A gentleman weathers the storm …

Dear Editor:
Several weeks ago, a letter from David Baker appeared on this page. It did not go far enough.

David served as the executive director of the Clarendon County Disabilities and Special Needs Board for over 20 years, until he was accused of mismanagement by two disgruntled former employees of the Board. For more than a year, David and his staff were subjected to a thorough and frustrating investigation by SLED and the S.C. Attorney General’s offices at the insistence of the S.C. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. When it was over, David was found to have done nothing against the law, and no charges were made.

It has been my honor to have served on the CCDSN Board for 23 years, and to support the work that David has done. He is “not much to look at” but he is a phenomenal person in every other respect. It would exceed the space on this page to describe all he has done for the people of this county. Deacon and teacher in his church, founding member of Civitan in Clarendon County, president of the Manning Rotary, organizer of the Striped Bass Festival Parade, state champion archer, board member of the Clarendon Christian Learning Center; and the list goes on and on.

But his best work has been for people who are not able to take care of themselves; the mentally and physically disabled, to whom he has devoted his entire adult life. He guided our Board from a staff of 20 or 30 to over 200 of the best, most dedicated people in this county taking care of in excess of 100 disabled citizens – 24/7.

It is ironic, I think, that his intense dedication to his people has also been to his personal disadvantage. You see, David is not a bureaucrat, in a department that is controlled by bureaucrats. He is, first, a caregiver; second, a businessman; and last (and least important) a crosser of “t’s” and a dotter of “i’s.”
His first concern (and should be the concern of all DDSN Boards) has been to take care of people. He had to bend the state’s “rules” in order to take care of Julia, who was bed-ridden all her adult life. He violated the “rules” by giving half a bundle of leftover shingles to the Boy Scouts. He broke the “rules” when he gave a staff member a day off for selling the most tickets for the “Cow Patty Plop,” which raised over $8,000 for the agency.

But, he also saved the CCDSN many thousands of dollars by taking an innovative approach to health insurance. And he was responsible for over $200,000 being given to the Clarendon County Disabilities Foundation. Again, the list could go on and on.

He did it all for the disabled and not for himself.

He has been enough of a gentleman to weather this storm and still sincerely wish our organization well. I wish that I could be as much a man.

Sincerely,
T.F. (Fin) Coffey
Manning, S.C.

Thanks for golf tournament support …

Dear Editor:
The Manning United Methodist Church Youth Group would like to thank the following sponsors of our Salkehatchie Golf Tournament that was held at Shannon Greens Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 31.

Without their support the tournament would not have been so successful: First Palmetto Savings Bank, NBSC, Bank of Clarendon, Brunson Pharmacy, Anderson Pharmacy, Geddings Hardware, The Manning Times, Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, Freeman Mill Works, IGA, Johnson, McKenzie and Robinson.

Winners were: 1st place: Bill Perry, Glen Ardis, Buck Taylor, H.B. Buddin; 2nd place: Bon Gardner, Vanessa Gardner, Bobby Pierce, Darrell Turner; 3rd place: Noah Griffith, Chris Lee, Louis Griffith, Jake Buddin; 4th place: Wallace Roberts, Wayne Roberts, Betty Ellis and Bob Cunningham.

Congratulations to all the winning teams!

Sincerely,
Manning UMC Youth
Manning, S.C.