Local black leaders want to see
Voting Rights Act made permanent

July 18, 2006

By LESLIE DRAFFIN
Index-Journal intern

While the U.S. House of Representatives voted to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act without two proposed amendments, some of Greenwood’s black leaders wonder why the act is still being brought to the table.
“They need to vote and never have to worry about it again,” Greenwood County Councilwoman Edith Childs said. “I just don’t understand how, when you are voting on the right for blacks to vote, you can add or take away some portions of the act.”
State Rep. Anne Parks, D-Greenwood and McCormick, agreed with Childs but added, “I don’t think legislators will pass the act permanently, so I would rather see it passed like it is now, without the amendments.”
The first proposed amendment, rejected 288-134, would have extended the act for a decade instead of the 25 years set forth in the original bill. The second amendment, rejected 238-185, proposed striking requirements in the law that ballots in districts with large populations of non-English speakers be printed in other languages.
While Democrats made it clear they would vote against the renewal if any of the amendments were added, the very debate over changes to the act is a testament to the influence of Southern conservatives. The House’s vote rejected efforts by Southern conservatives to relax federal oversight of their states in a debate haunted by the ghosts of the civil rights movement.
The states identified in the bill as still in need of federal oversight are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
The Voting Rights Act was a measure to support the Fifteenth Amendment, which grants voting rights regardless of race. The 1965 act mainly dealt with the use of poll taxes and voter literacy tests, which were used in some places to undermine the amendment.
“The main problem with the Voting Rights Act is that it’s in legal — not laymen’s — terms. It needs to be broken down for people who don’t understand,” Childs said.
At the annual NAACP convention, president Bruce Gordon urged members to keep pushing for re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act, declaring, “We may not have all the power that we want, but we have all the power that we need.”
Gordon also said black Americans should end “victim-like” thinking and seize opportunities to help close gaps between the nation’s rich and poor.
Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson agreed with Gordon’s statement.
“We need to begin bridging the gap and taking more action for what we can do for ourselves instead of relying on someone else to do it for us,” he said.
Greenwood County Councilman Gonza Bryant said “we should use the power we have in voting to help those who are less fortunate than others. I think there is an obligation on black America to do all we can to use our strengths in the betterment of mankind.”
Bryant said he thinks the act should be made permanent and thinks “we should use all the power we can so things are the same for all Americans.”
“Blacks did not always have the right to vote,” Childs said. “People died so we could vote for the people we want to vote for, not because people told us to vote for them.”
The Voting Rights Act renewal is scheduled for a vote this week in the Senate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

That just takes the cake

54-year-old dessert preserves woman’s memory of husband

July 18, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

Some couples freeze the top layer of their wedding cake and finally pull the freezer-burnt delight out on their one-year anniversary.
But Sara Majors is different.
The Greenwood resident keeps a piece of her cake in a peanut butter jar, turned upside down and sealed with masking tape on top of her entertainment center.
She’s kept it for 54 years.
“It’s just something that connects me to my husband,” Majors said. “He and I cut that piece together.”
Majors said she never thought she would keep the cake — or the bride and groom topper that sits next to the petrified slice in an identical jar — for that long. In fact, she said she just decided to put the piece in a jar on a whim.
“We came back from our honeymoon, and my mother had the cake sitting under a glass bowl on the table,” she said. “So I said, ‘I’m going to keep a piece of this,’ and put it in a peanut butter jar ... If I had had any sense, I would have gotten a better jar than that.”
Though it resembles a cluster of cocoa mix now, the cake was originally white with white icing and was baked in Greenwood. The photo of Majors and husband Harold, who died in 2000, shows the two gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes as they slice into a one-tier cake. Majors said the photographer had not shown up by the time guests started eating the other two tiers, so, when he got there, the couple had to cut into the topper for a photo.
After the couple from Calhoun Falls were frozen in time during that Kodak moment, they went on to have seven children.
To avoid any division among family members over the half-century-old cake, Majors said she is considering being buried with the piece that she always kept in a prominent place whenever they moved.
“It’s just something I cherish very much,” she said.
Her grandson, William Brown, of Calhoun Falls, said he could never imagine eating the cake now.
“They just don’t make stuff like they used to, do they?” he said, laughing. “It just doesn’t last as long.”
The masking tape has never been broken or replaced during any of Majors’ moves around different states. She said she has no intention of opening the jar now, for fear that it might just “poof” and be gone.
“I wouldn’t open it for anything in the world,” she said. “I wouldn’t even open it if somebody offered me one million dollars.”

GCT getting $114,000 more for renovations

Greenwood City Council hears heated arguments on other issues

July 18, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

Betty Wilson reached into her metallic, golden purse and plopped a folded triangle on the podium before the Greenwood City Council on Monday night.
“My husband didn’t give up his life in the Vietnam War because he wanted to, but because he wanted a better life for his family,” said Wilson, patting her hand on the plump, memorial American flag. “I hope you can assist us with this.”
It was part of an intense meeting, but one that also resulted in additional funding for the Greenwood Community Theatre. The funding issue wasn’t what prodded residents to speak out, though.
Wilson spoke on behalf of son William Wilson, in reference to his request to build a barber shop on his property on East Cambridge Avenue. Despite arguments from neighbors who said the shop would draw more traffic, loitering and litter to the area, Betty insisted that her son intends to install video cameras, fences and trespassing signs.
“We are just trying to make the neighborhood better,” she said.
Randy Williams agreed, saying no one would build a home there anyway.
But Alice Goodman, who lives across from the proposed shop, pleaded with council not to rezone the area from residential to neighborhood commercial. She said the rezoning of the less than one acre could then be used for anything from a night club to a restaurant. Goodman asked council members to ride down East Cambridge Avenue, saying “it’s like a ghetto right in that two-block area.”
“You wouldn’t want this directly in front of your door,” Goodman said. “... And you would probably need to put a traffic light in there to control the traffic.”
After other residents spoke about “walk-throughs” going through their yards already coming from the existing businesses in the area, City Manager Steve Brown recommended that council zone only a parcel of property at the location to office/professional and leave the rest residential.
Councilwoman Linda Edwards said she still wants to think about the residents in the area.
“One of the things those people asked for was no more businesses,” Edwards said of previous discussions with residents.
Council voted unanimously to table the approval of rezoning until its next meeting.
In other action, Greenwood Community Theatre representative David Byars approached council with photos of the theater’s renovation process that clearly shocked several council members.
Two months ago, Byars said the theater requested $236,000 in hospitality tax funds for renovations of the theater “in good faith.” But, as the process began, workers uncovered rotting walls that have been damaged by years of leaks that were unnoticed through the many layers of ceiling. Byars also said the wooden canopy that hangs over the sidewalk needs some work.
“It was kind of frightening just going through it,” Councilwoman Betty Boles said of her tour of the facility.
Byars requested an additional $106,424 to complete the project, but, at Brown’s recommendation, council voted to rescind the previous amount and approve an expenditure for the theater totaling $350,000. The new total is $114,000 more than what was originally approved by council.
“I feel a great responsibility that we cannot turn back now,” Byars said, adding that the theater is an important part of Uptown Greenwood.
Assistant City Manager Charlie Barrineau informed council that notification had been received from Gov. Mark Sanford that the city will receive $500,000 in Community Development Block Grants to improve the water system near East Cambridge Avenue. Barrineau said the Commissioners of Public Works is contributing $311,779 to the project and that the city will need to allocate $30,000. Council voted unanimously to authorize the funds for the water improvements.
Douglas Hill, of 426 Grove St., spoke to council about his interpretation of how he was treated by Greenwood City Police officers on June 20.
Hill said he came to a light on East Cambridge Avenue, when he noticed a police vehicle behind him. Hill said the vehicle followed him up Seaboard Avenue, down Main Street and finally signaled for him to pull over when he was turning onto Marion Avenue. Hill said that at about 12:30 a.m., both officers removed their guns from their holsters and approached his car. He said that after they took his license and registration, they went back to their vehicle and did not come back for 20 to 25 minutes. Hill said he was told he was receiving a traffic violation for playing his music too loud. He said the officer explained that if the music could be heard outside the car, it was in violation of the city’s noise ordinance. Hill said that his music was not at a loud volume. He told council that he spoke with members of the police department who told him he could tell the judge on his court date.
But Brown was quick to the police officers’ defense. He said the whole traffic stop was on video and that, when he saw the video, he did not see any guns drawn, did not see Hill waiting for 20 minutes and recommended that Hill appeal his case during his court hearing today.
“Officers are not trained or instructed to pull weapons at traffic stops,” Brown said, adding later that both officers acted professionally, not arrogantly, using terminology such as “sir.” Brown said Hill sped off while the officer was trying to explain the ordinance and were telling him that the maximum fine for the ticket was $1,000 — but that his probably would be between $200 and $300, not the $1,087 Hill said he received.
“We accept this as information and will review the video and get back to you,” Mayor Floyd Nicholson told Hill.

Program helps parents learn
effective ways to teach their children

July 18, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Jackie Drawdy thought she knew instinctively how to teach daughter Natalee everything she needed to know when she was born seven months ago.
After joining the Abbeville and Greenwood Early Stages (AGES) literacy program, Drawdy learned she didn’t know as much as she thought she did. But she’s helping now-7-month-old Natalee through AGES.
The program helped Drawdy by giving her free books and advice on how to teach her child better, something she can’t always afford.
She was approached by an AGES representative in the hospital after Natalee was born.
AGES is a program developed to help mentally prepare children to succeed in kindergarten, said Lora Kline, director of children and youth services at the United Way. Several organizations, including the United Way, Greenwood School District 51 and 52 and Abbeville First Steps program, helped write the $994,000 grant given to the Early Care and Education Initiative (ECEI) in September 2005. ECEI helped start AGES in November 2005.
The program works to help children in two ways: educating parents on how to teach their children and helping teachers teach better, Kline said.
Drawdy has used the techniques she learned from the program to teach her child through a curriculum called “Read Together, Talk Together.”
The technique that has worked best for her is “See it, Say it, Show it,” which lets parents see a word in one of the books, say it to their children and show them the word in the book.
“Read Together” books are developed for each child’s needs, said Shelly Ann Heynes, family support worker for the Healthy Families program, a part of AGES.
Heynes visits Drawdy in her home once a week and checks on Natalee’s progress in the program.
Parents who read to their children 20 minutes a day, as recommended, are easy to spot, Heynes said.
Children who are being read to will grab the book as soon as they see it, while children who aren’t will not do anything, she said.
The books emphasize language and reading skills, Kline said. They encourage parents to have conversations with their children.
Natalee doesn’t have a favorite book, Drawdy said. Her daughter has become a connoisseur of fine books.
“They all taste the same (to her),” she said.
AGES also helps parents create homemade toys designed to help babies develop. For example, one of Natalee’s favorite toys is a sealed plastic bag filled with water and small toys, Drawdy said.
She’s also trying to get financial assistance to go to Piedmont Tech to help her child. AGES also provides medical advice for children through a hot line. Drawdy used it recently because Natalee was allergic to her immunization shots.
AGES gets referrals for the program from doctors, health departments and its parent recruiters, Heynes said. The program is open to all children.
Drawdy is enjoying teaching Natalee to read. She wants to continue with the program.
“It’s been wonderful watching her learn,” Drawdy said. “She learns something new every day.”

Post 20 beats Lancaster

July 18, 2006

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

After sweeping Inman in the first round of the American Legion playoffs, Greenwood Post 20 continued its winning ways against Lancanster Post 31 Monday at Legion Field. The game featured great offensive and defensive plays for Post 20, as they won the series opener, 6-3.
“(Greenwood pitcher Brandon) Miller pitched well, although he had one rough inning, and we played good defense,” said coach Billy Dean Minor, “Lancaster battled back and got back into the ball game, so you have to give them credit. Miller picked up the win for Post 20. The series continues 7 tonight in Lancaster.
Lancanster was looking for offense early on, beginning with John Lewis stealing second base with one out in the first inning. Lewis put Post 31 up by a run following an Anthony Strothers two-out triple. Miller made sure that was all the runs Lancanster got in the first when he struck out Bruce McCaskill looking at the plate.
Greenwood seems to have a penchant for coming from behind in the last two games.
In the bottom of the first, after loading the bases, Cruse Tollison had a two-RBI single, driving in Brent Wham and Kyle Behrendt.
In the top of the second, a hard throwing Miller appeared close to striking out the side but still managed to only give up one hit in the inning.
“My fastball was pretty accurate tonight, but my curveball wasn’t working the best,” Miller said, “I had to just work through it.”
Matt Titus showed his defensive skills in the top of the fourth inning, making a nice grab on a ground ball hit hard past first base. Titus laid out for the catch and was able to get back up in time to toss the ball to Miller just in time to get the runner out at first.
In a game that had a few defensive gems, it was one of the best.
The old saying that defense makes offense seemed to ring true in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Greenwood’s Brent Wham almost knocked the hide off the ball on a deep triple to left center field adding two additional runs to give Greenwood Post 20 a 4-1 lead.
Post 20 was primed and ready to light the scoreboard up in the bottom of the fifth inning after Matt Titus drew a walk to load the bases with one out.
The boys in green got a little help from Lancaster pitcher Steven Neff, who was called for his second balk of the day.
The mistake by the pitcher added a run to Greenwood’s total to give them a 5-1 lead. The inning came to an end when John Wilson popped out and Keith Hill was caught stealing home plate.
Greenwood picked up thier final run of the night on an RBI single by Trey Wimmer with the bases loaded up again.

Obituaries

Tevin Denzel Brooks

SALUDA — Tevin Denzel “Red” Brooks, 15, died Saturday, July 15, 2006 from injuries received in an automobile accident.
The family is at the home of his parents, 1685 Old Chappells Ferry Road, Saluda.
Services will be announced by Butler & Sons Funeral Home.

John ‘Tune’Butler Jr.

Services for John “Tune” Butler Jr. are 1 p.m. Wednesday at Morris Chapel Baptist Church, with the Rev. Ricky Syndab presiding and the Rev. Anderson Robinson officiating. Assisting are the Revs. Jonathan Greene, Dora Ann White and Thessa G. Smith. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in The Evening Star cemetery.
Pallbearers are Winder Washington, Cory Chappell, Darin Blocker, Demetrius J. Dickens, Floyd Washington and Byron W. Smith.
Honorary escorts are Tarrant-McGier Post 224 American Legion.
Visitation is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Greenwood, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Parks Funeral Home is in charge.

Alan Erett

WARE SHOALS — Alan Edward Erett, 43, of 10 Ponderosa Drive, died Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Roper Hospital in Charleston.
The family is at the home of his mother, June Powell, 5201 Emerson St., Hodges.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home and Crematory, Greenwood.

Earl Morse

BLUFFTON — Earl Morse, 89, of 32 Tillinghast Circle, widower of Mabel Plampin Morse, died Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Hilton Head Medical Center.
Born in Saluda County, he was a son of the late Simeon J. and Alma Smith Morse. He was a World War II Army veteran, receiving the Soldier’s Medal for heroism. Formerly employed by C.Y. Thomason Construction Co., Greenwood, he had lived in Hilton Head and Bluffton since 1961. He was a member of Low Country Presbyterian Church and Masonic Lodge No. 91, Greenwood.
Survivors include a daughter, Vicki Nix of Lafayette, Ga.; two sons, David Lewis of Hilton Head and Richard Morse of Bluffton; six grandchildren.
Services with military rites are 1:30 Wednesday at Oakbrook Memorial Park Mausoleum Chapel. Entombment with Masonic rites is in Oakbrook Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Pallbearers are David Sease, Michael Freeman, Daniel Nix, Seth Nix, Nathan Nix, Levi Nix, Keith Stringer and Victor Sparks.
Visitation is 12-1 Wednesday at Blyth Funeral Home and after the service at the home of John and Elizabeth Sparks, 3015 Highway 21 S., Greenwood.
Memorials may be made to Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, PO Box 1178, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Greenwood, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Shirley Suber Smith

SALUDA — Shirley Suber Smith, of 1713 Fruit Hill Road, wife of Willie Lee Smith, died Monday, July 17, 2006 at her home.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Butler & Sons Funeral Home.

William Henry ‘Wooper’ Wideman

ABBEVILLE — William Henry “Wooper” Wideman, 62, of 1201 Secession Ave., Lot 8, husband of Louise Kelly Wideman, died Sunday, July 16, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in McCormick County, he was a son of the late James P. and Beatrice Wideman Turner. He attended McCormick public schools and was a retired construction employee. He was a member of Mount Zion AME Church, McCormick, and a former employee of Walker Funeral Home.
Survivors include his wife of Edgefield; a son, Willie Henry Wideman of Edgefield; two daughters, Michelle Wideman of Edgefield and Sharon D. Provost of Detroit; three brothers, Joel Turner of Calhoun Falls, Carl Turner of McCormick and John C. Turner of Abbeville; three sisters, Mary T. Gantt of Greenwood, Sandra Durant of Ninety Six and Sharon Turner of Aiken; four grandchildren; eight half brothers and sisters, Tommy Lewis McDuffie, Ernestine McDuffie Haley, Benjamin McDuffie, Carrie McDuffie Farr, Sallie McDuffie Goodwin, Bobby McDuffie, Dorothy McDuffie and Virginia McDuffie Talbert, all of Greenwood.
The family is at the home of Mrs. Johnny (Mary) Gantt, 216 E. Laurel St., Greenwood.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.

Opinion

If anyone is persecuted, it’s Christians in America

July 18, 2006

Part III of III: Christianity and persecution.
There is yet another war going on in this country. It’s a war against Christianity ..... a war of attrition that is slowly but surely taking a terrible toll on the core of what historically has been the strength of America since before we gained independence more than two centuries ago.
Sometimes this war is marked by a subtle assault on the very idea of Christianity. Sometimes the tactics and strategy couldn’t be clearer. At other times it’s an assault on everything crucial to retaining what the Founding Fathers intended.
There will be those, no doubt, who take issue. That, too, it seems, is part of a calculated design to compromise Christianity’s credibility and lessen its resolve. These are some of the same people who would destroy Christianity or at the least marginalize it.

IN A WORLD WHERE PERSECUTION is no stranger, it could easily go unnoticed in the kind of “cry wolf” atmosphere so evident in recent years. Even a quick look around makes it clear. If Christians aren’t being persecuted in this Christian nation, why have so many anti-Christian attitudes become everyday factors?
Consider the divisive issues that have redirected the focus of some Christians in their own churches. The forced distractions play not only on naiveté in many cases, they seek to exploit guilt compounded by mental and emotional finger-pointing by those who seek to change the thrust and the focus of Christianity.
Prayer and indeed all manifestations of Christianity are being systematically banished from any public place or function, supported by the inevitable claim of separation of church and state.

THAT’S A CONTINUING BATTLE in a war that cannot be ignored or conceded.
It’s happening all over. For example, a valedictorian of her high school graduating class recently was denied her diploma because she mentioned Christ in her speech. That’s indicative of many other assaults on First Amendment rights that are conveniently disregarded in the war against Christianity. Call it the persecution of Christians in a nation that derived its very character from Christianity.
Some will claim, without doubt, that such talk is off base. For them and their agenda, it is. But for those who founded this nation and set it on its future course, Christianity was the key, without apology. History - written history - leaves no doubt.

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