April 15, 2015 by The Sumter Item

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

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Attorney issues call for special prosecutor in shooting case

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BY BRUCE SMITH The Associated Press NORTH CHARLESTON — The attorney who brought a $40 million lawsuit following the fatal shooting of a black man by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last year wants a special prosecutor to investigate a similar case in South Carolina. Malik Shabazz, the president of Black Lawyers for Justice, says his group also will conduct its own investigation into the slaying of 50-yearold Walter Scott by a white officer April 4. He also plans a nationwide town hall meeting next weekend to explore the issue of race and police practices. Shabazz attended a rally at North Charleston City Hall attended by about 75 people on Monday, where he said it isn’t enough that officer Michael Slager has been charged with murder. “A charge to us doesn’t mean anything. We want to see that the charges stick,” he said. The shooting was captured on a cellphone video recorded by an eyewitness who was walking nearby. The footage shows Slager firing eight times as Scott is running away, then shows Scott falling to the ground. The video has been seen by millions and resulted in the charge against Slager. “We have reached the point and the tragic point that if you don’t have video showing what happened,” a shooting “is justifiable,” Shabazz said. “We’re not going to be hunted down like deer.” He added that “when we see dead bodies on the ground, we are at war,” and said he was encouraging protesters to “stir the pot” to bring change. But he said he was not advocating violence. “Of course not, I’m an attorney,” he said. Black Lawyers for Justice, founded by Shabazz, brought a lawsuit alleging Ferguson, Missouri, and St. Louis County used excessive force and falsely arrested bystanders to quell unrest after the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old man by a white officer there last year.

SEE SHOOTING, PAGE A8

KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

Investigator Lt. Melissa Addison walks Demetric Jerod Nelson to a waiting car to be taken to the Sumter Lee Regional Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon.

Deputies track down kidnapping, armed-robbery suspect FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County deputies tracked down one of their most wanted suspects Tuesday afternoon, less than 12 hours after authorities allege the man robbed and abducted a Sumter woman, forcing her into the trunk of her car at gunpoint. Investigators took Demetric Jerod Nelson, a 27-year-old South Sumter man, into custody near his last known address in the vi-

Tuesday. He was captured about four hours after the Sheriff’s Office issued a statement beckoning the public’s assistance in locating Nelson. Authorities considered the suspect, who reportedly had a long list of violent prior convictions, armed and dangerous as they sought to capture him. According to reports, Nelson entered a 53-year-old woman’s home in the 1800 block of River

cinity of Manning Avenue. Nelson, previously of 319 Manning Ave., faces charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime stemming from the early morning ordeal, according to a statement issued by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The man could be sentenced to as many as 65 years in prison if convicted of the felony offenses. Officers apprehended Nelson without incident about 1 p.m.

SEE WANTED, PAGE A8

County Council gets intro to 2016 budget; plans workshop

Early resolve fades, Lucas praised as General Assembly returns

BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com

BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com

Sumter County Council received an introduction to the 2016 fiscal year budget during its regular meeting Tuesday and plans to hold a budget workshop April 28th before giving it first reading May 26th. During the Sumter County Fiscal, Tax and Property Committee meeting, which was held before county council’s meeting, county administrator Gary Mixon announced that the proposed budget currently has a deficit of $1.9 million with expenditures totaling $49.8 million and revenues at $47.9 million. Mixon said the local government fund reflects the current state House of Representatives version of the funds, which has increased the amount by $167,000 over the previous year. He said although there has been an increase, it still falls short — by $1.3 million — of the amount the county should receive based on the local government funding formula. The county administrator mentioned that funding requests from

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Central Carolina Technical College and University of South Carolina Sumter will be reviewed during the coming weeks as well. According to the budget schedule, it is anticipated that the budget will be ready to be considered for final reading by June 23. In other news, council approved: • a resolution to complete an application for a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund stormwater and road improvements to the Pearce Subdivision off of Pinewood Road; • a resolution authorizing the sheriff’s office to enter into a multijurisdictional agreement with Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and Town of Andrews Police Department for mutual aid and cooperation, narcotics enforcement purposes and temporary transfer of officers between jurisdictions; and • first reading of amendments to the county code of ordinances to allow freestanding ice vending machines to be placed in general commercial, light

SEE BUDGET, PAGE A8

With lawmakers returning to Columbia to complete the 2015 session of the South Carolina General Assembly, local lawmakers expressed frustration that more has not been accomplished. When legislators gathered in the state capitol at the beginning of the session, a large number expressed their determination that the body would deal with two high profile issues: ethics reform and crumbling infrastructure. “These are things that I would have thought we would have got done early in the session, at least by this time,” said state Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning. “When I came in January, nobody could have told me we wouldn’t have had these things done and sent to the governor.” State Rep. Murrell Smith, RSumter, said he thinks things will begin to move more quickly now. “If you are looking at the agenda items that we discussed all during the off session and at the begin-

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ning of the year, you can expect to start seeing some substantial movement,” he said. He said the House will be working on a roads bill and a domestic violence bill. “We have those issues and the Senate is working on the budget,” he said. “The Senate has ethics reform. There are a lot of big agenda items and that is generally what moves forward.” Rep. David Weeks, D-Sumter, thinks a criminal domestic violence bill will pass, and he said he has hopes for a road funding bill. “I am optimistic — and I have to say that cautiously — that we will come up with some plan to address the roads and infrastructure,” he said. “Those are the two major projects in my mind that need to be dealt with on this side of adjournment. I think we are going to be able to do that.” The Senate is almost set to tackle the budget, says state Sen. Thomas McElveen, D-Sumter.

SEE ASSEMBLY, PAGE A8

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Food C8 Lotteries A10 Classifieds B7 Opinion A9 Comics C6 Television C7

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

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The Lakewood High School choir, directed by Herbert Johnson, will present a free concert this Sunday of the music it will perform at Carnegie Hall on April 19. Admission is free to the 5 p.m. concert at the Sumter Opera House.

Hear Lakewood’s Carnegie Hall concert at Opera House BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

of the Sumter High School choir, and he’s admittedly excited to be taking his own choir to New York to sing on April 26. It’s an “opportunity to give my students the pinnacle music educational experience of their high school career,” he is quoted as saying in the latest Sumter School District newsletter. He said Sunday’s concert at the Opera House will be the same program Lakewood will perform at Carnegie Hall. The audience will hear Laudate dominum (O Praise the Lord); “I Will Be a Child of Peace,” a Shaker hymn arranged by Elaine Hagenberg; “I’ll Carry Your Heart with Me;” Psalm

The Lakewood High School choir is on its way to Carnegie Hall, and we get a free, sneak preview of that concert. At 5 p.m. Sunday, Director Herbert Johnson and singers will perform on the stage of the Sumter Opera House. It’s a chance for locals to witness some of the fine work Sumter School District students and teachers are doing and see why Lakewood was named a GRAMMY Signature School last month. Johnson has been choir director at Lakewood for two years, but he sung at Carnegie Hall himself as a member

Recovery Road Race to be held this weekend The 2015 Recovery Road Race begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Heath Pavilion in Swan Lake. Race packet pickup starts at 7:30 a.m. The Heath Pavilion is at the end of Garden Street on the East side of Swan Lake. The 5K and 10K races both use a USA Track & Field-certified course and are part of the 2015 Palmetto Grand Prix. The entry fee for the 10K is $30, and the 5K is $25. Proceeds from this year’s race will go to The Friends of Swan Lake whose mission is to create awareness and interest in the park as well as fund special projects and work to maintain and improve Swan Lake Iris Gardens, a race brochure states. Participants who register before the day of the race will receive a commemorative T-shirt. You can download a registration form at www.stricktlyrunning.com. For information about the course, visit sumtersc. gov/recreation.aspx.

150, which urges “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord;” the Haitian folk song “Peze Kafe;” and more. Late last year, Johnson submitted a CD of the Lakewood choir that resulted in its selection for the Carnegie Hall performance; this will mark its first concert on a national stage, he said. The Festival at Carnegie Hall is part of the WorldStrides Heritage Elite Performance Series. Lakewood will be joined by several other groups, “the top choirs in the country,” Johnson said. The choir is also one of only 13 in the country and the only S.C. school to receive GRAMMY Signature status for 2015.

Ann Dave, music teacher at Alice Drive Elementary School and pianist for Alice Drive Baptist Church, is the accompanist for Lakewood’s choir.. Admission to Sunday’s 5 p.m. concert is free; however, donations will be accepted to help defray the costs of the trip, which costs each student around $600. For more information, call (704) 4924761 or (803) 506-2700, or email herbert. johnson@sumterschools.net. The Lakewood High School choir will perform at Carnegie Hall at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 26. For more information about this concert, visit the website http://hp.educationaltravel.com/event-item/newyork-festival-at-carnegie-hall-choir.

S.C. artifacts will be topic at genealogical society meeting FROM STAFF REPORTS When the Sumter County Genealogical Society meets on Monday, those attending will hear a unique presentation by Dougie Patterson. His topic will be “Artifacts from the Fields, Swamps and Rivers of South Carolina.” The 7:30 p.m. meeting at Swan Lake Presbyterian Church is open to the public, and there is no charge for admission. Patterson, retired after 25 years as a Sumter Fire Department firefighter and rescue diver, is a native of Sumter, whose interests include taxidermy and the early history of South Carolina. He is a member of both the genealogical society and the Sumter County Historical Society. He has a South Carolina Hobby Divers license, and began diving for artifacts in the 1980s. Hobbies include “building a fort,” yard work, fishing, exploring the waterways of South Carolina and taking care of his dogs. Among Patterson’s collec-

tions are elephant and shark teeth and many other fossils of animals that once lived in these waterways. Also included are Indian artifacts, Colonial glassware and ceramics. He has shared his collections with museums, schools and social groups throughout the years. Besides a great knowledge of artifacts and their history, Patterson is known to have many interesting stories of his finds. The public is also invited to view his displays in Strong Arm Gun Shop, located at 504 East Miller Road, which is owned by Jim Strong. Admission is free to the meetings of the Sumter County Genealogical Society held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month, September through May. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served following the presentation. Call the Society’s Research Center for more information at (803) 774-3901.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Dougie Patterson will be the presenter at the April 20 meeting of the Sumter County Genealogical Society. He will speak on his collections of “Artifacts from the Fields, Swamps and Rivers of South Carolina,” many of which he will have on hand for viewing.

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The Sumter Item is published six days a week except for July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day (unless it falls on a Sunday) by Osteen Publishing Co., 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, SC 29150. Periodical postage paid at Sumter, SC 29150. Postmaster: Send address changes to Osteen Publishing Co., 20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, SC 29150 Publication No. USPS 525-900

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beguiling in its atmosphere, it illuminates the elusive notion of home, and explores whether we can we truly Novelist Margaret Bradever go back to the place — ham Thornton, whose book and the people — that indeli“Charleston” has just been bly shaped us.” published, will speak, read The Charleston Mercury from and sign copies of the said the book “distills (the) book at 2 p.m. Sunday at essence of the Holy City.” Sumter County Sumter’s Nancy Wilson, an Library. avid reader and member of Her appearthe Friends of the Sumter ance is sponsored by Friends County Library, read the book last fall. She declared it of the Library, “the best book on Charleston who invite the THORTON I have ever read, and I public to attend couldn’t put it down. I read the event at no five or six books a week on charge. average. She will be one of “Charleston” is set in the the best writers of our time, city where Thornton was certainly the South, if she born and grew up. Critics continues.” generally agree that ThornThornton has connections ton has accurately depicted with Sumter through her fathe city: Kirkus Reviews said ther and his parents. Dr. the novel “is a stroll through Randy Bradham grew up in the city’s streets, homes and Sumter and will return for surrounding Lowcountry via Sunday’s appearance. He society parties, dinners and graduated from Edmunds reminiscences from the High School in 1941, attended points of view of Eliza PoinThe Citadel, but left in his sett, a native of the South sophomore year to join the Carolina city, who returns to military and serve in the Euthe Lowcountry after living ropean Theater. in London, and her former Following the war, he went lover, Henry Heyward, the back to school, receiving depublisher of a growing chain grees from the University of of Southern newspapers.” South Carolina, After having to the Medical Unitemporarily WANT TO GO? versity of South defer her desire Carolina and the to write fiction WHAT: Margaret Bradham University of — she spent 10 Thornton, author Michigan. A reyears working on appearance tired surgeon, he Tennessee WilWHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday is also a writer, liams’ “NoteWHERE: Sumter County having had two books” — ThornLibrary, 111 N. Harvin St. books published ton has had her Cost: Free and the third debut novel pubnow with a published by Ecco, PHONE: (803) 773-7273 lisher. an imprint of Thornton herHarperCollins self visited SumPublishing. ter many times when she was Thornton told the Post and growing up. Her grandparCourier she’d been influents were Mr. and Mrs. R.A. enced by Williams, whose Bradham, who lived on both work she knows thoroughly. Broad and Church streets. For the 896-page work on the For Tennessee Williams’ Southern playwright, she did “Notebooks,” she received the research and the editing the Bronze ForeWord Magaas well as annotating his letzine Book of the Year Award ters, essays and notes. for Autobiography/Memoir Eliza has much in common and the C. Hugh Holman with some of Williams’ charPrize for the best volume of acters — before their famisouthern literary scholarlies’ declines. Think Blanche ship given by the Society for DuBois and Amanda Wingthe Study of Southern Literfield, even though she is ature. named after George Bernard Thornton’s work has apShaw’s Eliza Doolittle. Eliza peared in Ploughshares, The Poinsett, however, is much Paris Review, World Literamore independent minded. ture Today, The Seattle Re“Charleston” has received view, Theatre History Studies some excellent reviews: and The Times Literary SupAmazon’s critic called the plement. book “ ... an evocative, melShe is a native of Charlesancholy novel about one ton, a graduate of Princeton woman’s love — for both a University and resides in man and an unforgettable Florida. city. Emotionally resonant,

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Use of stun guns eyed in officer-involved killings NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Before a bystanderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s video led to his murder charge and firing, North Charleston police officer Michael Slager said he killed a fleeing suspect in a traffic stop after a struggle over his Taser. Along with other worrisome aspects of the shooting of Walter Scott, Slagerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to subdue him with a stun gun points to a policing paradox that has civil rights advocates alarmed. Promoted as tools to avoid lethal force, stun guns can sometimes become part of a deadly equation. The Associated Press found at least seven other fatal shootings of black men by police in confrontations involving stun guns in recent years. These immobilizing weapons are useful, but can give officers â&#x20AC;&#x153;a really false reassurance that you have more control over a situation than you do,â&#x20AC;? said Eugene Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell, a former New York City police officer who now teaches at the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Slager was charged with murder and fired from the North Charleston Police Department after a bystanderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iPhone video captured him shooting a fleeing Walter Scott in the back after failing to subdue him with a Taser. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Officers need to be spending more time de-escalating situations, instead of resorting to the use of this very convenient tool,â&#x20AC;? said Emma Andersson, a staff attorney with the American

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerome Flood, of James Island, pauses for a moment of silence at the scene of the killing of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer after a traffic stop in April. Scott was best man at Floodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding, and Flood wanted to see where it happened. Civil Liberties Union. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The juryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still out on whether or not itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lethal force, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not nothing; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very dangerous.â&#x20AC;? Stun guns have become an extremely common policing tool, deployed in more than 15,000 U.S. law enforcement and military agencies, according to a 2011 National Institute of Justice report. TASER International Inc. says it has sold more than 800,000 of its devices to law enforcement agencies, which have used them more than 2.3 million times in the past 20 years. The overall record shows Tasers are â&#x20AC;&#x153;safe, effective and accountable,â&#x20AC;? said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a magic bullet. ... There is no

magic bullet.â&#x20AC;? Stun guns can save lives by enabling officers to subdue people without serious injuries, although the ACLU and Amnesty International say hundreds have died from the shocks alone. The deviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s makers counter that Tasers are safe against otherwise healthy targets if not used repeatedly. Still, the potential for deadly consequences has prompted many law enforcement agencies to strictly limit how officers use them. Stun guns â&#x20AC;&#x153;should be used as a weapon of need, not a tool of convenience,â&#x20AC;? say guidelines developed in 2011 by the U.S. Justice Department. The National Institute of Justice report found that

field experience with stun guns indicates that shortterm exposure is safe in the vast majority of cases. But NIJ-funded research in 2012 from Michigan State University, looking at more than 10,000 use-of-force cases in a half-dozen cities, came to a more nuanced conclusion: Stun guns make citizen injuries more frequent, even as they halve the rate of injuries to officers, from 10 percent to 5 percent. Citizens are injured 41 percent of the time when stun guns are used to subdue them, compared to 29 percent when they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, the report said. Some police agencies have adopted polices in line with the ACLUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key recommendation: that Tasers should only be used to counter an immediate threat to life or safety, as an alternative to deadly force. The Taser policy North Charleston issued in 2009 sets a much lower standard: Officers may use a stun gun â&#x20AC;&#x153;to take a subject into custodyâ&#x20AC;? or overcome â&#x20AC;&#x153;passive physical resistanceâ&#x20AC;? from a person who â&#x20AC;&#x153;does not make any attempt to physically defeat the officer.â&#x20AC;? North Charleston does require officers to file a report when they use a Taser, but it has not said whether any resulting numbers suggest they have reduced or increased the use of force. The department has not responded to The Associated Press requests for these and other records following Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shooting.

POLICE BLOTTER CHARGES Delvin Waiters, 38, of 2295 Alston Road, was arrested Monday and charged with third-degree assault and battery after reports that the suspect punched a woman in the face, put her in a chokehold and threatened to kill her during an April 5 incident. Andre Anderson, 32, 2896 Remington Drive, was arrested Tuesday and charged with receiving stolen goods after reports that the suspect had 20 stolen tractor batteries in his possession Friday while at a Sumter County business along Airport Road. Marco Johnson, 22, of 8060 Meeting House Road, was arrested Tuesday amid allegations that he pushed his live-in girlfriend and threatened to assault her during an altercation Saturday in the 100 block of Colts Run Court. The Dalzell suspect faces a charge of criminal domestic violence in connection with the incident. STOLEN PROPERTY A 42-inch Toshiba flat-screen TV valued at $500, a Sony PlayStation 3 gaming system valued at $300 and 10 PlayStation3 video games valued at $400 were reported stolen from a Dalzell home in the 5000 block of Ridge Street about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A leather purse valued at $35, three bottles of prescription medication valued at a combined $532, $240 in cash, a set of darts valued at $200, a backpack valued at $60, a Heward-Packard laptop valued at $370, a Dell laptop valued at $1,800, a terabyte hard drive valued at $100 and a Netplus computer book valued at $100 were reportedly stolen from in the 200 block of Trillium Lane between 1 and 8:40 a.m. Saturday.

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NATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Ex-Blackwater guards will appeal long sentences BY SAM HANANEL The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Defense lawyers are vowing to appeal the convictions of four former Blackwater security guards after a federal judge handed down lengthy prison terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq. Attorneys have identified several issues as likely forming the basis of an appeal, including vindictive prosecution and whether State Department contractors could be charged under a federal law that covers the overseas crimes of Defense Department civilian employees. The comments came after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Monday sentenced former guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in the shootings that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others. Slatten, who witnesses said was the first to fire shots in the melee, was sentenced to life after being convicted last October of first-degree murder. The three other guards — Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard — were each sentenced to 30 years and one day in prison for charges that included manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and using firearms while committing a felony. The incident in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square strained U.S.-Iraq relations and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone. Lamberth announced the sentences after a daylong hearing at which defense lawyers had argued for leniency and presented character witnesses for their clients. At the same time, prosecutors asked that those sentences — the minimums mandatory under the law — be made even harsher. He rejected both requests. Appearing in court wearing leg shackles and prison garb, the former

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Family members, friends and supporters of four former Blackwater security guards follow Steptoe & Johnson attorney Brian Heberlig, center, representing Paul Slough of Keller, Texas, as they depart the Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington on Monday following their sentencing in connection with a 2007 shooting of civilians in Iraq. responsibility. Defense lawyers countered that the men were targeted with gunfire and shot back in self-defense with guns the State Department had provided them for safety. “This was no unprovoked massacre, and we’ll never accept that it was,” said Brian Heberlig, attorney for Slough. Mohammad Kinani Al-Razzaq spoke in halting English about the death of his 9-year-old son as a photo of the smiling boy, Ali Mohammed Hafedh Abdul Razzaq, was shown on courtroom monitors. He demanded the court show Blackwater “what the law is.” “What’s the difference between these criminals and terrorists?” Razzaq said. Baghdad resident, Bara Saadoun Ismael, who received two bullets in his abdomen in addition to 60 pieces of shrapnel in different parts of his body in 2007, is not satisfied with the verdict, demanding capital punishment. “This verdict is less than what they deserve,” the 36-year old taxi driver

contractors insisted they were innocent. “The verdict is wrong; you know that I am innocent, sir,” Slatten told the judge. “I feel utterly betrayed by the same government I served honorably,” Slough said. But Lamberth said he fully agreed with the jury’s guilty verdicts and praised the Justice Department and the FBI for investigating the shooting and putting the truth “out there for the world to see.” Nearly 100 friends and relatives packed the courtroom to show support for the men with many openly weeping throughout the proceedings. Several came to the podium, some choking back tears, to speak glowingly of the men they knew as role models and patriots who only wanted to help serve their country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Martin described the shooting as an unprovoked ambush of civilians and said the men haven’t shown remorse or taken

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told The Associated Press in a phone interview in Baghdad. “They did hurt us a lot, and for what they did to us, they must face execution.” Hassan Jabir, an Iraqi lawyer who was shot in his back and hands, also said the guards should be executed. “I think that more people should stand trial and be punished, including Blackwater executives who kept defending the criminals and Iraqi security officials who allowed this company to work in Iraq.” Defense lawyers argued for mercy, saying decades-long sentences would be unconstitutionally harsh for men who operated in a stressful, war-torn environment and who have proud military careers and close family ties. But Lamberth said he would not deviate from the mandatory minimum sentences, noting that similarly stiff penalties have been applied to police officers who commit crimes while carrying automatic weapons as part of their jobs. Defense attorney David Schertler, who represents Heard, said he would argue on appeal that the sentences violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment given the circumstances. Thomas Connolly, who represents Slatten, said his client would appeal on a claim of vindictive prosecution. Slatten originally was charged with manslaughter in 2007, but an appeals court threw out the charge and the statute of limitations lapsed. Connolly says prosecutors then unfairly charged his client with a more serious charge of murder. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s office said the case shows “that the FBI will investigate violations of U.S. law no matter where they occur in order to bring justice to innocent victims.” Slatten, 31, is from Sparta, Tennessee; Slough, 35, from Keller, Texas; Liberty, 32, from Rochester, New Hampshire; and Heard, 33, from Maryville, Tennessee.

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NATION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Teens still use Facebook BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press NEW YORK — Remember those declarations that teens are done with Facebook? Think again. Facebook remains the most used social media site among American teens ages 13 to 17, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. And, surprisingly, boys visit the site more often than girls. Aided hugely by smartphones and other mobile devices, 71 percent of teens surveyed said they use Facebook, with the same percentage saying they use more than one social network of seven options they were asked about. Half the teens said they also use Instagram and four in 10 said they used Snapchat, according to the study released April 9. Among 22 percent of teens who use just one site, 66 percent use Facebook, 13 percent use Google Plus, 13 percent are Instagram users and 3 percent use Snapchat. The Pew center didn’t compare the latest survey to its previous studies on the subject because it switched its national representative sample from telephone interviews to an online format, potentially skewing results when comparisons are made.

THE SUMTER ITEM

Teen Internet use and access Black, non-Hispanic teens access the Internet more frequently by smartphone than their white or Hispanic contemporaries. They are also more likely to use Facebook.

The latest study points to Facebook as a dominant force in teens’ online lives even as Instagram and Snapchat have gained momentum. Facebook was the site they used most frequently, at 41 percent, followed by Instagram at 20 percent and Snapchat at 11 percent. Boys are more likely than girls to report they visit Facebook most often — at 45 percent versus 36 percent of girls. Pew’s data also revealed a distinct pattern in social media use by socio-economic status. Teens from households with earnings of less than $50,000 are more likely to use Facebook the most — 49 percent compared with 37 percent of teens from households with earnings of $50,000 or more. As far as how much time is spent on social media, 24 percent of teens overall go online “almost constantly,” the study said, with 56 percent saying they go online several times a day and 12 percent reporting once-a-day use. Among other sites the 1,060 teens were asked about are Twitter, Vine and Tumblr. Thirty-three percent said they use Twitter and Google Plus, while 24 percent said they use Vine and 14 percent said Tumblr. Six percent said they use Twitter most often.

About Weekly: Almost once a 6 constantly: 24 day: 12

Less: 2

Teen frequency of Internet use Several times a day: 56%

Access to smartphones Black

Internet use on mobile device 85%

Black

100%

Hispanic

White

Facebook use 72%

Boys

Girls

Black Hispanic White

Age: 13-17 15-17

Note: This survey of 1,060 teens ages 13 to 17 was conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2014 and Feb. 10-Mar. 16, 2015. SOURCE: Pew Research Center

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WORLD

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Vets return to Mideast to battle past, present demons BAGHDAD (AP) — A decade after his first Iraq tour, former U.S. Marine Jamie Lane has returned to the battlefields of the Middle East to fight a still-unvanquished enemy and wrestle with the demons of his past. The 29-year old from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, served as a machine gunner from 2004 to 2008, mainly in the western Anbar province, where he saw fierce fighting against al-Qaida in Iraq. Now, as a private citizen suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he is back in the region to battle its successor, the Islamic State group. “In order to aid my recovery from PTSD, I have taken it upon myself to fight on my terms against an enemy I know is evil,” said Lane, who joined Kurdish militiamen in Syria. “It is redemption, in a sense.” He is one of a small but growing

number of Iraq war veterans who are making their way back to the Middle East, not as uniformed soldiers, but as individuals waging their own personal battles. Many describe feeling a sense of unfinished business as they watched the Islamic State group rampage across the country last summer, seizing territory they had fought and bled for during the U.S.-led intervention. Some express remorse for taking part in that war, while others say they are driven by the same sense of moral obligation that brought them here in the first place, joining their fate to that of a deeply troubled country. Scott Curley, another U.S. veteran of the Iraq war, returned to join the Kurdish peshmerga fighters after Islamic State militants in Syria beheaded Peter Kassig, a former U.S. Army

Ranger who had returned to the region to provide humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians. “I’m just a man with a gun, but whatever little difference I can do,” he said. ‘There weren’t many Western volunteers (with the peshmerga), so I figured I could help here.” A U.S.-led air campaign began targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq in August, helping Iraqi and Kurdish forces to halt the extremists’ advance and begin rolling them back. The Pentagon plans to supply some $1.6 billion worth of arms and training to Kurdish and Iraqi forces. But after more than a decade of inconclusive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has no interest in sending ground troops back to the Middle East. And as the vets learned

at great cost on their various deployments, territory cannot be won and held by airstrikes and arms deliveries alone. “I’m not a mercenary or in love with killing people,” said Bruce Windorski, a former Army Ranger and ex-police officer now training Kurdish fighters with the Syria-based People’s Protection Units. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native says he would rather see a “random Westerner” fighting alongside the Kurds than another full-scale invasion. “I wouldn’t want our American servicemen and women to have to fight a third war in two decades,” Windorski said. “I’ve lived through the loss of loved ones fighting on foreign soil. I have seen families with deployed loved ones. It’s hell on everyone involved.”

Cancer surge in China prompts rise of special patient room rentals BY JACK CHANG The Associated Press BEIJING — Li Xiaohe has set herself up for the long haul in a cramped but sunny room in western Beijing, about a block from China’s most renowned cancer hospital. Her laundry dries on hangers, and her husband cooks in a communal kitchen as she embarks on an 84-day program of chemotherapy, following the removal of part of her right breast. The youthful, soft-spoken 43-year-old, who works as a neighborhood watch leader back home in Henan province, is living in one of the many so-called cancer hotels that dot the neighborhood around the hospital, giving patients an affordable, cozy place to wait for appointments and undergo outpatient treatment. With lung, bowel and breast cancer rates surging in China, such hotels have sprouted up in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, part of an ad hoc response to what medical experts say is a growing health crisis challenging an unprepared medical system. “The treatment back home is different from here, so we came here,” Li says in her bedroom, which is filled almost completely by her mattress. “At home, my insurance covers 85 percent of the cost. It’ll be good if I can even get half of it covered here. But I’m doing this for my health. I’m looking for the right treatment.” These patients venture far for treatment thinking they can’t find adequate care in hometowns, instead preferring to camp out near reputa-

ble, big-city hospitals to await their turn for care. They do that even though government health insurance often covers less of the cost of care in Beijing and other big cities than it does back home. The hotels, which mostly operate informally, don’t provide nursing but put patients closer to medical services and experts and give them a place to cook their own food and share tips with fellow patients. Despite their name, they are not traditional hotels but furnished units in apartment blocks near medical facilities, charging as little as $7 a night per room. And while they occupy a legal gray zone, doctors often refer patients to them, and state-run media have published glowing articles about the need they are fulfilling. They reflect a health emergency that has seen the number of lung cancer diagnoses nationwide jump by 16 percent in two years and the lung cancer rate in Beijing soar by 60 percent in a decade, according to Chinese government figures. Lung cancer mortality rates grew from about 50 per 100,000 men in 2000 to nearly 60 per 100,000 a dozen years later, World Health Organization data show. Breast cancer rates have also grown among women, killing almost as many of them yearly as lung cancer. Persistently high rates of smoking as well as toxic air pollution help explain much of the rise, said Angela Pratt, who leads WHO’s work in China on tobacco control and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Spring is for Planting!

Li Xiaohe, a cancer patient, talks March 16 in a room she rents near the renowned cancer hospital she is receiving treatment from in Beijing. She is living in one of the many so-called cancer hotels around the hospital. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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ASSEMBLY FROM PAGE A1 “We are taking the budget up here pretty soon,” McElveen said. “We got the appropriations bill from the House, and it is currently in the Senate Finance Committee.” He said it is hard to predict how quickly the budget deliberations will move. “I don’t know how long that debate is going to last; it could last a week; it could last a few weeks,” he said. “That’s probably going to occupy our side the second half of the session.” With the General Assembly set to adjourn on June 4, McElveen said he is concerned some important issues will not be dealt with before the clock runs out. “I am hopeful we will get an infrastructure bill for debate at some point of time this year,” he said. “It would be nice to get back on the ethics bill, but we are just running out of time. I think this year that the chances for an ethics bill are dwindling just because we are running out of time.” McElveen expressed disappointment in the Senate for failing to push forward on the road funding bill despite nearly everyone declaring it their priority before the session. “I am surprised every year that we haven’t spent more time debating the roads and bridges issue,” he said. “I thought by now, three years in, we would have spent more time on that. From my perspective, I have done everything I can to get that up for debate.

“That should be the No. 1 priority in the state right now,” he said. Johnson said he is not surprised many legislators’ early expressions of resolve have not come to fruition. “One thing I find up here is that when people say something they really want to get done, that’s probably not what they really mean,” he said. House members Weeks and Smith both had praise for the new Speaker of the House Jay Lucas, R-Darlington. Weeks said he thinks Lucas has done a good job of transitioning into the role of leadership. “The House has moved very quickly on getting a couple of things,” Weeks said. “I think (that’s) from having a new speaker and having the House actually coalesce around the speaker.” “Speaker Lucas has done a wonderful job,” Smith said. “He’s been more inclusive; he has been fair and considerate to all members.” Smith said Lucas has led the House by building consensus instead of trying to ram things through. “I think that is good for the government, good for the state and good for the people of South Carolina,” he said. Weeks said he is surprised by how the House has responded to the new speaker’s role. “I thought there was going to be some push back based on some things that have happened in the past,” Weeks said.

LOCAL

THE SUMTER ITEM

WANTED FROM PAGE A1 Birch Drive about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and demanded money. He then forced the victim to drive him to a location about four miles away along Manning Avenue. Once at the location, Nelson forced the woman into the trunk of her car at gunpoint. Reports indicate the car remained at a standstill when Nelson allegedly took the wheel of the woman’s car, and she determined that he didn’t know how to operate a manual-transmission vehicle. The woman then managed to escape the trunk by triggering an emergency latch

SHOOTING FROM PAGE A1 Shabazz said whether a lawsuit is brought in South Carolina depends on what his investigation turns up. Late Monday, the passenger who was in Scott’s car during the traffic stop before he fled released a statement. “I’ll never know why he

inside the vehicle’s rear compartment. She flagged down a Sumter police car, which was traveling past the scene as she climbed out of the trunk, reports stated. As officers approached, Nelson reportedly fled the scene on foot. Reports indicate the suspect still had the woman’s car keys on him when deputies took him into custody. He was taken to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning and then transported to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center to await a bond hearing. Detectives could be overheard outside the Sheriff’s Office, and indicated that Nelson told investigators the woman willingly got into the trunk.

ran, but I know he didn’t deserve to die,” Pierre D. Fulton said in the brief remarks, released by lawyer Mark A. Peper. Fulton calls Scott a dear friend who made him a better man and showed him the value of hard work. Fulton also asks for privacy moving forward. His lawyer says it will be his only statement until any court proceedings.

BUDGET FROM PAGE A1 and heavy industrial districts as conditional commercial structures. At present, the machines can only be placed on property

The response to the North Charleston shooting has been subdued, generally attributed to authorities immediately charging Slager with murder after the cellphone video surfaced. The State Law Enforcement Division released almost 13 hours of video from the cruisers of the five officers who responded to the scene of the shooting.

in light industrial-warehouse and heavy industrial districts as long as a larger commercial structure is also on the lot. City and County Zoning Administrator Donna McCullum said the amendments would apply to any freestanding vending machine, not just ice vending machines.

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Will Hillary’s run for office lead to ‘Clinton Fatigue?’

illary Clinton ended the socalled suspense this past weekend by announcing her candidacy for president of the United States. Our reaction: Big deal. Perhaps her announcement will give some closure to “Bush Fatigue” and restart “Clinton Fatigue.” However, that’s not to say that there is something to look forward to as she trots out onto the biggest stage for aspiring presidents. While she can be tiresome with her contrived congeniality that plays so well with her gushing followers, one saving grace in this scenario is her hubby, former President Bill Clinton. He claims he is staying out of her campaign and letting her run the show and be the whole show.

EDITORIAL If you believe that, we have some nice waterfront property in the Mojave Desert to offer you. We fully expect her better half to eventually eat up all the oxygen in every room. He just can’t help himself, that’s his calling, and he has fared very well in ingratiating himself with the American public, which now sees him as lovable lug. It’s a plus to have one member of the team with an easy to like personality. Hillary’s is one seeking authenticity. And one in search of any real accomplishments to qualify for the highest office in the land. She fits nicely into the template established by the current occupant of the Oval Office. Like President

Obama, she was underwhelming as a U.S. senator from New York, and as Secretary of State, her time in that office was a disaster: Benghazi, erased emails, zero foreign policy achievements. She probably could have done better as a community organizer – maybe. Should she make it to the White House, she must figure out a way to placate the left wing base that was secured by Obama. Under the tutelage of her husband, it is possible she may follow his example of reinventing himself as a moderate Democrat after the Republicans took control of Congress during the early part of his first term. Bill Clinton was a skilled practitioner of the art of the possible, which led to him being able to balance a fed-

eral budget, which was unheard of for Democrats. For the time being, it’s pretty much a done deal that she will be awarded the Democratic Party’s nomination next year. All that’s left is for her to get the nation’s voters to the polls in her favor. The Republicans have their work cut out in attempting to stop the Hillary surge. She has a lot going for her, including a mainstream media that will likely portray her as the Second Coming, much as it did for Obama, plus an electoral college that favors heavilypopulated states that lean Democratic. Perhaps the nation will start coming to its senses leading into 2016 and make the race competitive, no matter who she faces in the general election.

COMMENTARY

Reality may be optional

ne of the wonders of modern times is that reality is often seen as a social construct and therefore optional. Thus, if one finds a particular reality offensive or inconvenient, he just “changes” it. Say that one is born a male or a female but believes that nature made an error. Some believe that nature’s “error” can be corrected by calling oneself another sex. Possibly a medical procedure on one’s genitalia can correct nature’s Walter error. Williams However, Mother Nature is ruthless. Sex determination is strictly chromosomal. Females are XX, and males are XY. There is no medical procedure that can change that. Once a male or female, always a male or female. What about the chant “Hands up; don’t shoot,” echoed during street demonstrations and rioting and even in the halls of Congress? The lie was that Michael Brown had held his hands up to surrender to a white racist Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, Darren Wilson, who then shot him in cold blood. Even after it was proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the reality was entirely different, it didn’t matter. “Hands up; don’t shoot” became the chant across the land. ‘’More women are victims of domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year.” That’s the lie produced by feminists in 1993. It received a boost at this year’s Super Bowl game in a 30-second, multimillion-dollar ad co-sponsored by the NFL, currying favor with women’s groups as a result of a few players’ misbehavior. Regarding the grossly bogus study, feminist writer Christina Hoff Sommers concluded, “How a belief in that misandrist canard can make the world a better place for women is not explained.” When President Obama swapped five Taliban terrorists for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, now charged with desertion, he gave us some historical insights. Obama said, “This (exchange of prisoners) is what happens at the end of wars.” He added: “That was true for George Washington. That was true for Abraham Lincoln. That was true for FDR. That’s been true of every combat situation, that at some point, you make sure that you try to get your folks back. And that’s the right thing to do.” There was a bit of a history problem with Obama’s claim.

‘The historical fact of business is that none of the presidents Obama mentioned was in office at the time that his war ended, so how in the world could they make prisoner swaps as Obama asserted? George Washington did not become president until 1789, six years after the Revolutionary War’s end in 1783. There were no prisoners for him to exchange. Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865. The Civil War ended June 2, 1865. Lincoln was dead and didn’t have the opportunity to exchange prisoners at the war’s end. Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a stroke April 12, 1945. The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945. The Japanese empire surrendered Aug. 15, 1945. The historical fact of business is that none of the presidents Obama mentioned was in office at the time that his war ended, so how in the world could they make prisoner swaps as Obama asserted? Gun control advocates argue that stricter gun control laws would reduce murders. They ignore the fact that Brazil, Mexico and Russia have some of the strictest gun control laws but murder rates higher than ours. On the other hand, Switzerland and Israel have higher gun ownership rates than we but much lower murder rates. These are realities that gun controllers ignore. Another reality completely ignored in the gun control debate is the reason the Founding Fathers gave Second Amendment protections. Alexander Hamilton wrote, “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.” Thomas Jefferson wrote, “What country can preserve (its) liberties if (its) rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” I leave it up to you to decide what representatives and rulers the founders were talking about. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Copyright 2015, creators.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR LATE MOTHER LOVED READING HER SUMTER NEWSPAPER It is with a heavy heart that I tell you I lost my mother, Mary D. Francis, on March 3. She lived a wonderful life as a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to three daughters, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She was a teacher for 25 years, a great neighbor living in her home for 53 years and dedicated member of several clubs and organizations in the Sumter community. She lived a long and fruitful life, but her heart just could not keep her going. She will be missed by my husband and I, my two sisters, our extended family, and her many friends. She loved reading the newspaper and, at 91, she would still sit at the dining room table and read it from cover to cover. Thanks for helping keep her informed. PATRICIA F. BREZNAY Columbia

MONEY IS NOT THE WHOLE ANSWER BUT IT DOES HELP I agree that throwing money at everything will not solve all of our problems, but equal and adequate resources are needed for any group of people to survive. Placing shopping centers and adequate housing in one community and placing liquor stores, minimal inadequate housing in another is not equal resources. At the beginning of this new 114th Congress and this legislative session in South Carolina, 25 percent of black households live below the poverty line, compared with 8 percent of white house-

holds, one out of three black children lives in poverty; and African Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed, you have to ask, where is the equality? In South Sumter, there are five liquor stores, including the one they will build after tearing down a church to build it. However, there are more churches in South Sumter than liquor stores. I guess the question is what is it we are doing or what is it we are not doing? We know that in the African American community, adequate housing brings about family stability. It’s great that the city has been awarded $3.4 million for the purchase and demolition of approximately 100 blighted single and multi-family residential properties across the city. It would be nice if city officials could also use their creativity and apply for funds to build moderately income houses in South and East Sumter. It would also be nice if 48 percent of the millions of dollars allocated for demolition under the extended Penny Sales Tax be used in the African American sections of the county. We just recently celebrated fair housing; we would like to celebrate adequate housing. Parents and grandparents, make sure you help your children pursue an above adequate education rather than a minimal adequate education, so that they won’t have to put up with more than adequate liquor stores in their community; be a part of the poverty statistics and Criminal Justice System; inadequate housing; and being ignored for the entire life. FERDINAND BURNS JR. Sumter

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.

A10

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

AROUND TOWN 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Lincoln High School Class of April 18, at Concord United 1963 will meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, at Ameri- Methodist Church in the can Legion Post 202, 310 Pal- Lucknow community. you a 1960-1969 Lincoln High metto St. Are Class from 1960 The Bethel Grammar School throughgraduate? 1969 are welcome annual reunion will be held at and encouraged to send a 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, representative to help plan at Cypress Creek Club the reunion celebrating the House, 5520 Bethel Church Modern Civil Rights MoveRoad. For information, call ment. Call Ferdinand Burns (803) 481-8896 or Polly at (803) 968-4464. McLeod at (803) 452-5758. The Pinedale Neighborhood As- The Clarendon County Republisociation will meet at 4 p.m. can Party Convention will be on Thursday, April 16, at the held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, South HOPE Center, 1125 S. April 18, at Cornerstone Free Lafayette Drive. Call FerdiWill Baptist Church, 2116 nand Burns at (803) 968Greeleyville Highway, man4464. ning. Fees: $5 for non-member delegates; and $10 for The Lincoln High School Class guests. There is no fee for of 1965 will meet at 11 a.m. elected officials or the on Friday, April 17, at the Lincoln High School gymna- press. sium, Council Street, to plan The Lincoln High School Presfor the 50-year class reervation Alumni Association union. Call Betty Miller at will meet at 4 p.m. on Sun(803) 775-1616. day, April 19, at the Lincoln High School cafeteria, CounThe Lincoln High School Prescil Street. Lincolnites, ervation Alumni Association friends and the community will hold a dinner fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fri- are invited. Call James L. Green at (803) 968-4173. day, April 17, at the Lincoln High School gymnasium, The VFW Post 11078, SummerCouncil Street. Cost: $8 per ton, will meet at 6 p.m. on dinner and will consist of Tuesday, April 21, at its grilled chicken, red rice, headquarters on Canty stuffing, lima beans, roll and Street. All members and poa drink. Call James L. Green tential new members are inat (803) 968-4173. vited to attend. A benefit gala for the Boys and The Sumter County Educator’s Girls Club of Lee County will Association-Retired will meet be held 6-8 p.m. on Friday, at noon on Wednesday, April 17, at the Opera House, April 22, at the North HOPE 109 Main St., Bishopville. Center, 904 N. Main St. New This is a fundraiser benefit members are encouraged to to initiate a Boys and Girls attend and join. Call Brenda Club in Lee County through Bethune at (803) 469-6588. the Salvation Army. Seating The Single Parent Institute will can be purchased by indimeet 5:30-6:30 p.m. on vidual ticket for $30 or a table of eight for $300. Table Wednesday, April 22, at the Birnie HOPE Center. For inseating will guarantee group seating together. Din- formation, call Dr. Quaneck Walkes at (803) 223-9408 or ner will be served at 6 p.m., singleparentinstitute@quafollowed by entertainment provided by local youth. Din- neck.com. Find the group on Facebook. ner will be provided by The Sumter Branch NAACP will youth volunteers in the Lee meet at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Central culinary arts proApril 26, a St. James UM gram. Tickets available at Church, 700 Broad St. the Lee County Chamber of Commerce or Lee County VFW Post 10813 will hold its First Steps office. Call Ruby monthly “Wine, Cheese, Music Gibbs at (803) 468-8340 or & more ...” event from 5 to 9 Brenda Golden at (803) 651p.m. on Sunday, April 26, at 1893. 610 Manning Ave. Donations are welcome to help supThe Sumter Combat Veterans port veterans and families Group will hold a black tie fundraiser event at 7 p.m. on Fri- programs. Call (803) 773day, April 17, at the Carolina 6700 for details. Sky Club, Shaw Air Force The Shepherd’s Center will Base. Tickets are $50 each. offer a public information sesSammy Way, historian, will sion about lawn care for spring speak. For information, call and summer from 11 to 11:50 Henry Boyd at (803) 464-1239 a.m. on Thursday, April 30, or Leroy Peeples at (803) at 24 Council St. Program 509-2868. will be presented by a representative with Clemson Lee County EMS Community Outreach will host a health fair Extension.

DAILY PLANNER

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEATHER

AccuWeather® ﬁve-day forecast for Sumter TODAY

TONIGHT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Cooler with a couple of t-storms

Cloudy with a couple of t-storms

Mostly cloudy, showers; breezy

Cloudy with a t-storm; warmer

Mostly cloudy, a t-storm; humid

A couple of thunderstorms

70°

53°

67° / 55°

80° / 61°

80° / 65°

75° / 64°

Chance of rain: 60%

Chance of rain: 75%

Chance of rain: 55%

Chance of rain: 60%

NE 7-14 mph

NE 10-20 mph

NNE 10-20 mph

NE 7-14 mph

SSW 7-14 mph

NW 6-12 mph

TODAY’S SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER

Gaﬀney 63/50 Spartanburg 64/52

Greenville 63/52

Columbia 71/55

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

Sumter 70/53

IN THE MOUNTAINS Aiken 70/55

ON THE COAST

Charleston 75/60

Today: A shower or thunderstorm around. High 70 to 78. Thursday: Periods of rain; however, a shower in southern parts. High 69 to 73.

LOCAL ALMANAC

LAKE LEVELS

SUMTER THROUGH 4 P.M. YESTERDAY

Today Hi/Lo/W 72/57/t 64/43/pc 77/59/pc 63/42/pc 83/66/c 82/60/s 81/69/t 68/47/s 87/70/t 69/47/pc 86/58/s 71/55/s 68/50/pc

SUN AND MOON 7 a.m. yest. 358.03 75.64 75.35 97.55

24-hr chg +0.03 +0.05 none +0.11

Sunrise 6:52 a.m. Moonrise 4:40 a.m.

RIVER STAGES

Precipitation 24 hrs ending 4 p.m. yest. trace Month to date 0.87" Normal month to date 1.42" Year to date 15.60" Last year to date 10.28" Normal year to date 12.71"

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

83° 68° 74° 48° 90° in 2006 28° in 1950

NATIONAL CITIES Thu. Hi/Lo/W 67/56/r 66/47/c 80/63/t 59/49/sh 78/68/t 84/58/s 79/70/t 57/47/pc 87/69/t 64/49/pc 79/58/s 75/52/s 67/54/pc

Myrtle Beach 70/59

Manning 68/54

Today: Cooler with periods of rain. Winds east-northeast 7-14 mph. Thursday: Cool with rain and drizzle. Winds northeast 8-16 mph.

Temperature High Low Normal high Normal low Record high Record low

Florence 70/52

Bishopville 67/52

7:53 p.m. 4:38 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

Apr. 18

Apr. 25

May 3

May 11

TIDES

Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr stage yest. chg 12 7.49 -0.16 19 4.18 +0.17 14 5.19 -0.05 14 3.05 -0.43 80 78.03 -0.86 24 6.50 +0.03

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

Sunset Moonset

AT MYRTLE BEACH

Today Thu.

High 6:42 a.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:41 a.m. 8:03 p.m.

Ht. 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.5

Low 1:05 a.m. 1:38 p.m. 2:07 a.m. 2:32 p.m.

Ht. -0.1 -0.4 -0.4 -0.7

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

Today Hi/Lo/W 61/48/r 69/55/c 73/56/c 78/63/c 62/54/c 75/60/c 63/50/r 68/55/r 71/55/t 67/51/t 64/50/c 67/51/r 67/50/r

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 59/48/r 67/54/r 69/57/sh 73/62/c 70/60/c 70/60/c 63/54/r 65/55/r 67/58/sh 66/56/r 69/57/c 69/58/r 69/57/sh

City Florence Gainesville Gastonia Goldsboro Goose Creek Greensboro Greenville Hickory Hilton Head Jacksonville, FL La Grange Macon Marietta

Today Hi/Lo/W 70/52/t 82/66/t 62/50/r 66/50/r 75/59/c 61/47/r 63/52/r 60/47/r 76/64/c 83/66/t 78/62/t 75/59/t 72/56/t

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 67/58/r 81/64/t 63/53/r 70/57/c 70/60/sh 64/52/r 62/52/r 59/51/r 74/65/c 78/65/t 74/58/c 70/57/sh 66/55/r

City Marion Mt. Pleasant Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Port Royal Raleigh Rock Hill Rockingham Savannah Spartanburg Summerville Wilmington Winston-Salem

Today Hi/Lo/W 62/46/r 74/61/c 70/59/t 73/56/c 75/63/c 64/49/r 63/50/r 64/50/r 78/64/c 64/52/r 74/59/c 67/54/c 59/47/r

Thu. Hi/Lo/W 59/49/r 71/61/sh 69/61/r 68/58/sh 72/64/c 67/54/c 64/53/r 64/56/r 75/62/c 62/53/r 70/60/sh 70/59/sh 62/52/r

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

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

The last word ARIES (March 21-April 19): in astrology A change of EUGENIA LAST location, as well as in your financial situation, is likely. Take care of taxes or other paperwork that could affect your future. An older relative will need help. Connect with past business associates and an opportunity will develop. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Help someone in need. Don’t fret over the little things. Overreacting will lead to setbacks. An incident will alter the way you think or live. Don’t make physical or emotional changes. Do the necessary research and proceed with caution. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You may feel like shaking things up a bit, but if you overdo it or you are impulsive, you will end up making a mistake you’ll regret. Stick to what you know and protect your assets. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t fear change. Use your intelligence and memory to help you maneuver through whatever you face. Your intuition is on point, and with proper application of your skills, you will advance. Don’t let personal matters interfere with your productivity. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take care of your responsibilities so that you can get on with the things you enjoy. You’ll discover valuable information from someone you encounter in a competition. Love is in the stars, but don’t let it cost you financially. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A proactive approach to whatever you do will help you set a high standard and bring about favorable lifestyle changes. An emotional situation must be handled carefully to avoid a mishap or loss. Don’t be

WITH WI T EQU EQUAL Q AL PAYMENTS S

803-795-4257

See details a See at www.boykinacs.com

fooled by someone’s sob story. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A change will take place within your personal and professional relationships. Do your best to keep the peace until you feel you have the upper hand. Reconnect with people you feel have something to offer you. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Forget about what’s going on around you. Don’t let anyone coerce you into something you don’t want to do or can’t afford. Focus on home, family and stabilizing your situation as well as altering your surroundings to better suit your needs. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look at the big picture and make changes that are worth your while. Avoid anyone trying to push you into being impractical or overindulgent. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Strive for greater security, not on accumulating more unnecessary stuff. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Avoid unpredictable people or anyone trying to force changes you don’t want to make. Look at your situation at home and figure out a way to cut corners. Lowering your overhead using creative accounting will also ease your stress. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Listen carefully. You’ll be inclined to hear what you want to hear instead of what’s being said. Step back and consider the changes that will help you the most. The plan should be to get ahead by doing something you enjoy. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your intuition and imagination will be overactive when dealing with emotional matters. Avoid being judgmental and you will be less likely to face opposition from others. Don’t lose sight of your goals and plans.

NO INTEREST TILL JANUARY 2020

LOTTERY NUMBERS PALMETTO CASH 5 TUESDAY

POWERBALL SATURDAY

MEGAMILLIONS TUESDAY

5-9-14-24-26 PowerUp: 4

1-12-32-42-58 Powerball: 12; Powerplay: 2

numbers not available at press time

PICK 3 TUESDAY

PICK 4 TUESDAY

LUCKY FOR LIFE MONDAY

2-4-2 and 7-0-6

4-2-1-3 and 8-0-3-1

2-10-21-29-47; Lucky Ball 6

PICTURES FROM THE PUBLIC Amanda Hitchcock shares a photo she took of the walking path over the water at Woods Bay State Park in Shiloh. Hitchcock states, “I took the picture as I was walking with my mom along the path and later noticed that there was a spot on the wood that looked like the face of either a tiger or a wolf and figured I’d send it in!”

HAVE YOU TAKEN PICTURES OF INTERESTING, EXCITING, BEAUTIFUL OR HISTORICAL PLACES? Would you like to share those images with your fellow Sumter Item readers? E-mail your hiresolution jpegs to sandrah@theitem.com, or mail to Sandra Holbert c/o The Sumter Item, P.O. Box 1677, Sumter, SC 29150. Include clearly printed or typed name of photographer and photo details. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of your photo. Amateur photographers only please.

SECTION

Westbrook & Co. need playoff help from Spurs B5

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

PRO FOOTBALL

CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Canadian calling

Spring game might be sign of big year for WR Williams BY SCOTT KEEPFER Greenville News

and it’s going to give me the opportunity to develop and become the player I see myself being in the future.” The need for extra time to grow both physically and mentally were high on Oxendine’s list of priorities, he said, because in all likelihood an NFL career would involve a switch to outside

CLEMSON — Once again, Mike Williams left ’em shaking their heads. Williams, a junior wide receiver who already has logged a career’s worth of nifty catches, added to his personal highlight reel in Clemson University’s spring game on Saturday with an eyecatching, one-handed grab along the sideline for a 16yard gain. The reception, WILLIAMS which drew audible oohs and aahs from the 37,000 fans in attendance, was so impressive that even Williams himself confessed to its notability. “It was a great catch,” Williams said. “A lot of people were talking about it.” Granted, it was just a spring game, but the catch served further notice that Clemson fans may be in for a fall filled with big plays courtesy of the rangy, 6-foot-4 receiver with the gluelike hands. Saturday was merely a warmup, but Williams appeared to be in mid-season form. He hauled in a 50-yard reception on the game’s opening play, then snagged a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Schuessler two plays later. By day’s end, Williams had five receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. “Mike’s the kind of guy who’s a quiet assassin,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “He does his job over there and then all of a sudden he just pops up and makes big plays.” Big plays have become a matter of course for the Lake Marion High product, who appears poised to take another step forward after a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference season that saw him make 57 catches for a team-high 1,030 yards. He had four 100-yard receiving games as a sophomore, capping the campaign with a nine-catch, 112-yard effort in the Tigers’ Russell Athletic Bowl romp against Oklahoma. “We’ve been working on him becoming a physical player on the boundary with all the one-on-one

SEE OXENDINE, PAGE B6

SEE WILLIAMS, PAGE B5

MARJORIE MAXON / CITADEL SPORTS

Former Sumter High and Citadel standout defensive lineman Justin Oxendine (96) has signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Citing need to develop further, former Sumter High & Citadel standout DL Oxendine opts to sign north of the border with CFL’s Winnipeg squad BY JUSTIN DRIGGERS justin@theitem.com Justin Oxendine will once again throw on a customary blue jersey when football season begins. But this year, he’s trading Citadel blue for Winnipeg blue. Oxendine, the former Sumter High School and Bulldogs standout defensive

lineman, signed a free agent contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League on April 1. The decision to head north and not wait to see what unfolded after the National Football League draft at the end of this month came down to one simple thing, Oxendine said. “I wanted a little more

time to develop,” the 6-foot3-inch, 255-pound Oxendine said. “I’ve known a lot of NFL players throughout my lifetime, and I know what it takes to get there and what they’re looking for. I don’t feel like I’m at that level yet. “But the CFL is a great opportunity and I’m excited about being able to keep playing football. I’m playing with some high-caliber guys

PRO GOLF

USC FOOTBALL

Lefty reaches dubious milestone Undersized Stadnik makes switch to TE Mickelson earns career Grand Slam of sorts with 10th runner-up finish in a major

BY WILLIE T. SMITH III Greenville News

BY PAUL NEWBERRY The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson knew he needed a truly special round to catch Jordan Spieth. Instead, Lefty settled for a familiar spot. Runner-up. Mickelson closed with a 3-under 69 that left him tied with Justin Rose, four shots behind the wire-to-wire winner. “It was just a good, solid round of golf,’’ Mickelson said. “I needed something exceptional.’’ The 21-year-old Spieth won with an 18-under 270, tying the Masters record for lowest overall score. Mickelson and Rose finished at 274, a score that would have been good enough to win the last three years. In fact, it was lower that Mickelson’s score in two of his three Masters victo-

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Phil Mickelson tied Justin Rose for second place at the Masters on Sunday in Augusta, Ga., to push his total number of runner-up finishes in majors to 10 and complete a career Grand Slam of sorts. ries. “The fact is, I would have taken 14 under at the start of the week,’’ he said. “I played

really well to shoot 14 under and I simply got outplayed by a

SEE LEFTY, PAGE B5

COLUMBIA — Clayton Stadnik has a problem many wish they shared. He struggles to keep his weight up. The Greensboro, North Carolina center who started 12 games in two seasons for South Carolina, had his tonsils removed immediately following the Gamecocks’ win over Miami in the Independence Bowl. Without the tonsils, Stadnik was unable to eat the way that was necessary for him to remain at the 275-280 pound range. “I’ve always been undersized,” said Stadnik. “I ate like five meals a day. Even my senior year (in high school) I was light, like 255, 260. So I’ve been undersized

my whole life. Even when I got to college, I really had to work. STADNIK Eating meals was like a second job for me. So it was very hard for me to keep the weight on.” After his operation, Stadnik’s weight fell to 235 pounds, much too small to play offensive line on the major college level. With that understanding, Stadnik did not know what to expect when he returned to campus and had his first meeting with Gamecocks offensive line coach Shaw Elliott. “He wasn’t too happy,” said Stadnik. ”I knew that would be his reaction. I wanted to play on

SEE STADNIK, PAGE B5

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

BOYS AREA ROUNDUP

WH wins region golf match MANNING — Wilson Hall won a SCISA Region II-3A golf match on Tuesday at Shannon Greens Golf Club. Wilson Hall shot a 149 to win the match. Calhoun Academy took second a 157 followed by Thomas Sumter Academy at 160, Laurence Manning Academy at 167 and Orangeburg Prep at 193. Calhoun’s Justin Hood shot a 33 to earn the match medalist. Christian Salzer and Easton Ward each shot a 36 to lead Wilson Hall. Grier Schwartz shot a 38 and Coker Lowder had a 39. Burke Mishoe shot a 38 to lead LMA and Tyler Gray shot a 38 to lead TSA. SHS FINISHES 17TH

COLUMBIA — Sumter High School finished 17th out of 28 teams in the 2-day Bengal Invitational that took place on Monday and Tuesday at Columbia Country Club. Daniel Spencer shot a 149 for the Gamecocks’ low score. He shot a 75 on Monday and a 74 on Tuesday.

VARSITY TRACK AND FIELD SHS WINS GAMECOCK INVITATIONAL

Colin Washington and Rodney Pitts both won two individual events to lead Sumter High School to a victory in the Gamecock Invitational on Saturday at Sumter Memorial Stadium. The Gamecocks won the 7-team meet with 153 points. Wilson and Dreher both finished with 123 followed by Colleton County with 96, Florence Christian School with 43, West Florence with 20 and A.C. Flora with 17. Washington won both the 100and 200-meter dashes. Pitts was victorious in the high jump and long jump.

VARSITY SOCCER LAURENCE MANNING 2 FIRST BAPTIST 0 MANNING — Laurence Manning Academy defeated First Baptist 2-0 on Monday at the LMA field. Olin Robinson and Phelps Gregory both scored a goal for the Swampcats. Luke Decosta had an assist and Nick Gizzi had eight saves in goal while recording the shutout.

VARSITY BASEBALL BEN LIPPEN 8 WILSON HALL 7 COLUMBIA — Wilson Hall fell to 15-6 with an 8-7, 8-inning loss to Ben Lippen on Monday at the BL field. Dawson Price had a double and drew four walks for the Barons. He also scored twice and had an RBI. John Ballard had three hits and a run, Brent Carraway and Walker Patrick both had two hits and scored a run and Robert James had two hits and an RBI. CLARENDON HALL 5 COLLETON PREP 3

SUMMERTON — Clarendon Hall evened its SCISA Region III1A record at 4-4 with a 5-3 win over Colleton Prep on Monday at the CH field. The Saints, who improved to 6-4 overall, got a complete-game effort from Dustin Way. He struck out 10 while walking six and allowing five hits. Daniel Pappas had a hit, a run and an RBI for Clarendon Hall Tilton McCrae had a hit and a run and Lance Browder had a hit and a run.

JUNIOR VARSITY SOCCER

THE SUMTER ITEM

SCOREBOARD

MONDAY’S GAMES

TV, RADIO TODAY

Noon -- Major League Baseball: Miami at Atlanta (FOX SPORTSOUTH, WPUB-FM 102.7). 1 p.m. -- College Football: South Carolina Garnet & Black Spring Game from Columbia (ESPNU). 1:30 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Washington at Boston or L.A. Angels at Texas (MLB NETWORK). 2:30 p.m. -- International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal First Leg Match -- Barcelona vs. Paris-Saint Germain (FOX SPORTS 1). 2:30 p.m. -- International Soccer: UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal First Leg Match -- Bayern Munich vs. Porto (FOX SPORTS 2). 6:05 p.m. – Talk Show: Sports Talk (WPUB-FM 102.7, WDXY-FM 105.9, WDXY-AM 1240).7 p.m. -NBA Basketball: Charlotte at Toronto (ESPN). 7 p.m. -- LPGA Golf: LPGA LOTTE Championship First Round from Oahu, Hawaii (GOLF). 7 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore or Tampa Bay at Toronto (MLB NETWORK). 7 p.m. -- College Softball: North Carolina State at Alabama (SEC NETWORK). 7 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoffs First-Round Series Game One -New York Islanders at Washington (USA). 8:30 p.m. -- Women’s College Lacrosse: Maryland at Johns Hopkins (ESPNU). 8:30 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Stanley Cup Western Conference Playoffs First-Round Series Game One -Chicago at Nashville (NBC SPORTS NETWORK). 9 p.m. -- International Soccer: United States vs. Mexico from San Antonio (FOX SPORTS 1, UNIVISION). 9 p.m. -- College Softball: South Alabama at Mississippi State (SEC NETWORK). 9:30 p.m. -- NBA Basketball: Indiana at Memphis (ESPN). 10 p.m. -- Major League Baseball: Seattle at Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN2). 10 p.m. -- NHL Hockey: Stanley Cup Western Conference Playoffs First-Round Series Game One -Calgary at Vancouver (USA).

MANNING — Wilson Hall’s varsity softball team shut out rival Laurence Manning Academy 2-0 on Tuesday at Julie Skoler Field. Holly Scott earned the win, striking out five. Offensively, Danielle deHoll had two hits and Amelia Watson had a double. Drake Ives had an RBI. Hannah Jordan and Scott each scored a run. Cora Lee Downer had three hits to lead LMA in the loss. The Lady Barons improved to 13-4 overall and 2-1 in SCISA Region II-3A play. On Monday in Columbia, LMA defeated Gray Collegiate Academy 5-3. Brooke Ward had a hit and drove in three runs while Hannah Hodge had two hits, two runs and an RBI. Maddie Cantley added two hits. CLARENDON HALL 12 COLLETON PREP 9

SUMMERTON — Clarendon Hall improved to 7-1 in SCISA Region III-1A with a 12-9 victory over Colleton Prep on Monday. Brittany Pack led the offense for the Lady Saints (9-3). She was 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBI. Shannon Corbett was 3-for-5 with two RBI while Holly Carlisle and Devyn Royce each went 2-for4 with a double. Aubrey Johnson also had two hits.

JUNIOR VARSITY SOFTBALL LAURENCE MANNING 3 WILSON HALL 1 Laurence Manning Academy’s Elizabeth Hussey threw a 3-hitter in a 3-1 victory over rival Wilson Hall on Tuesday. Hussey struck out 18 batters in seven innings to earn the victory. Offensively, Maggie Josey had three hits to lead LMA while Tolley Horton, Keeley Hulse and Olivia Coker each had two hits. Horton also had an RBI. Madison Elmore pitched a complete game, only allowing one earned run. Elmore was also 2-for-3 and scored the only run. On Monday in Columbia, LMA defeated Gray Collegiate Academy 3-1.

Hussey had 13 strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk in five innings. She was also 2-for4 with two RBI and a run scored. Trinity Harrington was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI, McKenzie Truett was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run and Sara Knight Nalley was 2-for4 with two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases. On Saturday, LMA won the SCISA Preseason Tournament. Laurence Manning defeated Pee Dee 3-2 in the opener. Hussey had 17 strikeouts and allowed just two hits. Nalley had two hits and an RBI and Hussey was 2-for-2 with a double and a run. Hussey tossed a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over Wilson Hall. She struck out 10 while walking one. She had a double and scored twice. Nalley had two hits and scored twice, Josey had two his and an RBI and Caroline Robinson had two RBI. LMA beat Robert E. Lee Academy 10-1 in its other game. Nalley was 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI, while Horton was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI, three stolen bases and two runs. Hussey was 3-for-3 with three RBI and struck out eight while allowing two hits. Coker had two hits and three stolen bases and Harrington had two hits and two RBI.

VARSITY TRACK AND FIELD SUMTER FINISHES THIRD

Ars’Breana Tyler won two individual events as Sumter High School finished third in the Gamecock Invitational on Saturday at Sumter Memorial Stadium. Colleton County won with 231 points followed by Dreher with 156, Sumter with 120, A.C. Flora with 41, Florence Christian School with 16 and Wilson with 5. Tyler won the long jump and the triple jump. FIRST-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Annissa Brayboy 100 hurdles; Tiarra Abram high jump; Ars’Breana Tyler long jump, triple jump; Amber Jones discus; 4x100 relay (Abram; Brayboy, Victoria Webster, Tiana Peoples). SECOND-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Webster, 100. THIRD-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Webster 200; Brayboy triple jump.

Miami (Haren 0-0) at Atlanta (Stults 0-0), 12:10 p.m. Washington (G.Gonzalez 0-1) at Boston (Miley 0-0), 1:35 p.m. Detroit (Simon 1-0) at Pittsburgh (Liriano 0-0), 7:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Williams 0-0) at N.Y. Mets (Niese 0-0), 7:10 p.m. Cincinnati (Marquis 0-0) at Chicago Cubs (T.Wood 0-1), 8:05 p.m. Milwaukee (W.Peralta 0-0) at St. Louis (Lynn 0-1), 8:15 p.m. Arizona (C.Anderson 0-0) at San Diego (Morrow 0-0), 9:10 p.m. Seattle (T.Walker 0-1) at L.A. Dodgers (B.Anderson 0-0), 10:10 p.m. Colorado (Matzek 0-0) at San Francisco (Lincecum 0-0), 10:15 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Milwaukee at St. Louis, 1:45 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 7:05 p.m. Miami at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. Arizona at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

NBA STANDINGS By The Associated Press

TODAY

Varsity Baseball Crestwood at Lamar, 6 p.m. Junior Varsity Baseball Spring Valley at Sumter, 6 p.m. East Clarendon at Manning, 6 p.m. Varsity Boys Golf Wilson Hall at Hammond, 4 p.m. Varsity Boys Soccer Ben Lippen at Wilson Hall, 6:30 p.m. Laurence Manning at Thomas Sumter, 5 p.m. Junior Varsity Boys Soccer Hartsville at Lakewood, 6 p.m. Ben Lippen at Wilson Hall, 5 p.m. Varsity Softball East Clarendon at Laurence Manning, 5 p.m. Thomas Heyward at Thomas Sumter, 5:30 p.m. Williamsburg at Robert E. Lee, 6 p.m. Junior Varsity Softball East Clarendon at Laurence Manning, 3:30 p.m. Williamsburg at Robert E. Lee, 4 p.m. Varsity Boys Tennis Darlington at Manning, 5 p.m. Trinity-Byrnes at Wilson Hall, 4 p.m. Varsity Track and Field Lower Richland, Darlington, Lee Central at Crestwood, 5:30 p.m. Laurence Manning, Robert E. Lee at Wilson Hall, 3:45 p.m.

THURSDAY

MLB STANDINGS By The Associated Press

THIRD-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Pitts 100; Zachary Delaney pole vault; Franklin triple jump; NaQuan Spann shot put.

TODAY’S GAMES

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Lady Barons blank rival LMA 2-0

SECOND-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Franklin 110 hurdles, long jump; Harvin discus.

SUMTER 2 Sumter High lost its second match of the season on Tuesday, falling to Carolina Forest 3-2 on penalty kicks at the SHS field. The game was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, but the Panthers scored four PKs to none for SHS. Blake Drown scored both goals for the Gamecocks with assists coming from Travis Disher and Chase Hayes.

Washington at Boston, 6:10 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m. Arizona at San Diego, 10:10 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. Colorado at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

GIRLS AREA ROUNDUP

FIRST-PLACE FINISHERS Sumter: Colin Washington 100, 200; Tobias Favor 800; Kalip Franklin 400 hurdles; Rodney Pitts high jump, long jump; Pressley Harvin shot put; 4x100 relay (Benjamin Austin, Tyreek Brown, Pitts, Washington).

TUESDAY’S GAMES

PREP SCHEDULE

Varsity Baseball Summerville at Sumter, 6:30 p.m. Darlington at Lakewood, 6:30 p.m. Manning at Marlboro County, 6:30 p.m. Junior Varsity Baseball Marlboro County at Crestwood, 6:30 p.m. Darlington at Lakewood, 5 p.m. Lamar at East Clarendon, 6 p.m. Varsity Boys Golf Manning, Lee Central at C.E. Murray, 4:30 p.m. Wilson Hall at Trinity-Byrnes, 4 p.m. Orangeburg Prep at Thomas Sumter (at Beech Creek Golf Club), 3:30 p.m. Varsity Boys Soccer Thomas Sumter at Florence Christian, 6 p.m. Junior Varsity Boys Soccer The King’s Academy at Lakewood, 6 p.m. Varsity Softball Manning at Sumter, 7 p.m. East Clarendon at Johnsonville, 6:30 p.m. Wilson Hall at Orangeburg Prep, 5 p.m. Junior Varsity Softball Manning at Sumter, 5 p.m. East Clarendon at Johnsonville, 5 p.m. Varsity Boys Tennis Cardinal Newman at Wilson Hall, 4 p.m. Varsity Track and Field Lakewood, Manning, Marlboro County at Hartsville, 5:30 p.m.

CAROLINA FOREST 3

N.Y. Mets 2, Philadelphia 0 Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 4 Boston 9, Washington 4 Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 4 Colorado 2, San Francisco 0 Atlanta 3, Miami 2 Chicago Cubs 7, Cincinnati 6, 10 innings Arizona 8, San Diego 4 L.A. Dodgers 6, Seattle 5, 10 innings

EAST DIVISION

Kansas City Detroit Chicago Cleveland Minnesota WEST DIVISION Oakland Houston Los Angeles Seattle Texas

W 5 4 4 3 3

L 2 3 3 4 4

Pct .714 .571 .571 .429 .429

GB – 1 1 2 2

W 7 6 2 2 1

L 0 1 4 4 6

Pct 1.000 .857 .333 .333 .143

GB – 1 4 1/2 4 1/2 6

W 4 3 3 3 3

L 4 4 4 4 5

Pct .500 .429 .429 .429 .375

GB – 1/2 1/2 1/2 1

MONDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 4 Boston 9, Washington 4 Kansas City 12, Minnesota 3 N.Y. Yankees 6, Baltimore 5 Tampa Bay 2, Toronto 1 L.A. Angels 6, Texas 3 Oakland 8, Houston 1 L.A. Dodgers 6, Seattle 5, 10 innings Washington at Boston, 6:10 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:07 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Cleveland, 7:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Texas, 8:05 p.m. Oakland at Houston, 8:10 p.m. Seattle at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Chicago White Sox (Danks 0-1) at Cleveland (Bauer 1-0), 12:10 p.m. Washington (G.Gonzalez 0-1) at Boston (Miley 0-0), 1:35 p.m. L.A. Angels (Santiago 0-1) at Texas (Ranaudo 0-0), 2:05 p.m. Detroit (Simon 1-0) at Pittsburgh (Liriano 0-0), 7:05 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Eovaldi 0-0) at Baltimore (B.Norris 0-1), 7:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (E.Ramirez 0-0) at Toronto (Buehrle 1-0), 7:07 p.m. Kansas City (Volquez 1-0) at Minnesota (Gibson 0-1), 8:10 p.m. Oakland (Pomeranz 1-0) at Houston (McHugh 1-0), 8:10 p.m. Seattle (T.Walker 0-1) at L.A. Dodgers (B.Anderson 0-0), 10:10 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Kansas City at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m. Tampa Bay at Toronto, 7:07 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION

Chicago Cincinnati St. Louis Pittsburgh Milwaukee WEST DIVISION Colorado Arizona Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco

y-Cleveland x-Chicago x-Milwaukee Indiana Detroit

L 32 42 44 63 64

Pct .600 .475 .457 .222 .210

GB – 10 11 1/2 30 1/2 31 1/2

W 60 46 36 33 25

L 21 34 45 48 56

Pct .741 .575 .444 .407 .309

GB – 13 1/2 24 27 35

W 52 49 41 37 31

L 29 32 40 43 50

Pct .642 .605 .506 .463 .383

GB – 3 11 14 1/2 21

W 55 55 54 49 44

L 26 26 27 32 37

Pct .679 .679 .667 .605 .543

GB – – 1 6 11

W 51 44 38 30 16

L 30 37 43 51 65

Pct .630 .543 .469 .370 .198

GB – 7 13 21 35

L 15 26 42 53 60

Pct .815 .679 .481 .346 .259

GB – 11 27 38 45

WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST DIVISION x-Houston x-San Antonio x-Memphis x-Dallas New Orleans NORTHWEST DIVISION y-Portland Oklahoma City Utah Denver Minnesota PACIFIC DIVISION

W z-Golden State 66 x-L.A. Clippers 55 Phoenix 39 Sacramento 28 L.A. Lakers 21 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference

MONDAY’S GAMES

Milwaukee 107, Philadelphia 97 Houston 100, Charlotte 90 Cleveland 109, Detroit 97 New York 112, Atlanta 108 Miami 100, Orlando 93 Chicago 113, Brooklyn 86 Oklahoma City 101, Portland 90 New Orleans 100, Minnesota 88 Utah 109, Dallas 92 Sacramento 102, L.A. Lakers 92 Golden State 111, Memphis 107 L.A. Clippers 110, Denver 103 Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Indiana, 8 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAMES

Charlotte at Toronto, 7 p.m. San Antonio at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Atlanta at Chicago, 8 p.m. Utah at Houston, 8 p.m. Portland at Dallas, 8 p.m. Boston at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. Washington at Cleveland, 8 p.m. Orlando at Brooklyn, 8 p.m. Detroit at New York, 8 p.m. Indiana at Memphis, 9:30 p.m. Denver at Golden State, 10:30 p.m. Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

NHL PLAYOFFS

By The Associated Press FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Atlanta New York Philadelphia Washington Miami CENTRAL DIVISION

z-Atlanta x-Washington Miami Charlotte Orlando CENTRAL DIVISION

W 48 38 37 18 17

TUESDAY’S GAMES

AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore New York CENTRAL DIVISION

y-Toronto x-Boston Brooklyn Philadelphia New York SOUTHEAST DIVISION

W 6 4 3 2 1

L 1 3 4 5 6

Pct .857 .571 .429 .286 .143

GB – 2 3 4 5

W 4 4 3 3 2

L 2 3 3 4 5

Pct .667 .571 .500 .429 .286

GB – 1/2 1 1 1/2 2 1/2

W 5 4 4 4 3

L 2 3 3 4 5

Pct .714 .571 .571 .500 .375

GB – 1 1 1 1/2 2 1/2

Montreal vs. Ottawa Today: Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m. Friday: Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m. Sunday: Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. April 22: Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. x-April 24: Ottawa at Montreal, TBA x-April 26: Montreal at Ottawa, TBA x-April 28: Ottawa at Montreal, TBA Tampa Bay vs. Detroit Thursday: Detroit at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Saturday: Detroit at Tampa Bay, 3 p.m. Tuesday: Tampa Bay at Detroit, 7 p.m. April 23: Tampa Bay at Detroit, 7 p.m. x-April 25: Detroit at Tampa Bay, TBA x-April 27: Tampa Bay at Detroit, TBA x-April 29: Detroit at Tampa Bay, TBA N.Y. Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Thursday: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Saturday: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 8 p.m. Monday: N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. April 22: N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. x-April 24 : Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, TBA x-April 26: N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, TBA x-April 28: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, TBA Washington vs. N.Y. Islanders Today: N.Y. Islanders at Washington, 7 p.m. Friday: N.Y. Islanders at Washington, 7 p.m. Sunday: Washington at N.Y. Islanders, Noon Tuesday: Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m. x-April 23: N.Y. Islanders at Washington, TBA x-April 25: Washington at N.Y. Islanders, TBA x-April 27: N.Y. Islanders at Washington, TBA

WESTERN CONFERENCE

St. Louis vs. Minnesota Thursday: Minnesota at St. Louis, 9:30 p.m. Saturday: Minnesota at St. Louis, 3 p.m. Monday: St. Louis at Minnesota, 8 p.m. April 22: St. Louis at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. x-April 24: Minnesota at St. Louis, TBA x-April 26: St. Louis at Minnesota, TBA x-April 29: Minnesota at St. Louis, TBA Nashville vs. Chicago Today: Chicago at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. Friday: Chicago at Nashville, 9:30 p.m. Sunday: Nashville at Chicago, 3 p.m. Tuesday: Nashville at Chicago, 9:30 p.m. x-April 23: Chicago at Nashville, TBA x-April 25: Nashville at Chicago, TBA x-April 27: Chicago at Nashville, TBA Anaheim vs. Winnipeg Thursday: Winnipeg at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. Saturday: Winnipeg at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. Monday: Anaheim at Winnipeg, 9 p.m. April 22: Anaheim at Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m. x-April 24 : Winnipeg at Anaheim, TBA x-April 26: Anaheim at Winnipeg, TBA x-April 28: Winnipeg at Anaheim, TBA Vancouver vs. Calgary Today: Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Friday: Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Sunday: Vancouver at Calgary, 10 p.m. Tuesday: Vancouver at Calgary, 10 p.m. x-April 23: Calgary at Vancouver, TBA x-April 25: Vancouver at Calgary, TBA x-April 27: Calgary at Vancouver, TBA

SPORTS

THE SUMTER ITEM

USC BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Crowe to miss rest of season BY WILLIE T. SMITH III Greenville News COLUMBIA — Sophomore starting pitcher Wil Crowe will miss the remainder of the University of South Carolina’s baseball season because of a torn CROWE ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Crowe, who served as USC’s Friday night starter, finishes the season with a 3-4 record and a 4.91 earned run average. He had 59 strikeouts in 511/3 innings. He earned Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America following the 2014 season, when

he started 15 games and finished with an 8-3 record with a 2.75 ERA in 912/3 innings. He allowed 32 runs, 28 earned on 76 hits and 19 walks. He also recorded 59 strikeouts. Opponents hit .228 against him. A date for surgery has not been set.

SEC NETWORK COMING TO CAROLINA STADIUM “The Paul Finebaum Show” and the “SEC Now” studio show, both televised on the SEC Network, will broadcast from Carolina Stadium on Friday. The shows will broadcast in conjunction with South Carolina’s weekend baseball series against Vanderbilt. The studio set will be located on the stadium’s concourse level along the

first base line. “Finebaum” begins at 3 p.m. The radio host and SEC Network commentator will take calls and is scheduled to interview USC coach Chad Holbrook, athletic director Ray Tanner and Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. “SEC Now” will provide postgame coverage from the venue. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.

TENNESSEE GAME TIME CHANGE The starting time of USC’s baseball game at Tennessee on April 25 has been moved up thee hours to 1 p.m. The shift was made to avoid overlap with the Volunteers’ spring football game.

SPORTS ITEMS

Tigers rout Catamounts 14-2 CLEMSON — Clemson scored seven runs in the fourth inning en route to a 14-2 victory over Western Carolina on Tuesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers improved to 19-18. The Catamounts dropped to 15-17. Clemson scored three runs in the second inning, highlighted by Tyler Slaton’s run-scoring single. After the Tigers scored a run in the third inning, they erupted for seven runs on three hits and three Catamount errors in the fourth inning to take a commanding 11-0 lead. Tyler Krieger and Chris Okey both belted 2-run singles in the frame. Clemson added three runs in the fifth inning. Reed Rohlman extended hit hitting streak to 10 games by going 2-for-2 with three runs and two walks in Clemson’s 11-hit attack. Okey went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs, Glenn Batson went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Slaton tied his career high with four RBI. Tiger starter Jake Long (1-0) earned the win by allowing just one hit, one run and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings pitched. He did not allow a hit until Austin Atwell’s

solo homer with one out in the sixth inning. MLB RED SOX 8 NATIONALS 7 BOSTON — Two errors by pitcher Blake Treinen allowed Boston to erase a seventh-inning deficit, and the Red Sox won 8-7 on Tuesday night as the Washington Nationals struggled in the field for the second straight game. Hanley Ramirez reached first base on a fielding error by shortstop Ian Desmond before Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch from left-hander Matt Thornton. After Mike Napoli’s flyout sent Ramirez to third, Treinen replaced Thornton and hit Allen Craig, loading the bases. Treinen (0-1) fielded Ryan Hanigan’s bouncer in front of the plate, dropped the ball as Ramirez scored, then threw it past catcher Wilson Ramos as Victorino came home with the tying run. Craig scored the goahead run on Brock Holt’s groundout. ORIOLES 4 YANKEES 3

BALTIMORE — Miguel Gonzalez struck out a career-high 10 over seven in-

nings, and the Baltimore Orioles beat CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees 4-3. Adam Jones homered and drove in two runs for the Orioles, and Caleb Joseph contributed two hits and an RBI. TIGERS 2 PIRATES 0

PITTSBURGH — Shane Greene pitched eight strong innings and the Detroit Tigers bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greene (2-0) allowed just three singles and two of them never left the infield. He had three strikeouts and no walks. DUKE FRESHMAN WINSLOW TO ENTER NBA DRAFT

DURHAM, N.C. — Justise Winslow is entering the NBA draft after one season at Duke. The announcement came less than a week after the same decision from teammate Jahlil Okafor. Winslow averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while helping Duke win its fifth national title. From staff, wire reports

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

AREA SCOREBOARD BASKETBALL YOUTH DAY EXTRAVAGANZA

The Youth Day Extravaganza, which will feature basketball games with members of The Sumter Item All-Independent and All-Area boys and girls teams, will be held on Saturday at the Bates Middle School gymnasium beginning at 10 a.m. There will be six different basketball games played throughout the course of the day. There will be a high school boys game scheduled for 5:45 p.m. and a high school girls game scheduled for 4:45. Also, at 11:45 a.m., a boys all-star team will meet the Sumter County Recreation Department’s 17U all-star team that competed in the state tournament. There will also be a girls middle school all-star game at 2 p.m. followed by a boys game at 3. The other game will begin at 10:45 a.m. and will feature members of the Third Army going against the LAY UP mentors. Other participants in the event include Team Robinson MMA, the Salem Praise Dance Team, Save A Life for Christ Choir, the Salem Ministry Puppet Teers, the Alice Drive Middle step team, the Crestwood High drum line and Sounds Effect beat box team. The cost of the event for the entire day is $3 per student and $5 per adult. TEAM PERSEVERANCE REGISTRATION

Team Perseverance Basketball is now registering boys and girls ages 8-18 for its offseason travel program. For more information, contact coach Junko Allen at (803) 7955513, or by email at coachj_perseverance@yahoo.com. SUMTER CHRISTIAN CLINICS

Sumter Christian School will host four separate basketball clinics over two months beginning on June 8 at the school’s gymnasium. The clinics, which will run from 10 a.m. to noon each day, will be run by SCS coaches Bobby Baker and Tom Cope at a cost of $45 per student. The clinic for grades 1-3 will be held from June 8-12 with grades 3-6 on June 22-26, grades 6-9 on July 6-10 and grades 9-12 on July 27-31. For more information, contact the school at (803) 773-1902.

GOLF ADVOCACY PREGNANCY TOURNAMENT

The First Advocacy Pregnancy & Parenting Resource Center

Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, April 27, at Beech Creek Golf Club. The entry fee is $50 per individual and $180 per foursome. The ticket price includes an Outback Restaurant lunch. There are sponsorships available at $150, $250 and $500. Proceeds go to the advocacy center. For more information, contact the advocacy center at (803) 7745600. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CLASSIC

The St. Francis Xavier High School 20th Annual Golf Classic will be held on Friday, May 8, at Sunset Country Club. The format will be a 4-person Captain’s Choice. The entry fee is $70 per person. For more information, call Chan Floyd at (803) 774-8555, Rick Lavergne at (803) 481-3048 or the St. Francis office at (803) 773-0210. FRIEND OF YOUTH TOURNAMENT

The Friend Of Youth Golf Tournament sponsored by the Evening Optimist Club of Sumter will be held on May 9 at Crystal Lakes Golf Course. The format will be 4-man Captain’s Choice at a cost of $40 per player. The minimum team handicap is 50 with only one player allowed to have a handicap or eight or less. Seniors and women are encouraged to sign up for the tournament. There are sponsorship opportunities available at the costs of $100, $200 and $300. The money that is raised will go Optimist Club charities. For more information, call Les Perkins at (803) 468-1619.

ROAD RACING RECOVERY ROAD RACE

The fifth annual Recovery Road Race 5K/10K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday at Heath Pavilion at Swan Lake Iris Gardens. Race day registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the race starting at 9. Registration forms are available at the Sumter Family YMCA. Registrations are accepted at the YMCA through www. Strictlyrunning.com. The entry fee is $30 up through race day for the 10K and $25 for the 5K run/walk.

SWIMMING SWIM TEAM REGISTRATION

The City of Sumter Aquatics Center is currently taking registration for its swim team. Practice for the team begins on Monday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. Boys and girls ages 5-18 are eligible for the team. For more information, call the aquatics center at (803) 774-3998.

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RECRUITING

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

Kansas DB Johnson will transfer to Gamecocks U

niversity of South Carolina football co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jon Hoke added a new piece to his war chest on Sunday when defensive back Isaiah Johnson (6-feet-1-inch, 210 pounds) decided to join the Gamecocks this summer as a transfer from Kansas. Johnson made his official visit to USC with his family over the weekend and decided to make his commitment to the Gamecocks and will not visit Louisville this weekend. Johnson graduates from Kansas on May 17 and will immediately be eligible at USC as a graduate student. “I had a good feeling I was going to commit before I came there anyway,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to see it, just to make sure. I knew I wanted to play there. I could sense it coming off the plane, I just knew it. The fans knew who I was. It was little stuff like that that I felt appreciated, like I was at home. “Obviously, the fact that it’s only three hours away (from his Cary, N.C., home) is a big thing. And to spend time with Coach Hoke, (co-defensive coordinator) Coach (Lorenzo) Ward, (assistant) Coach (Grady) Brown, (head) Coach (Steve) Spurrier and (assistant) Coach (Joe) Robinson, they all did a great job showing me around and told me how I can fit right in.” Johnson said Hoke told him he could play anywhere from strong safety to free safety to the spur/nickel back position. And he got a little taste of the game day atmosphere at Williams-Brice Stadium at Saturday’s Garnet & Black spring game. “Crazy,” Johnson said. “I’ve never experienced something like that. That already has turned my head. I can only imagine how it is on game day.” Johnson said he has not decided what graduate degree he will seek at USC. He still has to take the graduate school entrance exam and graduate from Kansas next month to complete the final academic requirements for the transfer. Johnson went from high school to Western Carolina in 2011 and sat out that season with a medical redshirt. He transferred to Iowa Western Junior College and had eight interceptions in helping lead the team to the national championship. He played the last two seasons at Kansas. He started all 24 games at Kansas and was the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year in ‘13 when he had 73 tackles and five interceptions. Last season, he totaled 75 tackles with one INT. Defensive end Javon Kinlaw of Goose Creek High School had planned to commit to USC during the junior day in late March. His mind was made up, but USC was not ready to take a pledge from him. Kinlaw said it was because he’s got some academic work to do to be in a position to qualify for a scholarship. That hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for joining USC, however. He remains in touch with recruiter Steve Spurrier Jr. and talked with him last week. “He just wants to make sure I take care of my academics and stuff like that,” Kinlaw said. “He wanted to make sure I had my academics straight. He told me I would be right where they want me to be. If I get my grades, I will commit to the University of South Carolina, but until then, I don’t know. I’m just working constantly.” Kinlaw admits to falling behind on his grades in his early years, but since arriving at Goose Creek he’s turned up his efforts to improve his grades so he can avoid going the prep school or JC route. “I’ve been getting a lot of help, got a couple of tutors,” Kinlaw said. “I struggle with math a lot. But I should be able to get my grades up.” Wide receiver Josh Imatorb-

hebhe (6-2, 205) of Suwanee, Ga., has a portfolio full of offers including USC, California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, Stanford, Tennessee and now Southern California. He’s made several visits including Auburn, UF, UGA, Alabama and Southern Cal and plans to see USC, Ohio State, Arizona State and Stanford. He went to UF’s spring game over the weekend where he watched his brother play for the Gators. Amongst all this stiff competition, USC recruiter GA Mangus is trying to position the Gamecocks for a solid shot with Imatorbhebhe. He was able to recruit Imatorbhebhe’s former teammate, Dante Sawyer, to USC and he’s using all of his recruiting strength in the Suwanee area to remain relevant in this case. “I’m really close with Dante Sawyer,” Imatorbhebhe said. “Coach Mangus was always at the school. Me and coach have a relationship that’s just growing. I really like him a lot.” Besides Sawyer, the Gamecocks have two ‘16 commitments working in their favor in quarterback Brandon McIlwain and WR Kyle Davis, both of whom are friends with Imatorbhebhe. “I’m pretty connected with South Carolina,” he said. “I haven’t been there yet. I hear a lot about them from the people I’m close with. I would like to have a better feel for them, I would say. I want to sit down with them and get a better feel for the offense and what role I would play with them.” Along with USC, Imatorbhebhe said he also hears a lot from Auburn, UF, UGA, Alabama, Stanford, Ohio State and Arizona State. “Those schools have a better shot,” he said without naming any leaders. Greer High DB Troy Pride (6-0, 160) visited USC for a spring practice earlier this month. He has been committed to Virginia Tech and said he’s still committed to the Hokies “wholeheartedly, but it was a good visit with USC, good instate attention. They have great facilities and the coaches are very friendly. Coach Hoke seems awesome.” USC has not yet offered Pride, but told him he is under evaluation by the defensive staff. He does have offers from VT, Marshall, Mercer and Appalachian State. Pride also has visited North Carolina and will visit VT in the future. UGA, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Maryland are other schools he said are showing interest in him. Offensive lineman Josh Ball of Fredericksburg, Va., visited USC on Friday. He’s also been to Duke, North Caorlina State, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and VT.

CLEMSON Clemson gained a commitment from linebacker Rahshaun Smith of Baltimore last month and that has opened the door for the Tigers to make a run at his close friend and former teammate, DB Kareem Felder Jr. of Baltimore. Felder is a VT commitment, but is open to overtures from other schools and was at Clemson’s Orange & White spring game on Saturday. Felder camped at Clemson last summer and said he’s been interested in the Tigers ever since. “They had the No. 1 defense last year, and how I would fit in there and how successful their DBs were, I could be on the depth chart as a freshman,” Felder said. “The defensive back coach (Mike Reed) was telling me I would be typically used on the island on the opposite side and I would have blitzes and run support.” As for his friendship with Smith and that influence on his decision, Felder said he can’t ignore that. “He’s trying to recruit me as well,” Felder said, adding that VT remains

hard on him as well. Felder has 16 total offers and he said he’s also still looking at Clemson, Phil Kornblut Ohio State and VT from RECRUITING those offers. CORNER He’s also talking with Alabama, but the Tide has not offered. Felder said VT continues to lead with Ohio State second and Clemson third. OL Clark Yarbrough of Woodberry Forest, Va., has cut his list to Clemson, UVa Stanford, Duke and UF and will announce his choice to his coaches and teammates on the final day of spring practice, May 21. He’s visited all the finalists and plans to take just one more visit before the decision and that will be to Clemson sometime in May. “I have a good idea where I’m at; I just have to put a lot more thought into it, and I don’t need any more visits,” Yarbrough said. “The only one I would take is to Clemson. I have a great relationship with the coaching staff. (OL) Coach (Robbie) Caldwell is one of my favorite coaches period. (Head) Coach (Dabo) Swinney is the man. I’m a big fan of the faith, family, football and they are one of the few schools that really makes that a priority and backs it up by their actions. I was blown away by that. I think it’s an amazing program.” As he breaks down his five finalists point by point, Yarbrough has a clear idea of what he’s looking for from a football standpoint. “I like a team that can really run the football,” he said. “I definitely want to play football at the highest level and that’s what draws me to the last five schools. “There’s nothing really specific football-wise I’m looking for, I just want to be able to play at the highest level.” Yarbrough said he hears from Clemson every day. “They definitely are recruiting me the hardest out of everybody,” he said. Another factor about Clemson that’s appealing to Yarbrough is the presence of several young, highly touted OLs who are already making an impact in their first few months in the program. “When I visited Clemson I got to hang out with guys like Noah (Green) and Mitch (Hyatt) and Jake (Fruhmorgen) and I got to know them pretty well and I’ve been keeping up with Noah,” Yarbrough said. “That’s definitely encouraging, seeing guys who were in high school just a few months ago are already out there competing for playing time. That definitely made an impression on me.” Yarbrough added that his family ties to Virginia, including the fact his grandparents live in Charlottesville (home of UVa), are not a major factor in his decision. “That’s never been a factor in my recruitment,” he said. “They’ve been real cool about not pressuring me or anything. They just want the best thing for me.” DE Julian Okwara of Charlotte plans to announce his college decision on April 30. He’s down to Clemson, UGA, Michigan, Notre Dame and Mississippi. DB Trayvon Mullen of Pompano Beach, Fla., has compiled his top 10 schools. In order he has Florida State, Louisiana State, Ohio State, UF, Clemson, Auburn, Texas Christian, UGA, Ole Miss and Louisville. OL Blake Vinson, a ‘17 recruite from Ocala, Fla., visited Clemson for a spring practice. He has offers from Florida Atlantic and South Florida. Vinson also has visited UF, FSU, Tennessee, UGA and Central Florida. California standouts WR Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and athlete Darnay Holmes, both ‘17 recruits, were at Clemson on Thursday.

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CLEMSON AND USC OL Will Fries of Cranford, N.J., made his first ever visit to the Palmetto State last week and he made the most of it by spending Monday at Clemson and Tuesday at USC. Fries is one of the top OLs in the Northeast with 19 offers. He visited Northwestern before coming south. He has also visited Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Duke and UVa. “Clemson was amazing,” Fries said. “It was a really nice campus. I sat down with Coach Swinney and learned about everything the program stands for. Practice was really intense. Coach Caldwell seems like a really great coach and the guys really work hard. The facilities are top notch and the stadium is something really special.” From Clemson, Fries and his mother made their way down to Columbia to watch the Gamecocks’ Tuesday practice and to learn more about the school and the program. “It was different from Clemson,” Fries said. “They are both great in different ways. (USC OL) Coach (Shawn) Elliott is really intense and is a great guy to sit down with and talk to as well. The facilities are top notch and the stuff they are building are going to be even better. That should be exciting to see how that turns out. I got the chance to sit down with Coach Spurrier (in his office) and we were just talking football. It was really cool to meet such a legendary coach like that.” Fries said at this point none of the offering schools have separated themselves from the pack. Defensive lineman Rashan Gary of Paramus, N.J., is one of the country’s top prospects in the ‘16 class with offers from coast to coast. As such, he is trying to visit as many schools as possible, and earlier this month he made a run through USC, Clemson and UGA. His mother, who has a brother living in Anderson, also was on the trip and was more than just an idle bystander. Jennifer Coney said she had plenty of questions for the coaches and got plenty of insightful information. “I was very pleased with both schools and their plan for academic success and the success rate they have academically in reference to getting their athletes degrees,” Coney said of USC and Clemson. “They had a plan for it and time management, and I know for my son particularly that’s going to be a true concern. They had a plan for it. “The facilities are absolutely beautiful. The bad part is I came away the same way that I went in because they are both great schools.” Gary also has visited Rutgers, PSU, Maryland, VT, Ohio State and Michigan. Later this month he and his mother plan to see Alabama, Ole Miss and Auburn. Coney said they arrived early at USC and got the chance to visit with Spurrier and have pictures made with him. ‘He’s a nice guy,” she said. “I met his two sons.” Swinney had prior plans with his family that took him away from Clemson and they didn’t get the chance to meet with him in person, but Coney said they did have a conversation with him thru Skype. “He’s a really nice guy,” Coney said. “What I liked about him most of all was that he said I want you to go out there and visit as many schools as you can and get a good feel on them. If you feel Clemson is the place, come back. I’ve never heard a college coach say that. That was refreshing.” As part of their Clemson visit, Coney said she and her son also met with school president James P. Clements at his house. Coney said her son has no favorites right now and wants to take as many visits as pos-

sible between now and the start of training camp this summer. He also wants to take all of his official visits, but won’t take any during the season unless he has an off week because he wants to concentrate on his football and his academics. Gary is a 3.8 student and will try to hit the 4.0 mark in his senior season. WR Diondre Overton of Greensboro, N.C., visited Clemson last Wednesday and Thursday. He also has offers from USC, UNC, East Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Wake Forest, WVU and Boston College. He has Clemson and Tennessee as his top two right now.

BASKETBALL Conor Clifford, a 7-0 center from Saddleback JC in California, made the long trip across the country over the weekend to check out USC, and the Gamecocks are very much in his thinking as he works on a decision. Clifford also took an official visit to Washington State. He had considered visiting Oklahoma State as well, but said Sunday he won’t make that trip and will choose between the Gamecocks and the Cougars. “I had a great visit and I really like South Carolina,” Clifford said. ‘They have great facilities. I finally got to meet the whole coaching staff and they’re great guys. (Head coach) Frank (Martin) has guys with outstanding character on the team and it was fun to hang out with everyone on the team.” Clifford said he wants to go home and talk with the rest of his family about his decision. He’s a native of Huntington Beach, Calif., and has spent his life on the west coast, but he said he’d have no problem living across the country for a couple of years. “I get to see the east coast and the SEC (Southeastern Conference) is a good conference,” he said. “It would be a good experience for me.” As if he were leaning one way or the other at this point, Clifford said, “I’ll just say that I really liked South Carolina. I really did.” Martin is going hard after 6-6 Malik Ellison of Burlington, N.J., and his efforts are paying dividends. Martin met with Ellison on Thursday and before leaving he was able to get him lined up for an official visit to Columbia on April 24. “Great conversation,” Ellison said about the meeting with Martin, adding that the Gamecock coach stressed one major point to him. “The need for me.” Ellison has not yet set any other official visits. He’s also planning to meet with coaches from WF and GT. Ellison is the son of former national college player of the year Pervis Ellison of Louisville, who is also his high school coach. He averaged 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game last season. Some of his other offers are Minnesota, Maryland, Cal, Temple, Rutgers, WF and GT. Martin also recently offered 6-7 Dikembe Dixson of Delbarton, W.Va., and his head coach, Brad Napier, said the Gamecocks are likely to get a visit from him. “South Carolina has definitely jumped in the mix for him,” Napier said. “They offered him late. He’s definitely interested in South Carolina. I know South Carolina is one he told me he wanted to visit along with Arkansas, Mississippi State, DePaul and Cleveland State.” Martin has not yet been up to see Dixson, but Napier said Dixson talks regularly with USC and it does plan to come in to see him soon. He said Dixson plans to take all five of his official visits before he makes his decision. Napier said Dixson has tremendous talent and averaged 22 points and 10.5 rebounds per game playing shooting guard and small forward.

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

PRO BASKETBALL

Thunder need postseason help BY CLIFF BRUNT The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook can do just about anything when it comes to basketball. Oklahoma City’s electric point guard can get more triple-doubles than anyone else — his 11 lead the league and are the most by any player since the 2007-08 season. He can lead the league in scoring and take a team to the brink of the playoffs, even with teammate and reigning MVP Kevin Durant missing most of the season with a broken bone in his right foot. He won’t, however, cheer for a rival team, even if its success would benefit his squad. Tonight, Oklahoma City will need a win at Minnesota, plus a victory by the San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans, to get into the postseason. When asked after Monday’s win over Portland if he’d become a Spurs fan for a day, Westbrook pondered the question before offering a vintage response. “I ain’t got to root for nobody,’’ he said. “I ain’t no Spurs fan.’’ It’s easy to see why Westbrook might not be willing to depend on anyone else — he’s done plenty by himself. Since Durant last played on Feb. 19, Westbrook has averaged 31.1 points, 10.0 assists and 8.8 rebounds per game, with nine triple-doubles in 26 games. His overall season average of 28 points per game makes him the likely scoring champion — he leads Houston’s James Harden by half a point per game with one game to go. He also ranks fourth in the

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook (0) and the Thunder will need help from San Antonio in order to reach the playoffs. OKC must win its game tonight against Minnesota and have the Spurs beat New Orleans in order to clinch the West’s eighth seed. league in assists and second in steals. Still, Westbrook’s teammates don’t share his logic when it comes to Wednesday’s game in New Orleans. “Russ said he’s not going to be a fan,’’ Thunder

York Rangers and Anaheim landed atop the two conferences, but contenders with a tantalizing array of veteran talent and hungry youth are right behind them. And expect fierce competition this season: The postseason contenders were separated in the standings by only 16 points, the smallest gap in the 16-team postseason era. The puck drops tonight in Montreal, Washington, Nashville and Vancouver.

LEFTY FROM PAGE B1 young player who just played some incredible golf.’’ On a resume highlighted by five major titles, it was Mickelson’s 10th second-place finish in golf’s biggest events. It also completed a Grand Slam of sorts, one he would prefer not to have. Mickelson has now finished second in every major championship. This won’t hurt nearly as bad as some of the others, especially all those close calls in the only major Mickelson has never won, the U.S. Open. At 44, Mickelson hasn’t played all that well in recent years on the PGA Tour. But he knows how to get up for the biggest events, having won the British Open in 2013 with a stirring final-round comeback, and finishing second in the last two majors going back to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he was one stroke behind Rory McIlroy. “I don’t have a great explanation other than I really focus on those events,’’ Mickelson said. “It’s not my motivation to go out and try to grind out wins week after week. I want to zero in on our four or five biggest events,

WILLIAMS FROM PAGE B1 matchups he gets,” Scott said. “He’s got a big body and he’s a strong guy, so we really want to see him take that next step, much like DeAndre Hopkins did the spring going into his junior year – really getting strong in the weight room and coming out and having a great junior season. I think that’s the track Mike is on now.” He should hope so. Hopkins had a breakout junior season and became a first-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2013 NFL Draft. “I haven’t been thinking about that yet,” Williams said. “I’m just trying to finish my season here and everything else will fall into place.” In the meantime, Williams is intent on joining a growing list of standouts that have helped transform Clemson into “Wide Receiver University.” “It’s a great group of receivers that has come out of here,” Williams said. “We’ve just got to keep that standard going and be the best that we can be and go out there and play like Clemson receivers should.” If one-handed grabs and acrobatic touchdown catches continue to be part of Williams’ repertoire, that much should be a given.

STADNIK

guard Dion Waiters said. “I’m going to be a fan of the Spurs on Wednesday. I’ve never been to the playoffs. I `m hoping that they go in there and they play and they get a win, and we go and handle our busi-

ness.’’ But Westbrook refuses to worry about things he doesn’t control. “We only can play one game,’’ Westbrook said. “We just go out and play our game, and that’s it.’’

Plenty of new faces, Canadian teams in NHL playoffs The NHL’s postseason dominoes tumbled throughout the regular season’s wild final week. When the last ones fell Saturday night, they revealed that the league is set up for an extremely interesting spring. This Stanley Cup tournament features seven teams that missed the playoffs last year. A whopping five Canadian teams earned berths, the most from hockey’s heartland since 2004. Defending champion Los Angeles won’t be there, and neither will perennial power Boston. The New

FROM PAGE B1

PRO HOCKEY

BY GREG BEACHAM The Associated Press

The action won’t stop until a new champion raises the Cup in June. Sure, Canadian players and coaches are prominent on every NHL team. But when franchises based in the Great White North make the playoffs, there’s an extra excitement — and this postseason will have plenty after a mad rush for position left five Canadian teams in the field and two all-Canadian first-round matchups. Montreal was a no-doubt playoff contender, and remains a Stanley Cup favorite as long as Carey Price continues his unbelievable season in net. Vancouver comfortably

and I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to get some of my best golf out of those events.’’ Spieth dominated this Masters from start to finish. Mickelson started the final round five shots back and never got within four shots of the lead, even after holing out an eagle from the bunker at the par-5 15th hole. He was doomed by three bogeys spread throughout the round, keeping the popular player from really getting the Augusta patrons on his side. They cheered him all the way, of course, but never unleashed one of those really big roars that would have signaled Lefty, playing just ahead of Spieth in the next-to-last group, was making a serious move. “Every time I got a birdie here or there, I stalled with a bogey,’’ Mickelson said. “It was a really fun tournament. I thought I played some good golf. I just got outplayed. Jordan was phenomenal.’’ Rose also played extremely well, and he was the only one who got as close as three strokes to Spieth in the final round. Carrying on the momentum he had Saturday, when he closed with five birdies on his last six holes to get into the

earned its postseason spot and second place in the Pacific Division with a remarkable bounce-back season under new coach Willie Desjardins. Yet the Canucks’ firstround opponent will be the upstart Calgary Flames, who defied expectations and the loss of injured captain Mark Giordano to end their 5-year playoff drought. The Winnipeg Jets also hung on late to earn their city’s first home playoff games since 1996. And then there are the Ottawa Senators, who went 23-4-4 over their final 31 games to earn a firstround showdown with Montreal.

final group of a major for the first time, Rose birdied the first two holes Sunday in what looked for a while like essentially a match-play scenario with Spieth. But Rose stalled, playing the next 10 holes at 2 over. He gave himself a glimmer of hope with three straight birdies starting at No. 13, and a last gasp came at the par-3

the line here. That’s what I wanted to do. So it’s unfortunate I lost all that weight, because I felt like I’d progressed really well at it.” Stadnik is now attempting to contribute to the team as a tight end. He has a good role model in Cody Gibson. Gibson played mostly as a blocking tight end in 2014 after competing at tackle in previous seasons with the Gamecocks. He recently worked out for National Football League scouts at USC’s pro day. Stadnik is looking forward to proving he can make an impact at tight end the way he did at center. After all, little was expected when he signed with USC as many looked on it as a way to get his more heavily recruited brother, Brock Stadnik, who played offensive guard for the Gamecocks. Alan Knott, who shared the center position with Stadnik last season, has gotten most of the snaps there during the spring. Cody Waldrop is also projected to play at the position but missed most of the spring with an injury. Now that Gibson is gone, Stadnik hopes to fill his role. He unfortunately injured his knee early in the spring, which limited his reps. He is confident he has what it takes to prove to naysayers he has what to takes to contribute at his new position. “I love proving people wrong,” said Stadnik. “I’ve been doubted throughout my whole life, so I always use it as motivation to get better. Now that I’m at tight end, I will have the same impact I did before.” As far as his weight is concerned, Stadnik doesn’t plan on attempting to regain any. “I’m comfortable at this weight,” he said. “I don’t see trying to go back.”

16th, when he stuck his tee shot to 15 feet for another birdie try, while Spieth faced a dicey 8-footer to save par. Rose missed his putt. Spieth made his. Game over. “It was probably one of the best putts he hit all day,’’ Rose marveled. “I was looking for that two-shot swing to keep it interesting.’’

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, posted his highest finish ever at Augusta National, where he’s made the cut in all 10 of his appearances and finished in the top 15 four other times. Asked what it’s going to take to finally break through, he smiled. “Keep shooting 14 under,’’ Rose said.

The Advocacy Pregnancy & Parenting Resource Center

First Annual Golf Tournament Monday, April 27, 2015 Beechcreek Golf Course • Sumter, SC • 803-499-4653

9:30am Shotgun Start Ticket prices includes 18 holes and Outback lunch, cart and range balls $50 Single or $180 foursome Individual and Team Awards Door Prizes Proceeds benefit The Advocacy Pregnancy and Parenting Resource Center 190 S. Lafayette Ave., Sumter, SC 29150 For tickets or questions, contact The Advocacy Center at (803) 774-5600

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OXENDINE FROM PAGE B1 linebacker. “My natural position is defensive end, so that would have been a big change for me,” Oxendine said. “Going to the CFL and working on things was a more comfortable option for me than trying to go to the NFL.” Though he’s never been to Winnipeg, Oxendine said the Blue Bombers had their eye on him for a while and kept in close contact with his agent. “I wanted to play football and I wanted to pursue every option available to me,” he said. “Winnipeg came into the picture very early and has stayed with me ever since. They talked to my coaches and they have film on me so they know what they’re getting. “I can’t say enough about the organization. Everyone I’ve been in contact with has been great and I’m looking forward to helping them win games next season.” Although he plans to pursue the NFL, Oxendine hasn’t ruled out making a career in Canada, he said. “Who knows? I might really enjoy it and be able to earn a great living in the CFL,” Oxendine said. “And that’s fine. I’ll just have to wait and see how things go.” The CFL schedule is slightly different than the NFL’s. Oxendine’s first preseason

CITADEL SPORTS

Former Sumter High and Citadel standout defensive lineman Justin Oxendine (96) opted to take his skills to the Canadian Football League to further develop, he said. game is slated for June 9 with the regular season kicking off June 27. The regular season lasts for 20 weeks — although teams do not play every week. The playoffs start on Nov. 15 with the championship, called the Grey Cup, scheduled for Nov. 29. Rookie mini camps will be from May 18-22, Oxendine

said. “I plan to go up there very shortly and meet some of the guys I’ll be playing with,” he added. “Right now I’m focused on just getting myself into playing shape and working on the things I need to so I’ll be able to show up at camp and be ready to go.” In four seasons in Charles-

ton, Oxendine amassed 108 total tackles, 25 tackles for a loss and 13 sacks. That puts him seventh in Bulldogs history for total sacks and 11th for tackles for a loss. He represented the Citadel in the 2014 Medal of Honor Bowl after making a teamhigh 7 1/2 sacks his senior year. As a junior, he posted 11

1/2 tackles for a loss and 4 ½ sacks with 46 total tackles. During his senior season at Sumter, Oxendine made 101 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. He was selected the Big 16 Lower State Lineman of the Year and was the Gamecocks’ defensive most valuable player.

Floral bearers and pallbearers were family and friends. Online memorial messages may be sent to the family at williamsfuneralhome@sc.rr. com. Visit us on the web. Services were directed by the management and staff of Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter.

(Trina) Wiley of New Rochelle, New York; six grandchildren; eight aunts; two uncles; a special nephew, Ragan Wright; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Sammie Lee Wright; grandfather, Joe Wright; grandmothers, Adeline Wright and Elizabeth Watson; and a son, Shermel Wright. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at High Hills AME Church, 6780 Meeting House Road, Dalzell, with the Rev. Thomas H. Habersham, pastor, eulogist, assisted by the Rev. Eric Dent, the Rev. Ruth Robinson and the Rev. Linda Richbow. The family is receiving family and friends at the home, 8075 Ruggs Lake Road, Rembert. The procession will leave at 2 p.m. from the home.

Floral bearers and pallbearers will be classmates of Hillcrest High School Class of 1975 and friends of the family. Burial will be in High Hills AME Church Cemetery, Dalzell. 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.

McCormick; a sister, Donna McCormick both of Sumter; a brother, Kenny McCormick of KS: a half-sister, Melissa McCormick Singletary of Summerville; and two grandchildren. Memorial Services will be held at 5 P.M. Thursday at Northside Memorial Baptist Church with Rev. Jimmy Holley and Rev. Jim Johnson officiating. On-line condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad Street, Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements (803) 775-9386.

OBITUARIES MADELINE BROWN VINELAND, N.J. — Madeline Brown (nee James), 96, of Vineland, passed away on Thursday evening, April 9, 2015, in the Acuity Specialty Hospital of New Jersey, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mrs. Brown was born and raised in Sumter County, and was a Vineland resident for 50 years. She was the widow of Marvin W. Brown, who died in 2006. Before retiring, Mrs. Brown was employed as an x-ray technician for the state of New Jersey at the Vineland Developmental Center, where she was employed for 25 years. She was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church of Vineland. She was also an active member of the Center for Health & Fitness. She is survived by her children, Marvin W. Brown Jr. of New York City, New York, Larry Brown of Vineland, and Regina Fernandez of Naples, Florida; four grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends will be received from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday at First Presbyterian Church, 8th and Landis Ave., Vineland, where her funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Siloam Cemetery, Vineland. To email condolences and / or tributes, please visit www. pancoastfuneralhome.com. Pancoast Funeral Home of Vineland is in charge of arrangements.

DOROTHY SANDERS Dorothy Sanders, 77, widow of Albert Sanders, departed this life on Thursday, April 9, 2015, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born on Dec. 5, 1937, in Kershaw County, she was a daughter of the late Marshall Robinson and Magnolia Murray. She loved spreading cheer among the people she met. She leaves to cherish her memories: two sons, Larry and Tyrone; one daughter, Cynthia Ellis; 13 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; special friends, Lottie Dennis and Kathy Conyers; a host of other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by one daughter, Gerald Renee Gipson. Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the John Wesley Williams Sr. Memorial Chapel, Williams Funeral Home Inc., 821 N. Main St., Sumter. The Rev. Willie Dennis officiated and served as eulogist. The family is receiving family and friends at the home, 3520 Bonanza Court, Rembert.

MARY ALICE MOORE Mary Alice Moore passed away on April 10, 2015. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Sandy Bluff United Methodist Church. The body will lie in repose one hour prior to the service. Internment will follow in the church cemetery. Public visitation will be held from noon to 6 p.m. today at the funeral home. Services are entrusted to New Life Funeral Services LLC.

SHIRLEY GRAY RUSH Shirley Gray Rush, age 85, beloved wife of 66 years to Stewart Austin Rush, died on Monday, April 13, 2015, at her residence. Arrangements are incomplete at this time and will be announced by Bullock Funeral Home.

RICHARD M. MCCORMICK Richard Mallard McCormick, 56, died Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at his home. Born in Sumter, he was a son of Marjorie Taylor Barwick and the late Elray McCormick. Surviving is his mother of Kansas; a son, Richard Elray

Pick Up Your Copy Today! Sumter Locations

SAMMIE WRIGHT JR. Sammie Wright Jr., 58, departed this life on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at the home of his mother. Born on Jan. 28, 1957, in Sumter County, he was a son of Margaret Dinkins Wright and the late Sammie Lee Wright. Sammie, also known as “Sherman,” attended the public schools of Sumter County and was a graduate of Hillcrest High School Class of 1975. He leaves to cherish his memories: his wife, Melanie Wright of 22 years; his mother, Margaret Wright; one daughter, Shermela; four sons, Sherman Shawn (Sabrina) Wright of Texas, Dewayne Crim and Messiah Wright, both of Rembert, and Alexander Singleton of Sumter; two stepdaughters, Capreshia (Michael) McCall of Sumter and Shaquitta (Ken) Peterson of Greenville; three sisters, Shirley (Sam) Alston of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Sandres Wright of Rembert and Carrie (Walter) Nathaniel of Sumter; four brothers, Ronnie and Donnie of Rembert, Eddie of East Orange, New Jersey, and Herbert

Barnettes Auto Parts • Chick-fil-A Broad Street DeMaras Italian Restaurant Hwy 441 D & L Diner 441 back gate at Shaw • Duncan Dogs 5641 Broad Street El Cheapo Gas Station Hwy 76 Across from Shaw Gamecock Bowling Lanes Broad Street Georgios 5500 Sycamore at 5000 area of Shaw IHOP • Kwik Mart Hwy 441 • Logan’s Roadhouse McDonalds 76/441 at Shaw MRMA #441 Midlands Retirement Military Association Parkway Shell Station Hwy 441 at Shaw Pita Pit 1029 Broad Street • Quiznos SHAW AAFES Gas Station & Shoppette SHAW Base Exchange • SHAW Commissary Sumter Cut Rate Drug Store 32 S. Main St. • Tuomey Hospital TWO Main Entrances at Patton Hall 3rd Army Chick Fil A Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson YMCA Miller Road • Yucatan Mexican Restaurant Grouchos Deli Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson

Summerton Locations United Convenience Store Young’s Convenience Store

Columbia Locations BiLos 4711 Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson

Kangaroo Express 5425 Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson McEntire ANG Base Mr. Bunkys Hwy. 76 Panchos Restaurante 5400 Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson Shell/Corner Pantry Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson Starbucks Forest Dr. in Trentholm Plaza at Fort Jackson Subway Forest Dr. • Walmart 5420 Forest Dr. at Fort Jackson

PUBLISHES EVERY THURSDAY ad deadline: EVERY FRIDAY AT 11AM FOR NEXT WEEK’S PUBLICATION

more information at www.stripes.com

★ DISTRIBUTED IN AND AROUND SHAW AFB AND MCENTIRE *AROUND FT. JACKSON - BASE ACCESS PENDING ★

CONTACT YOUR SALES REPRESENTATIVE OR CALL 803.774.1237

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

THE ITEM

803-774-1234

OR TO PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE GO TO WWW.THE ITEM.COM/PLACEMYAD

CLASSIFIED DEADLINES 11:30 a.m. the day before for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday edition. 9:30 a.m. Friday for Saturday’s edition 11:30 a.m. Friday for Sunday’s edition.

CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS SERVICES Business Services Angelic Companion PCS, LLC Lisc. Bonded & Insured Providing care for sick, elderly & disabled. We also do cooking, Light house keeping & errands. Private pay only. 803-840-5776

Prom & Mother Day Special

For Sale or Trade 25ft Crest pontoon, 115 HP, Suzuki motor w/ Trailer. Life jackets and anchor w/ cover. $12,500 obo. Call 803-495-2157 Martin's Used Appliance Washers, Dryers, Refrig., Stoves. Guarantee 464-5439 or 469-7311

Help Wanted Full-Time

Home Improvements

Expert Tech, New & used heat pumps & A/C. Will install/repair, warranty; Compressor & labor $600. Call 803-968-9549 or 843-992-2364

Land Clearing avail. includes: Digging ponds, excavation, and bulldozer work. Call T & N Septic Tank Co. at 803-481-2428 or 803-481-2421

H.L. Boone, Contractor: Remodel paint roofs gutters drywall blown ceilings ect. 773-9904 Vinyl Siding, vinyl windows install for $189 and seamless gutters by David Brown. 803-236-9296 Professional Remodelers Home maintenance, ceramic tile, roofing, siding & windows doors, etc. Lic. & Ins. (Cell) 803-459-4773

Lawn Service GrassBusters, Lawn Maintenance, Pest & Termite Control. Insured and Licensed. 803-983-4539 Lifestyles Lawn Service! Disc. for home sellers, residential & commercial. Erik 968-8655

Legal Service Attorney Timothy L. Griffith 803-607-9087, 360 W. Wesmark. Criminal, Family, Accident, Injury

Roofing Robert's Metal Roofing 35 Years Experience. 45 year warranty. Financing available. Expert installation. Long list of satisfied customers. Call 803-837-1549.

Septic Tank Cleaning

EMPLOYMENT Help Wanted Full-Time Helena Chemical Company seeking driver with CDL license, must have HazMat and tanker endorsements. Please call 803-453-5151 to schedule an interview. Tree Company seeking CDL licensed drivers. Tree Experience a plus. Call 803-478-8299 Need OTR Truck Drivers. 1-1/2 yrs exp. Good driving records. Dependable & willing to work. Paid weekly. Paid Vacations. Call 888-991-1005 Locally established Heating & Air condition Co. looking for Exp. Service Tech. Needs to have good driving record. Pay range from $33k-$46k a year plus health insurance, retirement, bonus and commission available. Apply in person at 1640 Suber Street. Locally Established heating and Air Condition Company looking for an experienced HELPER In the Residential sheet metal/installation Department. Apply in person at 1640 Suber Street. Experienced sales person wanted for new company. Highest commissions paid anywhere. Send resume to P.O. Box 2996. Sumter, SC 29151. For more info. call 803-572-2998.

Unfurnished Apartments

RENTALS Georgio's II now taking applications for FT/PT positions. Apply in person from 2-5 at Savannah Plaza location. Must have some exp. Must be 18 or older.

$10 off. New location 741 Bulk-

man Dr. Suite 14. The Right Touch Hair Salon. 7AM-7PM Call 803-565-1096

We will be happy to change your ad if an error is made; however we are not responsible for errors after the first run day. We shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the printing or omission of an advertisement. We reserve the right to edit, refuse or cancel any ad at any time.

Unfurnished Apartments

Help Wanted Part-Time

Montreat St. (off Miller Rd.) 2BR 1BA, all electric, no pets $350-$400 mo + dep. 803-316-8105.

$$$ AVON $$$ FREE TRAINING! 803-422-5555

Downtown apartments 1bd/1 bath $850, 2bd/2 bath $975, rent incl.water & elect.. 803-775-1204 Mon. - Fri. 8 am - 5 pm.

K5 teacher needed for Grace Baptist Christian School. Perfect for retired teachers. Send resume to P-408 c/o The Item, PO Box 1677 Sumter SC 29151.

Medical Help Wanted Nightingales Nursing & Attendants South Carolina's largest in home Health Care Provider has immediate openings for: Personal Care Aides / Certified Nursing Assistants in the Sumter area, EARN EXTRA $$$, convenient hours, part time Mornings and Alternating Weekends. Must have clean SLED, valid SC Driver's license and good references. Apply on line at www.nightingalesnu rsing.net Nightingales Nursing & Attendants SC's largest in home care provider needs immediately: Registered Nurses for Sumter SC area Need all 3 shifts for this client. Must have 1 year Nursing experience, 1 year Pediatric experience, clean SLED, valid SC Driver's license, good references! Nightingale's offers benefits, health, vision, dental as well as ongoing training and PAID DAYS OFF! Apply on line at www.nighting alesnursing.net.

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

HUNTINGTON PLACE APARTMENTS

FROM $600 PER MONTH

1 MONTH FREE

Resort Rentals

Senior Living Apartments for those 62+ (Rent based on income) Shiloh-Randolph Manor 125 W. Bartlette. 775-0575 Studio/1 Bedroom apartments available EHO

Ocean Lakes 2BR/2BA C/H/A Sleeps 8, near ocean. Call 803-773-2438

Mobile Home Rentals

Homes for Sale

Near Shaw 2BR 1BA Part. furn. w/lrg porch $400/mo fenced yard 840-3371 or 494-3573 2, 3 & 4 Bedroom Trailers for rent, Cherryvale & Dogwood Area $250 & up. (803) 651-9926

THIRTEEN (13) MONTH LEASE REQUIRED

STATEBURG COURTYARD

(803) 773-3600

2 & 3 BRs 803-494-4015

REAL ESTATE

Columbia Housing, 8 min from campus, 2 Br/ 2Ba, move-in ready, non-furnished $131k. For sale only. 803-464-5602 Water front house & lot. 4bd/ 2 bath, front deck, boat house w/ track, c/h/a, most furniture can go w/ house .26 acres 1050 sq/ft. 1159 Lakeview Dr Manning SC, White Oak Creek in Wyboo Call 843-659-4332

POWERS PROPERTIES

803-773-3600

395 Coachman Drive Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9-5

Summer Special (Dalzell) MHP 2BR/1BA, washer, dryer, sewer & garbage P/U. No Pets. $360/mo + $360/dep. Mark 803-565-7947.

place my

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PETS Puppies for sale...

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Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority SWRTA 2015 Public Hearing Notice

Bassett Park

Septic tank pumping & services. Call Ray Tobias & Company (803) 340-1155.

1390 Granville Court • Sumter, S.C. 29150 For application or information, please call

803-469-8238 TTY 800-735-8583

Tree Service Ricky's Tree Service Tree removal, stump grinding, Lic & ins, free quote, 803-435-2223 or cell 803-460-8747. A Notch Above Tree Care Full quality service low rates, lic./ins., free est BBB accredited 983-9721

STATE TREE SERVICE Worker's Comp & General liability insurance. Top quality service, lowest prices. 803-494-5175 or 803-491-5154 www.statetree.net

Those interested in attending a public hearing on this application should contact Ms. Lottie Jones, Executive Director, Santee Wateree RTA; P. O. Box 2462, Sumter South Carolina – Contact Number (803) 934-0396 ext. 100 on or before Thursday, April 23, 2015. The Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 6:00 PM at the Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority, James T. McCain Board Room – 129 S. Harvin Street, Sumter, SC.

CONTRACTOR WANTED! For Routes In The

MERCHANDISE Garage, Yard & Estate Sales

This is to inform the general public that the Santee Wateree RTA (SWRTA) Announces its Budget & Scope of Project submittal to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, Division of Mass Transit for its Federal Section 5307 (Urban), 5311(Rural), Grants and State Mass Transit Funds Programs.

TWIN LAKES & MEADOWCROFT AREA.

Earn Extra Income

723 Olive St, Between Hoyt and Palmetto St. The "south side" of Sumter. April 24 and May 29 "Friday" 11 AM- 5PM

If you have good dependable transportation and a phone in your home and a desire to supplement your income,

LARGE GARAGE SALE Every Weekend Tables $2

COME BY & APPLY AT

The Grants are to assist in the provisions of general public transportation service options in Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter Counties all within the Santee Lynches Region. These transit services are currently provided using vehicles ranging from 6-passengers vans to 42-passengers buses. These funds will be used to support its Administration, Operations and Capital expenses associated with the operations of the transit authority. The Budgets & Scope of Projects are for the ﬁscal year July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

FLEA MARKET BY SHAW AFB

Open every weekend. 905-4242 or 494-5500

Lawn / Garden / Nursery CENTIPEDE SOD 80sqft - $20 250 sqft - $50 500 sqft- $95 Call 499-4023 or 499-4717

20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC or Call Harry at (803) 774-1257

The Budgets & Scope of Projects may be inspected at the Santee Wateree RTA Administration Ofﬁce at 129 S. Harvin Street - 2nd Floor, Sumter, SC; between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Written Comments should be directed to Ms. Lottie Jones, Executive Director at P.O. Box 2462, Sumter, S.C. 29151 on or before Thursday, April 23, 2015.

IT’S PROM TIME AT MAYOS “Spring Explosion of Colors” 2 Piece Sets, Linen, Seer Suckers, Sport Coats, Shirts, Ties, Shoes, Socks, Mens Sandals

If your suits aren’t becoming to you, It’s a good time to be coming to Mayo’s!

Wesmark Plaza • 773-2262 • Mon-Sat 10-7 • www.MayosDiscountSuits.com

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THE ITEM Manufactured Housing

Turn your Tax Refund into your dream home! Low credit score? Been turned down for bad credit? Come try us, we do our own financing.We have 2-3-4 bedroom homes. For more information, call 843-389-4215 AND also visit our Face Book page (M & M Mobile Homes).

Land & Lots for Sale For Sale By Owner: Country living, 5 minutes from shopping. Horses allowed. 2.6 acre lot with pond. Shaded home site, great neighborhood. Call 803-469-9841 for more information.

Autos For Sale

LEGAL NOTICES Liquor License Notice Of Application Notice is hereby given that Brothers 1, LLC DBA East of Chicago Pizza 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 & Liquor at 837-C Broad St. Sumter, SC 29150. To object to the issuance of this permit / license, written protest must be postmarked no later than May 1, 2015. 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.

Summons & Notice

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF SUMTER State Farm Mutual Insurance Company,

NOTICE that the Complaint, Declaratory Judgment, Non-Jury in the above captioned matter was filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County on the 9th day of February, 2015.

TO THE DEFENDANTS HEREIN: A N G E L I C T A Y L O R , MYKERALUCAS, TYRA GETER, DAVID LUCAS, TYWAUN BOWMAN, TIFFANY ALSTON, WINONA DANEY AND JIMMY WILSON YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint in this action, of which a copy is herewith served upon you,

ERS! S I T R E DV “FOR BEST RESULTS”

Check your ad for accuracy the FIRST day it appears. While we make every effort to insure your ad is error free, a mistake can happen. The Item is ONLY responsible for FIRST day errors! So, call us as soon as possible should a change be needed. In the event of an error, we will credit your account for 1 day or extend your run time by 1 day. We cannot be responsible for errors AFTER the first day.

Classifieds

DuBose-Robinson, PC Attorneys for Plaintiff P.O.Drawer 39 Camden, SC 29021 (803) 432-1992 (telephone) (803) 432-0784 (facsimile)

Veterinary

Day

NOTICE OF FILING OF COMPLAINT DECLARATORY JUDGEMENT (NON-JURY) Spring Van Sale $1500 & Up Price is Right Auto Sales 3210 Broad St 803-494-4275

and to serve a copy of your Answer to the said Complaint on the undersigned attorneys at their offices, 935 Broad Street, P. 0. Drawer 39, Camden, SC 29020, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof, exclusive of the day of such service, and if you fail to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, judgment will be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

World

Summons & Notice

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL ACTION NO. 2015-CP-43-0355

Summons & Notice

SUMMONS THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL ACTION NO. 2015-CP-43-355

Automobile

Plaintiff, v. Angelic Taylor, Mykera Lucas, Tyra Geter, David Lucas, Tywaun Bowman, Tiffany Alston, Winona Daney and Jimmy Wilson, Defendants.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Snookums

only!

Thank you Dr. Smith for taking care of my Snookums. On April 25th let everyone know how much you love your veterinary by placing an ad in the Friday, April 25th issue of The Sumter Item.

DEADLINE: TUESDAY, APRIL 21 • 12PM Name ______________________________________ Phone ________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ City ____________________________ State ____________ Zip _____________ Pet’s name _________________________________________________________ Owner’s Name _____________________________________________________ Message

(limit 12 words)

___________________________________________________

Payment must accompany order: Total $ ______________ ❐ Check ❐ Visa ❐ Mastercard If paying with credit card: Card No.______________________ Exp. date_________________ Signature _______________________________________________________________________

20 N. Magnolia Street • Sumter, SC

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Please send a self addressed stamped envelope with picture so it can be mailed back.

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SECTION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com

Local artists selected for ArtFields 400 artworks, many events in prestigious festival BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

ake a short drive east on U.S. 378 from April 24

through May 2 to see the largest visual arts competition in the Southeast. The so-called “epic Southeastern event” is in its third year of offering nine days of diverse arts events in Lake City, about 35 miles from Sumter. Among the featured events in addition to the art competition are workshops, lectures, artists talks, public art, special children’s art programs and more. Most events are free, while others are generally priced at $5 or $10 per person, with a few exceptions, such as a concert by the Florence Symphony Orchestra and a Drawing in Nature event, both at Moore Botanical Garden. The main attraction, however, is the art — more than 400 pieces, both two and three dimensional. Artists from West Virginia to Florida, 11 Southeastern states in all, will have work exhibited in 64 different venues around town. Seven of those artists are from Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties. They are Melissa Askins, Tarleton Blackwell and Sue Czerwinski from Manning; Jennifer Altman of New Zion; Mitchell Arrants of Bishopville; and Mike Tucker and Mary Tuggle of Sumter. These artists’ works will be viewed by around 50,000 people, and they are eligible to win prizes totaling $100,000, which includes $50,000 for the juried top prize, and $25,000 for the people’s choice award, which attendees vote on in Lake City or online. Among the other events are the Art of Gardening Tours of Moore Botanical Gardens; an

PHOTO PROVIDED

ABOVE: This unusual planter can be seen at Moore Botanical Garden near Lake City during several ArtFields events. Among them are a large, site-specific installation by Vassiliki Falkehag, a concert by the Florence Symphony and several tours and workshops. BELOW: Area artists are consistently juried into the ArtFields art competition and festival in Lake City. Last year, John Cotner and Victoria Hodge had works exhibited. Pictured here is Hodge’s silk screen titled Build Up/Boil Over. Seven area artists’ works can be viewed there this year. ArtFields Jr. Competition for young people; guided art walks for young people; a Blue Dogs concert; plein air painting at the Moore gardens; competition artists talks; workshops for children and adults; and many others. The complete schedule can be viewed online at www.artfieldssc.org/attendees/events. A special feature of ArtFields 2015 is a public art project by Athens, Greece native Vassiliki Falkehag. Her large, site-specific work titled Undomesticated will be installed at Moore Botanical Garden in the Pine Bay Perennial Garden. Volunteers and Coastal Carolina University students will participate in the installation, with Falkehag’s guidance. According to the ArtFields 2015 website, the installation

ARTFIELDS 2015 WHERE: Various venues throughout Lake city WHEN: April 24 through May 2 TICKETS: Most events free WEBSITE: www.artfieldssc.org/attendees/events DIRECTIONS: Take US Highway 378 East for about 35 miles

“ .. explores the idea of borders and boundaries, of the place itself as farm, botanical garden and how they are connected to the larger community of Lake City. Wild and domestic dandelions are used as a metaphor for migration and creating deep roots. In addition, agricultural twine, text, sound, the existing nature and a sharecropper house are commenting on hard labor, the effort, the attention and intention which is necessary to cultivate our land and our minds.” Among the more than 60 ArtFields venues are several restaurants. Lake City boasts dozens of dining establishments, ranging from fast food to fine dining and everything in between. In addition, there are numerous shopping opportunities, and most venues are within walking distance. Shuttle service is also available. For a complete list of events, to order tickets for special events and to learn more about the festival, visit http://www.artfieldssc.org/attendees/events.

Sumter offers myriad ways to celebrate end of tax season Tax deadline is here, and there are many events coming up to help us celebrate the completion of our returns. • The Sumter Civic Dance Company will celebrate its 35th anniversary, and the 60th of the Out & About Freed School of Performing Arts where A guide to arts & leisure it got its start, with two concerts at PaIVY MOORE triot Hall. Jazz, tap, swing, hip-hop, river dance, lyrical and other styles of dance will fill the stage of Patriot Hall on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. And I do mean fill — with dozens of alumni returning for the occasion, there should be around 90 dancers on stage in the two reunion pieces that are part of “Everything Old is New Again,” the title of the concert. Get your tickets by calling Freed School at (803) 773-2847 or at the door.. • The Heritage Blues Orchestra will close out the 2014-15 Sumter Opera House concert series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The members of the band are superb musicians on their own, and together, they’ll take us on a journey through the blues and its cousins jazz, spirituals, R&B, rock and more. Call the Sumter Opera House at (803) 436-2616 for tickets and information. • Saturday is also Earth Day in the

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Several colors of beautiful calla lilies like these are among the many varieties of plants and flowers at the Sumter Green Plant Sale from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday. Bland Gardens at Swan Lake. Meet your friends, and learn about ways to take care of the Earth. From 8 a.m. until noon, exhibitors and vendors will offer advice, samples and products that will help you keep your home and landscape greener, and there will be music and fun demonstrations for young people and adults. There’s even a machine that purifies the water in the lake so thoroughly you can drink it! Learn what you can put on the curb to be recycled and what to do with the rest of your discarded items. There is plenty of live entertain-

ment, free hot dogs from Sonic and lots more. While almost everything is free, you can purchase some green gifts for family and friends from participating vendors for the first time this year. SAFE will have its industrial shredder there, too, to make your old documents recyclable and safe from identity thieves. Look for Girl Scout Troop 2292, who will teach you how to make a pressman’s cap from The Sumter Item. They’re a step up from regular newspaper hats. • Sumter Green’s annual plant sale

will take place Saturday in the Bland Gardens, on the corner of West Liberty Street and Bland Avenue, as well. The Sumter Green Truck Load Sale always has a wide variety of bedding plants, potted plants and hanging baskets for the yard, and they’re always reasonably priced. Check them out, and help keep Sumter green and beautiful. • If you’re a runner, you can still register for the Recovery Road Race at 7:15 a.m. Saturday. The fee for the 5K/10K Run/Walk is $30. Proceeds benefit the Sounds of Grace, a music ministry that works mainly in healthcare facilities. The race begins at the Heath Pavilion at Swan Lake. Register before Saturday and get a T-shirt. Sign up at www.strictlyrunning.com. • Novelist Margaret Bradham Thornton will be at the Sumter County Library at 2 p.m. to meet readers, talk about her novel “Charleston” and sign copies. The Friends of the Sumter County Library invite the public to this free event. Call (803) 773-7273. • Work by local high school seniors can be seen at the Sumter County Gallery of Art through April 22. Check out what these talented artists can do from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. It’s a good opportunity to see why we should thank our Sumter art teachers, too. Call (803) 775-0543.

FOOD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

THE SUMTER ITEM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stuffed grape leaves are easier than you think BY AARTI SEQUEIRA The Associated Press Think of grape leaves as nature’s spring roll wrapper. I mean, the Greeks certainly did. So too did the Persians, the Turks, the Lebanese, the Egyptians, the Romanians, the Armenians, even the Vietnamese! The otherwise unassuming grape leaf certainly has fans in high places. The Greeks say the most famous grape leaf dish, dolmades, was served on Mount Olympus to the gods themselves. Back down on earth, when Alexander the Great laid siege on Thebes, the natives apparently stretched what little meat they had left by wrapping it in grape leaves, thus birthing the dish we know today. And yet, the source of the dish is up for debate. Indeed, the very word “dolma” is Turkish in origin, from the verb meaning “to be stuffed.” In Armenia, an annual dolma festival is held to reassert the dish’s Armenian roots. Arabian cuisine is replete with stuffed vegetables of one kind or another,

so it stands to reason that they would have stuffed grape leaves, too, giving birth to what they call “wara ‘enab.” And did you know that there’s even a Swedish version called “kaldolmar,” stuffed cabbage leaves served with boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam? No matter the origin, I love having stuffed grape leaves in the refrigerator as a tasty antidote to afternoon hunger pangs. Truth be told, I’d always turned to canned dolmades instead of making my own. Yet I was shocked at how easy they are to make myself. For a change, inspired by the current national obsession with transforming cauliflower into an entirely different animal (cauliflower steaks, couscous, mash, Buffalo cauliflower “wings”), I decided to stuff them with cauliflower “rice,” which I spiced Turkish-style with ground allspice and mint. The result are lighter, quickercooking stuffed grape leaves that will satisfy everyone, from the low-carb/Paleo devotees to (I would hope) Zeus himself !

CAULIFLOWER “RICE” STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (1 hour active) Makes 30 stuffed grape leaves Fresh grape leaves are hard to find, so look for the jarred ones at your supermarket. They’re usually in the same section as the jarred olives. About 30 jarred grape leaves 1 small head of cauliflower, stem and leaves removed, cut into large florets (about 3 cups of florets) 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon pine nuts 1 teaspoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon currants 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint Kosher salt and ground black pepper 2 large (preferably Meyer) lemons, sliced 1/4 inch thick 3/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon sugar Drain the grape leaves, then carefully unroll and separate them in large bowl. Cover with lots of hot water and soak for 20 minutes to remove excess salt. Drain, rinse in fresh cool water, then dry in layers on paper towels. Set aside. Meanwhile, place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse about 20 times, or until they are reduced to a fluffy rice-like texture. You’ll need about 2 cups packed of this rice, so add florets if needed. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium, heat 2 tablespoons

of the olive oil. Add the onion and saute until softening and just starting to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the pine nuts and saute until golden brown, another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower, currants and mint, then season with salt and pepper. Mix well and remove from heat. To roll the grape leaves, one at a time set each leaf on the counter, vein side up with stem end closest to you. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem end. Roll upward from the stem end once, then fold in the left and right sides, then continue rolling upward, like a little cigar. Keep the roll snug, but not too tight. Squeeze gently in the palm of your hand, then set aside and repeat with remaining leaves. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, line the bottom with the lemon slices. Arrange the rolled grape leaves over the lemon slices, tucking them tightly against each other so they don’t unfurl while cooking. If needed, you can wedge torn grape leaves or even more pieces of lemon between the stuffed grape leaves to keep them snug. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the water and sugar. Pour over the leaves. Cover the skillet then simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Allow the stuffed grape leaves to cool slightly in the pan before serving. Nutrition information per stuffed grape leaf: 30 calories; 20 calories from fat (67 percent of total calories); 2 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 1 g protein; 150 mg sodium.

Combine edamame, walnuts for savory vegan taco ‘meat’ BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press

or my daughter’s 10th birthday, I took 15 giggling girls to dinner at a Japa-

nese steakhouse. Let that sink in for a moment. Because I probably could stop right here and let this column just explore the wisdom of that parenting decision. And in case you were wondering what the right number of fourthgraders is to take out for a teppanyaki dinner, the answer is not 15. If you’ve been to a teppanyaki restaurant, you know that the chefs put on a spectacle for the diners, cooking the meal tableside on giant griddles — spinning knives, tossing utensils, drumming out rhythmic beats with oversized salt and pepper shakers, and dazzling the crowd with their stacks of onions lit into volcanos. But the exciting theatrics were not the highlight of the evening. Turns out it was the bowls of edamame that thrilled the girls most. Steamed soybeans beat out flaming poofs of oil-fueled fire. Who knew?

Whether the girls felt trendy squeezing the little beans out of the pods and into their mouths or actually just loved the mild flavor and firm texture, I’m not sure. But everyone seemed to love edamame. The good news is edamame don’t just appeal to young girls. They are delicious and nothing at all like tofu (the better known soy food). And frozen edamame are available at nearly every grocery store these days, which means this nutritious bean can easily join your home cooking repertoire. And a half cup of shelled edamame has about 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber with just 100 calories. To showcase edamame’s versatility, I’ve created this recipe for edamame and walnut lettuce wraps. Though Japanese in spirit, it skews Mexican in flavor. I pair tasty, firm edamame with crunchy walnuts and some spices to make a cold vegetarian “meat” for lettuce wraps or tacos. Vegans will love this recipe, but so will meat-lovers. I mix up a batch of the filling, then eat it for lunch or snacks for several days, reminding me that edamame are so much more than just a teppanyaki prelude.

EDAMAME AND WALNUT LETTUCE WRAPS Start to finish: 15 minutes Servings: 4 For the cucumber-avocado salsa: 1 small English cucumber, cut into 1/2inch cubes 1 small avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint 1 scallion, chopped Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon) For the filling: 1 cup shelled edamame 1 cup walnut pieces 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/3 cup jarred tomato salsa (or 1 chopped small tomato) Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons) Kosher salt and ground black pepper To serve: 8 large butter lettuce leaves 1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt

Sliced radishes Lime wedges To prepare the cucumber-avocado salsa, in a medium bowl toss together all ingredients. Set aside. To prepare the filling, in a food processor combine the edamame, walnuts, cumin and chili powder. Pulse until finely chopped but still a little chunky. Add the jarred salsa and lime juice and pulse another 5 to 10 times to bind the mixture. If the mixture is too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time until the consistency is to your liking. To assemble, place 2 lettuce leaves on each serving plate. Add about 1/4 cup the edamame mixture to the center of each leaf. Top with 1 tablespoon of the cucumber-avocado salsa, 1 tablespoon of the yogurt, radish slices and a squeeze of lime. Nutrition information per serving: 350 calories; 260 calories from fat (74 percent of total calories); 29 g fat (3.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 9 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 13 g protein; 310 mg sodium.

FOOD

THE SUMTER ITEM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Healthy way to get wilted spinach salad out of the 1970s BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press Remember the warm spinach salad? That hot bacon dressing, crumbles of blue cheese, crunchy nuts and those canned orange slices, all mounded over a bed of slightly wilted spinach? I have fond memories of those now pretty dated creations. My aunt used to take me to the mall restaurant for special occasions, and since she was my favorite relative I grew up loving those salads. And I was so proud of loving a “health food” like spinach. Then again, no matter how healthy the spinach was, I’m willing to bet the rest of those ingredients weren’t doing me any favors. So with spring here — and spinach being more abundant than ever — I decided to recreate that spinach salad, with some updates and tweaks to improve the nutrient profile. I swapped out the canned oranges (which usually are packed in a light syrup) for fresh oranges that are roasted at high heat just long enough to coax out the natural sweetness and add depth of flavor. Instead of using hot bacon grease for the warmth, I let the roasted oranges (and sweet shallot) do the mild wilting. (You can let the roasted elements completely cool if you’d prefer the spinach not wilt at all). Blue cheese and bacon are added in tiny quantities to keep the saturated fat content in check, but mixing it into the dressing means their flavor impact is maximized. Using avocado is a great trick for bringing in the silky creaminess that cheese usually offers while adding some fiber and healthier fats. The result is a fresher, healthier version of that ‘70s salad that made me fall in love with the now-ubiquitous baby spinach in the first place.

anges begin to caramelize. Set aside to cool slightly. To assemble the salads, divide the spinach between 4 serving plates, then top each portion with 1/4 cup of the quinoa. Divide the still slightly warm orange slices and shallots between the salads, then top with avocado cubes and pecans. Spoon dressing over top of each salad. Nutrition information per serving: 340 calories; 220 calories from fat (65 percent of total calories); 25 g fat (3.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 5 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrate; 9 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 7 g protein; 230 mg sodium.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spinach Salad with Roasted Oranges and Shallots is the perfect way to enjoy spring.

SPINACH SALAD WITH ROASTED ORANGES AND SHALLOTS Start to finish: 20 minutes Servings: 4 For the dressing: 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon water 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon blue cheese crumbles 1 strip bacon (turkey or regular), cooked crisp and crumbled 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme Kosher salt and ground black pepper For the salad: 2 navel oranges Olive oil Kosher salt 1 small shallot, thinly sliced 4 cups baby spinach 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa 1 small avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped Heat the oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment. To prepare the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar and water, then drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Add the blue cheese, bacon crumbles and thyme, then whisk just enough to turn the vinaigrette a little bit creamy. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. To prepare the oranges, slice off and discard a 1/4-inch slice from the top and bottom of each orange. Use a paring knife to trim away the skin and pith (white membrane) from the oranges, working from top to bottom. Set the oranges on their sides and gently slice them crosswise 1/4-inch slices. In a medium bowl, gently combine the orange slices with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Baker for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in the same bowl toss the shallot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. After the oranges have baked for 5 minutes, add the shallot to the baking sheet and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the edges of the or-

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COMICS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

BIZARRO

SOUP TO NUTZ

ANDY CAPP

GARFIELD

BEETLE BAILEY

BORN LOSER

BLONDIE

ZITS

MOTHER GOOSE

DOG EAT DOUG

DILBERT

JEFF MACNELLY’S SHOE

Man spreads mistrust and more to women DEAR ABBY — I’m writing to warn as many other young women as I can about the dangers of unprotected Dear Abby sex. I thought I had met the ABIGAIL man of my VAN BUREN dreams. I knew from the beginning he had a girlfriend in his hometown, but he assured me he was breaking it off, so I didn’t think twice about starting a relationship. Well, she moved here and found out about us. He swore to me that there was no one else besides her and me. We have now discovered a third girl — his roommate — with whom he was involved. Abby, he used no protection

THE SUMTER ITEM

with any of us. He swore to us all that he always used it and was regularly tested for STDs. Another lie. Now his former girlfriend thinks she may have picked up an STD from him, and we all have to be tested to ensure we don’t have one. I now know you can’t trust anything you’re being told unless there’s proof. Go with the guy to get tested and demand to be there for the results. If you suspect (or know) he’s seeing someone else, always use protection and insist he be tested regularly. All three of us could have saved our hearts, our bodies and a lot of turmoil if we hadn’t been so trusting. This has left a lasting impression, and now we wonder whether we will be able to trust another man again. Awaiting the results

DEAR AWAITING — Your “boyfriend” was dishonest and irresponsible. You can’t be blamed for feeling bitter. Now might be a good time to re-evaluate whether premarital sex is worth the headache and the heartache. That said, I can’t help but wonder how you intended to avoid infection if you and the man of your dreams were having unprotected sex. Please take this sad experience as a wake-up call, and schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss all of the consequences that may result from unprotected sex in the 21st century. There are many — and an inability to trust is among the least of them. If a man doesn’t protect his partner, then it’s up to her to protect herself — both from pregnancy and from sexually transmitted diseases.

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 Request an ID from 5 Classic milk flavoring 10 Degs. for choreographers 14 Yours, to Yves 15 One making a leaf pile 16 Wild speech 17 Key collection of records 19 Command to Fido 20 Trophy 21 Slyly suggest 23 Religious offense 24 Common “terrible twos” responses 26 Quiet time 27 Canadian crooner with four Grammys 32 Came out with 35 Protein-rich beans 36 Sushi fish 37 Scratching post users 38 Peeper 39 “Divergent” heroine __ Prior 40 Uplifting wear 41 Oil magnate Halliburton 43 Feared African fly 45 Telltale white

line 48 Home to Sean O’Casey 49 Take to court 50 Buzzy body 53 Aspiring rock star’s submissions 57 Mineral used in water softening 59 Dr. Seuss’ “If __ the Circus” 60 Not even close to an agreement ... or, literally, what 17-, 27and 45-Across have in common 62 Like some beers 63 Visually teasing genre 64 Continuously 65 Creepy look 66 Smallville family 67 Zilch DOWN 1 Tent sites 2 Centipede video game creator 3 Pitcher’s gripping aid 4 Ding-a-ling 5 “Close the window!” 6 Like a boor 7 Crispy fried chicken part 8 Cartoon collectibles

9 “No Spin Zone” newsman 10 Enterprise helmsman, to Kirk 11 “Hey hey hey!” toon 12 Gross subj.? 13 38-Across sore 18 Counting word in a rhyme 22 Well-worn pencils 25 Med. condition with repetitive behavior 27 Conservatory subj. 28 So far 29 Fair-hiring initials 30 Flowery rings 31 Ultimatum ender 32 Long-range nuke 33 Rani’s wrap

34 Deadlock 38 Aboveground trains 39 Golf gadget 41 Exude 42 Go wild 43 Ft. Worth campus 44 Queen of __: noted visitor of King Solomon 46 Copenhagen coins 47 State as fact 50 Cry to a prima donna 51 Dog-__: folded at the corner 52 Spare 53 Pickle herb 54 Albany-toBuffalo canal 55 Water carrier 56 Spirited style 58 Major tennis event 61 MD and ME, e.g.

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Amusing, if shrill, stereotypes abound on ‘Listing’ BY KEVIN MCDONOUGH “Saturday Night Live” comics in search of new stock characters should look no further than “Million Dollar Listing New York” (10 p.m., Bravo, TV-14). The show follows three hypersuccessful Realtors as well as their personal interactions and rivalries. Fredrik Eklund, Luis D. Ortiz and Ryan Serhant project a nervous, hypergroomed confidence that may remind some viewers of Christian Bale’s performance in “American Psycho.” Sporting an unctuous and ambiguous virility, they also speak in clipped, indeterminate accents. Like a lot of reality television personalities, they’re not so much fully formed characters as something extruded from a focus group or casting committee — shiny plastic Ken dolls come to life to bicker and broker for our viewing pleasure. The real question for potential comedic sendups is: Are these guys ripe for parody, or beyond parody? • Is math suddenly sexy? In our culture, anything or anybody can become wildly desirable if associated with enormous wealth. As we’ve seen on HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” writers of computer code and algorithms have become the new tycoons. The “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) presentation “The Great Math Mystery” demonstrates how mathematical mysteries are present in both the natural and the man-made world, and how mathematical principles are reflected in everything from the spiral of a nautilus shell to the swirling appearance of galaxies. We’re also introduced to

ming news, “Weird, Wild and Deadly” (8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Discovery Family, TV-PG) spans the globe in search of aggressive creatures in some of the world’s most forbidding spots. • Culture, even pop culture, is often defined as much by what we forget as what we remember and commemorate. For the record, there are no programs on tonight discussing the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

F. SCOTT SCHAFER / BRAVO

Fredrik Eklund, Luis Ortiz and Ryan Serhant are the stars of the new reality series “Million Dollar Listing New York” airing at 10 p.m. today on Bravo. math pioneers and visionaries from Pythagoras to Einstein. Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio appears, along with an enthusiastic cast of mathematicians, physicists and engineers. • Seen recently in the HBO documentary “Going Clear,” former Church of Scientology leader Marty Rathbun appears on “Dangerous Persuasions” (10 p.m., ID) to offer even more jawdropping revelations about his time with Scientology’s

hierarchy and his decision to flee the organization founded by pulp science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. • “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings) continues its three-part “Animal Homes” series with a glance at the ways critters decide to locate and build their shelters. Engineers and construction experts evaluate the technical prowess of beavers, tortoises and wood rats. In other critter program-

• After a murder in the pageant circuit, suspicion falls on Laura’s ex (Eric McCormack, “Will & Grace”) on “The Mysteries of Laura” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14). • The top six perform on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG). • A wedding becomes a crime scene for Amaro’s father on “Law & Order: SVU” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14). • A victim’s time of death seems hard to verify on “CSI: Cyber” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14). • Undercover behind bars on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14). • Christina Aguilera guest-stars on “Nashville” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG). • Martha is an awkward host on “The Americans” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA). • A trap snaps shut on “Broadchurch” (10 p.m., BBC America, TV-14). • A blast from the past crashes Joy’s son’s rehearsal dinner on “Hot in Cleveland” (10 p.m., TV Land, TVPG).

CULT CHOICE An emotionally shattered woman (Judy Garland)

teaches the vulnerable and handicapped in the 1963 drama “A Child Is Waiting” (4:15 p.m., TCM). Director John Cassavetes disowned the movie due to changes made by producer Stanley Kramer.

SERIES NOTES Fake idols on “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) * Axl won’t act his age on “The Middle” (8 p.m., ABC, TVPG) * On two episodes of “The Goldbergs” (ABC, TVPG): a second language (8 p.m.), a political tiff (9:30 p.m.) * A villain uses powerful blasts on “Arrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) * Dead before dessert on “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) * Claire anticipates Hayley’s big day on “Modern Family” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) * Charlie discovers a sacred tome on “Supernatural” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).

LATE NIGHT Billy Crystal is scheduled on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (11 p.m., Comedy Central) * Ice Cube, Christina Tosi and Tame Impala appear on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) * Michael J. Fox appears on “Late Show With David Letterman” (11:35 p.m., CBS) * Jimmy Fallon welcomes Ryan Reynolds, Terrence Howard and Kelly Clarkson on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC, r) * Kevin Bacon, Chris D’Elia and Eric Ripert visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) * Nick Kroll, Katharine McPhee and Kristen Stewart appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS). Copyright 2015, United Feature Syndicate

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DUNDERI

Dunderi Ricotta Dumplings

Master the dumpling with Chef Jenn Louis BY KELLI KENNEDY The Associated Press MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — When Portland chef Jenn Louis set out to perfect pasta dumplings in Italy, she was occasionally met with such disdain from local chefs she might as well have been trying to push the doughy fare to the Paleo diet crowd. “Each person I interviewed and cooked with had a different notion about what was and was not gnocchi. When I approached the subject as dumplings, I was quickly corrected and told that dumplings are Chinese food. (This was accomPHOTOS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS panied by a Jenn Louis dedicated her entire cookbook to smirk and dumplings made from all manner of ingredi- shake of the head in ents, including flour, potatoes, bread and many semolina. cases.),” Louis writes in her new cookbook, “Pasta by Hand.” After five years of research and two trips to Italy, Louis now is comfortable saying dumplings are pasta. And deliciously so. And to make her point, she dedicated her entire cookbook to dumplings made from all manner of ingredients, including flour, potatoes, bread and semolina. Like so much Italian food, the rustic shapes and ingredients of the dumplings vary by region, from little nubs perfect for completing a vegetable soup to long, thin pencil-like dumplings paired with tomato sauce or a hearty ragu. In the book, Louis’ dumplings are hand-formed doughy masses that

can be poached, simmered or fried and often are stuffed with regional foods, such as creamy homemade ricotta, spinach, leftover pork sausage and even more exotic offerings such as chestnuts and wild nettles. Many of the recipes were passed along to Louis as she cooked with locals and chefs at their homes and restaurants around Italy. Louis has been making pasta from scratch at her Lincoln Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, for years. But she says it still was fascinating to unearth recipes and techniques from small villages that few outsiders had ever tasted. “They would be very, very uncomfortable letting me cook with them, and then they saw that I knew what I was doing and was very passionate about what they were teaching me and were like, ‘OK, let me show you something’,” Louis said during a recent interview with The Associated Press during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Louis calls her dumplings weekend recipes, though there are plenty that aren’t labor intensive. And Louis points out that none requires a pasta maker. Some call for nothing more than a bowl and a spoon. Frascarelli is a good dumpling to make with children, made by drizzling water over semolina and using a bench scraper to turn the pasta over on itself, then shaking the sieve until you get nice, big chunks that are simmered in boiling water. “It’s as simple as you can get. I think that some of these are incredibly rudimentary, some of the original pasta shapes,” she said. As for the carb haters or glutenfree readers, she’s included dumplings made with chickpeas instead of flour, and Louis says gluten-free flour can be substituted in most of the dishes for traditional all-purpose. She rarely sits down to a big bowl of pasta herself but does enjoy it for a side dish or a weekend splurge. There’s also several recipes with veggies, such as orecchiette with turnip greens, anchovies and garlic.

Jenn Louis says these light ricotta dumplings come from Italy’s Amalfi Coast and sometimes are made with lemon zest. “They are held together with as little flour as possible to keep their texture creamy and tender,” she writes in her new cookbook, “Pasta by Hand.” She says they are traditionally dressed with just butter or tomato sauce. Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 4 2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting Semolina flour, for dusting In a large bowl, mix the ricotta and egg yolks until smooth. Add the Parmesan, a few swipes of nutmeg, the salt and the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together. Using 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, dust your work surface, then scrape the dough from the bowl directly on top of the flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough with an additional 1/4 cup of flour. This will help prevent the dough from being too sticky to roll. Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment, then dust it with semolina flour. Cut off a chunk of dough about the width of 2 fingers, then cover the rest with plastic wrap. On an unfloured work surface, use your hands to roll the chunk into a log about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut the log into pieces 1/2 to 1 inch long. Place the dunderi on the prepared baking sheet, then shape the remaining dough. Make sure that the dunderi don’t touch or they will stick together. If not cooking right away, the dunderi can be refrigerated on the baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days, or frozen on the baking sheet and placed in an airtight container. Use within 1 month. If frozen, do not thaw before cooking. To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the dunderi and simmer until they float to the surface, 1 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove immediately and finish with your choice of sauce. Serve right away. Nutrition information per serving: 500 calories; 240 calories from fat (48 percent of total calories); 26 g fat (14 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 350 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 26 g protein; 780 mg sodium.