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Editorials are written by Graham Osteen,
editor and publisher of The Messenger.
His e–mail address
is mailto:%20graham@hartsvillemessenger.com,
or
call 843-332-6545.
June 2, 2006
Tuesday forum to explore
violence
There will
be a free public forum on violence in the community this
Tuesday, June 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lawton Music Hall on
the Coker College Campus in Hartsville.
The event is
being sponsored by People to People of Hartsville, which was
started in 1992 by Clayton Richardson and Hazel Puyet as a way
to promote racial harmony and open dialogue “by drawing
together individuals, agencies and organizations committed to
working for the betterment of the entire
community.”
I’ve been asked to moderate the panel
discussion, which will include representatives from the
Hartsville Police Department, Darlington County School
District, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department, the
Center for Equal Justice, the Pee Dee Coalition, the
Magistrate’s office, a conflict resolution specialist and
victims of violent crime. The panelists and the public are
encouraged to discuss the general subject of violence and how
it relates to their respective area of expertise. My job is to
move the discussion along.
Please try to attend and
participate in this important forum, and thanks to the
tireless Clayton Richardson for putting it
together.
People to People meets the first Monday of
the month, from September to May, at the Hartsville campus of
Florence-Darlington Technical College, and has contributed
greatly to the health of Hartsville through such events as the
annual Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration, the annual
Random Acts of Kindness campaign, and various other
endeavors.
May 31, 2006
Remember those who
served,
then and now
I
celebrated my freedom on Memorial Day Weekend 2006 hunkered
down safely in my couch foxhole watching one episode after
another of “Band of Brothers” on The History
Channel.
If you’ve never seen it, go rent it. It will
make you feel like a real wimp for not doing more for your
country.
In summary, the 10-part mini-series about
World War II revolves around Easy Company of the 506th
Parachute Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 101st Airborne
Division, and is based on the book written by the late, great
historian and biographer Prof. Stephen Ambrose.
The
series won all kinds of awards after it debuted on HBO a few
years ago, and it’s now garnering even more attention as it
appears on other networks. It should probably be required
viewing for all students exploring America’s role in World War
II.
Memorial Day is a time to remember and to honor all
American soldiers from all wars, and we probably do a decent
job of that most years. However, I can only hope we’re doing
enough as a nation to recognize and honor the brave men and
women who are now serving America’s military efforts here and
abroad.
I often sense that we lose sight of the fact
that what the men of Easy Company went through is no different
than what our modern soldiers are dealing with right now in
terms of the chaos and horror of war. War is still hell,
whether its German artillery, North Vietnamese rockets or
insurgent roadside bombs. They see their friends killed and
injured, they are away from loved ones for months at a time,
and they probably often wake up wondering what they’re doing
in some strange land surrounded by violence and uncertainty,
while their friends and family members are back at home
cooking out, complaining about gas prices and worrying about
“American Idol.”
It’s a strange situation when you
consider how little we here at home are asked to sacrifice.
For the most part, we are doing nothing, so we at least owe it
to our soldiers – past and present - to recognize their
efforts this Memorial Day, 2006, and every other day. Thank
you.
We hope you enjoyed the special
“Graduation 2006” special section that appeared in Friday’s
edition of The Messenger. There are still copies available at
our offices. Many thanks to our staff and to the many
contributors who participated, including Kathy Varn and Jana
Longfellow.
Speaking of Jana, check out her
latest Discovery Tour of Hartsville, titled “Where is it?” on
http://www.hvtd.com/, also known as
HartsvilleToday.com.
May 24, 2006
Taste of Hartsville
an
electrifying event
So I’m
standing on the porch of the Hart House at Kalmia Gardens
talking with Harry and Rita Moran, two of my favorite people,
and I’m looking across the lawn at the party under the wine
and spirits tent at the 2006 Taste of
Hartsville.
People are wet, thirsty and lively, and
they’re having fun. Problem is, it’s raining buckets,
lightning is popping all over the place, and the Tent of
Debauchery is supported by metal framing. All I can think is
that I’m about to see 100 people, many of whom I know and
like, electrocuted right in front of me, and that I wouldn’t
know what to do if it happened. (Call 9-1-1? Drop and
roll?)
Fortunately, there were no injuries, and we
recovered The Messenger umbrella that was stolen from our
abandoned table as we watched. (“I was just borrowing it,” the
shamed culprit said when confronted, not even believing
herself.)
The Taste is always a good time, and it was
unfortunate that the first decent rain in a while put some
challenges into the evening. The first wave came through and
we managed to keep the canapés, hummus, salsa, fruit and pita
chips by Ebi of Aramark safe, but the second wave of wind and
rain and the open prairie style lightning sent many of us
packing.
No sense in risking life and limb in order to
dole out Messenger pens, pads and finger food a little bit
longer.
Thanks to George (“Of the Jungle”) Sawyer for
furnishing one of those pop-up tents at the last second, and
thanks to the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and its
team of volunteers for their hard work on this great annual
event.
The Byerly Foundation last week
announced a new round of grants totaling more than $1.1
million, the largest amount awarded by the Hartsville
foundation in a single grant cycle thus far.
For a
breakdown of the awards, go online at
www.hartsvillemessenger.com, or pull last week’s paper out of
the recycling pile. The foundation was founded in 1995 with
the proceeds of the sale of the Byerly Hospital. The Board of
Trustees is composed of 10 volunteer members who include:
Harris DeLoach, Howard Tucker, Vicki Arthur, Paula Terry,
Leroy Robinson, Lee Hicks, Heather Norwood, Franklin Hines,
Ronald Holley and Maureen Thomas. Dick Puffer is the executive
director, and also a dedicated contributor to Hartsville
Today. Thanks to all of these people for the great service
they give to this community.
This Friday’s edition of
The Messenger will feature an outstanding special
section featuring this year’s class of seniors, and it’s
easily the best one of this kind we’ve ever done.
The
pictures are especially strong, and we appreciate all of the
school and community participation we’ve had in putting it
together. We also appreciate the strong advertising support. I
think you’ll agree it’s the type of publication that students
and their families will keep and enjoy for many years.
May 17, 2006
The Hunley sinking fast
with your money onboard
The
State newspaper went to the mat this week on behalf of
South Carolina taxpayers, proving once again that newspapers
are vital to the public discourse and health of the
communities they serve.
The three-part series on Sen.
Glenn McConnell and the Hunley is one of the better pieces of
investigative journalism we’ve had in South Carolina this
year, and writer John Monk is to be congratulated for his work
on exposing this enormous government boondoggle.
Like
most people, I’ve always found the Hunley to be a fascinating
scientific and historical project, something that belongs on
the History Channel.
Sen. McConnell has taken his
obsession with the submarine and all things Confederate to
extremes at the expense of South Carolina taxpayers, and the
whole story is already becoming another of those “only in
South Carolina” types of national stories, like the Lizard
Man. Only this story, with gargantuan amounts of public
dollars being wasted in a poor state with many problems that
can be solved only with money, there’s nothing entertaining
about it.
When I drive through South Carolina and see
the poverty and real needs that are so apparent in so many
areas, the idea of millions and millions of dollars being
spent in such a way seems nothing short of criminal.
Particularly when you consider the political manipulations
that have apparently been used on so many levels as a means to
a dubious end.
McConnell is proud, powerful and smart,
a “Rebel” who won’t take this without a fight. In the end,
however, it’s a clear example of how South Carolina state
government is missing a chance to meet the needs of our most
vulnerable people in terms of housing, health care and
especially education, and to generally contribute to the
progress of the state in ways that make sense.
The
cost of the Hunley undertaking is very publicly on the heads
of every person and institution involved in it, and now that
the truth is out, the Hunley will likely go down again, only
this time filled with taxpayer money.
On a brighter note in our neck
of the woods, Sen. Gerald Malloy has managed to get about
$700,000 in funding for projects in Darlington County into the
state budget, which is in conference committee this week.
This includes $250,000 to help with development of the
railyard Vista project; $200,000 to help with the ageless
flooding and water drainage problems in Hartsville; and
$250,000 for the Society Hill library project.
These
are mere crumbs from the big table, but each project
represents important help for the communities involved, and
the money will be put directly to use with meaningful and
visible long-term results.
April 26, 2006
You better watch out, the
Mustang is lurking
The blue
Mustang you see prowling around town is striking fear into the
hearts of drivers, and with good reason. More on that in a
minute.
The Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce
hosted its first City-County Update breakfast Tuesday morning,
and it was fairly well attended for a 7:30 a.m. type of thing.
There will be more of these in the future, I am
told.
The only real “news,” as far as I could tell, was
that the blue unmarked Mustang that’s been pulling people all
over town came into our fair city’s possession as a result of
a drug seizure, and our local cops are eagerly waiting in line
to drive the speedy monster.
Two mad local mamas told
me they’ve had run-ins with the newest law enforcement
vehicle, wondering if it was fair. One said her daughter
didn’t want to pull over because she wasn’t sure it was even a
cop. Kind of reminds you of that Stephen King movie,
“Christine.” Christine wasn’t a Mustang, but you get the
picture.
After careful consideration, my advice is
don’t speed, especially out 14th Street to S.C. 151, and not
up and down S.C. 151, the always thrilling Bobo Newsom Freeway
that takes you past the new Hartsville Middle School.
The point of this new law enforcement vehicle is to
get people to slow down and get used to the idea that there’s
going to be a lot of traffic and children on foot and on bikes
in that area when the new school opens this fall.
License and registration, please.
One of my staff members said
not to say anything about the new building because people were
sick of hearing about it.
I will say that if the new
schools and technology center being built in Hartsville and
Darlington have the same effect on students that this new
building is having on us, then we’re going to have a bunch of
smart, happy and hard-working middle schoolers in the
Darlington County School system next fall. There’s something
pleasant about a new facility that stimulates the mind and the
senses, and we’re plenty stimulated around here these
days.
That said, I would like to personally thank all
of you who attended our open house last Thursday. We estimated
that more than 200 people came through eating, drinking and
generally having a good time, and we appreciate every one of
you taking part in the festivities and not spilling stuff on
the new carpet.
The success of this community and
preserving the history of Hartsville are what this newspaper
is about, and we believe the new facility reflects that
commitment.
You’re still welcome to come by for a
visit, but you’ll have to clear it with Tomika.
April 19, 2006
New building bridges city’s
past and present
At last,
we’re sitting in the new building here at 207 East Carolina
Ave., and the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce Business
After Hours/Messenger Grand Opening Gala this Thursday from
5:30-7:30 p.m. will make it all official.
Then we can
get back to work.
A couple of local ladies showed up
here this past Thursday wanting to know where the food was.
They had their dates mixed up.
We’ve had a lot of
visitors drop by already, and we appreciate the interest and
kind words. This is, after all, a community newspaper, and we
want members of the community to see that their local
newspaper is accessible and available to them. Just don’t
spill stuff on my new carpet.
We also hope the new
landscaping around the building will inspire some other
downtowners to clean up their property and get ready for the
eventual emergence of the Hartsville Vista development
project, the long-awaited city green space and new development
opportunities connecting Coker College and the Governor’s
School for Science and Mathematics to
downtown.
Clearly, our project marks what I hope will
be a positive challenge to other businesses and entrepreneurs
to envision the possibilities for Hartsville and Darlington
County, and to act on their instincts.
As you may have seen on http://www.hvtd.com/, Mr. Frank Hays
celebrated his 100th birthday recently, and it’s important to
note that we honor him still by continuing with the “A Look
Back” column that is now written by Jimmy Ballard, and appears
each Friday in The Messenger, and online at www.hartsvillemessenger.com/Opinion/alookback.php.
The
column draws regular response from far and wide, and we
appreciate Ballard’s efforts each week. “A Look Back” serves
as a bridge from modern Hartsville to the Hartsville of 25 and
50 years ago, and it offers a unique variety of lessons each
week.
Speaking of Hartsville history,
our new building features a bookcase in the entrance hall that
holds more than 60 years of leather-bound volumes of The
Hartsville Messenger. The newspaper is available on
microfilm all the way back to the beginning, in 1893, but
these bound volumes (beginning in 1942) offer a fascinating
glimpse into the past. They are now available to the public
for viewing only, but the microfilm is available to view and
print at both the Hartsville and Darlington
libraries.
We’re exploring a project to make all of
this material available online in the not-so-distant future,
so stay
tuned.
April 14, 2006
For Christians, faith is
based on extraordinary occurrence
Editor’s
note: This Easter reflection has appeared in various versions
through the years.
For Christians, the acceptance
of the Resurrection as fact is the essence of their faith, and
that’s what Easter is all about.
But the observance is
also a recognition of the meaning of the teachings of Jesus
dealing with how people treat one another, and how the values
people adopt affect their own lives.
Life is rooted in
human relationships, and Jesus discussed the most profound
issues of human conduct in the simplest ways through his use
of parables, imagery and questions.
His teachings went
beyond urging people to obey God’s law, for He was concerned
more with people understanding why it is right to obey God’s
laws. He demonstrated that the focus of all ethical behavior —
whether applied to government or our daily lives — rests on
our motives and intent.
Because we humans are
inherently weak and easily influenced, to live as Jesus did is
perhaps the ultimate moral challenge.
The greatest
thinkers of all times have been befuddled trying to explain
the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The story
of His Crucifixion and Resurrection has been explained away by
legions of theologians, philosophers and scientists. Christ’s
reported existence after death has been denied by the most
persuasive and prolific minds in history.
But the
simple, beautiful story has endured.
Believers for more
than 20 centuries have continued to hold out hope for
something better after we leave this human world, and these
believers take the time each year to reflect on the meaning of
Christ’s life and death.
The ultimate evidence of the
Resurrection is the existence of the Christian
church.
However, it’s understandable why so many still
have trouble accepting the story of Christ. According to the
Bible, the man was born to a virgin, lived a perfect life
without sin, loved his enemies, performed miracles, foretold
of his own betrayal by his closest friends, and was brutally
tortured and murdered for claiming to be the son of God.
Some speculate that He was probably just an
extraordinarily righteous man who happened to be delusional
about his own mortality. Some say He may well have been a
prophet, but not necessarily the son of God. Some say He was a
complete fake and the legend of His life and death nothing
more than a carefully conceived story formulated by wise men
who sought to explain man’s suffering on earth.
Doubts
about His existence have persisted, just as the powerful faith
of those who believe in Him has endured.
The discovery
of those who seek answers to this life is often that in order
to comprehend the miracle of life after death for Jesus and
for man, they must accept the reality of an event unsupported
by ordinary experience. That event is, of course, the
Resurrection.
For those who see in Christ’s life and
death the revealed will of God and a reason for living, this
Easter Sunday is indeed the ultimate time to rejoice.
April 5, 2006
Headed back down to 207
East Carolina
The
witching hour is almost here. As indicated on page 1A today,
The Messenger will be closed this Friday as we make the move
back into our “new” old offices.
The Temple of
Journalism, located in the Oasis of the Pee Dee, is located at
207 East Carolina Ave., and we’ll be happy to greet you when
we open for regular business hours on Monday, April 10, 2006,
at 8:30 a.m.
This project has been a long time coming,
and we will have an official Open House in conjunction with
the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce Business After
Hours event on Thursday, April 20, from 5:30-7 p.m. Chamber
members are invited automatically. If you’re not a chamber
member and would like to attend as our guest, please send me
an e-mail and I’ll present it to the Homeland Security
Screening Committee. We’ll be sending out some extra
invitations, but we certainly don’t want to miss anyone who
would like to attend. We do need to have some idea of a head
count for the Vienna sausages and Saltines, so don’t be shy.
Shoot a line to graham@hartsvillemessenger.com, or call Tomika
Berry at 332-6545.
Please note inside today’s
paper the second quarter installment of the Community
Calendar, which is a new project this year. The calendar is
suitable for the wall of your office or home, and posted
online at http://www.hartsvillemessenger.com/, and at
http://www.hvtd.com/.
Thanks to all
the local businesses that have participated in this so far,
and we plan to continue improving it (more interactive,
updated more frequently, etc.) as we make it a regular part of
the newspaper and the web sites. Follow the simple online
instructions for submitting material, or drop information by
when you come see the new building.
Don’t forget also that April 10
is the next Community Conversation, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at
the Hartsville Library. This continuing series offers an
opportunity to discuss how “we can all work together to take
Hartsville to the next level in quality of
living.”
Please do your best to participate in this
worthwhile project.
March 29, 2006
Hartsville Today growth;
John Spratt begins run
In addition
to The Messenger’s two print editions each week, and the
growing online presence of http://www.hartsvillemessenger.com/, please
note the ever-changing popularity of http://www.hvtd.com/, also known as
Hartsville Today.
The regular posts include words and
now photographs from a wide range of people in the community,
and this appears to be growing each week in terms of numbers
and variety. I view the Hartsville Today project as a
supplement to the print edition of The Messenger and
the “main” web site. This new site provides important and
interesting information that you won’t find anywhere else, and
it’s completely interactive. Please take time to
participate.
Also, if you would like to see your
business or organization represented with an advertising link
on the site, please contact me for
information.
Here’s part of John Spratt’s
press release about the kickoff of his re-election
campaign:
ROCK HILL, SC – U.S. Rep.
John Spratt (D-SC) announced last week that he is running
again for Congress. Spratt is the ranking Democrat on the
Budget Committee and second ranking on Armed Services. He has
represented the Fifth District since 1983.
Traveling
his district, Spratt noted that unlike his opponent, he did
not have Dick Cheney or Karl Rove at his side, but he had
something better. In York County, four mayors endorsed him. In
Sumter, two mayors and a state senator spoke in his support,
and in Hartsville, the mayors of both Hartsville and
Darlington spoke on his behalf.....
Spratt stressed
constituent service, saying that he had “chosen a staff with
an eye to making service to my constituents second to none.
Over the years, we have helped hundreds of folks get a fair
shake out of the federal government. We have also helped
governments throughout the district get their fair share of
federal aid and grants.” Among the landmark
achievements: settling the Catawba land claim, helping save
Shaw Air Force Base, and seeing that I-73 will come through
the Pee Dee.
Here’s something you won’t
often hear from a (jaded) newspaperman in regard to an elected
official, but Spratt’s claims are true, and his attention to
the issues and the people of the Fifth Congressional District
is proven.
State and national Republicans are gearing
up for another hard run at Spratt, which is what politics is
all about. As an independent voter, I have consistently voted
for and publicly supported candidates on both sides of the
aisle in 27 years of voting eligibility.
I met
Rep. Ralph Norman, the GOP candidate, while he was campaigning
recently in Hartsville with U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, and they are
both fine men who brought out impressive local
support.
It will take a lot of persuasion, however, to
convince me that someone other than John Spratt should
continue to represent this region and this state in
Congress.
A reminder to all candidates:
Countless studies prove that newspaper advertising is the most
effective way to reach not only local consumers with buying
power, but also eligible voters. And now, as noted above,
local newspaper advertising means that you are having a
consistent presence both in print and online.
March 22, 2006
Hinson case reveals dark
local problem
I haven’t
seen myself on television yet, but apparently a lot of people
did.
In addition to the folks around here who said they
saw me on “Fox News Live” with Tony Snow last Saturday
afternoon, I’ve had phone calls from Washington, New York,
Fredericksburg, Va., Sumter, S.C., and Hawaii.
My
newfound celebrity reach is clearly far and wide, and it’s all
friends and family. I guess that’s the way television fame
actually works. It’s finite, like your cell phone
network.
Since I haven’t seen reruns of the
“performance,” I can’t tell you exactly what I said about the
case involving accused rapist Kenneth Glenn Hinson, the man
who’s now in the hands of Darlington County law enforcement
officials, but I can tell you what it’s like to be interviewed
for “Fox News Live Saturday” with Tony Snow.
First of
all, a producer from Washington called me on Friday before
Hinson was captured, and asked me questions about Hartsville
and what things were like around here with that scary guy on
the loose. I assured him it was a nice community, and that
this case was a terrible exception. He then explained that I
would be notified Saturday morning about where to show up for
a live interview at about 1 p.m.
I went to the Greater
Hartsville Chamber of Commerce’s St. Patrick’s Day Gala on
Friday night after learning of Hinson’s capture, so I figured
I was off the hook as far as the TV deal and my “15 Minutes of
Fame” went.
On Saturday morning, the producer called
and explained that even though Hinson was in custody, they
still needed a “scene setter” interview prior to the bond
hearing, and asked that I show up at the Darlington County
Detention Center at 12:45.
Upon arrival, they put an
ear plug in my ear and I stood there for 10 or 15 minutes next
to an attractive Fox “on-air personality” person just
listening to studio small talk and commercials before Tony
Snow came on and made some observations about the past few
days’ events. He then basically asked me to confirm what he
had said and expand on it a bit. So that’s what I tried to do,
and I couldn’t tell you what I said, even now. My family
members assured me it was OK, so I’m taking their word for it.
I figure that even if I sounded like a complete rube, it’s
nice to have family members who support you
unconditionally.
My kids had dared me to say that I’d
like to “give a shout out to my friends in the 8-4-3,” which
means our area code, but I didn’t get to that.
The fact
is, I saw Darlington County Chief Deputy Tom Gainey
interviewed earlier that day on the same “Fox News Live” show,
and he did so well explaining the entire situation that it put
me at ease. In a strange way, it put the pressure on me to
represent the “8-4-3” and Hartsville at least as well as he
did.
I did say on national television, and will
reiterate here, that local law enforcement did a great job
bringing Hinson in, and they deserve credit for their hard
work. Our sympathies remain with the families and the young
lives that were so negatively affected by this traumatic event
in our community. I pray that they can heal and move
ahead.
One of the most disturbing
aspects of the entire “sex offender” story has to do with the
number of registered sex offenders we have here in Darlington
County. Jim Faile’s story on page 1A today explains that
disturbing issue in more detail.
Please note that
we’ve added a link to the web site that takes you straight
to the State Law Enforcement Division web site, where you can
search the “Sex Offender Registry” database for more
information.
March 15, 2006
Economy Drug took tough hit
in recent fire
To me, Bart
Norwood is one of the best things about living in a town like
Hartsville.
He is a skilled and attentive pharmacist
who genuinely cares about every person he deals with, a
wonderful quality he inherited (or at least learned) from his
late father, S.B. Norwood. He invests himself in all of his
customers, and takes care of them one at a
time.
Economy Drug has been part of this town for more
than 40 years, and it caught me and many others by surprise to
learn that the March 3 electrical fire that affected Carolina
Lunch ended up causing serious smoke damage to the Norwood
family’s beloved downtown drug store. The entire inventory of
medicine and health supplies was ruined, and Bart has decided
to call it quits.
As Will Isgett’s story on page 1A
today points out, it is with a great deal of emotion that Bart
and his family have made that difficult decision, but it makes
sense on many levels for them at this time.
Good luck
to them as they decide what’s next. I would suggest that if
Bart decides not to practice pharmacy, he should consider
teaching it. Good pharmacists are every bit as important as
good doctors and nurses, and he knows this
inherently.
The newspaper landscape of
South and North Carolina took a fairly dramatic turn this
week.
The big news in the industry is that the
McClatchy company bought Knight Ridder, the company that owns
The State, The Sun-News, The Charlotte Observer, and 29 other
major daily local newspapers around the
country.
McClatchy already owns 12 dailies and 17
smaller community papers across the country, including the
daily newspapers in Rock Hill, Hilton Head and Beaufort in
South Carolina, and the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer. The
move makes McClatchy the largest newspaper company in the
Carolinas.
To put it in perspective in terms of South
Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas, Greenville is owned by
Gannett, which owns USA Today; The (Florence)
Morning News is owned by Media General of Richmond;
Spartanburg is owned by The New York Times Co.; Anderson is
owned by the E.W. Scripps Co. of Ohio; and Orangeburg is owned
by Lee Enterprises of Iowa.
The only independent
dailies left serving their communities in South Carolina are
The Post and Courier of Charleston, which is owned by
the Manigault family of Charleston; The Item of
Sumter, which is owned by my family, and The
Index-Journal of Greenwood, which is owned by the Mundy
family.
March 10, 2006
Don’t wait too long to call
an old friend
Last week a
friend of mine died at age 45.
In 1979, I arrived at
Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., where one of
the first fellow freshmen I met was a tall, skinny, raucous,
black-haired guy from LaGrange, Ga. His name was Joseph Lanier
Edge, and we became close friends right away.
We joined
the SAE fraternity that fall, enduring the bizarre hazing
rituals together and vowing to make it even more interesting
for those who came behind us. We kept our vows in some of the
most creative and hilarious ways imaginable.
We lived
next door to each other during our second year on the second
floor of the fraternity house, where our absolutely
out-of-control and completely sophomoric class somehow
survived the first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It was
a new day in America, and we were riding a wave of optimism
and unlimited possibilities. If you weren’t having fun at the
SAE House in 1980-81, then you simply couldn’t have
fun.
Our junior year we lived with three other guys in
an infamous country house named “Windfall,” where the winter
wind was so cold that the water would freeze in the toilets.
It’s truly a miracle that our do-it-yourself-installed
wood-burning stove never burned the shaky wooden house
down.
His older brother called two weeks ago to let me
know that Lanier was very sick, and that he had been committed
to hospice care. He died a few days later.
I drove to
LaGrange for the visitation last Tuesday and the funeral
Wednesday, and several of us were reunited for one night. We
talked until almost 3 a.m., and agreed that there were no
other people in the world that we’d rather be with at that
moment. Lanier would have loved it.
I can’t believe
that 25 years have gone by so quickly, and how fast we can
fall out of close touch with people we care about so much.
Phone calls and e-mail don’t cut it.
My group didn’t go
to war together or do anything particularly meaningful in the
grand scheme of things, but we grew up together and began our
journeys into adulthood together, some taking longer to get
here than others.
In my group, there are successful
businessmen who have excelled in many different fields. There
are doctors, lawyers, serious financial wizards, a National
Geographic editor, an undertaker, an import/export specialist,
a Special Forces helicopter pilot, and a range of other
fascinating men. They all inspire me, and I’m richer for
knowing them.
Lanier founded and ran a very successful
business in Georgia, and he used his financial freedom to hunt
in Alaska, catch fish in Costa Rica, collect art from the
finest New York galleries, and generally take full advantage
of this big old world that we inhabit. As one of our friends
said, he lived more in 45 years than most of us do in a
lifetime.
That’s probably true, but it doesn’t take
the sting out. I miss him, and my memories will always be
wonderful.
March 3, 2006
Another strong showing for
The Messenger staff
Congratulations
to Jim Faile, Eddie Newman, Duane Childers and Ardie Arvidson
– our big winners in the annual South Carolina Press
Association contest. The story and photo are on page 1A of
Friday's newspaper.
The Messenger took home 15
awards in the highly competitive two to three times weekly
category, in which we compete against papers with much larger
staffs. I am very proud of our staff’s efforts on behalf of
the paper and on behalf of Hartsville and Darlington County.
It reflects well on the entire community when we do well in
this contest each year.
![]()
On a
personal note, I’d like to thank my wife, Julie Osteen, who
has been on board as advertising sales manager (and much more)
for the past 18 months as I’ve been heavily involved in
incorporating companywide changes involving our daily paper,
The Item, and The Messenger.
Her hard
work and fresh perspectives are clearly reflected in this
year’s awards, and the quality of the paper has been improved
even more thanks to her involvement. She shook us all out of
our comfort zones, and we have raised the bar companywide as a
result.
She has decided to begin a slow transition out
of her day-to-day newspaper responsibilities, but will remain
in a leadership role as we complete the renovation and move
back into our new “old” building at 207 East Carolina Ave.
later this month.
Her collaboration with architect
Bobby Goodson and builder Sloan Mimms has resulted in another
impressive addition to Hartsville’s vibrant and growing
downtown landscape.
We’ll be proud to call the new
Messenger building home in just a few weeks.
February 24, 2006
Community Conversations
enter strong second round
The second
round of Community Conversations took place Tuesday night at
the library. I missed it, unfortunately, but I’m up to speed
thanks to the information at www.hartsvilletoday.com I’ve
included some excerpts below from coordinator Dick Puffer, who
is executive director of the Byerly Foundation and, as always,
is to be commended for his great work in this community. I
would also point interested citizens to a Feb. 3 column I
wrote about the first meetings. That column can be found
listed below, and on Hartsville Today.
Highlights from
Puffer on http://www.hvtd.com/
![]() An observation – there are some people who care
passionately about the Hartsville area and about the people
who live in the Hartsville area. This passion comes through in
the conversations that are focused on what we need to take
Hartsville to the next higher level of quality of life. There
is no question, we have people who want to be on the journey
to that level.
![]() A major goal of
these community conversations is to get people talking with
each other. One of the continuing messages of concern in these
conversations is that we do not have enough discussion across
the artificial boundaries we erect in our community. What
boundaries? The boundaries of race, the boundaries of age, the
boundaries of class, boundaries of physical abilities have all
been mentioned in the two nights of conversations. The
individuals who have joined these conversations are evidence
that we can eradicate those boundaries when it comes to
discussing how to improve our community.
![]() It is amazing to me how people think just a little
differently when they listen to someone else’s perception of a
problem. For example, is someone in a wheel chair disabled or
as Scottie would say, “differently abled?” If it is impossible
for them to get the wheel chair up the ramp or into the
building they are disabled – but from without – not within. A
relatively new resident of Hartsville and a long-time resident
of Hartsville both listen to another resident of Hartsville
discuss all the programs available for recreation. “I didn’t
know that,” both exclaim. The result is that there is a need
for much better communication and two people now know more
about some of the activities in which they can
participate.
![]() Giving a theme to
Hartsville like the term “Artsville” and developing an area
marketing campaign to bring passing visitors into our
downtown....
![]() Creating
neighborhood centers that would offer activities for the
youngest and oldest of our communities and all in between. The
concept is that these centers would be day care, would be
tutoring areas, would be after-care care; would be places
where adults and children could learn from each other. You
have heard of “It takes a village to raise a child.” This idea
would create villages within villages.
![]() There was concern that there is too much complacency
throughout the community...
![]() As in
a previous conversation there was discussion about the need
for more leadership by those who should be able to make things
happen. More vision for growth was discussed. More
communication of what is happening was discussed. The need to
act while strong instead of react when weak was part of a
couple of conversations.
![]() Someone
said, what about an ongoing community advisory board that
would be part of the normal infrastructure of the
community?
![]() What about finding a
way to hire “advocates” for certain populations in the
community — like someone to help elderly people find their way
through the new medical care regulations?
![]() Housing, especially for the poor, is an issue and
there was observation that public housing in other areas has
been devised to help renew the way people in public housing
live and believe about themselves.
![]() In all of these conversations EDUCATION remains a
major concern at all levels of discussion from education in
the home, to pre-kindergarten, to elementary, middle and high
and also how we educate those beyond school age who missed it
the first time.
There was extensive discussion about
those who apply for jobs are are not eligible because they are
not able to fill out the application form. Many? According to
the conversation the numbers are alarming.
These are
just a few of the many excellent highlights Puffer has
provided. Please read more, and participate.
February 17, 2006
Cheney on the loose;
Charlotte Arena great
The Dick
Cheney accidental shooting has sure stirred up the national
news scene this week. It’s hard to concentrate on Olympic
figure skating with all that controversy going on.
I
saw James Carville, The Ragin’ Cajun, “debating” the issue
with GOP stalwart Bay Buchanan Thursday morning. Very
entertaining.
The local sheriff said the case was
closed, but it’s clear the national press is collectively mad
because the story was released to a small, local Texas
newspaper before the big dogs got it. As a local community
newspaper owner, I think that’s great. The paper promptly put
the story on its web site. Sure, it was the next morning, but
at least the local paper got it first.
It’s always
been obvious that Cheney will do what he wants when he wants
to when it comes to disclosing information of any kind, and he
won’t apologize for it either. That drives reporters crazy.
His political career began in the Nixon administration, so
there’s no real surprise there. He learned it all from Tricky
Dick.
This story will not die anytime soon, because the
national press won’t let it. Despite official reports to the
contrary, questions remain about the timeline, beer at lunch,
etc., and the bad handling of the episode from the start will
continue to haunt the administration.
The timing is
especially bad in light of the new tapes that reportedly have
Sadaam Hussein predicting terrorist attacks and openly
discussing how he hid weapons of mass destruction from
inspectors, according to ABC News. Before it’s all done, there
could conceivably be clear evidence that Sadaam did all the
very same bad things that the spies said he did in the first
place. That fact has been lost in recent months by opponents
of the war.
If you don’t know anything about
pro basketball, then the rest of this column probably means
nothing to you.
I got my first look at the new
Charlotte Bobcats Arena this week. Very nice. It will be even
better when the Bobcats start winning some games, and they
eventually will. They’re young and have had a lot of injuries
this season, but there’s still a long way to go after the
All-Star Break.
They fell in a close game Wednesday
night to the seasoned New Jersey Nets, who sit atop the
Atlantic Divison of the Eastern Conference. The Nets have
Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and the amazing and petulant
Vince Carter. A tough trio. They also have the youngest coach
in the league, Lawrence Frank, who looks like a kid but runs a
veteran team with great authority.
I’m a Sixers fan, so
I hope the Nets’ good fortune fizzles this
spring.
That’s your NBA update for today.
February 15, 2006
False alarm snarls traffic;
Hot Lips; Hartsville Today
Late Monday
afternoon, about quitting time, we smelled smoke here at
The Messenger’s temporary offices at 111 North Fifth
St. in the heart of the bustling Hartsville Financial
District, so I promptly called the Hartsville Fire
Department.
They were on the scene within minutes, and
went through the entire building using old-fashioned
techniques such as noses and engineering logic, combined with
the city’s high-tech thermal imaging camera that can see heat
through walls.
Local firefighters don’t take any
chances with these old downtown buildings when it comes to
possible wiring problems, leaks, multiple roofs, rotten
insulation and other common ailments associated with almost
all of them.
Fortunately, it was most likely a blown
light ballast that caused the nasty smell, but we were all
impressed – as usual – with the professionalism and
thoroughness of the Hartsville Fire
Department.
Thanks.
The whole incident made the
prospect of moving back into our newly renovated “old”
building at 207 East Carolina Ave. that much more exciting,
and we’re still considering prospects for the approximately
2,400 square feet of office space that will be available for
lease in that building.
Contact me for all of your
real estate needs.
The Messenger’s 2006 “Hot
Lips” winner is Hartsville High School senior Tiffany Gregory,
and she can be seen on page 1A today. Her lips, along with the
other contestants’ lips, are on page 2C. We appreciate all the
participation, and we look forward to doing it again next
year.
If you haven’t visited http://www.hartsvilletoday.com/, please take
the time to do it. The web site is a joint project created by
The Messenger and the University of South Carolina
School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Funding was
provided by J-Lab, the Institute for Interactive
Journalism.
The next step in the site’s development is
a great opportunity for anyone interested in community
journalism and community communication.
As the
following post by Doug Fisher, a USC professor of journalism
and longtime newsman, explains:
Coming Saturday,
March 18:
Newsplex, the newsroom of the future at the
University of South Carolina, comes to Hartsville with free
sessions on digital photography and video, the basics of
filing stories for Hartsville Today, how to find great sites
to link to on the Web, quick ways to polish your writing and
more. Two three-hour sessions, one morning (9 a.m-noon) and
one afternoon (1 p.m.-4 p.m.) Limited to 12 participants each.
Sign up by sending an e-mail to Doug Fisher.
Location
to be announced.
We promised some seriously
interesting and advanced Newsplex training when this whole
project started, so here it is. Please contact Doug or me
through the web site to reserve a spot, or tell someone who’s
interested in learning more about this brave new world that
now is the time to dive right in, for free.
February 10, 2006
Valentine’s Day draws near,
so do something
Don’t
forget that this Tuesday is Valentine’s Day. Forget your
sweetheart at your own peril.
You also have until
Tuesday to enter your lips in The Messenger’s “Hot
Lips” Contest. The winner will be unveiled in the Wednesday,
Feb. 15, edition.
As I’ve noted here before, it will
be judged by a local panel of expert lipologists, and our
co-sponsor is Mitchell’s Florist of Hartsville.
Simply
come by our temporary offices here at 111 North Fifth St. with
your best lipstick on, plant one on the poster board, and
you’re in the contest.
Your lips will be appearing in
the newspaper (and online) for the enjoyment of your fellow
readers.
Here’s a Valentine’s Day joke that
was taken off a web site. I repeat. I did not make it
up:
A guy walks into a post office one day to see a
middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically
placing “Love” stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all
over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts
spraying scent all over them.
His curiosity getting the
better of him, he goes up to the balding man and asks him what
he is doing. The man says, “I’m sending out one thousand
Valentine cards signed, ‘Guess who?’”
“But why?” asks
the man.
“I’m a divorce lawyer,” the man
replies.
Today is my mother’s birthday.
Since she likes to spread her birthday celebration out
for at last a week, I had lunch with her on Tuesday to
commemorate the occasion. As usual she mostly expressed
concern about me, which proves that the best mothers worry
about their children – constantly.
Happy birthday, Mom.
February 3, 2006
Community Conversations an
excellent first step to shape Hartsville’s future
Thanks to
Dick Puffer and the Byerly Foundation for hosting the first of
several “Community Conversations” at the Hartsville Library
this past Tuesday evening.
As he explained in a memo
(posted on http://www.hartsvilletoday.com/) prior to
the meeting, we are operating under the assumption that “most
of us who live here generally find Hartsville a good community
in which to live. With that as the assumption, the question
for conversation is ‘Now, what are some of the things we need
to do to take this quality of living up to even higher
levels?”’
Attendees participated in small-group, five
to six people conversations. What follows are strictly my
personal observations:
There are severe social problems that
need to be addressed in Hartsville and Darlington County.
There’s a great deal of poverty, criminal domestic violence,
drug and alcohol abuse and a wide range of other problems that
need attention. The community can’t ignore them and expect to
succeed.
There are terrible housing problems,
and we need to concentrate on specific areas. The worst
problems, for example, are still in South
Hartsville.
There are inherent financial
challenges with low property values in any sort of urban
renewal, “Redevelopment Corporation” model. This is not
Charleston or Columbia. We can’t expect to tear down
dilapidated buildings and get an immediate return on
investment through rebuilding. The city can’t do it all. This
sort of approach will take money and expertise.
What is the Master Plan? Can all
factions – public and private interests – ultimately come
together and decide where we want to be?
Habitat for Humanity is a great
organization, and its efforts need to be expanded and
supported.
Cities and municipalities have very
few ways to raise revenue, and that creates a variety of
problems. We’re dealing with the actual city limits, which is
just 7 1/2 square miles and about 8,000 people. There are
another roughly 30,000 people around the city who access it
regularly. Annexation is terribly difficult.
The Darlington County School District
and Darlington County Council need to be involved in the
process of planning for Hartsville’s future.
A gym at the new Byerly Park complex
would serve the interest of many citizens, young and old. The
Parks and Recreation development efforts the city has
undertaken thus far are outstanding.
The upcoming development of an IB
(international baccalaureate) program at Hartsville High
School is a good example of the community “taking the next
step” in terms of educational improvement.
Hartsville should tap into the
resources available at Sonoco to take a “corporate approach”
to problem solving, and not be afraid of failure.
Is there a way to more effectively
draw traffic into town off of S.C. 151? There are thousands of
potential visitors and residents in the form of beachgoers
(and retirees) traveling the highway throughout the
year.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I
encourage you to write letters to the editor, post comments at
www.hartsvilletoday.com, and participate in this excellent
process that will continue on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m.
at the Hartsville Library. Call the Byerly Foundation at
383-2400 for more information.
February 1, 2006
Citizens honored; upcoming
features in your newspaper
Congratulations
to Dr. Kenneth Krueger, Citizen of the Year; Judy Lyles,
Caregiver of the Year; and Mel Pennington, Business Person of
the Year. These deserving citizens were honored for their
community service at the recent Greater Hartsville Chamber of
Commerce annual meeting. All clearly demonstrate the qualities
that make Hartsville a special place to live and
work.
Beginning today, The
Messenger is featuring a wide variety of interesting
people as a way to celebrate and recognize Black History
Month.
See Jim Faile’s story on the Lifestyles front
today for a better understanding of the history of Black
History Month in America, and some perspective on why it’s
still important.
Darlington County, like everywhere
else, has a complex and often troubled past when it comes to
racial issues, but it has also continued to move forward on
many levels. Focusing on some of the people who have helped
shape this county is an appropriate exercise at this time each
year, and The Messenger is proud to be a part of that
process.
Please note (and visit) the many excellent
local businesses that are participating as sponsors throughout
the month.
Valentine’s Day brings a special
promotion this year at The Messenger. The very sexy
“Hot Lips” Contest is sure to be a crowd pleaser, and the
winner will be unveiled in the Wednesday, Feb. 15, edition. It
will be judged by a local panel of expert lipologists, and our
co-sponsor is world famous Mitchell’s Florist of
Hartsville.
As the ad on page 8C explains, you simply
come by our offices here at 111 North Fifth St. with your best
lipstick on, plant a big wet one on a poster board, and you’re
in the contest.
Your lips will be appearing in the
newspaper (and online) for the enjoyment of your fellow
readers, and for all the world to see.
Go on, live
a little.
Don’t forget to switch your handy
Hartsville quarterly wall calendar to February. I did, and I
was instantly reminded of a wide range of upcoming events in
the community.
If you don’t have one, come by and
we’ll sell you one (50 cents) so you can keep up with things
and check out all the fine businesses in town that are
supporting this new and ongoing effort.
The next
calendar will feature the second quarter of 2006 – April, May
and June – so please submit material to communitycalendar@hartsvillemessenger.com
for consideration.
Check it out on the web at http://www.hartsvillemessenger.com/Opinion/www.hartsvillemessenger.com/calendar/Feb2006.php.
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