ISSUE: The big story of 2008

OUR VIEW: Traumatic month is less in the dangers of law enforcement

Orangeburg and The T&D Region had their share of exposure to the big stories in 2008. Beyond the impact on all of the economic downturn, consider the region was a popular stop for the nation's president-elect during the national campaign, experienced a devastating tornado of the type normally making headlines in the Midwest and had a sports team establish the nation's longest basketball winning streak.

Sen. Barack Obama had made previous stops in South Carolina, once back during his 2004 Senate campaign, and again before and during the 2007 Democratic presidential debate. In January 2006, just ahead of the key S.C. primary, he returned with a star-studded cast to make a final push for what would be a major victory here. The rest of the story is history.

Branchville has made a miraculous recovery from a tornado that literally destroyed the center of town. Considering the major twister has been labeled "South Carolina's perfect storm," the blessing is the toll was not worse.

Calhoun County's basketball team set the national record for victories with 78 in a row en route to a third consecutive state title.

The three stories ranked among The Times and Democrat's top 10 for 2008 as reported in the Sunday, Dec. 28, edition, and online at www.TheTandD.com. Other big stories were the continuing developments surrounding the proposed Jafza logistics center, selection of a new president at South Carolina State University, Bamberg County Hospital's sale of its nursing center, the sale of the parent company of the former Orangeburg National Bank, the trial of a man for killing a Springfield pastor and Starbucks opening a plant in Calhoun County.

Ironically, the top story of the year was announced on the same day that The Associated Press was reporting a decline in the number of line-of-duty law enforcement fatalities nationwide from 2007 to 2008.

The trend defied events locally, which resulted in the death of a law officer. And things could have been even worse.

We call it "May mayhem," that month that saw the death of Cpl. William Howell Jr. of the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office. Howell was brutally gunned down while responding to a domestic call.

A day later, a state trooper was shot four times while making a traffic stop.

Two weeks later, a suspect said he didn't fire a rifle at a deputy because the weapon jammed.

Then, on May 21, North Carolina surgeon as shot by Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers in what police say was an attempt to abduct his estranged 11-year-old son from an Orangeburg residence. The man fired multiple times at the officers trying to defuse the situation.

Sheriff Larry Williams said of the month: "It was a sequence of events that I've never experienced and never want to experience again. You adopt each one of these individuals as one of your own. You're concerned about their betterment and welfare, and to have one struck down in ... just trying to help someone. It was very traumatic for all of us."

Traumatic indeed.

In reporting the national numbers down from 181 deaths in 2007 to 140 officer deaths in 2008 -- and the number of gunfire deaths down from 68 to 41 -- the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the group Concerns of Police Officers cited better training and tactics as reasons behind the reduction in fatalities.

That may be one key reason that despite the tragic loss of Cpl. Howell, the May incidents resulted in no further loss of life. But one death is too one too many. Cpl. Howell's fate is a reminder to officers and all of the dangers that may await on the next call or around the next curve. And not just in a dramatic month in a year of big stories.

You must be logged in to comment.