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Combating prison cellphones Ex-corrections officer testifies in front of FCC COLUMBIA (AP) — Federal officials took a step Thursday toward increasing safety in prisons by making it easier to find and seize cellphones obtained illegally by inmates, voting unanimously to approve rules to streamline the process for using technology AP FILE PHOTO to detect and block contraCapt. Robert Johnson is shown in September 2010 outside of the band phones in prisons and guard house at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville. Johnjails across the U.S. son, an ex-South Carolina corrections officer who was nearly killed in The 3-0 vote by the Federal a hit orchestrated by an inmate using an illegal cellphone, testified Communications Commission Thursday before the Federal Communications Commission about pre- in Washington doesn’t make it legal to jam cellphone signals venting inmate access to cellphones.
in prison, which corrections directors across the country say is what they need to shut down inmate cellphone use, once and for all. But commissioners including Chairman Ajit Pai said the step was one that could hopefully begin to combat the phones that officials say are the No. 1 safety issue behind bars. The vote came after powerful testimony from Robert Johnson, a former South Carolina corrections officer who was nearly killed in a shooting that authorities said was the first in the country orchestrated by an inmate using an illegal cellphone inside prison. “I bled out three times,” Johnson recalled, telling com-
missioners how he was shot six times at his home early one morning in March 2010. “My doctor said I should be dead. ... Last Wednesday, I had surgery Number 24, but who’s counting?” At the time, Johnson was the lead officer tasked with keeping contraband items like tobacco, weapons and cellphones out of Lee Correctional Institution, a prison 50 miles east of Columbia that houses some of the state’s most dangerous criminals. The items are smuggled inside, tossed over fences or even delivered by drone. Since then, Johnson has become an advocate on the
SEE PRISON, PAGE A4
High flyer Lockheed Martin moving F-16 jet production to S.C. GREENVILLE (AP) — Lockheed Martin is moving production of F-16 fighter jets from Texas to South Carolina. News media outlets report the company is moving production of F-16s to Greenville to make room for expanded production of the newer F-35 jet fighters in Fort Worth, Texas. A company spokeswoman says the move will create about 250 jobs in Greenville. Defense One — www.defenseone.com — reports that the United States has not purchased F-16s since 1999, but Lockheed Martin has orders from several countries. F-16 fighter jets first entered service in 1979. Lockheed Martin Greenville spokeswoman Leslie Farmer says the last F-16 in Texas should be complete in September. Farmer says it will take about two years to begin production in Greenville. Lockheed Martin currently employs about 500 people in Greenville, providing maintenance, repairs and overhauls.
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS CHRISTOPHER MALDONADO / SPECIAL TO THE SUMTER ITEM
An F-16CM Fighting Falcon assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron flies over Poinsett Electronic Combat Range, Wedgefield.
Population estimates show Sumter mostly flat since 2010 BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com
COUNTY POPULATION ESTIMATES
The latest U.S. Census Bureau annual population estimates show Sumter County basically remaining the same in total population since the last decennial Census in 2010. Sumter County’s official Census population estimate for 2016 is 107,396. The county’s population in the 2010 Census was 107,456, reflecting a cumulative decrease of less than one-tenth of 1 percent during the six-year period. The state, however, fueled by the major metropolitan areas of Greenville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Columbia — and their respective suburban areas — has grown by 7.3 percent, or 335,755 residents, during the same time frame. The Census Bureau officially released year 2016 population estimates for every county in the U.S. on Thursday. The bureau releases county population estimates annually in March, based on individual county residential data to include “natural increase” totals — official births minus deaths data — and “net migration” totals — or the movement of residents into and out of counties — during the year. Net migration totals include an interna-
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2016 Estimate ...................................................2010 Census..............................................Percent change 2010-16 Sumter Co. 107,396 ............................................107,456.................................................................(-0.06 percent) Clarendon Co. 33,951 ..........................................34,971..................................................................(-2.92 percent) Lee Co. 17,635 ....................................................19,220...................................................................(-8.25 percent) STATE 4,961,119 ..............................................4,625,364.................................................................+7.26 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program
tional component for immigrants and a domestic total for U.S. citizens moving into and out of U.S. counties for various reasons, such as retirement or employment. To provide the most accurate population data, the bureau’s estimate totals lag by one year. That’s why the 2016 population estimates were released Thursday. Looking inside the bureau’s numbers, Sumter County had a natural increase (births minus deaths) of +2,959 since the 2010 census. However, the net migration total for Sumter during the time frame was -3,103. International net migration was +1,054, but net domestic migration of U.S. residents into and out of the county was -4,157. Net domestic migration by primary age groups for the county couldn’t be
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furnished by the Census Bureau on Thursday; however, the bureau’s annual estimates data last decade for Sumter showed the county losing people primarily in the working-age population, 18 to 54 years old, according to research from Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments. The COG serves a four-county region to include Sumter and is focused on improving quality of life in the counties. The most reliable employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Sumter County gained 2,166 jobs from 2010 to 2016 within the county, according to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. QCEW data doesn’t include
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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., reacts to a question Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Decisive vote put off until Friday morning WASHINGTON (AP) — After seven years of fervent promises to repeal and replace “Obamacare,” President Trump and GOP congressional leaders buckled at a moment of truth Thursday, putting off a planned showdown vote in a stinging setback for the young administration. The White House insisted the House vote would still happen — Friday morning instead — but with opposition flowing from both strongly conservative and moderate-leaning GOP lawmakers, that was far from assured. The delay was announced after Trump,
SEE POPULATION, PAGE A4
DEATHS, B5 Grant J. Conyers James K. Rogers Jacqueline D. Joe Doretha B. Geddie Mattie Clea Sarah L. Miller
Joan M. Hitesman Christine McClam Michael Workman Willie Martin Sr. Willie Tindal Larry E. Jennings Sr.
SEE REPEAL, PAGE A4
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