December 4, 2016

Page 1

PANORAMA

Jingle with the Arts turns 21 Celebrate Christmas with Civic Dance Company A5 SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

$1.50

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2016

INSIDE:

Plan your holidays with list of area events

A8

150 jobs coming to Bishopville Health care linen, laundry processing facility to open in early 2017 FROM STAFF REPORTS A provider of linen and laundry processing exclusively for health care organizations plans to open a 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art laundry facility in Bishopville and bring 150 jobs to the area, according to information released from Lee County on Friday.

The company, Crown Health Care Laundry Services, plans to host job fairs in Bishopville and Sumter to initially fill 80 positions ranging from $10 per hour to $45,000 per year. The company is expected to open the Bishopville facility in early 2017 as a $12 million investment and plans to expand to 150 jobs within

Cycles for Christmas gears up for 20th year

three years. To fill the initial and long-term hiring needs of the company, job fairs are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 13, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Bishopville High School Gymnasium, 121 E. College St. in Bishopville, and Wednesday, Dec. 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sumter County Civic Center, 700 W. Liberty St.

Crown Health Care Laundry Services seeks employees for positions including front-line laundry, averaging $10 per hour; class A commercial driver’s license drivers, $13 to $16 per hour; maintenance mechanics, $16 to $23 per hour; and production supervisors, $35,000 to $45,000 per

SEE JOBS, PAGE A9

Lights, music — it’s Christmas!

Evening Optimist Club has given away 3,300 bikes in 19 years of project BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Evening Optimist Club of Sumter’s Cycles for Christmas project is in full swing with donations and repairs for its 20th year of donating new and used bikes to underprivileged children later this month. Club member Tom Lawrence said Evening Optimist Club of Sumter has successfully provided more then 3,300 “like-new” bicycles to needy children since the project started 19 years ago. Each Christmas season, members of Evening Optimist Club of Sumter, along with volunteers, refurbish used bicycles donated by people in the community. “We have plans to give away over 200 bicycles this year,” he said. Bicycles and tricycles, new or used, can be delivered to any Sumter area fire station for the project. Lawrence said bikes are collected all year, with a greater push for donations in November and December. He said the children who will receive the bikes are selected based on applications provided by Sumter School District. Lawrence said the Evening Optimist Club receives applications from teachers, guidance counselors and others in the school system who understand the needs of the children. He said most of the repair and cleanup work for Cycles for Christmas is done in November and December, leading up to the giveaway.

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

John Smigelski stands with his lighting display on Gerald Street. The display syncs to an audio soundtrack and is dedicated to firefighters, police, sheriffs, EMS and their support crews. The display will be on from 5 to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1.

Gerald Street display dedicated to 1st responders BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

SEE BIKES, PAGE A9 John Smigelski loves music — and all the trappings that go with a performance. As a musician with the Bubba Band, he traveled for years playing at clubs and festivals. Once the group disbanded, he found another way to

indulge his taste for music. Two years ago, Smigelski decided to install a light display synchronized to music in his front yard. “I did it to sort of revitalize the neighborhood,” he said. Smigelski lives on Gerald Street, just off North Lafayette Drive. “I started out messing around

with an off-the-shelf, residential grade unit out of New York,” he said. “Then I started doing a little tweaking. I built onto it and will add on next year.” He soon added onto the “canned music” and bought more flexible equipment so he can modify the

SEE DISPLAY, PAGE A9

Enjoy annual display on Mockingbird Lane BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com PHOTO PROVIDED

Members of University of South Carolina Sumter’s Fire Ant baseball team and Palmetto Optimist Club sit on the bicycles they cleaned and repaired on Nov. 19 for the Evening Optimist Club of Sumter’s 20th Cycles for Christmas project. The goal of the project is to deliver bikes to underprivileged children.

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This holiday season families can continue to enjoy a local tradition of about 30 years by viewing Charles DuBose’s Christmas lights on Mockingbird Lane. DuBose said it takes about three months to set up the light

DEATHS, A13 Patricia Ann Hicks Victoria B. Regensburg James K. McNair Henry Toney Hannah J. Ballard

Deloris S. Jones Betty Jean Lee O’Neal Kenley Darlene S. Brunson Ray Jackson James Anthony

display each year. He said he and a few family members and friends start putting up the lights, spread across about 8 acres, in September and have everything finished by the end of November. When asked how many decorations he has on his property, DuBose said he doesn’t know.

He said two fan-favorite decorations are a nativity scene made of wood and a winter scene of Jesus looking over a church. DuBose said his favorite decoration is one that he no longer puts on display.

SEE LANE, PAGE A8

WEATHER, A14

INSIDE

COOLER AND RAINY

4 SECTIONS, 32 PAGES VOL. 122, NO. 37

Chilly today with strong chance of rain at times; tonight, more rain. HIGH 51, LOW 44

Classifieds C6 Comics D1 Opinion A12 Outdoors C5

Panorama A5 Reflections D3 Stocks C3 USA Today C1


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