7/31/2019 July 12, 2012 Aiken Standard 1A

1/1

Tdays cast.Hgh 88. Lw 72.Cmlt 5-daycast, 6C

ContaCt usGnal cs.......................648-2311Nwsm...............................644-2401

Calendar ....... 5CClassifeds .... 4BCrossword .... 4CComics..........3CDear Abby .... 4CEditorials ....13A

Horoscope .... 4CLiving .......... 1CLottery ......... 3AMovies ......... 5CSports .......... 1BTelevision ..... 2C

InDEX

Vol. 146, No. 194 Aiken, S.C.

Y O U R L O C A L N E W S S O U R C E S I N C E 1 8 6 7.AikenstAndArd.com 75Thursday, July 12, 2012

ICE AGE 4drifts Into theaters, 1C

Yes, your paper does lookdierent this morning.

Weve redesigned theAikenStandard. We did so to makethe paper even easier to navi-gate and read. We hope youlike it.

We realize that most ev-eryone eels busier than inthe past, and that you nowhave many available sourcesor news. We want theAiken

Standardto continue to be avery valuable partner in yourlie.

Our headline and body ontshave changed. And were in-corporating more white spaceto help guide you through thepages.

Our redesign is actually

deeper than these cosmeticchanges.

Te new design was incor-porated into a change in ourcontent management system.his is the sotware used byour news department.

Were changing today toSaxotech. It is cloud-basedsoware meaning that thecomputer instructions arehoused elsewhere and we

access them through the In-ternet. Te soware not onlyhelps us track and group ourcontent internally, it makes itmuch easier to distribute ourcontent in other ormats, in-cluding the web and mobiledevices.

One thing that is not chang-

ing is our commitment to lo-cal news.

TeAiken Standardand itspredecessors have been yoursource or local news since1867. We remain committedto covering news that is vitalto your lives.

You may have read aboutother newspapers cuttingback on publication days,

and reducing stas. Neithero those is in the plans or theAiken Standard.

We greatly appreciate theloyalty our readers and ad-verti sers have shown to t heproducts o Aiken Commu-nications. Our sta workshard to provide you content inmany orms: daily newspaper,aikenstandard.com, Aike nStandardtelevision, and a host

o other special productions.We believe todays changes

help continue to provide youvaluable local inormation inormats that are easy and con-venient or you to use.

Your thoughts on our chang-es are important to us.

You may call me at 644-2345

or contact me by email atshunter@aikenstandard.com.

Execut ive Editor imOBriant is in charge o ournews operations. im can bereached by calling 644-2380.His email is tobriant@aiken-standard.com.

Mike Gibbons is our man-aging editor. Mikes phonenumber is 644-2381, and hisemail address is mgibbons@

aikenstandard.com.Tanks or reading and us-

ing our products.

Scott B. HunterPublisher

Newspaper launches new technology, design

Aiken StAndArd iLe pHoTo

Young violinists, from foreground, Conner Entzminger, Drew Winburn and Ashlyn Fox perform during an East Aiken School of theArts music assembly. Programs similar to these may see deep cuts after Gov. Nikki Haley has removed public funding.

BY HALEY HUGHEShhughes@aikenstandard.com

Representatives o local a rts organizationsare still reeling rom Gov. Nikki Haleys vetoremoving all unding or the state Arts Com-mission, which, last year alone, awarded near-ly $24,000 in grants to several Aiken groups.

Haleys veto not only wiped out all state andederal unding to the Arts Commission, butanother she issued also eliminated undingor the Sea Grant Consortium. Te agencieswere allocated a combined $2.4 million instate money rom the legislatures budget o$6.7 billion.

I think there is a misunderstanding o howvaluable the Arts Commission is, said Tur-mond Whatley, Aiken Community Playhouseboard member. It is not a charity. It is a unc-tioning, guiding organization. It is so muchmore than grants.

In her veto message, Haley said she would

rather let taxpayers decide what art charities

to support, that its not a government unct ion,according to the Associated Press.

Te public does decide,said hurmond Whatley,Aiken Community Play-house board member. Peo-ple are ree to buy tickets toanything in t he state.

Haley also said the ArtsCommission spent 30 per-cent o its money on ad-ministration, employeesand operating expenses,a igure Whatley said is

a screamingly good deal considering thehighly skilled and talented people workingat the Commission.

Haley delivered her vetoes mere minutesbeore her midnight deadline hursday ve days into the scal year creating whatComptroller General Richard Eckstrom

Arts face the axeHaleys cuts may hit local groups hard

BY KAREN DAILYkdaily@aikenstandard.com

Cumbee Center Executive Director Kay Mix-on said she is ghting mad about budget cutsthat she said will slash unding to rape crisiscenters across the state and severely impact lo-cal victims.

Gov. Nikki Haley should know better, shesaid.

As a woman, she should realize the needso these women, and victims, period, Mixon

Vetoes couldcut unding toCumbee Center

BY KAREN DAILYkdaily@aikenstandard.com

A treasurer or North Aiken Elemen-tarys Parent eacher Organization has

been charged with steal-ing thousands o dollarsrom the groups coersand jailed or breach otrust.

Lisa Y. Oakman, 32, oWillis Hill Road, acesone count o breach otrust with raudulent in-tent more than $2,000 butless than $10,000.

Investigators said shewas taking money rom checks she cashedor the PO and keeping money or herseland writing checks out to cash and keepingthat money.

Sgt. Jason Feemster with the Aiken CountySheris Ofce said the money has not been

returned at this time and he could not saywhat she allegedly did with the money.Between the months o November 2011

and June 2012, Oakman had taken moneythat was raised by students and aculty,Feemster stated.

Te schools principal, Rhonda Ray, con-tacted the authorities on June 26 aer nd-ing that the treasurer ailed to make theull deposits into the POs account withSecurity Federal Bank.

On Wednesday, Ray said there has beensome discussion at the district level aboutdisbanding the schools PO or the 2012-13 school year, but no decision has beenreached.

She said this was the rst year Oakmanserved with the PO.

Its extremely disappointing, Ray said.

North

AikenPOtreasurerarrested

Oakman

SCoTT HuNTershunter@aikenstandard.com

Linda Daniel Yount, ClmbaMary Francis Haynes Bentley,Lnclntn, N.C.

arEa DEaths

S Daths and nals, 6A

In thE nEws

Please see PTO,Page 14APlease see CUMBEE,Page 14APlease see ARTS,Page 14A

Haley

Hayden Baptist Churchcontinues to smolderA day at a Cchtn chch wasdstyd by , aa ghtscntn t t t fams thathav kndld vn at havyans satatd th aa.

S Lcal Nwss, 3A