GOOD NEWS: Honor for All-Stars, Matthews, more

All-Stars to be honored as “barrier breakers”

Members of Charleston’s 1955 Cannon Street Y All-Star team will be honored Oct. 7 as “Barrier Breakers” by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports at its annual banquet and Hall of Fame induction.

Earlier this summer, members of the 1955 Cannon Street All-Star team were honored at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Pictured, l-r: Team historian Agustus Holt, John Bailey, David Middleton, John Rivers and Allen Jackson. Photo provided.

In the summer of 1955, a team of 14 African-American boys form the Cannon Street YMCA Little League entered a local tournament to try to get to win a trip to the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. South Carolina had 61 other teams, all of which had white players. None of the white teams would play the Cannon Street team, which led to them being named winner at state and regional levels by default. When they reached the national tournament, they weren’t allowed to play, however, due to rules.

“At the time, those 14 young boys probably had no idea the impact they had on society,” according to the NCAS in a release about the award. “They inspired people then and continue to even today.”

John Rivers, a former player who is now a Georgia architect, reflected, “In 1955 we just wanted to play ball, and we weren’t allowed to do so. Since then, we have realized that we and our coaches and parents were taking a bold stand in the midst of the civil rights movement that was transforming our country. We had to sacrifice in 1955, as millions of other people also sacrificed at the time. The result was the overturning of prejudicial laws in all spheres of life. As this summer’s shooting in Charleston has shown, there is much racism and hatred that still must be overturned. We must still show strength, as we did in 1955. But we’ve made unbelievable gains, and we are all determined to make even more.”

In more good news:

Matthew

Charleston native confirmed to head federal agency.  The U.S. Senate on Tuesday night confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Charleston native Kathryn K. Matthew to be director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency that is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums.

“I am honored to have been nominated by President Barack Obama and to have received the confidence from the Senate through their confirmation process.  I look forward to being appointed to serve as the fifth Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services,” said Matthew, still a Charleston resident. She is married to George Stevens, past head of the Coastal Community Foundation.

Matthew will serve a four-year term as the director of the Institute. Trained as a scientist, Matthew has had a 30-year museum career and worked in the private sector. She received a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, master’s in business administration from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.  More.

Justice seminar: State. Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, and Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon will lead a 6 p.m. Oct. 8 forum titled “21^st Century Social Justice.” The event, which will be held the ILA Hall, 1142 Morrison Drive, in Charleston, is open to the public and features a former federal prosecutor and an expert on criminal sentencing. For more details, contact: fortysixblue@gmail.com

Reassessment notices on the way. More than 185,000 reassessment notices for real property and mobile homes have been sent by Charleston County to ensure property owners understand the periodic tax reassessment required by law. Because property values change over time, reassessment equalizes the tax burden so that every property owner pays taxes in proportion to the value of the property as of the most recent reassessment.

The last reassessment in Charleston County was implemented in 2011. At reassessment, state law limits the increase in the taxable value on most properties to a maximum of 15 percent over the prior value. The 15 percent cap is a cap on the increase in value, not on taxes. Taxes are influenced by many other factors such as millage, exemptions, deductions and special use values. Bottom line: Even if your reassessment goes up or down, you could pay less in taxes based on the rate set by the county.

The Charleston County Assessor’s Office staff includes licensed and certified appraisers who perform ongoing research into the local real estate market. At reassessment, real property is valued based on that research. The market for property creates the value, and the market is driven by buyers and sellers. Therefore, supply and demand is the largest single factor in determining a property’s value.

If someone disagrees with the value on their reassessment notice, they have the right to file an objection in writing to the Charleston County Assessor’s Office within 90 days from the date on the reassessment notice. A form for filing objections will be included with the reassessment notice to make it easy for owners. More: Phone a hotline with questions — (843) 958-4144 — or check the county’s website.