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Sumter, SC | http://www.theitem.com/article/20090602/ITNEWS01/706029897
MANNING — Work at Scott Jackson Farms resumed Monday morning, but it was far from a normal day there.
That is because vandals rammed tractors into buildings and the cab of an 18-wheeler truck into a shed and left a combine still running after ramming it into an empty horse barn.
All told, more than $500,000 worth of equipment and buildings was either damaged or destroyed.
Scott Jackson Sr., who owns 2,000 acres and rents another 2,000, said the horse barn, a small unoccupied house and the shed had been built in the early 1980s.
All of them survived powerful Hurricane Hugo in 1989, but they proved to be no match for whoever ran roughshod over the property on Paxville Highway (S.C. 261), about halfway between Paxville and Manning, while it was still dark Saturday morning.
"What Hugo couldn't do," Jackson said, "they could."
Jackson, 76, added that in his 55 years of farming, "I have never seen anything like this. I just can't believe this kind of thing can happen."
He added that he had insurance on the equipment, but it still won't cover much of the cost.
"You can't take out enough insurance to replace all this," he said, pointing out that the John Deere 9650 combine and header that ran into the barn is worth about $200,000. "We have it insured for a third or half the amount."
Some of the equipment was so heavily damaged, it could be beyond repair.
The combine is a prime example of that. It was driven so fast that it smashed well into the large barn. The impact also smashed the windshield, and the combine's engine was still running when farm workers arrived about 8 a.m. Saturday.
"I want to know how the guy got out of the combine without getting hurt," Jackson said, theorizing that the perpetrator must have jumped out while it was still moving toward the barn. That would not be an easy feat because the combine itself is about 15 feet tall and 30 feet long, and the cab is at least 10 feet off the ground.
The 18-wheeler truck cab destroyed the shed and the small, unoccupied house, and is thought to have been driven into the supports of a truck shed. One of those supports was snapped a few feet off the ground but was still holding up its part of the truck shed, while the support across from it was sheared off.
Danny Hall, Jackson's son-in-law, was one of the first to see the damage that had taken place sometime between 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.
"I saw tractors had been run into 18-wheelers," said Hall, 53. "The combine was in the barn, and it was still running. I cut the combine off."
Hall, who has helped Jackson run the farm for more than 25 years, said that the phone call he received warning him of the damage didn't prepare him for how extensive it was.
"Everything we had was destroyed," he said. "They took the tractors and ran them into the belts. ... I called up Scott, and his wife answered and said he was sleeping. I told her I need to speak with him, the farm is damaged."
While Jackson still shakes his head over why this happened, he said his faith keeps him going.
"We've always been close to the Lord. We depend on him to give us a lot of help. If it don't rain, we don't get nothing. So why not give it all up to him?" he said.
Despite all the damage, work did continue at the farm Monday. Workers were hoping to start harvesting wheat by the afternoon.
"We felt like it was worse than it really was," Hall said. "We were so overwhelmed Saturday morning, we didn't know what to do. But when we came in today, we saw that we've still got some stuff we can save."
If Jackson could confront whoever is responsible, he said, "The main thing I'd ask them would be, 'Why do you want to do this? Have I done anything to you to warrant you to do this tragedy?' I'd just like to know why. ... I don't have any enemies that I know of."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Clarendon County Sheriff's Department at (803) 435-4414 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. | |
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Scott Jackson Farms Vandalized in Manning, SC
