April 4, 2017

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86 school district jobs could be cut SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

U.S. Judge Margaret Seymour ruled that a lawsuit filed by Tuomey Healthcare against Nexsen Pruet will head back to Sumter for a likely jury trial.

Former Tuomey board’s lawsuit to return to Sumter

BY JOHN MONK The State A legal malpractice lawsuit accusing a major Columbia law firm of causing the destruction of one of South Carolina’s most prominent, locally owned hospitals must be tried in Sumter County — not in the federal courts.

“There is little governmen-

tal interest in adjudication of state law professional malpractice claims in federal court,” wrote U.S. Judge Margaret Seymour in an opinion.

Seymour’s ruling sends the suit filed by Tuomey Healthcare against the Nexsen Pruet law firm back to Sumter for a likely jury trial.

SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A6

Consultant says the eliminations will likely be through attrition

BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com Sumter School District plans to eliminate 86 additional teachers and other classroom instructional staff next school year, according to a budget update presented to the board of trustees Monday night by the financial consultant working with the district.

Scott Allan, the school finance consultant hired in January to guide the school disALLAN trict through its current financial crisis, made the announcement as part of his preliminary 2017-18 budget update presentation to the board Monday at the district office. The 86 position cuts will reduce expenditures by $4.5 million — $3.4 million in salaries and $1.1 million in associated fringe benefits — from next year’s budget.

The district plans to make all the cuts through attrition — whether that be retirements or teachers leaving the district — and shifting some other teachers and instructional staff around to fill vacant positions at other schools, according to Allan.

He doesn’t believe a Reduction in Force will be necessary.

“We’re hopeful that this reduction will not require us to RIF any employee in the district,” Allan said. “Could that change? It could. But, for right now, from the discussions we have had in our staffing meetings, we’re hoping that nobody will lose their job who doesn’t need to.”

Those staffing meetings held last month with each principal at each school were based on setting student-teacher class-size ratios for next school year at 25:1 for elementary schools, 30:1 for middle schools and 35:1 for high schools, according to Superintendent Frank Baker and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Cornelius Leach. Also, factoring into the net instructional changes was each school’s current and projected enrollment, current staffing and federal, state and local programmatic instructional requirements and initiatives.

SEE JOBS, PAGE A6

Welcome home celebration for NCAA champs will be Sunday

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (22) holds the trophy as she and teammates celebrate their win over Mississippi State in the final of the NCAA women’s Final Four college basketball tournament Sunday in Dallas. South Carolina won 67-55. The team’s welcome home parade hosted by the city of Columbia was postponed until 3 p.m. Sunday after severe storms moved through the area on Monday. More about a celebration for the team will be announced this week. Read about the game and see more photos on B1.

Coca-Cola investing $13 million, adding 9 jobs in Lee

BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com A longtime Coca-Cola bottler is renovating its Bishopville operations and adding nine new jobs at the facility, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce and company officials.

South Atlantic Canners, a Coca-Cola production cooperative, announced Monday that it will be investing $13

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million in its existing facility at 601 Cousar St. in Bishopville and making major site improvements. The capital investment in facility upgrades has already started and will occur during the next five years, according to Annette Karlinsky, office coordinator at the Bishopville plant.

A few of the nine new positions have already been filled, Karlinsky said, but some remain open. Most openings are for production mainline

workers, she said. The plant currently has about 130 employees.

According to the Department of Commerce, the Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved a $75,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Lee County to assist with the costs of building expansion.

With four production lines at the Lee County plant, South Atlantic Canners produces canned and bottled products for Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

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Consolidated, which is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the U.S. The plant has been open in Bishopville since the 1970s.

Troy Santoscoy, Bishopville plant manager with South Atlantic Canners, hopes the investment will lead to more development in Lee County.

“This investment reinforces the commitment these Coca-Cola bottlers

SEE INVESTMENT, PAGE A6

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TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

THE SUMTER ITEM

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

LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

Vacant property ordinance on Sumter City Council agenda Sumter City Council will meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. today in City Council Chamber on the fourth floor of the Sumter Opera House, 21 N. Main St. Council will vote on approval of minutes and consider appointments and vacancies.

Council will consider the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of approximately 0.158 acre of city-owned property at 2493 Broad St. and the final reading of an ordinance changing the amount of time property owners have to register vacant property from 60 days to one year.

A preliminary draft of the fiscal year 2018 budget will be presented.

Council will consider resolutions proclaiming April as Fair Housing Month and authorizing a mutual aid agreement between Sumter Police Department and City of Florence Police Department.

Council will hear reports from members and the city manager and will review legislation pertinent to local government.

Public comments will be heard, and council may go into executive session.

For more information, call Linda Hammett at (803) 436-2578.

KASEY MEREDITH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Chandler Browder, Antonio Moreno and Crystal Strickland all explore the makeshift prison cell on The Choice Bus.

Choice Bus gives students glance at consequences of good, bad decisions

Bishopville City Council to meet today at 6:30 p.m.

BY KASEY MEREDITH intern@theitem.com

The City of Bishopville will meet at 6:30 p.m. today in the Colclough Building, 109 E. Church St., Bishopville.

Council will vote on the approval of minutes and consider a resolution proclaiming April as Fair Housing Month.

Council will listen to a presentation by resident Patricia Sykes and will hear reports from the city administrator, the police chief and committees.

For more information, call (803) 4845948.

Furman Middle School tacks up the phrase "be who you wanna be" throughout the school's halls.

The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation initiated the phrase through The Choice Bus, which made a stop at Furman Middle School last Thursday and Friday.

Operdella Choice Miller, a career and technology education teacher at Furman Middle School, requested The Choice Bus because she said being proactive about discipline problems can be effective.

"If we can just save one or two kids, it will all be worth it," Miller said.

The Choice Bus teaches students the consequences of decisions. The bus allows students to experience a snippet of prison environment, a consequence of dropping out of school for some. The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation is a nonprofit organi-

Lee County Chamber to hold Business After Hours on April 18 Lee County Airport Commission will host the Lee County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, at the Butters Field Airport. Guests are welcome, and refreshments will be served.

For more information, call (803) 4832800.

zation dedicated to reducing the high school dropout rate.

There are various behavior intervention programs, but unlike Scared Straight or D.A.R.E., The Choice Bus focuses on surrounding yourself in a positive environment and making the right choices rather than inciting fear.

“Students nowadays are indifferent to the fear factor," Miller said. "They need to touch and feel how something is.”

After watching a five-minute presentation about the risks of dropping out of high school, the students were invited to have a hands-on experience. In the cell was a bunk bed and toilet that were once inmates’.

"It's fun," Denice Richards, a sixthgrade student, said. "It tells us how important it is to stay in school and how much money you can make if you do."

Afterward, a representative from the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation discussed with students the importance

of choice. The foundation focuses on education, said Chet Pennock, who has been with the foundation and The Choice Bus for eight years.

“Education is important," he said.

"It’s hard to live on a $7.25-an-hour job. Ten grand a year is not a lot to work with.”

The foundation teaches that if you surround yourself with the right people, you'll make the right decisions. Using testimonials in a short video from high school dropouts who then became incarcerated helps illustrate the importance of making the right choices.

Pennock said The Choice Bus encourages other options of secondary education. "You don't have to go to college, but you should get a skill," he said.

The Choice Bus has visited Sumter County schools for three years in a row. This year it visited Mayewood Middle School, Brewington Academy, Furman Middle School and Alice Drive Middle School.

MARY ANN ‘MAC’ SPENCER • 1932 - 2017

‘Price is Right’ champion remembered for loving all equally Mary Ann “Mac” Spencer, 85, passed away Wednesday.

Her children remember her as a good mother who loved to entertain, but many long-time residents might remember her as the Sumter girl who went to New York and spent five or six weeks winning on “The Price is Right” game show in late 1959 and early 1960.

Her oldest son, Rhett Spencer, said she talked her husband, Tommy Spencer, into taking her to New York City as he was making a trip to Buffalo, New York, to deliver some trailers he had built. While Mrs. Spencer was not selected for the daytime ver-

sion of the show, she was called back to be on the night-time version.

During her winning streak, she won approximately $69,000 in prizes, Rhett said, including a Mercedes Benz automobile, a Bell & Howell 16 mm movie camera and projector, a fire truck, a SPENCER trip to Israel to be an extra during the filming of “Exodus,” and two swimming pools, one of which she donated to Crosswell Home for Children.

Upon her return to Sumter, Spencer was treated to a parade, at which

many of her prizes were put on display.

Her status as a Sumter “celebrity” did not change her, her children said.

“She was the same person she always was,” Rhett Spencer said. “We must have given half of Sumter a ride in the fire truck. It didn’t matter who they were.”

Mary Ann Spencer worked at Shaw Air Force Base and later at the Sumter Recreation Department as head of the Teenage Canteen, a place where teens could go for “good, clean fun,” said daughter Susan Brabham.

Rhett, who is an oncologist in Flor-

ence, said she was a great mother and wife and was always someone you could depend on.

He said that when his wife was pregnant she was told to stay in bed, but he had to go to his practice.

“She was in Florence to look after my wife within the hour,” he said.

Brabham said she treated everyone the same.

“She would love the person cleaning the bathroom of the plant as much as the owner,” she said.

Funeral services were held Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Sumter.

— Jim Hilley

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How can Christians claim that Jesus is the only way?

BY CLAY SMITH Special to The Sumter Item The argument usually goes like this: All religions are the same. Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are different paths to the same god. Human beings have gotten it all confused with religious mumbo-jumbo and cloud the picture of who God really is. If you press someone who is making this argument by asking who is the god behind all religions, SMITH they will tell you god is a loving spirit who wants all humanity to live in brotherhood.

This argument has appeal. It eliminates exclusivity and rivalry between religious systems. Believers in any faith could no longer judge others who believe differently. It seems tolerant.

But the argument has a dark side. It rejects the idea of exclusive truth. Those who advance this thinking end up creating a new exclusivity in the name of tolerance. They judge those who speak for their faith and act on their faith’s teachings. They cut off moral conduct from an objective standard of truth.

All religions claim exclusive truth. Judaism claims keeping rules, laws, and instructions is the way to intimacy with God. Islam claims the essentials of salvation are the five pillars: confessing Allah is the only god and Muhammed is His prophet; participating in daily prayer; giving alms to the poor; fasting during Ramadan; and making a pil-

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grimage to Mecca. Buddhism doesn’t believe in a personal god at all. Hinduism does not believe in one god but many gods.

Ravi Zacharias, the great Christian apologist, points to the four great questions that every religion seeks to answer: origin, meaning, morality and destiny. Only the answers of Jesus to these questions match the reality of life.

Origin: Christian faith says we are not identical with God. We are made in His image, yes, but we are a different order of being.

Hinduism claims we are the same as the gods and through the process of reincarnation, it is possible to ascend to the plain of deity (Mormonism also claims it is possible for humans to be become divine). Because we share the image of God but are not identical with Him, we have a sense of right and wrong (morality), but we cannot act morally on our own one hundred percent of the time.

Meaning: The God of Christian faith does not ask us to have meaning by being “good.” Only through true worship — submitting ourselves to Him — do we find the meaning of our lives. We worship by acknowledging that He is greater and different than us; and we seek His involvement and help in daily life.

This is contrary to Islam and Judaism, which teach your life’s meaning is based on your conduct.

Morality: This is the oldest and hardest question of humanity: Do I get to make the rules, or are the rules made for me? Contemporary Judaism often finds itself at odds with different interpretations of moral law. To paraphrase Dallas

Willard, Judaism struggles to define who is a good person. Christian faith is clear: No one is good. All sin and fall short of God. Morality and the definition of who is a good person arise from God’s character. Unlike the Hindu gods, goodness flows out of God himself. Because no human being is good, only God and God’s power can make a person good.

This is why Jesus had to die on the cross, so we could be made good, righteous.

Destiny: Buddhism offers Nirvana, an escape from the cycle of reincarnation.

Islam offers Paradise for those who believe and do good deeds. Christian faith says our destiny is based on the resurrection of Jesus.

This historical event opened the door to life change. Grace can flood our lives. Barriers that our goodness could never remove are removed by Jesus’ power.

On this, all world religions agree: If Jesus really did rise from the dead, this means He is God, then Muslims, Jews, and Hindus fail in a serious way to love God as God really is. On the other hand, if Jesus is not God, if He did not rise from the dead, then Christians fail in a serious way to love God as He really is.

So why did God make Jesus the only way to Him? Only through Jesus can our moral failures be forgiven.

Only through the power of His resurrection can our powerless lives be empowered. Only through Jesus can we find the true meaning of our lives — loving our God with all our heart, mind, soul and body.

Clay Smith is the lead pastor of Alice Drive Baptist Church.

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Charleston church shooter transfers to federal custody

BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA — Authorities have agreed to transfer South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof to federal custody following an agreement that he plead guilty to state murder charges, thus avoiding a second death sentence.

Court documents filed Sunday show that Roof, his attorneys and ROOF state and federal prosecutors have agreed that Roof should be officially transferred to federal authorities. All parties signed a document to that effect late last month, and federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel to order the U.S. Marshals to deliver Roof to state custody until his case there is officially wrapped up.

Roof, 22, has been awaiting trial on state murder charges for the deaths of nine black parishioners at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church in June 2015. Authorities said Roof spent months planning his attack on the historic black church, driving by the church and calling to check on service times. Roof sat through an hour of Bible study one Wednesday night before opening fire during a prayer, when participants' eyes were closed, authorities said.

Roof faced different charges from both state and federal authorities. Solicitor Scarlett Wilson brought charges including nine counts of murder, while the federal government charged Roof with offenses including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion.

Prosecutors in both courts pursued death sentences. The federal case came first, and jurors unanimously sentenced Roof to death earlier this year.

Roof's federal defense team had signaled a willingness to plead guilty ahead of that trial, if the death penalty were off the table, but federal prosecutors refused to drop their pursuit.

Roof, who has been housed at the Charleston County jail since his arrest, was kept there pending his state trial, which had been expected later this year. But last week, Wilson told The Associated Press that Roof had agreed to plead guilty to state charges in exchange for a life sentence. Relatives of some of the shooting victims heralded the decision, saying through their attorneys that the deal would spare them a grueling second trial.

According to Wilson, the plea deal also allowed Roof to be officially transferred into federal custody, which puts him a step closer to beginning to serve his sentence. Federal death row is located in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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Hunt for children continues after devastating flood 43 children among ‘People went to their 262 confirmed dead houses and found

BY ALBA TOBELLA nothing but the floor.’

The Associated Press MOCOA, Colombia — Jose Albeiro Vargas last saw his grandson the night fierce rain unleashed havoc on this small city surrounded by rivers and mountains in southern Colombia.

From what Vargas has been able to gather, the torrents of mud, water and debris unleashed on the city of Mocoa by the rain-swollen river swept away his daughter and her 18-month-old grandson, Jadir Estiven. Ever since, he has been searching for them without success.

"They were hit by the strongest avalanche," Vargas, a clothing store owner who was so exhausted he could barely speak or open his eyes, said Sunday.

He is far from the only person in Mocoa searching desperately for young loved ones.

At least 43 children were among the confirmed dead from the devastating flood, according to President Juan Manuel Santos. The national disaster management agency said Monday that the official death toll had increased to 262.

The young may have been particularly vulnerable in this disaster because nearly all were in bed when the floods surged through the city of 40,000 Friday night and early Saturday.

Maria Cordoba, 52, said two of her nephews, ages 6 and 11, were killed when their house was destroyed. "The mother as well was totally beaten up" but managed to save her 18-month-old baby, she said while at the river trying to

GILMA DIAZ 42-year-old who came to Mocoa, Colombia, to search for her missing cousin THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

clean items she salvaged from her home.

The death toll from the flood, one of the worst natural disasters to strike the country in years, was expected to rise as many people were injured or remained unaccounted for, and bodies were still being pulled from the thick mud, tree limbs and debris that covered much of the city. The deluge smashed houses, tore trees out by the roots and washed cars and trucks away.

Search-and-rescue teams combed through the debris and helped people who had been clawing at huge mounds of mud by hand.

"People went to their houses and found nothing but the floor," said Gilma Diaz, a 42-year-old from another town who came to search for a cousin.

Dozens stood in the door of a hospital, hoping for news of family members who were not on the list of those confirmed dead or injured. Others frantically knocked on relatives' doors, hoping to find someone with information about their loved ones.

A rescue worker in an orange jumpsuit emerged from one search area with the body of an infant wrapped in a towel. Not far away, Abelardo

A man looks inside a damaged bus in Mocoa, Colombia, on Sunday after surging rivers sent an avalanche of floodwaters, mud and debris, killing more than 250 people and leaving many more injured and homeless.

Solarte, a 48-year-old resident of Mocoa, held a child's shoe as he helped clear debris.

"You have no idea how many kids there are around here," Solarte said.

Jair Echarri, who came from a nearby town to help, also struggled to comprehend the loss of so many children.

"I am a father, and this breaks my heart," he said.

Santos, who visited Mocoa for a second straight day Sunday, declared the area a disaster zone. The president said the avalanche of water and debris also destroyed roads and bridges, knocked out power in half of the province of Putumayo, where Mocoa is located, and destroyed the area's fresh water network, creating dangerous and unsanitary conditions.

Mocoa is vulnerable to flooding. It is surrounded by the three rivers in a natural basin created by the surrounding mountains.

The danger has grown worse in recent years because of deforestation, which eliminates some protection from runoff, and because many people built their homes close to the water. But the trigger-

ing event was rainfall of more than 5 inches that began late Friday.

"The rain fell on Mocoa with an intensity and force that was without precedent and devastating," Santos said. "It rained in two hours what falls in a month in Bogota."

A 1989 hydrology report for the Agricultural Ministry warned that just such a disaster could happen unless steps were taken to reinforce the riverbanks, channel water away from the town and restore some of the forest. It was not immediately clear why those steps had not been taken.

Juan Chanchi de Ruiz, 74, said the noise of the surging flood woke her up and gave

her enough time to get to higher ground. Her house was unscathed, but several neighbors' homes were heavily damaged, and many people fled with some of their belongings.

"Around here, there's nobody. Everybody left," she said.

Colombian officials pledged aid to rebuild homes, and the attorney general launched an investigation into whether local and national authorities responded adequately to the disaster. Santos also said they would launch a health and vaccination campaign in the city to prevent an outbreak of disease.

"Mocoa needs to rise up from this blow," he said. "And it will."

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A5

Atlanta begins 1st full work week since bridge collapse ATLANTA (AP) — Morning rush hour appeared lighter than usual Monday as the first full work week opened since the fiery collapse of a major Atlanta interstate bridge, which has complicated the city’s already challenging commute.

The Southeast’s largest city faced a tough test even as crews continued working around the clock to remove scorched debris from the collapsed bridge weakened by a fierce blaze on Thursday. A portion of Interstate 85 remained closed as commuters were redirected to take alternate routes to

bypass the wrecked area.

Overall, fewer cars were on the road than on a typical Monday because all metro Atlanta public schools are out for spring break this week.

Commuter Randy Kessler said he left his home north of the city a tad earlier than usual about 7 a.m. to drive into the downtown area. He said he didn’t experience any major traffic heading south but saw more traffic going north.

“This is going to help in the long run,” said Kessler, a divorce lawyer.

“It reminds me of the (1996) Olympics

when people were terrified about driving downtown, but it was lightest traffic ever. It made people carpool more. I think Atlanta needed a little kick in the butt. We needed something to change our habits to make us rethink our daily commute.”

An early morning crash involving at least four vehicles on Interstate 20, another major route carrying commuters into downtown Atlanta, killed one person and temporarily shut down lanes of that highway. The wreck forced motorists looking for an alternate way into work off the interstate

and onto side streets earlier.

The closed section of I-85 is a key link to some of the city’s biggest suburbs. It carries about 400,000 vehicles a day in a city where there are surprisingly few alternative routes for its size.

Officials pledged after the collapse of the 350-foot section of Interstate 85 that a replacement bridge would be built as soon as possible but could take months.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority said additional service will be provided.

Centennial of U.S. entrance into WWI lures visitors to the official war memorial KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Crossing a glass walkway that spans a field of 9,000 poppies, visitors to the official U.S. memorial to World War I are transported to a time when tanks and air warfare were new and the hopeful flowers sprang up on the barren, trench-dotted battlefields where hundreds of thousands of soldiers died.

The museum, which is housed under a tower that rises 217 feet into the Kansas City skyline and is topped by a giant flame, will be the site of a remembrance Thursday to mark the 100-year anniversary of the United States entering the war.

The poppies that visitors pass while entering the museum represent the 9 million combat deaths of the Great War, about 116,000 of them Americans. “In Flanders fields the poppies blow. Between the crosses, row on row,” goes a famous poem about the Belgian battlefields where hundreds of thousands of soldiers died on the war’s Western Front.

With the centennial of the fighting drawing more attention to the war, more than 200,000 visited the museum last year, an increase of about 50 percent from three years earlier. They included visitors from more than 70 countries.

The site’s Egyptian Revivalstyle monument was erected in a burst of postwar patriotism after $2.5 million was raised in less than two weeks in 1919, an amount that

would be equal to about $35 million today. Children helped, going door to door collecting money in what was “an early 20th century story of crowdsourcing,” according to museum spokesman Mike Vietti.

So noteworthy was the achievement that Allied commanders from Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, France and the U.S. gathered in 1921 to dedicate the site. It’s across the street from the Kansas City train station that more than half of U.S. troops passed through before being shipped overseas. When the monument was completed five years later, a crowd of more than 150,000 turned out to hear President Calvin Coolidge speak at the dedication.

But years of deferred maintenance led the site to be closed in 1994. A massive $102 million transformation followed, funded by a sales tax, bond issue and private donations. The exterior was repaired, and the design firm behind attractions such as Washington’s Holocaust Memorial Museum was tapped to create a new museum that would tell World War I’s story of assassination, empires swept away and new nations born. The site, now known as the National World War I Museum and Memorial, was made official in legislation that President Obama signed in 2014.

The museum’s collection of documents and artifacts has a global breadth, covering the period both before and after

Visitors stand on a glass walkway over 9,000 poppies inside the entrance of the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, on Feb. 16.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

the U.S. entered the war. The conflict ended in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles, though many historians think the treaty’s terms helped set the stage for World War II a generation later.

Among the items used to tell the complex story of the connection between the two wars is the tunic and cape of Paul von Hindenburg, a German commander and national hero who later became Germany’s president and in 1933 appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor.

Visitors can also see the

rapidly evolving weaponry that led to widespread casualties as commanders struggled to adapt. There’s a British tor-

pedo, a U.S.-made Naval mine, a life-size replica of a British biplane known as the Airco DH.2 and a French Renault tank that Vietta described as a weapon of “terror as well as a weapon of war.”

One exhibit highlights the damage an artillery shell would have done to a house in the French countryside, while another allows visitors to glimpse inside replicas of the trenches where doughboys fought and often died. In the Horizon Theater, World War I film footage plays on a 100-foot screen above a fullscale tableau of no man’s land.

The site’s original museum now hosts rotating exhibitions, with the latest highlighting propaganda posters.

Matthew Naylor, the president and CEO of the museum, keeps his grandfather’s wartime shaving kit on display in his office. While issued by the British, it was made in Germany. He noted that the two countries were trading partners before the war.

The “fragility” of world relations at the time, Naylor said, has parallels to today that “some would say are ominous.”

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A6

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LOCAL | NATION

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

THE SUMTER ITEM

Severe storms sweep through South, killing 5 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi woman who desperately tried to direct rescuers to her sinking vehicle after it skidded into a rain-swollen creek was among five people killed in storms across the South.

Jacqueline Williams, 52, was running a newspaper delivery route when her car slid off a road into a creek in her hometown of Florence before dawn Monday, authorities said. She dialed 911 from the car as it went down, Rankin County Coroner David Ruth said.

Ruth said Williams was trying to relay her location to a dispatcher as the car settled into the swirling waters.

“She was trying to tell the dispatcher where she was, and she could actually hear the sirens,” Ruth said.

The two lost contact, and Ruth said a swift-water recovery team later found Williams’ body in the creek outside the car.

Florence Police Chief Richard Thomas said the current

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The remains of a trailer lie where a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were killed during a severe storm in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, on Sunday. where Williams died was fast and strong.

He said authorities got a call from a woman saying her car was being swept into the water. Authorities immediately began looking but couldn’t find her in time. Records from the county’s 911 center show the first call came at 4:35 a.m., responders were dispatched within 17 seconds and arrived

TUOMEY FROM PAGE A1 Nexsen Pruet had wanted it tried in federal court.

A law firm spokesman issued the following statement: “Nexsen Pruet accepts the court’s decision and looks forward to having the case resolved before a South Carolina circuit court judge and having a chance to tell our side of the story.”

In 2015, after losing a high-stakes federal court battle regarding questionable business practices involving payments to physicians, and facing a $237.4 million judgment, Tuomey hospital was forced to sell its assets.

Although it still operates, the hospital — for decades the pride of the Sumter community — has lost its independent identity and has been folded into the Columbia hospital giant Palmetto Health, one of the state’s largest employers.

The entity that brought the lawsuit is Tuomey Healthcare System Inc., a nonprofit governed by a volunteer board that is winding down the affairs of the old, locally owned Tuomey and is not affiliated with Palmetto Health.

at 4:42 a.m.

“It was really quick,” Thomas said.

Williams’ body was eventually recovered, and authorities pulled her small vehicle out of the water about three hours later.

Florence is a town of about 4,000 people. The chief described Williams and her family as “really good people.”

As one of its last duties, the board is suing Nexsen Pruet.

The Nexsen Pruet spokesman said, “It is important to remember that Tuomey Hospital has not sued Nexsen Pruet. This lawsuit has been filed by three former hospital board members.”

In its lawsuit, the volunteer board seeks $117 million in damages for legal havoc allegedly wreaked by “misleading and reckless” advice from Nexsen Pruet, according to legal papers.

The lawsuit said Tuomey’s reliance on Nexsen Pruet’s advice caused the hospital to set up a system of incentive-driven payments to physicians that the firm should have known were clearly not allowed under federal law.

Since the early 2000s, the hospital spent some $15 million on legal fees to Nexsen Pruet in a losing court fight about the payment scheme, the lawsuit said. In the end, it had to pay $72.4 million to the federal government.

The Tuomey board has said that any money gotten from the lawsuit will go to the Tuomey Foundation, a Sumter nonprofit, and will be used to improve community health care.

“Twenty-some-odd years ago, our two boys played baseball together,” Thomas said.

In the tiny Mississippi Delta town of Glendora, the mayor’s wife died Sunday when strong winds toppled a tree onto the couple’s house. Mayor Johnny B. Thomas was briefly hospitalized with injuries after his wife, Shirley, was killed, said town clerk Aquarius Simmons.

“She was a nice lady. Very sweet. Everybody loved her,” Simmons said of Shirley Thomas.

Two other people died earlier in Louisiana, and a man died Monday in South Carolina after storms swept through the state.

Some schools in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama canceled or delayed the start of classes Monday so students wouldn’t travel in heavy rain or on flooded streets.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a statewide emergency declaration Monday before embarking on a trip to survey storm damage

in two central and southern parishes.

Some of the heaviest rains fell in central Louisiana from Sunday into early Monday.

C.S. Ross, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Shreveport, said nearly 8 inches of rain was reported in Grant Parish in the north central part of the state.

A tornado flipped a mobile home Sunday in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, killing a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, while on Monday a weather event authorities also thought to be a tornado flipped a mobile home in Union County, South Carolina, killing one person, said Kim Bailey, administrative assistant to Union County Sheriff David Taylor.

J.C. Matthews Jr., 65, was dead by the time emergency help arrived at his destroyed home in Whitmire, the county coroner’s office said Monday.

In Louisiana, the storm also brought hurricane-force winds, large hail and sparked flash flooding. Up to 6 inches of rain fell in some areas.

JOBS FROM PAGE A1 The breakdown of the 86 cuts were 48.5 position cuts from the district’s elementary schools, 19 positions trimmed from middle schools and 18.5 positions eliminated from the district’s three high schools.

The district already eliminated 47 positions — including six teaching positions — as part of an emergency financial plan that went into effect on Jan. 31.

Only one of those six teaching positions cut in January was filled at the time. The other five were vacant. With Monday’s

cuts, the district has now eliminated 133 positions since January.

More is likely to come.

Allan said proposed reductions in administrative staff at schools and the district office will be forthcoming, and he plans to initially present those to the board’s finance committee at its next scheduled meeting, tentatively set for April 21. That meeting, like other official district meetings, is open to the public.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 24.

SAVINGS ON LIFT CHAIRS FOR ALL

INVESTMENT FROM PAGE A1 have to producing their products in Lee County and South Carolina,” Santoscoy said. “It is my hope that the improvements to and expansion of the facility will have a positive impact on future economic development.”

Gordon Eckley, chairman of the TheLINK Economic Development Alliance of Sumter and Lee counties and a member of Lee County Council, was also pleased with the expansion.

“This investment is a prime example of this region continuing to support business and industry,” Eckley said.

“Our No. 1 objective is to provide a viable business climate to expand, grow and create jobs for our citizens. We congratulate Coca-Cola’s expansion and welcome the opportunity to continue a decades-long relationship with Lee County and the City of Bishopville.”

Interested applicants for the new positions should visit the company’s Careers page on its website, www.cokeconsolidated.com/careers, for more information.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

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A7

Smoothie or printer? Implant offers both for employees you're working, if you're taking toilet breaks and things like that."

Libberton said that if such data is collected, the big question remains of what happens to it, who uses it, and for what purpose.

So far, Epicenter's group of cyborgs doesn't seem too concerned.

"People ask me; 'Are you chipped?' and I say; 'Yes, why not,'" said Fredric Kaijser, the 47-year-old chief experience officer at Epicenter. "And they all get excited about privacy issues and what that means and so forth. And for me it's just a matter of I like to try new things and just see it as more of an enabler and what that would bring into the future."

The implants have become so popular that Epicenter workers stage monthly events where attendees have the option of being "chipped" for free.

That means visits from selfdescribed "body hacker" Jowan Osterlund from Biohax Sweden who performs the "operation."

He injects the implants — using pre-loaded syringes — into the fleshy area of the hand, just next to the thumb.

The process lasts a few seconds, and more often than not there are no screams and barely a drop of blood. "The next step for electronics is to move into the body," he said.

Sandra Haglof, 25, who works for Eventomatic, an events company that works with Epicenter, has had three piercings before, and her left hand barely shakes as Osterlund injects the small chip.

"I want to be part of the future," she said.

BY JAMES BROOKS The Associated Press STOCKHOLM — The syringe slides in between the thumb and index finger. Then, with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee's hand.

Another "cyborg" is created.

What could pass for a dystopian vision of the workplace is almost routine at the Swedish startup hub Epicenter. The company offers to implant its workers and startup members with microchips the size of grains of rice that function as swipe cards: to open doors, operate printers or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand.

The injections have become so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted.

"The biggest benefit I think is convenience," said Patrick Mesterton, co-founder and CEO of Epicenter. As a demonstration, he unlocks a door by merely waving near it. "It basically replaces a lot of things you have, other communication devices, whether it be credit cards or keys."

The technology in itself is not new. Such chips are used as virtual collar plates for pets.

Companies use them to track deliveries. It's just never been used to tag employees on a broad scale before. Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first to make chip implants broadly available.

And as with most new technologies, it raises security and privacy issues. While biologically safe, the data generated by the chips can show how often an employee comes to work or what he or she buys.

Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can generate the same data, people cannot easily separate themselves from the chip.

"Of course, putting things into your body is quite a big step to do and it was even for me at first," said Mesterton, remembering how he initially had had doubts.

"But then on the other hand, I mean, people have been implanting things into their body,

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jowan Osterlund from Biohax Sweden holds a small microchip implant, similar to those implanted into workers at the Epicenter digital innovation business center during a party at the co-working space in central Stockholm.

‘Conceptually you could get data about your health, you could get data about your whereabouts, how often you’re working, if you’re taking toilet breaks and things like that.’

BEN LIBBERTON Microbiologist at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute like pacemakers and stuff to control your heart," he said.

"That's a way, way more serious thing than having a small chip that can actually communicate with devices."

Epicenter, which is home to more than 100 companies and some 2,000 workers, began implanting workers in January 2015. Now, about 150 workers have them. A company based in Belgium also offers its employees such implants, and there are isolated cases around the world where tech enthusi-

asts have tried this out in recent years.

The small implants use Near Field Communication technology, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few inches away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are "passive," meaning they contain information that other devices can read, but cannot read information themselves.

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Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, says hackers could conceivably gain huge swathes of information from embedded microchips. The ethical dilemmas will become bigger the more sophisticated the microchips become.

"The data that you could possibly get from a chip that is embedded in your body is a lot different from the data that you can get from a smartphone," he said. "Conceptually you could get data about your health, you could get data about your whereabouts, how often you're working, how long

Keeping Sumter Beautiful

By Amanda McNulty, County Extension Agent How to Look Things Up The most useful information I’ve ever received, well, at least that I’ve followed diligently, came at a training up at Clemson years ago. A representative from the library came over to talk to us Extension agents.

No one was particularly excited as most agents want to hear about how to deal with exotic (means non-native) insects of diseases that are ripping their way through crops or landscape plants.

But this mild-mannered person told us that as representatives of a research-based institution, we needed to know how to look up information and be sure it was at least from a trusted, legitimate source.

You know how when you put a topic in your favorite search engine you get links to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has an often highlyinflated and verbose opinion.

Possibly, some of those people have some decent information to share but it has not been peerreviewed and tested over and over again which is the standard that the research we Extension people share with you has been subjected to.

The way I look up anything these day is to put the topic followed by site:edu. That filters the responses to those that come from educational sites. If I want to look up the disease that is particularly devastating

to Knock-Out Roses, for instance, I put “rose rosette virus site:edu.”

What comes up may show a few commercial sites first as that is the way our search engines make money. But right below those few will be links to articles posted by extension services from different states. I read the responses from states that are close by --- South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland, maybe even Alabama or Tennessee.

Occasionally, I look at what the news is from Cornell just because that is such a fabulous school for horticulture, and also from California as they are leaders in environmentally-sensitive responses to agricultural or horticultural topics.

Of course, you can usually go straight to the horse’s mouth, so to speak, and visit Clemson’s own Home Garden & Information Center. At this portal, you get fact sheets written by Extension agents or specialists specifically for South Carolina. To easily reach our repository of knowledge, follow this example: “Centipede Clemson hgic” and you’ll have your weekend reading list right before you.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

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STATE

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

THE SUMTER ITEM

More than 70 years later, WWII ace finds rest in Beaufort

BY STEPHEN FASTENAU The Beaufort Gazette BEAUFORT — The remains of the World War II ace pilot known for decades only as file X-73 carried a metal ring with the insignia of his squadron.

Metal pins held together his leg and his jaw was missing the top front teeth. The top of the nose showed evidence of a past break.

The body rested more than 70 years in an American cemetery in France before researchers felt certain its story matched that of Capt. Albert Schlegel.

The ace of Cleveland, Ohio.

He was a local legend who had been declared killed in action in 1944 after flying a mission over France. He was 25 when he died.

Schlegel was buried with full military honors in Beaufort National Cemetery at the end of March. The ceremony was organized by the only living family member to remember Schlegel — his nephew, Perry Nuhn.

Nuhn, 84, lives on Callawassie Island and is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and decorated pilot.

Schlegel's mother and other immediate family members died not knowing what happened to the man they called Sonny. They thought that perhaps he had died after being shot down in the brand new P-51D fighter the squadron received only four days earlier.

But the file of X-73 held the truth.

"He was executed," Nuhn said.

Schlegel grew up in Garfield Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

As a teenager, he became a model for his younger nephews, including Nuhn. They called him Uncle Sonny.

He taught the boys baseball and took them to Cleveland's air show on Labor Day weekend. In the two-story Victorian house where Schlegel grew up, the garage had an opening cut in the floor for the men to work on cars and where the boys would play.

After graduating from Cleveland's John Adams High School, Schlegel rode his motorcycle to Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force.

He earned his wings and was stationed in England with the Royal Air Force.

He needed seven months to recover from a horrific crash in 1942 after his vehicle hit a bomb crater. Schlegel, riding in the back, slammed into the front dashboard, destroying his front teeth.

He transitioned to the U.S. Army Air Force in 1943 and joined the 335th Fighter Squadron. He had dark hair, a thin mustache and wore two sets of wings on his uniform, a distinction that went a long way in Cleveland bars when Schlegel returned home on leave.

When he left for war, Schlegel gave his nephews his train sets. He gave Nuhn a dress suit and the hat he wore during his initial Army training.

He became an ace, with 15 1/2 kills to his credit, and earned multiple clusters on his Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.

Nuhn's father hung newspapers detailing Schlegel's exploits on the wall in the family's home in Garfield Heights.

On Aug. 28, 1944, Schlegel was flying with his squadron over Strasbourg, France, on a mission to strafe German trucks, trains and oil on the ground. The weather was poor, and the P-51D flew low.

Schlegel radioed that he had been hit by anti-aircraft fire and disappeared into the clouds.

Back home, his family received a series of notices: missing in action in 1944; killed in action in 1945; body unrecoverable in 1949.

"It was like this black blanket came down on all of our houses," Nuhn said. "I don't think it really came off my grandmother's house."

The Army determined Schlegel must have died when his plane crash landed into a nearby river.

But no evidence of the crash was found on the riverbed.

The real answer wasn't discovered for decades.

The phone rang on a Friday

afternoon last December when Nuhn was in Pooler working his volunteer shift as a docent at the National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force.

Ritamarie, his wife of more than 60 years, answered in the couple's bright Callawassie Island home and talked to a man from Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was looking for Perry, Schlegel's next of kin.

Schlegel's remains had been identified.

"I cried for two hours," Ritamarie said. "Out of joy and out of sadness that his mother, my mother-in-law, never knew about it."

Forensic investigators worked to identify the remains at a laboratory on Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.

The injured leg and busted teeth Schlegel suffered during

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the car crash matched the remains.

Schlegel had broken his nose boxing in high school, an injury the skull reflected.

"It was so conclusive," Perry Nuhn said. "They didn't have to go to DNA." A thick, wirebound report with a black cover resting on Nuhn's coffee table contained the proof from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Along with the car crash injuries, pictures of Schlegel's skull show a bullet hole in the top of the head and a large exit wound in the back.

Witnesses had reported seeing an American seated in a car with several Germans headed toward a train station on the evening Schlegel went missing.

Another witness later reported hearing two gunshots be-

hind the station about dusk, according to the report from the federal agency.

Agency researchers had narrowed down the possible matches to a handful of airmen.

Schlegel's circumstances matched X-73, and the remains were disinterred from the American cemetery in France.

The remains showed evidence of a beating.

After taking flak, freeing the bubble canopy of the P-51D and parachuting to the ground, Schlegel had apparently been captured and executed.

"I don't think the Germans were very happy with an American airman who had just been shooting them up," Nuhn said.

Capt. Albert Schlegel’s casket arrived in Savannah on

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March 27 and was transferred to Nuhn during a ceremony by an Air Force Honor Guard.

A set of Schlegel's medals recommissioned for his burial and an Army uniform will go to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler.

A memorial service at the museum March 29 ended with a flyover of four F-15s from Schlegel's 335th Fighter Squadron out of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The jets formed the "missing man" formation, with one aircraft peeling off in the fallen pilot's memory.

Schlegel was buried March 30 in Beaufort National Cemetery. The ceremony included an Army Honor Guard, Nuhn's remarks, a flag-folding ceremony and 21-gun salute.

The ace of Cleveland has entered his final resting place.

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THE SUMTER ITEM N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

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COMMENTARY

Is Putin the ‘preeminent statesman’ of our time?

“I

f we were to use traditional measures for understanding leaders, which involve the defense of borders and national flourishing, Putin would count as the preeminent statesman of our time.

“On the world stage, who could vie with him?”

So asks Chris Caldwell of the Weekly Standard in a remarkable essay in Hillsdale College’s March issue of its magazine, Imprimis.

What elevates Putin above all other 21st-century leaders?

“When Putin took power in the winter of 1999-2000, his country was defenseless. It was bankrupt. It was being carved up by its new kleptocratic elites, in collusion with its old imperial rivals, the Americans. Putin changed that.

“In the first decade of this century, he did what Kemal Ataturk had done in Turkey in the 1920s. Out of a crumbling empire, he resurrected a national-state and gave it coherence and purpose. He disciplined his country’s plutocrats. He restored its military strength. And he refused, with ever blunter rhetoric, to accept for Russia a subservient role in an American-run world system drawn up by foreign politicians and business leaders. His voters credit him with having saved his country.’’

Putin’s approval rating, after 17 years in power, exceeds that of any rival Western leader. But while his impressive strides toward making Russia great again explain why he is revered

at home and in the Russian diaspora, what explains Putin’s appeal in the West, despite a press that is every bit as savage as President Trump’s?

Answer: Putin stands against the Pat Western progressive Buchanan vision of what mankind’s future ought to be. Years ago, he aligned himself with traditionalists, nationalists and populists of the West, and against what they had come to despise in their own decadent civilization.

What they abhorred, Putin abhorred.

He is a God-and-country Russian patriot. He rejects the New World Order established at the Cold War’s end by the United States. Putin puts Russia first.

And in defying the Americans he speaks for those millions of Europeans who wish to restore their national identities and recapture their lost sovereignty from the supranational European Union. Putin also stands against the progressive moral relativism of a Western elite that has cut its Christian roots to embrace secularism and hedonism.

The U.S. establishment loathes Putin because, they say, he is an aggressor, a tyrant, a “killer.’’ He invaded and occupies Ukraine. His old KGB comrades assassinate journalists, defectors and dissidents.

Yet while politics under both czars and commissars has often been a blood

sport in Russia, what has Putin done to his domestic enemies to rival what our Arab ally Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has done to the Muslim Brotherhood he overthrew in a military coup in Egypt?

What has Putin done to rival what our NATO ally President Erdogan has done in Turkey, jailing 40,000 people since last July’s coup — or our Philippine ally Rodrigo Duterte, who has presided over the extrajudicial killing of thousands of drug dealers?

Does anyone think President Xi Jinping would have handled mass demonstrations against his regime in Tiananmen Square more gingerly than did President Putin this last week in Moscow?

Much of the hostility toward Putin stems from the fact that he not only defies the West, when standing up for Russia’s interests, but he also often succeeds in his defiance and goes unpunished and unrepentant.

He not only remains popular in his own country, but also has admirers in nations whose political establishments are implacably hostile to him.

In December, one poll found 37 percent of all Republicans had a favorable view of the Russian leader, but only 17 percent were positive on President Obama.

There is another reason Putin is viewed favorably. Millions of ethnonationalists who wish to see their nations secede from the EU see him as an ally. While Putin has openly welcomed many of these movements, America’s

elite do not take even a neutral stance.

Putin has read the new century better than his rivals. While the 20th century saw the world divided between a Communist East and a free and democratic West, new and different struggles define the 21st.

The new dividing lines are between social conservatism and self-indulgent secularism, between tribalism and transnationalism, between the nationstate and the New World Order.

On the new dividing lines, Putin is on the side of the insurgents. Those who envision de Gaulle’s Europe of Nations replacing the vision of One Europe, toward which the EU is heading, see Putin as an ally.

So the old question arises: Who owns the future?

In the new struggles of the new century, it is not impossible that Russia — as was America in the Cold War — may be on the winning side. Secessionist parties across Europe already look to Moscow rather than across the Atlantic.

“Putin has become a symbol of national sovereignty in its battle with globalism,” writes Caldwell. “That turns out to be the big battle of our times. As our last election shows, that’s true even here.”

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new book “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority.’’ © 2017 creators.com

EDITORIAL PAGE POLICIES EDITORIALS represent the views of the owners of this newspaper.

COLUMNS AND COMMENTARY are the personal opinion of the writer whose byline appears. Columns from readers should be typed, double-spaced and no more than 850 words. Send them to The Sumter Item, Opinion Pages, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, S.C. 29151, or email to letters@theitem.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are written by readers of the newspaper. They should be no more than 350 words and sent via e-mail to letters@theitem.com, dropped off at The Sumter Item office, 36 W. Liberty St. or mailed to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, S.C. 29151, along with the full name of the writer, plus an 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.

Baseball numbers aren’t difficult. But this quiz might be.

Sportswriter: “You hit only two home runs all last year, and already you’ve hit seven this year [1969]. What’s the difference?”

Reds outfielder Alex Johnson: “Five.”

W

ASHINGTON — See? Baseball numbers aren’t difficult. But be precise: As players say after a close play, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” And don’t be discouraged if some questions stump you. As Phillies manager Danny Ozark George said in 1976, Will “Even Napoleon had his Watergate.” And as Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn said after losing the 1982 World Series to the Cardinals, “We’re going to hang our heads high.”

Now, name the player or players who: 1) Had 297 three-hit games and only one three-strike-out game.

2) Struck out only 23 times in 474 at bats against Hall of Fame pitchers.

3) Batted .415 in 94 at bats

COMMENTARY against Greg Maddux.

4) Had at least 100 hits from both sides of the plate in a season.

5) Has the lowest career batting average among players with 3,000 hits.

6) Are the three players who each had an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) above 1.000 in their final season.

7) Are the four pitchers with more than three Cy Young awards.

8) Are the seven starting pitchers with two seasons with a sub-0.9 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).

9) Are the three hitters to have at least 40 home runs and 100 walks in a season before turning 23.

10) Have the three best OPS seasons at age 20 playing at least 100 games.

11) Are the four hitters with more than 500 home runs and 600 doubles.

12) Has the best stolen-base percentage with at least 500 steals.

13) Was the Hall of Famer who won three MVPs and finished second four times.

14) Was the youngest 20-game winner.

15) Set the rookie record for strikeouts.

16) Holds the record for most extra-base hits by a third baseman in a single season.

17) Among pitchers in the live ball era (post-1920) with at least 900 innings, had the lowest opponents’ batting average and most strikeouts per nine innings.

18) Is the only player in the top 10 all time in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, total bases and extra-base hits.

19) Is the pitcher with the most strikeouts in his first 100 major league games.

20) Is the only first baseman to have 40 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season (he did it twice).

21) Are the three pitchers with six seasons with at least 200 strikeouts and no more than 175 hits.

22) Had the longest hitting streak by a catcher.

23) In 1930, hit .386, had 250 hits, hit 40 home runs and drove in 170 but led the league in none of these four categories.

24) Had a higher batting average than Joe DiMaggio’s .408 during DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941.

25) Was the MVP in two consecutive All-Star games.

26) Were the two to win rookie of the year, MVP and Cy Young awards (not all in the same season).

27) Lost no-hitters with two outs in the ninth inning in consecutive games.

28) Is the only player to finish first or second in MVP voting in his first five full seasons.

29) Are the five centerfielders elected to Cooperstown in their first year of eligibility.

30) Has the most World Series hits.

Bonus question: Which broadcaster said, “Ozzie Smith just made another play that I’ve never seen anyone else make before, and I’ve seen him make it more than anyone else ever has”? Hint: He also said, “There’s a fly ball to deep center field. Winfield is going back, back. He hits his head against the wall. It’s rolling toward second base.”

Answers: 1) Tony Gwynn 2) Tony Gwynn 3) Tony Gwynn 4) Garry Templeton (1979), Willie Wilson (1980) 5) Cal Ripken (.276) 6) Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Shoeless Joe Jackson 7) Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Steve Carlton (4), Greg Maddux (4) 8) Cy Young, Mordecai Brown, Ed Walsh, Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux and Clayton Kershaw 9) Mel Ott (1929), Eddie

Mathews (1954), Bryce Harper (2015) 10) Mel Ott (1.084), Alex Rodriguez (1.045), Ted Williams (1.045) 11) Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz 12) Tim Raines 13) Stan Musial 14) Dwight Gooden (1985, age 20) 15) Dwight Gooden 16) Nolan Arenado (89) 17) Billy Wagner 18) Hank Aaron 19) Yu Darvish 20) Jeff Bagwell 21) Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Clayton Kershaw 22) Benito Santiago (34 games) 23) Chuck Klein 24) Ted Williams (.412) 25) Mike Trout 26) Don Newcombe, Justin Verlander 27) Dave Stieb 28) Mike Trout 29) Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Kirby Puckett, Ken Griffey Jr. 30) Yogi Berra (71) Bonus answer: Jerry Coleman, of course.

George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2017, Washington Post Writers Group

A10

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TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

SUPPORT GROUPS Sumter Chapter Parents of MurAA, AL-ANON, ALATEEN: dered Children (POMC) — Third AA — Monday-Friday, noon April 4, 2017 Support Groups: Tuesday, 5:30-7 p.m., Birnie and 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 HOPE Center, 210 S. Purdy St. p.m.; Sundays, 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., 1 Warren St. (803) 775- Multiple Sclerosis Support Group — Third Tuesday, 5:30 1852. p.m., Carolinas RehabilitaAA Women’s Meeting — tion Hospital, 121 E. Cedar Wednesdays, 7 p.m., 1 WarSt., Florence. Call (843) 661ren St. (803) 775-1852.

3746.

AA Spanish Speaking — SunEFMP Parent Exchange Group days, 4:30 p.m., 1 Warren St. — Last Tuesday, 11 a.m.(803) 775-1852. noon, Airman and Family AA “How it Works” Group — Readiness Center. Support to Mondays and Fridays, 8 p.m., service members who have 1154 Ronda St. Call (803) 494a dependent with a disability 5180. or illness. Call (803) 8951252/1253 or (803) 847-2377.

441 AA Support Group — Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, WEDNESDAY MEETINGS: 8:30 p.m., Hair Force, 2090-D S.C. 441.

Sickle Cell Support Group — Last Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 AA Summerton Group — p.m., South Sumter Resource Wednesday, 8 p.m., town Center, 337 Manning Ave. hall.

Call (803) 774-6181.

Manning Al-Anon Family Group Divorce Care — Wednesdays, — Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., Be6:30 p.m., Bethel Baptist havioral Health Building, 14 Church, 2401 Bethel Church Church St., Manning. Call Road. Call (803) 481-2160.

(803) 435-8085.

Grief Share — Wednesdays, C/A “Drop the Rock” Group — 6:30 p.m., Bethel Baptist Thursdays, 9:30 p.m., 1154 Church, 2401 Bethel Church Ronda St. Call (803) 607-4543.

Road. Call (803) 481-2160.

MONDAY MEETINGS: Sumter Vitiligo Support Group — Second Monday, 5:45-6:45 p.m., North HOPE Center, 904 N. Main St. Call (803) 3166763. The group is also on Facebook.

TUESDAY MEETINGS: Heroin Anonymous — Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 p.m., 4742 Broad St. Call (803) 494-5180.

Sumter Connective Tissue Support Group — First Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September and November, 7 p.m., 180 Tiller Circle. Call (803) 773-0869.

Mothers of Angels (for mothers who have lost a child) — First Tuesday at noon and third Tuesday at 6 p.m., Wise Drive Baptist Church. Call (803) 469-6059, (803) 979-4498, (803) 469-4506 or (803) 9388544.

Sumter Combat Veterans Group Peer to Peer — Tuesdays, 11 a.m., South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. Veterans helping veterans with PTSD, coping skills, claims and benefits.

“The Gathering” — Second Tuesday, 5:30-6:30 p.m., North HOPE Center, 904 N. Main St. For teens and adults with special needs. Call (803) 972-0051 or (803) 468-5745 or email thegathering23@aol. com.

Parkinson’s Support Group — Second Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital, 121 E. Cedar St., Florence. Call (843) 661-3746.

Sumter Amputee Support Group — Second Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Sumter Prosthetics & Orthotics, 259 Broad St. Call (803) 883-4356.

THURSDAY MEETINGS: TOPS S.C. No. 236 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) — Thursdays, 9 a.m., Spectrum Senior Center, 1989 Durant Lane. Call (803) 775-3926 or (803) 469-4789.

Alzheimer’s Support Group through S.C. Alzheimer’s Association — First Thursday, 6-8 p.m., National Health Care, 1018 N. Guignard Drive. Call (803) 905-7720 or (800) 6363346.

Journey of Hope (for family members of the mentally ill), Journey to Recovery (for the mentally ill) and Survivors of Suicide Support Group — Each group meets every first Thursday, 7 p.m., St. John United Methodist Church, 136 Poinsett Drive. Call (803) 905-5620.

Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group — Fourth Thursday, 1011:30 a.m., Palmetto Health Tuomey Hospice, 500 Pinewood Road, Suite 2. Call (803) 773-4663.

FRIDAY MEETINGS: Celebrate Recovery — Fridays, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. program, Salt & Light Church, Miller Road (across from Food Lion). For struggles of alcohol, drugs, family problems, smoking, etc.

Wateree AIDS Task Force Support Group — Third Friday, 11:30 a.m., 508 W. Liberty St. Call (803) 778-0303.

SATURDAY MEETINGS: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/ Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Support Group — Third Saturday, 1:30 p.m., 3785 Blackberry Lane, Lot 7. Call (803) 481-7521.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Making EUGENIA LAST assumptions could lead to poor choices. Observe what everyone else is doing. Time is on your side, and gathering information will be in your best interest. Keep life simple and concentrate on self-improvement, not trying to change others.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Pay more attention to home, family and domestic changes that need to be addressed. Love should be a priority along with personal improvements that will energize you and provide the psychological boost you need to achieve your goals.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Help others for the right reasons and avoid taking on the impossible. Making lastminute changes due to emotional concerns or revealing information that isn’t yours to share will make you look bad. Take the high road.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t let emotional situations lead to snap decisions that can damage your relationships. Money concerns will escalate if you spend needlessly or are generous to a fault. Moderation in all aspects of life will be required.

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Mostly sunny and breezy

Partly cloudy

A strong afternoon t-storm

Couple of thunderstorms

Partly sunny and breezy

Plenty of sunshine

85°

58°

80° / 56°

64° / 44°

64° / 39°

68° / 41°

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 60%

Chance of rain: 60%

Chance of rain: 15%

Chance of rain: 0%

WSW 12-25 mph

SW 4-8 mph

S 6-12 mph

W 10-20 mph

WNW 12-25 mph

WNW 6-12 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 80/52 Spartanburg 80/52

Greenville 80/54

Columbia 86/59

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

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 85/58

Aiken 81/55

ON THE COAST

Charleston 86/61

Today: Sunshine and patchy clouds; humid in southern parts. High 78 to 86.

Wednesday: Partly sunny; a thunderstorm in spots. High 74 to 81.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

79° 60° 72° 45° 87° in 2014 27° in 1992

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

356.98 74.64 74.63 97.63

24-hr chg -0.02 -0.02 none -0.29

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

0.03" 0.03" 0.33" 7.31" 13.10" 11.62"

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

NATIONAL CITIES

REGIONAL CITIES

Today City Hi/Lo/W Atlanta 81/60/pc Chicago 58/38/c Dallas 85/51/s Detroit 54/41/c Houston 88/61/s Los Angeles 76/55/s New Orleans 83/68/s New York 62/49/r Orlando 92/68/pc Philadelphia 75/52/t Phoenix 81/57/s San Francisco 66/51/pc Wash., DC 78/54/t

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

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 75/48/t 44/34/r 71/47/s 48/37/r 76/50/s 81/56/s 80/56/t 65/46/s 95/70/c 70/51/s 85/61/s 71/53/pc 72/54/s

Myrtle Beach 80/63

Manning 84/59

Today: Partly sunny. Winds west-southwest 7-14 mph. Clear.

Wednesday: A couple of potentially strong thunderstorms, mainly later.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 84/57

Bishopville 84/57

Today Hi/Lo/W 77/48/pc 83/57/pc 85/56/s 86/64/pc 75/62/t 86/61/s 81/54/s 82/56/pc 86/59/s 84/58/s 81/56/t 83/59/s 85/57/s

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 6.29 -0.02 19 4.94 +0.02 14 4.52 -0.03 14 2.04 -0.02 80 77.07 +0.58 24 13.47 +2.66

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 68/44/t 74/49/t 79/54/t 81/59/pc 75/66/s 80/62/t 76/54/t 72/52/t 81/58/t 81/58/t 74/62/s 81/62/t 81/64/t

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 84/57/s Gainesville 85/65/pc Gastonia 82/53/s Goldsboro 83/58/s Goose Creek 85/62/s Greensboro 80/53/s Greenville 80/54/pc Hickory 78/50/pc Hilton Head 81/66/s Jacksonville, FL 84/66/pc La Grange 83/60/s Macon 85/59/s Marietta 81/57/pc

Sunrise 7:05 a.m.

Moonrise 1:36 p.m.

Sunset Moonset

7:45 p.m.

2:52 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

Apr. 11

Apr. 19

Apr. 26

May 2

TIDES AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Wed.

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 81/60/t 89/60/t 75/56/t 82/65/pc 81/59/t 77/58/pc 72/49/t 72/52/t 78/59/pc 89/60/c 77/49/t 75/49/t 73/46/t

High 3:58 a.m.

4:38 p.m.

5:05 a.m.

5:43 p.m.

Ht. 3.2 2.8 3.1 2.8

Low 11:06 a.m.

11:20 p.m.

12:09 p.m.

---

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 79/49/pc Mt. Pleasant 83/65/s Myrtle Beach 80/63/s Orangeburg 83/59/s Port Royal 83/66/pc Raleigh 84/55/s Rock Hill 81/54/s Rockingham 84/55/s Savannah 86/64/pc Spartanburg 80/52/s Summerville 84/61/s Wilmington 82/59/s Winston-Salem 79/53/s

Ht. 0.2 0.1 0.2 ---

Wed. Hi/Lo/W 72/49/t 79/61/pc 76/62/pc 81/57/t 81/59/pc 81/63/pc 77/53/t 79/59/t 82/58/t 73/50/t 81/57/t 79/62/pc 75/57/pc

UNSTOPPABLE

TOWN OF LYNCHBURG PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, 4 p.m., town hall

BISHOPVILLE CITY COUNCIL Today, 6:30 p.m., Colclough Building

The last word in astrology

THE SUMTER ITEM

IN ANY SEASON

PUBLIC AGENDA SUMTER CITY COUNCIL Today, 5:30 p.m., Sumter Opera House, 21 N. Main St.

DAILY PLANNER

803-795-4257

Through summer storms or blizzard conditions, nothing stops a reliable and efficient Boykin System from keeping you comfortable all year long. Now is the right time to upgrade your old system and be ready for any season. But hurry… this great offer will blow away soon!

desires.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Expecting others to want the same things as you will lead to problems. Give others the benefit of the doubt and go about your own business. Engage in personal growth, learning and stabilizing your position, not trying to change others.

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Take a moment to assess your feelings and to consider what moves you the most.

Delve deeper into your subconscious and ask yourself questions about what you are doing with your life.

Share with someone you love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Temptation is a state of mind. Don’t give in to a sales pitch or emotional manipulation. Look for opportunities that are beneficial to you, not something that will only help someone else. Invest time in yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Keep an open mind, but don’t agree just because someone is enthusiastic or persuasive when presenting you with an offer. Be on guard at all times and protect your assets, possessions and your financial future. Emotional spending will lead to loss.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Base each decision you make on facts, knowledge and insight. Move forward with the intent to make things better, not only for you, but for those you care about. Don’t let anger stop you from doing what needs to be done.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Someone you thought you could trust will let you down. Keep personal information a secret. Someone is likely to use emotional tactics to make you look bad. Do your best to bring about positive changes and greater security.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put a little love in your life. Share your feelings and intentions with someone special.

Don’t let “should have, would have, could have” be the outcome because you are too afraid to voice your

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Get involved in activities you can enjoy with someone you love or that include the youngsters in your life.

Participate in something that you believe in or that concerns you.

Dick Hickson shares a photo he took at a private lake in Wyboo Plantation.

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

B

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017 Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (22) holds the trophy as she and her teammates celebrate their 67-55 victory over Mississippi State in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday in Dallas.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley cuts down the net as she and the team celebrate their win over Mississippi State in the championship game of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (22) shoots over Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan (15) during the second half of the Gamecocks’ 67-55 victory over the Bulldogs in the championship game of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday in Dallas.

South Carolina beats Miss. St. 67-55 to claim 1st national title

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer DALLAS — Dawn Staley is going to savor her first NCAA championship. It took her a long time to finally be able to raise the trophy over her head.

A’ja Wilson scored 23 points to help coach Staley and South Carolina win their first national championship with a

67-55 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday night.

Staley made the Final Four three times as a player at Virginia but never won. She also led the Gamecocks to the national semifinals two years ago before losing to Notre Dame.

“It means that I can check off one of the things that had been a void in my career,” said Staley wearing the cham-

pionship net around her neck in the postgame press conference. “Something I wanted to do. It was one of two opportunities that I saw women play when I was younger — national championship games and Olympics. Those were things that I held dear and near to me growing up. Those were the things I saw and were

SEE USC, PAGE B3

Staley finally wins her elusive national championship.

BY DAVID CLONINGER The State DALLAS — Dawn Staley wouldn’t let that NCAA plaque out of her sight.

You wouldn’t either if you’d been waiting your whole life to get it.

Staley added the one missing piece to her trophy case Sunday as South Carolina won the national championship with a 67-55 victory over Mississippi State.

She has Coach of the Year awards, she has Olympic gold medals … none meant so much as the bauble she had fallen short of four times before Sunday.

“It means that I can check off one of those things that has been a void

in my career,” Staley said, net around her neck and new ballcap on her head.

“Something I’ve wanted to do because it’s one of two opportunities that I saw women play when I was younger – national championship games and Olympics. Those are the things I wanted.”

She played for it three times at Virginia. She’d coached for it once at USC before Sunday. Staley knew she had the players to get it, but also knew how tough it was to win.

It seems fitting that this was the team to do it. Down to 10 players from an already-thin bench, the

SEE STALEY, PAGE B3

B2

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

SCOREBOARD

PGA TOUR

TV, RADIO

Denver Minnesota

TODAY

PACIFIC DIVISION

10 a.m. — Women’s Professional Tennis: Volvo Car Open Early-Round Matches from Charleston (TENNIS).

2 p.m. — International Soccer: Bundesliga League Match — Bayern Munich vs.

Hoffenheim (FOX SPORTS 1).

2 p.m. — International Soccer: Bundesliga League Match — Hamburg vs. Borussia Dortmund (FOX SPORTS 2).

2:55 p.m. — International Soccer: English Premier League Match — Everton vs.

Manchester United (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

4 p.m. — Women’s Professional Tennis: Volvo Car Open Early-Round Matches from Charleston (TENNIS).

6:05 p.m. — Talk Show: Sports Talk (WDXYFM 105.9).

7 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Charlotte at Washington (FOX SPORTS SOUTHEAST).

7 p.m. — NHL Hockey: Tampa Bay at Boston (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

7 p.m. — College Baseball: Clemson at Georgia (SEC NETWORK).

7 p.m. — College Baseball: Furman at South Carolina (WNKT-FM 107.5).

7:55 p.m. — International Soccer: Mexican League Match — Cruz Azul vs. Monarcas (UNIVISION).

8 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Milwaukee at Oklahoma City (ESPN).

8 p.m. — College Baseball: Oklahoma State at Wichita State (ESPNU).

8 p.m. — NHL Hockey: Carolina at Minnesota (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

8 p.m. — Major League Baseball: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis or Cleveland at Texas (MLB NETWORK).

9 p.m. — Professional Boxing: Edner Cherry vs. Omar Douglas in a Super Featherweight Bout from Bethlehem, Pa. (FOX SPORTS 1).

10 p.m. — International Soccer: CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal Match — Dallas vs. Pachuca (UNIVISION).

10:30 p.m. — NBA Basketball: Minnesota at Golden State (ESPN).

10:30 p.m. — NHL Hockey: Edmonton at Los Angeles (NBC SPORTS NETWORK)

MLB STANDINGS

36 30

W z-Golden State 63 x-L.A. Clippers 47 Sacramento 30 L.A. Lakers 22 Phoenix 22 x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched division

40 45

.474 10½ .400 16

L 14 31 47 55 56

Pct .818 .603 .390 .286 .282

Els gearing up for what could be his last Masters

GB — 16½ 33 41 41½

SUNDAY’S GAMES Boston 110, New York 94 Charlotte 113, Oklahoma City 101 Dallas 109, Milwaukee 105 L.A. Lakers 108, Memphis 103 San Antonio 109, Utah 103 Brooklyn 91, Atlanta 82 Chicago 117, New Orleans 110 Cleveland 135, Indiana 130, 2OT Denver 116, Miami 113 Toronto 113, Philadelphia 105 Golden State 139, Washington 115 Houston 123, Phoenix 116

MONDAY’S GAMES Portland at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES Brooklyn at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Charlotte at Washington, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Chicago at New York, 8 p.m.

Denver at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Milwaukee at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Memphis at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Portland at Utah, 9 p.m.

Dallas at Sacramento, 10:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Boston, 8 p.m.

Denver at Houston, 8 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Golden State at Phoenix, 10 p.m.

Dallas at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES Brooklyn at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Boston at Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST DIVISION Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore Boston New York

W 1 0 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 1

Pct 1.000 .000 .000 .000 .000

GB — ½ ½ ½ 1

W 0 0 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 0

Pct .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

GB — — — — —

W 0 0 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 0

Pct .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

GB — — — — —

CENTRAL DIVISION Kansas City Cleveland Chicago Detroit Minnesota

NHL STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP 78 79 77 77 78 78 78 78

x-Montreal Boston Ottawa Toronto Tampa Bay Florida Buffalo Detroit

W 45 43 41 38 39 33 32 31

L 24 30 27 24 29 34 34 35

OT 9 6 9 15 10 11 12 12

Pts 99 92 91 91 88 77 76 74

GF 216 228 199 238 222 201 195 196

GA 191 207 203 226 218 227 225 234

L 18 19 21 26 29 29 33 37

OT 8 11 8 6 12 14 8 14

Pts GF 112 254 107 266 106 239 100 252 86 228 84 204 84 212 68 175

GA 178 221 180 213 237 220 229 229

Pts GF 107 239 100 254 93 219 91 231 81 237 75 213 45 154

GA 202 201 204 217 249 250 264

SUNDAY’S GAMES Tampa Bay 7, N.Y. Yankees 3

x-Washington x-Pittsburgh x-Columbus x-N.Y. Rangers N.Y. Islanders Carolina Philadelphia New Jersey

GP 78 78 78 79 78 78 79 78

W 52 48 49 47 37 35 38 27

MONDAY’S GAMES

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Boston 5, Pittsburgh 3 Toronto at Baltimore, 3:05 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 4:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Minnesota, 4:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Seattle at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

CENTRAL DIVISION

TODAY’S GAMES N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

Seattle at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Kansas City at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

Seattle at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION New York Washington Philadelphia Miami Atlanta

W 1 1 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 1 1

Pct 1.000 1.000 .000 .000 .000

GB — — ½ 1 1

L 0 0 1 1 1

Pct 1.000 .000 .000 .000 .000

GB — ½ 1 1 1

CENTRAL DIVISION St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago Milwaukee

W 1 0 0 0 0

WEST DIVISION Arizona Colorado Los Angeles San Francisco San Diego

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Ernie Els has memories at every corner of Augusta National, typical of someone who is playing the Masters for the 23rd time.

Nothing haunts him as much as the sight of the practice green.

That’s where he was in 2004, hopeful of a playoff after closing with a 67, tied for the lead as Phil Mickelson made his way up the last hole to face an 18-foot birdie putt. Els couldn’t see the 18th green because of the crowd. All he could do was listen for the outcome.

The putt swirled in the cup. Mickelson leapt. The cheer shook the ground.

Els scooped up his golf balls and walked away.

“That was a blow,” Els said Monday in a quiet reflection. “I didn’t play quite good after that.”

The moment stands out even more this week as the 47-year-old South African returns for what could be his last Masters.

Past champions can play for life, and most everyone would have put Els on that list when the Big Easy showed up for the first time in 1994.

He won the first of his two U.S. Opens that summer. Two British Open titles followed, the last one in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, which earned him a five-year exemption to the Masters.

That exemption runs out this week.

“You can put a line on it and say most probably it will be the last one,” Els said.

“We’ll see, unless we do something down the road. But you know, it’s been good.

Whatever. If I come back again, great. If I

W

L

PCT

GB

1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 0

1.000 1.000 .000 .000 .000

— — ½ 1 ½

SUNDAY’S GAMES Arizona 6, San Francisco 5 St. Louis 4, Chicago Cubs 3

MONDAY’S GAMES Washington 4, Miami 2 N.Y. Mets 6, Atlanta 0 Boston 5, Pittsburgh 3 Colorado 7, Milwaukee 5 Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m.

San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 4:10 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES Colorado at Milwaukee, 7:40 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

San Francisco at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 1:45 p.m.

Miami at Washington, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Colorado at Milwaukee, 8:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

GP 79 79 78 79 79 79 78

z-Chicago x-Minnesota x-St. Louis x-Nashville Winnipeg Dallas Colorado

W 50 46 43 40 37 32 21

L 22 25 28 28 35 36 54

OT 7 8 7 11 7 11 3

PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Anaheim 79 43 23 13 99 212 196 x-Edmonton 78 44 25 9 97 231 200 x-San Jose 79 44 28 7 95 213 195 x-Calgary 79 44 31 4 92 220 214 Los Angeles 78 37 34 7 81 188 191 Vancouver 78 30 39 9 69 174 228 Arizona 79 29 41 9 67 190 251 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched conference

SUNDAY’S GAMES Boston 3, Chicago 2 N.Y. Islanders 4, Buffalo 2 St. Louis 4, Nashville 1 Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2 Tampa Bay 6, Dallas 3 Washington 3, Columbus 2 Minnesota 5, Colorado 2 San Jose 3, Vancouver 1 N.Y. Rangers 4, Philadelphia 3 Anaheim 4, Calgary 3 Arizona 2, Los Angeles 1

MONDAY’S GAMES Ottawa at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

Montreal at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Boston, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Washington at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Carolina at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Winnipeg at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Chicago at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Calgary at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Montreal at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES Winnipeg at Columbus, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Ottawa at Boston, 7 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

St. Louis at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Chicago at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Vancouver at Arizona, 10 p.m.

Edmonton at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

Calgary at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

MORE TO THE STORY Read on at www.theitem.com.

Gonzaga leads UNC 35-32 at halftime of national title game GLENDALE, Ariz. – Gonzaga held a 35-32 lead over North Carolina at halftime of the men’s NCAA championship game on Monday.

The final result was not available at press time. For a complete recap, visit our website at www.theitem.com.

THOMPSON LOSES MAJOR AFTER 4-STROKE PENALTY, PLAYOFF

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.

— So Yeon Ryu won the ANA Inspiration on Sunday in a one-hole playoff with Lexi Thompson, who was given a 4-stroke penalty late in the final round for an incorrect ball placement a day earlier.

The 22-year-old Thompson had a 3-shot lead and appeared to be cruising to her second major championship when LPGA Tour rules officials informed her of the penalty with six holes to play.

An email from a television viewer during Sunday’s final round alerted officials to the violation committed Saturday, and the LPGA Tour confirmed it with video review. Thompson had marked a 1-foot putt with a coin on the 17th green during her third round Saturday, but she replaced the ball perhaps 1 inch out of position.

HENLEY RALLIES TO WIN SHELL HOUSTON OPEN, EARN FINAL SPOT IN MASTERS HUMBLE, Texas — Rus-

FRANK’S

EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION x-Boston x-Toronto New York Philadelphia Brooklyn

W 50 47 29 28 18

L 27 30 48 49 59

Pct .649 .610 .377 .364 .234

GB — 3 21 22 32

L 31 38 40 41 50

Pct .597 .506 .481 .468 .351

GB — 7 9 10 19

SOUTHEAST DIVISION z-Washington Atlanta Miami Charlotte Orlando

W 46 39 37 36 27

FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1973

CENTRAL DIVISION W 49 40 38 37 35

L 27 37 39 40 42

Pct .645 .519 .494 .481 .455

GB — 9½ 11½ 12½ 14½

SOUTHWEST DIVISION W 59 52 42 33 32

L 17 25 35 44 44

Pct .776 .675 .545 .429 .421

GB — 7½ 17½ 26½ 27

L 30 33 38

Pct .610 .566 .500

GB — 3½ 8½

NORTHWEST DIVISION W x-Utah 47 x-Oklahoma City 43 Portland 38

Express Handwax

sell Henley made 10 birdies in the final round, rallied from a 4-shot deficit and closed with a 7-under 65 to win the Shell Houston Open and earn the final spot in the Masters.

Henley and Sung Kang were tied with six holes to play when Henley ran off three straight birdies. Kang, going for his first PGA Tour victory, didn’t make a birdie over his last 10 holes and closed with a 72.

Rickie Fowler was 3 over after four holes and didn’t make up ground until it was too late. He tied for third with Luke List.

CLEMSON 13 GEORGIA TECH 6

ATLANTA — The No. 5 Clemson Tigers scored all 13 runs in the first three innings, sparked by a grand slam and 3-run homer by Reed Rohlman, in their 13-6 victory over Georgia on Sunday.

The Tigers improved to 24-5 overall and 10-2 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 15-11 overall and 4-8 in ACC play.

AUBURN 5 SOUTH CAROLINA 4

AUBURN, Ala. — Conor Davis’ 2-out, 3-run pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted 10thranked Auburn to a 6-5 win over fourth-ranked South Carolina in the rubber game

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WESTERN CONFERENCE z-San Antonio x-Houston x-Memphis New Orleans Dallas

don’t, it’s been good.”

Els is on a list of great players who never won a green jacket.

SPORTS ITEMS / /AREA ROUNDUP

NBA STANDINGS

z-Cleveland Milwaukee Chicago Indiana Detroit

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ernie Els hits on the driving range during practice for the Masters on Monday in Augusta.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

WEST DIVISION Seattle Los Angeles Oakland Texas Houston

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of a 3-game SEC series on Sunday.

The Gamecocks are now 19-8 and 6-3 in the SEC with Auburn 23-7 and 7-2 in league play.

VARSITY GOLF SCISA TEAM WINS SOUTHEAST TOURNAMENT

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A SCISA team comprised in part of Thomas Sumter Academy’s Tyler Gray and Wilson Hall’s Walker Jones won a tournament featuring some of the best independent school players in the Southeast this past weekend at The Standard Club near Atlanta in a playoff.

At the end of 18 holes, the teams from S.C. and Georgia were tied at 299. A 1-hole playoff featuring all five players from each team was undertaken with the top four scores resulting in the final tally. Jones hit a clutch birdie putt to tie the playoff hole, and it was then determined to have a card playoff on the 18th hole in which S.C. won.

The medalist was Thomas Hogan from Georgia’s Fredrica Academy with a 69. The runner-up was Jones who shot a 2-over on the front nine followed by a 4-under on the back nine for a total of 70. Gray shot a 76.

From staff, local, wire reports

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B3

Weather puts hold on title celebration

South Carolina guard Kaela Davis (3) shoots over Mississippi State forward Victoria Vivians (35) during the first half of the Gamecocks 67-55 victory over the Bulldogs in the final of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday in Dallas.

FROM THE STATE COLUMBIA — The city’s parade to honor the South Carolina women’s basketball national championship team is to be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said.

But with a tornado watch in effect and the possibility for severe weather Monday evening, a separate USC celebration to honor Dawn Staley’s NCAA national championship team was postponed.

Details of a celebratory event to be held in conjunction with a parade will be announced later this week, the school announced.

The South Carolina women’s basketball team captured its first national championship and the seventh in school history Sunday night with a 67-55

PHOTOS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (22) drives around Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan (15) during the first half of the NCAA women’s basketball championship game on Sunday.

win over Mississippi State.

The university band, cheerleaders and mascot Cocky all will be part of the event on Sunday that is to end with a rally on the State House grounds.

Sunday was selected because the weather is forecast to be clear and in the mid-70s and team starter A’ja Wilson is to be back in town after the annual John Wooden award ceremony in Los Angeles, the mayor said. The Wooden award is presented to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate basketball players.

The men’s basketball team was eliminated from the NCAA tournament by Gonzaga on Saturday. Benjamin has said he would like the parade to also acknowledge the men’s season, which featured the school’s first appearance in the Final Four.

STALEY FROM PAGE B1

Members of the South Carolina bench cheer during the first half against Mississippi State in the NCAA women’s basketball championship game on Sunday.

USC FROM PAGE B1 shooting for.”

Wilson, a native South Carolina player who was Staley’s biggest recruit ever, was the key. She was thrilled to help Staley get her first title.

“I can’t put into words how much it meant to win the game for coach,” Wilson said.

“She’s put in so much time and sweat into this. ... It really means something special to bring this back home for such a great person like coach Staley.”

Once the final buzzer sounded, Staley had a long group hug with her coaching staff and then grabbed the trophy and paraded it around the court high over her head.

She cut down the final piece of the net, waving it to the huge throng of Gamecocks fans while Wilson and Kaela Davis danced with the South Carolina band playing.

“You have to give tribute to the former players,” Staley said. “Go back to my Temple days, they believed in our vision. We took that vision to South Carolina and that vision was we’ll be national champions. If you stick with us and if you’re disciplined, if you believe all these players believed in that. Happy our words came true to them.”

Staley became just the second African-American coach to win a national championship. She joined Carolyn Peck, who won a title at Purdue.

Mississippi State had all the momentum on its side after a shocking win over UConn on Friday night that ended the Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak. The Bulldogs couldn’t muster the same effort against the Gamecocks.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

Morgan William, who had become the face of the tournament with the game-winner against the Huskies after a 41point performance against Baylor, was held to just 8 points.

South Carolina (33-4) turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 45-31 advantage midway through the third quarter before the Bulldogs rallied. Mississippi State (34-5) slowly cut into its deficit, getting with 54-50 on Jazzmun Holmes’ jumper. That brought a huge cheer from the thousands of Mississippi State fans who made the 8-hour trip from Starkville, Mississippi.

But that’s as close as the Bulldogs could get.

The victory in front of a sellout crowd came one day after the Gamecocks men’s basketball team lost in the Final Four in Phoenix.

Wilson, who grew up in South Carolina, blocked a shot on one end of the court and then hit a short jumper in the lane that started a 12-2 run to put the game away.

Staley emptied her bench with less than a minute left and Wilson left with tears of joy.

The junior center sees a repeat in the future for the Gamecocks, who return most of their core players.

“Man, just be with us next year, we’re trying to be in this same spot next year, we’re going to see how it goes,” Wilson said after winning the most outstanding player award for the Final Four.

The Gamecocks won the title without star center Alaina Coates, who hurt her ankle in the SEC Tournament. She didn’t even travel with the

team to Dallas.

“Our players never fretted, ‘La’ we got you a ring. We got you a ring,” Staley said of Coates. “Allisha Gray, Kaela Davis they all believed in it.

They spent a year getting to know our team, getting to know our system. Got the opportunity to play and we become national champions. It’s incredible belief and discipline and can’t thank them enough for choosing South Carolina.”

It was the third loss for the Bulldogs against the Gamecocks this season. Mississippi State dropped a game in South Carolina in the regular season as well as the SEC Tournament title game.

“Today doesn’t define us,” said Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer, who is 0-9 in his career against South Carolina. “It certainly doesn’t define this team or this season. We had a heck of a year. Obviously we’ve had some hard times dealing with them. Today was no different.”

No team had a tougher road to the championship then the second-seeded Bulldogs. They were trying to become the third team in NCAA history to beat three number No. 1 seeds en route to the title. Tennessee did it in 1987 and Louisiana Tech accomplished the same feat a year later. The Bulldogs had already knocked off top-seed Baylor and UConn to get to the championship game.

This was the sixth time in NCAA Tournament history that teams from the same conference played for the national championship, including three by the SEC. Tennessee won both of those matchups, the last coming in 1996 when the Lady Vols beat Georgia.

Gamecocks blazed through their first four games before outlasting Stanford in Dallas. Then they saw Connecticut lose to Mississippi State and knew that this was going to be the best chance they were ever going to get.

A big lead became small, but then swelled again in the fourth quarter as tournament Most Outstanding Player A’ja Wilson took over. Staley told the Hopkins homegrown she’d have a chance to win the title if she came to USC; Sunday, she became a prophet.

It was vintage Staley as she took the podium. It wasn’t about her, it was about God and then the players that came before this team, including Temple. There were so many on the dais with her afterward — Elem and Sancheon and Ieasia and Khadijah and Tina and Brett — that it was hard to separate past from present.

Then again, that’s what has made this ride so thrilling. It wasn’t just how the wins kept piling up. It was how Staley made every person that joined in feel like they were family.

That’s why the fans made Colonial Life Arena the most-attended women’s arena in the country the past three years.

That’s why so many stayed in the aftermath Sunday, in all that confetti and noise, because they

knew Staley hug them at some point.

The trophy didn’t stray far from her touch, even as it made the rounds for individual pictures. It really is such a simple prize — wood, a piece of glass, a nice gold disc on top — but it means so much more to Staley.

Not having that title represented the only time she’d ever failed on a basketball court. She was good enough to win Final Four MOP off a losing team, and that was no consolation since she and her Wahoo teammates didn’t bring home a championship.

Staley related a gift from Carolyn Peck, who won a title at Purdue.

Peck gave her a piece of her championship net, telling her to return it when she won.

Now she can.

“Had it in my wallet for years,” Staley said. “I’m going to have to pass a piece of my net onto somebody else so they can share and hopefully accomplish something as big as this.”

That trophy had a front-row seat on the plane home, and likely in Staley’s hands during the championship parade this week. “She says she’s sleeping with it, so maybe next year, she’ll let it go,” cracked Wilson.

She has no plans to, unless it’s to grab another one.

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MLB ROUNDUP

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AUTO RACING

Keselowski pulls away, wins at Martinsville

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York’s Wilmer Flores (4), right, slides safely into home in front of Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers (25) during the seventh inning of the Mets’ 6-0 opening day victory over the Braves at Citi Field on Monday in New York.

Syndergaard, Cabrera lead Mets past Braves 6-0 in opener NEW YORK (AP) — Noah Syndergaard pitched six sharp innings before leaving with a blister, Asdrubal Cabrera snapped a seventh-inning tie with a single and the New York Mets broke through following a pivotal replay reversal to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-0 in their season opener Monday.

Syndergaard struck out seven in his first opening day start for New York, the only blemish a blister on the top of his right middle finger that ended his outing.

Atlanta starter Julio Teheran throttled the Mets as usual, throwing six scoreless innings before a sellout crowd of 44,384 at Citi Field. But once he was lifted after 96 pitches, New York took advantage of five walks by a shaky Braves bullpen in a six-run bottom of the seventh that lasted 35 minutes.

Curtis Granderson had a sacrifice fly and Lucas Duda busted the game open with a three-run double off ineffective reliever Eric O’Flaherty.

The Mets stopped a six-game home losing streak to Atlanta — the last-place Braves swept their final two series in Queens last year — and improved baseball’s best record on opening day to 36-20.

New York, which lost its first eight openers in the 1960s, has won 21 of its past 24 season openers at home.

Rene Rivera led off the seventh with a single against Ian Krol (0-1). One out later, Jose Reyes walked and Cabrera singled to center field for his third hit. Gold Glove winner Ender Inciarte made a strong throw home, and Wilmer Flores initially was called out.

But replays showed catcher Tyler Flowers was in poor position when he took the throw behind the plate, allowing Flores to touch the front corner with his foot before get-

ting tagged.

From there, the Mets stayed patient in the batter’s box and opened a comfortable lead.

Hansel Robles (1-0) worked a perfect inning for the win.

Freddie Freeman had three hits for the Braves, including a one-out triple in the fourth.

Syndergaard struck out the other three batters in the inning, and pitched out of trouble against the middle of the lineup again in the sixth.

BRINGING SEXY BACK With fans still filing in, Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon received a standing ovation during pregame introductions as he waved and tipped his cap to the crowd. Big Sexy, who turns 44 in May, won 44 games for the Mets over the past three seasons. He signed a $12.5 million, one-year contract with Atlanta in November. “This guy gave us quality inning after quality inning. He was a force with our young Latin players,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I think he taught ‘em how to be major league pitchers, how to go about things, how to take the good with the bad. And we’re going to miss that. ... Bartolo had a huge effect on this team.”

UP NEXT Braves: Colon will make his Atlanta debut when he starts the second game of the series Wednesday night against his former teammates. “Some of these guys don’t know Major League Baseball without him in it,” Snitker said.

Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom returns to the mound from Sept.

21 surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his right elbow.

The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year is 3-3 with a 1.90 ERA in eight career outings against Atlanta.

NATIONALS 4 MARLINS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Adam Lind’s first swing as a member of the Nationals resulted in a pinch-hit, goahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Bryce Harper went deep on opening day for the fifth time in his young career, leading Washington past the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Monday.

Stephen Strasburg (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings, pitching out of the stretch the whole way. It was his return to action after missing last September and the playoffs with a right elbow injury.

ROCKES 7 BREWERS 5

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bud Black won his debut as Colorado manager, and Greg Holland got a save in his first game with the Rockies.

Mark Reynolds homered, had three RBIs and scored the tying run in a two-run seventh following two defensive lapses by Milwaukee, and the Rockies beat the Brewers 7-5 in Monday’s opener.

INTERLEAGUE RED SOX 5 PIRATES 3

BOSTON (AP) — Rookie Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer that capped a five-run fifth inning, and the Boston Red Sox began their post-David Ortiz era by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in Monday’s opener.

Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits in 6⅓ innings while striking out five, and Craig Kimbrel earned the save despite allowing two runners in the ninth.

Playing the team it beat in the first World Series in 1903, Boston opened against a National League opponent for just the second time.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Brad Keselowski had sampled success at Martinsville Speedway, but had never put everything together to get to Victory Lane.

He changed that on Sunday, passing Kyle Busch with 43 laps to go and pulling away to win for the 23rd time in his career.

“It felt like we were due, and if you ever can be, this is one of those tracks and today was one of those days where we persevered in a special way,” Keselowski said.

“The battle there with Kyle at the end was a lot of fun to be a part of. I hope it was a lot of fun to watch.”

The victory came in team owner Roger Penske’s 1,000th start in NASCAR’s top series, and gave Ford its first victory on NASCAR’s oldest and smallest track since 2002. It also made Keselowski the first two-time winner this season, and was his fifth consecutive top-five finish.

“This is one I’m never going to forget,” said Keselowski, who had been the runner-up twice in the past four races here.

Keselowski or Busch led the last 160 laps and swapped the lead several times during a green flag run that began with 64 laps to go.

Keselowski had the lead coming out of the 14th and final caution, but Busch quickly slipped underneath him to go back in front. Keselowski stalked him for 14 laps, the nose of his Ford inches from the rear bumper of Busch’s Toyota.

When he finally got around Busch again, he gradually pulled away, opening a lead of nearly

two seconds as Busch’s car, dominant for much of the day, faded. The lead paid off at the end when Keselowski had to navigate around lapped traffic. He won by 1.8 seconds.

“All we did was put four tires on, and when we did, it went to junk,” Busch said of his car. “I hate it for our guys. They’ve deserved all year better finishes than what we’ve been able to produce, and here’s another one today. Just frustrating season so far.”

Busch led a race-high 274 laps and finished second, followed by Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Austin Dillon.

It was the first time NASCAR tried its new stage racing on a short track, and it provided some excitement.

Martin Truex Jr. won the first stage in a three-lap sprint that featured lots of banging as drivers jostled to make the point-scoring top 10.

Elliott won stage two when Ricky Stenhouse Jr., trying to get back on the lead lap, nudged Busch on the final lap of the stage, getting Busch just loose enough for Elliott to slide underneath him to score the regular season points and coveted playoff point.

Busch said he has no problem with being bumped, as long as Stenhouse knows to expect the same treatment in reverse.

“I actually was rolling into Turn 3 and was kind of going higher out of the way and was going to let (Stenhouse) back by and give him the lap,” Busch said.

“That was my intent, and then he just drove through me and cost me my spot to (Elliott). I was trying to be a nice guy.”

MONSTER ENERGY CUP STP 500 RESULTS SUNDAY

At Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia Lap length: 0.526 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (4) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 500 laps, 0 rating, 55 points.

2. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 500, 0, 52.

3. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 50.

4. (5) Joey Logano, Ford, 500, 0, 33.

5. (20) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 34.

6. (30) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 31.

7. (8) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 500, 0, 31.

8. (11) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 29.

9. (25) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 500, 0, 32.

10. (24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 500, 0, 27.

11. (33) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 26.

12. (15) Erik Jones, Toyota, 500, 0, 28.

13. (16) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 500, 0, 26.

14. (13) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 24.

15. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 32.

16. (3) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 500, 0, 31.

17. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 25.

18. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 500, 0, 19.

19. (22) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 500, 0, 18.

20. (9) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 500, 0, 17.

21. (31) Cole Whitt, Ford, 499, 0, 16.

22. (23) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 499, 0, 15.

23. (29) Danica Patrick, Ford, 499, 0, 14.

24. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 498, 0, 13.

25. (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 498, 0, 22.

26. (26) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 497, 0, 11.

27. (27) Landon Cassill, Ford, 497, 0, 10.

28. (35) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 496, 0, 9.

29. (37) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 495, 0, 8.

30. (12) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 493, 0, 16.

31. (32) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 492, 0, 6.

32. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 489, 0, 5.

33. (38) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 486, 0, 0.

34. (21) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 418, 0, 8.

35. (28) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, accident, 401, 0, 2.

36. (36) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, accident, 385, 0, 1.

37. (14) Kurt Busch, Ford, accident, 295, 0, 1.

38. (6) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, accident, 105, 0, 1.

OBITUARIES FURMAN W. BARFIELD JR. A graveside service for Furman William Barfield Jr. will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Sumter Cemetery.

Mr. Barfield passed away on Monday, March 27, 2017, at his residence.

Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.

BROOKY M. EVANS SR. Brooky Martin Evans Sr., 60, crossed over Jordan and entered the eternal kingdom on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at Lake Marion Nursing Facility.

Born on June 9, 1956, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was a son of the late Tommy Wesley Evans and Eudell Little Evans. He was the owner of Brooky Evans Construction and a member of Smithville Pentecostal Church. Brooky dedicated his life to his children, his business and helping others.

Survivors include a son, Brooky “Mark” Evans Jr.

(Jenni); five daughters, Tomilyn Evans Wills (Anthony), Amanda Evans Mathis (D.J.), Brianna Merritt, Brooke Brabham and Baylea Brabham; a granddaughter, Alexis; three grandsons, Tripp, Logan and Keegan; two sisters, Rose Evans and Deloris Richardson (Jimmy); two brothers, S.K. Evans (Julie) and Brent Evans (Angie); and lifelong friends, Brenda Ratliff and Lanette Wilson.

In addition to his parents, he was received in heaven by a son, Kee Evans; and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at Green Acres Assembly of God with the Rev. Dr. Eugene Mosier, the Rev. Kenny Griffin and the Rev. Ronnie Morris officiating. Burial will be in Pinewood Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday at Green Acres Assembly of God and other times at the home of his sister, 329 Reynolds Road, Pinewood.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Lake Marion Nursing Facility and Amedisys Hospice of Sumter for all of their loving care and compassion during Brooky’s illness.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family, c/o Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home, 515 Miller Road, Sumter, SC 29150.

Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.

of arrangements.

PATRICIA ANN SHARPER

LINCOLNTON, N.C. — Campbell Jerome McSwain, 53, passed away on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at The Robin Johnson House in Dallas.

A memorial service will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Swan Lake-Iris Gardens.

Patricia Ann Sharper, 54, departed this life on Monday, April 3, 2017, at Palmetto Health Tuomey.

She was born on July 30, 1962, in Sumter, a daughter of the late John Wilson and Edna Harvin Sharper.

The family will receive friends at the home of Gwen Sharper Montgomery, 736 Olive St., Sumter, SC 29150.

Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge

STEPHANIE P. MCKNIGHT Stephanie P. McKnight, 50, wife of Ivory McKnight III, departed this life on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at Grand Strand Medical Center, Myrtle Beach.

She was born on Dec. 26, 1966, in Edgefield, a daughter of the late Paul Jr. and Mary Lou Martin Epps.

Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.

CAMPBELL J. MCSWAIN

JACKIE GUESS Jackie Guess, 66, beloved husband of Sally Guess, entered into eternal rest on Monday, April 3, 2017, at

Palmetto Health Tuomey.

Born on Nov. 29, 1950, he was a son of the late Felix and Lucille Gipson Guess.

The family will begin receiving family and friends on Wednesday at the home, 1312 Guess Road, (Ponderosa) Pinewood.

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

IBURY CHINA ALLEN Ibury China Allen, 63, died on Monday, April 3, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Born on Nov. 7, 1953, in Sumter County, she was a daughter of Lessie Davis China and the late Harold China.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the home of her mother, Lessie China, 4955 Scotts Branch Road, Rembert.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Williams Funeral Home Inc.

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A new escape plan begins on revived ‘Prison Break’

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Fox goes for broke with a 2.0 version of “Prison Break” (9 p.m., TV-14), featuring characters and stars from the original. Six years after the presumed death of Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), rumors emerge of his survival in another prison. That means Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) has to break in in order to break him out, with all of the usual grim atmospherics and contrived events. T-Bag’s (Robert Knepper) back too!

Fox has recently exhumed the “X-Files” and “24,” and put a series spin on “The Exorcist” as well. Viewers have responded to these about as well (or as poorly) as you might expect.

Nobody is ever that thrilled about reheated leftovers.

• Liv (Rose McIver) learns that there may be more undead in Seattle than previously imagined on the third season premiere of “iZombie” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14). In fact, a military contractor has created his own army of darkness to take on humanity!

Based on a comic book and steeped in the zombie mythology, this series also hearkens back to the cheeky humor and female feistiness of older WBCW-UPN fare, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Veronica Mars.”

Fans hoping to catch up on “iZombie” can stream earlier episodes on Netflix. That streaming service also debuts the standup special “Louis CK 2017,” beginning today. CK’s earlier standup specials have appeared on HBO, and his acclaimed series “Louie” aired on FX. • The two-hour special “Last Days of Jesus” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) sifts through Roman documents, new information from recent archaeological sites as well as new interpretations of religious texts to shed light the story of Jesus’ execution from the point of view of Roman imperial politics and explores how the shifting power structure in the empire may have affected life in the province of Judea.

CULT CHOICE Many today lament the inability of the entertainment industry to reflect ongoing economic woes and the insecuri-

Americans” (10 p.m., FX, TVMA).

TV ON DVD TV-themed DVDs available today include “The Carol Burnett Show: The Best of Tim Conway.”

SERIES NOTES Cyberwar and ticking clocks on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) * Brick wants to party with Axl on “The Middle” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Gambling addiction on “The Mick” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) * Perseverance on “American Housewife” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * On two helpings of “Trial & Error” (NBC, TV-14), the trial looms (9 p.m.) media intrudes (9:30 p.m.) * Wrestlemania on “Fresh Off the Boat” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Alice does “Mom” stuff on “Imaginary Mary” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

LATE NIGHT

DIDIER BAVEREL / FOX

Wentworth Miller, left, returns as Michael Scofield and Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows in the reboot of “Prison Break,” premiering at 9 p.m. today on FOX. ties of ordinary people. That wasn’t always the case. Made at the height of the Depression, the musical “Gold Diggers of 1933” (8 p.m., TCM) included songs about not being able to pay the rent (“We’re in the Money”) and the plight of unemployed veterans (“Remember My Forgotten Man”), and still had room for Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell to warble “Pettin’ in the Park” to Busby Berkeley choreography.

TONIGHT’S SEASON FINALES • Jess has a moment of truth on “New Girl” (8 p.m., Fox, TV14).

• A wrinkle in time cannot be

ironed out on “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Knockouts continue on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

• Fashion can be murder on “Bull” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• A drug ring may have infiltrated the force on “NCIS: New Orleans” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• Haylie gets an orientation in the Farrell ways on “Outsid-

ers” (9 p.m., WGN, TV-14).

• Casey uncovers a new crack house with a vulnerable resident on “Chicago Fire” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Only Daisy and Simmons can save the world on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

• A 2014 edition of “Frontline” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) examines the secretive North Korean regime.

• Good news and bad on “The

Chelsea Handler is booked on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Chris Pratt, Tom Papa and the Naked and Famous appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, r) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Blake Shelton and Scott Eastwood on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Ice T, Freida Pinto, Julio Torres and Jonathan Mover visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Claire Danes, Christine Baranski, Jack McBrayer and Zara Larsson appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2017 United Feature Syndicate

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STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER

Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell to satisfy the lien of owner at public sale by competitive bidding on April 13, 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 111 - Johnson, Yvonne 117 - Terry, Alton Benjamin 241 - Harrington, Clyde 337 - Lee, Hazel 526 - Green, Tyrone 528 - Wingard, Joseph 534 - Washington, Herbert 702A - Darby, Rosaline 719 - Comer, Christine 747 - Fegins, Shamara 1277 Camden Hwy, Sumter, SC 29153 B026 - White, Debbie B096 - Norris, Dennis C010 - Moore, Christopher C072 - White, Lonnie D003 - Workman, Felix E023 - Eaddy, Antoine F045 - Burroughs, Virgil OP03 - Maurer, Jacob 3785 Broad St, Sumter, SC 29154 0133 - Major, April 0234 - Hopkins, Vanessa 0249 - Williams, Lorenzo 0339 - Thames, Rochelle 0341 - Starks, Katrena 0621 - Mickens, London 0831 - Hendrix, Linzer 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.

Legal Service

RENTALS Notice Of Application

Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO Lantana Apartments 861 Carolina Ave. #40 Sumter, SC 29150 803-773-2518 We are now taking applications for our 1,2,3, and 4 bedroom apartments. Security deposits are $200.00 for all units, we also accept housing vouches. Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:30am-5:30pm

Unfurnished Homes 3BR/2BA, double car garage, 5 minutes from Shaw and Sumter. $1000 a month. Call 803-499-4207 or 803-840-7633 Large 3BR/2BA, C/H/A, carport, completely renovated, very big yard, in Sumter. $750 Call 803-607-6319 or 803-757-0083

Business Rentals Restaurant space available in downtown Mayesville. $400 monthly.

Contact 803 463 3647 Deloris.

REAL ESTATE Land & Lots for Sale 1 acre Mobile Home Lot 5235 E Scenic Lake Lot # 8 $5200 Water & Sewer Avail.

Call Burch 803-720-4129

Notice is hereby given that CRS Investment LLC DBA Yummy 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 at 2561 Broad Street, Sumter, SC 29150. To object to the issuance of this permit / license, written protest must be postmarked no later than April 6, 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.

Notice Of Application Notice is hereby given that Sylvester Wells dba The Juke 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 at 27 North Main Street East, Mayesville, SC 29104. To object to the issuance of this permit / license, written protest must be postmarked no later than April 6, 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.

8 acres with pond, near Elliott.

Owner financing. Call 803-427-3888

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Plaintiff, vs.

Kameran-James K. Fernandez, Defendant.

TO THE DEFENDANT ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer upon the undersigned at their office, Post Office Box 2599, Lexington, South Carolina 29071, within thirty (30) days after service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, or otherwise appear and defend, the Plaintiff in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded therein, and judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the original Complaint in the above entitled action was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on December 22, 2014.

SHERPY & JONES, P.A. Sabrina E. Burgess Attorneys for Plaintiff Lexington, South Carolina

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF FILING OF COMPLAINT AND NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION (NON-JURY MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE) C/A NO: 2016-CP-43-01021 DEFICIENCY WAIVED STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER

Beer & Wine License

Unfurnished Apartments

SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF FILING COMPLAINT

Grow Financial Union,

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.

Estate Notice Sumter County

Summons & Notice

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL ACTION NO. 2014-CP-43-2731

Legal Notice

General Maintenance for Apt. Complex. Will train qualified applicant. Email resume to: nbonnoitt@ powersproperties.com or fax 843-667-6937 or apply in person at 595 Ashton Mill Dr

Summons & Notice

11:30 a.m. the day before for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday edition.

11:30 a.m. Friday for Sunday’s edition.

The Bank of New Mellon Trust Company, N.A. F/K/A The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as Successor-in-Interest to JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Trustee-SURF 2004-BC4 , PLAINTIFF, vs.

Earnest Miller; Jane M. Moore; Harris Quick Release; 1st Franklin Financial DEFENDANT(S) TO THE DEFENDANTS, ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint herein, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, or otherwise appear and defend, and to serve a copy of your Answer to said Complaint upon the subscriber at his office, Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 8237, Columbia, SC 29202, within thirty (30) days after service hereof, except as to the United States of America, which shall have sixty (60) days, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, or otherwise appear and defend, the Plaintiff in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded therein, and judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

YOU WILL ALSO TAKE NOTICE that should you fail to Answer the foregoing Summons, the Plaintiff will move for an Order of Reference of this case to the Master in Equity for Sumter County, which Order shall, pursuant to Rule 53 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically provide that the said Master in Equity is authorized and empowered to enter a final judgment in this case with appeal only to the South Carolina Court of Appeals pursuant to Rule 203(d)(1) of the SCAR, effective June 1, 1999.

TO MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE, AND/OR TO MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) RESIDES, AND/OR TO PERSONS UNDER SOME LEGAL DISABILITY: YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED to apply for the appointment of a guardian ad litem within thirty (30) days after the service of this Summons and Notice upon you. If you fail to do so, application for such appointment will be made by the Plaintiff immediately and separately and such application will be deemed absolute and total in the absence of your application for such an appointment within thirty (30) days after the service of the Summons and Complaint upon you.

YOU WILL ALSO TAKE NOTICE that should you fail to Answer the foregoing Summons, the Plaintiff will move for an Order of Reference of this case to the Master in Equity in/for this County, which Order shall, pursuant to Rule 53 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically provide that the said Master in Equity is authorized and empowered to enter a final judgment in this case with appeal only to the South Carolina Court of Appeals pursuant to Rule 203(d)(1) of the

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES

SCAR, effective June 1, 1999.

NOTICE OF FILING OF SUMMONS AND AMENDED COMPLAINT TO THE NAMED:

DEFENDANTS

ABOVE

YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the foregoing Summons, along with the Complaint, was filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina, on May 25, 2016; that the Amended Complaint was filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina on January 19, 2017.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to the South Carolina Supreme Court Administrative Order 2011-05-02-01, (hereinafter "Order"), you may have a right to Foreclosure Intervention.

To be considered for any available Foreclosure Intervention, you may communicate with and otherwise deal with the Plaintiff through its law firm, Hutchens Law Firm, P.O. Box 8237, Columbia, SC 29202 or call 803-726-2700. Hutchens Law Firm, represents the Plaintiff in this action and does not represent you. Under our ethical rules, we are prohibited from giving you any legal advice.

You must submit any requests for Foreclosure Intervention consideration within 30 days from the date of this Notice.

IF YOU FAIL, REFUSE, OR VOLUNTARILY ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION, YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY/AGENT MAY PROCEED WITH A FORECLOSURE ACTION. If you have already pursued loss mitigation with the Plaintiff, this Notice does not guarantee the availability of loss mitigation options or further review of your qualifications.

THIS IS A COMMUNICATION FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. THE P U R P O S E O F T H I S COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE, except as stated below in the instance of bankruptcy protection.

IF YOU ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BANKRUPTCY COURT OR HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS A RESULT OF A BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN TO YOU PURSUANT TO STATUTORY REQUIREMENT AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT OR AS AN ACT TO COLLECT, ASSESS, OR RECOVER ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THE DEBT FROM YOU PERSONALLY

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:/Dorothy Miller #2017ES4300175 Personal Representative Michael L Miller 106 N Boundary Street Manning, SC 29102

Estate:/Waltki Williams #2017ES4300124 Personal Representative Tomekia Kind C/O William Brunson Attorney At Law PO Box 1507 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/Jack Gainey #2017ES4300162 Personal Representative Mark C. Gainey 2035 Winterberry Road Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/William M. Cockerill, Sr. #2017ES4300189 Personal Representative Janice C. Johnson PO Box 994 Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/Julian B Singleton #2017ES4300173 Personal Representative Esther Singleton 905 Lewis Road Sumter, SC 29154

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:/Vivian Nesbitt King #2017ES4300186 Personal Representative Blake Colon King 1372 Ridgewood Dr. Rock Hill, SC 29732

Estate:/Christine Moss #2017ES4300159 Personal Representative Herbert Moss, Jr. 1165 Pulpit Street Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Kevin Gerald Floyd #2017ES4300161 Personal Representative Ann Floyd 116 Lindley Avenue Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/William Michael Hine #2017ES4300188 Personal Representative John M. Hine PO Box 17095 Greenville, SC 29606

Estate:/Bonnie Ann Geddings #2017ES4300172 Personal Representative John Thomas Meena C/O W. T. Geddings, Jr. Attorney At Law 20 South Brooks Street Manning, SC 29102

Estate:/Johnny W. Lightsey #2017ES4300185 Personal Representative Alvin Lightsey 1311 Hinson St. Sumter, SC 29150

Estate:/Mattie Hurst #2017ES4300157 Personal Representative Donald R. Hurst 5670 Edgehill Road Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/Louise M. Butler #2017ES4300160 Personal Representative Barbara B. Frierson C/O J. Cabot Seth Attorney at Law PO Box 1268 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/Reatha B. Coard #2016ES4300684 Personal Representative Mary W. Blanding PO Box 51 Sumter, SC 29151

Estate:/James Washington, Sr. #2017ES4300168 Personal Representative Queen E. Washington 7360 Pasture Road Wedgefield, SC 29168

Estate:/Kenneth R. Campbell, Jr. #2017ES4300180 Personal Representative Kenneth R. Campbell, III 1535 Britton Rd. Sumter, SC 29153

Estate:/Ollie Mae Harvin #2017ES4300155 Personal Representative Alice H. Washington 379 Lincolnshire Dr. Georgetown, SC 29440

Estate:/Barbara W Kinney #2017ES4300177 Personal Representative Petrice K Rogers PO Box 1613 Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

Estate:/Lavonne W. Pittman #2017ES4300179 Personal Representative William L. Pittman 112 Scarlet Oak Way Lexington, SC 29072

Estate:/John Witherspoon #2017ES4300171 Personal Representative Ruth Ann Nichols 2320 Fontana Drive Sumter, SC 29154

Estate:/Elizabeth Wilder #2017ES4300191 Personal Representative Annie Brown 100 Fair Oaks Dr. Columbia, SC 29203

Estate:/Marie

A

AKA Etta Griffin #2017ES4300166

Personal Representative Jenny M. Salo 133 Silverstone Road Lexington,SC 29072

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Estate:/Beatrix Bailey Bagnal #2017ES4300194 Personal Representative Jeffery L. Reid, Jr. 911 Saltwood Road Sumter, SC 29154

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THE SUMTER ITEM ·

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

IN MONEY

IN LIFE

March car sales underwhelm

They’re back! The break is over for ‘Prison Break’

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C1

04.04.17 KEITH SRAKOCIC, AP

ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

Nine steps pave the ‘nuclear’ path Senate’s high-drama showdown over Gorsuch could end in a tedious twist of procedural rules Erin Kelly USA TODAY

How, exactly, does the Senate go “nuclear”?

If Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch doesn’t get 60 votes

WASHINGTON

this week — the showdown will probably be Thursday — to overcome a Democratic filibuster of his nomination, Republican leaders will likely move quickly to change Senate rules to confirm him without the need for a single Democratic vote.

The change is called the “nu-

clear option” because it blows up long-standing rules and bipartisanship in a chamber that has traditionally valued both.

It also is a complicated process that only a parliamentarian could love, the subject of two detailed 2013 reports by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, which helps members of Congress understand congressional procedures.

CRS based one of those re-

ALEX WONG, GETTY IMAGES

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, holds the key in the battle over Neil Gorsuch.

SUBWAY BLAST HAS RUSSIA ON ALERT

ports, from Dec. 6, 2013, on action by former majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who used the nuclear option that year to change Senate rules so lower-court judges and Cabinet nominees could be confirmed by a simple majority, scuttling a Republican filibuster.

That move by Reid basically laid out a procedural road map Republicans could now follow to get CONTINUES v STORYSTORY CONTINUES ON 2BON C2

Civilian deaths mount in Mosul airstrikes Many casualties have escaped world’s attention Igor Kossov Special for USA TODAY IRBIL , IRAQ

ANTON VAGANOV, EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Authorities scrambled to increase security across Russia after an explosion on a subway train in St. Petersburg on Monday killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens more. Another bomb at a busy station was defused.

President Vladimir Putin was visiting the city, Russia’s second-largest, at the time.

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.

Equal Pay Day provides rallying point for women

WOMEN PAID LESS Differences in pay between men and women: Men (100%)

USA SNAPSHOTS©

1st female mayor Argonia

130 years ago today,

Susanna M. Salter was elected as the USA’s first female mayor in Argonia, Kan. SOURCE The History Place MICHAEL B. SMITH AND JANET LOEHRKE, USA TODAY

Nicole Gaudiano USA TODAY

From rallies to “unhappy hours,” women across the country will spend Tuesday marking a day of observance many wish didn’t exist.

Equal Pay Day symbolizes the date when working women’s wages catch up to what men were paid the previous year. Women working full time in the USA were typically paid 80% of what men were paid in 2015, and the pay gap was

worse for women of color, according to a recent study.

Given the energy behind recent women’s marches, pay equity advocates expect strong participation in events and lobbying behind federal legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act, a 1963 law prohibiting wage disparity based on sex.

The Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill Rep. Rosa DeLauro, DConn., will reintroduce Tuesday for the 11th time, aims to strengthen an aggrieved worker’s position in court, prohibit

54%

63%

75%

Hispanic African White American

85%

Asian

SOURCE American Association

Pay equity advocates are concerned about legislative and executive efforts to roll back equal pay enforcement, the National Women’s Law Center’s STORY CONTINUES ON C2 Emily Martin says. v STORY CONTINUES ON 2B

As the battle to liberate west Mosul from the Islamic State intensifies, more civilians caught in the crossfire are dying in airstrikes that have escaped attention, according to residents who escaped.

An airstrike on a building March 17 that killed at least dozens and perhaps as many as 200 civilians provoked international outrage. Yet eyewitnesses to the destruction in Mosul told USA TODAY that many more strikes occur in the city with little publicity.

The U.S. military acknowledged that allegations of civilian casualties as a result of a U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State have increased significantly this year.

The U.S.-led coalition received 27 reports of incidents involving civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria in January, up from 12 in December, according to the most recent statistics.

Nineteen reported incidents were being assessed.

The massive strike March 17 led to the collapse of a building in Mosul, the Islamic State’s last major stronghold in Iraq.

Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend has said there is a “fair chance” that the U.S.-led coalition played a role in the strike, but he blamed the militant group for probably holding civilians hostage.

In an earlier strike, Khalid Jassim, 34, a former construc-

STORY CONTINUES ON C2 v STORY CONTINUES ON 2B

Chill out: Antarctic iceberg still hanging on Doyle Rice @usatodayweather USA TODAY

It’s the ice crack that’s captivating the world.

One of the world’s biggest icebergs ever is poised to break off from an Antarctic ice shelf, but scientists say it’s still hanging on by a 12-mile “thread.”

They also aren’t sure when the now 110-mile crack will finally break open the rest of the way, creating a massive iceberg larger

than Rhode Island. “It is particularly hard to predict when it will occur,” said Adrian Luckman of Project MIDAS, a British Antarctic research project that’s keeping watch on the ever-growing crack.

“I am quite surprised as to how long it is holding on!” he said in an email to USA TODAY. The crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf is more than 1,000 feet wide and has grown by 50 miles since 2011, according to the British Antarctic Survey. Once the crack goes all the way across, the iceberg will break off.

The largest icebergs known

have all broken off from ice shelves, the survey said.

Ice shelves are permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to a land mass, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Ice shelves also serve to hold back the ice behind them: When ice shelves collapse, the ice that had been trapped behind it plops into the ocean, where it then adds to sea-level rise.

Most of the world’s ice shelves hug the coast of Antarctica. The Larsen C shelf is on the Antarctic Peninsula, the portion of the continent that juts out toward South

NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

A close-up view of the crack, or rift, in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf, as seen on Nov. 10.

America. The Larsen ice shelf used to have three parts: A, B and C. Larsen A and Larsen B collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively. Now it’s Larsen C’s turn.

There is not enough information to know whether the shearing on Larsen C is an effect of climate change, although there is good scientific evidence that climate change has caused thinning of the ice shelf, according to Project Midas. In the past 50 years, the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced extraordinary warming of more than 4 degrees, the European Space Agency said.

C2

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TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

· THE SUMTER ITEM

Court nominee clears 1st hurdle

Activists expect big turnout CONTINUED FROM C11B v CONTINUED FROM

retaliation against workers and improve federal enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

“In the wake of the Women’s March and the incredible energy we are seeing around political activism by women in particular, we expect this Equal Pay Day to be a big day,” said Emily Martin with the National Women’s Law Center.

Advocates expect events in all 50 states, including rallies at statehouses, lobbying visits and even bake sales, in which men are charged $1 for baked goods and women are charged 80 cents.

Three hundred businesses in 25 cities will participate in the #20percentcounts campaign that offers 20% discounts or special offers to women and in some cases men.

“In the wake of the Women’s March and the incredible energy we are seeing around political activism by women in particular, we expect this Equal Pay Day to be a big day.”

Emily Martin with the National Women’s Law Center

Democrats can block Gorsuch unless GOP changes Senate rules Richard Wolf @richardjwolf USA TODAY

CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet Monday to debate and vote on Supreme Court candidate Neil Gorsuch’s nomination. A confirmation vote could come Thursday.

Delicate procedural dance would lead to a final vote v CONTINUED FROM 1B CONTINUED FROM C1

their way on Gorsuch.

The nuclear path appears to include nine steps senators would take before finally moving to an up-or-down vote to confirm Gorsuch as the new Supreme Court justice. Republicans could vary these steps a bit, but, based on what Reid did, here’s how the process could go:

“What’s fascinating is the kind of activity we’re seeing around Equal Pay Day this year — not just the creativity of it but frankly the enormity of it,” said Lisa 1. RECONSIDER Maatz with the American Associ- Immediately after Gorsuch fails to win the 60 votes needed to ation of University Women.

Part of the reason for the pay overcome a filibuster, Senate Magap may be a concentration of jority Leader Mitch McConnell, women in lower paying jobs or R-Ky., could make a motion for women working fewer hours, but the Senate to reconsider that experts point to discrimination failed vote (called a cloture vote).

His motion cannot be debated and bias as contributing factors.

President Trump’s daughter and would need only a simple Ivanka said she’s “very passion- majority of the votes cast to pass, ate” about wage equality and which is key because Republicans pledged during the presidential hold a slim majority of 52 seats. If campaign that her father would McConnell’s motion to reconsidfight for “equal pay for equal er passes, then ... work.” Trump’s own statements have been less clear. He has said 2. POINT OF ORDER he supports pay based on perfor- McConnell could raise a “point of mance, but he expressed con- order” basically declaring that it cerns in 2015 about equal pay will now take only a simple malegislation if “everybody ends up jority of senators (rather than making the same pay,” likening three-fifths of the body) to end such a result to “a socialist soci- a filibuster and advance Gorsuch’s nomination to a final upety.”

Pay equity advocates are con- or-down vote. cerned about legislative and executive efforts to roll back equal pay enforcement, Martin said.

Trump revoked President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order of 2014, designed to v CONTINUED FROM ensure the federal government CONTINUED FROM C11B considers a contractor’s record of labor and employment violations, tion worker, said he was in his house March 11 when he heard including pay discrimination.

Equal pay legislation has been Islamic State fighters enter an adintroduced in 40 states, the Dis- jacent house. Jassim hid his chiltrict of Columbia and Puerto Rico dren under blankets, expecting an attack. Ten minutes later, an airthis year. strike leveled both houses.

“We heard the sound of a plane Corrections & Clarifications and tried to escape,” Jassim said as he lay on a hospital bed in west USA TODAY is committed Irbil, 50 miles east of Mosul, near to accuracy. To reach us, contact Standards Editor his pregnant wife, Suheida, 19.

Brent Jones at 800-872“We were trapped under the rub7073 or e-mail accuble for one hour.” racy@usatoday.com.

Please indicate whether Most houses on Jassim’s block you’re responding to were destroyed by daily airstrikes content online or in the targeting Islamic State fighters. newspaper.

“Many people died as a result,” Jassim said.

Jassim said a friend’s house had 27 people inside when it was hit by an airstrike the week before the incident March 17. “No one survived, including my friend,” he said.

Zeyad Suleiman, 35, confirmed PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER John Zidich airstrikes happened daily in the same Jadida neighborhood where EDITOR IN CHIEF Joanne Lipman the strike occurred March 17 deCHIEF REVENUE OFFICER spite there being “very few” IsKevin Gentzel lamic State fighters there. He said his aunt, Shita Abaid Idris, 45, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Va. 22108, was injured by shrapnel from an 703-854-3400 Iraqi army rocket attack.

Published by Gannett Suleiman and several other ciThe local edition of USA TODAY is vilians estimated there were at published daily least 50 airstrikes since the offenin partnership with Gannett Newspapers sive by Iraqi forces reached their Advertising: All advertising published in neighborhood around March 11.

USA TODAY is subject to the current rate He said there were many rocket card; copies available from the attacks by soldiers. USA TODAY advertising department. USA TODAY may saw Iraqi forces launch unguided in its sole discretion edit, classify, reject or rockets in the direction of Islamic cancel at any time any advertising State positions. submitted.

Dhaha Mahmood, 10, who was National, Regional: 703-854-3400 treated for a sniper wound, said Reprint permission, copies of articles, her family took her to a neighglossy reprints: bor’s house to take cover after www.GannettReprints.com or call several Islamic State fighters 212-221-9595 used their roof. Later that day, USA TODAY is a member of The they headed back to their house Associated Press and subscribes to other when they saw an airstrike denews services. USA TODAY, its logo and associated graphics are registered stroy it. If it had struck a little lattrademarks. All rights reserved. er, it could have killed them, said

3. RULING OF THE CHAIR The Republican senator presiding over the session that day (and sitting in the big chair at the top of the dais) would rule against McConnell’s point of order because it contradicts current Senate rules. This is all part of a carefully choreographed procedural dance, so McConnell would be expecting this.

4. APPEAL THE RULING McConnell would then appeal that “ruling of the chair” and ask senators to vote to overrule it.

5. VOTE TO OVERRULE The Senate would vote on whether to overrule the chair. Once again, Republicans would need only a simple majority to win this vote. If the ruling is overturned, then ...

6. DEMOCRATIC POINT OF ORDER Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., could raise a point of order essentially declaring that the old rules should still be followed and 60 votes should still be required to end the filibuster on Gorsuch’s nomination.

7. RULING OF THE CHAIR II The presiding officer (who, remember, would be a Republican)

would surely Schumer.

rule

against

8. VOTE TO OVERRULE II Schumer could then appeal that ruling and ask for a vote, which he would undoubtedly lose. If the ruling of the chair was upheld, it would confirm the new rule requiring just a simple majority to advance Gorsuch’s nomination.

9. RE-VOTE CLOTURE (TO END FILIBUSTER) Finally, the Senate would vote on the cloture motion, which Republicans would be able to pass easily, ending the Democratic filibuster. That would clear the way for an up-or-down vote on Gorsuch.

A cloture vote forces an end to the filibuster but allows for an additional 30 hours of debate before the nomination can come to a final vote. That debate could send the vote to Friday or Saturday, depending on how many hours the senators use up with all of their procedural maneuvering.

The Senate is scheduled to begin a two-week recess on April 10, so McConnell probably would schedule a weekend vote to confirm Gorsuch if necessary before the chamber adjourns.

WASHINGTON Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch cleared his first hurdle at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday as Democrats attained the votes needed to block his confirmation on the floor, setting up a political brawl over the future of the high court that Republicans vowed to win.

The panel’s 11-9 vote along straight party lines sent Gorsuch’s nomination by President Trump to the Senate floor, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised a vote by Friday in order to seat the federal appeals court judge in time to hear cases later this month.

The initial vote came even as Democrats reached the 41-vote threshold required to prevent Gorsuch’s nomination from reaching the Senate floor under ordinary circumstances. But these are not ordinary circumstances; Republicans, after blocking President Barack Obama’s choice for the open seat last year, have threatened to eliminate Supreme Court filibusters by changing the Senate’s rules.

That means Gorsuch’s final confirmation isn’t really in doubt — but how it is achieved will have a profound impact on the court, the Senate and the 2018 elections.

“If we have to, we will change the rules, and it looks like we will have to,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.

The committee vote came just 62 days after Trump nominated the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge from Colorado — a vote McConnell denied Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, for 293 days last year. Republicans said Obama should not get to replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in an election year, prompting Democrats to complain that the seat was stolen.

Contributing: Eliza Collins

Mosul residents are running out of shelter Civil protection rescue teams work amid the debris of a destroyed house March 24 to recover the bodies of people killed during fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants on the western side of Mosul.

FELIPE DANA, AP

“There were 105 people in our house at one point.”

Foad Dawod, 21

Mahmood and her aunt, Nahla Ahmed, 45.

Mubasher Dannon, 37, came to the hospital here to tend to his brother, Ali, 50, who was injured in the airstrike March 17. Dannon said 21 of his friends and relatives were killed by a strike on a separate building March 16. He said he found four of their corpses.

Foad Dawod, 21, said he saw his neighbor’s house bombed because Islamic State fighters were on the roof. There were 28 civilians in the house. Dawod said he did not know how many of them were killed or injured.

Mosul residents said civilians are vulnerable to airstrikes in densely packed neighborhoods, where they have taken shelter.

Those who felt exposed moved into larger houses for better cover, according to Dawod and Nasheen Ahmeel, who lived in one of those neighborhoods.

“There were 105 people in our house at one point, but we moved some of them out to surrounding houses, and then there were 68,” Dawod said. “It stayed like this for more than a month.”

As more buildings are destroyed, people have fewer options for shelter, Jassim said. In some neighborhoods, more than half of the houses have partially collapsed, he said.

Suleiman said people are concentrating in areas close to Iraqi forces in hopes of being rescued sooner. “Many people were fleeing (the Islamic State), so they gathered in big houses in the part of the neighborhood where the military was coming,” he said.

All those interviewed denied Islamic State fighters forced them to gather in certain houses. They said the militants sometimes

fired from rooftops of houses they knew were densely packed either to avoid return fire or to bait Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition to strike. “(The Islamic State) chose strategic houses with the most civilians in them so that when they were destroyed, it would damage the reputation of Iraqi forces,” Dawod said.

Several residents said the airstrikes and rocket attacks didn’t show precautions against hitting civilians. “Before, they were extremely accurate. When they were trying to take out a sniper, only the sniper was hit. When they attacked a motorcycle weaving between cars, they only hit the motorcycle,” said Nashwan Ahmeel, who was recovering in the hospital from multiple shrapnel wounds.

People are losing faith in Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition, Suleiman said. “People don’t want liberation like that,” he said.

“People once trusted them, but now they don’t.”

THE SUMTER ITEM ·

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

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LIFE LIFELINE

Baldwin pulls back his own curtain

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? GOOD DAY ANTHONY ATAMANUIK Move over, Alec Baldwin: The new impersonator-in-chief is here. Comedy Central announced Monday that comedian Anthony Atamanuik will anchor ‘The President Show,’ which imagines what would happen if Trump hosted his own late-night show, broadcast live from the Oval Office. The program launches April 27.

Candid memoir ‘Nevertheless’ dishes

GAVIN BOND, COMEDY CENTRAL

BAD DAY MIKE EPPS After dancing onstage with a kangaroo during a concert Friday in Detroit, the comedian has two words for his critics: ‘I’m sorry.’ Epps issued an apology on Instagram late Sunday, clarifying that he doesn’t own the kangaroo and will donate to a foundation to help the animals.

‘Break’ in

ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

MAURY PHILLIPS, GETTY IMAGES, FOR BET

MILLER, PURCELL ARE WELL AND TRULY BACK

STYLE STAR Kim Kardashian said “I do” to a bridal look for the Fashion Los Angeles Awards on Sunday. The ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ star arrived on the red carpet in a sheer Givenchy gown that gave style watchers flashbacks to the dress she wore for her 2014 wedding to Kanye West. We imagine Kanye would call this a “God STEVE GRANITZ, WIREIMAGE dream.”

Carly Mallenbaum @thatgirlcarly USA TODAY

I

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY?

WIREIMAGE; GETTY IMAGES

Robert Downey Jr. is 52.

Jill Scott is 45. Jamie Lynn Spears is 26.

Compiled by Jaleesa M. Jones

USA SNAPSHOTS©

Flexible parents

76%

of Millennials say they’ve changed jobs or job roles to spend more time with their kids.

SOURCE Dignity Health survey of 1,050 parents SARA WISE AND VERONICA BRAVO, USA TODAY

This time around, Scofield (Miller) is figuring out how to escape a prison in Yemen.

LOS ANGELES

f you thought Prison Break protagonist Michael Scofield was killed off in the show’s 2009 finale, you’re not alone.

“In my mind, Michael was dead,” says star Wentworth Miller, who’s revisiting his jail-breaking genius character in the Prison Break reboot, eight years after the Fox series ended its four-year run. “That’s what was on the page, that’s what I played and that was my understanding: My character was six feet under.” In fact, Michael had earlier flat-lined on an operating table well before that ending. “We killed him twice, technically.”

No matter. After breaking his brother, his wife and himself out of prison, and presumably dying, the inked engineer (who has a new tattoo) is back for a special nine-episode return (Tuesday, 9 ET/PT). Also returning: his former death-row inmate brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell); his wife, Dr. Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), who’s since remarried; and other law-breaking favorites T-Bag Bagwell (Robert Knepper), C-Note Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar) and Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco).

Though there was a funeral and evidence that Michael had a terminal illness, “the last image of Michael (wasn’t) having his head blown off, (so that) sort of leaves the possibility that it was a frame,” says Purcell, who agreed to the reboot after he and Miller reconnected on CW’s The Flash, where Purcell plays supervillain Heat Wave alongside Miller’s Captain Cold. “Dramatic license, it’s called.”

The Fox show is obviously unafraid of artistic liberties, clearly pulling inspiration from Homer’s The Odyssey. The new Prison Break, like the Greek epic, has its star assuming the name Outis and coming back to life after leaving behind a wife and son. Where

PHOTOS BY DIDIER BAYEREL, FOX

do we find him? A Yemeni prison called Ogygia, the name of an island in The Odyssey. And it’s from there that our hero must break out, in yet another escape.

But a lot has happened in the years since Michael disappeared, and the actors have gone through their own professional changes.

Miller began the original Prison Break fresh from working as a Fox temp for six years, and auditioning in front of “executives I answered the phone for.” Since the show ended, he took a “semiretirement” from acting, became an advocate for mental health and LGBTQ issues, and returned to TV on Legends.

Since Prison Break’s 2009 exit, “it’s been up and down” for Purcell. “I was a bit bulletproof back in the day, and with that comes a relaxed air,” he says. Now, “I’m a lot more cautious, and I don’t believe what Hollywood says.”

But the stars say their offscreen relationship hasn’t wavered. “Somewhere in the course of playing Dominic’s pretend brother for 81 episodes, he became my brother,” Miller says.

Purcell agrees. “Wentworth and I don’t hang out socially, we’re not in each other’s faces, (but) our relationship has transcended a friendship. We love each other.”

Like brothers, Miller pokes fun at how Purcell “spritzes” himself with water before an emotional scene, and Purcell knows that Miller spends much of his trailer time eating peanut M&M’s and reading TheNew Yorker. Says Miller: “We’re as opposite as opposite gets, but somehow that works. It feels like that’s why it works.”

Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) are back in a reboot of Prison Break.

Alec Baldwin knows which episodes in his life haunt his image.

The voicemail he left for daughter Ireland.

BOOK The ugly aftermath REVIEW with ex-wife Kim ANDREA Basinger. The scufMANDELL fles with paparazzi.

But in Nevertheless (Harper, 272 pp., eeeE out of four stars), the actor’s new memoir, Baldwin, 59, tells his life story with the kind of hindsight clearly gleaned from years of therapy.

The memoir starts, as most do, with his rocky childhood, this one in Long Island. A scrawny kid called “Xander,” he grew up with his five siblings in a tense home where money was a constant headache for his father, a high school teacher, and his mother, a homemaker.

Some memoirs invite speedreading until the juicier “fame” chapters; but Baldwin, an eloquent writer, creates a vivid look at the boy who lost his distant father, whom he adored, too young; the burgeoning young TV star who abused cocaine and alcohol in his 20s, and the man who would gamble on movie fame over Broadway in the mid-’90s — and come to regret it.

Readers who come for showbiz dish will leave well-served.

Baldwin careens through his IMDb credits, talking frankly of his co-stars, from his favorite leading lady (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the actress everyone wanted (Michelle Pfeiffer).

The man who voices the Boss Baby animated flick is equally candid describing his career, charting its highs (The Hunt for Red October, 30 Rock) to various lows (including his loss of the Jack Ryan franchise to Harrison Ford, for whom he barely manages to conceal his contempt 25 years later).

“Ford, in person, is a little man, short, scrawny and wiry, whose soft voice sounds as if it’s coming from behind a door,” says Baldwin, writing caustically of their later run-in at a benefit in L.A. A section is rightly devoted to Tina Fey, on whom he developed an instant crush. “When I first met Tina Fey ... I had the same reaction that I’m sure many men and women have: I fell in love,” says the actor, who first met his 30 Rock boss while hosting Saturday Night Live.

Too bad she was married.

But of course, it’s Baldwin’s personal travails many will come for, rather than the somewhat indulgent political handwringing to be found at the memoir’s close (will he or won’t he ever run?).

Baldwin holds little back detailing his relationship with Basinger, alternately giving her kudos in their early days and seething over her actions in their custody battles. Indeed, he offers an intimate look into the dissolution of their relationship. It’s remarkably raw, human and relatable.

As for his indelible rise as Saturday Night Live’s Trump impersonator? Baldwin spills little ink on the matter, but refers to the administration as “this god-awful nightmare.”

And his life with his current wife, Hilaria? Baldwin, who met her when he was 53 to her 27, says she buoyed his belief system — and calls him out on his own ego. “Hilaria once said to me, as a means of underscoring some forgetfulness on my part, ‘When I’m not with you, I still exist,’ ” he reveals.

Think you know Baldwin?

You may still want to pick up his book.

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COMICS

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 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

Grandparents’ pink grad gift comes out of the blue DEAR ABBY — My daughter is graduating from high school in May. She has been accepted to a prestigious univerDear Abby sity, entirely due to her ABIGAIL own hard VAN BUREN work and dedication.

My father-in-law recently informed us that his new wife had selected our daughter’s graduation present, and they are excited to give it to her.

They chose a pink luggage set.

My husband and I are mystified about why they decided this would be the perfect gift for our daughter. We know she will be embarrassed — but gracious — if she receives

JUMBLE THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

this gift in front of family and friends on graduation day. We would like to spare her the awkwardness and having to return an inappropriate gift.

Abby, would it be rude of us to strongly encourage them to rethink their gift? How do we broach the subject so we don’t cause hurt feelings or a rift? We are grateful for their generosity, but we know the gift won’t suit our grad.

Mystified mother DEAR MOTHER — I do not advise your becoming involved with this. Warn your daughter in advance what the gift will be so she isn’t caught flat-footed on graduation day. If she chooses to exchange the luggage for something she feels will be more appropriate, she should do so. Luggage that stands out like a sore thumb

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

may be easier to spot on an airport carousel, but it can also be more vulnerable to theft than something that blends in.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Good advice for everyone — teens to seniors — is in “The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It.” To order, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

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

By Agnes Davidson and C.C. Burnikel

ACROSS 1 Complain and complain 5 Frolic in the field 9 Searched for shells in the shallows 14 Where to find Java 15 Governor Kasich’s state 16 Be a ham 17 Verizon invoice, e.g.

19 Way to get there 20 Saint at a gate 21 Melt frost from, as a windshield 23 Self-serve salad site 24 Old World Style sauce brand 26 The “c” in a+b=c 28 Govt. agency that lends to start-ups 30 Second wife of Henry VIII 34 “It’s __-brainer!”

35 Humerus neighbor 36 “__, black sheep ...”

37 Pierced ear parts 39 Gives approval to 41 Horse’s harrumph 42 Consider carefully

44 Coup d’__ 46 Opposite of SSW 47 Country divider that allows unrestricted travel 49 Free app annoyances 50 __ Manor: “Batman” mansion 51 Mani go-with 53 Sound of disdain 55 Tot’s reply to a taunt 57 Shady retreat 61 Appliance maker 63 Sensitive elbow area, and a literal hint to the circled letters 65 Flat hat 66 Spring blossom 67 Moniker 68 Perfumer Lauder 69 Pinup Hayworth 70 Raised, as cattle DOWN 1 “Li’l Abner” creator Al 2 Arthur with three Grand Slam singles titles 3 Civil mayhem 4 Bakery-café bread company 5 Steal from

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6 “Hmm, gotta think about that ...”

7 Eight furlongs 8 Well-mannered 9 “Mom’s gonna kill us!”

10 Latin “I love” 11 Molecular link with two pairs of electrons shared by two atoms 12 Sundance’s sweetie 13 Bambi, for one 18 Hurler’s stat 22 __ salad 25 Guy’s partner 27 Actor Alda 28 Nosy one 29 “Button-Down Mind” comedian 31 Not wearing a thing 32 Tall tales 33 “Big” comics kid

34 Dog food brand 35 Milk-souring warning number 38 Novelist Ferber 40 “Hit the gas!”

43 Rice-A-__ 45 “__ we alone?”

48 Colorful timber tree 49 Online rent-aroom option 52 Week segment 53 Yankee Ruth 54 Iowa college town 56 TomKat’s daughter 58 Wild hog 59 “I’ll pick up the tab” 60 Oboe or bassoon 62 Marriage announcement word 64 CIA cousin

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

4/4/17