Greenwood council OKs sale
of beer, wine in Uptown cafe setting

June 20, 2006

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

An ordinance amendment that generated about two hours of impassioned discussion last month passed Tuesday before Greenwood City Council with barely a whimper.
Council approved second and final reading of an amendment to the city’s outdoor cafe ordinance that allows the serving of beer and wine to seated patrons on city sidewalks and public property. The amendment stipulates a six-month — July 1 to Dec. 31 — trial period.
At the end of the trial period, City Manager Steve Brown said, the council can pass two more readings to an amendment to remove the trial and make the serving option permanent.
“They can do whatever they want,” Brown said. “The critical thing is they don’t want people walking around (with beer and wine in containers).
“It will be in restricted areas. This is all new to us, so we will have to work out the bugs.”
At first reading in May, council conducted a public hearing on the issue of outdoor cafes being allowed to serve beer and wine, and council received a petition signed by 300 people opposing the idea. But proponents also made their voices heard, including representatives of the Partnership Alliance and the hospitality industry.
Council voted 5-2 in May to move the ordinance amendment ahead to second and final reading, and the motion to give the amendment final approval passed by the same vote.
Council members Johnny Williams and Linda Edwards voted “no” both times. Williams said he thinks the ordinance conflicts with state law regarding people having open containers of alcohol in public.
“I think it’s against the law because it’s on a public street,” he said.
Edwards said she voted in 2004 to remove the beer and wine provision when the outdoor cafes ordinance was first approved. She said her opinion against allowing the beverages to be served in public remains.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said. “Who determines when enough is enough? I think it should stay on the inside.”
John Lowery, marketing director for the Partnership Alliance, said the measure will benefit the Uptown Greenwood business community. The Partnership Alliance is the city/county, public/private industry recruiting agency that also works on quality-of-life and tourism-promotion projects.
“Businesses, when they locate here or want to build a new location here, take certain cues from things like this. One of the things they look at is, is it appropriate to be there and will their employees enjoy the area,” he said. “Right or wrong, they will make assumptions based on these matters. With our efforts to attract more people to Uptown, this will make it more friendly to them.”
Since the issue was debated extensively on first reading when the one required public hearing was conducted, no discussion from the audience was called for with second and final reading.
About 10 people left the municipal courtroom, where the council meeting was conducted, following the council’s vote, but it was not possible to tell if they were proponents or opponents of the amendment.

Post 20 tops Belton

June 20, 2006

By RON COX
Special to the Index-Journal

The Belton Post 51 American Legion baseball team became the latest to find out why there are those at the University of South Carolina who are eager to see Brandon Miller in a Gamecock uniform.
Emerald High School’s Miller, who verbally committed to USC months ago during his junior season, forced the Belton batters into an aerial display while adding some of his own fireworks to lead Greenwood Post 20 to a 5-2 victory Monday night at Legion Field.
The SCHSL Class AA player of the year picked up his second legion victory of the season by striking out six batters, while giving up two runs on four hits in seven innings of work. Miller also generated 10 fly ball outs from the Belton hitters, compared to just three on the ground.
“In the first couple of innings I don’t think I did so good, but about the fourth or fifth inning I found my groove and it was going by pretty good,” Miller said.
“I was really hitting my spots.
“I want to get them to hit it on the ground, but it’s a big ballpark here and they really have to kill it to get it out of here.”
Only Belton’s Blair Carson was able to test the limits of Legion Field, launching a two-out homer over the left-field fence off Miller in the second.
However for Miller’s sake, his Greenwood teammates had already staked him to a three-run advantage before the start of the inning.
Post 20 got things rolling for Miller by posting three runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. With Kyle Behrendt, who led off with a single up the middle, running on a 1-2 pitch from Belton’s Zack Snipes, Greenwood designated hitter Cruse Tollison rocketed a shot to deep center.
Behrendt scored easily on Tollison’s double.
Tollison came around to score even easier, trotting home on the long ball from Dixie High School’s John Wilson, who crushed a two-out fastball from Snipes over the wall in left for a 3-0 lead.
“I got some good run support tonight,” Miller said.
“You really can pitch a lot better when you don’t have to pitch from behind. All you have to do is shut them out to get the win.
Belton followed Carson’s homer with one more run in the third to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But Miller didn’t let Belton to get any closer. After issuing a two-out walk to re-load the bases, the Emerald southpaw struck out Snipes to end the inning.
Belton left 10 runners stranded in the game, seven by Miller.
“He made some big pitches with runners on base,” Post 20 coach Billy Dean Minor said. “He battled and gave us a chance to win this one.”
Miller quickly regained control of the Belton hitters.
He followed the struggling second with a three-up, three-down third: all on fly ball outs.
He took care of business on his own in the fourth, picking off one and striking out the other two. In the sixth, Miller left Belton’s Matt Long stranded at third when he retired the next three batters in order: two strikeouts and a fly out.
“I was throwing the ball better in the middle innings,” Miller said. “I was getting a little more velocity on the ball, and I found my curveball.”
Post 20 added some space between in the fourth and fifth.
Behrendt’s third straight single on the night brought in Nick Milford in the fourth, while, with the bases loaded and two outs, Matt Titus looked at four straight balls from reliever Micah Black to send GHS teammate Trey Wimmer trotting home for the 5-2 advantage.
However, Post 20 left the inning with the bases loaded.
Behrendt and Wimmer led the team offensively, with both going 3-for-4.

Opinion

Attitude makes difference in immigration efforts

June 20, 2006

When it was announced that the United States would build fences along the border with Mexico to try to stop illegal immigrants from coming into this country, a lot of South Carolinians were incredulous and said so. They just didn’t believe fences would work.
There were other efforts included to help staunch the flow, of course, like using members of the National Guard to handle some of the non-patrolling duties so border patrol agents would have more time to do that work. And even though there would be triple-layer fencing, doubts persisted.
Fences alone will not do the job. There’s no doubt about that. However, maybe they will help slow down the illegal traffic and therefore provide more time to work on finding permanent answers to the problem.

PERHAPS THE FIRST THING TO do, even before getting a grip on the border, is to recognize the depth of the problem. No, it’s not plugging the holes in the long border with Mexico. It’s attitude ..... of illegal immigrants and many Americans.
A while back, when President Bush visited a stretch of the Arizona border that is heavily used by those sneaking into the U. S., many of the people planning to do that were asked about the new moves to stop them. Their attitudes are revealing. In short, they vowed they’d find a way around any obstacle, no matter what we might put in their way.
The words of one man should put the problem in perspective for anyone who might think it would be easy to solve the problem. Talking about the triple fencing, one man said, “We’ll go under it, we’ll go over it, we’ll go through the air, the sea or the earth, but they’re never going to stop us from crossing,” said Jesus Santana, a Tijuana truck driver who was caught trying to cross and was deported.

MORE THAN LIKELY HE WILL try again.
That should tell us what we’re up against. It’s obvious our laws don’t make any difference to them. Nor do anything we’ve done thus far ..... or any announced plans.
It’s clear the problem is worse than a lot of people may think. Still, there have to be solutions. Every sovereign nation has an obligation to control its borders. Mexico does it, as does every other nation in the world. The situation is more intense because Americans, by and large, care about the welfare of others. Their very nature is to help others and be fair. Under the circumstances, it’s perplexing. They know we must do something, but at the same time don’t want to hurt anyone.
That makes it that much tougher. So we continue to look for answers. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Obituaries

Zebbie Mann Bush

CORNELIA, Ga. — Zebbie Mann Bush, 77, widower of Mary Nell Golden Bush, died Saturday, June 17, 2006 at his home.
Born in Tallassee, Ala., he was a son of the late Zebbie Anderson and Corrie Mann Bush. He was an Auburn University graduate and an Army Korean War veteran. He was a member of the Cornelia First Baptist Church, the church choir and the Friendship Sunday School Class. He retired from Mount Vernon Mills as a plant manager.
Survivors include three daughters, Martha Mitchell of Gainesville, Mrs. Harvey (Mary) Schoonmaker of Eatonton and Mrs. Bob (Nancy) House of Mount Airy; three sons, David Bush of Cleveland, Ga., Phillip Bush of Abbeville, S.C., and Damon Bush of Cornelia; two sisters, Martha Chambliss of Tallassee and Helen Franklin of Orange Park, Fla.; two brothers, John Bush of Bessemer, Ala., and James Bush of Tallassee; 10 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.
Services are 1 p.m. today at Whitfield Funeral Home, North Chapel, Demorest, officiated by the Rev. Steve Doran. Entombment is in Yonah Memorial Gardens.
Visitation was Monday at the funeral home.
Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, c/o Lena MaGahee, 170 Thomas St., Apt. A, Cornelia, GA 30531.
Whitfield Funeral Home, North Chapel, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.whitfieldfuneralhomes.com

James ‘Jim’ Henderson

LAURENS — James B. “Jim” Henderson, 60, of 6545 Highway 252, died Monday, June 19, 2006 at his home.
A native of Statesville, N.C., he was a son of the late James B. Henderson Sr. and Mildred Bass Henderson. He was a former employee of Moore Business Forms and a member of Command Baptist Church, Statesville.
Survivors include his wife, Rebecca Bloxom Henderson of the home; a son, Kevin Henderson of Greenville; a daughter, Sandy Lothridge of Hickory Tavern; a brother, Jerry Henderson of Union Grove, N.C.; three grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals, is in charge.

Mary B. Higdon

DONALDS — Mary Burell Higdon, 91, widow of Clarence B. Higdon, died Monday, June 19, 2006 at Wesley Commons.
Born in Atlanta, she was a daughter of the late Emory H. and Eva Cordell Burell. She retired from Eastwill Sportswear and was a member of Donalds Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Harold Higdon of Donalds; a brother Dallas Burell of Decatur, Ga.; two sisters, Carolyn Ballenger of Decatur and Ethel Hinkle of Atlanta; a grandchild; a great-grandchild.
Services are 3 p.m. Wednesday at Parker-White Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Jerry Hill. Burial is in Donalds Baptist Church Cemetery.
Visitation is 2-3 Wednesday at the funeral home.
The family is at 5703 Highway 252, Donalds.
Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals, is in charge.

Olin Higginbotham

Olin Dewitt Higginbotham, 71, of 104 Londonberry Court, husband of Joan Dalton Higginbotham, died Monday, June 19, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of the late Luther David Higginbotham Sr. and Addie Simpson Higginbotham. He was an Army veteran, serving as a military policeman and retired from Greenwood Mills Mathews Plant. He was a member of Callie Self Memorial Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a sister, Annie Ruth H. Bryan of Greenwood; a brother, Richard L. Higginbotham of Greenwood.
Graveside services are 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Oakbrook Memorial Park, conducted by the Rev. Reuel Westbrook.
Pallbearers are Thomas Yon, Richard Eugene Higginbotham, John Lawton, Howard McCoy, Dr. Frank McCoy and Byron Duell.
Honorary escorts are Olin Scoggins, Dean Butler and Kenneth Stevens.
Visitation is 10:30-11:30 Wednesday at Oakbrook Memorial Park Family Center.
The family is at the home in Cobblestone West.
Memorials may be made to Greenwood Humane Society, PO Box 242, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Mattie Lee Patterson

Mattie Lee Patterson, 83, of 705 Weldon Ave., widow of Reuben Patterson, died Monday, June 19, 2006 at her home.Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of the late Mose and Eliza Davis Trotter. She was a homemaker, a member of Morris Chapel Baptist Church and a childcare provider.
Survivors include four sons, Theodore Moore of Baltimore, Ricky Patterson and Johnny Patterson of the home and Michael Patterson of Atlanta; two brothers, Garfield Trotter of Washington, D.C., and George Trotter of Philadelphia; a nephew reared in the home, Eddie Louis Patterson of Nolina, N.C.; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.