Obituaries

Mozelle Chapman Bobo

ABBEVILLE — Mrs. Mozelle Chapman Bobo, age 65, of 309 Cambridge St., wife of Roy Lee Bobo, died Dec. 6, 2006 at the home of her daughter. She was born in Abbeville County and was the daughter of the late James and Carrie Martin Chapman. She was a member of Campfield Baptist Church and a graduate of J.S. Wright High School class of 1961. She was a homemaker.
Surviving are her husband of the home; four daughters, Kathy Chapman, Jasmine Brownlee, both of the home, Crystal Brown of Greenwood, SC, Rosa Dawson of Abbeville, SC; a goddaughter, Darlene Brownlee of Abbeville, SC; three sons, Larry Chapman of Clarksville, Tenn., Michael Lloyd of the home, Jay Hamrick of North Carolina; a brother, Lewis Chapman of Abbeville, SC; a sister, Maybelle Burton of Chicago, IL.; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006 at 2 p.m. at Campfield Baptist Church. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Rev. Willie J. Choice is officiating. The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m.
The family is at the home. Brown and Walker Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Austin Maclin

Austin Winchester Maclin Jr., 79, of 308 Salak Road, formerly of Vero Beach, Fla., died Friday, Dec. 8, 2006, at Hospice House of Greenwood.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

John Willie ‘Pop’ Morgan

John Willie “Pop” Morgan, 87, of Magnolia Manor, husband of Mary Frances Mansel Morgan, died Dec. 6, 2006 at Hospice Care of the Piedmont.
He was born in Greenwood County and was the son of the late John Morgan and Amelia Dean Morgan.
He retired from Self Memorial Hospital and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include his wife of Greenwood; five daughters, Florence (Eugene) Gilchrist and Mary (Robert) Calhoun, both of Greenwood, Betty Pendermon of Laurens, JoAnn Hammond of Philadelphia, PA, and Loree (Ed) Minyard of New York, NY; two sons, Alphonso (Willa) Morgan and Frank (Arlene) Morgan, both of Greenwood; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Sunday at the Chapel of Parks Funeral Home with the Rev. J.L. Robinson officiating, assisted by the Rev. Thomas Duncan.
Viewing will be Saturday from 3 p.m.-9 p.m.
The family is at the home of Pete and Willa Morgan, 120 Watson St. and Eugene and Florence Gilchrist, 725 Gilliam St.
Parks Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Malvenia Parker

ABBEVILLE — Malvenia Parker, 66, resident of Abbeville Nursing Home, 83 Thomson Circle, died Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006 at Abbeville Nursing Home.
Born in Abbeville Co., SC, she was a daughter of the late William Edwin, Sr. and Woodrow Wilson Parker.
She was a homemaker and a member of New Hope Presbyterian Church.
Survivors are: brother, William Edwin “Billy” Parker, Jr. and sister-in-law, Alice, of Abbeville, SC; nephew, Lowrie Parker of Abbeville, SC; 2 great-nieces, Jessica Lee Parker and Chelsea Nicole Parker.
Graveside services will be conducted Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 at 11 a.m. at Long Cane Cemetery with the Rev. Arnold Johnson officiating.
The family is at the home of her brother Mr. and Mrs. Billy Parker, 90 Pine St., Abbeville, SC.
Memorials may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 200 Church St., Abbeville, SC 29620 or to Lebanon Presbyterian Church, 698 Mt. Carmel Road, Abbeville, SC 29620.
Online condolences may be made to the Parker family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, SC, is in charge of arrangements.