Aiken Standard (Newspaper) - February 16, 1999, Aiken, South Carolina USCA plays final home game Page 6A Aiken A I K E N Seminar Following bluebirds and purple martins Page 1B Vol 133 No 47 Aiken South Carolina Tuesday February 16 1999 Iraq Saddam issues threats to neighbors Page 2A 254 Staff photo by Scott Webster Showing determination and drive of a hockey player kids in Aiken got a chance to learn more about a new game in town from the coach and members of the Augusta Youngsters check out hockey By BENGTSON Canadians invaded Aikens south side Monday afternoon and dozens of local kids gladly surrendered to the challenge of learning roller hockey Families responded to a clinic offered by the Augusta Lynx enjoying the combina tion of a school holiday and weather and packing the parking lot of the Odell Weeks Activities Center We like doing it because they might start a league and Id like to be in that if they start one said Alex Lind berg 10 in the midst of stick drill with Eddie Newman 8 Im learning some new stops and Im learning how to handle the puck added Eddie who has been a frequent presence at its important that they learn the fundamentals first and foremost Lynx coach Dan Lynx home games Dan Wiebe the head coach led the program with help from several Lynx play ers Kids are starting to learn the skills and its important that they learn the fun first and foremost he said Knees and elbows took a beating but safe ty was the top priority and each of the 55 players ranging in age from 5 to 12 seemed to bounce back from sudden meetings with the pavement Helmets gloves shin pads and elbow pads got a strong endorsement from Wiebe and several Lynx players who helped teach Bright orange balls substituted for pucks Augusta and the have definitely helped out the Augusta Lynx by supporting them as much as they have already so I think any time we get an opportunity to go out into the community and put on a hockey clinic or attend a school or anything like that were going to do it Wiebe said The event also drew plenty of spectators most of whom were parents of the young Please see YOUNGSTERS page 3A TWo county schools stay deregulated South Aiken Kennedy maintain status From staff reports South Aiken High School and Kennedy Middle have maintained their deregulated status in association with the SC Board of Education The status allows each school a measure of freedom from some state regulations in such areas such as staffing scheduling and class structure The honor helps in reducing the amount of paperwork schools have to conquer said George Rogers Kennedys principal Weve been deregulated for a number of years he added It gives us an opportunity to experi ment on some of the courses if necessary On the other hand he is hesi tant to change a great deal of the schools daytoday operations with regard to regulation because keeping a sharp eye on regulation helped the school achieve its current high status in terms of student achievement he added Were real happy to keep it added Gassman SAHS prin cipal Weve been able to keep Incentive Rewards by doing things that coinciden tally helps us remain deregulat ed so I think were going to stay with a formula that works Lynn Landis assistant princi pal at SAHS pointed out that the schools SAT scores remain high due to a tremendously dedicated staff and an excellent college prep track He added The other thing that is a big factor in the School tive Reward program is both stu dent and teacher attendance Our daily attendance is very high Rogers made similar comments about Kennedy pointing out that the middle schools students have particularly strong records in academic competition and testing in math and science along with tests of overall knowledge such as is measured by participation in Odyssey of the Mind Kennedys teacher attendance is also excellent 985 percent for its daily he said No schools in Aiken County gained or lost such status this year although nearby Merri wether Elementary in Edgefield County joined the list of newly deregulated schools David Mathis principal said the status is excit ing news As far as what were going to do different we havent determined that yet he added Were still riding high on just reaching that deregulated sta tus To achieve or regain the dis tinction a school must have earned School Incentive Rewards for two of the last three years have no chronic accreditation problems and meet state criteria measuring improvement in stu dent achievement from year to year Among other local schools which have held the honor in recent years are Aiken Elemen tary Belvedere Elementary Leavelle Middle and Schofield Middle Index Dear Television 4B Deaths James H Estes Aiken Lessie Mae Johnson Aiken Lynette W McKenzie Augusta Dorothy M Salley Salley Rufus Jones Hobbs Warren ton Ga Obituary notices on page 2B Ga lottery Tuesdays winning numbers Cash 3 Midday 594 Cash 3 Evening 4fld Cuh 4 8129 5 1213142533 Poker machines robbed Associated Press ROCK HILL A ring of thieves armed with copies of master keys allegedly stole more than from video gambling machines across South Carolina during the past year About two dozen thieves took turns emptying machines while partners distracted clerks and communicated across stores with hand signals police said Monday The men have robbed about two stores a night for about a year bringing in to per week among them police said I can tell you theyve been liv ing pretty well Rock tive Keith Dugan said Theyre wearing and nice jewelry The men started out robbing cigarette soda and candy machines about three years ago then switched to video gambling machines when they realized Photo sale hidden in budget they could get far more cash police said Video gambling is illegal in North Carolina but not in South Carolina which has about 30000 machines in its billion a year industry With all the machines the cash flow would be unlimited said Chester County sheriffs Lt Robby Four people have been arrested in Gaston County NC Two oth ers are charged in Chester Coun ty and additional warrants have been issued in Union County Police say the ring has traveled as far as Myrtle Beach and Charleston and they expect more arrests The men have nearly 1000 keys to gambling machines that they bought from a Gaston County Please see POKER page 3A Associated Press COLUMBIA The same legis lators screeching about the sale of drivers license photos actually voted twice in favor of it The brouhaha over the sale to Image Data for shows what can happen when lawmakers fail to closely examine a proposal So many provisions are attached to appropriations bills in the House and Senate during budget discussions that it is near ly impossible for any legislator to know and understand everything It is a perfect place to insert leg designed to escape micro scopic evaluation or simple nation The 199798 appropriations had 152 special provisions at the end of the budget The current budget has 144 The wording that allowed the photos sale can be found in the 199798 budget on page 445 But until The Greenville News Please see PHOTO page 3A Woman sues over photos Associated Press COLUMBIA A Greenville woman is suing the state and the New Hampshire company that bought South Carolina dri vers license photos alleging their use is a misappropriation of her image Please see WOMAN page 3A Tourism working on borrowed Associated Press HILTON HEAD ISLAND South Carolinas tourism indus try is running on borrowed dol lars despite bringing in more than billion in 1997 creating 250000 jobs and generating more than million in tax revenue the states tourism director says Parks Recreation and Tourism Department Director Buddy Jen told the states top tourism officials Monday that the number of visitors to the state has flat tened out during the past few years Dwindling income from admis sion tax revenue has created a budget shortfall and forced the department to cut million from its marketing budget while bor rowing more than million The presentation of todays message is just the first step in fully understanding our situation and how it affects our collective ability to meet the competitive challenges in our marketplace Jennings said He said the state needs to expand commitments to market ing and sales partnerships and continue to educate South Car about the importance of tourism to the economy
