Rockin' for the Lord

Local youths hear message of God at Christian show

May 1, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

The green and blue spiked hair might have fooled you at first glance.
But the masses of teens who packed Greenwood’s Grace Community Church on Sunday weren’t there to hear a punk rock concert.
They were there to hear the message of God.
And that message was delivered through three Christian rock music groups on a stop of the Hero of My Soul Tour.
The event, featuring groups By the Tree, Jonah 33 and Inhabited, was organized as an attempt to reach youths, said Allen Bishop, director of Greenwood Youth Ministries, which partnered with Greenwood First Baptist Church, Grace Community Church, Faith Family Harvest Church, South Main Street Baptist Church, Woodfields Baptist Church, The Shepherd’s Shoppe and Quick Copies to bring the concert to Greenwood.
“We are really trying to educate Greenwood County on Christian rock — that it is a viable form of music and it is as good as its secular counterparts,” he said.
Chris Fox, youth pastor at First Baptist Church, said that music saturates the lives of teenagers, and can be a powerful medium through which they express themselves.
“What it boils down to is that this generation uses music both as an in and an out. It gets them into a world and it allows them to escape. Music can change an outlook on life and can change how you view life,” Fox said, adding that current music trends in country, rock and rap have brought racier lyrics and videos. “We wanted to provide music that was a positive alternative — great sound and lyrics and very positive.”
Bishop said the positive alternative was one he wanted for his own children, who were among the about 400 people filling the church Sunday.
“As a parent, do I want my kids driving down the road singing praises to God, or do I want my kids driving down the road singing about sex, drugs and rock and roll?” he said. “If I can find music that they will listen to with vocals that I don’t object to, then I feel like, as a parent, I’m fulfilling my responsibility.”
For the teens who attended, the music was more than just something their parents wanted them to hear — it was something they enjoy.
“I love Christian music,” said 14-year-old Wright Middle School student Alyssa Wyatt, of Abbeville. “It’s fun to sing to and it has a good beat ... and it doesn’t have any cuss words.”
Aaron Chapman, 17, an Emerald High School student, said the concert was an opportunity for him to spread God’s word.
“I feel like God called me here tonight so that I can lead someone to Him and share what I believe,” he said.

Area soccer teams begin title chase

GHS girls open playoffs today at Mauldin

May 1, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

Dixie goalkeeper Christian Kay dives for a ball during a drill. The Hornets open the Class A playoffs Tuesday against Ware Shoals.

With high school state playoffs already well under way in sports such as baseball and softball, several Lakelands area soccer teams are set to join the postseason fray this week.
Eight area teams — two girls squads and six boys — will participate in postseason play in their respective classifications.
In the AAAA playoffs, the brackets are filled with teams that finished in the top four in their region. The boys AA and A and girls AA-A brackets, however, are open, with any team within the classification eligible to participate. Those teams are then seeded by a selection committee.
On the girls side, the Greenwood Lady Eagles will kick things off with a game today at Mauldin. Greenwood is the the No. 3 seed out of Region I-AAAA, while the Lady Mavericks come in as the second seed out of Region II-AAAA.
The Emerald girls team will be representing the Lakelands and Region III-AA in the AA-A. The Lady Vikings are 16-3 and ranked No. 3 in the state in AA/A, a status good enough to earn them the top seed in the Upper State and a bye into the second round.
The Lady Vikings will play the winner of the Pendleton-Swansea game Wednesday at home.
Emerald also drew a first round bye in the AA Upper State boys bracket. The No. 2 seeded Vikings will face the winner of the Broome-Woodruff matchup 7 p.m. Thursday at home.
The Vikings had a tough go of things early in the year, starting 3-7. However, the team got it going late in the year and has won its last six games, rising to No. 4 in the AA state rankings.
“Obviously we don’t know who we’re playing yet,” Emerald coach Brad Nickles said. “But we’ll make adjustments and play within our system and we’ll be alright.”
The Greenwood boys team is also looking to make a postseason splash. The Eagles are the No. 1 seed out of Region I-AAAA and the No. 14 team in Class AAAA. They will have home game Tuesday against Spartanburg, the fourth seeded team from Region II-AAAA.
“Spartanburg beat us on penalty kicks at the first of the year,” Greenwood coach Jamie McClendon said. “But we are a totally different team now. The guys are really playing well here at the end of the year.”
McClendon said Patrick Hobson has been playing particularly well, scoring five goals over the last three regular season games.
The Saluda boys, ranked No. 5 in the state in AA, are the No. 6 seed in the classification. They will play host to 11th-seeded West-Oak 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Saluda coach Karl Geliske admitted he isn’t necessarily familiar with the Warriors.
“We haven’t had any common opponents,” Geliske said. “But they are in the region with Pendleton and Walhalla, so you know right away they’ve played in four pretty hairy games.”
Saluda has two advantages heading into the contest. First, they are playing at home, where they have lost only once all year. Second, the team features star forward Javier Leyva, who racked up an impressive 23 goals this season.
“We are glad to be playing at home,” Geliske said. “We’re comfortable playing here and it has been an advantage for our guys.”
The Abbeville boys team will be making its first-ever playoff appearance in AA. The Panthers, who are capping their inaugural year as a soccer program, are the No. 12 seed in the upper state and will be traveling Tuesday to play a familiar opponent: fellow Region I-AA team Walhalla. The game will begin at 6 p.m.
“I think the kids are excited,” Abbeville coach Keith Cozart said. “We have a young team. I’ll probably start five freshmen Tuesday against a team that will have a number of seniors. It will be great experience for this team.”
Abbeville had a tough time with Walhalla this season, losing by a combined 21-1 in its two meetings with the Razorbacks. However, Cozart said Sam Cann, one of the Panthers’ top players who has missed the last four games with a broken arm, should be back Tuesday, giving the team a better chance to perhaps pull an upset.
“It will be nice to possibly get Sam back in the lineup,” Cozart said. “We’ve certainly missed him recently.”
The Ware Shoals and Dixie boys teams will each have a very familiar opponent in the upper state A bracket: each other.
The two schools are generally fierce rivals in athletics, so a postseason battle seems appropriate.
“I think it’s great that Ware Shoals is participating in the playoffs,” Dixie coach Brian Gamble said. “They have good team speed, so we’re expecting a good game.”
Gamble said he thinks his team has drawn confidence from late season wins over Pendleton and Saluda.
Dixie, the No. 2 seed in the upper state and the fourth ranked A team in the state, is led by senior forward Eric Gladden. Gladden, a stout and speedy player, has shown the ability to score in bunches, and could pose problems for the Ware Shoals defense.

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

Opinion

We let guard down once; that can’t happen again

May 1, 2006

Every South Carolinian, whether old enough to remember or who has studied history, knows that between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II the United States allowed its military to dwindle to dangerous levels ..... levels that left us in harm’s way.
There was the Great Depression during that time, to be sure, and there was not that much money to spend on maintaining a fighting-strength or deterrent-strength military. Americans all over were hurting economically, and soup lines were commonplace all over the country. Under those circumstances it’s easy to understand why we allowed ourselves to become pitifully under strength in every branch of the service.

THEN CAME THE WAR IN Europe and the serious threat posed to the world by Hitler and his Nazis. On top of that, relations with Japan deteriorated to the point of no return, and we were caught with our guard down at Pearl Harbor. We simply were not prepared to face any kind of war or threat of war.
That whole experience, it seems now, is influencing our thinking in the fight against terrorism. That’s because we made so many errors of judgment leading up to Pearl Harbor that, in retrospect, it’s easy to see what went wrong, and in many cases, why.
History books, along with movie and television screens, have left a lasting impression on all of us of the comedy of errors that surrounded the events of and immediately prior to Sunday, December, 1941. It was indeed a date that lives in infamy, as President Franklin Roosevelt said at the time.

LOOKING BACK, THEN, it’s understandable that we don’t want history to repeat itself.
Therefore, we do everything in our power to keep our military strong and to stay ahead of the game and terrorists ..... and any other possible enemies. We put a lot into maintaining a level of research and development of technology and weaponry that provides us with the necessary tools of defense that will help keep us alive and free.
We once were lackadaisical in mind and matter. In this unsettled world, where terrorist nations strive to get nuclear weapons that could be used against us, we can’t afford to ever be unprepared again. That’s just not an option.

Obituaries

Crystal Marie Catalan

ABBEVILLE — Crystal Marie Catalan, 24, of 626 Stevenson Road, died Saturday, April 29, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center, from injuries received in an auto accident.
Services will be announced by Harris Funeral Home.

Paula Jo F. Davis

EDGEFIELD — Paula Jo Fletcher Davis, 53, of Hunter’s Run, died Saturday, April 29, 2006 at Hospice House in Greenwood.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late Elizabeth Burdette Curry. She was a member of Jordan Street Baptist Church and was employed by Edgefield Department of Motor Vehicles and formerly employed by Martin Color-Fi. Most recently she lived in Greenwood with a cousin.
Survivors include a son, Justin Davis; a sister, Terry Fletcher Newman of Sumter; three grandchildren. Graveside services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Sunset Gardens Memorial Park.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the Paula Jo Davis Fund, c/o Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home, PO Box 389, Edgefield, SC 29824.
Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home Inc. is in charge.

James Drayton Johnson

NINETY SIX — James Drayton Johnson, 78, of 115 Wingard Road, husband of Helen Bradley Addy Johnson, died Saturday, April 29, 2006.
Born in Ninety Six; a son of the late James Bluford and Carrie Motes Johnson. He was a 1946 graduate of Ninety Six High School and was retired from Plant #7 of Greenwood Mills, where he was a member of the Quarter Century Club, and was a Wal-Mart greeter. He was a member of A.F.M. Lodge # 47 and a member of Hopewell Congregational Holiness Church, where he was a member of the Adult Sunday School Class. He was twice married first to the late Jennette Burnett Johnson. He was also pre-deceased by a sister Orris Johnson.
Surviving in addition to his wife of Saluda are a step daughter Lisa Hendrix of Saluda; a step son Byron Addy of Saluda; two sisters Louise Pilkenton and Beatrice Leopard both of Ninety Six; three grandchildren English and husband Travis Rogers, Dalton Senn, and Alexandria Addy; and a number of nieces and nephews. Services will be 3:00 p.m. Tuesday at Saluda First Pentecostal Holiness Church with the Rev. Louie Murray, Rev. Dennis Campbell, Rev. Danny Jones, and Rev. Larry Smith. Burial will follow in Hopewell Congregational Holiness Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Jeff Griffith, Jeff Graham, Michael Kelly, John Long, Derrell Calvert, Andy Leopard, and Chris Bedenbough.
Honorary escorts will be the Masonic Lodge # 47, member of the Adult Sunday School Class of Hopewell Congregational Holiness Church, and members of the Quarter Century Club, and Terry Leopard.
The body is at Harley Funeral Home where the family will receive friends Monday night from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. and will be placed in the church at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday.
The family requests that memorials be made to Hopewell Congregational Holiness Church, 785 Old Chappells Ferry Road, Saluda, SC, 29138.
The family is at the home of his wife, 218 Arrie Lane, Saluda.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY !--------OBITCOPY---------->

Leroy Jones Jr.

Leroy Jones Jr., 45, of 102 Wheatfield Drive, husband of Johnnie Ruth Turner Jones, died Sunday, April 30, 2006 at Greenville University Center.
Born in Abbeville County, he was a son of the late Leroy Calhoun and Lena Mae Jones Calhoun. He was a weaver in the cotton cloth mill.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two daughters, Takeisha Jones of Ninety Six and Sasha Jones of the home; a brother, John Lewis Calhoun of Greenwood; a sister, Jacqueline Calhoun of Greenville.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Robinson and Son Mortuary Inc.

Ronny P. Kinney

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Ronny P. Kinney, 71, of Cheyenne, husband of Neva Sprague Kinney, died Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at United Medical Center-West.
Born in High Point, N.C., he was a son of the late Dorothy Kinney and Jerome Kinney and stepson of the late Evelyn Kinney. He retired from the United States Air Force as a staff sergeant in 1976 after 22 years of service and had lived in Cheyenne since 1971. He served during Vietnam, was a driver for Renzenberger and a member of VFW Post 1881. He was a former resident of Greenwood, S.C.
Survivor include his wife of the home; four daughters, Tonia Bell, Melanie Kinney and Kristina Kinney, all of Cheyennne and Robin Tilley of Linwood, N.C.; a sister, Sonja Koonts of Lexington, N.C.; a stepbrother, Charlie Pate of Fla.; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren.
Memorial services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church, Cheyenne.
Viewing is 9-5 Sunday and 8-8 Monday at Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel.
Cremation and burial will follow at Cheyenne Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be made to the Cardiac Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit, c/o the United Medical Center Foundation or VFW Post 1881, Cheyenne.
Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel is in charge.

Mary B. Morgan

LAURENS — Mary B. Morgan, 56, of 111 Deep Drive, widow of Edgar L. Morgan, died Sunday, April 30, 2006 at Laurens County Hospital.
Born in Laurens, she was a daughter of the late Ernest E. and Ada L. Messer Beck. She was formerly employed in the textile industry and a member of Woodruff Church of God.
Survivors include a daughter, Angela Gillian of Clinton; two stepsons, Cecil Ray Morgan of Fountain Inn and Jeffrey Allen Morgan of Cross Hill; two sisters, Clara Boyce of Clinton and Ernestine Matthews of Saluda; four grandchildren.
Graveside services are 2 p.m. Tuesday at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Laurens.
Visitations is 1-2 Tuesday at the graveside.
Family members are at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made to the Mary B. Morgan Funeral Fund, c/o The Kennedy Mortuary, PO Box 282, Laurens, SC 29360.
The Kennedy Mortuary is in charge.

Ernest L. ‘Tick’ Quarles

WARE SHOALS — Ernest L. “Tick” Quarles, 51, of 97 Green Acres Drive, died Friday, April 28, 2006 at the Medical University of Charleston.
Born in Greenwood County, he was a son of Ruth Smith Quarles and the late Furman Quarles. He was employed by Cable Connectors and a member of Dunn Creek Baptist Church, Donalds.
Survivors include his mother of the home; a daughter, Nicole McGrier of Ware Shoals; two sisters, Judy E. Posley of Ware Shoals and Delores Adams of Donalds; a brother, Edward Quarles of Hodges.
Services are 3 p.m. Tuesday at Dunn Creek Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. James F. Davis III. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 2 p.m.
Visitation is at the home. Viewing begins noon today at Robinson-Walker Funeral Services. No wake is planned.
The family is at the home.
Robinson-Walker Funeral Services is in charge.

Ruby Watts

Ruby Watts, 84, of 1905 Airport Road, died Saturday, April 29, 2006 at NHC of Greenwood.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late H.M. and Lola Morris Watts. She was retired from Self Regional Medical Center and Abney Mills. She was a member of Harris Baptist Church and the Order of the Eastern Star.
Survivors include two sisters, Pauline Wiley of Greenwood and Mary Helen Miller of Pa.; a brother, Bobby Watts of Greenwood.
Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens Chapel Mausoleum, conducted by the Rev. Frank Thomas. The body is at Harley Funeral Home.
Visitation is after the service.
Memorials may made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC, 29646 or Harris Baptist Church, 300 Center St., Greenwood, SC, 29649
The family is at the home of a nephew, Jeremy Watts, 110 Milford Springs Road.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com