The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina • Page 1

Big 100 Pane hite I sfJJI I 1110 centurvmark MUMMCUQUMS I IS NinarsnniinHWlkinna I LJ I I I I ''11 wnl I Tl ACCENTPage 1C yj VJ 1D Today's weather I ZZZ I PARTLY CLOUDY xjv Serving I 1 I I I Copyright 1997, by Company 7SXh Ymt, No 286 SC 1 1 1 7 Opponents want poker money out of budget casinos. Last month, Eckstrom urged Beasley and The state Revenue Department also has pro-legislative budget writers to drop all videos posed regulations that would wipe out video poker money from the budget It not re- poker In addition, state Attorney General Charlie "I would think that based on David Beasley's philosophy, he has got to be considering it if he wants to rid this state of video poker," said Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken. Beasley spokesman Gary Karr would not say how the budget proposal would treat gambling money. Republican state Treasurer Richard Eckstrom's suggestion that policymakers shun poker money has "not been dismissed out of Karr said.

COLUMBIA (AP) Video gambling op-. ponents want Gov. David Beasley to start the battle against the almost $2 billion industry by eliminating machine licensing fees from his upcoming budget proposal. That would give state government an estimated $62 million less to spend, but it also would serve as tangible proof that Beasley intends to act upon his long-stated opposition to gambling, proponents of the move say. sponsible to assume that the state will continue to receive up to $60 million per year from an industry whose legality has been challenged by high-ranking state officials," Eckstrom said.

Nearly two dozen bills that would restrict, eliminate, tax or hold a statewide referendum on video gambling await lawmakers' action. Condon is asking to join a federal class-action lawsuit that seeks to have video gambling declared an unconstitutional lottery. Beasley's plan for the $4.9 billion budget Please see POKER, page 2A i I County had 4 i SI 4 killiin 'S7 'TTfSW Saul and Sally Greenwood Community Cbildreiis Center new i .1 ,12 Dr. Stevt Skinner, Dr. Robert i 1, uuggcii urct iciiuTuiiuii iiau3 ivi ure mviuij.

LAKELANDS INSIDE SHRINE LEADERS: Former patient of Shriner's Hospital, Joseph (Joe) Marshall Scott was elected po- tentate of Hejaz Temple at the annual business meeting Saturday. Son of the late Ivey Davis and James William Scott, Scott was bom in Greenwood. Page 3A. CLASS FOR PUPPIES: like their human counterparts, puppies need love, discipline, proper care and a lot of patients. Successful "puppy-hood" depends largely on establishing a good relationship with your pet, says Charlotte Ross.

Co-owner of Char-Lar Kennels of Donalds, she bases her wisdom on vears dedicated Jo training, showing, raising, boarding, breeding, grooming and loving dogs, especially Setters. Page 3A. TRAINING PROGRAM: 'Twenty-two started the program and 22 finished. That says a lot about these individuals and their commitment to improving them- ipIvps anH thpir rnnHitinn Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson said. Nicholson was the choice as speaker at graduatioirceremonies honoring South Carolina's first Workforce Readiness class.

3 CLEMSON-AUBURN AFTERMATH: Caroline Efird says it was so bad, no one wants to talk about it She was referring, of course, to the Clemson football team's performance at the Peach Bowl Friday. Efird's sentiments were pretty much that of most Clemson fans in Greenwood on the day after Clemson fell to No. 8 Auburn, 21-17. Page IB. 1 Abby 3C Accent 1C-6C Business 8A-10A Classified Ads 7B-12B Community Calendar 1C Engagements 4C Movies 3C Obituaries -4A Sports 1B-6B Weather Forecast -2A Weddings 4C CALL US On Sundays, Maphomd rtporta of miMlngpaparaM raoordadMid monitored from 7 am until 1 pjn.

PImm call 223-1411. Advertising 223-1411 Classified News Sports. Accent 223-1814 Business oftlce.223-1411 Have story or photo Idea? Call 223-1811, a.m.4 p.m., weekdays, 10 ajn.4 p-m, Saturdays. Community Children's Center moving forward with plans By RICHARD FARMER Index-Journal staff writer GREENWOOD A nightclub proprietor in the wrong place at the wrong time. A physically disabled man befriended those of dubious character.

A wife and mother killed in her sleep. And a peculiar man about town who fell prey to a violent crime. All ended up- 'lOreenwpod City and County's 1997 homicides. all; Greenwood lost four at the hands: of others in 1997. Three of the iJhomicides occurred in the city of Greenwood, with the fourth near Cokesbury.

Aside from the death of Janie Arnold, a nightclub owner fatally shot when a gunman fired randomly towards a group of people, the other three homicides bear striking resemblances. The deaths of Marvin Chipley, Michael Arlington and Shirley Masada all allegedly happened at the hands of people they knew; all three victims were killed in or near their own homes; all were much smaller and weaker than their alleged assailants; and all were killed by only the hands and feet of the perpetrators. IT WAS A LATE SPRING morning when John D. Arlington drove to his son's Greenwood home to check on him. He hadn't heard from 34-year-old Michael in days.

What he found was a father's nightmare. On June 20, Michael, who had been disabled since he was a child, was found on the floor of his Karenway apartment. From the fur-' niture strewn about the living room, it was obvious there had been a fight, which Greenwood City Police Chief Gerald Brooks said "looked to be pretty one sided." Michael was beaten to death by a person or persons unknown. Greenwood County Coroner Grady Hill said Arrington died of severe head trauma. There was no sign of forced entry and no hard evidence of a robbery, police said.

To this day, no one has been charged in Arlington's death. But police say 1997's first homicide is a solvable crime. "It's being actively investigated. We do have some leads which I think are leading us in a positive direction," Brooks said. "I tend to think we'll eventually be able to solve this case." But Brooks, citing the possibility of damaging the case, won't say if there is a suspect in the Arrington homicide.

As far as motive, "Maybe we have a hypothesis or fwo, but nothing we can confirm right now." Brooks feels pretty sure Arrineton willingly invited his killer Into his home. "We suspect his assailant or assailants were known to him," he said. "From there, we move pretty quickly into speculation." Greenwood City Police and Greenwood County Sheriff's Deputes investigated the following four deaths in 1997: JUNE 20: The body of Michael 34, was discovered by his father. Michael had been beaten to death. The case remains open.

AUG. 23: Janla Arnold died of a gunshot wound after a gunman fired randomly toward a group of people outside the Ponderosa club. Arnold was the club's proprietor. Christopher James Jackson, 19, Ridge Road, Hodges, is awaiting trial on charges of murder. DEC.

10: The body of Marvin Chipley, 61, Is found behind an abandoned church on New Market Street. Chipley had been reported missing eight days earlier by his brother. Barry Leon Ervtn awaits trial on charges of murder. DEC. 21: El Shaddal Masada, 47, showed up at Greenwood Police headquarters and told officers he had killed his wife, reports say.

Shirley Brooks Masada, 48, was found dead in the couple's master bedroom. Masada is currently held In Greenwood Detention Center, awaiting a bond hearing on charges of murder. A VERBAL DISPUTE Aug. 23 outside the Ponderosa, a nightclub in Cokesbury, turned violent when someone decided to end the argument with a gun. I "Apparently, he (the alleged shooter) was in an argument with another individual across the dirt road from where the night club was," said Greenwood County Sheriff Sam Riley.

"For whatever reason, he reached in his car and pulled out a weapon and randomly fired." But the gunman didn't hit his intended target, if there was one at all. Instead, one of his bullets pierced the chest of Arnold, 59, the proprietor of the club. The next day, Christopher James Jackson; 19, Ridge Road, Hodges, was arrested at his aunt's home in Abbeville. According to reports, he led authorities to the gun used in the shooting. Since the shooting, Jackson has been held in the Greenwood County Detention Center awaiting trial on charges of murder.

ON A DECEMBER morning just four days before Christmas, El Shaddai Masada, 47, showed up at the doors of the Greenwood County jail with a confession. "He came up (to the jail) and pressed the call button, asking to speak to an officer. Then he told them he thought he had just killed his wife," Brooks said. When responding to the Masada See DEATHS, page 4A a parenting coordinator position ta develop parenting classes, support groups 'and resource materials. Several classes and groups have been conducted at the center by coordinator Sally Baggett.

"We are planning to have, a regular schedule of classes beginning in February that be open to the public," Baggett said. In addition, she'is working with the Greenwood County Library and the Greenwood Parenting Collaborative to develop parenting source center in the library and a parenting directory of services on the Internet. "Parenting isn't always easy, but all parents can learn effective parenting skills that will help reduce the stresses of parenthood," she said. Supported by a grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation in Columbia, the P.A.R.E.N.T.S. (Parenting Abilities Reinforced through Nurturing, Training and Support) program will be offering a variety of classes such as infant massage, communicating with your child, nutrition, reducing sibling rivalry, and discipline.

Another collaboration that has been successful and is a benefit for families is the public-private partnership between the health department and the Children's Center. Janice Williams, RN, is a health department nurse who is located on site within the Children's Center to provide WIC and family support services Please see CENTER, page 4A Special to The Index-Journal GREENWOOD At the end of its first year of operations, the Greenwood Community Children's Center is well on its way toward achieving its purpose of linking a variety of children and family services with traditional pediatric medical care. Through collaborations with the County Health Department, library, schools, churches and other nonprofit human service agencies, the center is helping to provide a stable professional medical home for children that addresses needs beyond the traditional services of a pediatric medical clinic "We have spent this first year really trying to nurture community partnerships," said Dr. Robert Saul, chairman of the board of directors. Saul said it is imperative "to capitalize on the assets and resources of the community to provide a more holistic approach to helping parents raise healthy children." The center's missibn is to "build a community of children who are heathy and ready to learn." To do that, collaborations and public-private partnerships are essential, Saul said.

"The medical home should be the hub for connecting families with those support structures that are available in the community." One of the first collaborations the center developed was with the Bowers-Rodgers Home for Abused Children. Together the two organizations have created Kennedys bury another young relative CENTER VILLE, Mass. (AP) Although his final year was darkened by scandal, Michael Kennedy was mbumed Saturday by his famous family as a loving father and a force for public good. "A whole nation knows his name, but few know the best of what he Rep. Joseph" P.

Kennedy II said. "Michael was one man, but he was 100 points of light." Mourners arriving for the funeral of the sixth of 1 1 children born to the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy were given cards with Michael's picture. It included the text of an Irish ballad that family home in Hyannis Port All of Michael Kennedy's surviving brothers and sisters, along with friends and relatives, packed the oak pews of Our Lady of Victory Church.

His estranged wife, Victoria Gifford Kennedy, accompanied Ethel Kennedy into the church. Among the other mourners were former New York Gov, Mario Cuomo, shoe designer Kenneth Cole, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, Kennedy's cousin. See FUNERAL, page 2A lamented "Oh! why did you leave us Michael, why did you die?" Kennedy, 39, was killed New Year's Eve in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colo. Allegations last year that he had an affair with an underage baby sitter added to the history of scandal that has tainted his family's image of public Joseph Kennedy, who withdrew from the Massachusetts governor's race this year, and other family members touched by the scandal made a show of solidarity on the church steps after arriving in thre chartered buses from the Kennedy If' as Highway.