A Few Clouds and 89° F

A former governor who is today being touted as a possible candidate for the U.S. presidency is scheduled to speak Tuesday to members of a youth mentor program.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will stop off in Orangeburg to address counselors involved in a program that links church and state in an attempt to offer guidance to troubled youth. The program kicked off in Orangeburg County earlier this year with the aid of local churches volunteering to serve as mentors to first-time juvenile offenders.

The noon event at Andrews Chapel is open to the public. However, seating is limited to 300.

The stop is part of a multi-stop tour of the Palmetto State.

"We're very excited, and we've been wanting to come down here for a long time," Warner's spokesman Craig Kirby said. "We're excited about spending time in South Carolina."

Hosted by Andrews Chapel Baptist Church, Warner is slated to address counselors of the First Circuit Solicitor's Office Youth Mentoring Program. "I think it demonstrates the importance of this program and how widely accepted it is," First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said. "This also shows how popular it is around the country. This is a program accepted by Republicans and Democrats alike."

The youth program serves as an arbitrator for first-time juvenile offenders. Instead of becoming a court docket number in the juvenile justice system, youths accepted into the program are sent before a trained volunteer counselor who conducts hearings and monitors the juveniles' progress.

If the youth successfully completes a program of counseling, and often public service, the charge can be dropped pending a decision by the solicitor.

Meanwhile, though Warner hasn't officially announced his intentions to run for the country's highest office, national media are picking the former Democratic governor as a horse expected to run in the race.

Orangeburg is one of several stops Warner is expected to make in this state next week.

A New York Times Magazine article earlier this year described the 51-year-old Warner as "the bright new star in the constellation of would-be candidates."

Serving as Virginia's governor from 2002 to January of this year, Warner co-founded the company that eventually became Nextel.

The Indiana native graduated in 1977 from George Washington University. He also holds a law degree obtained from Harvard.

Pascoe said the next two years leading up to the presidential election will "be a very exciting time."

"We have a lot of great people running for president of the United States on both sides of the aisle, both Republican and Democrat," Pascoe said. "There's a lot of serious issues affecting the country, and now we're going to have a number of statesmen to tell us their ideas."

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.