Chellis to scrutinize Laffey

State Treasurer Converse Chellis plans to board the deteriorating destroyer Laffey at Patriots Point on Thursday to see for himself all the rust and holes he's heard so much about.

He'll meet the repairmen who spent months sloshing around in the warship's hull plugging leaks and retired servicemen who served on the Laffey and drove from other states to meet him.

Then, if Chellis deems the cause worthy, he might take out a cell phone and call the four other members of the state Budget and Control Board from the deck to ask for their support in granting Patriots Point a $9.2 million loan for emergency repairs.

Deputy State Treasurer Scott Malyerck said the board members' staffs reviewed the proposal Tuesday.

"Not only are they monuments to our country and freedom, but they're a tourist attraction," Malyerck said of the ships at Patriots Point.

Last week the Joint Bond Review Committee, a group of lawmakers that considers state financial obligations, forwarded the funding proposal to the board with a caveat: Patriots Point had to submit in writing its plan for repaying the state.

Officials at the maritime museum said they anticipate $20 million that U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C, requested in federal money with the support of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.

Malyerck said Dick Trammell, interim executive director at Patriots Point, also has maintained regular contact with the Treasurer's Office as the Laffey's dire situation became clearer.

"The squeaky wheel gets the funding," Malyerck said.

Laffey Association president Sonny Walker, a Maryland resident, kept in touch with other veterans who served on board the ship as Patriots Point considered turning her into an artificial reef. When the attraction's board learned that scrapping the Laffey would cost nearly the same amount as repairing her at dry dock, the board refocused and the association rejoiced.

Walker rallied a handful of members to travel to Charleston on Thursday to meet Chellis.

"When I heard we'd get to talk to the treasurer of the state of South Carolina, I said, 'We'll be there,' " Walker said by phone Tuesday.

Originally, he said, the group thought the trip would consist of little more than cleaning out their lockers for the final time.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.