Bela Herlong Dies
DR. BELA HERLONG received many honors in her lifetime. One came in 2016 when she and fellow educator Gloria Caldwell served as Grand Marshall of the Saluda Christmas Parade. (Standard-Sentinel photo)
Legendary Educator Bela Herlong Dies
Legendary Saluda educator Dr. Bela Herlong died Mon., Feb. 15, at the age of 89.
The 1967 South Carolina Teacher of the Year was one of five finalist for National Teacher of the Year that same year.
She was the English teacher to thousands during her five decades at Saluda High School.
Following is her obituary:
Ruby “Bela” Herlong
July 29, 1931 -
February 15, 2021
Some people get their own, completely unique name. Bela Herlong was one of those people. Nobody else in the whole world, it seems, was called Bela; and that is exactly as it should be because nobody else in the whole world was like her.
Ruby Euela Padgette Herlong, lovingly known as Bela, Miss Bela, Mrs. Herlong or Mama, depending on one’s relationship with her, was born on July 29, 1931, and passed away at home on February 15, 2021. She was surrounded by family and by the love of an entire community and a world of students.
She taught English at Saluda High School for over forty years and is respected, remembered, and deeply loved by her over 5000 students, as the hundreds of Facebook messages show: “How many of us over [her] four decades of teaching benefitted from [her] love of the English language and literature? Country kids from Saluda learned of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, themes, poetry and term papers.” “What we did in her class was hard. She believed we could, so we did.” “My love of reading, I got from Bela Herlong. She was one of the best and toughest teachers I ever had.” “She was a true teacher because she taught you to think, not just this is the correct answer, but why and how. It takes a ‘gift’ to be able to do that.”
She did not restrict that gift to only those students in her classroom. For over twenty-four years, she was also the advisor for the Prism, Saluda High School’s award-winning literary magazine. In that role, she encouraged the writer in every student and with Mrs. Gloria Caldwell as director, co-wrote and put on an annual dramatic performance based on the students’ work.
Her great gift was recognized nationally. To recite her teaching awards would require pages. One of the earliest was being named one of five finalists in Look magazine’s National Teacher of the Year contest in 1967. One of the more recent was the 2009 Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities. Through the years the awards ranged from recognition as an “Ageless Hero for Love of Learning” (2000) given by South Caroline Blue Cross/Blue Shield, to a “Distinguished Service Award” (1985) from the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.
When she retired, she turned her formidable talents to history and was among the original group who worked to save the Saluda Theater and establish the Saluda County Historical Society. Turned historian, she also turned researcher and author and co-wrote books on local history—books that will be invaluable to future students and which include Mount Willing: Gone But Not Forgotten (2004) and Breaking New Ground: A Pictorial History of Saluda County (1995). Moreover, she and Gloria Caldwell co-wrote and produced numerous historical dramas depicting significant moments in Saluda County history, such as Ties that Bind: A Gathering in Daly Woods (2000), With Valor They Stood: A Drama of Saluda County Veterans(1991), and Thomas Green Clemson: A Man Before his Time (1990). Her most successful historical publication, however, was also her most personal. Every Sunday for ten years, she listened to and recorded her own father, Douglas Davenport Padgett, as he shared the tale of his life. She edited it, gathered the thoughts of others about him, and in 2008 published Padgett’s My Name: One Man’s Story of Growing Up and Growing Old Among Family and Friends in Rural South Carolina. Again, for these community efforts, she received many awards, including recognition by the Greenwood Index-Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Citizens of the Century in the seven-county area and the “Citizen of the Year” award from the Saluda Civitan Club.
All this illustrates her giving, public life as Miss Bela and Mrs. Herlong, but one of her most treasured names was “Mama.” In 1951, she married Jimmie Herlong, who died in 2006. She and Jimmie had four children. The eldest was Jim (Jim Ed), who died in 2014 and was married to Wendie Smith, whom Mama especially treasured after the loss of Jim. Jim had one daughter, Charity Chappelear (Mitch), who gave Bela three great-grandchildren (Jesse, Olivia, and Jake), and one son, Kirk Herlong, who lived with Bela for several of his teenage years and gave her two great-grandchildren (Jonathon and Zachary). The second child was Madaline, who married Don Haycraft, lives in New Orleans, and gave Mama four grandsons—James (Christine), Daniel, Jesse, and Travis. William, the third child, married Joan Egan and lives in Greenville, SC. William gave Mama one grandson, Jack (Caitlin), and three granddaughters—Darcy Slizewski (Adam), Grace Loveless (Ryan), and Blanche Reese (Hunter), who have given her four great-grandchildren (Laney and Birdie Slizewski and Carson and Scott Loveless). The “baby” was Alice, who married Heyward Powe, lives in Charlotte, NC, and gave Mama two grandsons, Padgett and Harrison. Mama’s house is filled with photographs of all this immediate family as well as all the extended family and friends who enriched her life.
There was also a very private “Bela” that she revealed only in her poetry. One of the blessings of her later years was that she had time to collect those poems into a volume titled A Certain View, which is available for purchase at the Saluda County Museum.
Mama sometimes said that she wished she could have been a mother-at-home for all of us—but we always knew she didn’t mean it. She may have loved us “so much her heart hurt” but her heart was made stronger, wider, and happier by her teaching. As she wrote upon her retirement:
“I will be lonely. I will miss ‘life all around me’- noisy, young, exuberant life. I will miss the ‘country of the young’ where I have lived for forty-three years. I will miss the magic of the classroom where dreams are the fabric of the very day. I look back over the corridor of the years and thank God for letting me be a teacher.”
We, her children, thank God for giving her to us to be our “Mama,” and we know that thousands of students and the Saluda community thank God for letting her be their “Mrs. Herlong” and “Miss Bela.” We know that many people will want to show their love of her, and we know that in lieu of flowers, what she would most appreciate is contributions to the scholarship established in her name at Winthrop University for the benefit of South Carolina students studying to become teachers. She treasured the ability to help others in this way and would be so thankful if others joined her in this effort, because all amounts, no matter how small, combine to make a difference to a worthy, aspiring teacher. Checks can be made out to “The Ruby P. ‘Bela’ Herlong Annual Restricted Scholarship” and mailed to Winthrop University Foundation, Winthrop University, 302 Tillman Hall, Rock Hill, SC 29733.
A simple graveside service was held at Emory United Methodist Church at 2 p.m. on Friday, February 19. It was streamed live on SALUDANow on Facebook, and is still available for viewing.
February 2021 Drug Arrests
Sheriff’s Office Makes Drug Arrests
The Saluda County Sheriff’s Office has made seven drug arrest recently.
“The Sheriff’s Office is working proactively to attack the dangerous drug problem in Saluda County,” Sheriff Josh Price said.
Below are recent drug arrests:
James Adams- Possession with intent to distribute Methamphetamine, DUI
Davey Keith Bedenbaugh - Possession with intent to distribute Methamphetamine
Kimberly Lee Hall- Possession of Methamphetamine
Anthony Holmes- Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine
Michelle Lewis- Possession with intent to distribute Methamphetamine
Louis Medina- Possession with intent to distribute Methamphetamine
Emily Moore- Possession of Methamphetamine
Council Holds
Short Meeting
Saluda County Council’s Feb. meeting lasted less than 20 minutes, and that included an executive session.
The vote out of executive session was the major action of the meeting. The law firm of Turner, Padget, Graham and Laney, PA of Columbia was hired to serve as county attorney. James T. Knox will be the representative of the firm working with County Council.
At the beginning of the meeting, all Council members urged citizens to get their Covid vaccination. Chairman Jerry Strawbridge said the county would compile a list of vaccination locations and publish them in the newspaper and on social media.
Council also expressed sympathy to County Recreation Director Paul Ergle on the death of his father, Richard, and to the family of county employee Gerald Powell on his passing.
In the “old business” portion of the meeting, Council gave third and final reading to an ordinance repealing the 1977 ordinance prohibiting nepotism or the hiring of relatives. Strawbridge said a rule on nepotism is included in the county hiring policy, so it was not needed in an ordinance.
Second reading was given to an ordinance to amend the multi-county industrial park agreement between Aiken and Saluda counties.
First reading was given to an ordinance to lease the quonset hut owned by Saluda County at the Saluda County Airport.
Deputy Emergency Management Director Jill Warren said experimental aircraft that meet FAA standards would be housed in the hut if the ordinance is approved.
In the final agenda item, William Rutland was reappointed to the Airport Commission.
1513 County COVID
Cases, 34 Deaths
Saluda County’s COVID-19 cases have risen to 1513 (1,363 actual, 150 probable), with 33 deaths.
The county had 551.9 cases per 100,000, classified as a high incidence. Last week, the figure was 630.1 cases per 100,000 with a high incidence rating.
The number of tests given in Saluda County is 12,985. It should be noted if a Saluda County resident dies of Covid in a neighboring hospital, that death is counted in the neighboring county’s totals.
Counties neighboring Saluda had the following case totals: Aiken - 11,643, Edgefield - 2,244; Greenwood -6,421, Lexington - 23,092; Newberry - 3,484.
Sun., Feb. 14, 2,735 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by state Department of Health and Environmental Control, with 76 confirmed deaths.
Positive tests are at 11.4 percent.
This state total is 426,580, with probable cases 60,713. Confirmed deaths are 7,149, and 849 probable deaths.
Rainy Trend Continues
The good monthly rainfall that was prevalent in 2020 continued into 2021.
January saw 4.78 inches of rain fall in the Town of Saluda. This compares to 4,18 inches during the same time last year.
January was a cool month, with 25 days with highs in the 40s and 50s. The temperatures ranged from a high of 40 on Jan. 9, to 71 on Jan. 27. The lowest morning temperature, 26, was recorded Feb. 10, 11, 29, 30 and 31.
This information was reported by NWS observer Edwin Riley at the Saluda CPW.
Student Determination
Ever Mendez-Barillas and Dr.Bryan Vacchio
Student’s Determination Leads
To High School Graduation
BY DR. BRYAN VACCHIO
Saluda High School Director of Guidance
For those who are ready for some good news....
This past week was National School Counseling Week, and we certainly felt the love this week from our co-faculty and district leadership. This year‘s slogan was “All In, For All Students,” and how appropriate it was that the shining example of this mantra came by the school yesterday to get a picture with me.
Ever Mendez-Barillas allowed me to share his story. Not only did Ever struggle academically, but he also struggled with the English language; a huge “double-whammy,” with which so many students have to contend. Ever was unable to graduate in four years. Most across the country drop out once given that news. Nevertheless, Ever returned to Saluda High School for a fifth year.
Last year, Ever finished one credit short of walking across our football field at graduation. It was I who had to give him that news, with the help of a translator. These conversations will always be the hardest part of my job.
Ever had every reason to give up. He spent five years in high school, yet didn’t finish. Also, he had a job at Samsung in Newberry, with a salary which would rival the salaries of many.
Yet, he told me he wanted to finish. At that time, we set up Ever in an online version of his final class. Knowing we were sending him home, only equipped with a Chrome-book, with spotty Wi-Fi, in summer, with very little academic support to tackle a self-paced class, we really did not know how this was going to go.
Yet, at 10 a.m. on the morning after our graduation ceremony, I received a text from Ever asking me to unlock a test in his online course. I was so proud to get that text, knowing he had every reason to stop. Yet, Ever was determined to finish the job. I received lots of texts from Ever last summer, to either unlock exams or to tell me the course material was getting increasingly difficult. There were several days where Ever left work in Newberry, just to come to the school to receive assistance in navigating the class.
Thank goodness I had help from Mimi Gallmanand Erika Renteral to assist Ever with language support throughout the summer. By the time August rolled around, Ever had finished 8 of the required 12 units to complete the course.
Once the new school year started, Ever was able to work with his science teacher, Kate Rohrbach & ESOL teacher, Juan Her-nandez. Ever also received constant encouragement from our administrators, principal Robert Etheredge and Christy Roberts, as well as Meghan Thomas Johnson and Jodi Doolittle in our counseling department.
Last month, after six grueling years, Ever Mendez-Barillas finished his final class. He will be walking in June with the Saluda High School graduating class of 2021, having earned a high school diploma... and he’s already gainfully employed.
These are the stories you don’t read about on a state accountability report card. In fact, a high school score suffers when a student doesn’t graduate in four years.
However, you can be rest assured, despite what you read or hear on television, there are miracles happening in every school, every day.
Ever is a testament to that.
1431 County COVID
Cases, 33 Deaths
Saluda County’s COVID-19 cases have risen to 1431 (1303 actual, 128 probable), with 33 deaths.
The county had 630.1 cases per 100,000, classified as a high incidence. Last week, the figure was 772.9 cases per 100,000 with a high incidence rating.
The number of tests given in Saluda County is 12,985. It should be noted if a Saluda County resident dies of Covid in a neighboring hospital, that death is counted in the neighboring county’s totals.
Counties neighboring Saluda had the following case totals: Aiken - 11,246, Edgefield - 2,164; Greenwood -6,186, Lexington - 22,302; Newberry - 3,409.
Sun., Feb. 7, 2,228 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by state Department of Health and Environmental Control, with 35 confirmed deaths.
Positive tests are at 8.8 percent.
This state total is 412,996, with probable cases 53,377. Confirmed deaths are 6,849, and 802 probable deaths.
COUNCILMEN SWORN IN - The Town of Saluda’s newly re-elected Town Council members Obie Combs, left, and John Mark Griffith, center, were sworn into office Tues., Feb. 2. Also, pictured is Mayor Amelia Herlong. (Town photo)
First 2021 Highway Death
Driver Dies Eight
Days After Accident
The driver injured in a highway accident died eight days after the incident.
The Saluda County Coroner’s Office reported a one vehicle collision occurred on January 15, 2021 on the Denny Hwy / Hwy 194 in Saluda County.
The driver of the vehicle, Chester Chrisley, age 76, of Saluda County, sustained injuries and was transported by Saluda EMS to Prisma Health Richland Hospital.
The Coroner, Keith Turner, stated unfortunately Mr. Chrisley died of complications related to his injuries at Prisma Health Richland on the morning of January 23, 2021. The collision is being investigated by the SC Highway Patrol and the Saluda County Coroner’s Office.
The Coroner’s Office extends its sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Chrisley.
CAR SEATS GIVEN AWAY - Fri., Jan. 29, deputies gave away several car seats in the car rider line at the Saluda Primary School. “We will hopefully be able to give away more next week,” Sheriff Josh Price said. “The safety of our children is important to us and we will work to make a difference when we can.” (Sheriff’s Office photos)
Upper Savannah Region Receives Federal
Grant to Train EMTs, Paramedics
Upper Savannah work-force development staff recently learned there is a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in the Region and sought funding to fix the situation.
Upper Savannah COG applied for and recently received a $500,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train 100 emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties. The grant award was announced this month.
“The goal is to expand the pool of EMT basic all the way to advanced paramedics,” Upper Savannah COG Workforce Development Administrator Ann Skinner said. This is a four-year grant applied jointly with the Pee Dee Council of Governments in Florence. The Pee Dee Region will receive $2 million.
“We applied together to increase the chances of the grant being funded,” Skinner said. “But there were statewide issues that we thought we could work on together. The Pee Dee grant is focused more on careers leading to nursing and is hospital-based. Ours is based with the county EMS services.” According to a recent survey conducted by Piedmont Technical College (PTC), each county in the Upper Savannah Region had vacancies due to a lack of skilled applicants and staff turnover. Greenwood County had 17 vacancies, Laurens eight, Newberry and Edgefield five apiece, Saluda and Abbeville four apiece, and McCormick three. The grant period begins Feb. 1, 2021, when Upper Savannah can begin to enroll trainees and pay for classes. PTC will be the educational provider while USCOG will administer the grant.
“We are going to have a boot camp this summer for recent high school graduates who are interested in becoming an EMT or paramedic,” Skinner said. “During the summer, they will receive training for basic EMT. “After the end of the summer, they will have the chance to continue on with school to work toward becoming a paramedic or they will have an opportunity to go to work for one of the seven county EMS systems who are hiring. And if they go to work as an EMT, they can earn a living and continue school part-time to enhance their credentials and earn more.” The grant will promote more than just the basic EMT curriculum.
“We interviewed Human Resources directors who do exit interviews and asked, ‘why do people quit EMT?’” Skinner said. The answers included stress, long hours and the physical aspects of the job.
“So we will build the boot camp around a retention model,” she said. “Some of the things we have built into the boot camp is some mentoring and counseling so that they can prepare themselves for the emotional and physical aspects of the job. “We are building into the curriculum weight training. If they are coming straight out of high school, they might not have the physical stamina to lift a patient, so we are building in weight training through the Greenwood YMCA.” Trainees will also be taught how to sleep.
“There are strategies for how to go to sleep. If you are working a shift job and you can’t go to sleep, you are tired, you can be dangerous, you burn out quickly,” Skinner said. She said USCOG will work with county EMS directors to make sure they have trained staff to fill their open positions and tailor the training to meet their needs. Having full staffs can reduce overtime and even worker’s compensation cases.
County governments have worked hard to meet local needs during the pandemic. Getting a larger pool of available workers will reduce overtime costs. This was Upper Savannah’s first-ever workforce development federal grant application and the successful award is a win for everybody in the region. “Every resident wants fast, professional emergency medical services,” Skinner said. “They want to know if they have a need, that they can call and somebody will come. It’s a universal need.”