Student makes threat

Ninety Six teen claims reference to Va. Tech was just a joke

April 20, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

NINETY SIX — Tita James received a chilling phone call Thursday.
Her daughter had shocking information. A fellow Ninety Six High School student, a freshman of Asian ancestry whom she accompanied on the bus that very morning, had made some disturbing threats of violence against classmates.
“She called me very upset,” James said. “The boy rides her bus and he was there on the bus (Thursday). They were supposed to wear Virginia Tech colors (Friday) out of respect and remembrance, and she said she heard from friends that he was like, ‘Yeah, ya’ll go ahead and do that’ (wear the Virginia Tech colors), that he was going to come to school with a gun.
“He was rambling on about how certain people deserve to die and even mentioned a specific child’s name that would be the first one to die. He said that all those people that died at Virginia Tech that had teased (mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui), that they deserved to die.”
The threats — made Wednesday — shook Ninety Six High School students Thursday as word spread quickly across school grounds.
Administrators were alerted to the threats by a concerned parent.
Ninety Six High School Principal Rex Ward said Thursday afternoon that “appropriate actions” had been taken in the wake of the incident, and that students and parents should not be concerned for their safety.
“We were notified (Thursday) morning of the threats made (Wednesday),” Ward said. “We called in the (student’s) parents and the local authorities, and took the appropriate actions at the school level.
We would like to smooth over any concerns the students might have about their safety here, and any concerns that parents might have for the safety of their students.
“We feel there will not be any problems, and that it will be business as usual on Friday at Ninety Six High school.”
Ward would not verify whether the student had been suspended from school, or what specific disciplinary measures were taken.
Ninety Six Superintendent Dan Powell said the student had been suspended “for a couple of days” and added that the student said that when he made the statements, he was “just joking around.”
“A student had made a remark in a class (Wednesday), and they met with the student and parents today,” Powell said. “What I heard was that he had said that he was going to ‘do a Virginia Tech’ or something of that nature (Friday). They explained to him that that was not a joking matter.
“It was (Wednesday) in the last period of class, and my understanding was that a parent — whose child had told her about it at home — came in (Thursday) morning. Apparently he didn’t make the statement in front of the class, but some of the kids heard it.
“(Officials) searched him and searched his locker, but nothing was found. He said he was just joking around, but we of course have to take everything like that very seriously. I believe that he was suspended for a couple of days.
“We take everything serious of this nature and want to do as much as we can to make sure there is no valid threat.”
Ninety Six Police Chief Don Denny said no criminal charges were being filed, and the student, whose name was not released, had been released to his parents.
“(The school) simply requested that we be there when they talked with the student and the parents, and that we advise them from our standpoint as far as the seriousness of what he had said,” Denny said. “Officer Lt. Dave Wilkey went out and spoke with them, and the school will handle it from their end. There will be no criminal charges at this time.”
When asked whether he thought the student to be a specific threat to the high school or its student population, Denny said he did not.
“At this particular moment we do not feel that he is a threat,” Denny said. “Not at this instant, no, I do not (feel he is a threat). Not at this point.”
James says she is not altogether comforted by those words.
“I’m really concerned about sending my child to school (Friday), even if he is suspended,” James said. “Just because you suspend someone, does that mean that he won’t follow through with the threat?
It just concerns me.
“I wonder if they thought (Cho Seung-Hui) was a threat for those two hours at Virginia Tech. I have to be concerned about whether or not his parents are going to watch him (Friday).
“You can’t know when it’s going to be the last straw for somebody. Sometimes people just flip out.”
Ward said the actions taken by the school would be enough.
“We haven’t discussed (additional security) at this point,” he said. “I do feel that the actions that the school has taken will solve the problem.”
James said vicious teasing by other Ninety Six students could have brought on the threats made by the freshman student.
“I was told a bunch of kids were teasing him because of his nationality and his haircut (resembling that of the Virginia Tech killer), and giving him a really hard time and antagonizing him,” James said. “We were told he said it because of that. He made threats (Wednesday) to bring propane tanks and said that he knew some professor at Virginia Tech, and when he came to school that he would have a gun.
“If he was being teased, he needed to report those students. I don’t want anyone to be teased like that. That’s unacceptable also.”
Ward said the school had addressed that situation as well.
“We conducted an investigation and took the appropriate actions that we thought were necessary,” he said.
Parents were faced with another dilemma Thursday evening.
According to Ward, per school policy, students who miss school on Friday will not be allowed to attend the school’s prom Saturday night.
“To attend the prom you have to attend school on Friday,” he said.
Which leaves parents such as James with a decision to make — send their children to school, hold them out or leave the decision to their kids.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “My daughter is upset about it because of what has been happening. It just scares her. You never know what someone is going to do.
“I’m just in shock. I know the school has taken care of it, but she’s really, really upset about it.
My daughter isn’t going to the prom, she’s in the 10th grade, but (her father) said that if she didn’t want to go to school (Friday) that she didn’t have to. “It’s her decision.”

Happy ending in search

April 20, 2007

By RICHARD WHITING
Executive news editor

Ashley and Matt Culbertson experienced what no parent ever wants to: Their child disappeared from home.
But within an hour of discovering 7-year-old Benji’s disappearance, their fear turned to tearful elation. Their son was safe and soon would be on his way to his first-grade class at Pinecrest Elementary.
The Culbertson home in Greenwood’s Wellington Green subdivision was not unlike so many homes Wednesday morning. Parents were busy getting children ready for school, packing bookbags and lunches and getting ready to head out to their jobs.
But when someone let the family pet out, the typical morning routine turned a bit frantic.
Benji wandered off, apparently in search of his four-legged friend “Cooper,” a Jack Russell terrier.
Ashley, a forensics interviewer for The Child’s Place, which serves child sexual assault victims, knew time was either on her side or against her in a situation like this.
So did Matt. As a civilian, Matt is a nurse at Self Regional Healthcare. As a National Guardsman, he serves in the 111th Signal Battalion out of Hodges, having just returned in November from a year’s duty in Iraq.
In her job, Ashley has to be as detached as possible from the children she serves. But on this morning things were different, she acknowledged.
“Not this time; this was my son,” she said, tears still in her eyes.
Calls went out to family. Law enforcement was called. Neighbors joined the search. An Amber Alert was issued.
Benji, a neighbor said, was seen walking along one of the neighborhood streets, just a couple of blocks from home.
Ashley had first checked the next-door neighbor’s fenced pool area, then the group began fanning out — and calling out — for Benji.
Benji’s uncle, Brad Byars, was ultimately the one who found the boy, his legs scratched up a little from wandering into some briars in nearby woods.
The boy’s grandfather, David Byars, pointed out the quick response was essential, given the number of kidnappings and child molestation cases reported, and even credited his daughter’s work with children for her call to action.
“In today’s world, every minute counts” toward what can be a good ending or a bad one, Byars said. Benji, who was ready to head to school after the ordeal had ended, offered that he had gone into the “pointy forest,” just off a path in the neighborhood, in search of Cooper.
Wellington Green is buffeted by woods and Parkland Golf Course, a quiet setting, but not ideal for a wandering 7-year-old.
Uncle Brad found his nephew only a couple of hundred yards away from home, well before the boy could cross into the more vast expanses outside the neighborhood.
Matt and Ashley were grateful to family and neighbors, but they made a point of applauding the response of law enforcement.
Ashley said she began looking for her son at 7:55 and made her first phone call for help less than 10 minutes later. In only a matter of minutes, the neighborhood was swarming with Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Highway Patrolmen. The sheriff’s office bloodhounds were brought in, but Benji was found before they even had to exit the vehicle.
“Unbelievable,” Ashley said of the quick response and intense search efforts.
After exchanging thank-yous with law officers, friends and neighbors, she asked her son: “You ready to go to school?”
Benji simply looked up at her and said, “Yeah.”

At EHS, voter registration doubles
as lesson in democracy

April 20, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

While they are currently spending their days solving math problems and diagramming sentences, a group of Emerald High School students focused Thursday on another task they will soon be responsible for: voting in local, state and national elections.
Greenwood County Voter Registration Board representatives visited Randy Creswell and Brad Nickles’ social studies classes to give a presentation on voter registration. County Councilman Rhett Dominick, a special services coordinator at Emerald, helped organize the event.
Following the presentation, Jeff Constant and Priscilla Flanagan, of the voter registration board, set up a voting machine in the school lunchroom so students could see demonstrations of how votes are cast.
Dominick explained why he thought a registration event was necessary.
“What happened was, one day I went by Mr. Creswell’s classroom and it came up that I was a member of county council,” Dominick said. “Well, the students started asking questions and before I knew it, I had given a 30-minute presentation on council and voting and things like that.
“I was very impressed with the questions that particular class was asking. They were legitimate questions.”
Dominick said many students were completely unfamiliar with voting and the voting process, though some were approaching the age of 18 or were already 18. Dominick said he decided a voting seminar would be helpful.
His idea apparently was a success, as 50 new voters were registered during lunchtime hours Thursday at Emerald.
“I think it is very important to get young people registered and starting to vote early,” Dominick said. “Seventy-three percent of people that are of age are registered to vote in Greenwood County. Why can’t that be 100 percent? And if you look at the turnouts, sometimes only 10 or 15 percent of the registered voters turn out. I think that can be brought up if we start educating people about the process at a younger age.”
Emerald Principal Les Gamble said he was thrilled with the registration of 50 new voters.
“This is a case of theory meeting reality,” Gamble said. “There was a constant crowd at the registration desk, and the students were excited. I certainly wish we had had something like this when I was going to school.”
Constant and Flanagan dutifully answered the questions students raised, which ranged from inquiries about absentee voting while away at college to who the state senators from Greenwood County are.
There was one question all the adults in the room — Flanagan, Constant, Creswell, Dominick and Nickles— steered clear of: one student’s inquiry as to what the differences are between Democrats and Republicans.
“We could have gone on for several class periods talking about that,” Dominick said with a laugh.
Senior student Brandon White, 18, was impressed with the presentation.
“I will register to vote after what I heard today,” White said. “I thought it was interesting to hear about our senators and government.”

With 11 region titles under their belts,
the Emerald Vikings are ...

Setting priorities

April 20, 2007

By JIM JOYCE
Special projects editor

Emerald High School golf coach Robin Scott has been there 11 years and most of the current 12-player roster has been together at least four years.
Results? A third straight Region III-AA championship and 11th region title in the last 13 years for the Vikings, who head Monday to Batesburg for the Upstate championship.
A top-six finish there sends them to the state tournament, where the Vikings have gone each of the last 11 years.
“We didn’t win in 2003 and 2004, but we finished second in the region and second in the state in 2003,” Scott said. “The next year, Chapin won the state and we finished second, the same way we finished in the region.
“We’ve won the state three times and have been runners-up four times. In 11 years, you’ve got to have some good golfers to keep that string going.”
With six seniors as a nucleus to start this year, Scott knew he had the makings for another good team — especially since most of the team has been together the last four years.
With six playing and four scores counting for regular-season matches, Scott said he has had no definite plan of selecting starters.
“We rotate during the year,” he said. “You always want the team to be successful when they play, but the matches don’t mean anything. Matches don’t have anything to do with the region. The only thing that does in the region tournament.
“That gives us a little freedom to make sure we get a lot of people some experience. We always try to have three or four of our better players out there, and we have about eight who are within two or three strokes of each other. On a given day, any one of them can be in the top four golfers.”
Winning and losing are not priorities for the Vikings.
“It’s good to win, but it doesn’t win anything,” Scott said. “You want to get them the experience so when you play in tournaments and the region, you want them to do well.”
Success breeds success and Scott knows it. He attributes the team’s success to solid play from top to bottom.
“This team is a more rounded team,” he said. “We are more solid. If our first two guys falter, we have some pretty solid players all the way through that makes us a better team.
“Our younger guys have stepped up and played good this year. Wells (Ballentine) has been solid all year. Graham Wright and Garrett Rapp were two of our better players at Easley. Wells has been under par in three matches and he was one of our better players in the tournament, but it’s more than a one-man show.”
Senior leadership has been provided by Ballentine, Austin Hood, Travis Rapp, John Bell, Will Timms and Robert Erwin, but also contributing have been juniors Graham Wright and Evan Bledsoe, sophomores Garrett Rapp and Travis Rapp. Eighth graders Patrick Koone, Kyle Ford and Justin Crook have earned some experience that will help in the future.
In seeking a fourth state title, Scott said Vikings must finish in the top six Monday before even thinking about the state tournament.
“You’ve got to be in the top six and you will have to play well to do that,” Scott said. “We’ve been there every year for 12 years and I think we’ll do pretty well, but we can’t be overconfident. You’ve got eight teams fighting for six spots in the state.”

Obituaries

Elaine Ellison Bowen

LORIS — Mrs. Bailey Elaine Ellison Bowen, age 65, died Tuesday (April 17, 2007) morning at her home following a sudden illness. Born March 6, 1942 in Greenwood, SC; Mrs. Bowen was the daughter of the late George Bailey Ellison and the late Connie Lee Brown Ellison. Mrs. Bowen attended Anderson College, was a homemaker and a member of the Harris Baptist Church in Greenwood, SC.
Survivors include her son, Scott Bowen and wife, Maria, of Myrtle Beach, SC; her daughter, Amee Elaine Bowen Rush and husband, Chris, of San Antonio, TX; and her sister, Faye Cook of Powder Springs, GA.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday (April 21, 2007) at Tranquil United Methodist Church in Greenwood, SC, with committal services beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Greenwood Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Reverend Luke Mims will officiate services. Those who wish may send flowers to Tranquil United Methodist Church, 1702 McCormick Hwy., Greenwood, SC 29646. Announcement by Hardwick Funeral Home of Loris, SC. (843) 756-7001

Emma Lou Armstrong

HODGES — Emma Lou Mahon Armstrong, 93, of 1907 Nation Road, widow of Leroy Armstrong, died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center. She was born in Laurens County, a daughter of the late Henry F. and Henretta Bolt Mahon. She had been employed by Riegel Textile Corp. and was a member of Ware Shoals First Baptist Church.
Surviving is a son, Roy Henry “Buckshot” Armstrong and one grandchild.
Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, 2 p.m. at Parker-White Funeral Home, with Rev. Leon Jones officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Richard Woods, Doug Hudson, Kevin Loggins, Daniel Reed, Dan O’Dell and Ralph Armstrong.
Honorary escorts will be James “Tot” Crowder, Billy Banks and Pete Humbert.
The family is at the home and will receive friends Saturday, 1-2 at Parker-White Funeral Home.

Nan Holliday Barmore

DONALDS — Nan Louise Holliday Barmore, 87, widow of William Edward Barmore, of 7930 Highway 184 East, died April 18, 2007 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Anderson County, she was a daughter of the late John Edgar and Christine Williams Holliday. She graduated from Easley High School and Lander College (University) with a B.A. degree and from Furman University with an M.A. Degree.
She was a member of Donalds United Methodist Church, where she had been teacher of the Bowie Fellowship Class.
She taught in the schools of Abbeville and Anderson Counties, as associate Professor in the Department of English at Erskine College. As teacher of Children’s Literature, she and her class produced the annual Children’s Fair, an Erskine tradition.
Mrs. Barmore did the research for Donalds Grange No. 497, which placed it in the National Register of Historic Places. She was elected a charter member from Donalds to the Abbeville County Visitors’ Council, serving as the council’s first secretary. She was appointed a charter member from Donalds, of the Abbeville County Preservation Commission by the then governor.
Mrs. Barmore is survived by two daughters, Ann Barmore of Donalds and Judy Barmore Collins and husband, James M. Collins of Donalds, and two granddaughters, Lori Cheshire and husband, Jason Cheshire of Greenville and Christine Collins of Greenville.
Funeral services will be conducted at Donalds United Methodist Church on Saturday, April 21, 2007, by the Rev. Jones Brewer at 3 p.m., with visitation from 1:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the church.
Memorials may be made to Donalds Grange No. 497, c/o Mr. Josh Burton, Box 255, Donalds, SC 29638 or to Donalds United Methodist Church, c/o Mrs. Eula Kennedy, P.O. Box 25, Donalds, SC 29638. Pruitt Funeral Home, Honea Path, in charge of arrangements.

Louise Osborne Grier

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Louise Osborne Grier, age 71, wife of Calvin Knox Grier, Sr., died peacefully at her home in New Orleans on Easter Sunday morning, April 8, 2007, of pulmonary fibrosis.
Born in Ninety Six, SC, she was a daughter of the late Benjamin Augustus and Julia Herbert Osborne and had been a resident of New Orleans for the past 41 years. Mrs. Grier graduated from Erskine College in 1955 and received a Master’s Degree from Tulane University in 1979. She was a longtime teacher of gifted and talented students in the Jefferson Parish public school system and was selected as the Cox Communications Jefferson Parish Teacher of the Year.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter, Mary Louise Grier Holmes of New Orleans; her two sons and daughters-in-law, Benjamin Osborne Grier and wife, Allison, and Calvin Knox Grier, Jr. and wife, Katrina of Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. Grier is survived by her seven grandchildren, Alexander, Sallie, and Grier Holmes, Harrison and Andrew Grier, and Charles and Callaham Grier. In addition, she is survived by two sisters and brothers-in-law, Vernon Osborne Jones and husband, Edward of Cumming, Ga., and Ruth Osborne Lesesne and husband Joe, of Spartanburg, SC; and several nieces and nephews.
At the time of her death, Mrs. Grier was librarian at Solis Elementary School. She was an active member of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed spending her summers in Flat Rock, NC, with friends, family and especially grandchildren. A memorial service was held at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, at 4 p.m.
Memorials may be made to St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church to a fund established in the name of Louise Grier to help rebuild homes in New Orleans damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Dunbar Funeral Home & Crematory.

Edna Heslin

ABBEVILLE — Edna Martin Heslin, 86, of 1067 Highway 72 W., widow of Thomas J. Heslin, died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center, Greenwood.
Services will be announced by The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home.

Troy M. Nelson

ATLANTA — Services for Troy M. Nelson, of 717 Lee St., Apt. 105, Atlanta, Ga., are 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2007, at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Cross Hill, conducted by the Rev. Jerry A.
Aiken. The body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers and flower bearers are friends of the family. The family is at the home of Bishop Emanuel Spearman, 1014 Flatwood Road, Hodges. Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. are in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to robson@nctv.com.

Eron Prince

WARE SHOALS — Eron Boland Prince, 88, widow of Albert Jerome Prince, died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at Laurens National Healthcare.
Services will be announced by Parker-White Funeral Home.

Charles Teasley

Charles Milton Teasley, 67, resident of 4912 Old Laurens Road, husband of Judith Snipes Teasley, went to be with Jesus Tuesday morning, April 17, 2007, at Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, Ohio, following a lengthy illness.
Born Oct. 11, 1939 in Fair Play, SC, he was a son of the late William Claude and Hazel Lou Fricks Teasley. Mr. Teasley was a retired auto body repair professional, having been formerly employed by Wilbanks Paint & Body Shop and more recently the owner of Teasley Auto Body Shop. He was a member of Lake View Baptist Church.
He was twice married, first to the late Virginia McFerrin Teasley.
Surviving in addition to his wife of Greenwood are two daughters, Jackie and husband, Doug Vess of Greenwood and Theresa and husband, Mark Meadows of Anderson; three sons, Charles C. Teasley and James Christopher Teasley, both of Greenwood and Jason Dwayne and wife, Becky Teasley of Anderson; four sisters, Grace Allen Staley and husband, Don Staley, Kathy Kirby, Marie Dingus and Charlene Ault, all of Sandusky; a brother, James Clem of Sandusky; his stepmother, Gladys Irby of Greenwood; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by two sons, Randolph Milton Teasley and William Malcolm “Moochie” Teasley; and a brother, William Curtis Teasley.
Funeral services will be conducted at noon Saturday at the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Ralph Barrett, Andrew Tamburin, Donald Staley, Clayton Sullivan, Mark Meadows, Justin Vess, Kyle White and Roy Howington.
The family is at the home of his son, James Christopher Teasley, 4924 Old Laurens Road and will receive friends at Blyth Funeral Home from 7 to 9 Friday evening.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.

Ernestine Thomas

ABBEVILLE — Ernestine Thomas, 61, of 71 Carwellyn Road, Apt. 2-B, died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center, Greenwood.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Brown and Walker Funeral Home.

Opinion

Observations ...
... and other reflections

April 20, 2007

Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech student who killed 31 students and a professor on that campus before turning the gun on himself, was mentally ill, or so it’s been reported. That probably surprises no one. When something of this nature and magnitude occurs no one doubts that something in his head and character was missing.
It has now been reported that Cho had in the past been diagnosed with a mental problem but was given a chance to seek voluntary counseling by a judge. Mandatory counseling could have been ordered by the court but wasn’t.
When all of that became known a lot of people raised questions about why Cho was allowed to “slip through the cracks.” Why? Why? Why? That was the question.
Mental condition is no excuse for his bloody acts, of course. His premeditation speaks to that. In today’s litigious atmosphere and privacy laws, though, get serious! Lawsuits are always an issue.
Intended or not, that automatically makes everyone cautious.

* * * * *

There are all kinds of demagogues at work these days ..... racial, religious, educational, economic and every conceivable category. They, too, use the freedom of this country to spew their poisonous rhetoric.
Could it be that many of them don’t want to solve any problems that Americans might have for one major reason? Could it be that by solving problems - social and otherwise - it would, in effect, kick their soapboxes out from under them and they would lose the goose that lays their golden eggs?

* * * * *

Some of those demagogues have exploited for years race problems in the Palmetto State, all for self-serving purposes. One continuing complaint from some is that little progress has been made in the racial climate of the state. We still have racist problems, no doubt about it, and we have much left to be done.
Much has been accomplished, however. There’s no better proof of it than in politics. The S. C. Legislative Black Caucus, for example, just had presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, as a keynote speaker for its spring gala. In the front row was U. S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.
Both are black and hold high elective office.
There also are many other elected African Americans, including Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson and state Rep. Anne Parks. Then there are County Council members Edith Childs, Gonza Bryant and others in various capacities. All have served all people well.
There are hills yet to climb, but at least we’re climbing. That can’t be said about everyone, whether in the U. S. or elsewhere.