Pink pumpkin project makes a statement
"A family member died of breast cancer two years ago."
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com
      Megan Collins took a novel approach when it came time to turn in her pumpkin for a Halloween project in English. In the spirit of Halloween, Blacksburg High English teacher Pam Hughes asked her students to paint and dress up pumpkins to look like popular characters from books.
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Town hires new cop
By JOE L. HUGHES II Ledger Staff Writer joe@gaffneyledger.com
      Blacksburg town officials took little time Tuesday in granting a local resident a place on the municipality's police force. Town Council along with Blacksburg Police Chief Jamie Ham decided to hire local fireman and former Gaffney Police Department auxiliary officer Brandon Heath Dorsett during council's regularly scheduled meeting.
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Public invited to comment on plan
      The public is invited to give comments and recommendations for a statewide action plan for higher education at a public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. in the Tracey Gaines Auditorium on the Spartanburg Community College central campus.
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     TAKE THAT — It's unclear if a vandal was happy with the results of last Tuesday's election, angry with the results of the election, or just mindlessly selected a stationary target. Regardless of the vandal's political view, however, the Cherokee County Republic Party will be left footing the bill. According to a police report released on Friday, someone kicked the sign outside the Cherokee County Republican Party headquarters on East Floyd Baker Boulevard sometime between 8 p.m. on election day and noon on Nov. 6, breaking it in two. Damage was estimated at $500.
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School district implements cost-saving measures to deal with state budget cuts
"We don't want to lose people or have to furlough any employees like other state agencies."
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com
      Rather than losing employees, the Cherokee County School District hopes saving money will allow it to absorb mid-year budget cuts. State lawmakers cut $400,000 in school funding from the district's $61.7 million budget during a special session in late October, a move made necessary due to a shortfall in state tax revenue collections.
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Candidates face fines if signs have not been removed
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Staff Writer larry@gaffneyledger.com
      The November 4 election may be a distant memory for many county residents, but not for Gaffney Zoning Administrator Tony Lavender.
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OBAMA VISIT
     U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama is shown with J.V. Martin Junior High Principal Amanda Burnette during a campaign visit in South Carolina. Burnette, a Gaffney resident, is a principal specialist at J.V. Martin Junior High in Dillon. During the campaign, Obama frequently made reference to J.V. Martin as an example of the need to provide more equitable schools in America.
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Consumer Affairs rep will be here Nov. 17
      Patty Guthrie, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs' Regional SCDCA outreach coordinator, will be at the Cherokee County Public Library, 300 E. Rutledge Ave., on Monday, Nov. 17, to handle consumer complaints and questions. Consumers may come with questions or complaints regarding a business between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
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Bank offering residents chance to 'Be an Angel'
      The Palmetto Bank will offer residents across the Upstate a chance to make a difference in the lives of children during the holiday season with the bank's thirteenth annual "Be An Angel!" program.
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American Education Week to be observed Nov. 16-22
Schools will hold open houses
      Local schools will observe American Education Week on November 16-22. County schools will hold open houses in connection with this year's theme "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility." Visitors can visit schools on the following days between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
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Fired Veterans Affairs Office employees' grievance will be heard today
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Staff Writer larry@gaffneyledger.com
      The two fired Veterans Affairs Office clerks are expected to plead their case today before the county's grievance committee. The hearing for Kathy Love and Michele Tucker is set for 10:30 a.m. at the county administration building, Cherokee County Clerk Doris Pearson said.
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Blacksburg residents pack shoe box gifts for hurting children worldwide
      BLACKSBURG - It's a heartbreaking reality. Millions of boys and girls around the world live in difficult circumstances and are in desperate need of hope. Whether they are slum dwellers in Calcutta or orphans in Johannesburg, children long to know that they are loved.
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     4-F MEETING THURSDAY - The next meeting of the 4-F Club at Draytonville Baptist Church will be Thursday, Nov. 13, at noon in the church's Family Life Center. Cobb Barnhill, left, and Mickey Harmon, right, enjoy some banana pudding at a recent meeting.
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POLICE REPORT
      Two storage units at a West Floyd Baker Boulevard selfstorage business were broken into recently. Some time between Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, someone broke into a unit leased by a Bratton Drive resident and took three television sets, a blue Lazy Boy, a curio clock with shelves, and destroyed a wooden book case. Theft losses are estimated at $6,000.
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POLICE REPORT
      A woman who was away from her home for a Nov 6. funeral service discovered it had been burglarized upon her return, according to a report at the Gaffney Police Department. Police said someone gained entry to the home in the 200 block between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. by breaking a rear window.
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POLICE REPORT
      An AK-47 assault rifle was among the items missing from a Bear Creek Road home in Blacksburg following a recent burglary. According to the Cherokee County Sheriff's office, someone entered the home in the 500 block between Nov. 7 and Nov. 9 and took the rifle, a safe and two gold rings. The value of the items is estimated at $1,400.
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     COLLISION — A woman was taken to Upstate Carolina Medical Center following a two-vehicle crash that occurred just a few hundred yards away from the hospital. Full details weren't immediately available but a small Kia sedan and a Gaffney Cab taxi collided on North Limestone Street on Tuesday afternoon directly in front of the Peachtree Centre elderly care facility. The driver of the Kia was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She was awake and conversing with paramedics at the scene. The South Carolina Highway Patrol was investigating the wreck.
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Gaffney Rotary Club hosts District Governor Carol Burdette
      Gaffney Rotary Club President Phil Orr and fellow Rotarians recently hosted District 7750 Governor Carol Burdette. In the photo at left, Burdette addresses the Gaffney club.
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