May 4, 2012 Spartanburg Journal

This 19-year-old restaurateur is bringing authentic Greek street food to East Main. PAGE 15

SPARTANBURGJOURNAL Spartanburg, S.C. • Friday, May 4, 2012 • Vol.8, No.18

Help to say goodbye

CHURCHILL, JUNG AND LAFAYETTE ARE COMING TO TOWN... FOR THE CHAUTAUQUA FESTIVAL, THAT IS. PAGE 12

Spartanburg Regional Hospice offers comfort, respite and healing for all ages. PAGE 8

Preserving the DuPre House’s legacy through photos. PAGE 19 The Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home has 15 beds and provides patients with a home-like atmosphere.

a

Senators DeMint and Graham vote ‘No’ on the Violence Against Women Act. New provisions to the “well-intentioned” act violate states’ rights, DeMint says.

PAGE 4

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Spartanburg Journal locally owned and operated since 1999 For delivery requests, call 679-1240 Publisher

Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@thespartanburgjournal.com editor/editorial page

Journal Watchdog.

The news you want.

The answers you need.

Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@thespartanburgjournal.com Assistant editor/Staff writer

Jerry Salley jsalley@thespartanburgjournal.com staff writers

Cindy Landrum clandrum@thespartanburgjournal.com April A. Morris amorris@thespartanburgjournal.com Charles Sowell csowell@thespartanburgjournal.com

journalwatchdog.com

contributing writer

Dick Hughes dhughes@thespartanburgjournal.com

Free Culture

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Greg Beckner gbeckner@thespartanburgjournal.com news layout

Sally Boman

Tammy Smith

First Weekend of the Month Thursday, Friday & Saturday • May 3, 4 & 5

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Jane Rogers

Billing Inquiries

Spartanburg Art Museum Spartanburg Regional History Museum are free.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. (normally $4 per adult)

Shannon Rochester Circulation Manager

David M. Robinson Marketing Representatives

Mary Beth Culbertson Kristi Jennings Donna Johnston Pam Putman Melanie Smith

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Student Art Exhibit: Spartanburg School District 1 Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg: Amy Holbein & Patty Wright

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Kate Banner

Special…

Spartanburg Science Center Free Saturday, May 5, during Spring Fling.

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Linda Harris, director of Regional Hospice and Palliative Programs, on the agency’s annual Christopher’s Camp aimed at helping children grieve after the loss of a loved one.

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When the bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) came up for a vote in the U.S. Senate last week, Offering the Following it passed handily, 68 to 31. The “yea” SM Services & More! votes were bipartisan, but all of the “nay” votes came from Republicans, including Offering the Following Following Have you reached the point both senators from South Carolina, Jim where you know you need a Services & More!

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to stop duplication and inefficiencies at federal agencies.”

At press time, Graham had no statement on VAWA. A 2011 survey by the Center for Disease Control reported that, on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, for a total of more than 12 million per year.

CDC also estimated that nearly one in five women has been raped at some point in her lifetime, and that one in four women has been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.

More than 36,000 victims annually report a domestic violence incident to law enforcement agencies around the state, according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s office. The office’s S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women program, established in 1996 with grant monies provided by VAWA, reports that there were five domestic homicides in Spartanburg in 2010. Statewide, 44 people were murdered by a household member during that year.

In its latest analysis of homicide data, the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., ranked South Carolina as seventh in the nation in the rate of men killing women in domestic violence incidents. The VPC’s 2011 report examined 2009 statistics; South Carolina has ranked in the top 10 in each the 14 annual studies published, topping the list twice (1998 and 2001).

The House is expected to vote on its version of VAWA in mid-May. Contact Jerry Salley at jerrys@thespartanburgjournal.com.

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MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 5

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

OPINION

VOICES FROM YOUR COMMUNITY, HEARD HERE

FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Haley may have to pout and bear it When a politician says he’s acting to “keep politics out” of something, it’s a clear signal politics are heavily involved. So it was with the amended House bill the state Senate approved last week to allow candidates for governor to pick their running mates, doing away with separate tickets for governor and lieutenant governor.

The House has proposed this constitutional amendment for years, only to see the bill die in the Senate. Nikki Haley made the reform a priority last year in her first legislative session as governor. This may explain her vocal displeasure when the Senate finally passed the bill 34-1 – effective at the 2018 election.

The amendment (one of two) to H. 3152 was the work of Sen. Jake Knotts, who vowed to filibuster the bill if anyone deleted his change. He told The State newspaper he wanted to “take politics out of it” by removing Haley from the equation and allowing people to vote “based on what’s good for the state of South Carolina” rather than a specific governor. This from a man who called Haley – an Indian-American – a “raghead” during the 2010 campaign. (He later apologized for his “joke.”)

Haley raced to her Facebook page to blast senators for adopting a reform they knew was her top priority “only to say, ‘oh, no, we don’t want the girl to have it.

We want to wait until 2018.’” This from a woman who traveled the state last fall distributing graded report cards for every member of the General Assembly, calling out individual lawmakers for their performance on her goals, not their own.

Oh yes, politics were heavily involved in that Senate vote. Even so, Haley’s response serves Knott’s case more than her own. Rather than rejoice that the Senate has finally embraced a reform decades overdue, she rages that she won’t get to use it. She has a point, but it’s a petty one.

What’s important is the chance this gives voters – if the House goes along with the Senate’s changes – to enact a reform with the potential to make the lieutenant governor more than a powerless placeholder, and thus less likely to behave in ways embarrassing to the state. Consider the examples set by our last two powerless placeholders.

First we suffered eight years of Andre Bauer, who scattered speeding tickets like gum wrappers, frightened a police officer into drawing a gun at a traffic stop and famously equated giving free school meals to poor children with feeding stray animals.

Then, in 2010, came Ken Ard, who resigned the same day he was indicted for misusing campaign funds and inventing fake campaign donors to imply widespread support.

The consequence of that debacle – the forced elevation of former Senate Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell to Ard’s vacated post – prompted the second Senate amendment to H. 3152: should the office become vacant, the governor would appoint a lieutenant governor with the Senate’s consent.

The House should be able to live with those changes, if it means finally giving voters the chance to elect the governor and lieutenant governor as a team.

Teammates work together toward common goals. And gubernatorial candidates are bound to choose better running mates than those who self-select for a job that has no history of being a springboard to the governor’s mansion.

If waiting until 2018 is the price to get this overdue reform on the ballot, then Haley will just have to pout and bear it.

Foreclosure face-to-face The phone calls are always distressing: “The bank is getting ready to foreclose and we have nowhere to go. We got your number from ….”

Sometimes the callers don’t make it through the first sentence before dissolving into tears. While I try my level best not to, sometimes I cry, too – mostly in frustration but usually in anger. What in the world is going to happen to the 67-year-old on disability who is looking for work? Or the single mom who sneaks away from her second shift to call for help? Or the dad who has faced three layoffs? The foreclosure crisis – and it still is a crisis – is one of the worst tears in the fabric of the American family.

In the beginning of the housing crisis, a large majority of the folks in trouble had subprime loans: they had poor credit but got the house anyway. Many of those loans were bundled and sold. When homeowners tried to get the loan terms modified – meaning a potential loss for the investor – the doors were slammed in their faces, which is why many of those first foreclosure intervention programs failed.

The government’s “Making Home Affordable” program wasn’t a bad program, but from my perspective in the trenches, lenders took too long to ramp up, homeowner paperwork went into the abyss and decisions took forever. Homeowners withered away in the foreclosure pipeline. Meanwhile, the next wave of homeowners got sucked into the recession wipeout. It was brutal and unrelenting, and it crushed everything in its path. All sorts of folks who had never missed mortgage payments suddenly found themselves without paychecks.

Housing counselors worked full-time coaching, encouraging, collecting paperwork, mediating with mortgage lenders and sometimes, sadly, helping families find other places to live. Homeowners who pressed on to fight another day occasionally emerged victorious, but at a high cost: One of the first families I worked with in Myrtle Beach finally got a modification after three years.

The divorce followed shortly thereafter.

About 18 months ago, South Carolina and 18 other states received funding from the Department of Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund.

Our program is called the South Carolina

IN MY OWN WORDS by TOBY BROWN

Homeownership and Employment Lending Program, or SC HELP. Homeowners apply online, submit supporting documents and receive a response within 10 to 14 days.

Of all the programs to come down the pike, I’m encouraged by this one because it meets homeowners where they are: if unemployed, they can apply. If self-employed, they can apply, and if their situation is getting ready to take a downturn, they can apply before the first late payment. Every application is evaluated against a set of five criteria: unemployment, temporary loss or reduction in income, death of a spouse, divorce or catastrophic medical expenses.

Monthly payment assistance is available, as are direct loans, which are conditionally forgivable, and relocation assistance. SC HELP coordinates with lenders to assure their participation and acceptance of funds.

Calling a homeowner to say they are eligible for assistance is sweet. I had three approvals so far this week: two families are getting loans to bring their mortgage current and another is getting monthly payment assistance.

Realistically, I know that not everyone can save their home and it really hurts. But if there is a chance, we will do all we can. Educating the public is the key. Maybe your home is fine, but I guarantee you someone you know, work with, worship with or live close to is in trouble. Tell them about SC HELP. Tell them not to throw in the towel just yet. Tell them to stop being embarrassed and seek help. Our agency will be ready to take those calls – and if classes are needed, we offer those too.

Toby Brown is a housing and foreclosure prevention counselor at the Greenville County Human Relations Commission, a HUD certified housing counseling agency. For more information about the SC HELP program or the Human Relations Commission, call 864-467-7095 or visit www.scmortgagehelp.com.

IN MY OWN WORDS FEATURES ESSAYS BY RESIDENTS WITH PARTICULAR EXPERTISE WHO WANT TO TELL READERS ABOUT ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THEM. THE JOURNAL ALSO WELCOMES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (MAXIMUM LENGTH OF 200 WORDS). PLEASE INCLUDE ADDRESS AND DAYTIME PHONE NUMBER. ALL LETTERS WILL BE CONFIRMED BEFORE PUBLICATION. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL LETTERS FOR LENGTH. PLEASE CONTACT SUSAN SIMMONS AT SSIMMONS@THESPARTANBURGJOURNAL.COM.

6 SPARTANBURG JOURNAL | MAY 4, 2012

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

Saluda Mountains Passage opens to the public

By CHARLES SOWELL | staff

The Saluda Gap is surprisingly narrow where Joel Poinsett’s famous road from Columbia to the North Carolina state line crosses the Saluda Mountains.

Hidden from public view since the Greenville Water System created the watershed surrounding Poinsett Reservoir, it is now easily accessible on the Saluda Mountain Passage of the Palmetto Trail system, which was opened to the public on the last Saturday in April.

If the gap itself is unimpressively narrow, the trail more than makes up for that with photographic delights at almost every bend – if the hiker is willing to go slow enough to notice things like the frosty litter of dropped blossoms beneath the holly trees making ready for this winter’s crop of scarlet berries.

Pink lady slipper orchids dot the edges of the trail leading to the 2,400-foot ridge that makes up the summit of Vance Mountain. The higher you go, the more diverse the blossoms.

May 4

Solomon’s seal and the last of this year’s crop of Catesby’s trillium wink and nod at the traveler along the high dry mountain’s peak.

“That gap is where all accounts say Joel Poinsett ended the South Carolina portion of the road from Columbia,” said Mann Batson, a Travelers Rest historian. “It was the best gap (along the Blue Ridge Escarpment) and had been heavily used prior to European settlement by the Cherokee.”

The Saluda Mountains Passage is the second part of the Poinsett Reservoir Passage and continues the trail system that starts at Nature Conservancy property at the foot of Hogback Mountain and hugs the North and South Carolina state line along the border with the Poinsett Watershed.

The 9.1-mile section has trailheads at Talisman Camp in Zirconia, N.C., and Orchard Lake Campground in Saluda, N.C. The trailhead at Orchard Lake will directly connect the new section to the Poinsett Reservoir Passage. The new section is available to the public as of Saturday, April 28. For safety and property maintenance, hikers are asked to park

only in designated lots.

Poinsett Watershed covers 19,000 acres and is considered one of the most significant tracts of wilderness in the state. Clemson botanist Patrick McMillian has recorded dozens of rare and endangered species within the watershed’s boundaries.

From Orchard Lake Campground, the trail heads west along Orchard Lake, Mine Mountain and Mountain Page roads for 2.8 miles to a trail kiosk at the state line.

The trail turns north and enters the forest for 1.6 miles. It climbs 500 feet up a ridgeline through a series of switchbacks and stairs. From there, it merges with the unpaved Heatherly Heights Road and travels southwest for .9 miles before re-entering the forest. For the next 3.5 miles the trail follows the ridges southwest through the Saluda Mountains along the state line until it reaches Old US Highway 25.

The Talisman Camp parking area is a .4-mile walk along Gap Creek and Anders Roads.

Contact Charles Sowell at csowell@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

Stone stairs form part of the newly opened Saluda Mountain Passage.

PH YSICIAN UPDATE

GHS welcomes these new physicians!

Geriatrics Neerja Arya, M.D. Laurie Theriot Roley, M.D. Center for Success in Aging 255 Enterprise Drive, Ste. 101 Greenville, 454-8120

Internal Medicine Diane Eugenio, M.D. Daniel Smith, M.D. Cypress IM–Greer 325 Medical Pkwy., Ste. 200 Greer, 797-9550 S. Meg Carter, M.D. Cypress IM–Maxwell Pointe 3907 S. Highway 14 Greenville, 675-1491

Joint Replacement Brandon Broome, M.D. Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. C100 Greenville, 454-SHCC (7422)

Neurology Kathleen McConnell, M.D. Neuroscience Associates 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. B350 Greenville, 454-4500

Pediatrics Beverly Ellington, M.D. Pediatric Associates–Easley 800 N. A St. Easley, 855-0001 Jane Gwinn, M.D. Pediatric Pulmonology 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. A300 Greenville, 454-5530

Manisha Patel, M.D. Pediatric Cardiology 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. A200 Greenville, 454-5120

Physical Medicine Leland Berkwits, M.D. Upstate Medical Rehabilitation 111 Doctors Drive Greenville, 797-7100

Surgery Anita Patt, M.D. UMG Breast Health Center 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. A14 Greenville, 454-2224

Urology Kelly Maloney, M.D. Charles Marguet, M.D. UMG Regional Urology– Cross Creek 11 Park Creek Dr. Greenville, 797-7450 Note: This new office combines the Memorial Court and Medical Ridge practices, which are now closed; the Easley and Parkway offices remain open.

ghs.org

John Siddens, D.O. UMG Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics 200 Patewood Dr., Ste. B480 Greenville, 454-4570

120350

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 7

journal community

Hospice helps local families grieve, heal By april a. morris | staff

Free Weekend

Get some free culture. First Thurs., Fri., & Sat. are free in the Art Museum and History Museum.

Family drama by The Spartanburg Little Theatre opens Thurs., May 4. Also shows May 5, 6, 11, 12, & 13.

1st Saturday at Historic Price House

Learn Upstate history from the experts, Sat., May 5, 11-5. Presented by Spartanburg County Historical Association.

Near Woodruff.

Science Center Open House

Free admission on Sat., May 5, 10-5.

Special kids’ programs. Something else to do at Spring Fling.

Music Sandwiched In

A free live concert by Strings of Choice, guitar and violin. Bring your lunch or buy one there. Wed., May 9, 12:15 p.m. at the main library downtown. Presented by the Music Foundation of Spartanburg.

Guild Exhibit

Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg members Amy Holbein and Patty Wright present their photos and paintings. May 1-28.

Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

SAM Exhibit

Spartanburg Art Museum presents Emerging Works/Ancient Roots by potter Mike Vatalaro and Passion for Lithography: A Life’s Work by the Rolling Stone Press of Atlanta. Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m-5 p.m.

Student Exhibit

Students from Spartanburg School District 1 showcase their artwork Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.

History Exhibit

Elvis is in the house and so are many celebrities who have contact with Sparkle City. A historical exhibit of the rich and famous who have local connections.

Presented by the Spartanburg Regional History Museum, Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

542-ARTS ChapmanCulturalCenter.org 200 E. Saint John St. Spartanburg

8 SPARTANBURG Journal | MAY 4, 2012

Greg Beckner / Staff

On Golden Pond

Death may be a taboo conversation subject, but when a person or loved one is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, the conversation has to happen. Eight years ago, when she was a young mother, Melanie Hamlin Alverson learned that her husband, Jeff Hamlin, 39, had advanced cancer. He was soon placed in hospice care provided by Spartanburg Regional Hospice.

As newcomers to the area, they only had their church family for support, Alverson said. Soon, hospice, too, “became our family,” she said. When doctors first recommended hospice, “I thought, ‘but he’s not old.’

My perception was that it was just for older people.”

But the hospice team provided excellent medical and spiritual care for Jeff and helped her tremendously with coping, she said – not to mention her children, who were then aged 10, 7 and 3.

Hospice is a familiar medical term for providing comfort for patients in their homes at the end of life, but the scope of the care goes way beyond visiting nurses and pain management, says Linda Harris, RN and Director of Regional Hospice and Palliative Programs.

About 125 patients currently receive hospice care from Spartanburg Regional Hospice, and nearly 1,000 are served each year, Harris said.

Teams collaborate to provide service. A patient may have visits from a nurse, social worker and chaplain, but also may see a hospice aide, massage therapist or other therapists, including those offering art and music therapy.

This was the experience for the Alverson family. Melanie Alverson said the hospice nurses provided great care for her husband, but were also essential to the other

members of their family.

“I didn’t know how to explain to my kids that their dad was leaving this earth.

The nurse sat down at my kitchen table and talked with me for an hour. She helped walk me through it,” she said.

“They brought the social worker for my kids and that spoke volumes to me.”

Spartanburg Regional Hospice serves approximately half of the hospice patients in Spartanburg County and also cares for patients in Union, Cherokee and Greenville counties.

Medicare pays for hospice and many people don’t know that there are few bills associated with the care, Harris said.

“It’s a generous benefit. When someone selects hospice, all the care associated with it is completely covered,” she said.

In addition to visiting staff, there is the Regional Hospice Home which has 15 beds. The facility provides a home-like atmosphere for those who don’t want to be at their own home when they die, such as parents of young children, or a place for patients to stay while their caregivers recharge.

Alverson said after her husband’s death, she felt a calling to volunteer. She’s now a regular visitor to the Hospice Home every week.

Beyond medical care and comfort, hospice offers pa-

Kelsey Hamlin, left, and her mother Melanie Hamlin Alverson hold a family portrait with Kelsey’s father and Melanie’s husband Jeff Hamlin in it. The pair became volunteers with hospice after the death of Jeff due to cancer.

tients the opportunity to take a life inventory, reach life goals or mend family relationships, said Cheri Freeman, a social worker with Regional Hospice for eight years.

Every day, Freeman helps patients address everything from finances and disability to home safety issues. She also helps patients create a legacy for their families or, if the patient wants to reconnect, mend fences between relatives.

Freeman is now helping a grandmother write letters to all of her grandchildren, and once facilitated a trip for a patient whose wife had never been on a plane. She also spends time with patients

The playroom at the Regional Hospice Home. The facility, which has 15 beds, provides a home-like atmosphere for those who don’t want to be at their own home when they die, such as parents of young children, or a place for patients to stay while their caregivers recharge.

just looking at photos and listening to life stories.

“I think people would be surprised how much fun we have doing this work,” she said. “It can be a special time for people that they can spend with family.”

For those who have lost a loved one, hospice holds a service of remembrance five times each year. “The service brings healing,” says Harris, and a chance for those left to begin to move on and rejoin the living.

And for children, there’s the daylong, annual Christopher’s Camp that focuses on grieving and healing through groups and artistic activities.

It’s unique to any Upstate hospice and offers a chance for children to connect.

“Many of us have trouble dealing with our own losses. Our goal is to help these kids understand that their feelings are normal, their grief is normal, their loss is normal and their situation is normal,” Harris said.

Alverson’s children attended Christopher’s Camp.

They discovered several years later that her oldest daughter, Kelsey, had not actually gone through the grieving process. The camp helped Kelsey begin grieving. “Had she not gone to camp, who knows what she would have battled later in life, had she not grieved,” Alverson said.

Last year, Kelsey followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a hospice volunteer.

She was a mentor at the 2011 Christopher’s Camp, talking with a 13-year-old girl who had just lost her father.

“My daughter could love on her just like hospice loved on us,” Alverson said.

“Everyone is going to have to deal with death. Hospice helps.”

Contact April A. Morris at amorris@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

Finding families for ‘the supermodels of the dog world’ Joanne Johnson and Greyhound Crossroads work to rehome retired racing greyhounds

By JERRY SALLEY | staff

“There’s nothing like walking two or three dogs in a hoop skirt and a corset,” says Joanne Johnson.

She would know, having recently returned from a weekend of doing just that at the Georgia Renaissance Festival. She volunteers for The Hounds of East Fairhaven, a group that performs at festivals throughout the Southeast, in full period garb, promoting adoptions for greyhounds as well as other “sighthound” breeds, such as borzoi, whippets and Ibizan hounds.

Through her work with Greyhound Crossroads, finding good homes for greyhounds has been Johnson’s passion for the past decade, ever since adopting her first greyhound. “I just fell in love with the breed,” she said. She is now the Upstate representative for Greyhound Crossroads.

Greyhound Crossroads, based

May 4

Joanne Johnson at the Carolina Renaissance Festival with her greyhounds Moose, standing, and Miles Per Hour, lying down in the background.

in Greenwood, has been around since 1997, providing foster homes for more than 1,000 retired greyhound racers, and working to find permanent homes for them in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.

The organization, which also has representatives in Easley, Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Augusta, S.C., as well as in Charlotte, N.C. and Augusta, Ga., is the longest-running

greyhound adoption group in the state. Greyhound Crossing describes itself as “pro-greyhound, racing neutral and anti-abuse.”

The racetracks aren’t necessarily the bad guys, Johnson explained. “We like to work closely with the tracks, with the trainers, and with the individual racing owners,” she said. “They’re taking good care of them and working very hard with us.”

Greyhound Crossing has no kennels, Johnson said. “We rely on a great network of foster homes to take in the dogs and work with them and teach them how to be in a house.”

The dogs have a lot to learn before they’re ready for their adoptive homes. “A lot of our dogs have never been in homes before,” Johnson said. “They’ve come straight from the racetrack. So we need to teach them how to walk on shiny floors, because they don’t have many of those at racetracks. We teach them how to go up and down stairs. Basic house manners. And usually they learn so fast.”

Greyhound Crossroads is one of many breed-specific dog rescue and adoption organizations in the Upstate and around the country. (A complete list of Upstate dog rescue and adoption groups is at www.sciway.net/org/ upstate-sc-animal-rescue.html.)

“We believe that we’ll do a better

job of placing that dog and educating the owners about this specific breed, because we just deal with this specific breed,” said Johnson.

New greyhound owners are often surprised to find out their dogs aren’t speed demons. “We call them 45-mile-an-hour couch potatoes,” A complete list of Upstate dog rescue and adoption groups is at www.sciway.net/org/ upstate-sc-animal-rescue.html

Johnson said. “They’re sprinters, so they do a 30-second race at the racetrack once every three to five days, and that’s it. I wish I could exercise that little and look as good as they do. They’re the supermodels of the dog world.”

For more information about Greyhound Crossroads, visit www.greyhoundcrossroads. com.

Contact Jerry Salley at jsalley@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

N E W S T H AT Y O U C A N U S E

GHS Swamp Rabbit 5K

Membership Special

Fri., May 4 • 6:30 p.m. • Gateway Park This run/walk starts and ends in Travelers Rest. On-site registration begins at 11 a.m. Fee: $11 (includes free T-shirt and block party).

For more information, visit ghs.org/swamprabbit5k.

Join the GHS Life Center or PATH (Life Center and 4 YMCAs) with no initiation fee May 1-31.

To learn more, visit ghs.org/path.

Skin Cancer Screening Sat., May 19 • 9-11 a.m. • Patewood Medical Campus Protect your skin by taking part in this screening. Please wear a bathing suit under loose clothes. Free; registration required. Call 1-877-GHS-INFO (447-4636) or visit ghs.org/360healthed.

Stars and Stripes Challenge Mon., May 28 • 7:30 a.m. • Downtown Greenville Bike the same course as the USA Cycling Pro Championships or enjoy a leisurely ride on the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail while raising funds for cancer research. To register, visit p3ride.org.

Special Delivery With Greenville Midwifery Care Bring your baby into the world in the way that’s right for you and safe for your baby. At Greenville Midwifery Care, our certified nurse-midwives will give you hands-on support throughout labor and a healthy delivery. Call 455-1600 or visit greenvillemidwiferycare.com.

ghs.org

Go.Hunt.Scan This community digital scavenger hunt kicks off May 4 and takes place over 100 days at 100 sites. Grand prize is a two-year lease on a Chevy® Sonic from Bradshaw in Greer! Find out more at gohuntscan.com.

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MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 9

journal community

Competition for big-name graduation speakers fierce Alumni connections, university jets help land speakers at some colleges; others turn to their own for words of wisdom

By Cindy Landrum | staff

Graduates at one college in Columbia will get their commencement words of wisdom from a Clinton.

But it’s not the college you would think.

Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the commencement address at Columbia College Saturday, while students at the University of South Carolina will hear National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator Jane Lubchenco, JPMorgan Chase Midwest Chairman Glenn Tilton, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and former South Carolina Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum and South Carolina historian Walter Edgar.

USC tried to get U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates but they did not accept invitations this year, USC Student Body President Kenny Tracy told The State newspaper.

“You shouldn’t just settle because you couldn’t get a Clinton,” said an editorial in the Daily Gamecock, USC’s student newspaper.

USC commencement speakers have included former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The school also had President Bush in 2003. USC alumnus Andrew Card was Bush’s chief of staff.

“They’re all extremely interesting and exciting,” said the board’s secretary Amy Stone, who is in charge of bringing in the speakers for the first time, told the Daily Gamecock. “I hope students and others will hold further comments until they hear their address. Give a little time, do a little listening, do a little research.”

Competition to land big names is fierce.

Some schools turn to speaker’s bureaus to land a prominent speaker. Others turn to alumni and private jets.

And other schools forego the competition altogether and turn to their own president or members of the graduating class to give the commencement address.

Wofford College used to invite outsiders to address the graduates, but then one of its graduating classes requested that then-President Joe Lesesne speak at graduation. The school’s president has done so ever since.

“We want commencement to be more about the students rather than a celebrity,” said Wofford spokeswoman Laura Corbin.

Wofford’s president, Dr. Bernie Dunlap, is sought after as a speaker by groups nationwide.

Since 2003, Furman has only had one outside speaker, President Bush in 2008.

In other years, the school has selected a student to give the address. The student is chosen from among about 20 seniors who apply for the honor. They must submit a speech and are judged on its appropriateness, poise and delivery style.

“In the past when we had outside speakers, we had some that were really good and some that were not so good,” said Furman spokesman Jim Stewart. “Some of the students felt disconnected from the speakers.”

This year, though, former U.S. Secretary of

Education and South Carolina Governor Dick Riley will give the commencement address. A student will also give a speech, he said.

Riley, called one of Furman’s most distinguished alumni, is also the school’s outgoing board president.

“We want to recognize his service and what he’s done for Furman,” Stewart said.

Converse College asks for input from alumnae and the senior class before its senior administration issues an invitation to a speaker.

This year’s speaker is Molly Barker, founder of the Girls on the Run program that now has chapters in more than 190 cities. Barker is a four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete who used her background in social work, counseling and teaching, along with research on adolescent issues, to develop the program geared toward developing self-esteem in girls.

Contact Cindy Landrum at clandrum@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

Crossword puzzle: page 26

children

c o x p h o t o g r a p h y. n e t Sudoku puzzle: page 26

10 SPARTANBURG Journal | MAY 4, 2012

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

AREA COLLEGE COMMENCEMENTS BOB JONES UNIVERSITY May 4 Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium Speaker: individual student testimonies

GREENVILLE TECH May 8 Bi-Lo Center Speaker: Greenville Tech President Dr. Keith Miller NORTH GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY May 3 Turner Chapel Speaker: Henry T. Blackaby, founder of Blackaby Ministries International

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY May 11 Littlejohn Coliseum Speaker: Greenville businesswoman Minor Mickel Shaw CONVERSE COLLEGE May 19 Twichell Auditorium Speaker: Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker

SPARTANBURG COMMUNITY COLLEGE May 5 Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium Speaker: U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy

FURMAN UNIVERSITY May 5 Paladin Stadium Speaker: Dick Riley, former South Carolina governor and U.S. secretary of education and current chairman of the Furman board of trustees

May 4

SPARTANBURG METHODIST COLLEGE May 4 Bridges Arena Speaker: Dr. James Ron Faulkenberry, dean of the School of Education at Francis Marion University

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA May 3-4 Colonial Life Center Speakers: Former South Carolina Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Chairman of JP Morgan Chase Midwest Glenn Tilton and South Carolina historian Walter Edgar USC UPSTATE May 1 On the Quad Speaker: U.S.C. Board Chairman Emeritus Herb Adams WOFFORD COLLEGE May 20 Front lawn of Main Building Speaker: Wofford President Benjamin Dunlap

Fabulous, Fancy, Fascinating FINDS!!!

Estate-quality furnishings, antiques, rugs, china, lamps, tableware, linens, jewelry, original framed art -- and much more!!

SATURDAY, MAY 5TH - 8 AM TO 2 PM UPCOUNTRY HISTORY MUSEUM 540 Buncombe St, use rear entrance off At wood St.

CAROLINA FOOTHILLS GARDEN CLUB Proceeds benefit Falls Park, Furman botany scholarships and other community projects

360 º H e a lt H e d u c at i o n

It’s National Blood Pressure Education Month!

Prepping for Pregnancy

Tues., May 8 • Noon-1 p.m. • Caine Halter YMCA Learn the importance of blood pressure control and how it affects your well-being. Lunch provided. Free; registration required.

Tues., May 22 • 6:30 p.m.

Patewood Memorial Hospital GHS gynecologists from Piedmont OB/GYN will discuss being in the best health possible before pregnancy and ways to reduce complications and prevent birth defects. Free; registration required.

Stroke Awareness Forum Sat., May 12 • Noon-2 p.m. • Kroc Center Clinicians will discuss signs and risk factors for stroke, as well as getting treated quickly to reduce disability. Lunch provided. Free; registration required.

Don’t Have a Stroke Thurs., May 17 • Noon-1 p.m. • Sara Dobey Jones Library (Berea) Join GHS’ Gregory Gardziola, M.D., to learn signs and risk factors for stroke, along with the latest treatment options. Lunch provided. Free; registration required.

Guyology: Just the Facts

Meet the Midwife Thurs., May 24 • Noon-1 p.m. • Patewood Memorial Hospital Learn about GHS’ nurse-midwifery program and how a midwife can enhance the birthing process. Light refreshments provided.

Free; registration required.

To register, for more information or to see a full schedule of events, visit ghs.org/360healthed or call 1-877-GHS-INFO (447-4636).

Sun., May 20 • 3-4:30 p.m. • Patewood Medical Campus This program for boys in 5th and 6th grade helps ease the transition into puberty through open discussion about growth and development. Fee: $50/parent and son. To register, visit the events page at girlology.com. (note name) 120350

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 11

journal community

Chautauqua Festival opens in June Actors offer interactive performances with historical figures

By CHarles Sowell | staff

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Spartanburg residents will be in for a summertime treat when the Greenville Chautauqua Festival kicks off in midJune at the Spartanburg Library.

For the first time in 14 years, the nine-day festival will cover two weekends in its run at 26 events in Spartanburg, greater Greenville and Asheville.

The event features free interactive history performances where audiences can exchange wits with critically acclaimed actors portraying Lafayette, Winston Churchill, Golda Meir, Denmark Vesey and Carl Jung.

Promoters say the audience will be able to experience first-hand what these historical characters found when they came to America and how their adventures in America changed their lives and the world.

Evening shows will be held at the Spartanburg Headquarters Library starting on June 18 at 7 p.m. with Winston Churchill. That performance will be followed on June 19 by Denmark Vesey; June 20 features Carl Jung; and on June 21 the audience will be treated to an evening with Golda Meir.

The Churchill and Jung performances are world premieres.

The festival opens on Friday, June 15, at 7:30 pm under the Chautauqua

George Frein as Carl Jung and Larry Bounds as Churchill.

Tent at Greenville Technical College with Churchill – the half-American British aristocrat and World War II British prime minster known for his bulldog tenacity. That performance will be followed

by Golda Meir, who was born in Russia, raised in America and went on to become the fourth prime minister of Israel.

This year’s festival features historical interpreters with more than 120 years of combined performance experience.

Seattle’s Joan Wolfberg will portray Golda Meir; artistic director of Greenville Chautauqua, George Frein, will portray Carl Jung; Greenville native Oba King will portray Denmark Vesey.

It will be his first return to his native city since moving away as an infant.

Larry Bounds, an award-winning teacher of English and theater at Wade Hampton High School, takes on Winston Churchill in a premiere performance, and Ben Goldman will portray Lafayette.

For more information about Greenville Chautauqua or the 2012 Chautauqua Festival, visit www.greenville CHAUTAUQUA.org.

Contact Charles Sowell at csowell@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

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journal community

Summer Camps

ARE HERE! Spartanburg Parks 2012

❂ Summer Playground Program ❂ Piano Perfomers Piano Camp ❂ Weekly Piano Lessons ❂ Julliard Music Adventures ❂ Middle/High School Language Arts Camp ❂ Basic Reading/Comprehension Camp ❂ Middle/High School Writing Camp ❂ Basic Math Treasures Camp ❂ Middle/High School Math Camp ❂ Math Heads Camp ❂ How to Prepare for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT

Summer X-Perience Day Camp Only

75 $ per week

Weekly, Monthly, or all Summer Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm

Check out our website for dates, locations, and registration information.

www.spartanburgparks.org

864.595.5356

CAMP LOCATIONS: • Campobello-Gramling School • Inman Recreation Center • New Prospect Elementary • Woodruff Leisure Center

For more information call our Youth Department Office at

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Activities include games, arts and crafts, guest speakers, and field trips. Lunch, morning, and afternoon snacks are provided.

Weekly sessions have a special theme emphasis each week.

864.472.3634 MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 13

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for mother’s day in n honor of the women, our mothers and others, who have given us shelter and strength, and taught us grace and goodness,

Ellen Hines Smith Girls’ Home hosted its second annual Volunteer and Donor Appreciation celebration. The event’s theme, “You’re An Essential Piece of the Puzzle,” was a celebration honoring volunteers and donors who have given so much of their time and resources in the betterment of the Ellen Hines Smith Girls’ Home. The Partnership Award was presented to the J. M. Smith Foundation and was received by Jimmy Wilson, CFO and treasurer of J. M. Smith Corporation. The Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Kelli Gosnell. The Student Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Anna McNamara who is a Bonner Leader at Converse College. The 2012 Student Philanthropist Year award was presented to Emma McDaniel, 13. The Philanthropist of the Year Award was presented to Billy and Lindsay Webster. The Ellen Hines Smith Spirit Award was presented to Lou Lindsey who has made a lasting impact on the organization through hard work, dedication, philanthropy and volunteerism.

The First Tee of Spartanburg announces dates and venues for the Coca-Cola Spartanburg County Amateur Golf Championships. The Women’s and Senior Men’s Championships will be held on July 16 and 17 at the Country Club of Spartanburg, SCGA Club of the Year. Tyler Macolly will defend his title at the Men’s Championship July 20–22 at Woodfin Ridge Golf Club. The Junior Girls’ and Boys’ Championships will be played on July 2 and 3 at The Creek Golf Club. All tournaments are flighted and open to all Spartanburg County residents. For more information, www.TheFirstTee.Spartanburg.org.

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Spartanburg Community College’s Beta Sigma Psi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for two-year colleges, inducted 108 students during BSP’s 2012 induction ceremony at SCC. Recognized for their outstanding academic achievements, these students embody Phi Theta Kappa’s fundamental hallmarks: scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship. To receive a membership invitation, students are required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of associate degree course work and earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

The Walker Foundation and the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind are now taking applications for the four-year college McAlister Scholarship for deaf and hard of hearing students. South Carolina residents who are deaf or hard of hearing, have received SCSDB services and are graduating high school seniors, current college students or returning adult students are eligible to apply. The recipient will be awarded the total cost of attendance less federal, state and other scholarship awards for up to four years. Guidelines and applications are available online at www.scsdb. org. Applications must be received on or before May 18, 2012. For more information, contact Linda Coon, SCSDB special education director, at 864-577-7521 or via e-mail at lcoon@scsdb.org.

2 West Lewis Plaza on Augusta road Use this logo for reductions only, do not print magenta. Do not reduce this logo Greenville, SC more than 35%. Magenta indicates the clear area,29605 nothing should print in this space.

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May is gifts, gifts, gifts our staff is ready with warm, personalized service and unique gift suggestions for Mother’s Day, grads and teachers. our volunteers will share artisan stories and wrap your gift selections.

14 SPARTANBURG JOURNAL | MAY 4, 2012

Several Upstate residents were honored by the Clemson University College of Business and Behavioral Science at its annual awards ceremony. The students are: Blake Sieber of Greenville, who received the Elliot Davis LLC Achievement Award; Andrew Godwin of Greer, who received the Federation of Schools of Accountancy Award; Amber Davis of Simpsonville, who received the Grant Thornton LLP Achievement Award; William Boyd of Greenville, who received the James A. Turner Award in Federal Taxation; Emily McCanless of Greenville, who received the Eugene Galluscio Award for Undergraduate Leadership; and Brooke Baker of Greer, a junior majoring in psychology, who received the Bernard Caffrey Award for Excellence in Psychology.

If you are sponsoring a community event, we want to share your news.

Submit entries to: Spartanburg Journal, Community Briefs, 148 River St., Suite 120, Greenville, SC 29601 or e-mail: spartanburgcommunity@thespartanburgjournal.com

Journal business Spartanburg’s Greek pub Young restaurateur brings Greek street food to East Main

By Nichole LIvengood | contributor

Nichole LIvengood / Contributing

Tony Angelakis works in the kitchen of Cuzina Grill, which specializes in Greek street food.

Nineteen-year-old Tony Angelakis wipes tears from his face as he slices purple onions in the kitchen of Cuzina Grill in Spartanburg. He and his staff are prepping for the lunch rush.

The Greek grill specializes in what Angelakis calls Greek street food and has had a steady stream of customers since it opened in December. They draw a large amount of patrons from the universities in the area.

“Greek isn’t exactly some kind of foreign food,” he said. “There are a lot of Greek restaurant owners in the Upstate, but a lot of Greek restaurants Americanize, or water it down. I wanted to specialize in the street food of Greece.”

The simple menu includes saganaki (a lemony pan-fried cheese), souvlaki, hummus, falafel, spanakopita, gyro and tabouli, all made with fresh ingredients. He uses authentic, high-quality Greek yogurt and olive oil as well as produce from local farmers when it is in season.

Angelakis buys his tomatoes from the same local produce stand where his grandmother took him when he was a kid. The stand owner “doesn’t put his tomatoes in the refrigerator. There’s an enzyme in a tomato

First Federal Bank arrives in the Upstate

By Dick Hughes | contributor

The takeover of the failed Plantation Federal Bank by First Federal Bank gives the Charleston company its first hold on the rich but crowded Greenville banking market with acquisition of Plantation’s three small First Saver branches.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday closed Plantation of Pawleys Island, appointed the FDIC as receiver and turned over its assets to First Federal.

The FDIC insurance fund and First Federal will share the estimated $221.7 million in losses on bad loans. Typically, the FDIC eats the larger share, 70 to 80 percent.

The Plantation offices, including the three First Saver Bank branches in Greenville, reopened on Monday as First Federal Bank. Plantation had three branches operating as Plantation Federal along the South Carolina coast.

“This is strategically beneficial to First Federal as we enter the Greenville market and expand our current presence in the Grand Strand market, which includes Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet and Myrtle Beach,” said R. Wayne Hall, bank continued on page 16

Cuzina continued on page 16

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MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 15

journal business Cuzina continued from page 15

Turn a Negative into a Positive

When your company loses a profitable client, it is a blow to all employees and it can really shake morale. How you handle it as a leader determines how your employees will view this change. There are several things you can do to turn this into an opportunity instead a failure.

• Own up to your mistakes. If a client or situation was handled poorly, take ownership in the problem. Address it with the departing client and learn from it. Do not blame specific employees.

Implement changes and processes to make sure that this does not happen again.

• End the client relationship with dignity and ethics. Apply the golden rule and treat the old client as you would want to be treated.

• Communicate. Most employees don’t understand the financial impact of a lost client. Explain what it means to your bottom line. If employees understand the effect, they can help by reducing expenses and increasing sales. Every employee has a role in the profitability of your company.

• Be a strong and positive leader.

Employees will look to you and feed off your reactions. If you are angry and nervous about the future, their attitudes will mimic yours. Instead, be honest but positive.

• Look on the bright side. We all have clients that are good financially but may not be good for the overall wellbeing of our businesses. Although the financial aspect is felt immediately, the time saved after the termination may allow your company to grow more profitably.

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16 SPARTANBURG Journal | MAY 4, 2012

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Pat Summit, who has won more college basketball games than any coach, has said, “To improve, you must make your weaknesses your strengths.” Apply this wisdom to client terminations to make negative situations, an opportunity to grow.

bank continued from page 15

president and chief executive officer of First Federal.

The company said Greenville has a “demographically attractive” market. Greenville consistently leads the state in total bank deposits.

It also is the most competitive. As of the FDIC’s June 31 deposit report, Greenville had 34 banks holding $10.8 billion in deposits, about 16 percent of the state total.

The Plantation board said it “worked tirelessly over the last two years” to save the bank by cutting expenses, reducing workforce, selling assets, closing branches and trying to find new sources of capital and buyers for its

Nichole LIvengood / Contributing

In the business world, clients come and go.

All businesses strive for perfect retention, but some things are beyond our control.

Some clients go out of business, others change ownership LEE YARBOROUGH and some just don’t see the value of your service or products.

that once it hits a certain temperature, the flavor goes away. Our regulars come here for tomato salad. I could get tomatoes for $12-$15 a box, but it’s little stuff like that that makes us different,” he said.

Angelakis comes from a long line of Spartanburg chefs. His father, Matthew Angelakis, owns Mon Amie Morning Café, and his uncles have operated several popular local restaurants, including Sugar and Spice, Billy D’s and Stefano’s.

Since both Angelakis’ parents worked restaurant hours, he spent a lot of time with his grandmother when he was growing up. “I’d always see my grandmother cooking. I don’t know if I’m biased, but she really made killer stuff. She was the best. I try to remake some of the stuff she made and I can get close, but I don’t know if it was the hands or what it was.”

The two would pick nuts and dig and plant in the garden, where she taught him the value of growing his own food. “When I was older, I had dogs, and my grandmother said, ‘Instead of having dogs, why don’t you get a goat so we can eat it?’ I got five chickens and went from there,” he said.

He was cooking onion rings in the kitchen at Sugar and Spice by the time he was 15 years old. He scraped all the leftovers from the restaurant into buckets and took them home for his chickens. “It’s funny; a lot of people don’t realize that chickens are omnivores. If I

Because 19-year-old Tony Angelakis is not legally allowed to own Cuzina Grill until he turns 21, his godmother Effie Scordilis is coowner and helps with daily operations.

can eat it, a chicken can eat it. One time coyotes got into my chickens and one died; before I got out there in the morning, the other chickens were eating the body. That’s just the nature of it. What you feed your chickens changes the texture of the meat.”

Angelakis said before “you know how to cook, you must understand food, where it comes from and how it is grown.” How-

troubled loan portfolio.

The board said many of its customers were unable to meet their loan obligations and “alternative sources of collateral proved insufficient to make up the shortfall. The losses created by these situations used up so much of our capital that we fell below regulatory capital thresholds, and we were no longer permitted by regulators to operate independently.”

First Savers was created in 1996 as a part of Plantation Financial. In addition to the three full-service branches in Greenville, it had operated a mortgage office. It had assets of around $190 million in the three branches, according to its website.

ever, he has given up farming for now, as he spends most days in the kitchen.

Because he is not legally allowed to own the restaurant until he turns 21, his godmother Effie Scordilis is co-owner and helps with daily operations. “There are not many 19-year-olds who have their own restaurant. I am very proud of him. I tell him when he turns 21, I am out of here,” she says.

“There needed to be somebody out there showing people how the food really is in Greece,” Angelakis said. “It’s kind of an experience when you go out and you eat with your friends – real simple foods and real fresh. It’s more like an experience to be shared.”

It’s not uncommon for customers to ask him to just fix them something. “I see what I’ve got and I see what’s new I can create and I just start cooking. You know you’re going to get good food here.

For me, sharing is the best way to eat. It’s like breaking bread.

“There’s not another restaurant like this here… the atmosphere and the people. It’s like a Greek pub. You don’t have to get dressed up. You can come here and watch a little soccer, eat a little meat on a stick, and that’s what I really had in mind,” he said.

“You always have to start out somewhere. You just have to start out simple and find your place.”

First Federal, which opened its first office in Charleston in 1934, reported assets of $3.1 billion as of Dec. 31 and lays claim to being the third largest South Carolina-based bank in terms of assets.

It acquired $486 million in assets in the Plantation acquisition. On April 23, in a conventional transaction, it completed acquisition of $115.6 million in assets of five Liberty Savings Bank branches in Hilton Head.

The Plantation takeover is First Federal’s second FDIC-assisted transaction.

In 2009, it acquired the failed Cape Fear Bank in Wilmington, N.C. First Federal reported net

Contact Nichole Livengood at nlivengood @thespartanburgjournal.com.

losses for two consecutive fiscal years: $45 million in 2011 and $40.6 million in 2010. It reported net income of $26 million in 2009.

On Monday, it reported net income of $1.7 million for the quarter ended March 31. In the quarter ended Dec. 31 it had $15.6 million net income.

In February, the company converted from a federal savings and loan association to a commercial bank under a South Carolina charter. It also registered with the Federal Reserve as a holding company.

Contact Dick Hughes at dhughes@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

journal business

New assignments at BMW

by dick hughes

Recall of Bus Tires

Michelin has recalled 77,000 urban bus tires produced at its Spartanburg County plant for possible sidewall defects that could cause the tires to lose air after put in use as retreads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Michelin volunteered to recall the tires produced from 2005 to fall 2011 at the Spartanburg radial truck tire plant. The affected tires are the XZU2, XZU3 and XM505 tires.

Michelin will replace the tires, said Brian Remsberg, spokesman for Michelin North America in Greenville.

“We had one minor injury claim to date, but that’s one too many. It was determined that this product did not meet the Michelin standard,” he said.

Michelin said it began investigating for a potential flaw after complaints that the tires lost air rapidly during use as retreads.

Still Red, but Less So

Palmetto Bank recorded a loss of $587,000 in the first quarter of 2012, down from $2.3 million in the prior quarter and a 90 percent improvement from first quarter a year ago.

The bank said the losses in the last two quarters were related primarily to continuing erosion of real estate values, although those depressed values declined to $4.4 million from $5.9 million in the last quarter of 2011.

The bank also said the bottom line was affected by expenses of $328,000 and $343,000 respectively in the two quarters for one-time charges incurred in selling and consolidating four branches.

Palmetto is expected to close on the sale of branches in Rock Hill and Blacksburg to Carolina Premier Bank of Charlotte, N.C., in the current quarter.

Sam Erwin, chief executive officer, said first quarter results “are indicative of the intense focus we have been placing on reducing problem assets” and in lowering operating expenses. The bulk of the expense savings will begin to show this quarter and “contribute to improved financial performance over the remainder of 2012,” he said.

For the first quarter, Palmetto said non-credit expenses declined $993,000 from the prior quarter.

Based in Greenville, Palmetto had assets of $1.2 billion at the end of March.

Once it completes the sale of two branches and the consolidation of one in Laurens and one in Greenwood, it will have 25 locations in the Upstate.

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The fine print

Upstate Development Center 900 East Main Street, Suite BB, Easley, SC 29640

BMW in Spartanburg has named Schylver “Sky” Foster as manager of corporate communications and Max Metcalf as manager for government and community relations.

Foster, who has been manager of compensation, working structures, benefits and HR planning, succeeds Metcalf, who has held the position since Bobby Hitt Max Metcalf, new Schylver “Sky” Foster, was named secretary of commanager for government new manager of corporate merce by Gov. Nikki Haley. and community relations communications Foster began her career with BMW Manufacturing in 1993 and has been involved with the South Carolina operation since its beginning, the company said. She holds an undergraduate degree from South Carolina State University and a master’s from North Carolina Central University.

Metcalf holds a degree in economics from Clemson University.

TEMPUS JETS PORSCHE OF GREENVILLE DEVEREAUX’S A Finer Fit Breakwater Restaurant & Bar

2012

THE

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Carolina Furniture & Interiors Chocolate Moose Diana Classic Children Eric Brown Design fab’rik Gage’s Getz Creative Greenville Dermatology Greenville Journal JB Lacher Jewelers jennie leigh design Labels Designer Consignments Linda McDougald Design | Postcard from Paris Home llyn strong fine jewelry

AVAILABLE IN MAY AT ANY OF THESE PARTICIPATING LOCATIONS:

Millie Lewis Monkee’s of the West End MUSE Shoe Studio Pelham Architects River Falls Spa Studio.7 The Houseplant The Poinsett Bride

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 17

JOURNAL BUSINESS

Who’s your doctor?

If you have a pediatrician you like, tell someone you know. If you don’t have a doctor, ask someone you trust for a recommendation. Studies show having a close relationship with a doctor is one of the best ways to stay healthy. So it’s no surprise that upstate parents trust Greenville Hospital System University Medical Group for dedicated pediatric care.

As part of the region’s most comprehensive community of care, our board certified pediatricians aren’t just capable – they’re committed to making your child’s health a top priority. And when you find a pediatrician you trust while your child is well, getting seen quickly when sick is just a phone call away.

Schedule an introductory appointment with one of our pediatricians by calling a practice listed here, or visit whosyourdoctor.org to learn more.

Carolina Pediatrics of Greenville 454-2670 Center for Pediatric Medicine Greenville 220-7270 • Travelers Rest 455-9261 The Children’s Clinic Greenville 271-1450 • Greer 797-9300 Simpsonville 454-6520 Christie Pediatric Group 9 Mills Ave. 242-4840 • Hwy. 14 297-8890 Simpsonville 454-5062 Heritage Pediatrics & Internal Medicine 454-6440 Pediatric Associates Easley 855-0001 • Greer 879-3883 Spartanburg 582-8135 Pediatric Rapid Access 220-7270

whosyourdoctor.org 120215dJRNL

18 SPARTANBURG JOURNAL | MAY 4, 2012

JOURNAL SKETCHBOOK The art of abandonment

Photographer captures deterioration of one of Spartanburg’s most historic houses

By CINDY LANDRUM | staff

AVAILABLE MAY 1ST

Photographer Patty Wright watched as the DuPre House, one of Spartanburg’s historic houses, slowly deteriorated, and nobody did anything about it.

So Wright decided she’d photograph the old Victorian house she had fallen in love with a decade after she moved to Spartanburg in 1974. She wanted to show Spartanburg what it was losing.

“When I went into the house for the very first time, I thought the people of Spartanburg needed to see it,” she said. “I wanted to photograph its demise and how it was deteriorating, but also show the life it still had in it and the hope there was for it to come back.”

DUPRE continued on PAGE 20

“Dirty Hands, Broken Glass,” photograph by Patty Wright

Initiative wants residents ‘thinking like a river’ Wofford program seeks to create culture of watershed appreciation, protection

By CINDY LANDRUM | staff

To know a river is to love it. And to love it is to protect it.

That’s the thought behind the three-year Wofford College initiative, “Thinking Like a River.”

Wofford’s environmental studies program has received a $383,000 grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation for the initiative that will integrate the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts to connect with, protect and reflect on rivers.

“Rivers in the South have always worked hard for a living,” said John Lane, associate professor of environmental studies and English and director of Wofford’s Goodall Environmental Studies Center.

The “Thinking Like a River” initiative will try to raise the watershed consciousness of the community through a three-pronged effort: a floating seminar series, a curriculum designed to encourage and engage visitors at the Goodall Center and a Fellows program.

The Goodall Center is located on the Lawson’s Fork Creek portion of the Pa-

AVAILABLE MAY 1ST

colet River and in the historic textile mill town of Glendale.

Through the floating seminar series, Wofford students and faculty, Spartanburg-area teachers and the initiative’s Fellows will engage in river exploration and investigation.

The river experiences will incorporate readings, discussion, interviews with watershed residents and stakeholders, journaling and site analysis. The series will include one- and two-day float trips during regular semester courses RIVER continued on PAGE 20

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 19

JOURNAL SKETCHBOOK DUPRE continued from PAGE 19

SO YOU KNOW

Wright’s photographs make up half of this month’s exhibit at the Artists’ Guild Gallery in the Chapman Cultural Center. The other half of the exhibition is a collection of oil paintings and cold wax encaustics by Amy Holbein.

The exhibition runs through May. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays “Gone,” photograph by Patty Wright through Saturdays.

The house was built in 1885 What: Exhibition by photograon Church Street by Methodpher Patty Wright and painter ist Bishop William Wallace Amy Holbein Duncan and became known Where: Artists’ Guild Gallery, as the DuPre House after the Chapman Cultural Center bishop’s daughter Carrie marWhen: Through May, 10 a.m. ried Warren DuPre. to 5 p.m. Mondays through The house was moved in Saturdays the fall of 1999 to property Admission: Free off Howard Street that had Extra: An artists’ reception will been the site of Spartan Mills be held Thursday, May 17 from to make room for the Re5 p.m. to 9 p.m. during ArtWalk. naissance Park development Wright will give an art talk where the Marriott was built. eh[ j^Wd j^h[[ o[Whi WdZ W h[Y[ii_ed 8bWYam[bb" m^e ijWoi ef[d \eh Zemdjemd [l[dji about her work at 5 p.m. and bWj[h" Jme :eehi :emd emd[h A[bbo WdZ ikffehji Y^Wh_jWXb[ [l[dji m_j^ beWdi e\ Th e Edward Via College for Ybej^_d] eh ZedWj_edi$ >[h \hedj m_dZemi i[[ d[m Holbein8bWYam[bb _i Z[b_]^j[Z je ^Wl[ m[Wj^[h[Z will speak at 5:30 p.m. j^[ jhWlW_bi e\ ef[d_d] W d[m Xki_d[ii Osteopathic Z_ifbWoi [l[ho m[[a" m^_Y^ i^[ Yekdji Wi fWhj e\ Medicine built WdZ j^[ ZWd][hi e\ W ibem [Yedeco$ Info: 542-ARTS or 764-9568 its^[h ikYY[ii$ Æ? X[b_[l[ _d Zemdjemd"Ç i^[ iWoi$ Æ?

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the DuPre house for $1 from the Spartanburg Development Corp., a city entity that had purchased the house for $169,000 years before when it was in serious disrepair.

VCOM agreed to pay for the house’s exterior restoration.

William P. King, associate vice president for student services and media relations, said masonry work is almost completed and work on the roof has just begun.

The DuPre House was built in the Queen Anne style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The designation was lost when the house was moved to Howard Street but it returned to the register in 2009 as the Bishop William Wallace Duncan House. William Wallace Duncan graduated from Wofford College in 1858 and returned as a professor and financial agent of the school.

His father, David Duncan, was one of Wofford’s original professors.

Wright’s photographs show

the light, the shadows and the deterioration of the structure. Wright has also created a book of historical facts, photographs and a storyline to complement the exhibit.

Books will be sold and signed by the artist on May 17.

The pieces exhibited by Holbein are inspired by images taken from photographs, memories and dreams.

Holbein captures significant and fleeting moments in time where people see beyond the reality in front of them and get a glimpse of the divine.

She calls these moments “thin places.” She uses metaphors of a door or stairs to depict the idea of passage.

Holbein is working on her MFA in painting at Winthrop University. She previously taught studio art at Wofford. Her paintings hang in the permanent collection at the Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health.

Contact Cindy Landrum at clandrum@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

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Dr. Kaye Savage, director of environmental studies program, with Wofford students.

RIVER continued from PAGE 19

and three- to five-day float trips during the summer. Interim term experiences during January, which will be funded separately from the grant, will use longer trips.

To create a culture of watershed appreciation and protection, community leaders must know about what threatens the health of rivers and why people love them, said Dr. Kaye Savage, director of Wofford’s environmental studies program.

She said the Fellows program would invite business leaders, governmental representatives, nonprofit representatives, Wofford alumni and other citizens to spend a year participating in the floating seminars and other events. The Fellows will also develop projects to improve awareness of rivers and water quality, she said.

“Although the ‘Thinking Like a River’ initiative is a three-year effort, the work that we do will have lasting impact through the development of leadership and education at all levels,” she said.

She said new curriculum materials and resources such as a stream gauge, weather station, herbarium and a “dam cam” will remain in use for years to come.

The project will develop educational activities for adults as well as students from kindergarten through college. The plan also includes hiring an outreach coordinator.

This is not the first time the MAC Foundation has supported environmental education at Wofford. Funding from the foundation has been used to implement a weeklong environmental science workshop for middle school teachers and an environmental writing workshop for students, teachers and community members.

Contact Cindy Landrum at clandrum@thespartanburgjournal.com.

JOURNAL SKETCHBOOK

‘May I Be Frank’ tells story of transformation and healing

By APRIL A. MORRIS | staff

Frank Ferrante’s fantastic journey began on a rainy day in San Francisco when he stopped into a raw, organic and vegan café.

Ferrante, a 54-year-old from Brooklyn living in San Francisco, was an obese, pre-diabetic, single, deeply depressed drug addict, but also a lover of good food and a good laugh.

When he began to frequent Café Gratitude because of the welcome he received, Ferrante encountered some unlikely friends, including Conor Gaffney, then a server.

“He thought vegan was a planet,” says Gaffney.

As Gaffney tells the story, one day Ferrante decided to answer the café “ques-

tion of the day” posed by Gaffney’s fellow server, Ryland Englehart. The question, designed to inspire a grateful mindset, was as follows: “What is the one thing you want to do before you die?”

Ferrante answered, “I want to fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do.”

Englehart and Gaffney decided that didn’t have to be an impossible dream. The two teamed up with Cary Mosier and developed a plan to help Ferrante lose weight and become healthy: he would eat at the restaurant, practice self-affirmation, keep a personal workbook, attend workshops, exercise and undergo colon hydrotherapy once a week.

“Ryland just saw this amazing oppor-

Frank Ferrante before (left) and after regaining his health with the help of the staff of a vegan café.

tunity and challenged Ferrante on the spot,” said Gaffney. Surprisingly, Ferrante agreed and the trio became his “transformational cheerleaders.”

“We would be his life coaches,” Gaffney said.

The untrained filmmakers began to document Ferrante’s journey over 42 days.

“We really just sort of took off blind,” Gaffney said. The result is “May I Be Frank,” a documentary about Ferrante’s physical and spiritual transformation.

The group began filming on Valentine’s Day, 2006, and recorded about 100 hours of the highs and lows of Ferrante’s journey over the 42 days. Faced with the mammoth task of editing, the filmmakers let the film sit in a shoebox on a shelf for several months, Gaffney said. Then Gregg Marks, a filmmaker from New York, met the group and, after watching part of the footage, agreed to edit it into a cohesive work.

Ferrante, who had gone his own way and actually reverted to some of his old behaviors, heard about the release of the film and wanted to be involved, Gaffney said. The film’s release was the impetus Ferrante needed: he has now B:10” shed more than 100 pounds, is eating well T:10” and working out, “and we couldn’t have cast

SO YOU KNOW What: “May I Be Frank” Where: Unity Church of Greenville, 207 E. Belvue Road, Taylors When: Friday, May 18, 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 19, 3 p.m.

Tickets: $12 mayibefrankmovie.com a better person,” Gaffney said.

Now Ferrante is coming to the Upstate, for a screening of “May I Be Frank” on May 18 and 19 at Unity Church of Greenville in Taylors. Ferrante will be available for a live Q&A after the film.

And if viewers can’t make it, Gaffney says they recently announced a PlayItFWD.org option where people can purchase a rental of the film for others and send a link for viewing.

Contact April A. Morris at amorris@thespartanburgjournal.com.

S:9.75”

LET’S HIT 350 3

5

0

0

0

WE REACH 350,000 IN ATTENDANCE. YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND MAYBE SOME HISTORY.

GAMES THIS WEEKEND

May 4th vs. Lexington Legends May 5th – 8th vs. Rome Braves

Home Series: May 4th – 8th TICKETS AT GREENVILLEDRIVE.COM

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 21

T:5.445”

GreenvilleDrive.com

B:5.445”

S:5.195”

This year, the Greenville Drive is giving back to the community through our rallying cry of, “Let’s hit 350.” Help us hit 350,000 in attendance this season and give back to the community in some pretty amazing ways. It all starts with you this weekend.

0

journal sketchbook

scene. here.

the week in the local arts world

Old Cars Great Music Join Us for the Largest Cruise-In in the Upstate and RYDELL, JIMMY CLANTON CLANTON, music featuring BOBBY RYDELL Jim Quick & Coastline…

Jimmy Clanton

Friday, May 11 6 pm-10:30 pm Adults $20 • Children $10

(Discounted tickets purchased in advance: Adults $15 • Children $8)

Come in a classic car (1979 or older) and $25 admits a carload of four! Line-up begins at noon. Gates open at 2 pm for classic cars.

Dash plaques are available for the first 400 cars.

Takes place at Blue Ridge Electric Co-op, 734 W. Main St., Pickens, SC. 1-800-240-3400 • blueridgefest.com

Proceeds benefit select Upstate charitable organizations.

22 SPARTANBURG Journal | MAY 4, 2012

Wofford College’s Second Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition will be in the Great Oaks Hall, Roger Milliken Science Center through Friday, May 11. The exhibit features works by current Wofford students that have been produced in fulfillment of a class assignment or independently, outside of class, or any time since September 2010. The “Salon des Refuses” gallery, specially selected student works and a supplement to the juried exhibit, will be on display in the Campus Life Building through May 8. For more information, visit www.wofford.edu.

In celebration of Spartanburg’s Spring Fling on Saturday, May 5, the Spartanburg Science Center at the Chapman Cultural Center will waive its admission fees and offer several special programs. Normal admission is $4 per adult and $2 per child. The Center will be open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. At 1 and 3 p.m., there will be a chemistry demonstration that will utilize dry ice and slime. At 2 and 4 p.m., there will be a reptile show, featuring snakes and turtles. For more information, please call 542-ARTS.

Bobby Rydell

Jim Quick and Coastline

The Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg will hold their annual Studio and Garden Tour fundraiser on Saturday, May 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sites on the tour include: Daniel Cromer, 127 Bellwood Lane; Babs Smith, 118 Burnett Drive; Edythe Wise, 1033 Glendalyn Circle; Suzanne Zoole, 183 Clifton Avenue; and Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve, 820 John B. White Blvd. At the Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve there will be a Show and Sell, with artists’ demonstrations and works for sale. Drinks and finger food will be served to ticket holders in the Garden from 2 – 4 p.m. Tickets are $20-$25 and available at Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve, Carolina Garden World, Chapman Cultural Center Box Office and at www.artistsguild.com.

The Palmetto Statesmen Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society will present “A Gospel Celebration” on May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center, 150 E. Main St., Duncan. The group has selected familiar songs reflecting our heritage of faith, including “Amazing Grace,” “I Believe,” “I’ll Fly Away” and more. One Accord, a quartet of music ministers from area churches who are also members of the chapter, will be the featured guest on the show. One Accord is an audience favorite and has placed very well in barbershop competitions. Tickets are $15 each and are available by calling 864-877-1352, by email at robertlee10@ bellsouth.net or at www.palmettostatesmen.org. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door. Men who sing are invited to attend chapter meetings at Memorial United Methodist Church, 201 N. Main St., Greer on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. or call 569-0724.

Send us your arts announcement. E-mail: spartanburgarts@thespartanburgjournal.com

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24 S P A R T A N B U R G J O U R N A L | MAY 4, 2012

S t e r l i n g E st a t e s, Bo i li n g S p ri n g s Sterling Estates is the perfect place to call home! This neighborhood offers newly constructed, beautiful homes in traditional, craftsman and cottage style architecture that feature Hardie plank with brick and stone construction and spacious backyards as well as access to community amenities. Sterling Estates is conveniently

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Over 1,900 neighborhoods online at SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

journal sketchbook

the week in photos

look who’s in the journal this week

photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Members of the C.C. Woodson Community Center Creative Ladies work on art projects they will be selling at the 34th annual Spartanburg Spring Fling, which runs May 4 through May 6 in downtown. Proceeds from the sales of their art will go toward art supplies for their upcoming exhibit at the Chapman Cultural Center.

Creative Lady Donna Allen prepares to fasten a piece to a mini mask she was making for Spring Fling.

Artist, writer and instructor Pat Kavore trims one of the mini masks while working on projects.

Members of the Webster family, for whom the athletic complex was named, (from left to right): Billy Webster, Lindsay Webster, Billy Webster and Lanny Webster.

Brennan Field at the Spartanburg Day School was named in honor of Joseph A. Brennan.

Attending the naming were members of the family (from left to right) Jack McBride, Stacy McBride, Sally McBride, Bette Brennan, Moira Brennan, John McBride, Kate McBride, Harry McBride and Sheila Brennan Connor.

Robay Stroble, left, and Ruby Wilkie work on their projects.

Mini masks, and one of the larger masks, will be on sale at the Spartanburg Spring Fling.

The Spartanburg Day School recently held a dedication of the athletic complex inside the gym of the complex. The master of ceremonies for the event, Eric Foust, unveils the name of the facility, the Webster Family Athletic Complex.

Patients at Gibbs get first dibs.

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Spartanburg Regional • 101 East Wood St. • Spartanburg SC 29303 • 1.877.455.7747 • gibbscancercenter.com MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 25

journal sketchbook

figure. this. out.

H-Hour

By Patti Varol

U P S T A T E

DINING

See what you’ve been missing

HEADING OUT TO EAT THIS WEEKEND? NEED SOME suggestions?

Adams Bistro American Grocery Arizona’s Blockhouse Blue Ridge Brewing Company The Bohemian Brick Street Café The Brown Street Club Cafe at Williams Hardware Chophouse ‘47 CityRange Davani’s Devereaux’s Fonda Rosalinda’s Ford’s Oyster House The Galley Restaurant The Green Room Handi Indian Cuisine Hans & Franz Biergarten Harry & Jean’s John Paul Armadillo Oil Company The Lazy Goat Liberty Tap Room & Grill Mary Beth’s The Mellow Mushroom Midtown Deli Nami Asian Bistro Nantucket Seafood Grill Northampton Wine Café Nose Dive On The Border Open Hearth Steak House P. Simpson’s The Plaid Pelican Portofino’s Italian Restaurant Rick Erwin’s West End Grille Ristorante Bergamo Roman’s Macaroni Grill Runway Café Ruth’s Chris Steak House Saffron’s West End Café Sassafras Southern Bistro Smoke on the Water Soby’s New South Cuisine Stax Billy D’s Stax Omega Diner Stella’s Southern Bistro Stellar Restaurant & Wine Bar Thaicoon Ricefire &Sushi Bar The Trappe Door Travinia Italian Kitchen Trio A Brick Oven Café Yia Yia’s

Upstate UpstateFoodie .com Feed Your Inner Food Enthusiast

26 SPARTANBURG Journal | MAY 4, 2012

Across 1 Memorable touchdown maker, briefly 4 Girl having a ball?

7 “Arabian Nights” woodcutter 14 Moral climate 19 Tchotchke holder 21 CPU jointly developed by Apple, IBM and Motorola 22 Cook just below a boil 23 Intrinsically 24 First woman on the Supreme Court 25 Sleeper’s difficulty 26 Presidential stylists?

28 Apt. feature, in ads 30 “Criminy!”

31 Plant deeply 32 Banned pesticide 34 “Martin Chuzzlewit” novelist 36 Blond shade 39 Bk. read at Purim 40 Holdup 42 __ beer: low-alcohol beverage 43 Snowman’s eyes 45 Helipad fee?

48 Humanities degs.

51 Perry of fashion 52 Narrow waterway 53 Filing aids 54 Like aged cheddar 56 Kewpie, e.g.

57 Still going 60 Canapé spread

62 Enjoying a lot 63 Viscounts’ superiors 65 “I’m hunting wabbits” speaker 67 Live-in helper 69 Gift holder 71 Fireside deity?

75 Trick 76 Bird of prey 78 Dalmatian, for one 79 Hasidic teacher 81 Company that makes the Ektorp sofa 82 “GWTW” plantation 84 Church ceremony 87 Yemen neighbor 90 Gives in 92 Bits of wordplay 94 Down for the count 95 Gun-shy 96 Nav. rank 97 Punching range?

101 Palmer of the links 102 572-year-old school 104 Sets, as a trap 105 Neurol. readouts 107 Ink spots, briefly?

108 Hollies hit featuring a shared umbrella 111 NYC subway org.

112 Longtime “Sexually Speaking” host 114 View from Neuchâtel, to locals 115 Courtroom VIPs 117 Furs worn in a spring parade?

122 Cal __ 124 It’s based on past

legal decisions 126 “If you ask me ...”

127 Like Samuel Beckett 128 Off the charts 129 Geico spokespeople with a short-lived sitcom 130 Puts on cargo 131 Has a conniption 132 Nor. neighbor 133 “Doctor Who” creatures

Down 1 Sister of Rachel 2 Jazz legend James 3 Half a food fish 4 “Children of a Lesser God” subject 5 Box score statistic 6 Affiance 7 Yeats’s “__ to His Beloved” 8 Bonkers 9 “Hmm, maybe ...”

10 Eggs __: brunch fare 11 Prince Valiant’s son 12 Fraternal org.

13 Nose-burning 14 Org. concerned with climate change 15 Sunflower State capital 16 Closet consultant’s concern?

17 Main 18 Roe sources 20 “Brooklyn’s Finest” co-star 27 Partner in crime

29 January honoree 33 Like some road sign symbols 35 Ho-hum grades 36 Solved with ease 37 Chorister’s big moment 38 What the winner of a

catered wedding gets?

40 Likely consequence of kicking dirt at the ump 41 Knight wear 44 Philanthropist Wallace 46 Sundial number 47 Trio before U 49 Clarinetist Shaw

50 Good-time Charlie 55 Fanny pack spot 57 All eyes and ears 58 “GWTW” side 59 “Pomp and Circumstance” composer 61 Gallery stand 64 P-like letter 66 What bored people may go through, with “the” 68 iMac-to-iPhone connector 69 Grease, as it were 70 Like bourbon barrels 72 “Keep on Truckin’” cartoonist 73 Classic muscle car 74 Division of time 77 Wee bit 80 Dutch South African 83 When some Tauruses are born: Abbr.

85 Jerk 86 Vocalizes 88 Operatic 37-Down 89 Kremlin vote 91 Bar order 93 Leaves no footprints, in a way 95 Checkmate, e.g.

98 “And giving __, up the chimney ...”

99 Web merchant 100 Derring-do 103 Dangerous fly 106 Hearty chuckle 108 Spaghetti sauce herb 109 Violet opening 110 Tries to walk off nerves 112 Like morning grass 113 Hound’s prey 116 __-Altenburg: old German duchy 118 Helen Mirren’s title 119 “I, Claudius” setting 120 Popular tech review site 121 Coop crowd 123 Quizzical sounds 125 Canonized Fr. woman

Crossword answers: page 10

Sudoku answers: page 10

journal sketchbook

LIfe after 60

AQUOS BOARD

by peggy henderson

It’s not just a display, it’s your business.

Color choices To dye, go gray or wear a hat?

Let’s be honest. When it comes to making a lifestyle choice of giving up the color sessions with your hair stylist and going cold turkey with your present natural hair color (gray), it can be risky business.

Why risky?

When an average American, regardless of age, sees gray hair, it’s an automatic reaction like lightning is to thunder, or after spring comes summer. The brain registers “old.” It doesn’t matter whether the gray-haired person is perky, runs an Ironman marathon, or drives a snazzy BMW sports car. Cultural perception dictates either “over the hill,” or, even worse, “slowing down.”

In the competitive workplace, gray heads remain an obstacle to promotion or an uninvited push for early retirement.

Doing my research for this column, I revisited the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which was created to protect employees 40 years of age and older. I’m gratified to know that there is such a law on the books, but I can just imagine the subtle, blurred transparencies that must play out in professional offices, corporate hierarchies and administration boards around the country.

I was disheartened to find, in a study on geriatrics and gerontology from the University of South Carolina, that among workers in the middle- to- upper-level income bracket, the researchers found there were definite footprints of age discrimination. Results indicated that “more than 81 percent of the older workers encountered at least one workplace discriminatory treatment a year.”

Unfortunately, sexism along with ageism still shadows the workplace like a timeless albatross.

Men score equally in regards to their shared hair anxiety as women. However, men continue to carry a slight edge with the perceived status that males aged 50 and older carry an air of being especially seasoned, or possess an entitled, distinguished vibe.

Have you noticed that President Obama keeps his hair closely cropped? The more he asks his stylist for a “shower cut” the grayer his hair appears. Presiding in the White House can do that to our Executive Chiefs.

On the flip side, for females middle-

aged and up, no matter how classically or stylishly in-touch the haircut, most of the time the response to natural gray is to see the woman as matronly, bored on the job or maturely jaded. It’s the “I’ve seen it all; been there” vibe.

A tip from a networking firm called Gray Hair Management advises women to start with the salt and pepper look or blond and gray streaks, and in time let the “salt” become permanent.

For me, being a senior, seasoned female without hair prejudice, I try to observe and not judge.

Personally, the first time I noticed those squiggly, uncontrollable strands of gray sticking out of my crown, I wasn’t surprised. If I remember correctly, I was around 50 and I determinedly plucked them out. One by one. Being a strawberry blonde and always outdoors more than in, I probably then didn’t even notice the gray. Now, 17 years later, I am still and plan to continue to be a colored, understated, strawberry blond.

I duly applaud the smart ladies who go natural with their shining, silver manes signaling their self-esteem. It’s a glorious, wordless statement. Count Hubert de Givenchy, renowned fashion designer and founder of The House of Givenchy in 1952, said in Vogue, “Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself ”.

I’ve read that healthy, gray hair is tricky to maintain. Like silverware, it requires constant polish. Not to worry; I’ve learned since age 50 that the whole nine yards of aging gracefully means daily maintenance forever.

No wonder we ask ourselves why the months and years zoom by far too fast.

The truth is, we must be living a blissful existence if all we have to worry about is the color of our hair. It’s the little, commonplace decisions that entertain our moments, that make it easier to accept the big life hiccups that challenge our souls.

Just an ending thought: On bad hair days, just wear a saucy hat.

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Contact Peggy Henderson at peg4745@aol.com.

MAY 4, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 27

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3/29/12 10:05 AM