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. 

Photo By Jed Blackwell
Henry Gramling of Gramling Farms shows off a can of Gramling peaches. Gramling recalled his family’s canning operations and detailed the peach industry for a Peach History Tour group on Saturday morning.

The millions of peach trees that once produced a riot of pinks and whites along the highways of Spartanburg County are mostly gone now. Gone, too, are the packing sheds that sprung up alongside rail tracks, hustling the peaches on to their destinations in the freshest possible condition. But people who love the tradition of both, and people who want to learn more about the County’s not-so-distant past, are still very present.
Last Saturday morning, two trolleys full of people anxious to learn about the rich peach history of Spartanburg County departed the Hub City Railroad Museum at the old Magnolia Street train station for a two-hour tour through Spartanburg, Inman and Gramling, once the center of the peach trade in the area.
The event was sponsored by the Greenville Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society;  the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Spartanburg County Historical Association; and Main Street Trolley, Inc. The event included a presentation of local peach history, visits to Gramling Farms and Johnson Brothers Farms, and a scoop of homemade peach ice cream.
“The very purpose of the Hub City Railroad Museum is to bring history to life,” said Frank Ezell, a member of the National Railway Historical Society and a tour organizer. “Peaches were a huge industry in Spartanburg County, and went hand-in-hand with the railroad. We wanted to extend the opportunity for a living history lesson that shows the relationship between the peach growers and the railroad.”
Leading the tour was Clarence Vaden McMillin, Jr. “Mac”, as he is known today, grew up in Inman, graduated Chapman High School, and is the son of a former local dentist and peach farmer.
“My late grandfather, Landrum Reid McMillin, originally of New Prospect and later of Landrum, and my late father, Clarence Vaden McMillin of Inman, were growers, packers, and shippers of peaches from our family farm during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s,” McMillin explained. “Our farm was, and still is, located in the New Prospect community.”
As the trolley rolled through Hayne Shops, Ezell and McMillin explained the importance of the railroad to local peach growers, and to the local economy.
“A huge, nationwide demand for fresh southern-grown peaches developed,” McMillin explained. “In the 1930s, a well-connected, paved highway system did not yet exist. Shipping packed peaches to distant markets therefore posed a major problem, as peaches are very perishable, requiring quick delivery before spoiling. The railroads stepped up to the challenge, providing a fleet of dedicated boxcars that were cooled by ice to slow the ripening and spoiling process.”

Photo By Jed Blackwell
Six-year-old Benjamin Couch of Moore enjoys a scoop of homemade ice cream at BBB Farms near Inman during Saturday morning’s Peach History Tour.

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

Discussions about the budget during two back-to-back meetings by the Holly Springs Fire and Rescue Commission have failed to answer the question of whether the department can afford a fulltime chief, at least as far as most of the commissioners are concerned.
A budget workshop Friday at which Chief Lee Jeffcoat presented figures based income projections provided by the county auditor demonstrated the nature of the impasse between the department administration and the board. Chairman Ryan Phillips repeatedly questioned the chief about where he got the numbers used in his budgets and how he arrived at his figures.
Another called meeting Monday saw the board vote to seek bids on daily bookkeeping services, an independent auditor and an attorney to review the department’s standard operating procedures. After the commission’s business was handled, commissioners took a series of questions from the roughly 50 people present, many of those questions growing heated.
Jeffcoat said that the county’s numbers are based on a 91-percent collection rate but that over the past 10 years the department has averaged collecting about 14 percent more, typically in delinquent taxes coming in throughout the year.
“We’ve averaged growth of about five to six percent a year since 1978,” Jeffcoat told the commission Friday.
Phillips questioned the chief’s numbers and asked if an accounting expert had essentially arrived at or approved the chief’s numbers. Jeffcoat said the numbers came from County Auditor Sharon West and from the department’s previous independent audits.
“If we’ve got a fellow with a sheepskin on the wall who’s provided this I believe we can treat it as gospel,” Phillips said.
“All I’m doing is simple math,” Jeffcoat replied.
At this point Jeffcoat’s attorney, Ryan Langley, entered the discussion and tried to help the chief explain some of the budget numbers. Phillips’ irritation showed.
For the rest of the story, see this week’s Inman Times.

Demonstrating the intention of a group of Holly Springs residents to seek the removal of several fire commissioners at next month’s meeting of the county legislative delegation, this sign along Hwy 357 showed up after last week’s contentious commission meeting at which the commissioners were grilled by angry residents.

The apparent impasse between embattled Holly Springs Fire Chief Lee Jeffcoat and most of the fire district’s commissioners continued this week following a contentious meeting last week when the commission was lambasted by numerous community members.
Jeffcoat said Monday that commission Chairman Ryan Phillips returned to the fire station late the day after the Tuesday meeting and requested copies of commission meeting minutes going back to the 1970s.
Jeffcoat said that prior to 2008, all of the commission’s minutes were handwritten by commissioner Clara Edwards and have been archived. He said he explained to Phillips that it would take some time and effort to collect all the minutes for such a span of time and make copies. He said Phillips offered no explanation as to why the minutes were needed.
Except for that conversation last week, Jeffcoat said neither Phillips nor the other commissioners – specifically Roscoe Kyle, Kelly Waters or Clarence Gibbs – have spoken to him. He added that in the course of trying to repair the air conditioning unit on the department’s EMS truck he discovered that his departmental debit card had been deactivated, necessitating his having to pay about $200 for coolant out of his own pocket.

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

Photo By Jed Blackwell
Sandy Squires shows her support for Fire Chief Lee Jeffcoat with a homemade sign at Tuesday afternoon’s Holly Springs Fire Commission meeting.

The Holly Springs Fire and Rescue Commission stopped short of trying to terminate Chief Lee Jeffcoat a second time at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
An overflow crowd of more than 150 turned out for the meeting, the time of which had been changed from the normal 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the location moved from the more spacious Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary School cafeteria back to the fire station.
Emotions have been running high throughout the community ever since the secret commission meeting June 16 at which the commission voted to cut the chief’s salary and schedule in half. When the chief refused, the commission voted to terminate him.
Since that time, Circuit Judge Roger Couch ruled that meeting to be illegal and barred the commission from implementing any decision made, effectively reinstating Jeffcoat.
Concerned citizens began arriving shortly after 2 p.m. to ensure a place among the limited seating. By 20 minutes before the start of the meeting, Fire Marshal Russell Hart was asked by Commission Chairman Ryan Phillips to limit the number of people in the building. Hart addressed the crowd and asked that those already inside consider giving up their space for someone waiting outside in the July heat. From that point on a steady stream of residents went out and came into the meeting.
Jeffcoat opened the meeting with a presentation of the department’s budget. He said that as of June 30 this year the department had $121,907 cash on hand with $2.05 million in fixed assets and $621,273 in liabilities for a total departmental liquidity of $1.55 million.
The chief said that even though the county bases its projections for tax income based on a 91 percent collection rate, the department has historically collected more than that minimum. Even with fundraising efforts zeroed out in the budget, projections based on the historical performance should see the department with a $23,770 surplus for 2010-2011.
Spartanburg County Auditor Sharon West was then asked to explain how the county derived its numbers for the district’s tax levy, but she quickly pointed out that there was little she could add to what Jeffcoat had already presented.
Commissioner Clarence Gibbs asked West what the legal maximum millage for the district should be, and she replied that her personal opinion was 16.6 percent based on the 2008 reassessment.
First Gibbs then commission secretary Kelly Waters tried to pin West down on whether the district was at risk of having to refund money collected at its current milage rate of 18, but she replied that she was not an attorney and suggested the commission contact one to make that determination.
“How did we arrive at the 18 mills,” Gibbs asked.
“Y’all voted on it in 2001,” West replied, resulting in an outburst of laughter among the audience.
West said after the meeting adjourned that she did not appreciate being blind-sided by the commission and their attempts to pin her down on a question she felt she was not qualified to comment upon.
“I didn’t appreciate being asked that,” she said. “They wanted to use me to say something against Lee and I wasn’t going to do that.”
Instead of moving next to consideration of budget amendments and eliminating the fulltime position of chief, Phillips directed the requested speakers to address the commission.
Commissioner Hugh Jackson was first to speak and told the crowd that on at least seven occasions the other four commissioners met privately to decide on department matters, including a Nov. 19, 2009 meeting at which they voted to reprimand Jeffcoat for releasing information to the public about matters discussed during a commission meeting. (Under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, all records pertaining to the meetings of a public body are considered open to the public.)
Jackson also said that the other commissioners apparently met on or about June 17 to hire attorney Ken Anthony. A decision “I still haven’t been approached about,” Jackson said.
He added that the change of Tuesday’s meeting to 4 p.m. was made without his input and that he wanted to express his concern about the way the business of the fire department was being conducted by his fellow commissioners.
A succession of speakers followed Jackson, most of them directing pointed questions at the commission. For the most part, the commission refused to answer the questions with many of them being greeted by a small smile by Phillips that seemed to anger many in the audience.
Kelli Cardoso, an organizing member of Concerned Citizens of Holly Springs Fire District, addressed Phillips and asked if Jeffcoat was fired was there a plan to replace the services he provides with other personnel. Evading the question, Phillips eventually said that as Jeffcoat remained the chief a plan for his replacement was not necessary. Cardoso asked the question again, this time to all the commissioners.
“If you fire Chief Jeffcoat tonight, who’s going to do all the things he does to keep the department running on a day-to-day basis,” she asked.
Jackson was the only commissioner to respond.
“I don’t know anybody that could,” he said.
Another concern was the cost of the Commission’s attorney, Kenneth Anthony. Matt Henderson asked the Commissioners directly who would be responsible for Anthony’s bill.
“I don’t know that we’ll see a bill,” Phillips said.
Anthony later stated that he volunteered his services. Hometown News has learned that Anthony is the attorney of record for a $400,000 property foreclosure against Commissioner Clarence Gibbs earlier this year.
Vice Chairman Roscoe Kyle subsequently made a motion to remove from the agenda the discussion of terminating Jeffcoat until a budget workshop could be held to clarify the department’s budget outlook. The proposal was seconded and passed unanimously, apparently ending for the time being plans to remove Jeffcoat.
A date for that workshop has not been set as Jeffcoat was directed to gather all the pertinent financial information to present to commissioners.

For the rest of the story and more local news and events, see this week’s Inman Times.

By  David Stephens
Hometown News

Frank Troitino relaxes on the Blue Ridge Parkway with some of his tunnel stonework behind him.

Stonemason Frank Troitino, 74,  immigrated to the United States,  arriving in New York on January 31, 1961. Troitino came from the Galacia region of Northwest Spain where his stonemason expertise began.
Almost immediately after arriving in the United States he began significant stonemason work with his uncle,  who sponsored his immigration,  on countless construction stonemason projects - works performed mostly in anonymity.
Millions of people have passed by his stonemasonry without a second thought. Troitino, however,  did much of the stonework on the tunnels, bridges, stone signs, and retaining walls along the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountain Parkways. If you have ever traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway, driven through the Smoky Mountains, visited the Rayburn Government Office Building in Washington, DC, visited Grandfather Mountain, the Cowpens National Battleground, crossed bridges near the Biltmore House or the Roosevelt Bridge near the Pentagon, or driven through the Beaucatcher Tunnel in Asheville, NC, you have witnessed Frank Troitino’s craft of stonemasonry at its best.   Troitino and his uncle relocated the Cowpens National Battleground Monument stone by stone from its previous location about 800 feet away to the current spot. Monuments on Grandfather Mountain are all his handiwork.  Countless other projects dot the Eastern United States.
Frank Troitino’s stonemasonry skill comes from his heritage,  as he explained, “Where I come from there was not much work. All the homes were built from stone because we did not have much timber. A story says that Columbus gathered all his lumber for his ships from that area and trees were not replanted for the future. When a home was built,  the entire village came out to help just as I helped from the time I was about 15. The stonemason craft was passed to me by family.”
Troitino spent much of his time working up and down the eastern seaboard in places like Washington, DC, Boston, Hartford and other places as well as in North Carolina and Tennessee. Troitino recalled his first times working in South Carolina. He said, “Oh, I did not like South Carolina. It was so hot here.”
Troitino later returned to work on a power plant and railroad line in the Gaffney area.
Troitino also remembered, “I did like the people here though. Everyone was always so friendly and willing to help each other.”
As one of the projects he is most proud of,  Troitino talks about a bridge near the Biltmore House in Asheville. He said, “My boss was short of help so that arched bridge was built by just me, a crane operator and a laborer. I still remember it was 76 stones per arch. The crane operator would lift the stone into place and then come down and help us wedge and lever it into place.”
Troitino recalled one particularly frustrating job for the government involving a retaining wall. He said, “The engineer was a young fellow and the problem began when the specifications of the job did not match reality or what was actually possible to do with stone. After 17 meetings with the engineer though, we got the job done like always.”
Troitino also remembered that the National Park Service seemed to have an inordinate number of inspectors for their jobs. He said, “I think on those jobs there would be someone inspecting something every few feet. Eventually, though they got to know my work and they did not seem to come around as much.”
Troitino said he “loves working outdoors and with my hands. I would not go back and do anything different. I tried an office job once for a few weeks and that is not me. I need to be in the field with my hands on the stone.”
Frank Troitino lives now with his daughter,  Tina McCraw and her family near Boiling Springs.  Even though he is retired he still keeps his hand in and works on odd jobs by referral as they come along and works some with his daughter’s husband in their pool business, Affluent Pools in Inman. 
When speaking with Troitino,  one can sense that stonemasonry was not just the way he made a living, but rather it is a love and a passion.
Troitino said, “If anyone were to ask me about becoming a stonemason,  I would tell them that you have to like the stone, like working with your hands, and you have to like hard work. Your hands will get beat up and it is hard work, but building something useful to people is a great accomplishment and something to be proud of.”
While Troitino does not have any certificate on the wall that says “Master Stonemason,” that does not matter to him.
Troitino says, “You can ask many, many people in the National Parks Service or the Federal Highway Administration about me. They know me and will speak to the quality of my craft. That is good enough for me.”
A true master of any craft knows when their work is good.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Inman Times.

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.

U.S. Marine and Inman native Tyrone Edwards recently presented the Greater Inman Area Chamber of Commerce with an Inman flag that was sent to him and which he had flown on two combat missions in Afghanistan.
Tyrone Edwards is proud of his hometown.
Edwards, an air traffic controller in the U.S. Marine Corps, says he’s always felt a deep connection with Inman. That connection persists, even when Edwards is thousands of miles away.
“I grew up here,” Edwards explains. “Inman has given me so much. It’s just a special place to me.”
So special that Edwards would check in on his hometown via the Internet when he was stationed in Japan last year. There, he learned that an old classmate, Kyle Settle, Vice President of the Greater Inman Area Chamber of Commerce, had designed a flag for the City. Edwards knew that he had to get his hands on one of those flags, so he put in an order.
Settle obliged, and Edwards took Inman with him when he was deployed to Afghanistan.
Then, he took things one step further.
Edwards noticed that some of his fellow Marines were enlisting the help of aircraft flying missions. They were giving pilots and crew members flags to fly from the aircraft while on the missions, then would present those flags to those back home. Most of the time, the flags flown were the Stars and Stripes.
Not in Edwards’s case. He wanted Inman’s city flag to fly proudly from those military aircraft.
“I thought it would be neat for the flag to be flown on those missions,” he said. “One was on an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, and the other was on a medivac helicopter. I gave them to the pilots, and they flew the flag out the side of the helicopters on the missions.”
On a recent leave, Edwards brought the flag back home and presented it to Settle and the Chamber at a recent meeting.
Settle said his friend’s gesture was truly touching.
“It means a lot,” Settle said.
“We have a lot of people who work and live here, who take pride in Inman, but to have him ask for a flag from Japan, I can’t really express how much that meant to me. It was heartwarming. It makes you feel like you’re on the right track. Then, for him to use his own money, to put the effort in to have the flag framed and to present it to us, I just can’t express what that means. You can’t attach a value to that. We did something very small, and for him to do that, it just shows you what kind of people we have here in Inman.”
Edwards was equally touched by being sent the flag to begin with.
“When I left here, I’d talk to Kyle, or I’d talk to Bessie (Fisher, the Chamber president), and anything that I’d mention I needed, I’d get it in the mail in a care package,” Edwards said. “We take care of each other, and I wanted something from Inman to take with me. It’s nice to take a piece of home with you wherever you go. It’s a comforting feeling to have that with me.”
Edwards is a 2003 graduate of Chapman High School. He and his wife, Megan, have two children, Mackenzie, 4, and Cameron, 1.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Inman Times.

Front, l to r: Brother Jerry, Dad Jerry, Mom Norma, Son Zack, Wife Angie, Mayor Wright Gaines, Council Member Cornelius Huff. Back, l to r:  Council members Bo Cantrell, Kevin Newman, and Ginger Morrow.

Inman City Council met in regularly scheduled session on Monday, June 14 at 6:00 pm in City Hall. All elected officials and Clerk Henderson were present. Mayor Wright Gaines welcomed all and read the Freedom of Information statement. Police Chaplain Bill Holland gave the invocation and led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Minutes of the May council meeting were submitted but not read, and unanimously approved as submitted.
Businessman Shane Daugherty lauded Inman Fire & Police Departments to council for yeoman work in a June 8, 2010 fire at #7 Mill Street, adjacent to Inman Flower Shop. Citing quick response, professionalism, and efficiency, he reported subject blaze was quickly extinguished, with minimal damage to the building ablaze, averting what could have been a catastrophe in Inman’s business district. Captain Bennett, Captain Stewart, and Officer Tucker were singled out. Daugherty also praised responding assisting units, noting that all involved were well trained and utilized appropriate equipment competently.
Chief Glenn Henderson reported Inman Police Activity for May, which included 42 criminal cases, of which 6, or 14%, were for petty larceny, and 5, or 12% for possession of marijuana. 151 traffic citations were issued, 42, or (28% of the total) for speeding, and 37, or (25%) for violation of the seat belt law. Four traffic accidents involving $37,300 in property damage were noted.
Fire Chief Chris Cothran reported on May departmental activities, including: 14 call responses, including 4 lockouts, 2 commercial fires, and 2 special assignments. In addition, all second grade classes from Inman Elementary came to the station for fire prevention instruction and demonstrations.
Supervisor Paul Ricardi of the Street Department and Supervisor Jeff Bailey of the Sanitation Department were on vacation, and departmental reports were not given, but will be forthcoming.
Second reading and unanimous approval was given annexation Ordinance 310-02, concerning property at 348 Split Oak Lane (basically in the Bi-Lo area) with 100 percent of property owners involved petitioning for annexation. This property is in city limits effective immediately.
Other agendaed business included: Presentation of property located at #10 Bishop Street to the Inman Historical Society. This home is more than 130 years old, and was home to Inman’s first Mayor, I. E. Bishop. Great-great granddaughter Jimmy Lou Bishop Hord presented the deed to this home for preservation and use of City functions to Peter Miller and Roger Newman, on behalf of her deceased parents, former Inman Mayor M. J. E. Brown and author/teacher Jimmie Lou Bishop Brown.
Council discussed extending the contract for outdoor billboard advertising with Fairway, which provides two stationary and two mobile billboards. Unanimous approval was given to a 60 day extension proposal before final contract renewal.
Discussion of Bomar and Bobo Streets drainage improvement project
revealed an untenable situation, in which a residency’s foundation is in danger of crumbling, due to discharge of a pipe pointed directly at the structure. Discussion revealed that ownership of this problem is not directly attributable to either city or county, and more information is needed in order to make a proper decision. Council member Morrow will follow up and report back to Council in July.
As a result of a previous council budget workshop, two budgets were presented to council for consideration of fiscal year 2010 - 2011. Budgets were similar except one included a 2% cost of living increase for city employees. Budget accepted is without the 2% COLA, after apprehension was expressed about monies available. It was agreed to accept this budget, with the stipulation it be reviewed after receipt of available funds is made known to City, anticipated at the end of this month. Both proposed budgets show total revenues and expenditures of $963, 000.
Council member Kevin Newman reported the recent car show, Inman Ignites, a great success, with the number of entries the same, with attendance greatly up.
Businessman Roger Newman expressed kudos for the planners, organizers, and sponsors of the recent Music on Mill Street concert series.
Current Mayor Pro-Tem Cornelius Huff presented outgoing Mayor Wright Gaines with a certificate of appreciation/plaque/gavel for sixteen years continuous service, with twelve as council man and four as mayor. (photo)
This meeting was the last for presently constituted council. Former Council Member and Mayor-elect Bo Cantrell will assume office in the July meeting, while former council member Caroline Broyles will resume a seat at this time. In addition to these, the new council will consist of Cornelius Huff, Ginger Morrow, and Kevin Newman.

For more local news and events, see this week’s Inman Times.