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Legislators: Funding infrastructure a daunting task JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com South Carolina State Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said he is going duck hunting this weekend. Pity the poor ducks. Smith has been working in the trenches as the House Budget Writing Subcommittee has tried to pare down requests from state agencies to what can be included in a proposed bonding bill. Smith said that in 2000, the Legislature passed a $1 billion bond bill to aid
school districts to expand and provide maintenance to their buildings. “That basically took all our bonding capacity,” he said. “We didn’t have the ability to borrow money until we paid that bond indebtedness off to keep our AAA credit rating.” Now that bond bill has been paid off, he said, the state can pass it’s first bond bill in 17 years. “For years, we have been putting off deferred maintenance, we have been putting off capital needs of agencies in this state and now we come and we say ‘OK, we are going to look because
we have availability on our bond indebtedness to issue a new bond bill, come bring us your requests,’” he said. “We had over $2 billion of requests,” he said. “The difficult task is prioritizing these needs because they are real.” It’s a thankless task as well. Smith and his fellow SMITH subcommittee members have apparently been taking potshots from all sides, including agencies not getting the money
they requested and conservatives adverse to any kind of borrowing. “You have to do this while at the same time facing criticism that you’re running up the debt in the state and your running up the credit card and we don’t need a bond bill. It’s just a pork fest,” Smith said. “It’s balancing the needs of state government versus the need to be responsible,” he said. Smith said it is akin to what has happened to the state’s roads.
SEE SMITH, PAGE A11
Fears, concerns linger after 2008 murder Charles Way’s family still seeks closure almost 10 years later
The Sumter Item begins a series of stories on cold cases that lack enough information to solve. By bringing attention to them, the hope is that someone might have information that will help solve the cases. New technology, such as DNA testing, might also help solve cases.
BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Almost nine years after the murder of 66-year-old Charles Way, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office still has no suspects or a motive as to why the beloved father and grandfather was shot and killed in his home Aug. 18, 2008. Robin Miles, Way’s daughter, said she remembers that Monday nearly a decade ago as a pretty day. It was not too hot even though it was Au-
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A billboard was used to help obtain information on the murder of Charles Way. gust, she said. “It was just a normal day.” Miles said she called her father that morning, and they had a normal conversation. Other family members spoke with him that day, too, she said. According to previous stateWAY ments from Way’s family members, Dotsy Prescott, Way’s sister, attempted to get in touch with her brother by phone that afternoon, but he did not answer his home phone or cellphone, which was unusual. She then asked
Miles to stop by his house to check on him. It wasn’t until Miles went to her father’s home on Grace Lane off Myrtle Beach Highway about 4:30 p.m. did the feeling of a normal day change. According to an incident report filed on the date of the crime, Miles found her father lying on the floor near the back door, unresponsive. Miles and other family members initially thought that Way had collapsed because he had complained about stomach pains, according to 2008 statements from county investigators. It wasn’t until later that a bullet wound was found.
Way was struck once in the right side of his abdomen, above the belly button, by a low-caliber round, possibly a .22-caliber gun. According to a report from forensic pathologist Janice E. Ross with Newberry Pathology Associates in Newberry County, Way is thought to have died in the early afternoon from excessive blood loss after the bullet cut his aorta artery. Gun powder residue was left on Way’s abdomen indicating that he was shot at close range but that the gun was not pressed against his body, according to the crime scene investigation report.
Way’s jewelry and money were not taken after he was shot, and the house was found in well-kept condition with no signs of a struggle, states the crime scene report. Way kept a .380-caliber pistol under a pillow in the master bedroom and another .380-caliber pistol in the console of his vehicle, but only a television remote was found near his body. Way was also found wearing only a pair of blue shorts. A letter from Way’s brother, sent to a county investigator, said Way would never have answered the door without a
SEE WAY, PAGE A11
Economist says small metros should look at long-term population BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com Smaller metropolitan areas, such as Sumter County, need to look at population growth as a long-run opportunity and process due to the complex structure of the economy, says one state economist. University of South Carolina Research Economist Joey Von Nessen made his comments Friday to The Sumter Item after Thursday’s release by the U.S. Census Bureau of the latest county population estimates for the state and entire U.S. Those esti-
mates showed Sumter essentially flat in population from the last decennial census in 2010 to 2016 with a dip of 0.06 percent — or 60 residents — during the sixyear period to 107,396. During the same time, the state grew by 7.3 percent — or 335,755 residents — to 4,961,119 fuVON NESSEN eled by growth in the major metropolitan areas of Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Greenville. Von Nessen said Sumter and other second-tier metros must look at popu-
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lation growth from two perspectives: first, by providing additional opportunities and resources to current residents to keep them here; and, second, by marketing appropriately to bring whoever it’s targeting into the county from the outside. Each of these pieces must work together simultaneously as well for growth over time, he said. As far as the first approach of opportunities for current residents, Von Nessen said it involves having jobs available for residents to fill, but also having the proper resources and training in place to meet the demands of current employers. Business and in-
Kay Frances Lewis Kenneth R. Foflygen Sr. John W. Tingle Virginia M. Whack Archie Dantzler Carlee Lathan Harmon Walker
Jasmine O. Johnson Wesley Williams Mae E. Myers Robert Oaks Herbert B. Boykin Sr. Martha A. Gibbons Jerry L. Jackson
Walter J. Saul Michael K. Workman Johnnie L. Jackson Sr. Gabriel Robinson James D. Thompson Master A. Kennedy
dustry workforce needs are constantly evolving and growing due to technology in the workplace; so, having relevant resources and training available is critical. “The technical college is a piece of that, and K-12 is a piece of that as well — both of those are important,” Von Nessen said. Key indicators to look for in this facet are technical college enrollment and the tracking of these students’ progress toward obtaining employment locally.
SEE PROGRESS, PAGE A11
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Mostly cloudy and warm today with a chance of rain; tonight, partly cloudy and mild, chance of rain continues. HIGH 79, LOW 57
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