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Tabor-Loris Tribune 12 PAGES TODAY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012 SIXTY-FIFTH YEAR NUMBER 50 © All material 2012 All rights reserved THE FIRST PULITZER PRIZE WINNING WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IN THE UNITED STATES “SERVING THE TWIN CITIES & SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES” 50¢ (Continued on Page 2) www.tabor-loris.com Expunged Assault story was made up: Dr. Gangi By DEUCE NIVEN Assault allegations that resulted in the January arrest of Glenn Ross Gangi, MD were fabricated by a medical professional with a frightening history of substance abuse who feared an accidental text message would land her in new legal trouble, Dr. Gangi said last week. The veteran urologist, who served as a woman’s physician at Riker’s Island prison in New York, has documents to back up his story, one he said he was unable to tell until those charges were formally dismissed. A decision to dismiss the charges was made in May, but it was not until Summary Court judge Margie Bellamy Livingston signed an “Order for the Destruction of Arrest Records” on June 11 that Gangi felt free to talk about the case. “I couldn’t talk about it,” Dr. Gangi said. “But now that it’s all said and done, there are some issues that need to be cleared up. When people read the paper that something bad has happened, they believe it. That’s not actually the way it was. “There’s a whole different story behind the situation.” Substance abuse That story, Dr. Gangi said, began several years ago as he became involved with a nurse anesthetist, Lori Ashli Daniels. Daniels did not return a call to her last known cell phone number seeking comment for this story. Now 33, Daniels and Dr. Gangi had an on- again, off-again relationship that he said has been over for about two years. Her substance abuse issues, Dr. Gangi said, doomed their rela- tionship, and prompted state regulators to take her license to practice as a nurse anesthetist. Daniels was indicted by a Brunswick County grant jury last year, accused of forging the sig- nature of Dr. Robert DeGrood, a surgeon prac- ticing in Loris until last month, and obtaining Oxycodone from Calabash Family Pharmacy on three occasions in March and April of 2011. Dr. Gangi said Daniels was unable to complete drug rehab stints out-of-state, and completed one in South Carolina late last year. She appeared on the road to recovery, and on the way to having her certification restored to practice as a nurse anesthetist, delivering drugs to sedate patients during surgery. His impression changed irrevocably on Jan. 15, when Daniels showed up outside Dr. Gangi’s North Myrtle Beach office. Daniels, Gangi said, was “clearly under the influence of something, barely able to talk, falling several times. Ashli claimed it was alcohol, yet it appeared more than that as I could not detect any alcohol on her breath.” Daniels, Dr. Gangi said, had, that afternoon, accidentally sent a text message intended for someone else to his phone. “U sure u didn’t take the white pills I was saving?” the message said. “I was holding on to them for when I run out of adderall, so I won’t Elder awareness Elder abuse awareness was the focus for a walk held near the Columbus County Senior Center at Lake Tabor and elsewhere across the county on Friday. A toddler distracted by playground equipment at the Lake Tabor trail provided a sharp contrast to the older victims of elder abuse represented by more of the walkers. Center director Susan Prince said elder abuse happens with frequency, and that calling attention to the problem is important. Additional photos are on Page 8. (Deuce Niven photo) Gary Lanier attends a ribbon cutting in Zhaoyuan, China Former home health provider Steve Smith (left) speaks with current providers including Donna Walters and Larry Cribb during a break between Columbus County Commissioners meetings. Budget spares senior centers, barely By DEUCE NIVEN With some confusion over its impact, Columbus County Commissioners on Monday approved a budget for the year that begins July 1, and later approved an amendment to the spending plan to pre- vent reducing operating hours for seven senior citizen centers across the county. Commissioners faced sharp criticism from private providers of Personal Care Services (PCS) home health programs who complained that county taxpayers subsidize a money losing program that competes unfairly with private compa- nies. Department of Aging Director Ed Wor- ley, in February, agreed with a consultant who advised commissioners to phase out the PCS program. But his budget proposal for fiscal 2012-2013 called for keeping the program, banking on at least 50 new cli- ents he said would come from two private agencies that have closed within the last month. Already 30 of those clients have ap- plied for the county program, Worley told commissioners Monday. To balance the budget, Worley also recommended cutting a money losing program that provides transportation for the elderly to senior centers to take advantage of a lunch feeding program. Worley also recommended cutting operating hours at those centers to 30 hours per week, closing at 3 p.m. daily, a move most commissioners said they would not support. Those centers now close at 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Commissioners heard from critics of the county-run PCS program during budget workshops last week, and in ad- vance of Monday’s regular meeting, and discussed some minor revisions to the overall $3.8 million county budget plan. But when commissioner Edwin Russ made a motion to approve the budget as county manager Bill Clark presented it in May, with a quick second from com- missioner Buddy Byrd, commissioner Lynwood Norris asked chairman Amon McKenzie about its impact on the senior centers. “That will come later,” McKenzie told Norris. The motion passed 4-3, with Norris casting the decid- ing vote. Then McKenzie asked for a vote on senior center hours, and was told by commissioner James Prevatte that the vote on the budget settled the issue. Norris was clearly upset, and members of the audi- ence told McKenzie that he had given Norris inaccurate information. Commissioner Ricky Bullard promised Norris a fix before the meeting was over, and during the comment ses- sion at the end of the agenda Bullard offered a motion to amend the budget to keep the centers open, a $47,000 expense. Charles McDowell offered a second, and the mo- (Continued on Page 8) (Continued on Page 3) Future of winery may lie nearby CHINA By DEUCE NIVEN While the economic develop- ment focus in recent weeks has been on a trash to diesel proposal that involves the old Columbus County landfill, efforts that in- volve agriculture and wine are ongoing. A winery that is part of a Chinese venture in operation in Brunswick won’t likely remain there, county Economic Develop- ment Director Gary Lanier said recently. Southeastern sections of the county seem a more likely choice for the Yantai Bao Long Komas Chateau Winery, Ltd. facility, Lanier said, because of traffic pat- terns and the potential for tourist visiting from coastal areas on both sides of the state line. “If you want to go down to where a lot of tourists are congre- gating, southeastern Columbus works,” Lanier said. “Bus tours, grapes on the vine, bottling and more are very attractive to tour- ists.” Brunswick would be seen by Myrtle Beach area day-tour plan- ners as too far, not so southeastern sections of the county, Lanier said. Chinese possibilities A visit to China by Lanier helped bring the winery to Colum- bus County, with opportunities for other investments yet to be realized. There’s interest from an agriculture company in Tianjin, and another investor has an in- terest in the currently shutdown Tortimex as a provider of taco shells for broad areas of China. “He also wants to talk about starting a chain of Mexican res- taurants in China,” Lanier said. Just what that could mean to Columbus County isn’t yet clear, but the county is working to build relationships that could bring jobs. Already, Columbus County Commissioners have approved a sister city agreement with the Zhaoyuan government. An 11-per- son delegation of that Chinese city is expected to visit Columbus County July 23 to 25, with a group from Columbus County to make a return visit later. “I need to go back and look at a company that is interested,” Lanier said. “I’m hoping to make the next trip count, do that sister- city stuff first, then go to Tianjin.”
