IN SPORTS: LMA’s Mason, Rogers sign college football scholarship letters B1 THE CLARENDON SUN
All the angles 37th Striped Bass Festival set for this weekend A7 THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
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Clarendon Tax Sale
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Dog may have exposed 2 to rabies BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com One Sumter resident has started post-exposure treatment and another has been referred to his health care provider for consultation after potentially being exposed to
rabies in the city after a pet dog tested positive for the disease, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported Wednesday. The dog was not current on its rabies vaccinations and began to show neurological
symptoms on April 10, the reports said, and the canine was submitted to DHEC’s laboratory for testing on April 13. The animal was confirmed to have rabies the following day. It is unknown how the dog contracted the virus, although a dead raccoon was reported-
ly found in the yard in January. Raccoons are a primary carrier of rabies in South Carolina, according to DHEC, along with skunks, foxes, bats and coyotes. Keeping pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations is one of the easiest and most ef-
Company back on the job site One employee uses a blower to “sweep” the roof while another removes nails on the roof of Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. Work such as the roofing job has helped Kelley Construction recover from a total loss during the October flood.
fective ways to prevent exposure to rabies, DHEC said. “Rabies is transmitted when saliva or neural tissue of an infected animal is introduced into a bite wound, into open cuts in skin, or onto mucous
SEE RABIES, PAGE A3
Bill would give money to school districts BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
Construction’s work, and it won the bid. Shaun Kelley said his crew has been hurrying to complete the roofing job at the church in time for a noon funeral today. He said the couple kept their faith after the flood, despite losing virtually everything. Floodwaters sent rivers and streams over their banks and breached dams as more than 21 inches of rain fell on Sumter and Clarendon counties in a
Renovations to several elementary schools would be the most likely targets for repair and renovation in the Sumter School District if a bill passed by the South Carolina House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee becomes law, said Sumter School District Public InformaGALLOWAY tion Coordinator Shelly Galloway. She said Alice Drive Middle School, and Millwood, Willow Drive and Kingsbury elementary schools are included in the district’s plans for repair and renovation if the funding becomes available. “The plan would also include renovation to the Fine Arts Auditorium at Sumter High School,” Galloway said. Under the bill, schools in South Carolina could receive grants or borrow money from the state to build and repair buildings or to wire schools for technology. The proposal would have the state determine how much debt capacity is available and issue as much as $200 million in bonds each year. S.C. Department of Education would make an assessment of the school district’s needs, and the districts would submit plans for how they would spend the money to the department, which would create a priority list and send that to the General Assembly for a vote. The bill allows the agency flexibility to give grants to poorer districts or offer loans to districts with better tax bases, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian White, R-Anderson said. The bill passed unanimously
SEE ROOFING, PAGE A3
SEE BONDS, PAGE A3
RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
Contacts, contracts help couple rebuild small business BY RICK CARPENTER rick@theitem.com Putting a new roof on Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church symbolizes the resurrection of Kelley Construction. But after water filled the home and office of Shaun and Brenda Kelley in October 2015, they thought of their business first and their home later. Kelley Construction, which opened in 1997, already had contracts to roof many homes in the area, but after the flood, their workload increased, a blessing they couldn’t reject.
The couple worked more than 30 hours on weekends to get their own house in order while working weekdays on other people’s homes. “Our clients came first,” Kelley said. “I was not going to let the flood keep our customers from getting the quality service they deserved.” One of his roofing clients, Edgar Tabon, serves as a deacon at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. When the church needed a new roof — its first since Hurricane Hugo in September 1989 — he submitted a bid along with others. Tabon spoke highly of Kelley
Isaac Johnson to challenge for Sumter County Coroner’s office FROM STAFF REPORTS Isaac Johnson has announced his candidacy for the nomination as Sumter County Coroner in the Democratic Primary Election on June 14. Johnson, of 105 Buckingham Blvd., said he is a lifelong resident of Sumter Coun-
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ty. He is 57 years old, married to Valerie Johnson and has two grown children, he said. He received a JOHNSON bachelor’s degree in history and social studies from Morris College and an education-
al certificate from Francis Marion University. Johnson lists 12 years of experience as a probation and parole officer for South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, three years on the S.C. Board of Juvenile Justice and 18 months serving on a federal grand jury as qualifying experience.
DEATHS, B5 Bennie D. Bennett Virginia L. Morris Rochell W. Felder Robert Little Brown
Roosevelt Joe Jr. Doris Gardner Leslie M. Weaver Albert Sharpe
He said he is interested in improving the restoration of assets to family members of the deceased and would like to institute a program to provide training to organizations such as nursing homes that deal with wills and disposal of property after the death of a client. The independence of the
coroner’s office is also of concern, he said. “The coroner’s office should not be predisposed towards any business establishment,” Johnson said. He said he has been involved in all types of investigations and would be sensitive to the needs of families involved in bereavement.
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OVERCAST AND WARM
2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES VOL.121, NO. 159
Mostly cloudy today and warm with slight chance of rain; tonight, cloudy with better chance of rain. HIGH 84, LOW 65
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