STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH by Theron Willis
HOMETOWN NEWS

Pam Whitehead looks through the letters that she hasn’t read in over 40 years that were sent to her from a special someone who fought in the Vietnam War.

Sometimes the opening of an old dusty envelope hidden away in a corner can have an effect similar to time travel.
When Pam Whitehead of Lyman recently went through a 41-year-old stack of letters she was transported back to a time long ago. To a time before she was a mother and a grandmother,  back when she was a sixteen-year-old girl in Cowpens and a fragile and fateful love was budding between her and a soldier she hardly knew who was writing to her from the foxholes in Vietnam.
Whitehead, then with the maiden name Bolton, started correspondence with twenty-year-old Army Private First Class Paul Martinez while he was stationed at Fort Lewis in the state of Washington. Martinez was buddies with a guy named Ricky who was from Cowpens and dating Pam’s sister,  Gerri at the time.
Pam says that Martinez was Puerto Rican and worked in the shipyards in San Francisco with his family before joining the Army, but she knows very little else about his life. When Ricky went back home to Cowpens on leave,  Martinez went as well to see the sixteen-year-old young lady who had become his pen pal.
That two-week leave was the first and only time Pam ever saw Martinez in person. A shy and awkward attraction developed over the course of the two weeks and hinted at when he went back to Fort Lewis, but when Martinez was deployed in Vietnam in April 3, 1969,  he began to express feelings to Pam in his letters that might have otherwise lain dormant - feelings of his love for Pam and his hope of reuniting with her once his time was through in the dreaded war.
“We can have so much together when I get out,  I know it. It’s just a matter of time…Before you know it I will be in your arms and telling you I will never let go know (now) that I have you so close to me,” he wrote in one of his letters to Pam.
Martinez was stationed in the Quang Nam Province in South Vietnam with the first squad of the 101st Airborne Division and served as a rifleman.
Pam says Martinez had poor grammar and spelling but despite that his letters brought out a romantic and eloquent side. “Pam the way love moves is the way to (two) persons meet, may it be by thought or touch,” he wrote on the back of a picture he sent to her from Vietnam.
Pam also thinks Martinez could express things in letters that he would find hard to say in person. “He was kind of shy at first (in person) but I think he was more comfortable when he started writing letters,” Pam explains.
The affection and romance that Martinez expressed to Pam made her feel in ways she had never felt before in her young life.
“I dated and had boyfriends before but he made me feel like the most wonderful person in the world, like I was an angel and that I was so precious to him,” Pam says. She was reluctant and shy to reciprocate the same intense romanticism and passion that Martinez communicated to her through his letters.
“I was only sixteen and it was all just so new and strange to read what he was saying to me,” Pam recounts. “I just wasn’t sure how to respond.”
Martinez tried not to be forceful in his letters but also asked her to grant one simple wish. “Guess what Pam, you own part of my heart… I don’t mine you owning part of me at all…it’s not even costing you a thing except a genione I Love You once in a wy’ll in your letters. is it a deal? my heart for an I Love You in your letter’s.”
Pam finally started ending her letters to Martinez with an “I love you” and other affectionate sentiments but a few weeks later she realized it was too late. On May 23, 1969 she came home from school to find an ominous package from the US Army waiting for her. Inside the package was her recent batch of letters to Martinez as well as a note informing her that Martinez was killed on May 7, 1969 while his unit was trying to take Hamburger Hill. He spent only a little more than a month in Vietnam.
The heartbreaking thing with journeys back through time is knowing the outcome of events but being powerless to change it. As Pam read back over letters from Martinez for the first time in 41 years,  she realized that the dates on the letters were a countdown till his untimely death.
“This (letter) is 26th of April,  ‘69 so how long did he have to live?” Pam asked her voice breaking with emotion.
What was also painful was realizing that the promises made by Martinez to Pam of the times they would share once his time was up in Vietnam were fated to never happen.
“We can go driving all over the place with the car windows down and the radio soft and you sitting next to me,” Martinez writes to Pam as he envisioned a peaceful place away from the foxholes and bombs.
Looking back at the letters stirred up a cauldron of mixed emotions in Pam,  making her wonder what would have happened if Martinez would have made it back from Vietnam. Would their love have survived? Would they still be together today? How would her life have been different?
But soon enough it was time to leave the past and return to the present, to carefully put away the old and yellowed letters back in a shadowy corner of her house and likewise put the thoughts of Martinez and the long - gone possibility of a different life away as well. 

Security cameras caught this image of the Sun Trust Bank robbery suspect. The same suspect apparently robbed the First Piedmont Bank at 901 E. Main St. around 9:50 Monday morning. The public is urged to call in tips on the suspect’s identity to Crime Stoppers at 888-CRIMESC or Text TIP649 to CRIMES (274637).

Spartanburg Public Safety officers, Spartanburg County Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents all responded to a second bank robbery on Spartanburg’s East Side just four days after another bank was hit last Thursday.
The First Piedmont branch at 901 E. Main St. was robbed about 9:50 Monday morning by a white male matching the same description as the suspect in the Sun trust robbery from last week, according to a press statement from Public Safety Lt. Regina Nowak.
The suspect is described as a white male between 45 and 50 years old, around 5’9” to 6’)’’ tall and weighing around 175 pounds. The suspect entered the bank and presented a teller with a note demanding money. The teller placed money in a plastic bag before the suspect left the bank and entered a burgundy or maroon Toyota pickup and headed east on East Main Street.
According to investigators, the same suspect apparently committed the earlier robbery at the Sun Trust Bank at 1704 East Main Street on Thursday morning, June 15, at approximately 9:20.
Jeffery Young witnessed the Thursday robbery when he went in to cash a check. He stated the suspect came in the rear door with a small handgun and pointed it at the teller.
He recalled, “He came in the back door with a blue handkerchief over his face. He had a hat on, I can’t remember what color clothes he had on. (He was) kind of an older guy, white male. He ran up to the counter and said, ‘Give me the money! Give me the money! Hurry up!”
Young said he didn’t think the robber even noticed him.
“He just went straight to the clerk,” and Young “eased back two steps and then turned and ran out the door and called 911” from the Quizno’s parking lot.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Spartanburg County News.

Photo by David Stephens
An amateur radio operator communicates around the world during the Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club field day.

The Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club was founded in 1952 and today boasts approximately 100 members. The club is not for profit, but rather for fun, adventure, and,  most importantly,  they provide service to the community in a variety of ways.
Community service is provided through their assistance with communications during various charity events such as the March of Dimes Walk-America, the Muscular Dystrophy walk-a-thon, and the Assault on Mount Mitchell.
On a more serious side,  the club has helped in the search for elderly citizens who have become lost. When bad weather threatens the area, the club is there through Skywarn which is a team of specially trained weather spotters. Whether it is a plane crash or a tornado touching down, members of the Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club are helping with relief and assistance through communications. The club also provides operators to man the Area Emergency Services portion of Spartanburg Emergency Services located in the County Emergency Operations Center.
The club’s current president is Art Patterson. Patterson said he is involved because, “Since I was a young boy I have had an interest in radios. In the Air Force I was sent to electronics school and later I worked for Southern Bell. I have just always been interested and worked around communications. Everything, of course, has been taken over by newer and better technology, but it is good to always have amateur radio and operators for a backup. I don’t believe that will ever go away. Microwave may be knocked out, but amateur radio can still be on the air.”

FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, SEE THIS WEEK’S SPRTANBURG COUNTY NEWS.

Green Beret medic Sgt. Gregory Stube speaks to the crowd during the City of Spartanburg’s Red, White, and Boom celebration on Saturday, July 3.

The Spartanburg tradition of Red, White and Boom  again proved a powerful draw for patriotic Upstate Citizens as thousands flocked to Barnet Park on Saturday, July 3 for the annual celebration.
This year the City of Spartanburg took over the event and it was a good old-fashioned celebration of our nation’s independence complete with The Palmetto Statesmen, a barbershop chorus and quartet, the Spartanburg Community Jazz Band and the Spartanburg Community Band, and plenty of American flags.
Young and old, black and white,  rich and poor all came out to celebrate the fact that they are Americans living in the best country in the world.
Children’s rides, ice cream, deep fried Oreo’s and other tasty treats helped everyone enjoy the festivities until the grand finale fireworks show had all oohing and ahhing as the fireworks lit up the downtown sky.
While the fireworks are always the highlight of any Independence Day celebration,  it was the words of Green Beret medic Sgt. Gregory Stube, who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2006,  that reverberated most deeply.
Stube stated he was honored to represent members of the military when he learned he was chosen to speak to those gathered at Red, White, and Boom.
He stated while the day usually honors the military,  he said if it wasn’t for the folks at home who value their freedom and exercise their right to vote “there wouldn’t be anything worth fighting for.”
Stube spent more than a year recovering from his wounds but has no regrets.  He noted since we gained our independence from Great Britain in 1776 “protecting our freedom has been costly and it’s taken many of our best men and women but it’s worth fighting for.”
Linda Brittner of Spartanburg was enjoying the festivities and was proudly waving a small U.S. flag while loudly and proudly singing the national anthem.  She explained she was out to celebrate those who have given her the freedom to do as she wishes.
Brittner also explained it was a way to honor the sacrifice of her father who died while serving in World War II as well as her son who served.
For more local news and events, see this week’s Spartanburg County News.

Photo by Leon G. Russ
A group of bikers take part in Critical Mass Spartanburg on Friday, June 25.

A small group of riders assembled in Morgan Square last Friday for Critical Mass Spartanburg.
Critical Mass is a bicycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in more than 300 cities around the world.  It was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco.
The purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets on bikes.
It’s estimated there are Critical Mass-type rides in more than 325 cities around the country.
Newly - elected Councilwoman Cate Brandt Ryba is credited with bringing Critical Mass to Spartanburg.  The first Critical Mass ride in Spartanburg was held in March.
On this day the ride’s leader was Shelly Robbins, Upstate Forever’s Project Coordinator for the Spartanburg office.
With dark skies gathering and thunder rumbling,  Robbins explained, “Usually we have about thirty riders.  It’s always the fourth Friday and we always leave from Morgan Square.”
On this day Robbins would lead the riders through Hampton Heights.  She explained the ride is open to riders of all ages and skill levels noting, “We always go slowly, it’s a social experience.”
She added with Spartanburg being labeled a “Bike Town” it’s just another way “to get people accustomed to seeing riders on the roads of Spartanburg.”
There really is no direction to Critical Mass and the best way to find information is to check Facebook for Critical Mass Spartanburg or simply show up on the fourth Friday of the month and join the ride.
Scott Cochran, Director of Career Services at Wofford, was one of the bicyclists out for the evening ride.
In addition to the social aspect of this ride Cochran pointed out the benefits of cycling,  noting, “It’s a good lifestyle.  It keeps you fit and it’s a lot cheaper than a car, not just in gas savings but in taxes and insurance.”
He explained he has been biking to work since February.  “I always wanted to,” he said and since moving to Spartanburg he’s found many benefits.
“I can drive to work in 18 minutes but it only takes me 23 minutes by bike,” he said.  Cochran added another benefit is “now I can eat whatever I want because I burn it off riding.”
The “Massers,” as frequent riders are known, welcome you to come out and join them next month.  It’s fun, it’s free, you’ll make new friends and you’ll get fit.
What more could you ask for?

For more local news and events, see this week’s Spartanburg County News.

By Theron Willis
HOMETOWN NEWS

Terry Glenn Lanford was scheduled to appear in federal court on Wednesday, June 23 in Greenville to answer for a drug charge stemming from a narcotics conspiracy with former Spartanburg Clerk of Court Marcus Kitchens  but was not present due to his current medical state. His attorney Johnny Gasser informed U.S. District Judge Henry Herlong Jr. that Lanford suffered a heart attack and stroke during a medical procedure on May 27 and that his physician Dr. Robert E. Jackson believes that Lanford is fit neither mentally nor physically to appear in court.
Gasser submitted a letter from Dr. Jackson stating he does not believe that Lanford would be able to undergo any court proceedings for at least six months or until he is released medically. It was also stated that Lanford is now under home medical care.
The continuance was granted but Herlong requested to receive monthly updates about Lanford’s condition.
In an unrelated case, Lanford was arrested two weeks ago on June 17 by Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office due to a fraudulent check written to the City of Woodruff and was released on bond after spending about eight hours in jail.
Lanford is facing the charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine.
The charge stems from a conspiracy with former Spartanburg County Clerk of Court Marcus Woodrow Kitchens in which Lanford sold drugs provided by Kitchens from the Spartanburg County Courthouse evidence room to a dealer in Florida.
Kitchens was present at the Wednesday hearing and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and another count of theft from a federally funded organization by an agent of said organization.
The plea was accepted and Herlong will pass down sentencing after reviewing the pre-sentence report.
The drug conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and a three-year term of supervised release. The maximum sentence for the second charge is a 10-year imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release. 
Evidence presented at the hearing stated that in mid-2009 an individual was apprehended by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in Orlando, Florida and agreed to become a confidential source (CS). He informed investigators that the cocaine he  in his possession when  he was arrested  was bought from Terry Glenn Lanford of Woodruff, SC.   He also told investigators that he learned from Lanford that the narcotics were taken directly from the evidence locker of the Spartanburg County Courthouse.
Lanford was then interviewed by the DEA and confirmed this information saying that the DEA informant agreed to pay $8,000 for the drugs that Lanford obtained from then Clerk of Court Marcus Kitchens.
Lanford then agreed to wear an electronic recording device during his next meeting with Kitchens.
Kitchens and Lanford met on the morning of February 2, 2010 at a Spartanburg restaurant in which money from a past drug deal was exchanged and discussion followed about removing and selling more drugs from the evidence room. 
Kitchens was arrested as he left the restaurant.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Local Hometown News.

Woodruff News/Spartanburg County News/Blacksburg Times/The Boiling Springs Sentry/The Chesnee Tribune/Inman Times/Middle Tyger Times/Whitmire News

By Theron Willis
HOMETOWN NEWS

Photo by Phil Buchheit
Woodruff realtor Terry G. Lanford is placed in a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office car last Thursday before he was  transported to the Detention Center for booking.

Around 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 17,  Terry Glenn Lanford was arrested at his home where he is currently living at 121 Whispering Forest Lane in Woodruff by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office for a fraudulent check written to the City of Woodruff relating to rental property registration fees.
He was booked at 4:21 p.m. that day and charged with the first offense of writing a fraudulent check. His bond was set at $1,000 and he was released at 12:28 a.m. on Friday, June 18.
The timeline of events leading to his arrest  begins  on October 15, 2009 with the city sending a letter to all rental property owners in the city about the upcoming renewals under the Rental Property Registration and Licensing Ordinance.
The ordinance was enacted by the city earlier in 2009 and Lanford filed suit against the ordinance in the summer of 2009 declaring it unconstitutional and an “unauthorized tax on property” because of a $15 fee per rental property. That lawsuit is still pending.
After sending four more notices regarding property registration in the months of January, February and March of 2010 to Lanford’s office,  the city received renewal applications plus a check for $840 for 56 properties on March 24, 2010.
The next day the city mailed a notice to Lanford’s office stating that he owed late fees for the properties and that two of the properties registered were duplexes,  bringing the total number of properties to 58 and total money owed to $2,610. The city also later mailed the $840 check back.
Then after a little over a month of attempting to contact Lanford through three more notices - the last being a citation sent on May 3 to appear in Woodruff Municipal Court on May 24 at 3 p.m. -  Woodruff Police Darrell Dawkins hand-delivered a copy of the citation to Lanford’s office on May 5.
The same day of Dawkin’s delivery the city received an email and fax from Lanford’s office stating that he already sent a check for the amount of $2,610.

The city says it did not receive the check mentioned in that correspondence.
On May 11 the city received an email stating that Lanford was rushed to the Emergency Room;  that same day someone from his office delivered a $2,610 check - a different check than the one mentioned in the May 5 email - for the late fees.
On May 17 the city received notice from Arthur State Bank that the $2,610 check bounced. The same day a notice was sent to Lanford of the returned check. On May 21 the certified notice was returned to the city as unclaimed.  The city claims it did receive a call on the 21st from Lanford’s office and reminded the person on the phone about the court date on the 24th.

The May 24 court date arrived with Lanford nor his attorney present. Instead a man by the name of David Smith appeared in Lanford’s stead saying he was a friend and associate.  Smith claimed to Woodruff Municipal Judge Vicki Rae Smith  that Lanford was in the hospital and could not attend the hearing. Judge Smith ordered David Smith to sit down and remain silent after calling Spartanburg Regional and learning that Lanford had not been admitted that day but released last week.
After Smith was silenced, the city’s Director of Building Codes and Zoning Mike Doles then presented to the judge evidence of the attempts to contact Mr. Lanford and a copy of the bounced check.
Judge Smith levied $8,090 total in fines. $3,296 for failure to comply with the ordinance, $2,610 for the bounced check, and $1,092 each for the two properties that weren’t registered as separate properties but registered as duplexes.  She then scheduled a rule to show cause hearing on June 1 for Lanford to appear in court and explain why he was unable to be present at the May 24 hearing.
At the June 1 hearing Lanford was not present but his attorney David Alexander attended and presented letters from his doctors stating that Mr. Lanford suffered a stroke during a recent medical procedure and was unable to appear in court for the next four to six weeks. Judge Smith accepted the letters and said the hearing would be rescheduled for a later date.
Judge Smith said  she has received several harassing text messages and voicemails from Lanford  which she perceived as being of a threatening nature. An ongoing investigation into the texts and calls is being undertaken by SLED and the Solicitor’s office has turned over all municipal court cases involving Lanford over to another municipal judge in Spartanburg County.
In a statement to Hometown News on Tuesday, Judge Smith said, “Mr. Lanford and the people who have presented themselves as representatives of Mr. Lanford have chosen to tell many proven untruths. I can no longer continue in a judicial manner to be fair and impartial towards any case to which Mr. Lanford is a party.
“Also, in the pending case involving the investigation of Mr. Lanford by SLED as to his involvement in the continued harassment towards me and the Woodruff Municipal Court, the SC Court Administration and the Spartanburg County Solicitor’s Office has found it necessary to place another municipal judge to hear any cases in which Mr. Lanford is a party.”
No court dates have been set as of yet relating to the rental property ordinance violation fees and the rule to cause.
There is also a separate court date pending in Spartanburg General Sessions Court for the fraudulent check written to the city.

FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS, SEE THIS WEEK’S HOMETOWN NEWS PAPERS.

Photo by Leon G. Russ
Sons of Confederate Veterans member Gary Davis points out the fallen headstone of Confederate Veteran Miles Busbee.  The group plans to right the fallen stone in the Clifton-Glendale Cemetery.

Restoration work on the Clifton-Glendale Cemetery received a big boost on Saturday, June 5, when members of The Sons of Confederate Veterans from the 2nd Brigade and the Ballenger Camp #68 pitched in to help clear the cemetery of overgrown weeds and brush.
Their help is certainly welcomed by Pat Oxley,  the driving force behind the cemetery’s restoration.  She,  along with Lou Ellen Wilson and Kay Kessler,  began the effort to restore the cemetery and they are out each Saturday maintaining the areas that have already been recovered from Mother Nature’s clutches.
Oxley said, “This is wonderful, we’re thrilled to have them.”  She added the women would now be able to place Confederate flags on the graves for Confederate Veteran’s Day and Veteran’s Day.
The three ladies have worked tirelessly on the restoration project said having the Sons of Confederate Veterans on hand “is an inspiration to us and it inspires us to keep on.”
The members of the two organizations came out to help out after another Son of Confederate Veteran’s member, Wade Scruggs, had previously came out to the cemetery to look for Confederate Veterans who may have been buried there.
Scruggs walked the entire cemetery and identified and GPS-ed the locations of 15 confederate veteran’s graves.
Scruggs’ survey of the cemetery added six more Confederate Veterans resting sites to the nine the women had already been aware of.
Gary Davis of the 2nd Brigade, which includes members from Spartanburg, Greenville and Laurens Counties, explained the members came out to clean up and clear out debris from the graves and will place small Confederate flags on the veteran’s graves when they are through.
Reidville’s Bill Geen of the Ballenger Camp stated he came out because “I have a great - grandfather who was a Confederate soldier and I honor him and his courage for fighting for what he believed in.  I honor him by doing work like this.  It’s just honoring your ancestors.”
Jack Marlar, a Sons of Confederate Veterans member from Fountain Inn, said the group promotes “our Southern American history and shows a proper respect for our Confederate dead who died not for what they thought was right but what they knew was right,  which was independence, not slavery.”
Davis explained if the group comes upon a known Confederate veteran’s gravestone that is unreadable,  they will contact the Veteran’s Administration to place a new headstone on the grave.
Miles Busbee’s gravestone in the Clifton - Glendale Cemetery is still legible but it has been knocked from its base and is lying on the ground.  Davis stated the group will work to lift the stone upright and placed onto its base.
Geen marveled at the size of the cemetery, it holds 844 graves.  He said he’s often seen overgrown cemeteries “but they are normally about 15 graves in size.  I’ve never seen one as big as this” overgrown.
Geen wondered why area families whose ancestors are buried here have let their family member’s graves get overgrown.  He’s hoping they’ll join the effort to restore the historic cemetery where they themselves could be buried as land is still available.
The work is not easy.  It’s long, hot, and tiresome, but it’s worthwhile. 
It’s also not a job that can be completed in one day.  Davis stated, “We won’t finish today.  We’ll be out here, probably through November.”
The Clifton-Glendale Cemetery is located just off Cherry Hill Road on Blue Heron Road, not far from Broome High School.
If you’d like to aid in the restoration of the Clifton-Glendale Cemetery you can call Pat Oxley at 579-0563. 
To learn more about Sons of Confederate Veterans Ballenger Camp #68 in Spartanburg you can email Geen at wdg een@csaincsc.com.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Spartanburg County News.

By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS

As part of the dedication of the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department’s new Bryant Center in Lyman Friday, Rep. Rita Allison and Sen. Lee Bright present former SCVRD Commissioner Larry Bryant with a flag flown over the State House and a proclamation honoring him for his service. Bryant, seated at right with his family, was the commissioner under whose leadership the new facility took shape.

After nearly 16 years of waiting, through ups and downs and over budgetary hurdles, the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department’s new Bryant Center in Lyman represents the collaboration of local and state leaders to bring a cutting-edge facility to the Upstate.
Named after former SCVRD Commissioner Larry C, Bryant, under whose leadership the center came to fruition, the center welcomed dozens of state and local dignitaries at a dedication ceremony Friday.
Conceived as a template for future centers throughout the state, the Bryant Center offers a comprehensive array of rehabilitative services for those suffering from physical injuries and disabilities. Bryant, who was on hand with his family to see the center officially dedicated, said the center reflects SCVRD’s core mission of enabling the disabled to pursue competitive employment.
Bryant said that the department’s programs have achieved enormous successes with its clients, especially considering the huge financial returns to the state’s economy through the addition of skilled workers for a minimal upfront investment in services.
“When you’re dealing with a physical disability, it requires a lot of intensive therapy,” Bryant said. “But the returns are worth it.”
The Bryant Center will serve the nine counties of the Upstate and offers extensive services through its pain management, therapeutic exercise, rehabilitation technology, information technology training and brain injury programs.
Bryant said he was particularly excited about the brain injury program, especially considering the number of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with severe brain injuries. Through services like this, clients are given individualized attention to help achieve employability and job placement services to help them find that employment.
Bryant said this is particularly important in a region of the state as heavily industrialized as the Upstate. He added that based on the success envisioned for the new facility, SCVRD aims to use it as a prototype for similar facilities in areas like the Lowcountry.
In her dedication remarks, current SCVRD Commissioner Barbara Hollis said the department has been energized by the vision of men like Bryant and excited by the prospect of providing services that previously clients could only receive via an extended stay in Columbia.
SCVRD Area Administrator Jennie Thomas added that the center’s staff comes to work each day energized by the prospect of making such a difference in the lives of clients.
“Many dreams are coming to life here,” she said. “It is a pleasure to come to work every day.”

District Six county council candidate Roger Nutt said that in the worst economic crisis in modern memory, the county must ease the tax burden on its citizens if it wants to contribute to an economic turnaround and help its citizens.

Nutt said that the recent state and national economic meltdown and the government’s response have created a level of disgust among voters with how government operates. He said people don’t want any more taxes and that they believe the county is not spending its money in the right areas.

He said that the passage of the Hospitality Tax was the single largest tax increase on the public and that it’s avowed purpose of improving the county’s parks, while laudable, does not fit into the county’s core area of responsibility of providing services for county residents.

Nutt said he would like to see the tax reduced to a level that will cover the debt obligation undertaken since its inception but leave more money in taxpayers’ pockets.

Nutt said that he has and continues to oppose revenue generating proposals like the proposed landfill that electrified the community and the $25 road fee that continues to rankle in many quarters. He said citizens pay taxes with the expectation that those funds will be used wisely. He said the road fee ought to be eliminated and the funding for roads put back under the general fund.

“You don’t charge people extra fees for roads – that’s what we pay taxes for,” Nutt said.

The Byrnes High graduate, husband and father of three is a professional engineer and small business owner who believes the county must make hard choices and prioritize spending on its core areas of responsibility like public safety, fire and emergency medical services and infrastructure like roads.

“In the economy we have, I don’t see parks as an essential service,” he said. “We have to start focusing on what government was established to take care of, things we can all agree are essential.”

He said in this respect it may well come to pass that the county council will have to make the tough choice to cut positions. He said that while he hopes this can be avoided, businesses have had to do it to stay solvent and the county is no different.

“I certainly don’t advocate anyone lose their job,” Foster said. “(But) it’s got to be on the table.”

Nutt said that conversely taxpayers have to decide what services they’re willing to pay for and what services they’re willing to sacrifice in order for the community as a whole to be able to weather the current financial crisis.

“The public needs to let council know that they’re willing to give up something,” Nutt said. “The people I’ve talked to overwhelmingly support giving up services.”

Nutt said this election has a clear choice between the candidates and that involvement at the local level is where voters can have the most impact.

“It’s basically about getting Spartanburg back to work and keeping taxes down,” Nutt said. “It’s real basic.”