28th Annual Old Friends Invitational Golf Classic held

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

The 28th Annual Old Friends Invitational Golf Classic was held again this year at the Paw Paw Country Club in Bamberg. This year 44-teams battled each other, a tough Paw Paw Country Club Golf Course and a heat index in the triple digits.

This year’s Overall Winners were the team of: Michael Osborne, Jett Crosby, Marshall Hogan and Brian Osborne with a score of (53-53). Michael Osborne, who captured his 6th James P. Carroll Award emblematic of the tournament’s individual champion, spoke for his group after the tournament.

“I didn’t think we shot low enough to win the First Flight,” Osborne said Sunday evening reflecting on the tournament. “The course was very difficult. Our team got off to a real hot start and picked up a lot of two-shots at the end,” Osborne added.

DTC Hires a Director

Denmark Technical College president Dr. Michael Townsend announced July 12 that the college has hired Tim Hicks as its director of community outreach and public information. Hicks will began his duties July 26.

“I think Denmark Technical College is fortunate to find a person of Tim Hicks’s talents in writing and photography as well as his professional experience in public relations that he brings to the table. We are looking at Tim to help us tell the stories and successes of this institution as it moves forward in its mission,” said Townsend.

“I’m excited by this new phase in my life and career. I’m looking forward to promoting Denmark Technical College and the quality education it offers its students. Even though our area and nation is experiencing economic hardship, it makes the role that technical education has that much more important in the overall solution as people seek new job skills and career directions in their lives,” said Hicks.

New Basketball Coach

Athletics Director Willie Jefferson has named Michael Cheaney as the new head men’s basketball coach. Cheaney brings more than 10 years of coaching experience to Voorhees.

Prior to Voorhees, Cheaney was the assistant men’s basketball coach at Livingston College in North Carolina and also previously served as head men’s basketball coach at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

During Cheaney’s tenure as a coach, he has assisted teams with such achievements as having the highest graduation rate, helping mentor players to professional basketball status overseas, and having a No. 1 ranked defensive team in the region.

Elementary Education Program

The South Carolina State Board of Education has officially approved the establishment of an Educator Preparation Unit and a Bachelor of Science degree program in elementary education at Voorhees College.

The degree is a certification program that will allow graduates to teach in grades 2-6 in South Carolina schools.

“We have reached another milestone in our quest to prepare the best and brightest students to succeed in this global society after graduating from Voorhees,” President Sellers said.

Kinard Announces Retirement

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

After 22-years as director of the Bamberg County Commission on Aging, Carolyn Kinard has announced her retirement effective July 31. Kinard, who was appointed director in 1990 after working part-time with former director Carolyn Wilson, reflected on her career with the agency that provides services for the elderly in Bamberg County.

Kinard said that with a limited budget, her job as director would have been much more difficult without the approximately 100 volunteers that work with the agency and help deliver meals each day. “Without those people helping, we could not do what we do. It’s just wonderful to have volunteers to give something back to the community.”

As for the agency that she has nurtured for the last 22-years, she said she knows it will be in good hands. Kay Clary will take over the duties as director and Tony Holman will be the new transportation supervisor.