Budget cuts to ground Shaw jets BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com The 77th Fighter Squadron has been ordered to stand down upon its return to Shaw Air Force Base because of budget cuts triggered by sequestration. Tuesdayâs announcement comes as HOSTAGE the Air Force plans to trim about 45,000 flying training hours force-wide between now and October because of cuts to the militaryâs operations and maintenance funding. About one third of all active-duty combat planes will be affected by the cuts, the Air Force said. âWe must implement a tiered readiness concept where only the units preparing to deploy in support of major operations like Afghanistan are fully mission capable,â said Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of the Air Forceâs Air Combat Command. âUnits will stand down on a rotating basis so our limited resources can be focused on fulfilling critical missions.â The decision by the Air Force to stand down the 77th â also known as âThe Gamblersâ â became known just a week after Capt. James Steel, a pilot with the squadron, died after his F-16 crashed while on deployment in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, the South Carolina Air Force Association named the 77th as the Outstanding Unit of the Year and Capt. Matthew A. Austin of the 77th as this yearâs Outstanding Aviator. According to the Air Force, the stand down will remain in effect for the remainder of the fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, unless funding levels are changed by the federal government. âHistorically, the Air Force has not operated under a tiered readiness construct because of the SEE F-16s, PAGE A5
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F-16s will stand down
BELOW: Haley will be in Alcolu for industry opening
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Child, 3, apparently shoots himself, dies BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com
JADE ANDERSON / THE ITEM
Sumter Police Department Deputy Chief Alvin Holston talks during a news conference Tuesday about the death of a 3-yearold boy from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A 3-year-old boy is dead following an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Sumter Police Department. âIâm a father, and this is very difficult,â said Deputy Chief Alvin Holston. âThree years old is about as innocent as they come. Itâs been a tough morning for the agency.â Since the mother has not been notified, the department had not released the childâs name as of press time. A call came into dispatch about 10 a.m. Tuesday that a gun had possibly been fired in an apartment in Magnolia Manor off South Pike East near U.S. 401. The occupant
was the childâs uncle, and he called 911. The 3-year-old and an unspecified number of others were visiting from Lilburn, Ga., on what Holston thinks was spring break. In addition to the uncle, two other children were at the home at the time of the incident. Upon arrival, officers discovered the boy with a wound to his upper body. Emergency Medical Services responded, but it was soon determined the injury was fatal. No one else in the apartment was hurt, Holston said, and the uncle was visibly distraught. âAll this information is from the preliminary investigation,â he said. âWeâll be SEE BOY DIES, PAGE A8
Fire engulfs downtown shops Smoke pours from the second floor of Discount Flowers & Gifts on Tuesday as firefighters from across Sumter County responded to the all-call blaze. Fire personnel had the flames under control in an hour and contained to one shop on the street. Preliminary estimates set the damage to the building and its contents at $500,000.
BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE ITEM
Preliminary estimates: $500,000 to building and its contents BY BRISTOW MARCHANT AND JADE ANDERSON bmarchant@theitem.com, janderson@theitem.com Fire billowed out of a downtown building Tuesday afternoon, forcing firefighters from across Sumter County to scramble to stop the two-sto-
ry blaze from engulfing neighboring structures. About 50 firefighters responded to the fire inside Discount Flowers & Gifts on the corner of West Liberty and North Sumter streets about 3 p.m., and police closed Liberty Street to traf-
fic between Main and Washington streets to make room for ladder trucks and ambulances. Capt. Brian Horton of the Sumter Fire Department said firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the floral shop but that three other
businesses that share a roof with the store were filled with smoke as well. Preliminary estimates set the damage to the building and its contents at $500,000. Horton said an estimated $1 SEE FIRE, PAGE A5
Haley heads to Alcolu for Georgia-Pacific opening FROM STAFF REPORTS Georgia-Pacific officials, along with Gov. Nikki Haley, will be in Alcolu today to celebrate the start-up of the companyâs OSB mill. The plant, located at 8250 Sumter
20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
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Highway, will provide 130 jobs in Clarendon County. Company CEO and President Jim Hannan, executive vice president of Building Products Mark Luetters, Haley and local officials are expected to make statements and tour the plant.
Construction of the current facility began in 2007 by a Canadian company, Grant Products, which completed 80 percent of the facility before the construction market bottomed out and the need for oriented strand board plummeted. In 2010, Georgia-
DEATHS Frances C. Martin John Smith Wallace Harriet O. Felkel Carolyn Thomas Hazel Rose Jr. Lue Ellen Johnson Lee Roy Lynch Sr. B6 Theodore âFindiousâ Hammett Jr.
Pacific purchased the Clarendon plant, Allendale plant and a plant in Canada from Grant Products for about $400 million. Georgia-Pacific then spent an additional $30 million SEE PLANT, PAGE A8
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