February 28, 2017 by The Sumter Item

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School board’s meeting gets heated Board member responds on the ‘favors’ allegation BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com A Sumter School District board member defended her re-

MICHALIK

cord of integrity and service Monday night in response to recent comments made by black clergy in a newspaper article that referenced she showed partiality and allegiance to the district superintendent. Karen Michalik made her re-

marks in a prepared statement during the board communications’ portion of Monday’s Sumter School Board of Trustees’ work session at the district office, 1345 Wilson Hall Road. “Maybe there exists in some underbelly of some seedy back

alley a place where business is done with favors,” Michalik said. “Well, I don’t hang out in back alleys, and neither would I associate with people of little to no integrity that operate that way.”

SEE BOARD, PAGE A7

Owner arrested in Compass fire Man charged with arson reportedly got $700K BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com On Monday, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested and charged Ronald Clifton Cantey, co-owner of The Compass restaurant in Gable, with arson in connection to the blaze that destroyed the family run business at 7885 Myrtle Beach Highway on July 26, 2016. During the joint investigation conducted by the sheriff’s office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, investigators found evidence placing Cantey, 57, of 589 Cooktown Road, Lake City, at the scene of the fire within minutes of the 911 call.

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

A SLED agent and his arson dog check through the rubble of The Compass restaurant in July 2016 after a fire destroyed the business. Ronald Clifton Cantey, 57, of Lake City was charged Monday with arson and related charges in connection with the July 26 blaze. Cantey reportedly SEE COMPASS, PAGE A7 collected about $700,000 in fraudulent insurance claims in the incident.

Sheriff ’s office seeks man in 2016 shooting death FROM STAFF REPORTS

McNEIL

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating 24-year-old Asaad Jamal McNeil, who is wanted in connec-

tion with the September shooting death of Jaquell Dinkins, 17, of Sumter. According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a call about gunshots

being heard shortly after midnight on the morning of Sept. 14, 2016, in the 200 block of Apollo Street in Wedgefield. Responding deputies found Dinkins unresponsive with one gun-

SEE SUSPECT, PAGE A7

S.C. Chamber head expects veto of tax increase for roads

Man on limited income gets help with heating BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com

Pension reform also gets focus

Sumter United Ministries continues to assist deserving residents of Sumter County who request help with heating needs. Because of the generous contributions to Fireside Fund, the ministry is able to provide assistance to those who need help, said Crisis Relief Ministry Director Kevin Howell. As unseasonably warm temperatures continue, it does not buffer against the overnight drop in temperatures in many homes, he said. “Recently, a disabled man in his 60s requested help with his electric bill,” Howell said. “He lives in a 1970s-model, single-

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shot wound to the back. According to an incident report, witnesses said they and Dinkins knocked at the door of a residence

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BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com wide mobile home. The residence does not retain warm air very well, and his average bills in this ‘warm’ winter thus far have exceeded $200 a month.” The $200 average heating bill is made more complicated by the client’s income, Howell said, which is a meager $521 monthly and includes $18 in food stamps. “It takes 40 percent of his income to heat his home,” Howell said. Recently, the client has had

SEE FIRESIDE, PAGE A8

South Carolina Chamber of Commerce CEO Ted Pitts told Sumter Rotary Club on Monday that the South Carolina General Assembly is focused on two big issues during this session: pension reform and infrastructure funding. Pitts said the House will take up a roads bill this week which will phase in a gas tax increase and increase the sales tax maximum on automobiles from $300 to $500 as well as raise some alternative fees. However, he said he thinks Gov. Henry McJIM HILLEY / THE SUMTER ITEM Master will veto any roads legislation involvSouth Carolina Chamber of Commerce CEO ing a tax increase. Ted Pitts speaks to Sumter Rotary Club on Pitts gave the General Assembly credit for Monday at The O’Donnell House. He preinvesting in the port at Charleston but said if dicted Gov. Henry McMaster would veto any the state does not have the infrastructure to

road funding measure that includes a gas tax increase.

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Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1246 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News and Sports: 774-1226

William B. Collins Jr. Margaret P. Amerson Henry Richardson Jr. Mattie H. Hurst Lee Earl Colclough John A. Burris Daisy L. Caraway

SEE PITTS, PAGE A8

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Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com

Y.E.S. program brings arts to young people BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com About 200 high school students sat rapt in the Sumter Opera House on Friday morning as the Virginia Rep on Tour — the country's second-largest touring company for young audiences — presented a live performance recounting the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Before the play started, one of the actors asked the students from Lakewood and Crestwood high schools how many of them had seen a professional company perform. Only a few raised their hands. The students' attention did not waver throughout the one-act play. "I Have a Dream — The Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." was made accessible to the students through the Opera House's Y.E.S. (Youth Education Scholarship) program. Begun in 2016, the fund will bring a live, professional performance to the Opera House stage each month of the school year. Seth Reimer, Sumter cultural manager, said the fund makes attendance possible for students whose families might not be able to afford tickets to the shows. In addition, he said, "The grant money we receive from the Duke Energy Foundation also pays the expense for Sumter School District buses to transport the students, and it pays the performance groups." Private donors also make it possible for some students to attend the performances. Reimer said about 2,500 students have already attended shows at the Opera House. He's very enthusiastic about the Y.E.S. program. “With the disturbing events in recent news, I find myself increasingly focused on our youth," Reimer said. "How are we equipping these young people for the future they will inherit? The best tool any of us have is knowledge. Let’s teach them about cultures so they learn to value differences while understanding how we are all the same. Let’s share history so they don’t repeat past mistakes. Let’s help them develop compassion through

PHOTOS BY IVY MOORE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Members of Virginia Rep on Tour, front row left, pose for a photo with students from Crestwood and Lakewood high schools following Friday’s performance at the Sumter Opera House. The program sponsored by the Opera House’s Youth Education Scholarship (Y.E.S.) program covers the cost of admission for students and provides educational materials for teachers to use with students.

personal stories. "The arts educate and unite children across all boundaries. Think of reading about anti-bullying techniques, George Washington Carver or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a classroom textbook. Now imagine seeing an engaging performance that brings to life those same issues and characters. Which experience has more power to leave a lasting impression in the heart of a student?" Y.E.S. offers more than just a performance at the Sumter Opera House, he noted. In addition to the shows there, many of the nationally recognized groups and individual performers visit local schools before or after their shows to present workshops in class-

rooms. Y.E.S. also provides educational materials to teachers so they can prepare students for the shows. Shandra Koger, who teaches English at Lakewood High School, said the performance and the provided materials, which comply with S.C. Department of Education curriculum standards, made for a valuable unit in her classroom. Students studied King's speeches and learned about the social and political conditions of King's time and how his leadership changed the direction of civil rights. "It was a wonderful opportunity for my students to see a live performance," Koger said. "It brought the speeches of Dr. King to life." Koger's student, senior Kasey Jones, said he found the unit and the

Widow honored by Sumter Police Department

play "really interesting. I didn't know which parts of (King's) history were true before. Blending the play and the classroom study really helped." Jones said Friday's performance has made him look forward to seeing more live performances and learning more about different cultures. Virginia Rep on Tour, founded in 1975, has been internationally acclaimed for excellence as a theater for young audiences. The company performs live for more than 500,000 students, parents and teachers each year throughout 33 states and the District of Columbia. For more information and to learn how to donate to the Y.E.S. fund, call the Sumter Opera House box office at (803) 436-2616.

LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

Motorcyclist dies in U.S. 15 collision

PHOTO PROVIDED

Elizabeth Burns of Sumter was surprised Monday with a reception and photo of her late husband, Charles Henry Burns, presented by Sumter Police Department. From left are Chief Russell Roark, Burns, Deputy Chief Alvin Holston and Detective Matthew Yates. Burns’ husband was one of two black officers to first join the department in 1952. More than 60 years later, Elizabeth Burns remains a part of the Sumter Police Department family. Yates befriended Burns when he responded to a call at her home and continues to stay in contact with the 91-year-old. She is also enrolled in the department’s CheckMate program where an officer is assigned to check on and assist many of the city’s elderly residents. More photos and a video of Elizabeth Burns can be found on Sumter Police Department’s Facebook page by searching sumterscpolice.

A motorcyclist from Lee County died during a wreck on Saturday night when his bike collided with another vehicle about 8 p.m. on U.S. 15. South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Matt Southern said the deceased, 48-year-old John Anthony Burris, operating a 2000 Suzuki motorcycle went left of the center line while traveling southbound on U.S. 15 near Brown Town Road and struck the front of a 2000 Nissan Maxima traveling in the opposite direction. Burris, who was wearing a helmet, was ejected from the motorcycle and sustained fatal injuries at the scene, Southern said. The driver of the Nissan Maxima was wearing a seatbelt, he said. The wreck is under investigation by South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Toddler struck and killed in Lee County A Bishopville toddler was struck and killed at 6 p.m. Sunday on Raccoon Road in Lee County, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Matt Southern. Southern said Kelvin Rembert, 51, was driving northREMBERT bound on Raccoon Road when 21-month-old Kelsey Cooley apparently ran into the roadway. Two juveniles were in the vehicle with Rembert at the time of the incident. Rembert was charged with driving under the influence, .16 or more, second offense, and child endangerment and was transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center. At a hearing Monday, Lee County Magistrate Judge Palmella Sara Andrews-Brown set bond at $13,749 for the DUI charge and $4,000 for the child endangerment charge, according to public records.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Crestwood Black History Month touches hearts BY ZENIYA COOLEY Crestwood High School correspondent Crestwood High School celebrated black history last week with its annual Black History Month program. The event was vibrant with black culture — from the dances to the wardrobe. A number of Crestwood organizations were involved with the program including the Dance Club, marching band, chorus, color guard and ROTC. It was held in the school’s Fine Arts Center. Artwork, some with quotes, of prominent blacks — Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Prince, Michael Jackson, etc. — was positioned on the stage of the program. At the beginning, drummers began the music as members of the color guard danced to the rhythm. Color guard captain Gabrielle Richbow was enthusiastic about the experience and said she thought “it went very well and was smooth.” Afterward “Northern Slaves” was recited before the chorus sang along to “Wade in the Water.” “I wanted the chorus to become the leaders and to know what comes next,” said chorus teacher Deborah Horton. “That way, everything would run smoothly when we did

PHOTO PROVIDED

A modern dance group performs in front of artwork and quotes by famous blacks.

A REVIEW put it together with everyone.” Afterward, the Dance Club gracefully moved to the background music “Familiar Waters,” leaping, twirling and executing other stunts that required agility and flexibility. One of the dancers, Calaysia Fullwood, described feeling particularly nervous but

thought the club performed nicely. Scenes that were joyous and melancholy were acted out in front of the audience by teacher Trina Caldwell and students — notably, the story of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. Individuals who witnessed the program noted the narrative and the acting of it were emotional to witness. Later, the ROTC was introduced and imitated a scene

from the Tuskegee Airmen while the Drill Team amazed the crowd with its smooth spinning of guns and in-sync steps. Air Force Junior ROTC Instructor Eric Avery said he was impressed with the portrayal that the students did and explained that “the Tuskegee Airmen experience, in my opinion, was a big part of history because it proved to America that AfricanAmericans, if trained, could

do equally as well and, in this case, even better than others.” The last performances consisted of the chorus and band; the former sang and presented the illusion of being on The Underground Railroad, and the latter was led by Drum Major Angel English and played “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Overall, the Black History Month Program was not only informative, but emotional and entertaining as well.

Data shows low rate of discipline for drug loss, theft at VA hospitals WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors, nurses or pharmacy staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs' hospitals were fired or reprimanded in only a small fraction of thousands of reported cases of opioid theft and missing prescriptions since 2010, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. About 372 VA employees were disciplined for a drug or alcohol-related issue across a network of 160 medical centers and 1,000 clinics over the last six years, according to internal figures kept by the facilities that were reported to VA's headquarters. During that time, there were more than 11,000 reported incidents of drug loss or theft at federal hospitals — the vast majority within the VA, according to law enforcement data. Roughly translated, VA employees were disciplined in 3 percent

of cases. Nearly one-third of the disciplined employees were dismissed or forced to resign, according to VA data. Others were suspended without pay, admonished or given "last chance" warnings. Disciplined employees had failed a drug test or were suspected of stealing drugs, among other offenses. The VA declined to comment on reasons behind the low disciplinary rate, saying

some cases were still being adjudicated. It also would not immediately release the case reports, citing employees' personal information. "We would like there to be no drug diversion anywhere at any time," Michael Valentino, chief consultant at VA's Pharmacy Benefits Management Services, told AP. "No matter how robust our systems are, people will be determined to find ways to get around them."

VA, amid rising opioid abuse in the U.S. Reported incidents of drug losses or theft at federal hospitals jumped from 272 in 2009 to 2,926 in 2015, before dipping to 2,457 last year, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"It's a lesson we can learn to tighten things up if possible," he said. The AP reported last week on government data showing a sharp increase since 2009 in opioid theft and drugs that had simply disappeared at the

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Richland deputy turned troubled life around went on to the University of South Carolina and received a degree in public relations. While Jackamonis was still COLUMBIA — Lying in bed in school and nearing compleone night 12 years ago, having tion of the program, Sheriff just been expelled from school, Leon Lott offered her a job as a Brittany Jackamonis had a deputy. She started as a Class revelation about where her life III officer and worked her way was heading. TRACY GLANTZ / THE STATE VIA AP up to Class I, working under"I cannot be this person," cover narcotics, road patrol, Jackamonis, then 18, told herwith an interest in police work shootings and homicides. self. "There's no way I can be "You can tell she had somein contact with deputies to this dropout from high school thing inside of her that you learn basic police functions after all these years I've been could see from talking to her and prepare them for a possiin school, and I know there's so and being around her," Lott ble career in the field. much more I can do." said of hiring Jackamonis. At regular meetings, depuIn addition to not finishing "She's one of those stories ties teach participants patrol school, Jackamonis worried where you start at the very functions such as how to consaid she was the headstrong about possible removal from bottom. She started and duct traffic stops, respond to leader in her household, even the Richland County Sheriff's certain kinds of calls or clear a worked her way up the career over her parents. Department Explorer Post, path." "I had the, 'Don't tell me any- building. Trainings include which introduces young people Jackamonis' story isn't the thing because I'm grown' mind- time on the firing range and to the law enforcement field only successful one to come while teaching them discipline, set when I was a teenager," she physical fitness. The post also out of the Explorer Post, and accountability and responsibil- said, adding that she was more participates in competitions other graduates are employed and community service and at odds with authority after ity. with the department. Still, she outreach opportunities. It's a program that Jackamo- moving to South Carolina in has used her experience to During all of this, Jackamonis, now 30 and a sergeant with 2002. That attitude got her susconnect with kids she's met on the public information division pended from school repeatedly nis said, kids are learning disand eventually got her expelled cipline and respect while build- calls who live in broken homes of the sheriff's department, or kids who participate in the ing character and physical fitafter she cussed out a teacher. said changed her life and program. At the time, she was about a ness. While still in the protransformed her from a trou"I'm talking to these young gram, Jackamonis was motibled kid with no respect for au- year into the Explorer Post in people, and I'm like, 'There is thority into a law enforcement Richland County. The partner- vated to finish high school so much more; don't settle for with night classes and get an ship between the sheriff's deofficer. your environment. Don't settle associate degree in criminal partment and Boy Scouts of Growing up in central New for where you're at,’” she said. justice. The first in her family Jersey, her family occasionally America is a kind of junior to get a college degree, she cadet program that puts kids living in shelters, Jackamonis

BY TEDDY KULMALA The State of Columbia

Brittany Jackamonis is a sergeant with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Her involvement with the Explorer program as a teen influenced her in her career choice and helped mold her character.

Jackamonis said the program is geared toward kids from all backgrounds and levels of academic success who have completed the eighth grade and have an interest in law enforcement. Antoinette Ardoin, 18, attends Jackamonis' church and said "Sgt. Brittany" reached out to her about joining the post. The heightened tensions between communities and law enforcement in recent years propelled her decision to go into law enforcement. In the few months she's attended meetings, Ardoin said the leadership discussions have stood out most to her. "Being a leader, you're gonna lose a couple of friends because you're gonna stand out more than others," she said. "People are gonna be following you, so you can't do the things you used to do anymore." Ardoin is adamant about getting a law enforcement job in Richland County when she finishes the post. "I grew up in this community, and I don't want to leave the people I grew up with behind," she said. "I want to show them you can make a change in your community."

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75 years of shoe repair began on knees in prayer BY ALYSSA MULLIGER The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg SPARTANBURG — Repairing shoes has been a perfect fit for Carl Rogers for the better part of 75 years. The Spartanburg native, who celebrated his 90th birthday on Feb. 21, had only a fifthgrade education when he dropped out of school and learned to fix shoes at age 14. Two decades later, Rogers took over The Heel Bar in the Pinewood Shopping Center on North Pine Street. In the 55 years since, the business has become a staple for not just shoe repairs, but handbag, luggage and belt fixes, too. The successful shop opened on a prayer, Rogers said. "I was in another shoe shop downtown, and I got down on my knees and prayed for the Lord to help me open up a bigger place," he said. "I never dreamed where God would take us. And not a thing goes to my head. I'm just a plain old fella." Rogers and his brother started working on shoes alongside another businessman at a shop on Greene Street. Shortly after, the brothers opened their own shop, a business that lasted about three years. Rogers said he thought he wanted to sell shoes instead of repairing them. He held a few jobs as a shoe salesman, including a position at Sears. "Sears gave me a job right over the phone," Rogers said. "I was counted as one of the best shoe fitters in Spartanburg, is what they told me." It wasn't long before Rogers returned to repairing shoes, becoming the manager of another Spartanburg shoe repair shop at age 17. A few months later, the owner decided to sell that business to Rogers. The shop continued for about five years under Rogers' leadership before it moved to South Church Street. Rogers' wife, Mary, said Pinewood Shopping Center had come to fruition, prompting investors to open The Heel Bar in 1962. The shop was first owned by S&S Shirt Manufacturing. "They were setting up a few shops in the Southeast and

were going to have a large franchise, but it didn't work out," Mary Rogers said. "I went to the shopping center to see it and went home and told Carl about it." A single visit to The Heel Bar led to Carl Rogers moving his shoe repair machinery in to work at the shop. Not long afterward, Rogers, then 35 years old, bought the shop for $4,000. A man of many talents, Rogers was also an evangelist singer when he met Mary in 1951 at Arkwright Baptist Church. His eyes met hers during a revival, and he soon brought her home. "We went together eight weeks, and then we were married," he said. "I was 24, and she was 17." This year the couple is celebrating their 65th year of marriage. They have four children — Kathy, Sheila, John and Amanda — along with six

Carl Rogers, with his wife, Mary, has owned and operated a successful shoe repair shop in Spartanburg. TIM KIMZEY / THE SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL VIA AP

grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. While continuing to repair shoes, Rogers pursued his passion for music, singing at nine churches as a minister of music for 50 years. For several of those years, Mary was by his side as a pianist and singer. The couple sang duets together for 12 years at Young at Heart senior meetings in Spartanburg. And when Rogers bought The Heel Bar all those years ago, he brought in Mary to help with repairs and clerical work. "I taught her how to fix heels

and the easier parts at first. She also kept the books, because I was uneducated," he said. "She's been here ever since." In 1995, Rogers sold The Heel Bar to his son, John, who also runs the adjoining Carolina Pedorthic office. John, 54, essentially grew up in the shoe repair shop and learned the trade from his father. "We had two big plastic plants to begin with, and when John got big enough he had to dust them," Mary Rogers said. "He also helped to oil the machinery when he

was 5 years old." Along with shoe repairs, John began creating customdesigned inserts and orthopedic shoes after taking over the business. Carl Rogers worked alongside his son for a few years before retiring in 1989. "I've done a lot of things with a fifth-grade education," Rogers said. "Most people thought I had a high school education, but I'm a self-made businessman." Mary still works part-time at The Heel Bar with Danny Pharaoh, the only full-time employee.

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at 6:00 p.m., the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments, on behalf of Clarendon County, will hold a Public Hearing at the Clarendon County Administra on Building, Council Chambers, 411 Sunset Drive, Manning, SC. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to review and solicit public comment on the afore-men oned Ci zens Par cipa on Plan, and to solicit public input on community needs and priori es for housing, public facili es, economic development, water/sewer facili es, public safety components and job crea on with a Needs Assessment Survey. The Ci zen Par cipa on Plan is available for review at the Clarendon County Administra on Building, Manning, SC and the Santee-Lynches RCOG Oﬃce, 2525 Corporate Way, Suite 200, Sumter, SC between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Persons with ques ons or comments concerning the Public Hearing or the Ci zens Par cipa on Plan may contact Sharon Durden, Economic and Community Sustainability, Santee-Lynches RCOG, (803) 774-1988. Clarendon County does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, sex, na onal origin, familial status or disability in the admission of, access to, or treatment regarding employment in its federally assisted programs or ac vi es. Thomas Harvin, Clarendon County, (803) 433-3223, has been designated to coordinate compliance with the non-discrimina on requirements contained in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HUD regula ons.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

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Ex-congregants reveal years of ungodly abuse SPINDALE, N.C. (AP) — From all over the world, they flocked to this tiny town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lured by promises of inner peace and eternal life. What many found instead: years of terror — waged in the name of the Lord. Congregants of the Word of Faith Fellowship were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in a violent form of deliverance meant to "purify" sinners by beating out devils, 43 former members told The Associated Press in separate, exclusive interviews. Victims of the violence included preteens and toddlers — even crying babies, who were vigorously shaken, screamed at and sometimes smacked to banish demons. "I saw so many people beaten over the years. Little kids punched in the face, called Satanists," said Katherine Fetachu, 27, who spent nearly 17 years in the church. Word of Faith also subjected members to a practice called "blasting" — an ear-piercing verbal onslaught often conducted in hours-long sessions meant to cast out devils. As part of its investigation, the AP reviewed hundreds of pages of law enforcement, court and child welfare documents, along with hours of conversations with Jane Whaley, the evangelical church's controlling leader, secretly recorded by followers. The AP also spent more than a year tracking down dozens of former disciples who scattered after leaving the church. Those interviewed — most of them raised in the church — say Word of Faith leaders waged a decades-long cover-up to thwart investigations by law enforcement and social services officials, including strong-arming young victims and their parents to lie. They said members were forbidden to seek outside medical attention for their injuries, which included cuts, sprains

‘You literally had to beat the devils out of people’. RICK COOPER A 20-year congregant of the Word of Faith Fellowship

and cracked ribs. Several former followers said some congregants were sexually abused, including minors. The former members said they were speaking out nowbecause of guilt for not doing more to stop the abuse and because they fear for the safety of the children still in the church, thought to number about 100. In the past, Whaley has strongly denied that she or other church leaders have ever abused Word of Faith members and contended that any discipline would be protected by the First Amendment's freedom of religion tenets. She and church attorney Josh Farmer turned down repeated AP requests for interviews to discuss the fresh allegations from the dozens of former congregants. The ex-members said the violence was ever-present: Minors were taken from their parents and placed in ministers' homes, where they were beaten and blasted and sometimes completely cut off from families for up to a decade. For several years, males perceived as the worst sinners were kept in a fourroom former storage facility in the compound called the Lower Building. They were cut off from their families for up to a year, never knew when they would be released and endured especially violent, prolonged beatings and blastings, according to more than a dozen of those interviewed. Teachers in the church's K-12 school encouraged students to beat their class-

mates for daydreaming, smiling and other behavior that leaders said proved they were possessed by devils, the former followers said. "It wasn't enough to yell and scream at the devils. You literally had to beat the devils out of people," said Rick Cooper, a U.S. Navy veteran who spent more than 20 years as a congregant and raised nine children in the church. Word of Faith Fellowship has been scrutinized on numerous occasions by law enforcement, social services agencies and the news media since the early 1990s — all without significant impact, mostly because followers refused to cooperate. Some former members offered a more doctrinal explanation for their decades of silence: frequent warnings by Whaley that God would strike them dead if they betrayed her or her church. Word of Faith Fellowship was founded in 1979 by Whaley, a petite former math teacher, and her husband, Sam, a former used car salesman. They are listed as co-pastors, but all of those interviewed said it is Jane Whaley — a fiery, 77-year-old Christian Charismatic preacher — who maintains dictatorial control of the flock and also administers some of the beatings herself. She has scores of strict rules to control congregants' lives, including whether they can marry or have children. At the top of the list: No one can complain about her or question her authority. Failure to comply often triggers

a humiliating rebuke from the pulpit or, worse, physical punishment, according to most of those interviewed. Under Jane Whaley's leadership, Word of Faith grew from a handful of followers to a 750-member sect, concentrated in a 35-acre complex protected by tight security and a thick line of trees. The group also has nearly 2,000 members in churches in Brazil and Ghana and affiliations in other countries. Those attending the church's twice-ayear international Bible seminars were encouraged to move to Spindale, a community of 4,300 midway between Charlotte and Asheville. It wasn't until they sold their homes and settled in North Carolina that the church's "dark side" gradually emerged, former members said. By then — isolated from their families and friends, and believing Whaley was a prophet — they were afraid to leave or speak out, they said. Given what they characterize as Whaley's record for retribution against those she sees as traitors, the former members said they hope there is strength and protection in speaking out in numbers. "For most of my life, I lived in fear. I'm not scared anymore," said John Cooper, one of Rick Cooper's sons. Still, many former church members say the memories — and the nightmares — never seem to fade, and they live in fear for their family members still inside. Danielle Cordes, now 22, said she has deep psychological scars from spending more than three-quarters of her life in Whaley's world. Three years ago, the last time she tried to visit her parents' house, her father slammed the door in her face without saying a word. To this day, whenever she calls, family members hang up. "I need my family, and they're gone," she said.

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COMPASS FROM PAGE A1 According to previous statements from Sumter Fire Department Battalion Chief Joey Duggan, the call about the fire came in about 10:45 p.m. on July 26, and firefighters stayed on scene until about 4:30 a.m. on July 27. An estimated $300,000 in damage was caused to the building, and approximately $150,000 in contents were lost, Duggan said. On or about Sept. 14 and Oct. 3, Cantey collected approximately $700,000 in fraudulent insurance claims, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. Cantey is charged with second-degree arson, making a false insurance claim and burning personal property to defraud an insurer. The restaurant was built in 1975, and the family was about two weeks away from celebrating its five-year anniversary of being owned by them when it burned down. Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis lauded the hard

BOARD FROM PAGE A1

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Ronald Clifton Cantey, co-owner of The Compass, was arrested and charged with second-degree arson on Monday. work by SLED investigators as well as those within the sheriff’s office. “This is a prime example of local and state authorities working together to bring this case to a close,” he said. “This was nothing short of excellent investigative work by both agencies.” Florence County Sheriff’s deputies also assisted in the arrest that came without incident.

SUSPECT FROM PAGE A1 in the area, and the occupants attempted to pull them inside. As the witnesses ran away, the occupants began shooting, striking Dinkins. During an investigation, officers gathered enough information to establish probable cause to obtain a murder warrant for McNeil. He has two outstanding bench warrants for contempt as well as one bench warrant for murder and another for possession of a weapon during

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

a violent crime, according to the release. McNeil is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Any information regarding the shooting or McNeil’s whereabouts can be provided to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 436-2000 or provided anonymously to Crimestoppers at (803) 436-2718.

In a Feb. 17 article in The Sumter Item, the Rev. Marion Newton of Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church said several board members with personal ties to Superintendent Frank Baker in the previous Sumter School District 2 or the current consolidated district show favoritism to him and are not acting in the best interest of the children of the district. “The board is not doing their job,” Newton said at the time. “They are not thinking about the children but saving the administration. How can we have a consolidated district when the board is stacked with District 2, and their allegiance is to

Dr. Baker who has done favors for them, naturally.” Other black clergy also voiced their concern at the time of possible board favoritism to Baker. There has also been speculation in the Sumter community that the group of black clergy in Sumter is pushing mostly for Baker’s dismissal. Michalik’s husband, John, previously worked as a teacher in District 2 under Baker, and he is a high school principal in the consolidated district. In her statement Monday night, Michalik said her moral compass is set very high, and she has never received any favors of any circumstance from the superintendent.

She said her seat on the board represents her constituents, and she said it’s not difficult for her to side against Baker on any issues — as opposed to the allegations made in the newspaper article. “This is the people’s seat,” Michalik said. “It will not be bullied or threatened by a vocal minority group seemingly hell-bent on destruction.” To this statement, the crowd of about 50 residents at the board meeting got very vocal in response to Michalik. Board chairman the Rev. Daryl McGhaney had to eventually call for a brief recess because of the crowd’s response. After about a five-minute recess, the meeting was called back to order, and Michalik was able to finish her statement.

Drug Companies Fear Release of the New AloeCure

Big Pharma stands to lose billions as doctors’ recommend drug-free “health cocktail” that adjusts and corrects your body’s health conditions. by David Waxman Seattle Washington:

Drug company execs are nervous. That’s because the greatest health advance in decades has hit the streets. And analysts expect it to put a huge crimp in “Big Pharma” proﬁts. So what’s all the fuss about? It’s about a new ingredient that’s changing the lives of people who use it. Some call it “the greatest discovery since penicillin”! And others call it “a miracle!”

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The secret to AloeCure’s “health adjusting” formula is scientifically tested Acemannan, a polysaccharide extracted from Aloe Vera. But not the same aloe vera that mom used to apply to your cuts, scrapes and burns. This is a perfect strain of aloe that is organically grown in special Asian soil; under very strict conditions. AloeCure is so powerful it begins to benefit your health the instant you take it. It soothes intestinal discomfort and you can avoid the possibility of bone and health damage caused by overuse of digestion drugs. We all know how well aloe works externally on cuts, scrapes and burns. But did you know Acemannan has many of other health benefits?...

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Company spokesperson, Dr. Liza Leal; a leading integrative health specialist out of Texas recommends Aloecure before she decides to prescribe any digestion drug. Especially after the FDA’s stern warning about long-term use of drugs classiﬁed as proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec®, Nexium®, and Prevacid®. In a nutshell, the FDA statement warned people should avoid taking these digestion drugs for longer than three 14-day treatment periods because there is an increased risk of bone fractures. Many people take them daily and for decades.

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TOP DOC WARNS: DIGESTION DRUGS CAN CRIPPLE YOU!

Dr. Leal should know. Many patients come to her with bone and joint complaints and she does everything she can to help them. One way for digestion sufferers to help avoid possible risk of tragic joint and bone problems caused by overuse of digestion drugs is to take the AloeCure.

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The name of the product is the AloeCure. It’s not a drug. It’s something completely different. And the product is available to anyone who wants it, at a reasonable price. But demands may force future prices to rise.

RAPID ACID AND HEARTBURN NEUTRALIZER Aloe has proved to have an astonishing effect on users who suffer with digestion problems like bouts of acid reﬂux, heartburn, cramping, gas and constipation because it acts as a natural acid buffer and soothes the digestive system. But new studies prove it does a whole lot more.

SIDE-STEP HEART CONCERNS So you’ve been taking proton pump inhibitors (PPI’s) for years and you feel just ﬁne. In June of 2015 a major study shows that chronic PPI use increases the risk of heart attack in general population.

UNLEASH YOUR MEMORY Think about it. If you kept dumping fat and grease down your drain; how long do you think it would take to clog it up? The answer is, not very long at all. And that’s exactly what happens to your brain every time you eat processed, fried or fatty foods. Studies show that your brain needs the healthy bacteria from your gut in order function at its best. Both low and high dosages of digestion drugs are proven to destroy that healthy bacteria and get in the way of brain function. So you’re left with a sluggish, slow-to-react brain without a lot of room to store information. The acemannan used in AloeCure actually makes your gut healthier, so healthy bacteria ﬂows freely to your brain so you think better, faster and with a larger capacity for memory.

Doctors call it“The greatest health discovery in decades!” SLEEP LIKE A BABY A night without sleep really damages your body. And continued lost sleep can lead to all sorts of health problems. But what you may not realize is the reason why you’re not sleeping. Some call it “Ghost Reflux”. A low-intensity form of acid reflux discomfort that quietly keeps you awake in the background. AloeCure helps digestion so you may find yourself sleeping through the night.

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SAVE YOUR KIDNEY National and local news outlets are reporting Kidney Failure linked to PPI’s. Your Kidney extracts waste from blood, balance body ﬂuids, form urine, and aid in other important functions of the body. Without it your body would be overrun by deadly toxins. Aloe helps your kidney function properly. Studies suggest, if you started taking aloe today; you’d see a big difference in the way you feel.

GUARANTEED RESULTS OR DOUBLE YOUR MONEY BACK Due to the incredible results people are reporting, AloeCure is being sold with an equally incredible guarantee. “We can only offer this incredible guarantee because we are 100% certain this product will work for those who use it,” Says Dr. Leal. Here’s how it works: Take the pill exactly as directed. You must see and feel remarkable improvements in your digestive health, your mental health, in your physical appearance, the amount inﬂammation you have throughout your body – even in your ability to fall asleep at night! Otherwise, simply return the empty bottles with a short note about how you took the pills and followed the simple instructions and the company will send you...Double your money back!

HOW TO GET ALOECURE This is the ofﬁcial nationwide release of the new AloeCure pill in the United States. And so, the company is offering our readers up to 3 FREE bottles with their order. This special give-away is available for the next 48-hours only. All you have to do is call TOLL-FREE 1-877-303-5316 and provide the operator with the Free Bottle Approval Code: Q147. The company will do the rest. Important: Due to AloeCure’s recent media exposure, phone lines are often busy. If you call and do not immediately get through, please be patient and call back. Those who miss the 48 hour deadline may lose out on this free bottle offer.

THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS MAY VARY ALOECURE IS NOT A DRUG. IF YOU ARE CURRENLTY TAKING A PRESCRIPTION DRUG YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE USE. FOR THE FULL FDA PUBLISHED WARNING ON PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.FDA.GOV/DOWNLOADS/FORCONSUMERS/CONSUMERUPDATES/UCM213307 *compensated for opinion

LOCAL

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

FIRESIDE

PITTS FROM PAGE A1

FROM PAGE A1 expensive dental needs and impending dental surgery, Howell said, which is an outof-pocket expense for him. “When the work is complete, he will have spent $1,000,” Howell said. “He is also in poor health and had to be assisted during the interview by having a representative present the request for help.” Because of the resources provided by Fireside Fund, Sumter United Ministries was able to assist the client by paying his final notice electric bill and providing food (another out-of-pocket expense). It is clients like these, who have so little, that compel the ministry to continue to listen and help, Howell said. “Your donations make a difference,” he said. “Thank you.” This winter’s Fireside Fund is dedicated to the memory of Sumter philanthropist Phil Edwards, who died in 2016. Edwards’ generosity can be seen across Sumter and the South Carolina Midlands. From Sumter County Museum to the expansion of Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, the Williams-BriceEdwards Charitable Trust, set up by Edwards and his wife, Flora, continues to enhance our community. The recipient of this year’s Fireside Fund contributions is Sumter United Ministries. Fireside Fund was established in 1969 to help needy families and individuals pay heating bills, buy firewood or heating fuels and stay warm during the winter months. Since its founding, Fireside Fund has brought in more than $1.5 million in donations from generous readers. Anyone in need of assistance with heating costs may call Sumter United Ministries at (803) 775-0757. Donations can be mailed to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29151 or dropped off at the office, 36 W. Liberty St. Names, including groups, should be spelled completely. When making a donation in someone’s honor, the names will be printed as given. From Feb. 20-23, the crisis relief ministry financially assisted 19 families with utilities and heating, for a total of $6,868.51. Donations for the week ending on Feb. 27: Alice Andrews Michaux Bible Class of Bethel United Methodist Church, $325; Women of Fraser Church, $50; Friendship Circle of Concord Presbyterian Church, $50; in memory of Mrs. Ertha R. Thompson and Mr. Henry L.Thompson by Rev. Robert Thompson, $25. Total combined anonymous: $0 Total this week: $450 Total this year: $47,946.18 Total last year: $52,959.60 Total since 1969: $1,539,934.24

connect to the port, it will be at a disadvantage. He said Georgia and North Carolina have both passed additional revenue measures. “We continue to lag behind,” he said. “All you have to do is ride from North Carolina or Georgia into South Carolina.” He said it is most apparent at the Savannah River Bridge on Interstate 95 when the highway drops from eight lanes to four lanes as you enter the Palmetto State from Georgia. “You know we have a problem,” he said. Pitts said he is hopeful the General Assembly can get something done, but any measure will need a veto-proof majority. “There’s a bill that we think will get two-thirds of the House, and it will go to Senate,” he said. To override a potential veto, he said, a roads bill including a tax increase will need a two-thirds vote in the Senate as well. Another major issue facing the General

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Assembly is pension reform, Pitts said. “Ultimately, the state has a pension system that has an unfunded liability,” he said. “Every time you hear the number it’s different, but it is in the billions of dollars.” Pitts said House Speaker Jay Lucas, RDarlington, and President Pro-tem of the Senate Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, put together a joint committee to come up with a solution. “This doesn’t happen very often,” Pitts said. “But they said this is so important that we have to work on this together and come up with a solution.” He said a solution will likely have to include more money from taxpayers, employees and employers. The S.C. Chamber of Commerce is also interested in business licensing reform, he said. “The state Chamber has taken the lead and said we need to standardize business licensing across the state,” Pitts said. He said the Chamber has some members that must apply and pay for as many as 80 business licenses. “That means 80 different expiration dates, multiple different rate classes that

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each (local government) does differently,” he said. “We think it can be made more business friendly through standardization.” The S.C. Municipal Association has criticized the bill as restricting the ability of municipalities to collect revenue and as an example of top-down governance. “We are just asking for a simpler way for business to be able to file taxes with local governments,” Pitts said. He said some local governments across the state are being “very aggressive about this and shutting down projects.” Workforce development is also an important issue for the state Chamber, Pitts said. “We have a workforce issue, and it is not just South Carolina,” he said. “As I travel around the county and talk to other state Chambers, they tell you it is very prevalent across the country.” He said while South Carolina’s technical college system gives the state an advantage, it is important not to just focus on two-year degrees and certificate programs. “We are headed for a shortage of people with four-year degrees also,” he said.

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COMMENTARY

Hollywood elites slam president

n Sunday night, the Hollywood elites came together to adore themselves at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. It was the usual affair with several lame attempts at humor from alleged comedian host Jimmy Kimmel. Of course he added the obligatory bash-Trump Hubert D. smear to his stale routine Osteen Jr. to feed some red meat to the Hollywood lefties. As for the Best Picture award, it went to “Moonlight” following a bungled announcement that “La La Land” had won the Oscar. (My personal favorite was “Hidden Figures.”) For his take on the Oscars, I will gladly defer to today’s column from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Enjoy: “Last night, ABC aired yet another Hollywood awards ceremony in which incredibly wealthy, attractive and privileged celebrities congratulated themselves on being oppressed and misunderstood. They again left the walls of their gated mansions with their armed security guards and traveled past heavily-armed police into the walls of the Kodak Theater, where they hectored us about how terrible guns and security walls are. This year included an extra layer of lectures on open borders and welcoming all migrants to come on in, from people who won’t let you get within 200 yards of them unless your name is on the VIP list. “As expected, aside from a brief, welcome appeal to calm bipartisan outreach from host Jimmy Kimmel… “…the Oscar telecast was filled with liberal virtue-signaling. From all the anti-Trump speeches and wisecracks to the blue ribbons on many gowns and lapels, signaling support for the ACLU for suing over Trump’s immigration order, the message was that Hollywood is bravely standing up to that fascist dictator Donald Trump, who’s stripping away our civil rights by enforcing the immigration law passed by the Democratic Congress in 1965. “Two points: First, if they really believe Trump is an ironfisted, vindictive dictator who’s taking away their civil rights, why do they feel perfectly secure in constantly mocking and attacking him on national television? Think anyone would dare do that in North Korea or Cuba? How about in Iran, the nation that won Best Foreign Film? The celebrities

roared their approval when a statement was read from the Iranian director who boycotted the ceremony, about the injustice of Trump’s temporary immigration ban on Iranians. Do any of those clapping stars realize that Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and that they were applauding a lecture on human rights from someone who lives in a country whose leaders oppress women, kill gays and want to commit genocide against the Jews? “Second, liberals accuse Trump of being sympathetic to the KKK with no evidence of that ugly charge. Do these celebrities realize that the ACLU has repeatedly defended the Klan and other extremist groups that surely would never merit an Oscar invite? Unlike today’s liberals, the ACLU believes that the First Amendment applies even to those who say the most unpopular and abhorrent things, not just to people you agree with. Free speech wouldn’t be very free if it only applied to governmentapproved speech. So by their own guilty-by-association standards, the Oscar attendees are more closely tied to the KKK (they openly support the Klan’s attorneys!) than Trump is. Shame on them! “Granted, I didn’t watch the whole show (did anyone?), I just read some of the highlights and lowlights. But then, since the Best Picture winner has made only $22 million in theaters, I think it’s safe to assume a lot of people had very little interest, continuing a trend that’s been going on for years. Last year’s ‘Best Picture’ winner had a total box office gross of only $45 million. Do you even remember what it was? I’ll give you a hint: its title was ‘Spotlight.’ I’ll bet you still don’t remember it, do you? “There was a bit of Divine humor at the very end, though, when the wrong card was put into the Best Picture envelope. The producers of ‘La La Land’ were already making their acceptance speech when it was announced that ‘Moonlight’ had actually won. My first thought was that it was reason #10,943 never to trust Hollywood accountants. My second thought was that after all that posturing on how they knew more than the president about foreign policy, immigration, national defense and every other difficult subject, in the end, they couldn’t even hand out a trophy without screwing it up. “And my final thought was that maybe ‘La La Land’ really did win, but Hollywood didn’t like the results of the fair election, so they just changed the rules after the vote was already in and gave it to the more PC choice.”

COMMENTARY

Memo from POTUS to media: This is war

onald Trump wasn’t shooting from the lip at the Conservative Political Action Conference the other day when he launched a blistering attack on what he calls dishonest and fake news. This wasn’t something the president came up with on the fly. It wasn’t part of his usual rambling stream of consciousness that we’ve come to expect. No, this was a focused, intensified broadside. It was a declaration of war. Mr. Trump has been badBernard mouthing Goldberg the media for a while now, but this was a ratchetedup, coordinated assault on the news media that Donald Trump claims make up bad news about him. “And I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. It’s fake. Phony. Fake,” the president told CPAC. “A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. They are the enemy of the people.” The crowd loved it. Here’s a good rule of thumb: You will never go wrong bashing the mainstream media to a conservative audience. And one day before the president spoke at CPAC, the philosophical force behind a lot of his ideas, Steve Bannon, fired off a few rounds of his own. The media is the “opposition party,” he told CPAC, and warned that, “It’s going to get worse every day for the media.” In the Washington Post, Chris Callizza wrote that, “Bannon doesn’t want to change the media. He wants to totally dismantle the media. He wants to break its back and leave it for dead by the side of the road.” The Trump-Bannon war strategy isn’t complicated: Eviscerate what is left of the news media’s credibility, get the message into the national

bloodstream that journalists cannot be trusted, that they make stuff up, and then when they report something about the president he doesn’t like — something that may do grave damage to his presidency — they can always say: “You can’t believe them. They’re fake news.” Here’s the Cliffs Notes version of the war plan: Donald Trump and Steve Bannon want to bring down the media before the media bring them down. Period! And while adversarial relationships between the press and the White House are nothing new, and while liberal journalists are tougher on Republican presidents than Democratic presidents, this is different. The animosity level this time around — on both sides — is in the unhealthy zone. A lot of journalists viscerally detest Donald Trump as much as he detests them. More than a few think he’s unfit for office and salivate at the prospect that he won’t last. I don’t know if Nick Kristoff of The New York Times is one of them, but he did write this in his column: “Trump howls at the news media, not just because it embarrasses him, but because it provides an institutional check on his lies, incompetence and conflicts of interest. But we can take his vitriol: When the time comes, we will write Trump’s obituary, not the other way around.” (Emphasis added) I get the impression Mr. Kristoff can’t wait for that day. And I’m pretty sure he’s not alone. The president told CPAC that he’s not against the media in general; he just wants reporters to be fair. “I’m against the people that make up stories and make up sources,” Mr. Trump said. “They shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name.” That’s interesting since Donald Trump is no stranger to anonymous sources. His campaign staff often spoke off the record when he was running for president; he invoked unidentified sources when he fueled speculation that Barack Obama was born

in Africa and wasn’t a legitimate president, and oh yeah, just a few hours before Mr. Trump spoke at CPAC, his top aides held a press briefing at the White House, on the condition that they remain … anonymous. Is there bias at mainstream news organizations? Absolutely. But fake news isn’t biased news, as poisonous as bias can be. Fake news isn’t news with a mistake in the story — or even news that quotes an anonymous source that got a fact wrong. Fake news is fabricated nonsense, like the story that claimed Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring out of a pizza parlor in Washington. And fake news isn’t real news that makes Donald Trump look bad. Yes, there have been times when journalists working at reputable news organizations put words in the mouths of people who didn’t exist. But, despite what President Trump’s loyal fans believe, it’s extremely rare. When I was a correspondent at CBS News, I complained privately about bias, and I wrote publicly about how it infected mainstream media coverage of all sorts of issues. But it’s fantasy to believe that journalists arrive in the newsroom in the morning, get their coffee and meet in a dark room where they pull the shades and map out a strategy to make up sources and fabricate news to hurt this or any president. It just doesn’t happen that way. At the risk of sounding like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, democracy works best when we trust our president — and when we trust news reporters to keep an eye on government. Right now too many Americans don’t have much trust in either. And how exactly is this good for the country? Bernie Goldberg is an opinion writer and a news and media analyst for Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and a member of the school’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR OUR COMFORT ZONE IS LEADING TO OUR DEMISE “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” These are the words of Isaiah, a prophet of God. Isaiah was a mighty man of God. Today, I wonder, where are the prophets of God? Are there any? If so, where are they, and what are they doing in such a time as this? We need God more today than ever before. Today we are living in the “woes” of

the world. Things that seem right are wrong, and the wrong seems right. Our world is “topsy turvy.” We have our shoes on the wrong feet, and we don’t pay attention — we are living in a comfort zone that is leading to our demise. We have immigrants here, legally and illegally. I have traveled to Mexico. In order to cross the border, you have to have a passport, picture ID. If you do not, you may not enter. If I crossed over illegally and happened to get caught, well, guess what. I get to go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Mexican jails are dirt floors, a mat for a

bed and rags for clothing. Food? Well, this consists of bread and water twice a day, if you are lucky. Rights? You do not have any, and no one is flying the American flag in Mexico and protesting for your release. This is your bad, and you are at the mercy of a foreign country. So, why do we tolerate other nationalities to enter our country that the blood of our family, neighbors and friends fought and died for, fly the flag of foreign countries, protest, march, destroy and demand legal rights they have not earned? The vast majority of illegals are living off the American taxpayer. Most

cannot even speak English. I, for one, am tired of “Push one for English and two for Spanish.” This is America, for crying out loud. The home of the brave and the land of the free. However, freedom costs something from many people — their lives, blood, sweat and tears. SHERIAN MATTHEWS Manning Editor’s note: Because this letter exceeded the 350-word length as stated in our Editorial Page Policies which appears regularly on this page, it can be read in its entirety under Opinion on The Sumter Item’s website, www.theitem.com.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your letter to letters@theitem.com, drop it off at The Sumter Item office, 36 W. Liberty St., or mail it to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29151, along with the writer’s full name, address and telephone number (for verification purposes only). Letters that exceed 350 words will be cut accordingly in the print edition, but available in their entirety at www.theitem.com/opinion/letters_to_editor.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

AROUND TOWN p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, Volunteers from AARP will at American Legion Post 15 offer free tax preparation on Artillery Drive. from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Chapter 5 to meet today MondaysDAV andGamecock Wednesdays The Sumter Chapter of the through April 12 at the National Federation of the Shepherd’s Center, 24 Blind of South Carolina will Council St. Applicants are meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, advised to bring the folMarch 14, at Shiloh-Ranlowing with them: photo dolph Manor, 125 W. ID; Social Security cards Bartlette St. Mary Junous for all household members will speak. The spotlight is being claimed; tax docushining on “King of the ments — W-2 forms, 1099R, Year” R.L. Fullard and the 1099SSA, interest income first runner-up is associate and all other income state- member Kerry “Butch” ments; 2015 tax returns Thompson. Transportation and power of attorney provided within their covforms if filing for someone erage area. Contact Debra other than yourself. For Canty, chapter president, more information, call at (803) 775-5792 or debra. Henry Dinkins at (803) 499canty@frontier.com. 4990 or Lula King at (803) The 17th Annual Cavalier 316-0772. Pride Auction will be held DAV Gamecock Chapter 5 will on Saturday, March 18, at meet at 6:30 p.m. today at Robert E. Lee Academy in 18 Hardpack Road (off of Bishopville. Food will be S.C. 441). served from 5 to 7 p.m. Bidding will begin at 5:30 A liver cancer awareness p.m. with the first table meet and greet will be held closing at 7 p.m. Tickets from 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. are $15 in advance or $20 on Saturday, March 4, at at the door. Call the school Golden Corral, 2385 office at (803) 484-5532 for Walmart Blvd. Held in more information. memory of Jeffery Dellefield, the event will feature The Rembert Area Communifree liver cancer informaty Coalition’s 5th Annual tion, free T-shirts and free Spring Parade will be held Dunkin’ Donuts. Call (803) from 10 a.m. to noon on 905-4411. Look for the Saturday, April 8. The pagreen balloons. rade will begin at the Rembert Community Car Wash The Rembert Area Communiand continue onto Lee ty Coalition will host the Street, along Young Street, RACC’s Ribs fundraiser from down McLeod Chapel 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on SaturRoad, down Pisgah Road, day, March 4, at 7530 Pisonto U.S. 521 and end at gah Road, Rembert (in 8420 Camden Highway. The front of Dennis Grocery). parade will be followed by Cost: $22 for whole rack of a family and friends event ribs; $11 for half a rack of until 3 p.m. There will be ribs; and $5.50 for ribs food, beverages, live music sandwich. and entertainment and The Campbell Soup friends more. Participation, sponlunch group will meet at sorship and vendor forms 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, are available on the RACC March 4, at Golden Corral. website under “News & The Sumter County Veterans Events.” Association will meet at 6

FYI The National Kidney FoundaThe Muscular Dystrophy Famtion of South Carolina is in ily Foundation Inc. (MDFF), a Donate your unwanted vehicles need of unwanted vehicles — non-profit organization, aceven ones that don’t run. The cepts vehicle contributions. car will be towed at no To complete a vehicle docharge to you and you will nation, make arrangebe provided with a possiments by calling (800) 544ble tax deduction. The do1213 or visit www.mdff.org nated vehicle will be sold and click on the automoat auction or recycled for bile icon to complete an salvageable parts. Call online vehicle donation ap(800) 488-2277. plication.

PUBLIC AGENDA MCLEOD HEALTH CLARENDON BOARD OF TRUSTEES Today, 6 p.m., hospital board room

DAILY PLANNER

WEATHER

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Emotions can EUGENIA LAST be handled in different ways. Carefully assess the situations that make you anxious before you plunge into something that is best handled by saying and doing little. Keep your life simple. Avoid overreacting. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t reveal information that may be incriminating or hurt someone unintentionally. Weigh the pros and cons of an idea you have and you’ll come up with the best way to approach your plans. You will prosper as you move forward. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Look for an opportunity and seize the moment. Don’t share your findings with anyone who may be trying to pry into your affairs. Stay focused on what’s important to you and refuse to back down. Romance and personal gains look promising. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Make plans strategically. Don’t feel the need to overspend to impress others, and avoid trying to bring about changes that aren’t really necessary. You’ll gain the most from working with someone who complements your work ethic. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You can bring greater stability to your life and your career if you make a couple of changes. Look for opportunities and take action. Your ability to size things up and make a move will ensure that you don’t miss out. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Domestic alterations will require your input. Don’t go over budget or make an assumption that someone else will handle matters as efficiently as you. Be diplomatic to avoid being left to do the grunt work.

AccuWeather® ﬁve-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

A thunderstorm in the area

Mostly cloudy and mild

Partly sunny and breezy

Cooler with clouds and sun

Sunshine

Plenty of sun

80°

62°

87° / 53°

68° / 40°

66° / 34°

62° / 39°

Chance of rain: 40%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 25%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 0%

SSW 6-12 mph

S 7-14 mph

SW 10-20 mph

NNW 7-14 mph

W 6-12 mph

E 6-12 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaﬀney 70/57 Spartanburg 69/58

Greenville 71/59

Columbia 82/62

Temperatures shown on map are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 80/62

Aiken 82/58

ON THE COAST

Charleston 81/64

Today: A shower in spots; partly sunny in southern parts. High 73-81. Wednesday: Low clouds, fog may break in central parts; fog elsewhere. High 76-84.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

71° 33° 61° 37° 84° in 1996 13° in 1967

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest. 356.88 74.86 74.87 98.70

24-hr chg -0.07 -0.10 -0.11 +0.11

RIVER STAGES

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date

River Black River Congaree River Lynches River Saluda River Up. Santee River Wateree River

0.00" 1.04" 3.35" 5.58" 9.79" 7.29"

NATIONAL CITIES

REGIONAL CITIES

Today City Hi/Lo/W Atlanta 76/62/pc Chicago 62/41/t Dallas 83/51/c Detroit 56/55/sh Houston 86/68/pc Los Angeles 64/47/s New Orleans 82/68/pc New York 59/54/c Orlando 86/65/pc Philadelphia 67/56/c Phoenix 65/46/sh San Francisco 57/43/s Wash., DC 67/59/sh

City Asheville Athens Augusta Beaufort Cape Hatteras Charleston Charlotte Clemson Columbia Darlington Elizabeth City Elizabethtown Fayetteville

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 76/46/t 42/27/r 66/40/s 61/26/r 78/49/c 74/50/s 82/55/c 72/53/sh 88/66/s 73/48/t 69/49/s 60/44/s 80/46/t

Myrtle Beach 74/65

Manning 82/63

Today: Warm with variable cloudiness. Winds southwest 3-6 mph. Wednesday: Very warm with a thunderstorm. Winds southwest 10-20 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 80/64

Bishopville 80/61

Today Hi/Lo/W 65/54/pc 76/58/pc 84/60/pc 80/64/pc 73/65/c 81/64/pc 74/60/pc 70/61/c 82/62/pc 78/62/pc 75/61/c 78/63/pc 81/64/pc

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 8.26 -0.07 19 3.20 +0.10 14 5.47 -0.24 14 1.94 +0.02 80 75.98 -0.10 24 5.05 -0.06

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 72/36/t 80/44/t 88/54/c 84/61/pc 75/60/c 83/61/pc 81/45/pc 78/47/t 87/52/pc 81/51/c 77/52/c 84/56/c 87/55/c

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 80/64/pc Gainesville 86/62/pc Gastonia 72/60/pc Goldsboro 80/63/pc Goose Creek 81/64/sh Greensboro 71/59/pc Greenville 71/59/c Hickory 68/58/pc Hilton Head 81/64/pc Jacksonville, FL 83/63/pc La Grange 80/62/pc Macon 83/58/pc Marietta 73/60/pc

Sunrise 6:52 a.m. Moonrise 8:13 a.m.

Sunset Moonset

6:17 p.m. 8:41 p.m.

First

Full

Last

New

Mar. 5

Mar. 12

Mar. 20

Mar. 27

TIDES AT MYRTLE BEACH

High 10:14 a.m. 10:26 p.m. 10:57 a.m. 11:12 p.m.

Today Wed.

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 86/54/c 86/62/pc 79/46/pc 83/55/c 83/60/pc 79/43/c 78/44/t 75/43/c 82/59/pc 87/62/pc 79/47/t 82/51/t 75/42/t

Ht. 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3

Low 4:39 a.m. 5:04 p.m. 5:26 a.m. 5:49 p.m.

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 67/54/pc Mt. Pleasant 81/64/pc Myrtle Beach 74/65/c Orangeburg 83/62/pc Port Royal 78/64/pc Raleigh 77/62/pc Rock Hill 74/59/pc Rockingham 77/61/pc Savannah 82/64/pc Spartanburg 69/58/c Summerville 81/64/sh Wilmington 79/63/c Winston-Salem 71/60/pc

Ht. -0.6 -0.7 -0.6 -0.7

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 75/42/t 82/60/c 78/59/c 85/56/c 80/59/pc 82/47/pc 80/45/c 82/48/pc 86/62/pc 77/45/c 83/60/pc 80/58/c 78/44/c

Do you need a Ride? Text or Call Mark TOWN OF LYNCHBURG PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, 4 p.m., town hall

Let me be your Driver!

803-464-8917

Sumter ride pick-up by “appointment only”

SUMTER COUNTY COUNCIL Today, 6 p.m., Sumter County Council Chambers

The last word in astrology

THE SUMTER ITEM

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Greater opportunity will develop as you move forward with your plans. Added discipline will help you finish what you start and impress those who can make a difference to the final outcome of your plans. Romance is highlighted. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Divide your time between personal and professional matters. Balance and equality will give you a much clearer picture of how you should move forward in all aspects of your life. Trust your intuition to help you make good choices.

Available: Mon. - Fri. after 5PM Sat. & Sun. private parties or out-of-town trips You can get a ride wherever you like!

MARK has given you a FREE Uber ride (up to $15). To claim your free gift, sign up using this link: https://www.uber.com/invite/g6pvm4ruue

Local rides or out of town

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• Sumter, Columbia, Florence, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Greenville, etc.

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): There will be a division between those you have to deal with and those you want to spend time with. Don’t trust anyone to look out for your best interests. Move forward with integrity and honorable motives. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ll be tempted by what others offer. Use your intelligence and common sense to avoid turning into someone else’s scapegoat. Protect against loss, indulgence and injury. Hold yourself accountable to avoid regret. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Make your move. Follow your heart and seize the moment. Actions will lead to new beginnings and greater stability. Contracts, settlements and financial matters will turn in your favor. Personal and financial gains are within reach. Reward yourself. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Choose to live your life your own way. Express your concerns and replace what isn’t working for you with something that will. Trust your perception to guide you through confusion and uncertainty. Challenge anyone who stands in your way.

Lydia Thomas shares a photo she took of five baby swans at Swan Lake-Iris Gardens. Thomas comments, “Cuteness overload.”

HAVE YOU TAKEN PICTURES OF INTERESTING, EXCITING, BEAUTIFUL OR HISTORICAL PLACES? Would you like to share those images with your fellow Sumter Item readers? E-mail your hi-resolution jpegs to sandra@theitem.com, or mail to Sandra Holbert c/o The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29150. Include clearly printed or typed name of photographer and photo details. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of your photo. Amateur photographers only please. Photos of poor reproduction quality may not publish. With the exception of pictures that are of a timely nature, submitted photos will publish in the order in which they are received.

SECTION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017 Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

AUTO RACING

Party time! THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kurt Busch celebrates with members of his team in Victory Lane after winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Outlaw, Smoke, Gronk make Daytona 500 a bash BY DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Outlaw, Smoke and Gronk turned the Daytona 500 into party central. The good times were just getting started in victory lane Sunday night. Flanked by sexy models, the triumphant trio chugged drinks and gave NASCAR the buzz it craved in the season opener. Might as well go wild for their first celebration on NASCAR’s grandest stage. Kurt Busch used a last-lap pass to win the crash-filled Daytona 500 on Sunday in the opening race of Monster Energy’s new role as title sponsor of NASCAR’s top series. Busch, it just so happens, is also sponsored by Monster, and the company has strongly stood by him through his rocky career. So this was a victory of redemption for Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR two days before the 2015 opener for his off-track behavior, and for Monster, which has promised to pump new life into

NASCAR’s sagging sport. Consider the inaugural race a monster success. “There’s just so many new things within this sport,” Busch said. “You just keep rolling with it and you smile.” Known as The Outlaw, Busch has had plenty of reasons to smile since the offseason. He got married, and in a sign of the party to come, had Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler play at the reception. Add NFL star Rob Gronkowski to Busch’s bandwagon, too. Gronkowski celebrated with Busch and the famed Monster girls in victory lane. He raved about the win and really seemed to enjoy his first Daytona 500, the first for NASCAR’s new three-segment format and one filled with wrecks. “We picked Kurt to win and he won ‘cause he’s a Monster guy,” Gronk told The Associated Press. “Kurt did an awesome job. Monster killed that race!”

SEE BASH, PAGE B5

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) hits Kyle Busch (18), along with Erik Jones (77), Matt Kenseth (20) and Elliott Sadler (7), during the Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Hype, new format didn’t equal must-watch race BY JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Daytona 500 was sold out, the grid packed with celebrities, the fan area full of activities including a motorcycle “Ball of Death.” Owen “Lightning McQueen” Wilson was on hand, and so was Waka Flocka Flame , Gronk and nearly

two dozen women decked out in scantily-clad Monster Energy outfits. One thing NASCAR had for its season opener was a much-needed spark and an atmosphere worthy of the hype associated with its biggest race. But for all the buzzwords — NASCAR is edgy! — star power and a Monster-fueled fervor that made the race a

hot ticket, it couldn’t hide the one thing that still continues to tug at the heart of the sport. The racing. The sport’s leaders had worked so hard to make a splash and push the message that this was a new NASCAR. Even the drivers could feel it.

SEE PITS, PAGE B5

USC MEN’S BASKETBALL

USC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Seniors hope to play last home game

Gamecocks looking for top seed

BY DAVID CLONINGER The State

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press

COLUMBIA -- Seniors Sindarius Thornwell, Justin McKie and Duane Notice talk about Tuesday being their last home game. They have to make sure it is their last home game — as in, USC isn’t back in Columbia in two weeks preparing for a home NIT game. “For us to capitalize on making sure we beat Mississippi State (Tuesday) in front of a great crowd, ensuring that it’s our last time playing here, I think will be a bittersweet moment,” Notice said. “But sweet because we’ll be able to get ourselves in the right direction to make sure we make the tournament.” He wasn’t talking about the NIT. The entire focus of this year was to help soothe the sting of last year, when a good-enough record was judged not good enough. There’s only one way to do that, and the Gamecocks took an important step by snapping a 3-game losing streak last week. Their NCAA ground is solid, but can get shaky real quick with a bad loss — like, say,

COLUMBIA — A’ja Wilson is bringing a deep-rooted objective along with South Carolina’s latest Southeastern Conference title to next week’s league tournament. “We really want that No. 1 seed” in the NCAA Tournament, Wilson said on Sunday. WILSON “Since we don’t have it, it’s something we’re going to fight for.” The fight continues this week at the SEC tournament in Greenville, where a third straight championship could move South Carolina — projected as a No. 2 seed in the last NCAA reveal — up a notch to where it’s been the past two seasons. “We’re focused on that,”

SEE HOME, PAGE B4

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) is fouled by Florida forward Kevarrius Hayes, left, as forward Devin Robinson (1) defends during the second half of the Gamecocks’ 81-66 loss to the No. 19 Gators on Feb. 21 in Gainesville, Florida.

Wilson said.Wilson had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lift the then seventh- and now fifth-ranked Gamecocks to a 95-87 victory over then No. 22 and now No. 20 Kentucky, winning their fourth straight SEC title. Kaela Davis added 20 points for South Carolina (24-4, 14-2), who won the crown outright after then No. 3 Mississippi State lost its second straight game, this one 82-64 to Tennessee to close the regular season. South Carolina had locked up the No. 1 seed for the SEC tournament even if Mississippi State had won, a result of its 64-61 victory last month over the Bulldogs. A week ago, the Gamecocks’ chances seemed dead with a 62-60 loss at Missouri that left now sixth-ranked Mississippi State a game in front with just two to play. However, the

SEE SEED, PAGE B4

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

SCOREBOARD

x-clinched playoff spot

TODAY 5 a.m. — Major League Exhibition Baseball: Pittsburgh vs. Toronto from Dunedin, Fla. (MLB NETWORK). 5 a.m. — Professional Tennis: Dubai Championships Early-Round Matches (TENNIS). 1 p.m. — Major League Exhibition Baseball: Baltimore vs. Philadelphia from Clearwater, Fla. (MLB NETWORK). 1:30 p.m. — Professional Tennis: Dubai Championships and ATP Acapulco EarlyRound Matches (TENNIS). 4 p.m. — Major League Exhibition Baseball: Kansas City vs. Milwaukee from Phoenix (MLB NETWORK). 4 p.m. — College Baseball: Appalachian State at South Carolina (WNKT-FM 107.5). 5 p.m. — Professional Tennis: ATP Acapulco Early-Round Matches (TENNIS). 6 p.m. — College Basketball: Buffalo at Ohio (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 6:05 p.m. — Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXYFM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240). 6:30 p.m. — College Basketball: Georgetown at Seton Hall (FOX SPORTS 1). 7 p.m. — College Basketball: Florida State at Duke (ESPN). 7 p.m. — College Basketball: Indiana at Purdue (ESPN2). 7 p.m. — College Basketball: Mississippi State at South Carolina (ESPNU, WDXY-FM 105.9, WNKT-FM 107.5, WDXY-AM 1240). 7 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Golden State at Washington (NBA TV). 7 p.m. — NHL Hockey: Colorado at Philadelphia (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 7 p.m. — College Basketball: Texas A&M at Missouri (SEC NETWORK). 7 p.m. — College Basketball: St. Bonaventure at Davidson (TIME WARNER 1250). 7:30 p.m. — NHL Hockey: Carolina at Florida (FOX SPORTSOUTH). 7:55 p.m. — International Soccer: Mexican League Match -- Alebrijes vs. Queretaro (UNIVISION). 8 p.m. — College Basketball: St. John’s at Creighton (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 8:30 p.m. — College Basketball: DePaul at Providence (FOX SPORTS 1). 9 p.m. — College Basketball: Vanderbilt at Kentucky (ESPN). 9 p.m. — College Basketball: Oklahoma State at Iowa State (ESPN2). 9 p.m. — College Basketball: Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech (ESPNU). 9 p.m. — Major League Exhibition Baseball: Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago Cubs from Mesa, Ariz. (MLB NETWORK). 10 p.m. — College Basketball: Fresno State at Boise State (CBS SPORTS NETWORK). 10 p.m. — International Soccer: CONCACAF Champions League Match — Saprissa vs. Pachuca (UNIVISION). 10:30 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Charlotte at Los Angeles Lakers (FOX SPORTS SOUTHEAST, NBA TV). Midnight — Major League Exhibition Baseball: San Francisco vs. San Diego from Peoria, Ariz. (MLB NETWORK). 5 a.m. — Major League Exhibition Baseball: Houston vs. Washington from West Palm Beach, Fla. (MLB NETWORK). 5 a.m. — Professional Tennis: Dubai Championships Early-Round Matches (TENNIS).

COLLEGE BASEBALL POLLS BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25 DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The top 25 teams in the Baseball America poll through Feb. 26 (selected by the staff of Baseball America): Record Prv 1. Texas Christian 6-1 1 2. Florida State 5-2 2 3. Florida 6-1 3 4. Louisiana State 7-1 4 5. South Carolina 5-3 5 6. Louisville 7-0 6 7. Cal State Fullerton 4-3 7 8. Oregon State 7-1 8 9. East Carolina 4-3 11 10. North Carolina State 4-2 12 11. Washington 4-3 10 12. Virginia 7-0 13 13. North Carolina 7-0 14 14. Vanderbilt 4-3 9 15. Clemson 5-2 15 16. Louisiana-Lafayette 3-3 16 17. Georgia Tech 6-1 17 18. Coastal Carolina 4-4 18 19. Arizona 8-0 19 20. Mississippi 7-0 22 21. Texas Tech 8-1 21 22. Stanford 5-2 23 23. UC Santa Barbara 4-3 24 24. Oklahoma State 4-3 20 25. Texas A&M 6-1 NR

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The Collegiate Baseball poll with records through Feb. 26. Voting is done by coaches, sports writers and sports information directors: Record Pts Prv 1. Texas Christian 6-1 496 1 2. Florida 6-1 494 3 3. Louisiana St. 7-1 492 2 4. Oregon St. 7-1 488 5 5. Arizona 8-0 487 7 6. Louisville 7-0 485 11 7. North Carolina 7-0 483 12 8. Virginia 7-0 480 13 9. Mississippi 7-0 477 14 10. Florida St. 5-2 474 9 11. Texas A&M 6-1 471 15 12. Texas Tech. 8-1 469 20 13. South Carolina 5-3 465 4 14. Vanderbilt 4-3 463 6 15. Cal. St. Fullerton 4-3 460 10 16. St. John’s 7-0 457 NR 17. Baylor 8-0 455 NR 18. Oklahoma 8-1 452 NR 19. Virginia Tech 7-1 449 NR 20. UCLA 4-2 446 NR 21. Miami, Fla. 2-4 443 8 22. Clemson 5-2 442 22 23. Dallas Baptist 5-2 440 23 24. Texas 5-3 438 25 25. Stanford 5-2 437 28 26. Oklahoma St. 4-2 432 29 27. Arizona St. 4-3 429 19 28. Louisiana-Lafayette 3-3 426 16 29. Washington 4-3 424 17 30. N.C. State 4-2 420 30

NBA STANDINGS By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION Boston Toronto New York Philadelphia Brooklyn

COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP

SUNDAY’S GAMES

TV SPORTS

W 38 35 24 22 9

L 21 24 35 36 49

Pct .644 .593 .407 .379 .155

GB — 3 14 15½ 28½

W 34 32 27 25 22

L 23 26 32 34 38

Pct .596 .552 .458 .424 .367

GB — 2½ 8 10 13½

W 40 30 30 28 26

L 17 29 29 31 31

Pct .702 .508 .508 .475 .456

GB — 11 11 13 14

Milwaukee 100, Phoenix 96 San Antonio 119, L.A. Lakers 98 Memphis 105, Denver 98 Utah 102, Washington 92 Boston 104, Detroit 98 Toronto 112, Portland 106 Oklahoma City 118, New Orleans 110 L.A. Clippers 124, Charlotte 121, OT

MONDAY’S GAMES Golden State 119, Philadelphia 108 Cleveland 102, Milwaukee 95 Toronto 92, New York 91 Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Miami at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Indiana at Houston, 9:30 p.m. Minnesota at Sacramento, 10:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES Golden State at Washington, 7 p.m. Portland at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Denver at Chicago, 8 p.m. Phoenix at Memphis, 8 p.m. Utah at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES New York at Orlando, 7 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. Cleveland at Boston, 8 p.m. Denver at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. Detroit at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Indiana at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m. Brooklyn at Sacramento, 10:30 p.m. Houston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES Golden State at Chicago, 8 p.m. Charlotte at Phoenix, 9 p.m. Oklahoma City at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION Montreal Ottawa Boston Toronto Florida Tampa Bay Buffalo Detroit

GP 62 60 62 61 61 60 62 60

W 33 33 32 28 28 27 26 24

L 21 21 24 20 23 25 26 26

OT 8 6 6 13 10 8 10 10

Pts 74 72 70 69 66 62 62 58

GF GA 172 160 160 157 172 165 189 182 155 172 166 170 152 176 150 178

OT 7 8 5 20 22 26 11 8

Pts 89 84 83 2 10 7 61 58

GF GA 203 133 211 168 199 145 82 206 164 68 180 182 63 157 187 142 176 146 168

METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP Washington 61 Pittsburgh 60 Columbus 60 N.Y. Rangers N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia New Jersey 61 Carolina 58

W 41 38 39 62 61 61 25 25

L 13 14 16 40 29 28 25 25

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION Minnesota Chicago Nashville St. Louis Winnipeg Dallas Colorado

GP 59 62 62 61 63 62 60

W 39 39 31 31 28 24 17

L 14 18 22 25 29 28 40

OT 6 5 9 5 6 10 3

Pts 84 83 71 67 62 58 37

GF GA 198 138 187 159 183 173 172 177 184 199 173 201 121 199

W 36 33 32 33 30 26 22

L 18 22 21 26 27 29 32

OT 7 8 10 4 4 6 7

Pts 79 74 74 70 64 58 51

GF GA 170 145 181 166 162 161 169 177 150 151 143 176 148 196

PACIFIC DIVISION GP San Jose 61 Edmonton 63 Anaheim 63 Calgary 63 Los Angeles 61 Vancouver 61 Arizona 61

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

SUNDAY’S GAMES Boston 6, Dallas 3 Calgary 3, Carolina 1 Columbus 5, N.Y. Rangers 2 Nashville 5, Edmonton 4 Chicago 4, St. Louis 2 Ottawa 2, Florida 1 Arizona 3, Buffalo 2

MONDAY’S GAMES Montreal 4, New Jersey 3 Ottawa at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Arizona at Boston, 7 p.m. Colorado at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Nashville at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Columbus at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Carolina at Florida, 7:30 p.m. Edmonton at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Minnesota at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Pittsburgh at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Calgary, 9 p.m. Detroit at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Toronto at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Carolina at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Chicago, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES Arizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Columbus, 7 p.m. Florida at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 7 p.m. New Jersey at Washington, 7 p.m. Nashville at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Toronto at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

PGA SCORES

By The Associated Press Sunday At PGA National (Champions Course) Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Purse: $6.4 million Yardage: 7,140; Par: 70 Final Rickie Fowler 66-66-65—197 Tyrrell Hatton 68-67-66—201 Emiliano Grillo 68-70-65—203 Sean O’Hair 66-72-65—203 Gary Woodland 71-66-66—203 Martin Kaymer 65-70-68—203 Wesley Bryan 64-67-72—203 Brandon Hagy 67-73-64—204 Jimmy Walker 70-69-65—204 Kevin Kisner 69-69-66—204 Jason Dufner 71-66-67—204 Zach Johnson 68-69-67—204 Francesco Molinari 68-69-67—204 Brian Stuard 68-69-67—204

Fire Ants lose 2 of 3 to FSCJ The University of South Carolina Sumter baseball lost two of its three games against Florida State College at Jacksonville played on Friday and Saturday at Riley Park. In Friday’s single game, FSCJ won 7-1. The Fire Ants won the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 6-5 before falling in the nightcap 13-4. In its lone win, USCS rallied from a 5-2 deficit, scoring single runs in the third and fourth innings and two in the fifth to go ahead. USC Sumter is now 8-9 on the season. The Fire Ants will play a 3-game series on the road against Brunswick Community College beginning on Saturday. It will play a twinbill on Saturday with the first game scheduled for a noon start with Sunday’s single game set for a noon start as well. WRIGHT STATE 5 USC 1

COLUMBIA — Wright State left-hander Danny Sexton limited South Carolina to just one run on six hits, and a pair of 2-run

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas could have rested easy after clinching a share of its 13th straight Big 12 title. Instead, the Jayhawks hit the road to beat Texas on Saturday, clinching the outright championship with two games left in the regular season. And when topranked Gonzaga and second-ranked Villanova dropped games last week, it meant the Jayhawks ascended to the top of The Associated Press poll. So much for taking it easy. The Jayhawks (26-3) moved up two places to the top spot, receiving 58 firstplace votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel . They spent five weeks at No. 1 last season, including the final three polls, but became the sixth No. 1 this season by moving to the top spot for the first time. “It feels pretty great,” Kansas freshman Josh Jackson said, “but like our coaches told us, we don’t feel like we’ve done anything we weren’t supposed to do.” Villanova (27-3) remained second and received two first-place votes, despite losing to Butler and beating Creighton last week. The win over the Bluejays allowed the reigning national champions to clinch their fourth straight Big East regular-season championship. UCLA (26-3) moved up from fifth to third and earned three first-place nods after its win over Arizona on Saturday. It was only the second time in 69 games the Wildcats have lost at the McKale Center. Gonzaga (29-1) fell to No. 4

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San Antonio Houston Memphis Dallas New Orleans

W 45 42 35 23 23

L 13 18 25 35 37

Pct .776 .700 .583 .397 .383

GB — 4 11 22 23

W 37 34 26 24 23

L 22 25 33 34 36

Pct .627 .576 .441 .414 .390

GB — 3 11 12½ 14

W 49 36 25 19 18

L 9 23 34 41 41

Pct .845 .610 .424 .317 .305

GB — 13½ 24½ 31 31½

NORTHWEST DIVISION Utah Oklahoma City Denver Portland Minnesota

PACIFIC DIVISION x-Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento L.A. Lakers Phoenix

CLEMSON - Alex Eubanks tossed seven scoreless innings in Clemson’s 3-0 win over Elon on Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers, who swept the

after losing its first game of the season, an upset by BYU at home on Saturday. The Zags, who had been No. 1 for the last four polls, still received two first-place votes as they turns their attention to the West Coast Conference Tournament on Saturday. North Carolina moved from eighth to fifth after clinching a share of the ACC title, while Oregon, Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky and West Virginia rounded

CHARLESTON – The Citadel lost the final game of its series against Delaware State, falling 7-1 on Sunday at Joe Riley Park. The Bulldogs, who won the 3-game series, are 2-4. Delaware State is 2-5. William Kinney of Sumter had two of The Citadel’s four hits.

out the top 10.

FOWLER EARNS 1ST PGA TOUR WIN SINCE 2015 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rickie Fowler made it interesting Sunday for as long as it took him to make two big putts to pull away in the Honda Classic. Staked to a four-shot lead, Fowler hit one putt into a sprinkler hole, hit a tee shot into the water and watched a big lead shrink to one over Gary Woodland early on the back nine. Fowler answered with consecutive birdie putts of 40 and 25 feet and closed with a 1-over 71 for a four-shot victory. “If I don’t make those putts, I’ve got a pretty tight race,” Fowler said. He cared about winning. Asked if it was more meaningful to end 13 months without winning or to show he could close out a victory with the lead, Fowler chose the latter. “Being out front and getting the job done, especially with giving some back and

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cut, came out to the 18th green to watch Fowler finish. Fowler can finally join them. Next he has to beat them. He could not help but mention that while the Honda Classic typically has a strong field, none of the top was there. All except Jason Day (No. 2) will be at the Mexico Championship next week.

YANG WINS THAILAND FOR 2ND TIME IN 3 YEARS CHONBURI, Thailand — Amy Yang won the Thailand LPGA for the second time in three years, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a five-stroke victory. Yang played the final five holes of the third round Sunday morning, completing a 65 to take a five-stroke advantage into the final round. The South Korean playeer has three LPGA Tour victories. Yang finished at 22-under 266 on Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course. South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu was second after a 68.

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Fowler moved back into the top 10 — he is No. 9 in this week’s ranking — for the first time since September. And he extended a telling trend on the PGA Tour this year. Johnson (32) is the oldest PGA Tour winner in 2017 through eight tournaments. The average age of the winners is 25.5 years.

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BYU guard Nick Emery (4) smiles near the end of the second half of the Cougars’ 79-71 upset victory over then-top ranked Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday. Kansas is the new No. 1 while Gonzaga dropped to fourth.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION

CLEMSON 3 ELON 0

series 3-0, improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Phoenix fell to 3-4. Eubanks (1-1) gave up just three hits, no runs and one walk with seven strikeouts to earn the win. Jacob Hennessy pitched the final two innings to record his first career save. Patrick Cromwell starting the scoring with a leadoff homer to right field in the fifth inning, his first long ball as a Tiger. Robert Jolly added a run in the frame on a wild pitch, then Davidson scored on another wild pitch in the sixth inning. The Tigers, ranked 15th by Baseball America and 22 by Collegiate Baseball, host Wofford today at 4 p.m.

Kansas moves to No. 1 in AP poll

CENTRAL DIVISION Cleveland Chicago Indiana Detroit Milwaukee

frames in the third and eighth innings was enough to lift the Raiders to a 5-1 win at Founders Park on Sunday. Carolina is now 5-3 on the year after winning the 3-game series with Wright State moving to 3-3 for the season. Sexton worked seven innings in his second start of the year and struck out four with two walks to earn the win and improve to 2-0 for the season. South Carolina righthander Adam Hill suffered the loss and is 0-2 on the year. He allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits in five innings with two walks and six strikeouts. USC, ranked fifth by Baseball America and 13th by Collegiate Baseball, plays host to Appalachian State today at 4 p.m.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Gallery of photos from Thomas Sumter’s 2A state title victory

PHOTOS BY RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM

ABOVE LEFT: Three Calhoun Academy players swarm Thomas Sumter Academy’s Bree Stoddard (20) as she tries to dish it off to a player under the goal in TSA’s 40-33 victory in the SCISA 2A state championship game on Saturday at Sumter County Civic Center. ABOVE RIGHT: Bree’s sister, Aubrey Stoddard (4), gets ready to pass the ball to an open teammate as Calhoun’s Erin Roland (12) and Mary Edmunds (4) try to guard her. The Stoddards were both named to the all-tournament team.

ABOVE: Thomas Sumter’s girls basketball team is all smiles with the championship trophy: ABOVE RIGHT: Calhoun Academy’s Erin Roland (12) tries to stop a drive by TSA’s Josie Reed (11). RIGHT: Thomas Sumter’s Logan Morris (21) fakes a pass to Taja Huntley (22) and drives to the bucket against Calhoun’s Kristen Cherry (22). BELOW: Thomas Sumter student Bella Crowe greets Aubrey Stoddard as she walks off the court following the championship win on Saturday. Crowe was carrying a stick with Stoddard’s picture on it.

Above, Thomas Sumter Academy’s Carmen Silvester (30) pulls down a rebound over Calhoun Academy’s Kendall Fleming (15) as TSA’s Aubrey Stoddard (4) looks for a pass.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

THE SUMTER ITEM

SPORTS ROUNDUP

SHS golf 5th in tournament SUMMERVILLE – Sumter High School’s varsity golf team finished fifth out of 18 teams in the 36hole Patriot tournament hosted by Fort Dorchester High on Saturday and Sunday. The Gamecocks shot a 641, shooting 324 in the first round and 317 in the second round. A.C. Flora and Wando both shot 610 with Flora winning the tournament in a tiebreaker. Dixon Flowers shot a 1 under par 143 to lead the Gamecocks to finish second individually. Evans Lewis was next at 158 followed by Jenkins Dwight at 165 and Michael Solberg at 177.

JV BASKETBALL SUMTER 8 CAMDEN 1

CAMDEN — Sumter High School defeated Camden 8-1 on Monday at the CHS field. Jackson Hoshour was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, four stolen bases and three runs scored to lead the offense. Bryce Spittle had two hits, two walks and an RBI, Kieran Hagery had three hits, Trey Yates had a double, two walks, two stolen bases, an RBI and two runs and Mason McLeod had a hit and two RBI. Ethan Brown allowed one run in six innings to get the win. He struck out seven while walking two

and allowing two hits.

VARSITY BASKETBALL LAURENCE MANNING 3 WILLIAMSBURG 2

MANNING — Buddy Bleasdale drove in the winning run with a 1-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Laurence Manning Academy to a 3-2 varsity baseball win over Williamsburg Academy on Friday at Tucker Belangia Diamond. Bobby Crisp worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the win. LMA improved to 2-0 on the season. THOMAS SUMTER 9 HEATHWOOD HALL 4

DALZELL — Thomas Sumter Academy opened its varsity baseball season with a 9-4 win over Heathwood Hall on Thursday at General Field. Eric Lisenby was 3-for-3 with a double and four runs batted in to lead the TSA offense. Josh Galloway was 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and Chandler Hunter was 2-for-5. Hunter was also the winning pitcher.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL (23) VIRGINIA 53 (5) NORTH CAROLINA 43

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kyle Guy scored 17 points, London Perrantes had 13 and No. 23 Virginia used a small lineup

to neutralize No. 5 North Carolina’s size in a 53-43 victory Monday night. Guy connected on five 3-pointers for Virginia (20-9, 10-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Perrantes hit three, continuing to emerge from a shooting slump that contributed greatly to a four-game skid for the Cavaliers. (11) BAYLOR 71 (10) WEST VIRGINIA 62

WACO, Texas — Johnathan Motley scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and 11th-ranked Baylor won its home finale 71-62 over 10th-ranked West Virginia on Monday night.

NBA BASKETBALL WARRIORS 119 KNICKS 108

PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Durant had 27 points in his return to the lineup and the Golden State Warriors overcame the worst 3-point shooting performance of Stephen Curry’s career in a 119-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. CAVALIERS 102 BUCKS 95

CLEVELAND — LeBron James returned from a bout with strep throat and scored 24 points, Kyrie Irving added 25 and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Milwaukee Bucks 102-95 on Monday night.

THE BIG PICTURE Kentucky: The Wildcats had hoped to carry momentum from their win over Mississippi State into Colonial Life Arena. But four of their starters had two or more fouls in the first two quarters, including Makayla Epps and Evelyn Akhator. Those two, who average more than 32 points a game, were a combined 1 of 5 shooting for five points in the first 20 minutes.South Carolina: The Gamecocks were on target with their offense, but not so much

early on with their defense. The team that has given up just 55 points a game this year — second in the SEC — allowed 40 points to Kentucky. That’s the most South Carolina has had scored upon it by halftime this season, including a loss to No. 1 UConn earlier this month.

MORE SATISFYING Staley believes each title is special. This one, though, holds even more meaning because the Gamecocks faced some challenges Staley did not have in her other title seasons. “I thought we would take

COLLEGE TOP 25 POLLS MEN The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 26, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking: Record Pts Prv 1. Kansas (58) 26-3 1618 3 2. Villanova (2) 27-3 1487 2 3. UCLA (3) 26-3 1474 5 4. Gonzaga (2) 29-1 1419 1 5. North Carolina 25-5 1381 8 6. Oregon 26-4 1343 6 7. Arizona 26-4 1223 4 8. Louisville 23-6 1176 7 9. Kentucky 24-5 1119 11 10. West Virginia 23-6 1041 12 11. Baylor 23-6 923 9 12. Florida 23-6 807 13 13. Butler 23-6 795 22 14. SMU 25-4 738 17 15. Florida State 23-6 722 19 16. Purdue 23-6 651 14 17. Duke 22-7 622 10 18. Cincinnati 25-4 504 15 19. Notre Dame 22-7 482 21 20. Saint Mary’s 26-3 445 20 21. Wichita State 27-4 250 25 22. Wisconsin 22-7 206 16 23. Virginia 19-9 194 18 24. Iowa State 19-9 168 — 25. Miami 20-8 123 —

to an MSU team that ranked 141st in RPI on Monday. By all accounts, the Gamecocks win this one (thus assuring a double-bye in the SEC tournament), they’re probably fine no matter what. But they want to keep winning and make it certain. The focus is on the next game and only the next game. And this one, despite the pageantry of Senior Day festivities, has to be won. “It’s not one of my favorite days. There’s too much 2-way emotion before the game starts,” USC head coach Frank Martin said. “It’s not an easy thing to manage. Proud moment, especially when you have seniors like we have, but a difficult moment to manage.” McKie is used to having his parents attend his games, and Thornwell has family in Lancaster. Notice, from Toronto, will play a home game in front of his mother for the first time. USC beat Mississippi State on its home floor 17 days ago by limiting leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon and switching to a zone defense when the Bulldogs’ other shooters began connecting. Substitute Tyson Carter scored 22 when he’d been in double figures once in SEC play (and has only scored 13 points in four games since). With the teeth back in its defense, USC (21-8, 11-5 SEC) will try to limit Weatherspoon and everybody else. The Gamecocks were able to do that against Tennessee and stretch a 4-point second-half lead into a rout. The feelings of Senior Day have their place and are a challenge to overcome. Yet Martin thinks with all his team’s been through, this one will be relatively easy. “You learn a lot about your team every day. You really learn when things aren’t going well, the way they were going before,” Martin said. “Do guys hold onto that rope? We got a locker room full of guys who hold on even harder when things got difficult.”

some hits,” Staley said. “So this is pretty special.”

SEED FROM PAGE B1 Wildcats stunned the Bulldogs on Thursday night to set the stage for another South Carolina celebration. “Here we are again,” Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley told the cheering crowd. Kentucky (209, 11-5) had hoped to add a second stunner after beating STALEY Mississippi State. Instead, South Carolina started with 7-of-7 shooting and opened up a double-digit lead in the opening two quarters. The Wildcats had cut the lead to 93-87 on Makenzie Cann’s 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to go. But Allisha Gray’s two foul shots extended the Gamecocks’ lead and Kentucky lost its fourth straight in the series. South Carolina had a scary moment in the final quarter when Alaina Coates, who missed the Texas A&M game with a sprained right ankle, went to the ground for several moments before heading to the locker room. She returned the bench to the loud cheers of fans, although with the Gamecocks in control, she didn’t get back in. Staley said Coates could’ve returned to the game. South Carolina instead took the safe route, she said.Taylor Murray had a career-high 29 points for Kentucky. Makayla Epps, the Wildcats’ leading scorer coming in, was held to 10 points — seven fewer than her average — on 3-of-7 shooting. Gray finished with 17 points while Coates had 13 points and nine rebounds.

HOME FROM PAGE B1

BAD PLAN? Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell blamed himself for South Carolina’s hot start, saying the plan for limiting the Gamecocks’ post stars of Wilson and Coates led to too much open space on the floor. The Gamecocks hit their first seven shots, including two by Wilson and one by Coates. “I think that’s on me,” Mitchell said.

UP NEXT Both Kentucky and South Carolina head to SEC tournament in Greenville next week.

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Others receiving votes: Minnesota 66, Oklahoma State 54, Dayton 32, Michigan 14, Middle Tennessee 13, Creighton 12, Southern Cal 7, Michigan State 3, Monmouth 3, Vermont 2, VCU 2, Virginia Tech 2, Arkansas 1, BYU 1, Maryland 1, Princeton 1.

WOMEN The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 26, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking: Record Pts Prv 1. UConn (33) 28-0 825 1 2. Baylor 27-2 784 4 3. Notre Dame 27-3 755 5 4. Maryland 27-2 699 2 5. South Carolina 24-4 690 7 6. Mississippi State 27-3 619 3 6. Oregon State 27-3 619 10 8. Florida State 25-5 561 8 9. Ohio State 25-5 550 12 10. Stanford 25-5 539 8 11. Washington 27-4 534 11 12. Texas 21-7 472 6 13. Duke 25-4 470 13 14. Louisville 25-6 411 14 15. UCLA 22-7 369 15 16. Miami 21-7 293 17 17. N.C. State 22-7 265 18 18. DePaul 24-6 237 19 19. Oklahoma 22-7 230 16 20. Kentucky 20-9 177 22 21. Syracuse 20-9 170 20 22. Drake 23-4 128 21 23. Missouri 21-9 98 24 24. Kansas State 21-8 66 — 25. Temple 22-6 49 23 Others receiving votes: Creighton 41, Tennessee 31, Michigan 15, South Florida 12, Belmont 7, Green Bay 5, Arizona State 3, Colorado State 1.

Keeping Sumter Beautiful By Katie Altman-Goff, Water Resources Extention Agent Rain Barrel Art Contest What do you get when you combine art, conservation, and gardening? Rain barrel art! Rain barrels allow us store rainwater for later use. Harvesting rainwater can reduce runoff, which may carry pollution and sediments to our rivers and lakes. It can also decrease potential for flooding and save you money! Every time you use rainwater to water your plants, you are saving water from your tap. Some of your plants may even prefer the rainwater coming from your barrel because it does not contain chlorine byproducts, which are typically found in treated tap water. Get out some paint and a paintbrush and your handy rain barrel can even be beautiful! This April Sumter Stormwater Solutions will be hosting it’s annual Rain Barrel Art Contest for elementary, middle, and high school classes. This contest is a great opportunity for Sumter county students to show off their artistic ability while promoting water conservation. Each class that enters the contest will be provided with a pre-built rain barrel and paint supplies. Classes will turn each barrel into a work of art. The artwork will center on the theme “Water is life.”

On April 22, classes will bring their rain barrel artwork to Swan Lake Iris Gardens for the Sumter Earth Day Celebration. Visitors to the celebration will vote for their favorite rain barrel art and the winning classes will be rewarded with a pizza party! Each class also has the option of installing the rain barrel at their school to harvest rainwater or donating the rain barrel to be auctioned off at the Earth Day Celebration. Do you know an art or science teacher who may be interested in this event? Maybe they have a garden at their school and could use a rain barrel. Maybe they are looking for a class project to get their students excited about water, conservation, or art. Encourage them to sign up today! Space is limited and registration ends March 6. For more information and to register visit www.clemson.edu/carolinaclear and click on “Sumter Stormwater Solutions” or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook. com/sumterstormwatersolutions. Contact Katie Altman-Goff with questions at klaltma@clemson. edu or 803-773-5561. Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

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SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

PITS FROM PAGE B1

MONSTER ENERGY CUP DAYTONA 500 RESULTS

“The whole week was a lot of fun. All the media. All the buildup. The sellout,” said NASCAR’s favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. “Felt like it was a new beginning of sorts in some way for the sport. It seemed like there was a new energy. I don’t know what it was. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but it just felt good.” Right up until go time. NASCAR revamped the rules that turned races into segments — three, like periods in the NHL — designed to keep fans engaged from the drop of the green flag. But a series of wrecks wiped out contenders like Earnhardt and defending champion Jimmie Johnson and others, and there were lengthy red flag delays. The top 10 became loaded with drivers more familiar with the back of the pack and all that energy faded away. Gronk can’t save them every week, either. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski almost overshadowed race winner Kurt Busch . Both are sponsored by Monster, NASCAR’s new title sponsor, but it was Gronk who was out until 5:30 a.m. Monday following NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl. The biggest race of the year was far from NASCAR’s best and the new format fell a little flat from the promised amazingness drivers insisted it will deliver. It wasn’t a dud, but it’s impossible to know after one crash-filled weekend if it’s any good. It was wreck after wreck after wreck on Sunday, and almost all the top names were taken out early. It meant Canadian driver D.J. Kennington’s debut in the Daytona 500 produced a better finish than Earnhardt and Matt Kenseth, both two-time Daytona 500 winners, and former series champion Kyle Busch. Cole Whitt was at one point the race leader, and before Busch stole the victory, it appeared the win could go to either Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson or Ryan Blaney — a trio with an average age of 22 and one win in a combined 209 starts. That Busch led just one lap, the last

BASH FROM PAGE B1 Gronk and Busch likely celebrated late into the night, well after the banged-up No. 41 Ford heads to the museum for its yearlong display at Daytona International Speedway. Busch also helped team owner Tony Stewart fill one of the biggest voids in his illustrious career. It was the first Daytona 500 victory for Stewart-Haas Racing, which is co-owned by the retired driver nicknamed Smoke. The three-time champion called it quits at the end of last season and watched his four cars race from the pits. Stewart’s NASCAR career ended without a win in 17 tries in the Daytona 500. Turns out he just needed to trade the fire suit for street clothes to bring home the checkered flag. “If I had known all I had to do was retire, I would have retired 17 years ago if I knew it was what it took to win the race,” Stewart said. It was just an added bonus to win in SHR’s first race with Ford. It wasn’t NASCAR’s finest moment,

Sunday At Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Fla. Lap length: 2.50 miles (Start position in parentheses)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Crew members work on the car of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a crash during the Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. one, was fitting for this race. It was the first time in 59 years that the winner led only the final lap. It’s hard to know why so many drivers struggled, or if racing in stages produced the problems. The aggression on the track could be attributed to anxious drivers running their first real race following the offseason. It could be that the back half of the grid just isn’t that talented. Consider: This Daytona 500 lacked Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, featured rookies Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones and the debuts for Kennington, Corey LaJoie, Joey Gase and Jeffery Earnhardt. AJ Allmendinger finished third and thought the stages made a difference. “It seemed like you get five laps to go in the stage, everything would kind of amp back up,” Allmendinger said. “Everybody just gets three-wide now. It’s hard to make any moves happen. You have to get your track position. If you lose it, it’s hard to get it back. “Over the last couple years, it’s kind of hard to make moves through the middle of the pack through the field with 20 to go. Everybody was trying to get up there and make sure they got the track position. That’s what happens here.” Blaney, give him credit, tried to win in a backup car and didn’t shy away

from pulling out of line to try to make a run at the win. “I tried to make a move with 10 (laps) to go to see what would happen. No one really went with me,” runner-up Blaney said. Elliott ran out of fuel. So did Larson. Same with Martin Truex Jr. And so Kurt Busch won, then Monster threw a rager to celebrate. For the cut-rate price the company is paying for naming rights — reportedly about $20 million a year — it likely recouped its initial investment on opening day based on publicity alone. In the end, the television rating was up, the mood was mostly upbeat and Monster was as proud of Busch’s victory as it was of Gronk’s all-nighter. At Busch’s Monday winner’s breakfast, Monster vice president of sports marketing Mitch Covington noted that Gronk had put in a 24-hour shift for the company. That a hard-partying NFL player could steal thunder from the Daytona 500 winner is a problem NASCAR has to address. The big names are getting old, and the sport is going to be in desperate need of some superstars very soon. And if NASCAR intends to be the rock star that Monster can create, it’s going to need far better racing that it got at Daytona.

though, as multiple accidents stripped the field of some top stars. Ryan Blaney finished second, followed by AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola. The first points race of the Monster era was run under a new format that split the 500 miles into three stages. Kyle Busch won the first stage, Kevin Harvick won the second and neither was a contender for the win. NASCAR also debuted a rule that gave teams just five minutes to repair any damage on their cars or they were forced to retire, sending many drivers home early. They were long gone when the biggest bash started. Here are some other items of note from the Daytona 500:

toms that included nausea as well as vision and balance issues. He got back in the car in early December and gained medical clearance to return this season. He was looking to make a triumphant return at Daytona, the track where his famous father died, but ended up driving to the garage and parking it for the day shortly after the midway point of the 200-lap event. He finished 37th, but made progress. “I feel good,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t have any symptoms or anything I’ve experienced in the past. It wasn’t that hard of a hit, but it still doesn’t mean you can’t get injured.”

EARNHARDT’S HIT Dale Earnhardt Jr. slammed into the wall and walked away unscathed, an early exit from the Daytona 500 that could be viewed as a positive step in his recovery process. NASCAR’s most popular driver missed 18 races, half the season, in 2016 because of lingering concussion symp-

ELLIOTT’S HEARTBREAK: Chase Elliott came close to victory several times last season, each defeat hitting him harder than the last. So it was no surprise to see Elliott devastated after he ran out of gas while leading the Daytona 500. He left the track as a passenger in a car driven by his father, Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, after slipping to a 14th-place finish. Elliott was seeking to become the first driver to win the pole, a qualifying race and the 500 since his father

1. (8) Kurt Busch, Ford, 200 laps, 0 rating, 48 points. 2. (36) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200, 0, 44. 3. (38) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 39. 4. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, 0, 33. 5. (33) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 32. 6. (15) Joey Logano, Ford, 200, 0, 40. 7. (26) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 30. 8. (30) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 200, 0, 29. 9. (25) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 200, 0, 28. 10. (11) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 200, 0, 27. 11. (39) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 0. 12. (16) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 33. 13. (35) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 200, 0, 24. 14. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 23. 15. (22) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 22. 16. (27) Landon Cassill, Ford, 199, 0, 21. 17. (4) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 199, 0, 23. 18. (17) Cole Whitt, Ford, 199, 0, 19. 19. (10) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 18. 20. (40) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 0. 21. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 198, 0, 18. 22. (5) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 197, 0, 34. 23. (29) Joey Gase, Toyota, 196, 0, 0. 24. (31) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, 193, 0, 13. 25. (20) David Ragan, Ford, 188, 0, 12. 26. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, accident, 145, 0, 11. 27. (7) Brad Keselowski, Ford, accident, 143, 0, 24. 28. (3) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, accident, 141, 0, 13. 29. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, accident, 141, 0, 8. 30. (18) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, accident, 140, 0, 7. 31. (23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, accident, 133, 0, 6. 32. (6) Clint Bowyer, Ford, accident, 128, 0, 9. 33. (12) Danica Patrick, Ford, accident, 128, 0, 11. 34. (24) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, accident, 127, 0, 5. 35. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, accident, 127, 0, 2. 36. (28) D.J. Kennington, Toyota, accident, 127, 0, 1. 37. (2) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 106, 0, 7. 38. (21) Kyle Busch, Toyota, accident, 103, 0, 11. 39. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, accident, 103, 0, 1. 40. (9) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, accident, 103, 0, 1. Race Statistics Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.891 mph. Time of Race: 3 hours, 29 minutes, 31 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.228 seconds. Caution Flags: 8 for 40 laps. Lead Changes: 37 among 18 drivers.

accomplished the feat in 1985. “I can understand his disappointment,” friend and second-place finisher Ryan Blaney said. “You’re leading the race. Looks like you’re going to win the Daytona 500. You know how he is. He’s very hard on himself.”

WALTRIP’S FINALE Michael Waltrip ended his racing career exactly how he hoped. He knew a victory was unlikely, so he set a more realistic goal for his final NASCAR start: to finish in the top 10 in his 30th and last Daytona 500. The 53-year-old driver finished eighth to conclude a career that began in 1985 and featured Daytona victories in 2001 and 2003, the first shadowed by the death of Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip raced for more than three decades and made 784 Cup Series starts, with four victories. “It’s going to be a great memory,” said Waltrip, who signed a one-race deal with Premium Motorsports to say goodbye at the famed speedway. “I’m ready for it to be my last one, so it’s going to be a good one to remember it by.”

OBITUARIES WILLIAM B. COLLINS JR. MANNING — William Briggs Collins Jr., 72, husband of Cynthia Mays Collins, died on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at Sumter Health and Rehabilitation. He was born on March 30, 1944, in Harlem, New York, a son of the COLLINS late William Briggs Collins Sr. and Osceola Filmore Collins. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Hayes F. & LaNelle J. Samuels Sr. Memorial Chapel, 114 N. Church St., Manning, with the Rev. Dr. Franklin Colclough Sr. officiating. Burial will follow in Clarendon Memorial Garden, Manning. The family is receiving friends at his residence, 1405 Chrysler Road, Manning. These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC, Manning.

MARGARET P. AMERSON CHARLESTON — Margaret Pace Amerson, 92, of Charleston, died on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. today at the graveside at Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, 1308 Mathis Ferry Road. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Mount Pleasant Chapel.

Margaret was born on July 19, 1924, in Marion County, a daughter of the late Jimmy E. and Isabelle Brown Pace. She was a retired property manager and a member of Palmetto Presbyterian Church. She is survived by three daughters, Maggie Cannon (David) of Barnwell, Linda Elliott (Larry) of Pawleys Island and Cindy Folley (Jack) of Mount Pleasant; two grandsons, Steven Bartlette and John Folley; one great-grandson, Kenneth Bartlette; one sister, Jean Shaw (Billy) of Florence; and a brother, Dan Pace of Fayetteville, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by her grandson, Jeffrey T. Jackson. The family would like to thank Lutheran Hospice for the wonderful care they provided for our mother. Memorials may be made in her honor to Lutheran Hospice, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Suite 46, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464.

HENRY RICHARDSON JR. Henry “Spook” Richardson Jr., 55, died on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. Born on July 20, 1961, he was a son of Henry Richardson Sr. and the late Mary Daisy Brown Richardson. The family will receive friends at the home, 1597 Gar-

vey Road, Summerton. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Summerton Funeral Home LLC, (803) 4853755.

MATTIE H. HURST Mattie Elizabeth Howell Hurst, age 81, beloved wife of the late Howell C. Hurst, died on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, at Palmetto Health Richland. Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home.

LEE EARL COLCLOUGH Lee Earl Colclough, 52, better known as “Pine,” departed this life on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, at McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence. Born on July 10, 1964, in Sumter County, he was a son of the late Deacon Johnson Clarence and Pastor Delia L. Williams Colclough. He was educated in the public schools of Sumter County. In his youth, he was baptized under the leadership of Elder James W. Mickens. He began his work career at Santee Print Works for 20 years. He was also employed with Brown Utility in Concord, North Car-

olina, and Pilgrims Pride of Sumter. He leaves to cherish his memories: his children, Travis Lee Earl Washington of Wedgefield, Samantha (Micheal) Colclough Gamble of Dalzell, Tiara Ja’na Colclough and Arsenio D. C. Colclough, both of Sumter, and Justin Dion Washington and Shaymaine Le’Nadja Geddie, both of Wedgefield; seven grandchildren; two brothers, John Charles (Priscillia) Colclough of Sumter and Herbert Damon Colclough of Wedgefield; two sisters, Clara Mae (Dennis) Wilson and Annie Mae (Willie) Washington, both of Wedgefield; his companion, Sandy Ann Geddie; a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Homegoing services will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday at John Wesley Williams Sr. Memorial Chapel, Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter, with Elder Robert Garrette officiating, eulogist. The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home, 238 S. Purdy St., Sumter. The procession will leave at 12:30 p.m. from the home. Burial will be in Heavenly Gates Cemetery, Wedgefield. Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at williamsfuneralhome@sc.

rr.com. Visit us on the web at www.williamsfuneralhomeinc.com Services directed by the staff and management of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

JOHN A. BURRIS John Anthony Burris, 48, died on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Sumter County. Born on Aug. 7, 1968, in Lee County, he was a son of the late Roosevelt and Rosa Lee Stuckey Burris. The family is receiving family and friends at the home of his aunt, 139 Comfort Lane, Dalzell. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Williams Funeral Home Inc.

DAISY L. CARAWAY MANNING — Daisy Lloyd Caraway, 89, widow of John Caraway Sr., died on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at McLeod Hospice House, Florence. She was born on Jan. 25, 1928, in Georgetown, a daughter of the late Jeffrey and Ellen Smalls Lloyd. Beginning Wednesday, the family will receive friends at the home of her grandson, Travis Caraway, 1335 Little Star Road, Manning. These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC, Manning.

TW FT

7 PM

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TELEVISION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

E10

3 10 7:00pm Local

8:30

9 PM 9:30 LOCAL CHANNELS

10 PM

The Voice: Blind Auditions Premiere, Night 2 Vocalists compete for a spot. (N) (HD) NCIS: Privileged Information Woman’s fall from a building. (HD)

10:30

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(HD) women of senses. (HD) Abusive partner. (HD) (HD) Lit tle Women: LA: Play ing with Fire Lit tle Women: LA: Sail Away Hold ing Lit tle Women: LA: Ball room Blitz (:02) The Pop Game (N) (HD) (:02) Lit tle Women: LA: Ball room (:02) Little 145 Christy’s apology. (HD) grudges. (HD) Tensions rising. (N) (HD) Blitz Tensions rising. (HD) Women: LA (HD) 92 Hardball with Chris (N) (HD) All in with Chris Hayes (HD) The Rachel Maddow Show (N) Lawrence O’Donnell (HD) 11th Hour (HD) Hardball (HD) Maddow (HD) 210 Henry Thunderman Thunderman Shakers (HD) Full House Full House Full House Full House Friends (HD) Friends (HD) Friends (HD) 153 (6:00) Goldmember (‘02) aac (HD) The Waterboy (‘98, Comedy) aac Adam Sandler. (HD) The Waterboy (‘98, Comedy) aac Adam Sandler. (HD) Goldmember Face Off: Wasteland Warriors (N) Face Off: Wasteland Warriors (N) Jumanji (‘95, Fantasy) aaa Robin Williams. An ancient, terrifying board Face Off (HD) 152 Face Off: Twisted Trees Tree characters. (HD) (HD) (HD) game traps a boy and releases him 26 years later. The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Big Bang The Detour: The Full Frontal (HD) Conan (N) (HD) The Detour: The 156 Seinfeld: The Secretary (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Theory (HD) Tub (N) (HD) Tub (HD) (5:30) Trader Horn (‘31, Ad ven ture) The Trea sure of the Si erra Madre (‘48, Ad ven ture) aaac Humphrey Bo gart. Three A Tree Grows in Brook lyn (‘45, Drama) aaa Dor o thy McGuire. An 186 aaa Harry Carey. Lost in Africa. drifters work together to mine for gold in the Mexican mountains. Irish-American girl’s love for her alcoholic father knows no bounds. 157 My Big Fat Fabulous Life (HD) My Big Fat Fabulous Life (N) My Big Fat Fabulous Life (N) (:02) Tattoo Girls (N) (HD) My Big Fat Fabulous Life (HD) Tattoo (HD) (5:30) Gone in 60 Sec onds (‘00, The Hobbit: The Bat tle of the Five Ar mies (‘14, Ad ven ture) aaac Mar tin Free man. Hobbits and al lies fight Law & Or der: Cav iar Emp tor A cav iar Law & Order: 158 Action) aaa Nicolas Cage. (HD) for the future of Middle Earth. (HD) mogul is found dead. (HD) C.O.D. (HD) 129 Jokers (HD) Jokers (HD) Jokers (HD) Jokers (HD) Jokers (HD) Jokers (HD) Hack My (N) Hack My (N) Hack My (HD) Hack My (HD) Jokers (HD) 161 A Griffith (HD) A Griffith (HD) A Griffith (HD) Loves Ray. Loves Ray. Loves Ray. Teachers (N) Shade (N) (HD) Queens (HD) Queens (HD) Queens (HD) Chrisley Knows Chrisley Knows (:01) Modern (:31) Modern (:01) Modern 132 Chrisley Knows Chrisley Knows WWE SmackDown z{| (HD) Best (HD) Best (HD) Best (N) Best (HD) Family (HD) Family (HD) Family (HD) 166 Law & Order: Sideshow (HD) Law & Order: Disciple (HD) Law & Order: Harm (HD) Law & Order: Shield (HD) Law & Order: Juvenile (HD) Law & Ordr 172 Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Outsiders (N) (HD) Outsiders: Kill or Be Killed (HD) Outsiders: Kill or Be Killed (HD) Outsiders

A&E

46 130 Intervention: Courtney Girl uses

AMC

ANPL

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CNBC CNN

35 33

COM

DISN

DSC ESPN ESPN2 FOOD FOXN

42 26 27 40 37

FREE

FSS

HALL

HGTV HIST

39 45

ION

LIFE

MSNBC NICK SPIKE

36 16 64

SYFY

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38 55

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68 8

The U.S. president, reality TV and the media BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH A televised presidential address (9 p.m., CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, Bloomberg) to a joint session of Congress is as good a time as any to explore the unique relationship between television and the current chief executive. Simply put, we’ve never had a president who was a reality television star and producer before. Ronald Reagan had been a movie star and a television host and was a natural on camera. But the current president’s relationship with the media and his ability and desire to shape it is something else entirely. Not only did the president coproduce “The Apprentice” along with Mark Burnett, he has included movie producers in his inner circle. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s choice for secretary of the Treasury has produced more than 30 movies, including “The Lego Movie” and “Suicide Squad.” The president’s senior adviser, Stephen Bannon, has produced 18 films, most of them politically charged documentaries, including “Undefeated,” a profile of Sarah Palin, and the 2016 documentary “Torchbearer,” directed and co-written by Bannon. That film features “Duck Dynasty” personality and “Commander” Phil Robertson traveling the globe, delivering stern warnings about the decline of a godless West and the rise of radical Islam. Our current president is not the first to associate with image makers and producers. Eisenhower briefly experimented with televised Cabinet meetings, and Bill Clinton

turned to “Designing Women” producer Linda Bloodworth Thomason when he wanted to introduce himself to voters in 1992. Image molding has long been part of the job. The 45th president is not only a veteran of television production, he also appears to watch television, cable news in particular, and react to it quite frequently. For all of the importance placed on the president’s Twitter habit, he is often tweeting about something he just saw on television, most often Fox News and “Fox and Friends.” While presidents often like to convey the attitude that they are simply too busy to watch TV, they have long been keenly aware of its power. Way back in the 1960s, President Johnson would watch three televisions at a time in order to monitor the coverage of his administration. Elvis Presley was so impressed that he had three console sets installed in his basement. You can still see them when you tour Graceland! The current president’s adversarial relationship with the media echoes that of Richard Nixon, who used his vice president, Spiro Agnew, to lambaste journalists as “nattering nabobs of negativism.” Nixon also urged the development of a new conservative television network, something that would come to fruition when Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, a former Nixon media adviser, launched Fox News in the 1990s. Whether the current president shapes media or is defined by it remains to be seen. But he appears to be putting a reality television spin on battles that

KATIE YU / THE CW

From left, Violett Beane stars as Jesse Quick, Grant Gustin as The Flash and Keiynan Lonsdale as Kid Flash in the “Attack on Central City” episode of “The Flash,” airing at 8 p.m. today on the CW. have been waged before.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Time for a sacrifice on “Outsiders” (9 p.m., WGN, TV-MA). • The prince regent unleashes his wrath on the season finale of the strange, intriguing and visually dazzling mystery “Taboo” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).

SERIES NOTES Patient confidentiality on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) * Jess hopes Nick is a hit with the students on “New Girl” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * A question of trust on “Fresh Off the Boat” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * The bat-

tle with Grodd and his gorilla army concludes on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) * Mick distrusts Ben’s school on “The Mick” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Kenny nurses a broken heart on “The Real O’Neals” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * A classmate expires mysteriously on the series pilot of “Riverdale” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) * Kevin works as a bartender on “Kevin Can Wait” (10:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) * Halloween madness on “American Housewife” (10:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT Run the Jewels is booked on “The Daily Show With Trevor

Noah” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Martin Short, Natalie Zea and the Pretty Reckless appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Michael Shannon, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp and Martina McBride on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Aubrey Plaza, Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Lance Black, Reza Aslan and Vinnie Colaiuta visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Bradley Whitford and London Grammar appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS). Copyright 2017 United Feature Syndicate

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We will be happy to change your ad if an error is made; however we are not responsible for errors after the first run day. We shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the printing or omission of an advertisement. We reserve the right to edit, refuse or cancel any ad at any time.

For Sale or Trade

Help Wanted Full-Time

Unfurnished Apartments

Mobile Home Rentals

Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves. Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311. Open 7 Days a week 9am-8pm

F/T HVAC Service Tech position available. Gene's Heating & Air, LLC, Requirements: â&#x20AC;˘ Valid SCDL with clean record â&#x20AC;˘ Reliable attendance & punctuality â&#x20AC;˘ Excellent customer service skills â&#x20AC;˘ Prefer 5 yr. with NATE certified Applications available Email resume to: geneshvacap @ftc-i.net

Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette. 775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

STATEBURG COURTYARD

Selling: 3 pc. living room set. Blue/tan striped. call 803-840-0257 $140

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time SLS & the SC Disaster Recovery Office is seeking qualified subcontractors to perform approximately $70 million in repair and/or replacement of approximately 1,500 homes damaged by the flooding event in 2015. For more information on the RFQ, please call (803) 233-2741 or email kscott@slsco.com and bharrison@slsco.com during regular business hours. Chef/CDM/Kitchen Manager Please apply in person at NHC HealthCare Sumter 1018 N. Guignard Dr. Sumter, SC (EOE)

Tree Service Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

11:30 a.m. the day before for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday edition. 11:30 a.m. Friday for Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition.

Nesbitt Transportation is now hiring Class A CDL Drivers. Must be 23 yrs old and have 2 yrs experience. Home nights and weekends. Also hiring experience diesel mechanic. Call 843-621-0943 or 843-659-8254 Looking for full time experienced carpenters, roofers, dry wall repair, ect. Pay determined on experienced. Call 803-968-4718 or 646-457-9318 for interview and more information. Housekeepers needed: Apply in person at Howard Johnson, 2816 Paxville Hwy, Manning, SC 29102, Experience preferred. No phone Calls Cashier needed full time. Must have some computer knowledge, be self-motivated, dependable & energetic. Apply at Wally's Hardware from 1pm-3pm, 1291 Broad St. Delivery and install man needed, will require drug screening and back ground cheek, clean driving record. E-mail/mail resume to bobsappliance2003@yahoo.com or 1152 Pocalla Rd. Sumter, SC 29150 No walk ins please!

Dental Assistant, who is caring, compassionate and loves working with kids! Must be experienced and team-oriented, for a fun loving, fast-paced pediatric dental office. Excellent pay for Dental experience. Fax resume to 803-934-9943.

Help Wanted Part-Time Camp Bob Cooper (Clemson University Youth Learning Institute), Summerton, SC is now hiring for Part-Time Food Service Workers, no more than 28 hours per week, $7.25/hr. Shifts vary; some weekends. Must have a valid driver's license and be able to pass a background check. Please Call: 803-478-2105 Clemson University is an Equal Opportunity Employer Part time help wanted Children's coordinator - This position should be filled by a person who is raised in the church and experienced an active children's ministry. The candidate should have a strong Christian background and have recommendation of their pastor. The position involves taking the children from Sunday service and conducting Children's church. We also have monthly planned activities to include trips to places of interest. We are budgeting this position at $14 an hour and $4000 annually. Please send resume to St. John UMC, 136 Poinsett Drive, Sumter Sc, 29150 or call 803-773-8185 for further information.

RENTALS Unfurnished Apartments 2BR/2BA, Willow Run Apt., 900sqft, clean, washer & dryer included. $550+$550 deposit. Background check required and references, no housing. Call Kim 803-294-0925

2 & 3 Br, Sec. 8 803-494-4015

2- 3BR/1BA Apts for rent. Kitchen, den, LR $550 Mo.+ Dep. Call 775-6228 or 983-3401

Miscellaneous

American MHP, 2 & 3/BR, lot rentals, water/sewer/garbage pkup inc'd. Sec. 8 ok. 803-494-4300. 3BR & 2BR, all appliances, Sumter area. Section 8 accepted. 469-6978 or 499-1500

REAL ESTATE Homes for Sale 2000sqft, 3BR/2BA, large family room, living room,dining room, fenced in yard, add on playroom & new heat pump. $99k Call 803-840-5201

Manufactured Housing

Huntington Place Apartments Rents from $625 per month 1 Month free* *13 Month lease required Leasing office located at Ashton Mill Apartment Homes 595 Ashton Mill Drive 803-773-3600 Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9-5

M & M Mobile Homes, Inc. Now selling New Wind Zone II Champion and Clayton Homes. Lots of floor plans available to custom design your home. Nice used refurbished homes still available also. Bank and Owner financing with ALL CREDIT SCORES accepted. Call 1-843-389-4215 Like us on Facebook M & M Mobile Homes.

Unfurnished Homes

Land & Lots for Sale

2670 McCrays Mill Rd 3BR/1.5BA, den, living room, No pets! $775m+$775dep. Call 803-840-7846 or 803-481-4013

3/4 Acre, Eagles Nest Electric, water, $3900 Call 713-870-0216

3BR/2BA DW, large private lot, between Sumter and Manning. $600mo+$600dep Call 803-473-7577 Old Manning Rd.: 3 Br, 2 Ba. on 1 acre private lot in country. All hardwood floors, frig & stove, W/D hookup. Carport & fenced yard. Outside pet only. No Section 8. $1200 mo. with 1 year lease. 803-491-5375 1250 Coffey St. Brick 3BR/1BA, C /H/A, no pets, $550+Dep. Call 803-316-8105

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2006 Toyota Sienna 108k, new tires, garage kept, excellent condition. $7000 OBO Call 803-469-6228

Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water//sewer//garbage pk-up incl'd. RV parking avail. Call 803-494-8350

Oakland Plantation Apts. 5501 Edgehill Rd 499-2157 Applications accepted Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. 1, 2 & 3 bedroom Apts. Housing for families, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Limited rental assistance available for qualified applicants. Housing office vouchers accepted. â&#x20AC;˘Central heat/air â&#x20AC;˘Carpet/blinds â&#x20AC;˘Refrigerator/stove â&#x20AC;˘Smoke free community

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Refurbished batteries as low as $45. New batteries as low as $59.95. Auto Electric Co., 102 Blvd Rd. 803-773-4381

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice Public Storage/ PS Orangeco, Inc. LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell to satisfy the lien of owner at public sale by competitive bidding on March 16, 2017 personal and/or business property including but not limited to furniture, clothing, tools and other household / business items located at the properties listed. The sale will begin at 2:00 pm at 1143 N. Guignard Drive, Sumter, SC 29153. The personal goods stored therein by below named occupant(s); 1143 N.Guignard Dr, Sumter, SC 29150 103 - McDaniel, Raven 119 - McBride, Joe Ann 208 - White, Amy 216 - Capers, Rosemary 520 - Miller, Jr., Thomas 544 - Robinson, Crystal 748 - McPherson, TaJona 1277 Camden Hwy, Sumter, SC 29153 A033 - Hinnant, Jazmine B029 - Chatman, Michael B083 - Alston, D'Janna C035 - Plowden, Charlene D019 - Conyers, Jacinda D021 - Wells, Jerry E022 - Sparks, Valerie E058 - Isaac, Charles

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IT’S PROM TIME AT MAYOS “FABULOUS FEBRUARY SALE” Choose ONE suit at our REGULAR PRICE Get SECOND suit of equal or less value for ONLY $1.00! If your suits aren’t becoming to you, It’s a good time to be coming to Mayo’s!

Wesmark Plaza • 773-2262 • Mon-Sat 10-7 • www.MayosDiscountSuits.com Summons & Notice

Legal Notice I009 - Hammett, Anthony 3785 Broad St, Sumter, SC 29154 0147 - Dicks, Frankie 0214 - lockes, Carlton 0316 - Cruz, Allen 0334 - Powell, James 0403 - Demmons, Dante 0515 - Andrews, Jennifer Purchase must be made with cash only and paid for at the time of sale. All goods are sold as is and must be removed at the time of the sale. Sale is subject to adjournment.

Beer & Wine License

said action upon the Defendant John Doe, representing an unknown individual, whose whereabouts are unknown. Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED, that service of the Summons in said action upon the Defendant John Doe be made by publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in Sumter County once a week for a period of three weeks. AND IT IS SO ORDERED.

Notice Of Application Notice is hereby given that JLW Enterprises, LLC intends to apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for a license permit that will allow the sale ON premises consumption of Beer & Wine or Liquor at 226 N. Washington St Sumter Sc, 29150. To object to the issuance of this permit / license, written protest must be postmarked no later than March 16, 2017. For a protest to be valid, it must be in writing, and should include the following information: (1) the name, address and telephone number of the person filing the protest; (2) the specific reasons why the application should be denied; (3) that the person protesting is willing to attend a hearing (if one is requested by the applicant); (4) that the person protesting resides in the same county where the proposed place of business is located or within five miles of the business; and (5) the name of the applicant and the address of the premises to be licensed. Protests must be mailed to: S.C. Department of Revenue, ATTN: ABL, P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214; or Faxed to: (803) 896-0110.

James C. Campbell Sumter County Clerk of Court LAND, PARKER & WELCH, P.A. Nelson R. Parker 29 South Mill Street Post Office Box 138 Manning, South Carolina 29102 (803) 435-8894 Attorney for the Plaintiff nelson @lowlawfirm.com www.l pwlawfirm.com

SUMMONS IN THE FAMILY COURT FOR THE THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DOCKET NO.: 2017-DR-43-159 STATE OF SOUTH COUNTY OF SUMTER

CAROLINA

Curtis Hilton, Plaintiff, vs. Barbara Jenkins and Omie Jean Jenkins, Defendant. TO: THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS ABOVE NAMED:

Summons & Notice NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL ACTION NO: 2016-CP-43-02293 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Sanquenette D. Seay PLAINTIFF, vs. Lille Ann Copeland and John Doe, DEFENDANTS. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Complaint was filed in the above entitled action in the Sumter County Clerk of Court's Office on December 15, 2016, for the purpose of instituting an action against the Defendant as a result of an auto accident which occurred December 30, 2013.

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, of which a copy is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint on the subscribed, 109 North Main Street, Post Office Box 1211, Sumter, South Carolina 29151, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the date of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. THE DEAS LAW FIRM Garryl L. Deas, Esquire 109 North Main Street Post Office Box 1211 Sumter, South Carolina 29151 (803) 775-7004 Attorney for Plaintiff

Public Hearing

SUMMONS TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANT

HEREIN

You are hereby summoned and required to answer the Complaint in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said Complaint on the subscribers at their offices at 17 East Calhoun Street, Sumter, South Carolina, within thirty (30) days of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. BRYAN LAW FIRM OF SC, L.L.P. John R. Moorman Attorney for the Plaintiff 17 East Calhoun Street P.O. Box 2038 Sumter, SC 29151 (803) 775-1263

NOTICE OF FILING IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT CASE N0.: 2017-CP-43-00111 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Theresa D. Manning. Plaintiff, vs. Wal-Mart Stores, East, LP d/b/a Wal-Mart Supercenter #0511 and John Doe, an unknown individual, Defendants. TO THE DEFENDANTS, WAL-MART STORES, EAST, LP D/B/A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER #0511 AND JOHN DOE, AN UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL, ABOVE− NAMED: You will please take notice that the original Amended Summons and Amended Complaint in the above entitled action were filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on the 20th day of January, 2017.

AMENDED SUMMONS (Jury Trial Requested) TO: THE DEFENDANT(S) ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED AND REQUIRED to answer the Complaint in this matter, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint upon the subscriber at his office, Land, Parker & Welch, P.A., Post Office Box 138, Manning, South Carolina, 29102, within THIRTY (30) days from the service thereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

PUBLIC HEARING This is to inform the public of the opportunity to attend a public hearing on the proposed SFY 2017-2018 Section 5310, Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disability Program Application being submitted to the South Carolina Department of Transportation no later than March 1, 2017. Those interested in attending a public hearing on the application should contact Dana Strock, Executive Director in writing on or before February 28, 2017 at 2:00pm. The contact address is Sumter Senior Services, Inc., Attn: Dana Strock, Post Office Box 832, Sumter, South Carolina 29151 or by email: dstrock@sumterseniorservices.org. The public hearing will be held on March 1, 2017 at 2:00pm, at Sumter Senior Services, Inc. located at 119 South Sumter Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150. The Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disability Program provided capital assistance for transportation options and services for the communities operating in Sumter County, Santee lynches Region. These services are currently provided through Purchase of Services contract with the Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority using fifteen passenger ADA equipped vehicles. The total estimated amount requested for the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018 is as follows:

Estate Notice Sumter County

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES

Persons having claim against the following estates are required to deliver or mail their claims to the indicated Personal Representatives, appointed to administer these estates, and to file their claims on Form #371PC with the Probate Court of Sumter County Courthouse, N. Main Street, Sumter, SC, 29150, on or before the date that is eight months after the date of the first publication of this Notice to Creditors, (unless previously barred by operation of Section 62-3-803), or such persons shall be forever barred as to heir claims. All claims are required to be presented in written statements, indicating the name and the address of the claimant, the basis of the claim, the amount claimed, the date when the claim will become due, the nature of any uncertainty as to the amount claimed and the date when due, and a description of any security as to the claim.

Estate:/Mary Tennant #2017ES4300104

Estate:/Tracy Marino Morales #2017ES4300110

Personal Representative Jerry Edward Tennant, Sr. 1160 Habitat Dr. Sumter, SC 29153

Personal Representative Patricia A. Morales C/O Ricci Land Welch Attorneys at Law PO Box 138 Manning, SC 29102

Estate:/ Hermon M. McCoy #2017ES4300108 Personal Representative Nasbia Martin Miller 50 Genevia Lane Rembert, SC 29128

Personal Representative Randolph T. Minter C/O Glenn F. Givens Attorney at Law 107 North Main Street Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Milledge B. Shuler, II #2017ES4300083 Personal Representative Kathrine P. Dority 584 Clifton Road Sumter, SC 29153

Estate:/James P. Mallard, Jr. #2017ES4300112 Personal Representative James P. Mallard, III 5 Garrett St. Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Henrietta Smith #2017ES4300070 Personal Representative Patricia Ridgeway 710 Lakeside Drive Surfside Beach, SC 29575

Estate:/Miriam Annette Evans #2017ES4300099 Personal Representative James H. Huntley II 6 Warren Court Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Sonie Walker #2017ES4300084 Personal Representative Eleanora S. Walker J. David Weeks Attorney at Law PO Box 370 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/Warren Julius Lesane, Sr. #2017ES4300075 Personal Representative Warren J. Lesane, Jr. 3601 Seminary Avenue Richmond, VA 23227

Estate:/ Robert A. Smith #2017ES4300107 Personal Representative Loretta Smith 3460 Deer Track Circle Dalzell, SC 29040

Estate:/Rosser Lawrence Robey #2017ES4300082 Personal Representative Lawrence David Robey C/O Michael M. Jordan Attorney at Law 10 Law Range Sumter, SC 29150

Emerson Truesdale #2017ES4300115

Personal Representative Grace Smith 744 Douglas Street Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Margie A R Zelano #2017ES4300074 Personal Representative John Zelano C/O J Cabot Seth Attorney At Law PO Box 1268 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/Joyce Frazier #2017ES4300093

In Memory

Personal Representative Cedric Frazier 6770 Fish Road Dalzell, SC 29040

Estate:/Kenneth H. Horne #2017ES4300101 Personal Representative Kenneth H. Horne, II 652 W. Bear Grass Rd. Longs, SC 29568

ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcements

Estate:/Carroll E. West #2017ES4300087 Personal Representative Rebecca L. West Thomason 4270 Brabham Drive Dalzell, SC 29040

Estate:/Titus Rembert, Sr. #2017ES4300094

Sumter ghost finders, for a limited time, will pay $60 to investigate local haunted places. Privacy assured. 803-481-8826

Personal Representative Roberta Rembert 1620 Hidden Oak Dr. Wedgefield, SC 29168

Estate:/Clifford P. Hodge #2017ES4300078 Personal Representative John D. Hodge 5022 Circle Drive Forest Acres, SC 29206

In Loving Memory of 1st Sgt. Lee Carter Jr. 9/20/39 - 2/28/07 In remembering, We keep what is best as treasures forever. A loving heart, a beautiful spirit, these are the things that last forever. You are with us in heart and spirit. Love and Miss you, Your Wife, Sons, Grandchildren & The Carter Family.

Estate:/Louise Sheridan #2017ES4300109 Personal Representative Carol A. Cummings C/O Thomas E. Player, Jr. Attorney at Law PO Box 3690 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/Carrie Mae Smith Scott #2017ES4300092 Personal Representative George P. Scott, Jr. 4255 McCrays Mill Rd. Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/Carole L Skipper #2017ES4300073 Personal Representative Arless L Skipper Jr 25 Trailwood Drive Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/Aline McIntosh #2017ES4300100 Personal Representative Elizabeth M. Durant 221 Idle Lake Court Sumter, SC 29150

Need Cash? Classifieds - your best deal for making a few bucks on things you no longer need! Call 774-12 today! Classified

Personal Representative Pamela E. Ey C/O William Johnson Attorney at Law PO Box 137 Manning, SC 29102

Estate:/John H. Jackson, Jr. #2016ES4300680 Personal Representative Suzanne C. Jackson 2330 Whites Mill Rd. Sumter, SC 29153

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Estate:/Ansley James, Sr. #2017ES4300103

Project Category: Purchase of Service Total Amount- Federal Funding Request: $50,000 Total Local Share- Minimum Local Match (20%) - $12,500

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THE SUMTER ITEM ·

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

OOPS! 02.28.17

PricewaterhouseCoopers:

‘We made a mistake’ at Oscars. IN LIFE ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY

USA TODAY EXCLUSIVE

Taxpayers fund $10,000 trips Congress members’ travel sets record, and for some lawmakers, it’s ﬁrst class all the way Paul Singer @singernews USA TODAY

Most taxpayers will never pay $10,000 in ﬂights for an overseas trip, but in the year before the 2016 election, taxpayers paid for 557 such trips that each cost more than $10,000 for a member of Congress or a staffer. Those ﬁve-digit global itineraries made up 40% of all individual

congressional trips for which travel costs were publicly reported. By comparison, less than 0.2% of tickets purchased by the general public through U.S. travel agencies in 2015 and 2016 were more than $10,000, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp. The pricey ﬂights were part of a surge in foreign travel. Congress spent at least $14.7 million on taxpayer-funded trips in ﬁscal year 2016, a 27% increase over the year before, according to Congress’ own accounting.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, AP

The Treasury Department reported that congressional travel cost nearly $20 million last year, the highest ﬁgure ever recorded.

That may be a low estimate. The Treasury Department reported that congressional travel cost nearly $20 million last year, the highest ﬁgure ever recorded, based on data provided by the State Department, which arranges official foreign travel for lawmakers. Neither Treasury nor State would explain the discrepancy, but both agencies stood by the higher ﬁgure. None of these totals includes hundreds of other trips for which the military provides transportation; the costs of using those military aircraft are never disclosed. Lawmakers make official trips abroad to confer with foreign offi-

cials, to visit U.S. military operations and to oversee projects funded by the U.S. government, among other things. Congress does not pay for its own ﬂights. Under a Korean Warera statute that was updated in the 1970s, the Treasury Department is directed to pay for congressional trips overseas from whatever funds it has available. Congress does not have to approve spending for its foreign travel each year, and there is no set dollar limit. When members of Congress decide to travel abroad, the State

v STORYSTORY CONTINUES ON 2B ON C2 CONTINUES

NEWSLINE

IN NEWS

Trump budget to boost defense, slash elsewhere Military spending to increase by 10%

People start 84% of U.S. wildfires 40,000 blazes per year ignited by humans

SpaceX plans to fly passengers around moon Musk says craft will skim moon’s surface

This is an edition of USA TODAY provided for your local newspaper. An expanded version of USA TODAY is available at newsstands or by subscription, and at usatoday.com.

For the latest national sports coverage, go to sports.usatoday.com

USA SNAPSHOTS©

More organic food

21,781 Number1 of certified organic operations in the USA. 1 – As of April 4, 2016 SOURCE U.S. Department of Agriculture MICHAEL B. SMITH AND JANET LOEHRKE, USA TODAY

JACQUELINE LARMA, AP

Jewish communities besieged Hatred arises anew in form of defaced graves, bomb threats

John Bacon @jmbacon USA TODAY

Desecration of gravesites at cemeteries in Philadelphia and outside St. Louis. Swastikas etched on cars in Miami Beach. Bomb threats forcing evacuation of Jewish community centers. Another wave of intimidation targeting Jewish communities swept across the nation Monday, and community leaders and law enforcement struggled to stop it.

Jewish sites reported at least 16 bomb threats, said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center. The latest series of attacks was the ﬁfth this year. “I have been here more than 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Potok said. “There are provocateurs out there who say that if you don’t like somebody, go after them.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that President Trump was “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the cemetery vandalism and other acts.

“The president continues to condemn these and any other forms of anti-Semitic and hateful acts in the strongest terms,” Spicer said. Potok and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said Trump has failed to consistently speak out against anti-Semitic rhetoric. “I think, in large part, the election of Donald Trump let the genie of anti-Semitism out of the bottle,” Potok said. “And it’s not going to go back in easily.”

Rabbi Joshua Bolton of the University of Pennsylvania surveys damaged headstones at Mount Carmel Cemetery on Monday in Philadelphia. More than 100 headstones were vandalized at the Jewish CONTINUES v STORY STORY CONTINUES ON 2B ON C2 cemetery.

Yas! Oxford Dictionaries adds entries to collection 300 words, slang terms and vulgarities join official lexicon Josh Hafner @joshhafner USA TODAY

Oxford Dictionaries published its latest update, adding more than 300 words to its official collection such as “yas,” “squad goals,” “drunk text” and “sausage fest.” That last term means “an event

or group in which the majority of participants are male,” Oxford explained. Also known as a “sausage party,” it inspired last year’s crude comedy of the same name. Other newly added words include “cat lady,” “drunk text” and “ﬁtspiration,” something that inspires one toward better health. Oxford updates its collection every three months, often reﬂecting new terms and popular slang. Slang and vulgar terms are marked as such, and Oxford defended their additions: “Slang terms are just as real as any other word, and are included in the dic-

tionary in just the same way.” Past slang additions to the online reference guide include “manspreading,” “butt-dial” and “cat cafe,” but they’re not all silly: Oxford’s 2016 word of the year, “post-truth,” reﬂected an ominous shift in Western politics. Here’s a list of notable additions from Oxford’s latest update: Biatch (noun) Used as an affectionate or disparaging form of address. Brewer’s droop (noun) Inability in a man to achieve or maintain an erection as a consequence of drinking an excess of alcohol.

Cat lady (noun) An older woman who lives alone with a large number of cats, to which she is thought to be obsessively devoted. Climate refugee (noun) A person who has been forced to leave their home as a result of the effects of climate change on their environment. Craptacular (adjective) Remarkably poor or disappointing. Drunk text (noun) A text message sent while drunk, typically one that is embarrassing or foolish.

Fitspiration (noun) A person or thing that serves as motivation for someone to sustain or improve health and ﬁtness. Haterade (noun) Excessive negativity, criticism, or resentment. In vino veritas (exclamation) Under the inﬂuence of alcohol, a person tells the truth. Sausage fest (noun) An event or group in which the majority of participants are male. Yas (exclamation) Expressing great pleasure or excitement.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

· THE SUMTER ITEM

Airline, hotel, car costs pile up CONTINUED FROM C11B v CONTINUED FROM

EVAN VUCCI, AP

President Trump speaks to members of the National Governors Association on Monday.

Trump budget to increase defense, slash agencies Outline keeps campaign promises; Dems decry ‘meat ax’ Donovan Slack @donovanslack USA TODAY WASHINGTON President Trump has signed off on top-line numbers in a budget outline that seeks to make good on his campaign promises by increasing military spending by 10% and offsetting the cost with deep cuts to other agencies across the federal government. “This budget will be a public safety and national security budget, very much based on those two with plenty of other things but very strong,” Trump said Monday. “And it will include a historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it.” He said he will lay out more detail Tuesday during a prime-time address to a joint session of Congress. “This defense spending increase will be offset and paid for by ﬁnding greater savings and efﬁciencies across the federal government,” Trump said. “We’re going to do more with less.” The White House said the budget outline includes a $54 billion increase in defense spending and an equivalent cut in non-defense, discretionary spending. That

would mean the current discretionary budget of $1.064 trillion would remain unchanged. As part of the proposed cuts, which would affect nearly every agency, the administration will seek to decrease foreign aid, something the president referenced Monday morning during a meeting with governors at the White House. Trump said the budget “puts America ﬁrst by keeping tax dollars in America.” It also includes investments in law enforcement and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“With $20 trillion in debt ... the government must learn to tighten its belt, something families all across the country have had to learn to do unfortunately.” Donald Trump

“We can do so much more with the money we spend,” Trump said. “With $20 trillion in debt, can you imagine that, the government must learn to tighten its belt, something families all across the country have had to learn to do, unfortunately.” The White House sent the approved top-line numbers Monday to individual agencies, which will be tasked with ﬁlling in the de-

tails of where cuts and increases would be made before the White House finalizes the budget proposal and sends it to Congress in the coming weeks. Congress would then be responsible for debating and passing spending bills, on which Trump would have the final sign-off. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, wasn’t waiting to hear more details. He said Monday that Trump’s proposed cuts — roughly 10% of non-defense, discretionary spending — would take “a meat ax to programs that benefit the middle class.” “A cut this steep almost certainly means cuts to agencies that protect consumers from Wall Street excess and protect clean air and water,” Schumer said in a statement Monday. “This budget proposal is a reflection of exactly who this president is and what today’s Republican Party believes in: helping the wealthy and special interests while putting further burdens on the middle class and those struggling to get there.” Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the budget outline numbers do not take into account revenue projections from promised tax cuts or added spending on infrastructure. Nor does it rely on any financial impact from a repeal-and-replace of the Affordable Care Act. He said those items would be included in a “full-blown” budget proposal that would be submitted to Congress in May.

Department makes the arrangements, and Treasury pays the bills. There is little incentive for lawmakers to keep travel costs down. Congressional committees report the trips in error-riddled tables printed in the Congressional Record. The Congressional Record reports include hundreds of trips with jaw-dropping expenses. In May 2016, four GOP congressmen and three staff members spent $90,000 on a five-day trip to Albania for a NATO summit. Rep Mike Turner, R-Ohio, made the trip for $7,055, but Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., spent $15,222 for transportation. “The expenses are due to a last-minute return flight,” said Sensenbrenner spokeswoman Nicole Tieman. Turner was also the low spender on a trip to Belgium in February 2016. Turner’s transportation expenses are listed as $499 for that trip; Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, spent $6,694 and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., spent $11,396. Turner apparently transferred to another congressional delegation midway through, so the $499 does not reflect the full cost of his travels that week. Last summer (the Senate does not report travel dates), thensenator David Vitter, R-La., and one staff member from the Small Business Committee spent $37,000 to travel to the United Kingdom and back, according to the reports. On the bright side, some of the most expensive trips are reporting errors. Sen. Joe Donnelly, DInd., made a trip in late 2016 to Georgia, Slovakia and the Ukraine, and the Congressional Record reported travel costs at $24,402.48. His office said the actual airfare was about $13,000, and the senator had no role in choosing the flights. Donnelly, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, made the trip “to review U.S.-supported efforts to counter the threat of Russian aggression and nuclear and biological terrorism on the ground in eastern Europe,” spokeswoman Sarah Rothschild said. “The Army, in coordination with the State Department, made all of the senator’s travel arrangements, including selecting and booking his flights to Ukraine, Slovakia and Georgia. The State Department paid for the trip.” Hundreds of congressional trips show no airfare at all because the lawmakers flew on military aircraft, and the Pentagon simply absorbed the costs of the flights. That does not mean the

CONGRESS TRAVEL COSTS SOAR After dropping off at the start of this decade, Congress has stepped up its use of taxpayerfunded foreign trips. (in millions) Senate

House

Fiscal year 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total $4.7

$9.2

$13.9

$8.4 $6.6

$13.1

$4.7

$11

2010

$4.4 $5.4

2011

$5.9 $5 $5.7 $6 $4.6 $5.1 $5.3 $7.2

2012 2013 2014 2015 20161

$12.7 $19.3

$6.6

$17.6 $9.9

$4.2 $6.8 $8.3 $11.1

$10.9 $11.7 $9.7 $12.5 $11 $19.4

SOURCE annual report of Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service 1 — Reports published by Congress tally only $14.7 million in foreign travel costs. The discrepancy remains unexplained. VERONICA BRAVO, USA TODAY

trips are without cost to the taxpayer. Beyond the military plane, there are on-the-ground costs generated for hotel rooms for security teams, State Department staff time, in-country transportation and the like. In October 2015, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and six other lawmakers accompanied by six staff members racked up $98,613 in expenses on a week-long trip to Germany, Switzerland and England — with no airfare, according to the report in the Congressional Record. The big jump in congressional travel costs in 2016 — from about $11 million in fiscal year 2015 to either the congressional estimate of $15 million or the Treasury estimate of more than $19 million — was partly intentional. Both the House and Senate Intelligence committees saw enormous increases in their foreign travel because new Republican committee chairmen wanted to get out in the field more. Foreign travel costs reported by the House Intelligence Committee jumped from $1.1 million to $1.9 million after Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., took over the chairmanship in 2015. Likewise, the Senate Intelligence Committee spent almost $1 million in fiscal 2016.

Corrections & Clarifications

‘Flash of fear’ shakes Jewish communities

Taraji P. Henson was misidentiﬁed in a photo caption on 1B in some editions Monday.

v CONTINUED FROM CONTINUED FROM C11B

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Greenblatt said Monday’s threats raised the total this year to about 90. No bombs have been found. In Wilmington, Del., Democratic Sen. Tom Carper was meeting with Jewish community leaders at the Siegel Jewish Community Center to discuss the climate of threats and violence when someone called in a bomb threat. The center was evacuated, police investigated, and programs resumed a short time later. “It is heartbreaking for such a ﬂash of fear to overtake a place of strong community and joy that brings together people of all ages under one roof — from the babies in the day care center to the senior citizens taking part in exercise classes,” Carper said. “These acts must end.” Evacuating small children and the elderly from the building, sometimes in bad weather, is no minor event. The constant threat keeps communities on edge. “The bottom line is that this is not normal,” Greenblatt said. “This is not acceptable. We have people wondering about sending their kids to community center, to their day school.” In Missouri, more than 150 headstones were vandalized Feb. 20 at the Chesed Shel Emeth Society Cemetery. Two days later, hundreds of volunteers showed up to help repair the damage. In Philadelphia, residents rallied behind the Jewish community after vandals toppled scores of headstones over the weekend.

MICHAEL THOMAS, GETTY IMAGES

Volunteers clean up Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in Missouri. The cemetery was one of the latest targets of vandalism. “Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens did a wonderful job of pulling together an interfaith effort,” Greenblatt said. “But you really have to stretch to ﬁnd a silver lining when a community is under siege.” The FBI launched an investigation into the community center threats last month. The bureau publicly announced that agents and prosecutors assigned to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division weighed possible charges of civil rights violations. Local law enforcement authorities oversee separate investigations. Bomb threat cases can be extremely challenging because of the broad access to technology, said Ron Hosko, a former chief of the FBI’s criminal division. “There are so many ways to maintain your anonymity —

whether it is special software or throwaway phones — they (suspects) can play this out for some time,” Hosko said. In New York state, at least four centers became targets Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Today, we witnessed additional bomb threats directed at JCCs,” Cuomo tweeted. “We will do everything to catch those responsible for this #antiSemitic act.” Among other threats: uA bomb threat at North Carolina’s Asheville Jewish Community Center forced a brief evacuation while Asheville police checked the interior and exterior of the facility, police spokeswoman Christina Hallingse said. Nothing suspicious was found, so a bomb squad was not called in. “Investigation into the incident is ongoing,” she said. uOperations at the Jewish

Community Center of Indianapolis ground to a halt for about an hour while bomb-sniffing dogs and investigators swept the property before an all-clear was issued. Last week, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., wrote a letter urging the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. attorney general and the FBI director to take “swift action” to address the signiﬁcant number of bomb threats telephoned in to Jewish community centers across the nation. The letter was co-signed by 150 members of Congress. Authorities must “do everything within their power to punish those responsible for the threats that have already taken place, to prevent future threats from occurring and to ensure these threats are never converted into action,” Murphy said. David Posner, director of strategic performance at JCC Association of North America, said his membership was grateful to law enforcement for ensuring the centers are safe. He called on the White House, Congress and federal authorities to step up their efforts. “Actions speak louder than words,” he said, calling for swift action to identify and capture those “who are trying to instill anxiety and fear in our communities.” Contributing: Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY; Brittany Horn, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal; Joel Burgess and John Boyle, The (Asheville, N.C.) Citizen-Times; Justin L. Mack, The Indianapolis Star.

THE SUMTER ITEM ·

LIFELINE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

THE 89TH ACADEMY AWARDS

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? GOOD DAY WILL SMITH Smith is making his return as an action-movie leading man. The first trailer for his Netflix movie, ‘Bright,’ dropped on WIREIMAGE Monday, showing Smith as a police officer living among fantasy creatures. BAD DAY MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK Damon and Affleck may be one of Hollywood’s most beloved teams, but Syfy wasn’t as keen on their co-produced drama ‘Incorporated,’ which it canceled after one season.

KEVIN WINTER, GETTY IMAGES

MAKING WAVES On a night when the Oscars took a major step forward by honoring an LGBTQ-themed film (‘Moonlight’) with the GETTY IMAGES best-picture prize for the first time, Patricia Arquette said the show’s producers also took a step backward by snubbing her transgender sister, Alexis, during the “In Memoriam” segment. “I’m really bummed,” the ‘Boyhood actress,’ who won the best-supportingactress Oscar two years ago, told ‘Vanity Fair’ Sunday night. THEY SAID WHAT? THE STARS’ BEST QUOTES “Grown men all the time tell me that it’s their favorite movie, their favorite sports movie. In the press, they were saying: ‘This changes everything. Now there’s going to be so many female sports movies. This proves once and for all that women’s sports movies can be huge successes.’ And there were none! The ratio of male to female characters has been exactly the same since 1946.” — Geena Davis on ‘A League of Their Own’ and sexism in Hollywood in an extra for the movie’s 25th-anniversary edition

‘WHAT HAPPENED WAS ...’

CHRIS PIZZELLO, INVISION/AP

The Oscars’ esteemed accounting ﬁrm fesses up to a simple ‘human error’ Maria Puente and Andrea Mandell USA TODAY

The accountants did it? We all watched in shock as it happened. Now we know exactly what happened. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has handled the accounting for the Academy Awards since 1934, apologized early Monday for giving the wrong envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway before the two actors announced La La Land as best picture at Sunday night’s Oscars. Actually, Moonlight won the top prize. In Beatty’s hand was a spare best-actress envelope. Emma Stone already had been given her winning envelope, but two sets are printed: one for each of the two PwC representatives who wait in the wings to distribute the envelopes to presenters. “At the end of the day, we made a human error,” Tim Ryan, U.S. chairman and senior partner of PwC told USA TODAY on Monday. “We made a mistake. What happened was, our partner on the left side of the stage, Brian Cullinan, he handed the wrong envelope to

Warren Beatty. And then the second we realized that, we notiﬁed the appropriate parties and corrected the mistake.” But speeches by La La Land producers already had been given, and the celebrating had begun. “We apologize to the cast of La La Land for having to have made those speeches in the time that it took to (correct it),” Ryan says. “Immediately when it was announced, again, because of our mistake, both our partners who knew who the winner was — and they’re the only two who know — they realized the mistake. “It was a little chaotic and just took time to get out onstage and let people know the mistake was made. And unfortunately that took enough time to get through 21⁄2 acceptance speeches.” It’s puzzling because the Oscar process — counting the votes, determining the winners, ﬁlling the envelopes, packing two briefcases, toting them to the ceremony, handing the envelopers to presenters — is long-established. Before the show, Cullinan, who is chairman of PwC’s U.S. board, and Martha Ruiz, a tax partner at PwC, described how the winning envelopes are handled. After voting closes a week before the show, accountants start tabulating, which takes about

Speeches already had begun as PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Brian Cullinan, holding what turned out to be the wrong red envelope, and Martha Ruiz, in red dress, converge on stage. Category. The winners’ names are not typed into a computer or written down, to avoid potential lost slips of paper or breaches of security,” Cullinan and Ruiz said. Here’s where it gets even more fascinating: It could only have been a PricewaterhouseCoopers rep who gave the wrong envelope CHRISTOPHER POLK, GETTY IMAGES to Beatty and Dunaway. All was going as planned for Backstage, Cullinan and Ruiz Ruiz and Cullinan earlier “hand each envelope directly to in the evening as they toted the presenter in each category. We two briefcases with two sets are positioned on either side of the of secret sealed envelopes. stage, so we can hand envelopes from stage right or stage left.” three days. Secrecy and accuracy Ryan says he has apologized to are the watchwords. “None of our the Academy of Motion Picture team members see more than a Arts and Sciences and is contactportion of the ballots in any cate- ing the producers of La La Land gory. The ﬁnal tabulation of the and Moonlight. winners is only done by the two But not to worry, says Anthony of us,” Cullinan and Ruiz wrote in Sabino, a law professor at St. The Huffington Post. John’s University’s Peter J. Tobin They check and recheck, then College of Business. It was a insert two sets of the cards de- “black eye” for PwC, but black claring the winners into sealed eyes heal. He predicts no longenvelopes, which are secured in a lasting effects. secret location until they are “After decades of ﬂawless perbrought to the show. formance, it was bound to hap“We are both backstage to pen eventually,” he says. “For an hand the envelopes to the pre- event as complex and as secretive senters. We also memorize Every. as the Academy Awards, PwC’s Single. Winner. In. Every. Single. sterling record still stands out.”

Human frailty is the heart of ‘Fanﬁction’ Colfer’s teen novel feels a little forced, but its aim is true

VALERIE MACON, AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Maeve McDermott

USA SNAPSHOTS©

Majority rules Monopoly will introduce

16 new tokens

in a new “Token Madness” edition. Players voted on the winner, which will be announced March 19. SOURCE Hasbro SARA WISE AND KARL GELLES, USA TODAY

There’s something about putting people on pedestals when they’re just trying to stand on their own two feet. There’s always a risk they’ll fall and reveal themselves to be human. BOOK Chris Colfer’s REVIEW JALEESA Stranger Than M. JONES Fanﬁction (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 304 pp., eegE out of four) is a story about that fall. The actor’s teen novel follows four college-bound friends as they gear up for a crosscountry road trip, their last hurrah before life inevitably takes them on separate journeys. We are introduced to Christopher “Topher” Collins, a smart kid whose ties to his mother and brother keep him tethered to his small town of Downers Grove, Ill.; Joey Davis, a preacher’s son and aspiring actor thrust on a public stage by his father’s calling and compelled to hide the fact that he’s gay; Sam Gibson, a born designer who longs to change the reﬂection in the mirror and

Former Glee star Chris Colfer’s tale follows four teen friends. MATT WINKELMEYER

channels that yearning into art; and Moriko “Mo” Ishikawa, a creative writer who finds sanctuary in stories when she can’t find it under her father’s roof. All dream of a life beyond the stifling suburb of Downers Grove. One hit television show takes them there: Wiz Kids. Former Glee star Colfer, who also writes the best-selling kids’

series The Land of Stories, knows this territory well and mines his personal experiences to describe the fandom behind Wiz Kids. Top-lined by child star-turnedHollywood-bad-boy Cash Carter, Wiz Kids has reinforced the group’s understanding of belonging and heroes. It’s why Topher sends an email inviting the world-famous actor on their trip,

though he would have never imagined the actor would actually join them. Nor could he and his friends imagine that the real Carter — a rough-around-the-edges, weedsmoking cynic — would stray so far from their romanticized vision. But that is the heart of Colfer’s point: Our heroes are just human. Unfortunately, the heart stops there. With its stilted narration and self-conscious dialogue, there’s not much room in Fanﬁction to just let the characters be, to let them stand on their own two feet — in all of their color, complexity and conviction — and trust that readers will get it. The result? Otherwise authentic moments that feel forced and real-life struggles that don’t hit home nearly as hard as they should. Instead of showing characters’ anxieties — about their gender, their sexuality, their economic reality or their romantic one — Colfer explains them to diminishing effect. Still, in a political climate where people like the teens in Stranger Than Fanﬁction feel under threat, perhaps it’s good that such stories are being told at all. They give space to start a conversation — one that can go beyond the constraints of 304 pages.

COMICS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017

THE SUMTER ITEM

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Adoptive families celebrate ‘Gotcha Day’ annually DEAR ABBY — As parents of an adopted child, we were concerned about when we would have “the conversation.” Then Dear Abby a neighbor ABIGAIL told us about VAN BUREN how they would celebrate “Gotcha Day” with their adopted daughter each year. Gotcha Day is a day to celebrate because it’s the day we became a family. We “adopted” their idea and have been doing something special on this day since before our child could even say the word “gotcha.” Early on, she had no idea what we were celebrating; she just knew it was a special day for us. Through the years, she

JUMBLE THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME By David L Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

was able to process exactly what it meant at her own pace, which relieved the need to ever have that dreaded conversation. Recently our daughter told us she loves this day more than her actual birthday! I thought I’d share this with other adoptive parents who worry about when the right time might be to explain to their child that they were prayed for, wanted, loved and adopted. Blessed parents in Pennsylvania DEAR BLESSED PARENTS — I had never heard of anything like this, but I think it’s a great concept and certainly worth sharing with my readers. Thank you! DEAR ABBY — After 32 years of marriage, my wife went out and got a tattoo on her shoul-

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

der. It’s about 8 inches by 6 inches (quite large), and she did it without any advance discussion with me, which has left me sort of shocked. Her position is that it’s her body and she’ll do what she wants. This has driven a wedge between us, and I’m not sure if we can move forward. What is your advice? Unmarked in Nevada DEAR UNMARKED — To me, what’s important is not that your wife got the tattoo without discussing it with you, but her motive for doing it in secret. My advice is to do nothing in haste or in anger. Try to get her to explain to you what the tattoo symbolizes to her, because it may be important. After that, whether you decide to move forward — or move out — is something only you can decide.

SUDOKU HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.

By C.C. Burnikel

ACROSS 1 __ New Guinea 6 Closest buddies, for short 10 Cleaning cloths 14 Three through nine, in many golf club sets 15 On the sheltered side, at sea 16 Old flames 17 “The Daily Show” regular Black 18 *In Hades, euphemistically 20 Back to square __ 21 Ballet skirt 23 Every bit 24 Béarnaise sauce herb 26 Pearly whites 29 Escorted by 30 *Puffy Chinese dog 33 Where to find a sleeper hit, perhaps 35 Lascivious look 36 “Good point!” 37 “Raggedy” doll 38 601, to Seneca 40 Obstinate mount 42 East, in Essen 43 Fishing poles 45 Leave out 47 Actor Cary __ of “Kiss the Girls” 49 *Bovine yogurt brand

2/28/17 51 Part of a process 52 Adjust just a bit 53 “Way to go, sister!” 57 Hook shape 58 “Very cool!” 59 Where bovines graze 60 Pained expression, and a hint to two cries hidden in each answer to a starred clue 64 Makes angry, with “up” 66 German automaker 67 Commuter’s choice 68 Popped up 69 Fountain of jazz 70 Poet St. Vincent Millay 71 Poked at, cat-style DOWN 1 First sitcom episode 2 Hockey venue 3 *Auto feature that doesn’t need a crank 4 College, to Aussies 5 Per what was previously mentioned

6 Mistreating 7 Frilly addition to a skirt 8 “A __ Good Men” 9 Capitol Hill lawmakers 10 Put back in office 11 Rock singer Rose 12 Prefix with political or logical 13 NNE opposite 19 Failed, as a fuse 22 “That’s awful!” 25 Divested (of) 27 *Head rest on a sofa 28 Lawmaking body 31 Oil or gas follower 32 Dampens 33 Stinging remark 34 Stifled laugh

35 Long ride, for short 39 Intolerably confident 41 Put out bait, say 44 Beau or boo 46 “Sign me up!” 48 Relay race part 50 Trio member with Crosby and Stills 51 Metro stop: Abbr. 54 Electrical pioneer Nikola 55 Dodger Pee Wee 56 Zapped with a beam 60 Activate, as a phone app 61 Tint 62 Home security giant 63 “Cool!” 65 Nest egg initials

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

2/28/17