Sandifer named Bamberg Christmas Parade Grand Marshall

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Paul Sandifer of Bamberg got involved in this community at the age of 18- with the Jaycees with his “big brother” the late BPW Commissioner Buddy Sandifer showing him the way. Many years have passed now, but Paul Sandifer has not stopped serving the community of Bamberg. For his many years of service to the City of Bamberg, the Bamberg City Council recently selected him to be this year’s Christmas Parade Grand Marshal.

“I think it is a great honor to be chosen grand marshal,” Sandifer said, “I’ve seen a lot of them over the years, but I never thought that I would be one.

Sandifer has been a member of the Bamberg Fire Department for 42-years where he currently holds the office of Lieutenant and is the Fire Prevention Officer for the department. He has been a member of the Bamberg County Red Cross for over 30-years and is a member of the board of trustees and is the Bamberg County Disaster Chairman.

Sandifer has been Chairman of the Bamberg County Christmas Parade for 31-years. “A tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.” He is a board member of Open Arms Ministry in Denmark. Sandifer said what motivates him is making Bamberg (already a great place to live) and even better place to live for his children and other people in the community.

“I really believe in doing things in my community, I guess I took that from my big brother Buddy,” Sandifer said adding “Bamberg is a great place to live and I just want to make it an even better place to live.

Sandifer noted that he could not have been successful as Christmas parade chair without the help of his committee members, whom he described as “a good hardworking group of people.” He thanked everyone for all their support in the past including financial and the Bamberg Jobs Corps Center for their help last year and again this year.

As for this year’s parade which will be held on December 4, at 10:00 am; the parade will start on Beard Street this year which is a change from previous years, with the lineup starting on 301-south at 9:00 am.

2010 Lower State Class 1A Division 1 Champions

Jerry E. Halmon, Sports Editor

For the last five years, the Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School football program has produced some of the best talent in the state. But, in three upper and lower state final appearances over that time frame and with a chance to reach the state finals on the line; the program which has produced big time talent like Da’Quan Bowers, Ricky Sapp and A. J. Cann was 0-3.

All those years of frustration ended Friday night with 3.6 seconds left on the clock with the scored deadlocked at 14-14 as the talented toe of senior quarterback/kicker Randon Sandifer’s 22-yard field goal out of the hold of Mitch Whetstone sailed through the uprights, giving the Red Raiders a 17-14 come from behind win over a (12-1) Hemingway team that was in its second straight lower state title appearance and setup a date with Abbeville at 12:00 noon Friday, November 26, at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium on the campus of Benedict College in Columbia for the State Class 1A Division 1 Championship.

“It feels great, I’ve got to give God all the glory,” B-E head coach Kevin “Butch” Crosby, only in his third year at the helm of the program said. “We’ve been asking and preparing for this day. These guys worked their tails off during the off season, preseason and summer workouts. They just deserve the opportunity to go off and try to prove they are number one,” Coach Crosby added.

Defeating the fast, undersized Tigers that Coach Crosby said were “everything he expected” required a supreme effort from the Red Raiders. Trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter with 10:09 left on the clock Randon Sandifer connected with a diving North- South selection Carl Anthony Williams on a 50-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 14-14 after a Sandifer PAT was good.

After two Red Raider defensive stops of the Tigers, the last coming with 3:47 left on the clock at the Hemingway 28, the Red Raider offense would mount the winning drive from their 47 resulting in Sandifer’s winning kick.

“We just told our defense to hold on tight one more time and they did a good job of hanging in there, the defensive coaches did a great job.”

“This feels amazing, I’ve never been this far in football,” Sandifer, who has played in the state baseball finals for the last three years and who Hemingway, tried to ice with three straight time-outs said.

The Red Raiders got on the board first at 4:09 of the first quarter on a four-yard run by senior Demetrius Williams and led 7-0 at halftime.

All of Hemingway’s points came in the third quarter on a 9- yard pass from Justin Pressley to Jabril Solomon at 9:42 and a 2- yard run by Pressley at 1:17 giving them a 14-7 lead at the time.

Coach Crosby, who was the Captain of the B-E team that played for a state championship in 1989 said that he was happy that this team has a chance to win a state championship. “We’ve been there and I kept telling those guys we’ve been there knocking on the doors and never been in. Finally we’ve got a chance to get in. It’s just an exciting feeling now. I’m happy for this team, I’m happy for the town, we’ve just got to put a good game plan together and come out ready to go and see if we can’t win this thing.”

1960 Student Sit-In

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Friday, November 12, was a day of remembrance; redemption and re-dedication for several former Voorhees College students, who participated in a student sit-in demonstration in 1960 in the City of Denmark and for those who had the opportunity to relive those events of 50-years ago with the former students.

“This is your day,” Voorhees College President Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers Jr., a legend in the Civil Rights Movement himself, told the men at the start of the reenactment at historic Menafee Hall on the campus of Voorhees College, where the sit-in demonstration was planned.

In spite of being warned by members of their families to “not go down there and get in any trouble” to a person each man said that it was something he had to do. “We were determined to go,” they said.

From the campus of Voorhees College, the group of men, now middle aged, traced their steps from the Voorhees College campus to the old Talbert’s Drug Store, located on Coker Street and now the site of the Bamberg County Democratic Party Headquarters, where they entered the establishment six times and were told each time “We don’t serve Negroes at the soda counter.”

Voorhees College Historian and Archivist Richard Reid, who coordinated the event that was reported in the Bamberg Herald 50-years ago, said he hoped the event would serve to educate the present generation. “I hope that they will get more of a sense of history,” Reid said, adding “I believe that they seem to think that things have been this way all the time.”

Herman Young, one of the former Voorhees College students who participated in the sit-in and who is now the Sheriff of Fairfield County, told a group of current students who witnessed the reenactment at a luncheon on the campus. “Do something you can be proud of, be committed to something.”

JDA Raiders Clinch

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Jefferson Davis Academy’s dynamic duo of seniors Edward Givens and Nic Jamison scored three touchdowns each, Matthew Webster threw a touchdown pass and Brandon Bates’ onside kick recovery propelled the Raiders to a 40-36 come from behind win over W.W. King Academy in the SCISA 8-Man Championship game in Saint Matthews Friday night.

“I’m just happy to win another,” JDA’s legendary coach Joey Lott, who claimed his third SCISA 8-Man State Championship at JDA and fifth overall as a coach said. “It was one of those that could’ve gone anyway,” Coach Lott added.

In explaining his team’s slow start in the championship game and trailing by 20-8 at halftime Coach Lott said the game had a “different feel, the kids mood wasn’t right,” which he said they turned it around after the second half kickoff. “We bent, but we didn’t break.”

Students form Partnership

Heather Ulmer

When I approached Ms. Barbra Starks, activities coordinator at UniHealth Post Acute Care of Bamberg formerly the Bamberg Nursing Center, she was more than happy to hear my request to begin a partnership with Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School. The number of student applicants surprised me –so many students were anxious to become involved in giving back to their community! For many students, their only hesitation was the “shot” that was necessary for volunteering – a TB test! They later found that it was not as big of a deal as they anticipated. Each student has been through an orientation and has began volunteering. Some students go every afternoon, others attend only a few days a week. All of the student volunteers have enjoyed serving the patients their meals, working in the business office, and even playing checkers or reading a book with the elderly! As the School-to-Work Coordinator, I am always looking for opportunities to get our students into “real world” activities so they are able to decide if they are truly interested in certain careers.

Boxing for Fun

Joyce M. Searson, Publisher

Bamberg Boxing Entertainment came about as a hobby when brothers Clint and Patrick Collins, along with several other friends, loved the sport of boxing and boxed for the fun of it.

"We began to think of how we could create something that would allow us to participate in boxing in front of a crowd. It started with two events with no admission charge.

Collins said if people wanted to come watch they were more than welcome and soon the event got very big. So big, that the SC Athletic Commission heard about it, and contacted them regarding sanctioning.

Collins says it was very difficult to do as there are major expenses involved. This led to charging admission at the gate to try pay for the expenses that incurred. Now the event is a regulated, sanctioned event by the SC Athletics Commission and they have to abide by its rules and regulations.

Fighters can participate in 5 events before they have to be classified as either amateur or professional. This event provides a venue for potential boxers who might want to go on and carry their boxing further. The idea is to let people participate, and upon reaching the 5 fight limit, offer them further opportunity to better themselves in the sport of boxing.