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SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017
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James’ election to Supreme Court seems certain Sumter judge only candidate left standing BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Judge Dianna Schafer Goodstein has withdrawn her name from consideration to the South Carolina Supreme Court, leaving Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge George “Buck” James as the only
remaining candidate. Lindi Legare, a staff member with the South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission, confirmed Goodstein’s withdrawal Tuesday. JAMES James, who is from Sumter, has been a circuit court judge since 2006. In addition, Family Court Judge George McFaddin Jr. appears poised
to become an at-large circuit judge after two other candidates for that position reportedly withdrew their nominations. Judge Jeffrey Young is the current at-large circuit court MCFADDIN judge and recently announced his intention to retire as soon as a replacement could be sworn in. A joint meeting of the S.C. General
Assembly will vote on judicial nominees beginning at noon today in the House Chamber of the S.C. Statehouse in Columbia. Rep. Murrell Smith Jr., R-Sumter, who is chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission, said having a Sumter resident on the S.C. Supreme Court is something the community can be proud of.
SEE JUDGE, PAGE A8
Returning the favor
REQUESTED ITEMS TO ASSIST VICTIMS • blankets and sheets • pillows and pillowcases • washcloths • towels • jackets • socks • flashlights and batteries • cleaning supplies • toothbrushes, toiletries and soap • school supplies • diapers and wipes • pre-packaged food (crackers, cookies, soups, etc.) • dog and cat food • cardboard boxes (for loading)
COLLECTION SITES Recovery supplies can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday through Feb. 14 at two Sumter locations: United Ministries, 36 Artillery Drive, and Bynum Insurance, 1170 Wilson Hall Road
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A rescue worker enters a hole in the back of a mobile home Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, in Big Pine Estates that was damaged by a tornado, in Albany, Georgia. Fire and rescue crews were searching through the debris, looking for people who might have become trapped when the deadly storm came through.
After receiving flood aid in 2015, Sumter organizes effort to help ravaged Georgia town BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com In an act of reciprocity, the Sumter community is responding to recent tornado victims in Albany, Georgia, after that city reached out to Sumter during the historic statewide floods in October 2015. It was 16 months ago that Sumter endured extreme flooding in a 1,000year flood event, during which some parts of the county received up to 20 inches of rain. Truckloads of food and supplies came in to assist more than 1,000 Sumterites in need during the recovery efforts. One truckload of sup-
plies came from Albany. Now, Sumter is trying to return the favor. Albany’s helping hand to Sumter two years ago was directed by resident Ted Durant, who is a Sumter native. An employee of a local truck rental company in Albany, Durant wanted to do something for his hometown. The owner of the truck rental company donated a tractor-trailer and told Durant he’d also pay for the fuel if Durant would ask the Albany community to fill the trailer. The community responded, and the supplies were eventually delivered to Sumter United Ministries.
After Albany was hit particularly hard with a tornado Jan. 22, Gene Durant — Ted’s father and a Sumter resident — reached out to United Ministries’ Executive Director Mark Champagne and asked if there was any way Sumter could now help Albany in its recovery. “Some things just seem like the right thing to do,” Champagne said. “I told Gene: ‘Yeah, we absolutely need to do this.’” And so United Ministries is now kicking off a campaign to deliver at least a trailer of needed supplies to Albany. Champagne has talked with Ted Durant and others in Albany and com-
piled a list of needed supplies. These include blankets, sheets, pillows and pillowcases, washcloths and towels, jackets, socks, flashlights, cleaning supplies, toiletries, school supplies and pre-packaged food items, among others. Champagne said requested items will be collected from now until Feb. 14. Items can be dropped off Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at United Ministries’ fairgrounds location, 36 Artillery Drive; or at Bynum Insurance, 1170 Wilson Hall Road.
SEE FAVOR, PAGE A8
Company offers 24/7 on-site drug testing for local industry BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com When a local drug-screening company shuttered its facility about three years ago, it left a void that particularly affected industrial plants in the Sumter area. But when Dr. Clay Lowder and owners of Colonial Healthcare saw a business need in the community, they acted quickly to inject a drug-
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screening program complete with a mobile unit. And while plant operators rarely use the mobile unit, when they need it, they need it right away. To understand that need, imagine the damage an intoxicated forklift driver could cause in an industrial plant where forklifts zip back and forth at head-turning speeds. Besides the obvious threat to humans, forklift drivers move
thousands of dollars of products within a plant from production to packaging to shipping. Forklift drivers often follow a miniature roadway system within a plant where yellow lines of demarcation establish routes and boundaries through buildings. But what happens when someone drives outside the lines, perhaps running into a wall or knocking over prod-
DEATHS, B4 and B5 Kyre R. Bethea Dr. Carl B. Ramsey Alex S. Boykin Sr. William Conyers William M. Taylor
Ruby Brown Davis Louise M. Butler Sarah Capell Laureen D. Thomas-Duren Geneval M. Montgover
ucts, thereby endangering lives as well as company products? And what steps can plant managers take to determine the sobriety of a driver? This example just uses the forklift drivers to highlight the situation. Any employee could go to work intoxicated and face a similar scenario. That situation rarely arises, according to the two plant managers The Sumter Item contacted for this story who
said together they deal with fewer than a handful of cases a year for their combined 1,500 employees divided into shifts that run 24/7. But when a company suspects an intoxicated employee is working on a shift, it needs to take immediate action to protect all employees and to possibly clear the suspect. And usually, that requires
SEE DRUGS, PAGE A7
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INSIDE
ANOTHER NICE DAY
3 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES VOL. 122, NO. 78
Partly sunny and warm today with little chance of rain; tonight, partly cloudy and chilly HIGH 73, LOW 48
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