Don Sandifer named to All-America squads

Francis Marion University sophomore right-handed pitcher Don Sandifer has been named to the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) 2011 NCAA Division II All-America Team (third team), while also earning honorable mention All-America status from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

The Bamberg native becomes the fifth All-American in the history of the FMU program, joining shortstop Barrett Kleinknecht (2010), right-handed pitcher Dylan Owen (2007, 2006), pitcher and designated hitter Daniel Vizzini (1990), and infielder Mike Wilson (1979).

Sandifer ended the 2011 campaign with an 11-3 record and a 2.33 earned run average. He led the Peach Belt Conference in wins, strikeouts (105), and opponents’ batting average against at .193. In 108 innings pitched, he allowed only 75 hits and walked just 16, ranking him 31st nationally in fewest bases-on-balls issued per nine innings. He recorded six complete games, including a school-record three shutouts.

Sandifer took a no-hitter into the fifth inning in five of his 14 starts, including a Feb. 19 nine-inning no-hitter against Winston-Salem State University. In that contest, the 10th no-hitter in school history, Sandifer struck out 14 batters as the Patriots prevailed 13-0 against a team that would eventually advance to the NCAA Tournament.

As the team’s No. 1 starter, he helped lead Francis Marion to a 41-16 record, a national Top-10 ranking, the PBC regular season championship, and a third straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. In the NCAA Southeast Regional, Sandifer allowed only 12 hits and four earned runs in 15 innings of work while picking up a win and a no decision and being named to the All-Tournament Team.

He was named the Peach Belt’s Pitcher of the Year for 2011 and was also named to several All-Region teams. He was picked for the ABCA’s 2011 preseason All-America squad as well.

The team’s 41 victories equals the most in program history, and the Patriots advanced to the regional title game for the second consecutive year.

Bamberg High Classes

The Bamberg High School Class of 1958 along with the 1957 and 1959 classes celebrated a DICK WELDON APPRECIATION NIGHT on Saturday, May 21st at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Dallas Lovelace in Orangeburg. Coach Weldon along with his wife, Deane, and their sons and grandsons were able to attend this celebration. Approximately 70 people were in attendance.

The Class of 1958 honored Coach Weldon with a plaque in recognition of his years of coaching at Bamberg High School from 1952 through 1964.

He coached all sports and also was a history teacher. While Coach Weldon was at Bamberg High School, the school won the State championship in football, basketball and baseball. But more than his coaching, he left a lasting impression on many lives. Also, Coach Weldon was made a honorary member of the Class of ’58. He was roasted by numerous members of all three classes.

Unsafe Traffic Situation

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

City of Bamberg Police Officers were at the scene of a logging truck that broke down blocking traffic on Highway 301 south near Bamberg Street which caused an unsafe situation and resulted in charges against the driver. According to a Bamberg Police report, the Denmark truck driver told officers that the truck had lost a gear and would not move. After observing several men working on the truck and then standing in the shade talking for 30 minutes, police warned them that they needed to move the truck.

When the truck was not removed the driver was charged with unlawful parking of a semi, unsafe vehicle and failure to register a vehicle.

Seniors vulnerable to Internet scams

We're forever warning teenagers to be careful online – don't reveal personal information to strangers, avoid scams, report bullying behavior. The same advice may be appropriate for grandma and grandpa as well. Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of new Internet users, as they've discovered email, online shopping and banking, social networking, travel planning and other online conveniences.

Even the most tech-savvy among us sometimes fall prey to online scammers, so if your parents or grandparents have recently taken the online plunge, here are some safety tips you can share:

Update security software. Make sure their computers have anti-virus and anti-spyware software and show them how to update it regularly.

Think like the bad guys. Even the best software isn't 100 percent foolproof, so teach them how to anticipate and ward off annoying – or criminal – behavior. For example:

• Only open or download information from trusted sites to which you navigated yourself. Don't assume a link contained in an email, even from a friend, will necessarily take you to a company's legitimate website.

• Don't click on pop-up windows or banners that appear when you're browsing a site.

• Common email scams that target seniors include offers for discounted drugs and low-cost insurance, and supposed warnings from the IRS – which incidentally, never contacts taxpayers by email.

• Financial institutions never email customers asking for verification of account or password information.

• When shopping online, look for safety symbols such as a padlock icon in the browser's status bar, an "s" after "http" in the URL address, or the words "Secure Sockets Layer" (SSL) or "Transport Layer Security" (TLS). These are signs that the merchant is using a secure page for transmitting personal information.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt - Post-Season Honors

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

The 2011 spring sports season was another successful one at BEHS with a number of athletes being recognized for post season honors.

In baseball Randon Sandifer was chosen for the North-South All-Star Game set for June 17-18 in Myrtle Beach SC and Sandifer was named the Class 1A Baseball Player of the Year. In softball Khristian Murdock and Tori Craig earned All-State honors from the S.C. Coaches Association of Women’s Sports. Murdock was also the Region 5- A Player of the Year and will appear in the SCCAWS 2011 North-South All-Star Games set for June 15-16 at the University of South Carolina at Aiken.

In soccer the following B-E athletes were named to the All Region 5-A Soccer team: Zeb Hutto, Sheldon Grimes, Brent Cook and Orrin Hightower. In Track, Brittney Hughes and Nykia McDonald both qualified for the state finals with Nykia McDonald finishing 4th in the 100 and 200 meter finals. Brittney Hughes finished 7th in the 1600 meter run. The B-E golf team had a good showing finishing 7th in the state tournament.

The B-E athletic teams did so well in all sports this year as noted in an article in the T&D that they outdistanced all area schools again this year in the S.C. Athletic Administrators Association Director’s Cup point system which recognizes the state’s top high school athletic programs.