June 15, 2012 – Spartanburg Journal

LOCAL BANKS PAYING BACK BIG TARP DIVIDENDS.

Page 15

SPARTANBURGJOURNAL Spartanburg, S.C. • Friday, June 15, 2012 • Vol.8, No.24

Farewell to a NASCAR legend.

Page 4

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASCAR HALL OF FAME

UP AGAINST THE WALL

COTTON OWENS:

Scratching the bug allergy itch.

MOLLY ROSE FREEMAN BRINGS A FRESH COAT OF INSPIRATION TO DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG. Page 18

Page 10

GREG BECKNER / STAFF

PHOTO BY COLBY RABON

TREADING WATER:

Page 8

THE BANDWIDTH TO CONTROL COUNTLESS DEVICES, AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE. With the bandwidth to support more devices than anyone else in the market, you can simultaneously stream video, game online or take over the world, without sacrificing Internet performance.

This much power could go to your head. ©2012 Charter Communications, Inc. Service not available in all areas.

GREG BECKNER / STAFF

Can the Swim Center be saved?

journal community

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

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

Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@thespartanburgjournal.com

Shop Local. It Matters.

Assistant editor/Staff writer

BehindTheCounterONLINE.com

Jerry Salley jsalley@thespartanburgjournal.com staff writers

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

Dick Hughes dhughes@thespartanburgjournal.com

d Presented by A Benefit for an

photographer

Greg Beckner gbeckner@thespartanburgjournal.com news layout

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Tammy Smith

PrODUCTION Manager

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Billing Inquiries

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Alan P. Martin amartin@thespartanburgjournal.com 148 River St, Suite 120 Greenville, SC 29601 Phone: 864-699-4348, Fax: 864-467-9809 Thespartanburgjournal.com © Spartanburg Journal published by Community Journals LLC. All rights reserved. All property rights for the entire contents of this publication shall be the property of Spartanburg Journal, no part therefore may be reproduced without prior written consent.

2 SPARTANBURG Journal | JUNE 15, 2012

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at urg Little The The Spartanb

three Oscars four Grammys four Emmys a Tony

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THE SWIMMER THREE MEN AND A BABY ICE CASTLES TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN BANANAS SAVE THE TIGER THE INFORMANT

journal community

“I’m still jumpy about bugs.”

Roy Wolfe, bee venom allergy sufferer, on the care he takes in the great outdoors despite the allergy shots that prevent a systemic reaction to bee stings.

Quote of the week

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“It (public art) shows that we can still use the space around us creatively – that we are not hemmed in by the things built by people before us.”

WE ARE CELEBRATING! Our 10th anniversary, and if you wish us a Happy Anniversary, we will give you 20% off your entire purchase!

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Artist Molly Rose Freeman, on the mural she will paint on the wall of RJ Rockers Brewing Company facing Daniel Morgan Avenue.

“Indeed it’s true, I have been thrown off the ballot because I followed the rules the S.C. Election Commission provided to the candidates for filing.”

Republican Wyatt Miler, who was running for state Senate in District 5.

“We mothers like to think we have played a large part in our sons’ success when, in fact, their accomplishments are due to whom they have become: good citizens, good husbands, and ultimately, good fathers.”

Greenvillian Jane Ross Cartee, on the qualities she admires in her adult sons.

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 3

journal community PRESENTS

PHENOMENON

WORKS BY

MOLLY ROSE

FREEMAN Art Opening Reception at The Showroom Thurs., June 21st during Art Walk 7-9pm with an Art Talk at 8pm

You are invited to join us for the opening reception of Phenomenon, featuring the work of visiting artist, Molly Rose Freeman, who will give an Art Talk at 8.

This show features drawings and paintings with roots in geometry and pattern. Using fundamental shapes, Freeman builds complex structures that suggest natural forms, forces, and phenomena. The work in this show draws from science, philosophy, and human ritual, and explores the rhythms of interconnection within the universe.

Saying goodbye to NASCAR’s ‘King of the Modifieds’ NASCAR legend Everett “Cotton” Owens was buried in Spartanburg last weekend, just weeks after being inducted into the racing organization’s Hall of Fame.

Owens died last Thursday after a seven-year battle with lung cancer. He was 88 years old.

Owens was born in Union, but lived most of his life in Spartanburg. He was elected to the NASCAR Hall on May 23.

Because of his illness, he was not able to attend the announcement in Charlotte.

He watched the news conference on television at home.

Family members said he was aware of his election to the Hall.

Owens is to be inducted posthumously as part of the Hall’s fourth class in February 2013. Last year he missed making it into the Hall of Fame by a single vote.

“We worked awful hard on it and got him inducted two or three weeks ago

Everett “Cotton” Owens

when we voted on it,” Hall of Famer Bud Moore told the Daytona News-Journal.

“I felt really good over that. I wished he would have made it the round before ... He’s in now and will be sworn in for sure in February. I’m just glad he lived long enough to get inducted.”

Music

SOUTHERN CUTURE ON THE SKIDS

with opening act GRAVITRON at The Showroom Friday, July 27th 8:30pm $15 adv./$18 door

Southern Culture on the Skids return to play their unique hybrid of Americana, surf, R&B, rockabilly, and swamp pop, with a sleazy, raucous, good-natured, good-time take on the culture of the South.

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4 SPARTANBURG Journal | JUNE 15, 2012

– Charles Sowell

Some Things Are Meant to Last Forever

This exhibit is sponsored by RJ ROCKERS BREWING COMPANY

149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG

Owens won nine Sprint Cup (then Grand National) races as a driver. Later in his career he built cars for other top racers.

Owens and Hall of Fame driver David Pearson teamed to win the Cup championship in 1966.

Owens became interested in fast cars while growing up in Spartanburg before World War II. Moore and Owens burned up the back roads and streets of Spartanburg before the war. After serving in the Navy, Owens returned to town and began racing modified stock cars.

Owens quickly built a strong reputation, winning dozens of races in the 1940s and 1950s and becoming known as the “King of the Modifieds.”

Owens raced in the Cup series from 1950 to 1964, leaving high-level driving at the age of 40 because of vision problems.

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 5

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

OPINION

VOICES FROM YOUR COMMUNITY, HEARD HERE

Righting a train wreck

A mother’s gift on Father’s Day

South Carolina voters might be forgiven for wondering how Tuesday’s primary qualifies as an election with close to 240 candidates crossed off the ballot statewide – in many cases, literally: Thirty-five were decertified last week after ballots were already printed.

And Tuesday’s victors will be watching their backs more closely than normally required of Palmetto State primary winners: Dozens of petition candidates are stumping the state, determined to make the November ballot and finish the challenge they were denied this week.

As the messiest primary in South Carolina history, the blame for this train wreck will be parsed for years to come. There is plenty to go around. But voters would be wise to remember the bigger lesson of this statewide character test: the situational ethics pervading the reactions by elected leaders and candidates alike – toward both the rule of law and the five-member court widely depicted as the villain of the hour.

For its straightforward reading of state law, the S.C. Supreme Court has been accused of everything from denying “hundreds of thousands the right to participate in a free and fair election” (per U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan), to “injecting itself into the political parties’ once exclusive right to choose their candidates,” as claims GOP executive director Matt Moore.

The train wreck that inspired the hyperbole began May 2, when the court ruled that state law requires candidates to file a paper statement of economic interest when they first file for public office, “at the same time and with the same official.” All who failed to do so by the March 30 deadline could not run – even if they filed an electronic copy of the financial statement, as state law also requires.

But the rails were laid in 2010, when the Legislature passed the electronic filing rule without revising the paper copy requirement. Consequently, neither law nullifies the other – making this a matter of “both-and,” not “either-or.”

The fact that 180 of the then-1,000 primary candidates failed to follow both rules was not the fault of the Supreme Court – even if candidates were misled by party officials who misunderstood the law.

Nor can the court be blamed for reaffirming the ruling last week, after Florence County Republicans tried to pretend that candidates who filed disclosure statements electronically before they filed their candidacy papers were thereby transformed into “public officials,” exempt from the earlier ruling.

The charitable view is Florence acted out of frustration, not mutiny, as one hopes Gov. Haley did as well when she persuaded the Lexington GOP to restore a favored candidate derailed by the court ruling (which the election commission promptly nixed). Haley argued, “We can change the law, we do it every day.” But the Legislature couldn’t manage it for six weeks – not in time to save the decertified 240 or even to smooth out the confusion for future elections.

Candidates are justifiably frustrated: Many were disqualified for doing as they were told by party leaders. More lawsuits are sure to come. But the fact remains; “let’s pretend” subverts the rule of law, whatever the motivation. So does expecting the Supreme Court to ignore the law’s clear language in favor of its “spirit” – an act the GOP would once have decried as legislating from the bench.

It’s worth remembering that somehow, close to 800 candidates managed to get this right, all confusion aside. The candidates in Tuesday’s primary read the law and followed it. That’s why they were on the ballot – an instructive lesson in itself.

Once again, it’s time to honor our fathers both past and present as well as our spouses worthy of fatherly praise. However, I wonder how many mothers like me truly appreciate the fathers our adult sons have become.

This really hit home with me during a recent visit by my twin sons and their families. Both live outside of South Carolina in different states, causing visits never to be taken for granted.

It seems just yesterday I received the surprise of my life when I was told I had delivered not one, but two healthy baby boys (no ultrasounds back then!) Thus began my roller-coaster ride that was to be over much too soon.

Looking back, I recall many multiplebirth adventures, some of which were very humorous – such as the time my panic-stricken mother called me while she was babysitting the boys as infants.

It seemed she could not calm one while the other was sleeping unusually well.

On further discussion, we discovered she had mistakenly fed one of them twice.

Thus the advent of I.D. ankle bracelets.

Then there was the time the boys switched classes in the third grade. Several days passed before their teachers shared their discovery while suppressing a smile.

The growing years brought the awesome wonder that all mothers share as these marvelous beings became less of an extension of me and more of an evolution of themselves – testing their values and not only seeking my counsel, but offering some pretty good advice themselves, much to my surprise.

Ensuing years brought college, careers and marriages that blessed our family with five grandsons (and all of that testosterone).

Now I observe each of my sons display total devotion to their sons by setting examples of nurturing love. I watch as they experience the unbridled joy of father and son as they go camping and fishing, play ball and build Pinewood Derby cars

FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

IN MY OWN WORDS by JANE ROSS CARTEE

– all the things that fathers and sons do.

However, it’s the less obvious gestures that make them special fathers in my view – like spending time before bed encouraging each child to share his favorite (or least favorite) part of the day, or listening to a teenager’s experience with genuine concern.

Glancing back to a more recent time, I see my grandsons filling in the empty spaces one by one. They reflect their fathers in myriad ways, from the quiet studious one to the gregarious one who calls me “Grandma Bubbles.”

While digging my heels in the sands of time, I try to hold on to my grandsons’ coattails in order to warm my winter years with their youthful glow. However, I reluctantly accept – with pride – that those cloaks of youthful integrity are carrying them into the same manhood I see and admire in their fathers.

So you see, we mothers like to think we have played a large part in our sons’ success when, in fact, their accomplishments are due to whom they have become: good citizens, good husbands, and ultimately, good fathers.

To top it off, we mothers love to be loved by our sons, but even more fulfilling is observing our sons caring for each other.

It’s been said that a parent’s love is not to be paid back, but carried forward.

This is, indeed, my mother’s gift on Father’s Day – one that I hope many mothers out there share with me.

Jane Ross Cartee, 71, is a lifelong Greenville native. She is a retired nurse practitioner and former director of nursing for Student Health Services at Furman University.

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 | JUNE 15, 2012

Local Brevard College student paddles hundreds of miles in outdoor class

By APRIL A. MORRIS | staff

RACHEL ANTHONY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

For a music major and football player at Brevard College, spending more than two weeks paddling the length of a river and camping along the way may not seem like the way to get closer to a college degree.

But for Fountain Inn native Jeremy Blake, that’s exactly what happened this May. Blake, a rising junior, joined nine other students on a canoe and kayak journey along the Cape Fear Watershed in North Carolina, down the Haw and Cape Fear rivers to Bald Head Island, where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The annual trip is part of the 15-year-old Voice of the Rivers (VOR) program that combines academics and outdoor exploration.

As the students followed the waterways, they took part in courses on river expeditions and environmental crime. In addition to managing the logistics of moving the group down the river, they also had to keep a daily journal and participate in evening discussions, Blake said. And in true high-tech style, much of the journey was documented on video, with content uploaded often to YouTube along the way.

Paddling up to 10 hours a day, the students took turns at being leader of the day, cooking, cleanup, writing in the group log and navigating. Blake says his favorite job was navigator and least faContact April A. Morris at vorite was cleanup, often because dinner amorris@thespartanburgjournal.com. cleanup was in the dark.

“You were sort of guessing whether you got it clean or not,” he said. Students also had to take turns at teaching a lesson to the group: Blake’s was on the mill towns of the Haw River.

Despite challenges like sleeping in a puddle one of the first nights, battling ticks and a straight up-and-down portage at Jordan Lake, Blake says the journey offered a welcome chance to unplug and learn in a different way. “It was a lot of reflecting,” he said. “Really, it was awesome.”

Part of the group’s education was connecting with the people who rely directly on the river.

“We talked to everyone we saw,” he said. Mike in Saxapahaw shared information about Fountain Inn native Jeremy Blake joined nine other how waste products were used, Brevard College students on a journey along the Cape Fear while a lockmaster along the Watershed as part of the Voice of the Rivers program.

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River course

Cape Fear River offered a history lesson on flooding and fishing. The group also learned about poaching, pollution and more in the environmental crime component. They also encountered countless snakes, numerous bald eagles, osprey and a heron that they believe followed them along the entire way, Blake said.

One day that stands out, he said, was when the group set out to travel 20 miles and ended up covering 32 miles. “It was an awesome day; everyone was in great spirits and it was a good breakthrough.”

Blake bought his first kayak last summer, but has loved the outdoors his entire life, he says. He believes the river adventure has changed him: “I was already easygoing,” he said, “and it slowed me down even more.”

The trip will also help in preparing for a career teaching music in elementary schools, he said. “I became more open to people and it became easier to talk in front of people.”

The time spent on the river has offered him a chance to meet students outside his current circle, which up to that point has been “either with the football team or in the music building.”

Now back in the Upstate, Blake says he will spend time working on a final research paper for the class, helping his father build homes and picking up odd jobs like delivering cars and hauling hay before the next semester begins.

Blake said he will always remember the more than 300-mile journey, especially the night paddle that began at 3:30 a.m. one day. “That was one of the most peaceful things that I’ve ever been involved in. We were all silent and cutting through the dark water. We were truly one with nature.”

To see photos and video of the Voice of the Rivers trip, visit www.brevard.edu/VOR.

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journal community

The high cost of a city swim Hopes are dimming that city will find partners to help keep Swim Center open another year

Music Sandwiched In Students from the Lawson Academy of the Arts (Converse College) will perform live and for free at this lunchtime concert at the library, downtown Spartanburg, Wed., June 14, starting at 12:15 a.m. Bring your lunch or buy one there. Presented by the Music Foundation of Spartanburg.

ArtWalk On the third Thursday of each month, Spartanburg’s art galleries stay open late. At the Chapman Cultural Center, stop in to see the Spartanburg Art Museum, the Guild Gallery, and the Student Exhibits. Free. 5-9 p.m.

Seay House Saturday Visit Spartanburg’s oldest home, Saturday, June 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. This house was part of a local farmstead managed and maintained by three maiden Seay sisters in the late 1800s.

Admission is free but donations are welcome. Presented by the Spartanburg County Historical Association.

Fine Furniture Exhibit Master woodcraftsman Michael McDunn presents Function & Awe, a large sampling of his handmade fine furniture in the Spartanburg Art Museum. It is both heirloom and contemporary. Tuesday-Saturday, May 22-Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Youth Photography Exhibit Young people see the world differently. See it through their camera lens in this annual exhibit by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Upstate. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., through July 1. Free.

Children’s Art Exhibit Children from the COLORS program present their colorful and innocent works of art, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., June 12-Aug. 1. Free.

Two Guild Exhibits in One Local artists Peggy Demarest and Lynne Tanner present their respective exhibits, Fragments and Marsh Visitations, in the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg gallery June 1-27, MondaySaturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fragments is one woman’s view of life through abstract sculptures made of stuff she found. Marsh Visitations is a canvas collection abstracting the artist’s visit to Dewees Island.

Marvin Hamlisch Don’t miss this living musical legend of stage and screen. Only a few tickets left. For An Evening with Marvin Hamlisch—Tuesday, June 26, at 8 p.m.—order online now.

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

8 SPARTANBURG Journal | JUNE 15, 2012

Spartanburg’s beleaguered Swim Center is on monetary probation in the coming fiscal year as city officials scramble to find a way to keep the costly facility open, officials said this week.

“If we don’t find other sources of funding for the center, I’m not sure we can afford to keep it open,” said Mayor Junie White on Monday.

“Somebody’s got to step up to the plate and help us out,” said Councilwoman Linda Dougan. “Most of the users (at the center) are from the county, but so far we’ve not heard from them (county council) on funding help.”

Across the state, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials estimate 17 municipal pools have closed in the past five years.

Around the nation, the great recession has drained city budgets and public pools from New York City to the West Coast, bringing to an end a rite of passage for millions dating from the WPA projects of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the nation fought to put jobless people back to work.

More than 1,000 municipal pools were built under Roosevelt as a way to give suffering youth in the cities an inexpensive form of recreation and an escape from the heat in those days before air conditioning.

Today, cities like Anderson see municipal pools as more of a drain on overextended budgets.

The city of Anderson has closed two pools to the public, one shuttered for good, the other barely hanging on as a practice site for the Anderson Swim Club, but not local kids.

Even at that, the swim club spends $10,000 a month on insurance, operations and main-

Greg Beckner / Staff

Auto Racing Spartanburg was once at the center of auto racing. The Spartanburg Regional History Museum presents an exhibit featuring artifacts and trophies, and the development of the many branches of the auto racing industry, June 19-Sept. 1, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

By CHarles Sowell | staff

Young swimmers swim through hula hoops at the Spartanburg Swim Center.

tenance. The pool was closed to the public in January.

That $10,000 a month the swim club is spending in Anderson pales in comparison to the money – roughly $500,000 a year – that Spartanburg has to shell out to keep its indoor pool open, said city spokesman Will Rothschild. That total does not include the roughly $2 million that will be needed to bring the facility up to code structurally.

Around the country, reaction to pool closings has been similar to the outcry in March, when Spartanburg city fathers held a public hearing on plans for the city’s recreation department.

About 40 users of the swim center lined up at that meeting to give city council an earful on plans to close the pool.

“It was good to hear from these folks,” said Rothschild.

“It gave us a real feel for the passion regular users of the facility have. But that was 40 persons out of a city with a population of 40,000 and a

county of 250,000. We’ve really yet to hear from the rest of the populace.”

In Baltimore, where the mayor has proposed closing seven small neighborhood pools, the dissention on city council has been tremendous, the Baltimore Sun reported earlier this year.

“We really cannot continue to take away the opportunities that kids have besides running in the streets and expect the police commissioner to continue to bring the crime rate down,” Baltimore Councilman Bill Henry told The Sun. Baltimore’s recreation budget is equal to the city of Spartanburg’s entire $33 million budget. In Baltimore, pool usage is expected to fall by more than half.

In Spartanburg, Swim Center usage is holding steady at about 2,000 users a month, said Mitch Kennedy, Spartanburg community services director.

There will be some fee increases at the Swim Center in the coming year, Rothschild said. Swimming lessons will

continue to be free, but county residents will have to pay a little more to use the facility.

However, “we can’t charge enough in fees to make this thing work,” Dougan said.

White said city staff is “working hard to come up with alternative sources of funding for the Swim Center.

The county, school districts, private donors and businesses are all potential sources of funding that we could use to keep the facility open.”

So far, no one is breaking down the doors at city hall to chip in to keep the 30-yearold facility open.

Under the $33 million budget passed by city council Monday night, the Swim Center has one more year of funding. The old T.K. Gregg center has been shuttered, and the funding that would have gone to keep that facility open has been put in a dedicated fund to build a new Gregg Center on the north side in 10 years, Rothschild said.

City residents will pay more in fees this coming fiscal year, city officials said. The millage rate is holding steady at 101 mils.

“When you get to the bottom line, we have to ask ourselves if a facility like the Swim Center, which uses about 20 percent of the city’s total outlay on quality of life issues, is worth the money,” Rothschild said.

That’s a question city council will have to tackle again next year as city fathers take on more funding cutbacks amid an uncertain economy – weighing, with their municipal counterparts around the country, how to keep police on the streets and maintain other vital public services without letting amenities like swimming pools go.

Contact Charles Sowell at csowell@ thespartanburgjournal.com.

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

Primaries go on despite mass disqualifications

By JERRY SALLEY | staff

Despite several legal attempts to halt or delay them, despite harsh criticism from Gov. Haley and leaders in both parties, despite nearly 240 candidates statewide being disqualified, despite a dismal projected turnout, and despite gray skies threatening thunderstorms, the partisan primaries in South Carolina went ahead as scheduled on Tuesday.

Polls in Spartanburg County were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Spartanburg voters, whose primary choices were already limited by a state Supreme Court ruling in May that removed five Spartanburg-area candidates from ballots, had even fewer choices Tuesday thanks to a ruling by the court last week.

The June 5 ruling reaffirmed the court’s May disqualification of all candidates who did not submit financial paperwork along with their candidacy filing paperwork, which the court said was mandated by state law. The court left it up to the political parties to submit their lists of qualified candidates; when the dust had settled, nearly 200 candidates had been

June 15

eliminated from the lists.

However, a lawsuit against the GOP in Florence County accused the party of ignoring the ruling and certifying all of their candidates, regardless of their eligibility as outlined by the court. The court ruled against the Florence County GOP and warned all counties and candidates to follow the rules.

That warning prompted the disqualification of nearly 40 additional candidates statewide, including Republican Wyatt Miler, who was running for state Senate in District 5, which stretches into parts of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. Since his disqualification came so late, Miler’s name appeared on ballots in Spartanburg County. Signs at polling places informed voters that any votes cast for Miler would not be counted.

Miler’s opponents, Tom Corbin and Amanda Somers, remained certified.

On Friday, Miler posted a message on his campaign’s Facebook page blaming his disqualification on confusing instructions from election authorities.

“Indeed it’s true, I have been thrown off the ballot because I followed the rules the S.C. Election Commission provided to the candidates for filing,” he said.

Miler said he is still exploring his options.

Many disqualified candidates in the Upstate are circulating petitions to appear on the ballot in the November general election.

Earlier, a three-judge panel denied an emergency request from five decertified candidates, including Tommie Reece, a Republican state Senate candidate in Greenville County, for a delay to the elections.

Last week, a spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley called the primaries “an absolute sham, and incumbent protectionism at its worst.” The governor wants a legislative fix to the problem, said spokesman Rob Godfrey. The state Senate has already passed a bill designed to eliminate future confusion, but it’s too late to be of any help this year, experts say.

“Without question, this is one of the most confused primary elections in the state’s history,” Ron Romine, chairman of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party, told the Journal. “We got into it because of the failure of the state Legislature and the S.C. Election Commission to adequately publicize the changes in the law. It is easy to blame the candidates, and the county parties, as many have done, but common sense tells you

that when there is this much confusion on the part of so many people in both parties, something serious has gone wrong.”

The leadership of the state GOP has been left “frustrated, disgusted and anguished” by the ballot controversy, according to a statement last week from Chad Connelly, state party chairman.

In Spartanburg County, five precincts did not open on Tuesday morning because there were no opposed candidates in the precincts’ political districts, according to Henry Laye, director of Spartanburg County’s Registration and Elections office.

The county’s Democratic voters had only one choice to make Tuesday: whether Deb Morrow or Jimmy Tobias would oppose Republican Trey Gowdy to represent District 4 in the U.S. Congress.

Only four choices remained for the county’s Republicans: choosing candidates for state Senate districts 5 and 12, and state House districts 35 and 37.

As of press time, polls in Spartanburg County were still open.

Contact Jerry Salley at jsalley@thespartanburgjournal.com.

PH YSICIAN UPDATE

GHS welcomes these new physicians and office sites!

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

New Office Location!

The Children’s Clinic 890 S. Pleasantburg Dr. Greenville, 271-1450

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

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 9

journal community

HAVE YOU SCANNED YET?

Bad bugs Treatment offers freedom, less risk for those with systemic allergic reactions By april a. morris | staff

120306

Summertime brings out eager hikers, bikers, campers, barbecue masters … and bugs. For most people, the sting of a flying insect or fire ant is a painful, but minor inconvenience that results in a bit of swelling or itching. For the nearly three percent of the population who suffers from a systemic – or system-wide – allergy, a sting can result in a severe, even life-threatening reaction.

This system-wide physical reaction is called anaphylaxis, said Dr. John Pulcini, an allergy immunologist with Acadia Allergy.

Symptoms include hives, welts and swelling of the face, tongue, and limbs, along with wheezing, uterine cramps in women, loss of consciousness, stomach cramps and vomiting, Pulcini said. Contact with certain foods, medications or latex can spark

the reaction as well as stings, he said.

For persons without an insect venom allergy, an insect sting can be treated with antihistamines, topical treatments and steroids, he said. However, someone with a systemic allergy must have treatment with epinephrine or adrenaline, often from an automatic injector.

Reactions can be caused by both apids – honeybees, bumblebees and sweat bees – or vespids, which are yellow jackets, hornets and wasps, Pulcini said. Patients who suffer from an anaphylactic reaction may have to reduce their outdoor activity and experience a diminished quality of life, he said.

Roy Wolfe, 57, a retired accountant who loves to work outside, says he became fearful of being outdoors last spring when he was doing home renovations and was stung on the wrist by a paper wasp.

“I’ve had a bee venom allergy since I was a child and was stung several times each year. The reactions got progressively worse and worse. Sometimes I had hives on 50 percent of my body,” Wolfe said.

Last year, however, he suffered a severe systemic reaction just minutes after he was stung by the wasp. First his lips went numb, he said, then he suffered abdominal cramps and lost consciousness.

Emergency medical personnel worked on him for half an hour before he was

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taken to the hospital. After that, Wolfe said, he was ready to stay indoors.

However, Wolfe learned about an allergy shot that could help reduce the severity of his reactions. Last year, he began what is called venom immunotherapy, initially receiving two injections, followed by a shot two times per week for 12 weeks.

The therapy uses diluted venom in increasing quantities to build up immunity, Pulcini said. Once patients reach a certain level after about three months, they go on a maintenance dose once a week and then once a month.

The therapy is a commitment, the doctor said, lasting a minimum of five years and potentially the patient’s entire life.

The treatment is only recommended for patients with a systemic reaction.

Wolfe, who is an avid road biker and loves the outdoors, said the needle jabs are worth it to him. “I’m still jumpy about bugs. But if the shots weren’t available, I’d really be petrified of them now.”

And his therapy seems to be working as intended: Wolfe has been stung twice since he began venom immunotherapy, but has had only pain and a quartersized welt –no anaphylaxis, he said.

Wolfe said the small doses of venom in the allergy shots caused him a little discomfort initially; his arms ached

June 15

the day of the shot. Now that he is on a maintenance dose, he only has to endure the pain of the needle, he said.

Though Wolfe had never heard of the venom immunotherapy, the treatment has been fairly common for at least 20 years, Pulcini said. Advances in dosing, the timing of the treatment and isolating the cause of a patient’s reaction have come more recently. The next step in treating this potentially deadly reaction is to reduce the risk of an anaphylactic reaction to the therapy shots themselves, and to isolate the part of the venom that causes the immunity rather than the reaction, he said.

Many parents worry about their children who have a systemic allergy because they are less likely to be able to brush off a cloud of yellow jackets or a swarm of fire ants, Pulcini said. This therapy could help to improve a child’s quality of life and reduce parents’ anxiety.

“My goal is for them to live their life beyond their sensitivities,” he said.

Until science can take the sting out of the needle, Roy Wolfe laughed and said he’ll stick with his course of therapy.

“Having the bee shots is way better than the ambulance.”

journal community

100 Years of Listening 100 Years of Caring 100 Years of Service

1912 – 2012

This year marks Fluor’s Centennial anniversary.

The first 100 years were remarkable…the next 100 start now. In Greenville, year after year, employees volunteer time to work with community groups supporting Fluor’s corporate vision of having a positive impact on the quality of life in all communities.

We are proud of our past in Greenville and focused on our future of continued giving.

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

Visit us at www.fluor100.com ©2012 Fluor Corporation. ADGV081812

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

QuitWell

Go.Hunt.Scan

This four-week tobacco cessation program kicks off Thurs., July 5, 6:30 p.m., at the GHS Life Center®. Fee: $40. To register, call 455-WELL (9355).

This community digital scavenger hunt 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.

You Go Girl Women’s Sprint Triathlon Sun., July 8 • 7 a.m. • GHS Life Center This women’s event features a 250-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride and 2.5-mile run. Cost: $70. For details, visit ghs.org/lifecenter.

New MD360® Ribbon Cutting and Open House Mon., July 30 • 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. • 1305 S. Suber Road (Greer) Tour the new MD360® site in Greer and learn how GHS is providing high-quality primary care, urgent care and physical therapy when it’s convenient for you.

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

Inside GHS Blog Visit insideGHSblog.com for a look at what’s happening at GHS, plus gain access to the latest health information from our medical experts.

Family Beginnings Online A social networking site for expectant mothers, care partners and their families is available at ghsfamilybeginningsonline.org.

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 11

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Over the last month, multiple cases of flesh-eating infections have been reported in the Southeast. The first was 24-year-old Georgia resident Aimee Copeland, who developed an infection after being injured during a zip line accident and has lost both hands, her left leg and right foot during treatment in Augusta, Ga. She continues to improve, but is battling phantom limb pain.

In Greenville, 36-year-old EMT Lana Kuykendall was recently upgraded to fair condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital after developing necrotizing fasciitis just days after giving birth to twins on May 7.

Despite the media attention given to Copeland, Kuykendall and two more cases in recent weeks, this infection that destroys tissue and spreads rapidly through the body remains rare, says Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine. “It’s not a catching infection; it can’t spread (from person to person).”

A necrotizing fasciitis infection can attack the smooth sheath that covers muscle and the muscle itself, Schaffner said. In order to infect, the bacteria has to be introduced into the body in some way, either by the skin being pierced or at a site of blunt trauma like a bruise, he said.

The bacteria that cause some necrotizing fasciitis infections are common, like group A streptococcus, the cause of strep throat infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

If not introduced through an opening in the skin, the bacteria sometimes set up an infection in

a damaged area like a bruise, Schaffner said. Usually, bacteria that enter the bloodstream are filtered out by the immune system – but sometimes they encounter the damaged spot and stay, he said.

Schaffner said this could be the way Kuykendall contracted the infection after the birth of her twins, though the exact cause is not known. Fortunately, her case was diagnosed early because it produced visible symptoms near the skin’s surface, he said. However, because of the depth a necrotizing fasciitis infection can reach, the attack can be missed and allowed to spread before caught.

Aimee Copeland was infected through a gash in her leg after falling from a zip line into the Little Tallapoosa River. She was treated, but after complaining of persistent pain, doctors discovered she had a necrotizing fasciitis infection caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, a bacteria that can be found in lake and river water.

Pain is one of the signs of this type of infection, Schaffner said. Some patients report a fever and some do not, he added. “Patients can misapprehend it as a bruise or badly sprained muscle.”

Treatment includes antibiotics and the surgical removal of the infected tissue. “The surgeon has to get out ahead of the infection because it moves very fast,” said Schaffner. Repeated surgeries may be required to ensure that the infection is gone, he said, and the fatality rate can be 20 percent or more. “It can be an absolute ghastly infection.”

According to hospital officials, Kuykendall has undergone 20 surgeries and hyperbaric oxygen

June 15

JOURNAL COMMUNITY

Lana Kuykendall was able to hold her month-old twins for the first time last week at Greenville Memorial Hospital. Kuykendall developed necrotizing fasciitis just days after giving birth to Abigail and Ian May 7.

therapy. Her treatment has not required any amputations and she is tentatively scheduled for skin graft surgery.

And last week, Kuykendall was able to see and hold her month-old twins, Abigail and Ian, for the first time since she was admitted to the hospital on May 11. “She has improved tremendously over the last week,” said her husband Darren in a statement last week. “Although she is still in ICU, we believe she is on the road to recovery. She looks more and more like herself.”

Dr. Bill Kelly, hospital epidemiologist for the Green-

ville Hospital System, added, “Recovery will be a slow process, but she’s doing well at this time. We believe she has turned the corner.”

Despite the concentration of cases in the neighboring states of South Carolina and Georgia, Schaffner says the number of necrotizing fasciitis cases is not increasing and there is no way people can anticipate the rare infection. “This is an unfortunate and a bit of a weird coincidence,” he said.

There’s no way to predict when necrotizing fasciitis will strike, but as with preventing any infection, people can help safeguard themselves by washing their hands and maintaining good hygiene. And if you have a penetrating injury to your skin, “make sure it’s well taken care of,” he said. If you have persistent pain following the injury, ask your doctor to check for fever, he said.

“U.S. doctors are very good at wound care,” Schaffner said. “We probably prevent hundreds of cases of necrotizing fasciitis every day. We just hear about the few unfortunate cases.”

The Upstate community has expressed support for Lana Kuykendall with a prayer vigil, fundraisers and a blood drive.

Kuykendall’s family members created a website, www.faithhopelana.com, to keep friends and family informed of her progress. In addition, donations can be made to the GHS Federal Credit Union, 211 Patewood Drive, Greenville, SC, 29615, 864-455-7112.

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

360 º H e a lt H e d u c at i o n

Facts About Brain and Bone Cancers

Diabetes Type 2: The Avoidable Epidemic

Tues., June 19 • 12:15-1:15 p.m. • Greenville Memorial Hospital Bring your lunch and join medical oncologist Jeff Edenfield, M.D., to learn about brain and bone cancers. Free; registration required.

Fri., July 20 • Noon-1 p.m. • Green Valley Country Club Join GHS family medicine doctor Antoinette Rhynes, M.D., to find out how to prevent or reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lunch provided. Free; registration required.

Understanding Endometriosis Wed., July 11 • 6:30 p.m. • Patewood Memorial Hospital Join the physicians of GHS Fertility Centers of the Carolinas to find out about endometriosis and how to treat it. Light refreshments served. Free; registration required.

Convenient Care vs. the Emergency Room Wed., July 18 • Noon-1 p.m. • Thornblade Club Discover which ailments and injuries can be treated at GHS’ MD360® Convenient Care and which ones require a trip to the ER. Lunch provided. Free; registration required.

Your Colon and You

Girlology July 24, 26, 31 • 2:30-4:30 p.m. • Patewood Medical Campus These sessions help ease the transition into puberty through open discussion. Fee: $50/mom and daughter. For topics or to register, visit the events page at girlology.com.

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).

Thurs., July 19 • 6:30-8 p.m. • W. Jack Greer Library Branch (Mauldin) Learn fact from fiction regarding your colon health from GHS colorectal surgeon Jay Crockett, M.D. Free; registration required.

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 13

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Dr. Karry Guillory, a Spartanburg County magistrate court judge who formerly worked as a senior administrator at USC Upstate and as a deputy director with the state Department of Juvenile Justice, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Greenville’s Fluor Field on Sunday, June 24, for the “Drive Out Colon Cancer” game. A year ago, Guillory was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery and had six inches of his colon removed. A year later, he is cancer-free and on a mission to convince others to be screened for the deadly but often preventable disease. The “Drive Out Colon Cancer” game is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. The Drive plays the Charleston RiverDogs at 4 p.m. Fans will receive information about colon cancer prevention.

Cohen’s Closeouts and Shred 360 Document Solutions are hosting a free shred day event on June 22 from noon to 3 p.m. in honor of Cohen’s 11th anniversary.

The event will be held at Cohen’s Closeouts, 307 West Main St., Spartanburg.

The Gap Creek Singers will be awarding four scholarships at their annual Spring Scholarship Concert on Friday, June 15, at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 100 School Street, Greer. The concert is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the concert. Each year, the Gap Creek Singers award scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan to major in music and plan careers in music. Scholarships will be awarded to Sara Beam, Hunter Brons, Stephanie Simon and Jacob Wylie. The program will feature a selection of numbers by the Gap Creek Singers, including folk music and show tunes along with performances by the scholarship winners.

Spartanburg Community College (SCC) will host a free open house event on Tuesday, June 19, from 4-7 p.m. in the Dan Lee Terhune Student Services Building located on the SCC central campus in Spartanburg. The event is open to students, parents and career seekers interested in SCC’s academic programs. Representatives from BMW will be available to provide information and answer questions about the BMW Scholars Program – a unique opportunity that allows students to work part-time at BMW while attending classes full-time at SCC. For more information about the open house event and to register online, visit www.sccsc.edu/ open or call 864-592-4216.

The Glendale Outdoor Leadership School will lead a Lower Green River Paddle Trip on June 23. This paddle features Class I-II rapids and is perfect for any skill level, especially beginners. For more information, call 864-529-0259 or visit www. palmettoconservation.org.

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

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JOURNAL BUSINESS South Carolina banks still holding TARP capital from preferred shares sold to the U.S. Treasury during the credit crisis are watching closely as the Obama administration has begun selling the shares to private investors through auctions.

The Treasury holds shares in 14 state-based community banks for cash they received under the Troubled Asset Recovery Program set up by the Bush administration in 2008 to bolster capital at healthy banks after private-sector credit dried up.

One of those, Southern First Bancshares, which operates as Greenville First in the Upstate, last Friday registered its $17.3 million in TARP preferred shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission “so the Treasury can sell them back to the private market,” said Art Seaver, Southern First’s chief executive officer.

Even if the 17,300 Southern First shares sell for less than their $1,000 per share par value, Seaver said, “in terms of capital to the bank, nothing changes. You still have the capital. The government is just selling it to somebody else.”

The Treasury has said it expects the shares it still holds in 343 banks nationwide will fetch less than what it paid, but said TARP overall will end up making money for taxpayers.

Seaver sees it as an opportunity “to remove the government from that critical investment facility to get it into private hands” as a good investment and at the same time keep the capital in banks.

“I’m paying 5 percent on the $17.3 million. I have 17,300 shares owned by the government. If the government ends up selling that for $16 million, it doesn’t change my position at all.

GETTING OUT FROM

UNDER

Taxpayers profit as community banks pay back US Treasury By DICK HUGHES | contributor

TARP continued on PAGE 16

THE FINE PRINT

BY DICK HUGHES

Tech Info Firm Pivots

MTH/Information Services of Spartanburg has renamed itself Pivotal IT to better reflect “what we do.”

The information technology management firm also unveiled a new website, ITisPivotal.com.

John Sinderman, chief executive officer, said the company “invested a significant amount of time and effort to arrive at a name that conveys what we do and its strategic importance” to businesses it serves.

Shareholders Re-elect Directors

Shareholders of Carolina Alliance Bank of Spartanburg have re-elected five directors for threeyear terms.

They are Charles E. Atchison Sr., president of Atchison Transportation Services; Vollie “Vic” Bailey, president of Vic Bailey Automotive; Marsha H. Gibbs, director of Gibbs International; Samuel H. Haw Jr., co-owner of the Beacon Restaurant; and R. Lamar Simpson, chief financial officer of the bank.

FINE PRINT continued on PAGE 17

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journal business

Tarp continued from page 15

Professional Speak Out

I am still paying 5 percent on $17.3 million, so the yield to the investor would be that they can buy that investment at less than par value,” he said.

If and when the Southern First shares are put up for auction, the bank said it intends to bid to buy back up to $1 million in shares, if regulators approve.

On the other hand, the board of Greer State Bank, which sold $10 million in shares to the Treasury, has “not discussed registering our preferred shares for sale yet, preferring to see how the Treasury intends to proceed before we incur the legal expenses of registering,” said Dennis Hennett, president and CEO. It is not cheap. Southern First estimated its registration cost at $129,000.

Like many community banks struggling in the continuing real estate devaluation, Greer State was directed to suspend paying dividends on its TARP shares after its November 2010 payment to

CPA? CFO? IDK?

By Anna T. Locke If you think that your CPA is digging deep into your financials, looking for issues that you should be concerned about, think again.

Most CPAs focus on compliance obligations – taxes, financial statement compilation, perhaps an audit – and not on coaching you on how to improve your business.

In fairness, your CPA probably can't serve you as a CFO might. Because you don’t immerse him in your business, include him in strategy sessions, or debate staff changes, he’s not equipped to monitor your performance – much less plan and forecast the future accurately.

His perspective is limited largely to past performance, not future opportunity.

CPAs differ greatly from CFOs. CPAs use historical data that you provide to compile financial statements based on generally accepted principles after your accounting period ends. These are acceptable to third parties like banks, and it is assumed that you read and understand them.

A CFO focuses on the goals and strategies of your business, establishes and monitors key performance indicators that signal opportunities – or warnings – to management, works to maximize the value of your business, and coaches you on your financials, including the issues they unveil and trends they indicate.

based banks in late 2008 and 2009. It was not free money and, despite lingering political rhetoric, it was not a bailout.

In the sixth year, the interest rate balloons from 5 percent to 9 percent. The trigger for the higher rate will hit some TARP shares next year, but most shares will be affected sometime in 2014.

With one exception, taxpayers have made money on five South Carolina banks that paid back TARP or, in one recent case, sold its shares to private investors.

The Treasury lost a ton on its biggest outlay to a South Carolina bank – the $347 million infused in The South Financial Group, the Greenville holding company of Carolina First and Florida’s Mercantile Bank.

As part of an agreement to purchase TSFG in May, 2010, Toronto-Dominion Financial (TD Bank) paid the Treasury $130 million for TSFG’s shares. Taking into account the $17 million TSFG had paid in dividends before it stopped paying interest, the loss to the government was $200 million.

Had TSFG failed, as was a distinct possibility, the cost to the FDIC insurance fund likely would have been greater.

In its first auction in March, Treasury sold shares in six banks, including 65,000 shares it owned in First Financial Holdings of Charleston for $873.51 per share, a discount on the par value of $1,000. Still, the government ended up with a profit of nearly $500,000, considering dividends the bank paid through three years.

First Financial, which operates its banks as First Federal Bank, recently acquired two small First Saver Banks in Greenville as part of a FDICassisted takeover of Plantation Federal of Pawleys Island.

GrandSouth Bank of Greenville liquidated its $15.3 million in part through participation from proceeds received from participation in a stimulus program to encourage small business lending. With dividends and other credits, the Treasury made $2.3 million on its GrandSouth investment.

When SCBT bought Peo-

South Carolina Banks with TARP Capital

Some CPA firms can perform both functions. Many cannot. If you seek a partner to improve the performance of your business going forward, consider adding a CFO, even in an outsourced capacity.

Your organizational performance, your bottom line, and your peace of mind will be better for it.

864.908.3062 • atlocke.com

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16 SPARTANBURG Journal | JUNE 15, 2012

conserve capital. On June 15, the bank will be six quarterly payments in arrears.

While it has not paid the Treasury, Hennett said, “We are accruing the dividends for future payment when permissible.” He believes the bank needs four consecutive quarters of operating profits before it can resume payments. Greer State has had two consecutive profitable quarters.

“Our board of directors is eager to develop a plan for repayment of TARP as soon as our financial performance would permit such a plan,” he said.

Provident Community Bank of Rock Hill’s last dividend payment on its $9.3 million in TARP shares was in February of 2010, deferring dividends of $807,000 to date, the bank said in an SEC filing. It, too, is under regulatory restrictions on paying dividends.

BankGreenville, another Upstate bank still in TARP, is current on dividends on $1 million in TARP shares. It has paid more than $150,000 in interest since June 2009.

The Treasury invested $654 million in 20 South Carolina-

Dividends Repaid Paid

Bank

Received

Atlantic Bank Shares, Bluffton Bank Greenville, Greenville Clover Community Bankshares, Clover CoastalSouth, Myrtle Beach Congaree Banchsares, Cayce First Community Corp., Lexington First Federal Bank, Charleston First Reliance Bancshares, Florence GrandSouth Bancorp, Greenville Greer State Bank, Greer Horry County State Bank, Loris Peoples Bancorp., Easley Provident Community Bank, Rock Hill Regional Bankshares, Hartsville SCBT Financial, Columbia Security Federal, Aiken South Financial Group, Greenville Southern (Greenville) First, Greenville TCB Corp. (CountyBank), Greenwood Tidelands Bancshares, Mt. Pleasant

$2 million $1 million $3 million $16 million $3.3 million $11.4 million $65 million $55.9 million $15.3 million

$15.3 million $15.3 million $10 million $12.9 million

$12.7 million $12.7 million $9.3 million $1.5 million $64.8 million $64.8 million $22 million

$347 million $130.2 million $17.3 million

$9.7 million $9.7 million $14.4 million

S.C. Total

$653.9 million

$122,724 $150,178 $267,050 $1.2 million $519,223 $1.7 million $9.6 million $2 million $2.3 million $975,831 $1 million $2.4 million $543,091 $225,269 $2.5 million $2 million $16.8 million $2.3 million $1.9 million $1.2 million

Profit/Loss to treasury

$495,922 $2.3 million

$2.4 million

$2.5 million -$200 million $1.9 million

Sources: U.S. Treasury, Pro Publica

ples Bancorporation of Easley, parent of Peoples Bank, Bank of Anderson and Seneca National Bank, it repaid Peoples’ $12.6 million in TARP. Including dividends, Treasury’s profit was $2.4 million.

SCBT of Columbia itself received $64.8 million in TARP on Jan. 16, 2009, and paid it back five months later, one of the nation’s first banks to do so. Treasury made $2.5 million in interest in that short time.

TCB Corp. of Greenwood, holding company of CountyBank, bought back its $9.7 million in shares last September. Taxpayers made $1.9 million on that investment.

Of the banks still in TARP, Georgiabased Synovus holds the biggest investment, $968 million. It owns, among many banks across the Southeast, National Bank of South Carolina.

What attracted so many investors to the first TARP auction, where First Federal Bank’s shares were sold, were the attractive interest rates, Seaver said.

“It’s now at 5 percent, which is a better return than other places, and at 9 percent would be a great investment.”

A second auction of the shares of seven banks was scheduled for this week.

Contact Dick Hughes at dhughes@thespartanburgjournal.com.

JOURNAL BUSINESS

THE FINE PRINT

BY DICK HUGHES

FINE PRINT continued from PAGE 15

Visitors Guide Gets Update

ANYONE CAN MANAGE YOUR TRUST.

The Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau has begun preparation for its 2013 edition of “The Official Spartanburg Visitors Guide.”

The guide “has become one of the region’s most successful tools for reaching the traveling public,” the bureau said.

The bureau plans to print 40,000 copies of the 2013 guide and include “some improvements to the content and design,” said Amy Phillips, marketing and communications manager.

Local Firm Wins California Contract

Utility Partners of America of Greenville is providing installation support for a meter conversion project by Southern California Gas Co. When completed, it will be North America’s “largest fully integrated meter-to-consumer” system, the company said.

UPA is responsible for resource planning and development and delivery of systems to manage work orders, fleets, inventory and facilities.

“This contract represents a tremendous accomplishment for UPA and our business partners,” said Todd Stone, UPA’s president and founder.

UPA underwent an 18-month due diligence review “to meet the rigorous security, safety and operational standards required for an initiative of this scope and scale,” the company said.

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG JOURNAL 17

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Journal Sketchbook

Photo by Estria Miyashiro

AVAILABLE JUNE 17TH

Starting Friday, June 15, artist Molly Rose Freeman will be creating a mural on the wall of RJ Rockers Brewing Co. facing Daniel Morgan Avenue.

Painting in public Artist Molly Rose Freeman brings her unpredictable art to downtown Spartanburg By jerry salley | staff

AVAILABLE JUNE 19TH

18 SPARTANBURG Journal | JUNE 15, 2012

When she did her first public art project in 2010, Molly Rose Freeman had a revelation.

“At the time, I was feeling really unsatisfied with the paintings and drawings I’d been doing in the studio and wanted a change of pace, and a change of scale,” remembered Freeman, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville that same year. So when a friend from Asheville recruited her to join a group of artists from the Carolinas to paint a mural during the international Art Basel art fair in Miami, she was ready.

“From the first day, I knew I’d hit gold,” she said. “Painting, collaborating, spending all day

and night outside. For me, there was no going back. It was the best thing I could have done at that time, to jump blindly into something big and new.”

Starting Friday, June 15, and every day (weather permitting) until Wednesday, June 20, Freeman will be creating something big and new in downtown Spartanburg: a mural on the wall of RJ Rockers Brewing Company facing Daniel Morgan Avenue.

HUB-BUB is hosting the artist, and is also launching an exhibit of her work, “Phenomenon,” with a reception at The Showroom on June 21. The exhibit will run through July.

“I first heard of HUB-BUB when I was living in Asheville,” she said, “and I was really drawn to how passionate they were about community art.”

She will start from a general

sketch, but the final wall will be “a bit of a surprise,” said the artist. “I did draw from some things specific to Spartanburg, the Grain District and the brewery. That’s all I’m saying.”

The colors will be another surprise – maybe even to the artist herself. “The specific colors are still up in the air,” she said. “I like for the physical space I’m painting to inform the colors I choose. Colors are based on light, and the light in every place is distinct.”

Each community she works in is also distinct, she said. “I always talk with people in the community during the project itself. I paint outside, in a public space, so I can talk to anyone and anyone can talk to me. I’ve painted walls before where I never even met the property owner, but I al-

ways meet people around the neighborhood. That’s a big part of the painting itself, because whatever is going on in the painting process is manifested in the final piece.”

In Miami this past December, while Freeman was working on her second Art Basel project, one influence was very direct. “A 10-yearold girl named Anna came up to me and asked if she could use my paint pens to draw something on my wall,” she remembered. “In the final mural now there’s a part that’s covered in little black polka dots. It’s nice to have room for that kind of spontaneity.”

Freeman’s work has appeared throughout the Southeast; besides Miami, the artist, who is now based in Memphis, Tenn., has worked on

murals in Asheville and Charleston.

She bases her work on shapes, patterns and networks that she sees in the world around her. “But often times, what people see is more reflective of what’s going in their heads than what was going on in mine,” she said. “I like it when people disagree about what they see – it means they’re imagining something.”

Public art draws power from unpredictability, she said. “There is something exhilarating about confronting art when you’re not expecting it. I think you start to see the spaces around you in new ways.

Most of the time, we are surrounded by buildings and walls, and it’s easy to feel like you were born into a maze of big, impenetrable boxes. I think public art helps to ease out of that notion. It shows that we can still use the space around us creatively – that we are not hemmed in by the things built by people before us.

That’s important, to encourage people to think about their environment as a malleable thing, rich with possibility.”

The process can also be unpredictable for the artist. “Something unexpected always happens – you might meet someone that sparks a new idea, or you might fall into a fence and have to work through an injury, or you might not have the supplies you need and have to improvise. But for me, the challenge is the best part – the feeling that I’m never totally in control.

It encourages me to be more open, more

adaptable, and to absorb everything that happens as part of the process.”

And at the end of the process, there’s a sense of accomplishment.

“I get an adrenaline rush from standing in front of a blank wall and knowing that I’m going to transform it, and that feeling usually stays with me until it’s finished,” she said. “More than any kind of conceptual or intellectual reason I could give, I like public art because I feel great when I’m doing it.”

Contact Jerry Salley at jsalley@thespartanburgjournal.com.

SO YOU KNOW:

When the Power Goes Out, Will You Be Ready?

Who: Molly Rose Freeman What: Public art painting Where: The wall of RJ Rockers Brewing Company, 226 W. Main St., Spartanburg When: June 15-20 Artist’s exhibit: “Phenomenon” Where: The Showroom, HUB-BUB, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Ave., Spartanburg When: Opening reception June 21 from 7-9 p.m., with an artist’s talk at 8 p.m. Exhibit runs through July.

Admission: Free More information: www.hub-bub.com

‘Kimberly’s Flight’ looks at pilot’s life, not death

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Kimberly Hampton was the nation’s first woman military pilot killed in battle

By Cindy Landrum | staff

Kimberly Hampton will forever be known as the first female American military pilot to be killed in combat.

But her mother, Ann Hampton, wanted people to remember not only her death, but her life as well.

To write “Kimberly’s Flight,” Hampton teamed up with former Greenville News reporter Anna Simon, whom she first met when Simon covered her daughter’s death for the newspaper.

Kimberly Hampton’s story – from being Easley High School’s first Naval

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JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 19

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troop – is told through emails and interviews with friends and colleagues.

Ann Hampton’s story is told through her narratives of loving and losing a child and visiting the country in which her daughter died.

“We wanted Kimberly’s story to be told accurately. We wanted people to know about her life, not just her death,” Ann Hampton said. “Kimberly is our only child, and we didn’t want her story to be forgotten. I tell people that I wanted something for the nurses to read to me in the nursing home.”

Kimberly Hampton was flying an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter above Fallujah, Iraq, on Jan. 2, 2004, in search of a sniper on the rooftops of the city. The mission – one that she was not originally scheduled to fly – was to support a raid on an illicit weapons market.

An explosion rocked her helicopter a little past noon when a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile got into its exhaust and knocked off its tail boom.

The helicopter crashed into a brick wall surrounding a date and apple orchard.

Hampton died instantly of head and chest injuries.

Ann Hampton got up early that morning and went to her computer to check if she had received an email from Kimberly when she saw a news item on AOL that a helicopter had crashed in Iraq.

As the day dragged on, Ann Hampton knew the news she’d receive wouldn’t be good.

The Hamptons heard the official report at 4:20 p.m. – exactly 12 hours after their only child had been killed. The news buckled Hampton’s father, Dale, to his knees.

“I grieve. I miss her. Nothing can change that,” said Ann Hampton, who has made two trips to Iraq since her daughter’s death. The first trip

allowed her to understand why the United States was in Iraq, something that made it easier for her to accept her daughter’s death. “I have peace and comfort knowing she was doing what she loved.”

Her daughter told her as much in an email.

“I’m living my dreams for sure – living on the edge sometimes and pushing the envelope,” Kimberly Hampton wrote. “But I’m doing things others only dream about from the safety and comfort of home. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything – I truly love it. So worry if you must, but you can be sure that your only child is living a full, exciting life and is HAPPY.” Simon said it was important to tell Kimberly Hampton’s story and recognize the sacrifices made by those who serve in the military and their families.

“It may be the girl next door or the boy next door,” she said. “Each one has a story. Each is unique. And each deserves our respect.”

Contact Cindy Landrum at clandrum@thespartanburgjournal.com.

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By CHarles Sowell | staff

A well-regarded national conference designed to “educate, inspire, celebrate and connect all whose lives have been touched by cancer or any life-altering illness” is coming to Spartanburg June 23 and 24.

Sponsors say the Healing Journeys National Conference will bring encouragement and important information to Spartanburg residents who have been diagnosed with cancer as well as those who are close to cancer survivors.

The free, two-day event will be held at Spartanburg Methodist College, with Saturday sessions running from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday sessions from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The conference was founded by Jan Adrian of San Jose, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989. Adrian has since had three primary cancers: two different kinds of breast cancers; ocular melanoma in her eye; and 11 occurrences of cancer since her original diagnosis.

Currently she is dealing with her latest version of the disease, lung cancer.

Since the conferences began in 1996, attendance has grown 600 percent at 26 events presented. Today attendance averages 1,350 per event in California.

The Spartanburg event will feature Dr. Thomas Moore, author and educator, as keynote speaker on Saturday morning. Moore holds a Ph.D. in religion and most of his 15 books deal with deepening spirituality in life. Dr. Moore lectures on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy and the arts.

Nancy Welch, former WSPA-TV personality, will speak Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on her journey this past year with rectal cancer.

Bunny Richardson, assistant manager of internal communications for BMW Manufacturing Group, will speak on Sunday at

9:25 a.m. about her colon cancer, for which she is still undergoing treatment.

Presenters will be: Singer-songwriter Gaye Adegbalola, recipient of the Blues Music Award and frontwoman for Miz A & The Freedom Band. She is the survivor of two primary cancers, uterine and cervical, in 1992.

Lise Alschuler, ND, has received many awards for her work as a naturopathic oncologist, and is the co-author of “The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrated Approach to Prevention, Treatment and Healing” as well as “Five to Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan.”

Emmett Miller, MD, one of the fathers of holistic and mind/body medicine, is a storyteller and the author of many books, including “Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine.”

James Nave, MFA, a poet and artist from Asheville, N.C., began writing poems the morning after his prostate surgery. “Looking At Light, 100 poems in 100 Days” is the result of those efforts. He is the founder of The Imaginative Storm Creative Salon and was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Laura Pole, president of Eating for a Lifetime, is a health-supportive gourmet chef, an oncology clinical nurse specialist, a certified fitness instructor, and a musician for over 50 years. Blending these passions, she is considered one of the leading authorities on health and cooking for people with serious illnesses.

Jonna Tamares, an actress and three-time cancer survivor, has turned her experiences into a one-woman show, “Jonna’s Body, Please Hold.” The show has received rave reviews and was nominated for two Ovation Awards.

To register and learn details about the conference, visit www.healingjourneys.org.

Contact Charles Sowell at csowell@thespartanburgjournal.com.

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We’re already in the big leagues.

That leaves everyone else playing catch up.

When the National Cancer Institute (NCI) selected centers to provide expanded cancer treatment and research through a network of community hospitals, Gibbs was one of its first choices. Today, Gibbs is still the only NCI-designated Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) anywhere in the Carolinas. Not only were we first, we’re still the one and only – and that’s a huge win for the home team.

Spartanburg Regional • 101 East Wood St. • Spartanburg SC 29303 • 1.877.455.7747 • gibbscancercenter.com JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 21

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scene. here.

the week in the local arts world

Chumley Cope of Explore Up Close will share great local places to visit for a perfect blend of historic significance, fun and excitement at Lunch and Learn History on Friday, June 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the Chapman Cultural Center. Bring your lunch and spend an hour learning about great local places to visit. Presented by the Spartanburg County Historical Association. Cost is $5. For more information, call 864-542-ARTS or visit www.chapmanculturalcenter.org.

That Awkward Stage, a teenage theatre troupe from Greenville, will present an original musical, “Composed in Memories,” at the Chapman Cultural Center on Friday, July 6, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 7, at 2 and 7 p.m. Written and directed by 17-year-old Cara Lisa Franz, the story is about two teenagers’ unspoken love for each other and how they cope with acknowledging their love after the young man loses his memory in a car accident. All music and songs in the play were composed and written by Vincent Lovetro. Both the writer/director and the musical director are seniors in high school. All actors and stagehands are also teenagers. This is That Awkward Stage’s third production, utilizing only teenage talent in all phases of producing a play. The leading roles will be played by 19-year-old Michael Joseph “Mike J” McCall as Evan and 15-year-

old Mea Abrahams, a rising sophomore at James F. Byrnes High School, as Allison. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. For more information or to buy tickets, please call 864-542-ARTS or visit www. chapmanculturalcenter.org.

Marvin Hamlisch, one of the world’s greatest living composers, will perform at Spartanburg’s Chapman Cultural Center on Tuesday, June 26, at 8 p.m. as a benefit for The Spartanburg Little Theatre. As a composer, Hamlisch has won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. He has written music for Broadway shows like “A Chorus Line,” “They’re Playing Our Song,” and “The Goodbye Girl” in addition to motion picture scores. Tickets are $40 ($30 for Little Theatre season members), and a complete sellout of the 500 seats is expected. Call 864-542-ARTS or visit www.chapmanculturalcenter.org for information or tickets.

Two local artists—Peggy Demarest and Lynne Tanner—will share the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg’s gallery at the Chapman Cultural Center during June, presenting their respective exhibits, Fragments and Marsh Visitations. Fragments is a mixture of abstract sculptures and drawings, using recycled and found materials to reflect on the artist’s

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female perspective of life and society. Marsh Visitations is a collection of abstract landscape paintings based on Tanner’s visit to Dewees Island. The exhibits show now through June 27, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and are free for public viewing. A free and public reception will be held Thursday, June 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. during ArtWalk. At 6:30 p.m., the artists will give short public lectures, Art Talks. For more information, call 864-542-ARTS or visit ChapmanCulturalCenter.org.

Spartanburg was at the center of auto racing in its infancy and is still home to many of the legends of the sport. June 19-September 1, the Spartanburg Regional History Museum at the Chapman Cultural Center will present an exhibit featuring numerous artifacts and trophies, and showcase the development of the many branches of the auto racing industry. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and cost is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and veterans, and $2 for kids. For more information, call 864-542-ARTS or visit www.chapmanculturalcenter.org.

Send us your arts announcement.

E-mail: spartanburgarts@thespartanburgjournal.com.

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SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

journal sketchbook

the week in photos

look who’s in the journal this week

(Right) Grant Wilson, 13, a member of the Boiling Springs “Barracuda” swim team, practices his breaststroke in the pool in the Wellness Center of the Health and Education Building at USC Upstate.

Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

(Above) USC Upstate senior and lifeguard at the school’s wellness center pool, Dustin Salter, uses a brush to clean the deck around the pool between swimming sessions.

University of South Carolina Upstate Math and Science Camp counselor Stephanie Smits makes a photograph of herself with campers Natalie Carter, 6, and Zakhary Orehowski, 9, after they finished decorating their visors during the camp.

One of the science lessons taught at camp dealt with ultraviolet radiation. Campers were given visors to protect them from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Dr. Gary Bradley helps Math and Science camper Brandon Bruce with a problem.

Alejandra Carrac, 8, and Ata Ozer, 7, look for items to decorate their visors with at the USC Upstate Math and Science Camp.

Math and Science Camp counselor Dr. Gary Bradley begins a lesson on geometry during the camp at USC Upstate. The weeklong camp runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with more sessions scheduled for June.

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Crossword puzzle: page 26

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Camp counselor Linda Duncan photographs Math and Science camper Dayton Randolph, 6, while fellow camper Daniel Wallwork, 7, lines up his Starburst candies during a lesson on fractions. The candies were used as visual aids for the camper in the lesson.

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Sudoku puzzle: page 26

JUNE 15, 2012 | SPARTANBURG Journal 25

journal sketchbook

figure. this. out.

Double-O Seven

By Gareth Bain

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 | JUNE 15, 2012

Across

1 Mell Lazarus comics matriarch 6 Clublike weapons 11 Latin trio member 15 Son of Homer 19 Bite the bullet, e.g.

20 Inundated 21 Chorus syllables 22 On the quieter side 23 Where chicks learn their ABCs? 26 Colorful horse 27 Keying in 28 Switch ending 29 President after Calvin 31 Critical hosp. area 32 Witticism 33 Bizet’s “Habanera,” e.g.

34 Midday duelers?

42 Mushrooms, say 46 Irish-born actor Milo 47 Nina who had a 1959 hit with “I Loves You, Porgy” 48 Slow-on-the-uptake response 51 Little green men 53 Web or sky follower 54 Do some gliding 55 She played WKRP’s Jennifer 56 Parka feature 57 Chapter of a sort 59 Establishment boasting whiskey and pedicures?

63 They connect stories 66 Mailing H.Q.

67 Champagne toast?

68 Part of a gig 71 Lowdown on Wrigley’s?

76 Little green men 77 British noblemen 79 __ Jima 80 Mistreat 82 Deposit on a brownstone entrance?

87 Literary preposition 88 Antarctica’s __ Ice Shelf 92 Barflies 93 Family depiction 94 Unprocessed 96 Peloponnesian War side 98 Yellow turnip 100 Hot pot spot 103 Special forces unit 104 Ring centerpiece 105 Quaint caption for a cavalry photo?

108 Highlander 111 Facilities, for short 112 Greek securities org.

113 Lady in a harbor 116 Yemeni seaport 118 Decisive experiment 123 Avocado’s shape 124 Question about a noisy pet owl?

127 Brain part 128 Whenever 129 Bottled benefactor 130 Wields a hoe 131 God of hawks?

132 Retired boomers

133 Barack’s second High Court appointee 134 Grammy winner Jones

Down

1 Lecturer’s aid 2 God with raven messengers 3 Register freebie 4 Statistical calculation 5 “__ Pie” 6 Wine buys 7 Like happy tails 8 Airport rental 9 Italian noble family 10 Civil War general with a Shawnee middle name 11 “Jo’s Boys” author 12 Red Guard leader 13 Dual-purpose island word 14 Become thinner 15 Campy 1968 Fonda title role 16 Burn remedy 17 Seat warmer?

18 Hiking gear item 24 Wealthy, in Juárez 25 “For __”: Beatles’ song 30 “The Avengers” co-star 34 Saver of pairs 35 Scandinavian capital 36 Indiana neighbor 37 They may be pressing 38 Antacid option

39 Docs’ lobby: Abbr.

40 Pyramid, perhaps 41 Chimney schmutz 43 Two-time Oscar nominee for portraying Henry II 44 Triumph against odds 45 Tours of duty

Easy

49 Small sum of money, slangily 50 Org. with many unhappy returns?

52 12-time Pro Bowl NFLer Junior 54 Finland, in Finland 58 Umbrella spoke

60 Spur 61 15-Across’s Squishee provider 62 Egyptian snakes 64 Recipe amt.

65 Icky stuff 68 Mr. and Mr. 69 Give the cook a day off, perhaps 70 Cavern 72 Woolly mammal 73 Worked the fields 74 José’s hooray 75 Partly mine 78 California’s most populous county 81 Poets’ Muse 83 Gp. to benefit students 84 Bol. neighbor 85 “Woo-hoo!”

86 Salt Lake City daily, briefly 89 One dunked after school 90 One of the Berenstains 91 Wal-Mart wholesale club 95 Monopoly abbr.

97 Computer scrolling key 99 Berenstain critter 100 Bit of sports news 101 Dish best served cold, so it’s said 102 Respiratory conduit 106 Causes to beam 107 “Dream on!”

109 Value system 110 Rhône’s capital 113 Kinks hit whose title is spelled out in the lyrics 114 Novello of old films 115 Ruth not in the Bible 117 Holiday song 118 Votin’ no on 119 Palm smartphone 120 Observer 121 Happy Meal option 122 Fanny 125 Mo. known for color changes 126 A in French?

Crossword answers: page 25

Sudoku answers: page 25

journal sketchbook

life is so daily with steve wong

That Myrtle Beach daze It’s summertime in South Carolina, which reminds me that I’ve not had a Miller beer for breakfast in a long time.

I’m about due one. It’s time to go to Myrtle Beach.

Long before the city of Las Vegas coined and marketed the catchphrase “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” we Carolinians always knew that “What happens in Myrtle Beach, stays in Myrtle Beach.”

Our parents knew it; our grandparents knew it; and we hope our children and grandchildren have the good sense to know it, too. You always have a great time in Myrtle Beach and we want to hear all about it – at least we want to hear about the things you did that can be said while standing in the front yard of the Baptist church.

If the details aren’t fit for telling there, well, then, just keep them to yourself until we loosen these ties and stand cheek-tojowl in the all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet line. Spill it, and I don’t mean the sweet tea.

It’s a given: All good South Carolinians vacation on the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach. It doesn’t matter that you’ve vacationed abroad and seen the streets of Paris or the Coliseum in Rome or the Great Wall of China, you still must make your annual pilgrimage to Horry County to eat fried seafood, blister your alabaster skin, and wear something so totally tacky and revealing that you won’t even bring it home with you. Don’t forget to check your digital camera during that long ride home… delete… delete… oh my God, delete.

For as long as I can remember, Myrtle Beach has always been my favorite vacation spot to complain about. We hate the cheap motels, we hate the murky green water, it’s too hot, it’s overpriced, too many people, and tacky, yes, tacky like stepping barefoot on a wad of pale pink bubble gum on the hot asphalt of Ocean Boulevard while scouting out tattoo parlors.

As a child, my mother’s motel gold standard was that it had to be within walking distance of the Pavilion, preferably on the north side and certainly oceanfront. If she couldn’t have an oceanfront room, well, just forget it, and we’ll go to Tweetsie Railroad. Yeah, we went to Tweetsie Railroad, but that was only a distraction until she could find an oceanfront motel room at Myrtle Beach for our real vacation.

I always thought it was odd that my mother loved Myrtle Beach so much and

said she went there in her youth, but she never really said why. Normally, she had plenty of stories to tell, but she was always oddly mum about her salad days on the Strand. Momma knows best.

It doesn’t really matter how young or how old, how poor or how rich you are, how fat or grossly fat you are, there is a place for everyone at Myrtle Beach. Once you strip down to board shorts and bikinis, the unique blend of Budweiser and Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil smells the same on everyone.

Bike Week and Black Bike Week are always dangerously fun for those of the Harley-Davidson persuasion. For shaggers (the dancers, not to be confused with those amorous Brits), there are spring, fall and mid-winter SOS (Shagging On the Strand) weeks where the state dance is kept alive by anyone who can shuffle two feet and hold hands and a beer at the same time. (You can confuse Shagging On the Strand with anything you like.)

In my day, the ultimate Myrtle Beach experience was to leave the high school graduation ceremony (cut-off shorts and tank top under the robe) and head straight to Mother Fletchers, a night spot that was often still getting down when the morning sun came up over the Atlantic.

It was there I saw the nice girls from my graduating class taking their turn standing in a plastic kiddy pool while the DJ poured cold water over their chests. Win or lose, they got to keep the T-shirts.

My wild days on the Strand are all but over, and I find the air-conditioned comfort of a condo in Cherry Grove now more to my liking. I still make my way up to Calabash for fresh shrimp and my way down to Murrell’s Inlet for even more fresh shrimp, and I would no more stop along the way for a wet boxer shorts contest than I would jump off a motel balcony into a parking lot swimming pool.

But I can remember those Myrtle Beach days.

Steve Wong and his wife and their dogs and cats live in a peach orchard in Gramling, which is a quiet little rural community in northern Spartanburg County. He loves to get feedback on the stuff he writes: Just4Wong@gmail.com.

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