Report: Inappropriate Relationship with 16 Year Old
Mike Fanning
COLUMBIA – The state’s highest law enforcement agency has opened an investigation into allegations, based on an incident report filed last week with the Hampton County Sheriff’s Department, that Mike Fanning, of Mitford, and currently the Democratic nominee for S.C. Senate District 17, had an “inappropriate relationship” with a 16-year-old female student when he was her teacher at Estill High School beginning in 1993, a spokesperson for the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed Tuesday.
The offenses, as stated in the incident report, which was filed Sept. 29, were ‘fondling – forcible.’
According to the woman who filed the report and who is now 40 years old, the relationship with Fanning, who she said was her history teacher at the time, began in the spring of 1993, her junior year in high school, and progressed in intensity, lasting until the fall of 1994 during her first semester of college.
The woman told The Voice last week in a phone conversation that she did not have contact with Fanning again until they both showed up at a mutual friend’s birthday party about 10 years ago. She said he contacted her last fall via Facebook to say he was planning to run for political office and wanted to know if she was proud of him.
“After I thought about that for a while, it bothered me,” she said, “because I felt he was contacting me to find out if I was going to cause him any problems in his campaign.”
Other documents obtained by The Voice refer to separate allegations by two female students in May 1998, of inappropriate touching that allegedly took place in Fanning’s home and that resulted in Fanning being suspended with pay from his high school teaching position in Columbia.
Fanning was not charged as a result of the allegations, and other documents indicate that he passed a non-law enforcement administered polygraph examination in connection with the accusations. Documents from July 1998 further state that the Richland County Sheriff’s Department did not press charges due to ‘not sufficient evidence for criminal prosecution,’ and Fanning was subsequently reinstated to his teaching position.
Fanning is the Executive Director of the Olde English Consortium, a 501(c)3 non-profit that, according to its website is an “educational collaborative seeking to promote excellence in education through collaboration.”
In the Nov. 8 general election, Fanning will face Republican candidate Mark Palmer for the district that includes parts of Chester, Fairfield and York counties.
Fanning had not, at press time, responded to The Voice’s phone messages.
Linda Qualls, Certified Coding Associate for Fairfield Memorial, looks up coding information for her newest batch of hospital files.
WINNSBORO – It’s no secret that the future of Fairfield Memorial Hospital is up in the air and has been for a long time. As the hospital has struggled in recent years to stay afloat with County funds until it can work out a partnership with another health care facility, its problems and debt have mounted as solutions remained elusive.
But there are beginning to be some bright spots – new management, new board members and Linda Qualls.
Last year, Qualls, employed by the hospital for 12 years, with much of that time as a billing records clerk, took it upon herself to help the hospital save money, a lot of money, by becoming a certified billing and medical coder. This year the hospital is on track to save as much as $50,000 because of Qualls’ certification.
“Regulations and laws require that billing records be coded for us to get paid,” Karen Reynolds, Senior Director of Health Information at FMH, told The Voice. “Because we had no one in house to code our billing records, we’ve had to outsource that work at a significant cost every year. By becoming a certified coder, Linda has been able to take on many of those coding duties such as our new Mako Laboratory account claims, provide all coding and billing for our Blue Granite outpatient clinic and handle roughly fifty percent of all other medical coding needs within the hospital. What Linda has accomplished for the hospital is no small feat. She has earned both the Certified Coding Associate and the Rural Health Coding and Billing Specialist credentials. ”
Those certifications required course work at Midlands Technical College, various coding boot camps, independent study and sitting two national exams, Reynolds said. “I’m very proud and the hospital management is thankful for what Linda has done.”
The courses, training and certifications are regulated by the Association for Rural Health Professional Coding (APHPC), Office of Rural Health and American Health Information Management Association.
“There are certain nuances about Rural Health coding that are a little bit different than in a doctor’s office or a hospital,” Reynolds said. “So to understand those nuances and be certified to not only code, but bill as well, is a unique certification that not a lot of people have.”
Qualls told The Voice that she was hesitant, at first, to take the qualification classes, even though she knew she liked to code and had a natural knack for it.
“I was scared the classes would be too hard, but Karen really encouraged me,” Qualls said.
“My advice to her was ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained,’” Reynolds said. “I felt confident that she could do it.”
With a dedicated support system, Qualls pushed past her fears and finished her certification with flying colors. Now she says she feels like she’s accomplished something really big and is proud of herself for it.
“It really has made all the difference,” Qualls said.
Reynolds said that while the hospital has lowered its costs by no longer having to outsource most of its coding and billing paperwork, she doesn’t think the hospital will eliminate outsourcing coding and billing altogether.
“Those (coding) companies have 25-100 coders and so the advantage is having them as kind of our back up,” Reynolds said. “They can essentially code around the clock and on weekends. There’s great value in having both (in house and outsourcing),” Reynolds said.
For her part, Qualls says she is willing to help out however possible in the hospital’s struggle to not only survive but to thrive.
“I love this hospital. It’s like my home, and I’m glad to do what I can to save the hospital money and hopefully it will be here for years to come for the County’s residents,” Qualls said.
But for Qualls, her accomplishments are not a signal that it’s time to coast. She’s now working toward becoming certified on an even higher level.
“I’ve got one more level of certification that I’m studying for and it’s the highest level, a Certified Code Specialist,” Qualls said. “Hopefully, I’ll soon be able to set a date to take the test.”
And for Fairfield Memorial Hospital, that certification will likely mean even greater cost savings.
“It’s another positive step for our hospital,” Reynolds said.
In the simplest terms, baking is nothing more than a chemical reaction between ingredients that produce a very pleasing end result. As with most chemical reactions, any variation on the recipe will result in disaster; or worse, no cake. When I came across several recipes that seemed to “break” all the rules of baking that I knew to be essential I knew I had to do some baking.
During war times, when baking supplies were often in short supply, many resourceful American women devised a variety of “make-do” cakes that were not dependent on traditional ingredients. Wacky Cake is one of those Make-Do Cakes that stuck around.
This Wacky Cake is mixed right in the pan with unusual ingredients. It may be wacky, but it works!
Wacky Cake
Yield: 6-8 servings
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the prepared pan. Make one large and two small holes in the dry ingredients. Add the oil to the large hole and the vinegar and vanilla extract separately into the small holes. Pour the water into the pan and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Immediately put the pan in the oven.
Bake until a pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan and serve. This cake is best on the day it’s cooked.
In 1966 Ella Helfrich of Houston, Texas won second place in the annual Pillsbury Bake-Off for her Tunnel of Fudge Cake. While the original ingredients to make the cake are no longer available, this recipe makes a very delicious substitute.
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Yield: 12 servings
Cake:
½ cup boiling water
Believe it or not, there is a rich, creamy tunnel of fudge hiding in this cake.
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans or walnuts
2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2½ sticks of butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
5 eggs at room temperature
Glaze:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream, very hot but not boiling
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 12-cup non-stick Bundt pan.
Whisk the boiling water and chocolate together in a small bowl until melted and smooth. Let the mixture cool slightly. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, nuts, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes) with an electric mixer set on medium. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the chocolate mixture until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly beat in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
Pour the batter in to the prepared pan. Bake the cake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top feels springy when touched, about 40-45 minutes. Take care not to over bake this cake. Do not test with a wooden pick.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Let the cake cool completely (about 2 hours).
While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Place the chopped chocolate in a small mixing bowl; pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate; add the corn syrup, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Let the hot mixture sit for 3-5 minutes and then whisk to combine. Whisk until the glaze is smooth and the chocolate is completely melted. Let cool for 25 minutes or until thickened.
Drizzle the glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Let the glaze set before serving, about 25 minutes.
It took all my strength NOT to preheat the oven for this Cold Oven Pound Cake. Surprisingly enough, this recipe worked. The cake will rival any traditional pound cake recipes; the crumb is tender and fine and the crust was deliciously crisp like classic pound cake.
Cold Oven Pound Cake
Oddly enough, this Cold Oven Pound Cake MUST be started in a cold oven. It will not work in a preheated oven.
Yield: 12 servings
3 cups of cake flour
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ sticks butter, softened
2 ½ cups of granulated sugar
6 large farm fresh eggs, room temperature
Grease and flour a 16-cup tube pan. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. In a measuring cup mix the milk and vanilla together.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer set on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one third of the flour mixture followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat with half the remaining flour mixture and the remaining milk mixture. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the oven to 325°F and turn it on. Immediately put the cake into the oven and bake, without opening the door for 70 to 80 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack; flip the cake and cool completely.
Thank you Thomas Jefferson for your amazing contributions to these United States of America. You gave us the dumbwaiters, the hideaway bed, the pedometer, the revolving bookstand, the Declaration of Independence (eternal thanks and admiration for this little gem) and last but not least, macaroni and cheese. Rumor has it that Jefferson actually served macaroni and cheese at the White House state dinner in 1802.
The Monticello recipe for macaroni and cheese is basic at best. Still, it’s a far cry from the boxes of macaroni and cheese powder that we all cherish as a guilty pleasures. Today we are thinking outside the little blue box and putting inventive twists on this comfort food classic, taking it out of dorm rooms and school cafeterias and serving Macaroni ‘n Cheese in fine restaurants, gourmet clubs and family dinners, just as Thomas Jefferson intended.
Macaroni Pie
The Original Monticello Cookbook
Boil as much macaroni as will fill your dish in milk and water, until quite tender; drain it on a sieve. Sprinkle a little salt over it, put a layer in your dish, then cheese and butter as in polenta and bake in the same manner.
Nutritional yeast is a healthy product made from inactive yeast and beet molasses. It has a cheesy, umami-like flavor that serves as a fine substitute for cheese in vegetarian dishes. You can find it in the health food section of many grocery stores.
You won’t miss the cheese in this creamy, “cheesy” Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese.
Vegan Cauliflower Mac ‘n Cheese
Yield: 4 main dish servings
4 cups elbow macaroni
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
½ cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegan Parmesan Cheese (optional)
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.
Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add in the chopped cauliflower and carrots. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until softened. Drain and place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process on high until smooth. Add the oil, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
Add the processed “cheese” sauce to the pasta and mix well.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese, if desired.
What happens when two great American classics combine? Pure magic. That’s what.
Some have called this the best of America, in a bowl.
Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Yield: 4 servings
1 (25.5-oz.) package frozen popcorn chicken (I used Tyson Anytizers)
8 oz. cavatappi
1 cup whole milk
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon butter
¾ cup plus ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt, to taste (I don’t use much)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup of hot buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot), more if you like
½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Cook the chicken according to package direction. Cook the cavatappi according to package directions.
While the chicken and pasta are cooking, make the cheese sauce. In a small saucepan, whisk together the cold milk and cornstarch. Set the pot over medium low heat and slowly bring the milk mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer immediately and stir in the butter. When the sauce is hot enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and slowly stir in ¾ cup of cheddar cheese; stir until the cheese has melted and the mixture is silky smooth and well blended.
Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and immediately toss with the hot buffalo wing sauce.
Place the cooked, drained pasta in a large bowl; pour the cheese sauce over it and stir to combine. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with the blue cheese.
Serve immediately with a serving of Buffalo Chicken.
I love horseradish. I love bacon and I love Mac ‘n Cheese. So I combined the three and prepared them in the most decadent and indulgent way I could devise. Better save this one for special occasions.
Horseradish Cheddar and Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese ready for the oven; just 30 minutes away from the ultimate cheesy indulgence.
Horseradish Cheddar and Bacon Mac ‘n cheese
Yield: 8 servings
½ pound of bacon
1 pound of orecchiette
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Tablespoons of bacon fat (reserved from the cooked bacon)
¼ cup flour
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
2 cups shredded horseradish cheddar (from the deli), divided
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
Line a baking sheet with foil and top the foil with a cooling rack. Arrange the bacon on the rack, side by side. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
Cook the pasta until it is just under al dente and set aside.
While the bacon and pasta are cooking make the cheese sauce. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, add the butter and bacon fat. When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and cook the roux for at least 1 minute but not more than 2. Lower the heat to medium low and slowly whisk in the milk. Heat until the mixture comes to a slow boil and is thick.
Remove from the heat and slowly stir in 1½ cups of the cheddar cheese and 1½ cups of the horseradish cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Take care not to add the cheese all at once or the sauce may seize. Stir in ½ cup of the crumbled bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce and stir to completely combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bacon. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
BLYTHEWOOD – A local business man is offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of those who have been using his car lot as their own personal catalytic converter vending machine. Mickey Dinkins, owner of Mickey D’s Car Lot at 11019 Wilson Blvd., made the offer after his lot was broken into between late-night Nov. 21 and early Nov. 22. It was, he said, at least the fifth time the fence around his lot had been breached and catalytic converters sawn from underneath cars on the lot. This time bandits made off with the converters from no less than nine vehicles on the lot, with each converter valued between $40 and $100.
Dinkins said he was offering a $300 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.
