December 14, 2016

IN SPORTS: Clemson starts preparations for Fiesta Bowl date with Ohio State B1 PANORAMA

Authors present children’s books at Elephant Ear C1 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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Sumter School District flunks audit Ended 2015-16 fiscal year $6M in the red

BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com Sumter School District went more than $6.2 million over budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to the official audit that was presented to Sumter School Board of Trustees on Monday night at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting at Bates Middle

School.

Certified Public Accountant Robin Poston, of Harper, Poston & Moree, presented the audit to the board.

The district was roughly $1.1 million in the hole for budgeted instructional expenditures and $4.7 million in the red for budgeted support services expenses for the fiscal year. Instructional expenditures are directly re-

lated to classroom instruction. Support services include operations and maintenance, student transportation and general administration, among others.

“It basically boils down to looking at every line item expenditure and determining whether we really need to do this or not,” Poston said

SEE RED, PAGE A13

Finance official lacking

BY BRUCE MILLS bruce@theitem.com In her official audit report to Sumter School District Board of Trustees on Monday night, Certified Public Accountant Robin Poston expressed her concern that the district lacks a finance official who specifically just manages the overall big picture of the dis-

trict’s $120 million budget.

“The finance department is fewer people than in BAKER the past,” Poston said. “... you don’t have a person whose designated role is

SEE OFFICIAL, PAGE A13

Unexpected Steppers perform at Patriot Hall

RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM

Members of the Unexpected Steppers perform a routine during the Performing Arts For The Holidays event Monday night at Patriot Hall. The event included everything from soloists to poetry readings, chorus groups and dance routines.

Council approves 2nd reading of agreement with candy company

BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com During its final regular meeting of the year, Sumter County Council approved second reading of the ordinance authorizing a special revenue agreement between the county and Mount Franklin Foods South Carolina LLC. Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon said officials with the county and Mount Franklin Foods have discussed the details of the agreement and are finalizing the document.

According to a draft of the agreement, Mount Franklin Foods will make payments in lieu of taxes for locating its project in the county, and the county will include the project site within Sumter-Clarendon

Park. The county will also agree to maintain the company’s project site and property.

A timeline and financial figures for the agreement were not specified in the draft.

Later, county council agreed to extend the moratorium on third reading to amend the county zoning and development ordinance concerning solar energy systems until the end of February.

The amendment would make solar farms conditional uses in light industrial-warehouse, heavy industrial, agricultural conservation, conservation preservation and agricultural conservation-10 districts.

Council voted for a moratorium on the issue during its previous meeting while waiting to receive feedback from

Shaw Air Force Base regarding flights and glares from solar panels.

Mixon said Shaw is still reviewing a few aspects of the amendment but is very close to completing its response.

He said extending the moratorium will cause less conflict with holiday schedules, but council could continue its discussion of the issue sooner if Shaw provides a response before the end of February.

Mixon said the moratorium will not affect the Black River Cooperative solar energy system project planned to be located on Jefferson Road but will put a hold on new applications for solar farms.

In other news, county council approved:

SEE COUNTY, PAGE A3

CHURCH SHOOTING TRIAL

Roof attorneys now say they will call witnesses CHARLESTON (AP) — Attorneys for the man accused of slaying nine black people during a Bible study at a South Carolina church said Tuesday they planned to call witnesses to testify in his defense after all.

Last week, David Bruck had said he didn’t plan to ROOF put up much of a defense of Dylann Roof, saying the facts of the case are largely undisputed. But before jurors returned to court Tuesday, Bruck told U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel he planned to call

“several” witnesses. He did not specify who.

Roof, who is white, faces 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion. Roof’s attorneys have said repeatedly in both federal and state court that their 22-yearold client is willing to plead guilty if capital punishment is taken off the table, a request prosecutors have refused. Roof faces another death penalty trial next year in state court.

Jurors have heard five days of testimony from prosecutors’ witnesses, including law enforcement agents, forensic examiners

SEE TRIAL, PAGE A13

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

LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

96-year-old man identified in fatal 2-vehicle crash Clarendon County Deputy Coroner Bucky Mock identified the man who died in the two-vehicle collision on U.S. 378 near Turbeville on Monday as 96-year-old Paul Beckett of Lake City.

South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Matt Southern said the collision happened at 3:05 p.m. in Clarendon County when Beckett, who was drivng a 1998 Buick, failed to yield to the right of way while attempting to cross U.S. 378 from Central Road and was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Beckett was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained fatal injuries at the scene, Southern said.

The driver of the tractortrailer, a Gresham-area man, was wearing a seatbelt and did not sustain any injuries, he said.

Christmas dinner for those in need set for Sunday Having provided Thanksgiving dinner for more than 1,000 people, Geraldine Singleton will again serve a holiday dinner to those who need one this Sunday.

The Christmas dinner begins at noon at the South Sumter Gym on the corner of South Sumter Street and Atlantic Avenue and will continue until all guests are fed, she said.

The menu includes chicken, ham, barbecue and turkey, along with side dishes of rice and gravy, vegetables, cake and beverages.

Singleton said there will be live Christmas music and a blessing from the Rev. Joshua Dupree. Volunteers for the dinner are encouraged, she said, as are food donations. For more information, call Singleton at (803) 775-2047.

Open invite to Brick Church Christmas

BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com For its 257th Christmas service, the congregation of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church will open its doors to the public Sunday. The 3 p.m. service, traditionally held at the historic church on the Sunday before Christmas, will comprise readings from scripture alternating with carols in a program of Lessons and Carols.

Choir director and organist William Scobee said the annual service began several years ago when he was asked to have “some special music appropriate to the season. We had young people associated with the church — grandchildren especially — to sing a solo or do a reading.”

The church, also known as Brick Church, has a small mature membership now, Scobee said, with few vocalists available to sing. He is also choir director at St. James Lutheran Church, where he said, “I have a small but dedicated choir ... that works hard weekly to produce beautiful music for our services.”

As the choir has worked very hard on its Advent and Christmas anthems, which would normally be heard only once, Scobee said he thought “Why not share them with another congregation?

The choir eagerly accepted the proposition,” as did the Salem Black River Presbyterian Church membership.

“Christmas at Brick Church” combines the service of Lessons and Carols with the church’s regular worship service.

Choir music will include Camille Saint-Saens’ “Praise Ye the Lord of Hosts,” Joseph Martin’s “A Joyful Magnificat,” Kenneth Dake’s “Prepare the Way, O Zion” and several more. The congregation will join the

PHOTO PROVIDED

The historic Salem Black River Presbyterian Church has been celebrating Christmas with a special service for 256 years. It will present a service of lessons and carols this Sunday. The present structure, shown here, is also known as Brick Church. The congregation invites the public to its special 3 p.m. service and a reception following. choir in singing the carols “Angels from the Realm of Glory,” “The First Noel” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

Scobee said Sunday’s service offers not just a chance to celebrate Christmas with inspiring music and scriptural readings, but also the opportunity to worship in one of the area’s most historic churches, which he said has “wonderful acoustics.”

Brenda Remmes Bevan, a longtime member of Brick Church provided a brief history: “This historic building located on (S.C.) 527 just two miles north of (U.S.) 378 stands as a reminder of the first Scottish-Irish settlers who came to the area in the 1750s and named their community Salem. At the center they built a log structure they called Salem Black

River Meeting House. The term ‘meeting house’ continued to exist until the break with the Anglican Church in 1768 allowed the word ‘church’ to redefine the building. The present structure was erected of brick in 1846, and henceforth the church became known to many as Brick Church.”

Scobee added, “Set in the historic church, bringing these carols and hearing these anthems cannot but lift hearts to the meaning of this season.”

George G. Wilkes III, minister of Manning Presbyterian Church, will conduct the 3 p.m. service to which the public is invited. A reception will follow.

Pastor of St. James Lutheran Church, 1137 Alice Drive, is the Rev. Keith Getz.

Sumter High Student Government’s gift of giving Members of Sumter High School Student Government Association hold onto toys they collected during the past month to donate to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree drive last Friday afternoon. The students collected 90 toys.

Genealogical Society meets for ‘Show and Tell’ Sumter County Genealogical Society will meet at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday at Swan Lake Presbyterian Church, 912 Haynsworth St. There will be no guest speaker, according to program chairman Johnny Raffield.

“It has long been the tradition for this last meeting of the year to informally ask members and guests to share interesting tidbits from their genealogical research or to provide helpful hints that have been beneficial to them while on such quests,” he said. “It will be a time of ‘Show and Tell.’”

In addition, Raffield said members of the board of directors will be installed, and there will be a Christmas party.

For more information, call (803) 774-3901.

Lou-Von foundation collecting coats for kids Lou-Von Family Foundation is collecting coats that will be given out to students at Willow Drive Elementary School on Friday.

Coats must be brand new and can be dropped off at Universal Benefits Inc., 110 E. Liberty St., between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. today and Thursday.

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Parents charged with neglecting their 7-month-old son FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County Sheriff’s Office arrested two young adults on Monday after their 7-month-old son was taken to Palmetto Health Tuomey with an injury to his arm, indicating abuse.

Madison Campbell Davis, 19, of 2845

Short Leaf St., and William Michael Bachelor, 20, of 4428 Dorsey Drive, Lot 33, are both charged with unlawful neglect of a child for allegedly placing their child at unreasonable risk on Dec. 5 while in the 2800 block of Short Leaf St. According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, medical professionals

diagnosed the child’s injury as spiral humerus fracture caused by the child’s DAVIS BACHELOR arm being twisted to the point of injury.

HOW TO REACH US IS YOUR PAPER MISSING? ARE YOU GOING ON VACATION? 36 W. Liberty St., Sumter, S.C. 29150 (803) 774-1200 Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher / Advertising jack@theitem.com (803) 774-1238 Michele Barr Rick Carpenter Business Manager Managing Editor michele@theitem.com rick@theitem.com (803) 774-1249 (803) 774-1201 Gail Mathis Jeff West Clarendon Bureau Manager Customer Service Manager gail@theitem-clarendonsun.com jeff@theitem.com (803) 435-4716 (803) 774-1259

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LOCAL

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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Farmers wrap up season, look forward to next year Good crop made up for hurricane-related losses

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Area farmers are wrapping up the year and looking forward to next year said Associate Clemson Extension Agent David DeWitt on Monday.

“Most all the crops have been harvested in our area, we have had a pretty good year all around, though we did lose some cotton to Hurricane Matthew,” he said.

Francis Gibson, who farms with her husband Hezekiah near Pinewood, said they are trying to get the last few crops out of the fields.

“I’ve noticed a lot of cotton and peanuts still out there,” she said.

DeWitt said in this area, cotton farmers were most affected by Hurricane Matthew, which hit in early October.

“We probably lost a couple of hundred pounds (per acre) from the winds on defoliated cotton,” he said.

He explained that when the cotton is ready to pick, the cotton bolls open up and the lint is left hanging in the open.

“When we had those strong, heavy winds and rain, a lot of it fell on the ground, and we lost it that way,” DeWitt said.

Fortunately for the Sumter, Lee and Clarendon areas, they at least started out with very good crops, he said.

“We were probably going to pick two bales of cotton, (per acre) — 1,000 pounds or more — and we picked about 800 pounds.,” DeWitt said.

In other areas, such as northwest of Dalzell and across the lakes in Orangeburg County, they didn’t have as good a crop, but they didn’t lose as much to the hurricane either, he said.

DeWitt expects those areas are going to average about 500 pounds of cotton per acre.

“We are better off than them, because we made the crop,” DeWitt said.

“But, coming off last year, with no income, we needed a home run of a year.”

DeWitt said with current prices, it takes about 650 pounds to break even on cotton.

Gin owners are also faring better than last year, DeWitt said.

“The gins get paid by however many pounds they gin,” he said.

The storm damage hurt the gins as well as the farmers by having a few less pounds to gin.

“They were able to operate at mostly full-crop capacity,” DeWitt said.

“They will have made up some of their losses.”

Most gins are still busy ginning cotton, he said, with many farmers just having bailed cotton in the past few weeks.

“The cotton is bailed up in the fields waiting on the gins to get it all processed,” he said. “They will be ginning on into February most likely.”

DeWitt said the local soybean crop did very well.

“In our area, we had a really good soybean crop,” he said. “Overall, as far as yields, they weren’t affected by Matthew very much at all,” he said.

Peanuts did pretty well also, DeWitt said.

“Overall, it wasn’t the perfect year we needed coming out of last year,” he said, “but it was a step in the right direction.”

Gibson said they may not know how well their farm did until early next year.

“We won’t know until everything

gets in,” she said.

DeWitt said almost all farmers carried over some unpaid bills from last year.

“Now they are figuring out if they are better off than last year, and good enough to keep continuing on,” he said.

Commodity prices are still low, Dewitt sad, and a lot of people will be sitting on their corn and soybeans hoping there is a little rally in crop prices.

“It’s money in the bins, but it is really not cash yet,” he said. “They’ll work with the banks and see what they want to do.”

DeWitt said cotton is mostly sold through a co-op which pays a certain amount when it’s ginned and then they market it throughout the year trying to get the best price.

More wheat was planted than last year, he said, because it was too wet to plant last year.

“There just isn’t any money in wheat this year with commodity prices so low,” he said.

Gibson said farmers are always optimistic.

“Everybody is looking forward to things being better than the last two years,” she said.

S.C. Supreme Court asked to settle Lt. Gov. vacancy dispute COLUMBIA (AP) — A South Carolina senator wants the state Supreme Court to rule on whether Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster could pick his replacement if Gov. Nikki Haley becomes President-elect Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador.

Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, asked the state’s high court Monday to settle a discrepancy on whether a constitutional amendment changing the lines of succes-

MORE ONLINE Read the full story at theitem.com.

sion is in effect. If it is, Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman could easily keep his powerful leadership post, as the Senate’s leader would not be called on to fill the largely ceremonial position.

Regardless, Leatherman has refused to become lieutenant governor. His office

COUNTY FROM PAGE A1 • Final reading of a request to amend portions of the county zoning and development standards ordinance to allow off-premise signs in all zoning districts. Sumter City-

had no immediate comment Monday.

Both a 2012 law that approved asking voters about the changes and the opening clause of the ballot question itself specified they were to begin “with the general election of 2018.” But a law the Legislature passed in 2014 to ratify voters’ approval created separate start dates for the various changes. While it changed the constitution to say candidates for governor and lieutenant

County Planning Department Director George McGregor said the only change since second reading is that businesses are only allowed two offpremise signs throughout the entire county instead of the original proposal of four signs; • Final reading of a request to

governor will run on the same ticket beginning in 2018, it allowed a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office to immediately be filled by the governor.

Davis argues that disregards both the 2012 law and voters’ intentions.

“This goes to the very heart of constitutional governance,” Davis writes in asking the justices to directly take the case. “The people clearly intended” for the changes to take effect

rezone 3.35 acres at 2785 U.S. 15 South from agricultural conservation to general commercial for an unspecified commercial development; and • Final reading of an ordinance to include Bethune Nonwovens Inc. in Bethune in the industrial/

after the November 2018 election.

He wants the high court to rule quickly.

The lieutenant governor’s job will become open if the U.S. Senate confirms Trump’s selection of Haley for U.N. ambassador, since McMaster would ascend to the governor’s office. If McMaster can appoint his successor, Leatherman won’t have to do anything to remain South Carolina’s most powerful politician.

business park jointly owned and operated by Sumter and Kershaw counties.

Also, county administrator Mixon said council could most likely expect an audit report from Webster Rogers LLP, an external audit team, in January.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

2 named Liberty Fellows FROM STAFF REPORTS Michelle Logan-Owens, chief operating officer at Palmetto Health Tuomey, and State Sen. Thomas McElveen have been named 2018 Fellows to the Liberty Fellowship, a statewide leadership initiative founded by Anna Kate and Hayne Hipp, Wofford College and The Aspen Institute.

Constantly pushing to do more and to be more, the 21 Fellows LOGAN-OWENS announced last week they have made a conspicuous mark on their communities, jobs and individual networks, according to a news release.

The Liberty Fellowship seminar experience will challenge them to broaden that influence through dialogue, listening and MCELVEEN learning to work with those of divergent perspectives for the good of South Carolina, the release stated.

“The Fellows in this class have a deep un-

derstanding of the challenges South Carolina faces and are not afraid to take the hard path to do the right thing,” said Hayne Hipp, who co-founded Liberty Fellowship with his wife, Anna Kate. “As a class and part of the broader framework of Liberty Fellowship, they will be catalysts for change in South Carolina.”

For the lifelong experience, Liberty Fellowship recruits diverse leaders and immerses them in five seminars in 18 months.

Through Socratic round-table discussions, Fellows reflect on what makes a just society, thereby deepening knowledge, broadening perspectives and enhancing their ability to tackle issues, the release states.

A highlight of the program, the Globalization Seminar, has Liberty Fellows interacting with Fellows from the Aspen Global Leadership Network in locations such as Jordan, India and China.

Other key components for each Fellow are being paired with a mentor and undertaking a leadership project aimed at enriching South Carolina, it stated.

THE SUMTER ITEM

And the winners are ...

PHOTO PROVIDED

Ethel Spann of Manning was one of three winners in a subscriber contest at The Sumter Item. Spann won a one-week vacation to Wolf Bay, Alabama. Trevor Ivey also won a trip, but his photo was not available.

Marine Corps: 3 Marines facing courts-martial in hazing probe COLUMBIA (AP) — The Marine Corps general dealing with accusations of rampant abuse and hazing of recruits at its Parris Island training facility announced Tuesday that he has recommended charges and special courts-martial for three Marines and a preliminary hearing for a fourth.

It is the first public legal step the Marine Corps has taken since the service disclosed in September that it was considering possible punishments for up to 20 Marine leaders at Parris Island. The decisions came amid three in-

vestigations into allegations of widespread abuse of recruits by drill instructors.

The investigations became public after the March 18 death of 20-year-old recruit Raheel Siddiqui, of Taylor, Michigan. A Marine Corps spokesman said the charges announced Tuesday were not related to the Siddiqui case, but involved two other investigations of suspected abuse at Parris Island.

In a statement late Tuesday, Maj. Gen. James Lukeman said all the Marines are presumed innocent until proven

guilty, and that the charges being referred were accusations only.

• Staff Sgt. Matthew Bacchus was charged with violating a lawful order, maltreatment and making a false official statement.

• Staff Sgt. Jose LucenaMartinez was charged with failure to obey a lawful order and making a false official statement.

• Sgt. Riley Gress was charged with failure to obey a lawful general order, cruelty and maltreatment and making a false official statement.

Shooting suspect faces more charges FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has delivered two more charges against Marcus Evans, already charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting another man in the hip while standing beside the road on U.S. 15 South on Friday.

According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, Evans, of EVANS 9624 Pebble Creek Blvd., Summerville, shot the victim during a fight and later left the area in a vehicle.

The victim underwent surgery for his injury, which was presumed not to be life-threatening.

He is recovering from his wound, the release states.

Evans was apprehended in Dorchester County on Friday and was transported to SumterLee Regional Detention Center on Monday where he remains.

He now faces additional charges of possession of a weapon during a violent crime and unlawful possession of a weapon for the shooting.

A magistrate judge denied bond for all charges against Evans.

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PHOTO PROVIDED

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Simmons won a week’s vacation to Wolf Bay, Alabama, during a subscriber contest at The Sumter Item.

4th man charged in slayings ORANGEBURG (AP) — Authorities have charged a fourth man with murder in the killings of four people at a rural South Carolina home nearly 18 months ago in a case the Orangeburg County sheriff calls one of the most frustrating of his career.

Luther Smith, 35, was arrested Monday. Three others were arrested in September in the killings that Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said happened during a July 15,

2015, burglary at a house in Holly Hill where someone was selling illegal drugs.

Even more arrests are possible in a case that Ravenell said has consumed thousands of hours from investigators and had dozens of dead ends and uncooperative people.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for 30 years. I haven’t seen anything like this,” Ravenell said at a news conference Tuesday.

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A6

|

WORLD

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

Putin tries dog diplomacy before Japan talks over islands MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin tried a bit of dog diplomacy ahead of his trip to Japan, and then gave a glimmer of hope that a 70-year territorial dispute with Tokyo could be resolved.

Japanese journalists met with Putin at the Kremlin, days before Putin heads to Tokyo. The interview began with the Russian leader showing off the Akita given to him

by Japan in 2012.

Putin fed the massive dog, called Yume, which was just a puppy when she came to Russia. Now, the canine is almost as big as Putin when she stands up on her hind legs to receive a treat from her master. The journalists appeared intimidated by the beast and told Putin afterward that they had been “scared.”

Putin then said that there was a “chance” to settle a dispute over the Kuril islands, a chain of volcanic islands that run between Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula and Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Moscow and Tokyo have never formally signed a treaty ending World War II because of a dispute over their ownership.

Putin told the Japanese journalists that it’s difficult for him to say how big the chance is “because it depends on factors including the flexibility of our partners,” according to an interview transcript published by the Kremlin on Tuesday.

There had been some expectation of a breakthrough on the issue during talks between Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan on Thursday and Friday, but

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Russian President Vladimir Putin plays with his Akita-inu dog, Yume, before his interview with Nippon Television Network Corporation and Yomiuri Shimbun ahead of his visit to Japan and meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. officials on both sides appear to be urging caution.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that a resolution to the issue would involve several rounds of “painstaking” negotiations.

Putin said Moscow could live with the status quo.

“We think that we have no territorial problems. It’s

Japan that thinks that it has a territorial problem with Russia,” he said.

As for Yume the dog, it looks like she may have to wait a bit longer for male companionship. A Japanese official said last week that his Russian counterparts had rejected the idea of presenting Putin with another dog during Putin’s forthcoming visit.

THE SUMTER ITEM

Syrian rebels say cease-fire reached to evacuate Aleppo BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels said Tuesday that they reached a cease-fire deal with Moscow to evacuate civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, after the U.N. and opposition activists reported possible mass killings by government forces closing in on the rebels’ last enclave.

There was no immediate comment from Damascus or Moscow on the agreement, which would effectively cede the remainder of Syria’s largest city to President Bashar Assad’s forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal adviser for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening and that the first batch will begin evacuating within hours.

Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, confirmed the cease-fire and said the goal is to evacuate civilians and rebels from besieged areas.

It was not immediately clear whether the hostilities had ceased in Aleppo.

The opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling was continuing.

World leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents earlier Tuesday, and the U.N. human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians “on the spot” as they closed in on remain-

ing rebel districts.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforce fears of atrocities in eastern Aleppo in the final hours of the battle for the city, which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012.

Several residents and opposition activists have told The Associated Press that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in the streets in neighborhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military flatly denied the claims, saying such allegations were “a desperate attempt” to try to gain international sympathy.

None of the residents reached by AP witnessed the alleged killings, and their accounts reflected the deepening chaos. Mohammed Abu Rajab, the administrator of the last remaining clinic in rebelheld parts of the city, said people who were killed or wounded are being left in the streets.

Aref al-Aref, a nurse and activist in eastern Aleppo, said civilians had taken cover in a medical center after its staff evacuated two days earlier. He said the army killed them, but pressed for details, said he only heard it from others.

Monther Etaky, a resident of eastern Aleppo, said he also heard reports of summary killings and knows of three families who were reportedly killed.

Islamic State turned Mosul into city of terror and darkness MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — She survived the first stone that struck her, then the second.

One of the Islamic State group’s fighters bent down and pressed his fingers to the side of her neck to check her pulse.

As her horrified neighbors watched, extremists threw a third stone at the young woman, who was accused of adultery. That one killed her.

It was, for those who witnessed it, the cruelest moment in Mosul’s descent into fear, hunger and isolation under 2½ years of IS rule. Before the militants’ takeover, Iraq’s second-largest city was arguably the most multicultural place in the country, with a Sunni Muslim Arab majority but also thriving communities of Kurds, Shiites, Christians and Yazidis. Together, they had created Mosul’s distinct identity, with its own cuisine, intellectual life and economy.

But the Islamic State group turned Mosul into a place of literal and spiritual darkness.

AP FILE PHOTO

Civilians with tractors distribute food to people fleeing Mosul as fighting rages nearby in the fight between Islamic State group militants and Iraqi forces in November.

It began with promises of order and of a religious utopia that appealed to some. But over time, the militants

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turned crueler, the economy crumbled under the weight of war and shortages set in. Those who resisted watched

neighbors who joined IS turn prosperous and vindictive. Parents feared for the brainwashing of their children. By the end, as Iraqi troops besieged Mosul, the militants hanged suspected spies from lampposts, and residents were cut off from the world.

The woman’s killing in Mosul’s Samah district shook to the core those in the crowd who were forced to watch.

Several witnesses described to The Associated Press how the woman and her alleged lover were paraded blindfolded through the streets. The militants summoned everyone they could find to watch. It was in August, after the militants had lost strongholds in other parts of Iraq and Syria, prompting them to heighten their repression.

“Still not dead,’” Samira Hamid recalled the militant pronouncing after he checked the woman’s pulse, before the lethal blow to her head. The man accused of being her lover was flogged 150 times and forced to go to Syria to fight in IS ranks.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

|

A7

Educators oppose rating schools with A through F grades COLUMBIA (AP) — South Carolina educators oppose the possibility of rating schools A through F on public report cards, saying the letter grades would label students and discourage economic development in communities that need it the most.

District superintendents, state Department of Education officials, and teachers’ representatives were among opponents speaking out at a subcommittee meeting Monday.

“Failing labels could have a negative impact on students, teachers and the community,” said Kathy Maness, director of Palmetto State Teachers Association. “Good teachers in F schools will leave. Those are the students who need those good teachers the most.”

State report cards have

rated schools “excellent,” “good,” “average,” “below average” or “at risk.”

The letter grades are under consideration as the state’s Education Oversight Committee attempts to craft a new single education accountability system that’s simple to understand and more informative. It will replace the dual — and

often contradictory — state and federal rating systems that have confused parents for years.

In its drafted proposal, the agency responsible for student testing notes that 17 states, including neighboring North Carolina and Georgia, have an A through F grading system because it is “widely under-

stood” by non-educators. The proposal calls for a single rating to sum up schools’ performance on various benchmarks, including testing achievement, graduation rates and student progress; report cards would also break down schools’ scores in each category.

The agency’s board is expected to vote next month on

recommendations to send the Legislature.

Opponents contend the letter grades are actually subject to interpretation.

“Grades mean something different depending on the values you have for letter grades,” said Sheila Quinn, a deputy superintendent for the Department of Education.

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A8

THE ITEM

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A10

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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A11

Preventing holiday fraud More spending, more donations, more travel and more distractions — there’s no time like the holidays for fraud.

Here are a few common types of holiday frauds and tips on how to avoid them:

WHEN SHOPPING Online shopping is convenient and popular — for shoppers and scammers alike.

The most common ways criminals can access your personal and financial information, according to U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which is part of Department of Homeland Security, are creating fraudulent sites and email messages, intercepting insecure transactions and targeting vulnerable computers.

Use the same good sense you would at other times. Restrict your purchases to reputable vendors, and be wary of lookalike websites, where the name of a well-known brand is slightly off. Don’t click on emails and links from unfamiliar senders, and make payments only on secure sites indicated by a lock symbol or “https” in the web address.

At the holidays, the impulse to snap up a great deal can be strong. A common complaint to the National Consumers League is from shoppers who found amazing deals online, but their orders never materialized.

Also be wary of any business that asks you to pay for holiday purchases using prepaid debit cards, gift cards, wire transfers or other payment forms that cannot be traced or undone, the Better Business Bureau says. Use a credit card for more protection against fraud and for refunds.

WHEN GIVING TO CHARITY The holidays are a busy time for making donations. The desire to be generous is best accompanied by solid knowledge.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

President-elect Donald Trump, accompanied by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, speaks to members of the media on Dec. 6 at Trump Tower in New York.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

An online shopper searches different sites on Monday from Miami.

Unfortunately, there’s no time like the holidays for fraud.

The FTC suggests researching an organization to verify its authenticity, using sources such as the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance or online tools such as Charity Navigator, Charity Watch and GuideStar. Avoid any charity or fundraiser that refuses to provide detailed information about its identity, mission, costs and how the donation will be used. Be wary of a charity that uses a name that closely resembles but is not that of a better-known organization.

WHEN TRAVELING The holidays can be a great time for trips and new experiences, but the National Consumers League says sometimes these memories turn into nightmares.

It suggests avoiding suspicious online hotel booking sites in favor of well-known brokers or making your reservation directly with the hotel; sticking with licensed taxis or using a known ride-hailing service when out of town; and protecting details about your airline miles and loyalty points as you would your finances.

Travelers should also avoid

“free Wi-Fi” hotspots while at the airport or relaxing elsewhere, the group says, since that’s an easy way to expose your personal information.

E-SCAMS New technology means new kinds of scams. While several trusted companies offer charming and personalized letters from Santa, the Better Business Bureau warns that some scammers mimic them to get personal information from parents.

Be careful as well with electronic greeting cards that appear to be from a charity or loved one. John Breyault of the National Consumers League said they can be from imposters seeking personal information or trying to spread malware or a virus. Two signs: the sender’s name is not apparent, or you’re required to share additional information to get the card.

Some social media posts appear to offer vouchers or gift cards as part of holiday promotions or contests that requires taking a survey. That can be a means to steal personal information.

Surge of newborns with symptoms of withdrawl driven by rural opioid use CHICAGO (AP) — A surge in U.S. infants born with symptoms of withdrawal from heroin or strong prescription painkillers is driven largely by rising drug use among women in rural areas, a new study found.

The problem in urban and rural areas was about the same in 2004 — about 1 in 1,000 births were affected. But by 2013, the rural rate had climbed to almost 8 in 1,000. In urban areas, it reached 5 per 1,000 births.

The rates correspond with women’s use of opioid drugs during pregnancy. This includes use or misuse of oxycodone and other prescription opioid painkillers, and use of illegal narcotics.

Newborns whose mothers use these drugs during pregnancy are at risk for seizures, excessive crying, problems with breathing, sleeping and feeding and other withdrawal symptoms.

Treatment sometimes includes methadone

and babies may need to be hospitalized for weeks or months.

The study, led by University of Michigan researchers, found that about 21 percent of U.S. newborns with withdrawal symptoms in 2013 were from rural counties, up from 13 percent in 2004.

To come up with their estimate, the researchers analyzed a dataset of U.S. hospital discharges compiled by the government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The results were published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

Earlier studies also found an increase nationwide, and other data show rural areas have been hard hit by the U.S. opioid epidemic.

The new study shows there’s an urgent need for more programs to make it easier for women in rural areas to obtain prevention services and treatment for addiction, the researchers said.

Trump recognized by businesses as key ally WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has lost no chance to bash or threaten individual companies that cross him.

Yet much of corporate America appears to view Trump not as an adversary but as a powerful friend. For all his bullying stance toward some companies, businesses have been cheered by his vows to slash taxes and soften Obama-era rules that were designed to protect workers, the environment and the financial system and by his choices to lead the Labor Department and Environmental Protection Agency.

The prospect of a stronger economy and richer profits is appealing enough that most businesses — and stock investors — are downplaying the uncertainties that followed Trump’s presidential victory last month. The Dow Jones industrial average has rocketed 8 percent to a record high since Election Day on expectations of faster economic growth.

Many manufacturers, which have been reeling for years from shrinking demand for their goods, say they view Trump as more sympathetic to their interests than President Obama was.

“When he uses the phone, he does it to tell manufacturers that he supports them and wants them to create jobs in the United States,” said Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers. “That is a far cry from

what we hear in the current administration.”

The Obama administration helped bail out General Motors and Chrysler and halted a freefall in factory layoffs. But it also issued a series of environmental and labor rules that were designed to limit damage from climate change and raise pay for workers. Business-backed groups argue that such regulations have instead raised costs and depressed hiring.

The manufacturers association hosted Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Thursday and met with members of the Trump transition team on Friday.

And though Trump has threatened to slap a 35 percent tariff on companies that shift factory jobs abroad and then bring goods back to the United States, Timmons said he didn’t think that would be a priority for the president-elect.

“The first order of business is to fix the problems that have made us noncompetitive,” Timmons said after meeting with Pence.

Organizations representing small businesses, such as franchises for stores and restaurants, are also expressing optimism.

“We’re incredibly hopeful,” said Matt Haller, a spokesman for International Franchise Association. “We went from an environment where you had certainty but no real hope to an environment where there is definitely some uncertainty but a lot of opportunity.”

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Free information on Colon Cancer Screening Options Featuring Guest Speaker, Dr. Deloris Williams This event will be hosted by Catchall-Shaw Community Center 2680 Peach Orchard Rd., Dalzell, SC Thursday, January 5, 2017 • 12:00pm - 1:30pm Participants include: SC THRIVE, WELLCARE, RACC and more Want your organization or business to exhibit?

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REGION

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

THE SUMTER ITEM

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GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — The wildfires that killed 14 people and tore through Gatlinburg also stole an iconic venue from this city at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains whose nickname is “the wedding capital of the South.”

All that remains of Cupid’s Chapel of Love is a heartshaped pink sign with its name spelled out in Barbiedoll-style cursive lettering.

The white, log building with a green tin roof and waterfall around back hosted more than 20,000 weddings in more than two decades. Some were quick, 15-minute “let’s get married this weekend” appointments.

Others were full ceremonies, renewals of vows and weddings built on family traditions that began when parents and grandparents eloped there.

Alongside 20 friends and family members, Cheryl Petty Moats and her husband, Jim, got married there in 2014. The couple from Hurricane, West Virginia, always rent a cabin nearby in Pigeon Forge for their anniversary and take pictures where they were married.

Moats cried when she saw photos of the rubble. It’s uncertain whether the chapel will ever be rebuilt.

“You could just feel that it was a special place. There was a lot of love there,” she said.

“We looked at several chapels down there to get married in, but there was just something about that one.”

The fires that devastated Gatlinburg also took the life of the Rev. Ed Taylor, 85, who nearly four decades ago launched the wedding-destination industry that has expanded throughout the city and into neighboring towns, including Pigeon Forge.

Hundreds of thousands of people each year now flock to the Smoky Mountains region to get married or attend a wedding.

A friend of Taylor, Adren Greene, said the reverend died in or just outside his home.

Little Mountain Chapel, the brown building with the red door where he officiated thousands of weddings, survived the fires, Greene said.

Taylor arrived in town in 1979. Since then his organization, Gatlinburg Ministries Inc., has married more than 85,000 couples, with Taylor himself administrating more than 45,000 weddings, according to the group’s website.

Taylor performed the wedding for Billy Ray Cyrus, country music star and father of Miley Cyrus, and country singer Patty Loveless. Country performer Tanya Tucker sang at the wedding of a band member. Taylor also performed the wedding of Jeff Cease, formerly in the Black Crowes rock band. Taylor had retired about a year ago.

“I’ve done it seven days a week,” he said in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. “We used to do ‘marrythons’ on Valentine’s Day around the clock. We did as many as 60 in a 24-hour period.”

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Senior Pastor Kim McCroskey inspects a statue outside the remains of the family life center on Dec. 6 at Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The church and the center burned down in wildfires a week earlier.

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RED FROM PAGE A1 when asked for potential financial remedies and suggestions.

The district ended the fiscal year with a fund balance of $106,449 — a critically low level, according to Poston. She said it should be enough to cover 30 days’ expenses, in the neighborhood of at least $12 million.

“Decreasing these fund balances to such a low level will impact your ability to pay bills as they become due,” Poston said. “And it will impair your cash flow for future periods if not addressed.”

Given that personnel salary and benefits compose roughly two-thirds of the district’s expenditures, trustee Johnny Hilton said he had concern with staffing levels in support services.

“Sometimes, I wonder if we are hiring people that we are not budgeting for someHILTON where,” Hilton said. “If you hire people that you don’t budget for, you are asking for trouble because that’s the big ticket — personnel and benefits. So, if we have been hiring people that we haven’t budgeted for, we need to stop that immediately.”

Hilton said he believes instruction is the district’s main business activity and should be the last thing that’s cut.

“Not that we shouldn’t look to improve there, but our largest problem is in support services,” Hilton said to Poston.

Poston agreed.

She provided suggestions the district should consider to cut costs, including consolidating any of its 29 schools together, cutting teachers where student/teacher ratios are

TRIAL FROM PAGE A1 and tech experts. An employee of Garmin, the company that made a GPS found in Roof’s car, testified Tuesday that data from the device show he rode by the church in months leading up to the shootings. Timestamps from the device showed his car arrived at the church at around 7:45 p.m. the night of the shootings and left more than an hour later.

Justin Britt, a Richland County sheriff’s deputy, testified that Roof’s mother collapsed when authorities came to her home the day after the shootings and started asking questions about her son. After recovering, Britt said Roof’s mother led him to her son’s bedroom, where she showed him a digital camera on which Britt said he saw pictures of Roof with a Confederate flag.

“She said, ‘There’s something that I think you need to see,’” Britt testified.

Another officer who helped search the home testified she recovered dozens of spent ammunition rounds, saying relatives told her Roof and others would practice shooting in a nearby wooded area. Kristen Polis also testified she photographed a white pillowcase cut into a triangle because “to me, it represents what could be a

low, limiting daily substitute workers in instruction and operations and maintenance, among others. She advised the board that she had these same discussions with district Superintendent Frank Baker and Nancy McMillan, the district executive director of finance.

“I believe the only solution for this is to look at every single location and every single cost in each location and consider the cost-benefit of it to decide where we can cut costs and still serve the students,” Poston said.

She discussed with the board the importance for the district to have midyear budget reviews. She said she had advised this last year during the annual audit process.

“I discussed last year with you the need for having a midyear budget review,” Poston said. “This is exactly why I cautioned you to do that. It’s very important that you look at this because when you have a district with lots of schools and lots of different personnel, sometimes the communication between the different departments is not as cohesive as it should be. For instance, it’s all in good to hire people and give people raises, but we must understand how are we going to pay for those things. Those are the concerns I want to bring to your attention.”

Hilton later asked Baker why a midyear review was not completed last school year, and why the board is only finding out now the district was $6 million in the hole for last school year.

“A midyear review was done in March, but the third quarterly financial report was not complete,” Baker said.

Hilton also expressed concern why pertinent information was not included in the quarterly financial reports to the board and the finance committee.

Ku Klux Klan hood.”

Prosecutors have said they could wrap up their case as early as Wednesday. Late Monday, Gergel ruled Roof’s attorneys couldn’t present evidence related to their client’s mental health during the guilt phase of his trial, saying it was more appropriate for the penalty phase.

If Roof is convicted, jurors would decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. While he has a defense team at the moment, Roof has said he wants to be his own lawyer for the penalty phase.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson opened his case with Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the June 2015 shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. He has said he plans to close with testimony of another survivor, Polly Sheppard.

Poston said a cash-flow analysis could have been provided to the board.

Upon further questioning from Hilton, Baker said he became aware of the $6 million budget deficit in October when the audit process began with Poston.

In the discussion with the board, Poston also said at this point the district will have an estimated $3.8 million deficit for 2016-17.

Board member Rev. Ralph Canty also expressed his major concerns with the quarterly reports and that the board is just finding out about the deficit now with the release of the audit.

Poston said the audit and the fourth quarter report should be close in financial estimates.

CANTY “It concerns me that you were not informed,” Poston said.

Poston said cutting positions in the district’s finance department has hurt financial communications. She said the district lacks someone looking at the overall, big financial picture of the $120 million budget and coordinating with various department directors.

When the district lost Steve Mann last year after he accepted a position with S.C. School Boards Association she said it lost the person responsible for overseeing the district’s financial health. Mann was the district’s executive director of finance.

When asked about Mann’s loss on Tuesday, Baker said the district finance office actually lost Mann last year and one additional staff member who actually handled a lot of day-to-day duties. McMillan was hired to replace Mann, but the other position was unfilled because of budget cuts, according to Baker.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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OFFICIAL FROM PAGE A1 coordinating with all the individuals that are responsible for the different areas. That’s the link you are missing here.

“It’s a serious job managing a $120 million budget.”

Poston said Steve Mann previously held the position in the district’s finance office. Mann left the district in May 2015 for a position with S.C. School Boards Association in Columbia.

When contacted Tuesday, district Superintendent Frank Baker said the district finance office actually lost two personnel in 2015. The second position handled more day-to-day financial responsibilities to assist Mann. Nancy McMillan was hired to fill Mann’s executive director of finance vacancy.

The other position was not filled, according to Baker.

Baker said he would like to add back that other position so the executive director of finance can catch certain things and look and analyze the big picture.

“But it goes back to the big budget piece — how can we afford it?” Baker said. “Adding that position defeats the purpose of cutting the budget. It’s a double-edge sword,” Baker said.

Poston said Monday that if the district had one person just overseeing the overall, big picture, more work could be done in drafting district financial statements in-house for the board, instead of the auditor preparing the statements.

“The accounting industry thinks it’s best for the entities to prepare their own financial statements,” Poston said. “There’s a lot learned from putting the pen to the page. Certainly, there are reasons for not doing it. You have a district where you have a finance department with fewer staff members than in the past; therefore, it makes sense for us to do it.”

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CHRISTMAS COLORING CONTEST

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International STEM & Humanities Charter School Lend your voice, vision, and valor to the creation of added possibilities for current & Future generations of South Carolinians and one collective future!

We cordially invite you to join us to share your thought and aspiration for our children. Learn about a new and exciting public school designed to add value to our existing public schools by increasing academic and innovative opportunities for our children in support of the future of our great state.

Rembert Youth Center 20 Horatio-Hagood Road Rembert, SC 29128 Friday, December 16, 2016 5:00 PM You may also join us by logging onto our website at www.raccinc.org Kindly include your name, address, email address, telephone number, and children’s age (if applicable) in the “contact us” link on our main page. Please reference ISTEM and HCS in your message and you will receive important updates and information regarding our progress toward success.

NAME: ____________________________________________________________ AGE: __________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: __________________________________________________________________________________

We look forward to serving the children of our proud state. Join us in 2017

Mail to:

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________________________

PO Box 1677 Sumter, SC 29151

To enter, just color the picture and submit it, along with the entry form, to the newspaper no later than 12:00 Noon, Thursday, December 15, 2016. A panel of judges will choose one winner from each age group. Ages 5-7, 8-10 and 11-12. Winners will be contacted by phone and announced in the newspaper on Friday, December 23, 2016. Each winner will receive a prize. No Photocopies Accepted Please.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron

H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

THE SUMTER ITEM H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item

Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Rick Carpenter Managing Editor

20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, South Carolina 29150 • Founded October 15, 1894

COMMENTARY

South Carolina, what’s the plan?

O

ver the last week or so, the same basic story has appeared in all the major newspapers across the state: Economists have projected that we as a state (i.e. the Legislature) will have an additional $446 million to spend during the next fiscal year.

It’s good news that we will have this additional money to address some of the serious needs of our state. It’s bad news that all the state agencies have showed up asking for $1.9 billion in new money they say they need to address what they say are the “serious needs of the state.”

We have $446 million — they want $1.9 billion.

So, let’s look first at the familiar problem of too little money to do all the things the agencies want to do, and then second, let’s look at the more fundamental issue of how we as a state decide how to spend our money.

The budget news stories are full of long Phil lists of what all the Noble agencies say they need. Not surprising, a lot of them say that their need is “the No. 1 priority of our state.” Fixing our roads is our top priority; fixing our retirement system and its huge deficit is our top priority; fixing our K-12 school system is our top priority… you get the picture.

And all of these folks are right — all of these things are our top priority. For years, we have had these same problems, but every year the Legislature has kicked the can down the road and not fixed what should have been fixed long ago. So, all of those cans they have been kicking down the road have now fallen into a pothole that’s so big and deep that even the Legislature can’t ignore things any longer.

The specifics of this year’s budget request prove my point. The higher education institutions of the state alone have requested $1.1 billion in new money — that’s 72 percent of all the requests that have been made. Notice that this 72 percent does not include roads, pension or K-12 education.

So, what’s going to happen?

The answer is politics — plain and simple, raw and ugly. The politics of who gets what.

It will be the politics of this special interest battling this other special interest trying to get what they want.

In one way or the other, it’s one lobbyist vs. another lobbyist — and most often their weapons of choice will be campaign contributions, free breakfast, lunch and dinners followed by evenings with scotch and bourbon and who knows what all after that.

A lobbyist once explained it to me this way: First-shift lobbying is what goes on during the day time in the capitol building and legislator offices — it’s mostly middle-age white guys in suits (who are the paid lobbyists).

Second-shift lobbying begins when the Legislature adjourns and there is lots of expensive food, cocktails and more women and lobbyist principals (people who pay the lobbyists) added in the mix. Third-shift lobbying is virtually all women, mostly young and attractive and … well you get the picture.

Let me suggest a better way.

Back in 1995, I was invited to speak about the Internet and new technology to a big international conference in Dublin, Ireland. Setting aside my love of all things Irish, including my family roots, I was excited to go to Ireland as they were in the early days of a tech-driven boom, and I wanted to learn some lessons that might be applicable to South Carolina. We are both about the same size in land mass and population, with low-wage/ low-skill economies, and we have a number of similar problems.

During the course of the conference, the leaders of all three major political parties came and spoke to us, and what they said was amazing — they all said the same thing, literally.

In succession, each leader stood up and said, “Here are the four goals for Ireland and how we are going to build a better future for our children: 1) improve basic education and promote technology skills, 2) change laws and regulations to promote entrepreneurial business, 3) reform the tax structure and incentives so that successful, creative people and enterprises don’t leave the country for tax reasons, 4) promote an image to the world that Ireland is ideal for the tech industry and related foreign investment.”

Each of the party leaders recited each of the same four points. They had differing opinions of the best way to reach these goals, and they put the goals in different priority order — but they each recited the same four strategic goals.

In short, they had a strategic plan for the country.

They had developed it together, everyone knew what it was, and they all agreed to make legislative and political decisions based on their strategic plan.

And what is our strategic plan for South Carolina? Best I know, there isn’t one.

I Googled “South Carolina strategic plan” and got nothing. There were lots of strategic plans for this state department and that department, for this economic group and that group, for this city and that city — but no strategic plan for the state of South Carolina as a whole.

All of this leads me to my favorite passage in Alice in Wonderland: Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” Alice: “I don’t much care where –” Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

Next month the state Legislature is going to meet for the year to decide how all this new money is spent, which road will get built, which college dorm will get renovated — and such.

I would suggest they first consider a more basic question: “Which way I ought to go from here.”

Hey South Carolina, what’s the plan?

Phil Noble has a technology firm in Charleston and writes a weekly column for the S.C. Press Association. Reach him at phil@philnoble.com and see his columns at www.PhilNoble.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WHY SHOULD TRUMP BE ALLOWED TO CHANGE RULES FOR HIS BENEFIT? Well, the election is over, but now the reality begins. I did not vote for Trump and still think there were many people who can do a better job.

One thing is really true — he will be president for four years. It is not good for me or our country if he messes up.

Sen. McConnell said his job was to make sure President Obama was not successful. He wanted Obama to fail from day one in 2009.

To me, McConnell is un-American because working against Obama was working against America.

I don’t want Trump to fail, but I do have a real important job. It is a job that everyone has whether they voted for or against Trump.

Hold him accountable to all citizens, not just the rich ones, and make sure he follows the laws and the Constitution.

So I was really scared when one of the first things Trump wants to do is to change rules about who can have jobs in his administration. He wants Congress to change the rules so Gen. Mattis can be secretary of defense.

The current law says he can’t.

I hear Mattis is a great soldier. But if you can change the laws for good people, Trump can change them for bad people next. Already he has picked Bannon, who is a racist against Jews and who thinks women should stay in their place because Congressional approval is not needed for Bannon like it is for Mattis.

This is really scary.

Most Republicans would not approve of Bannon for high office or even dog catcher.

Can’t Trump find someone for secretary of defense who is really good but who can get the job without changing laws? Why should Trump be allowed to change rules? Why can’t he even follow accepted normal practices like

releasing his tax returns or not continuing to be involved in businesses that are a clear conflict of interest for a president?

He should not, and that is not a Democrat or Republican stance. It is a patriotic stance for America, not for any single man or women, even if he or she is president.

LOYD YOUNG Sumter

HOSPITALITY OF S.C. RESIDENTS AFFIRMS DECISION TO STAY HERE My wife and I are new to South Carolina, having moved here in May from Virginia.

While visiting during the winter, we arrived in Sumter to view the stately old homes and, needing directions, we met the city manager who not only gave us directions but told us where we could get lunch. During our meal, the city manager came in, accompanied by his wife and daughter, and when we asked for the bill, the waitress said, “It has been taken care of — welcome to South Carolina.” This was obviously paid by the city manager as there were no other patrons there.

Our next surprise was on Nov. 29 while visiting the floral shop “Ring Around the Roses” to purchase Christmas ornaments, we mentioned where we would have lunch, but in leaving, forgot one of our purchases. Much to our surprise in arriving at the “Oyster House” an hour later, the owner of the floral shop was waiting for us with the left behind purchase.

Without exception, the friendliness and warmth of all persons we have encountered in Clarendon and surrounding counties have made our decision to spend the rest of our days here, the right one. We truly love it here.

EMORY WEISIGER and JANICE MCCANN Manning

COMMENTARY

Please, no more miracles

P

resident-elect Donald Trump has warned companies that they are not going to leave the United States anymore “without consequences.” He has lived up to his threat by pressuring Carrier to give up its planned move to Monterrey, Mexico, in exchange for a taxpayer handout. It is a safe bet that Walter other U.S. Williams companies will be descending on Washington looking for handouts in the name of “fair trade” and “leveling the playing field.”

Part of Carrier’s problem is the congressional miracle created for the U.S. metal industry. Import restrictions placed on steel, copper tubing and aluminum extrusions benefit American producers of those products. Not having to worry about foreign steel, copper tubing and aluminum extrusions, American producers of those products can charge higher prices and maintain higher employment. The real cost of import restrictions is the harm they do to steel-, copper- and aluminum-using manufacturers. Companies can escape some of those U.S. government-imposed costs simply by moving across the border.

There are other govern-

ment-imposed costs that can be avoided through relocation. The U.S. corporate income tax is the highest in the world. Slashing the U.S. corporate income tax would reduce incentives to relocate.

While we’re at it, there should be an elimination of the taxation of foreign earnings when they are repatriated into the U.S. Finally, we should apply reasoning to the onerous regulations emerging from unelected bureaucracies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

If you’re looking for a good example of the effect of a nearly completed congressional miracle, it would be the U.S. candy manufacturing industry. American Sugar Alliance spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress to impose restrictions on foreign sugar, in the form of tariffs and quotas. That means the American sugar producers can charge higher prices, create more jobs and have higher profits. But that’s just stage one of the effect of the congressionally created miracle.

Chicago used to be America’s candy capital. Today it’s a mere shadow of its former self. Brach’s used to employ about 2,300 Americans; now most of its jobs are in Mexico. Ferrara Candy Co. has also moved much of its production to Mexico. Wages are indeed lower in Mexico, but wages are not the only factor

in candy manufacturers’ flight from America. Life Savers, which manufactured in America for 90 years, moved to Canada, where wages are comparable to ours. By moving to Canada, Life Savers became more competitive because it saved itself a whopping $10 million a year in sugar costs.

What about jobs saved through sugar import restrictions? According to a 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce, for each “sugar growing and harvesting job saved through high U.S. sugar prices, nearly three confectionery manufacturing jobs are lost.”

Trade barriers do not increase employment; they just shift the composition of jobs away from competitive industries and toward those favored by the government.

Some Americans support trade restrictions because they think there is a problem with having a trade deficit, i.e., buying more from foreigners than they buy from us. Concern about a trade deficit is much ado about little. It turns out that we’ve had a trade deficit in all but 12 years from 1900 to 2016. In fact, our longest sustained trade surplus was during the Great Depression.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. © 2016 CREATORS.COM

NATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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Sold: Pristine views in Grand GIGANTIC Sale Teton National Park for $46M CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A $46 million deal between Wyoming and Interior Department put a square mile of land inside Grand Teton National Park into U.S. government hands Monday, eliminating the possibility that the pristine property with breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains’ Teton Range might be developed.

The sale ended years of drama in which Wyoming officials sought to sell the land called Antelope Flats in the Jackson Hole valley while federal officials and environmentalists worried it could end up privately owned.

“The acquisition of Antelope Flats accomplishes a longstanding goal of the National Park Service by ensuring that this land will forever provide habitat for antelope, elk, moose, wolves, and grizzly bears as well as preserving the outstanding vistas of the Tetons for future visitors to enjoy,” National Park Foundation President Will Shafroth said in a statement.

Wyoming had owned the land surrounded by park lands since it became a state in 1890. The land was among hundreds of parcels statewide designated for sale to raise money for public education.

The open area of sagebrush was among a number of private and state-owned land called inholdings that never became part of Grand Teton when the park was established with its current boundaries in 1950.

Few inholdings remain in Grand Teton but the remaining ones include another square-mile state section on the park’s eastern boundary that also has stunning mountain views. It is valued at about the same price as the parcel that was sold but could be more attractive to developers because a road runs through it.

Negotiations for the federal government to buy or trade other lands for that parcel are underway.

Wyoming officials have leased the state’s Grand Teton inholdings for grazing but took in very little revenue compared to the potential value of the land on the open market. Jackson Hole has some of the highest property values in the western Rocky Mountains.

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AP FILE PHOTO

A deal between Wyoming and Interior Department will help prevent a square mile of Grand Teton National Park from being developed by putting the property in federal hands. The $46 million sale was completed Monday.

When negotiations with the Interior Department over a sale or land swap stalled in 2010, then-Gov. Dave Freudenthal and other state officials threatened to auction off the property.

The Interior Department then paid $2,000 for some minor mineral rights in 2012

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and $16 million later that year for 86 acres of land.

The agency missed a deadline to buy the Antelope Flats section in 2014. Gov. Matt Mead, who has been in office since 2011, continued negotiations because he did not think auctioning the land was an acceptable option.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

SUPPORT GROUPS Tuesday, 5:30-7 p.m., Birnie AA, AL-ANON, ALATEEN: HOPE Center, 210 S. Purdy St. AA — Monday-Friday, noon Dec. 14, 2016 Support Groups: Open to anyone who has lost and 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a loved one to murder in a p.m.; Sundays, 10:30 a.m. and violent way.

7 p.m., 1 Warren St. (803) 775Multiple Sclerosis Support 1852.

Group — Third Tuesday, 5:30 AA Women’s Meeting — p.m., Carolinas Rehabilitation Wednesdays, 7 p.m., 1 WarHospital, 121 E. Cedar St., ren St. (803) 775-1852.

Florence. Call (843) 661-3746.

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 a 1154 Ronda St. Call (803) 494dependent with a disability 5180. or illness. Call Dorcus at (803) 895-1252/1253 or Sue at 441 AA Support Group — Mon(803) 847-2377. days, Tuesdays and Fridays, 8:30 p.m., Hair Force, 2090-D WEDNESDAY MEETINGS: S.C. 441.

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

Center, 337 Manning Ave. Manning Al-Anon Family Group Call (803) 774-6181.

— Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., BeDivorce Care — Wednesdays, havioral Health Building, 14 6:30 p.m., Bethel Baptist Church St., Manning. Call Church, 2401 Bethel Church (803) 435-8085.

Road. Call (803) 481-2160.

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

Church, 2401 Bethel Church 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. A community support group 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.

Sumter Chapter Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) — Third

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 the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 636-3346.

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 each month, 10-11:30 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). Help with 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 Donna Parker at (803) 4817521.

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Low clouds

Partly cloudy

Partly sunny

Mostly sunny and colder

Mostly cloudy and warmer

A shower and t-storm around

57°

36°

49° / 24°

41° / 33°

65° / 54°

73° / 43°

Chance of rain: 10%

Chance of rain: 0%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 20%

Chance of rain: 60%

NE 6-12 mph

NNW 2-4 mph

NNW 7-14 mph

ENE 7-14 mph

SW 6-12 mph

SW 12-25 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 53/31 Spartanburg 54/33

Greenville 55/34

Columbia 58/34

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

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 57/36

Aiken 56/35

ON THE COAST

Charleston 60/41

Today: Showers. High 57 to 66.

Thursday: Partly sunny. High 51 to 60.

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

53° 47° 57° 34° 79° in 2007 8° in 1962 0.81" 2.13" 1.31" 47.38" 57.76" 45.04"

NATIONAL CITIES City Atlanta Chicago Dallas Detroit Houston Los Angeles New Orleans New York Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC

Today Hi/Lo/W 59/33/pc 16/-4/pc 54/37/c 19/5/sf 67/45/pc 68/55/pc 67/47/pc 41/24/pc 82/61/pc 41/23/pc 77/52/pc 62/57/c 46/27/pc

LAKE LEVELS Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

354.13 73.83 73.85 98.36

24-hr chg +0.03 -0.02 +0.05 -0.02

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

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 45/28/pc 7/1/s 51/44/c 15/-1/sf 60/48/pc 65/56/r 56/45/pc 27/18/pc 76/55/pc 28/19/pc 77/56/c 61/47/r 31/19/s

Myrtle Beach 58/40

Manning 57/38

Today: Milder with clearing. Winds east-southeast 4-8 mph.

Thursday: Partly sunny. Winds northwest 4-8 mph.

LOCAL ALMANAC

Florence 56/35

Bishopville 55/36

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

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 8.47 +0.08 19 3.10 +0.20 14 7.11 -0.08 14 2.41 -0.50 80 75.02 -0.20 24 4.16 -0.27

Sunrise 7:19 a.m.

Moonrise 6:22 p.m.

Sunset Moonset

5:14 p.m.

7:41 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Dec. 20

Dec. 29

Jan. 5

Jan. 12

TIDES AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Thu.

High 8:55 a.m.

9:21 p.m.

9:48 a.m.

10:15 p.m.

Ht. 3.9 3.2 3.8 3.1

Low 3:13 a.m.

3:59 p.m.

4:05 a.m.

4:50 p.m.

Ht. -1.1 -0.7 -1.0 -0.6

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 52/23/pc 59/33/pc 60/36/c 62/44/sh 53/44/c 60/41/c 53/33/pc 57/35/pc 58/34/pc 56/37/c 52/35/pc 55/36/pc 54/36/pc

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 35/19/pc 50/25/pc 57/27/pc 60/34/pc 46/28/pc 58/29/pc 44/22/pc 50/27/pc 52/26/pc 50/25/pc 41/20/pc 48/22/pc 47/22/pc

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 56/35/c Gainesville 79/55/sh Gastonia 54/33/pc Goldsboro 56/35/pc Goose Creek 61/40/c Greensboro 53/32/pc Greenville 55/34/pc Hickory 53/28/pc Hilton Head 63/45/sh Jacksonville, FL 76/53/sh La Grange 61/33/pc Macon 63/38/c Marietta 57/30/pc

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 51/24/pc 71/44/pc 45/21/pc 45/21/pc 56/29/pc 40/17/pc 47/23/pc 41/20/pc 58/35/pc 67/44/pc 48/28/pc 55/28/pc 43/26/pc

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 53/26/pc Mt. Pleasant 62/43/sh Myrtle Beach 58/40/sh Orangeburg 57/37/c Port Royal 63/45/sh Raleigh 55/34/pc Rock Hill 54/32/pc Rockingham 54/34/pc Savannah 68/45/sh Spartanburg 54/33/pc Summerville 60/40/c Wilmington 56/37/sh Winston-Salem 52/31/pc

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 39/18/s 57/32/pc 54/28/pc 52/28/pc 59/36/pc 42/17/pc 45/21/pc 47/20/pc 63/35/pc 45/23/pc 55/29/pc 49/22/pc 39/17/pc

Weather(W): s–sunny, pc–partly cloudy, c–cloudy, sh–showers, t–thunderstorms, r–rain, sf–snow flurries, sn–snow, i–ice

Santa Shops Here!

Brown’s

“Where Quality Matters”

PUBLIC AGENDA

FURNITURE & BEDDING

CLARENDON SCHOOL DISTRICT 3 Thursday, 7:30 p.m., district office, Turbeville

31 West Wesmark Blvd • Sumter, SC • 774-2100 ARIES (March 21-April 19): Your changing EUGENIA LAST attitudes will confuse those around you. Try not to jump from one thing to another too quickly.

Inconsistency will hold you back.

Learn as you go and use past experience to keep you within bounds.

The last word in astrology

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll gain insight into what’s possible and what isn’t by hanging out with people in charge. Your observations will enable you to separate the good from the bad and recognize what’s in your best interest.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Past emotional differences with someone will rise to the surface. Don’t give in to pressure to spend money on something that you feel is a waste.

Partnerships will only survive if clear boundaries and expectations are set.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Emotions will surface, making it important to channel your energy into creative pursuits and honing your skills.

Discussions with partners will need to be handled tactfully without evading issues or masking the truth.

Stand by your word.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t become overly enthusiastic and take on too much. Moderation and living within your means won’t deter you from reaching your goals, but they will help ensure that you build your dream on solid ground.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your ideas will be well received, and help will be offered. Express your plans at functions that include people you’ve worked with in the past or would like to collaborate with in the future.

New beginnings look promising.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Sharpen your skills and gather information that will help you deal with anyone who opposes your ideas. Knowing what will work as well as being able to show what you have to offer will bring high returns.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Emotional spending should be limited. Your desire to make changes that will add to your comfort should be countered with a plan to stay within a set budget. Cutting corners and sticking to your budget will help you avoid financial stress.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Express your plans to others openly and find out where you stand. Offer incentives, but don’t deviate from what you want to do. Change is imminent and will bring the rewards you want. Celebrate with the people you appreciate most.

SUMTER ANIMAL CONTROL PET OF THE WEEK This precious boy is Tanner. He is 43 pounds and approximately 2 years old.

Tanner is a high energy dog who loves to jump and play. He along well with Tanner isgets precious, other loves dogs. to Heplay would fit into an active family. Tanner is stunning. There is a neuter commitment to adopt this boy. You can meet Tanner in kennel 36 at Sumter Animal Control, 1240 Winkles Road, (803) 436-2066. Remember to check Sumter Animal Control if your pet is missing. Visit the Sumter Animal Control Facebook page for other available dogs as well.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Listen to complaints, suggestions and your inner voice when dealing with others. It’s important not to make sacrifices that will hurt you in the future. Fair is fair, and that is what you should aim to achieve. Don’t be afraid to be different.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Use imagination when dealing with children. Keep personal finances a secret. Sharing too much information will leave you in a vulnerable position. Work hard, play hard and do your best to come out on top.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Express your feelings and discuss the changes you would like to see happen in your neighborhood.

Clearing a space that you can designate for an activity or project will lead to new opportunities. Don’t procrastinate.

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

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14 Call: (803) 774-1241 | E-mail: sports@theitem.com

PREP BASKETBALL

Surging ahead

Lakewood boys, Manning girls each have big runs and big nights from key players in victories at The Swamp

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@thetiem.com It was a night of big runs on Tuesday at The Swamp — big runs and big performances.

Grant Singleton scored 24 points and the Lakewood High School boys basketball team rode a 14-0 surge in the third quarter all the way to a 63-37 victory over Manning.

On the flip side, it was the Lady Monarchs who got a 24point, 14-rebound performance out of Kayla Goldsmith. Along with a 17-1 run in the second quarter, that combination proved too much as MHS kept its perfect mark intact with a 58-52 win.

Manning returns to action today when it travels to Berkeley while Lakewood is off until Friday when it will travel to Camden.

The Gator boys improved to 4-2 overall thanks to a big second half in which they outscored the Monarchs 33-11.

“We were just trying to step up the intensity on the defensive end and hope that that would turn into offense,” said LHS assistant coach Matthew Howlett, who filled in for head coach Bryan Brown while he served a 1e-game suspension for receiving two technical fouls during Friday’s game.

“Really proud of the defensive effort our guys gave in that second half. We challenged them in the locker room (at halftime) and they definitely met that challenge.”

Singleton had the big night, starting in the second quarter in which he scored eight points – six of which came on 3-point baskets. He added 13 more points in the second half and another trey to finish off his night in the fourth quarter.

He wasn’t the only scorer though as the Gators got contributions from all over as six different players finished with at least six points. Dontrea Osborne had nine followed by Malik Wilson with eight and

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Lakewood’s Grant Singleton (5) puts up a shot as Manning’s Jamerian Lee (13) and teammates look SEE LAKEWOOD, PAGE B5 on during the Gators’ 63-37 victory on Tuesday at The Swamp.

CLEMSON FOOTBALL

A relaxed coach Swinney, Clemson back at practice PETE IACOBELLI Associated Press CLEMSON — With an easy smile and a stress-free attitude, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said his team is right where it expected to be and ready for the next challenge.

The third-ranked Tigers (121, No. 2 College Football Playoff) returned to campus this week to start practice for its national semifinal matchup with No. 2 Ohio State (11-1; No. 2 CFP) at the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve. If Swinney is concerned about Clemson’s mindset or the pressure of trying to reach the national title game again after last year’s runner-up finish to Alabama, he didn’t show it Tuesday as he stood in the program’s festively decorated team room.

“At the end of day, we’re where we wanted to be,” Swinney said. “We wanted to be in the final four, that’s where we are. We’ve got a shot to get back to the championship.”

Oh, Swinney said there will be lots of time to zero in on the Buckeyes’ stellar defense

and knack for making the decisive play on offense when it counts most. Right now, he’ll focus getting the Tigers’ football legs back under them before leaving for Arizona on Dec. 26.

For Swinney, that means recommitting to football fundamentals that may have gotten sloppy in Clemson’s weekly grind to the Atlantic Coast Conference title, which the Tigers captured earlier this month with a 42-35 win over Virginia Tech . He’ll have the Tigers best players go against each other like the do during August scrimmages, something teams don’t always have the luxury of doing much once the regular-season starts.

Clemson’s staff has been locked onto the Buckeyes since re-gathering this past weekend and Swinney said nearly all preparations for the Fiesta Bowl will be complete before the team leaves campus the day after Christmas. He’s been on other staffs where coaches have left key parts of game plans under wraps until

Sumter boys roll against Hartsville

BY EDDIE LITAKER Special to The Sumter Item Sumter High School’s varsity boys basketball team built on an 11-point halftime lead throughout the second half and led by as much as 25 in the fourth quarter before closing out a 73-55 victory over Hartsville Tuesday at the SHS gymnasium.

After going scoreless in the opening quarter, Calvin Felder more than made up for the slow start by scattering 20 points over the final three quarters.

JONES “There’s a lot of things we’ve still got to work on defensively,” said SHS head coach Shawn Jones, whose team improved to 4-2 overall. “Hartsville is playing for a state football championship this Saturday so they’re missing quite a few players. They’ll definitely be a lot better the next time we see them. I got to give the third group and my second group some minutes after playing a good game yesterday (66-64 win) against A.C. Flora. I needed to give my first group some time to rest because they showed (the fatigue) early and definitely did not come out with a lot of energy, but we’re always happy to get a win.”

On a night that 13 players broke into the scoring column, the Gamecocks needed all that Felder could give them, along with 10 from Raymond Johnson, to offset the Red Foxes’ dual threat of Jontavious Blakney and Trae Hannibal, who closed with 23 and 18 points respectively. Hartsville fed off the energy from a few Hannibal dunks and even a three in the second quarter.

SHS resorted to fouls to slow the Red Foxes’ big man, with Hannibal hitting on six of 12 free throw attempts. “(Hannibal) is definitely a really good player,” Jones said.

“This is Calvin’s third game back. He missed two games due to injury, so I’m glad to see him up and down, trying to get into rhythm, because we’re going to need him down the stretch. He’s very talented,

SEE SUMTER, PAGE B5

TOUCHDOWN CLUB

TD Club Awards Banquet today

BY DENNIS BRUNSON dennis@theitem.com

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers will face Ohio SEE CLEMSON, PAGE B3 State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

The First Sumter Touchdown Club Awards Banquet will be held today at 6:30 p.m. at Alice Drive Baptist Church located at 1305 Loring Mill Road.

The club will name four players of the year, 11 scholar athletes, an assistant coach of the year and will award five merit scholarship recipients.

The club has normally given out its awards in the last meeting of the year, but since the season was extended two weeks because of weather issues, it decided to have an awards banquet in December.

Space is limited for the event since most of the tickets have already been sold. The cost is $20 a person.

For anyone who might be interested in attending, contact Lee Glaze at (803) 968-0773 before 5 p.m. today for availability.

B2

|

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

BOYS AREA ROUNDUP

Crestwood knocks off Orangeburg-Wilkinson ORANGEBURG — The Crestwood High School varsity boys basketball team got back on the winning track with a 76-58 victory over Orangeburg-Wilkinson on Tuesday at the O-W gymnasium.

Ja Morant had 23 points to lead the Knights, who improved to 9-1 after losing to Sumter on Saturday.

Trevion Webber finished with 23.

LEE CENTRAL 80

BUFORD 59 BISHOPVILLE — Lee Central High School defeated Buford 80-59 on Tuesday at the LC gymnasium.

It was the Region IV-2A opener for both teams.

JV BASKETBALL LEE CENTRAL 41 BUFORD 35 LANCASTER — Javontae

McCloud scored 14 points and had six rebounds, four steals and five assists as Lee Central defeated Buford 41-35 on Monday at the BHS gymnasium.

De’Ablo Halley added 12 points with six rebounds and five steals.

Travis Hickson added eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Stallions, who improved to 4-1.

GIRLS AREA ROUNDUP

Lee Central opens region with 59-36 victory against Buford BISHOPVILLE — The Lee Central High School varsity girls basketball team opened its Region IV-2A schedule with a 59-36 victory over Buford on Tuesday at the LC gymnasium.

Jiah Ervin had 23 points, four rebounds and three assists to lead the Lady Stallions. A’Yanna Lucas had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds while Keoniyah Dennis had 10 points and Shay Harris had 10 points and seven assists.

CRESTWOOD 60 ORANGEBURG-WILKINSON 38

ORANGEBURG — Destiny Jamison, Tyana Saunders and Jah’Che Whitfield each scored in double figures to lead Crestwood High School to a 60-38 victory over Orangeburg-Wilkinson on Tuesday at the O-W gymnasium.

Jamison and Saunders both scored 17 points for the Lady Knights, who improved to 10-0 on the season.

Whitfield added 14.

BEN LIPPEN 62 LAURENCE MANNING 42

COLUMBIA — Laurence Manning Academy’s Brooke Bennett and Lexi Bennett both had double-doubles, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Swampcats lost to Ben Lippen 62-42 on Tuesday at the BL court.

Lexi Bennett had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Brooke Bennett had 12 points and 10 boards.

Cora Lee Downer added nine points.

JV BASKETBALL CRESTWOOD 18 ORANGEBURG-WILKINSON 15 Crestwood High School

picked up its first victory of the season with an 18-15 victory over OrangeburgWilkinson on Monday at The Castle.

Jamiya Lindsay and Amber McFadden led the Lady Knights with four points apiece.

LEE CENTRAL 24 BUFORD 19

LANCASTER — Nae Wesley scored 13 points to help lead Lee Central to a 24-19 victory on Monday at Buford.

Jada Rogers and Nicah Johnson added four points each for the Lady Stallions followed by Keosha Evins with three.

THOMAS SUMTER 23 PEE DEE 8

DALZELL — Lindsay Daniel had eight points, seven rebounds and three steals to help lead Thomas Sumter Academy to a 23-8 victory over Pee Dee Academy on Monday.

Ellie Hunter scored six points and grabbed three rebounds for the Lady Generals while Karleigh Young finished with eight rebounds and two steals.

TSA, now 3-1 on the season, will travel to Laurence Manning Academy on Friday.

CLARENDON HALL 20 ST. JOHN’S CHRISTIAN 12

MONCKS CORNER – Amberly Way had 10 points and six rebounds to help lead Clarendon Hall to a 20-12 victory over St. John’s Christian Academy on Monday at the SJCA gymnasium.

McKenley Wells also had six rebounds for the Lady Saints, who improved to 1-0

in region play.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL BATES 32 MAYEWOOD 23

Kayla Williams led the way with 12 points, three steals and two blocks as Bates Middle School defeated Mayewood 32-23 on Saturday.

Maliasa Rhodes added eight points for the Lady Bantams while Alicia Spann was the leading rebounder with 11.

Bates will host Chestnut Oaks on Thursday.

FURMAN 31 HILLCREST 30

DALZELL – Tiandra Follin had nine points and Maleah McCormick had seven to help lead Furman Middle School to a 31-30 overtime victory over Hillcrest on Monday at the HMS gymnasium.

Ziyan added five points to the Lady Indians’ victory.

Zamani Fulmore led the Lady Wildcats with 15 points while Daisha Morant added seven.

Furman next plays Ebenezer on Thursday.

ALICE DRIVE 58 EBENEZER 21

Stevye Sinkler had a game-high 24 points and three steals to help power Alice Drive to a 58-21 victory over Ebenezer on Monday.

Emily Watson added 10 points and two assists for the Lady Hawks. Jada Sawyer had eight points and six rebounds while Inga Colclough finished with eight points, five rebounds and one assist.

PRO BASEBALL

Rockies finalize deal with Desmond

BY PAT GRAHAM The Associated Press

DENVER — As a longtime shortstop, Ian Desmond knows all too well the value of a good first baseman.

He’s vowing to be that reliable as the Colorado Rockies convert him to a position he’s never played. He doesn’t even have a first baseman’s glove of his own yet, borrowing one from a buddy until his arrives in the mail.

Although the Rockies’ solution at first base seems out of left field — Desmond did play 29 games in left for Texas last season — it’s really not that farfetched. Or so the Rockies’ are banking on, finalizing a $70 million, five-year contract Tuesday with the two-time All-Star who’s gone from shortstop to outfielder and now back to the infield.

“I have all the faith in the world that Ian’s going to be a good first baseman,” Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said.

The 31-year-old Desmond will take over for Mark Reynolds, who’s now a free agent. And while Desmond can’t recall ever playing the position, even as a kid, he did prove to be a fast learner last season when he moved from shortstop to the outfield for the Rangers.

“I know what it takes to be prepared every day and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Desmond, who had his wife and young kids sitting in the front row for his introductory news conference.

Desmond played at an AllStar level for the Rangers in 2016, hitting .285 with 22 homers and 86 RBIs as he split time between left and center.

Before that, he was a shortstop for the Washington Nationals.

The Rockies gave him a lucrative deal to learn a new skill set at Coors Field, where he’s a .379 career hitter in 23 games.

“Yes, the ball does fly here. Yes, it is a good place to hit,” Desmond said. “For me, personally, the reason I

play well here is because I like coming here. I enjoy coming to Colorado. I enjoy the people in the city. I’m from small town in Florida, where when you put the blinker on to change lanes, the people behind you wave.

That’s very common here.”

To hone his fielding skills, he borrowed one of the gloves of Correlle Prime, who just so happens to be a first baseman in the Rockies’ system. Years ago, Desmond took Prime under his wing when Prime worked out at the same hitting facility in the Sarasota, Florida, area.

Little did the friends realize one day they would be in the same organization — playing the same position.

“It’s bittersweet for me,” Desmond said. “Trying to get this young man prepared for the big leagues and he’s a first baseman and I’m proud of how far he’s come and the progress he’s made. Now, I come in and play first base. We’re talking and it’s like, I would rather it be me than anybody else.”

THE SUMTER ITEM

SCOREBOARD TV, RADIO

Sacramento L.A. Lakers Phoenix

TODAY

5:20 a.m. – International Soccer: FIFA Club World Cup Semifinal Match from Osaka, Japan – Atletico Nacional, Colombia, vs. Kashima, Japan (FOX SPORTS 1).

2:55 p.m. – International Soccer: English Premier League Match – Manchester United at Crystal Palace (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

5 p.m. – College Basketball: St. Joseph’s at Princeton (ESPNU).

6 p.m. – College Basketball: Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia (SEC NETWORK).

6:05 p.m. – Talk Show: Sports Talk (WPUB-FM 102.7, WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).

7 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Indiana at Miami (ESPN).

7 p.m. – College Basketball: Southern at Baylor (ESPNU).

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

7:30 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Boston at Pittsburgh (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

8 p.m. – College Basketball: Illinois (Chicago) at DePaul (FOX SPORTS 1).

8 p.m. – College Basketball: East Tennessee State at Mississippi State (SEC NETWORK).

9 p.m. – College Basketball: Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Oklahoma State (ESPNU).

9 p.m. – College Basketball: Nicholls State at Texas Tech (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

9:30 p.m. – NBA Basketball: Boston at San Antonio (ESPN).

10 p.m. – NHL Hockey: Philadelphia at Colorado (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

11 p.m. – College Basketball: Grand Canyon at Arizona (ESPNU).

NFL STANDINGS

By The Associated Press

AMERICAN CONFERENCE EAST

New England Miami Buffalo N.Y. Jets SOUTH

Houston Tennessee Indianapolis Jacksonville NORTH

Pittsburgh Baltimore Cincinnati Cleveland WEST

Kansas City Oakland Denver San Diego

W 11 8 6 4

L T Pct PF PA 2 0 .846 349 230 5 0 .615 281 301 7 0 .462 325 301 9 0 .308 229 324

W L T Pct PF PA 7 6 0 .538 229 274 7 6 0 .538 321 306 6 7 0 .462 328 333 2 11 0 .154 240 338 W L T Pct PF PA 8 5 0 .615 317 256 7 6 0 .538 279 237 5 7 1 .423 268 269 0 13 0 .000 207 375 W L T Pct PF PA 10 3 0 .769 302 255 10 3 0 .769 358 320 8 5 0 .615 296 242 5 8 0 .385 350 347

NATIONAL CONFERENCE EAST

W L T Pct PF PA x-Dallas 11 2 0 .846 340 238 N.Y. Giants 9 4 0 .692 255 244 Washington 7 5 1 .577 330 317 Philadelphia 5 8 0 .385 290 272 SOUTH

W L T Pct PF PA Atlanta 8 5 0 .615 428 345 Tampa Bay 8 5 0 .615 293 296 New Orleans 5 8 0 .385 358 351 Carolina 5 8 0 .385 311 337 NORTH

W L T Pct PF PA Detroit 9 4 0 .692 295 268 Green Bay 7 6 0 .538 333 312 Minnesota 7 6 0 .538 258 225 Chicago 3 10 0 .231 221 290 WEST

W L T Pct PF PA Seattle 8 4 1 .654 274 232 Arizona 5 7 1 .423 299 277 Los Angeles 4 9 0 .308 194 304 San Francisco 1 12 0 .077 251 393 x-clinched playoff spot

THURSDAY, DEC. 8

Kansas City 21, Oakland 13

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

Cincinnati 23, Cleveland 10 Detroit 20, Chicago 17 Tennessee 13, Denver 10 Pittsburgh 27, Buffalo 20 Washington 27, Philadelphia 22 Minnesota 25, Jacksonville 16 Houston 22, Indianapolis 17 Carolina 28, San Diego 16 Miami 26, Arizona 23 Tampa Bay 16, New Orleans 11 N.Y. Jets 23, San Francisco 17, OT Green Bay 38, Seattle 10 Atlanta 42, Los Angeles 14 N.Y. Giants 10, Dallas 7

MONDAY’S GAME

New England 30, Baltimore 23

THURSDAY’S GAME

Los Angeles at Seattle, 8:25 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAME

Miami at N.Y. Jets, 8:25 p.m.

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Philadelphia at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

Cleveland at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

Detroit at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

Tennessee at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

Green Bay at Chicago, 1 p.m.

Indianapolis at Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Jacksonville at Houston, 1 p.m.

New Orleans at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.

San Francisco at Atlanta, 4:05 p.m.

New England at Denver, 4:25 p.m.

Oakland at San Diego, 4:25 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

MONDAY, DEC. 19

Carolina at Washington, 8:30 p.m.

NBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press

EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION

W L Pct GB Toronto 17 7 .708 — New York 14 10 .583 3 Boston 13 11 .542 4 Brooklyn 6 17 .261 10½ Philadelphia 6 18 .250 11 SOUTHEAST DIVISION

W L Pct GB Charlotte 14 11 .560 — Atlanta 12 12 .500 1½ Orlando 10 15 .400 4 Washington 9 14 .391 4 Miami 8 17 .320 6 CENTRAL DIVISION

W L Pct GB Cleveland 17 5 .773 — Chicago 13 10 .565 4½ Indiana 13 12 .520 5½ Detroit 13 13 .500 6 Milwaukee 11 12 .478 6½ WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION

W L Pct GB San Antonio 19 5 .792 — Houston 18 7 .720 1½ Memphis 17 8 .680 2½ New Orleans 8 17 .320 11½ Dallas 6 18 .250 13 NORTHWEST DIVISION

W L Pct GB Oklahoma City 15 9 .625 — Utah 15 10 .600 ½ Portland 12 14 .462 4 Denver 9 16 .360 6½ Minnesota 6 18 .250 9 PACIFIC DIVISION

W L Pct GB Golden State 21 4 .840 — L.A. Clippers 18 7 .720 3

9 15 .375 11½ 10 17 .370 12 7 17 .292 13½

MONDAY’S GAMES

Indiana 110, Charlotte 94 Miami 112, Washington 101 Toronto 122, Milwaukee 100 Houston 122, Brooklyn 118 Dallas 112, Denver 92 L.A. Clippers 121, Portland 120 Sacramento 116, L.A. Lakers 92

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Memphis at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Golden State at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m.

New York at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Charlotte at Washington, 7 p.m.

Indiana at Miami, 7 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at Houston, 8 p.m.

Detroit at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Utah, 9 p.m.

Boston at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Chicago at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Indiana at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Portland at Denver, 9 p.m.

San Antonio at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

New York at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Brooklyn at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Washington, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Miami, 8 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Houston, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Dallas at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS

The Associated Press

EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Montreal 29 19 6 4 42 92 64 Ottawa 29 16 11 2 34 70 78 Boston 30 16 12 2 34 71 71 Tampa Bay 29 14 13 2 30 81 81 Detroit 29 13 12 4 30 70 77 Florida 29 13 12 4 30 70 77 Toronto 27 11 11 5 27 79 84 Buffalo 27 10 11 6 26 56 72 METROPOLITAN DIVISION

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 29 19 7 3 41 104 84 N.Y. Rangers 30 20 9 1 41 105 70 Philadelphia 31 18 10 3 39 101 94 Columbus 26 17 5 4 38 87 56 Washington 27 17 7 3 37 72 59 New Jersey 28 12 10 6 30 69 82 Carolina 28 11 11 6 28 69 76 N.Y. Islanders 27 11 11 5 27 71 81

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 30 18 8 4 40 81 70 St. Louis 29 16 9 4 36 79 79 Minnesota 27 15 8 4 34 75 56 Winnipeg 32 13 16 3 29 82 96 Nashville 27 12 11 4 28 78 78 Dallas 30 11 13 6 28 75 96 Colorado 27 11 15 1 23 60 86 PACIFIC DIVISION

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 29 15 9 5 35 81 75 Edmonton 31 15 11 5 35 93 85 Calgary 31 16 13 2 34 81 86 San Jose 28 16 11 1 33 68 61 Los Angeles 27 14 11 2 30 71 70 Vancouver 29 12 15 2 26 67 86 Arizona 28 9 14 5 23 62 90 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

MONDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh 7, Arizona 0 Boston 2, Montreal 1, OT

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

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

Vancouver at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Chicago at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Arizona at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

San Jose at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

St. Louis at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Florida at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Anaheim at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Columbus at Edmonton, 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

San Jose at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Boston at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Colorado, 10 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Anaheim at Boston, 7 p.m.

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

Los Angeles at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Arizona at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Florida at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

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

Los Angeles at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Washington at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

San Jose at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Columbus at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Florida at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

NCAA FCS PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press

QUARTERFINALS FRIDAY, DEC. 9 James Madison 65, Sam Houston State 7 SATURDAY, DEC. 10 North Dakota State 36, South Dakota State 10 Youngstown State 30, Wofford 23, 2OT Eastern Washington 38, Richmond 0

SEMIFINALS FRIDAY’S GAMES James Madison (12-1) vs. North Dakota State (12-1), 7 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES Youngstown State (11-3) vs. Eastern Washington (12-1), 6:30 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY, JAN. 7 At Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas Semifinal winners, Noon

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

By The Associated Press

MONDAY’S SCORES EAST Boston College 72, Auburn 71 Canisius 77, Albany (NY) 64 Lehigh 100, St. Francis (Pa.) 67 Seton Hall 67, South Carolina 64 SOUTH George Mason 97, Longwood 60 La.-Monroe 72, Blue Mountain 41 Maryland 92, Jacksonville St. 66 Murray St. 103, Bethel (TN) 65 Penn 58, UCF 49 SE Louisiana 108, Florida A&M 69 S. Florida 79, Bethune-Cookman 73 MIDWEST IUPUI 109, Urbana 67 Rio Grande 98, North Florida 84 FAR WEST San Diego St. 73, Alabama St. 41 Seattle 63, Ark.-Pine Bluff 58

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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B3

Louisville’s Jackson voted Player of Year GARY B. GRAVES The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence (90), Clelin Ferrell (99) and the Tigers are in the College Football Playoff for a second straight season.

CLEMSON

FROM PAGE B1

the handful of bowl-site workouts — which Swinney believes can lead to problematic results.

“It’s really not the best environment” to get major work done that late, he said. “Game week is about details, it’s polishing.”

The Tigers have players who’ve been polished to a lustrous shine in recent seasons.

Swinney believes his experienced group will approach the game the way they have each week of the regular season and as they did before last year’s title game. Eight Clemson offensive starters played in the 45-40 loss to Alabama last January. The Tigers have remained in the moment and have not let themselves peek too far ahead as this season

also a return to normalcy for Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, who won the Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas awards this month. However, he finished behind Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson for the Heisman Trophy and ACC player of the year.

On Tuesday, Watson also was runner-up to Jackson in The Associated Press’ college football Player of the Year voting.

Swinney said his quarterback has put the award season behind him and is preparing to leave Clemson with a national championship.

“He said it best himself, he just wants to win. That stuff’s so subjective,” the coach said of the awards.

“But the trophy they give you after the last game of the season is played, there ain’t no vote on that one. That one’s earned.”

unfolded.

“It’s about just be great where your feet are,” Swinney said.

Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said the week is about reminding players to go fast, but with discipline.

“We try and give our guys a refresher course,” he said.

Ben Boulware, who won the Jack Lambert Award last week as college football’s top linebacker, said the Tigers haven’t forgotten the sick feeling in the locker room after the Alabama loss in the same stadium that they’ll play Ohio State. Boulware said he and his teammates have rallied around leaving that stadium as winners this time.

“The hunger has been there from day one, been there since January,” he said. “It will continue to be there until the last game.”

Returning to practice was

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ville as The Associated Press college football Player of the Year, the latest addition to his haul of postseason awards.

The youngest Heisman Trophy winner received 42 of 61 first-place votes from AP’s panel of media voters.

Jackson received 153 points overall, more than twice that of Clemson quarterback and runner-up Deshaun Watson (73). Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen third (32).

Watson received 10 firstplace votes and Allen three.

Jackson’s runaway selection seemed fitting in a season in which he outraced defenders and into the record books en route to collecting a truckload of highlights and hardware.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Jackson, 19, has passed for 3,390 yards with 30 touchdowns and rushed for a school-record 1,538 and 21 scores.

His combined TD total

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For someone who is not completely comfortable in the spotlight, Lamar Jackson has come to embrace it all: the speeches, the truckload of trophies, even all those tweets about his outfits.

JACKSON But after a week of awards shows, interviews and photo opportunities, the Louisville sophomore quarterback is just hungry to just get back to the place that made him the most decorated college football player of the year.

“It feels like I haven’t played football in a year, I’ve been away so long,” Jackson said. “I can’t wait to get back out there, put on those pads and grind.”

Jackson returns to Louis-

AP PLAYERS OF THE YEAR 2016 — Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville 2015 — Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford 2014 — Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon 2013 — Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State 2012 — Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M 2011 — Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor 2010 — Cam Newton, QB, Auburn 2009 — Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska 2008 — Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

2007 — Tim Tebow, QB, Florida 2006 — Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State 2005 — Reggie Bush, RB, Southern Cal 2004 — Matt Leinart, QB, Southern Cal 2003 — Jason White, QB, Oklahoma 2002 — Brad Banks, QB, Iowa 2001 — Rex Grossman, QB, Florida 2000 — Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma 1999 — Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin 1998 — Ricky Williams, RB, Texas

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B4

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

RECRUITING

USC targeting three junior college recruits It’s the dead period in college football recruiting, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of activity behind the scenes. The mid-year signing period for junior college recruits starts today and the University of South Carolina is hoping to sign three for its defense.

Linebacker Eldridge Thompson of Coffeyville JC in Kansas was visited on Saturday at his mother’s home in Houston by USC head coach Will Muschamp and assistant coach Coleman Hutzler.

“It went well,” Thompson said. “Coach Muschamp and Hutzler came and we talked about just some of the expectations that they have for me and what they want out of me when I get there.”

Despite overtures from Boise State, Mississippi State and Iowa, Thompson is holding to his commitment and will sign today.

The other two USC is targeting are defensive backs, Kaleb Chalmers of Northwest Mississippi and Keisean Nixon of Arizona Western. Chalmers visited Mississippi over the weekend and said the visit “was good.”

“He’s home in South Carolina (Greenwood), but I don’t know what it’s going to come down to,” said NW Mississippi head coach Benji Parker. “Kaleb has a great mom and dad and I would think he would want to be as close to them as possible. Now, that’s my opinion; he didn’t say that.

But being able to be coached

by Coach Muschamp, a pure defensive guy, that’s pretty strong. I know he really likes Coach (defensive coordinator Travaris) Robinson and Coach Muschamp, I’ve heard him say that.”

Nixon visited Tennessee over the weekend and will sign on Saturday with either USC or Tennessee. “He loved his visit (to USC),” Arizona Western head coach Thomas Minnick said. “He loved South Carolina when he visited. He enjoyed the trip and the coaches and that area. He didn’t think he would.”

Nixon is a native of Compton, Calif. He and the Matadors played in the national championship game last weekend, falling to Garden City JC of Kansas 25-22, their only loss of the season. Nixon led the defense with five tackles. For the season, he had 27 tackles with six interceptions and two quarterback sacks.

The three offensive linemen committed to USC remain locked in despite the departure of OL coach Shawn Elliott for the head job at Georgia State. However, one of Elliott’s targets, former commitment TJ Moore of Charlotte, isn’t so sure about joining the Gamecocks at this point.

“I really wanted to be coached by Coach Elliott,” Moore said. “I have a good relationship with the other coaches at South Carolina, but me and coach Elliott had that special bond, so I don’t feel the same way about them.”

Last week Moore saw coaches from USC, Florida, North Caroina State and Tennessee.

Over the weekend Moore took an official visit to NCSU. He is scheduled to visit USC on Jan. 14, 2017, but that visit is now

up in the air. He has Tennessee set for Jan. 21 and Virginia Tech for Jan. 28, and he also wants to visit Florida.

Phil Kornblut Moore does RECRUITING not have a favorite at this CORNER point.

USC recruiter Lance Thompson has been after defensive lineman Romello Martin of Brooklyn, N.Y., for a couple of years now and last week he went up to the Big Apple to meet with Martin in person and firm up his official visit plans. Martin will visit USC on Jan. 21.

Ole Miss also has been in to see Martin this month and he has set an official visit with the Rebels for Jan. 28. He’s also considering UF, Louisville and Miami for visits. He visited USC last summer and Ole Miss last spring.

USC recruiter Mike Peterson visited with committed DB Tavyn Jackson of Tallahassee, Fla., last week. Muschamp and Robinson met with Jackson the previous week.

USC is doing all it can to make sure Jackson stays in the fold, and so far it’s all good despite Jackson taking other official visits.

“My commitment is 100 percent, but I’m not going to count any school out,” Jackson said. Jackson is scheduled to visit Indiana on Jan. 14 nd USC on Jan. 21. He has visited Maryland, but Indiana appears to be the strongest competition for USC at this point.

Pendleton High School defensive end Brad Johnson took an official visit to VT Thursday through Saturday and then reported for Shrine Bowl practice on Sunday. He will visit USC on Jan. 13 and Tennessee on Jan. 20.

DB Naytron Culpepper of Miami has now taken officials to USC and Maryland, and he is planning an official visit to Michigan State in January.

He’s not decided on his other two visits.

Muschamp and Robinson watched Culpepper in practice earlier this month and they had a conversation with him.

“They are not forcing me into anything,” Culpepper said. “They are letting me weigh my options and let me look into everything. I’m not rushing into anything. It could come to (National) Signing Day (in February) or a little bit before.”

Culpepper said USC “definitely” would take his commitment if he decides to go there. He said he no longer has favorites and considers all the schools equal at this point.

OL Jerry Drake Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., took an official visit to Oklahoma for the Bedlam game with Oklahoma State. That was his third official visit following trips to USC and Tennessee. Drake, an early enrollee, said he is still considering Michigan State, UCLA and Pittsburgh along with the three he’s visited.

DE Jaylen Twyman of Washington recently was offered by USC and set an official visit for Jan. 14.

Twyman’s other offers include Maryland, Michigan State,

Louisville, UF, Penn State and Pitt. He was scheduled to visit Pitt over the weekend.

USC has been actively recruiting OL Jordan Rhodes of Fairburn, Ga., over the last few weeks and has him lined up for an official visit on Jan. 13. He also visited USC for a game this season.

USC was in to see Rhodes last week. “They like his size and tenacity,” said Rhodes’ head coach, Will Rogers.

Rhodes also will take official visits to Missouri and Mississippi State in January. Cincinnati also is involved.

DE Devonte Wyatt of Decatur, Ga., said he remains committed to Georgia, but called his situation 50-50 with Georgia and USC plus the others he’s considering, UF and Alabama. However, USC is the stronger contender to the Bulldogs, according to Wyatt.

Coaches from USC, UGA and UF were in to see him this month. The only official visit he has set is with UGA for Jan. 14. USC’s visit could come the following week. He’s also planning to visit UF. Wyatt once was a USC commitment.

DB Yusuf Corker of Stockbridge, Ga., was scheduled for an official visit to Kentucky over the weekend. He has visited Michigan State. USC remains in the mix, but he’s made several unofficial visits there and doesn’t feel the need for an official visit.

USC remains in touch with OL Austin Pyne of Ashburnham, Mass., and he hopes to get down in January on an official visit.

DL Tyrone Truesdell of Augusta, Ga., had coaches from UF, Georgia Tech, UK and Ole Miss come by his school. He last talked with USC recruiter Thompson during the Thanksgiving break. He has scheduled official visits in January with Louisville, UF and Ole Miss.

DE Tre Lawson of North Augusta High committed to Tennessee last summer, but he said on Saturday he no longer considers himself bound by that and is considering other options.

“Technically I am (still committed), but I won’t be in a week or two,” Lawson said. “Everyone in my circle is OK with it. I’ll publicize it later. Nothing bad happened, they’ve just got a lot of stuff going on around the program and I don’t feel the same about the program anymore.”

Lawson, who made five tackles in Saturday’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl North-South Game, has 17 offers at this point, including USC, Tennessee, Southern California, Florida State, Illinois, Ole Miss, UGA and Louisville.

Lawson said he’s reached out to USC in an effort to reestablish contact, but has not received a response. Lawson has set an official visit to Louisville on Jan. 13. He’s also looking at Florida State and South Florida for official visits. This season, Lawson had 86 tackles with 12 sacks and 19 tackles fr loss.

USC offered 2018 tight end Jacob Warren of Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee also offered him. Warren visited USC for a game this season. USC and

Tennessee are his early favorites.

USC has identified ‘18 TE Zach Sheffer of Ponte Vedra, Fla., as one of its top targets for the position in the next recruiting campaign and Sheffer is highly interested in USC at this point. He visited for the Texas A&M game. His offer list also includes Ohio State, Michigan, VT, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Duke, Louisiana State, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Auburn. Sheffer is not ready to declare any leader or a list of favorites.

USC offered ‘18 DL Dejmi Dumervil Jean of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Dumervil Jean also has offers from Maryland, Michigan State, Illinois, Mississippi State, Rutgers, Central Florida and Florida A&M. Marquez Ezzard, an ‘18 athlete from Stockbridge, Ga., was offered by USC.

CLEMSON Clemson linebacker target Drew Singleton of Paramus, N.J., took an official visit to Michigan over the weekend.

He’s also visited Michigan and plans to see Clemson in January.

Clemson assistant coach Jeff Scott visited wide receiver James Robinson of Lakeland, Fla., last week. Robinson visited Oklahoma over the weekend. Clemson was thought to be an early leader for Robinson, but moved away from him in the spring and on to other WR targets like Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers, both of whom committed.

DB Javis Diaz of Jireh Prep in North CArolina was at Clemson for the USC game and is hoping to get more attention from the Tigers in the next month. Diaz has an offer from Central State and is also drawing interest from Purdue, Northwestern, Oregon, Colorado, Colorado State, FAM and Valdosta State.

One of the top cornerbacks nationally in the ‘18 class is Verone McKinley III of Plano, Texas, and he made a recruiting visit to Clemson the weekend of the USC game. McKinley has a Clemson offer along with offers from Alabama, UF, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and others. Gurvan Hall, an ‘18 DB from Palm Beach Lakes, Fla., was offered by Clemson. Tennessee and Alabama are also recent offers.

Clemson offered ‘18 DB Tre’ Douglas of McDonough, Ga. Clemson is showing strong interest in ‘18 LB Peyton Wilson of Hillsborough, N.C. He has offers from North Carolina, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Duke, NCSU, VT, Vandy, Virginia, Maryland and Wake Forest. Wilson was at Clemson for a game this season.

of the last two summers.

Clemson and USC are showing interest in ‘18 WR Dan Land III of Albany, Ga., but have not yet offered. He’s also drawing interest from UGA, GT, Alabama, Vandy, UCF and Central Michigan. Land has visited USC and Alabama unofficially.

Jamaree Salyer, an ‘18 OL from Atlanta, said he’s been hearing from Clemson and the coaches would like him to come in for a visit and bring his mother. Salyer is a 6-foot-3inch, 285-pound guard who has offers from Clemson, USC, Ohio State, Alabama, UGA, Michigan State and several others. He said he hears more right now from Clemson than USC. Clemson and USC are interested in ‘18 DL Maurice McIntyre of Jacksonville, N.C. He said Clemson invited him in for a game this season. McIntyre’s only offer thus far is from Duke. He’s also getting interest from UNC and NCSU.

OTHERS Former Greenwood High DE Brandon Henderson of Georgia Military JC was scheduled for an official visit to UK over the weekend.

Channing Tindall, an ‘18 LB from Spring Valley High in Columbia, was offered Wednesday by Colorado State.

Jamari Currence, an ‘18 DB from South Pointe High in Rock Hill, got an offer from Massachusetts.

Israel Mukuamu, an ‘18 DB from Berkeley High in Moncks Corner, is moving to Bossier City, La., with his family. He has a USC offer. He’s the third member of the state’s ‘18 class to announce a move for next season. DE Xavier Thomas of Wilson High in Florence is going to IMG Academy in Florida and WR Jordyn Adams of Blythewood High is moving to Greenville, N.C.

BASKETBALL Clemson offered 6-4 ‘18 point guard Elijah Weaver of Oldsmar, Fla. Some of his other reported offers include Louisville, Villanova, UF, LSU, GT, Memphis, Miami and WF.

CLEMSON AND USC USC offered ‘18 OL James Ohonba of Stockbridge, Gq. He also has a Clemson offer and offers from UGA, Alabama, Tennessee and VT. Will Lawrence, an ‘18 OL from Memphis, Tenn., has USC and Clemson among his many offers at this point. He said he’s also considering Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame from his offer list at this point.

There is no favorite. Lawrence has camped at Clemson each

PRO FOOTBALL

Patriots get big win, continue playoff march KYLE HIGHTOWER Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — By the time the Patriots took the field Monday night against the Ravens, they knew they’d have to wait at least another week to wrap up their eighth consecutive playoff berth.

It didn’t stop New England from producing a postseasonquality effort.

The Patriots overcame a pair of miscues on special teams and provided some timely offense late to beat the Baltimore Ravens 30-23 on Monday night .

New England enters its final three regular season games in great position for an eighth straight AFC East crown.

“We just gotta keep it rolling,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “That’s whether you want to call it a playoff game, must-win, or any of that stuff. Once you get into December and toward the end of December, every game is important. There’s really no rebounding and trying to fix things. You want to try and play your best ball every time you go out there and play.”

Of course, that kind of consistency is common practice for New England’s 39-year-old

quarterback.

Tom Brady carved up the NFL’s top-ranked defense for 406 yards passing and three touchdowns, saving his best for last with a 79-yard strike to Chris Hogan in the fourth quarter.

He became just fourth NFL quarterback with at least 450 career touchdown passes.

For the Ravens, it will be a short turnaround as they try to salvage their playoff hopes over the final three weeks. It begins with their final regular season home game against the Eagles on Sunday, followed by road tests at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

MARK TAYLOR Branch Manager

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CLEMSON BASKETBALL

Tigers win fifth in row behind Blossomgame The Associated Press

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Manning’s Mahogany Green (11) looks to block the shot of Lakewood’s Lashala Harvin (4) during the Lady Monarchs’ 58-52 victory on Tuesday at The Swamp.

LAKEWOOD

FROM PAGE B1

both Tyrell Still and Ahkeem Lawson with seven each.

“When our guards are playing well and able to penetrate the basket, that opens things up for the whole team,” Howlett said.

“With everybody contributing, it just gets the energy level up and it just makes us that much better of a team.”

For MHS head coach Stevie Ward, it was a familiar script that his team followed as it fell to 3-2 overall.

“That’s been our downfall the last few years – not being able to absorb the runs that teams have on us,” he said. “It’s just hard to play from behind, especially when you make as many mistakes as we did.

We were trying to do too much individually.”

The Monarchs were only down four at the break, and a 3-pointer by Michael Cooper to start the third cut the deficit to one right before the Gators’ big surge – which was helped by several

Manning turnovers.

The Lady Monarchs meanwhile improved to 5-0 thanks to Goldsmith and a game-changing second quarter.

Manning was down by one before scoring 17 of the next 18 points and took a 37-22 lead into the break.

Goldsmith had 10 points at halftime and added 14 more in the second half, none bigger than her eight in the third quarter.

The Lady Gators came out strong after the break, scoring the first eight points to cut the deficit to seven points before Goldsmith rattled off six straight points of her own to push the Lady Monarchs’ advantage back into double digits.

“We try to instill in them that no lead is a safe lead,” MHS head coach Darren Mazyck said. “Just because you made shots in the first half doesn’t mean you’ll make them again in the second half. In the third quarter, I think we had four straight turnovers and they scored off three of those.

That gave them a little life.

“But this was probably

one of (Goldsmith’s) better games. She’s one of our leaders and tonight she led by example.”

Keyshawnna Walker added 12 points for Manning while Mahogany Green finished with seven.

Ki’Ari Cain led the Lady Gators with 20 points followed by Rahteisha Burgess with 15. Cain scored eight in the final stanza as LHS tried furiously to come back, but couldn’t quite dig itself out of the second-quarter hole.

“We came out a little sluggish in the first half and were a little slow defensively and got hurt on the boards,” Lakewood assistant coach Derrick Hastie said. “It’s just little things that we need to correct.

Both teams had runs, we just couldn’t climb out of the hole.”

Serena Choice finished with 15 rebounds to lead the Lady Gators, who fell to 4-4 overall.

On Saturday in Bishopville, Lakewood beat Lee Central 44-29. Cain had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists while Rahteisha Burgess had eight points.

CLEMSON — Jaron Blossomgame scored a seasonhigh 29 points to Clemson to a 93-65 victory over S.C. State on Tuesday to increase the Tigers’ win streak to five games.

The Tigers (7-2) shook off a sluggish first half and a defensive effort that wasn’t up to coach Brad Brownell’s standard to outscore the Bulldogs by 29 BLOSSOMGAME points in the second half.

“Really good offensive performance. Certainly the 17 assists and only two turnovers were big stats as well,” Brownell said. “We probably took too many 3s but other than that, I thought we played well (offensively) and that was the difference in the game.”

Shelton Mitchell scored 14 points and Donte Grantham added 13 for Clemson, which shot 52 percent in the first half.

The Bulldogs (2-8) shot 52 percent and got 20 points from Eric Eaves, but they lost for the seventh time in the last eight games. S.C. State stayed in the game in the first 20 minutes and trailed by nine at halftime.

“I was pleased at the half with what we were doing offensively and defensively,” S.C. State coach Murray Garvin said. “At halftime, I was positive in the locker room and looking forward to seeing what we would do in the second half.”

The Tigers held a 10-point lead four minutes into the second half before they went on 12-4 run to go up 18 after a Gabe DeVoe 3-pointer with 13:05 to play.

The Bulldogs would crawl back within 12, but another Clemson run pushed the lead to 20 after a Grantham dunk with 9:47 left in the game, and Clemson kept pouring it on.

BIG PICTURE S.C. State: Playing its eight game of the season away from home, S.C. State lost by at least 20 points for the fifth time already.

Clemson: The Tigers will get Elijah Thomas, a transfer from Texas A&M, eligible for the first time this season in their next game. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound sophomore should make an immediate impact offensively and on the boards.

STAT OF THE NIGHT Clemson improved to 13-1 all-time against South Carolina State.

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SUMTER

FROM PAGE B1

so I’m glad to see him getting up and down the floor a little bit.”

After the first unit’s sluggish start, Sumter trailed 5-2 with 4:43 left in the opening quarter. An Ahamad Peoples three, his only points of the night, tied the game at 5-5 and began what would be a 15-1 Gamecock rally as SHS led 17-6 headin into the second. Darius Williams and Zikim Jackson also drained treys during the run that would extend to 19-2 as the Gamecocks added two Felder baskets to open the second quarter.

That would be the beginning of a 10-2 run for Felder over Hartsville, with a Antoine Benbow layup pushing the SHS lead to 29-12. Hartsville had an answer for Sumter’s run as a Blakney three and Hannibal slam that would end in a 3-point play quickly cut the lead back to 11, 29-18. The teams played fairly even over the remainder of the half, with

the Gamecocks taking a 36-25 edge to the locker room.

The lead was 45-28 before another 6-0 Hartsville run cut it to 11 once again, at the 3:44 mark of the third, but that would be as close as the Red Foxes would get.

SHS would lead by 25, 65-40, after a 16-4 run spread over two quarters before Hartsville trimmed the final deficit to 18.

The early-season struggles continued in former SHS star Frances Fields’ return as head coach of the Lady Gamecocks. Fields had her team in position to win heading into the final quarter, but a combination of turnovers, missed free throws and just too many missed opportunities allowed Hartsville to overtake Sumter for a 54-48 win.

Fields said the key for her team was “not learning how to capitalize” when it had a lead.

“Hartsviile was down (3834) going into the fourth and they turned up the heat (on defense),” said Fields, whose team dropped to 1-5.

“From there, we ended up rushing it (on offense) and we just needed to take our time. Learning how to capitalize, and the key word I’m using now is learning. I felt like this was a good learning experience for the girls of we were up and how to control the pace and control the floor.”

SHS trailed 16-12 after one quarter before going up 24-18 with a 12-2 run. Hartsviile scored the next five points, then Sumter the next four before a Tarewyn Dawson three closed the first half with the Lady Gamecocks leading 28-26.

There was one lead change in the third but SHS still held the lead heading to the fourth, building it to seven, 42-35, with 7:15 remaining in the game. The Lady Foxes then went on an 11-0 run to take a 46-42 lead at the 4:42 mark, with the Lady Gamecocks getting as close as one but not regaining the lead from there.

Sumter plays at Crestwood on Friday, with the girls game scheduled for 6 p.m.

PREP BASKETBALL SCORES BOYS’ BASKETBALL Airport 66, Columbia 51 Beaufort 77, Bluffton 62 C.A. Johnson 41, Great Falls 19 Calhoun Falls 68, McCormick 63 Central 54, Cheraw 50 Conway 63, Myrtle Beach 53 Darlington 100, Lamar 50 Dorman 53, Wade Hampton (G) 52 Dutch Fork 63, River Bluff 23 Fort Mill 61, York Comprehensive 56, OT Fox Creek 47, Silver Bluff 44 Goose Creek 65, Colleton County 52 Greenville 58, Hillcrest 55 Hunter-Kinard-Tyler 49, North 43 Irmo 41, Blythewood 29 Landrum 76, Blue Ridge 70 Laurence Manning Academy 59, Ben Lippen 52 North Charleston 64, St. John’s 57 North Myrtle Beach 60, Conway Christian School 27

Ridge Spring-Monetta 49, Blackville-Hilda 43 Rock Hill 50, Lancaster 48 Saluda 52, Mid-Carolina 44 Timmonsville 56, Creek Bridge 52 Union County 65, Chesnee 61 W.J. Keenan 70, South Pointe 42 Waccamaw 56, Andrews 50 White Knoll 62, Brookland-Cayce 57 Williston-Elko 35, Estill 30 Wilson 64, South Florence 37 Woodmont 70, Mauldin 60 GIRLS’ BASKETBALL Waxhaw Marvin Ridge, N.C. 46, Indian Land 43 Battery Creek 64, Savannah, Ga. 28 Beaufort 43, Bluffton 42 Cheraw 49, Central 45 Columbia 52, Airport 40 Cross Creek, Ga. 60, Aiken 28 Dorman 53, Wade Hampton (G) 49 Dutch Fork 54, River Bluff 23 Fort Mill 49, York Comprehensive

45 Franklin County, Ga. 68, West Oak 57 Goose Creek 68, Colleton County 19 Greenbrier, Ga. 50, South Aiken 38 Greenville 64, Hillcrest 60 Irmo 37, Blythewood 34 Landrum 57, Blue Ridge 40 Manning 58, Lakewood 52 McCormick 64, Calhoun Falls 33 Mid-Carolina 56, Saluda 49 Midland Valley 60, Aiken 28 Myrtle Beach 49, Conway 36 North Augusta 61, Grovetown, Ga. 44 Ridge Spring-Monetta 46, Blackville-Hilda 31 Silver Bluff 43, Fox Creek 6 T.L. Hanna 48, D.W. Daniel 36 Ware Shoals 61, S.C. School for the Deaf & Blind 31 West Ashley 32, Burke 25 Westwood 66, A.C. Flora 41 York Prep 57, Lewisville 41

Cleveland’s LeBron James, who scored 23 points, drives past Memphis’ Toney Douglas during Tuesday night’s 103-86 win in Cleveland.

Love, James power Cavs past Gasol-less Grizzlies CLEVELAND — Kevin Love scored 29 points, J.R. Smith found his aim — for one half — and LeBron James added 23 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their fifth straight, 103-86 on Tuesday night over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis rested center Marc Gasol for the first of back-to-back games against the defending NBA champs.

Smith, who has been in a season-long shooting slump, scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half as the Cavs, who gave star point guard Kyrie Irving the night off, built a 22point lead and ended the Grizzlies’ six-game win streak.

Zach Randolph replaced Gasol in the starting lineup and scored 18 points to lead the Grizzlies.

(1) VILLANOVA 78 TEMPLE 57

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Josh Hart shook off a slow start to score 26 points and lead No. 1 Villanova past Temple for its 17th straight win.

The Wildcats (11-0) haven’t lost since the Big East championship game. They won six straight in the postseason to win the NCAA championship and have been flawless this season. The Wildcats fattened their record against Philly teams and finished 4-0 in the Big 5 city series.

Shizz Alston Jr. led Temple (7-4) with 12 points.

(25) CINCINNATI 96 TEXAS SOUTHERN 58

CINCINNATI — Freshman

Jarron Cumberland scored a career-high 18 points — all in the second half — as No. 25 Cincinnati pulled away to its most lopsided victory of the season.

Demontrae Jefferson scored 13 points for Texas Southern (4-6).

The Bearcats (8-2) led by as many as 41 points.

TEMPLE HIRES FLORIDA’S COLLINS AS FOOTBALL COACH PHILADELPHIA — Temple turned to the Minister of Mayhem to keep its football renaissance alive.

The Owls hired Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins on Tuesday, plucking one of the SEC’s top defensive minds to become their fourth coach in the last eight seasons.

Collins will replace Matt Rhule, who left the Philadelphia-based school last week for Baylor.

BASEBALL BANS DRESS-UP HAZING RITUAL NEW YORK — That baseball hazing ritual of dressing up rookies as Wonder Woman, Hooters Girls and Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders is now banned.

Major League Baseball created an Anti-Hazing and AntiBullying Policy that covers the practice. As part of the sport’s new labor deal, set to be ratified by both sides Tuesday, the players’ union agreed not to contest it.

From wire reports

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THE SUMTER ITEM

USC MEN’S BASKETBALL

Rodriguez’s layup lifts Seton Hall past 16th-ranked South Carolina LARRY FLEISHER The Associated Press NEW YORK — After his team blew a four-point lead in the closing seconds, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard provided simple instructions.

Get the ball to Desi Rodriguez, and then get out of the way.

Khadeen Carrington set up Rodriguez for a tiebreaking a layup with 11.6 seconds left and Seton Hall beat No. 16 South Carolina 67-64 in the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

The Pirates went ahead when Rodriguez took an inbound pass from Carrington and drove along the baseline for the basket. “(Willard) told me to look for Desi coming off the baseline,” Carrington said. “He had the big guy on him. I knew he could take him. I gave it to him and I spaced out. I just let him go.”

Seton Hall led 64-60 after a foul shot by Rodriguez with 1:49 left, but the Gamecocks rallied and tied it on two free throws by Justin McKie with 34.3 seconds remaining.

Willard said it was dead silent in the huddle when he called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining. That worked for him.

“It’s not a democracy in timeouts,” Willard said.

“There’s definitely a dictatorship. Sometimes they get to say things — not with 10 seconds left after we just gave up a four-point lead. These guys do a good job listening for the most part. It was a pass to Desi and everybody get out of the way.”

After the layup, PJ Dozier missed a 3-pointer for the Gamecocks, and Myles Powell knocked down one free throw for Seton Hall (8-2).

“He almost gave me a heart attack,” Carrington said of

Dozier’s missed 3-pointer.

The Pirates trailed by nine early in the second half before rallying. Carrington led Seton Hall with 21 points after missing his first five shots.

“They’ve got some tough, tough dudes that don’t back down,” Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said. “They got a culture of winning that was kind of established last year with obviously the season they had and they just got us, plain and simple.”

Dozier scored 20 points for South Carolina (8-1), which shot 38.6 percent and was outscored 40-30 in the final 20

minutes.

BIG PICTURE Seton Hall: Free throws had proven difficult for Seton Hall at times. The Pirates entered Monday making 61 percent of their attempts but hit enough to stay within striking distance during the first half. A 15-of-25 showing in the second half nearly cost them.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks held an opponent under 40 percent shooting for the seventh time in nine games, but their lack of consistent offense down the stretch was their undoing.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Carolina’s Sedee Keita, left, blocks the shot of Seton Hall’s Khadeen Carrington in front of the Gamecocks’ PJ Dozier in the Pirates’ 67-64 win on Monday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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PRO GOLF

Major champions and their major moments

BY DOUG FERGUSON The Associated Press From 20 feet away, Dustin Johnson was just trying to hit the green. From 190 yards, he was going at the flag. Henrik Stenson made a 50-foot putt across the 15th green at Royal Troon and found as much value in the putt he made from 4 feet on the next hole.

The long and short of every golf season is defined by major championships. This year brought a collapse at the Masters, chaos over a ruling at the U.S. Open, a duel at the British Open and a marathon at the PGA Championship.

There were signature shots from each, and a shot that held particular significance to each winner.

Interviews with the four major champions revealed both.

THE MASTERS Danny Willett was in dire need of a bathroom break for more than obvious reasons.

Coming off the 15th green, he saw the large leaderboard that showed him leading the Masters after Jordan Spieth put two in the water on the 12th hole and made triple bogey.

“People were cheering, shouting, ‘Look, you’re leading the Masters.’ It probably was good timing for a bathroom break,” Willett said. “I locked the door and at least got a minute to myself.”

What followed were the winning shots — an 8-iron to 7 feet and the putt for birdie. On a day that until then had been mostly about Spieth, that was his signature moment.

But there was another shot that stood out to Willett.

He had hit 3-wood toward the pine trees on the par-5 13th in the previous rounds.

On Sunday, he was five shots behind and running out of holes, so he opted for driver.

“Because I don’t draw it, that’s a tough tee shot for me,” Willett said. “I stood up there and hit a 5-yard draw and got it down there, and it left us a 5-iron in.”

He still could have made birdie even if he had driven in the trees. He still needed help from Spieth. But pulling off that shot did wonders for his confidence.

“It was one of the real good ones of the week,” he said.

U.S. OPEN Four months after his U.S. Open victory, Dustin Johnson still doesn’t know the final margin and still doesn’t think he should have been penalized for his ball moving on the fifth green at Oakmont. But he won’t forget two shots.

The highlight was a 6-iron

In this April 10 photo, Masters champion Danny Willett gives a thumbs up after winning the Masters in Augusta, Ga. from 190 yards from the 18th fairway that settled 5 feet away for birdie. Johnson was leading by three, though he said he stopped looking at leaderboards after the USGA told him he might be penalized one shot after the round.

“The wind was off the left. I wanted to hit a cut to the middle of the green and let it drift to the flag,” he said. “I knew if I hit it straight, I’d be fine. I hit the shot I wanted. I knew when I hit it close I was going to win.”

He was more excited about the short par-4 17th, where he hit his tee shot into the right bunker. That’s where he wanted to be, though he knew the bunker shot would be his toughest. Anything too strong and the ball would go across the green into another bunker. Anything short and it would roll back into the bunker he was in.

It just cleared the lip and was 20 feet short of the hole and set up the par he needed.

“It was not an easy bunker shot,” he said. “I was ecstatic when it was on the green. It

OBITUARIES SHERYL B. SINGLETARY TURBEVILLE — Sheryl Billups Singletary, 50, died on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016.

Funeral services for Mrs. Singletary will be held at 11 a.m. today at Hayes F. & LaNelle J. Samuels Sr. Memorial Chapel, 114 N. Church St., Manning. Burial will follow in McKenzie-Brown Cemetery, Lake City.

The family is receiving friends at her residence, 4233 Turbeville Highway, Olanta.

These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

LOUTELIA D. ROCK Mother Loutelia Dwyer Rock, 92, returned to her heavenly home on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, after a valiant battle with a long illness.

Born on July 20, 1924, in Sumter, she was a daughter of the late Napoleon and Charlotte Dwyer. She attended the public schools of Sumter County. Mother Rock was a domestic worker in the Sumter area for more than 50 years. At an early age, more than 60 years ago, she gave her life to the Lord at Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church, where she served faithfully as an usher, presi-

dent of the senior missionary board, president of the senior choir, and lead cook.

She is survived by three children, two daughters, Loutelia Parham and Learline Session, and one son, James Rock Sr. (Veronica), all of Sumter; one sister, Willie Mae Gray of Norfolk, Virginia; two special grandchildren raised in the home, Brother James Session of Little River and Brother Erick Session (April) of Columbia; a special nephew, Deacon Norman Dwyer of Sumter; one daughter-in-law, Mary E. Rock of Sumter; 20 grandchildren; 15 greatgrandchildren; a host of other relatives and friends.

Homegoing celebration will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 1275 Oswego Highway, Sumter, with the Rev. Daniel Bennett, pastor, eulogist.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at her home, 956 Oswego Highway, Sumter.

The remains will be placed in the church at noon.

The procession will leave at 12:30 p.m. from the home.

Floral bearers and pallbearers will be family and friends.

Burial will be in Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist

was a really hard shot. Just really hard.”

BRITISH OPEN Ask Henrik Stenson for one shot and he can’t help but mention six of them. The battle at Royal Troon with Phil Mickelson was that good.

Stenson tied a major record by closing with a 63, and his 264 was the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history.

The biggest shot was his 50foot birdie putt across the 15th green for a two-shot lead.

“I had a long putt on 11,” he said. “The greens are fairly slow at links, and sometimes on a long putt you’re taking it back and think, ‘This is too much,’ and I decelerated on the putt and came up 6 feet short and ended up three-putting. I looked at the hole during my practice strokes and said, ‘It doesn’t matter how it feels, just commit to whatever length of stroke you’re making.’ It felt like a bit of a slap shot when I hit it. It dropped over the edge at perfect pace.”

As for that one shot of spe-

Churchyard cemetery.

These services have been entrusted to the management and staff of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at williamsfuneralhome@sc.rr. com.

Visit us on the web at www. williamsfuneralhomeinc.com.

L.C. PERKINS BISHOPVILLE — L.C. Perkins, 76, passed on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Hartsville.

Born in Lee County, he was a son of the late Willie and Eva Garner Perkins.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home, 115 Woodland Circle, Bishopville.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Square Deal Funeral Home, 106 McIntosh St., Bishopville.

ROSE M. FRAZIER Rose M. Frazier, 64, wife of Lennie Frazier, departed this life on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at Palmetto Health Richland.

Born on Feb. 24, 1952, in Sumter, she was a daughter of the late Albert and Thelma Graham Montgomery.

The family will receive

cial significance? He nearly went hole-by-hole for the entire weekend until settling on No. 10 in the third round.

Mickelson had a one-shot lead when Stenson got in trouble off the tee and had 35 feet left for par. He holed it to stay one behind, and after a pair of two-shot swings on the par 3s on the back nine, the Swede had a one-shot lead going into Sunday.

“That one kept the momentum,” Stenson said of his par putt. “That one kept me in the ball game.”

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Jimmy Walker was walking toward his third shot on the par-5 17th in the final round at Baltusrol when he saw that Jason Day failed to make birdie in the group ahead of him.

Walker was still two shots clear of the No. 1 player in the world. That’s when he turned to caddie Andy Sanders.

“I said: ‘This is it. I birdie this and it’s over, we win.

Let’s do it now as opposed to doing it on the last hole.’ That was the goal, to birdie right

friends at the home, 7418 Coach Maker Road, Columbia, SC 29209.

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

M. ANNETTE EVANS M. Annette Evans, 67, passed away on Friday, Dec. 8, 2016.

Annette was born on Nov. 26, 1949, in Charleston, to the late David L. Evans Sr. and Miriam V. “Mickey” Evans.

Annette was a huge animal lover and would never let a stray go without a home. She loved her family and will always be remembered for her kind and loving heart. She was a strong proponent of organ donation and graciously donated her organs upon her passing so that she was able to give the gift of life to someone in need.

Annette is survived by her mother; children, Wendy Wright and James Huntley II; grandchildren, Brandy Garrett and her husband, Shaun, Aaron Wright and James Wright; great-grandchildren, Kaymere and Tison; brother, John W. Evans and his wife, Carmen; sister-in-law, Anne Walker; as well as seven nieces and nephews who were dearly loved.

She was predeceased by her father and brothers, Robert L.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

there,” he said.

He made birdie from 8 feet, but only after he backed off twice upon hearing the cheers of Day’s approach to the par-5 18th that set up eagle.

Walker held on to win by one, ending a 36-hole Sunday caused by rain delays.

He found the confidence to win earlier Sunday during the third round with what looked like an ordinary shot into the sixth green.

Walker said he had been horsing around with his two sons the night before and tweaked his neck. During his warmup for a marathon final day, he felt pain from the right side of his neck when he turned in that direction, though it didn’t affect his swing. Even so, he was conscious of it and hit some loose shots being overly protective.

That changed at No. 6.

“I said: ‘Dude, it’s not hurting. Get over it. Let’s go play,’” Walker said. “I hit a great 7-iron to 5 feet and made it. And that was the shot that started to right the ship. It was quality golf after that.”

“Bobby” Evans and David L. Evans Jr. A private Celebration of Life for family and close friends will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday at Trinity United Methodist Church Chapel in Sumter.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lewy Body Dementia Association: https://www.lbda.org/; the Humane Society: http://www. humanesociety.org/; Sumter SPCA: http://www.sumterscspca.com/; or the Alston-Wilkes Society: http://www.alstonwilkessociety.org/.

The family wishes to express their sincere thanks to the nurses and staff of the ICU at Palmetto Health Tuomey and to Lilliana Amador of Life Point for the great care and compassion shown to Annette and family during this difficult time.

HOWELL C. HURST Howell Coachman Hurst, age 80, beloved husband of 60 years to Mattie Elizabeth Sturgeon Hurst, died on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at his residence.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home.

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Split Oak Firewood, $50 for truck load, $100 for trailer load. Delivered /stacked. 843-536-6050

Lawn Service J.W. Lawn Service Leaf removal, hedges, pine straw, mulch, pressure wash, & much more! Call 803-406-1818

Legal Service

Golden Kernel Pecan Co. 1200 C Pocalla Rd 968-9432 We buy pecans, sell Pecan halves, Chocolate & all flavors & Fruit cake mix. Gift Pkgs avail. M-F 9-5 Sat 9-1

EMPLOYMENT

Attorney Timothy L. Griffith 803-607-9087, 360 W. Wesmark.

Criminal, Family, Accident, Injury

Roofing Robert's Metal Roofing 35 Yrs exp. 45 yr warranty. Financing avail. Expert installation. Long list of satisfied customers. 803-837-1549.

Septic Tank Cleaning

Help Wanted Full-Time

Unfurnished Apartments

Mobile Home Rentals

Kershaw County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs 1619 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Camden SC 29020 803-432-4841 Equal Opportunity Employer

Huntington Place Apartments Rents from $625 per month 1/2 Month free* *13 Month lease required Powers Properties 595 Ashton Mill Drive 803-773-3600 Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9-5

3BR & 2BR, all appliances, Sumter area. Section 8 accepted. 469-6978.

Help Wanted Full-Time

Job Posting December 2, 2016 Open Positions LPN: part-time position - flexible hours: Must have a High School Diploma or GED and vocational or technical school in nursing. Minimum of one year experience as LPN; must have current state Board of Nursing LPN license and must keep the license current during tenure of employment in this position. Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and a valid SC driver's license.

Must have computer skills. (closing date 12/21/2016). Apply in person.

Director of Residential Services Provides comprehensive wellness and activities for Independent Seniors Living in a premier CCRC. Prefer degree in wellness, gerontology, or health care. Strong background in hospitality, a must. This is a salaried, department head position. Send Vita and salary requirements to: rlinder@covenantplace.org

Trucking Opportunities

Holliday Trucking Flat bed driver wanted, Class A CDL, 2 years driver experience, Call 803-724-1887.

Stylists, Barbers, Nail Techs, Braiders needed at Paradise Beauty Salon. Boooth Rentals $50 a week.

735 N. Main. 803-316-1466

Tree Service STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721 Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

NEWMAN'S TREE SERVICE Tree removal, trimming & stump grinding. Lic/Ins 803-316-0128

MERCHANDISE Want to Buy Looking for small home acreage. Call 803-860-0055

with

3BR 1BA House on Burgess Ct. C/H/A $545 Mo. 803-983-5691 1988 Fleetwood 2BR/2BA, cash only. Great deal $6500. Call 803-607-7568

Mobile Home Rentals

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

2, 3 & 4 Bedroom for rent, Cherryvale & Dogwood Area $250 & up. (803) 651-9926

Land & Lots for Sale Mobile Home Lot •Scenic Lake Dr $5200 Call Burch Home Lot •79 Capri St. $9500 Call Burch 803-720-4129 2 Residential lots for sale on Ootie Court near Concord Presbyterian Church. 1.5 acres each. Ideal for new house in quiet country setting. $30,000 each. Call 803-934-6191

ne STOP SHOPPING You can find everything you need for the new house or the new spouse in one convenient placeOUR CLASSIFIEDS! Sporting Goods • Electronics Appliances • Furniture • Cameras Jewelry • Dishes • Books PLUS A WHOLE LOT MORE!

Lenoir Store at 3240 Horatio-Hagood Road

$100 per month

Great opportunity for a Small business owner.

Contact Steve Lenoir at (803) 499-4717

774-1234

DRIVERS WANTED

Local Automotive Dealership looking for

“SIGN ON BONUS�

Fuel Bonus • Driver Incentive • Weeks Out Bonus • Safety Bonus • Guaranteed Minimum Pay Must Have: CDL (Class A) License • Haz and Tanker Endorsement Minimum 2 years experience • Clean Driver Record

LOT PORTER DETAIL/CLEAN-UP Must have clean driving record & active drivers license.

Work References

Send Resume to:

P-427 C/O The Item PO Box 1677 • Sumter, SC 29151

1 Bedroom Apartments for 62 YEARS AND OLDER •Refrigerator •Central Heat & Air •Community Room •Range •Handicap •Coin Operated •Blinds Accessible Laundry Room •Carpet •Emergency Call •Ceiling Fans System **Rent Based On 30% of Adjusted Income** **Utility Allowance Given**

803-469-8238 TTY 800-735-8583

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

Historic Building for Rent

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

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

Bassett Park

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

Call 1-843-389-4215 Like us on Facebook M & M Mobile Homes.

RELOCATE YOUR BUSINESS

Unfurnished Apartments

1390 Granville Court • Sumter, S.C. 29150 For application or information, please call

Manufactured Housing

3BR/2BA, C/H/A, no inside pets, max of five people. $425month + $425 deposit. Located on Kildee off Ramsey Rd. Call 803-481-8134

RENTALS

Experienced Electricians needed.

Must have valid driver's license and own transportation.

Call: 803-968-2304

Miscellaneous

REAL ESTATE

1919 W. Oakland Ave. 3BR/1.5BA for rent Appl's included, $800/mo + $800/dep. 803-651-8198.

3BR 2BA Alice Dr Schools $930 Mo+ Dep Call M-F 8:30-5:30 803-775-1281.

TRANSPORTATION

Scenic Lake MHP 2 Bedroom 2 bath , No pets.

Call between 9am - 5 pm 803-499-1500

Unfurnished Homes

3BR, 2BA, all appliances, Sumter area. Section 8 accepted. 469-6978.

Drivers: Regional & OTR. New Pay Package for Company & O/OP's. Excellent Home Time & Benefits. Newer Trucks. Lease Purchase, Sign and Drive. Robin: 855-204-6535

Wayman Chapel AME Church seeking a qualified organist/music director. Resumes & Ref should be sent to waymanchapel@ftc-i.net or Wayman Chapel AME 160 N Kings Hwy.,Sumter, SC 29154 by 12/16/16 Attn: Dr. R O Miott or Rev. Dr. Dennis Broughton, JR. Septic Tank Cleaning Call the pros for all of your septic pumping needs. 803-316-0429 Proline Utilities, LLC

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.

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CONTACT Pat Joyner at 803-775-1002 Ext. 107 OR visit our website to download a job application and fax to (954) 653-1195 www.sumtertransport.com 170 S. Lafayette Drive Sumter, SC 29150 EOE

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It’s Mayo’s “More for your money Christmas Sale�!

Buy 1 Regular Priced Suit, Receive 2nd Suit of Equal Value FREE! Great Selection & Savings!

SHIRTS, TIES, PANTS & SHOES Buy 1, Get a 2nd HALF PRICE! IN-STORE ALTERATIONS, FOR THOSE LAST MINUTE OCCASIONS

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com

Authors present books, meet readers Local writers extol Southern way of life

BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

E

lephant Ear Gallery at 672 Bultman Drive will host authors at a book signing from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Two of them write especially for children, and both were inspired by their own ex-

periences. A writers’ collective contributes a collection of stories, poetry and recipes, all with a Southern perspective.

Although George Long was diagnosed as dyslexic, he grew up with a great love for language, thanks to his mother. In his latest book, “Pocketful of Dreams,” written with first-grade teacher Jennifer Springs and illustrated by Amanda Henke, Long seeks to encourage children, especially those with dyslexia, in pursuing their own dreams, as he has done.

“Pocketful of Dreams” begins as a mother is telling her two young daughters good night, ending with the words, “Happy dreams.” Karen and Sue soon fall asleep and dream their favorite dream, which leaves them craving sweets. Their attempt to raise money to buy candy by starting their own business becomes an endeavor from which they learn valuable lessons.

Long has designed the book’s text boxes with the dyslexic reader in mind.On his website, www. georgelongchildrensbooks.com, he notes that “A dyslexic has a special gift to see things in a different but creative way.” The book is intended to be the first in his “Daddy Always Says” series.

Anita Kieslich is a wife, mother, grandmother and semi-retired educator. She has a doctorate in education and more than 40 years’ experience in teaching, counseling, educational technical assistance, early childhood training and managing child care programs. Both of her books, “Friends Forever” and “Old, Young and New: Forever Friends,” were inspired by events in her life.

She was prompted to write “Friends Forever” when her son was preparing to leave for college, Kieslich said. “It’s about saying goodbye and that it was OK for him to go. I decided to do it in a children’s book format.”

Kieslich’s characters are Kevin, a young boy, and Henderson, a mallard duck who lives on Wilson’s Pond in Sumter. The two become best friends, but must part at a point in the narra-

PHOTO PROVIDED

Author George Long will be at the Elephant Ear Gallery on Thursday to talk about his children’s book, “Pocketful of Dreams” and sign copies for readers. tive; however, Kieslich said making friends is an important part of a child’s life. She has led activities for schools based on the theme of the book.

“I also took some copies to Shaw Air Force Base, where servicemen are often deployed and separated from family,” she said, “and later I found that a major in Afghanistan had read it to his daughter. I was very pleased.”

That was the impetus for the second book, which takes place 25 years later at Surfside Beach and has some of the same characters, most notably Kevin and Henderson. Now Kieslich is considering writing a third.

The 15 members of the Camden Writers group follow their first book, “Serving Up Memory,” with another anthology titled “What I Wish I Could Tell You: Stories, Poetry & Recipes.”

Many of the writers are from the Sumter area.

Myra Yeatts, who has three nonfic-

ITEM FILE PHOTO

Anita Kieslich talks about her children’s book, “Friends Forever,” during an event at the Sumter County Library in July 2010. She has recently published a sequel titled “Young, Old and New: Forever Friends.” Kieslich will have copies of both books at a signing from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Elephant Ear Gallery on Bultman Drive. tion stories about her childhood in the book, said the title was chosen by the editors because, as they say in the preface, the book’s title is shared “with a poem included in these pages ... (and) our common theme seemed to echo the sense of longing expressed in those words.”

The aim of the writers ... “is to use our voices to say what and who we remember, what has touched us, grieved us or given us joy.”

All of the work in the book is nonfiction, and all is nostalgic to a degree.

Martha Dabbs Greenway, who lives in the eastern part of Sumter County, has a poem titled “I’m Crazy” that has a different twist on the “diagnosis” and is a paean to the South.

Brenda Bevan Remmes has four

pieces in the anthology, one offering a memory about her sister, Megan Bevan, who died young, and two poems written by Megan Bevan. The fourth piece is about Remmes’ older sister.

Yeatts added that several members of the Camden Writers who have contributed recipes to the anthology will have tastings from some of the dishes.

Yeatts, Greenway and Remmes will represent the Camden Writers at the book signing on Thursday.

The Elephant Ear Gallery, 672 Bultman Drive, presents authors of three books to meet readers and sign their books from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday. All books will be available for purchase.

Refreshments will be served. For more information, call (803) 773-2268.

Mystery plant is not good for climbing or treehouses

BY JOHN NELSON Curator, USC Herbarium Taxonomy: It is a word that suggests a scientific approach to naming organisms and then to classifying them into convenient groups. The ancient Greeks, for a time, thought that all the plants of the world could be divided into three groups: trees, shrubs and herbs. Well, this works, sort of, but it doesn’t actually suggest relationships between the groups involved.

(And what do we do about viny plants?)

Since that time, and since a number of other curious classification schemes have been proposed, modern plant taxonomy now attempts to group plants according to what we call “natural” schemes, such that closely related plants are grouped together. There is even a light-hearted classifi-

PHOTO PROVIDED

This mystery plant has growth up and down the bark that tastes bitter and medicinal when chewed. cation of plants, dividing them into two groups: plants that are good for climbing and for tree-houses, and plants that are not. This

week’s Mystery Plant, of course, would fall squarely into the latter group.

Its bark is covered with massive, corky growths up and down the trunk, each one equipped with a sharp, stiff prickle. Not only that, but the younger twigs, and especially the leaf-stalks, are also quite thorny. This is a small deciduous tree, or sometimes a large shrub, found naturally along the coast from southeastern Virginia down into most of Florida. Then it swings over to Texas, and even gets up into Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma.

Along the Atlantic coast, it is often associated with sandy maritime forests just inland from the ocean. It’s also a fairly common component of ancient shell “middens,” which are massive deposits of shells (mostly oysters of course), put there by coastal

Native Americans following their seafood harvests.

It really is an attractive plant. It forms pinnately compound leaves, falling in the winter, each one featuring 8-12 slightly curved, shiny green, leathery leaflets, scalloped along the edges. The flowers are small and yellowgreen, produced in clusters at the end of a leafy branch.

Each flower eventually forms a small, green berry-like fruit, containing a single dark seed. Its wood is rather yellow, just below the bark, and its genus name suggests this in Greek.

What is especially noteworthy about this tree involves its chemical constituents. Various aromatic compounds are produced in its tissues which impart to them a peculiarly medicinal, somewhat bitter taste, when chewed. The inner bark is especially rich

in this oily material, but then so are the leaves. If you were to chew on a handful of leaflets (easier to try than chewing on the bark) you would probably detect a strong citrusy/orange-peel/kumquat flavor, and then have your tongue and lips start to go numb. (You have to use your imagination a bit on this part, but believe me, it is a VERY interesting flavor!)

As you might expect, considerable medicinal use of this plant’s parts has been made in the past, and you can still buy various concoctions and tinctures of it. The connection to the orange-peel flavor makes a lot of sense, botanically, because this tree is actually related to oranges, and is now classified as a member of the citrus family.

Answer: “Toothache Tree,” Zanthoxylum clava-herculis

At Your Service Home Care Your Concierge ~ Steward ~ Guide to home care and beyond Personal Assistance for safe daily living VA, Medicaid, Long Term Insurance Provider www.ays-homecare.com 1250 Wilson Hall Rd | Sumter, SC 29150

803-607-9677

37 W. Rigby St | Manning, SC 29102

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COMICS

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016

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

Husband’s cruelty extends even to family cat

Dear Abby ABIGAIL VAN BUREN

DEAR ABBY — My husband drinks a lot.

When he does, his personality changes to the point that I don't want to be around him.

He's aware of this, but he continues

to drink.

Recently I caught him sneaking alcohol, so I hid the bottle. When he realized what I had done, he retaliated by letting our cat out after dark, which we don't do because of the coyotes in our area. (We recently lost a cat to them after dark.) After he did it, "Joe" nonchalantly let me

JUMBLE THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

know the cat was outside. He didn't say why he did it, but I figured it out.

I know he's an alcoholic, but isn't this evil? It feels evil.

Or is it the stunted, vindictive mind of an alcoholic?

Let the cat out DEAR LET THE CAT OUT — Whether your husband's mind is stunted, I can't say.

But what he did was, indeed, vindictive. It was also cruel.

As your letter shows, alcoholism is a disease that affects not only the alcoholic, but also the people who are close to them.

Whether you can continue living this way is for you to decide, but before making up your mind, you would be wise to visit some Al-Anon meetings. To find one near you,

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

visit al-anon.alateen.org or call 1-888-4-ALANON. Please don't wait.

DEAR ABBY — I work in a large medical facility that relies on nurses to attend every shift they are assigned. Last Christmas a nurse I know called in saying her father had died. The thing is, I have known her for years, and her father has been dead as long as I have known her. Would it be snitching to tell my supervisor what I know?

Shorthanded in New England DEAR SHORTHANDED —– Yes, it would. But it wouldn't be snitching to inform the nurse that lying to get out of work is not only unfair to the rest of you, but also unprofessional.

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

By Alex Eaton-Salners

ACROSS 1 Host who says, “Solve or spin” 6 Possibilities 9 Apple remains 14 The Quakers of the Ivy League, briefly 15 __-mo replay 16 Hairbrush target 17 *TV screen film format 19 Biology dish eponym 20 __ Enterprise 21 Very long periods 22 It may be carried in a boardroom 23 Sit-up targets 24 *At-your-desk assignment 26 Out 29 Any’tizers Boneless Chicken Wyngz maker 30 Ben who plays an economics teacher in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” 31 Mata __ 33 Put on the cloud, say 36 Luv 37 *Summertime destination for kids 40 Cut of lamb

41 Redheaded sitcom kid 43 Pre-owned 44 Have credit from 46 Shaped like a kiwi 48 Sun Bowl city 50 *Building inspector’s concern 53 Braz. neighbor 54 Says “Hi, sailor” to, say 55 One-named Irish singer 57 Canonized Fr. female 60 Lo-cal brews 61 *As sequenced in this grid, what the answers to starred clues form 63 Japanese dog 64 Plot device?

65 Hard-tounderstand “South Park” character 66 Exams 67 Gives the nod 68 “Later!”

DOWN 1 “Star Trek” role for Cho 2 Mirrors 3 New York team that plays home games in New Jersey

12/14/16 4 5 6 7 8

Carpenter __ Plié, for one Card catalog ID Oral-B Glide, e.g.

Name on a Chicago cap 9 Big bills, slangily 10 Boxing combos 11 Bases 12 “Oops!” inciter 13 Sneak (away), as in shame 18 Wine choice 22 Actress __ Bialik of “The Big Bang Theory” 23 “Aladdin” hero 25 Online investment service 26 At the summit 27 Ailment similar to spring fever 28 Course of action?

30 “Shameless” airer, briefly 32 Versatile blackjack card 34 Presidential no 35 Swelled head 38 VW and BMW 39 Fizzy candy 42 ‘50s-’60s Illinois senator Dirksen 45 Tail movement 47 Steps in for 49 Touch down 50 E equivalent, in music 51 “Looking good!”

52 Reader’s download 56 Mined finds 57 Of sound mind 58 Teensy-weensy 59 One-named Irish singer 61 “__ cares?”

62 Half a giggle

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

12/14/16

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New Fox series ‘Star’ goes over the top in a hurry

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH Overnight-sensation stories and backstage dramas are as old or older than the first incarnation of “A Star is Born.”

Fox’s new series “Star” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14,) suffers from all of the pitfalls of the genre.

There’s no question that “Star” is over-the-top and frequently absurd. But is it bad enough to become a guilty pleasure? People made “Valley of the Dolls” and “Showgirls” with the best of intentions.

But we’re still laughing at them decades after their release.

Give “Star” credit for casting new faces. Jude Demorest stars in the title role as a hardened veteran of the foster care machine. She’s first seen bolting from a dreary couple who use her as a household service and only care about their payment from the system. She goes in search of her sister Simone (Brittany O’Grady), who has been consigned to a far grimmer foster care fate in a home where she has been regularly abused. Not to give too much away, but Star liberates Simone with an act of audacious violence.

Seemingly unshaken by the ferocity of their actions, not to mention the peril of their plight, the girls hightail it to Atlanta, where Star hopes they can rekindle their musical collaboration, find a manager and seek out Carlotta (Queen Latifah), a hairdresser friend of their late mother.

Carlotta has apparently left a hardened past to sing in her church choir and follow the straight and narrow path.

Included in this odyssey is Alexandra (Ryan Destiny, another newcomer), a spoiled and posh New Yorker who befriended Star on Instagram and is convinced that she, Star and Simone have all the makings of a super girl group. Unbeknownst to all but Alexandra (and us), she is actually the daughter of a musical superstar (Lenny Kravitz) against whom she rebels because his music lacks purity and soul. Or because he’s a pompous jerk. Or both.

The pilot moves at a million miles an hour and requires astounding coincidences and great dollops of terrible dialogue to do so. We’re supposed to believe that the trio of singers finds a new manager in the

person of Jahil (Benjamin Bratt), who just so happens to be the former manager of Simone and Star’s dead mother back in the day!

Latifah delivers a stirring performance with her church choir, but the new trio bursts upon the club scene fully autotuned, pitch perfect and flawlessly choreographed.

“Star” arrives in the wake of FX’s “Atlanta,” a superior series also set on the fringes of Atlanta’s music scene, but without a sense of the soap opera. “Star” even makes Netflix’s baroque hip-hop history “The Get Down” seem realistic. For a series that offers a few nods to female solidarity and empowerment, “Star” features frequent scenes of its characters in their underwear, when they’re not performing in “gentlemen’s” clubs.

In the end, viewers can handle the ridiculous; it’s the slickness of the package that sinks this “Star.”

TONIGHT’S HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS AND EPISODES • YouTube sensations and veterans of NBC’s “The Sing Off” celebrate their own showcase “A Pentatonix Christmas

Special” (8 p.m., NBC) with guests Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson.

• A Hanukkah carol on “The Goldbergs” (8 p.m., ABC, TVPG).

• Dean Cain hosts the holiday countdown “Top 12 Greatest Christmas Movies of All Time” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).

• A choir crisis on “Speechless” (8:30 ABC, TV-PG).

• “Saturday Night Live” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14) offers sketches past and present on “SNL Christmas 2016.”

• Dre has high holiday expectations on “black-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT Chelsea Handler hosts Kate Hudson, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Cameron Dallas, Taylor Caniff and Aaron Carpenter on “Chelsea” (streaming on Netflix) * Keegan-Michael Key, Ana Gasteyer, Ken Hall, Alice Wetterlund, Luka Jones, Bjorn Gustafsson, Michael Cassidy, Oscar Nunez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Brian Huskey appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Neil Patrick Harris and Megan Mullally are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Col-

bert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elle Fanning and Childish Gambino on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Mindy Kaling, Eric McCormack and Dave Lombardo visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) * Natalie Portman, Annette Bening and Neil Diamond appear on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2016 United Feature Syndicate

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Cookie’s concert boosts Angelo’s campaign on the fall finale of “Empire” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

• Kirkman suspects a mole on “Designated Survivor” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

• An amateur historian unravels an art mystery on “Secrets of the Dead: Van Gogh’s Ear” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).

• The BBC Music Awards (10 p.m., BBC America, TV-14) honor the best from 2016.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mini pies take center stage as holiday dessert option

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press hen I have a lot of people

W

coming over, I love to make mini pies, or "pie cups." I

coined the name "pie cup" when I created a "pie program" for one of my restaurants and vowed to make pie the new cupcake in NYC. Since then, the mini, hand-held pie has exploded in popularity. The beauty of the mini pies is that they are portable, easy to make and the perfect proportion size.

Most people I know don't make their own pie because they are afraid to make the pie

dough from scratch. There is so much pressure on the cook for Thanksgiving that the holiday is not the time to learn how to make pie dough. This recipe offers the option of using pre-made grahamcracker crusts. If you already make your own pie dough, you can make this pie in mini pie shells or a muffin pan.

Once the pie crust is taken care of, you will understand the meaning of "easy as pie": Assembling the filling requires just a bowl and a fork.

I add dark chocolate to a traditional pecan pie for all those chocolate lovers out there. I also add a touch of Kahlua to deepen the flavor of the chocolate, but you could stick with the traditional bourbon if you prefer. If you don't like pecans, this pie is also delicious made with walnuts.

MINI CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE CUPS Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 12 12 individual Keebler graham cracker pie shells or homemade 3-inch pie shells 1 cup pecan halves plus more for decorating the tops (substitute walnuts if you prefer) 4 tablespoons butter, melted 2/3 cup granulated white sugar 1/2 cup dark corn syrup 2 large eggs, beaten 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 4 ounces 70 percent bittersweet chocolate, melted 1 heaping teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons of Kahlua Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put two tablespoons of nuts into each unbaked pie shell. Set aside.

Combine butter, granulated sugar, corn syrup, eggs, salt, chocolate, vanilla and Kahlua and stir until well mixed.

Place the mini pie crusts on a half sheet pan. Pour the pie mixture on top of nuts just until the first line of the crust (if you made your own crust, this is about 1/4 inch from the top). Do not overfill as they will puff up as they bake. Decorate the tops of the pies with a few nuts.

Place the sheet pan in the center rack of the oven. Bake about 20 minutes or until cooked through, a little puffy and crusty on top. Let cool on a rack for at least 3 hours. Refrigerate leftover pie.

Serve warm with whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream if you choose. The pies are also good cold the next day.

Nutrition information per serving: 272 calories; 142 calories from fat; 16 g fat (6 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 46 mg cholesterol; 84 mg sodium; 33 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 27 g sugar; 3 g protein.

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This cheesy, spicy cracker is good enough to give as gifts

BY SARA MOULTON The Associated Press When I was a kid, my parents sometimes brought home tins of deliriously delicious cheese crackers. I can't remember the brand — I think it was a British import — but I do remember that my sister and brother and I would inhale them as soon as the tin was opened. All these years later the flavor of those crackers, richly cheesy and spicy, remains burned into my memory. This recipe is my attempt to resurrect them.

SPICY CHEESE CRACKERS Start to finish: 2 hours 10 minutes (40 minutes active) Makes about 50 crackers 1/2 pound extra-sharp cheddar, coarsely grated 5 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided 1 1/2 cups (6 1/3 ounces) all-purpose flour 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks 1 1/2 teaspoons Colman's Mustard powder, divided 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne, divided 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons ice water In a food processor, combine the cheddar and 4 ounces of the Parmesan. Pulse until the cheddar is finely chopped. Add the flour, butter, 1/2 teaspoon of the mustard, the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne. Pulse until the mixture looks like small pellets. Add the Worcestershire sauce and ice water, then pulse until just combined.

Pour the dough onto the counter, divide it into two mounds, then use the palm of your hands to smear each mound across the counter several times, or until it comes together quickly when you press it with your fingers.

Transfer each half of the dough onto a 16-inch-long sheet of plastic wrap. Shape into a 12-inch log (about 1 1/2 inches around), using the plastic as needed, then wrap tightly in the plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 325 F. Line two sheet pans with kitchen parchment and position one of the oven racks in the center of the oven.

On a large plate, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon of mustard and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. Remove one of the cylinders from the refrigerator. Unwrap the dough, then roll it in the spice mix, rubbing off the excess spice. Slice the dough crosswise about 1/3 inch thick. Arrange the dough rounds on the prepared sheet pans, about 1/2 inch apart.

Sprinkle each round with a pinch of the additional Parmesan cheese and bake on the oven's middle and bottom shelves, switching places halfway through, until dark golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Nutrition information per cracker: 60 calories; 40 calories from fat (67 percent of total calories); 4 g fat (2.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 10 mg cholesterol; 100 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 2 g protein.

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