1 RENFRO TO CLOSE

Leslie Moses

Staff Writer

Early this month, sock manufacturer Renfro Corporation announced the Jan. 20 closing of its Whitmire branch due to a poor economy and company sales.

The shutdown means 570 less people employed in Whitmire and 40 percent less water usage that previously fed the town’s Public Works budget.

“We’re going to have to tighten our belts and only have the necessities,” said Mayor Tim Carroll. The town will likely extend its temporary layoffs of several town employers to cover the financial loss. As many in the town pray for a Renfro replacement, Carroll is persistently calling on Teresa Powers, director of Newberry County Economic Development, to recruit a business that needs a home.

“We’re going to work real hard on it,” said Carroll. “We have a nice town. We’re marketable We’re in the middle of nowhere, but we’re close to everything.”

Area businesses are bracing for the blow as well and goodwill projects are already underway to help Renfro employers.

2 TORNADO TEARS THROUGH

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

A March tornado left many county homes destroyed and a lengthy clean up.

The storm struck on Saturday, March 16, as an EF3 tornado that packed 140 mile per hour winds ripped through the county.

The storm brought with it heavy rain, hail and strong winds.

Sheriff Lee Foster identified 45 homes that received damage, with the heaviest damage in the Highway 391 area of Prosperity.

One woman received minor injuries when her mobile home was totally destroyed. Fire and rescue officials were able to free her from the wreck Highway 391 home and she was taken to a local hospital.

Damage reports came in from Silverstreet to Prosperity with reports of two tornadoes coming across the area.

Newberry electric reported between 3,000 and 3,500 customers without power.

Volunteers from many church groups in the county and around the state helped with the clean up and funds were raised to help those in need.

3 VOTERS TURN OUT INCUMBENTS

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

Voters let their voices be heard in record turnout. Both locally and nationally, citizens turned up in droves to speak their minds through the ballot box.

Locally, the message was clear as only one incumbent on County Council was re-elected. Also, retirements of incumbents resulted in several new leaders being elected.

District 4 Councilman Mike Hawkins was defeated in the primary election by Democratic challenger Kirksey Koon. Koon then went on to defeat Republican Kenny Sanders in general election.

District 2 Councilman John David Dawkins lost to Republican Steve Stockman and County Council Chair Henry Summer lost to Les Hipp for the District 5 seat.

Councilman Edgar Baker, who represents District 1, narrowly defeated challenger Ellic Prince to keep his seat.

The new councilmen will be sworn in Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Courthouse Annex.

Due to health issues, Coroner James Smith decided not to seek re-election and Chief Deputy Coroner Tommy Hedgepath was the only candidate to put his name on the ballot. But in June, Hedgepath lost his battle with cancer.

Hedgepath’s death resulted in another filing period for the position. Republicans John Pollard and Michael Thomas and Democrat Craig Newton all put up their names.

Thomas defeated Pollard in the primary and Newton defeated Thomas in the general election to become the next coroner.

Newton will be sworn in on Monday.

Treasurer Judy Floyd and Auditor Nancy Owen both announced their retirements, but the two long-term officer holders must work through to the end of the next fiscal year in July before they leave office. The treasurer-elect is Karen Lindler who beat Benjie Chapman in the general election.

Donna Lominick defeated Nancy Harvey to be the auditor-elect.

Ronnie Cromer kept his Senate 18 position by defeating Michael Ellisor. Solicitor Jerry Peace defeated Robert Tinsley to maintain his position.

House District 40 Representative Walt McLeod, Clerk of Court Jackie Bowers and Sheriff Lee Foster were all unopposed.

4 POWERING UP WITH ‘GREEN’ INDUSTRY

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

A green energy plant announced in October that it would be building an operation in Newberry.

Rollcast Energy will establish Loblolly Green Power on Highway 34 just outside of Newberry on the Bush River.

Santee Cooper will purchase 50 megawatts of renewable power from the biomass facility, which will supply 25,000 homes with power. Santee Cooper sells electricity to co-ops like Newberry Electric.

This will be the first facility in the state generating commercially available renewable power.

The company will use woody biomass from forestry operations and agriculture to convert to electricity.

The company will invest $170 million in the facility and generate 27 new jobs by late 2011. An estimated 200 more jobs could be generated with contractor services. Construction on the new facility is scheduled to start in June.

For the first four years the company will pay $770,000 in taxes to the county and $1.3 million after four years.

5 VIDEO POKER- TAX SWAP PROPOSED

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

A video poker for property taxes swap tried to make a play with County Council throughout the year, but was dealt a losing hand.

Resident Sam Martin formulated a proposal that the county replace property tax proceeds by legalizing video poker and using the accompanying fees to support county operations.

Many local and state officials argued that the state had constitutionally banned video poker, and the county could not bring it back.

In August, County Council took a final vote to keep a referendum authorizing video poker and a tax swap off the ballot.

Thousands of residents had signed the petition requesting a referendum on the issue that the council, state leaders and other vocal locals ultimately decided would be illegal and ill-considered.

The preceding debate and council votes made statewide news and stirred up some very heated emotion.

6 NEW M-C HIGH OPENS

Leslie Moses

Staff Writer

The “worst kept secret in Newberry County” was officially disclosed this summer as the new 161,000 square foot Mid-Carolina High School opened Aug. 18 in time for the new school year.

The $28.5 million project was built next door to the former facility to house future growth that is projected for the area.

This August, the school welcomed 734 students. At capacity, the building is designed to hold 1,200. The former site, soon to be Mid-Carolina Middle School, held approximately 750 to 800 students.

“It was a lot more crowded over there,” says sophomore Vickie Stockman who had several classes in portables at the old location. “We have a lot more room over here. Over here, we don’t need the portables.”

Assistant Superintendent for Operations Jim Suber called the opening the “worst kept secret” because many suspected the announcement sooner than the December-scheduled opening. In July, teachers moved classroom items into the new building.

The project took approximately 19 months of construction.

7 METH LAB EXPLOSION KILLS ONE

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

A November meth lab explosion left a Bush River man dead and four others in jail

The meth lab explosion on Nov. 16 occured just before midnight at the home of Reggie Braswell, 34, of 6268 Bush River Road, Newberry, and left him dead.

After the explosion, Braswell’s family members pulled him from the burning mobile home as firefighters arrived on the scene.

Sheriff Lee Foster said the explosion launched an extensive investigation into the meth operation.

Arrests of several people then followed.

Heather Lynn Rising, 28, of 384 Cheek Road, Gray Court, was the girlfriend of Braswell and investigators allege she was present and participating during the making of the meth, and exposed her child to “the great danger that comes from the toxic chemicals and fire and explosion danger that comes from such an operation,” said Foster. Rising ran to a nearby residence for help when the explosion occurred.

Rising was arrested and charged with manufacturing meth, misprison of a felon, conspiracy and manufacturing meth in the presence of a minor child.

Ashley Glenn Riceman, 25, of 318 Summerland Ave., Batesburg, and Kevin Chase Franklin, 29, of 199 Cross Creek Trail, Little Mountain, were both charged with misprison of a felony and conspiracy.

Foster says Franklin and Riceman were also present when the explosion occurred.

Cynthia Lynn Worthington, 47, of 1025 Jalapa Road, Newberry was arrested and charged with conspiracy for supplying items to manufacture the drug.

Misprison of a felony means a person is aware a felony has been committed makes an effort to conceal that crime.

8 HOME INVASION LEADS TO SHOOTING DEATH

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

Just a couple of weeks ago, a man was shot dead while tried to invade a local apartment and several others are in jail on charges.

The incident, which left Willie Eddie Hiller, 35, dead, occurred around 9:40 p.m. Dec. 13 when a teen was leaving an apartment at Palmetto Point on First Street.

When the teen visitor was leaving, the 23-year-old resident being visited noticed half-a-dozen people in the breezeway—one of whom was wearing a mask and had a gun, police report.

As the unidentified man went to shut the door to his apartment, the group tried to push its way in.

The apartment resident fired at the group and hit Hiller, reportedly the masked man.

After being shot, Hiller travelled about 50 yards to Roslyn and First streets before collapsing in a driveway with a fatal gunshot wound in his chest.

The Palmetto Point apartment dweller told police two people had tried to rob him “three to four days” earlier, spurring him to begin carrying a gun. The resident did not report the previous incident to authorities at the time.

Jessica Nicole Sligh, 18, of Gray Street, Newberry, two 13-year-olds, a 15-year-old and Antonio Henderson, 23, of Newberry, all have been charged with attempted first degree burglary, attempted armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.

The juveniles are being housed at the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.

Sligh and Henderson are being held at the Newberry County Detention Center, and are awaiting bond being set by a circuit court judge. According to state law, anyone charged with first degree burglary must have bond set by a circuit judge instead of a local magistrate due to the seriousness of the crime.

No charges were filed against the Palmetto Point resident, whose identity is still being shielded by police.

9 COLLEGE DROPS INDIAN NICKNAME

Kelly Snow

Sports Editor

The Indians were no more at Newberry College following the Spring sports season.

The college announced in May that it would officially drop Indians as its mascot after a vote by the Newberry College Board of Trustees.

The decision to drop the nickname ended a more than three-year battle with the NCAA that included countless appeals and several legal battles.

Newberry College was one of 18 colleges and universities to be placed on the NCAA watch list for the use of Native American mascots that the athletic group deemed “abusive and hostile.”

Had Newberry not changed its nickname, the college would be banned from hosting any postseason contests, and would be forced to cover up everything on uniforms and equipment with the word “Indians” or any banned logos when playing in those matches.

The college currently has no official mascot, and has formed a committee to help find a new identity for its athletic teams.

10 WIFE POISONS HUSBAND

Cindy Pitts

Staff Writer

In February, a woman

tried to poison her husband, who was also her business partner. She pleaded guilty to the crime in December.

Mary Susan Brooks, 61, who had addresses in both Prosperity and Union, was sentenced to five years in prison; suspended to three years probation on charges of administering poison. She also did not negotiate the plea and left her sentence up to Circuit Judge Mark Hayes.

Brooks crushed pills and put them in drinks of her husband, Mark Hanners, The couple owned Marx Marina together.

She even asked others working at the bar to help her poison her husband of four years.

But Brooks’ attorney Andrew Johnston said Brooks only put medicine prescribed to her in her husband’s drinks, and that they were not strong enough to harm him.

The Sheriff’s Office received tips that Brooks had made remarks to others about attempting to “get rid of her husband” and tried to enlist the help of others.

Hanners said at the time that he was shocked and didn’t want to believe deputies when they arrested her for the crime.

Now, Hanners says of his estranged wife’s sentence: “I am very disappointed. I don’t know what the judge was thinking.”

Hanners said he is trying to start a new chapter in his life. In the next couple of months, he hopes to be granted a divorce from Brooks. He has also put the business the two owned into his name.

Marx Marina Bar and Grill, LLC is back in business and Hanners says he is grateful to still be alive.