4 more charged in slaying

Police think shooter is among these suspects

March 10, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Greenwood Police Chief Gerald Brooks and the city detectives division — on the manhunt for a killer and band of armed robbers since Monday — think they now have their man and men.
Friday proved especially fruitful as four more suspects — including the man authorities say pulled the trigger in Monday’s killing of Silvio Antonio Alaniz Gonzalez — were arrested and charged in connection with the attempted armed robbery turned slaying at 112 Independence Way in the early evening on March 5.
With the arrests, Brooks says the gang has been collared.
“We feel confident that we have the entire group now,” he said.
Arrested Friday were Latavias Keon Carter, 19, of 927 Taggart Ave. in Greenwood; Keldrick Tremayne Carter, 22, of 105 Althea Way in Greenwood; and Cordero Octavious Blocker, 19, of 943 Abney St. in Greenwood.
Arrested during early Thursday was Detavius Lamon Cunningham, 20, of 106 Anderson St. in Greenwood.
Each has been charged with murder, armed robbery, assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
Also charged with murder on Friday was Jeremy Travio Saxon, 20, of 617 Brooks Road in Greenwood, who authorities placed into custody on Thursday — on unrelated assault and battery charges stemming from a shooting at the Phoenix Street apartments — after pulling him from a crawlspace beneath a home on 227 Woodrow Ave.
“When we arrested (Saxon) we had a separate warrant for another incident that had happened at the apartments within the last three weeks,” Brooks said. “That was the warrant we had in our hands at the time, but we had reason to believe that he was involved in this murder as well.”
Cunningham is the man the arrest warrants place in the victim’s home with the gun in his hand Monday night.
The warrants say Cunningham — along with fellow suspect Cordero Blocker — entered the home at 112 Independence Way before 7 p.m. Monday with the intent of robbing the occupants of marijuana.
The two men — along with their three alleged accomplices waiting in a car outside (Saxon and the two Carter brothers) — exited the home with much more than the 30 pounds of illegal weed they had come for initially.
“We feel that we do have evidence sufficient enough to proceed, but we’ll continue to collect evidence as we go,” Brooks said.
According to information supplied on the arrest warrants, Cunningham shot Alaniz in the upper torso before turning a revolver on his second victim — Juan Gonzalez — and wounding him in the back with a pair of shots.
Alaniz lay bleeding and unresponsive in a bedroom when emergency responders arrived shortly after 7 p.m.
Gonzalez — who is still hospitalized — later identified Cunningham and Blocker in a police lineup.
In addition, suspects Latavias Keon Carter and Keldrick Tremayne Carter gave up each of their fellow conspirators in voluntary statements given to Greenwood detectives.
Cunningham was taken into custody early Thursday (around 1 a.m.) when a search warrant was served at a Greenwood home on Anderson Street. Cunningham was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana after he was arrested with a large amount of the illegal substance in his possession.
He was charged with murder (and other crimes) on Friday.
The Carter brothers agreed to be interviewed by police on Friday morning, and were subsequently taken into custody.
Police also determined Cordero Blocker was not in the Greenwood area, but rather had fled to McCormick County.
Once contacted, members of the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon in McCormick County found Blocker and placed him in custody.
“They were able to locate him and take him in, and we certainly want to thank them for their assistance,” Brooks said. “We met them at the Greenwood-McCormick county line and brought him back to Greenwood.”
Brooks is pleased the five men are safely locked behind bars and not running loose in and around Greenwood and McCormick counties.
“We’re certainly glad to get these men off the streets,” he said.
The five men will be arraigned within the next week and bond will be considered in a hearing before a judge — likely on the same day.
Brooks said that day could come as early as Monday.

Better living through shrinking

Final total lost: Over 4,500 pounds

March 10, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Jamie Woodard has come full circle.
Two years ago, the odds that she would have even stepped foot inside a workout facility such as Self Regional’s Wellness Works — much less do anything worthwhile there — were, well, slim to none (and no pun is intended).
That’s because Jamie Woodard weighed more than 300 pounds. But then, that is soooooo 185 pounds ago.
How did she do it?
The short answer is a familiar one for some: Woodard ate six small meals per day, drank plenty of water and exercised six days a week.
The long answer — the one that motivated her to start with and the one that will keep the weight off — is just as simple.
Jamie Woodard wanted to live. “I was motivated by lots of things, but the main thing was that I wanted to live,” she said during Friday’s finale celebration of the Greater Greenwood Shrinkdown. “Awesome. That’s my word for everything.”
It also describes her dropping from a size 28 to a size six in 17 months.
The only thing that matches her former size these days is her smile – and an unequaled eagerness to help others reach their own weight-loss goals.
Through her work with the Shrinkdown – Woodard weighed Ware Shoals participants every Friday – she has been able to do just that, forming inseparable bonds along the way.
“I’m going to miss the people that I’ve weighed each week,” Woodard said. “You sort of become a shrink in a way because weighing someone is an intimate thing – especially for women. I guess once you know someone’s weight they don’t mind telling you other things.”
Her “people” also took their weight loss seriously.
“One lady told me she could never give me any excuses because she knew that I had done it myself,” Woodard said. “My weight loss has given me the ability to inspire others and I love that.”
Woodard plans to write a book on her experience.
In the meantime, however, she’s more than happy to have completed her full-circle journey back to the doors of the workout facility she abhorred two years ago. Back then she was ashamed to get on a treadmill.
On Monday she’ll begin showing people that it’s OK to take that first step – likely the most difficult step of all – when she starts work at Greenwood Family YMCA as a fitness attendant.
Her long-term goal is to become a personal trainer and wellness coach.
“I understand the struggle,” she said.
The numbers are now in on the Shrinkdown itself as Friday’s celebration provided a final tally for the body of work turned in by Shrinkdown participants over the last eight weeks – a loss of more than 4,500 pounds.
This year’s effort exceeded last year’s in both number of participants and total weight lost, all of which was sweet music to the ears of Greenwood Family YMCA health and fitness director Fran Friday.
“A big thing we’ve been asked is ‘where do we go from here?’ so we may look at making weigh-ins available on a monthly or bi-weekly basis,” she said. “We want people to remain encouraged. This was a great effort. Losing (around) 5,000 pounds in Greenwood is a success, I think.”
Patricia Henderson lost 14 of those pounds as one of the many devoted Shrinkdown supporters in Ninety Six.
“It helped that we would go as a group and that we knew that we had to weigh in every Friday,” Henderson said. “The notebook (a collection of health information given to each participant) was helpful as well. The information on the (illnesses and diseases) weight can cause was an eye-opener for me. I hope to continue on and encourage my friends.”
Evelyn Wideman offered a word of thanks for the Shrinkdown staff.
“(The volunteers) are taking their time out to help us and I really appreciate that,” she said. “God bless each and every one of them.”
The Shrinkdown was a joint venture of Greenwood Family YMCA, Self Regional’s Wellness Works and Lander University.
Wellness Works staff members provided Friday’s participants with a free blood pressure check and body composition analysis.
“People are really looking for lower impact and higher intensity workouts,” said Rosemary Bell, director of Wellness Works. “I used to be a runner, but now I’m into yoga and pilates. The main thing is that our bodies get into ruts and routines. If something isn’t working then try something different.”
Bell recommends swimming as a great calorie-burning alternative to running the treadmill or man-handling tons of iron at the gym.
“We’ve enjoyed our partnership with the YMCA and Lander. It’s been great,” she added. “We’re all working for a healthier community.”
Peggy Galphin is another “Shrinker” from Ninety Six who saw amazing results – a double-digit weight loss of 22 pounds.
But weight loss was not the only number she dropped. Galphin – who cut carbs and consumed “a lot of water” – also noticed a decrease in her cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
“Once I lose the 50 pounds I’ve wanted to lose, watch out world,” she said.
Janice Ouzts was Galphin’s own personal Shrinkdown volunteer.
She worked at the weigh-in station in Ninety Six, where she spurred people like Galphin to greater heights (and new lows) each week.
Ouzts shared in her friend’s excitement on “Finale Friday.”
“We worked very hard in Ninety Six,” she said. “Everyone has been wonderful. They just needed to examine what they were eating and cut back on the size of the portions they were consuming.”

Putting fun in fundamentals

Toros academy aims to teach youths soccer, have fun doing it

March 10, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

The Toros Soccer Club is having its first Toros Soccer Academy of the year and, according to the Academy brochure, it will provide further knowledge of soccer through training in fun, developmental games.
Although there will be plenty of fun for kids ages 4-5 and 6-8 during an eight-week period, the Academy also will immerse each student in age-appropriate levels of training.
This training will allow each student to develop technical, tactical, physical and psychological skills.
All training activities are presented in a fun and enjoyable manner to provide the learner with motivation to become better, the brochure states.
Academy director Serge Lipovetsky, who also serves as the women’s soccer coach at Erskine College, will work directly with the participants.
“During last year’s program, we had a lot of success,” Lipovetsky said. “We had a good turnout with 27 kids in the U8 age group and 10 in the U6 age group. Those numbers were really positive.”
Lipovetsky has worked camps at colleges across the country, including Notre Dame and Clemson, and is a state coach in the Girls Olympic Development Program for South Carolina.
“When every participant leaves this academy, they will have learned and developed their soccer skills to help them become more competent on the soccer field,” Lipovetsky said. “Most important, they will have success and enjoyment.”
The sessions are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning March 13. The final session is May 5. The cost of admission is $85, which includes professional instruction in an educational environment, academy T-shirt and participation in the in-house 4v4 league.
The in-house league has been set up so that players can utilize their time on the field following soccer “class” where they will participate in several activities, finishing with a final game and using the fundamentals they learn.
“We’re just trying to provide a great educational opportunity for kids,” Lipovetsky said. “We’re doing things that are age and ability specific so that they (kids) will get better. In the end, we want kids playing soccer. For people like myself that coach college, this is where it starts from and this is where we want to get kids eventually. We’ve had positive remarks about the program and would highly encourage everyone to check it out.”
Full tuition is due by Tuesday with completed application. Payments can be made by check or cash.
For information, call 377-1066 or visit www.torossoccer.net.

Obituaries

Michelle Franklin

TROY — Sandra Diane “Michelle” Franklin, 64, of 1303 Mountain Creek Road, Troy, wife of Charles Curtis Franklin, died Thursday, March 8, 2007 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Waysox, PA, she was a daughter of the late Robert Clark Jones and Evelyn B. Koncel.
Surviving are her husband of the home; two sons, Gene Polston of Muskogee, OK, and Dale Shown, Jr. of Knoxville, TN; and a sister, Barbara Brink of Lanham, MD.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Sandridge Baptist Church, with the Rev. Marty Dorn officiating. Arrangements by Harley Funeral Home and Crematory, Greenwood.

Jasper Gilchrist Sr.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mr. Jasper Gilchrist, Sr., formerly of Gilchrist Road, McCormick, SC, entered into rest March 6, 2007 at Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home, Washington, DC.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Monday, March 12, 2007 at Liberty Spring Baptist Church. Interment will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Gilchrist, a native of Edgefield County, was a member of Liberty Spring Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Jasper (Marva) Gilchrist, Jr., Washington, DC; three daughters, Gloria Herron, Oxon Hill, MD, Shaunta Gilchrist, Maryland and Annette Townsend, Temple Hill, MD; a sister, Melrose Garner, Maryland; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; a host of other relatives and friends.
G.L. Brightharp & Sons Mortuary, 250 Coral Street, Edgefield, SC.

Silvio Gonzalez

Silvio Antonio Alaniz Gonzalez, 23, of 616-B Gage St., died Monday, March 5, 2007.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.

Erma Mewbourn

Erma Ridlehoover Mewbourn, 93, resident of 202 Merriman Ave., widow of Thomas C. Mewbourn, died March 8, 2007 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born August 15, 1913 in McCormick County, she was a daughter of the late Walter L. and Kate Long Ridlehoover. She retired from Greenwood Mills Greenwood Plant in 1974 and was a member of West Side Baptist Church.
Surviving are one daughter, Joann Harrison of Greenwood; two sons, Jerry and wife, Jo Beth Mewbourn of West Columbia and Allen and wife, Eilean Mewbourn of Houston, TX; one sister, Doris Goldman of Greenwood; a brother, Arnold Ridlehoover of Minnesota; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Hal Lane and Rev. Bennie Ridlehoover officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Joann Harrison, 447 Dogwood Drive, and will receive friends at Blyth Funeral Home from 2 to 3 Sunday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to West Side Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 216, Greenwood, SC 29648.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Mewbourn family.

Vivian Parkman

Ruth Vivian “Sis” Parkman, 84, resident of Sterling House, died March 9, 2007 at Hospice House.
Born in Greenwood County, May 29, 1922, she was a daughter of the late Earl E. and Ruth Cook Parkman. She was a 1939 graduate of Greenwood High School. Ms. Parkman began her banking career in 1944 at the Bank of Greenwood (now Bank of America) and was the first female teller in the Greenwood office. She retired in 1985 after 41 years of service.
Ms. Parkman was a member of the First Baptist Church, where she formerly taught in the Primary Sunday School Department for many years.
Being the last member of her immediate family she is survived by a niece, Vicky and husband, Billy Hudgens and a nephew, James T. “Jim” Coursey, all of Greenwood; great-nieces and nephews, James Earl Coursey, Robb Drinkard, Josh Drinkard and Codi Hudgens.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Oakbrook Memorial Park Chapel Mausoleum, with Dr. Tony Hopkins officiating.
The family is at the home of Vicky and Billy Hudgens, 213 Crosby Road in Sheffield and will receive friends in the Family Center at Oakbrook immediately following the service.
Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, 722 Grace Street, Greenwood, SC 29649 or to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting Ms. Parkman’s family.

Opinion

Too much pressure is put on young athletes today

March 10, 2007

Sports, it seems, is the tail that sometimes wags the dog these days. It can become an addiction.
Stephen Garcia, 19, came to the University of South Carolina from Tampa, Florida, with the reputation of being an outstanding student and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He even graduated high school a semester early and enrolled at USC so he could participate in spring football practice and be ahead of the game when the season comes in the fall.
That’s out now, though, as every Gamecock fan in the state knows. Garcia has been arrested twice in a short time and Coach Steve Spurrier has suspended him from team activities for this entire semester.
Garcia, until now, has indeed had a good reputation. Still, he’s a kid. Blame him for his legal transgressions? To some extent, yes. Perhaps the real culprit in the whole sorry affair, however, is the fanatic football junkie.

FANS HAVE ANOINTED Garcia as the savior of USC football, almost giving him worship status.
Under the circumstances and the pressures of expectations, could any of us maintain an even keel in the stormy sea of college athletics? Not likely. So why do we treat youngsters as if they’re experienced veterans? Immaturity, youth, unfair hero worship and social influences combined with the excitement of constantly being in the public stoplight are ingredients of what?
You have to wonder about the situation of Willy Korn, an even more heralded quarterback who entered Clemson the same way Garcia entered USC. The pressures should be no different for him. Yet he has not stumbled in any way.
Why the differences in behavior? Could that be something USC fans should seriously ask themselves? No matter how good an athlete a kid is, he’s still a kid.

PUT HIM ON A PEDESTAL before he even arrives on campus and what can you expect? What should you expect?
When you get right down to it, though, it’s not something that is peculiar to the University of South Carolina fans. It’s a condition that affects every university with athletic teams anywhere and everywhere in the country.
As fans we convince ourselves that next year will be the year, and any promising athletes that are recruited will be the ones to lead us to the promised land of national glory and championships.
Again. Kids are kids. Good, bad or indifferent, kids sometimes make mistakes. If they’re top-rated athletes, though, we, the fans, grease the skids for them and then make excuses. And that’s no way to treat any kid.