Holly Tolson, 3, with parents Marty and Christie in the living room of their Lamar home.

“We’ve all stubbed out toes on this stuff more than once,” says mom Christie, gesturing to the heavy tube steel frames of Holly’s stander chair.

One quadrant of the living room is occupied by learning supplies, toys and exercise equipment to stave off Holly’s muscular atrophy. The adjoining kitchen holds contains Holly’s large stander wheelchairs and hammock swing. A small bedroom has been converted to a medical supply room. Holly’s room – a pretty pink haven of stuffed animals and hair bows – also houses machines to loosen stubborn mucus and assist her breathing. Nearly every bit of usable space (excluding the bedroom of 11-year-old brother Zach) has been annexed to fight SMA – and the need keeps growing.

Holly was diagnosed with Type 1 SMA just a few months after she was born. SMA is a motor neuron disease that weakens muscles needed for every sort of activity, from crawling and walking to head and neck control. One in 6,000 babies are affected with SMA, and just 10 percent of Type 1 patients live to the age of 2. Holly is beating the odds, having just celebrated her third birthday.

Each day, caregivers like dad Marty, Christie and nurse Charlene Johnson help Holly surmount the challenges her condition presents. Her muscles are so weakened that she simply flops like a ragdoll and cannot sit or stand unassisted. Holly needs a rigid abdominal brace to support her torso and ease breathing. Her throat and chest muscles are unable to cough or even swallow; she requires suction machines to clear out saliva and pull out mucus. Holly can’t take food by mouth, and is fed a blend of protein powder, rice milk, juice and baby food through a stomach tube. Her lone muscular movement is now restricted to slight flexing of her wrists.

Though Holly’s physical condition has not improved, her mental acuity gets sharper by the day. Using a computer that senses the movement of her eyes, Holly can complete quizzes, trigger the computer to speak short phrases and watch favorite Disney clips as a reward. She is currently doing schoolwork through the homebound program and could start attending classes (with her computer and Nurse Charlene in tow) in March.

“She’s doing excellent. She’s learning to do her communication device and work her (motorized) wheelchair. It’s just been really busy from age two to three,” says Christie, noting that between her school lessons and constant physical therapy appointments, Holly’s life is pretty hectic.

Little Holly’s stubborn spirit and her family’s devotion made the Tolsons a perfect candidate for an “Extreme Home Makeover,” and they were in consideration until the ABC television network pulled the plug on that altruistic – and expensive – show. Moved by the family’s plight, members of the Lamar community have organized an effort to build an addition onto the Tolson’s house.

A modest 16-foot by 24-foot expansion would greatly ease space constraints and a deck and ramp would make wheelchair access far easier and safer. Construction plans have been approved, and a local church has agreed to collect donations for the project. Donations will be collected through the end of March by Will of Faith Methodist Church in Lamar.

A fundraising Hope for Holly motorcycle ride has been scheduled for Saturday, March 24 as well. The guided ride will begin at Doug’s Harley Davidson of Florence with sign-ups starting at 11 a.m. The ride ends at Darlington Moose Lodge #595 with food and live entertainment. Cost for the ride is $20 per bike, $10 per passenger. Non-riders are welcome to attend the party starting at 1:30 p.m. for a $10 donation. All proceeds will help with Holly’s medical needs.

For more information on the Hope for Holly Benefit Ride, call Charlene Martin at (570) 274-0263 or Marty Tolson at (843) 230-5137, or email hopeforholly@yahoo.com.

To learn more about how you can help with the home addition fund, contact Lamar Town Council member Guy Clemens at (843) 230-6781.

By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, The (Darlington) News & Press

slyles@newsandpressonline.com

“It’d be nice if people honored these people to give them a little bit of help,” said Sharon Gill of Darlington.

Gill, now a great grandmother, threw a grandmother shower for her daughter, Tammie Sullivan, in January. She found the idea while she was searching for shower ideas online.

A grandmother shower works much like a baby shower except the honored guest is the new grandmother. There are typical baby shower games, food and fun. People bring gifts of pacifiers, bottles, strollers, crib sheets, wet pads and burp pads among other items.

“Things you normally wouldn’t stock,” Gill said, noting many haven’t had a baby in the house for 20 years or more when they become grandparents. Any baby items they had usually have been given away to help someone else long ago.

“We want to make it easy on her, so when she has that baby she can enjoy it,” Gill said.

Several family members or friends can pitch in to purchase bigger items such as a stroller, car seat or high chair.

If birth mother forgets a necessary item or you need a spare change of clothes or sheets, it will be there for the grandmother while she keeps the child.

“When I was a grandmother, I certainly had a daughter that did forget things. Sometimes I didn’t have what I needed, but fortunately I was able to make do,” Gill said. “It would’ve helped me.”

Even if the child stays just for three to four hours, they may wet their clothes or sheets.  “It’s nice to have a spare,” she said.

A gift registry is not advised. Any questions on brands or ideas for what may be needed should be referred to the mother, though Gill said no gift is too small.

While some questioned the idea at first, saying that she was messing with a pregnant woman, Gill had great support and even pulled off the shower as a surprise. She got the mothers-to-be’s blessings too. Some grandmother showers have a special table for the mothers while some simply acknowledge her during the party.

Gill said everyone at the shower enjoyed the event, and Sullivan was happy to have the help to enjoy her two new grandchildren. Her son, Levi Dixon, and his wife had their baby boy Jan. 8 and named him Stone Levi Dixon. Her other grand baby, Ella Craig, was born Jan. 23.

Tips to hold your own grandmother shower

Keep it low-key, fun and two hours or less.

Choose a different day and time for the shower than the mother’s shower.

Invite friends who are grandparents or hope to be grandparents soon.

The mom-to-be does not have to be there, but do be sure to recognize her.

Play a few shower games.

Pass around milestone photos of the mother-to-be growing up.

Serve snacks, drinks and baby shower cake, cookies or cupcakes.

Don’t forget some small favors for guests.

Don’t set up a registry. That’s for the mother-to-be. (But that’s not to say you can’t reference her registry for gift ideas for preferred brands of items.)

Gifts can be as small as brag books and towels, or guests can pool their funds for bigger items like a crib, stroller or car seat.

By Lisa Chalian-Rock, Editor, The (Darlington) News & Press

lisa@newsandpressonline.com

South Carolina’s child custody law would see its biggest overhaul in decades under a bill that has sailed through the S.C. House.

The bill (H. 4614), sponsored by Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, spells out definitions of joint and sole custody for the first time in the S.C. Code of Laws – something which, according to family law attorneys, has varied depending on the Family Court judge hearing a case. The proposal also lists 15 factors that judges can consider in awarding custody.

There were 3,372 child custody and visitation cases filed statewide last fiscal year, which ended June 30, plus another 987 cases in which modification of child custody or visitation was sought, according to figures from the S.C. Judicial Department.

Pitts’ bill, which was introduced on Jan. 17, unanimously cleared the House last week and is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Meanwhile, S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal is expected to ask lawmakers Wednesday in her annual state-of-the-judiciary speech for six more Family Court judges and three additional Circuit Court judges to deal with increasing caseloads.

Currently, there are 52 Family Court and 46 Circuit judges in the state. A bill (H. 4699) introduced last week by Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville and an attorney, would add six Family Court judges and six Circuit Court judges to the state bench.

Gov. Nikki Haley has called for the addition of three Family Court judges. Family Court judges are paid $126,883 annually; the yearly salary for Circuit Court judges is $130,312.

In a recent interview with The Nerve, Pitts, a retired police officer, said his bill is “an attempt for both parties who really want to be involved with their child to be equally involved with their child.”

“If you’re going to be equally accessible to the child, you’re going to be equally responsible for the child,” he said.

Under the bill, joint custody means that “both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child, including the child’s education, medical and dental care, extracurricular activities, and religious training.”

It doesn’t mean, according to the bill, that a child “must spend an equal amount of time with each parent.”

A similar bill (H. 4095) introduced last year by Pitts defined joint physical custody as “equal time-sharing,” but Pitts told The Nerve that the measure bogged down in the House because other lawmakers felt that a proposed presumption of joint physical custody in joint custody cases went too far.

Pitts said a problem with current custody cases is that non-custodial parents – often fathers – typically pay a large percentage of child support while being allowed to spend relatively little time with their children and having little input into major decisions involving the children.

He also pointed out that other non-custodial parents – often fathers – will push for joint custody as a way of shirking their financial responsibilities to their children.

Pitts said he drafted his latest proposal after spending months getting input from family law attorneys, judges and others. Pitts, who is chairman of a House Ways and Means subcommittee that oversees the Judicial Department’s budget, noted he met with Toal on the bill.

The bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee about a week after it was introduced and received unanimous votes on the second and third readings in the House last week. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and an attorney.

Besides defining joint and sole custody, the bill also would require for the first time that parents submit a proposed “parenting plan” to the court at the start of a custody case. The plan would reflect “parental preferences, the allocation of parenting time to be spent with each parent, and major decisions” involving the child, according to the bill.

Pitts said he believes that provision would help “take some of the adversarial atmosphere out of child custody proceedings.”

Another important part the bill would set up a system in which an arbitrator would decide “significant” disputes that arise after a final custody order issued by a Family Court judge.

Longtime Columbia family law attorney John McDougall says he is concerned about the arbitration requirement, which stipulates that the parties share equally in the cost of the arbitrator, who typically is another attorney or a retired judge.

“The problem with this bill is, what happens to people who can’t afford to pay an arbitrator?” McDougall said. “Are we saying that arbitration is only for wealthy people?”

McDougall said although Pitts’ proposal is “not a bad bill” overall, he believes it will “really overburden” Family Court judges during initial hearings.

That’s when judges, because of huge caseloads, typically take only about 15 minutes to decide custody, support, alimony and other issues, McDougall said. Detailed parenting plans would only add to the large amount of paperwork judges already have to decipher, he said.

The parenting plans also would likely increase the cost of a divorce proceeding, McDougall said. Attorneys typically put in five to 10 hours preparing for the initial hearing, which can cost the litigant $1,000 to $2,500 on the low end, he said.

Jay Elliott of Columbia, another veteran family law attorney, told The Nerve last week that he believes defining joint custody in the law is a good thing, noting that currently it “means different things to different people” in court proceedings.

Joint custody, however, usually is not granted in South Carolina because the parents typically can’t get along, Elliott said.

Elliott said he also supports a provision in the bill that would allow Family Court judges to consider, among other factors, the wishes of the child in determining custody. Current state law already requires that judges consider a child’s preference.

He said he is a “fierce” critic of the current guardian-ad-litem system in custody proceedings, contending that persons appointed by the court to represent the child’s interests often “don’t even consider what the child wants.”

But Elliott questioned whether a mutually agreeable parenting plan as cited in Pitts’ bill would be practical in most cases, noting, “If they didn’t get along when they were married, how are they going to get along when they’re divorced?”

Columbia family law attorney Monet Pincus told The Nerve last week that because the bill requires judges to consider joint custody in contested cases, it could have the unintended effect of encouraging the parents to go to trial instead of trying to settle their custody disputes in advance because “there would be nothing to lose.”

Because most final custody orders designate one parent as having sole custody, that tends to encourage both parents to settle their differences, she said.

Another main problem Pincus said she has with the bill is that the best-interests-of-the-child standard used in determining custody is not as clearly defined when compared with court rulings on the issue.

“I think it’s really hard to legislate what the best interests of the child are,” Pincus said. “It varies from case to case and parent to parent.”

Pitts said the state’s child custody law hasn’t been changed significantly since the 1970s.

“It wouldn’t be a complete 180 from how our Family Court system works, but it would definitely take it in a different direction,” he said about his bill.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 254-4411 or rick@thenerve.org.

Phil Noble

by Phil Noble

A couple of weeks ago, I did a column about lobbyists and the SC Legislature, and from what I hear, it created quite a stir.

Folks were outraged that there were so many lobbyists making so much money to influence our elected officials. This column is about how they do their lobbying business …over free food and liquor.

Researchers at The Nerve website (a publication of the South Carolina Policy Council) recently released details of how lobbyists spend money to provide free food and drink to legislators while they bend their ear about their special interest clients, and believe it or not,,it’s worse than you think.

First a little background: back in the 1990’s we had a major legislator / lobbyist scandal called ‘Lost Trust.’ Basically, about 10% of the Legislature pleaded guilty to taking money and other goodies from sleazy lobbyists. In response to the public outcry, the Legislature did pass a half-way ethics reform bill. It did not go near far enough, but it was a start.

One of the provisions was that lobbyists could not pay for the food and drink of individual legislators, but they could host an event for the whole legislature. So now we have the wholesale practice of special interest groups providing virtually every breakfast, lunch and dinner to the whole legislature.

It’s so bad, in fact, that both the House and Senate have a special ‘Invitations Committee’ to manage and co-ordinate all the offers to feed the legislature. The Nerve reported that so far this year there were already 120 scheduled events on the Invitations Committee’s list – and we are only in the first month of the legislative session.

Since most of the time the legislators don’t show up for work until about noon on Tuesday and leave in the afternoon on Thursday, there are only a limited number of ‘opportunities’ to provide a meal. Thus, these 120 events alone are enough to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for every member of the legislature for virtually the entire legislative session.

But the free meal scam doesn’t stop here; it gets worse. No only do the legislators get fed most every day for free, but they also get paid $130-a-day ‘subsistence payments’ to cover the cost of meals and hotels while on ‘official business.’

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? these guys are getting a free lunch and then getting paid lunch money as well. What a deal!

And what’s all this free food and liquor cost? No one really knows for sure.  The way the ethics laws are written, there are a lot of expenses that do not have to be reported on the Ethics Commission disclosure forms . The Nerve estimated the cost of last year’s events to be somewhere between $400,000 and $563,000 and surely a lot higher when unreported events are added.

As bad as all this sounds, and it sounds pretty awful, what makes it even worse is that everyone seems to play the game – even state agencies and members of the judiciary. Again, according to The Nerve’s report, ‘House Invitations Committee records list members of the SC Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit, Master-in-Equity and Family Courts as hosting an evening reception for the General Assembly and the state’s constitutional officers….”

Our system is based on the premise that the courts are above politics; they are supposed to be the arbiters of ethics and high standards. But how can they do their job when they are down in the special-interest trough with all the other special-interest pigs?

Now, I understand how the real world works, and that we’re not going to solve this problem with some sort of over-the-top regulatory scheme that imposes insane reporting requirements on our elected officials, or that tries to force every caterer and restauranteur in Columbia to investigate the political provenance every shrimp cocktail or crème brulee they serve to a member of the state legislature. That’s just not feasible, or even desirable, really.

The problem is that this ‘culture of corruption’ is all pervasive and accepted as the norm; no one is pushing back the other way. The voices in Columbia for reform and restraint seem to be fewer and farther between than ever before.

And the voters see all this and they are increasingly getting mad. Whether it is the Tea Party, Occupy or simply middle-class moms in the suburbs struggling to make the family food budget, they are angry about this culture of corruption among the good ol’ boys in Columbia.

It’s pretty obvious that the folks we have in Columbia now won’t make a change. So maybe it time us to change the folks in Columbia…on Election Day.

Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and serves as President of the SC New Democrats, an independent reform group founded by former Gov. Richard Riley.  phil@SCNewDemocrats.org   www.SCNewDemocrats.org

When Carson Butler ventured to a Target store last week, the 24-year-old free agent tight end wasn’t shopping for a trip to the Super Bowl.

But that’s what he got.

While gathering a few household goods, Butler received a phone call he’ll never forget.

His agent told him he would be a part of the New England Patriots’ eight-man practice squad —where he spent much of the 2010 season, but was cut prior to the 2011 season–and was Indianapolis bound.

Although no practice players will play on Sunday, Butler said being on the sidelines for the game — and privy to the hype that surrounds it — is a thrill.

“When I first came back, I got a real good welcome. The guys made me feel good, and we carried on like I never left,” he said.

“I won’t step on the field Sunday, but practice players put in the work, lift weights and pay attention in player meetings. It’s our job to get them prepared.”

Anyone who has donned shoulder pads and clicked cleats against concrete has dreamed of reaching the sport’s biggest game. But the practice-squad players who traveled to Indianapolis with the Giants and Patriots this week will fall just six feet short — the width of an NFL sideline.

“Obviously we want to get into the game,” Patriots practice-squad defensive end Alex Silvestro said. “I guess it’s a little disappointing, but I’m not mad about it or upset. I’m definitely enjoying the experience.”

Unlike most of his peers, Silvestro had a brief taste of live action for the Patriots. He played a smattering of snaps against the Dolphins in Week 16 and said he remembered running onto the field for the first time more vividly than any single play.

“I was running out there — full adrenaline — I almost completely forgot what I was doing because I was so excited I was able to play,” Silvestro said.

There won’t be a comparable surge of adrenaline for Silvestro or any other practice players on Sunday. However, they take solace knowing that they stand to win a ring identical to those that will be awarded to Eli Manning or Tom Brady.

“It’s going to be significant, lose or win,” Mike Rivera, Patriots practice-squad linebacker, said. “Either way, I’ve invested time with all these guys. I won’t be on the field, but it’s still very important to me.”

Giants rookie practice squad wide receiver Dan DePalma played at NCAA Division II West Chester (Pa.) University, and he was overshadowed by his Division I contemporaries. He went undrafted. He was cut in the preseason by the New York Jets, the first team to take a chance on him.

Despite the hurdles, DePalma will also be a mere six feet away from the game. The enormity of the moment isn’t lost on him.

“A lot of the greats never had a chance to be on this stage,” DePalma said. “To know that I have contributed even a small amount as a practice squad player is just amazing.

“I’ve had a long road to get here, overcame a lot of obstacles — a lot of sweat, a lot of blood, a lot of tears to get here. To hopefully get that ring and get to wear it makes it all worth it.”

Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee, after a hard hit to the head, was knocked out of the game with a concussion. The Giants lost, 36-25.

But Snee and the Giants find themselves in Indianapolis this week, as they prepare for their second Super Bowl in five years, a rematch with the New England Patriots.

The road wasn’t easy for Snee. Knocked out of the Seattle game, he sat out the next week against Buffalo before returning for a matchup against Miami.

“That week after the Seattle game was a tough time for me,” Snee said of his concussion. “The only time I really thought about it was that next game in Miami.”

“You always worry the next time your head’s going to get hit, he said, “and I was a little worried putting it back in there.”

During that Buffalo loss, the Giants relied upon Snee’s backup, lineman Jim Cordle, to help pick up his slack. Snee said this year’s team, including Cordle, knows that everyone always has to be ready.

“You have to rely on the depth of your team, and the credit goes to the front office for bringing in guys who can really play football,” Snee said. “On our team, it’s just the expectation that when a big guy goes out, a backup has to come in and play at a high level.”

As Snee helped carry the Giants to another Super Bowl berth, Cordle said he noticed big improvements in Snee’s game since his injury.

“That was the first time he ever sat out a game, but I think that rest helped him a lot,” Cordle said. “He’s done a great job since then playing against some really great guys. He was a Pro Bowl alternate this season, but by the end of this year and right now, he’s playing at a Pro Bowl level.”

Snee said that even with the Patriots’ low-ranking statistics — including a pass defense ranked second-worst in the league this season — it will be a huge task to fend off the New England defense.

“I think they do a pretty good job at keeping teams out of the end zone,” Snee said, “and when their offense puts up as many points as they do, that’s why they have the record they do.”

Snee said it’s crucial to protect Manning, who threw for more than 5000 yards this regular season, and buy him enough time to make big plays downfield.

“It’s our job to keep our defense off the field, and the only way to do that is to protect Eli,” Snee said. “We prefer to methodically march down the field, and our goal will always be the same — keep that explosive offense off the field.”

Weatherford, the punter for the New York Giants, will join his teammates in Indianapolis this weekend as Super Bowl XLVI kicks off at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. But for Weatherford, he’s not only playing for his team, but also for his hometown.

Having grown up in Crown Point and Terre Haute, Ind., he continues to give back to the Hoosier communities where his football dream began. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Daniel Tanoos, superintendent of the Vigo County School Corp., has known Weatherford since he was a junior at Terre Haute North High School. He said that Weatherford never turned his back on his hometown and has left a long-lasting effect on its schools and their students.

“I’m thrilled for the man he’s become,” Tanoos said. “He’s never forgotten his hometown or the needs of those students, whether it be clothes, shoes, or nourishment. He does things at special times just for the good of the Lord, and that says a lot about his character.”

When he played with the Jets, Weatherford came across loads of extra football gear in green that his teammates didn’t need. This season, during his time with the Giants, he’s accumulated extra equipment that is red, white and blue.

Weatherford didn’t let the equipment go to waste. It was a perfect fit for Terre Haute’s West Vigo High School — which wears green and white — and Terre Haute North and South — which both wear red and white.

Through three years of donating, Weatherford estimates that he’s sent home about 500 pairs of cleats that both he and his teammates have worn throughout the season. It’s a task that takes little time, but Weatherford knows it makes a huge impact.

He said it’s important to go to the trouble of asking everyone for equipment.

“But everybody knows why I do it — and just to be able to help so many children and so many people in need, when it only costs me 20 minutes out of my day once a month during the football season. I know those people really appreciate it.”

In addition to his teammates’ gear, Weatherford also autographs and sends his own cleats whenever he’s finished using them — usually about three pairs a season. They go back to Terre Haute to be auctioned to help support a variety of charities.

When he returns home in the off-season, Weatherford said he always checks in with Tanoos to see if there’s any way he can help the community or the football teams.

During the past several summers, Weatherford has conducted a free football camp for high school players in the Vigo County area, bringing in some of his current and former teammates. He’s also established a $500 annual grant for teachers using innovative, creative methods to teach health.

But maybe his biggest influence has been on the lives he’s touched.

“I had a kid in my office the other day, and he just talked about how he saw Steve as his role model,” Tanoos said.

“He just really has a servant’s heart, and this kid had been so excited in what he’s received from Steve. He’s just always been willing to step in to help these kids in need.”

Sports journalists mobbed individual booths labeled for Giants veterans including quarterback Eli Manning, defensive end Justin Tuck and wide receiver Victor Cruz. As they took a barrage of questions from the army at Super Bowl Media Day, safety Tyler Sash seemed just to fathom the experience. The six-foot, 215 safety stood alone, Super Bowl cap turned backwards atop his head.

“I still don’t believe I’m at the Super Bowl right now,” Sash said, in a daze after the NFC championship game.

“It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think it’s going to kick in until after the game on Sunday, just because as soon as the game was over, the next thought was, ‘OK, we got New England. We need to start preparing for those guys.’’’

Sash, who decided to forgo his junior season at Iowa and enter the NFL Draft, is one of 11 players on New York’s active roster who will conclude their rookie seasons in the NFL Championship. He follows in the footsteps of a fellow Hawkeye, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, who started for the Packers in last year’s Super Bowl.

“There’s guys who play in this league for 10 years, 12 years, whatever it is, and they’ve never been here to the Super Bowl, so I’m just so blessed to be here,” Sash said.

“I started my year off here in Indy at the combine, and I’m finishing it here in Indy again, so it’s awesome.”

But before Sash — who said he felt fine despite a concussion in the NFC Championship — arrived in Indianapolis, he was climbing the ranks of great defensive backs at Iowa. Through three seasons in Iowa City, Sash racked up 217 tackles and 13 interceptions, ranking him fifth in career interceptions. He also held the Hawkeye record for interception return yards with 392.

Iowa defensive backs coach Phil Parker said his team misses its starting safety, but the timing was right for Sash to enter the draft a year early.

“He might have felt like he accomplished as much as he could accomplish in college ball at that time and wanted to give it a shot,” Parker said. “To me, if you have a kid that’s on the fence, and that’s what he wants to do, it’s got to be his decision.”

“I think it was good timing for him, getting with a team who was probably looking for safeties … and now obviously, he has a chance to participate in the Super Bowl this year.”

This season, Sash has been utilized primarily on Giants special teams, recording 17 tackles in the regular season and seven in the playoffs, including five in New York’s opening-round win against Atlanta. The last time Sash faced New England, he forced a fumble and made two tackles in a 24-20 win.

In a game where any play can make the difference between champion and runner-up, Sash said he is keeping his focus.

“I think that’s a good thing, just keeping things in perspective and realizing — I know it is the biggest game in the world, most media-oriented event in the world,” Sash said. “I just have to keep things on an even keel.”

“I know it is another game, but at the same time, there’s a lot at stake.”

On Sunday night, a kid from Oskaloosa, Iowa, will be on one of the biggest stages in professional sports. His timing couldn’t have been better.

“Boy,” he said. “The odds of that happening — wow.”

Phil Noble

The other day, a group of friends and I went to lunch at the Eggs Up Grill in Myrtle Beach. There, in that strip mall, in a cozy family restaurant surrounded by all the tourists and golfers, I saw the future for South Carolina’s children, when our cheerful, smiling server took our orders not with the familiar pad and pencil, but with an iPhone app that zipped them directly to a display in the kitchen.

And there it was: by the time our kids enter the work force, every job job in our state, even waiting tables in a small family-owned restaurant, is going to be a high-tech job.

This accidental epiphany caused me to research technology in the restaurant business and to think about just how totally and completely our state’s future is dependent on two critical factors: education and technology.

In the most stark terms, the truth is this – if our children aren’t educated to use technology, our state is toast (no pun intended), and our future is bleak.

Let’s go back to the Egg Up Grill and what I’ve since learned about restaurants and technology. Eggs Up is not McDonalds, a global chain driven by complex data systems and international supply-chain management. Instead, the owner is Chris Skodras, who learned the restaurant business from his grandparents, Greek immigrants who came to this county in 1936. Their slogan is ‘Breakfast and lunch is all we do, family friendly is all we are.’ Over the years they have grown to a group of three restaurants in Horry county, with two more are on the way.

They do not think of themselves as ‘high tech’ but my server’s iPhone app is just one example of how technology had changed the whole restaurant business. With the right technology, once a customer’s order information is entered digitally, it can then be tied into a digital stream of data with endless uses – tracking who ordered what, splitting the check it into separate bills, accepting credit card numbers, emailing customers a receipt, managing the restaurant’s inventory and deciding how many eggs need to be ordered today for each restaurant, and on and on it goes.

Once something as simple as my order of two eggs over light with bacon becomes digital, a completely new world of possibilities opens up.

And what of our smiling server, in this brave new digital world? She must have the education and the skills to manipulate these increasingly sophisticated technological devices and system. When she wants to move up from server to manager, she will need to master other technologies for cash management, inventory control and purchasing and many more.

Our server’s ability to even have a job is not just tied to her use of technology but to her level of education as well. The more education one has, the easier it is to get and hold a job.  According to a recent report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was directly tied to education. They found that unemployment was 13.8% for those with less than a high school degree, 8.7% for those with a high school degree and no college, 7.7% for those with some college or an associates degree, and only 4.1% for  those with a bachelors degree or higher.

In fact, according to economists, our unemployment rate could be cut by almost a third overnight if the  unemployed simply had the skills required to fill our existing job openings.

The double bang for the buck is that integrating technology into education not only teaches technology skills but also opens the door to using the technology to improve the education process itself. Basic technology programs are now available to enable parents and teachers to track students’ individual performance in real time. If Johnny skips school or did not have his homework, parents can be notified immediately. They can see their child’s grades and their performance records in real time.

Other technologies can be used to connect online mentors or volunteers who can work with students to help tutor them without having to be in the same location. Online learning is opening up vast new opportunities for students to learn what they want, when they want it and not be bound by the limits of a single school or interaction with a specific teacher.

The sad truth is that when it comes to embracing new technology in education, our legislature has failed us once again. A few years ago, I was part of establishing One Laptop Per Child South Carolina, a non-profit group with the goal of providing an educational laptop to every child in the state. We were the first state to declare such an ambitious goal for our children and we made a great start, and then politics and usual stymied our progress.

The plan was to raise private money to test the concept and then if successful to expand it statewide with the help of the Legislature. The total statewide cost of the project is relatively modest: we can provide every child in this state’s public schools with an educational device such as a basic laptop or iPad for about 2% of what we are now spending to educatei our children.

We raised over $1 million from private sources and equipped every student in 15 schools scattered across state with a laptop. The State Department of Education implemented the project and developed the evaluation of how well the project worked. In his initial evaluation, then Supt. of Education Jim Rex said, “Dollar for dollar this computer will have a bigger impact in improving education that anything we can do.”

With this success, we went to the legislature to provide $3-4 million to expand the project to the next level beyond these 15 pilot project. Despite some initial promises, the Legislature failed to fund the project.

So here we are – a great project with proven results that can pave the way for our children to get the education and technology skills they need – but it is stymied by the lack of vision of our elected officials.

Maybe we should convene the state legislature for breakfast at the Eggs Up Grill and show them the future, Then maybe they will change their minds and do the right thing.

Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and serves as President of the SC New Democrats, an independent reform group started by former Gov. Richard Riley. phil@scnewdemocrats.org    www.SCNewDemocrats.org

Phil Noble

We hear a lot about lobbyists and special interest money in South Carolina politics but no one ever seems to talk about the hard numbers. So, here are a few numbers gleaned from 2011 lobbyist reports that are publicly available online at the SC Ethics Commission web site.

Read ‘em and weep.

SC has 542 registered lobbyists, and 545 lobbyist principals (the people who pay the lobbyist)

• there are 822 different lobbying contracts, often with one principal hiring multiple lobbyists
• 12 state agencies have lobbyists, mostly colleges and universities
• 36 separate contracts is the largest number of contracts for one lobbyist
• $11,118 is the average size of a lobbyist contract
• $142,000 is the biggest single lobbying contract from a single principal
• 22 lobbyists make over $100,000 a year in direct lobbying contracts alone
• $525,802 is the largest amount paid in various contracts to a single lobbyist
• $11,385,031 is the total paid to lobbyists in 2011 for lobbying contracts
• $12,113,965 is the total of lobbyist payments, including contracts and expenses
• $71,258 per legislator is the total lobbying cost per legislator, for 124 Representatives and 46 Senators

Who are these lobbyists? Many are former legislators, current and former political office holders and their families, former staff, and lots and lots of lawyers. And not all these ‘good ole boys’ are boys, of course ; there are many highly paid women lobbyists as well.

It would be easy to go on a rant and write extensively about the evils of lobbyists and how they have corrupted our political system, but I won’t. I’ll let the above numbers speak for themselves.

A few final points. First, these are just the reported lobbying expenses. They do not include the campaign contributions that these lobbyists ‘direct’ to the legislators through corporate and individual contributions from the lobbyist principals or the related special interest political action committees’ contributions.

Secondly, these amounts do not include any fees or consulting contracts that special interest groups and lobbyist principals pay directly to the legislators for ‘professional services.’

Third, not every lobbyist and lobbyist principal is a ‘special interest bad guy.’ There are many good businesses, organizations, non-profit groups and others that are advocating for legitimate and beneficial public policy goals. We should all look closely at these people and their issues and determine for ourselves who is working for the benefit of all of the people of South Carolina and who is working to benefit only themselves.

Fourth, I’m not a professional researcher so I would encourage others – the media, academics and citizens – to check my facts and my math, but more importantly, to look for themselves at who is paying whom in South Carolina’s rotten political system.

All of this information was dug up with just a couple of hours of research on my home computer. There is a lot more research that needs to be done to shine a light on the grubby world of money and politics in South Carolina. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said in 1913, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” It still is.

Like many South Carolinian’s, I’ve come to believe that our government is broken and our politics is corrupt. In fact, I believe that our government is broken because our politics is corrupt, and that  it will only be cleaned up  when we know the truth about who is paying whom and what they are buying.  Only then will we be able to demand the kind of root-and-branch reform that our malignant political culture so desperately needs.

Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and serves as President of the South Carolina New Democrats, an independent reform group started by former Gov. Richard Riley.  phil@scnewdemocrats.org   www.SCNewDemocrats.org