The Times and Democrat from Orangeburg, South Carolina • 9

0 In closing days, Raytheon auctions equipment By GENE CRIDER City Editor Raytheon Systems in its final days of operation in Orangeburg, will action off much of the equipment from its Orangeburg plant Wednesday. Raytheon announced in October it would close its Orangeburg plant, which it acquired from Hughes Aircraft, as part of a larger company reorganization. Approximately 260 jobs were to be moved from Orangeburg to other Raytheon plants. Although all manufacturing has ended at the plant, 41 employees remain in the finance, computer and maintenance areas, Raytheon Project Manager Sam Fanning said. The plant will close June 30, although a few employees will remain at the rear building of the plant through August to finish closing the books.

One of the Raytheon buildings is for sale and the other is for lease, Fanning said. "All we can do is pray and hope we can find somebody to fill the building and bring in some jobs," Fanning said. Dove Brothers auctioneers, a firm that auctions items internationally for Fortune 1,000 companies, will auction off many of the items of the local plant along with items from four other Raytheon facilities on Wednesday. A preview of auction items begins at 8:30 a.m. and the public auction begins at 10 a.m.

The auctioneers will sell "a wide range of different type equipment," in 700 lots, including items from machine shops, office furniture, data processing equipment and electronic test equipment, Dove Brothers Senior Vice President Bruce Baird said. "I think there's a lot of good values for the businesses out there," Baird said. Hughes Aircraft opened the Orange burg plant in 1984, locating in a spec building on U.S. Highway 21. The plant, which made electronic components for the defense industry, was to have a peak employment of 260.

But in 1988, the company opened a new, $28 million facility at its site. Employment peaked at over 500. General Motors Corp. sold Hughes to Lexington, Raytheon Systems Co. in January 1997.

Raytheon announced in October 1998 it would reduce employment by 12 percent by the end of 1998 and by another 4 percent in 1999, for a total reduction of 14,000 posi- ALL SYSTEMS GO Palms vows challenge to higher ed fund formula University of South Carolina President John Palms wants the state to follow its commitment to spreading the money based on performance standards and until that is done op- poses extra money for I schools where en- rollment has surged, something Sgt. John Bourne of North (right) performs pref light systems check on the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Piloting the aircraft are Chief Warrant Officer Guy Harbin of Charleston and Lt. Douglas Leslie of Pickens. Bourne is a member of Company 1151 Aviation Battalion, South Carolina Army National Guard.

The 1515t is performing its annual training at McEntire Air National Guard Station in Eastover. (Photo special to The by Sgt. John W. House, 382nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) POLICE REPORTS Woman Stranger nearly raped her By The Associated Press COLUMBIA University of South Carolina President John Palms promises a legal challenge to state plans for distributing higher education money this year, though he stops short of saying the school will sue. Palms wants the state to follow its commitment to spreading the money based on performance standards and until that is done opposes extra money for schools where enrollment has surged, something that has not happened at his school.

University trustees would have to approve any lawsuit, he said. Palms and Clemson President Constantine Curris have presented letters and documents to the state Higher Education Commission that they say shew the presidents agreed to one plan and that the commission crafted another. The statewide allocation for performance funding is now $26 million to $28 million. Also proposed is $10 million to offset high enrollment growth at some schools. Palms opposes that unless the state will $63 million in new money for performance funding for all state institutions.

Curris has a commission staff memo written early in the legislative budget-request process and an outline of the "five-star" funding plan the commission approved Nov. 5 and ultimately submitted to the Legislature. The memo refers to a $10 million division of state money. "I acknowledge that there are differing reflections" on the funding formula, said Rayburn Barton, the commission's executive director. But things changed a lot between the memo and final plan, said commission spokesman Charlie FitzSimons.

The changes may have slipped by university presidents and finance officers, though they were sent letters, he said. Meeting attendance records show that finance officers from South Carolina, Clemson, the Medical University of South Carolina, the College of Charleston and Winthrop University attended the Nov. 5 meeting. So did the then-president of the state's technical college system and the secretary to the board of Clemson. There's no funny business, no bait and switch," FitzSimons said.

Barton said no one quibbled until the Legislature arrived at substantially less than $63 million in new money for higher education. Now, Barton has protests from Palms, Curris, Winthrop President Anthony DiGiorgio, and the finance chiefs at Clemson, South Carolina andMUSC. Palms said he'd like to see the issue reconsidered and resolved by July 1, when the next budget year begins. providence Thanks to Harriet Hutto for checking on a booboo I made in my story on the Providence UMC. I think I mentioned the Rev.

Mack but he is no longer the pastor of the church but was replaced by the Rev. David Marcy in June of 1998. Harriet noted: "Rev. Marcy and his wife, Kerri, and son, Cory, continue to provide love and care to the members in their role as "the minister and his She said she had assured Pastor Marcy that she is aware he is her pastor in order to correct any misconceptions my story might have put forth! Sure am sorry about that and hope the Pastor and his family will forgive my ancient mind for its error. Harriet also noted one other thing.

The silver trophy cup that was awarded to the community in 1927 was lost when the Providence School was destroyed by fire in 1951. Also, she said they have discovered another veteran of the Confederate Army. John William Myers volunteered in the 1st Regiment of S.C. Volunteers, then in Confederate Service in the 25th Eutaw Regiment, Color Guard. He was only 26 when he was killed in the Battle of Port Walthall.

Don't know where that was. He was unmarried and there are no known descendants, as his young brother and sister are buried beside him, along with their parents, in the Providence Cemetery. His parents were Lewis E. and Sophia Collier Myers. Another of the sad consequences of that War.

Then she said they have not been able to determine where Port Walthall iswas. The information they have came from young Mr. Myers' grave marker. Do any of you history buffs out there know where Port Walthall is located? Also, about the loss of their stained glass windows, Harriet said they now DO have Plexiglas protection for their beautiful stained glass windows, installed since Hurricane Hugo. So when you go over through the Providence Community as you take a Sunday ride or just check out the beauty of Orangeburg County, stop and take a good look at Providence United Methodist Church.

It's lovely and there's a whole lot of history there. Sure do enjoy the History Channel oh TV. Or, at least, I do when I can find it! TheyVe been messin' around with the channels so much lately, Fm lucky if I can locate The Price is Right" once in awhile! At my age, get so accustomed to doing things in a routine manner, and then, when you can't just snap it on and find the right program at the usual time, it is frustrating and confusing! In other it makes you mad! But after a i safari search, you find it and this Week it was terrific. They had a program about ghosts in Charleston homes and buildings and they showed many of those places and even some of the "ghosts" (maybe) and it was delightful. But I gotta tell ya' we have our own ghost or two around here.

Aunt Mary up on the North Road is one who keeps comin' around! Then, after the ghostly affair, they did a segment on the late Robert Ripley and it was fascinating. A very smart guy, he discovered so many out-of-the-way and sometimes weird things but you learned a lot from his discoveries and you learn a whole lot from the History Channel! More kids (no matter what age, right up to the 70s) should watch it! Writers! Listen up! ItH be a few months yet, but October 8-10, 1999, the 11th anniversary of the gathering of more than 200 authors from across the United States, and especially from the Southeast, will gather for ithe 1999 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Term. It will feature readings, children's authors and book signing and sales. Also featured will be an Antiquarian Book Fair, which includes collectible books, etc. If you are interested, and want more information, call (615) 320-7001, ext.

73 or get on their website at www.tn-humanities.org Well, it sounds like fun and there will be a lot of South Carolinians there, I bet. Kosovo is dwindling down but in my opinion (which is what you get here) we are now going to face a bigger problem from Russia and maybe China at the same time! We need Bome tough people in Washington to handle the situation and, as I say, this is only my opinion and I HOPE I'm wrong! Palms and Clemson President Constantine Curris have presented letters and documents I to the state Higher Edu- cation Com- mission that they say show the presidents agreed to one plan and that the commission crafted report A woman told police she was robbed at gunpoint and nearly raped by a stranger who offered her a ride Monday morning. The victim, 34, said she was walking up Five Chop Road near the Edisto Shrine Club around 4 a.m. when a man pulled his vehicle alongside and asked her if she needed a ride. When the victim refused the man's offer, he jumped out of the car with a handgun and robbed the victim of her backpack, containing $50.

The suspect also beat the woman in the upper body and pulled off her underwear. The woman told officers she managed to fight the man away from her. The suspect reportedly got back into his vehicle, a small blue station wagon with an antenna on top, and sped away. The woman was transported to The Regional Medical Center for treatment. She described her attacker as a 30- to 40-year-old black man, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 240 pounds, with no front teeth, sheriff's office reports indicated.

In unrelated cases: A customer robbed a local gas station Monday night after he didn't have enough cash of his own to pay for a cigar. An 18-year-old clerk at Henry's Spur on Old Edisto Drive said around 10:30 p.m. and unknown male entered the store and asked to purchase a cigar. The suspect had a handful of pennies, but not enough to cover the cost of the product. The clerk told the man she would help pay for the man's cigar.

When she opened the cash drawer, the suspect pushed her hands aside and grabbed an undetermined amount of cash. The suspect was last seen running toward Cannon Bridge Road. Sheriffs office Detective Clark Whetstone will be handling the investigation. Burglars stole thousands in electronics from a Bowman man over the weekend. The victim told police someone pried open his back door and, once inside, kicked open his bedroom door.

Electronics taken included a JBL subwoofer, a Toshiba DVD player, a 35-inch Zenith television, a Sony stereo, a Canon printer, a Toshiba laptop computer, a surge suppressor, a Goldvideo VCR, 23 DVD movie discs, 60 videocassettes and a surround sound system. The total loss in equipment was estimated at $8,550. The victim was also missing $450 in jewelry, reports indicated. Burglars struck Edisto Elementary School over the weekend and removed a computer and a microwave from a classroom. There were no signs of forced entry.

The total loss was estimated at $1,250. A Norway man said someone broke into his residence and took a lawn mower, a bike and two aluminum ladders. The man's mower, worth $2,200, was a red Yard Pro with a 44-inch blade. The ladders were worth $200 and the bike, $75. A Griffith Drive woman said someone broke into her home storage room and removed $1,200 in golf equipment, a $400 gas powered edger and a $300 pair of prescription sunglasses.

WARRIORS AGAINST DRUGS 'Drug Free Carnival' Saturday 1 been some success, but I think as we approach the new millennium, we really need to kick it into high gear," he said. There's a lot of work yet to be done." Among the groups helping get the drug abuse prevention message out to those at-tending Saturday's "Drug Free Carnival" will be The Hit Squad" from the Rimini Ma-', rine Institute, a treatment camp for troubled youth. Also appearing at the carnival will be the Rivelon Rascals from Rivelon Baptist i Church, who will perform a puppet show, i and the Columbia Awareness Team. In addition, Orangeburg County's Special Tactics and Rescue Team will have an exhibit at the carnival, and a number of other agencies have been invited to showcase their, programs to let people know where they can get help. Richard Fowler, executive director of the ii Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, has good-naturedly volunteered to be the "dunkee" at the PAOD's dunking booth Saturday, Green said.

The entire event will be free to the public, including free T-shirts for the kids, hot dogs, shaved ice, lemonade and soft drinks, he said. "We invite everyone to come out for the carnival, not just for the freebies, but for the I spirit of what we're trying to do," Green "We want those who attend to take the message back to their communities that it does take a whole village to raise a child. And we want them to put that message in action." For more information, contact Green at 5364900, ext. 143. forcements, Green said.

"We need more warriors against drugs, because a lot of the people who have been working to improve these communities are getting much older," he said. They've been in this struggle for a long time. They still do what they can do, but we need to get more people involved who will take a positive leadership role." The residents of Orangeburg County's neighborhoods must be willing to join in the struggle, Green said. "People who live in these communities have to take pride in their neighborhoods if they want to change them," he said. "The sheriffs department and police department can only do so much." The PAOD Coalition's mission is to try to prevent young people from ever taking drugs, to reach them "before they get to the point where they start experimenting and start having to deal with peer pressure," Green said.

The local "Teen Talk" program on Time-Warner cable television was started by PAOD to initiate a dialogue between young people on the issues impacting them, he said. Orangeburg residents who care about children must also stand up and say they're tired of crime and drugs and send that message to the criminals in order to restore a sense of pride and security in neighborhoods, Green said. "On paper, they say there's been a decline in drug-related crime, but when you ride these neighborhoods and see the atmosphere, you might debate that. There has By CAROL B. BARKER Staff Writer Getting the message out that drug dealers and users are not welcome is one way to rekindle pride in a neighborhood.

An Orangeburg organization at the forefront of this effort for the past 10 years has been the People's Assault On Drugs Coalition. Saturday the emphasis will be on drug abuse prevention during the group's annual "Drug Free Carnival" scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Harmon Park. Other participating agencies will be The Dawn Center, the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office and the Orangeburg Parks and Recreation Department.

Ron E. Green, PAOD DirectorPrevention Services with the Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said the theme of this year's carnival is, "It Takes A Whole Village To Raise A Child." This means Orangeburg community lead- Ron E. Green, director of prevention services for the People's Assault On Drugs Coalition, Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, displays one of the T-shlrts that will be given to kids during Saturday's annual "Drug Free Carnival." The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 :30 p.m. at Harmon Park.

photo by Thomas Brown) era that have for years led the struggle against drug abuse and illicit drug activities in their neighborhoods now need fresh rein.