Local news in brief for April 30

Draw Your Mom, send to Standard

The Aiken Standard's Draw your Mom contest is accepting entries for a chance to win two tickets to the Spring Fling Taste of Home Cooking School. To print an entry form, visit www.aikenstandard.com and click on the link. Submissions will be accepted until 5 p.m. on May 6 by mail at 326 Rutland Drive N.W., Aiken, SC 29802, in person during business hours or via e-mail to rjohnson@aikenstandard.com.

Aiken man killed in head-on crash

An Aiken County man was killed Wednesday in Allendale County after a he was involved in a head-on crash with a tractor-trailer, state troopers said.

The Aiken County Coroner’s Office notified the family of Glenn Nichols Sr., of the 4 p.m. fatal crash, officials said.

Nichols, a Beech Island Church of Christ minister and former columnist for the Aiken Standard, was 55.

His body will be taken for autopsy, officials said.

Sate troopers said the tractor-trailer driver, Lacy Cheek, 41, of Barnwell County, was wearing a seat belt and uninjured.

The wreck is still under investigation, at presstime officials said the Chevy was northbound before crossing the center line and colliding head-on with the tractor trailer. 

Nichols was wearing a seat belt.

Man charged with school burglary

A North Augusta man was jailed on allegations he broke into an Aiken County elementary school early Tuesday and stole a computer from the school, according to officials. Vince Riley, 50, of Rhomboid Place, is charged with burglary. According to witnesses, a white male wearing blue shorts and a red shirt was seen running from the area, carrying what appeared to be a television. 

Deputies went to a residence where they found a black computer monitor with blood on it lying near the front door. The man inside the residence, who was wearing blue shorts and a red shirt, was bleeding heavily. The man was wearing a blue latex glove. He said he fell while walking his dog and had no idea why there was a computer monitor lying in the front yard. He was arrested and taken to the Aiken County detention center.

New Ellenton to hold fundraiser

The New Ellenton Middle School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will hold a basketball fundraiser at the school Friday at 6 p.m.

Both teams will play against faculty, staff, parents and alumni. Admission is $4, with the first 100 people receiving Chick-fil-A coupons. Children younger than 5 will be admitted free. The activities also include a free throw contest, a three-point shot competition and a half-court shot contest, all with $1 entry fees. For more information, call Walker at 652-8200.

Plant sale will be held on Saturday

The annual Aiken Master Gardeners Plant Sale is scheduled for Saturday morning at the Aiken Farmers Market on Williamsburg Street.

The plant sale will open at 7:45 a.m. Saturday and remain open until all items are sold, according to sale chairman Vicki Browder. Items for sale will include plants and garden accessories from the Master Gardeners’ own yards, among them annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. New to the sale this year will be palm trees, and pots of mixed herbs and houseplants ready to display will be on sale.

The Master Gardeners will be on hand with an information table to evaluate plant samples and answer questions at the sale as well, according to Browder.

For more information about the plant sale, call the Clemson Extension Service at 649-6297, ext.0.

Foosball event will be Saturday

The 2009 S.C. State Foosball Championships will be Friday and Saturday at the Carolina Ale House at Columbiana Centre, 277 Columbiana Drive, Columbia. Bring your “A” game and compete for $1,500 in cash, prizes and trophies.

For a complete schedule and rules, visit www.scfoosball.com.

Dream Catchers to meet Monday

CSRA Dream Catchers-Traumatic Brain Injury & Disability Support Group will meet in Classroom A of Aiken Regional Medical Centers on Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For more information or to register, call 279-9611.

Aiken Christian to host presentation

Jessica Mouser will give a presentation on Summit Ministries to Aiken Christian School students at the school Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Home-schooled students are also invited to attend. Aiken Christian is located at Grace Brethren Church, 140 Talatha Church Road.

Summit Ministries is an educational Christian ministry, providing an intensive, two-week conference for high school and college students. A 2003 home-school graduate, Mouser is also a graduate of USC Aiken with an English concentration. She has served as a Summit Ministries counselor and taught part-time at Aiken Christian during the 2007-08 school year. For more information on the program, visit www.summit.org.

Job training event will be May 5

An informational orientation for those interested in free job training through the SRS Superfund Job Training Initiative will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Valley Fair Church in Graniteville. Individuals must be interested in work in remediation and construction and be 18 years old.

For more information, call Tiffany Reed or the Rev. Brendolyn Jenkins at 593-9954, ext.1583.