http://www.gtowntimes.com/ en-us http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/slaughter-in--mumbai-editoral Terrorists who struck Mumbai accomplished one goal when they carried out a reign of terror for days and murdered 172 people. They can not be allowed to reach a larger secondary goal of plunging India and Pakastan into war with each other. About 30 armed men carried out coordinated attacks on hospitals, tourist hotels, upscale restaurants, a train station and a Jewish center last week. They came into the city carrying automatic weapons, explosives and bags of almonds to eat so they could keep fighting for days. Police think they came ashore in dinghies and then split up into small teams. One of the first targets of was a cafe displaying an Elvis Presley photo. They were especially looking for people with American or British passports ... 12/2/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/slaughter-in--mumbai-editoral http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/christmas-editorial- With the calendar putting Thanksgiving late in November -- there's still leftover turkey in many refrigerators as December arrives -- there's no time to lament about the early arrival of the Christmas season. It's here. And Georgetown County gets into the Christmas spirit in a big way during the next two weeks. The churches, auditoriums, hallways and even the streets are going to be filled with signs of the season, so we might as well get into the spirit right now. The celebrating begins tomorrow when The Coastal Chorale, under directiion of Mary Lu Norrs, presents ENCORE in "A Coastal Christmas" at Precious Blood Catholic Church in Pawleys Island at 7:30 p.m. Here is a sampling of more of what's coming to get everyone in the Chris ... 11/30/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/christmas-editorial- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/career-day-at-rosemary-middle-school- Three dozen community leaders came to Rosemary Middle School this week for Career Day. Each of the volunteers -- from public and private enterprises -- confronted classes filled with students on the verge of choosing the paths their lives will follow. A few minutes visiting with a person from "real life" may not sway the students at Rosemary Middle, but it is essential that South Carolina continues its efforts toward making education relevant to students' lives and giving them a look at where their potential can lead. Personal Pathways to Success is a program that has started to identify career choices for students. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" has taken on a wider meaning. How much money do you want to make? What kind ... 11/20/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/career-day-at-rosemary-middle-school- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/Living-memories George Asnip showed up at Prince George Episcopal Church Sunday morning wearing his Clemson tie. The Tigers had defeated Duke 35-7 on Saturday. Mr. Asnip and the late Joe Easley had a running joke about wearing one of their Tiger ties after a team victory. Sadly, Mr. Easley is no longer with us, but his memory will last as long as his friends keep it alive. Death robs us of fine people constantly, and it is our duty to keep their memories alive in some form as a tribute to their service here on earth. Great people have holidays named for them, but the Joe Easleys of the world can continue to inspire us just as much. It has been the pleasure of a few small audiences over the past week to witness tributes to people who left their m ... 11/18/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/Living-memories http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/obama-team-of-rivals- So far, the changing of the guard in Washington, D.C., has proven to be a book-seller's dream. With the news leaking out that President-elect Obama is considering Hillary Clinton for secretary of state and Republicans for other cabinet posts, comparisons are being drawn with Abraham Lincoln's cabinet through the best-selling book by Doris Kearns Goodwin titled "Team of Rivals". Mr. Obama and Sen. Clinton share a reverence for Ms. Goodwin's book about how Lincoln brought foes into his fold. Sen. Clinton listed it during the campaign as the last book she had read. Mr. Obama, a student of Lincoln, spoke of it several times. Mr. Obama is scheduled to meet with John McCain today to see how his Republican presidential rival might help him in ... 11/16/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/obama-team-of-rivals- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/car-editorial- General Motors Corp. is in such a precarious financial state that an analyst at investment firm Deutsche Bank urged investors to dump the stock before it becomes worthless. It is trading at less than $3 a share. America's auto manufacters find themselves in a tough spot. They have worked the U.S. government for years to avoid regulations that would have led them to more fuel-efficient cars. Now they are working the government for a $50 billion bailout because their cars aren't selling. The Democratic leadership in Congress and President-elect Barack Obama have hinted about helping Detroit. But before they take that step, they need to consider how GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler reached this point and what position they'll be in after ... 11/13/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/car-editorial- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/perrie-wms-funeral- It's hard to imagine a person more alone in life than Perrie Williams. An orphan, he had no family to claim his body after he was murdered in his home at Green Acres Mobile Home Park last month. Though he was a U.S. Air Force veteran, Mr. Williams did not leave enough worldly possessions to pay for his own funeral. Fortunately, Mr. Williams' friends, Angel and John Elliott, brought the case to light last week and generous people, including one who gave $2,000 anonymously, have stepped forward -- appropriately, around Veterans Day -- to help bury him. The U.S. Air Force has agreed to pay for a headstone and to send six men to play "Taps" at his funeral. Russell Graham, owner of Graham Funeral Home, promises a dignified burial with f ... 11/11/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/perrie-wms-funeral- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/WHAT-NOW-FOR-GOP- The election of Democrat Barack Obama is causing the national Republican Party to search its soul, and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint is pulling no punches in his effort to clean up the mess that John McCain's loss has left. "We have got to clean up, reform and rebuild the Republican Party before we can ask Americans to trust us again," Sen. DeMint said. "This must begin with either a change of command at the highest levels or our current leaders must embrace a bold new direction." Repubicans rose from the 1964 defeat of Barry Goldwater -- he won just 38.5 percent of the vote and 16 fewer states than Sen. McCain -- to begin an ascention that led to the election of Richard Nixon just four years later. Columnist George Will wrote ... 11/9/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/WHAT-NOW-FOR-GOP- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/port-of-georgetown- When Gov. Mark Sanford was in Georgetown last week for a political endorsement, he asked for questions from the audience. Harbor Pilot Edwin Jayroe asked about support for the Port of Georgetown before it suffers the same fate as Port Royal in Beaufort County, where the facilities were closed and the land put up for sale. The governor made a few remarks about international markets and financial turmoil but offered no encouragement to the supporters of Georgetown's port. Fortunately, a group of local people are taking up the cause. About 40 "stakeholders" met last week to seek common ground, talk about issues and see what the future holds for a place that was approved as a port of entry in 1732. There are some prospects. Port Di ... 11/4/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/port-of-georgetown- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/EDIT-DEATHS Death has claimed some of Georgetown County's finest citizens in the last 10 days. It is a fact of nature that our days are numbered on this earth and we should make the most of them. These three men certainly did. Odell Avant was fire chief of Georgetown for 27 years and brought a common-sense touch to the job. "Mr. Chief" would disc a plot for a garden for anybody who asked, as long as it didn't keep him from going fishing, his passion. Georgetown's present fire chief, Joey Tanner, remembered these words from his mentor: "Some say this city is not much. They say it smells. But it's home, and we're going to do everything we can to protect it." Chief Avant brought a country boy's dedication to his profession and the City Fire ... 10/30/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/EDIT-DEATHS http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/campaign-bitterness-will-linger- The call to public service has been answered by most communities' finest citizens. Mayors, council chairmen, state legislators serve out of a need to give back to their communities. They are elected as long as they are willing to serve because their political life is like their business life and their personal life -- honest, caring, above board. These fine people, the bank presidents and the agency heads, won't be going into local politics in the future. Campaigning has produced a new wave of strife. Nothing is off limits. A shred of truth can be made into a zinger that depicts a rival as anything from a fool to a felon. Today's Georgetown Times contains more political controversy on a local level than any edition in its 210-y ... 10/28/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/campaign-bitterness-will-linger- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/dna-bill-passes- Under a new law, South Carolina will begin collecting DNA from people who are arrested for felony offenses or offenses punishable by a sentence of at least five years. The fact that people are innocent until proven guilty worried Gov. Mark Sanford enough to veto the bill. Not surprisingly in an election year, the Senate overrode his veto to show that it's tough on crime. The timing of this law is curious in that it was passed during a special session called to deal with targeted budget cuts. Exactly how the samples will be stored and catalogued -- or if they will be broken down and put into a data base -- remains to be determined, along with the funding. Should the suspect be found not guilty, the DNA sample is to be destroyed. ... 10/26/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/dna-bill-passes- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/5-rivers-editorial-friday-2008-10-23T17-01-11 Greg Hembree, 15th Circuit Solicitor, is well rid of the case involving former executives of the Five Rivers Community Development Corporation. He said the case will be presented to the S.C. Attorney General's Office for prosecution during motion hearings this week. Dayo White, former chief financial officer for Five Rivers, was scheduled to go on trial next week in Georgetown County. The case has been delayed indefinitely after Mr. Hembree removed himself following complaints from Ms. White's attorney, Charlie Condon, that she can not get a fair trial here. While it's true that the Five Rivers case has generated voluminous news accounts as allegations of misspending were divulged over time, Mr. Hembree has never intentionally placed ... 10/23/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/5-rivers-editorial-friday-2008-10-23T17-01-11 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/waht-we-can-learn-from-gaffney-editorial- Gaffney is a town of about 13,000 people located on Interstate 85 between Spartanburg and Charlotte, N.C. It's the county seat of Cherokee County and the home of Limestone College, but Gaffney has few assets to distinguish itself from the dozens of other small towns of South Carolina that once made up the backbone of the state's textile industry. Like many such towns, there's a railroad track running through the middle of it. However, it seems that Georgetown can learn something from Gaffney. A group of Georgetown citizens gathered Tuesday morning at the Stewart Parker House to hear about Gaffney's success with a program conducted by the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development. Clemson's Walter Harris took the Geo ... 10/21/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/waht-we-can-learn-from-gaffney-editorial- http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/wooden-boat-show-editorial- Saturday dawned gray, cool and rainy on the 19th Annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show. It wasn't an ideal day to lure visitors to Front Street to look at wooden boats and watch the annual boatbuilding competition. It was a day for slickers and hot coffee, and that's what Georgetown made of it. Volunteers were everywhere, welcoming visitors, working booths promoting such things at the Winyah Bay Heritage Festival in January and making sure there were plenty of trash receptacles. Exhibitor Sally Mayse of Frogmore -- yes, she says, that's home of the stew -- made herself at home in Georgetown. She moored her pocket cruiser at Harborwalk Marina and took it all in. She spent part of her time at Saturday night's awards ceremony trying t ... 10/19/2008 http://www.gtowntimes.com/story/wooden-boat-show-editorial-