1981+-+1985

=**__1981__** =
 * __An everyday history of Upstate South Carolina from 1981 - 1985 __** 



 The 1981 drought, called the “worst since the turn of the century” by some agriculture experts, has record numbers of farmers in Anderson, Abbeville and Oconee counties applying for federal disaster assistance funds. With a little more than a month remaining in the harvest season, farmers in the three-county area are trying to recoup some of their losses through federal aid. The U.S. Department of of Agriculture program is open to farmers who have planted corn, grain sorghum or cotton under federal government guidelines For eligible farmers, the disaster assistance program guarantees the won’t lose more then 40 percent of their expected yield on these specified crops. Oconee County has been the hardest hit in the three-county area. According to E.J. Wright, executive director of the Oconee County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, farmers from more than 90 percent of the eligible farms in Oconee County have applied for the program. “Our yields this year are as bad as any year we’ve ever had,” Wright said. “The whole crop situation is bad and doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better. “I’ve lived in this area for a long time and I’ve seen the peaks and the valleys,” Wright said. “But the farmers right now are in the worse financial condition they’ve been in since the 1930s.”

Since most of the farms in oconee are small compared with those in Oconee are small compared with those in the surrounding counties, Wright said the average reimbursement has been about $500 per acre. There have been some that have received as much as $2,500 per acre. “Most farmers are living on borrowed money,” Wright said. “They are using up their equity in order to survive and are just hoping things start getting better.” Ernest Brown Anderson country ASCS executive director, said he expects 30 percent of Anderson County’s farmers to receive disaster assistance. “Everybody talks about how bad 1977 was to the farmer, but I think this year will be remembered as just as bad, if not worse,” Brown said. “Just about every farmer I talk to is taking a beating. “And most of it is because of the drought. “I’ve never seen it so bad.” The same holds true in Abbeville County where about 50 percent of the farmers are expected to qualify for disaster payments, Bill Barksdale, ASCS count director, said. “Even with the federal money all of the farmers are taking a loss,” Barksdale said. “The federal money just makes it so that farmers can hang on a little bit longer. But if we have another drought again next summer it will be more difficult to survive.”

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Upstate S.C. Farmers Seek Drought Aid." //Rock Hill Herald// 30 Sep. 1981, Evening ed.: 2. Print.**

 A high school teacher died late Friday afternoon after someone stabbed him in the chest with a butcher knife during a class at Greenville High School earlier in the day. Jewel Loraine Garrett, 18, a suspended high school student, was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with stabbing Henry Chiariello, 30. Earlier Chiariello had been listed in "very critical" condition following two hours of chest surgery, according to a hospital official. He died about 4:30 p.m. Garrett was arrested at her home at 10:45 a.m., about 45 minutes after the incident, said Officer T.B. Christy of the Greenville Police Department.

Garrett was originally charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. Police Sgt. Willie Harper said that officials began drafting a murder warrant late Friday afternoon after learning of Chiariello's death. Harper said the suspect was taken to the State Hospital in Columbia for 15 days of psychiatric testing. Students in Chiariello's 10th grade social studies class told police someone knocked on the closed classroom door while Chiariello was showing them a film. When the teacher opened the door, a person shoved a butcher knife into Chiariello's chest and ran, students told Christy. Greenville High School Principal Don Dempsey said Garrett had been suspended for three days for fighting. Chiariello was in no way involved in that incident, Dempsey said. The suspect was not one of Chiariello's students, according to Dempsey. Minutes after the stabbing several teachers, students, and school nurses stood outside the school's front door and watched Chiariello being placed into an ambulance. Many students and teachers standing in the halls near the school's office were visibly shaken. One tearful female student was being consoled by classmates. Police and school officials said they did not know why Chiariello was stabbed. Several hours after the incident Dempsey said that before the stabbing, "It was a very normal day, a very quiet day as a matter of fact, for a Friday." Police received the initial report of the stabbing at 10:11 a.m. Police said the five-inch butcher knife was still in Chiariello's chest when he arrived at the hospital. John Roberts, Director of the Greenville County Emergency Medical Service, said immediately after the incident that it appeared Chiariello had been stabbed in the heart. Hospital officials said that the surgery performed on Chiariello "involved the heart" but would not say it was open heart surgery. Chiariello, who also coached wrestling and football, was beginning his fifth year at Greenville High School, Dempsey said.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Greenville Teacher Dies From Stabbing." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 03 OCT 1981: Sec. 1. Print.**

 In the early 1980's, the population of Bald Eagles in South Carolina had reached a crisis point. There were only 100 eagles in 1981, and many of them didn't have mates to keep the population alive. The Bald Eagle had been dying of rapidly ever since the introduction of the pesticide DDT, which ran down into lakes and streams, poisoning fish, which ultimately poisoned the eagles. In the article, the journalist reports that there may have been only a 50/50 chance that the population could survive. Anything, such as a violent storm, or other disturbance, could shift the balance and send the population into a nosedive. The article report how the United States, and South Carolina in particular rallied to save the Bald Eagle. Luckily, the population rebounded, and we now see the Eagle much more often.

SOURCE:
 * Tomlin, Dave. "South Carolina Fights to Save Eagles." //Lakeland Ledger// 21 MAR 1981: 9C. Print.

**

**__Duke Power Transports Nuclear Waste Through the Upstate__ **
Several articles have reported about the transport of Nuclear waste through the upstate in 1981. The Duke Power company built the McGuire Nuclear Plant in Charlotte, N.C. to help ease the burden that was on the Duke Power Nuclear plant in Walhalla, S.C. After several delays, there were several shipments of Nuclear waste transported to McGuire through Seneca, Clemson, Easley, Greenville, Spartanburg, Gaffney, Gastonia, and Charlotte. The official times of transport were kept secret, in accordance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Duke Power Begins Preparing to Move Fuel." //Dispatch// 05 OCT 1981: pg 21. Print.

** =**__1982__ ** =

 Several stories about Bob Jones University flared up during 1982:

 During the 1980s, violent civil unrest was occurring in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics. A fundamentalist Irish preacher on the protestant side of the argument was Ian Paisley, who was scheduled to be speaking at Bob Jones University. The State Department denied his request to enter the country, however, considering it dangerous to allow someone to enter the country suspected to be connected with a terrorist organization. This did not blow over well with Bob Jones Jr., the chancellor of the University and the son of it's founder. In a chapel service, Dr. Jones reportedly called the Secretary of State Alexander Haig "a monster in human flesh, and a demon-possessed instrument to destroy America." Jones also stated "I hope you'll pray that the Lord will smite him, hip and thigh, bone and marrow, heart and lungs and all there is to him, that he shall destroy him quickly and utterly." Jones also condemned the State Department for what he called "Catholic Bigotry." Bob Jones III, the president of BJU, came to apologize for the severity of the attack, but still backed up his father's scriptural basis for the things he said.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Bob Jones Leader Asks God to Smite Haig." //Rock Hill Herald// 02 APR 1982, Evening. Print.**

**<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">The Taxman Cometh: **
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 110%;">Bob Jones University was in trouble in 1982 over its policy of racial discrimination. According to the rules of BJU, anyone caught dating outside of their race would be expelled from the school, no questions asked. This policy attracted the attention of the Federal Government. BJU had enjoyed a tax exemption status for being a religious institution, however due to its racial policy, the Justice Department took it upon themselves to revoke this status in the courts in the 1970s. In 1982, they gave up trying to pry their tax exemption away, and instead decided to encourage Congress to pass stronger laws regarding the subject.

SOURCE: **<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">"They've Never Been Trendy At Bob Jones University." //Palm Beach Post// 23 JAN 1982: B7. Print. **

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> A survey produced by Clemson University in 1982 predicted that textile industry in the Upstate would begin to decline at an annual rate of 7.3 percent beginning in 1983. This was just a small stepping stone in the much larger trend effecting the Upstate in the 1980s, which was the loss of much of it's textile industry. The losses were due mainly to the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and the replacement of workers with automated machines.

SOURCE:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Associated, Press. "More Jobs Expected To Be Lost In Textile Industry." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 06, NOV, 1982: A2. Print. **

**__<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">'Kill Mommy' Dolls __**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">For Christmas 1982, several parents around the Upstate purchased "Baby Darling" Dolls, which talked and asked for mommy and generally did things that normal dolls would do, except for a slight defect. After a pulls of the string in the Doll's back, the Bab Darlings say "Kill Mommy" in what the Associated Press calls "unmistakable English." The Dolls were sold in Oconee, Anderson, and Spartanburg counties by private distributers who apparently had no ideas of the doll's defect.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Doll's Message is Frightening." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 18, DEC, 1982: Pg 10. Print.**

= **__1983__** =

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> The first case of the Bubonic Plague in South Carolina occurred in 1983. Donna Delattre, age 13, had apparently been bitten by a tick carrying the plague while hiking in New Mexico ten days earlier. The girl and her family had been moving from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Annapolis, Maryland and had stopped in Seneca, South Carolina to visit grandparents. This episode sparked a scare of traveling to New Mexico in the public, for fear of plague.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Teen's Death May Be State's First From Plague." //Sumter Daily Item// 03 AUG, 1983: 9B. Print.**

**__<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Thurmond Takes Bribes? __**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, criticized for his stance on racial segregation, was accused of accepting $20,000 as a bribe from ex-CIA agent Edwin Paul Wilson, now a convicted Felon. Thurmond, in his 80's by 1983, completely denied this, however it was being "looked into" by a Grand Jury, to see if there was enough evidence to go to trial. Thurman reportedly had several past connections with Wilson, and a letter was found in which Wilson asked Thurmond to help him with his legal difficulties. The witness of the supposed bribe was the middleman allegedly used to deliver the bribe to Thurmond, who had asked that his name not be released to the public.

SOURCE:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Anderson, Jack. "Grand Jury Told Thurmond Took Bribe." //Kingman Daily Miner// 14 MAR, 1983: Pg 5. Print.

**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> Two South Carolinians were killed when the Soviet Union shot down a Korean Airlines flight 007 for straying into Soviet airspace during it's flight from New York to Seoul, via Anchorage, Alaska. The event heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, as the flight was carrying several American passengers and one American congressman. This event provoked severe anti-soviet feelings in the United States, as well as prompted President Regan to release the prototype GPS system, at the time only used by the military, to civilian aircraft as well, hoping to prevent events like this from occurring again. The Soviets claimed to have shot down the airliner arguing that it was on a spy mission for the United States. They impeded searches for the wreckage, and kept secret the discovery of the plane's black boxes until 1992.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Memorials Held for South Carolinians On Plane." //Sumter Daily Item// 08 SEP 1983: 7A. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Three Rapists in South Carolina were offered the option of castration in the 1980s as an alternative to thirty years in prison. On this odd occasion, a gentlemen accepted surgical castration, saying that his life would be ruined either way. The three gentlemen, Mark Vaughn of Clemson, S.C., Roscoe Brown of Pendleton, S.C., and Michael Braxton of Sarasota, FL, pleaded guilty for the rape and assault of a 23 year old woman at a motel in Anderson, S.C. This story was part of a bigger argument regarding castration as a means of punishment for sexual offenders.

Source:
 * Associated,** **Press. "Confessed Rapist Must Drop Appeal Before Being Castrated." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 09 DEC 1983: B. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">The Rev. Jesse Jackson was considering moving back to his home state of South Carolina in an attempt to challenge the 81 year old Senator Strom Thurmond for his senate seat. Jackson was born in Greenville and planned on running as an independent.

SOURCE:
 * "Jackson Ponders Senate Bid." //Milwaukee Journal// 07 JUL 1984: Pg 7. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**__Mazda Plant for Greenville__**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">In 1984, the State of South Carolina was trying to court Japanese car manufacturer Mazda in an attempt to attract them to the upstate. Greenville was in the running for Mazda's American manufacturing base, as well as Detroit, and an undisclosed location in Nebraska. The Governor of South Carolina at the time made a trip to Japan in order to show good will toward the Mazda CEO's and demonstrate the ripe investment environment in South Carolina. This was part of a larger movement of the South Carolina economy toward diversification, and less dependance on the rapidly declining textile industry. The Mazda plant would not end up choosing Greenville, and instead chose Detroit for its facilities.

SOURCE:

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Associated, Press. "Greenville Still Being Considered For Mazda Plant." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 16 JUN 1984: B. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**__Union Carbide Gas Transported Through Upstate__**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">In India in the 1980s, a Union Carbide pesticide leaked out of a plant and into a surrounding village, killing several thousand people. It was discovered that a Union Carbide plant in West Virginia had been transporting the same deadly chemical through South Carolina several times a year on its way to a plant in Georgia. The company admitted that great risk was taken with the transportation of this deadly chemical by roads and railroads. After the incident in India, the West Virginia plant halted all shipments until the situation in India was resolved.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Gas Of Type That Leaked Has passed Through S.C.." //Sumter Daily Item// 11 DEC 1984: 12B. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">__**Rabies Outbreak**__
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Animal experts in South Carolina predicted in 1984 that there would be a mass influx of rabid animals to the upstate from all around the surrounding areas. They predicted rabid Skunks from Tennessee, rabid Raccoons from southern South Carolina and even rabid animals from as far away as Maryland. Experts believed the spring breeding movement would trigger this migration of rabid animals, and in the span of a few months could increase the rabies rates in South Carolina dramatically.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "Worst Rabies Menace In Years Could Strike S.C. This Spring." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 26 APR 1984: C12. Print.**

= **__<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">1985 __**__:__ =

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**__S.C. Economy Hit by High Dollar__**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">The state of the dollar in the 1980s was causing layoffs of hundreds of South Carolina's manufacturing workforce. Instead of buying from South Carolina textiles and manfacturers, companies were buying from sellers overseas, who's products were aided by government subsidies. The Imports flooded the market with cheaper materials, such as Steel from South America, Europe, and the Far East, as well as paper and lumber. This was yet another big step in the decline of the the textiles and manufacturing industries of South Carolina.

SOURCE:
 * Associated, Press. "S.C. Hard Hit By High-rising Dollar, Upsurge In Imports." //Rock Hill Herald// 28 May 1985, Evening: 12. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**__Upstate Invests in Industrial Park__**
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Plans went forward in 1985 to build a large industrial park in Spartanburg county between the towns of Duncan and Lyman. Officials said that the are had been looked over and was ripe for building a high quality industrial park to attract jobs to the area. Many asked if Greenville was opposed or not to the park in a neighboring county, however the answer was very friendly toward the plan, saying that any development in the tri-county are would have a spin off effect to aid Greenville county.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">SOURCE:
 * Parris, Lou. "New Industrial Park Could Create 2,000 Jobs in Upstate." //Spartanburg Herald-Journal// 21 JUN 1985: C. Print.**

__<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**American Airlines Comes to Greenville** __
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Airport officials say Americans will announce this week it will begin flights from Greenille-Spartantburg, Columbia, and Charleston to the western United States Dick Graham, executive director of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, said American Airline's arrival ends two months of "mutual" recruitment. "They're coming, and I think its going to be in June," Graham said. In Columbia, airport director Bob Waddel, said Monday he's been talking with the airline about leasing space at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Charleston airport officials expect three flights daily to leave Charleston airport, starting during the spring. Al Becker, an American spokesman, said the airline will formally announce its plans for entering markets in north Carolina and South Carolina at a 2 p.m. press conference in Greenville-Spartanburg Airport American willoffer flights to the West - including Hawaii, California, Canada, and Mexico - but none to the Northeast, Becker said. "Everything we do at American domestically is tied to one or both of our major hubs, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago," he said. Becker would not confirm the other Carolinas cities that will be served by American, although airport officials confirmed negotiations have been under way for some time now. "We will reveal the entire expansion Wednesday," Becker said.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">SOURCE:

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> **Associated, Press. "American Airlines Coming to Carolinas." //Rock Hill Herald// 22 JAN, 1985, Evening: 12. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">__**Clemson Coach Arrested**__
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">An assistant coach for the Clemson University Football team Jack Harkness, was arrested in 1985 during an investigation regarding the distribution of prescription performance enhancing drugs. The coach had resigned and moved to Canada, preventing any charges against him, but on a trip to Pennsylvania he was apprehended by police. He was one of three Clemson coaches investigated regarding the distribution of performance enhancing drugs. The other two coaches had already pled guilty and received 18 month prison sentences, along with fines.

SOURCE:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Associated, Press. "Former Clemson Coach Arrested." //Sumter Daily Item// 24 DEC, 1985: 2B. Print. **