Deborah Williams has been pastor of Lanford Grove Holiness Church near Woodruff since 1978 and after pastoring a few years at Lanford Grove,  she felt the sudden conviction one day in prayer to preach to the imprisoned as well.

“I was praying in my prayer closet one day and I was asking the Lord to be with the sick and the shut-in, and then I asked ‘Lord visit the ones in prison,’” Pastor Williams said.  “I’m not even sure if I ever prayed for the imprisoned before that day but as soon as I said it I realized that I was asking Him to do something that I was commanded to do myself. The next day I took off work and started searching for how to go about that.”

Soon after, Williams began volunteering at the Upper and Lower Yards at the Tyger River Correctional Institution in southern Spartanburg County,  which was then known as the Cross Anchor facility before being renamed*  Dutchman Correctional.  Major Paul Brewton, who worked at Tyger River for over 25 years and just retired in December 2009, was there when Williams first started ministering in the prison and said the relationship that she has with the inmates is one that he’s never seen before or since.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Governor Mark Sanford came to the Spartanburg County Courthouse on Friday, March 5 to announce his choice for the Spartanburg County Clerk of Court’s position that had been vacant since Mark Kitchens submitted his resignation on February 5, once day after being arrested on federal drug charges.

Sanford’s announcement offered hope to Spartanburg. Literally.
Sanford named Hope Blackley to the position.  He said the selection was difficult because of the high quality of the seven candidates submitted by the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation.

Sanford cited his personal knowledge of Blackley and her work as the reason why he chose her.

He specifically noted her work as his victims’ ombudsman,  in which she has worked with courthouses throughout the state since 2004.
Sanford said, “I saw firsthand her administrative capabilities.”  He also said he wanted someone who would bring a different perspective to the office, “a different set of eyes.”

Another reason he cited for choosing Blackley was because she is “reform minded.”

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Students at Inman Elementary School and Inman Intermediate School benefitted recently from a program sponsored by Macy’s, Inc. and Reading is Fundamental (RIF).   The schools were recipients of nearly fifty beautiful, new, hard-cover books thanks to Macy’s and their customers.

In the “Book a Brighter Future” campaign, customers were asked to donate three dollars to RIF programs.  For every three dollars donated, one dollar supported local RIF programs near that particular Macy’s store; one dollar supported RIF’s Multicultural Literacy Campaign; and one dollar helped RIF’s ongoing efforts to supply reading resources to millions of under-served children across the country. 

Because the Haywood Mall Macy’s was one of the top fund raisers in the country, books were purchased for those RIF schools in this area.  The Inman schools earned the books due to their close proximity to the Haywood Mall and the generosity of its Macy’s customers.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Inman First Baptist Church is reaching out to those in need in Haiti in a very interesting way.

The church will fill an old school bus purchased from the North Carolina school system with thousands of pounds of rice, beans, and personal care products and ship them - along with the bus - to Bayonnais, Haiti.

Greg Herbst, a deacon at the church, said that church leaders were looking for a way to help after the January 12 earthquake that devastated Port-Au-Prince, the capital of the island nation. They contacted First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, N.C., a supporter of OFCB Ministries which operates a church and school in the Bayonnais area.

Bayonnais, a city of about 80,000 has been a haven for refugees from Port-Au-Prince, with some coming into the area with nothing except the clothes on their backs. It is expected that the population of the area could swell by 60,000 thanks to those displaced by the earthquake. That’s where the church’s relief efforts come in.

“The idea is to ship the bus full of supplies over to Haiti, where the bus can be used as a transport for the supplies,” Herbst said.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church hosted Scouts and leaders for morning worship during the annual Inman area Scouting Sunday, and joined other area churches in observing “Souper Bowl Sunday” after worship on Feb 7th.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and leaders were guests and participants in the morning worship service in the sanctuary.  Inman Mills’ sponsored/chartered Troop 26 (one of the South and nation’s oldest -72 years - and best) youth and leaders presented the American Flag, and led the congregation in the Pledge of Allegiance.  They recited the Boy Scout Oath prior to worship, Boy Scout representatives collected the offering during worship, and joined the congregation in participating in monthly Holy Communion Service.

Boy Scout leaders of Troop 26 include:  Patricia Robbins, Chartered Organization Representative, Troop Committee members Clyde Davis, Tony Brown, Pat Robbins, Randy Scruggs, Drew McGaha, and Kevin Steed.  Scoutmaster Joe Aenchbacher is assisted by Gary Bott, Sam Connell, Vance Gilbert (past Scoutmaster), Renee Loftis and Joe Barnett.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Spartanburg County deputies arrested an Inman man for criminal sexual conduct with a minor following the execution of a search warrant in connection with a child pornography investigation.

Jeffrey Dean Wilson, 44, of 13 Anderson St., Inman, was arrested and booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center Jan. 27 and charged with one count each of criminal sexual conduct with a minor 11 to 14 years old and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He remains in custody on a $50,000 bond.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

It’s sometimes easy to take fire service for granted.What’s not easy is what it takes to be a fireman. The hours, the training, and the demands of the job take a toll on firefighters.

Fortunately, Inman has some of the best.

“We’ve got guys who are really good,” Inman Fire Chief Chris Cothran said. “People don’t know, don’t ever get to see a lot of the stuff that they do. They do a lot for Inman, whether people know it or not.”

Cothran’s full-time department is small, with just seven full-time members The rest of the department is made up of volunteers. After five in the evenings, the department is all-volunteer.

Still, Cothran said Inman makes the best of the situation.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Andy Lawson, School Resource Officer in Spartanburg District One Schools, was recently named Spartanburg County Resource Officer of the Year. The recommendations for SRO of the Year are based on leadership, knowledge of the position of SRO, and the willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty.

“Officer Lawson was chosen to receive this award because he is always willing to go above and beyond what is expected of him. He is always available and volunteers for any assignment. He has shown a genuine interest in the safety and security of his students and school,” said Crystal Kingsmore, Supervisor of the SRO program. There are thirty-one Resource Officers in Spartanburg County.

Officer Lawson has been in law enforcement for eleven years and with District One Schools for five years.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Nancy Burns Durham and Pam Gilbert Lynch met in Cary, NC as fifth graders in school.  They remained very good friends, and kept in touch for many years, until Pam’s family was called overseas as Southern Baptist Missionaries. 

Ensuing moves of both families, and several changes in e-mail addresses resulted in lost contact.  Upon return to the US for an eight month stateside assignment in May, Pam renewed efforts to locate Nancy, who was living in Inman, SC. 

As a result of a previous story in the Inman Times concerning Nancy’s parents, George and Roberta Burns, Pam was able to contact Nancy and renew their long-time friendship. 

Read the rest of the story, in the words of each, in this week’s Inman Times.:

According to county Purchasing Director Mike Emory, one of the companies who placed a bid had some questions about the bid process and that resolving those questions has put the project on hold.

“We want to make sure that we treat all of the companies who bid on this fairly,” Emory said Monday.

He added that he expected to speak with the company this week and anticipated being able to resolve the issues raised. He said following that the county should be able to move forward with awarding the bid.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.