Missing teen found safe

Leaman Mosby now at home with family

September 6, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

For weeks, the trees in Dr. Edward L. Petit’s yard have been wrapped with yellow ribbons and bows, each serving as a symbol of hope for the safe return of his missing 15-year-old granddaughter, Leaman Mosby.
On Tuesday, Mosby was at the Greenwood home to help her family take those ribbons down.
Kathy Petit, Mosby’s mother, said authorities contacted the Petits on Friday and told the family that Mosby was en route to Conway, where Kathy and Edward would be able to pick up the girl and bring her back to Greenwood.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Kathy said about hearing the news. “When we went to pick Leaman up, they (the Conway authorities) had her in another room. I was just sitting there, knowing she was in the same building as us, and I was so antsy to see her. I wanted them to bring me my baby.”
Mosby had been missing since July 27, when she ran away from her father’s home in Horry County, taking only her cat, a few items of clothing, a cell phone and a laptop computer with her, Kathy said. About seven months earlier, Mosby, along with her mother and sister Caroline, had moved to Greenwood from Virginia, taking up residence in Edward’s home in the Idlewood neighborhood. After the move, Mosby opted to travel to Horry County to live with her father on a temporary basis, Kathy said in an earlier interview.
At the time of her disappearance, Mosby’s family said they thought the teenager’s interest in Internet chatrooms and forums might have played a key part in her disappearance, adding that Mosby had even started dying her hair and wearing heavy makeup after spending time chatting online. The family said the teenager might have left home with someone she met in a chatroom.
Because of the nature of the investigation, Kathy said she could not discuss many of the details of Mosby’s case, though she added that the family is relieved and overjoyed to have the teenager back at home.
“We don’t know what deals were made to get her here, and we don’t care,” Kathy said. “We just wanted her home.”
For almost five weeks, the Petits had no idea where Mosby might be, and Kathy said the family had to rely on what information they could gather about Mosby’s location and condition from her online friends. After Mosby left her father’s home, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office began to investigate the case and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children entered the teenager into its database as an endangered runaway. The Petits also enlisted the help of the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted other law enforcement departments with the investigation.
When posters with Mosby’s face began going up in cities across the Southeast, Kathy said authorities began getting tips and possible sightings from states across the nation. Mosby was eventually spotted chatting with friends online and sending e-mails.
“The police were good about not telling us about the leads from places where they didn’t believe (Leaman) to be,” Kathy said, adding that it helped keep the family from having false hopes. “The sightings I took heart in were the e-mails she was sending to friends. ... I took a lot of stock in that, just knowing that she was OK.”
Mosby did not give a specific reason for leaving her father’s home or any details about what she did while she was away, but she said she was “somewhat happy” to be home. She said that her time away from home was spent with worry.
“I didn’t eat for two weeks because I was worried,” Mosby said, adding that she finally decided to go to the police. “I kind of turned myself in.”On Friday, at word of Mosby’s arrival in South Carolina, Kathy said she immediately called Edward to begin making plans to bring her daughter home. Edward was helping with a hash sale at Northwest Volunteer Fire Department when he got the news. “I went back and told the fellows that I had just gotten the best news I ever had,” Edward said.
The family arrived in Conway about 6 p.m. Friday, Kathy said, though they did not get to see Mosby immediately.
“After what seemed like hours of just sitting there, they finally brought Leaman in, and she was the most beautiful child I have ever seen in my life,” Kathy said, smiling. “Blue hair and all.”
The Petits stayed overnight in Conway with Mosby before returning home the next day.
Since returning to Greenwood, Kathy said the group has tried to bond as a family, though she said much work lies ahead.
Kathy said she and Mosby spent the Labor Day weekend shopping, cooking and playing games as a family. A makeover for her daughter, she added, is also in the near future.
“It’s going to take some healing and we are taking little, baby steps,” Kathy said. “We are just doing girlie things and bonding right now.”
Mosby said there are still some issues that she needs to work out with her family and she said she likely won’t be using a computer for a while.
Kathy described the whole ordeal as being “like a Lifetime movie,” she said in an earlier interview, adding that she is glad the “movie” seems to now have a happy ending.
“It has been an utter nightmare, and I hope no other parent has to go though it,” Kathy said. “I had sleepless nights and fits of terror because you don’t know if they are alive or if someone is taking care of them. The fact that you don’t know if they are alive or dead is the hardest part.”
The Petits said they wanted to thank the community for its support during the past weeks, including the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman and Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Chris Haden. Edward said he also wanted to thank Archie Moore, with Greenwood Presbyterian Church, for prayers during the ordeal.
“We really thank everybody for their cooperation,” Edward said. “Prayer is what really sustained us during the whole thing because we had no way to know where Leaman was. Faith really makes a difference.”

Teens charged in party raid arrested again

17-year-olds now face charges of breaching the peace

September 6, 2006

By BOBBY HARRELL
Index-Journal staff writer

Three Greenwood teenagers arrested Aug. 26 on alcohol possession charges during a raid of a high school party have been arrested again.
Stanley Getzellman, Marquis Valentine and Nicholas Day, all 17 and all of Greenwood, were arrested early Sunday at a home at 303 Kelli Drive in Greenwood.
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office charged Getzellman, Valentine and Day with breach of peace.
Kenneth Collins, 23, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allowing the teens to drink at his home, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report.
Two minors, ages 15 and 16, were also at the home, but only one was arrested for breach of peace.
Collins, Getzellman, Valentine, Day and the minor were all released from the Greenwood County Detention Center on Monday, Chief Deputy Mike Frederick said.
Deputy Ricky Balchin and Cpl. William Stroup were called to the home at about 5:30 a.m. after a complaint by a neighbor about loud, intoxicated teens who were cursing.
The neighbor said the loud partying happened every weekend and that he had reported several instances of underage drinking prior to Sunday morning, according the report.
Several teens were hanging outside Collins’ home when Balchin and Stroup arrived.
Balchin and Stroup talked to Getzellman, who said he lived across the street from Collins at 306 Kelli Drive.
Balchin reported that Getzellman smelled strongly of alcohol, but he wasn’t charged with possession of alcohol. Day and Valentine also smelled of alcohol, according to the report.
Frederick said Getzellman, Valentine and Day weren’t charged with alcohol possession because they weren’t holding, drinking or near any alcohol when Sheriff’s officers arrived.
Day and the two minors were inside a red Mustang when police approached the house.
Balchin reported that he found empty liquor bottles and beer cans in a trash box under Collins’ carport.
The teenagers said they’d been at Collins’ house for most of the day, but had spent some time at Getzellman’s house.
No empty alcohol containers were found at Getzellman’s home, according to the report.

Lizzie Mae Dilleshaw

Lizzie Mae Dilleshaw, 92, of 205 Baldwin Ave., widow of John D. Dilleshaw, died Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006, at Hospice House of Greenwood.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Betty S. Dyke

CAIRO, Ga. — Mrs. Betty S. Dyke, 79, formerly of Cairo, died September 1, 2006 at Portsbrige Hospice in Atlanta, Ga. Services will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, September 6, 2006. The services and interment will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cairo. The Rev. Richard Soper will officiate the ceremony.
She was born in Boise, Idaho and was the daughter of the late George and Wilma Steneck. Betty is survived by her two younger sisters, Marlene Smith of Salinas, California and Marguerite Jacobson of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Betty met and married Sam Dyke in Honolulu, Hawaii shortly after World War II. After Sam retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in 1972, they made Cairo their home. She was very active in the Women’s Golf Association and was an avid booster of the Florida State Seminoles’ athletic teams. She was also a member of the First United Methodist Church of Cairo. Betty resided in Atlanta for the last two years helping her husband battle cancer and eventually succumbed to pancreatic cancer herself. She fought her illness with bravery and grace.
Mrs. Dyke is survived by her four sons. They include Bill Dyke and wife Paula of Norman, OK, Gene Dyke and wife Gwyn of Dacula, GA, David Dyke and wife Patsy of Greenwood, SC, Sam Dyke, Jr. and wife Christine of Atlanta. Grandchildren include Kelli Satnes, Moore, OK, Billy Dyke, Norman, OK, Scott Edwards, Jeremy Edwards and Brooke Edwards, all of Del City, OK, Matthew Dyke, Philip Dyke and Rayna Dyke, all of Dacula, GA, Shannon Adams of Ninety Six, SC and Charlie Mack Adams of Rock Hill, SC Great-grandchildren include Dylan Scott and Logan Adams, Ninety Six, SC and Samuel Satnes, Moore, OK.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Clark Funeral Home, Cairo, GA, is in charge of arrangements.

Wade Godfrey Jr.

Ninety Six — Funeral services for Rev. Wade H. Godfrey Jr., age 83, who died Sept. 3, will be held Wed. at 2:00 from the First Baptist Church of Ninety Six. Rev. Chuck Sprouse & Rev. Tom Cartledge will officiate.
Burial will be in the Parksville Baptist Church Cemetery directed by Norton Funeral Home of Hartsville, S.C. Friends in the Hartsville area may visit at Norton Funeral Home anytime Tuesday from 9-5. The casket will be placed in the church at 12:00 noon on Wed. and a visitation with the family will be one hour prior to the service. Rev. Godfrey was born in Rockingham, N.C. and reared in the Ware Shoals area. He married his best friend Ruth Allen in October of 1947.
With Ruth by his side, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Southwestern Theological Seminary in 1957. Along the way and in the next few years he and Ruth had four daughters: Darlene, Christy, Ann and Tina. He began his career in ministry in South Carolina and pastored many churches there including McClellanville, Marion and Ruffin Baptist Church in Charleston County, Antioch Baptist Church in Hartsville, Eastside Baptist Church in McColl, Parksville Baptist Church in Parksville, where he retired in 1985. He went on to pastor Harris Creek Baptist Church in Society Hill, after he retired.
He and Ruth moved to Ninety Six in July 1997 and enjoyed an active life in their church doing what they had always done, ministering to others and sharing the news of Christ. Survivors include his wife: Ruth Allen Godfrey, Ninety Six, three daughters: Darlene (Devon) Byrd, Society Hill, Ann Godfrey, Trenton, S.C., Tina (Tommy) Simmons, Ninety Six. He was preceded in death by a daughter Christy. Wade & Ruth reared their granddaughter LeAnne Godfrey Stockman, Ninety Six. Also surviving are ten other grandchildren: Michelle, Troy, April, Brook, Angela, Whitney, Cary, Tiffany, Michelle and Zach, 12 Great Grandchildren, 2 Sisters: Sara Smith, Hartwell, Ga., Alice Collins, Ware Shoals, Sister In Law: Naomi Godfrey, Ware Shoals, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins throughout the Carolinas. Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. 29646. www.nortonfh.net

Lillian Hellams

WARE SHOALS — Lillian Grace Mitchum Hellams, 84, of 14 Smith St., widow of James W. Hellams, died at her home September 5, 2006. She was born in Tombs County, Ga., a daughter of the late William S. and Elizabeth Mosley Mitchum. She was retired from Riegel Textile Corp. and was a member of First Baptist Church where she participated in WMU and ADY.
Surviving are: a son, James W. “Jim” Hellams, Ware Shoals; a daughter, Linda Gale H. Reese, Martinez, Ga.; one brother, Herman Mitchum, Augusta, Ga.; one sister, Eudell Anderson, Cobb Town, Ga. and three grandchildren, Tony Reese, Melissa Reese and Maison Hellams.
Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, 3 PM at Parker-White Funeral Home with Rev. Leon Jones officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Tommy Davis, Jim Cogburn, Earl Mitchum, Mike McWhorter, Randy Barnette, Kenneth Findley.
Honorary escort will be members of the Mary-Martha Sunday School Class.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. or to a charity of ones’s choice.
The family is at the home and will receive friends Wednesday, 7-9 PM at Parker-White Funeral Home.

Annie Ruth Warren Morton

Services for Annie Ruth Warren Morton are 2 p.m. Friday, September 8, 2006 at Cross Road Baptist Church, conducted by the Reverend James McKee, and assisting are the Reverend James Speed and the Reverend Wright Austin. The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. Burial is in the church cemetery. Pallbearers are Nephews and Cousins, and Flower bearers are Nieces and Cousins. The family will receive friends on Thursday Evening at the home of a daughter, 525 Sumter Street, Greenwood. Online condolences may be sent to robson@nctv.com. Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is in charge.

L.R. (Leroy) Ramey

ABBEVILLE — L.R. (Leroy) Ramey, 74, of 350 Calhoun Hill Road, husband of Alberta Kennedy Ramey, died Sunday, September 3, 2006 at his home.
Born in Abbeville County to the late Allen and Phoebe Brown Ramey, he was a member of Jacob Chapel A.M.E. Church, Abbeville, SC and retired from CSX Railroad as a trackman.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Beulah C. Hunter, two sisters, Susie R. Leach and Bessie Liddell, and one brother, Henderson Ramey.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one stepdaughter, Addie L. Partlow of Abbeville; three stepsons, David R. Kennedy of Calhoun Falls, Lewis M. Lyons of Miami, Florida, James L. Lyons of Boston, Massachusetts; and a grand-stepson reared in the home, Sammie Lyons of Abbeville, SC; two sisters, Edith Ramey of Greenwood and Sarah R. Boyd of Dayton, OH, two brothers, Ishmell Ramey and Willie G. Ramey of Iva, SC; a special niece, Alberta Jackson.
Services are 2 p.m. Thursday, September 7, 2006 at Jacob Chapel A.M.E. Church in Abbeville, SC with Sister Beatrice Coleman officiating also Presiding, Elder Oscar A. Klugh, and Rev. Johnnie Waller.
The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. Interment will be in the church cemetery.
Viewing will be Wednesday, September 6, 2006 at Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. from 1 p.m.-8 p.m.
The family is at the home.
Online condolences can be sent to awmort@wctel.net
Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Gordon Watson

DONALDS — Gordon Watson, 78, husband of Nancy Bell Watson, of 672 Highway 178, died Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at the Hospice House in Anderson.
Born in Anderson County, he was a son of the late John and Maggie Marie Crawford Watson. He was retired from Riegel Textile Co. and was a member of Donalds United Methodist Church.
Surviving are his wife of the home, two sons, Gregg Watson and Bruce Watson, both of Donalds, two brothers, Frankie Watson of Belton and Paul Watson of Piedmont, one sister, Alma Coker of Belton, and one grandchild. He was pre-deceased by five brothers, Acey, Junior, Richard, L.V., and Marvin Watson, a sister, Annie Darby, and a grandson, Jamie Watson.
Graveside services will be held 2 PM Thursday at Greenville Presbyterian Church Cemetery with Rev. Jones Brewer officiating.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 PM Wednesday at Pruitt Funeral Home, Honea Path. The family is at the home of a son Greg Watson, 35 Kirpatrick Rd., Donalds.

Playing gracefully

Lander volleyball making turnaround season
a successful campaign under new head coach

September 6, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

When a collegiate athletic program gets a new coach, there is often a period of time, sometimes called a “grace period,” in which the team and coach struggle to find their way together before eventually figuring things out.
Apparently, the Lander volleyball team and first-year coach Carla Decker decided to skip the grace period altogether.
The Lady Bearcats are off to a blistering 9-1 start to the regular season. The team struggled last season, going 10-23 under interim coach Doug Spears.
Decker is pleased to be already just one win away from last season’s total only 10 games into the young season.
“Our girls have really picked up their game,” Decker said. “We worked really hard in the spring and summer to get here. I’m certainly proud of where we are right now.”
The Lady Bearcats are coming off a successful trip to Johnson City, Tenn., this past weekend. Playing in the Carson-Newman College Labor Day Tournament, Lander was the only team to navigate its way through the exhibition event undefeated. The team then promptly returned home and defeated North Greenville, 3-0, Monday night.
Decker said she is a big proponent of tournaments such as the one at Carson-Newman.
“It gives you the chance to see some very tough competition,” Decker said. “There’s a lot of potential to get organized against some very good teams in situations like those.”
The Lady Bearcats have been rotating their lineup frequently thus far, using a mix of returning players and newcomers to strike a winning chord.
Decker said junior Andrea Griffin and sophomore Kay Stewart, who was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week, have given the squad stability in the middle. She praised the pair for their blocking and ability to adapt to game situations at a fast pace.
On the outside, Kerri Sorensen and Sara Senn have been major contributors during the first 10 games. Decker lauded the pair’s passing and power when striking the ball.
Junior Melissa Trippany and freshman newcomer J.J. Edwards also have figured prominently into the Lady Bearcats’ plans. Edwards has shown propensity toward being a great setter, while Trippany is a floor leader of sorts. Decker said Trippany is one of the team’s best communicators on the floor.
One new addition that has brought a jolt of energy to the squad is 5-foot-5 sophomore Marina Camps, of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Camps previously played for Decker at West Virginia Wesleyan and decided to head south to join the coach at Lander.
“It has been nice having Marina here,” Decker said. “She is a solid defensive player and, having played for me before, she can help me explain certain things when I introduce new ideas to the team.”
Despite last season’s struggles, Decker said she had a feeling this year’s squad could get off to a solid start.
“I knew during the preseason that we had a chance to be strong fundamentally,” the coach said. “ But there is a long way to go, especially with the Peach Belt coming up.”
The Lady Bearcats will be in a tournament Saturday at Tusculum, and have a road match Sept. 13 at Brevard. They will return home Sept. 15 for their next home game, which will be against Peach Belt Conference foe Francis Marion.

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

Approach on school bonds takes a toll on public trust

September 6, 2006

“The least deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.” Aristotle wrote that astute observation more than three centuries before Christ. It’s a phrase that passes the test of time and experience. For many people living in the Greenwood School District 50 it couldn’t be more pertinent than it is today.
Truth, of course, can be a product of commission or omission. Even if the approach is later altered, the damage has already been done. What the School District 50 Board of Trustees did in its public presentation of its installment purchase bond plan was to announce one thing and later say it wasn’t that at all. It was something else.

AT ISSUE ARE THE ORIGINAL announcements, where the board said the bonds would cost taxpayers $115 million and would be paid off in 15 years. During that 15 years, the board said, the tax millage rate would stay at the present 61.4.
A funny thing happened on the way to another meeting, though. The board said then the bonds would cost $129 million and it would take 25 years to pay for them. It was also noted that the millage rate could rise to 88 “if an emergency occurred.”
It’s one thing to put District 50 taxpayers in debt for a quarter of a century. It’s another when you consider it is quite likely that “an emergency” would surely occur at sometime during 25 years.
Under the circumstances, though, that may not be the most worrisome detail. What cannot be overcome so easily is the trust the board has lost with its constituency.

WHETHER INTENTIONAL OR not, the questionable way the whole matter has been handled will make it awfully hard for anyone to believe the school board or other local government agencies in the future. And that impacts everyone in Greenwood County, not just District 50. In short, the District 50 board has squandered the public trust in the minds of many of its taxpayers. That’s something they are sure to remember ..... for a long time.
Trust in every facet of government is essential in a free society, and the very foundation of trust is truth, whether committed or omitted. Even an erroneous perception that trust is violated is destructive. That’s a lesson, it seems, that has to be learned time after time after time. There’s another lesson, too. More taxppayers have to take more interest in where their taxes go.