The Gaffney Ledger from Gaffney, South Carolina • Page 1

happening in Columbia? Check our legislative roundup on Page 5. CM I i DEVOTED TO SERVING THE PEOPLE OF CHEROKEE COUNTY SINCE 1894. CO WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1994 35 Cents i i 1 1 TTTm II VI Jill i- "jo tt: I to Z3 ill I 4 CO 1 U. CO i a 1. jk eac-3 1-4 tg id ctrut- ictcf ir3 lost their "i co (.0 C-' Lu Ledger pnoa by Sieve fcariey Emm warn mm 1 DYO charged with homicide by child neglect in the death.

Each face from 20 years to life, in prison if convicted. The warrants allege Yolanda Bennett and Smith, "did on or about Jan. 12, 1994 in Cherokee. County cause the death of Dwitasia Bennett, a child under the age of 11, while committing child abuse or neglect as defined by section 20-7-490 under circumstances of extreme indifference to human at apartment 33, Connecti-cut Village." Police said Yolanda Bennett told them she noticed something wrong with her baby at her home in Connecticut Village and called a taxi and she and the baby went to her mother's home in Heritage Square, where an ambulance was called. "I think we pretty well have this case solved," Cherokee County Sheriffs Capt.

Joel Hill said Tuesday. "There's a lot we can't comment on because we will have to try the case in court." A trial date has hot yet been set. Both suspects remained jailed without bond late Tuesday. Smith and Yolanda Bennett are additionally charged in the alleged abuse of Bennett's 2-year-old son, Gabriel, who had cuts and scars on his body, police said. Gabriel was treated at Upstate Carolina Medical Center and released into the tody of the Department of Social Services.

Smith is additionally charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and Yolanda Bennett is charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child. JANICE DURHAM-FOWLER Ledger Staff Writer The 12-month-old baby girl who died under susf picious circumstances last week was beaten to death, autopsy results revealed. Dwitasia Bennett, the 12-month-old daughter of Yolanda Bennett, died of head injuries as a result of being beaten, Cherokee County Coroner Joe Vinesett said Tuesday. The coroner said it would be difficult to pinpoint a time of death. Rescue officials said the child's body was.

cold when they arrived on the scene after having been summoned to Heritage Square Apartments on Buford Street shortly after 2 p.m. last Thursday. In warrants signed Tuesday, Bennett, and her live-in boyfriend, Terry "Bo" Smith, 23, are each service will bo temporarily intorruptDd of the Blacksburg Water System may experience some interruption in service Monday and Tuesday Jan. 24th and 23 th, due to repairs. Town officials urge residents to plan according by storing water and turning off water heaters until service is restored.

Gcffnsy hires now officer Cherokee County Sheriffs Deputy Don Bright, 32, of Blacksburg, was hired by the GaShey Civil Service Commission as a police officer at the GaShey Police Dept. Commission members announced the decision during a meeting last week. Bright will replace LL Clarence Bridges, who retired Dec. 3L In other action, the commission elected officers. Walker Kirby, Chad Sarratt and Lois Ere A7i vtre re-elected as president, vice and secretary, respectively." The commission also reduced the eligibility tin a for promotions at the fire and police fnmr three years to two- years.

Firefighters and police officers will now be eligible for promotions after two years on the job. The commission also adopted standardized cert lection tests for police and firefighters. Cherokee might develop park with Chester Co. I 4 1 f. if'- (''Ye? 4 Page 14 P238 17 "3....

llr.TTrilT11 Pass 4 Page 6 10 -Page 15 Page 8 TV Listings- Today's Columnist: Cody Sossamon WEATHER Ho serious injtwes wo reported fc. Ms on Highway IS S0tfi Monday afternoon after thfe Coca-Cda track adkj)5fecl on tne icy highway, fcy roads caused a number of accidents. Old Ulan Winter tightens his grip on county TodaySunny and cold. High in the mid 20s. North winds 10 mph.

and cold. Low in the lower teens. Light winds. Thursday-Sunny. High near 40.

By BETH HOPPING Ledger Staff Wrier 'The Chester County Council has passed the first reading of an ordinance to enter into a joint industrial park with Cherokee County. County administrator Joey Preston reported to the Cherokee County Council on Tuesday that Chester County officials agreed on first reading to enter into an agreement to form a joint industrial park Meadow Creek Industrial Park in Cherokee County would be the site of the joint venture. "Officials from Chester County looked at Meadow Creek and they were impressed," Preston said. "They expressed a real desire to work with us." Chester County will have to give two more readings to. the ordinance and hold a public hearing for the joint industrial park to pass.

In other business, Hazel Lovelace, chairman of the council's judicial service committee, reported the public defenders corporation wants to take over the responsibility of employing, terminating and otherwise directing the employment of the county public defenders. DEATHS James Peeler, 82, of Spartanburg Geneva Perry, 79, of Gaffhey Dwight Richardson, 93, of Gaffiiey John Tate, 75, of Thomasville, N.C Ice storm followed by record low mercury readings An estimated six traffic accidents, most of which were minor, were reported Monday and Tuesday, according to local offi-' dais. No serious injuries were reported The lone power outage wa3 reported in the Grassy I'fend Community, where 1,175 Duke Power customers were without power for nearly two hours Monday afternoon: after a tre fell on an electrical line Service was out to those homes and businesses from approximately 3i30 p.m. UftUI p.m., Duke fowtrs Phillip Gibson said. The Gaffiiey Board of Public Works, and Broad ftiver ISteetrfc OvOp reported only minor problems and no outages.

Although they stayed On. the job until See WEATHER, Pag 3 By BETH HQPP'u and JANICE DtJRHAfvVFOWUEfl LedgerStaffWrters' Th mercury dipped to a record bw degrees Tuesday nigH in Oterokee County and much of the Upstate region. Local residents are trying to cope with the arctfc blast that has frozen fioJtd much of the East Coast during the past week and, despite some frozen 'water pipes and numb fingers are going about their routines. AH in ail, Cherokee County fared very well during att Ue storm that swept through the area Monday. No Sfe-threatening Injuries iter major power Outages were repefrted here in wake of the freezmgraSn and sket NOTICE TO If you have not received your copy of TTw Gzffney Ledger by 6 pm, please call 4C3-1131 and leave a message on the answering machine.

CJrcu'lcn psrconnel monitor messages st thl3 tma and will arrange to have your peper Iversd. See COUNCIL, Paga 3 For some Cherokee County students, ASAP is the final chance before expulsion he explained. With the ASAP program, the Cherokee County School District is pioneering new territory in a movement to pinpoint and pro- viuc cAua assisuuKC aim ii.ie Prior to beginning the program, students will sign a contractual agreement with parents or guardians and the educational assistance team outlining requirements and expectations they will be expected to meet, the director pointed out According to Dizbon, the ASAP program will be located at Granard Junior High where students will be able to take advantage of the Remedial Jostens Computer Lab, DisLiict Curriculum Guides, the school library and other materials required for course completion. Students unable to function "successfully in ASAP will be referred back to their school principal for recommended exBulsion. cess on the elementary school level, recording exceptional test scores and exhibiting true potential.

However, in too many cases that success and motivation begins to wane once students reach junior high school. ASAP is the school district's attempt to bridge the gap between student success at the elementary school level and disappointing performances in junior high. Approved by the school board as a pilot program, ASAP will provide individualized instruction to students in grades seven through nine who might be failing due to academic, attendance and social or behavioral problems. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles dealing with violence and troubled youth in our school system.) By ANGELA WORTHY Ledger Staff Writer Many Cherokee County youth need help ASAP and the Cherokee County School District is willing to provide that help through a new service called the After School Assistance Program. ASAP is an attempt on the part of the FederalState Compensatory Office to offer an alternative program to help junior high school students become successful.

Many local students show suc school day, Dizbon said, adding the school district will provide bus transportation to and from the program. No more than five absences will be allowed and a doctor's excuse must be submitted for each absence, he added Students from Ewing and Gra-nard Junior High Schools as well as Blacksburg High can be recommended for ASAP by their principal. To be eligible, the student must be pending expulsion, have truancy or attendance problems, or have been a remedial student for the 1992-'93 or the 1993-'94 school year. According to Rick Dizbon, director of the district's FederalState Compensatory Office, ASAP will be used as a final measure before a student is recommended for expulsion. "ASAP will accommodate no more than 30 students at a time.

Of course we hope not to have that many," Dizbon said, explaining four teachers would be hired for the program to provide a studentteacher ratio no greater than 8-to-l. Students in the program will attend classes four days a Monday through Thursday, from 3:30 until 5:30 p.m. They will not attend classes during the regular lion to students at risk of not completing their high school education because of academic or social problems. "This program is totally new and original, written by local teachers and administrators," Dizbon pointed out. There isn't another one like it, at least not one we know of." ASAP, in its pilot stage, is being funded through federal and state cnTrtrwncjtvrv mnnipa.