Sparkle City headlines

Cheri Burnett Abraham

What’s new in the local news this week? Below is a grab-bag of stories that caught the attention of the Spark this week.

Headline: Employee took $750,000 at Christian Supply, owner says
Source: Herald-Journal / GoUpstate.com
Story: Click here
In a nutshell: “Christian Supply owner Chuck Wallington told police an employee embezzled about $750,000 between Jan. 1, 2007, and Aug. 19 of this year. An employee at this Christian Supply store embezzled nearly three-quarters of a million dollars, the store’s owner says. Cheri Burnett Abraham, 50, of 105 Sheldon Drive, Moore, on Wednesday was charged with breach of trust by the Spartanburg Public Safety Department. The arrest warrant states that Abraham took more than $5,000, but the incident report states that the figure was 150 times that amount, nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.”

Thoughts Although any embezzlement story is likely to be interesting on its own, this one has the added flourish of impacting a Christian-oriented business. Sure, it’s not exactly the same league as robbing a church — this is a business, like any other — but in the public’s mind, the act of stealing from a place that sells things to the faithful isn’t far from actual sacrilege. While the story (also covered by WYFF) is filled with nice, juicy details, there’s a certain amount of missed opportunity here by the Herald-Journal. According to the article, Abraham used the business names “Living By Design” and “Domestics LTD” to pay herself out. Are these real side businesses she runs? It’s often the case that embezzlers get into trouble for using company money to keep afloat their own massive debts — often from gambling, but occasionally from things like failed business ventures. Is that what’s going on here?

The other thing that bothers me about this is that there’s an assumption that Wallington, the owner of Christian Supply, is completely in the right, even though his claim doesn’t appear to match the facts. It’s an understandable leap — the article states that Abraham hung up on the reporter when called, making it all but impossible to get another perspective on the story — but there’s a huge difference between the $5000 she’s being charged with stealing and the $750,000 Wallington claims is missing.

That’s a roughly the difference between the cost of used Toyota versus a large downtown building, but the H-J just kind of leaves it there, unexplained. What’s the reason for the descrepancy? In effect, we’re told that Abraham stole three-quarters of a million dollars, even though she’s not actually charged with that. It’s a little sloppy and unfair on the H-J‘s part to run with this claim without at least addressing it. The implication seems clear, though, that she did it. Maybe she did, but hold off on the claims by the business owner until the woman has a chance to talk with her lawyer at least. Until then, go with the facts — she was arrested for stealing more than $5000 — not accusation about what she might also be guilty of.

Still, it’s an interesting story, and I hope their follow-up reports answer some of these questions.

Headline: Eager for Halloween? See Creature Feature
Source: Herald-Journal / GoUpstate.com
Story: Click here
In a nutshell: “Watching a performance by the Shane Pruitt Band is akin to a spiritual experience” … and more things like that.
Thoughts:Before I get into this, let me just say that I have a very good idea where Dan Armonaitis’ “Club Scene” previews are coming from. I’ve written exactly this kind of thing for years, and after the 20th time you’ve written about some local band playing yet another local show, it becomes a challenge to find something fresh to say. So, when Armonaitis writes “Watching a performance by the Shane Pruitt Band is akin to a spiritual experience,” I mostly see a strained bit of hyperbole, rather than an honest view that Pruitt’s music will profoundly impact my life.

Likewise, when he writes that Creature Feature is little more than a year-round halloween band, rather than a band following more-or-less directly in the tradition of acts like The Misfits, what I see is a good writer failing to get the story because he’s either too overworked, or would rather not be writing about it in the first place. Unfortunately, it makes for a crummy read, and it kind of comes across as flippant to the band, which probably deal with enough of that stuff as is, given their genre.

I’ve been there and I totally understand, but it’s kind of a shame to have someone like Armonaitis doing on these kinds of write-ups, which are among the most boring jobs in arts writing.

He’s a good writer — his recent story on Matthew Knights Williams was one of the better music stories I’ve read in the H-J since moving to town — but watching him phone in sentences like “Formed in 1998, the band has built a loyal following in the Upstate with its infectious brand of power pop and modern garage rock that draws from such influences as Weezer, Dashboard Confessional and the White Stripes,” makes me think he read the band’s press release or MySpace, and nothing more.

Headline: Discussions turn to county zoning, rural character
Source: Herald-Journal / GoUpstate.com
Story: Click here
In a nutshell: “In a community deeply divided over the notion of zoning, one novel idea was floated Thursday night at Anderson Mill Elementary School: Redefine it.”
Thoughts: Wow. Just … wow. Should we be surprised that real estate agent Neal Boyett wants to have the County and its citizens living in a state of denial? Props to H-J reporter Jason Spencer for going with that in the lede. It’s the classic land developer’s response to a huge outcry of public concern: Call it something else and do it anyway, because money — or, from the County’s perspective, potential new tax revenue — talks.

It reminds me of a scene from the film Erik the Viking, where a benevolent King (played by Monty Python’s Terry Jones) of a peaceful island paradise refuses to admit — or let his subjects believe — that their home is sinking into the ocean right before their eyes. “Everyone stay calm!” the king pleads, “This is not happening!” Then, they all drown.

Regardless of which side of the zoning debate you’re on, the reality is that something will eventually have to give. As Spartanburg grows, some kind of controls will have to be put in place, else the county becomes one huge sprawl. The real question is what form is it going to take, and whose interests will be represented at the table when the rules are written? Call it what you like — “land-use ordinance,” smart growth, county land planning, whatever — but the end result is the same. If rural land owners want to have some control over the outcome here, they’ve got to be willing to make their presence known. Thus far, they appear to be doing just that, but it may be only a matter of time before these discussions become more and more clandestine, and the items begin to appear at the last moment on the County’s agenda. I’ve seen this before, and it’s never pretty.

As the infrastructure changes, there will only be more of these kinds of debates, and property-rights advocates will only become more frustrated, angry and — if experience is any indicator — defeated by the decisions make by local government. Expect more of these fights, not less, and expect them to turn bitter and mean before any kind of resolution happens.

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