Hometown News » The Inman Times

Moon Served as Military Policeman

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:20:13 +0000

Editor’s Note: Honoring our veterans is a regular news feature of the Inman Times. Compiled by John Messer, this article profiles an armed services veteran of our Inman community, in appreciation of and recognition for their dedication, service, and contributions to our country’s well-being.
Name: William A. “Billy” Moon
Residence: 11 C Street, Inman
Occupation: Retired school teacher, after 31 years service, at Landrum High School
Birthplace, date: Erlanger Mill, Davidson County, NC
Parents: The late Leander T. & Lois Powell Moon of Inman
Siblings: Two brothers; Maxie L. and Joe Moon of Inman
Family: Wife, former Peggy Irvin of Lemoyne, PA married 53 years
Spouse’s career: Primarily homemaker
Offspring: Daughters Susan & Sherry; sons Ricky & William Scott, all of Inman; five grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren
Education: Graduate, Inman Public Schools and Inman High School; (Outstanding athlete at IHS, where he earned several letters in each of the three varsity sports); Spartanburg Junior College, AA (Arts); Wofford College, BA.
First Job: Bagging groceries at Inman’s earliest Community Cash
Worst Job: Picking peaches
Fantasy Vacation: Two weeks in Hawaii
Favorite Book: The Holy Bible
Favorite Movie: Dirty Harry
Favorite TV: NCIS, Braves baseball
I Rejoice In: God and my family
I’m Indebted To: The late William B. Royster, Principal, IHS, and later, Supt., Anderson District Schools, SC
Religious Affiliation: Member at Inman Mills Baptist Church for 65 years; Sunday School teacher, member Accounting Committee, operator sound system once/month.
Civic, fraternal: Member, Inman American Legion Post #45; member National Education Association and South Carolina Education Association
Hobbies/recreation: Grand and great-grandchildren
Military Service: Entered: 05 May 1954 Discharged: 23 May 1956
Rank attained: SPC-3
Branch of Service: U. S. Army, Military Police
Awards, Citations, Medals/Ribbons: National Defense Service
Medal, Good Conduct Medal
Military Occupational Specialty: Confinement Specialist, MP’s
Basic Training At: Ft. Jackson, SC; Ft. Gordon, GA
What I thought of basic training: Good for creating and maintaining discipline and patience
Areas served: New Cumberland Disciplinary Barracks, New Cumberland, PA
Keep in touch with buddies? No
“Ran into” friends from home: No
Most enjoyable experience: Being discharged
Unique experience: Routinely guarded six-man prisoner work detail, but had only 5 shotgun shells for my weapon
Would I do it over again? Age permitting
Military service is: Invaluable in teaching comittment and discipline

Humane Society Funding Splits County Council

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:34:11 +0000

By Leon G. Russ
HOMETOWN NEWS
During the Spartanburg County Council meeting on Monday a heated discussion emerged between Councilman David Britt and Councilman O’Neal Mintz over the contract, or lack thereof, with the Spartanburg Humane Society.
Mintz, never one to shy away from lopping money from the budget, suggested Council reduce the funding for the Spartanburg Humane Society from $56,000 per month to $49,617 a month.
Britt warned the reduction could force the Humane Society to walk away from taking in animals and leave the County holding the bag and having to build its own animal shelter.
Mintz replied, “So be it.”
Britt, with wonder in his voice, said, “I’m just going to put the cards on the table. Be careful what you wish for.”
Mintz’ motion was to reduce the yearly amount to the Humane Society to $595,000 per year down from the $675,000 budgeted in both 2008 and 2009.
Britt stated, “If you think $675,000 is a high number wait ‘til we have to do it ourselves. It will cost us half a million to build our own building.
“They do a service for us – we pay far less than Greenville, Charleston, or Lexington. They are close to telling us to take our money and go do your own thing. I don’t want to build a facility. I don’t want a building. I don’t want to hire a staff. It will cost us far more than we’re paying now.”
Britt warned it would cost the county upwards of $1 million if it had to build a shelter and provide funding for staff.
Before a vote was taken Britt said, “I would implore four of us to vote against this, unless you want to roll the dice. You’re playing Russian Roulette over $76,000.”
Councilwoman Jane Hall noted she had been meeting and would meet again with Darwin Simpson of the Humane Society.
Hall stated, “I believe in the next month or so we’ll have the contract everyone has been looking for and will be pleased with it.”
When council finally voted on Mintz’ measure to reduce funding for the Humane Society the vote was 4-3 against.
County Council Chairman Jeff Horton and council members Britt, Tom Foster and Michael Brown voted against, Mintz, Hall and Dale Culbreth voted to reduce the funding.
Mintz then introduced a motion to reduce funding to the Spartanburg Arts Partnership by $27,000 a month. His motion died when there was no second.
Prior to his motion Hall had asked council to do a study to see how the Arts Partnership benefits the county. She said, “It’s so important because it brings economic development to the area.”
This small disagreement between Britt and Mintz was the only one noted at the meeting. The expected disagreement on Parks and Rec issues never arose.
The Parks and Rec Budget will remain at the same amount as last year, which is $250,293 less than what was recommended earlier this year.
Jeff Caton, Director of Parks and Recreation, gave a presentation on the 138 acre Spartanburg Westside Park that he expects to open in late summer 2011.
The cost of the park ranges from a low of $12 million to a high of $16 million for Phase I of the project. Caton expects bids to go out in August and ground to be broken in November.
Caton stated he doesn’t know how many phases will be needed to complete construction of the park. “It depends on the money we get from Council. We’ll build to the extent Council will provide money.”
He noted Parks and Rec will not build unless it also has money for maintenance of the facilities.
The actual park will be located off Reidville Road about a mile and a half past Route 296.
During Caton’s presentation to council he noted the park “has a lot of athletic fields for youth and to attract tournaments so we get a return on the investment.”
Some of the items included in the park’s Phase I construction include 12 ball fields - four 220 foot fields with press boxes and eight 260 foot fields with press boxes.
Also included in Phase I are the park’s creative play area; a sun play area with a large sundial, reflective ball and solar panels; a water play area with an interactive fountain, boardwalk and rain garden; and a wind play area with talk tubes, tunnels and mounds, wind turbines, and wind chimes.
Caton touted the areas as being both educational and playful.
The areas are needed, he said, because “when people come here they are looking for other things to do besides watch the game. (The areas) will keep people on site between games and get them to eat on site.”
He noted the theme of the park is a “nature - based facility rather than a sterile Wal-Mart rec-like facility so many places have, so we can stand out from other communities.”
The main park building will feature the park office, conference room, hospitality room, concessions, and rest rooms.
Caton told council, “A park like this gives us an opportunity to involve the corporate community; they’ll get a lot of exposure for their sponsorship dollar.”
Mintz asked Caton if the park would be available for daily public use.
Caton replied, “The facility, during league play, will be open. The only time it’s closed off is when it’s totally blocked off by the tournament. All other times it will be open to the public.”
He noted there will be a “tremendous amount of trails” for walkers, runners and bikers in addition to the play areas and ball fields.
Other projects Parks and Rec is looking at include building a new restroom facility and score tower at north Spartanburg and acquiring waterway land components for future trail locations and establishing locations for those trails.
Councilman Tom Foster stated, “This is exciting for Spartanburg County. I’m committed to Parks and Rec.”
During Monday’s meeting council also passed a resolution recognizing and welcoming World War II Veterans of the USS Cowpens to the Mighty Moo Festival and Reunion and proclaiming the week of June 15-19, 2009, as “Mighty Moo Week” in Spartanburg County.
Four former crewmembers of the USS Cowpens were on hand and received a standing ovation from those in attendance. Jack Daniel and James Makus of Dallas were joined by Joe Walker of Brooklyn and Cecil Brosard of Mobile, Alabama, who was back for his 26th consecutive year at the festival.

lruss@hometown-news.com

City Mourns Loss of Former Mayor Brown

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:14:38 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Editor
The City of Inman lost a longtime civic leader last week, as William Marshall Brown died at his home on Friday. He was 88.
Brown, who worked as a general contractor, was an Inman City Council member for 17 years, and served as the City’s Mayor from 1994-2001
Colleagues recalled Brown as a tough, fair leader.
“I got to serve two terms as a councilman under Mayor Brown,” said current Inman Mayor Wright Gaines. “He was always fair, but firm. He was a good man.”
Gaines spoke of Brown’s honesty in situations pertaining to the City.
“He’d tell you like it was,” Gaines said.
Gaines also noted that Brown was instrumental in the transition of Inman’s current City Hall from a former Post Office to the building that exists today.
“He actually remodeled City Hall,” Gaines said. “He was out here every day hammering nails. That’s a tribute to him. He was a hardworking man, and I respect him for it. I thought the world of him.”
Fire Chief Chris Collins was called on to assist Brown with the remodeling project, and remembers those days well.
“He got an architect to draw up plans, and me and him and Larry Bagwell pretty much did the work,” Cothran said.
Cothran said that Brown took pride in having his office in the building that he remodeled, and remembered how hard the trio worked to complete the renovations.
“He came to work with us one day and like to have killed us,” Cothran said. “He said ‘I’ll cut ‘em, and ya’ll nail ‘em’. We were getting hit with 2×4s. He was zipping them to us.”
City Clerk Robin Henderson was an accounting clerk during Brown’s administration, and remembers her time with the mayor.
“Marshall Brown was really easy to work for,” Henderson said. “He was really kind and caring. He would pat you on the back, and you never had to worry. He was always there if you needed anything, and you could always talk to him.”
Brown is survived by his wife of 62 years, Doris, by three sons and their families, and by a sister.

Law Enforcement Warns of Seasonal Scams

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:39:20 +0000

By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
The seasonal arrival of itinerant confidence men may have begun with the strong-arm burglary of an elderly man in Lyman, and area law enforcement agencies are warning residents to be more vigilant.
The Lyman incident happened May 14 around 7:30 p.m. at a residence on Maple Street. According to the incident report, the victim reported that a white male came to his door and offered to pressure wash his house for a discounted price of $100. The victim said the subject told him that he would do the job for that amount provided the victim did not tell anyone about the deal and allowed the subject to put a sign in his yard.
The victim said that there was another white male with the subject and that the two men began washing the front of the house with the victim’s garden hose. The victim then went inside to get the $100, and the older suspect followed him into the house.
The victim retrieved a wooden box where he kept his cash, but since the suspect would not leave, the victim put the box down on the bed, unopened. At this point the other suspect got the victim to come to the porch, and this is when the victim suspects the first man took the wooden box.
The victim told officers that the two men were in a white Ford pickup with a pressure washer in the back. The younger man had short brown hair and was maybe in his 20s, while the older suspect had short, kinky blonde hair and was between 30 and 40 years old.
The victim went back into the house to get one of the suspects a drink of water when the two men sped away from the home in their vehicle.
Area law enforcement officials say this crime is of a type that occurs across the area at this time of year. Such cases are usually ascribed to “Gypsies” who come into an area and work variations on several confidence games before moving on. They traditionally target older residents, particularly those living alone.
Inman Police Chief Glenn Henderson said that it was the right time of year but that his agency has not had any reports of similar crimes. But, he said, there’s always a first case and urged area residents to be on their guard.
Henderson said the typical scams involve offering cut rates on paving, pressure washing or other household repair projects.
“People need to make sure they’re dealing with a reputable company,” Henderson said. “Don’t let them in your house.”
Capt. Neil Urch, head of uniform patrol with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, said so far there have been no reports of similar crimes around the county.
“It would not be out of the scope of things if this were happening,” Urch said. “There are several scams that they use.”
Capt. Carl Long with the Duncan Police Department also reported that his agency has not seen any cases but that he will have his officers step up their patrols and to be on the watch for suspicious activity.
Long said his department usually checks people doing work within the town to make sure they have the proper business license.
If anyone suspects such activity in their neighborhood, they are encouraged to call their local municipal police department or the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

jking@hometown-news.com

Chapman Honored with Red Carpet Award

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:51:32 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Editor
Chapman High School was honored Monday with the state’s Red Carpet Award.
Forty-two schools were honored to recognize their success at creating family-friendly school environments and providing excellent customer service.
State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex announced the winners of this year’s awards, which have become highly prized by South Carolina schools. The schools will receive actual red carpets to display in their lobbies.
“Schools that are parent-friendly, schools that have strong customer service, are more likely to be supported by their communities,” Rex said. “Community involvement can play a big part in a school’s academic success. This year’s Red Carpet winners understand and strive for that.”
Two hundred schools began the award application process last fall. Applicants provided written details about their family-friendly philosophies and environments, along with the methods used to promote and self-evaluate those efforts. They also were required to include copies of their school’s communication plan.
Schools that passed the written application phase were then screened by independent judges who rated how telephone callers and visitors were treated. Judges did not identify themselves during telephone calls or site visits, and site visits were not announced in advance.
Winning schools receive red carpets with the state seal to display in their lobbies, and they maintain their recognition status for a three-year period.
This year marks the first time Chapman has won the award.
“We outlined things we wanted to see every day at Chapman High School,” said principal Stephanie Mathis. “We tried to embed a lot of things, little details that we really honed in on, so everybody knows exactly what to do at any moment to serve our community.”
Mathis gave credit to everyone who helped secure the award.
“They’re people-friendly,” she said of her support staff. “They go out of their way every single day to make anything better for these students, their parents, and the community.”
Mathis said the award came as a surprise.
“It was quite a surprise when we found out this morning,” she said. “District One is know for being down-home and family-friendly, and we take pride in being able to hang that red carpet in our entryway.”

Showdown Looming Over State Budget

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:54:17 +0000

By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
With action expected this week at the State House to move forward a $5.7 billion budget that includes $350 million in federal stimulus money, the stage is set for a showdown between lawmakers and Gov. Mark Sanford over accepting federal help for the state’s budget woes.
Sanford said in a press conference Monday that lawmakers were continuing to act irresponsibly by passing budgets that include federal stimulus money that the governor has insisted be used to pay down state debt. Among the budgetary excesses Sanford cited were plans to fund a new Capitol police force to protect the State House.
Sen. Glenn Reese said after the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation meeting last week that the senate planned to move forward with a budget including the federal money and that a veto was expected from the governor. Reese added that if that happened, there have already been discussions among lawmakers raising the possibility of impeachment proceedings against the governor.
Rep. Keith Kelly said in an interview last month about ongoing budget issues that House members had started discussing the possibility of impeachment action if the governor maintained his stance against using federal money already designated for South Carolina to stabilize budgets for state education and law enforcement agencies.
While the budget wrangling continues in Columbia, local governments are left facing some tough choices. For agencies like Spartanburg County, the most recent state budget includes significant cuts that local budget planners have to work around.
County Administrator Glenn Breed said Monday that the county is building a budget around the worst-case scenario from the state, which in Spartanburg County’s case includes a 42.6 million cut in the aid to local government funding from the state.
A series of mid-year budget cuts necessitated by declining state revenues have hit local governments across the state, and in Spartanburg County’s case led to mandatory employee furloughs and sharp budget cuts across every department. Breed said the administration challenged each department to cut between seven and 20 percent from its budget in order to meet budgetary shortfalls during the past year.
Breed explained that the county is having to plan for not only the budget concerns facing the state next year, but even more importantly the likely budget issues for the following year, fiscal year 2010-2011. He said that even though the General Assembly seems to be embroiled in issues related to this next budget, local governments don’t have the luxury of looking only one year ahead.
“We have to think farther ahead,” Breed said. “We don’t have a choice.”
He explained that local governments like the county have only a limited number of options when trying to accommodate budget cuts from the state. For this reason it was essential when preparing the 2009-2010 budget to envision the worst-case scenario in terms of revenue coming in from the state.
“We aren’t taking into account any stimulus money that may or may not be coming our way,” Breed said. He said the new budget is designed to maintain county services while anticipating a lean year in terms of revenue that can be expected from the state.
‘”We’ll deal with whatever hand we’re dealt,” Breed said. “We’ll likely have to make some tough decisions down the road based on the hand that we are dealt.”

jking@hometown-news.com

Relay For Life a Huge Success

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:32:18 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Editor
Perfect weather, a hardworking organizational staff, and a giving community combined to make last week’s Relay for Life of North Spartanburg one of the most successful ever.
Organizers were thrilled with both the turnout and the donations raised.
“It was great,” said organizer Julie Settle. “We had the biggest crowd, the most teams, raised the most money - it was just fantastic.”
Settle said early reports showed that the event had raised $100,947.70 as of Monday afternoon. Organizers had set a fundraising goal of $65,000.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “There are no words for how it feels to exceed that goal. Every time I think about it, I’m just amazed.”
Settle said the fact that the event was blessed with fair weather was a plus.
“The weather was definitely a factor,” she said. “People didn’t have to run from the rain this year. We raised $20,000 on-site, through food, games, our silent auction, and our relay items for sale. The big turnout certainly helped with that, and I think the nice weather had a lot to do with it.”
Settle didn’t give an official estimate on the number of people attending, but reported a big crowd for most of the night.
“When we held our luminary lap at 9 p.m., the crowd was almost wrapped around the track,” she said. “It was that big from our opening ceremonies until about midnight. It was just incredible.”
Settle said that of the 27 registered teams, 17 stayed the night. Jenn’s Friends, a group organized to honor Jennifer Coleman Fortner, won the first annual Purple Luminary award for the team with the highest percentage of all-night attendees, as 21 percent of the team remained at the track all night.
“Jennifer carried our torch of hope, so it was wonderful to see her team out here all night,” Settle said.
Settle ws grateful to everyone who supported Relay for Life this year.
“It’s very humbling to think that even during these economic times the people of the North Spartanburg area came through in such a big way,” she said.

Relay for Life Planned for Friday

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:48:18 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Editor
Landrum High School is once again hosting the Relay For Life of North Spartanburg on Friday, May 1.
According to organizer Julie Settle, the event is growing, with the largest-ever number of teams participating.
“Our goal this year was 25 teams, and we’ve got 26,” Settle said. The event is growing really quickly.
The purpose of the event is to recognize those fighting cancer, remember those lost to the disease, and support friends and loved ones who come out to walk in honor and memory of those close to them touched by cancer.
The opening ceremony will begin at 7:00 PM. Josh Caldwell, a former District One student who currently attends North Greenville University, will be the featured survivor speaker. Following the Survivor, Caregiver and Team laps we will have the North Spartanburg’s Got Talent show. Many of the schools and First Baptist Church of Landrum’s children’s choir will be performing.
Teams will be selling food items, craft items and Relay For Life items. The Silent Auction will feature a wide variety of items from student-created artwork to hand crafted items. All funds will go directly towards the American Cancer Society.
Settle said that community support for the event was overwhelming.
“We’ve had so many corporate sponsors that it’s just incredible,” she said. The planning committee has been great - Kelly Wright, Jennifer Johnson, Kimberly Arthur, Debbie Ballew, Jennifer Settle, Renee Pierce, and Keith Maxwell have been amazing.”
Settle also gave credit to District One, which is routinely among the top districts in the state for Relay for Life participation.
“We have 100 percent school participation, and the District Office has a team,” she explained. “Schools are the heart of our Relay. There’s not a shool that hasn’t been touched in some way, by a student, a staff member, or a family member with cancer.”
The event will begin with a Survivor’s Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies are at 7 p.m., and a special Luminary Ceremony will be held at 9 p.m. The Luminary Ceremony features a candelight walk in memory of cancer victims.Each year the silent lap is lead by the “Torch of Hope”. Jennifer Coleman Fortner with her family and friends will carry the Torch of Hope. Jennifer is currently battling cancer.
The feature entertainment of the evening will be a concert by Jeff Perry and Friends. Jeff sings and plays acoustic guitars.
Events will continue throughout the night. Each team’s goal is to have at least one person walking on the track all night long.
The team with the highest percentage of participants staying the night will be honored with the “Purple Luminary” award. This is a bragging rights award that the teams are in stiff competition to achieve.
Settle encourages everyone to attend the event, even if not part of a team.
“If your family has been touched by cancer and you have never attended a Relay For Life event you are missing out on a moving, yet enjoyable experience,” she said. “Come and join in the festivities and help us to celebrate 25 years of hope.”

‘Open Hearts’ Benefit Ride Scheduled for Saturday

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:07:45 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Editor
A charity motorcycle ride to benefit three area young people and their families will be held this Saturday.
The Open Hearts ride, a project of the Foothills Thunder Motorcycle Club, will kick off at 1 p.m. at Chapman High School. Organizer Glenn Henderson said that there would be plenty for riders to do before and after the ride, and things to keep spectators occupied while the riders are gone.
“We’re going to have food, stuff for kids, a couple of bands, an auction, and a 50-50 drawing,” Henderson said. “There will be plenty for everyone to do.”
Henderson expects the 65-mile ride to take two to two-and-a-half hours, with one stop to be made at North Greenville University. The riders will depart at 1 p.m., ride together, and arrive back at Chapman together.
Last weekend, final preparations were made for the ride as Bojangles in Inman hosted a fundraiser. From 3p.m. - 8 p.m. last Saturday, Bojangles donated 20 percent of its profits to the ride. There were also tickets for sale for two guitar raffle prizes - one autographed by Alabama, and one signed by the Marshall Tucker Band.
“I think we’ll get about $300 from Bojangles, and we sold about $300 worth of tickets,” Henderson said. “We had a pretty good day.”
The ride will benefit Josh Caldwell, Johnathan Dodd, and Alana Bryan. Bryan, 1, is battling leukemia, while Caldwell is fighting cancer. Dodd was severely injured in an auto accident.
Dodd’s mother, Leann Mullis, was thankful for the club’s help.
“It’s an amazing thing to have them donate their generosity and their time to help us,” she said.
Mullis said any money received would help with medical bills.
“He has a C4 and C5 injury, so there have been a lot of hospital stays over the past two years,” she said. “Any help is greatly appreciated. We’ve researched the possibility of neck surgery, and anything will help.”
Caldwell’s mother, Laura, is also grateful for the assistance.
“For me, it’s very special,” she said. “I’m not from here, I’m from Virginia originally, but I’ve been here for 20-something years. For them to do something and include somebody - I mean, these people are doing what they’re doing out of genuine love.”
Caldwell said the club went out of its way to help.
“They approached me,” she said. “They called me and asked if they could help us, and it was awesome. They’re just great people.”
jblackwell@hometown-news.com | 542-6178

Hollifield Brings Understanding, Humor to Job

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:06:04 +0000

By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
For Capt. Randy Hollifield, the head of the Special Services section of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, good humor and understanding are key aspects of managing a team of deputies involved in such wide-ranging responsibilities as the hazardous devices unit to the courts and warrants divisions.
Hollifield’s gregarious nature and understanding approach to dealing with the issues inherent in law enforcement were formed in part from his experience coming up through the ranks and dealing with the struggles that confront deputies every day.
The husband and father of five is a Spartanburg native who remembers an era when communities felt safer, when people knew their neighbors and more often than not left their front doors open and unlocked. He says it would be wonderful if Spartanburg County was again that open and trusting but that the reality is the streets are not nearly as safe as they once were.
As head of the Special Services section, Hollifield oversees such diverse units as aviation, traffic, SWAT, hazardous devices, the dive team, school resource officers, the court and warrants sections, and departmental training. The former member of the 82nd Airborne Division got his start with the department in 1982 and has worked under three sheriffs. He is also an active member of the department’s SWAT team.
Despite being responsible for managing such diverse units, Hollifield says his first passion remains uniform patrol and working the streets. Over the years he’s done stints in every division of the department except the detective division but says he always comes back to his first love.
“I’ve never been one who wanted to sit in the office,” Hollifield says. “I’m a road guy… There are so many things that happen each and every day.”
Hollifield says that one of the things that has influenced his approach to his job was coming up through the traffic division with Sheriff Chuck Wright and Chief Deputy Billy Parris and that this shared experience now helps them to understand, empathize with and support the deputies under their command.
He says his nearly three decades of experience have helped him to understand and empathize with deputies and the things they must face simply by putting on the uniform whether it’s an irate citizen or a fleeing felon willing to do whatever it takes to evade capture - like the man who stabbed Hollifield in the back during a foot pursuit on New Year’s Eve the year he started with the department.
Because the captain has a shared frame of reference with deputies and understands the hardships they must face, he says he tries to always be cheerful around his deputies and to maintain an open-door policy where they can feel free to come in and talk about any issue.
As someone who has seen five people commit suicide in front of him in his nearly three decades with the sheriff’s office, Hollifield says that the job of law enforcement is a job that can be thankless and both physically and emotionally draining. But, he adds, it is because of these characteristics that law enforcement officers form such close bonds with their co-workers.
Hollifield says he knows what deputies go through every day because he went through the same things. He says he remembers what it was like to start a shift and not know where or even if he would get something to eat and knows that there are deputies on the road today in exactly the same situation.
“That’s why I try to be as cheerful as I can,” Hollifield says. “I know there are officers out there right now who don’t have a dollar in their pocket.”
He says that like every other profession, law enforcement officers are just people who want to be respected and who want to help people. He adds that getting the occasional thank you or that-a-boy can mean a lot to those who form the first line of defense against criminals.
“To help someone out and have them say ‘thank you’ is 100 times better than putting someone in jail,” he says.

jking@hometown-news.com