I HAVE BEEN SLACK....

So I have not posted on this since last year. Partly this is because I haven't been doing as much writing, but mostly because I have been lazy. Which contributes to both of these factors.

Anyway, I haven't been writing newspaper stories, but I have been taking pictures. Oh and writing broadcast scripts cause that's what I do. :)

In conclusion: I decided I would post some pictures that have been published by The Johnsonian (Winthrop Newspaper) in the last school year.

:)

Get my bloggin' done!


This picture went along with a story that profiled the Muslim students on campus during Ramadan.


Students volunteered at a community garden which gives food to underprivileged citizens.



A teaser picture for a campus-wide smoking ban.


Also part of the smoking ban story. Trying to show that smokers often make their own community, and use smoking as a way to make friends and relax.


Part of a story on the phenomenon of "purity rings" that people wear who pledge to not have sex until marriage. The story focused on the statistic that claims their is not much change in the behavior of someone who does wear one compared to those that don't.


One of our writers, pictured here, wrote a column on giving blood for the first time.


Trick-Or-Treaters from all over Rock Hill came out to the dorms to snag some candy. :)



These are basically the most interesting pictures I've taken so far, they're a whole lot more interesting with the actual stories...which is why I need to get on that!

Organic gardener puts a little green in "Blue Hose"

Local gardener to put a little green in the blue hose

by Kathleen Brown

For The Advertiser


It’s been said that gifted gardeners are blessed with a certain green appendage that enables them to grow things, while others beg and poke at a little lump in the dirt, which may or may not be photosynthesizing its last breath.

But 34-year-old Daniel Parson, a Clinton agriculturist, seems to be spreading his “green thumb” wherever he can sink a spade.

Parson’s Produce, located on the Bush River Farm in Clinton, contains one acre of various crops that he cultivates and sells to a number of Laurens County residents in a subscription-type membership.




Every Wednesday, his “subscribers” can come by the farm and pick up the vegetables, from okra to Swiss chard, that Parson has harvested that week.

“I have all kinds of stuff, diversity is my thing.” Parson said.

At least half of his members are in some way associated with Presbyterian College, due to his wife’s position as an English professor. This close relationship with the college enabled Parson to hear about a grant that the college’s environmental group, “Green Hose,” received that would apply and fund any sustainability programs. The specific program refers to the method of farming that produces large amounts of crop without causing environmental damage.


Eager to share his passion and talents, Parson asked, and was granted his own assignment under the grant that will be funded by the school for two years.

“I think it’s going to be a fun project,” Parson said

P.C. has given Parson a 7,500 sq. foot plot of land on campus to hold a student-run organic garden under his management. He plans to work closely with the students, which will include the P.C. garden club, freelance volunteers, and several freshman seminar classes.

“We chose to start this fall because everyone will be back in school,” Parson said, “and we’ll be able to harvest before they go home.”

Parson plans for students to be able to grow their own crops using his distinct organic methods, and then sell them back to the P.C. dining hall when they are harvested.

“Young people nowadays don’t get that much exposure to it (farming),” Parson said. “The actual cycle of taking food from where it’s produced and having it on the table for dinner – you don’t see that.”

Several P.C. students, like senior Hunter Barnhardt, have already put in their time at Parson’s Produce plot.

“I know that Daniel really believes in what he’s doing,” Barnhardt said. “It’s great when we can get produce from our own property, especially organically.”


Barnhardt is excited to see the growth of the P.C. plot and hopes that he can continue to help out where he is needed with the garden.

“It (the success) is really going to depend on how involved people get with the garden from the beginning,” Barnhardt said.

Parson plans to use his own method of farming that he has developed since graduating from Clemson University with a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture.


“I first got into agriculture because I wanted to grow my own food.” Parson said. “Now this is my living.”

Since Clemson, Parson has worked on several organic farms and has owned his own, most recently, a one-and-a-half acre plot in Atlanta.

Although Parson has farmed strictly organically on his plot in Clinton, due to the plot’s previous occupation, as alpaca grazing fields, he cannot legally call his produce organic.



“Right now it’s been three years since the last prohibited substance was on this land.” According to Parson, an organically prohibited item could be the hay that was used or pesticides.

“People always ask me, ‘if you’re organic how do you deal with the pests and crop fertility,’ and my answer is ‘crop rotation,’” Parson said.


Parson explained that his method of crop rotation is derived from a modern practice used in Japan involving sustainable agriculture.

"Crop rotation, deals with each plant’s specific (scientific) family,” Parson said. “For example I would never plant potatoes after tomatoes.”


Parson’s passion for agriculture goes hand in hand with his efforts to be eco-friendly.

“The organic movement is really a relationship with the environment, and food is place where I do that.” Parson said.

P.C. students will get their hands dirty in the campus plot this Saturday during the school’s Freshman Service Day, when Parson hopes he can share the passion he has for agriculture.


“Until I fall over in the field one day, this is what I’ll be doing.” Parson said with a smile.

Patience....

As the saying goes "patience is a virtue". A virtue that I would jump to live without, but unfortunately every day requires some amount of it. As goes waiting on deadline for some quotes and a picture.

The post below was referring to a story I did for the Laurens County Advertiser about retirees who are a part of the army of "pick-up men" for the local car dealers. Unfortunately these guys were on the go so much that I couldn't track them down for two days...two precious, life threatening days.

But in the end persistence paid off. I had already gone to the Advertiser to turn in my story with out a picture and without a single exciting graph in it. In other words the rule of thumb, as taught by Prof. Larry Timbs, "Why Should I Give A Shit" was not there.

But just as I was walking out the door the call came in that one of the road warriors was back and in Laurens. I rushed over, got the picture and got the anecdote I had been looking for the whole time.

Below is the finished story, which actually turned out okay.


Retirees Travel Road Less Traveled
by Kathleen Brown
For The Advertiser


Always on the move, the handful of men who do pick-ups of new and used cars for several of the car dealerships in town can be hard to reach, much less to persuade to keep their foot off the pedal long enough for a picture.

An “on-the-go” attitude is exactly what Bobby Cook, sales manager for Smith Chevrolet-Cadillac, looks for when hiring a driver, and it is exactly what can be found in the retirees that drive for the dealerships of Laurens County.

The drivers are given a destination, either a dealership or an auction yard where the purchased car awaits their arrival.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - Jerry Pulley, pictured, is a regular driver for Smith Cheverolet-Cadillac in Laurens. "I retired from work, and this way I get to see places I wouldn't ordinarily get to see," Pulley said. His favorite "on the job" memory happened last year while en-route to a car destination in Greensboro, N.C. At a Wendy's restaurant Pulley was reunited with a military comrade he had not seen since 1962. Unexpected people and places is just a part of the job for the pick-up drivers of Laurens.

“Normally we look for people in good health and a clean driving record.” Cook said. “These guys love to drive.”

Joe Leopard, 71, had retired from his job as supervisor at J.P. Watts Plant when he came across a job that required lots of time and a steady foot. Since working for the dealership, Leopard has clocked thousands of miles picking up cars and inspecting them before turning around with them to Laurens.

“One time we went 750 miles in one trip,” Leopard said.

Long trips are not rare, although most of their pick-ups are from North Carolina or Georgia.

Leroy Workman, 68, who drives for Firmin Ford, is used to the road trips. Formerly a tractor-trailer driver, Workman has been doing pick-ups for dealerships around the county for almost five years.

He now makes his trips “locally,” as he calls it, which means stops at Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, or any other number of Southeastern states.

Technology has made it easier for many of the drivers who now rely on their own GPS systems to get from place to place. Although some still rely on maps and an earful of directions.

Dealerships around the state all have similar pick up systems, according to Cook. The “road trip” starts with two drivers in one car provided by the dealer. The pair then makes their way to the car, and then splits up to make the trip home solo.

The goal is to pick up the vehicle and return it, quickly and safely to the dealership, but heavy traffic and unexpected problems can hinder a speedy return. Leopard recalls several times when the car he was supposed to bring back delayed the trip back.

“Sometimes when we pick up the car the tires are flat, or the battery will be dead and we’ve got to get them fixed,” Leopard said.

The thing most of the guys say they enjoy is the open road and a good driving partner.

“We get to meet different people, and riding down together (with other drivers) is good fellowship,” Leopard said.

Jerry Pulley, 69 has been driving for two years and credits the work for taking him all over the southeast as well as reuniting him with an old friend.

On a drive to Greensboro, N.C. for a pick-up, Pulley walked into a Wendy’s for a quick bite to eat before heading back to Laurens. When he walked in he thought he saw a familiar face, but he couldn’t quite remember who the man was.

The stranger turned out to be a close friend he had made in basic training. The two had not seen each other since 1962.

“Before I could place him he was walking right up to me,” Pulley said. “I would have never seen him, had I not been driving.”

Award Winning Author Reaches Out

Story I wrote for the Laurens County Advertiser on Sheila P. Moses teaching a workshop at the Thornwell Home For Children.


The year is 1972 and a young women stands wide-eyed and breathless in a crowd of people listening to a determined African American woman speaking defiantly against the odds in an attempt to fight back against racial prejudice and to achieve her dreams.

Award winning author, Sheila P. Moses remembers vividly the impact left by the words of Shirley Chisholm, the first black major-party presidential contender for the United States on a campaign stop in her small North Carolina town.



“She came to my town to speak,” said Moses, “and that was the first time I saw a successful person outside of my community that told me, ‘you too can be great,’” said Moses.

The memory that Moses had of Chisholm has forever impacted her life, and she hopes to give a similar message to the children of Thornwell Home For Children.

Moses- author, poet, playwright, and producer- has been instructing classes of middle school and high school Thornwell students in a week-long writing workshop in the Thornwell Library.

The week began with an author’s reception hosted at the Gilliam Center Auditorium at Thornwell where Moses read from her self-proclaimed, “favorite book,” “The Legend of Buddy Bush,” which was published in 2003.

Her historical fiction novel was awarded the National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2004 as well as the 2005 Coretta Scott King Author Honor title.

Her inspiration for the piece was very personal she said, as the entire book takes place in her hometown of Rich Square, NC, and centers around an infamous racial scandal.

Moses wanted her workshop attendees to work with what they knew best, and for some that meant writing their autobiographies. The stories of some of her students touched Moses on a personal level.

“These kids are not bitter about what is happening to them,” Moses said. “In a lot of the dedications they are writing, they are to their parents, Thornwell is a beautiful place, but everyone wants their mommy and daddy,”

For Moses, who has been hosting writing workshops since 1993, teaching at a “children’s home” was a new experience, but one that she said she has thoroughly enjoyed.



“I have taught at some of the finest private schools in the country, but nowhere have I seen such well adjusted children.” Moses said.

The workshop attendees were required to write a 10-page historical fiction story on the person of their choosing. The characters ranged from basketball player Magic Johnson to human rights activist, Malcolm X.

Moses encouraged the students to dig deeper into their characters’ lives. She urged the student who had chosen Magic not to focus on his basketball accomplishments, but on his work to improve HIV awareness.

Moses went on to praise the hard work the students had put into their writing in the short amount of time they were given to work.

“A lot of them came in here saying, ‘I can’t do it,’ “ Moses said, “and now they won’t stop writing for breaks.”

The idea for the workshop began when Moses learned of Thornwell through “a friend of a friend.” She contacted the school, and was quickly given the go-ahead for the program.

Lorain Crowl, Thornwell’s media director, explained that the organization has always sought out educational opportunities for the students during the summer when many school lessons are forgotten in the hot lazy days.

“The workshop gives a creative way to encourage students to keep their skills,” Crowl said. “They can have fun and probably learn more than they can in a whole English class.”

Anything to do with writing is a treat for Moses, who is determined to do her part to spread the love of writing wherever she goes.

“I used to write with a stick in the dirt and in the corners of the newspaper,” Moses said. “Writing is something that I will always do.”

Midway through the Wednesday high school class, Moses asked several of the students to read what they had completed on their stories.

Sheryl Richardson read her story, “I Am My Father’s Daughter.” based on author, Walter Dean Myers’ life, from the perspective of his daughter.

Her story was strikingly similar to that of many at Thornwell. A young boy, raised and loved by foster parents, goes on to achieve greatness.

“He began writing all day, every day,” Richardson read from her pages, printed from the computer she’d been working on.

Moses looked on, leaning forward, intent on catching every word.

“That was wonderful,” she said, moving back in her seat. Moses hopes to continue her relationship with Thornwell home saying that she would love to come back during the school year.

“I want them to know that they can fly as high as an eagle,” Moses said. “Just because they do not have a (traditional upbringing) does not mean that they cannot be great.”

Days Off Screen

Laurens City Parks and Recreation Department has been hosting a summer concert series for the last month at the "Little River Amphitheater" downtown. I took some pictures for a couple stand-alones in this week's Laurens County Advertiser.

The band last Thursday was local pop-punk band, Days Off Screen. They were a high energy band...even if the crowd wasn't really enthused...hah.

Stormy Weather...keeps rainin all the time.

This morning at the Advertiser we were scattered across the county to record the havoc of the storm that brought 70 mph winds and quarter-size hail around midnight.

Unfortunately the storm took a life while damaging countless numbers of homes and yards. 29 year old Clinton native, Kimberly Taylor Alexander died on impact when her car was smashed by a tree as she attempted to get to her home, which was only minutes away.

Despite this tragedy everyone we spoke to uttered the same thankful phrase, "It could have been worse."

Some 3,000 residents are still without power. The massive amounts of damage to utilities forced Duke Energy to call in reinforcements from NC to the area.

One of the other reporters, Cory Engle got this shot at the Laurens District High School. The metal was from a roof nearly a football field away from the utility pole.


These pines couldn't stand the pressure of the 70mph winds that tore through the Mountville area of Laurens County.



Several residents said that there must have been tornadoes that went unconfirmed in the area.


I took a walk around the root-ball of this 110 year old white oak that was planted on the property at the time the house in the background was erected.


Utility workers, moved carefully and quickly to free power lines felled by the storm.


The storm was able to change landscapes in a matter of minutes, like this home that lost the majority of their front yard pine trees.

Salkehatchie- funny name serious service

Little feature story I just wrote for the paper. Major props to these people, I don't know if I could do it.


Salkehatchie- funny name serious service
By Kathleen Brown
For the Advertiser

Hauling, pulling and shoveling, the busy ranks of First United Methodist Salkehatchie Summer Service Camp are working long hours at three different work sites in the city, and won’t be wrapping it up until this Sunday.

The Summer Service Camp, sponsored by the South Carolina United Methodist conference, and the newest Laurens branch, is now one of over forty groups in the state.

The 24 campers, who began work on Sunday, have come together from Greenwood, Greenville, Fountain Inn and other upstate cities, in addition to a few from First United Methodist in Laurens.

“The camp was created because people realized there was a need for missions at home,” said camp director Emil Finley, referring to Salkehatchie’s history.



Founded in 1978, the various camps around the state assist local families in need of home maintenance. The camp is unique in that it brings together youth and older adults to work as team members on set projects.

Camper and Laurens native, Elaine Britt Turner of Greenwood, says the age difference doesn’t bother her.

“This is my life,” said Turner, motioning to a group of young people working on a porch foundation. “I taught public school for 33 years, and I’m used to this.”

Each member must be 14 by the time of registration, but Glen Blocker, in his eighties, obviously didn’t need to worry about that.

As the oldest member of the camp, Blocker, a well-known volunteer from Laurens, does get some perks.

“I go home at night to sleep and shower,” said Blocker with a laugh.

On the camp’s website, salkehatchie.org, the application asks for hard working youth and adults. Just how hard these campers would find themselves working, however, might have come as a surprise to the first year campers.

Wake up call is promptly at 5:30 a.m. where sleepy campers pick up their makeshift bedding from the floors of the Laurens Middle School’s gymnasium. The work starts two hours later when the teams arrive at their different work sites. With only one break for lunch at noon, and supper not until 6 p.m., campers are putting in almost a 12-hour day. At the end of each day the whole camp gathers together for worship, devotions, and speakers.

Finley explained that members of the Laurens First church have been attending the camps out of town for years, and felt the need to start up their own.



“We want to give back to the community,” said Finley. “We really believe in reinvesting in Laurens County.”

Finley chose three houses, all located in the Jersey Community near Sanders Middle School, for renovation by the camp. He selected them from a pool of more than 70 applicants in Laurens County.

“We received a lot of response,” Finley said, “but we decided on the three that needed the most help and that we knew we could realistically do.”

The campers have a long list of projects that they are determined to complete by the end of their busy week.

“We tore out linoleum, the stairs, and started fixing the roof,” said 17 year-old Lee Cochrine of Greenville. “And this was all just the first day.”

The other projects also include building two new front porches, replacing kitchen and bathroom appliances, rewiring a home’s electricity and doing countless other maintenance projects the teams can get their gloved-hands on.

Time is not the only thing that could hinder the campers in their progress. Insects, heat and lack of sleep all came up when campers discussed the difficulties they have encountered so far this week.

Laurens resident Carla Culbertson, 20, said she really doesn’t like sleeping on the floors, but that she does have one small comfort.

“Thank God for blow up air mattresses,” Culbertson said. “I don’t know what I’d be doing right now.”


Bryce Keely, a 14 year-old camper, says he is enjoying his first Salkehatchie camp experience, except for the twenty or so mosquito bites that he lifts up his pant leg for inspection by Finley.

Despite the mild complaints, the campers and leaders are determined to “keep on keeping on.”

“Helping people out makes you feel good,” said 17-year-old Fountain Inn resident, Paige Brooks.

Finley explains that the need for helping others is his top priority for faith.

“You can’t live a life of faith without doing anything,” Finley said. “If you don’t live faith, then you won’t experience it.”

Finley hopes that this year will be the first of many camps that the church will put on. He hopes that the campers, as well as those outside of the camp, will become interested in further working within the community.

“Service is the outgrowth of faith and the essence of life,” he added.

Eleventyseven Story

One of my stories for the Advertiser, it was on the front page above the fold! Pretty excited about my first ever front cover.

I had a great talk with the lead singer, Matt Langston, in a coffee shop in downtown Laurens.
They are all pretty chill people and easy to get along with. It was definitely one of my favorite stories so far.


Band makes it big and keeps local roots
by Kathleen Brown
For The Advertiser

After touring for almost four years, the members of the pop-punk band,Eleventyseven have begun to get comfortable playing shows around the country, and as a result, they sometimes feel out of place when they come home to Laurens. Not as alien however as a certain incident left them feeling while on tour in Japan last year.

A couple minutes before being thrown off a subway car in Tokyo, band members, Caleb Satterfield, Matthew Langston, and Jonathan Stephens, had been a little perplexed at the fact that they were literally the only males on the crowded vehicle.

“Looking around we thought, ‘Wow, the women really outnumber the men over here,’” said Langston who is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band. “We had boarded the all-girl school shuttle.”

Like subway signs in Japanese and yelling policemen, a lot can get ‘lost in translation’ while touring a foreign country, but the one thing that remains intact is the band’s ability to please their fans-no matter what language they speak.



“We do the same shows, but we try to talk as little as possible in between songs,” said Langston. “It’s always a fantastic experience.”

Caleb Satterfield, who plays bass and performs background vocals, said he doesn’t think the language barrier is a hindrance to Eleventyseven’s growing popularity in Japan.

“There aren’t any defined genres in Japan so it’s just music,” said Satterfield. “The kids like the music regardless of the label it has.”

The band will be making new memories overseas at the end of the month when they begin their second Japanese tour on June 30. The tour will be a chance for Eleventyseven to promote the upcoming release of their new album, “adventures in Eville.”

Since the band’s formation in 2002, the musical talents of Satterfield, Langston and Stephens have carried them far from the main streets and tiny venues of their hometown where they struggled to shake-off their “garage band” status.

On their third album the band electro-pop rocks listeners with their self-proclaimed up-beat style while adding a few new twists.

“This album is pretty diverse,” said Satterfield. “We’ve got some synth-pop, some punk-rock, even a little rap.”

Eleventyseven’s almost 40,000 fans on MySpace have already had the chance to hear several singles from “Eville.” As of Thursday “Evil Genius” had been listened to 12,000 times, and the band is excited to air the music video they made for what they hope will be their next big single.

Despite their expanding fan-base, they have continued to remain true to the positive message that they have been shaping since their early days as high school students playing gigs in Laurens County.

“We want the music to mirror what we are and what we are genuinely passionate about,” said Langston.

With an album release set for June 9, a new music video filmed and a Japanese tour booked later this month, the band has been lucky to catch a breath. That busyness prompted them to purchase their own “creative” lodge in the mountains of North Carolina.


“We can’t really say where but it’s a secret cave inside of a mountain,” Langston joked.

After the two-week tour the band plans on escaping the distractions of the world for a while and concentrating on writing music. Yet, in spite of the new “cave” and 20-show tours in Japan, Eleventyseven finds that their hometown always calls them back.

“Laurens is like no other place,” Satterfield said, “and it will always be home to me.”

Langston agrees, “On one hand we are really happy traveling, but we also realize that there is something to be said for the ‘small town America’ feel.”

Eleventyseven’s album is scheduled to be released online June 9. For more information on the band and their tour schedule go to their website, eleventysevenrocks.com.

The Demise of SC

It has baffled me over the past several months what people are NOT talking about in South Carolina.

There should be protests. There should be riots. There should be T-shirts. There should be SOMETHING!

Our governor, Mark Sanford, is repeatedly refusing to accept the 700 million dollar stimulus check that South Carolina so desperately needs. South Carolina has always been far from the upside of the economic situation in America, and our present state is so much more dire.

Why is one man, our governor, a man who is by definition supposed to promote public policy, manage state bureaucracy, and act as intergovernmental relations manager, tying the entire state to a proverbial railroad track while he waits for the Republican party to recognize his unfailing loyalty?

This entire stint shows just how disconnected Mark Sanford is to the actual citizens of South Carolina. He sits in his governor's mansion complaining about the "wasteful expense of education" while our state unemployment rates steadily chug a long an ever steepening slope.

Although most SC citizens are either left in the dark or blissfully ignorant other states are noticing this lunacy. The New York Times had a great editorial that summed up the present state of the stimulus bill in SC.

I encourage EVERYONE to read this and REACT! Don't sit around. We can speak up for ourselves as citizens.

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat how can you respect a man who would put a feather in his own hat rather than assist the citizens who put him in office and keep this state functioning?