1986+-+1990


 * __ An everyday history of Upstate South Carolina from 1986 - 1990 __**


 * __1989 __**

 Closing Champion International’s paper plant in Canton, N.C., also would shut the doors of many small timber companies in Upstate South Carolina, a state forestry official says.
 * __Plant Closing Would Hurt SC Timber Companies__**

Champion announced this week it must either close the mill or scale it down significantly in the wake of Tennessee’s refusal to grant a variance of water color standards for the Pigeon River. The river, which is stained the color of coffee by the plant’s discharge, flows into Tennessee 40 miles from Canton.

The Canton plant is especially valuable to the local timber industry because it takes timber of lower value that is not accepted by other would processors, said John Little, a project forester with the state Forestry Commission.

Walter Fisher, owner of Fisher Pulpwood Inc. in Liberty, said if Champion closes the Canton plant and he does not find other markets for his products, he will have to close his 11-person company.

Associated Press Writer. "Plant Closing Would Hurt SC Timber Companies." __The Hearld__ 27 January 1989: 9A.
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**__Tornado Lashes Upstate__**  A tornado hopscotched across the Upstate yesterday evening trailed by pounding winds and thrashing rains that destroyed two homes, toppled trees, and disrupted power service. The year’s first tornado slammed the Upstate with winds exceeding 75 miles per hour in some areas.

Yesterday’s twister skipped through Upstate counties, scattering debris, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and demolishing cars and homes. The storm traveled in a straight easterly path, starting in Oconee County and continuing through Pickens, Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties.

During the afternoon residents were alerted with a tornado watch and later a tornado warning. But by about 6 p.m. Spartanburg County officials had sent out a “Blue Alert,” signaling the sighting of a funnel cloud. They immediately prepared to send emergency personnel to areas of possible destruction.

The warning was canceled for Spartanburg County at 9:16 p.m., but the storm had left a trail of damage in its wake through the county. When the tornado hit the Upstate, its violent winds swirled through and sporadically touched down - hitting Spartanburg and Cherokee counties the worst. Winds reached as high as 80-90 miles in some areas. Source ** =Roberts, Lori D. "Tornado Lashes Upstate." __Hearld-Journal__ 5 April 1989: A-1. = = = = = SC Suspends Two Upstate Doctors __**  South Carolina has suspended two Upstate doctors after separate investigations found them unconscious and under the influence of drugs while on duty, the State Board of Medical Examiners revealed. In one case a Greenville doctor was found to be diluting medication meant for her patients and keeping the remainder for herself, the board said.
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Anesthesiologist Susan Johnston Tankersley, 31, of Greenville, was suspended for an indefinite period on July 4 by the Board of Medical Examiners, which regulates all doctors in the state, //The Greenville Piedmont// reported in Wednesday’s editions. She had been practicing at Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Greenville.

The same day the board suspended the license of Dr. Oscar T. Cassity Jr., 37, of Salem for an indefinite period. He had been practicing emergency medicine at Baptist Medical Center in Easley. They are the 15th and 16th South Carolina physicians to be disciplined for professional misconduct this year, said Stephen Seeling, the board’s executive director. Both physicians may later petition the board for reinstatement of their South Carolina license, the board ruled. Ms. Tankersley must wait at least three months before applying, the board added. The physicians have not been available for comment on the board rulings.

In its written final ruling, the board found that Ms. Tankersley violated several state laws and ethical codes of the medical profession. According to the final order, Ms. Tankersley last October “was found unconscious in a locked restroom in the surgery suite at Shriners Hospital… Two syringes were found in her possession.

Associated Press Writer. "S.C. Suspends Two Upstate Doctors." __The Item__ 3 August 1989: 1A, 18A.
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State highway officials will take a firsthand look today and tomorrow at the need for road improvements in Spartanburg County as part of an event organized by the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Eleven of the 20 commissioners of the state
 * __State Highway Officials to Tour County __**

Department of Highways and Public Transportation, along with about 10 department heads, will tour the county and discuss highway needs, said Ben Haskew, chamber president.

Twelve chambers of commerce recently brought about 100 state lawmakers to the area in the four-day Upstate Upclose event, which was designed to “to keep the momentum rolling” in an area where more than $4.5 billion has been invested in the past 12 years.

Other cities have sponsored similar events for highway officials, but it’s the first time Spartanburg chamber officials have arranged such an event. Several area businesses and industries are picking up the $8,000 to $9,000, Haskew said.

Highway commissioners will ride through several industrial parks. Chamber officials also hope to show commissioners the ongoing Interstate 85 relocation project, and the need for improvements at the intersection of S.C. Highway 290 and I-85 and the Hearon Circle interchange at Asheville Highway and I-85.

Proffitt, David. "State Highway Officials to Tour County." __Hearld Journal__ 26 October 1989: B-3.
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Charity Fined in Georgia Operating in S.C. __** An Atlanta foundation that authorities say used fictitious children’s names to raise money in 1987 is operation legally in South Carolina, and at least one Upstate business has urged employees to participate in a foundation campaign.
 * __1990 __**
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Children’s Wish Foundation International Inc. raises funds to grant dying or very ill children a special wish, such as a trip to Disney World. The foundation’s stated purpose is similar to that of Make-A-Wish of America, but the two organizations are not related.

Children’s Wish is run by Arthur J. Stein, its president, and Linda Dozoretz, its executive director. Both were executives with Make-A-Wish of Georgia before national Make-A-Wish officials filed a civil lawsuit against them in 1985, said Bill Crane a spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. They established Children’s Wish in November 1985. It solicits donations in at least six states, including South Carolina and Georgia.

Last March, Stein and Dozoretz signed a consent order with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. Without admitting any wrongdoing, they signed for an order that accuses them of making up children’s names in a 1987 Christmas fund drive. They each agreed to pay a civil fine of $2,500 for violating several provisions of Georgia’s Charitable Solicitations Act of 1988.

Stein denied that Children’s Wish tried to mislead the public, saying a radio station made up children’s names because the foundation has a policy of not revealing the real names. Under Georgia law, however, Children’s Wish was responsible for the radio station’s actions.

A Spartanburg Regional Medical Center official recently circulated a memo urging employees to send a card to 7-year-old Greg Sherigold, in care of Children’s Wish. The British child wants to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most get-well cards before dying, and has gotten more than 5 million, Stein said.

The foundation has refused to give out Sherigold’s address, citing confidentiality, but that bothers Crane who realizes that some people send a donation with a card. The foundation received cash and in-kind donations of almost $327,000 in 1988, according to reports submitted to the Public Charities Division of the South Carolina Secretary of State’s office. The reports, which were approved by an unidentified auditor, show that general and administrative expenses were $185,000, while wish granting expenses were almost $140,000.

Neither Brown nor the state Department of Consumer Affairs has received any written questions or complaints about Children’s Wish. Source ** = = Proffitt, D. (1990, April 21). Charity Fined in Georgia Operating in SC. //Hearld-Journal//, pp. B-1, B-8. Peach Crop Considerably Down __** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Spartanburg County’s peaches are no longer king, and this year’s diminished harvest may be a harbinger of even worse things to come. Some Upstate peach growers say their crops are only 20 percent of what they were last year, thanks to an early spring freeze – the latest in a series of natural setbacks for the state’s peach industry.
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“Spartanburg County has lost a lot of its peach crop during the last six to eight years, and bad weather and weak prices contributed to that,” said Herbert Hamby, rural manpower representative for the county’s Employment Security Commission.

“Spartanburg County has about half the farmers that it did eight years ago, and farm employment is down about half or more.”

In Spartanburg, there was virtually no thinning of the peach orchards this year. “There was nothing to thin – Mother Nature took care of that,” Hamby said.

Although local farmers expect there to be enough fruit for local supply and demand, there will be much less fruit shipping out. Local farmers have confirmed that this year’s crops have slim pickings! Source ** Ocasio, L. (1990, June 5). Peaches - From Upstate to Lowcountry, Crop is Down. //Herald-Journal//, pp. A-1.
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"> A Spartanburg man kept the body of his dead wife in the back bedroom of their home for several days while he and his children continue to live in the house, authorities said.
 * __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Spartanburg Man Kept Body of Dead Wife in House __**

John William Cowart Sr. was arrested for manslaughter and two counts of child neglect Thursday after police, responding to a call from neighbor, found the partially decomposed body of his wife at the couple’s home about 11 a.m., according to a police report.

The warrant charging Cowart with manslaughter states that he “caused the death of his wife by failing to provide adequate medical care for her.” He was being held at the Spartanburg County jail Thursday night.

An autopsy performed Thursday revealed that while 46-year-old Patricia Ann Cowart probably died of natural causes, she had been dead for several days, Spartanburg County Deputy Coroner Richard Seay said.

The exact cause and time of death are still unknown, but neighbors reported hearing the woman moaning last weekend. The couple’s two children, aged 8 and 7, were taken into protective custody. Police say there was little food or furniture in the house. The house was also littered with garbage and empty liquor bottles, Sgt. J.E. Henderson said.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> Associated Press Writer (1990, October 26). Kept Body in House. //The Times-News//, p. 8.
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Spartanburg Queen Crowned Miss World __** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Gina Marie Tolleson, 21, Miss United States, was crowned Miss World at the London Palladium last night. Ms. Tolleson, from Spartanburg, S.C., won $19,000 in cash and a working tour contract worth $59,000. Brown-haired, brown-eyed Gina Marie, who is 6 feet tall, hopes to become a broadcaster after finishing up her studies. First runner-up was Miss Ireland, 20 year-old air stewardess Siobhan McClafferty. Miss Venezuela, a 19 year-old dance teacher Sharon Raquel Luenso Gonzales, was third. Source __** Associated Press Writer. (1990, November 9). Miss World. //The Blade//, p. 4.
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