Opportunity awaits new county manager

April 19, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

There is something to be said with being precisely where you want to be in life. Where Victor Carpenter wants to be is Greenwood.
Carpenter was announced Tuesday night as the next county manager of Greenwood County. He will officially take on the role of county operations manager in June before moving into the county manager role in August.
Carpenter will be taking over for Jim Kier, who is retiring.
“The best word to describe what is coming up is ‘opportunity,’” Carpenter said. “Greenwood is a great county. This is a county that has lived larger than it looks on paper. It shows itself really well.
This really is a great opportunity for me.”
Carpenter will arrive in Greenwood after a nine-year stint in Anderson County, where he served as an assistant county administrator.
According to a Greenwood County Council news release, more than $1 billion in growth has been attracted to Anderson County in the last five years, and Carpenter’s involvement in economic development and infrastructure development were key assets in Anderson becoming one of the state’s fastest-growing counties.
Carpenter acknowledges the differences between Anderson and Greenwood, but he sees great opportunities in the county he will soon call home.
“Greenwood is not Anderson,” Carpenter said. “They are not going to run Interstate 85 through Greenwood. But Greenwood has so much to offer that can be marketed and built on.
“There’s Lake Greenwood, Lander University, different industries and research facilities. There is already so much in place that can continue to thrive.”
Carpenter said he likes the fact there are fewer limitations in terms of what the county can do with Lake Greenwood in comparison to lakes in the Anderson area. He credited that to the fact Greenwood County operates the lake, rather than a corps of engineers.
Carpenter said he has not necessarily had a general goal to become a county manager, but he has had an eye toward Greenwood.
The Summerville native said Greenwood first caught his attention many years ago during his youth when Pinky Babb’s Greenwood High football teams would tangle with John McCissick’s Summerville squads on the gridiron. Later, he said a member of his family had a good experience locally.
“My brother attended Piedmont Tech, which got him started on a path to being very successful,” Carpenter said. “That was around the time I really started to notice Greenwood. From that time on this was always somewhere I wanted to be. This is not a rung in the ladder for me.
“I didn’t necessarily always want to be a county manager, but when the opportunity arose here, I wanted to take advantage.”
Carpenter said he is looking forward to working with Kier from June until August, saying it is rare to get a chance to segue into a job while absorbing knowledge from someone with Kier’s level of experience.
Carpenter and his wife, Laurey, have three children: 14-year-old Sheldon, and 9-year-old twins Elizabeth and Victor. Elizabeth had a bout of appendicitis Tuesday, an ailment that carried her father away from the county council meeting at which he was being introduced Tuesday.
“She is fine,” Carpenter said. “She is at home and resting well. She handled it about as well as a third-grader could.”
Carpenter said his kids are looking forward to arriving in Greenwood.
“This is a growth opportunity for them,” Carpenter said. “It is something new, but they are excited.”

Cox touts business expertise

Candidate says he’s eager to stand out in crowded GOP race

April 19, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

McCORMICK — Little-known Republican presidential candidate John Cox, of Illinois, understands why he is often passed over by the mainstream media — but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
That understanding, which says he is not one of the viable mainstream Republican candidates for president, he agrees with wholeheartedly.
His Web site touts Cox as “the only real conservative running for president.”
And yes, he goes out of his way to distance himself from the larger names and bankrolls out there — men such as Mitt Romney, Rudolph Guliani and John McCain — because he thinks they’ve dropped the ball as Republicans.
“I’m a businessman,” Cox said Wednesday before addressing the McCormick County Republican Convention. “I have to solve problems to survive. They work for the government. They have the government write a check to survive. They’re used to having the government bail them out.
“If I don’t (solve problems), I’m out of business. Unfortunately, they just put more money up, and they’re very good at doing that.”
And Cox is correct about his being ignored by the media “big boys” — the Washington Post’s Web site doesn’t even list Cox as a Republican presidential candidate.
“It’s a good thing, being able to meet a lot of nice people and talk about issues and ideas,” Cox said of the still-fresh campaign trail. “The good things are that I feel like I’m making an impact and the possibility of making a difference.
“There’s a little frustration in it too, though. I wish the major media were covering what I’m doing a little more. I want a true conservative.
“I’m in this race to represent that Republican activist disappointed by the Bush administration, that’s fed up with the results and disappointed and understands why we lost the majority. I look at the other (Republican) candidates, and they are part of the same hypocrisy.”
His travels have brought him to the Palmetto State, which he says he has grown to love in the short time he’s been here.
“I’m an old guy,” Cox said. “I’m 51. I love South Carolina. I like the people, the weather, and they have some real good golf courses down here. At some point and time I may end up retiring down here.” But that won’t be anytime soon if he can help it.
He has too much of a gap to close — even within his own party.
Still, this presidential candidate feels he can do it.
“I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’m a businessman who has had to get things done in the private sector. I’ve had to deliver results. The other guys are real good at pointing fingers. John McCain has never even run a hot dog stand. Most of these guys have never drawn a paycheck from anyone but the government. It doesn’t make them bad people, but they don’t have the perspective of the average American.
“Romney was born into wealth. He can’t say that he had to struggle for a living. That makes him somewhat detached from the average American’s struggle. He clearly had to do things to be elected governor in Massachusetts. (Cox claims Romney went soft on abortion.) Consistency is something to be valued and not something to be cast aside.”
Cox, the son of a single mother, is married and has four daughters. He worked as a member of Jack Kemp’s campaign in 1988.
“I’m not from the establishment; I’m a fresh face,” Cox said. “Remember Ronald Reagan? A lot of the Republican establishment hated him. The people loved him. And he made a pretty good president. You have to reform the party from within, and that what I’m here to do.”
In the end, Cox says he is vastly different from any of the Republican candidates — and he very much likes it that way.
Cox received a modest ovation from a modest crowd of McCormick Republicans following a 15-minute speech.
He knows the race will not be won in this tiny, rural South Carolina town, but he also knows every campaign has its own baby steps to take.
Cox says he’s willing to take those steps free of the establishment.
“I worked for George Bush and got burned,” Cox said. “I spent a lot of money, and he hasn’t governed like a conservative. He’s better than Al Gore, I’ll give him that, but you know what? I don’t just want the better of the two evils. I want a choice that’s going to get the job done. Do you think that Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney or John McCain are that much different than George Bush? I don’t think they are.”

In his own words

VT assistant coach who attended GHS discusses tragedy

April 19, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

The massacre at Virginia Tech might have caused alarm for many Greenwood and Lakelands residents who have followed one of the area’s success stories through the years.
Virginia Tech assistant basketball coach and 1987 Greenwood High School graduate Stacey Palmore, who has felt the impact of the events on the Blacksburg campus at close range, says although everyone affected will never forget, they will recover from the event.
“Major is the only word I can think of to describe what happened Monday,” Palmore said Wednesday by telephone. “It’s a major blow and a school tragedy. Our hearts go out to all the families that were affected. We’ll fight through this and be stronger.”
Palmore said he started his Monday morning as he had so many others before he heard news of the event.
“I was supposed to be out recruiting Monday,” he said. “I got to the office at 8:45 and met with the rest of the basketball staff at 9:15. At 9:45 a secretary came in and said there was a shooting on campus.”
From that point, Palmore said accounting for everyone was the main goal.
“There was a lot of text messaging to make sure that everyone was fine,” Palmore said. “We have a players’ lounge, and everyone just hung out in there until everything was over.”
“It started out a normal day, but it just turned tragic,” Palmore said. “We spent a lot of time talking to parents and high school coaches. I got about 150 calls and still have a lot to return.”
Palmore said there’s not one moment that stands out in his mind, but he does remember the feeling of shock that he, along with everyone else, felt.
“The dorm where the first shooting happened is the one that’s closest to the athletic complex,” Palmore said. “I walk past that dorm every day to eat lunch in the cafeteria.”
Palmore said one thing was on his mind that really put things into perspective.
“One part of my job is to spot-check athletes in their classes.” Palmore said.
The thought that Palmore might have crossed paths with the shooter had he been checking on athletes who have classes in Norris Hall, the building where the second series of shootings occurred, bothered him.
Another aspect that keeps the tragedy fresh in Palmore’s mind is the fact his wife is a nurse at one of the hospitals that’s treating victims of the shooting.
“It’s going to be tough,” Palmore said. “But the resiliency of the school and community will help us heal.”
The sense of community Palmore is immersed in at Virginia Tech is also felt in the Greenwood area. Palmore’s’ “Shoot for the Stars” camp, which has been held in Greenwood each summer for the past 13 years, is scheduled for another run June 4-7 at Merrywood Elementary School.
Palmore, who spends endless hours on the road recruiting athletes, is scheduled to make brief stops at schools across the Lakelands on May 4 to promote the camp.
In addition to instructing young athletes on the basketball court, Palmore, along with a few Lakelands residents, are hosting the second-annual Youth Day, which is focused on informing and preparing kids for college. The one-day event will be at Piedmont Tech and is free for students in grades seven through 12.
Greenwood High School guidance counselor Linda Holland; Career Services Center director Charles Graves; director of financial aid Diane Williams; and Piedmont Tech director of college outreach Steve Coleman are also involved with the project.
“There are going to be break-out sessions for students where they’ll get valuable information,” Palmore said. “We’re going to cover everything from ACT and SAT preparation, financial aid for college, image and self awareness, etiquette and sports and academics.
“Last year we had 30 kids come out. We’re expecting a larger group this year.”
Palmore added one of the things he has noticed through the years is that many athletes have excelled on the field, but missed out on opportunities to further their education at the college level because they have been unable to meet college entry requirements.
“God has given me a vehicle to go back and do what I like to do,” he said. “So many kids are talented athletically but somehow they’re falling through the cracks. I want kids to be aware of the opportunities that are out there.”
As a coach, Palmore said that if student-athletes are held accountable academically, it will help them down the road.
“I started out in Greenwood,” Palmore said. “I haven’t forgotten where I came from and I want to do my part to help the kids in the area.”
For information on Youth Day and Shoot for the Stars, call (540) 231-6864 or e-mail spalmore@vt.edu.

Obituaries

Willie Mae Glover

Willie Mae Glover, 89, of 745 Oak Street, widow of the late Arthur Goode, died Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at her home. Born in Greenwood County, she was the daughter of the late Charlie Wideman and the late Bessie Glover. She was a member of Mt. Zion AME Church in Promised Land, where she was a member of the Missionary Society and was a Junior Stewardess.
Survivors include one son, James Glover of New York; two daughters, Willie Victoria Glover of Greenwood and Wanda H. Glover of Abbeville; one foster brother, Rev. Benjamin Glover of Columbia, SC; and one foster sister, Esther Glover of Cleveland, Ohio. The family is at the home of a daughter, Willie Victoria Glover, 714 Oak Street. Services will be announced by Robinson&Son Mortuary, Inc. Online condolences may be sent to robson@nctv.com.

Ken Greenway

HONEA PATH — Kenneth “Ken” Paul Greenway, 75, husband of Audrey A. Greenway, of 332 Ervin St., went home to be with the Lord on April 17, 2007 while surrounded by his loved ones.
Born in Elbert County, Ga., on Aug. 5, 1931, he was the eldest son of the late Elmer and Lillian Smith Greenway. He attended the Honea Path Church of God for over 15 years and became a member of the church in February of this year. He was a veteran of the United States Army, where he was stationed in several places in the U.S. and in eastern Europe during the 1950’s. He was a retired electrician from the Monsanto Co. after over 27 years of service, in most of which he had perfect attendance.
After his retirement he became an avid collector of NASCAR collectibles and other memorabilia. Ken and Audrey, along with their beloved pets Max and Cubby, also enjoyed camping in many different places throughout the southeast.
Surviving are his loving wife Audrey and their wonderful family consisting of one son, Jeff Greenway and wife, Nora of Greenville; one daughter, Lori Greenway of Greenwood; two stepsons, Phillip Lee Ashley and wife, Tina of Honea Path and Roy Steve Ashley of Houston, TX; two stepdaughters, Sharon Shanley of Honea Path and Kimberly Jo Karnes of Huffman, TX; two sisters, Rachael G. Daniel of Elberton, GA, and Lenice G. Thompson of Laurens; eight grandchildren, Megan Ashley, Jennifer Ashley, Brandy Pearson, Mary Gorden Greenway, Harrison Greenway, Shannon Stutler, Ashley Shearin, and Taylor Ashley; and three great-grandchildren, Austin Owens, Amber Stutler, and Ethan Conde. He was predeceased by a son Vic Greenway, a brother, Jack Greenway, and a stepson, Tony Ashley.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Honea Path Church of God, with Rev. George Cooper, Rev. Dennis Bardin, and Rev. Charlie Driggers officiating. Burial will follow in the Garden of Memories.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Pruitt Funeral Home. The family is at the home. Memorials may be made to The Honea Path Church of God, Box 186, Honea Path, SC 29654 or to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621. Pruitt Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Rev. Harold R. Johnson

BELTON — Rev. Harold Roland Johnson, 82, of 1924 Amity Road, died Tuesday, April 17, 2007, at Hospice of the Upstate.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Robinson-Walker Funeral Service, Ware Shoals.

Alberta Freeman Payton Lewis

McCORMICK — Mrs. Alberta Freeman Payton Lewis died at the Self Regional Medical Center Saturday, April 14, 2007. She was born in Lincoln County, GA, July 4, 1919, a daughter of the late Benjamin and Ada Alberta Wright Freeman. She was a member of Bethany Baptist Church, McCormick, SC, and served as the Mother of the Church. She was twice married, first to the late Easton Payton, and then to the late James Lewis.
Survivors are two daughters, Lorine (Claude) Leverette of Detroit, MI, and Elzo Walker Lucas of New York City; a son, James Earl (Maggie) Payton of McCormick; twenty-five grandchildren; thirty-one great-grandchildren; and eighteen great-great-grandchildren. Services are Friday at Bethany Baptist Church at 2 p.m., with the Pastor, Rev. Robert Haskell, officiating. Assisting is Rev. Eric Butler.
Interment is in the Church cemetery. The family is at her home at 508 Pine Street in McCormick and will receive friends at Walker Funeral Home Thursday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Walker Funeral Home, directors. Hanes Williams POMONA PARK, Fla. — Hanes Vernon Williams, 79, husband of Virginia Williams, died April 17, 2007 at his home in Pomona Park, FL.
A native of Greenwood, Mr. Williams has made his home in Putnam County, FL, for over 27 years. He was a Coast Guard veteran and was retired from the FAA as an air traffic controller.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are two sons, Leland L. Williams of Crescent City, FL, and Roger H. Williams of Jacksonville, FL; a sister, Mounetta Williams of Greenwood; and five grandchildren.
Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Williams family.

Hanes Williams

POMONA PARK, Fla. — Hanes Vernon Williams, 79, husband of Virginia Williams, died April 17, 2007 at his home in Pomona Park, FL.
A native of Greenwood, Mr. Williams has made his home in Putnam County, FL, for over 27 years. He was a Coast Guard veteran and was retired from the FAA as an air traffic controller.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are two sons, Leland L. Williams of Crescent City, FL, and Roger H. Williams of Jacksonville, FL; a sister, Mounetta Williams of Greenwood; and five grandchildren.
Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Williams family.

Opinion

Clyburn offers lawmakers advice pleasing to voters

April 19, 2007

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S. C. (Sixth District), and the South Carolina Legislature made history last week ..... together. It’s worth noting because it rarely happens, particularly when the Legislature is controlled by Republicans and Clyburn is the state’s only black elected federal official and a Democrat. He also happens to be the third highest ranking official in the Democratic controlled U. S. House of Representatives.
While all of this is historic, part of the message Clyburn had for state lawmakers should be uppermost in all minds.
That message was simple but full of wisdom. Clyburn urged state leaders to avoid surrendering their common interests to partisan politics. Instead, he urged them to work together on a variety of problems that are important to all South Carolinians.
That’s a sentiment, to be sure, that a lot of South Carolinians agree with. They have left no doubt they want their lawmakers to stop the bickering and put voter interests in the forefront.
It’s a good message, no doubt about it. It’s also one Rep. Clyburn could take back to Congress. The partisanship in that body is a drag on any kind of progress.