Ex-judge charged with embezzlement

June 30, 2006

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

A Hodges woman who once served as a part-time judge for Greenwood County now faces prosecution by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office after being charged with one count of embezzlement of public funds.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Lisa Cain alleges she complained about her finances but took travel vacations and cruises, had a drinking problem that was covered up by her boss and went drinking with a co-worker after they were polygraphed in connection with the investigation.
The embezzlement charge against Cain, 46, of 116 Flatwood Road, is the latest development in a Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the operations of the county magistrate’s office.
The new charge follows Cain’s earlier charge of accessory to embezzlement.
Investigators have charged Toni Cole, a clerk in the office, in connection with alleged misuse of funds, and S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal has suspended former Chief Magistrate Joe Cantrell and Cain.
Bart McGuire, the assistant chief magistrate under Cantrell, was named by Toal as the county’s chief magistrate.
In May, the sheriff’s office charged Cain, office manager for the county magistrate’s office, as an accessory to embezzlement in connection with a different theft of public money than the theft alleged in an arrest warrant issued Thursday.
“This charge basically completes our portion of this investigation,” Chief Deputy Mike Frederick said in a sheriff’s office statement. “The previous charge stemmed from a single, specific instance wherein Cain rendered assistance to another employee who had stolen funds. Her arrest today represents the culmination of our investigation into the systemic financial problems within that office, as well as our attempt to account for all of the missing funds.”
Frederick said flaws in the accounting procedures used within the magistrate’s office precluded an effective audit, but forensic accountants contracted by the sheriff’s office were able to identify the methods by which the funds were stolen.
An Abbeville County magistrate released Cain on a personal recognizance bond. Magistrates in the neighboring county have handled bond for Cain and Cole to avoid the appearance of favoritism, authorities said.
Sheriff Dan Wideman said the criminal portion of the case has been forwarded to the S.C. Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.
The arrest warrant affidavit for Cain’s embezzlement charge said she had access to money and “near total control” of the office’s accounting, with little oversight from Cantrell.
“Within this environment, Cain constructed an accounting system with few internal controls and limited audit capability, rife with opportunities for the removal of public funds without accountability,” the document said. “Cain possessed a thorough familiarity with the system she utilized to control the office’s finances, and ensured that she was the final authority in regard to oversight and responsibility.”
Accountants employed by the sheriff’s office spent more than two weeks reviewing all the magistate’s offices finances, the document said. They described six deficiencies in Cain’s office management system.
Co-workers described for investigators Cain’s complaints about her financial situation, because she alone was paying for her daughter’s education, and “also related that she routinely traveled for vacations and/or took cruise ship vacations.”
Regarding drinking on the job, the document said, “... co-workers also related that Cain would report for duty with the smell of alcohol about her breath and person. Cantrell admitted to investigators that he was aware of Cain’s drinking problem, and that on several occasions had called her into the office to ‘lecture’ her about the alcohol use when she would report to work smelling of alcohol. Cantrell said that he had not documented these reprimands, but would provide Cain with a breath mint in an effort to conceal her condition from public view.”
As the investigation began, the affidavit said, investigators determined that Cole allegedly had taken bank deposits totaling more than $22,000. They asked Cole and Cain to take polygraph examinations, and they agreed.
The polygrapher reported to investigators that when questioned on April 7, the women “showed signs of hyper-medication or other attempts to manipulate the readings” as they were questioned about the missing public money.
They left the polygrapher’s Greenville office and called back to the Greenwood magistrate’s office “to say that they were going out to drink versus returning to work.” Investigators found them and took them back to the sheriff’s office, where Cole admitted to three thefts, while Cain denied knowing about the thefts, the affidavit said.
In a sworn, written statement, Cole described conversations with Cain in which Cain allegedly advised her on a method of taking money that Cain said would avoid detection. This method involved voiding small amounts of money each time, the affidavit said, and not depositing the money in a bank.
Accountants examined voided transactions dating to Jan. 1, 1997. Voided records pre-dating 1997 had been purged.
They produced a financial analysis of the magistrate’s office records that showed voided transactions increased when Cain was at work between Oct. 1, 2004, and April 20, 2006.
“That review,” the affidavit said, “not only revealed that $3,890.49 in public funds was missing from the office, but that statistical evidence tended to prove that Cain was responsible for the voided and deleted transactions attendant to the missing funds.”
The affidavit said that Cain embezzled the money by receiving the funds and then failing to properly account for the money in accordance with a state law.
That law says authorities can infer that if an official receives public funds and does not properly account for the money, “it is permissible to infer that those funds have been fraudulently appropriated by that official.”

Ojetta S. Duckett

Services for Ojetta S. Duckett are 1 p.m. Saturday at Mount Pisgah AME Church, officiated by the Rev. Darryl Crawford. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in The Evening Star cemetery.
Pallbearers are members of Progressive Masonic Lodge No. 403.
Flower bearers are Zeta Phi Beta Sorority members.
Honorary escorts are members of Rochelle Chapter of O.E.S. No. 298.
Visitation is 6-7 tonight at Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.
Percival Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at pertompfh1@earthlink.net

John Edward Hill

DUE WEST — Services for John Edward Hill, of 7 Washington St., Apt. 6 , are 3 p.m. Sunday at Campfield Baptist Church, Abbeville, conducted by the Rev. Willie J. Choice, assisted by the Revs. James Kay, Matthew Thomas, Mary Paul, and Melton Aiken. The body will be placed in the church at 2. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Randolph Jackson, Larry Newell, Jermey Hall, Paul Green, Samuel Turner, Michael Jackson and Darrough Aikens.
Flower bearers are Annette Smith, Bessie Barmore, Harriette Washington, Almeta Lomax and Toni Smith. Honorary escorts are church deacons and deaconesses.
The family is at the home of his mother and stepfather, 373 Olin L. Smith Road, Donalds.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc., Greenwood, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Renola McCray

BRIGHTON, Ala. — Services for Renola McCray at 11 a.m. Saturday at Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Amos Harling. Burial is in The Evening Star cemetery.
Pallbearers and flower bearers are family and friends.
Visitation is 7-8 tonight at the funeral home.
Percival Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at pertompfh1@earthlink.net

Martha P. Mewborn

Martha Pannell Mewborn, 65, wife of Martin G. Mewborn, died Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at Wesley Commons Health Care Center.
Born in Sewickley, Pa., she was a daughter of Gertrude Alexander Pannell and the late J. Harris Pannell. She was a graduate of Newberry College and received a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. She taught high school at A.C. Flora and Brooklyn-Cayce and was of the Methodist faith.
Survivors include her husband of Wesley Commons; her mother of Greenville; a sister, Patricia Pannell Dunlap of River Edge, La.; a brother, John Harris Pannell Jr. of Greenville.
A memorial service will be at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Wesley Commons, 1110 Marshall Road, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Harley Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Judi Ridlehoover

PIEDMONT — Judith Annette “Judi” Ridlehoover, 56, resident of 311 Old Williamston Road, died June 29, 2006 at her home.
Born in Greenwood County, March 14, 1950, she was a daughter of Rev. Bennie L. Ridlehoover and the late Myrtle Dove Ridlehoover. She was a graduate of Wren High School in Piedmont and attended Anderson College. She received her master’s degree in education from Clemson University. Ms. Ridlehoover formerly taught in the public schools of Pageland and retired from Jacobs Engineering in Greenville.
She was a member of Mountain Springs Baptist Church.
Surviving in addition to her father of Greenwood are two sisters, Ruth R. Ouzts of Greenwood and Alice R. Hill of Weston, FL; a brother, Bennie L. Ridlehoover, Jr. of Davis, OK; a special friend, Dianne Boiter; six nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 pm Saturday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Lamar McAbee and Mr. Bill Powell officiating.
Burial will be in Bold Spring Baptist Church Cemetery in Callison.
Pallbearers will be nephews along with Donnie Porter and Jason Porter.
The family is at the home of her father, 113 Sherwood Lane in Greenwood and will receive friends at the funeral home from 2 to 3 Saturday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to Horeb Baptist Church, c/o Debbie Dillashaw, Bradley, SC 29819.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Ridlehoover family.
PAID OBITUARY

Don W. Slack

ENOREE — Don W. Slack, 59, of 2150 Horseshoe Falls Road, husband of Elizabeth Ward Slack, died Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late Charlie and Elizabeth Grogan and Charles John Slack. He was a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, former employee of John Cheeseman Trucking Co. in Duncan and a member of V.F.W. He attended Enoree Church of God.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a daughter, Mrs. Denny (Tammy) Adair of Enoree; three brothers, Charles Slack of Ninety Six, Frank Grogan of Greenville and Jimmy Grogan of Enoree; a sister, Linda Hitt of Boiling Springs; two granddaughters.
Services are 2 p.m. Saturday at Enoree Church of God. Burial is in Westview Memorial Park.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Gray Funeral Home, Laurens.
Gray Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.grayfuneralhome.com

Jerry Williamson

DONALDS — Gerald Edward Williamson, 60, of 102 Matt Long Road, died Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at his home.
Born in Abbeville County, he was a son of the late Marvin and Gladys Medlock Williamson. He was a retired brick mason and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include a son, Gerald Douglas Williamson of Joanna; two daughters, Lisa Machilaski of Old Town, Fla., Jerriann Holley of Ware Shoals; a brother, Bill Williamson of Donalds; two sisters, Dot Davis of Ware Shoals, Brenda Green of Greenville; a granddaughter reared in the home, Annah Hill; six grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Saturday at Parker-White Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Gerald Crawford. Burial is in Turkey Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers are Ralph Campbell, Ken McAllister, Larry Ashley, Dan Campbell, Mike Ashley, Frank Lollis, Robert Brock and Jim Collins.
Honorary escorts are Terry Rhodes, Don Boland, Robert Vinson, Art Vaughn, Hilt Timms, Jimmy Powell, Walt Lowe, Grady Davis and William “Frog” Fleming.
Visitation is 7-9 tonight at the funeral home.
The family is at the home of his brother, 160 Kirkpatrick Road.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621.
Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals, is in charge.

Post 20 gets victory

Greenwood downs League VII opponent Walhalla, 5-4

June 30, 2006

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

After splitting the first two games of the season with region nemesis Walhalla, Post 20 looked to go ahead in the series Wednesday at Legion Field.
Post 20 controlled most of the game before Walhalla stormed back, but the host got the victory, 5-4. Cruse Tollison got his first start of the season for Post 20 because of injuries to the pitching staff.
“I was kind of nervous, but I knew I could do it and I was just trying to throw my best,” said Tollison of his first start.
In the top of the first inning Tollison struggled to find his location, hitting the first batter he faced.
He then struck out the next batter he faced. Ty Medlin put the guests ahead by one to end the top of the first. Post 20 would not be outdone in the first though.
After an RBI double by Trey Wimmer allowed Kyle Behrendt to score, Post 20 went up by one run off of a John Wilson RBI single.
Walhalla tied the game in the third inning. Things got hairy in the top of the fourth inning when Tollison was in a bit of a jam with only one runner out and the bases loaded.
The hurler calmly forced J.B. Gambrell to hit into a double play to end the inning.
“Coach just told me to try to get a ground ball so we could turn two and get out of the inning,” Tollison said.
Post 20 took a one-run lead in the fourth inning when Matt Titus got into the scoring act with an RBI double that got the hometown crowd fired up.
Behrendt reached on a single to start the bottom of the fifth inning.
Once on base, he forced the pitcher into an errant throw on a pick-off play, allowing him to move to third base.
Behrendt scored from there thanks to an RBI from Wimmer, his second of the day.
“I’ve been working in practice on having quicker hands and a better swing and it’s really been working for me the last couple of games,” Wimmer said.
In the bottom of the seventh, Post 20 added an insurance run when Josh Lovvorn scored, giving Post 20 a three-run lead, which stood for the remainder of the game.
Nick Milford had a strong showing on the mound providing Post 20 with 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball while battling a groin injury.
“I got here early and stretched and changed my mechanics a little and pitched well enough for us to get the win tonight,” Milford said.
Behrendt came in for the save in the top of the ninth with two out.
With the bases loaded, Walhalla scored one run to cut into the lead following a single.
A wild pitch allowed the visitors to make it a 5-4 game with two out.
But Greenwood would not be denied as Behrendt struck out the final batter of the night.
and the home crowd collectively let out a large sigh of relief.
“That’s the situation I want to be in,” said Behrendt, “coach told me I would go in if the tying run cam up to the plate and I didn’t have all my best stuff tonight but my team backed me up and helped me get out of the inning
Coach Billy Dean Minor also had good things to say about his players efforts following the game “Cruse Tollison came in and threw well and gave us some innings, then we went to Nick who has a pulled groin and he battled, and then we went to our closer,” said Coach Billy Dean Minor, adding that the team played hard and that’s all he could really ask for. Post 20 returns to action tonight when they travel to face Easley.

Cancer victim writes to help others

Walker tells story that’s ‘down-to-earth’

July 1, 2006

By ST. CLAIRE DONAGHY
Index-Journal staff writer

Family is important to Jane Walker.
The dining room table of this wife, mother, grandmother and former teacher from Bradley is often surrounded by her husband, Bill; her children; grandchildren and in-laws, where they share good meals and good stories.
In April, Jane self-published one of her stories with the help of Quick Copies Printing of Greenwood, so that it could be remembered and shared for generations to come.
The book, entitled “Did You Say Cancer?,” was written by Jane from a child’s point of view after the child learns her mother has cancer.
“There are books out there for children dealing with a loved one who has cancer, but a lot of them aren’t down-to-earth,” Walker, 64, said. “I wanted this to be from the eyes of a child because a lot of children have parents or grandparents with cancer. I wanted this book to make them feel loved. I didn’t want children to have fear of the word ‘cancer.’ ”
Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 after having a routine mammogram.
She began keeping a journal of her experiences, including a collection of photos of flowers friends and folks from Troy United Methodist Church sent her.
“The tumor was embedded and my surgeon had to go in through my lungs to get to it,” Jane said. She had her right breast surgically removed in August 2005.
Jane has a small tattoo of a pink breast cancer ribbon on the inside of her right wrist as a signal to emergency medical workers that she is a breast cancer survivor, denoting that the right breast, along with some lymph nodes, has been removed.
Part of what inspired Jane to write the book was her 6-year-old granddaughter, Lindley Holland, who drew a picture of Jane in her hospital bed after surgery and told her grandmother that she was going to write a book about all that she was going through.
Jane began writing the story in longhand on a yellow legal pad and had her friend, Susan Deal, draw illustrations for it using colored pencils. After proof-reading it, Jane’s daughter, and Lindley’s mom, Jennifer Holland, typed the manuscript on a computer.
“I think adults should explain things like cancer to their children and show them support and love,” Jane said. “This book addresses that and other things we went through as a family. And, every drawing of an outdoor scene includes a sun and birds and flowers, because that’s just how kids would draw things.”
Cancer, though, is not new to Jane. She has also been treated for skin cancer.
“It’s been a long haul,” Jane said. “With the help of God and friends and family, I’ve gotten through it.”
As a token of appreciation for all the love and support she has received, Jane dedicated “Did You Say Cancer?” to her grandchildren, “part of (her) team.”
Lindley says the finished book is “awesome.”
“I think it’s good,” Lindley said.
Jane had 50 copies printed and has shared copies with family, her doctors and a few other people.
A booksigning is scheduled from 3-4 p.m., Friday, July 7 at McCaslans at 208 Main St. in Greenwood.
The message of the book is one of hope.
“There’s a rainbow in the last illustration in the book,” Jane said. “And, on the last page, I wrote, ‘Don’t be afraid of the word ‘cancer’ because it begins with ‘can.’”
But, the cancer book is not Jane’s first book publishing endeavor. Back in the 1980s, she and her sister, Kate Stone, now deceased, penned and published a cookbook, “Family Favorites,” to honor the 50th anniversary of their mother’s (Martha Witt Rodgers) graduation from Lander College.
Walker taught school for 30 years in Greenwood School District 50, at both Woodfields and East End elementary schools and Brewer Middle School.

Vigilance against terror can never be overlooked

June 30, 2006

Why should we go the extra mile in keeping up our guard, particularly in our own country? There are several good reasons. One is always pertinent. The arrest of seven “home-grown” terrorists in Miami the other day makes that clear.
They could be in any community, even in South Carolina. They could be teenagers or they could be older. They could be Muslim terrorists who came here under false pretenses, or they could be fellow citizens.
The recent arrests of 17 Canadian citizens, who were charged with planning to blow up Parliament and other buildings, ought to tell us something. Terrorists don’t have to come from the Middle East or elsewhere. They could be homegrown radicals who have bought into the thinking of Osama bin Laden or the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

THEIR TWISTED THINKING could also be taught by others among us. It might best be described as brainwashing.
Some leaders of some Islamic organizations, though, are concerned. They are worried about what’s happening among some Muslims.
One told a newspaper, “Unless we eliminate from among our ranks people with such distorted thinking and utterly erroneous interpretations of Islam, I fear the future of Muslim communities in the West is riddled with uncertainty.”
Another said, “We are committed to the safety and security of Canada and Canadians. We of all Canadians are shocked at the recent arrests of young Muslim men and teenagers and the very serious allegation against them.”

IT MAKES AN ONGOING situation that much more difficult. It’s almost an impossible set of circumstances. In Islam, some leaders - and others - see their faith as one of peace. They are not alone, though, and therein is the problem. There are many other Muslims and leaders who have an opposite view ..... they see a duty for themselves to kill anyone who is not a Muslim, as well as any Muslim who is not part of their particular sect.
We can only hope that such unpredictable and dangerous people are known to the proper authorities. It puts strong emphasis on the value and need for never letting down our guard, militarily and gathering intelligence.