The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 14

Wednesday, April 8, 1987 LI ZX L-Z3 2C i if 1 i I By Wayne Roper News Spartanburg bureau SPARTANBURG Several Spartanburg County water and sewer district representatives are urging the County Council to delay a countywide referendum April 21 on whether the county should be allowed to have countywide sewer and water planning authority, officials said Tuesday. Representatives of the districts said they have had little information about the proposed referendum and complained that few people would turn out to vote during the special election because the referendum was the only issue for 51 of 87 of the precincts. The Lyman Town Council voted Monday to oppose the referendum, saying the special election date was poor timing and unanswered questions remained. And Tuesday night, the Wellford Town Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the County Council to delay the referendum until the next general election. In interviews Tuesday, representatives of Duncan, Woodruff, Inman, Landrum and Chesnee, however, said they generally supported the referendum.

The referendum, if approved, would allow the council to contract for, acquire or construct and maintain water and sewer systems. The April 21 date was originally scheduled for the special election for state Senate District 12 which encompasses Spartanburg primarily. Then, the County Council called for the countywide referendum to be placed on a countywide ballot at the urging of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. mmmmmm Clock work Time waits for no mart, they say. on the large revolving clock in Rock However, for Ney Hallman it's willing Hill Tuesday.

The clock has four sides to sit still long enough for some re- and is located at a business in the pairs. Hallman was fixing the motor downtown area. County considers relocating prisoners to avoid crowding By Jim DuPlessis News Gaflney bureau GAFFNEY The Cherokee County Council may solve overcrowding at the county jail by moving some prisoners into another county building, according to a letter to state officials. The state Department of Corrections has cited the jail for overcrowding for the last two years. The council is considering an office shuffle next year when the county regains possession of a three-story building that now houses the Cherokee County Memorial Hospital.

The hospital plans to move into a new building on an adjacent site in February 1988. The council, however, still is seeking an architect to begin a feasibility study for such a move. The Department of Corrections expects the county to submit a more detailed plan to relieve overcrowding at the jail before the hospital reverts to the county, and preferably sooner, said Blake Taylor director of internal affairs and inspections for the department. Nearly half of the jails in the state are overcrowded to some degree, but the Cherokee County jail, for its size, is among the most severely overcrowded in the state, Taylor said. "Rather than wait until that time and then decide what to do, we would expect Clinton couple seeks reversal of lower court's bond decision By Herb Reeves News Laurens bureau COLUMBIA The attorney for a Clinton physician and his wife on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision that approved spending public money to support a $12 million hospital bond issue referendum.

During a 45-minute hearing before the court, Randall Chastain argued that a circuit judge's ruling was improper. "It raises a fundamental question if government can act as an advocate in the political process and deny to one side full and fair access," he told the court. However, attorney Michael Turner, representing the Laurens Health Care System, said the system's powers were broad enough to allow it to promote a yes vote on the bond referendum. Turner said the system was empowered with the authority to "do all things necessary or convenient for the establishment and maintenance of any facilities or projects of any kind." There is no time limit for the court to make its decision. Dr.

Vincent S. Toussaint and his wife, Patricia, appealed a June 4, 1986, decision that dismissed their suit against the Laurens County Health Care System. Circuit Judge James E. Moore dismissed the suit on the grounds that the Health System's board of directors was within its rights to spend money to promote a favorable vote in support of the March 4, 1986 referendum. The Health Care System spent about $51,000 to promote the referendum.

Chastain said that despite broad powers given by the county to the Health Care System, nowhere was it specifically given power to advocate a position. If their appeal is successful, the Tous-saints are also asking that the defendants, the Health System's administrator and the board of directors, be required to pay back the $51,000 to the system and be held liable for attorney fees. One of the first questions Tuesday from the court did not deal with the substance of the appeal, but with the standing of Toussaint and his wife, Patricia, before the court. Toussaint, who filed suit within a few days of the conclusion of a 30-day limit for challenges following a referendum's certification, is the citizen of the Netherlands, but has been a U.S. resident for the past 12 years.

The suit was later amended, naming Toussaint's wife, who is a U.S. citizen, as a plaintiff. Board to decide fate of suspended Union principal By Jim DuPlessis News Gaflney bureau UNION The Cherokee County school board will hold an open hearing on Friday to discuss the fate of suspended Union High School Principal Marion "Bull" Parrish. The board said it has called the hearing so Parrish can explain why he should not be fired for "certain actions, which, if true, are seriously prejudicial to the best interests of the school district and manifest an evident unfittness for continued employment with Union County schools." One question has been whether Parrish knew in advance about a student sit-in at the school March 20 to protest a transfer of which he was notified on March 18. Parrish was notified of his transfer on March 18.

He said Monday that superintendent Karen Callison called him before he left for a morning meeting March 20 in Rock Hill to ask him if he had heard rumors about a sit-in to be held later that morning. "I said I had heard a rumor myself but I thought it was under control. I didn't think it would happen," Parrish said. "I had good reason to believe there would be no disruption of school no sit-in, no anything," he said. Mrs.

Callison said she did talk to Parrish before the sit-in, but said she would wait until the hearing to comment further. Parrish, principal since 1976, was offered a job as a school district coordinator of programs dealing with potential dropouts, drug abuse and enlisting community support for the schools. The job was to begin this fall. About 800 students of the 1,224 students attending school March 20 were involved in the iy2-hour sit-in. About 300 students remained in classes at the adjacent vocational school during the demonstration, school officials said.

The board voted unanimously both on Parrish's transfer March 16 and on his suspension March 24. Parrish received a written explanation for his suspension last week, but has received no written explanation of his transfer, he said. Chamber officials have strongly supported the measure, saying the lack of a central planning and coordinating body for countywide sewer service has cost jobs and hampered growth in Spartanburg County. The council has passed a resolution saying its job is to help coordinate and plan sewer and water service for industries and rural areas. "I think the vote comes too fast, and not enough voters will turn out to decide the issue.

I feel it ought to be put off until the general election" in 1988, said Eric Buckner, manager of Metropolitan Sub-District water district, about one mile north of Spartanburg. Buckner said he is trying to get a letter with the signatures of other water district representatives urging council to postpone the referendum. Commissioners for the Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District and Water Works District, the largest providers in the county, voted to support the referendum after the county had passed its resolution. Ben Haskew, chamber president, said the districts' complaints of not having enough time come after three years of study on the issue. "I don't understand why they say there hasn't been enough time," Haskew said.

He said the chamber has attempted to explain that state law protects existing municipalities and special service districts from being "taken over" or taxed for water and sewer service they provide. Haskew said individual mailings are being sent out to every voter in the county and speakers from the county and chamber are talking to county service groups to explain the issue. New school could cost more than settlement By Sandy Dees News Spartanburg bureau WOODRUFF Replacing Woodruff High School might cost roughly $3 million more than the final insurance settlement on the school, District 4 officials say. Project architects at a school district meeting Monday estimated that a new building might cost between $5.25 million and $5.75 million. The board approved an insurance settlement of about $3.1 million, but only $2.1 million of that settlement is available for reconstruction.

The other $1 million covered the building's contents. The school had been insured for almost $3.5 million, but about 10 percent was not paid by the state-operated Insurance Reserve Fund partly because four rooms, the school gymnasium and some contents were saved. However, District 4 Superintendent Bill Howell said the gym would be torn down and salvageable parts sold. Howell said he is hoping for a lower estimate on construction costs and would not discuss funding for the project until a better estimate is available. "When you throw out figures, and then they're short or high of the final cost, you have a credibility problem," he said.

A better estimate of cost should be available in one month to six weeks when the architects refine the preliminary design approved by the board. Then, the plan must be submitted to the county Board of Education and the state Education Department for approval, he said. But Howell said issuing bonds, which would result in a tax increase, would be the district's only option to raise money. The district can issue $1.6 million in bonds, or 8 percent of the district's assessed evaluation, by majority approval of the school board. A bond issue in excess of $1.6 million would have to be approved by District 4 voters in a referendum.

However, even that amount would still leave the school at least $1.5 million short of the architect's lowest projected cost. School officials said contributions to the school have been appreciated, but they would not be enough to defray the expected costs. The new school should be ready for occupancy by September 1989 at the latest, he said. Four classrooms and a band-chorus room saved from the fire will be integrated into the new building on the present site. Construction could begin in six to seven months, said Howell.

Until the new school is completed, Woodruff's estimated 600 high school students will continue to attend classes in one wing of Woodruff Elementary School. Sixteen portable classrooms, the majority of which were donated by other schools, also are being used. "If there's a silver lining in this sort of tragedy, it's that we will be a stronger school and stronger school district," he said. Three youths, including a Woodruff High School sophomore, were charged and sentenced in connection with the fire, which destroyed the 35-year-old school on Jan. 11.

The Associated Press the plans to already be made and so that no time would be lost," Taylor said Monday. "We'll be evaluating this and we will also make a followup inspection in the near future to determine what's really going on and then we'll have to decide if this is a satisfactory response or if we're going to need to require additional reporting from them or specific actions." A Jan. 14 inspection found the jail held an average of 27 prisoners during a 90-day period, exceeding its rated capacity of 17 prisoners. A 1986 inspection found an average jail population of 20. State inspector Don Swinson presented the report to the County Council in February, saying the jail also was seriously understaffed.

On many shifts only one jailer is present and is responsible for both jail and dispatching duties. State regulations require that at least one trained jailer be present on each shift, according to Swin-son's report. Council Chairman Barry Morgan responded to the report in a one-page letter received by state officials Friday that said the county is making progress in studying the shift of county offices and jail facilities. The county plans to solve the staffing problem by implementing a centralized emergency phone system, which would free jailers from dispatching duties. Currently, city residents pay 12 times as much as county residents.

County officials have said they are unwilling to pay for the services because most of the facilities are inside the city. But city officials contend the city facilities are heavily used by county residents. A recent survey indicated 64 percent of the swim center users and 40 percent of the neighborhood recreation center participants weren't city residents. Meanwhile, the city plans to submit a revised plan to county officials. Under that proposal, the county would take over the department over a five-year period.

A joint meeting between the city and county councils and the recreation department's advisory board may be held soon to examine possible solutions to the conflict. tennis court fee the county. No information was presented on the number of county residents using the tennis courts. Councilman Wayne Welborn said Tuesday he intended to include the use of the tennis courts when the original motion was passed last month. Tuesday night, the council modified the original motion to include the use of the courts.

In other matters, resident Pam Williams asked the council to consider having Greer join the Tree City USA program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The national sponsor sets a minimum of $1 a person for a community to be eligible for Tree City USA recognition. In Greer's case, $12,000 would be needed. Mayor Don Smith said he agreed Greer could use some beautification, but he suggested the council take Ms. Williams' idea under advisement.

County residents might have to start paying for city-run fun UPSTATE BRIEFS Man gives 3 a ride, ends up stabbed SPARTANBURG A 25-year-old Saxon man was stabbed 10 times in the back after he gave three men a ride from an Arcadia bar early Tuesday. Mitchell Plemmons of 9 Bell St. was listed in serious condition at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Police said Plemmons gave three men a ride from Williams Grill, a Bailey Road bar in the Arcadia community. The four left the bar sometime after midnight, said Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt.

John Blackwood. When Plemmons stopped on New Cut Road to drop the men off, they attacked him with knives, police said. After being stabbed, Plemmons ran to his parents' home less than a half-mile away. Blackwood said Plemmons staggered into his family's home around 2:30 a.m. Later, the car was found with broken windows and headlights and its tires cut.

No money was taken from Plemmons, and police say they don't what motivated the attack. Blunt object used to kill Spartan man SPARTANBURG Autopsy results on Tuesday confirmed that a 31-year-old Spartanburg businessman, found buried in a shallow grave in Lexington County, was beaten to death with a blunt object. Lexington County Coroner Harry Harmon said the body of Charles Alan Bush was found buried in a two-foot grave on Monday. Assistant County Coroner Lynwood Lybrand said Bush died from head trauma and probably died on Feb. 11.

Bush and slain co-worker Dennis Lollis were last seen alive Feb. 11, when they were sharing a room at the Red Carpet Inn in Cayce, according to The Associated Press. Both men were weaving-machine repairmen, working temporarily at the M. Lowenstein Corp. textile mill in Olympia.

Lollis' body was found in his motel bed Feb. 12, and authorities said he had been stabbed more than 20 times in his head and neck. Bush was reported missing the same day. Three members of one family were arrested in connection with the double murder. Thomas John Torrence, 28; his wife, Donna Michele Webb Torrence, 20; and Torence's brother, Michael Ryan Torrence, 25, were each charged Monday with two counts of murder and two counts of armed robbery.

Hearing scheduled on Spartan renovation SPARTANBURG A public hearing on Spartanburg County's proposed renovation of the former Sears Plaza into administrative offices is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the county Courthouse. The hearing will begin after the County Council session at 3 p.m. Members are scheduled to give second reading to the ordinance which would allow the county to undertake the project. The original cost of the project was estimated at $6.5 million, but council members learned they would have to, pay $2.26 million in property taxes in addition to the renovation cost.

SPARTANBURG Mayor E. Lewis Miller said Monday that the city should consider charging county residents a fee for using the city's parks and recreation facilities. Spartanburg city officials say they want the county to pay its fair share for the jointly run Spartanburg Parks and Recreation Department or it will face either possible fees or no services. The department is administered by the city. Although the city and county have provided the joint Parks and Recreation Department for the past 11 years, city officials, in recent years, have demanded that the county pay more.

The City Council Monday rejected a proposal from the county in which city residents were to pay 10 times as much as county residents for recreation services. Council approves By Anne Perry News Greer bureau GREER County residents who live outside Greer and want to use the city's tennis courts will be charged a $50 annual fee starting July 1, the City Council decided Tuesday night. The unanimous vote coincides with the council's March 19 decision to charge an annual $50 user fee to county residents who participate in athLtic programs in the city. The fee applies to all city athletic programs and use of the tennis courts. Details on how the tennis court fee will be collected or enforced were not discussed during Tuesday's council meeting to allow opinions from the city's recreation department.

City officials estimate about 60 percent of the childrten who participate in organized athletic programs in the city live in.