The faces of tomorrow

Graduates provide answers to what future has in store

From staff reports

Through the years, we’ve seen them on sports fields and courts, and on concert and dance stages, and even hanging out at the mall.
They have grown in stature and matured in age, even though they maintain that youthful enthusiasm and zest of life.
We watched them last week stride confidently across stages to snatch the prize — their high school diplomas — and then fall into the arms of the people who love them for congratulatory hugs.
Soon, they will be off to new adventures — college, the military, jobs, marriages and families. Before they go, we should ask ourselves — Do we really know them? This Class of 2006 that grew up in a hurry in the shadow of 9/11 and is more technologically advanced than any generation in history.
The Index-Journal provides a look at them, these leaders of tomorrow, and lets you read what they have to say on several topics, before they dive into their futures.

Find out how the Class of 2006 responded in today's paper.

Opinion

Do parents have a right to questions on schools?

May 28, 2006

Everything starts with education, and education starts with reading.
Every parent in South Carolina has heard horror stories about some student who managed to get through school with only a basic ability to read. Some, it has been shown, could not read well enough to handle everyday things, like reading traffic signs, or simple instructions in recipes and a variety of other directions that influence everyday living.
Then there are the parental concerns about safety for their children. There may be those who’ll argue this is an overblown issue, that safety is not really that much of a concern. The answer to that, of course, can be given in two words: resource officers. Resource officers is, to be sure, a euphemistic reference to law enforcement officers.

NOWADAYS, THERE ARE NOT many school districts in South Carolina that don’t have them. Certainly Greenwood School District 50 does. Obviously they are needed. Even if they are never called upon to act in their official capacity, their mere presence is comforting to parents who remember all too well incidents of violence in schools. The shootings at Oakland Elementary School were not that long ago that they have disappeared from memory.
These things, and the widespread focus on education in general, test results, graduation rates, teen pregnancy, discipline and other concerns leave little wonder why many parents want to be heard. There’s no doubt, either, why so many talk about charter schools, scholarships, vouchers, tax credits and just about every facet of public education. They see problems and they want answers.

WHEN THEY FEEL THEIR concerns as parents are not given the attention by education officials they believe they deserve, is there any surprise they tend to become more vocal in their approach to the entire system?
Somewhere along the way, it seems an attitude has developed that parents just don’t understand how the school system should work. Therefore, they should leave it to those who think they are more qualified to make decisions about what schools should be and do. In short, the amateurs should leave it to the professionals.
There’s a role for each, certainly. Somehow, though, we’ve gotten away from listening to each other. It’s not totally the fault of one side or the other. It’s both. That’s a lesson everyone should learn ..... and heed ..... if anyone is listening.

Obituaries

Doris V. Dixon

McCORMICK — Services for Doris V. Dixon are 2 p.m. Monday at Shiloh A.M.E. Church, conducted by the Rev. James Louden. The body will be placed in the church at 1. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are church officers, and flower bearers are ushers.
The family is at the home, Gilchrist Heights.
Walker Funeral Home is in charge.

Ruth Johnson Gillion

Ruth Johnson Gillion, 94, of Magnolia Manor, widow of Eulus Travis Gillion, died Saturday, May 27, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Saluda, she was a daughter of the late Charlie and Kate Rowe Johnson.
Survivors include a daughter, Annie Ruth Pressley of Greenwood; two sons, Leroy Gillion of Ninety Six and Harvey Gillion of Greenwood; five grandchildren; several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 11a.m. Monday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens, conducted by the Rev. David Cobb.
Memorials may be made to Hospice House, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Family members are at their respective homes.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Mattie Benson Knight

ELBERTON, Ga — Mattie Belle Benson Knight, 80, formerly of 1127 Edgefield Ave. Greenwood, died Friday, May 26, 2006 at Elberton Memorial Hospital.
Born in Nashville, Ga., she was a daughter of the late John Benson Sr. and Lydia Amanda Cannon Benson. She was a retired nursing assistant at Self Memorial Hospital and a member of Mathews United Methodist Church.
Survivors include two sisters, Sylvia Mae Garner of Cumming, Ga., and Mildred Merritt of Lexington; a brother, John Benson Jr. of Sugarhill, Ga; two grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. today at Harley Funeral Home, conducted by the Revs. Steven King and John Hipp. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Visitation is 1-2 today at the funeral home and at the cemetery after the service.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 658, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

George ‘Mac’ McCue

TUPELO, Miss. — George C. “Mac” McCue, 56, formerly of Greenwood, S.C., husband of Patti Still McCue, died Friday, May 26, 2006 in Tupelo.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Greenwood.

Geraldine Sizemore

ABBEVILLE — Geraldine “Jerrie” Stephens Sizemore, 80, of 16 Sizemore Drive, widow of Samuel Herbert Sizemore, died Friday May, 26, 2006 at Hospice House, Greenwood.
Born in Louisville, Ky., she was a retired machine operator with Haile Manufacturing and a member of Little Mountian Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include three brothers, Kenneth Stephens of Demotte, Ind., Larry Stephens of Hammond, Ind., and Fred Stephens of Iva.
Services are 3 p.m. today at Little Mountian Presbyterian Church, conducted by the Rev. John Parks. Burial is in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
Visitation is 1:30-2:30 today in the church social hall.
Memorials may be made to Little Mountain Presbyterian Church, Building Fund, 3836 Highway 28, Abbeville, SC 29620 or to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chandlerjacksonfh.com