The Top 10 News Stories of 2007

No. 1: Gaffney High stadium

Gaffney High School finally has its "Reservation" for a new football stadium.

With little debate, the Cherokee County School Board voted Aug. 5 to build an $8.5 million, 8,000- aluminum seat stadium between the high school and the district office.

The school board's decision marked the end of a contentious debate that dragged on for the better part of a year. Despite calls for a voter referendum and multiple efforts to reduce the overall cost, the final stadium contract awarded was only $200,000 more than a low bid rejected by school trustees in October of 2006.

Melloul Blamey Construction of Greenville began construction on the new stadium this fall. Plans include a 4-story press box, a tunnel, a team meeting room, halftime houses and bleachers with end zone seating for 250 band members. The bid does not include the playing surface.

The Gaffney Football Booster Club embarked on a fundraising effort to build two giant electronic scoreboards at the stadium.

In November, Gaffney played what is likely the final game at W.K. Brumbach Stadium. The Indians beat Lexington, 26-7, in the first round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

Gaffney is expected to open its new football stadium in late August. The stadium will replace The Reservation, which opened in 1937.

No. 2: WAGI sold

Radio listeners received a shock when they turned their dials onto WAGI-FM on Saturday, April 21.

At 12:05 a.m., the FM radio station switched to a Spanish-speaking format.

Davidson Media Group announced plans to purchase the FM station from the heirs to the estate of longtime station owners Raymond and Bright Parker.

President and General Manager of Gaffney Broadcasting Ron Owenby had a bittersweet reaction to the news.

"The first of June I'll have been there for 42 years," Owenby said in confirming the April sale. "It's like losing a member of your family."

WAGI 105.3 has been operating here since 1971. Davidson has a lease management deal to run the radio station, pending FCC approval of the sale.

Charlotte resident William Clay filed a petition in late November with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing the transfer of the WAGI radio station to the Davidson Media Group. In the petition, Clay claims Davidson Media Group has failed to abide by FCC regulations to air at least two hours of local programming while the license transfer request is under consideration.

Gaffney native and longtime broadcaster Dennis Fowler announced plans on April 25 to purchase the WEAC 1500 AM station from the Davidson Media Group. The AM sister station to WAGI has been in operation since 1962.

Fowler was still in negotiations to purchase the AM station when the year ended. His company, FBC Sports, did reach an agreement with WOLT 103.3 FM in Greer to continue a 25-year tradition of broadcasting Gaffney High football games.

No. 3: Weather woes

Extreme weather conditions significantly affected the way of lives of Cherokee County residents in 2007.

Freezing temperatures devastated 90 percent of the year's peach crop. Trees were left exposed to the elements after many of them bloomed early in a warmer-than-usual spring.

"There isn't much you can do. You are at the mercy of Mother Nature," local Clemson Extension Agent David Parker said. "It's not like you lose all the peaches over the course of one night. Sometimes it's the cumulative effect where you lose a little bit over several nights in a row until the crop is wiped out."

The peach industry is valued at $40 million and has a yearly economic impact of $100 million, according to the South Carolina Peach Council. There are at least 30 to 40 varieties of peaches grown in South Carolina on 18,000 acres of land.

The county and South Carolina also suffered the effects of a record drought.

Record temperatures and very little rainfall caused the Broad River to drop to disastrously low levels, along with contributing to several wells running dry in the Rock Springs community.

Many residents could not wash cars or their clothes, trying to conserve the precious resource, in addition to stopping a church in the community from filling its baptismal pool.

Blacksburg is currently working towards providing water service to the drought stricken community. The town received a $90,000 state grant that will go toward the project.

The county finished 21 inches below its normal average for the year. With the rest of winter and the early portion of Spring expected to be drier than normal, drought conditions are not expected to get any better in the near future.

No. 4: Airport proposal

Cherokee County is the only county in South Carolina without a general aviation airport. That might change in the coming year if plans set in motion in 2007 pan out.

A study released last March showed Cherokee County met or exceeded all Federal Aviation Administration guidelines for the justification of building a general aviation airport.

Conceptual plans released last year called for a 5,500-foot runway and a 5,000-square foot terminal.

Emboldened by the report, proponents of a Cherokee County airport spent considerable time trying to identify the best sites. The county will have to obtain 450 to 550 acres for the airport.

In mid-December, proponents learned they will have to look a little harder.

Because you can't build an airport too close to a nuclear power plant, the FAA and South Carolina Aeronautic Commission recently nixed three of eight proposed sites that were in close proximity - at least aeronautically - to the proposed Duke Energy nuclear plant.

Undaunted, local officials were continuing their search in December for additional sites.

No. 5: Nuclear plant developments

Duke Energy makes a return appearance on the list of top Cherokee County stories for its ongoing efforts in 2007 to build a nuclear power plant near McKown's Mountain.

While the $4 billion project still is years away from becoming reality, Duke Energy took several important steps in 2007.

Chief among those was the utility company's Dec. 13 filing of an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission - the government agency that overseas nuclear power - for a license to construct and operate a nuclear plant here.

While many things can sideline the project - Duke can change its plans or regulators might not approve it, for instance - the filings at least set many gears in motion.

The filing also represents a major monetary commitment, since the application process itself will cost millions of dollars.

Duke Energy, by the way, highlighted some of the costs it is expecting in another December filing, this one with the South Carolina Public Service Commission. The energy supplier is seeking permission to incur up to $230 million in pre-construction costs through 2009.

No. 6: Finally, our own theater

Offering a wealth of entertainment possibilities in its 60,000 square-foot facility, Cherokee County residents as well as others from surrounding counties have found Starmax as a good place to forget the issues of a long work week.

The $6.8 million facility opened to rave reviews in February. It contains eight state-of-the-art stadium seating movie theaters, a 16-lane bowling alley as well as children and adult arcades, a food court and a sports bar with seven plasma-screen televisions.

"The closest thing out there for people in Cherokee County used to be between 10 and 20 miles away in these locations," Kenny Gibbon, Starmax's marketing director, said. "But by building such a vast megaplex in this area, we are able to gather people in our community together in this place and possibly draw people from these other areas."

Since opening earlier this year, the facility has seen a lot of success, enabling it to roll out programs and special offers, which include a summer day camp for kids in addition to hosting corporate picnics at the location.

"This is merely our way of catering to the community," Gibbon said. "Without them, we as a business cannot survive.

"This has been a successful business and it continues to grow," Gibbon said. "From research we have some of the best services as far as movies, bowling and food are concerned. But to me, this is just the beginning as we want to get bigger and in the process be more successful."

No.7: SCC opens branch campus

Spartanburg Community College officially opened its Cherokee County branch campus.

Gaffney contractor Sossamon Construction completed a new academic classroom building in time for classes to start Sept. 17. An estimated 345 students enrolled in general education classes. Spartanburg Community College will initially offer two-year associate degree programs in art and science.

The college was selected in February to house a national recreational vehicle technical program. The two-year RV technician program began operation this fall in the SCC Foundation Training Center. It will be used in partnership with a Freightliner service facility already on the campus.

Spartanburg Community College has partnered with Duke Energy to offer a radiation protection technician program as part of a proposed plan to build a nuclear station in Cherokee County. Defensive driving and a gingerbread decorating contest were among the continuing education courses rolled out by the college.

No. 8: Good news, bad news

While not a banner year, 2007 did see Cherokee County make important gains in job creation.

The Upstate Corporate Park on the Cherokee County/Spartanburg County line announced its first tenant, the specialized plastics maker Bericap would build a 90,000- square-foot facility that would start with 45 employees. The company's decision represented an investment of roughly $20 million.

Munitions supplier DSE Inc., another newcomer, announced in 2007 it would renovate the former National Textile Building and employ as many as 215 people within five years. That plant could be operational by spring 2008.

Another company, Lesco, has already started construction on a 13,000-square-foot building on Overbrook Drive, where it will hire 45 to 55 people for customer service and information technology jobs.

Altogether, 350 new jobs were created in Cherokee County in 2007. However, the gains were offset by some losses. Hanson Brick in Blacksburg announced it was shutting down at the end of 2007, putting nearly 40 people out of work. A company spokesperson cited an ongoing downturn in the construction industry for the decision to close the local brick plant.

No. 9: Buildings and land deals

Limestone College launched a $4 million capital campaign in late January to restore the Winnie Davis Hall of History.

Winnie Davis was built in 1904 and closed by the college in 1977 for safety reasons. The historic classroom building is named for the daughter of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell Davis.

By December, Limestone College had raised 90 percent of the money necessary to start renovation work on Winnie Davis. The project will result in six wireless multimedia classrooms for history and honors courses, three museums and galleries, and several faculty offices.

Limestone College officials hope to start work on the project early this year.

Winnie Davis was one of several fundraising and land transactions that made the news in 2007.

Local dentists Drs. Hank and Michelle Bedell Jolly donated 20 acres of land on Pacolet Highway in January to the Village School of Gaffney.

The Village School started a $1.5 million capital campaign to build a new building for the nondenominational private Christian school. Current plans are to move into a new school in 2009.

The City of Gaffney used a $400,000 state budget appropriation in July to purchase the old Gaffney Post Office. The historic building on North Granard Street will house an artist gallery, visitors center, and community meeting room.

Gaffney Administrator James Taylor is currently working with the Craig, Gaulden and Davis architectural firm in Greenville to develop a project timeline and cost estimate.

Cherokee County YMCA officials began a capital campaign to build a new $3.8 million facility in 2008. The proposed 27,794-square foot facility will be built on an 11-acre site off Whelchel Road. It will include an outdoor pool, activity rooms, a large gymnasium and an aerobics area.

In a deal announced September 13, Sunny Slope Farms paid $41,300 to buy out the South Carolina Peach Festival lease. The festival board accepted this amount to end a 20-year lease on the Orchard Park site where it held concerts and other special events.

Sunny Slope Farms sold the property to a commercial investment group in late September.

No. 10: We lost some good people

Several prominent local residents died in 2007.

Less than a month into the year, Blacksburg Administrator and Fire Chief Danny McDaniel died unexpectedly at the age of 51 after suffering cardiac arrhythmia as a result of an enlarged heart.

"I've been around a lot of people, and I've lived a lot of places, but I don't know anyone with a bigger heart," Councilman Steve Wilson said of the man known affectionately as "Danny Mac." "It was cruelly ironic that they said his heart was twice its (normal) size."

City of Gaffney Public Works Director Sanford "Sanny" Wolfe Jr. along with former county administrator Tom Lynn passed away within days of each other in March and Cherokee Technology Center Director Ray Bedford died suddenly May 1.

More recently the county mourned the loss of Hamrick's,Inc. co-founder Edna Hamrick as well as Cherokee County School Trustee Ola Copeland.

For 66 years, Hamrick worked at the business' original location where she greeted and served customers. One of her former employees, Betty Bechtler said Hamrick was a special lady who will forever be remembered by employees and customers alike.

"Mrs. Hamrick worked alongside her husband, the late Oliver Hamrick, and her children in the retail store, rarely missing a day," Bechtler said. "She was a hard worker and an inspiration to the rest of us. When the big store opened on I-85, she kept her store going on Cherokee Avenue."

Hamrick was 89.

Copeland died in October while awaiting a kidney transplant.

Copeland, 61, was a former school board chairperson and had served on the school board since 1993.

Copeland was remembered by former board member Joe Dean Spencer as a friend and a help to everyone she met.

"Ola Copeland was a fine lady. We worked well together on the school board," Spencer said. "Outside of being on the school board, we continued to be friends and talked pretty regular. She always had the best interests of the children at heart. I considered her a true friend of mine."

(Compiled by Ledger Staff Writers Tim Gulla, Joe Hughes and Scott Powell)