April 11, 2014

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Judge orders Tuomey to set aside $70M Hospital must come up with money to continue appeal

BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com (803) 774-1201 Tuomey Healthcare System has been ordered to place $70 million into bonds and escrow accounts in order to continue with its appeal of a $237.5

million judgment against it, a federal judge announced Thursday.

Senior U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour has given the local hospital 10 days to respond to her ruling, which requires $30 million in a bond and an additional $40 million in escrow. Tuomey already had $50 million placed in escrow back in 2010 because of a previous judge’s ruling, meaning the hospital essentially has slightly less than two weeks to come up with

an additional $20 million.

“While we’ve not yet had an opportunity to fully review this current ruling, we have been considering our options and developing contingency plans over the last several months,” said Michael Schwartz, interim president and CEO for Tuomey. “During the next seven to 10 days, we will explore our options and look at what is best for this hospital and its employees.”

Tuomey is facing the $237.5 million

judgment against it after a federal jury last year found the hospital in violation of Stark Law because of illegal contracts with several of its doctors, and because of this had submitted more than 21,000 Medicare claims between 2005 and 2009.

Without any kind of ruling from Seymour, federal rules would have forced Tuomey to place about $300

Emergency workers lift a 23-year-old man into a LifeNet helicopter on Thursday after his leg was severed during a single-vehicle wreck on U.S. 378.

Students could fail exit exam, graduate

Army sergeant saves wreck victim’s life

ROB COTTINGHAM / THE SUMTER ITEM

SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A10

Bill would toss out requirement to pass test to earn diploma

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com (803) 774-1214

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sumter Fire Department firefighters work examine the scene where a tanker slammed into a tree along U.S. 378 on Thursday, injuring both the driver and passenger. Sgt. 1st Class John Jackson saw the wreck happen as he was driving to work at Shaw Air Force Base and helped both men from the truck, which was leaking fuel. “Despite the risks, you have to do something to help people in danger,” he said.

Soldier comes upon scene, applies tourniquet to man’s severed leg

BY ROB COTTINGHAM rcottingham@theitem.com (803) 774-1225 A 23-year-old man is fortunate to be alive after an Army sergeant placed a tourniquet on his severed right leg after a Thursday morning wreck on U.S. 378.

About 9:50 a.m. Thursday, emergency workers responded to the scene of a single-vehicle wreck involving a large utility truck about two miles west of S.C. 261 on U.S. 378. According to Lance Cpl. David Jones of South Caro-

lina Highway Patrol, the commercial pump truck was traveling east when a tire blew out, sending the vehicle off the right side of the road. The truck then struck a tree, severJACKSON ing the leg of the passenger.

Luckily, Sgt. 1st Class John Jackson was driving down U.S. 378 on his way to work when he saw the truck drive off the road.

“I was coming to work (at Shaw Air Force Base) and saw the truck swerve

off the road in my rearview mirror,” Jackson said. “I turned around and drove across the median to head back and see if I could help.”

When Jackson got to the wrecked truck, he said he could hear the driver and passenger moaning and screaming inside.

“They were yelling from inside, one of them saying he was stuck,” Jackson said. “I could smell and hear the diesel fuel pouring out the side, so I knew I had to move quickly.”

SEE SAVED, PAGE A10

House hopeful gets 1 year for Medicaid fraud

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com (803) 774-1211 COLUMBIA — Willie Bethune, a current candidate for state House District 64, has been sentenced to one year in jail after being convicted on 10 counts of

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Medicaid fraud while providing counseling services to students in Clarendon School District One. During his two-day trial in Columbia before judge Robert Hood, Bethune was accused of committing the fraud while working as a contract social worker in 2010 for Youth Options, which provided

the services for the rural school district.

Prosecutors convinced the jury Bethune signed documents enrolling school children in sex education and pregnancy prevention classes that contained forged BETHUNE

SEE FRAUD, PAGE A10

DEATHS, B7 Margaret Spitzer Hannah Dais Alfred J. Harper Jessie Mae H. Mitchell Mae A. Jones Pearline McCoy

South Carolina high schools might be facing a major change to requirements for students to receive a high school diploma. The State House of Representatives recently concurred with the amendments the state Senate made to House Bill 3919 regarding exit exam testing in the state.

The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement for high school students to pass the High School Assessment Program exam before receiving a diploma. It would also create a method for past high school students who were denied a diploma because of failed HSAP scores to receive their diploma.

According to the terms of the bill, students will still be required to take the HSAP exam, but there will be no minimum score requirement for the students to graduate from high school. HB3919 will also call for “the Department of Education to remove any conflicting requirements and promulgate conforming changes in its applicable regulations” for the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and early childhood academic assistance.

In past years, high school students would first take the HSAP exam in 10th grade. If they didn’t meet the minimum score requirements, they were given the opportunity to take the exam again in the 11th grade and again their senior year if they didn’t meet the minimum score on their second try.

Students who were still unable to pass parts of the exam during their final year in high school received a certificate and the opportunity to attend an adult education center.

The bill is now on its way to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk, and if signed, it can have a huge

Marion Bradley Gussie Thames Sr. Cornell Prince Charles G. Klein Thomas T. Evans Hallie Wheeler

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Groups don’t qualify for housing funds

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 Low-income residents hoping to find a home may lose one source of help under new federal housing rules.

Two Sumter organizations will lose their designation as community housing development organizations (CHDOs or “cho-dos”) under guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will cost them access to federal set-aside funds used to build homes.

The problem is both the city and county community development efforts in Sumter are run by local governments, but HUD guidelines issued last year require CHDOs to be established as private nonprofits.

“If the people running the CHDO are employed by a government entity, that organization does not qualify,” said Sumter County councilwoman Vivian Fleming-McGhaney, who represents the county on the Santee-Lynches

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House passes bill to improve military life COLUMBIA — The South Carolina House gave overwhelming approval Thursday to a measure designed to improve life for military men and women and to fend off military base closures as the Pentagon slims its ranks.

“We don’t want to lose our bases,” said Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Mount Pleasant, one of the chief architects of the bill. Limehouse’s wide-ranging measure was set for a perfunctory vote today that will move it to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. Several bills dealing with similar matters contained in the House bill have languished in the Senate.

The House measure waives a one-year waiting period for instate tuition at state colleges and universities for military men and women and their dependents. It also supports the creation of special courts across the state to treat veterans who have run into legal trouble but are nonviolent and directs them toward treatment programs.

Bills could outlaw most contraception, abortion COLUMBIA — A Senate panel has advanced legislation that opponents say could outlaw abortion and emergency contraception in South Carolina.

The Judiciary Subcommittee on Thursday approved 3-2 the “Pregnant Women’s Protection Act,” which states a pregnant woman has a right to use deadly force to defend her unborn child from any threat.

Opponents are concerned with its language and call it a back-door attempt to end abortions. Supporters said it is needed to stop physical attacks on pregnant women even though state law already gives residents the right to use deadly force to protect themselves against an attacker wherever they are.

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Construction crews recently install the roofing beams on a home built with community development funds on the corner of Thomas Drive and North Guignard Drive. A recent change in federal HUD guidelines means development efforts headed by public employees will no longer be able to draw on funds for community housing development organizations, or CHDOs. Home Consortium, which assists CHDOs across a four-county area.

The new rules mean local offices will have less access to money that

helps put roofs over the heads of needy families.

“That’s going to cut 30 or 40 extra thousand dollars that we can’t get any more if we’re not a CHDO,” said Clarence Gaines, the city of Sumter community development director.

The decision will leave only two federally recognized CHDOs operating in the Santee-Lynches area — Clarendon County Community Development Corp. and Santee Lynches Affordable Housing, which both operate without public employees.

Sumter’s city community development office currently has seven lowincome households on a waiting list for housing assistance, but only two homes are currently under construction using public funds. Assistance is available for residents who make up to 80 percent of the area’s median income.

Gaines has funding available for construction of two more homes, but then he may have to find other uses for funds that were already dwindling before HUD’s decision.

“Two years ago, it was $180,000 to $190,000 (combining the CHDO setaside with other federal funds). With the new money this year, the total is about $85,000,” Gaines said. “That’s not really enough to build a house.”

Federal funds can also be used for housing repairs, demolitions and for community development outfits to operate a home as a rental property, but the city mostly uses its HUD funds for new construction of affordable housing.

The now ex-CHDOs will still have access to other state and federal housing money and have the option of restructuring themselves to re-qualify as federal CHDOs. But officials are unhappy with the position this change puts on the communities those organizations serve.

“We don’t like it,” McGhaney said of the Home Consortium. “The funding is already limited, and there’s a long waiting list of indigent clientele. If this new definition of a CHDO causes these organizations to be disqualified, it’s going to cause hardship.”

Ebenezer FBLA participates in Green Week

BY RAYTEVIA EVANS revans@theitem.com (803) 774-1214 One of the best ways to learn how to get involved in your community and how to save the environment is to participate.

This week, students involved in Future Business Leaders of America at Ebenezer Middle School participated in the national organization’s Green Week and encouraged the help of faculty, staff and classmates. Career Specialist and FBLA adviser Audrey Keys organized the events for the week and got the whole school involved.

“Green Week is a part of the FBLA program at the middle school level, but we organized it for all students to participate. With the FBLA program, they have a list of things the students can do, and one of them is to have a Green Week. So the school has a Tic-Tac-Toe board of activities to complete throughout the week,” Keys said.

Starting Monday, students brought in plastic bags to recycle and recognized the team that brought in the most bags. On Tuesday, students viewed a video that showed different ways to help the environment, and on Wednesday, they picked up trash along Ebenezer and Queen Chapel roads. Thursday, the students had a dance where most of the students wore green, and today they will use the money from Thursday’s dance to plant a tree.

For many students, Green Week was a learning experience, and what they’ve learned is applicable to their everyday lives. Jahzir Morales, 14, said he learned more about recycling and other uses for plastic bottles.

Solar energy and different

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

An Ebenezer Middle School student puts on a safety vest before picking up trash Wednesday after school. Members of Future Business Leaders of America at the school, as well as other students, participated in the national organization’s Green Week this week. sources of light were also topics the students learned about during their different activities this past week.

“I learned it’s helpful to turn off electronics. You can reduce electricity, and use more sunlight from the windows,” said 14-year-old

Jimmy Galan.

This week’s experience has also given some students a little bit of insight into their future college studies. Kerrington Peterson, 14, said she wants to study health science in the future, so the experience

this week has taught her about environmental science, as well as biology.

FBLA is a nonprofit education association with about a quarter-million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields.

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Make your Job Access with Speech program graduates health care wishes known

BY JADE REYNOLDS jade@theitem.com (803) 774-1250 A couple of women at Tuomey want to help you address the elephant in the room — end-of-life care.

April 16 is the 7th annual National Healthcare Decisions Day, an initiative aimed at educating and empowering people about advance care planning.

For free, Chris Blakley, a registered nurse with Tuomey Home Service, and Rebecca Kimbrell, a registered nurse and Tuomey’s hospice clinical manager, will help people fill out a document entitled “Five BLAKLEY Wishes” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Tuomey Regional Medical Center’s private dining room. The document, which is provided by KIMBRELL Aging with Dignity, outlines health care wishes and helps make sure everyone is on the same page, she said. A notary will be on hand as well.

“We don’t always think about it at our age. Our parents still seem invincible,” Blakley said. “But WANT we’ve seen TO GO? it in the news so WHAT: National many Healthcare times, peoDecisions Day ple put on WHEN: from 10 ventilaa.m. to 2 p.m. tors, and April 16 sometimes WHERE: Tuomey there is a Regional Medical religious Center, 129 N. concern.

Washington St., We’re private dining afraid to room talk about COST: Free the eleFOR MORE: Call phant in (803) 773-4663 the room.” or email Rebecca Both Kimbrell at Blakley rebecca.kimbrell@ and Kimtuomey.com brell have worked oncology and have seen the difficulties of making decisions for the terminally ill.

“It’s a really hard discussion to have, especially if you are sick,” Kimbrell said. “It’s hard enough to have this conversation without anything else going on.”

But this is not an event for just those with such diseases or the elderly, Blakley said.

Anyone who is 18 and older can fill out the document.

“You can’t predict an accident,” Kimbrell said. “If something tragic happens, you may need an immediate decision. You may have minutes or days. It’s so important that when you’re healthy (and) of sound mind to be clear about what your wishes would be.”

If you have your wishes in writing, it helps guarantee they are followed and takes the burden off your family, she said.

“So it’s your decision, and then they don’t have the guilt,” Blakley said. “We had a situation with my own father. He was no longer able to make the decision of whether or not to be put back in the hospital, but we knew he’d said ‘no.’”

Materials will be provided, and no other documentation is required, she said. The notary will serve as one witness, and Blakley or Kimbrell can serve as the other to complete the “Five Wishes.”

An interpreter will be available for Spanish speakers, and notification is appreciated but not required if an interpreter is desired. They will also read the document to a person if needed, Blakley said.

For more information, call (803) 773-4663 or email Rebecca Kimbrell at rebecca.kimbrell@ tuomey.com.

JACK OSTEEN / THE SUMTER ITEM

From left, William Croft, Sumter Rotary Club secretary; Jamie Campbell, Sumter Rotary Club president; Neil Towery, instructor for Recovery Sight Foundation; Debra Canty, Sumter chapter president for the National Federation of the Blind; and students Dana Bryant and Elayne Hodges are seen after Bryant’s and Hodges’ graduation from the Job Access with Speech program, which helps severely visually impaired Sumter County residents. The six-week class taught by Towery was held at the Church of the Holy Comforter. The graduates are the 49th and 50th students to complete the program. Sumter Rotary Club made its third grant to the Recovery Sight Foundation to help with the cause. For more information about this and any other programs to help the visually impaired, contact Canty at (803) 775-5792.

Penny tax group must cut $35M from list of projects

BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com (803) 774-1272 The group charged with selecting projects for a renewed penny tax is continuing to narrow down its proposed project list but must still close a multimillion dollar gap between the project proposals and how much money the tax is expected to raise to fund them.

After its latest meeting Wednesday, the penny tax steering committee is considering 35 projects for inclusion on the final list, but the total must be fundable by the revenues local officials expected to generate from new tax collections. If approved for a full seven-year period, the penny tax is expected to generate about $75 million. The current list of projects, however, comes out to a total cost of $110 million.

“At this point, it’s all about the money,” County Attorney Johnathan Bryan said after Wednesday’s meeting.

“The hard question is, will this require

this much money or less, which might allow more projects to get on the ballot.”

Some projects could be scaled back to meet revenue projections — roadwork could be limited to a shorter stretch of road, for example. Ahead of their next meeting, members will also collectively rank projects from most to least important. This is on top of the grading scale they already used to assess proposals.

“The analogy I use is a high school class, where you might be able to establish a pecking order based on grades,” Bryan said. “But if you ask the teacher who the best students are, that’s not the same thing.”

The committee will meet again at noon Tuesday to continue discussions in a closed-door executive session for what will be the sixth week of discussion. Once its members finish their part of the process, officials will only have a couple months to complete the next stage of the process.

A final list has to be completed for

voters to consider when they head to the polls in November, which means both the list and the ballot question must be sent to the election commission by Aug. 15 to be placed on the ballot. The question has to be approved in three separate readings by Sumter County Council, which means the latest council can begin the process is its first scheduled meeting in July.

While members of the steering committee are continuing their work, council must soon begin the process of appointing the six-member commission that will take the steering committee’s suggestions and formulate the final list along with the ballot question. Council will then approve the package in an upor-down vote.

The commission will consist of three county council members, two Sumter city council members and one representative from Mayesville.

County council may begin the process of creating that commission at its next meeting April 22.

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$4 billion: Bogus tax refunds a growing problem WASHINGTON (AP) — An Internet connection and a bunch of stolen identities are all it takes for crooks to collect billions of dollars in bogus federal tax refunds. And the scam is proving too pervasive to stop.

A government report released in November said the IRS issued nearly $4 billion in fraudulent tax refunds over the previous year to thieves who were using other people’s personal information. Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that the “scale, scope and execution of these fraud schemes” has grown substantially and the Justice Department in the past year has charged 880 people.

Who’s involved? In a video message released ahead of the April 15 tax filing deadline, Holder said the scams “are carried out by a variety of actors, from greedy tax return preparers to identity brokers who profit from the sale of personal information to gangs and drug rings looking for easy access to cash.”

Even Holder isn’t immune.

Two men pleaded guilty in Georgia last year to trying to get a tax refund by using his name, Social Security number and date of birth on tax forms.

The IRS says it opened nearly 1,500 criminal investigations related to identity theft in fiscal year 2013, a 66 percent increase over the previous year, and has strengthened filters that help detect where the scams are coming from. It says it stops far more fraudulent refunds than it pays out and is making a dent in the problem.

AP FILE PHOTO

Attorney Gen. Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 8. Holder said this week that the “scale, scope and execution of ... (tax refund) fraud schemes” has grown substantially. According to a government report from November, the IRS issued nearly $4 billion in fraudulent tax refunds the previous year.

Still, the schemes have grown more sophisticated, attracting criminals with violent backgrounds who see an easy and safe vehicle for theft, according to law enforcement officials who fear that not enough controls are in place.

“I’ve been on calls with Alabama, Chicago, some other field divisions, where they’re now experiencing people who were from Florida and now moving to other states to conduct this same type of fraud,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jay Bernardo, who works fraud cases in

south Florida.

“Based on the parameters that are in place now,” he added, “it’s very difficult to stop.”

What can taxpayers do? The most important step: Protect their Social Security numbers.

Thieves steal Social Security numbers in any number of ways, including from publicly available sources or workplaces. Victims include school children, prisoners, Medicaid beneficiaries and the deceased.

Criminals use the information to file false returns and then pocket the refund checks, in

Lawyer: Stabbing suspect like ‘deer in headlights’ PITTSBURGH (AP) — The 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing 22 people at his high school was dazed “like a deer in the headlights” hours later and doesn’t fully grasp what he did, his attorney said Thursday as he sketched out the beginnings of a possible mental health defense.

Deepening the mystery of what set off the violence, attorney Patrick Thomassey said Alex Hribal had no history of mental illness or troublemaking, didn’t abuse drugs and was no outcast at school, where the lawyer described him as a B or B-plus student.

“In a case like this, it’s pretty obvious to me that there must be something inside this young man that nobody knew about,” Thomassey said.

The local prosecutor, meanwhile, said Hribal remained an enigma.

“We have very little information about him,” Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said, “except for the fact that he was a student, his age and how he was as a student.”

Authorities seized the family’s computer as they searched for clues to Wednesday’s rampage at Franklin Regional High, about 15 miles from Pittsburgh.

Authorities said Hribal armed himself with two kitchen knives and stabbed 21 students and a security guard before an assistant principal tackled him.

The slender, dark-haired boy who looks younger than his years was jailed without bail on four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault. Authorities are prosecuting him as an adult, but Thomassey said he will try to have the case moved to juvenile court.

He said he plans to get his client examined by a psychiatrist before a preliminary hearing on April 30.

“I think his mental state now is unstable. I’m not sure that he recognizes the enormity, if that’s the word, of what has occurred,” Thomassey said. “And I think in his own mind he’s trying to figure out what happened here, as we all are trying to figure out what the heck happened here.”

The attack seemingly came out of nowhere, the attorney said.

“Both parents are good parents. They’re parents who pay attention to their kids, who eat dinner with their kids every day, who understand their kids’ friends, who, you know, care about who they hang out with,” Thomassey said.

But a school security consultant said it is often the case that school attacks are perpetrated by kids who officials said weren’t on their radar.

“In incident after incident, when you start peeling back

the onion, you find there were some indicators, there certainly were some issues. But it takes some time to find,” said Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services.

“Often times, it’s not the kid who’s the class clown or acting out the most, but the kid who’s changed, who’s turned more introverted or withdrawn,” he said. “I think the one consistent theme across all of these is mental health.”

many cases before the legitimate taxpayers have had a chance to submit their own returns. It’s a crime made easier by electronic tax filing, which lets crooks mass-produce fraudulent returns.

“Part of what’s happening is people are reverse engineering,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told a House subcommittee this week. “You know, you file a thousand fraudulent returns and then you see which ones go through. ... They can adjust faster than we can adjust.”

In a statement Thursday, the

IRS said that it has started more than 200 investigations this filing season into identity theft and refund fraud schemes and that enforcement efforts are taking place nationwide. The agency said investigators are especially focused on the misuse of specialized identification numbers assigned to firms that electronically file tax returns.

The IRS has also said that it’s improved its computer filters to flag suspicious refunds, including cases in which many refunds go to the same address.

In the latest sweep in south Florida, a hub for refund fraud, federal prosecutors last week announced charges against 25 people for using thousands of stolen identities to claim $36 million in fraudulent tax refunds.

In one case, a middle school food services worker is accused of stealing students’ personal information from an electronic database. In another, a jail guard is alleged to have stolen the identities of inmates and used the data to file false refunds. A mail carrier is accused of stealing tax documents out of people’s mailboxes.

In Washington, a barber shop owner pleaded guilty last year to running a $20 million fraud scheme that sought tax returns on behalf of nursing home residents, prisoners and the dead. Some people sold their own personal information, while others turned it over after being led to think they were entitled to “Obama Stimulus Money” or an income tax refund.

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Students’ Jump Rope for Heart a success Students at Lower Lee and West Lee Elementary schools participate in Jump Rope for Heart activities on March 20 and March 21.

The students raised more than $3,000 for the American Heart Association, which funds research, programs and education to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers. Jump Rope for Heart promotes physical activity and heart health through jumping rope or other physical activity. It is co-sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

“The kids enjoyed learning about the importance physical activity plays in strengthening our heart. I think the students understand that through Jump Rope for Heart participation, they all play a role in saving lives. I am amazed at the amount of heart our students showed. The students began the challenge six weeks ago with a goal to raise $1,000, and they certainly exceeded my high expectations,” said Keith Hill, Lower Lee and West Lee Elementary schools’ physical education teacher and Jump Rope for Heart coordinator.

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Obama marks 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act

BY JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press Writer AUSTIN, Texas — Reflecting on the unique power of the office he holds, President Obama on Thursday honored Lyndon B. Johnson as the leader who seized the presidency’s opportunity to shape the “currents of history” and fulfill America’s founding promises of equality.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act that Johnson championed, Obama lauded his Democratic predecessor’s ability to grasp like few others the power of government to bring about change. And as the nation’s first black president, Obama cast himself as benefactor of Johnson’s efforts.

“I have lived out the promise of LBJ’s efforts,” Obama said, speaking at the end of a three-day summit commemorating the landmark law that ended racial discrimination in public places.

The anniversary of the civil rights law’s passage has spurred a renaissance of sorts for Johnson’s domestic agenda, which also included the creation of Medicare, Medicaid and the Voting Rights Act. Against the back-

drop of Obama’s own troubled relationship with Congress, there have also been fresh bouts of nostalgia for Johnson’s mastery of congressional deal-making.

“No one knew politics, and no one loved legislating more than President Johnson,” Obama said. “He was charming when he needed to be, ruthless when required.”

The president also offered rare personal insights into his views on the office he has held for more than five years, casting it as a humbling perch with powerful possibilities.

“Those of us who’ve had the singular privilege to hold the office of the presidency know well that progress in this country can be hard, and it can be slow, frustrating.

And sometimes you’re stymied,” he said.

“You’re reminded daily that in this great democracy, you are but a relay swimmer in the currents of history, bound by decisions of those who came before, reliant on the efforts of those who will follow to fully vindicate your vision,” Obama continued.

“But the presidency also affords a unique opportunity to bend those currents by shaping our laws and by shaping

our debates, by working within the confines of the world as it is, but also by reimagining the world as it should be.”

For Obama, who was criticized by some blacks in his first term for doing too little to help minorities, the commemoration of the Civil Rights Act dovetails with a focus on inequality and eco-

nomic opportunity that has become an early hallmark of his second term with modest success. Democrats have seized on the broader theme as their battle cry for the election year.

Using Johnson’s domestic successes as a model, Obama made the case that the government can still play a role in enacting social programs

that can address inequalities.

“If some of this sounds familiar, it’s because today we remain locked in the same great debate about equality and opportunity and the role of government,” Obama said, noting that 50 years ago, too, some dismissed LBJ’s “Great Society” as a failed experiment that encroached on liberty.

Visit us at Shoneys.com & facebook.com/shoneys

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FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

LOCAL

THE SUMTER ITEM

Man injured in wreck First responders examine a 1996 Toyota Tacoma that caught fire Thursday after the driver crashed into a utility pole on Cains Mill Road.

A witness said she was driving north on Cains Mill Road when the truck swerved off the road, crashed into the pole and caught fire. The driver of the pickup truck was transported to Tuomey Regional Medical Center, but the extent of his injuries is unknown. South Carolina Highway Patrol, along with Sumter Fire Department, blocked traffic on Cains Mill during their investigation. Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the wreck.

PHOTOS BY MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

THE SUMTER ITEM

NATION

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

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Still hungry?

Dieters seek natural ingredients instead of foods low in calories

BY CANDICE CHOI AP Food Industry Writer

burning more calories than you eat.

But dieters are sick of foods NEW YORK — Obsessing that provide only fleeting satover calories alone has left di- isfaction and seem to make eters with an empty feeling. them hungrier. The new thinkThe calorie counting that de- ing is that eating foods with fined dieting for so long is giv- more protein or fat will make ing way to other considerdieters less likely to binge ations, such as the promise of later, even if they’re higher in more fiber or natural ingredicalories. ents. That is chipping away at “People are recognizing that the popularity of products it’s not enough to just go on a such as Diet Coke, Lean Cuidiet and lose weight. Nutrition comes more into play,” said sine and Special K, which became weight-watching staples Margo Wootan, director of nuprimarily by stripping calories trition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, from people’s favorite foods. a health advocacy group.

Part of the problem: “LowMany top brands are trying calorie” foods make people feel deprived. Now, people want to to keep up with the trend: • Special K cereal’s sales are lose weight while still feeling down 7 percent in the past two satisfied. And they want to do years, according to IRI, a marit without foods they consider ket research firm based in processed.

Chicago. Kellogg last year Kelly Pill has been dieting since her son was born in 1990. rolled out Special K Nourish But the 54-year-old resident of hot cereals that tout a blend of grains such as quinoa and barCovina, Calif., made changes ley. A Kellogg executive noted to her approach in recent at the time that people are years. She doesn’t eat Lean looking for nutritional benefits Cuisine microwavable meals rather than just reduced caloas often because she doesn’t find them that filling. She also ries.

• Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine saw switched to Greek yogurt last a 27 percent drop in sales in year to get more protein. the past four years, according “Regular yogurt is really to IRI. So the company introthin,” Pill said. “It was low in duced an “Honestly Good” line calories, but it wasn’t filling.” that boasts of natural ingrediIt’s not that people don’t ents and offers more generous care about calories anymore. servings at about 390 calories Nutrition experts still say per box, rather than the 300 weight loss comes down to

House OKs Ryan budget with big cuts

BY ANDREW TAYLOR The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a GOP budget blueprint that promises a balanced federal ledger in 10 years by making sweeping cuts across the federal budget and eliminating health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The 219-205 vote on the nonbinding framework takes a mostly symbolic swipe at the government’s chronic deficits.

Follow-up legislation to actually implement the cuts isn’t in the cards. Twelve Republicans opposed the measure, and not a single Democrat supported it.

The plan by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would cut more than $5 trillion during the coming decade to reach balance by 2024.

The sharpest cuts would come to health care programs for the poor and uninsured, food stamps and an array of domestic programs, including Pell Grants and education and community development grants.

The follow-up legislation is likely to be limited to a round of annual spending bills that will adhere to a bipartisan budget pact enacted in December.

But the Ryan plan paints a picture of what Republicans will try to do if they claim the Senate this fall and the White House in 2016. Its cuts to entrenched benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, however, would be difficult to pass even if Republicans gain control of both the House and Senate in this fall’s elections.

Democrats are seizing on the debate to cast Republicans as cruelly cutting programs that keep people out of poverty and help sustain the middle class.

“It’s totally out of touch with the priorities and values of the country,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “This is a clear road map of what Republicans in Congress would do if they had the power to do it.”

Republicans say the tough cuts they promise would strengthen the economy because less government borrowing would boost savings and investment. And they say it’s simply unfair to saddle future generations with mountains of debt.

AP FILE PHOTO

Boxes of Kellogg’s Special K cereal are seen at a supermarket in Omaha, Neb., in 2006. Products such as Special K and Lean Cuisine have seen a drop in popularity as dieters demand foods with more fiber and natural ingredients, and as a result, many weight-watching staples are trying to keep up with the trend. calories for regular Lean Cuisine meals.

• Both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi saw sales volume fall by nearly 7 percent last year, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. That was steeper than declines for their full-calorie counterparts.

Executives at Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. blame customers’ move away from artificial sweeteners and say they’re working on sodas using natural low-calorie sweeteners. The drinks are likely to have more calories than traditional diet sodas, but the thinking is that people will accept the tradeoff to avoid artificial ingredients.

• Weight Watchers updated its famous “Points” system in 2010 to consider the protein content of food; the new system is called PointsPlus. It also introduced a “Simply Filling” option that lets people eat from a list of “power foods”

without counting points.

“We know that while calories are calories, how satisfied you are with eating those calories makes a difference,” said Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer at Weight Watchers.

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LOCAL

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM Workers attempt to tow a large utility truck from an embankment along the side of U.S. 378 on Thursday. The vehicle veered off the roadway and slammed into a tree, severing the passenger’s leg.

TUOMEY FROM PAGE A1 million into escrow to pursue its appeal, a figure federal prosecutors recognized was impossible for the local hospital. Instead, prosecutors requested the hospital be ordered to place at least $70 million aside as Tuomey appealed the nine-year-old case, while Tuomey had requested the judge argue for a much lower $30 million level.

During those arSCHWARTZ guments in January, Schwartz said the higher amount could have a significant impact on the hospital. “If we are forced to add additional money or change the way it is held, there is a very real chance the government could force us into bankruptcy and the consequences that would follow,” he said.

In a statement Thursday, Tuomey officials also said they are expecting to appear before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in September, if a settlement is not reached before then. On several instances, both Tuomey officials and prosecuting attorneys have said they hope to reach a settlement in the nine-year-old case, and board chairman John Brabham said the ruling would not change those efforts.

“However, any settlement must include arrangements that leave Tuomey still intact and able to serve the entire Sumter community as it does today,” Brabham said.

In addition to the financial order, Seymour also removed the separation agreements between Tuomey and former Tuomey president and CEO Jay Cox from the case files, declaring that they were irrelevant to the case.

These documents were never available to the public, as they were filed under seal.

FRAUD FROM PAGE A1 signatures of the parents and students. Those documents also asserted Bethune had done face-to-face assessments with the students, something several parents testified was never done.

During the trial, Senior Assistant Attorney Gen. Ken Moore told the jury it was painful and difficult for the parents to testify.

“Their children shouldn’t have been enrolled in a sex education program,” he said.

“You heard the outrage, the shock — one was really angry. She was mad,” he said. “You saw the tears of one of these mommas.”

Prosecutors argued Bethune falsified documents to increase his earnings, noting

ROB COTTINGHAM / THE SUMTER ITEM

SAVED FROM PAGE A1 Jackson spent seven years as a combat medic in the U.S. Army Special Forces, serving four tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. His training and experience took over once he decided to remove the men from the truck.

“The driver seemed to be OK; then I saw sparks and smoke coming from the engine,” Jackson said. “I was afraid the truck was going to blow up, so I wanted to at least get them out of the vehicle.”

Jackson then helped the driver out but told him to be still, he said, as he was unsure of any internal injuries.

Things were much more grim for the passenger.

“He kept saying that his leg was stuck,” Jackson said. “He said it was broken.”

Jackson began clearing debris, and once he could see the passenger’s leg, he noticed it was gone.

“He was missing the lower half of his right leg,” he said. “I knew I was

he made more than $18,000 during the year in question.

Moore said one of the forged documents falsely claimed a 10-year-old girl was on birth control pills.

“One little girl was enrolled in a pregnancy avoidance program. Why? Because Bethune signed an assessment,” Moore said.

The documents in question are initialed “LISW,” indicating that Bethune approved the documents as the “Licensed Independent Social Worker,” required to approve payment for the children’s counseling programs.

Bethune’s conviction stems from an investigation of Youth Options, in which prosecutors uncovered a criminal scheme to defraud the state of Medicaid funds in several counties. Several other Youth Options employ-

EXAMS FROM PAGE A1 effect on past and present high school students in the state of South Carolina.

“This legislation will certainly have an impact on some of our students both past and present, but primarily it has implications for how we hold our schools and districts accountable,” said David C. Trombly, director of teaching, learning and accountability for Sumter School District. “I believe this is just the first step to further changes in the accountability system of the state of South Carolina.”

running out of time.”

A few drivers had stopped to help, and with their assistance, Jackson pulled the passenger out, lowered him to the ground and began treating him.

“I tried to put a tourniquet on with a stick, but it broke,” Jackson said.

“So I used my belt and a wrench and put a tourniquet on his leg. Another soldier stopped. His name was Sgt. Maj. Todd, and he helped with the tourniquet. He gave me his belt to help secure the tourniquet.”

According to Engineer Dan Thomas and Battalion Chief Brian Christmas of Sumter Fire Department, Jackson’s efforts were crucial to saving the wreck victim’s life.

“It was most likely a live-saving measure,” Thomas said.

“If he was suffering arterial bleeding, it would have been a matter of minutes,” Christmas said.

Jackson remained true to form, continuing to treat both victims until they were loaded into EMS vehicles.

“I helped secure him to a spine board and put on his (oxygen) mask,”

ees have been convicted in a scheme where they apparently used their access to the names and personal information of students and parents to forge the documents and filed claims with the South Carolina Medicaid office for work not done.

Bethune’s attorney, Eleazer Carter, argued the forged documents were inserted in paperwork for Bethune to sign without his knowledge, that Youth Options was “a crooked organization” and that Bethune ended his association with the company as soon as he learned of the allegations of wrongdoing.

Bethune testified he usually allowed the person doing the actual assessment to produce the paperwork and he would approve it. He said sometimes the care plans were produced by school em-

HB3919 was originally introduced to state House of Representatives and read for the first time on April 10, 2013, before it was referred to the Committee on Education and Public Works. The Senate received the bill in May 2013 before referring it to the Committee on Education. This year, the Senate passed the bill 45-0 and then returned it to the House, which concurred including the senate’s amendments.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Owens, RPickens, will take effect starting with the class of 2015 if Haley decides to sign the bill into law.

he said regarding the amputee. “Then we put him into the back of the ambulance.”

Shortly after emergency personnel arrived, a LifeNet helicopter was called in to airlift the amputee to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia.

Another man was transported to Tuomey Regional Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.

This is the first time Jackson has saved a civilian’s life, but he remained modest about his heroic efforts.

“There’s a certain responsibility that comes along with simply being a human being,” he said. “Despite the risks, you have to do something to help people in danger.”

The 23-year-old flown to Columbia was last listed in critical condition, but he has a fighting chance thanks to Jackson, who stood strong against the bystander effect.

“I didn’t have time to worry about what other people would do,” Jackson said. “I just wanted to do the best I could to get them out of there to a safe place as fast as I could.”

ployees but that he always had the parents and the children sign off on the treatment plans as well.

“It was not for profit,” Bethune said. “I actually lost money. It was a ministry to me, not work.”

Bethune said he did not always read the documents he signed.

“I might have made a mistake,” Bethune testified. “I trusted the people to type up the documents I gave them.”

Bethune showed little emotion when the verdicts were read. Before sentencing, he

told Judge Robert Hood “I did not do what they said I did.”

Hood sentenced Bethune to one year for each conviction, to be served concurrently.

The defendant was led out of the courtroom by Richland County deputies.

Besides being a frequent candidate for the District 64 state house seat, Bethune is a former magistrate in Clarendon County and was formerly deputy state director for mental health. He also served as executive director for several mental health centers.

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

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item

H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item

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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 Braden Bunch Senior News Editor

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

COMMENTARY

Thought police are on patrol W

ASHINGTON — Two months ago, a petition bearing more than 110,000 signatures was delivered to The Washington Post demanding a ban on any article questioning global warming. The petition arrived the day before publication of my column, which consisted of precisely that heresy.

The column ran as usual. But I was gratified by the show of intolerance because it perfectly illustrated my argument that the left is entering a new phase of ideological agitation — no longer trying to win the debate but stopping debate altogether, banishing from public discourse any and all opposition.

The proper word for that attitude is totalitarian.

It declares certain controversies over and visits serious consequences — from social ostracism to vocational defenestration — upon those who refuse to be silenced.

Sometimes the word comes from on high, as when the president of the United States declares the science of global warming to be “settled.” Anyone who disagrees is then branded “anti-science.” And better still, a “denier” — a brilliantly chosen calumny meant to impute to the climate skeptic the opprobrium normally Charles Krauthammer reserved for the hatemongers and crackpots who deny the Holocaust.

Then last week, another outbreak. The newest closing of the leftist mind is on gay marriage. Just as the science of global warming is settled, so, it seems, are the moral and philosophical merits of gay marriage.

To oppose it is nothing but bigotry, akin to racism.

Opponents are to be similarly marginalized and shunned, destroyed personally and professionally.

Like the CEO of Mozilla who resigned under pressure just 10 days into his job when it was disclosed that six years earlier he had donated to California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

But why stop with Brendan Eich, the victim of this high-tech lynching? Prop 8 passed by half a million votes. Six million Californians joined Eich in the crime of “privileging” traditional marriage.

So did Barack Obama. In that same year, he declared that his Christian beliefs made him oppose gay marriage.

Yet under the new dispensation, this is outright bigotry. By that logic, the man whom the left so ecstatically carried to the White House in 2008 was equally a bigot.

The whole thing is so stupid as to be unworthy of exegesis. There is no logic. What’s at play is sheer ideological prejudice — and the enforcement of the new totalitarian norm that declares, unilaterally, certain issues to be closed.

To this magic circle of forced conformity, the left would like to add certain other policies, resistance to which is deemed a “war on women.” It’s a colorful synonym for sexism. Leveling the charge is a crude way to cut off debate.

Thus, to oppose late-term abortion is to make war on women’s “reproductive health.” Similarly, to question Obamacare’s mandate of free contraception for all.

Some oppose the regulation because of its impingement on the free exercise of religion. Others on the simpler (non-theological) grounds of a skewed hierarchy of values. Under the new law, everything is covered, but a few choice things are given away free. To what does contraception owe its exalted status? Why should it rank above, say, antibiotics for a sick child, for which that same mother must co-pay?

Say that, however, and you are accused of denying women “access to contraception.”

Or try objecting to the new so-called Paycheck Fairness Act for women, which is little more than a full-employment act for trial lawyers. Sex discrimination is already illegal. What these new laws do is relieve the plaintiffs of proving intentional discrimination. To bring suit, they need only to show that women make less in that workplace.

Like the White House, where women make 88 cents to the men’s dollar?

That’s called “disparate impact.” Does anyone really think Obama consciously discriminates against female employees, rather than the disparity being a reflection of experience, work history, etc.? But just to raise such questions is to betray heretical tendencies.

The good news is that the “war on women” charge is mostly cynicism, fodder for campaign-year demagoguery. But the trend is growing. Oppose the current consensus and you’re a denier, a bigot, a homophobe, a sexist, an enemy of the people.

Long a staple of academia, the totalitarian impulse is spreading. What to do? Defend the dissenters, even if — perhaps, especially if — you disagree with their policy. It is — it was? — the American way.

Charles Krauthammer’s email address is letters@ charleskrauthammer.com. © 2014, The Washington Post Writers Group

COMMENTARY

If you think the sky is falling ...

F

orty years is roughly the length of a working lifetime — and long enough for history to have taken some unexpected turns. And to have proved that long-term forecasts based on extrapolations of existing trends usually end up wide of the mark.

The list of failed prophecies from the 1970s is rather long.

The conventional wisdom of the time was more than usually unreliable.

Example: the Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth report in 1972, which predicted that the world was running out of oil and other natural resources.

For a while that seemed right, as the 1973 and 1979 OPEC oil price hikes led to gas lines in the United States.

But in the longer run, as the Club came to recognize, engineers and entrepreneurs found more oil and other natural resources and figured out how to get them to market. Capitalism works and in ways planners don’t expect.

Another common assumption in the early 1970s was that Britain was a fusty, antiquated country that had to join the modern, up-to-date Common Market (now the European Union). Europe’s war-devastated economies had actually grown faster than Britain’s in the quarter-century after World War II. Fast forward to today. It is Europe that looks out of date, with zero economic growth and economies smothered by sclerotic regulation, overlarge welfare states and the poorly conceived euro.

Britain got rid of much of that under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. And thanks to Gordon Brown, it wisely avoided the euro. Now it’s growing solidly while the continent lags.

A third bit of conventional wisdom from the 1970s is that

Asia generally and China in particular could never grow because of the burden of overpopulation.

But Asia’s state-led capitalism and Deng Xiaoping’s adoption of that model in 1978 has made Asia the growth capital of the world. Hundreds of millions have risen from poverty.

As for the population bomb, the biggest problem for Asia and China today is low birth rates and a contracting work force.

These stopped growth in Japan and may Michael do so elseBarone where.

A final thing taken for granted in the 1970s was the enduring strength of the Soviet Union. It was, after all, ramping up its military even as America was recoiling from defeat in Vietnam.

Many seers predicted that the Soviet and Western models would converge, and that Soviet living standards would approach America’s.

It turned out that the very few leaders who predicted the demise of the Soviet Union — Ronald Reagan, Daniel Patrick Moynihan — got it right.

America, once it got the will, could outclass the Soviet military, and economic stagnation and ethnic tensions brought down the “evil empire.”

There are common threads running through these mistaken projections. One is the extrapolation of recent trends far into the future. History doesn’t proceed like a straight line on a graph; sometimes the lines bend.

Another is the assumption that progress means ever-larger states and increasing superintendence by international elites.

But much unpredicted progress has occurred when nations freed markets from the grip of centralized states and private sectors produced innovation that the supposed experts failed to anticipate.

A third common thread builds on the insight of economist Herbert Stein, who said that anything that could not go on forever would some day stop.

This prompts a question: Which of the widely accepted prophecies of today will seem as invalid today as the Club of Rome report? I have my own nominations, made with some confidence since actuarial tables tell me I will not be here in 40 years.

One is that the Chinese Communist regime will remain in place. Remember that it seemed on the verge of tottering in Tiananmen Square in 1989. It’s lasted 25 years since, thanks largely to robust economic growth.

But certain dates in history — 1789, 1917, 1991 — tell us that sudden upheaval is possible when a regime’s legitimacy seems exhausted.

And will today’s conventional wisdom that the planet faces inevitable warming seem as risible in 2054 as the Club of Rome’s prediction of exhausted resources seems today?

We are told that “the science is settled,” when it is in the nature of science never to be settled but always to be subject to verification and revision. I think we’re in for more of that.

Finally, those widely shared views that America’s best days are over. That’s never been a good bet, and I suspect it never will be.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst at the Washington Examiner.

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

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are written by readers of the newspaper. They should be no more than 350 words and sent via e-mail to letters@theitem.com, dropped off at The Sumter Item office, 20 N. Magnolia St. or mailed to The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, S.C. 29151, along with the full name of the writer, plus an address and telephone number for verification purposes only. Letters that exceed 350 words will be cut accordingly in the print edition, but available in their entirety at www.theitem.com/opinion/ letters_to_editor.

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AROUND TOWN The Shepherd’s Center will offer free public information sessions 11-11:50 a.m. each Thursday through May 29 at 24 Council St. Scheduled topics / speakers are as follows: April 17, Lester Clark of Capital Insurance will discuss long-term care insurance; April 24, Catherine Blumberg of S.C. Active Lifestyles will discuss walking for your health; May 1, David O’Brien will discuss social media and staying connected; May 8, Ford Simmons of the Sumter County Library will provide tips and tricks on using your personal computer or iPad; May 15, Cpl. Eddie Hobbes of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office will discuss self defense awareness; May 22, Cpl. Eddie Hobbes will discuss home security; and May 29, Carol Boyd will discuss gardening with herbs.

Free income tax filing services and FAFSA applications will be provided through April 15 as follows: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays, 3-8 p.m. Saturdays, appointments only on Sundays, Goodwill Job-Link Center, 1028 Broad St., (803) 774-5006; and 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, Lee County Adult Education, 123 E. College St., Bishopville, (803) 484-4040. For more information or appointments, call Ms. Samuels at (803) 240-8355.

Sacred Heart Temple No. 835 will sponsor a baked spaghetti dinner sale 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. today at Birnie Elks Lodge No. 1195, U.S. 15 South. Cost: $7 per dinner.

Will deliver for three or more dinners. Call (803) 481-4432 or (803) 565-4471.

Tuomey Healthcare System will hold its annual Shred Day 11 a.m.-2 p.m. today. Individuals (no businesses) can take their paper items that need shredding to the Calhoun Street entrance of the hospital by the cafeteria patio. This event is sponsored by the Tuomey Green Team in recognition of Earth Day. Good Samaritans for All People will host an Easter giveaway 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 12, at the old Bishopville High School gymnasium, 600 N. Main St., Bishopville. A holiday bag will be provided for each child.

Food, clothing and household items will also be available for free. Call the Rev. Eddie Thomas, founder, at (803) 428-4448 or (803) 459-4989 or the Rev. Raymond Cook Jr., vice president, at (803) 469-6294.

The Rembert Area Community Coalition (RACC) 2nd Annual Spring Parade will be held 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 12. The parade will begin and end at Dennis Convenience Store, 7570 Pisgah Road, Rembert. Musical entertainment will be provided from noon to 3 p.m. Visit www. raccinc.org for details.

Mayewood High School Class of 1976 will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at Mayewood Middle School. All classmates are invited. Contact Melvin Richardson at (803) 983-5559, Audrey D. White at (803) 8406680 or Icybell D. Lowery at icycatz50@yahoo.com.

The League of Women Voters of

The last word in astrology

ARIES (March 21-April 19): A practical EUGENIA LAST approach at work will help you avoid criticism. You may feel pressured by someone trying to push you in a direction you don’t want to go. Anger will not help your situation, but doing a good job will.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take a break, go shopping or get together with someone you find interesting.

Sharing your ideas and intentions with someone special will lead to plans for the future. A day trip will help you make a decision that will change your lifestyle.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotions will flare up, causing a misunderstanding. Don’t leave anything to chance. You are best to make your position clear and to make your move swiftly. Someone will do you a favor that will help you get out of a sticky situation.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Refuse to let anyone sidetrack you. Focus on your problems, not on what others want you to do. Once you firm up your plans, you will have more time to help others. Your interest in someone or something unusual will help stabilize your life.

Sumter County will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, April 14, at County Council Chambers, 13 E. Canal St., third floor. The topic of the meeting will be guns in restaurants and bars. A panel of local restaurant / bar owners and managers will provide their views and tell how they plan to comply with the new law. Call Lois Parsons at (803) 778-1061.

Kids Fest 2014 will be held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, April 15-16, at Sumter County Civic Center, 700 W. Liberty St. This free event is designed to educate parents, caregivers and children about preventing injuries and staying safe. Call (803) 774-8822.

The Carolina Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, at the Parks & Recreation Department, 155 Haynsworth St. The club meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Visitors welcome. Call (803) 775-8840.

The American Red Cross, Sandhills Chapter, will offer a New Volunteer Orientation and Disaster Services Overview class at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 16, at 1155 N. Guignard Drive, Suite 2. Call (803) 775-2363 to register.

The Pinedale Neighborhood Association will meet at 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 17, at South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. Call Ferdinand Burns at (803) 968-4464.

The General George L. Mabry Jr. Chapter 817, Military Order of the Purple Heart, will meet at 6 p.m.

Thursday, April 17, at the Elks Lodge, at 1100 W. Liberty St. All Purple Heart recipients and guests are invited for this special election night event. Call (803) 506-3120.

Lincoln High School Class of 1963 will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at American Legion Post 202, 310 Palmetto St. Plans will be made for the 2015 class reunion, which will be celebrated as the 1960s class reunion of the Civil Rights era.

Call Ferdinand Burns at (803) 968-4464.

The Westside Neighborhood Association will meet at 5:30 p.m.

Monday, April 21, at the Birnie HOPE Center, 210 S. Purdy St. Jimmy McCain, candidate for Sumter County Council District 6, will be in attendance. Call (678) 429-8150 or email jtmccain@bellsouth.net.

The Sumter Combat Veterans Group will meet at 10 a.m.

Wednesday, April 23, at South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. All area veterans are invited.

The YWCA of the Upper Lowlands Inc. will hold a Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Reunion in conjunction with the annual banquet 6-10 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the Imperial restaurant, 451 Broad St. Contact Yolanda Debra Wilson at (803) 773-7158 or ydwilson@ywcasumter.org.

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014

AccuWeather® five-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Mostly sunny and nice

Clear to partly cloudy

Mostly sunny and warm

Partly sunny and pleasant

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Clouds and sun with Mostly cloudy with a shower rain possible

80°

55°

80° / 57°

81° / 57°

80° / 57°

74° / 45°

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 5%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 35%

Winds: SW 8-16 mph

Winds: SSW 6-12 mph

Winds: SSW 4-8 mph

Winds: S 6-12 mph

Winds: S 8-16 mph

Winds: N 8-16 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaffney 77/51 Spartanburg 78/51

Greenville 77/51

Columbia 81/53

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

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sumter 80/55

Aiken 80/50

ON THE COAST

Charleston 78/58

Today: Partly sunny and beautiful. High 72 to 77.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. High 73 to 78.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 75/56/s 66/44/pc 80/62/pc 63/41/pc 80/64/pc 75/59/pc 75/63/pc 67/48/sh 80/61/pc 68/50/sh 95/70/pc 64/49/pc 73/54/t

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest.

358.25 75.23 74.86 97.69

24-hr chg +0.05 -0.03 none +0.28

Sunrise 6:56 a.m.

Moonrise 4:39 p.m.

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

0.02" 0.59" 1.04" 10.26" 11.05" 12.33"

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

Full pool 360 76.8 75.5 100

Lake Murray Marion Moultrie Wateree

76° 42° 73° 47° 89° in 1965 30° in 1976

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

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 78/57/s 72/45/pc 83/66/pc 69/53/pc 80/67/pc 68/55/pc 78/64/pc 66/48/pc 82/63/s 70/49/pc 90/67/pc 63/49/pc 73/55/pc

Myrtle Beach 74/59

Manning 81/54

Today: Mostly sunny and pleasant. Winds southwest 7-14 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Winds southsouthwest 4-8 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 80/55

Bishopville 81/55

Sunset Moonset

7:50 p.m.

4:42 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

Apr. 15

Apr. 22

Apr. 29

May 6

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 8.58 -0.11 19 8.53 -1.46 14 6.83 -0.16 14 9.37 +1.37 80 79.71 +1.02 24 12.54 +2.17

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Sat.

High 6:57 a.m.

7:34 p.m.

7:44 a.m.

8:18 p.m.

Ht. 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.1

Low 1:29 a.m.

1:53 p.m.

2:18 a.m.

2:34 p.m.

Ht. 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 73/43/pc 77/51/s 80/51/s 77/59/pc 68/59/pc 78/58/pc 78/50/s 77/53/s 81/53/s 80/54/s 76/57/pc 80/57/s 81/55/s

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 75/46/s 78/54/s 81/51/s 77/59/s 69/59/pc 79/59/s 78/53/s 79/56/s 81/55/s 80/56/s 75/56/pc 79/59/pc 80/58/s

Today City Hi/Lo/W Florence 80/55/s Gainesville 80/54/pc Gastonia 78/51/s Goldsboro 81/56/s Goose Creek 78/58/pc Greensboro 78/53/s Greenville 77/51/s Hickory 76/51/pc Hilton Head 72/58/pc Jacksonville, FL 78/55/pc La Grange 75/48/s Macon 78/51/s Marietta 75/52/s

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 81/57/s 81/56/s 80/54/s 80/58/pc 79/59/s 78/55/s 79/55/s 76/54/s 72/58/s 81/57/s 77/51/s 80/53/s 78/56/s

Today City Hi/Lo/W Marion 76/49/pc Mt. Pleasant 76/58/pc Myrtle Beach 74/59/s Orangeburg 80/54/s Port Royal 75/59/pc Raleigh 78/52/s Rock Hill 78/50/s Rockingham 80/55/s Savannah 78/57/pc Spartanburg 78/51/s Summerville 72/56/pc Wilmington 79/59/s Winston-Salem 78/53/pc

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 77/53/s 78/59/s 73/60/s 80/54/s 75/59/s 78/55/s 79/53/s 81/56/s 78/57/s 79/55/s 74/57/s 78/60/pc 78/56/s

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

The Sumter Branch NAACP will meet at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at Bethel AME Church, 1605 S.C. 261 South, Wedgefield.

The Sumter Benedict Alumni Club will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, May 5, at the North HOPE Center. Call Shirley M. Balssingame at (803) 506-4019.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Accept a challenge and push to get your way. A partnership will lead to an exciting prospect. Offer something unique and you will raise your income and your standard of living.

Let the past go and the future entice you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your home is your castle. Build the environment that will make you feel comfortable and able to follow through with your dreams, hopes and wishes. Love is on the rise, and building a close relationship will lead to greater happiness.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t share personal information.

Rumors and gossip will make you look bad. Make positive changes at home that will rid you of any bad feelings or poor reputation. It’s important to maintain your integrity if you want to get ahead.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider your options, but don’t jump into something unless you are confident that the outcome will favor you. There is too much at stake and it’s apparent someone is trying to broadside you. There is no room for error.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Choose something out of the ordinary and you will learn from the experience you encounter. The people you meet and the challenges you face will stimulate you, as well as push you to make positive personal changes.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your ideas are sound and your plans exciting. Step up and make your announcement and you will get the backing you need. Have confidence in your ability to change your direction and capture your dreams. A celebration is in order.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You may want to help others, but don’t offer money or sign agreements that will have lasting repercussions.

Uncertainty is the enemy and knowledge is your friend. Find out the facts before you take a leap of faith.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Make special plans. Use your imagination and find an obscure destination or spot where you can enjoy the company of someone you love.

Catching someone off guard will help you see the motives behind what’s being offered in return.

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 THURSDAY

POWERBALL WEDNESDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

7-12-21-31-36 PowerUp: 3

9-14-44-48-49 Powerball: 29; Powerplay: 2

35-36-41-60-71 Megaball: 3 Megaplier: 3

PICK 3 THURSDAY 7-0-2 and 0-2-1

PICK 4 THURSDAY 1-1-6-8 and 3-5-5-5

SPCA PET OF THE WEEK Bentley, a 10-month-old red and white male Chow mix, is available for adoption at the Sumter SPCA. He is sweet, affectionate, gentle, playful, active and friendly. Bentley loves attention and is great with other dogs. His sister, Diamond, is also available for adoption. The SPCA is located at 1140 S. Guignard Drive, (803) 7739292, and is open 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Visit www.sumterscspca.com.

“WOOFSTOCK 2014: A Music Festival Going to the Dogs!” will be held at noon Saturday, May 3, at the Elaine D. Korn Memorial Center, 1100 S. Guignard Drive. Participating bands include N&J Acoustic Express, Sanctuary Blues Band, Essence Band, High Ridge Bluegrass Gospel Band, Southeastern Way, 4 Way Stop, Pack Road Project, and Victoria Elizabeth Cook. Cost: $5 per adult; and free for children under 12. All proceeds benefit the Sumter SPCA. Call (803) 773-9292 for more information.

SECTION

Panthers sign new offensive weapon B6

B

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

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

NASCAR

Kenseth looking for another Darlington win

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press DARLINGTON — Matt Kenseth hopes to get his season going and lock up a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Darlington Raceway.

Kenseth came to the Southern 500 last May one of Sprint Cup’s hottest drivers, winning twice in his first season driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. This time, Kenseth comes in winless through seven races under the new

NASCAR format where a victory pretty much ensures a driver a spot in the 16-team playoffs.

“I’ve never been at a race I didn’t want to KENSETH win,” Kenseth said. “We show up every week with our best stuff trying to figure out how to sit on the pole and win the race. That’s never really changed since I started racing.”

Kenseth and his JGR team got it done a season ago, taking the South-

ern 500 and enhancing the driver’s fast start with his new program. Kenseth hopes that past success gives him a leg up for Saturday night’s race —

and gets him locked into the playoffs.

Kenseth’s not the only regular winner without a trip to Victory Lane this year. Six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson hasn’t won. Neither has current points leader Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle or Tony Stewart with 19 races remaining before the playoffs begin.

Kenseth said he and his team aren’t panicking with plenty of time remaining to claim a victory or get in on

SEE DARLINGTON, PAGE B6

PREP TRACK & FIELD

PREP BASEBALL

Gamecock Invitational to debut this weekend

Barnes baffles Conway

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com The annual Taco Bell Track & Field Classic meet held at Spring Valley High School in Columbia has grown into perhaps the biggest showcase in the state as it prepares for its 22nd edition today and Saturday.

The Gamecock Invitational, however, will see its inaugural outing come to fruition on Saturday at Sumter Memorial Stadium.

While Sumter High School girls track MCFADDEN and field head coach Karen McFadden and head boys coach Gerald Tomlin are still building from the ground up, they see a special niche the meet can hopefully provide for years to come.

“We don’t take anything away from (the Taco Bell Classic), but they’ve grown to where they’ve got 100some athletes just in the 100 meters (dash),” Tomlin said.

“It really is an all-day event,” McFadden added.

“So we wanted to offer teams – teams that wanted to compete in something to get them prepared for region – a meet that they could come to and still be home pretty early.”

The SHS coaches also wanted to make sure it was open to everyone.

“We wanted to invite some of the smaller schools and programs that are in the process of building to

SEE INVITATIONAL, PAGE B4

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Sumter senior pitcher Charlie Barnes threw a 3-hit shutout in the Gamecocks’ 6-0 victory over Conway on Thursday at Gamecock Field. SHS completed a sweep of the 3-game series.

SHS senior throws 3-hitter to complete sweep of Tigers

BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS jdriggers@theitem.com

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Lakewood’s Otis Jones, right, the defending 800-meter 3A state champion, and Sumter’s Devontaye Edwards, who captured the 4A shot put title last season, will be just a few of the local athletes to compete in the Gamecock Invitational at Sumter Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

There were no extra innings needed on Thursday at Gamecock Field.

Not with a 3-hit, complete-game shutout from Charlie Barnes.

After the first two games of the SHUMAKE Sumter-Conway series each went eight innings, Barnes’ outing coupled with a decisive 5-run outburst from the SHS offense in the fifth inning propelled the Gamecocks to a 6-0 regulation win.

The victory improved Sumter’s overall mark to 13-2-1.

More importantly, after sweeping the series to improve to 7-2 in Region VI-4A, the Gamecocks can finish as no worse than a No. 2 seed when district tournaments of the 4A state playoffs begin.

“Any region win is a big win, but this one especially since we’re still pushing for first (place),” Barnes said after his 7-strikeout, 1-walk performance. “The defense played well behind me and we were able to get a couple big double plays and get out of that one inning with no harm.”

The inning in question was the top of the fifth and was the only time the Tigers mounted a serious threat against Barnes all night.

With one out in a scoreless game, Trystan Causey doubled to the center field fence. He took third on a throwing error, but was left stranded 90 feet from paydirt as Barnes wiggled off the hook.

Mason Mabery hit a chopper that barely left the home plate area, but with Barnes charging and getting the ball quickly to catcher Ian McCaffrey, Causey had to retreat to third. Barnes then struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

“He’s a competitor and he likes to win,” Sumter head coach Brooks Shumake said of Barnes. “We got exactly what we expected out of Charlie. He

SEE SUMTER, PAGE B3

PRO GOLF

Haas leads defending champ Scott, Oosthuizen, Watson by one stroke

BY DOUG FERGUSON The Associated Press

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bill Haas hits off the 15th fairway during the first round of the Masters on Thursday in Augusta, Ga. Haas carded a 4 under par 68 and leads defending champion Adam Scott by one shot.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — No nerves. No worries. Adam Scott never knew the opening round at Augusta National could be so enjoyable.

With his green jacket upstairs in the locker room for Masters champions, Scott made only one bad swing that cost him two shots in a round of 3-under 69. It was the lowest opening score by a defending champion in 13 years, and it left Scott one shot behind leader Bill Haas on an otherwise demanding day.

“It was really how you hope to come out and play at any major, and especially the Masters,” Scott said.

“And there’s no doubt winning the

Masters last year had me a little more comfortable on the first tee than I’ve ever been in the past, because I didn’t have the legs shaking and nerves jangling for six or seven holes like usual.”

Haas, with a rich family history at Augusta that includes a green jacket for his great uncle Bob Goalby, settled down after an opening bogey with a collection of good birdie putts and an 8-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 68.

It was the first time in 18 majors that Haas has had the lead after any round. That only gets him a crystal vase for the low round of the day at the Masters. Haas knows better than

SEE MASTERS, PAGE B2

B2

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THE MASTERS

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014 TODAY’S TEE TIMES

The Associated Press At Augusta National Golf Club Augusta, Ga. a-amateur Today 7:45 a.m. — Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points 7:56 a.m. — Larry Mize, Branden Grace, a-Michael McCoy 8:07 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Ken Duke 8:18 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Lucas Glover, a-Garrick Porteous 8:29 a.m. — Nick Watney, Stephen Gallacher, Darren Clarke 8:40 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Thomas Bjorn, Ryan Moore 8:51 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee 9:02 a.m. — Trevor Immelman, Graham DeLaet, a-Oliver Goss 9:13 a.m. — Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Derek Ernst, Sang-Moon Bae 9:24 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Francesco Molinari, Chris Kirk 9:35 a.m. — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson 9:57 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia 10:08 a.m. — Joost Luiten, Marc Leishman, Hunter Mahan 10:19 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Victor Dubuisson, Peter Hanson 10:30 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Justin Rose 10:41 a.m. — Harris English, Lee Westwood, Russell Henley 10:52 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Tim Clark 11:03 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, John Huh, Kevin Stadler 11:14 a.m. — Ben Crenshaw, Y.E. Yang, Jonas Blixt 11:25 a.m. — Mark O’Meara, Steven Bowditch, a-Jordan Niebrugge 11:36 a.m. — John Senden, Boo Weekley, David Lynn 11:47 a.m. — Craig Stadler, Scott

THE SUMTER ITEM

MASTERS PAR SCORES

Stallings, Martin Kaymer 12:09 p.m. — Tom Watson, Billy Horschel, Brendon de Jonge 12:20 p.m. — Mike Weir, Matt Every, Robert Castro 12:31 p.m. — Angel Cabrera, Gary Woodland, Ian Poulter 12:42 p.m. — Fred Couples, Webb Simpson, a-Chang-woo Lee 12:53 p.m. — Graeme McDowell, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker 1:04 p.m. — Zach Johnson, K.J. Choi, Steve Stricker 1:15 p.m. — Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bill Haas, Matteo Manassero 1:26 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker, Jamie Donaldson 1:37 p.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Jim Furyk, Thorbjorn Olesen 1:48 p.m. — Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, a-Matthew Fitzpatrick 1:59 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy

The Associated Press Thursday At Augusta National Golf Club Augusta, Ga. Yardage: 7,435; Par: 72 (36-36) First Round a-amateur Bill Haas 34-34—68 -4 Adam Scott 33-36—69 -3 Louis Oosthuizen 33-36—69 -3 Bubba Watson 35-34—69 -3 Kevin Stadler 35-35—70 -2 Jonas Blixt 33-37—70 -2 Gary Woodland 36-34—70 -2 Jimmy Walker 36-34—70 -2 K.J. Choi 36-34—70 -2 Brandt Snedeker 33-37—70 -2 Marc Leishman 36-34—70 -2 Fred Couples 34-37—71 -1 Rickie Fowler 36-35—71 -1 Miguel Angel Jimenez 32-39—71 -1 Matteo Manassero 34-37—71 -1 Rory McIlroy 35-36—71 -1 Jordan Spieth 35-36—71 -1 Stephen Gallacher 33-38—71 -1 Francesco Molinari 35-36—71 -1 John Senden 36-36—72 E Graeme McDowell 36-36—72 E Steve Stricker 34-38—72 E Kevin Streelman 37-35—72 E Nick Watney 37-35—72 E Sang-Moon Bae 36-36—72 E Bernhard Langer 36-36—72 E Stewart Cink 35-38—73 +1 Boo Weekley 36-37—73 +1 Roberto Castro 37-36—73 +1 Mike Weir 36-37—73 +1

Jamie Donaldson 37-36—73 Charl Schwartzel 37-36—73 Patrick Reed 35-38—73 Thomas Bjorn 37-36—73 Thongchai Jaidee 38-35—73 Matt Kuchar 36-37—73 Henrik Stenson 37-36—73 Russell Henley 37-36—73 Lee Westwood 36-37—73 Steven Bowditch 37-37—74 Brendon de Jonge 37-37—74 Webb Simpson 35-39—74 Jim Furyk 37-37—74 Thorbjorn Olesen 36-38—74 Larry Mize 35-39—74 Matt Jones 36-38—74 Jose Maria Olazabal 37-37—74 Darren Clarke 39-35—74 Sergio Garcia 35-39—74 Hunter Mahan 37-37—74 Victor Dubuisson 36-38—74 Harris English 37-37—74 John Huh 39-35—74 Mark O’Meara 36-39—75 Martin Kaymer 38-37—75 Scott Stallings 36-39—75 Billy Horschel 39-36—75 Ken Duke 39-36—75 Lucas Glover 35-40—75 Vijay Singh 37-38—75 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 39-36—75 Chris Kirk 36-39—75 Jason Day 37-38—75 Joost Luiten

+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3

37-38—75 Keegan Bradley 39-36—75 Ernie Els 39-36—75 Ian Poulter 37-39—76 a-Matthew Fitzpatrick 37-39—76 Sandy Lyle 35-41—76 a-Garrick Porteous 40-36—76 a-Oliver Goss 39-37—76 Derek Ernst 42-34—76 Phil Mickelson 39-37—76 Justin Rose 40-36—76 Ian Woosnam 36-41—77 Y.E. Yang 39-38—77 Matt Every 38-39—77 Ryan Moore 36-41—77 Dustin Johnson 38-39—77 David Lynn 38-40—78 Tom Watson 38-40—78 Angel Cabrera 39-39—78 Zach Johnson 40-38—78 D.A. Points 40-38—78 a-Michael McCoy 38-40—78 Peter Hanson 37-41—78 Tim Clark 41-38—79 Trevor Immelman 41-38—79 Luke Donald 43-36—79 a-Chang-woo Lee 39-41—80 Hideki Matsuyama 40-40—80 Jason Dufner 36-44—80 Graham DeLaet 42-38—80 a-Jordan Niebrugge 39-42—81 Craig Stadler 42-40—82 Ben Crenshaw 41-42—83 Branden Grace 41-43—84

+3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +7 +7 +7 +8 +8 +8 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12

Rookies debut in style early at Augusta National THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Defending champion Adam Scott hits out of a bunker on the second fairway during the first round of The Masters on Thursday in Augusta, Ga. Scott is one shot back of leader Bill Haas.

MASTERS FROM PAGE B1 to put too much stock into what happens Thursday. He was leading after the opening round in Houston last week and tied for 37th.

“There’s tons of golf left,” he said.

Only one first-round leader in the last 30 years has gone on to win the Masters.

Former Masters champion Bubba Watson, who slipped that green jacket on Scott last year, played his first bogeyfree round in a major since the 2009 U.S. Open and shot a 69. So did Louis Oosthuizen, whom Watson beat in a playoff at Augusta.

They were the only players to break 70, the fewest for an opening round at the Masters since 2007.

“No one is really going crazy out there in perfect, perfect conditions,” Graeme McDowell said after fighting to salvage a 72.

But there was something about the way Scott played that grabbed most of the attention on such a gorgeous spring day in the South. Golf has been waiting for a star to take control all year, even more without Tiger Woods at Augusta for the first time in 20 years because of back surgery.

Scott was in control of his emotions and his game all day — except for once.

Walking over to the heart of Amen Corner, the fans behind the 12th tee rose in unison to cheer the champ.

“The memory that will stick with me forever today was walking up to the 12th tee and everyone getting out of their seats as I approached there,” Scott said. “It was great, the level of respect that everyone has for this golf tournament and what happens here.

“But then,” he said with a smile, “I went and hit it in the water.”

Scott’s tee shot bounced off the front slope and into Rae’s Creek — amazingly, he said it was his first shot into the water on that hole — and he made double bogey to fall out of the outright lead. He picked up a birdie on the 14th, and three-putted for par on both the par 5s on the back nine.

Still, there were few complaints.

Augusta National officials knew this would be a gentle day of weather, and it was clear they made sure the course was anything but that.

The hole locations were severe for an opening round.

With endless sunshine, the greens became firmer and quicker by the hour.

So many others paid the price.

Jason Dufner took a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 13th hole with only one penalty shot. The worst of his woes was a wedge from the drop area that didn’t even make it to the creek. He wound up with an 80 in his first round in a major since winning the PGA Championship last summer.

He was in good company.

Phil Mickelson had a pair of 7s on his card for the first time in five years at a major, and his 76 matched the highest opening round at Augusta for the three-time Masters champion. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose shot 40 on the front and scrambled for a 76.

Jason Day had a 75 in his first event in six weeks.

Vijay Singh also opened with a 69 when he was the defending champion in 2001, but that was different. Conditions were easier that year, and Singh was four shots behind.

On this day, only 19 players broke par.

Jimmy Walker, Kevin Stadler and Jonas Blixt — among the record 24 newcomers to the Masters — were in the group at 70. The group at 71 included young (20-yearold Jordan Spieth) and old (54-year-old Fred Couples), and a former No. 1 in Rory McIlroy.

“It was just on one of those days it was tough to get it close to the hole,” McIlroy said. “Anything under par today was a good score.”

And it felt even better when one of those scores belonged to a Masters champion — in this case, two of them. Watson was asked about his comfort level at Augusta.

“The comfort level is knowing you have a green jacket already,” he said.

BY TIM DAHLBERG The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jonas Blixt played all kinds of courses in golf’s minor leagues before graduating to the PGA Tour and quickly grabbing two wins.

Even he wasn’t quite prepared for what Augusta National offered in his Masters debut.

“Every single shot can be the best shot of your life and every single shot can be the worst shot of your life,” Blixt said. “You really have to stay focused.”

Blixt did that well enough Thursday to shoot a 2-under 70, matching the best score among rookies as the Class of ‘14 debuted to generally favorable reviews on golf’s grandest stage. Joining him there was 35-year-old Jimmy Walker, a three-time winner this season who ran off four straight birdies on the back nine, and Kevin Stadler, son of former winner Craig Stadler.

Blixt did everything but stop to smell the azaleas as he took it all in with former champion Ben Crenshaw helping show the way.

“I just got a good feeling being on the grounds,” the Swede said. “It’s a soothing feeling.”

Jordan Spieth felt much the same way in his first crack at a tournament many in golf believe he will be playing in for a long time.

The 20-year-old, who played his way onto the PGA Tour and the President’s Cup team last year, smiled as he approached his opening tee shot.

“I just soaked it in, it was really cool,” Spieth said. “I was watching the ball, and from there the adrenaline came in.”

Playing with Rory McIlroy and fellow first-timer Patrick Reed in the featured pairing of the morning, Spieth jumpstarted his round with a 30-foot putt for birdie on No. 5. He played Amen Corner in 1 under for an opening 71 that put him three shots off the pace set

by Bill Haas.

Reed might have joined him there, but a bogey-bogey-bogey finish put him at 73.

“I felt they handled it really well,” said McIlroy, who had a 71 of his own. “They both had it under par, Jordan finished under par. Patrick

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

Jonas Blixt, top, hits out of a bunker on the second fairway, while Jimmy Walker looks on after a putt. Both rookie players have made an early impact in the tournament and find themselves contenders after a round of play. didn’t have a good finish, but I felt like they played well.”

A Masters lacking Tiger Woods had plenty of newcomers, with 24 of the 97 players in the field making their Masters debut. Some handled it well, while others struggled on a course that can make golfers nervous.

Among them was Jordan Niebruge, a sophomore at Oklahoma State who got a spot in the field with his win last year in the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Niebruge shot a 9-over 81 that he said wasn’t as bad as it looked.

That can happen on a course that demands precise placement of the ball on approach shots to the green.

“I hit it well today and I found myself on the wrong side of the hole and got a couple bad breaks,” the 20-year-old said. “But other than that I was pretty close to having a good round.”

Another amateur, Oliver Goss of Australia, was at the Masters as a spectator last

year with his college teammates from Tennessee. He took advantage of a practice round with defending champion Adam Scott to familiarize himself with the course before his first round.

“He basically just kept me calm out there,” Goss said.

“We just chitchatted, and just kept me calm.”

When it came time to play for real, Goss used some inner psychology to get around in a respectable 4-over 76.

“I had a little thought this morning, every other tournament you play you try and play like you’re in the Masters,” he said. “But for the Masters you try and treat it like just another tournament.”

But it’s hard to ignore history at Augusta National.

Blixt found that out when he was paired with the 62-year-old Crenshaw, playing in his 43rd Masters. His caddie, Carl Jackson, has been around even longer.

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

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B3

USC BASEBALL

Carolina to host Florida for first place in East

BY RYAN WOOD Post and Courier

FLORIDA AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA PROBABLE STARTERS

MATT WALSH / THE SUMTER ITEM

Jacob Watcher, right, slides into third base during the Gamecocks’ 6-0 victory against Conway on Thursday. Watcher went 2-for-3 while his twin brother, Phillip, went 3-for-4. Sumter is now 7-2 in Region VI-4A and can finish no worse than second for the postseason.

SUMTER FROM PAGE B1 battled and made his pitches when he had to and gave us a chance to get some runs on the board.”

The Gamecocks had a few chances early but couldn’t cash in. Jacob Watcher singled and stole second with one out in the opening frame, but was caught trying to steal third. In the fourth, Phillip Watcher led off with a single, stole second and was sacrificed to third.

But a strikeout and a flyout to right negated the scoring chance. SHS also had a leadoff walk in the second erased on a double play.

“We continue to leave runners in scoring position,” Shumake said. “We’re going to have to do a better job of that if we want to win these kinds of games. We were able to break out a little bit later in the game, but Conway helped us a good bit too.”

The Gamecocks finally picked up some big hits and had the ball bounce their way a few times in the bottom half of the fifth. Chris Crawford led off with a double and went to third on a wild pitch while McCaffrey drew a walk and courtesy runner Coker Scott stole second.

With runners at second and third and none down, Javon Martin’s popup behind second fell just in front of Conway’s Colten Redish, who was charging from center, to score the game’s first run. After a balk, Barnes helped his own cause by ripping a 2-run single for a 3-0 Sumter lead.

“We’d hit the ball pretty hard all night, but they just weren’t falling or were right at guys,” said Barnes, who was 1-for-3 with a walk. “But that inning, they starting falling and we just got rolling.”

Barnes’ hit ended the night for Conway starter Bryce Mc-

‘We continue to leave runners in scoring position. We’re going to have to do a better of job of that if we want to win these kinds of games.’

BROOKS SHUMAKE Sumter varsity head baseball

www.theitem.com

TODAY, 7 PM

South Carolina - Jordan Montgomery (Jr. LHP) 4-2, 3.83 ERA, 44.2 IP, 17 BB, 47 SO Florida - Logan Shore (Fr. RHP) 3-1, 1.15 ERA, 47.0 IP, 10 BB, 31 SO

SATURDAY, 4 PM

South Carolina - Jack Wynkoop (So. LHP) 5-2, 2.49 ERA, 47.0 IP, 7 BB, 41 SO Florida - Aaron Rhodes (So. RHP) 3-2, 2.48 ERA, 32.2 IP, 10 BB, 35 SO

SUNDAY, 1:30 PM

South Carolina - Wil Crowe (Jr. RHP) 6-1, 2.08 ERA, 47.2 IP, 9 BB, 29 SO Florida - TBA

us.”

Two batters later, Greiner strolled to the plate.

Bases were loaded, his team still trailing by one as he dug into the box. The junior catcher wasn’t looking for a home run. Just a base hit, maybe a blooper into the outfield.

Greiner swung at the second pitch he saw. It cleared the left-field stands with room to spare.

With each passing game, South Carolina is making a habit of walk-off victories.

Its spring has been defined by clutch hits and late-inning thrills, one unbelievable drama following the next. The Gamecocks have won four home games with walk-off hits in the past month. Three days after his walk-off grand slam, Greiner hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning against Appalachian

State.

No. 5 South Carolina hosts No. 15 Florida this weekend in a battle for first place in the SEC East. Both teams enter the three-game series tied atop the division with a 7-5 record. Holbrook knows how fortunate his team is to be in its current position.

South Carolina could easily be below .500 as the SEC season nears its midway point. The Gamecocks have overcome four multiple-run deficits in conference play.

“I don’t think we’ve had that many crazy games in my first two years as we’ve had this year,” Greiner said. “It’s been a pretty crazy first half of the season for us. We believe we’re going to win until the last out. If we keep having that attitude, you never know what’s going to happen”.

coach on Thursday’s 6-0 victory over Conway Cord, who had allowed just two hits with two strikeouts and three walks until the fifth. But the first four SHS runs were charged to him as the Gamecocks sent 11 men to the plate.

Sumter got another run on another popup from James Barnes that dropped for a hit after backpedaling Tigers shortstop Colby Ard fell down while trying to make the play.

River Soles drew a basesloaded walk two batters later for the final tally of the inning as SHS’ lead ballooned to 5-0.

Phillip Watcher’s RBI single in the sixth completed the scoring. Phillip Watcher went 3-for-4 on the night, while brother Jacob was 2-for-3.

The Gamecocks will be on the road most of the next two weeks as Sumter travels to the A.C. Flora High School tournament next week to take on Lexington, Airport and host A.C. Flora. SHS returns to region action the following week against South Florence with its final region series of the year.

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COLUMBIA – Before Grayson Greiner could grab a bat and walk to the on-deck circle, he knew what was coming.

Max Schrock’s two-out, two-RBI home run was the first clue. Greiner watched from the dugout as South Carolina’s second baseman rounded the bases two weeks ago against Tennessee, a miracle suddenly possible. The Gamecocks had trailed three runs entering the ninth inning. Now the deficit was one, but there was more work to do.

Reality returned after Schrock stomped home plate. Next up was Joey Pankake, who tapped a high pop fly to Tennessee right fielder Scott Price.

Once again, things looked bleak. The game neared its conclusion as the ball dropped from the sky. Instead, the clinching out popped out of Price’s mitt, giving South Carolina new life.

That was Greiner’s second clue. Indeed, something special was happening.

“It just felt like everything was falling into place,” he said. “… I knew it was going to be up to me to tie the game or win it for

Your community connection

CLEMSON BASEBALL

Tigers hoping for better success against Cavs

BY AARON BRENNER Post and Courier

CLEMSON AT VIRGINIA PROBABLE STARTERS

CLEMSON – Historically, Clemson baseball has fared just fine against Virginia.

Recently, and rigorously, the tables have turned.

Even though the Tigers have won essentially two of every three games against the Cavaliers (103-50 alltime), that margin used to be far more dominant. In the decade since the start of the 2004 season, Virginia has rolled up a 23-5 record against Clemson, including a sterling 11-1 mark in Charlottesville.

So while No. 14 Clemson has been reasonably steady in ACC play this year (2012, 9-5 ACC), a mighty challenge awaits in this weekend’s three-game set at No. 2 Virginia (28-5, 12-3.) The Cavs are 18-1 at home this spring.

The Tigers hold a slight advantage in batting average (.292 to .283), but the Cavaliers possess one of the most dominant pitching staffs in

TODAY, 6 PM

Clemson- LHP Matthew Crownover Virginia- LHP Nathan Kirby Clemson- TBA Virginia- RHP Josh Sborz

SATURDAY, 2:30 PM SUNDAY, 1 PM

Clemson- TBA Virginia- LHP Brandon Waddell

college baseball (2.01 ERA.) Clemson, with a 4.17 ERA, has struggled to find depth on the mound, and if usual weekend starters Daniel Gossett and Jake Long aren’t able to return from injuries, the task gets that much taller.

Matthew Crownover (6-2, 2.23) is scheduled to get the ball Friday night against fellow left-hander Nathan Kirby (6-1, 1.03), coming off a complete-game no-hitter at Pittsburgh in which he struck out 18 Panthers. It was Kirby’s first career appearance in the eighth and ninth innings.

Saturday and Sunday starters have yet to be an-

nounced by Clemson coach Jack Leggett.

To puncture cracks in the Virginia rotation, Clemson will look for the bats to stay hot for infielders Steve Wilkerson and Weston Wilson, hitting higher than .400 in their last 10 games.

The Tigers’ only positional starters without a .300 batting average are catcher Chris Okey, who leads the team with 30 RBIs, and first baseman Shane Kennedy, struggling to a .222 clip as he continues his return from an ACL tear.

Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday starts at 2:30 and Sunday at 1 p.m.

B4

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SPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

THE SUMTER ITEM

MLB ROUNDUP

BOYS AREA ROUNDUP

Ellsbury leads new team past old as Yanks win 4-1

Barons soccer wins 5th straight

NEW YORK — Jacoby Ellsbury singled in a run off old roommate Clay Buchholz in his first game against the Red Sox, Michael Pineda won while pitching with some noticeable substance on his hand, and the New York YanELLSBURY kees beat Boston 4-1 Thursday night in the first of 19 games between the rivals this season.

Brian McCann ended an 0-for-14 slide with an RBI single that put the Yankees ahead in a two-run fourth. Making just his third big league start, Dean Anna homered as New York took a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Pineda (1-1) took a two-hit shutout into the seventh.

Throwing at up to 95 mph, he allowed four hits in his first Yankees’ win, struck out seven and walked two.

He pitched for the first four innings with a dark substance on the lower palm of his pitching hand, but it was gone by the fifth.

Abreu connected for his second multihomer game in three days and the Chicago White Sox ended a 14-game losing streak against Cleveland, beating the Indians 7-3 Thursday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE NATIONALS 7 MARLINS 1 WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 in 6 2-3 innings on a day Washington really needed to rest its relievers, and Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond homered, leading the Nationals past the Miami Marlins 7-1 Thursday for a three-game sweep.

PIRATES 5 CUBS 4

CHICAGO — Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run seventh inning and Jason Grilli retired Emilio Bonifacio on a bases-loaded grounder to end the game, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

BREWERS 6

ATHLETICS 6

PHILLIES 2

TWINS 1

PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Gomez had three hits with an RBI and the hot-hitting Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning to six games with a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS — By the time Dan Straily took the mound for the second inning, he knew he just didn’t have it.

Straily pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and Sam Fuld hit a rare home run to help the Oakland Athletics complete a three-game sweep with a 6-1 victory Thursday.

ASTROS 6 BLUE JAYS 4

TORONTO — Robbie Grossman and Jonathan Villar homered off R.A. Dickey and the Houston Astros avoided a three-game sweep, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Thursday.

WHITE SOX 7 INDIANS 3

CHICAGO — Rookie Jose

METS 6 BRAVES 4

ATLANTA — Eric Young Jr. got three hits, stole three bases and scored four times as the New York Mets overcame Justin Upton’s two home runs to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Thursday night.

The Mets broke a 4-all tie in the seventh. Luis Avilan (1-1) gave up a leadoff single to Daniel Murphy, who scored on a two-out single by Juan Lagares off Gus Schlosser.

Wilson Hall’s varsity boys soccer team won its fifth straight game with a 5-0 victory over Ben Lippen on Thursday at Patriot Park SportsPlex.

The Barons recorded their fifth consecutive shutout in improving to 6-5 on the season The Barons led 4-0 at halftime thanks to a pair of goals by Justin Schaare and single tallies by Drake Shadwell and J.D.Croft.

Marvin Ballard added a goal early in the second half to make it 5-0.

Harris Jordan has a pair of assists, while Adam Jennings, Jake Croft and J.D. Croft each had an assist.

Christian Albertsen and Ballard teamed in goal for the shutout.

Camp 8-2.

SUMTER 4 CONWAY 2

Sumter High School defeated Conway 4-2 on Thursday at the SHS courts.

The Gamecocks, who beat Hartsville 4-2 on Wednesday, improved to 5-6 on the season.

1 2 3 4 5

SINGLES -- Spencer Causey (C) defeated Smith 6-3, 4-6, 10-2.

-- Watkins(S) defeated Smith 6-4, 6-3. – Jackson (S) defeated Childs 6-4. 3-6, 10-7. – Collins (S) defeated Fitch 6-3, 7-5. – Magnin (S) defeated Cook 7-6(7-5), 6-4.

DOUBLES 1 – Did not play.

2 – Guyton/Stanley (C) defeated Farley/Taylor 3-6, 7-5, 11-9.

SUMTER 3

VARSITY BASEBALL

CONWAY 0

Sumter High School defeated Conway 3-0 on Thursday at the SHS field.

Sam Prater, Owen Brooks and Ty Ruffin scored goals for the Gamecocks. Ryan Perez had two assists and Prater added an assist.

Garrett Conner and Isaac Haughton combined for the shutout in goal.

VARSITY GOLF BARONS WIN REGION MATCH

Wilson Hall shot a 147 to win a SCISA Region II-3A match by 30 strokes on Thursday at Sunset Country Club.

Florence Christian School was second at 177 followed by Orangeburg Prep at 181 and Laurence Manning Academy at 190.

Christian Salzer led Wilson Hall with a 34 followed by Coker Lowder with a 36.

Walker Jones shot a 38 while Grier Schwartz and Easton Ward both shot 39.

VARSITY TENNIS WILSON HALL 9 CARDINAL NEWMAN 0 COLUMBIA – Wilson Hall defeated Cardinal Newman 9-0 on Thursday at Parklane Tennis Center.

The Barons improved to 9-0 on the season.

1 2 3 4 5 6

– – – – – –

SINGLES Brown (WH) defeated Armstrong 6-0, 6-4.

Davis (WH) defeated Pankau 6-0, 6-0.

Stover (WH) defeated Liebenow 6-0, 6-1.

Hendrix (WH) defeated Odom 6-0, 6-3.

Thompson (WH) defeated Miller, 6-1, 6-1.

Stone (WH) defeated Bolshakot 6-0, 6-0.

DOUBLES 1—Brown/Davis (WH) defeated Armstrong/Pankau 8-1.

2 – Stover/Hendrix (WH) defeated Liebenow/Odom 8-1.

3 – Thompson/Blankenship (WH) defeated Ngnyen /

WILSON HALL 12 ORANGEBURG PREP 7

ORANGEBURG – Wilson Hall won the SCISA Region II-3A title with a 12-7 victory over Orangeburg Prep on Wednesday at the OP field.

John Patrick Sears led the Barons, who improved to 16-0 overall and 5-0 in region play, by going 2-for-2 with a double and three runs batted in. Edward McMillan was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and Robert James was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

McLendon Sears and Jay Goodson both had a hit and scored twice, while Andrew Kinney had a double and two RBI and Parker McDuffie had a double.

JUNIOR VARSITY GOLF SUMTER 172 CAMDEN MILITARY 213 Sumter High School shot a 172 to defeat Camden Military by 41 strokes on Thursday at Beech Creek Golf Club.

Camden Military shot 213.

Bradley Coulter led the Gamecocks with a 39, while Brandon Griffin and Andrew Griffin both shot 44. Jenkins Dwight shot 45, Dave Rygalski 46 and Michael Spurling 47.

JUNIOR VARSITY SOCCER WILSON HALL 2 BEN LIPPEN 1 Wilson Hall improved to 6-4 on the season with a 2-1 victory over Ben Lippen on Thursday at Patriot Park SportsPlex.

Andrew McCaffrey and Mills Herlong scored goals for the Barons, while Taylor Heath and Luke Reuwer each had an assist.

From wire reports

GIRLS AREA ROUNDUP

INVITATIONAL FROM PAGE B1 come out and compete against each other,� Tomlin said.

The result is a wide-range of teams that will compete at Memorial Stadium with the inaugural field set at eight participants. The Gamecock Invitational will feature four area teams in Sumter, Crestwood, Lakewood and Scott’s Branch. Wilson, Johnsonville and Florence Christian and Dreher are also slated to participate.

Events begin at 10 a.m. with the high hurdles trials and most of the field events.

There will also be two junior varsity relay events at 11:15 and 11:25. “It’s going to be unique because every event will have a new record,� McFadden said. “You’re also going to see a couple of defending state champions in the mix.�

That mix includes Lakewood’s Otis Jones, the defending 3A 800-meter champion, and Sumter’s Devontaye Edwards, who captured the 4A shot put title last season.

GAMECOCK INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE 9:45 a.m. — Coaches Meeting / Packets given out 10 a.m. — 100 High Hurdles Trials followed by Boys 110 High Hurdles Trials; Girls & Boys Long Jump; Girls Pole Vault & Boys High Jump; Girls Shot Put & Boys Discus 10:30 a.m. — Girls 100 meters trials followed by Boys 100 meters trials 11:15 a.m. — JV Girls 4 x 100 relay followed by Boys JV 4 x 100 relay 11:25 a.m. — JV 4 x 800 relay Girls followed by JV Boys 4 x 800 relay 11:55 a.m. — Varsity Girls 4 x 800 relay followed Boys 4 x 800 relay 12:25 p.m. — Varsity Girls 4 x 100 relay followed Boys 4 x 100 relay 12:45 p.m. — 100 HH Finals followed

by Boys 110 HH Finals 1 p.m. — 100 m Girls Finals followed Boys 100 m finals; Girls & Boys Triple Jump; Girls High Jump & Boys Pole Vault; Girls Discus & Boys Shot Put 1:15 p.m. — 1600 m Girls followed by Boys 1600 m 1:35 p.m. — 400 m Girls followed by Boys 400 m 2 p.m. — 400 Intermediate Hurdles Girls followed by Boys Intermediate Hurdles 2:30 p.m. — 800 m Girls followed by Boys 800 m 2:50 p.m. — 200 m Girls followed by 200 m Boys 3:15 p.m. — 3200 m Girls followed by 3200m Boys 3:40 p.m. -- 4 x 400 relay Girls followed by 4 x 400 relay Boys

“He’s working hard on maybe competing in the shot put and discus,� Tomlin said of Edwards. “I’m also looking forward to seeing Ky’Jon Tyler run and get some of his times down; also, Champ Newman in the pole vault.�

On the girls side, Sherah Pair and Dae’Shondra Stephens have been big for the Lady Gamecocks throwing all season, McFadden said. “Kedejuha Kennedy and Ars’breana Tyler have performed well in the jumps, along with Darian Reed,� McFadden added. “Teresa Taylor in the hurdles and Deanna King in the 400 meters, I’m also looking for good things out of.�

Lady Gamecocks soccer tops Conway 3-2 Sumter High School’s varsity girls soccer team defeated Conway 3-2 on Thursday at the SHS field.

Mary Kate Schaffer, Jessica Johnson and Maddie Durant each scored a goal

for the Lady Gamecocks.

Jessica Harris added an assist.

GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL 6 CRESTWOOD 0

HARTSVILLE – Crest-

wood High School lost to the Governor’s School of Science and Math 6-0 on Thursday at the Governor’s School field.

The Lady Knights fell to 3-7 on the season.

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RECRUITING

THE SUMTER ITEM

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

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B5

RECRUITING CORNER

Fruhmorgen commits to Clemson O

ffensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen of Tampa, Fla., committed to Clemson on Thursday during a ceremony at Plant High School.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pounder narrowed his decision to Clemson and Florida from nearly 30 offers which included Alabama (his father’s alma mater), Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, California, Ohio State and Mississippi.

Fruhmorgen was offered early by Clemson and that put the Tigers in a commanding position. They helped themselves immensely through a pair of visits by Fruhmorgen and family members this spring, rolling out the red carpet, according to his father, for their March trip.

Clemson attempted to sell the Fruhmorgens on its need at offensive tackle. The Tigers have four senior OTs in the next two classes. The Tigers enticed Fruhmorgen with the idea of playing opposite another highly rated OT committed to them in Mitch Hyatt.

Defensive back Antonio Parks of Reserve, La., was offered by Clemson last week, and because Clemson has always been one of his favorite schools and he was thrilled over landing the offer, Parks tweeted that he had committed to the Tigers. And in his mind, he is a commitment, or plans to be soon.

Clemson’s recruiting policy is no commitment is official until the prospect visits campus or he is visited in person by his Clemson recruiter.

Parks and his parents will be at Clemson for the spring game Saturday and it’s then that he expects to make his pledge official.

“I didn’t totally commit yet, but they are my favorite, and when I get up there I’ll make that commitment,” Parks said. “Once I got that offer I got excited and said I was committing. Clemson, I’ve been watching since I was a freshman. My family (members) watch them a lot. We watched them as a family beat LSU (Louisiana State in the 2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl).

They’ve got a great coaching staff. (Assistant) Coach (Mike) Reed has been in touch with me for a month or two now. We’ve got a great relationship, and I want to be under him. He wants me under him, and he wants to coach me for four years and make me a better player. I can’t turn down a Clemson offer.”

Parks said Clemson likes him as a cornerback and also for its nickel packages. He listed Arizona State as No. 2 on his list with Minnesota No. 3 and added the commitment won’t conclude his recruiting activities.

“I’m still going to be open to see what other schools have to offer, but I want to lock things up with Clemson. I want to lock things up with them.”

Parks said his teammate, DB Xavier Lewis, who also has a Clemson offer, will join him on the visit. The two have talked about going to the same school. Parks played CB and safety for his high school team as a junior and certainly doesn’t lack in the confidence needed to play those positions.

“I’m not braggadocios, but I’m bored during games,” Parks said with a laugh. “Nobody’s going to test me. They are not going to throw at me.

I’m telling you, they just don’t test me. They tested me maybe three times during the year and that was the three picks (interceptions) that I had. I got bored at corner and I told my coach to move me to safety.”

Parks finished with 108 tackles and three forced fumbles. He was named all-district and all-state.

Defensive lineman Gage Cervenka (6-feet-3-inches, 265 pounds) of Emerald High School in Greenwood, a 3-time state wrestling champion, is still wrestling with a college decision despite landing an offer from Clemson, his lifetime favorite school. Cervenka was offered by Miami and also has of-

fers from Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina State.

“I wouldn’t put it as a slam dunk, but they are definitely high up on my list growing up as a Clemson fan,” said Cervenka who will make his decision before his senior season.

“I’d probably put them at the top right now, but I’m still waiting on an SEC (Southeastern Conference) offer. Every high school football player wants to be able to play for a big SEC team. I’m just looking around and we’ll see what happens, but Clemson is definitely high up there.”

Cervenka would like to hear from Georgia and Tennessee.

What about South Carolina?

“I’m not the biggest fan of South Carolina,” he said. ‘I’ve been up there for one game, but I haven’t really seen the whole thing at South Carolina, so I can’t really throw them out there and just say no completely because I don’t know what they have to offer.”

He does get mail from USC. Cervenka has also visited WF, NCSU and Virginia Tech.

Defensive end Trevon Hill of Virginia Beach, Va., is planning a trip to Clemson soon.

His last visit was to North Carolina. Hill has offers from Clemson, Virginia, VT, Old Dominion, UNC, Duke, WF and Norfolk State.

DE Rasool Clemons of South Aiken High attended LSU’s spring game on Saturday.

Clemons is a New Jersey native, but has been a fan of Clemson for some time. Clemons holds offers from LSU, Clemson, UVa, Florida State, Kentucky and Tennessee.

DL Trent Thompson of Albany, Ga., was at Clemson last week to watch a spring practice. Thompson is considered one of the top prospects in the country.

Wide receiver Damarkus Lodge of Cedar Hill, Texas, has a top three of Clemson, LSU and Mississippi. LSU is the current leader. He’s regarded as the No. 1 player in Texas this season. He caught 72 passes for 1,255 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

Quarterback Zerrick Cooper, a 2016 recruit from Jonesboro, Ga., was offered by Clemson last week.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Linebacker Da’Von Durant of Butler Junior College in Kansas has his spring game on May 9 and soon after that he plans to make a commitment.

Right now he’s pointed toward USC and there doesn’t appear much can get in the Gamecocks’ way with the Greenwood native. Durant talks regularly with Gamecock recruiter and LB coach Kirk Botkin.

“Coach Botkin is the only one (recruiter) I talk to all the time,” Durant said. “It’s South Carolina, definitely, right now.

I’m pretty much set, but I’m just waiting to see what comes.

I’ll be 100 percent after spring ball.”

Durant said his grades are good and not an issue Phil Kornblut with him moving forRECRUITING ward with a CORNER decision. He recently picked up offers from Utah State and Washington State and said Alabama has been “on me pretty hard.” Clemson has also offered, but he’s not heard from recruiter Brent Venables in some time. Durant also has offers from Ole Miss and NCSU. Last month, USC assistant coach Grady Brown extended an offer to DB Damon Arnette of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Since then, the two have become closer. Arnette said he talks to Brown on a regular basis and is looking forward to visiting Columbia in a few weeks.

Arnette said his spring break begins on Thursday, and he will take a road trip to USC, Ole Miss, FSU, UGA and possibly UK. Ole Miss and Miami (Ohio) are the latest to offer Arnette, joining USC, Indiana, Hawaii, FSU and UK. WR Irvin Charles (6-4, 207) of Haddonville, N.J., has strong interest in USC and plans to visit this summer. Charles has offers from USC, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Louisville, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Penn State and UVa. He plans to narrow his list to eight by the end of April.

LB Sherrod Pittman of Jacksonville, Fla., is a USC commitment and attended the recent junior day. Pittman said his commitment is still strong, but he still plans to visit other schools. Southern California, Florida, FSU Alabama, Central Florida and UGA have shown interest.

USC commitment WR Jerad Washington of Jacksonville also was at a junior day, and the visit only strengthened his commitment to the Gamecocks. Washington said he loved it and is “more than positive I’m going to be a Gamecock.”

DE Arden Key, a former USC commitment, planned to visit Miami last weekend. He was at USC for the junior day.

CLEMSON AND USC

DE Michael Barnett of Woodland High in Dorchester took in practice at USC last week, and he left Columbia with the Gamecocks still outside his current top five.

“It was pretty good,” Barnett said. “I was just looking at the football facilities. Can’t deny the fact that South Carolina is beautiful. But it (the visit) didn’t really do anything, didn’t change anything. They’re still outside the top five.”

Barnett talked to recruiter

Everette Sands along with DL coach Deke Adams and defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward while there.

“They just want me to get back up there for a school day so they can show me the broadcasting school,” said Barnett, who wants to major in broadcasting. “They said they are going to recruit me hard. Coach Adams and Coach Sands said they will be at my spring practice.”

Barnett said he has no other visits planned right now, but wants to get to UGA over his spring break. His top five remains NCSU, UNC, UGA, GT and FSU in no order.

And he said he still has high interest in Clemson.

OL Bailey Sharp (6-6, 300) of Marietta, Ga., spent last Thursday at USC, and though he doesn’t yet have an official top five, he plans to have USC in it when he puts it together. Clemson also will be in that top five.

Sharp has also seen Clemson, ND, Louisville, Auburn, UGA, Alabama and GT. He was at Auburn on Saturday.

Sharp has nearly 30 offers and plans to narrow his list to six or seven schools going into his season. He will take some official visits and make his decision after the season. Sharp is an admitted Auburn fan, but he’s trying not to let his childhood dreams interfere with the more pressing issue of making a wise, adult decision about college.

OL Austin Clark (6-6, 295) was at USC for a recent practice. He was at Clemson’s junior day in early February.

Right now, both schools have a shot to make his short list when he gets down to six or seven schools in a month.

“South Carolina definitely will make it and Clemson is almost certain,” Clark said. “I had a great visit (at USC), a really good time. I hung out with Coach Adams and (assistant) Coach (Shawn) Elliott and talked to (head) Coach (Steve) Spurrier. They are high on my list.

Coach Elliott coaches guys hard, but he knows what he’s doing. I think he’s a great coach. I spent the whole day with him and he showed me around.”

Clark has equally positive feelings for Clemson based on his earlier visit. “Clemson is a great place. It was really cool meeting (assistant) Coach (Robbie) Caldwell in person.

He’s a really cool guy and a great coach. Everything they are building caught my attention, plus their need for offensive tackles.”

Clark has also been to Tennessee, VT and Ohio State. He will graduate early, so he plans to decide before the season. His other offers are PSU, UVa, Miami, UNC, Duke, WF, Maryland, West Virginia, Rutgers, Temple and Vanderbilt.

QB Lorenzo Nunez (6-2, 190)

of Kennesaw, Ga., earned QB most valuable player honors at a recent combine in Atlanta. In an interview with the website after the competition, Nunez revealed he had been offered by USC. He’s the fifth known offer by USC to junior QBs. Nunez has long held an offer from Clemson, and he has the Tigers and Gamecocks among his favorites.

He said the schools standing out the most to him right now are Clemson, USC, Tennessee, Ohio State and NCSU, and he does not have a favorite.

Nunez has visited Clemson multiple times. He’s also been to FSU, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio State and Miami. He plans to visit USC in a few weeks and wants to get to Tennessee as well as to Clemson and Ohio State again. He wants to make his decision after his spring practice.

LB Ricky DeBerry of Richmond, Va., released his shortened list of 20 last week, and Clemson and USC both made the cut. Some of the others on the list are Auburn, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee, UNC, Southern Cal, Nebraska, UVa and VT. Highly touted athlete RayRay McCloud of Tampa spent last Friday and Saturday in the state of South Carolina with his parents, visiting Clemson on Friday and USC on Saturday. McCloud has offers from both and will consider both as he moves through the process, which has not yet reached the point of a short list.

“I like both schools,” McCloud said, adding he doesn’t like one more than the other at this point. “I’m going to go home and sit down with my parents and go on from there.”

McCloud visited the USC campus and watched the Gamecocks scrimmage inside Williams-Brice Stadium. At Clemson, McCloud watched practice and met with the coaches. McCloud said he might visit Auburn this week if he can work out the visit.

Last season, he rushed for 2,316 yards and 26 TDs, mostly at running back. He also plays QB, WR and safety. McCloud also has offers from Arizona, Florida, Louisville, Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Florida, Wisconsin, ND and Mississippi State.

RB Keyston Fuller of Griffin, Ga., was offered by USC and Auburn last week. Clemson has also offered.

WR Markeyvious Adams of Greenwood High brought his parents to USC last week to watch practice and talk with some of the coaches. Adams has also been to Clemson for a junior day and continues to hear from the Tigers. He also has visited NCSU and plans to get to GT at some point.

Adams holds offers from NCSU, Appalachian State, Marshall and ODU.

B6

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SPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

SCOREBOARD TV, RADIO TODAY

8 a.m. -- PGA Golf: Live From The Masters from Augusta, Ga. (GOLF).

10 a.m. -- International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Match -- Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

11:30 a.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 Practice from Darlington (FOX SPORTS 1).

Noon -- International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Match -- Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid (FOX SPORTSOUTH).

2 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 Practice from Darlington (FOX SPORTS 1).

3 p.m. -- PGA Golf: The Masters Second Round from Augusta, Ga. (ESPN).

6 p.m. -- College Lacrosse: Duke at Virginia (ESPNU).

6 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 Pole Qualifying from Darlington (FOX SPORTS 1).

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

7 p.m. -- Arena Football: New Orleans at Pittsburgh (CBS SPORTS NETWORK).

7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Boston at New York Yankees or Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (MLB NETWORK).

7 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Chicago at Washington (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

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

7:30 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Washington at Atlanta (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WPUB-FM 102.7).

7:30 p.m. -- PGA Golf: Live From The Masters from Augusta, Ga. (GOLF).

7:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Indiana at Milwaukee (NBA TV).

7:30 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Carolina at Detroit (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

7:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Charlotte at Boston (SPORTSOUTH).

8 p.m. -- College Softball; Santa Clara at Brigham Young (BYUTV).

8 p.m. -- PGA Golf: The Masters Second Round from Augusta, Ga. (ESPN).

8 p.m. -- NASCAR Racing: Nationwide Series VFW/Sports Clips Help A Hero 200 from Darlington (ESPN2, WEGX-FM 92.9).

8 p.m. -- College Softball: Tennessee at Texas A&M (ESPNU).

8 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Detroit at Chicago (WGN).

10 p.m. -- Professional Boxing: Giovanni Lorenzo vs. Gilberto Ramirez in a Super Middleweight Bout from Las Vegas (ESPN2).

10 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Colorado at San Jose (NBC SPORTS NETWORK).

10:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Golden State at Los Angeles Lakers (NBA TV).

11:35 p.m. -- PGA Golf: The Masters Second-Round Highlights from Augusta, Ga. (WLTX 19).

PREP SCHEDULE TODAY

Varsity Baseball Crestwood at Darlington, 6:30 p.m.

Manning at Lakewood, 6:30 p.m.

Clarendon Hall at Colleton Prep, 6:30 p.m.

Junior Varsity Baseball Sumter vs. Irmo in Lake Murray Spring Break Tournament (in Irmo), 7:30 p.m.

Clarendon Hall at Colleton Prep, 4 p.m.

B Team Baseball McBee at Robert E. Lee, 5 p.m.

Varsity Equestrian Wilson Hall in IEA Zone 4 Finals from Savannah, Ga., TBA Varsity Boys Soccer Crestwood at Hartsville, 7:30 p.m.

Marlboro County at Lakewood, 7:30 p.m.

Lakewood at Darlington, 6:30 p.m.

Varsity Girls Soccer Crestwood at Hartsville, 6 p.m.

Marlboro County at Lakewood, 6 p.m.

Varsity Softball Conway at Sumter, 6:30 p.m.

Robert E. Lee at Florence Christian, 5:30 p.m.

Clarendon Hall at Colleton Prep, 6 p.m.

Junior Varsity Softball Sumter at South Florence, 6 p.m.

Robert E. Lee at Florence Christian, 4 p.m.

Clarendon Hall at Colleton Prep, 4 p.m.

MLB STANDINGS

By The Associated Press L 4 5 5 5 5

Pct .556 .500 .444 .444 .444

GB – 1/2 1 1 1

L 2 4 4 5 5

Pct .714 .556 .500 .444 .375

GB – 1 11/2 2 21/2

L 3 3 5 5 6

Pct .625 .625 .444 .444 .333

GB – – 11/2 11/2 21/2

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Cleveland 2, San Diego 0, 1st game Oakland 7, Minnesota 4, 11 innings Kansas City 7, Tampa Bay 3 Colorado 10, Chicago White Sox 4 San Diego 2, Cleveland 1, 2nd game Boston 4, Texas 2 Baltimore 5, N.Y. Yankees 4 Toronto 7, Houston 3 Detroit 7, L.A. Dodgers 6, 10 innings L.A. Angels 2, Seattle 0

TODAY’S GAMES

Boston (Lester 0-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 1-1), 7:05 p.m.

Toronto (McGowan 0-1) at Baltimore (B.Norris 0-1), 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (Price 1-0) at Cincinnati (Cueto 0-1), 7:10 p.m.

Houston (Feldman 2-0) at Texas (Darvish 1-0), 8:05 p.m Cleveland (Carrasco 0-1) at Chicago White Sox (Sale 2-0), 8:10 p.m.

Kansas City (B.Chen 0-0) at Minnesota (Gibson 1-0), 8:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Gee 0-0) at L.A. Angels (Skaggs 1-0), 10:05 p.m.

Detroit (Porcello 1-0) at San Diego (Cashner 0-1), 10:10 p.m.

Oakland (Milone 0-0) at Seattle (F. Hernandez 2-0), 10:10 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION Washington Atlanta Miami New York Philadelphia CENTRAL DIVISION Milwaukee Pittsburgh St. Louis Chicago Cincinnati WEST DIVISION San Francisco Los Angeles Colorado San Diego Arizona

W 6 5 5 3 3

L 2 3 4 5 5

Pct .750 .625 .556 .375 .375

GB – 1 11/2 3 3

W 6 5 5 3 3

L 2 3 4 5 6

Pct .750 .625 .556 .375 .333

GB – 1 11/2 3 31/2

W 6 6 5 3 3

L 3 4 5 6 8

Pct .667 .600 .500 .333 .273

GB – 1/2 11/2 3 4

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

NBA STANDINGS

By The Associated Press EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION x-Toronto x-Brooklyn New York Boston Philadelphia SOUTHEAST DIVISION y-Miami x-Charlotte x-Washington Atlanta Orlando CENTRAL DIVISION y-Indiana x-Chicago Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee

W 46 43 33 23 17

L 32 35 45 55 61

Pct .590 .551 .423 .295 .218

GB – 3 13 23 29

W 53 40 40 35 23

L 25 38 38 43 55

Pct .679 .513 .513 .449 .295

GB – 13 13 18 30

W 54 46 32 29 14

L 25 32 47 50 64

Pct .684 .590 .405 .367 .179

GB – 71/2 22 25 391/2

Junior’s teams on top in Nationwide

BY PETE IACOBELLI The Associated Press DARLINGTON — Dale Earnhardt Jr. has more than the Sprint Cup series on his mind these days — like trying to win a Nationwide title as an owner of JR Motorsports with drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith.

Elliott passed Nationwide teammate Kevin Harvick late in the race EARNHARDT to win at Texas Motor Speedway last week. It left the 18-year-old Elliott and Smith 1-2 in the drivers’ point standings.

“As a company, we’re doing what we anticipated we were capable of doing,” said Smith, part of Nationwide series practice Thursday at Darlington Raceway.

“I don’t know, it’s not surprising us.”

Smith led in points for 10 weeks last season before eventually falling to third be-

hind champion Austin Dillon.

Earnhardt, a NASCAR fan favorite, owns JR Motorsports along with sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick, who Dale Jr. drives for on the Sprint Cup circuit. He said the Nationwide team has steadily grown the past few seasons and believes they’ve learned how to compete strongly each week. The next race comes Friday night at Darlington.

“We want to win a championship so bad this year,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We feel like we learned a lot last year going through the process with Regan and now we have two teams really capable of getting the job done.”

That’s happened so far this season.

Smith got the ball rolling with a win at Daytona and has finished in the top 10 the past five races.

Elliott, the son of NASCAR great Bill Elliott, won his first career Nationwide race last week as JR Motors-

ports placed four cars in the top 10. Along with Elliott’s win, Harvick’s fourth and Smith’s 10th, owner Dale Jr. finished fifth in one of his few appearances on NASCAR’s Triple-A circuit.

Earnhardt Miller thinks those results prove that JR Motorsports has made the right calls on personnel, from drivers to crew chiefs and staff.

“All hands are on deck here at JR Motorsports,” she said. “It was extremely rewarding for all four cars to be as competitive as they were during the Texas weekend because so much effort went into preparing.”

Darlington will bring a different challenge, with its slick, tire-chewing surface and its misshapen corners where turns one and two are different than three and four.

Smith, still dripping with confidence from his surprise 2011 Sprint Cup win here in the Southern 500, loves returning each year to tackle one of the most difficult layouts on the circuit.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION W L y-San Antonio 60 18 x-Houston 52 26 Dallas 48 31 Memphis 46 32 New Orleans 32 46 NORTHWEST DIVISION W L y-Oklahoma City 57 21 x-Portland 51 28 Minnesota 39 39 Denver 34 44 Utah 24 54 PACIFIC DIVISION W L y-L.A. Clippers 55 24 Golden State 48 29 Phoenix 47 31 Sacramento 27 52 L.A. Lakers 25 53 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division

Pct .769 .667 .608 .590 .410

GB – 8 121/2 14 28

Pct .731 .646 .500 .436 .308

GB – 61/2 18 23 33

Pct .696 .623 .603 .342 .321

GB – 6 71/2 28 291/2

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Orlando 115, Brooklyn 111 Charlotte 94, Washington 88, OT Cleveland 122, Detroit 100 Toronto 125, Philadelphia 114 Atlanta 105, Boston 97 Chicago 102, Minnesota 87 Indiana 104, Milwaukee 102 Memphis 107, Miami 102 Phoenix 94, New Orleans 88 Denver 123, Houston 116 Portland 100, Sacramento 99 Oklahoma City 107, L.A. Clippers 101 Thursday’s Games San Antonio at Dallas, 8 p.m.

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

TODAY’S GAMES

Washington at Orlando, 7 p.m.

New York at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Houston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Cleveland at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.

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

Portland at Utah, 9 p.m.

Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

NHL STANDINGS

By The Associated Press ATLANTIC DIVISION

EAST DIVISION

NASCAR

TODAY’S GAMES

Miami (Fernandez 2-0) at Philadelphia (Burnett 0-1), 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (Price 1-0) at Cincinnati (Cueto 0-1), 7:10 p.m.

Washington (Roark 1-0) at Atlanta (Teheran 1-1), 7:35 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Liriano 0-1) at Milwaukee (W.Peralta 0-0), 8:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs (Samardzija 0-1) at St. Louis (J.Kelly 1-0), 8:15 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 1-1) at Arizona (McCarthy 0-1), 9:40 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Gee 0-0) at L.A. Angels (Skaggs 1-0), 10:05 p.m.

Detroit (Porcello 1-0) at San Diego (Cashner 0-1), 10:10 p.m.

Colorado (De La Rosa 0-1) at San Francisco (Bumgarner 1-0), 10:15 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

AMERICAN LEAGUE W Toronto 5 Tampa Bay 5 Baltimore 4 Boston 4 New York 4 CENTRAL DIVISION W Detroit 5 Cleveland 5 Kansas City 4 Chicago 4 Minnesota 3 WEST DIVISION W Oakland 5 Seattle 5 Los Angeles 4 Texas 4 Houston 3

Cleveland 2, San Diego 0, 1st game Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 0 Colorado 10, Chicago White Sox 4 San Diego 2, Cleveland 1, 2nd game Washington 10, Miami 7 Milwaukee 9, Philadelphia 4 Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 3 Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh 5 Detroit 7, L.A. Dodgers 6, 10 innings Arizona 7, San Francisco 3

THE SUMTER ITEM

GP W L OTPts GF GA z-Boston 79 53 18 8 114 254 171 x-Montreal 80 45 27 8 98 214 202 x-Tampa Bay 79 43 27 9 95 232 211 x-Detroit 80 38 27 15 91 218 228 Toronto 80 38 34 8 84 229 251 Ottawa 79 34 31 14 82 230 262 Florida 80 28 44 8 64 190 263 Buffalo 79 21 49 9 51 152 238 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W L OTPts GF GA y-Pittsburgh 80 51 24 5 107 244 200 x-N.Y. Rangers 8044 31 5 93 216 191 x-Philadelphia 7941 29 9 91 225 222 x-Columbus 80 42 31 7 91 226 211 Washington 79 36 30 13 85 226 237 New Jersey 79 34 29 16 84 191 201 Carolina 79 34 34 11 79 197 219 N.Y. Islanders 79 31 37 11 73 216 262

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION x-St. Louis x-Colorado x-Chicago x-Minnesota Dallas Nashville Winnipeg PACIFIC DIVISION

GP W L OTPts GF GA 79 52 20 7 111 246 181 79 51 21 7 109 243 210 80 46 19 15107 262 209 80 42 26 12 96 200 197 80 39 30 11 89 231 226 79 35 32 12 82 200 234 80 35 35 10 80 220 233

GP W L OTPts GF GA y-Anaheim 80 52 20 8 112 259 204 x-San Jose 80 49 22 9 107 241 197 x-Los Angeles 80 45 28 7 97 200 170 Phoenix 79 36 28 15 87 212 225 Vancouver 79 35 33 11 81 187 213 Calgary 80 35 38 7 77 205 231 Edmonton 80 28 43 9 65 198 265 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference

SPORTS ITEMS

Panthers sign former Ravens TE Dickson CHARLOTTE— The Panthers added depth at tight end on Thursday, signing four-year NFL veteran Ed Dickson from the Baltimore Ravens to a one-year contract.

The team did not release financial terms of the deal.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Dickson started 44 games and played in 60 during his four seasons with the Ravens. He has recorded DICKSON 111 career receptions for 1,178 yards and seven touchdowns since being selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft.

Dickson also brings playoff experience to Carolina.

He has played in eight playoff games with five starts and helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl two years ago.

MANNING TO HAVE SURGERY ON LEFT ANKLE

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to have surgery on his left ankle.

The Giants announced that Manning will have the surgery on Thursday to relieve some lingering discomfort in the ankle that he sprained in the regular season finale against

DARLINGTON FROM PAGE B1 points — still a possibility in Kenseth’s mind despite no multiple winners so far this season.

But Kenseth doesn’t spend any more or less time considering his placing after each race. That might change, he says, if he gets to late summer without a victory and trying to qualify for the playoffs on points.

“History suggests that there are going to be a few guys added by points who didn’t win,” he said. “Certainly, if that’s the case, the point standings are very important.”

Kenseth has long handled the vagaries of NASCAR’s old point systems that sometimes put more importance on consistency than victories. In 2002, Kenseth won five races but was well behind series champion Stewart in the final standings. The next season, Kenseth took a steadier approach, built a large points lead by the summer and held on for his NASCAR championship.

But Kenseth’s not sure how all this will shake out the next five months.

“Are we going to have 10 winners? Are we going to have 20 winners?” he said. “There’s no telling how important points are going to be.”

Kenseth overtook the dominant car of Gibbs’ teammate, Kyle Busch, when Busch’s

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3, SO Calgary 4, Los Angeles 3, SO Chicago 3, Montreal 2, OT Columbus 3, Dallas 1 Anaheim 5, San Jose 2

THURSDAY’S GAMES

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

Washington at Carolina, 7 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

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

Toronto at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Nashville, 8 p.m.

St. Louis at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Boston at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.

Colorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Chicago at Washington, 7 p.m.

Carolina at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

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

N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.

St. Louis at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Winnipeg at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Colorado at San Jose, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Buffalo at Boston, 12:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m.

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

Toronto at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Your community news source www.theitem.com

Washington.

The two-time Super Bowl MVP has been rehabbing the ankle for more than three months, but it is still bothering him.

Manning should be able to run in six weeks.

POLICE: 49ERS QB KAEPERNICK IN ‘SUSPICIOUS’ CASE

MIAMI — Police in Miami say San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is named in a suspicious incident report involving a woman who passed out a downtown hotel.

The Miami Police Department report released Thursday does not charge Kaepernick with any crime. The woman told police that on April 1, Kaepernick undressed her in a bedroom and left.

The report says 49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette were also in the apartment.

The woman told police after Kaepernick left, the two others peeked inside and she ordered them out. The report says she doesn’t remember anything after that and woke up in a hospital.

From wire reports

tire had a slow leak and he dropped out of the lead with 13 laps to go. Busch had led 265 laps, but settled for sixth — his fifth top-10 finish in nine career starts at Darlington.

Busch earned his playoff spot with a win last month in the Auto Club 400 at Fontana, Calif. He’s not sure how important it was to win so early, only that it gave his team some relief about where they’ll be come September.

“It certainly takes a load off your shoulders and just kind of relieves a little bit, puts another breath in your sails,” Busch said.

“There are going to be guys who get in, I believe without wins. It sort of guarantees your spot, so now it gives you more opportunity to experiment.”

Penske racer Joey Logano won that right with victory at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this week as the series heads into Darlington.

Busch expects another strong outing from he and his teammates Kenseth and Denny Hamlin this week.

“I feel like all the JGR drivers obviously are really, really good,” Busch said. “Of course our equipment is good, too, and we can run fast there, run well there, and if you can keep air in the tires, you might win.”

And maybe earn a playoff spot at the “Lady in Black.”

OBITUARIES | SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

MARGARET SPITZER Margaret “Peggy” Spitzer, age 82, beloved wife of 64 years to “Chief” Donald Thomas Spitzer, died Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at her residence.

Born in Rochester, N.Y., she was a daughter of the late Lucian L. and Elsie Haslam Steen.

She grew up in Washington, SPITZER D.C., and fondly remembered roller skating to the White House gates when she was a small girl. She married a young airman on Dec. 24, 1949, and spent the next 56 years following him around the world in service to their country, until they retired in Sumter in 2005. Peggy was a devoted mother to her four children and provided a good and loving home for them.

Peggy loved her Lord and Savior and shared that love with all who were blessed to know her. She was an excellent cook and a great bowler. Peggy enjoyed playing board games and card games with the family and was even known, in her later years, to take a few nickels from her grandsons playing Tripoli or poker at the kitchen table on a Saturday night.

Surviving in addition to her husband are one son, Wayne Spitzer and his wife, Ginger, of Atlanta; three daughters, Sue Spitzer Goff and her husband, Mike, of Fayetteville, N.C., Donna Spitzer Magee and her husband, Chuck, and Karen Spitzer Harvey and her husband, Dennis, both of Bakersfield, Calif.; 10 grandchildren, Michael, Aaron, Shawn, James, Lissa, Jessica, Jake, Hannah, Dawn and Karol; and five great-grandchildren, Hailey, Tyler, Matt, Austin and Luke.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers and two sisters.

A funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Bullock Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Drew Choate officiating.

Burial will take place at a later date in the Arlington National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Bullock Funeral Home.

You may sign the family’s guest book at www.bullockfuneralhome.com.

The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter for the arrangements.

HANNAH DAIS BRONX, N.Y. — Hannah Dais, 88, died Sunday, April 6, 2014, at Bronx-Lebannon Hospital in Bronx.

She was born Nov. 27, 1925, in Alcolu, a daughter of the late Richard Allen and Lettie Johnson Days. She DAIS was a devoted member of Community Baptist Church in Bronx, where she served faithfully and loyally.

Survivors are one sister, Catherine Dais Pack; two sis-

ters-in-law, Willene Kinlaw and Carrie Bell Dais; two special friends, Ida Curry and Irmia Brown of Bronx; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Celebratory services for Ms. Dais will be held at noon Saturday at Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church, 4829 Alex Harvin Highway, Manning, with the Rev. Terry Johnson, pastor, officiating, and the Rev. Dr. Ashley Vaughn assisting. Burial will follow in the churchyard cemetery.

Ms. Dais will lie in repose one hour prior to funeral time.

The family is receiving friends at the home of her sister, Catherine Dais Pack, 1144 Hyman Drive, Manning.

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

ALFRED J. HARPER BLACKSTOCK — Alfred James Harper, 62, died April 5, 2014.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dantzler-Baker Funeral Home, Great Falls, with Victor Jackson officiating. Interment will be private.

Mr. Harper was born Oct. 12, 1951, in Columbia, a son of James Bryce and Louise Leitner Harper. He was a graduate of Shannon High School in Shannon, Miss.

He is survived by his wife, Cindy Callahan Harper; two sons, Brian (Beth) Harper and Donovan (Stacy) Harper; five grandchildren, Sierra Rose Harper, whom he raised as his daughter, Thomas Harper, Damien Gainer and James and Justin Funderburk; his parents of Sumter; one brother, Victor (Linda) Harper and their son, Erik, of Sumter.

JESSIE MAE H. MITCHELL Jessie Mae Hampton Mitchell, widow of Samuel Alfred Mitchell Jr., was born Dec. 25, 1931, to the late Malachi and Susan Hampton in Fayetteville, N.C. On April 7, 2014, she peacefully slipped away at High Point Regional Hospital in North Carolina.

Jessie was predeceased by one grandson, Ray Mitchell.

She leaves behind: 10 children; 19 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Phillip UME Church in Pinewood.

Interment will follow at the church cemetery.

Viewing will be held from noon to 6 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be sent to summertonfuneralhome@gmail.com.

The family will receive friends at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Allen and Gwendolyn Mitchell, 6552 Silver Road, Manning.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Summerton Funeral Home LLC, 23 S. Duke St., Summerton, (803) 4853755.

MAE A. JONES Mae Ola Anderson Jones, 81, died on Monday, April 8, 2014, at her home in Sumter.

Born Feb. 1, 1933, in Willow Springs, N.C., she was a daughter of the late Lester

and Maggie Yon Anderson.

She was educated in the public schools of Fuquay-Varina, N.C. She is survived by one son, Jimmy (Regina) Jones of Sumter; one daughter, Edna (Ellery) Willoughby of Norfolk, Va.; one grandson, Daniel Willoughby of Norfolk; one granddaughter, Jameka Jones of Memphis, Tenn.; and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, East Congregation, 99 Oswego Highway (U.S. 401), Sumter.

The family is receiving relatives and friends at the home of her son, Jimmy Jones, 1245 Ronda St., Sumter.

The processional will leave at 1:30 p.m. from the home of her son.

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

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

Services directed by the staff and management of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

PEARLINE McCOY Pearline McCoy was born Oct. 5, 1921, in Sumter County, a daughter of the late Geneva Plowden and Archie Williams.

She departed this earthly journey on Saturday, April 5, 2014.

She was educated in the public schools of Sumter County.

She leaves to cherish her memories: her loving daughter, Edna McCoy of the home; one great-grandson, Maj. Lee Eric McKnight (LaKeisha) of Maryland; one great-granddaughter, Teresa Toney of Sumter; two great-greatgranddaughters, Erica Bell and Kierra McKnight; two great-great-great-grandchildren, Mi’Kiyha and Mi’Kel Chatman; a special niece, Mary Polite; and a host of relatives and friends who are deeply grieved by her passing.

She was preceded in death by her husband, two brothers, three sisters, grandson and great-great-great-grandson.

Public viewing will be from 4 to 6 p.m. today.

A homegoing celebration for the life of Mrs. McCoy will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the chapel of Sumter Funeral Service Inc., 623 Manning Ave., Sumter, with the Rev. Davie Brown, eulogist.

The family is receiving friends at the home, 7A Mood Ave., Sumter, SC 29150.

The management and staff of Sumter Funeral Service Inc., 623 Manning Ave., Sumter, SC 29150 is serving the McCoy family.

Online memorials may be sent via the web at sumterfuneralsvs@sc.rr.com.

MARION BRADLEY PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Marion Bradley peacefully passed on April 8, 2014.

He was the loving father of Eric, Tracey, Kimberly and Kelli Bradley; loving grandfather of Derrick Bradley, Daija Reese, Taahira, Kareem, Laila Gilbert, and Nyajah Bradley; loving brother of Janette

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014 Brown and Brenda Bradley; uncle of Miranda Potts, Ursula Brown, Bryan and Brandon Bradley; loving great-uncle of Brendan and Bradley Potts; and also leaves a host of family and friends.

Friends may call from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. at White Memorial Chapel of Point Breeze, Pa. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery.

GUSSIE THAMES Sr. ALCOLU — Deacon Gussie Thames Sr., 78, husband of Evangelist Dorothy Gray Stukes Thames, died Wednesday, April 9, 2014, at his residence.

He was born May 1, 1935, in Manning, a son of the late Daniel K. “DK” and Ruth Pearson Thames.

The family is receiving friends at the residence, 6636 Sumter Highway, Alcolu.

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

CORNELL PRINCE Cornell Prince, 85, died Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

He was born Sept. 27, 1928, in Sumter, a son of the late Robert and Ann Toney Prince.

The family is receiving friends at 422 E. Charlotte Ave., Sumter.

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

CHARLES G. KLEIN MANNING — Charles George Klein, 70, husband of Amy Joan Cogar Klein, died Thursday, April 10, 2014, at Dorn VA Medical Center.

Services will be announced

by Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory, 304 N. Church St., Manning, (803) 435-2179. www. stephensfuneralhome.org

THOMAS T. EVANS Thomas Tyrone “TT” Evans, 39, departed this life on Friday, April 4, 2014, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.

Born July 3, 1974, in Richland County, he was a son of the late Ralph Thomas and Deaconess Mary Ann Dinkins Evans. “TT,” as he was affectionately called, attended school in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was a graduate of A.C. Flora High School Class of 1989, Columbia. He was employed as a supervisor with a landscaping company in Lexington. He was a member of Mt. Calvary Baptist in Sumter and attended First Baptist Church, Sumter. Prior to his demise, he resided in Sumter with his sister.

He is survived by his brothers, Ralph Evans Jr. of Brooklyn and Robert Vance Evans of Columbia; his sisters, Barbara Lorraine Evans of Sumter and Joanne Dinkins of Columbia; his grandmother, Emma Dinkins of Sumter; grandfather, Deacon Larry (Loretta) Anderson of Columbia; uncles, James Simon of Sumter, Willie (Ladda) Taylor of Charlotte, James (Ava) Taylor of Columbia, Ernest Jenkins of Sumter, Daniel (Sarah) Fannings of Warner

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Robbins, Ga., and Emmanuel Clay Fannings of Lafayette, Calif.; aunts, Peggie Lee (Isaac) White, Ruth (Terry) Gary and J.D. (Thomas) Brunson, all of Columbia; many loving nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held at noon Saturday at the John Wesley Williams Sr. Memorial Chapel, Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter, with the Rev. Harry D. Clark officiating, eulogist, assisted by Apostle Michael Richburg.

The family is receiving friends and relatives at the home of his sister, Barbara Evans, 404 Red and White St., Sumter.

Funeral procession will leave at 11:30 a.m. from the home of his sister.

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

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

Services directed by the management and staff of Williams Funeral Home Inc. of Sumter.

HALLIE WHEELER Hallie Wheeler, 81, was called home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, at his home.

Born April 24, 1936, in Lee County, he was a son of the late Walter Charles and Louise Wheeler Lee. Hallie was educated in the public school system of Sumter County. He was employed by the United States Railroad as well as the United States Postal Service.

He was united in holy matrimony in 1961 to the late Albertha Spann Wheeler. This union was blessed with three children.

He leaves to cherish precious memories: his sons, Anthony Hallie Wheeler of Sumter, and Kevin Wheeler and Kenneth Wheeler, both of Jersey City, N.J.; six sisters, Carolyn Cobb of Charlotte, N.C., Venus Lee, Dorothy Charles, Cleola Morgan, Rose Marie Nesbitt and Lill Proctor, all of Jersey City; four brothers-in-law, Ralph Cobb, Walter Charles Jr., Peter Spann and Isaac Spann; two daughters-in-law, Elizabeth and Lena Wheeler; 10 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; a very special friend, Lorri Wilson of Jersey City; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the John Wesley Williams Sr. Memorial Chapel, Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

The family is receiving friends and relatives at the home, 3266 S. Darlington Highway, Sumter.

The funeral procession will leave at 1:20 p.m. from the home.

Floral bearers and pallbearers will be family and friends.

Burial will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Linden.

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

Services directed by the management and staff of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

MARK MY WORDS

Learn to test your limits and find new methods

L

ike most of you, I have enjoyed the game of tennis for a number of years. And, like most of you, I eventually developed a style of play that was comfortable for me.

Sometimes that style of play yielded good results, other times it did not.

Even in defeat I could buffer my ego by telling myself that I had used my best skills, which gave me the best chance to do well. Made sense to me.

I have long been a proponent of taking your best stuff into battle and to try to let the winning and losing take care of itself. That is not an original thought, of course. That was the philosophy of one of the great teachers/ coaches of our time, the late UCLA men’s basketball head coach John Wooden. Don’t worry, I am not about to change up and offer up some newfangled way of thinking. What I want to do is share a thought process that should have occurred to me long ago.

To help you understand where I am going with this it will be necessary to

back up a bit. The comfortable playing style I made reference to earlier was “serve and volley.” Even on return games, I preferred to “chip and charge” rather than stay back and hit groundstrokes. The Mark reason was simple. I Rearden was very inconsistent from the baseline. So naturally, I adopted my mentor’s words of wisdom and spent most of my early years as a player honing my net game to a razor’s edge and that is what I took into battle.

The problem was I developed a very 1-dimensional game. Anyone who has played against me knows that as long as they can keep me at the baseline they have the upper hand. And just as surely, they know that I will not hit out on a service return even if I get a great look at the ball.

How can this be, especially from someone who has made a career out of teaching this game? It’s simple. I took a very good, strategic philosophy and made it extreme. I became a fine serve and volley player, but never learned how to play from the baseline.

I am sure this was never Wooden’s intent. For him, it was about the best use of your strengths, all the while minimizing your weaknesses.

I have a good friend who asked me once why I didn’t just go ahead and start hitting away on my groundstrokes until I learned how to do it. As I began to explain why I could not, he asked me why it mattered if I missed some shots for awhile. I didn’t have an answer.

Without really knowing it, I had taken a sound philosophy and game plan and molded it into an excuse mechanism for not learning how to do something that I was afraid of. Incredible, isn’t it?

So what is there to do now? Well, the good news is that it is never too late. I am still going to use my serve and vol-

ley style as my main weapon, but I may stay back a little more and at least try to get respectable from the baseline. And I am going to start smacking a few more service returns.

I hope the real lesson here will be a bit more far reaching than my tennis game. Maybe I can start trying something different from steak and potato when we go out for dinner. Will anything bad happen if I don’t enjoy fish as much as steak? Perhaps a change in the way we do a round robin or clinic, something where I don’t have control of all of the variables or where the outcome may be a little less predictable.

For those of you who know me, you know that is stretching my personality. The possibilities are limitless. My hope is that you may have seen a little bit of yourself in some of the paragraphs above and will also be able to find an alternate game plan to go with “your best stuff.” Mark my words, it’s worth a try.

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Grimm: The Law of Sacrifice Nick and Hannibal: Yakimono Jack’s star pupil WIS News 10 at (:35) The Tonight Show Starring his mother work together to protect is found alive. (N) (HD) 11:00pm News Jimmy Fallon Actor Nicolas Cage Adalind’s baby. (N) (HD) and weather. from “Joe.” (N) (HD) Blue Bloods: Secret Arrangements News 19 @ 11pm (:50) Late Show with David LetterUnforgettable: Flesh and Blood As- Hawaii Five-0: Ku I Ka Pili Koko sassin with information on terrorists. Abandoned building set to explode. Respected professor murdered. (N) The news of the man Tom Selleck; Carrie Brownstein.

(HD) (N) (HD) day.

(HD) (N) (HD) Last Man Stand- (:31) The Neigh- Shark Tank Guitar player sells his (:01) 20/20 (N) (HD) ABC Columbia (:35) Jimmy Kimmel Live Former ing: Parenting bors Pregnant service for helping people hire inNews at 11 (HD) president Bill Clinton; boxer Manny Bud (N) (HD) Larry. (N) (HD) structors with song. (N) (HD) Pacquiao. (HD) Best of Making It Coastal KingWashington Charlie Rose: The Live from Lincoln Center: Jason Great Performances: The Dave Clark Five - Glad All Over Archival footage Charlie Rose (N) Grow Hotel plant dom: Sharks and Week (N) (HD) Week (N) (HD) Isbell: Moving Forward “Southeast- and new interviews explore the “British Invasion” of the 1960s. (HD) (HD) use.

Rays (N) ern.” (N) (HD) The Big Bang The Big Bang Kitchen Nightmares: Return to Amy’s Baking Company; Pantaleone’s WACH FOX News at 10 Local news Two and a Half Two and a Half The Middle: The Theory (HD) Theory Fear of Ramsay tries to convince man that he no longer serves best pizza in Denver. report and weather forecast.

Men NFL neighbor Men Alan’s blind Guidance Counspeaking. (HD) (N) (HD) (HD) date. (HD) selor (HD) Family Feud Family Feud Whose Line Is It Whose Line Is It Hart of Dixie: A Good Run of Bad Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Arsenio Hall Anyway? (HD) Luck Zoe believes she and Lavon are Night Kibre helps with serial rapist Sacrifice Shooting at gay bar leads to Show (N) (HD) Anyway? (N) (HD) jinxed. (N) (HD) case. (HD) porno life. (HD) WIS News 10 at Entertainment 7:00pm Local Tonight “Rio 2.” news update.

(N) (HD) News 19 @ 7pm Inside Edition (N) Evening news up- (HD) date.

Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy! (N) (N) (HD) (HD)

Dateline NBC (N)

CABLE CHANNELS The First 48: Division; Loose Ends The First 48: Snake Eyes; No Way The First 48: Love Her Madly; Off The First 48: Shattered Man’s body (:01) The First 48: Last Fare A young (:01) The First 48 Open field. (HD) Out Dice game; market. (HD) Track Witness or suspect. (HD) found on bed of glass. (HD) cab driver is murdered. (HD) (HD) Next of Kin (‘89, Drama) Patrick U.S. Marshals (‘98, Thriller) aac Tommy Lee Jones. A marshal seeks a fugitive who may be innocent of his (:01) The Skeleton Key (‘05, Horror) aac Kate Hudson. Room holds secret to man’s ailment. (HD) Swayze. Policeman vigilante. (HD) crime. (HD) Epic: Log Homes 2 (HD) Tanked: Unfiltered (N) (HD) Tanked A doghouse tank. (HD) Tanked (N) (HD) Tanked A doghouse tank. (HD) Tanked (HD) Scandal: The Fluffer Abby takes over Scandal: Mama Said Knock You Out Wendy Williams Eve’s Bayou (‘97, Drama) aaac Jurnee Smollett. The youngest daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family attempts to cope with her father’s inability to remain faithful to his wife, but she turns to revenge.

Olivia’s duties. (HD) Grant children. (HD) Show (HD) (5:30) The Bourne Supremacy (‘04, The Bourne Supremacy (‘04, Action) aaac Matt Damon. Bourne is blamed for murder in Gone in 60 Seconds (‘00, Action) aac Nicolas Cage. A mobster demands a retired car thief to supply him with 50 exotic cars.

Action) aaac Matt Damon. a failed CIA operation and goes on the run.

Greed: Murder in Memphis Greed A Houston financier.

Marijuana in America Cocaine Cowboys II (‘08) aaa Money Talks: Rookie Mistakes Money Erin Burnett OutFront (N) Anderson Cooper 360° (N) (HD) The Lead with Jake Tapper CNN Spotlight Unguarded Death Row: John Thompson Jake Tapper (:59) The Colbert Daily Show (HD) Futurama Kif Futurama (HD) Key & Peele (HD) Key & Peele (HD) South Park (HD) South Park: The Tosh.0 Prancing Tosh.0 Daniel’s Daniel Tosh Report (HD) pregnant. (HD) Coon (HD) Elites. (HD) father. (HD) Happy (HD) (6:15) Teen Beach Movie (‘13, Fam- Jessie (N) (HD) Dog with a Blog I Didn’t Do It: Liv and Maddie Austin & Ally Win Lose Dog with a Blog: Liv and Maddie Jessie The private ily) Ross Lynch. 1960s musical.

(N) Snow Problem (HD) (HD) Too Short (HD) jet. (HD) Sons of Guns (HD) Sons of Guns: Locked (N) (HD) Sons of Guns (N) (HD) Boss Hog (N) Boss Hog (N) (:01) Ice Cold Gold (HD) Boss Hog 2014 Masters SportsCenter 2014 Masters Tournament: from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. no~ (HD) SportsCenter (HD) SportsCenter SportsCenter Countdown NASCAR Nationwide Series z{| (HD) Friday Night Fights: from Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas (HD) Olbermann (6:30) Billy Madison (‘95, Comedy) aac Adam Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (‘92, Comedy) aac Macaulay Culkin. A boy boards the The 700 Club Man’s life of drugs Bel-Air Will does Sandler. Millionaire’s lazy son repeats school. (HD) wrong plane during Christmas and ends up in New York City. (HD) and crime. comedy.

Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) Diners (HD) On the Record with Greta (N) The O’Reilly Factor (N) (HD) The Kelly File News updates.

Hannity Conservative news. (HD) The O’Reilly Factor (HD) The Kelly File Hurricanes NHL Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes at Detroit Red Wings z{| (HD) Postgame Post Game Post Game Driven (HD) MLB Game The Waltons: The Townie John Boy’s The Waltons: The Journey Neighbor The Middle (HD) The Middle (HD) Frasier: Author, Frasier Out with Frasier: My Cof- Frasier Affair at Golden Handsome caterer. fee with Niles 17. friend tries to find romance. wishes to see the ocean.

Author flu.

Rev Run’s Rev Run’s Rev Run’s Rev Run’s Rev Run’s Rev Run’s Hunters (N) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Hunters (HD) Rev Run’s American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) American Pickers (HD) (:02) American Pickers (HD) American (HD) Burn Notice: Fight or Flight Witness Burn Notice: Old Friends Prostitution Burn Notice: Family Business psych Naked man insists he was psych: Cloudy ... Chance of Murder psych Tennis star on the run. (HD) ring. (HD) Weapon smuggling. (HD) abducted.

Weatherman murdered. death.

Celebrity Wife Wife Swap: Mink; Oaks Cowgirl Celebrity Wife Swap: Gilbert Celebrity Wife Swap: Coolio; Mark To Be Announced Programming (:01) To Be Announced Programming information unavailable. Swap (HD) swaps lives with working mom.

Gottfried; Alan Thicke (HD) McGrath Stepping up. (HD) information unavailable.

Sponge Jinxed (‘13, Family) Ciara Bravo. (HD) Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Full Hse Friends (:36) Friends (:12) Friends Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Cops (HD) Bellator MMA (N) (HD) Countdown (:45) Cops (HD) (:15) Cops (HD) (6:00) Men in Black (‘97, Science WWE SmackDown (HD) Continuum: Minute Man (N) Bitten: Ready Pack prepares for Continuum: Fiction) aac Will Smith. battle against Mutts.

Minute Man Seinfeld: The Old Seinfeld: The The Hangover (‘09, Comedy) aaac Bradley Cooper. Amnesiac friends Due Date (‘10, Comedy) aaa Robert Downey Jr. An expectant father and Deal With It Man (HD) Keys (HD) try to piece together a wild night spent in Las Vegas. (HD) an aspiring actor embark upon a road trip. (HD) New-age religion.

(6:00) Onionhead (‘58, Comedy) Summer Stock (‘50, Musical) aaa Judy Garland. A failing New England Sunday in New York (‘63, Comedy) Cliff Robertson. A virginal young Nights of Cabiria Andy Griffith. World War II cook. farm becomes headquarters for a troupe of actors. woman finds adventure and love during a weekend in New York. (‘57) aaac Borrowed Borrowed Say Yes (HD) Say Yes to (N) Say Yes (N) Say Yes (N) Borrowed (N) Borrowed Say Yes (HD) Say Yes (HD) Borrowed Castle: Undead Again Killer amongst The Help (‘11, Drama) aaac Emma Stone. In a small town in Mississippi during the 1960s, a white southern (:03) Dallas: Like a Bad Penny Des- CSI: NY The 333 a zombie subculture. (HD) girl returns home from college and interviews black women about their jobs. (HD) perate for help. (HD) stalker. (HD) Dumbest Kid crashes car.

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Marriage: A Maze and Confused Marriage Boot Camp (N) Marriage Boot Camp Marriage: A Maze and Confused Marriage Funniest Home Videos (HD) NBA Basketball: Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls from United Center z{| (HD) Salem (HD) How I Met How I Met Parks (HD)

ABC’s ‘Neighbors’ wraps up 2nd, possibly final, season

BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH “The Neighbors” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) ends its second season tonight. Alien-in-thesuburb Larry discovers that he’s “pregnant” and might be sent back to the mother planet. Fans of the over-thetop series and even casual followers would not be remiss in thinking of this as a nice way to wrap it up.

“Neighbors” is a pretty safe bet to be canceled.

The show could only retain about half of the audience of its lead-in series, “Last Man Standing” (8 p.m., ABC, TVPG), which many expect to be renewed. “Last Man” stars Tim Allen of “Home Improvement” fame, and its brand of humor often seems as if only recently removed from mothballs.

Allen is a natural in this antique comedy element.

Few actors can deliver, and receive, one-liners with his timing. Not unlike Kelsey Grammer, he seems to have learned much from the Jack Benny slow-take school of comedy.

With smarter gags and more three-dimensional characters, “Last Man” might be half funny. As it is, its strenuous attempts at topicality appear lifted from old bumper stickers. The show takes a few stabs at issues of a more recent vintage (legalizing marijuana), but it’s more comfortable wrestling with such topics as the “irony” of Vietnam vets who enjoy Chinese food, or older guys who can’t conceive of a father caring for a sick baby. Some of these jokes — and these attitudes — predate even “Home Improvement.”

“Last Man” is no monster hit, but it is durable enough at a time when launching a new sitcom is harder than ever. It’s also an odd duck for ABC, a “guy”-centric show

on a network better known for female-skewing soaps like “Scandal” and “Revenge.” Perhaps that explains why a lot of Mike’s male posturing on “Last Man” is strained, outdated and affected. It’s not so much a “guy” show as it is somebody’s idea of a guy show. At times, Mike is as out of his element as the aliens on the soon-to-depart “Neighbors.”

The network is hardly alone in catering to some approximation of macho attitudes. Cable is awash with such fare, celebrating gunplay, violence, paranoia and testosterone, including: “Sons of Guns: Locked and Loaded” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., Discovery, TV-14); “Friday Night Fights” (10 p.m., ESPN2); “The Marine 3: Homefront” (9 p.m., Fox Movie Channel); “Mountain Monsters” (8 p.m. to midnight, Destination America, TV-14); “CIA Declassified” (8 p.m., American Heroes Channel, TV-PG); “Bullet Points” (9 p.m., American Heroes Channel, TV-PG); “Ultimate Warfare: Locked and Reloaded” (10 p.m., American Heroes Channel, TV-PG); “Showdown of the Unbeatables” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., National Geographic, TV-14); Bellator MMA Live (9 p.m., Spike) and WWE SmackDown (8 p.m., Syfy, TVPG).

Given the competition and the fragmentation of the male audience, I’m surprised ABC tries to reach it at all.

• “Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi” (9 p.m., Showtime) profiles the dictator who ruled Libya for 42 years.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • “Kitchen Nightmares” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) revisits Amy’s Baking Company in

way?” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) * The Sharks hear a guitar serenade on “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) * Zoe fears that she’s under an evil spell on “Hart of Dixie” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT

THE CW NETWORK LLC

Zoe (Rachel Bilson) thinks that she and Lavon (Cress Williams) are cursed on tonight’s “A Good Run of Bad Luck” episode of “Hart of Dixie” airing at 8 p.m. on CW. Scottsdale, Ariz.

• “Charlie Rose: The Week” (8:30 p.m., PBS) looks back.

• Danny and McGarrett face a ticking clock in an abandoned building on “Hawaii Five-0” (9 p.m., CBS, TV14).

• Adalind’s baby needs protecting on “Grimm” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Danny and Baez look into a professor’s murder on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

• Miriam’s rescue offers clues that support Will’s innocence on “Hannibal” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

• Thanksgiving can be murder on the true crime series “Nightmare Next Door” (10 p.m., ID, TV-14).

• Kiera examines Alec’s comings and goings on “Continuum” (10 p.m., Syfy, TVPG).

CULT CHOICE The box-office failure of the 1958 service comedy “Onionhead” (6 p.m., TCM) convinced star Andy Griffith to move to television, where he appeared in “The Andy Griffith Show.” Felicia Farr and Walter Matthau co-star.

SERIES NOTES An assassin holds secrets to a possible terror attack on “Unforgettable” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * “Dateline NBC” (8 p.m.) * “Whose Line Is It Any-

Don Cheadle, Dov Davidoff, Betsy Sodaro and Josh Wolf appear on “Chelsea Lately” (11 p.m., E!, r) * Martina McBride, Charlamagne and Jackie Fabulous are booked on “The Arsenio Hall Show” (syndicated, check local listings) * Tom Selleck, Carrie Brownstein and David Nail appear on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Nicolas Cage, Emily VanCamp and KISS on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) * Craig Ferguson hosts Wanda Sykes and Malin Akerman on “The Late Late Show” (12:35 a.m., CBS).

Copyright 2014, United Feature Syndicate

CLASSIFIEDS

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

LEGAL NOTICES Legal Notice

SUMTER EAST SELF STORAGE 800 MYRTLE BEACH HWY. AUCTION APRIL 26, 2014 10:00 A.M.

UNITS FOR AUCTION A-21 - FELICIA DANIELS A-32 - JAVONNA DANIELS D-2 - ASHLEY STUKES F-16 - DICK DONDERO G-25 - CYNTHIA WILSON

PUBLIC NOTICE The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives notice to the public of its intent to reimburse eligible applicants for eligible costs to repair and/or replace facilities damaged by Severe Winter Storm occurring February 10 to February 14, 2014. This notice applies to the Public Assistance (PA) and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP) implemented under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207.

Under a major disaster declaration (FEMA-4166-DR-SC) signed by the President on March 12, 2014, the following counties have been designated adversely affected by the disaster and eligible for PA: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Marion, Orangeburg, Saluda, Sumter and Williamsburg Counties.

Additional counties may be designated at a later date. All counties in the State of South Carolina are eligible for HMGP. This public notice concerns activities that may affect historic properties, activities that are located in or affect wetland areas or the 100-year floodplain, and critical actions within the 500-year floodplain. Such activities may adversely affect the historic property, floodplain or wetland, or may result in continuing vulnerability to flood damage.

Presidential Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 require that all federal actions in or affecting the floodplain or wetlands be reviewed for opportunities to relocate, and evaluated for social, economic, historical, environmental, legal and safety considerations. Where there is no opportunity to relocate, FEMA is required to undertake a detailed review to determine what measures can be taken to minimize future damages. The public is invited to participate in the process of identifying alternatives and analyzing their impacts.

FEMA has determined that for certain types of facilities there are normally no alternatives to r e s t o r a t i o n i n t h e floodplain/wetland.

These are facilities that meet all of the following criteria: 1) FEMA's estimate of the cost of repairs is less than 50% of the cost to replace the entire facility, and is less than $100,000; 2) the facility is not located in a floodway; 3) the facility has not sustained major structural damage in a previous Presidentially declared flooding disaster or emergency; and 4) the facility is not critical (e.g., the facility is not a hospital, generating plant, emergency operations center, or a facility that contains dangerous materials). FEMA intends to provide assistance for the restoration of these facilities to their pre-disaster condition, except that certain measures to mitigate the effects of future flooding or other hazards may be included in the work. For example, a bridge or culvert restoration may include a larger waterway opening to decrease the risk of future washouts.

For routine activities, this will be the only public notice provided.

Other activities and those involving facilities that do not meet the four criteria are required to undergo more detailed review, including study of alternate locations.

Subsequent public notices regarding such projects will be published if necessary, as more specific information becomes available.

In many cases, an applicant may have started facility restoration before federal involvement. Even if the facility must undergo detailed review and analysis of alternate locations, FEMA will fund eligible restoration at the original location if the facility is functionally dependent on its floodplain location (e.g., bridges and flood control facilities), or the project facilitates an open space use, or the facility is an integral part of a larger network that is impractical or uneconomical to relocate, such as a road. In such cases, FEMA must also examine the possible effects of not restoring the facility, minimizing floodplain or wetland impacts, and determining both that an overriding public need for the facility clearly outweighs the Executive Order requirements to avoid the floodplain or wetland, and that the site is the only practicable alternative. State of South Carolina and local officials will confirm to FEMA that proposed actions comply with all applicable state and local floodplain management and wetland protection requirements.

FEMA also intends to provide HMGP funding to the State of South Carolina to mitigate future disaster damages.

These projects may include construction of new facilities, modification of existing, undamaged facilities, relocation of facilities out of floodplains, demolition of structures, or other types of projects to mitigate future disaster damages. In the course of developing project proposals, subsequent public notices will be published if necessary, as more specific information becomes available.

The National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to take into account the effect of their undertakings on historic properties.

Those actions or activities affecting buildings, structures, districts or objects 50 years or older or that affect archeological sites or undisturbed ground will require further review to determine if the property is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (Register). If the property is determined to be eligible for the Register, and FEMA's undertaking will adversely affect it, FEMA will provide additional public notices.

For historic properties not adversely affected by FEMA's undertaking, this will be the only public notice.

As noted, this may be the only public notice regarding the above-described actions under the PA and HMGP programs. Interested persons may obtain information

Legal Notice about these actions or a specific project by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IV, 3003 Chamblee Tucker Rd., Atlanta, GA 30341. Comments should be sent in writing to the attention of the Regional Environmental Officer at the above address, referencing DR-4166, within 15 days of the date of this notice.

Beer & Wine License Notice Of Application Notice is hereby given that Black Ice Social Club intends to apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for a license permit that will allow the sale ON premises consumption of Beer & Wine and Liquor at 863 East Liberty Street, Sumter, SC 29150. To object to the issuance of this permit / license, written protest must be postmarked no later than April 20, 2014. For a protest to be valid, it must be in writing, and should include the following information: (1) the name, address and telephone number of the person filing the protest; (2) the specific reasons why the application should be denied; (3) that the person protesting is willing to attend a hearing (if one is requested by the applicant); (4) that the person protesting resides in the same county where the proposed place of business is located or within five miles of the business; and (5) the name of the applicant and the address of the premises to be licensed. Protests must be mailed to: S.C. Department of Revenue, ATTN: ABL, P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214; or Faxed to: (803) 896-0110.

Bid Notices INVITATION TO BID The County of Sumter is soliciting separate sealed bids from qualified vendors for the following project: "Sumter Lee Regional Detention Center - HVAC Replacement" Bids will be received until 10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 1, 2014 in the Sumter County Purchasing Department on the second floor of the Sumter County Administration Building, 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150.

Plans and bid documents may be obtained from: Sumter County Purchasing Department 13 E Canal Street Sumter, South Carolina 29150 Telephone inquiries should be made to (803) 436-2329.

The County of Sumter reserves the right to reject any or all bids. The County of Sumter reserves the right to waive any or all technicalities.

INVITATION TO BID The County of Sumter is soliciting separate sealed bids from qualified vendors for the following project: "Sumter Lee Regional Detention Center - HVAC Replacement" Bids will be received until 10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 1, 2014 in the Sumter County Purchasing Department on the second floor of the Sumter County Administration Building, 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150.

Plans and bid documents may be obtained from: Sumter County Purchasing Department 13 E Canal Street Sumter, South Carolina 29150 Telephone inquiries should be made to (803) 436-2329.

The County of Sumter reserves the right to reject any or all bids. The County of Sumter reserves the right to waive any or all technicalities.

Summons & Notice SUMMONS IN THE PROBATE COURT OF THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT C/A NO.: 2014-ES-43-219 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Alma Murray, Petitioner, IN RE: Estate of Hampton Ceasar Defendants.

TO THE DEFENDANT(S) ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Petition in this action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said Petition on the Plaintiff(s) or her attorney, Larry C. Weston, Esquire, at his office, 201 N. Main Street, Sumter, South Carolina, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer, appear or defend, judgment by default will be rendered against you for relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF HEARING IN THE PROBATE COURT CASE NUMBER 2014-ES-43-00219 DATE: June 10, 2014 TIME: 10:00 am PLACE: Sumter County Probate Court PURPOSE OF HEARING: Petition for Formal Appointment Larry C. Weston Attorney for Plaintiff 201 N. Main Street P.O. Box 1571 Sumter, SC 29150 (803) 778-2421

SUMMONS AND NOTICES IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS (NON-JURY MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE) C/A NO: 2013-CP-43-02298 Deficiency Waived STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER Trustmark National Bank., Plaintiff, vs.

Alain Cottrell Flonnory, and Nicole Shantel Flonnory, Defendant(s) TO THE DEFENDANTS, ABOVE NAMED: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED

Summons & Notice and required to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer upon the undersigned at their office, 1300 Pickens Street, Columbia, SC 29201 within thirty (30) days after service hereof upon you, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid or otherwise appear and defend, the Plaintiff, in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the Complaint, and judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the original Complaint in the above entitled action was filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on December 30, 2013

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

To be considered for any available Foreclosure Intervention, you may communicate with and otherwise deal with the Plaintiff through its law firm, Korn Law Firm, P.A., Post Office Box 12369, Columbia, SC 29211, or call (803) 252-5817. Korn

Summons & Notice

THE ITEM Summons & Notice SUMMONS

Law Firm, P.A., represents the Plaintiff in this action and does not represent you. Under our ethical rules, we are prohibited from giving you any legal advice.

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

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

THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR. Korn Law Firm, P.A. 1300 Pickens Street Columbia, SC 29201 BY: MICHAL KALWAJTYS Attorney for Plaintiff

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT CASE NUMBER: 2013-CP-43-1906 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER SAFE Federal Credit Union, Plaintiff(s), vs.

Michael Fornbacher and Revelyn Fornbacher Defendant(s).

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the complaint herein, a copy of which is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your answer to this complaint upon the subscriber, at the address shown below, within thirty (30) days after service hereof, exclusive of day of such service, and if you fail to answer the complaint, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.

LIS PENDENS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an action has been commenced by the Plaintiff against the Defendants, for the foreclosure of note and mortgage dated April 2, 2008, executed by Michael Fornbacher and Revelyn Fornbacher to SAFE Federal Credit Union, which mortgage was recorded

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Summons & Notice April 28, 2008, in Mortgage Book 1104 at Page 2795 in the ROD Office for Sumter County. The description of the property being foreclosed and that is the subject of this action is as follows: All that certain piece, parcel or lot of land, with the dwelling and improvements thereon, situate, lying and being in the City and County of Sumter, South Carolina, designated as Lot No. 48 of Flowers Heights, shown on a plat by Joseph R. Edwards, RLS, dated June 15, 1998 and recorded in Plat Book 98 at Page 682, in the ROD office for Sumter County. This being the property known as: 9 Daphne Street, Sumter, SC. Tax Parcel Number: 227-02-02-010.

NOTICES Please take notice that an action has been commenced and is now pending to foreclose a mortgage on property as described above.

The Plaintiff will move to refer the case to the Master in Equity with any appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court. The pleadings in this case are on file in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County.

A. Paul Weissenstein, Jr. Attorney for Plaintiffs P.O. Box 2446 Sumter, SC 29151 (803) 418-5700

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CLASSIFIEDS

THE ITEM Summons & Notice

SUMMONS Deficiency Judgment Waived IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS DOCKET NO. 14-CP-43-0168 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER

Card of Thanks The Harris/Durant Family is very grateful to all who came by and sent sympathy. Thank you for your prayers and visits during our families time of bereavement. We appreciate all the love that you've shown us. Thank you so much...

Jerome Harris/Beverly D. Harris

Lost & Found

PHH Mortgage Corporation, Plaintiff, v. Steven Ray Short; Sevein Short; Defendant(s). (011227-01349)

Found on Ben Sanders Rd. Dalzell, female mix tri-color small dog. Call 499-7484 to identify.

TO THE DEFENDANT(S), Steven Ray Short:

In Memory

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to appear and defend by answering the Complaint in this foreclosure action on property located at 1845 North Main St, Sumter, SC 29153, being designated in the County tax records as TMS# 2460002010, of which a copy is herewith served upon you, and to serve a copy of your Answer on the subscribers at their offices, 220 Executive Center Drive, Ste 109, Post Office Box 100200, Columbia, South Carolina, 29202-3200, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; except that the United States of America, if named, shall have sixty (60) days to answer after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to do so, judgment by default will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

In Loving Memory Of Mrs. Vermell M. Temoney Happy Birthday "In Heaven" Mama Today Mama I want to wish you a happy Birthday and to remember you as you were: Strong, Brave, Proud, Loving and Special. You may be gone from this physical earth, but you live inside me everyday, every minute, every second. The only thing that fives me a bit of comfort is knowing that I will see you again one day. I love you.

Your daughter, Annie Mae Temoney-Brailsford

TO MINOR(S) OVER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND/OR MINOR(S) UNDER FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND THE PERSON WITH WHOM THE MINOR(S) RESIDES AND/OR TO PERSONS UNDER SOME LEGAL DISABILITY: YOU ARE FURTHER SUMMONED AND NOTIFIED to apply for the appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem to represent said minor(s) within thirty (30) days after the service of this Summons upon you. If you fail to do so, application for such appointment will be made by the Plaintiff(s) herein. Columbia, South Carolina February 28, 2014 NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANTS ABOVE NAMED: YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Summons and Complaint, of which the foregoing is a copy of the Summons, were filed with the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South Carolina on January 27, 2014.

Columbia, South Carolina February 28, 2014

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to the South Carolina Supreme Court Administrative Order 2011-05-02-01, you may have a right to Foreclosure Intervention. To be considered for any available Foreclosure Intervention, you may communicate with and otherwise deal with the Plaintiff through its law firm, Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC. Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC represents the Plaintiff in this action. Our law firm does not represent you. Under our ethical rules, we are prohibited from giving you any legal advice. You must submit any requests for Foreclosure Intervention consideration within 30 days from the date you are served with this Notice.

IF YOU FAIL, REFUSE, OR VOLUNTARILY ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN FORECLOSURE INTERVENTION, THE FORECLOSURE ACTION MAY PROCEED. Rogers Townsend and Thomas, PC ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF Samuel C. Waters (SC Bar #5958) Cheryl H. Fisher (SC Bar #15213) Jennifer W. Rubin (SC Bar #16727) Ellie C. Floyd (SC Bar #68635) Robert P. Davis (SC Bar #74030) William S. Koehler (SC Bar#74935) Vance L. Brabham, III (SC Bar #71250) Andrew W. Montgomery (SC Bar #79893) Andrew A. Powell (SC Bar #100210) J. Pamela Price (SC Bar # 014336) Laura R. Baer (SC Bar # 101076) Mary R. Powers (SC Bar # 16534) H. Guyton Murrell (SC Bar # 064134) John J. Hearn (SC Bar # 6635) Kevin T. Brown (SC Bar # 064236) 220 Executive Center Drive Post Office Box 100200 (29202) Columbia, SC 29210 (803) 744-4444 February 28, 2014 A-4448061

BUSINESS SERVICES Business Services Land clearing on site mulching, tree and brush grinding, Free estimates. David 803-972-1090

Investments 3 Rental Properties for sale.

Take in $1,155/mthly. Asking $21,00 total. Owner financing. Ser. Inquires ONLY. 803-464-5757

Lawn Service Taylor's Lawn Care Dependable and Affordable Call 803-651-0125

For Sale or Trade

Trucking Opportunities

Mobile Home Rentals

LARGE GARAGE SALE 1st & 3rd Weekend Tables $1 & Up

Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364

Long Haul flatbed drivers wanted. CDL Class A. 3 years experience and 25 yrs old required with a clean 10 year MVR. Well maintained equipment. Excellent commission based pay.

Steady freight. Call 843-906-7833

E. Brewington Rd. near Mayewood School, 3BR/2BA DWMH. $550/mo + $550/SD. NO Section 8.

Call 803-934-6845 or 803-938-3174

FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend.

905-4242

Multi-Family Yard Sale: 413 N. Magnolia St. Fri/Sat. 7- ? Little bit of everything. Something for everyone.

EMPLOYMENT Shiloh Pentecostal Holiness Church 240 Myrtle Beach Hwy.Fri & Sat. 8 am - 2 pm. Yard Sale, Bake Sale, hot dogs .

Toys, clothes, lots of misc. Low prices. 285 E. Emerald Lake Dr. off Hwy. 15 N. in Emerald Lakes S/D. Saturday 8-2.

3920 Starksferry Rd Sat & Sun 8-? Furniture, Knives & Collectibles. Something for everybody!

Indoor Yard/Bake Sale & Car wash. Sat. 7 am -12 pm. First Assembly of God, 1151 Alice Dr. Furn., clothes, toys, luggage, tech equipment, etc.

117 Jasmine St. off W. Oakland Sat. 7-? Downsizing - Furn, various collectibles & hshld items Corner of Lake Shore Dr & Old Manning Rd Sat 8-?

2 Family Yard Sale: 2335 Stadium Rd. 8-1. Too much to list.

2590 Edmunds Dr. Saturday, 7- until. Spring Cleaning - Priced to sell. Misc. items.

3355 & 3365 Ashlynn Way Sat. 7AM - 1PM. Something for everyone.

All Types of Roofing & Repairs All work guaranteed. 30 yrs exp.

SC lic. Virgil Bickley 803-316-4734.

Tree Service

Sugarplums Antiques Parking Lot, 3304 Hwy 15S. Sat. 8AM-Until. Multi-Family New Rods & Reels, furniture, lots of hshld & misc items.

882 Trailmore Circle, Sat 8-12PM. Furn, hshld, china, elec., kit., fans, gdn equip, and more.

Help Support United MinistriesSamaritan House, Super Yard Sale- Thur, Fri, & Sat 7AM-3PM. Farmers Market- Liberty & Artillery Dr. Featuring the "Super Fill A Bag Sale" ( On items valued $2.00 or less). Ed 803-464-7643

Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747.

3 Female, Half Rotts 8 weeks , 1st shots , tails docked, $50 Each Call 803-468-0994

ANNOUNCEMENTS

2701 Powhatan Drive. Sat. 8AM. 415 E. Liberty St. Sat. 6AM-?

Lots of furniture, odds/ends & much more.

Garage Sale 335 Kendal Ave. Sat. 12th, 7:00am - ??

1903 Pinewood Rd. Fri. 10-4 Sat. 8-4. Huge Multi-family Easter Sale, Baby clothes, 50¢, New summer clothes, Eater items 1/2 off, new comforters, toys. 803-481-8878 4605 Lynnay Dr(off Old Camden Rd) Sat 7-? 32" & 36" Tvs, bed frames, vinyl windows, storm doors, 4X8 trl, tools, furn., treadmill & more

Card of Thanks

211 Nash St. Sat. 7-10am. Furniture, hshld, clothes, toys, books, Everything must go

AKC Maltese pups are 6 weeks in time for everyone's Easter delight. (M) $500 OBO, (F) $750 FRIM. Health guaranteed in writing. 803 499-1360

MERCHANDISE Garage, Yard & Estate Sales We the family of the Late Mrs. Julia Blondell James Boyd wish to express appreciation for all the acts of kindness and support that was shown to us during our loss.

God has truly blessed us with the most wonderful family and dear friends. We ask for your continuing prayers. With Love, The children, sisters & brothers

Multi-Family, 731 Baldwin Dr. Fri. 9-2, Sat. 8-12. Pedestal sink, tires, houseware, children's clothes and more.

1351 Shoreland Dr. Sat, April 12th, 7AM - 11AM. Must see items!

Gigantic Multi-family: 2191 Gion St. (off Alice Dr.) Sat. 8-2.

Coats, hshld items, etc.

Live-in health assistant needed.

Hrs: 9 am Fri - 9 am Sun. Non-smokers, must be strong & able to do stand/pivot transfers.

Call 803-478-7434.

2740 Ridgehill Dr. Sat. April 12th, 7 am - 12 pm. Multi-family.

Furn., appliances, other misc.

2092 Kingsbury Drive, Sat. April 12th, 7:00AM. Clothes, hshld items, Home interior pictures/candles.

Car Wash, Yard Sale & BBQ or Dinners, 1109 N Main St.(under bypass) New Millennium Deliverance Temple Sat 8-?

Rooms for Rent ROOM For Rent Bi-weekly or monthly. Near Morris College. Kit. privileges, all utilities incl 469-4668

Auto Mechanic needed ASAP. Apply in person B & C Automotive, 601 Broad St.

Unfurnished Apartments

New Papa John's near Shaw AFB is looking for Driver and Inside Workers. Interviews will be conducted 4/11/2014. Please call or email for further information and to schedule your interview.

803-629-8405 or phonso_c@yahoo.com Insurance Office seeks CSR /Agent. P & C license, experience helpful but not required. Fax resume to 855-246-9598.

Nurse needed for primary medical care office in Sumter. Duties will be physicians support in a community based practice. Send resume to Sandhills Medical Foundation, Attn: Personnel PO Box 366 McBee, SC 29101 Maintenance Technician Electrical, Painting, Plumbing & HVAC certified a plus. Must be able to work on call weekends and holidays if needed. Send resume to: Maintenance Box 356 c//o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151. EOE

For rent 2BR/2BA Duplex. Conv. to Sumter/Shaw. $825/mo + dep.

Call 803-236-3384 Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette.

775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

Unfurnished Homes 2BR/2BA, Lrg private lot, fenced yard (Dalzell). $550/mo + $550 /dep. 803-499-1265, 468-1913

Resort Rentals Ocean Lakes 2BR/2BA C/H/A Sleeps 8, near ocean, Call 803-773-2438

Office Rentals Office rentals: 712 Bultman Dr. Downstairs •(2) offices suite w/outside entrance. $300/mo.

Upstairs: •450 sq ft, (2) offices $325/mo.

•250 sq ft (1) lg office $225/mo.

•170 sq ft $165/mo •300 sq ft lg office $275 o •265 sq ft (2) office $250/mo.

469-9294 or 491-6905

REAL ESTATE Homes for Sale Crosswell- Newly remodeled brick home. Apprx 1,500 sq ft.

3BR/1BA, hdwd floors. $600/mo + dep. Owner fin.803-464-5757

Manufactured Housing Looking for your DREAM HOME? LOW CREDIT SCORE? Been turned down for bad credit?

Come try us, we do our own financing. We have 3-4-5 bedroom homes. Layaway program available. For more information, call 843-389-4215.

2BR 2BA off Alice Drive 2000 Sq Ft, Fenced yard, $825 Mo Available now. Call 803-236-9445 2985 Queen Chapel Rd 3BR 1BA. $550/mo + $550dep. Section 8 OK. Call 803-469-0258

F/T & P/T Class-A CDL Drivers needed in Sumter, SC to haul poultry. Night Shift! Must have 2-yrs verifiable experience and good MVR. Danny 803-236-0682

Help Wanted Part-Time

1997 3 Br, 2 Ba D/W in Dalzell, all appliances, Section 8 accepted.

469-6978.

Sumter Pet Sitter is seeking part-time help in Shaw/Center Sumter/Lakewood area. Must 21 yrs of age. Have good references.

Email or call sumterpetsitters@sc.rr.com or call 803-468-1414 Need reliable, female to do house cleaning. Must have dependable transportation. Call 494-4169 between 10 am - 3 pm.

Church Musician Needed for new Church in Bishopville. Send resumes to onestepministries891@gmail.com or call Pastor Neal at 803-586-9924.

A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721

Dogs

Medical Help Wanted

Help Wanted Full-Time

Part-time Assistant needed for a busy office in Manning. Please send all response to P-Box 336 c/o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net

PETS & ANIMALS

CDL drivers needed 21 & older, two years exp. Call 843-659-8254 or 843-659-2268

RENTALS

JT's Lawn Care: All your lawn needs, Tree cutting & pressure washing, Senior disc. 840-0322

Roofing

Cash For Junk Cars, used Cars, junk Batteries & unwanted gift cards. Call Gene 803-934-6734

Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves.

Special front end load washer $399 Guarantee 464-5439/469-7311

Garden Gate off Wise 3209 Mayflower Ln. Sat. 7-11 am.

Bikes, frames, antique library table, and much more.

GrassBusters, Lawn Maintenance, Pest & Termite Control.

Insured and Lic. 803-983-4539,

Azalea's, (1) gallon $3.00 or (2) for $5.00, 3 gallons $7.00. 74 Lake Shore Dr. 803-464-6337

Evergreen Cemetery, 4 plots, side by side, Irish Section. Call 803-840-5879.

Four Seasons Lawn Care Serving Sumter for almost 20 yrs!

Free est. 494-9169/468-4008

Hudson's Lawn Care, Mowing, Pine Straw Installation. Licensed and Insured. 803-968-1313

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

Garage, Yard & Estate Sales

2000 Fleetwood Westfield 16x80 2BR/2BA and Sunroom with all appl's., deck & storage shed.

Exc cond. $15,000 Cash. On Lake Marion in Park. Ser. Inq. Call 803-473-0247 For Rent 3BR/2BA, on large private lot (Dalzell). $700/mo + $700/dep FIRM. 803-499-1265

Mobile Home Rentals 1 Bdrm Mobile Homes- All appliances, heat pump, water, sewer and trash pick up included.

Rent $300+Sec dep Call 803-464-3437 Btwn 12-8pm

Land & Lots for Sale 10-acres for sale on Raccoon Road near Jordan CommunityClarendon County. Residential / well / septic / farming. Serious inquirers.

Investors welcomed.Charles @ 704-699-6611, e-mail: cs.evans02@gmail.com Hwy 441 Dalzell, ac, cleared, water, septic, elec $3K dn $225 mo 60 mo $13K. 713-870-0216

Part time truck driver with 5 yrs exp. to work local. Must have clean driving record & CDL. Great for retired person. Send Resume to SMH PO BOX 104 Sumter SC 29151 $$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555 Part time truck driver with 5 yrs exp. to work local. Must have clean driving record & CDL. Great for retired person. Send Resume to SMH PO BOX 104 Sumter SC 29151 Part time help needed for Professional cleaning. Must pass drug test and SLED check.

References helpful. 803-495-8018

Trucking Opportunities Truck Driver Trainees Needed Now at US EXPRESS Earn $800/wk Local CDL Training NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Be trained & based locally!

1-888-263-7364

STATEBURG COURTYARD 2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015 Bethel Church Rd 3BR 2BA MH, Fenced yard. $600 Month Call 803- 506-4600 3br/2ba C/H/A 16x80, Off Ramsey Rd. $450/mo + $300/dep. No inside pets. 803-481-8134.

OPEN Ernest Baker Auto Sales & Equip. Located 3349 N. Main St 5.5 miles from 378 overpass at N. Main., on Hwy 15 N. next to Baker Mini Warehouse. Remember Cars are like Eggs, Cheaper in the Country!!! 803-469-9294 A Guaranteed Credit Approval AUTO LOANS We will arrange financing even if you have been turned down before.

Loans available for no credit, bad credit, 1st Time Buyers & Bankruptcy buyers. No co-signers needed. Call Mr. Ashley Brown at 803-926-3235

2004 Chevy Malibu, Excellent condition. $3,200 OBO or willing neg. Call 803-447-5453

910 S Wise Dr Sat 8-12 Huge Garage Sale! Antiques, Oddities & practical stuff. Something for everyone!

Multi-family sale 225 Curtiswood Dr. Sat. 7-11am. Hshld/kitchen items, clothes, misc.

3275 Poppy Ct (Timberline Subdv.)Sat 7-10:00 Clothes & Shoes for Women , Men and kIds HUGE YARD SALE - Sat 8-12 @ Pocalla Springs Elem. parking lot (Bethel Church Rd off Hwy 15 S).

Many booths with lots of stuff for everyone.

106 Agnes St 2br 1ba Mobile Home $375 + dep. 107 Agnes St 3BR Home $400 Mo.+ dep. By Dillon park. Call 481-4013 Oaklawn MHP: 2 BR M.H.'s, water/sewer/garbage pk-up incl'd.

RV parking avail. Call 494-8350

2001 Lincoln LS 4Dr Silver with Black leather interior, Great cdtn, $3900 Call 803-236-9445

COMICS

THE SUMTER ITEM

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

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DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

State of marriage mirrors disposable society DEAR ABBY — My wife and I were discussing our sons-in-law, and young men in their 20s and 30s in general. We were wonderDear Abby ing where ABIGAIL the attitude VAN BUREN of “any money I earn is mine” in a marriage or live-in situation got started.

For the first few years of my daughter and her husband “Joe’s” marriage, Joe resented giving her any of the money he earned. My other daughter’s husband thinks nothing of spending money on himself and his friends without consulting her.

We have seen this attitude

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

reflected in their friends as well. They don’t seem to discuss with each other how each is spending their “joint” income. There seems to be an element of selfishness, too.

My wife and I have been married 40 years and from the beginning I have always considered what each of us earned was OURS, not mine or hers (when she worked).

We always discuss any significant purchases, and I have always believed it was my responsibility to support my family. I realize the current economic situation has made that difficult, but the attitude should still be there.

Wondering in Washington DEAR WONDERING — Because people who co-habit without benefit of marriage are considered individuals in the eyes of the law, it is probably

prudent to keep their financial affairs separate. However, each person should contribute to the expenses they share.

In a marriage, the situation is different: The law assumes that the man and wife are one unit. This is the mindset you adopted when you and your wife were married.

There is a tendency among young couples, not only because of the high divorce rate, but also what they have been exposed to in the media from the time they were born, to view marriage as something that might not last.

There is also a sense of entitlement among many — NOT ALL —that makes them centered on themselves. We have become a society in which disposability has spread from material possessions to relationships.

JUMBLE

SUDOKU

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.

THE DAILY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS 1 Hitching aid 6 Journalist Paula 10 Silo occupant, briefly 14 Place to practice pliŽs 15 Arab League member 16 __ Tea Latte: Starbucks offering 17 Cost to join the elite?

19 “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” composer 20 Pay for, in a way 21 Wonder Woman accessory 22 Stroke gently 25 Kindle download that’s too good to delete?

27 Like some felonies 29 Seuss pondruling reptile 30 Ready for FedEx, perhaps 31 Yahoo 34 Only 20thcentury president whose three distinct initials are in alphabetical order 35 Origami tablet?

39 Common HDTV feature 41 Basic water transport 42 French royal

45 California city on Humboldt Bay 48 Certain allergy sufferer’s bane 49 Expert on circular gaskets?

53 Induced 54 Places for pews 55 Places for sweaters?

57 Makes certain of 58 List of reversals?

62 Jeanne __ 63 Feigned 64 Inventor Howe 65 Fair 66 Bellicose god 67 They may be hammered out DOWN 1 TV Guide abbr.

2 McRae of the ‘70s-’80s Royals 3 Ocean State sch.

4 Richie’s mom, to Fonzie 5 National Institutes of Health home 6 Don Diego de la Vega’s alter ego 7 Pal of 6-Down 8 Czech diacritical 9 Terre Haute-toSouth Bend dir.

10 More repul-

sive 11 Event offering superficial pleasure 12 Crude containers 13 Muezzin’s tower 18 Early sunscreen ingredient 21 Tapered support item 22 Chem. pollutant 23 “Evil Woman” rock gp.

24 Hacks 26 “The Closer” star Sedgwick 28 Libra’s mo., perhaps 31 Glitzy wrap 32 On vacation 33 Stop wavering 36 Wee bit o’ Glenlivet, say 37 Apportioned 38 Unagi, at a sushi bar

39 November meteor shower, with “the” 40 Liqueur named for an island 43 Once known as 44 “The World’s __”: 2013 scifi comedy 46 “Romanian Rhapsodies” composer 47 Metric wts.

48 One of the Ivies 50 Fur tycoon 51 Ristorante potful 52 Iraqis’ neighbors 56 Word with white or fire 58 Thurman of film 59 Recycling vessel 60 Delt neighbor 61 Superhero symbol

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THE ITEM

CLASSIFIEDS

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014