Making progress

More police patrols making a difference in one neighborhood

July 2, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE — Things in Hickory Heights can get a little hot sometimes.
And the residents there know that the heat has nothing at all to do with the temperature.
There’s no mistaking that crime has been a problem for the entire neighborhood.
There have been lots of drugs-, alcohol- and domestic-related issues in the community, as well as the mostly unwanted presence of a lot of outsiders — those who could care less what happens to the neighborhood — just hanging around.
So management at the complex went to the Abbeville Police Department for help.
In May, a letter was sent to Abbeville City Manager Nolan Wiggins Jr. giving the police written permission to increase patrols to whatever levels they felt were necessary to secure the neighborhood and protect the residents.
The additional presence of law enforcement has not been the most popular development for many residents, but Linda Talbert, the Neighborhood Networks Center program director, says the letter was needed to combat crime that had gotten out of hand.
“This is an at-risk community here and there was a lot of drug activity, lots of domestic violence and alcohol abuse,” Talbert said. “We need for this to be a safe place for families and children. The police have been wonderful. And there are some people that probably don’t like it, but those are probably the ones who are doing things they shouldn’t be doing. We are going to do what we have to do to make this a safe place, but this has to be a community effort. It’s going to take a lot of people to get the job done.”
Some of those very people were present Friday, when the neighborhood had a celebration for national Neighborhood Networks Centers Week.
There were hot dogs, drinks and, most importantly, positive words of hope and encouragement — two things that don’t appear every day in Hickory Heights.
“It is never too late,” county councilman Claude Thomas said in an impassioned speech to the community. “Never give up hope. There will always be naysayers and people saying it can’t be done and that you can’t do it. Why even try? But if you don’t try, you are guaranteed not to succeed. Only your dreams and aspirations limit what you can do.”
Nearby, police officer Tony O’Bannon handed out anti-drug and safety literature.
He had come on his own accord, and was in uniform Friday for free.
“Me being here is a big deal,” he said. “The more you talk to kids, the more it is going to pay off down the road. The kids really are our future and our most important asset in Abbeville. Being a police officer is not just a job for me. I feel like I’m making a difference.
“We want to unite with this community and break down any barriers that exist. All we want to do is be a part of the community. To do that you have to get out and see the people. Working together is the only way that it’s going to work.”
The relationship between the police and the residents at Hickory Heights has been rocky at several points in the past.
But many feel a corner has been turned, and that the patrols are helping.
“I think that things are looking good,” Abbeville City Councilwoman Faye Thomas said. “You don’t see a lot of people hanging around here like you used to. There have been some issues here with the police in the past, but those things have been addressed.”
Hickory Heights resident Resha Guillebeaux has noticed some big changes, too.
“I think (the patrols) are working,” she said. “There has been a difference the last few weeks. People that didn’t live here were coming in from outside the neighborhood and just hanging around. That’s ceased a little bit. Some people are willing to give the police a chance, but some people are still scared of them.”
Talbert says it is the residents themselves who have to make the ultimate decision whether Hickory Heights will be a safe placed to raise children.
“It’s really up to them,” she said. “This neighborhood can be as safe as the people here want it to be. But you have to work at it. Look around out there and you’ll see that I have all these kids, but where are the parents? I need for them to participate.”
The community had a neighborhood crime watch at one time, but it failed.
There is talk now of a possible resurrection of that organization.
“That would be an excellent thing to do,” Talbert said. “Then all the traffic through here would cease. Then all the robberies and burglaries would cease. When things happen here, they turn their heads and say, ‘It wasn’t me,’ but it is them, it’s their community. I’ve tried to tell them that the police are here to help them, not hurt them, but it’s very hard.”
Steve Crawford — another resident of Hickory Heights — says he could care less what anyone else in the community thinks of the police, he appreciates the new police presence and wants to make sure it continues in the months to come.
For Crawford and others, the safety of the neighborhood is still at stake.
“I don’t care what some people think. It’s a good thing to have the police come in here,” he said. “They are enforcing the curfew, and I think they need to patrol more. I encourage them to continue. I want them to know even when they feel as though they are not making progress, they are. They have already made an impact. It just needs to continue.”

Schools rethink U.S. News survey

July 2, 2007

By KENNY MAPLE
Index-Journal staff writer

U.S. News World and Report has been publishing its college and university rankings every year since 1983 with several different categories, but liberal arts colleges are now speaking out against rankings they think are inaccurate.
Furman University, for one, has announced its disapproval with the liberal arts college rankings and said it will no longer complete the “peer assessment” portion of the magazine’s survey — a rather large portion that counts for 25 percent of the rating.
Local liberal arts colleges might start leaning in Furman’s direction.
Erskine College President Randy Ruble said he does not know whether Erskine will follow Furman’s lead, but it will definitely look into it.
“We’re go­ing to take a look at it (the ranking survey) and see if we will continue to participate in it,” he said.
Lander University President Dan Ball applauded institutions that are backing away from the rankings system.
“I personally applaud Furman University and Presbyterian College — and any others — that have taken such a bold stance about the ranking game that U.S. News and World Report — and there are others — plays, which relies primarily on questionably relevant data, and on the opinions of a few people with a conflict of interest,” Ball said.
The “others” referenced by Ball are the approximately 80 members of the Annapolis Group, which met for its monthly meeting June 19 in Annapolis, Md. The group represents the country’s leading liberal arts colleges, and they are among an increasing number of colleges that have said they no longer will include the rankings in their promotional material.
Furman is one of 124 colleges included in the group.
“Because it’s impossible — and misleading — to assign a precise numerical rank to a college or university, the U.S. News rankings have always been questionable,” Furman President David Shi said.
“The ‘reputation’ portion of the survey is especially misleading, since the college officials who fill out the survey listing 215 institutions in the national liberal arts college category are truly familiar with only a handful of other schools.
“It’s a flawed process, and the Annapolis Group presidents felt the need to make a strong and collective statement about the inherent defects of the rankings.”
According to Patricia Lawson, spokeswoman for the Annapolish Group member Gettysburg College, the flaw is in the way the survey is taken. She said only three people within the different colleges are asked to take the highly weighted portion of the survey.
The three taking the survey are the president of the institution and, depending on how the college or university decides to title its administrators, the dean of admissions and the chief academic officer. The three are asked to rank the academic reputation of 250 institutions on a scale of one to five. Lawson mentioned that most taking the survey are probably only familiar with a handful of institutions.
Ruble said some of the problems with the rankings are based on a preference for larger schools over smaller.
“They seem to think quality of education is because of a larger endowment,” Ruble said.
Ruble expressed his views on the quality of smaller liberal arts colleges, citing that Erskine is one of four national liberal arts colleges in South Carolina.
“There must be other ways other than faculty, endowment and facility size to judge colleges,” he said.
“I have been critical of such rankings for more than 15 years, and indeed have had discussions with the U.S. News editor responsible for those rankings several years ago,” Ball said.
Ball said he doesn’t think the rankings are fair or accurate, and he doesn’t pay much attention to Lander University rankings.
However, at the same time he also said he doesn’t think institutions can be fairly ranked.
The Annapolis Group says institutions can be fairly ranked.
The group announced it will develop information to be used as data for families to read while they search for the best college for their students.
Lawson said the group will put together a committee in charge of developing a new model for ranking colleges. This model will focus on the educational experience of students instead of just statistics.
Ruble doesn’t know a perfect way to rank institutions, but he does think a college or university’s success depends a great deal upon what its students do after graduation.
“Somehow it seems the product is one way of testing the validity of the program,” Ruble said. “I think that’s a way of judging education.”
U.S. News and World Report editors were not available for comment at press time.

Camp to mark century of fun

July 2, 2007

By JESSICA SMOAKE
Index-Journal intern

It’s been a popular summer spot in Greenwood County for years, and now Epworth Camp is enjoying its centennial anniversary.
The Epworth Camp meeting was first founded with some inspiration from an Indian Spring Camp meeting in Georgia. The Rev. W.P.B. Kinard attended the meeting in Georgia and came up with the idea for the first camp in 1905, which was called New Market. Two years later, in 1907, Kinard created Epworth Camp.
This year, Epworth Camp will celebrate its 100-year anniversary during the camp meeting July 14. The celebration will begin at noon with a chicken grill-out. Chicken plates will go on sale at noon for $7 each. People can order chicken plates in advance from any of the members of the board or by mailing a check to Epworth Camp Meeting, P.O. Box 115, Greenwood, SC 29648.
The audience will hear gospel singing from 2 to 6 p.m. The Palmetto State Quartet will entertain from 6 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to the celebration.
Buddy Rushton, president of Epworth Camp, said the goal of the camp is to bring Jesus Christ into the lives of the people who attend.
“We have a lot of people that went to camp come back and say that they have decided to become preachers or workers in the church,” Rushton said.
In 2006, about 100 people attended the camp. Rushton has memories of talking to fellow campers who remember a time when the camp was filled to capacity.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how much the camp fills up,” he said.
Although he would like for the camp to be full, the mission of the camp is more important than the number of people who attend. “If we can get one person to give their life to Christ, then we’ve won,” Rushton said.
A normal day at camp consists of a prayer meeting, breakfast, bible study and crafts, midday service, lunch and a preaching service with a group discussion afterward in the dorms.
Rushton’s goal this year is to get more people involved with Epworth Camp. From working on the tabernacle, which is as old as the camp itself, to giving a donation, every little bit helps.
“If a child wants to come to camp but does not have the money, they will not be turned away,” Rushton said. “That’s what our donations go toward.”
The 2007 Epworth Camp Meeting will be July 12-22. It is nondenominational and open to anyone. For information, visit www.epworthcamp.com.

Obituaries

Windell Aiken

ABBEVILLE — Windell Aiken, 83, of 1412 Davis Road, husband of Mary D. Aiken, died Sunday, July 1, 2007, at HospiceCare of the Piedmont in Greenwood.
The family is at the home.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Abbeville & White Mortuary Inc., Abbeville.

Sue Ann Pruitt

McCORMICK — Sue Ann Pruitt, 68, of Highway 378 West, died Friday, June 29, 2007, at HospiceCare of the Piedmont in Greenwood.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., July 2, 2007, at Strom Funeral Home in McCormick.

Gloria Jane Tinsley

Gloria Jane “GoGo” Tinsley, 60, of 202 Sample Road, longtime companion of Edward Lee Strawhorn, died June 28, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Anderson County, she was a daughter of the late Harold and Virginia Tinsley.
She is survived by her companion.
Graveside services will be 3 p.m. Monday, in Upper Long Cane Cemetery in Abbeville. The family will speak to friends after the service at the graveside.
Pruitt Funeral Home, Honea Path, is in charge of arrangements.

Julia Parker Young

PINOPOLIS VILLAGE — Julia Agnes Parker Young, 90, of Broughton Hall Road, was called to life eternal on the thirtieth of June, 2007, by our heavenly father to continue her labors begun in this earthly life. She was born at Oakley Depot in 1916 and was a descendant of the Guyton family, French Huguenots, who came to Berkeley County in 1848 and built Oakley Plantation in 1858. The daughter of the late Samuel Pledger Parker and Louise Guyton Parker, she was the wife of the late Thomas E. Young, Sr., of Holly Springs, NC, her husband of 47 years. In addition to her parents and husband, she will join her beloved brother, Samuel Pledger Parker, and sisters, Elizabeth Parker Marion and Ann Louise Parker Burbage, affectionately called “Little Too” and “Big Too.”
Julia was a 1935 graduate of Memminger High School, Charleston, SC, and Lander College, completing her BS Degree in 1939 and recognized in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
Her professional life began in education as a Home Economics teacher in Macedonia and an elementary school teacher in Berkeley County. In keeping with her love of children, who always managed to charm her, she later opened her home on the water’s edge of Lake Moultrie to begin the Punch and Judy Kindergarten, which she enjoyed for 13 years. She was an accomplished pianist and incorporated her love of music in a program that culminated in Punch and Judy kindergarten commencements of Broadway quality. In 1961 Julia began a second career joining Harriet Vardell and Elizabeth Bishop at the then Berkeley County Welfare Department where she stayed for twenty years, retiring as Director of the Department of Social Services.
Julia was a dedicated, life member of the Pinopolis United Methodist Church, directed the Methodist Youth Fellowship program during the 1950’s, and served over 50 years in the Charleston District of the United Methodist Women. She loved her church, family, friends, and her county, which she served well. In 1989, after the devastation of Hurricane Hugo, she assisted the Red Cross Disaster Relief effort by sharing her considerable knowledge of Berkeley County with volunteers who came from afar. Decades ago, Julia enjoyed her membership in the Pinopolis Book Club and Pinopolis Garden Club.
Surviving to carry on her strength of character and love of life are her daughter, Judith Young Ash and husband, Charles of Pinopolis; her son, Thomas E. Young, Jr. and his wife, Catherine of Charleston; her grandchildren, Bernard Snow Ash of Lake Tahoe, CA, Guyton Parker Ash of Charleston, SC, and Isabelle Sydney Young of Columbia, SC; a great-granddaughter, Phebee Snow Ash of Lake Tahoe, CA;
In thanks to God for the compassion, inspiration, and faith that Julia’s life represented, a celebratory service will be at eleven o’clock on Tuesday, the third of July, 2007 at her beloved Pinopolis United Methodist Church, officiated by the Reverend Richard Broomall, with a service of committal following in Smyrna United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from five to seven Monday, the second of July, 2007 at Dial-Murray Funeral Home, Moncks Corner. Flowers are welcomed or memorial contributions may be made to Pinopolis United Methodist Church, PO Box 521, Pinopolis, SC 29469.
Online condolences may be made to the family via www.dial-murrayfuneralhome.com.

Opinion

Immigration ‘reform’ bill defeat again no surprise

July 2, 2007

Neither U. S. Senator Lindsey Graham nor President Bush, both Republicans, should be surprised that the immigration “reform” bill they supported was turned back a second time by the U. S. Senate. The people’s message was out there all along and enough senators heard it to seal the bill’s fate.
The defeat was even more frustrating for Graham and Bush because, in large part, many opponents of the bill are in their own party.
It was a tough political loss for both men and those of like mind, although none should have been surprised by the setback. Despite the Graham and Bush assertions to the contrary, too many constituents believed the measure would have granted amnesty to immigrants who are in this country illegally.

EVERY TIME SENATOR Graham and other proponents argued otherwise, the more it seemed a majority of people, including South Carolinians, appeared to believe they were being forced to swallow a bitter pill ..... and they rebelled against it.
South Carolinians saw an unusual split between their two U. S. senators. While Graham championed the “reform” measure, Sen. Jim DeMint fought hard against it. DeMint, it appears, was more in tune with his constituents back home.
This, however, should not alienate voters from either senator, though. Both demonstrated their independence and stuck to their beliefs. That’s not all that common today, either. Despite any differences, and there’s sure to be some, South Carolinians should feel good that they have two senators of such caliber.

ANOTHER “REFORM” BILL is likely to come up in the future. It might have a chance if the public is convinced the borders are secure. At the moment, it appears they don’t believe that’s the case. That, and the fact that many believe the defeated bill was all about amnesty, indicates a lot of work is needed for proponents to convince constituents their concerns are addressed.
After the recent defeat of the bill, a statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff may explain why most of the public balked. In effect, he said now we’ll just have to enforce the present laws.
Exactly! The tide of illegal immigrants leaves little doubt that hasn’t happened. It appears the public sensed that all along.