Aiken Standard (Newspaper) - December 23, 2005, Aiken, South Carolina Friday December 32005 Todays Weather Low High Full forecast 110C News Summary Aiken has five service academy nominees Jenny Harmon Anthony Rybicki Tedd Torgesen Chris Green and Chad Nickell were among 33 students nominated by Sen Jim DeMint this week hints at reducing force in Iraq The United States soon will trim its military force in Iraq to slightly betow 138000 troops the level it has considered its core force this year Defense Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld hinted Thursday 15B Busbee Elementary fixes water problem The Aiken County School District has contracted with an Aiken company that is removing excessive moisture at two yearold Busbee Elemen tary School and taking corrective measures to prevent its return 12A What are you reading Meet todays book tower Literacy is essential in todays and hightech world In an effort to highlight readers and reading the Aiken Standard makes this space available each day to spark discus sions about literature Vicky Thompson Windsor The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall 13C AREA DEATHS Frances B Aiken Linea Anna Strom heim Windsor Margery B Harman Aiken Harbin Rikard Ridge Spring Deaths and Funerals 14B INSIDE TODAY Calendar 3C Classifieds ID Comics 6C Dear Abby 6C Horoscope 6C SB Markets 6A Movie Listings 2C Obituaries 4B Opinions ISA Puzzles 7C Sports IB TV Listings 2C Local boxer seeking title shot Vol 139 No 357 Sports 1B Your Local Source Sinc mi inn IN r m COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY X 6427570 Fighting domestic abuse in SC Sanford says he will set aside million in 2006 to prosecute more cases By KAREN DAILY Staff writer Gov Mark Sanford said Thursday that million will be included in next years executive budget to increase prosecution of criminal domestic violence cases and Cumbee Center Executive Director Kay Mixon said it is a step in the right direction The Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons Inc provides shelter and advocacy ser vices to abused women and children in Aiken County Sanford wants the money to go to the state Pros Coor Commission so each county could hire an additional prosecutor and to set up Sanford What do you think What do you think about domestic violence in SC Write to Opinions Aiken Standard Box 456 Aiken SC 29802 or email courts to handle the cases The proposal was offered earlier this year by Attorney General Henry McMaster as ONE LAST NIGHT Staff photo by Rob Novit Elizabeth Morlan 5 enjoys the Christmas lights at Gardens Thursday night Last lights before Christmas By ROB NOVIT Senior writer Chris and Jennifer Coffey brought their twin daugh ters Kailyn and Jaden to Gardens to see the Christmas lights Thursday Of course its a bit early for the girls Jennifer is seven months pregnant and they arent due until late February We always like to see the lights said Chris We just like and come to the concerts in the summer for picnics So in 12 months will they come back to with the twins Want to go What Christmas in When 69 pm today and Dec 2627 Where Gardens For information call 803 6427631 Oh we might wait two years to bring them said Jen with a smile For 14 years Christmas in has delighted visi tors from Aiken and beyond with the 75000 lights The dis play will continue from 6 pm to 9 pm tonight The Gardens will be closed Saturday and Sunday and resume Monday and Tuesday before the event concludes A shuttle at the Goodwill shopping center on Whis key Road is taking people to from 6 pm to pm Theres also a shuttle from the former shopping center on York Street at pm pm and pm Jennifer Morlan brought her children Jamie 11 and Eliza beth 5 but she herself has vis since before Please see LIGHTS page 16A This is a gift of love By JOHN MOORE Staff writer June Ware visits her mother Edna Bass and other residents in the Alzheimers unit at Mat tie C Hall Health Care Center every day but she wanted to do something special for them this Christmas Ware created 47 unique and colorful stuffed animals and delivered them to residents Thursday during the Christmas party for the Alzheimers unit I was sewing and the Lord laid it on my heart to do this said Ware who has gotten to know many of the other residents I love all of them up here This is a gift of love Ware said stuffed animals arc Please see GIFT page 16A Staff photo by John Moore June Ware left gives a stuffed animal she Hayes during the Christmas party at Mattie C Hall for the Alzheimers unit part of his offices efforts to fight domestic violence in South Carolina In just under two years our domestic violence prosecutor program has demon that trained and experi prosecutors in magistrate courts are the missing link in combating our states number one crime problem McMaster said Mixon said however that Aiken County is very fortunate to have an experienced tor and an effective coordinated council on domestic violence Lauren Willis assistant solicitor is doing a wonderful job because she is putting forth an effort and is very knowledge able Mixon said But the more you get who are knowl and willing to handle this the better South Carolina ranks sixth in Please see VIOLENCE page 16A Police identify robbery suspect By KAREN DAILY Staff writer Investigators say they have identified a robbery suspect using information gathered from a cle left behind by the suspect who deputies say robbed the store and was chased by a witness Benjamin W Douglas 21 with a last known address in Darlington is being sought in a robbery at Gregs Gas Plus 6043 Jefferson Davis Highway on Wednesday Deputies said the man approached the counter to pur chase a cup of coffee but when the employee opened the reg ister he reached in and took a handful of bills According to the police report the man did not assault the clerk with a weapon The employee told deputies he chased the man to the door and then a witness in the store chased the man up the street He was unable to get back into his vehicle after the crime said sheriffs office son Lt Troy Elwell The robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and then ran into a nearby wooded area because he couldnt get into his vehicle deputies said Aiken County officials ered the 5991 red Ford Ranger they believe the robber arrived in and said they were able to trace it back to Douglas Investigators and the Aiken Tracking team responded and searched the area Staff photo by Erin Brooks Rows of lush poinsettias make Cold Creek Nursery look festive for the holiday season Poinsettia puzzler By ERIN BROOKS Staff writer For more than a century poinsettias have served as a subtle reminder that Christmas is around the comer The lavish crimson leaves are often used in holiday decor to celebrate the joyous season but what do you do with the festive plants when Christmas is over Experts say if you want to get the most out of your prized then treat them as you would any other tropical plant They dont need to go in temperatures below 50 degrees said Timothy Blackmon green house manager for Cold Creek Nurseries Blackmon says it usually takes four to six weeks after the new year for the bloom to die back After the bloom fades to yel low pinch it back said Black mon The plant is still going to grow and flourish just make sure you give it light keep it watered and fertilize it every two weeks or so Blackmon says if you want the plant to bloom again for next Christmas start reducing the amount of light the plant receives in the summer If you want it to rebloom you have got to cut the amount of light it gets said Blackmon By the end of July you need to make sure that the plant gets 12 hours of darkness a day Put it in a closet or a garage area and then bring it out in the light for the rest of the day That will shock it back in to bloom for the next season Continue to store the plant in a dark place for half of the day until the time changes After that bring it in to a sunny window said Blackmon Although there is a myth that poinsettias are poisonous Black mon says they arc perfectly safe to keep in your home Studies show that they arc not poisonous and an animal would have to cat 50 plants or more to get sick said Black mon So dont be scared to put them in your house Contact Erin Brooks at
