Sun-News from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina • 6

i Thb Sun News Myktls Bkach SC Monday Auuukt 24 2009 6A FROM PAGE 1 A TukSunNkwsxom FromPagelA 1 liked the rides I went on It was the FREESTYLE From Page 1A Photos iy Randall Hill kisses Ms girlfriend Alicia Pearson as they pose for photos In at Freestyle Music Park In Myrtle Beach of the same rides repeatedly unique because the rides are different than what used he said incorporate musical stuff into it and not many other parks do that" Lorie DeCarkj of Baltimore Md came to the park with her teenage sons and 6-year-old daughter for the first time with a group of 20 people including other friends and their chil Boeheim beat prostate cancer eight years ago and both his parents died oS cancer Question How much fun was the Olympic experience last year? Answer It was a great experience For three years we had the best players in the world Coaching them was a great experience We had rio problems no issues and they were great guys to be around They did everything we asked them to and won a gold medal so it get any better than that Do you want to be involved in international basketball again and are you going to be part of coach Mike coaching staff for the US World Basketball Championships team next year? A Yep we're going to go sgain next year to Turkey same staff same coaches and hopefully some of the same players and hopefully win the World Championships If we do we can go right to tiie 2012 Olympics and not have to qualify Any chance of Greg Paulus (who played basketball at Duke and is now Syracuse starting quarterback) becoming an assistant coach? A come out when done with football He has asked me if he can come out He can be watch prac tice do some things like that love to have him I think he's a knowledgeable kid in ACC and SEC country down here and they are considered strong power conferences How do you think the Big East stacks up against these two conferences? A both veiy good and we're good I never talk about which conference is better I think some years one conference may be a little better and some years another may be a little better There are four or five conferences that year in and year out are right at the top and those three are right there 1 1 know involved in a number of charities particularly those that target cancer Can you give a rundown of your philanthropic involvement? A involved in the Make-a-Wish Foundation Kidney Foundation Coaches vs Cancer and we've become involved in prostate cancer awareness obviously because I had prostate cancer and early detection is paramount It is one of the cancers that with early detection can be cured It's good to have a golf tournament meet some people and still raise some money to help these things aim raising a bunch of money to pay for tests for people that can't afford them What's your golf handicap? A It fluctuates between 5 and 8 I'm looking forward to coming down and playing I've been down to Myrtle Beach a couple times and always eqjoy it It's a great golf location What piqued your interest in becoming the Know Your Score national spokesman? A 1 1 went through it so that had something to do with it It's good to have someone who has been through the testing and surgery I'm dose friends with tournament vice-chairman Mitch Laurence and we have known each other for years He's always been involved in a lot of charitable things 1 talked to him about it and thought it would be a good idea It's really about making people aware The more publicity you can get the more people you can make aware Q-1 Do you have bigger and better plan in the future as the Know Your Score spokesman including coming to Myrtle Beach annually? A When I started out with Coaches vs Cancer it was small and we had nothing going on now we have 10 or 12 events You always hope a lien you get started with these things you can grow I'd like to be able to come to Myrtle Beh every year Next year might be hard depending on whrn the Ifcurld Championships are Contact JUAN BlONDINx 626-0264 Baker declined to reveal the attendance numbers but said they were less than expected because of a storm" of a weakly established brand the poor economy and thehistory of Hard Rock Park Freestyle Music Park was not alone in having lower-than-expected attendance said David Mandt spokesman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions "What we've found is that for the total industry attendance that in tough economic times people will still visit parka but they may visit parks closer to he said said that we still have seen an impact from the economy The industry attendance is down versus last Attendance and revenue at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte NC held steady this year thanks to a set of new weekly programs to keep people coming out to the park and more aggressive marketing said spokeswoman Dam Swords wanted to add value to the park itself during the economic said Swords who added that admission is $4799 are looking more at the value they get for their Freestyle Music Park dropped its admission rate from $3995 to $1776 for two people before 4 pm for a Fourth of July promotion and then raised it to $1995 a few weeks ago product is worth twice what charging" Baker said '1 do regret the price we had to put out there to fill the park hut at the same time we filled the park and we learned what the market was all Charles Woodie of Richmond Va visited the park for the first time with his girlfriend Thursday and said the price made for a great deaL a very good he said lot of things to see a good place to With the low cost of admission and the memory of last Hard Rock Park bankruptcy a $L4 million lawsuit filed against FPIMBE by Bran- SLED FromPagelA for bullets or weapons training Thousands of budget documents released by SLED paint a portrait of an agency in the midst of an unprecedented facelift triggered in part by the state's sour economy but also by succession of longtime SLED chief Robert Stewart Many of the changes have triggered grumbling from former and current SLED agents and other law-enforcement quarters who say Lloyd has spent too much money on equipment and administrative staff at the expense of agents in the field In an interview Friday Lloyd said he needed to push some agents out of their comfort zones to better equip the agency to deal with the explosion in gang violence was not happy with decisions that had to be he said don't back off of aqy of 'It doesn't look good When Gov Mark Sanford appointed Lloyd to top spot last year the agency had SOCIAL From Page IA COLA" said Barbara KenneDy a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare some people it might not be a big deal But to seniors especially with their health care costs it is a big deal" Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation which has been negative this year largely because energy prices are befow JtO'l levels ones that spin around and went really really really really Nicole Davis 1 9-year-old Asheville NC resident talking about Freestyle Music Park dren gotten on a bunch of DeCarlo said and the kids have had lot of fun They like it We'll definitely come The park will close Sept 13 and re-open March 1 officials said Park officials are looking into whether there is a market for opening the park during the offseason fen1 birthday parties and corporate functions Baker said The park had a short window to get ready for its opening three months after the sale out of bankruptcy But Baker said this summer made for a "tremendous learning and a decent start to the journey have a hell at a head-start for next Baker 1 said doing our best and here to Contact MONIQUE NEWTON at 626-0310 the money in the bank at the time to pay for them No one could foresee the staggering budget cuts he said McClary said over the long term he thinks the purchases will prove to be a good move The governor's decision to put Lloyd in the top job was controversial in some circles because Lloyd has no previous law enforcement experience The governor passed over Maj Mark Keel who was interim chief after retirement Keel now runs the state Department of Public Safety Lloyd is a former judge and served as US attorney before taking over at SLED in March 2008 He earns $145000 a year compared with salary of $167744 Now Lloyd finds himself running an agency that touts itself as one of the nation's premier law enforcement agencies and with less money to meet these expectations Lloyd 'said the agency constantly is re-evaluating its strengths and weaknesses while considering ways to better protect the state If SLED had already found the perfect balance he added then South Carolina wouldn't be as violent as it is they are being hurt because there ia no COLA but they are in fact not getting hurt" said Andrew Biggs a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute a Washington think tank "Congress has to be able to tell people thy are not getting everything they want" Social Security is also facing long-term problems The retirement program is projected to start paying out more money than it receives in 2016 Without changes the retirement fund will be depleted in 2077 according to tlve SocLiI Security trustees' annual report this year Machine roller coaster at Freestyle Music Park Chris Nulls of Vineland HLL front of the park's guitar icon don Advertising on Aug 5 raised eyebrows And on Aug 17 Roundbax Advisors LLC filed a hreach of contract lawsuit for $360000 in compensation for unpaid consulting services But this year wont be deja vu Baker said never intended to not pay anybody Our problem is kind of a sins of the father issue We are judged and given less time because of last time People were afraid because of the short-lived history of the park there was going to be financial Baker said have anywhere near the obligations and debt against this park that the other group had We have the problems they faced but nobody would give us any FPI MBE is working with everyone the company owes Baker said received a letter from me every one of them saying that we are conscious of everything and working towards the resolution of all those issues It's not months away it's days away not going to drag on it's something he said As Freestyle Music Park officials resolve these financial issues behind closed doors 613 full-time employees and a $64 million budget the data shows But as the economy went south last summer SLED and other state agencies were ordered to make deep cuts SLED lost $9 million during the past year forcing Lloyd to eventually cut 104 positions or 17 percent of its work force been on the phone most of this morning about the state budget Lloyd said in an e-mail to his top commanders Sept 27 look A month later one of captains Roger Heaton spelled out new direction in an internal memo Heaton wrote that the first goal was to preserve jobs To do this he said the agency would back off doing alcohol-related investigations and more closely scrutinize allegations of public corruption and whether to investigate them Overtime would be cut along with clothing allowances These changes had direct effects on the bottom line Lloyd for instance ordered his agents to focus more on drug-forfeiture cases which eventually netted the agency $22 milium documents Advocates say older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care where costs rise faster than inflation Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income "For many elderly they feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still going up" said David fertner legislative policy director fix AARP who has savings and invetmTts has seen some serious losses" About 50 million retired arJ tourists are entering the paric gates hungry for one last taste of summer liked the rides I went said 9-year-old Nicole Davis of Asheville NC who rioted the park Thursday with her parents and older brother was the ones that Bpin around and went realty really realty really Sixteen-year-old Eric Nestko from Toronto said he and his cousin enjoyed riding 6ueats wait to enter The Time show In previous years forfeiture revenue ranged between $258000 and $423000 The agency also absorbed some of the cuts by dipping into a fund designed as a buffer for the usual ups and downs in running a large government agency That fund dropped from $66 million when Lloyd took over to $35 million had to make some tough said Steve Birnie director of administration Trucks and guns As SLED wrestled with changes in priorities and budget cuts iioyd directed the agency to upgrade its vehicles weapons and offices a review of budget documents and interviews with agency finance officials show Within months after Lloyd took over SLED bought 10 new Chevrolet Tahoes and assigned them to top officials In its request to the State Budget and Control Board the agency said the vehicles will used in the performance of a variety iff law enforcement assignments (some of which may be covert in nature) and will be subject to statewide 217 use" disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1153 this year AH beneficiaries received a 58 percent increase in January the largest since 1982 More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year though they vary by plan About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments according to the Sciil Security Adirinxration Kernelly's group want The Tahoes cost between $28000 and $32000 each more expensive than vehicles SLED had purchased in the past Documents show the agency in previous years mainly had bought $18000 Chevrolet Impalas and $21000 Ford Crown Victorias His agents also needed new GPS devices and BlackBerry phones is Lloyd said should not show up and be Mayberry We should be better equipped than everybody Otherwise why do they need to SLED also upgraded some of its weaponry Last summer it spent more than $307000 on high-powered rifles Because of budget cuts however the agency been able to buy enough bullets fix1 the rifles to train some of its agents on how to use the weapons and deploy them in the field Lloyd did add that some agents already are trained and ready to operate the firearms and the agency will distribute ammunition soon Capt Jim McCliuy a 35-year SLED veteran said the weapons were an investment designed to keep agents and the public safe and SLED had Congress to increase Social Security benefits next year even though the formula doesn't call for it She would like to see either a 1 percent increase in monthly payments or a one-time payment of $150 Critics argue that Social Security recipients shouldn't get an increase when inflation is negative They note that recipients gut a big increase in January after energy prices had startiri to fall They also note that Social Security recipients received one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the government's economic stimulus puk-ige nay perceive that --a.