SEND US YOUR FALL EVENTS Does your club or organization start to think scary thoughts this time of year? Do your members start to turn into monsters? We hope so, because we’re looking for some frightening stuff. Actually, we’re looking for anything and everything go- ing on in the fall — scary or otherwise — including church bazaars, fall festivals, carnivals, trick-or-treating, deco- rating contests, haunted houses and more. E-mail details — who, what, when, where, plus admission and other details — to dku- [email protected] and neighbors@thes- tate.com We’ll publish a list Thursday, Oct. 2 in Neighbors. ZONE-1 1 C M Y K people Student scores near-perfect on GED test COLUMBIA • SOUTH CAROLINA IRMO | ST. ANDREWS | CHAPIN NEIGHBORS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 • COMMUNITY ZONE 1 DUTCH FORK | HARBISON | SEVEN OAKS | BALLENTINE | WHITE ROCK | HILTON Sports: High school volleyball preview, Page 8 INSIDE >>> Environment Communities join for ‘clean sweep’ Saturday, residents of the Bon- nie Forest and Pine Grove com- munities hold a “clean sweep,” starting at 8 a.m. Volunteers may meet at the Pine Grove Community Center, 937 Piney Woods Road. The county will be picking up yard waste and trash. Call Wilbert Lewis at (803) 798-2506. >>> Things to do Free concert The Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra fall concert will be at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at the Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Road. The concert is free, but dona- tions are accepted. There is a charge for admission to the park. In the event of rain, the con- cert will be rescheduled for Sun- day, Oct. 12. For more informa- tion, call (803) 781-8846. >>> Irmo Prayer breakfast An Irmo Community Prayer Breakfast is set for 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 at Gateway Baptist Church, 1651 Dutch Fork Road. Among those featured are Jeff Davis, Clemson football and Col- lege Football Hall of Fame; Don Brock, Gateway Dr. Bill Barton, Bill Barton Ministries; the Rev. Andrew Volkommer, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church; Rev. James Cooper, Pine Grove AME Church; Franklin Fant, Seven Oaks Presbyterian; the Rev. Blaney Pridgen, St. Mary’s Epis- copal. Music will be by Spirit’s Call. Cost is $8 per person; break- fast will be served beginning at 7:30 a.m. Program starts at 8 a.m. Tickets will not be sold at the door, so RSVP by Sept. 18 to Eliz- abeth Donehue, (803) 404-7992 or [email protected]. >>> Classes & workshops Richland 101 Learn how county government works at Richland 101, which kicks off its fall session Monday. The free six-week series ex- plores a variety of areas, includ- ing taxes, budgeting, courts, ani- mal care, zoning, public safety, education and more. The course includes class work and field trips to sites including the county jail, sheriff’s office, EMS facility, judi- cial center and Midlands Tech’s new Technology Center. Classes are 6-8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays in County Council chambers, 2020 Hampton St. or another site if a field trip is planned. To register, call (803) 576-2062 or (803) 576-2067 or www.rcgov.us. CLOSE TO HOME TRACY GLANTZ/[email protected]Katherine Crawford Stevens scored 3,880 out of a possible 4,000 on the GED test. By NICK McCORMAC Special to The State Expulsion from two schools. An eating disorder. Dabbling in drugs and alcohol . All were challenges Katherine Craw- ford Stephens had faced at one point in her life. The 21-year-old Midlands Technical College student once had many obstacles standing between her and a high school diploma. But after missing her original graduation date in 2005, she’s now on her way to a nursing degree and a Spanish certification. This is after completing the General Educational Development test with high marks. Stephens scored 3,880 points out of a possible 4,000 on the test, making her South Carolina’s highest performer for 2007 and placing her in the 99th percentile nationally. “I was so proud of myself, and it really made me feel like I could do so much bet- ter in life,” Stephens said. The Irmo resident’s accomplishment follow what had been a troubled child- hood. In seventh grade, she began battling anorexia. She was expelled from Dutch Fork Middle School in eighth grade for riding her horse across school grounds, and then expelled again the following year from the Alternative Academy in Chapin for insubordination, prompting her par- ents to home-school her. “At that point, I had a lot more free time, so I fell in with a bad crowd and got hooked on drugs and alcohol,” Stephens said. Only after becoming pregnant did she decide to turn her life around. “At that point, I decided that I had to grow up,” she said. SEE GED PAGE 2 Remembering Sept. 11 Memorial unveiled Sculpture honors those who died in the terrorist attacks IF YOU GO Unveiling and dedication of 9/11 memorial When: 10 a.m. today Where: Lexington County government complex Highlights: In addi- tion to guest speak- ers, a bagpiper will play “Amazing Grace” while three Lexington County firefighters raise the flag on the memorial. A reception will follow at the Lex- ington County Admin- istration Building. Parking: Available at the administration building and Lexington Baptist Church PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRACY GLANTZ/[email protected]Randall Hammonds welds the aluminum structure together on a 9/11 memorial at the county government complex in Lexington. Hammonds’ sculpture is a project by the 2007 Leadership Lexington County class. By CLIF LeBLANC [email protected]People in Lexington County, moved by an effort to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks, have stepped up with support and $10,000 for a memo- rial that will be unveiled this morning in the heart of the county seat. “It just surprises me that in today’s economy, so many people would be so willing to help,” said Peggy Dant- zler, one of the organizers in the Lead- ership Lexington class of 2007 that originated the project. She estimates about 200 people and businesses gave from a few dol- lars to thousands in materials to see the 23-foot aluminum, copper, granite and stone monument realized. “I had a gentleman walk up to me and hand me a check for $500,” said sculptor Randall Hammonds, who fig- ures he has donated 1,100 hours to the project. The man they both credit for being the driving force behind the memor- ial, Lt. J.J. Jones of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, said he was motivated by his wife’s sixth- grade students in English class at Lex- ington Middle School After terrorists flew two airliners into the World Trade Center towers in 2001, killing 2,752, the students’ curi- ous but wandering minds quickly moved away from the tragedy, Jones recalled. He wants to be sure everyone re- members. “These kids have got to realize SEE MEMORIAL PAGE 2
2
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The State: Student scores near-perfect on GED - Sept. 11, 2008
Katherine Crawford Stephens has dealt with expulsion, an eating disorder, and addiction to drugs and alcohol. But that, and the knowledge she had a child on the way, didn't stop her from achieving a nearly-perfect score on her GED
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SEND US YOURFALL EVENTSDoes your club or organization start to
think scary thoughts this time of year? Doyour members start to turn into monsters?
We hope so, because we’re looking forsome frightening stuff.
Actually, we’re looking foranything and everything go-
ing on in the fall — scary orotherwise — including
church bazaars, fall festivals,carnivals, trick-or-treating, deco-
We’ll publish a list Thursday, Oct. 2 inNeighbors.
ZONE-1 1 C M Y K
people
Student scores near-perfect on GED test
C O L U M B I A • S O U T H C A R O L I N A
I R M O | S T. A N D R E W S | C H A P I N
NEIGHBORSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 • COMMUNITY ZONE 1
D U T C H F O R K | H A R B I S O N | S E V E N O A K S | B A L L E N T I N E | W H I T E R O C K | H I L T O N
Sports: High school volleyball preview, Page 8INSIDE
>>> Environment
Communities join for ‘clean sweep’
Saturday, residents of the Bon-nie Forest and Pine Grove com-munities hold a “clean sweep,”starting at 8 a.m.
Volunteers may meet at thePine Grove Community Center,937 Piney Woods Road. Thecounty will be picking up yardwaste and trash. Call WilbertLewis at (803) 798-2506.
>>> Things to do
Free concert The Lake Murray Symphony
Orchestra fall concert will be at 5p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at the SaludaShoals Park, 5605 Bush RiverRoad.
The concert is free, but dona-tions are accepted. There is acharge for admission to the park.
In the event of rain, the con-cert will be rescheduled for Sun-day, Oct. 12. For more informa-tion, call (803) 781-8846.
>>> Irmo
Prayer breakfastAn Irmo Community Prayer
Breakfast is set for 7:30-9 a.m.Thursday, Sept. 25 at GatewayBaptist Church, 1651 Dutch ForkRoad.
Among those featured are JeffDavis, Clemson football and Col-lege Football Hall of Fame; DonBrock, Gateway Dr. Bill Barton,Bill Barton Ministries; the Rev.Andrew Volkommer, Our Lady ofthe Lake Catholic Church; Rev.James Cooper, Pine Grove AMEChurch; Franklin Fant, SevenOaks Presbyterian; the Rev.Blaney Pridgen, St. Mary’s Epis-copal.
Music will be by Spirit’s Call.Cost is $8 per person; break-
fast will be served beginning at7:30 a.m. Program starts at 8 a.m.
Tickets will not be sold at thedoor, so RSVP by Sept. 18 to Eliz-abeth Donehue, (803) 404-7992 [email protected].
>>> Classes & workshops
Richland 101Learn how county government
works at Richland 101, whichkicks off its fall session Monday.
The free six-week series ex-plores a variety of areas, includ-ing taxes, budgeting, courts, ani-mal care, zoning, public safety,education and more. The courseincludes class work and field tripsto sites including the county jail,sheriff’s office, EMS facility, judi-cial center and Midlands Tech’snew Technology Center.
Classes are 6-8 p.m. Mondaysand Thursdays in County Councilchambers, 2020 Hampton St. oranother site if a field trip isplanned. To register, call (803)576-2062 or (803) 576-2067 orwww.rcgov.us.
Katherine Crawford Stevensscored 3,880 out of a possible
4,000 on the GED test.
By NICK McCORMACSpecial to The State
Expulsion from two schools. An eatingdisorder. Dabbling in drugs and alcohol .
All were challenges Katherine Craw-ford Stephens had faced at one point inher life.
The 21-year-old Midlands TechnicalCollege student once had many obstaclesstanding between her and a high schooldiploma. But after missing her originalgraduation date in 2005, she’s now on herway to a nursing degree and a Spanishcertification. This is after completing the
General Educational Development testwith high marks.
Stephens scored 3,880 points out of apossible 4,000 on the test, making herSouth Carolina’s highest performer for2007 and placing her in the 99th percentilenationally.
“I was so proud of myself, and it reallymade me feel like I could do so much bet-ter in life,” Stephens said.
The Irmo resident’s accomplishmentfollow what had been a troubled child-hood. In seventh grade, she began battlinganorexia. She was expelled from DutchFork Middle School in eighth grade for
riding her horse across school grounds,and then expelled again the following yearfrom the Alternative Academy in Chapinfor insubordination, prompting her par-ents to home-school her.
“At that point, I had a lot more freetime, so I fell in with a bad crowd and gothooked on drugs and alcohol,” Stephenssaid.
Only after becoming pregnant did shedecide to turn her life around.
“At that point, I decided that I had togrow up,” she said.
SEE GED PAGE 2
Remembering Sept. 11
Memorial unveiledSculpture honors those who died in the terrorist attacks
IF YOU GOUnveiling and dedication of 9/11 memorial
When: 10 a.m. today
Where: LexingtonCounty governmentcomplex
Highlights: In addi-tion to guest speak-ers, a bagpiper willplay “Amazing Grace”while three LexingtonCounty firefightersraise the flag on thememorial. A receptionwill follow at the Lex-ington County Admin-istration Building.
Parking: Available atthe administrationbuilding and LexingtonBaptist Church
People in Lexington County,moved by an effort to commemoratethe Sept. 11 attacks, have stepped upwith support and $10,000 for a memo-rial that will be unveiled this morningin the heart of the county seat.
“It just surprises me that in today’seconomy, so many people would beso willing to help,” said Peggy Dant-zler, one of the organizers in the Lead-ership Lexington class of 2007 thatoriginated the project.
She estimates about 200 peopleand businesses gave from a few dol-lars to thousands in materials to seethe 23-foot aluminum, copper, graniteand stone monument realized.
“I had a gentleman walk up to meand hand me a check for $500,” said
sculptor Randall Hammonds, who fig-ures he has donated 1,100 hours to theproject.
The man they both credit for beingthe driving force behind the memor-ial, Lt. J.J. Jones of the LexingtonCounty Sheriff’s Department, said hewas motivated by his wife’s sixth-grade students in English class at Lex-ington Middle School
After terrorists flew two airlinersinto the World Trade Center towers in2001, killing 2,752, the students’ curi-ous but wandering minds quicklymoved away from the tragedy, Jonesrecalled.
He wants to be sure everyone re-members.
“These kids have got to realize
SEE MEMORIAL PAGE 2
what happened that day .æ.æ. on ourhome soil,” Jones said.
More than 100 people are ex-pected at 10 a.m. today for thededication on the grounds of thecounty courthouse and office com-plex on Main Street in Lexington.
The tribute to those who per-ished or died trying to save themwill be unveiled during a 35-minute ceremony as bagpipes wail“Amazing Grace.”
The monument is substantiallydifferent than when Hammondsconceived it earlier this year.
“There has been hundreds ofdesign changes,” the welder-turned-artist said.
Many of the changes camefrom interested residents.
A stranger asked Hammondswhy his original plan to feature thethree New York City firefightershoisting an American flag atground zero ignored the Pentagonand a Pennsylvania field whereother hijacked planes crashed.
Hammonds reconfigured thetribute to have five sections rep-resenting the sides of the Penta-gon.
He also used Pennsylvania bluestone and broke it thousands ofrectangular pieces for a redesignedbase
“We went way over budget,”Hammonds said. “But people werejust walking up to us and justhanding us money.”
The original price tag for ma-terials was to be $5,000, he said.Hammonds estimates it hasreached $17,000.
The only remaining cost is $350for epoxy that will coat the “rub-ble,” Jones said. He doubts therewill be a problem raising theamount of money.
The backbone of the memorial— the skeletal structure of a crum-bling Tower One — is made ofaluminum tubing instead of steelrods as Hammonds envisioned.
“I studied hundreds and hun-dreds of photographs and came upwith my own design,” he said.
Hammonds polished about 900feet of aluminum by hand, making
the memorial nearly maintenance-free.
The life-size images of the threefirefighters are forged of carbonsteel and covered in five sheets ofcopper veneer. The figures areetched into a close likeness of thereal firefighters.
Efforts to get any of the threein the photograph to attend theceremony were unsuccessful.
Jones, who recently was namedS.C. Deputy of the Year by thestate Sheriffs Association, saidNew York firefighters have a tra-dition of repositioning themselveswherever they were when the jetsstruck.
Therefore, the NYFD firefight-ers could not attend.
An inadvertent change to thememorial has caught the eye ofpassers-by, Hammonds said.
At the top on the east side, thealuminum tubing formed a 3-by-1!-foot cross.
“People said the cross is meantto be, leave it,” the sculptor said.
A 4,000-pound chunk of gran-ite from Tennessee has beenadded at the foot of æthe monu-ment.
It is engraved with the words,“In memory of those who perishedin the attacks on September 11,2001. Fallen but not forgotten.”
The stone also shows a list ofpeople who donated at least $500to the project.
A change that will be notice-able at night is that the entire mon-ument is lighted, rather than justthe flag.
Reach LeBlanc at (803) 771-8664.
Compelled by her upcomingchild and the support of friendsand family, Stephens managed toovercome her substance abuse.She then turned her attention topreparing for the GED, which shehad put off since ending homeschooling in 2004.
But there was a final hurdle tobe cleared when she discoveredher test was Aug. 15, about a weekbefore her baby was due.
“One of the (GED) administra-tors asked what would happen if Iwent into labor during the test,”Stephens said. “I told her that Ihoped she knew how to deliver ababy because I was going to takethat test.”
Stephens made it through thetest and gave birth to her daugh-ter, Libby, on Aug. 31 of last year.
While still in the hospital, she
learned she had scored a perfect800 on three of the five sections.
“I didn’t take any prep coursesother than free practice online, andmy dad helped me with preparingfor the math section, so I wasshocked to see how well I did,”Stephens said.
Stephens credits her father,Philip Stephens, as her greatestsource of strength in overcomingmost of her challenges.
Her father was happy to pro-vide the helping hand.
“When you can take someonewho’s struggling as much as shewas and help them turn their lifearound, it’s a great feeling know-ing that you’ve helped,” he said.
The S.C. Department of Edu-cation reports that 9,040 peopletook the GED in South Carolina in2007, but only about 300 to 400scored above 3,000. The averagescore nationally was 2,532.
For Stephens, the journey from“19-year-old girl” to “adult with re-sponsibilities” has been a quickone.
She hopes her nursing degreewill lead to a career as a nursepractitioner, and she feels that herlife’s transitions — and the lessonslearned in the process — havebeen well worthwhile.
“I didn’t do this just for myself,”she said. “I’m doing it for mydaughter because I want her tohave the best life possible.”
ZONE-1 2 C M Y K
2 ZONE 1, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 WWW.THESTATE.COMTHE STATE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
AMEChurch
• • •
PINE GROVE AME120 Steward Rd. (Off Piney Woods Rd.)
Columbia, SC 29210Worship Service 8:30 a.m. & 11 a.m.
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.Bible Study Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
SWEET CULPRITSSugars and carbohydrates are the culpritsthat cause tooth and gum problems. Freesugars and fermentable carbohydrates thatstick to dental plaque even for short periodsof time – as little as 15 minutes – will resultin acid formation. If repeated often enough
and not brushed, rinsed, or flossed away, this acid willattack the enamel, break it down, and cause decay.
It is difficult for an adult, much less a teenager, tosee the relationship between a stick of gum, a bottle of cola,or a chocolate bar, and a cavity or toothache. The processis insidious. Hundreds of tests done by researchers all overthe world on every snack food and drink imaginable haveall come up with the same results. These foods form acid inplaque and the acid attacks the teeth.
The natural sugars in raw fruits do not harm teeth.Avoid fruits that are cooked or canned with refined sugaradded. Read the labels on cans and packages and pick andchoose carefully.
JF39
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NEIGHBORS
GEDFROM PAGE 1
MEMORIALFROM PAGE 1
The University of South Car-olina will launch a monthly farm-ers market, with the debut thisTuesday.
The Healthy Carolina FarmersMarket will operate 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.between the gates on GreeneStreet in front of the Russell HouseUniversity Union.
While intended for students,faculty members and staff as partof the university’s Healthy Car-olina initiative, the market also willbe open to the public.
It will feature fresh, local pro-duce and natural products bySouth Carolina farmers. Like gro-cers, farmers will sell their produceand products by the piece and inbulk.
Products will be competitivelypriced; only cash will be accepted.In addition, university staff will of-fer nutrition information, recipesfor seasonal produce and othermaterials to encourage healthy liv-ing.
Michelle Burcin, director ofHealthy Carolina, said a farmersmarket will add an important di-mension to the university’sHealthy Carolina initiative.
“The goal of Healthy Carolinais to make healthy choices simple,”she said. “This Healthy CarolinaFarmers Market will do exactlythat by providing our students, fac-ulty and staff with easy access tohealthy products and produce. Italso will give the university com-munity the opportunity to supportSouth Carolina growers, which ishealthy for the state.”
The university has teamed withthe S.C. Department of Agricultureto offer the monthly markets, withmore scheduled for Wednesday,Oct. 22, and Thursday, Nov. 13.
Tuesday’s vendors will comefrom Blythewood, Chapin, Lex-ington, Pelion, Rembert, Swansea,Columbia, Effingham, Vance andWest Columbia. They will sell pro-duce, gourmet and organic veg-etables, pork, chicken and 100 per-cent grass-fed beef products andbakery items. Natural products willinclude soy candles, honey, goats-milk soap and beeswax candles.In addition, there will be folk art,hand-painted glass trivets and Car-olina ornaments and assortedChristmas items for sale.
The Healthy Carolina FarmersMarket is part of a national colle-giate trend to promote nutritioneducation and sustainable agri-culture (buying fresh produce fromlocal farmers).
For more information, contactHolly Harring at (803) 777-0597 orvia e-mail at (803) 777-0597.
USC farmersmarket opens
Tuesday
FILE PHOTOGRAPH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hammond’s sculpture is based on this photograph at theWorld Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I didn’t do this just formyself. I’m doing it formy daughter because I want her to have the