The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 16

SECTION Sunday May 11, 1997 Obituaries 6B Termite research changes building code to protect homes Alio ersoii ple begin to suspect that there's a problem," she said. In the North, where winters are long and the insect season is short, below-ground insulation serves a purpose. But in the South, where the frost line is very shallow and insects thrive much of the year, below-ground insulation is not needed, said Neil Ogg, assistant department head of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, which is based at Clemson University. The problem is not the foam-board insulation. It'f inexpensive and effective as an energy conservation tool.

"This is what I would want on my house," Zungoli said. "I just wouldn't want it below grade." Pest-control operators in South Carolina refuse about half the jobs where the insulation is a problem because they can't guarantee the work and could be open to lawsuits, Zungoli said. They can't get chemicals to the termites and often can't detect termites because the insulation hides them. This left homeowners holding the bag. "Our interest has been in trying to find a solution to the problem," she said.

"The people who win are the homeowners." By Anna Simon Clemson Bureau CLEMSON Undetected and unchecked, termites tunnel through insulation meant to keep a house warm that instead provides a superhighway for the winged, wood-eating pests. The problem is that when foam-board insulation is applied below ground arpund the foundation of a house, termites can avoid pesticide barriers and burrow between the insulation and the walls. Clemson University researchers' study of these little insects led to a change this year in building codes to ban underground installation of foam-board insulation in houses in the South. Not only can wood houses fall prey to the pests, so can homes of brick and stucco, because they still contain framing lumber. The problem usually is discovered in the spring, which is swarming season for the termites, said Pat Zungoli, a professor of entomology, which is the study of insects, at Clemson University.

"It's not until there's damage or a swarm inside the house that peo Homeowners can find out whether this insulation is below ground level on their homes either by calling their builder, a reputable pest control operator or by prodding the exterior of the house about six inches below ground level with an icepick. The icepick will go through the insulation, so homeowners should be careful not to poke a hole where it will show, because the hole will be permanent. This won't work if there is wood, brick or stucco applied over the insulation. Removal of the insulation will solve the problem in. most cases, Zungoli said.

After Clemson researchers and state pest-control regulators worked with state and national building officials, the Standard Building Code, commonly called the Southern Building Code, was changed. The 1997 printing prohibits below-grade installation of this insulation from southern North Carolina to southeastern Texas and part of California. Work is in progress to change the Council of American Building Officials' building code that governs one- and two-family dwellings. Licensed builders in South Carolina are supposed to follow these two codes, Ogg said. FAMILIES JOIN FUN AT FESTIVAL Sheriff's office turns to the Internet for fighting crime CHECK IT OUT The Greenville County Sheriff's Office can be reached on the world wide web at http: www.concentric.net(tilde)gcso.

The Sheriff's Office computer bulletin board can be reached at 864-467-5866. program for seniors, Greenville's most wanted fugitives, and a listing of local deadbeat dads. Business owners will have special access, via password, to a listing of recent fraudulent checks. Mohamed Yaktieen, who teaches electronics engineering technology at ITT Technical Institute, says internet usage in the Upstate is swelling. "Even small towns are starting to put web pages on the internet," he said, pointing out that in Anderson signs advertising web sites are cropping up at intersections.

Law enforcement agencies across the country are following society online the National Sheriffs Association's home page lists 142 counties in the nation that have web addresses, and the N.S.A.'s David Strigel says there are probably many more. (The Spartanburg and Anderson County sheriffs offices also have sites.) For the Greenville County Sheriffs Office, the cost is the $19.95 per month it takes to sign on with the internet provider, Concentric Network, which provides a web site with basic service. Owens said the redesign takes no more than eight hours a week in manpower, but should require far less once By Danny Hakim Staff Writer Probably the last place you'd expect to see the blue, yellow-striped sedan of a Greenville County Sheriffs officer would be after you get home and switch on your PC. But Interstate 85 isn't the only highway Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown and his deputies patrol in the burgeoning information age. As more people are getting on the internet, says Deputy Lee Owens, the Sheriffs Office will use the internet "to educate the public" about crime prevention.

The sheriffs office has operated a home page on the world wide web on-and-off for a year and a half. Their first site was linked to the Greenville Public Library's web page. Now the home page is being redesigned in-house by the Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Unit and run through a commercial site. Plug in the new address, and you'll see a still photo of that blue sheriffs sedan (shrunken to a safe Lilliputian scale), flanked by the sheriff's 7-pointed star. A picture of a different missing child appears below the car every 10 minutes.

The main purpose of the site, Owens said, is to give the public more access to crime prevention tools. A menu on the first page offers online features like the "Rx Fraud Network," which provides information to doctors and pharmacists for reporting prescription frauds. Coming menu options will include information on the TRIAD -r fjri other artists have told me about the show," he said. "It has a pretty good crowd. We'll probably come back next year.

Greer's Kris Ramsey and her children, who try to attend the event annually, sought to make the most of this year's fest, which will probably be their last. Soon, jus Events continue today with feast for Mother's Day By Angelia Davis Greer Bureau GREER Dallas Whiten is a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it. After four or more refrains of "Let's go see Winnie the Pooh," the 4-year-old Blue Ridge girl was able to make her way through the crowds at Greer Family Fest Saturday, aunt Michelle Cannon in tow, to shake hands with the Disney character. Seeing Winnie, she said, was one of the highlights of her visit to the festival, which featured a variety of events for children and adults. Cannon said it was the crafts that drew her vendors were on hand with an array of woodcarvings, paintings, hand-woven baskets, clothes, hand-made jewelry and more.

Al Niemczyk, of Blairsville, showcased woodcarvings of fish, bird paths with signs that read "Private Please," yard signs and more. The carvings are made from apple, poplar and oak trees. This is Niemczyk's second year exhibiting his talents. "We did real good last year and everybody asked us to come back," said the owner of Booger Hollow Crafts. A new sale item featured in Niemcyzk's booth that caught the eyes of many passersby was a 6-foot-wooden mermaid.

"That's my girlfriend, my wife says," he joked. "When I'm in trouble at least I've got somebody to talk to." For the young and young at heart, the Family Fest offered a children's parade, art festival, Creation Station, amusement rides and more. Entertainment included live alternative rock, Christian rock, acoustic rock, jazz, magic, gospel and drama, in addition to Friday night's headlining act, country star Trace Adkins. "It was real nice," said Bobby Fowler of Greer, who brought his 4-year-old daughter to join in the festivities. "We're having a good time." In his first time exhibiting at Family Fest, artist Charles Towles won first place for best booth display.

Towles' booth fea- Anderson body Juggler Alan Bryson, below, entertains at Greer Family Fest Saturday, as Susan Hutcherson and her children, 8-year-old twins Shannon and David, watch. At left, 14-year-old Jacquetta Watson wears a paper hat she made at the Greer Family Festival kids area. The festival ends today with a Fatz's Mother's Day Feast at Memorial United Methodist Church. Photographs by ALAN DEVORSEY Staff they'll be moving to Pennsylvania. "We're going to miss the festival," Ramsey said.

"Hopefully, we'll have something like this in Pennsylvania." The event's finale is today with the Fatz's Mother's Day Feast at Memorial United Methodist Church. 1 vv tured more than 200 paintings of flowers, grapes and a mountain scene. Towles and his wife, Freddie, arrived in Greer Thursday night from their home in Knoxville, Tenn, just to be a part of the event. "I read about it in a book and identified as being investigated as a homicide, although a cause of death was not released. Thomason's body was found covered in debris and obscured by tall grass in an old dump near Old Belton Highway, just off East River Paula Pressley Thomason Street in Anderson.

Thomason's mother, Bernice Pressley of 306 Driftwood Drive, said her daughter had been living on Dixie Circle in Greenville for a 0 'I: House speaker enlists help of PSC in utility deregulation that of Piedmont woman The Associated Press COLUMBIA State House Speaker David Wilkins may be throwing his weight around a bit, enlisting the help of state regulators to map out a way to open competition in the electricity industry. Last week, the Greenville Republican asked the state Public Service Commission to submit a plan to lawmakers by January 31. A bill to deregulate the power industry is all but dead in the House this year. However, Wilkins said with the commission's guidance, legislators will be prepared to debate the issue in 1998. "We're asking for help and input with this process on what to do and how to do it," he said.

"I think the PSC needs to be directly involved." The federal government has left it up to the states to determine how to give consumers a choice in electricity providers, much like they now choose telephone service. The state control has caused arguments between monopoly investor- owned utilities, hke South Carolina Electric Gas and would-be competitors, like Green ville-based Electric Lite. More than 1 million South Carolina electric customers are at stake. Wilkins said the PSC request was not an attempt to speed passage of the existing legislation or improve its chances of survival. Still, House Minority Leader Jim Hodges, D-Lancaster, was caught off guard.

"It surprises me that Wilkins would do that on his own without seeking the input of the members of the House," Hodges said. "It would surprise me if the PSC would do it without some broader edict from the Legislature that it wished for a study to be done. I would describe that as unusual." Wilkins said he wants to provide the House Utilities Subcommittee with as much assistance as possible to study the issue this summer. "It's clear that deregulation is (the Legislature's) responsibility," Wilkins said. "(The PSC) is a great resource to us; the letter was to get greater involvement." Gary Walsh, PSC's deputy executive director, said commissioners have not discussed the request, but "I'm sure we'll attempt to comply." few months before she disappeared in March.

The Woodmont High School graduate had just started a new job at a Greenville textile plant. Her sister, Robin Cooley, said Thomason phoned her several times in the days before her disappearance, and told her she was afraid for her life, but wouldn't say why. After Thomason disappeared, her family prayed, circulated pictures and called hospitals, bars and restaurants, Cooley said. Another sister, Debbie Hipps, said she knew the body found was Thomason's when authorities told them they had found a special nen- 35-year-old woman had been living in Greenville By Danny Hakim Staff Writer The body found Thursday in Anderson County has been identified as a Piedmont woman who relatives say had been living in Greenville for the past few months. Paula Pressley Thomason, 35, was last seen March 19, according to a statement from the Anderson Pc'ice Department.

Her death is Anyone with information about the death of Paula Pressley Thomason, who disappeared March 19 from Dixie Circle in Greenville, should call the Anderson Police Department at (864)231-2280. ny she and Cooley had given her "just this past Christmas." The penny was stamped with an angel and inscribed: "This is your guardian angel, to be with you when we can't." Danny Hakim covers Upstate crime news. Me can be reached at 298-4020. i I.